Studio Toolbar
- David Avgikos
The Toolbar includes buttons for changing the Command Panel from Motion to Settings, changing the view in the viewport, selecting objects, previewing motion, and the transformation controls.
Motion and Settings
These buttons determine what is shown in the Command Panel. Only one option can be active at any time. Activating the Motion option will turn off the Settings option. Motion controls are different than Settings because the values can be changed with each waypoint, whereas Settings are static (although they can be changed with object behaviors).
Options shown in the Command Panel depend on which object is selected. If no object is selected, there are no options in the Command Panel.
Viewpoint
The Viewpoint button is used to select which view is shown in the main viewport. The button will display the name of the currently selected view, which can be scene viewpoints, TruTargets, or a scene Overview.
In addition to each viewpoint object, every TruTarget in a scene has its own viewpoint. If there are TruTargets in the scene, the names of those TruTargets should appear in the View menu as well.
Overview is a special camera that can be moved around with the mouse and keyboard controls. It is useful for placing objects and constructing paths. A pop-up guide to moving around the viewport can be seen by selecting the Help menu at the top of the screen and choosing Navigation Guide.
W - move forward
S - move backward
A - move left
D - move right
Q - move down
E - move up
Left Mouse - orbit
Right Mouse - look around
Scroll Wheel – zoom in/out
Push Scroll Wheel - pan
Number keys 1-6 control the speed of keyboard movements
There are two ways to adjust the view of a Viewpoint, in first-person view or third-person view.
First Person
Select the desired viewpoint using the View button in the Toolbar. This will make sure you are viewing the world through the viewpoint you want to move.
Select the same viewpoint from the Object Selection button in the Toolbar. This will make sure you are moving the correct viewpoint.
Select Object Transform in the side panel.
Move the sliders for position and rotation to change the position and orientation of the viewpoint.
Third Person
If you are in Overview mode and select a Viewpoint object, a movable window will appear showing what the selected Viewpoint sees. This is designed to make it easier to place scene cameras where needed.
Select Overview from the View button on the Toolbar.
Select a viewpoint object by clicking on it. A moveable window will appear showing what the selected viewpoint sees.
Using the move and rotate icons in the Toolbar to change the position and orientation of the viewpoint.
Object Selector
The Object Selector allows you to quickly select objects in the scene. Clicking the multi-select button allows the user to select an object type. Options include:
Flat Targets
Groups
Lights
Props
Reactive Targets
TruTargets
Video Targets
Viewpoints
The menu only shows object types that are currently in the scene. For example, if there are no flat targets in a stage, the Flat Targets object type would not appear in the menu.
Once an object type is selected, for example, TruTargets, the object selector will show the total number of TruTargets in the scene and the name and number of the currently selected TruTarget. Clicking the right arrow moves forward one object. If the last object is selected, the arrow will be inactive. Clicking the left arrow moves back one object. If the first object is selected, the arrow will be inactive.
Motion Preview Slider
When the Motion tab is active, and an object with a path is selected, the motion preview slider can be used to scrub the motion of the selected object back and forth. The control goes between 0 and 100% with 0% being the start of the path and 100% being the end.
Left-click and hold the mouse button on the control while moving the mouse left and right. This is a useful way to test motion, particularly in cases where an object is moving through a doorway or other tight space.
Transformation Controls
There are three transform controls; move, rotate, and scale. Selecting one will display a transformation control at the base of the selected object.
Some objects, such as human characters and reactive targets, can only be scaled proportionally. If one of these objects is selected, you will only see the white scale control.
Preview
The Preview button is used to do a quick preview of the motion and object behaviors in a stage. Using the preview option is helpful, because you can preview motion from any viewpoint and even move the view while previewing the stage. The Preview button has two options: Selected Object and All Objects.
Selected Object will preview the motion and behavior of the currently selected object.
All Objects will preview the motion and behavior of all objects in the current stage. This allows you to test speed and object interaction.
Unlike the Simulate option, preview does not consider some course settings such as countdown, instructions, etc. When preview is running, holding down the ALT key and clicking the left mouse button will fire a shot.
Once a preview is initiated, the button will turn red and read Stop Preview. Pressing the button again will stop the preview and return the button text to its normal state.
Simulate
Simulate also has two options; Simulate Stage and Simulate Course. These provide an easy way to test the entire course or a single stage - including any instructions, countdown, target movement, behaviors, video, etc. before running it in DART MAX.
Simulating a course or stage will take into account ammo and time limits, and other settings. When a simulation is running the viewport is shown in full-screen and clicking the left mouse button will fire a shot.
Once a simulation is initiated, press the Space bar to stop the simulation and return the program interface to its normal state.