Documentation: W3D Viewer

W3D Viewer Controls

Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000

NOTE: Animation, Hierarchy, Aggregate and LOD all occupy the same space on the main menu. "Animation" will appear only if you have a animation selected, "Hierarchy" will appear only if you have a hierarchy selected, etc. If none of the above is selected from the asset display window, then nothing will appear in that space on the main menu.


File
New		(CTRL + N) Opens new scene or clears current scene.
Open		(CTRL + O) Used to open files.
Munge Sort on Load		If enabled, will assign static sort levels to a mesh auto. Required to be set if sorting is turned off.
Save Settings		(CTRL + S) Lets you save your lighting background and camera settings.
Load Settings		Loads your previously saved settings.
Import Facial Anims		For Importing Facial animations (.txt files)
Export		Lets you export various scene assets.
View
Toolbars		Lets you toggle on / off main, object and animation control menus.
Status Bar		Lets you toggle on / off the status bar.
Prev / Next		(Pg Up/ Pg Dn) Scrolls one up / down, through your collection of assets in the asset display window.
View Fullscreen		( Disabled )
Change Device		( Disabled )
Change Resolution		( Disabled )
Wireframe Mode		Displays the mesh in your viewport as wireframe.
Polygon Sorting		(CTRL + P) Toggles Polygon sorting on / off.
N-Patches Sub Division Level		Splits Each Triangle into multiple triangles calculated by the selected level squared. I.E. Level 3, (3 x 3 = 9) 9 triangles
N-Patches Gap Filling		This is used for a specialty graphics card, You must have this card in your machine in order for this feature to work. (not widly available yet) the card itself tesselates to add smoothness to a mesh, So low poly meshes instantly become medium res meshes, without taking any load on the cpu.

Object
Rotate X		(CTRL + X) Animates the object rotating around it's"x"axis.
Rotate Y		(Up Arrow) Animates the object rotating around it's"y"axis.
Rotate Z		(Right Arrow) Animates the object rotating around it's"z"axis.
Properties		Displays the selected asset's properties.
Restrict Anims		Restricts a Hierarchy's animation list to those that match it's skeleton.
Reset		May Reset an objects animation or tell an emitter to restart from beginning.
Toggle Alternate Materials		Toggles between alternate material (If present).

Emitters
Create Emitter		Creates a particle effect emitter, for more info see (Emitters)
Scale Emitter		Lets you uniformly scale the emitter as a whole unit.
Edit Emitter		(Enter) (with Emitter selected) Edits the selected emitter's properties.
Edit		Disabled

Primitives
Create Sphere		Lets you create a sphere and set its properties. See also ()
Create Ring		Creates a donut shaped planer right and allows you to set its properties. See also ()
Edit Primitive		(Enter) (with primitive selected), Allows you to edit your currently selected primitive.

Sound
Create Sound Object		Creates a sound object that can be attached to bones. You may also adjust its properties.
Edit Sound Object		(Enter) (with object selected), Allows you to edit your currently selected sound object.

Animation
Play		Plays the current animation.
Pause		Pauses the current animation.
Stop		Stops the current animation.
Step Back		Moves back 1 frame of animation.
Step Forward		Moves forward 1 frame of animation.
Speed		Lets you Adjust the speed of the animation. (Also allows you to toggle on / off the frames blending)
Advanced		This opens a window that allows for you to blend two or more animations together.

Hierarchy
Generate LOD		Generates an L.O.D. (Level of Detail)
Make Aggregate		(CTRL+A) Use this to create a new aggregate

Aggregate
Rename Aggregate		Allows you to rename your aggregate
Bone Management		Pops open the bone management box which allows you to attach or remove objects from your bones.
Auto Assign Bone Models		This will attempt to find assets, currently loaded in the view, that have the same name as a bone inside the hierarchy. If a match is found, the viewer will attach the object to the bone.
Bind SubObject LOD		Makes all Children LOD objects( in the LOD )have the same as the Parent LOD object.
Generate LOD		Generates a L.O.D. (Level of Detail) LOD models are simply a collection of hierarchical models that can be switched between to meet the current polygon 'budget'. The 'budget' is the number of polygons that can be rendered on a machine in a reasonable frame rate. For faster machines this 'budget' is higher resulting in better looking models. The user can save this LOD by using the "Export" option under the File submenu

LOD
Record Screen Area		Use the space bar to set the areas that define where the Sub LOD's will switch. Once you have done this, you must return to max and in the objects properties box, (CTRL + V) to paste the value assigned to that LOD Object. then re-export.
Include NULL Object		?
Prev Level		Cycles back one to the Previous Subobject LOD and i'ts specified Camera Distance.
Next Level		Cycles to the Subobject Next LOD and i'ts specified Camera Distance.
Auto Switching		When you move your camera closer to- or farther away from the LOD in the viewport, it will switch between LOD sub Objects depending on where you set them.
Make Aggregate		(CTRL+A) Use this to create a new aggregate for more info see: (Aggregates)

Lighting
Rotate Y		(CTRL+Up Arrow) Toggles (on / off) the light rotating around the mesh objects "Y" Axis.
Rotate Z		(CTRL+Rt Arrow) Toggles (on / off) the light rotating around the mesh objects "Z" Axis.
Ambient		Adjust the RGB / grayscale values of the lighting in your scene.
Scene Light		Adjust the advanced lighting properties.
Inc Ambient Intensity		( + ) Increases your Scene's Ambient Light Intensity. Bug: keyboard shortcut disabled.
Dec Ambient Intensity		( - ) Decreases your Scene's Ambient Light Intensity. Bug: keyboard shortcut disabled.
Inc Ambient Light Intensity		(CTRL+"+") Bug: keyboard shortcut disabled.
Dec Ambient Light Intensity		(CTRL+"-") Bug: keyboard shortcut disabled.
Expose Precalculated Lighting		?
Kill Scene Light		(CTRL+"*") Sets Scene light's diffuse and specular Channel RGB values to 0,0,0. Note: this can be turned back on by adjusting the RGB values in the "Scene Light's" properties panel.
Vertex Lighting		Toggle between Multi-Pass, Multi Texture and Vertex Lighting for the scene.
Multi-Pass Lighting		For use with the Renegade lightmap tool
Multi-Texture Lighting		?

Camera
Front		(CTRL + F) Switches Camera viewpoint to the front of the object.
Back		(CTRL + B) Switches Camera viewpoint to the back of the object.
Left		(CTRL + L) Switches Camera viewpoint to the left of the object.
Right		(CTRL + R) Switches Camera viewpoint to the right of the object.
Top		(CTRL + T) Switches Camera viewpoint to the top of the object.
Bottom		(CTRL + M) Switches Camera viewpoint to the bottom of the object.
Rotate X Only		Restrict Camera To Rotate on "X" axis only.
Rotate Y Only		Restrict Camera To Rotate on "Y" axis only.
Rotate Z Only		Restrict Camera To Rotate on "Z" axis only.
Copy Screen to Clipboard		(CTRL + C) Copy the displayed screen size of the current object to the clipboard.
Animate Camera		( F8 ) ?
+X Camera		Toggles on / off, if the Camera will look down it's x axis.
Settings		Adjust the Camera's field of view and clipping planes.
Set Distance		Set the Camera distance.
Reset on Display		Toggles on / off the Camera Resetting when a new object/asset is selected from the asset display window.
Reset		Resets the Camera's orientation back to it's default.

Background
Color		Adjust the viewport background color properties.
Bitmap		Select a bitmap to be used as a backdrop for the viewport.
Object		Select a hierarchy to be used as a background object in the viewport.
Fog		(CTRL + Alt + F) Toggle fog on / off, in your scene.

Movie
Make Movie		Creates a video clip of your animation full frames, uncompressed at the size of your current viewport.
Capture Screen Shot		( F7 ) Captures a screen shot of your current viewport, Stores the screenshot as a .tga, on your local drive in /W3D / W3DVIEW /

Aggregates

Mon, 07 Feb 2022 22:53:31 +0000

Aggregates are simply hierarchical models that have render objects tied to their bones. The viewer provides a UI to attach/remove these bone-objects, and is capable of saving these definitions to a W3D file that is compatible with the current asset manager. In other words the user can load a tank model, tie a smoke emitter to the muzzle of the tank, and save this 'aggregate' to a W3D file. When the game loads the W3D file, the emitter will automatically be tied to the muzzle of the tank with no extra effort from the programmer. In this case the emitter is controlled by the visibility state of the bone. In other words if the bone is invisible, the emitter will stop emitting particles, if the bone then becomes visible, the emitter will start emitting particles. Particle emitters are not the only type of object that can tied to a bone in an aggregate, any valid render object can be.

	"Campfire" is the name of this aggregate, It's made up of the following individual scene elements. 1 Bone 3 Mesh's = 1 Wood (hierarchy) 3 Emitters (brightfire, fire n smoke, sparks) All of these combined scene elements go into making the aggregate. You can switch out pieces of an aggregate, remove items and or add items as needed by going to the Main Menu and click on Bone Management, a window will pop open allowing you to remove or attach items to the bones. Remember to use proper naming conventions for whatever project your on. To Create an aggregate: You must have at least one item in the asset display under "Hierarchy", (the rest you can add later). Select that Item and notice on the that "Hierarchy" becomes visible on the main menu. Click Hierarchy > Make Aggregate from the main menu. Enter a name for your aggregate and hit ok. Now you can select your aggregate from the asset display window. To Save or Export your aggregate: Use the export aggregate button located on the main toolbar of W3D. Alternativley you can go File > Export >Aggregate from the main menu. Be sure to export often so as not to lose valuable work from changes that were made. To Add or Remove items from your Aggregate: Select your aggregate from the asset display window and on the main menu, click on Aggregate > Bone Management. This opens the Bone management window which allows you to add or remove items from your aggregate. To Open an Aggregate: When you open an Aggregate, your opening the set of files that go into making that aggregate. Here are some more controls that become available once you have selected an aggregate from the asset display window:
Aggregate
Rename Aggregate		Allows you to rename your aggregate
Bone Management		Pops open the bone management box which allows you to attach or remove objects from your bones. To scene objects to bones: Select the name of your bone in the hierarchy display window inside the bone management display window. Select the object you wish to attach to the bone from the drop down list and click "Attach". Hit "OK" to close the window and confirm the changes. To remove scene objects from bones: Use the hierarchy display window to expand the list and select the object you wish to remove from the bone, Click "Remove" and hit "OK" to close the window and confirm the changes.
Auto Assign Bone Models		This will attempt to find assets, currently loaded in the view, that have the same name as a bone inside the hierarchy. If a match is found, the viewer will attach the object to the bone.
Bind SubObject LOD		Makes all objects have the same LOD as main object.
Generate LOD		Generates a L.O.D. (Level of Detail) LOD models are simply a collection of hierarchical models that can be switched between to meet the current polygon 'budget'. The 'budget' is the number of polygons that can be rendered on a machine in a reasonable frame rate. For faster machines this 'budget' is higher resulting in better looking models. The user can save this LOD by using the "Export" option under the File submenu

Intro to W3D Emitters

Mon, 07 Feb 2022 22:58:59 +0000

The Emitter System is W3D's own particle system.

It is fully customizable and helps you to create some great special effects. It designed to be very efficient with game engines, However, it is ultimately up to the end user to be creative enough to come up with ways to push that efficiency to the max and monitor the load that it takes on the machine.

To Create a New Emitter:
Go to the Main Menu under Emitters >Create Emitter

The Emitter Properties box will pop open.

NOTE: Hitting the "OK" button and closing the Emitter Properties box without naming it or changing any properties will make it inaccessible.
You wont be able to select or edit it. It is a good idea to name your emitter before clicking the "OK" button.

ALSO NOTE: If you close the file or program, it will not ask you if you'd like to save your work, it will just close the program. You can avoid costly mistakes by Exporting often. This saves your emitter so you can reopen it later. Naming the emitter and exporting it are two different things, make sure to do both.

	Once you have named it, You can access it through the asset display window in it's hierarchy rollout under "Emitter" just click the name of your emitter to select it. Once Selected you can edit it's properties by going to the main menu under Emitters > Edit Emitter. The easier way to access the properties panel is to select the emitter and hit the "Enter" key on your keyboard.

NOTE: Most of the emitter's properties are based on a global coordinate system. Certain emitter properties are based on a local system and will be noted. So unless otherwise noted, we are referring to a global coordinate system.

NOTE: You can type in negative (-) numerical values in most of the input fields of the emitter properties. To do so, just type the minus key in before typing a numerical value.

NOTE: There is NO edit > undo for W3D. When adjusting the properties of the emitter, It will save you some time to remember the values of what your about to adjust in case you make a mistake you can at least get back to the state at which it previously was.