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Scene Builder User Guide

1. Bound Shadow On She stion C _ Shadow Color o Shadow Opacity 055 _ Artialias Passes 0 Render Edges 100 Sort Rule Nearest Toggle Panorama Set Background Color O To add a background image 1 Go to the Load 1 menu and click Load Panorama then click Flat 2003 Viewpoint Corporation All rights reserved 2 Select the JPEG image file you want to import and then click Open The image is applied to the scene background Note Background images smaller than the scene s height width automatically tile to fill the background To avoid this use an image that has the same pixel dimensions as your scene From the Preferences 9 menu use Set Scene Height and Set Scene Width To add a panorama as a background 1 2 5 Go to the Load 1 menu and click Load Panorama Click Spherical to use a converted iPIX panorama Or Click Cylindrical to use a converted QuickTime VR panorama Select the JPEG image file of the panorama you want to import and then click Open The panorama is applied to the scene background Go to the Globals 5 menu click Camera Navigation choose Panorama Click Shadow so that it is set to Off Turning shadows off generally looks better with a panorama Viewpoint Scene Builder User Guide Setting Other Scene Global Parameters 51 2003 Viewpoint Corporation All rights reserved 52 Viewpoint Scene Builder User Guide Publishing Your Viewpoint Techn
2. Intensity determines how bright the light is at the selected light point Clamp Diffuse Val sets the value of diffuse light from 0 to 1 0 for the entire geometry At 1 0 diffuse light is reflected off the entire surface At 0 no diffuse light is reflected Blur Image determines the softness or blur applied to the light Load Back Image adds a JPEG image to your lightmap background Overall file sizes are smaller than if you loaded a JPEG lightmap using the Light option Spherize Back Image zooms and distorts the background image for a fish eye lens effect 2003 Viewpoint Corporation All rights reserved 84 Viewpoint Scene Builder User Guide Scene Builder Menu Options Procedural Lightmap Num Diffuse Color sets the number of gradations of diffuse Menu Continued color values A higher number of gradations results in smoother transitions between shades of diffuse colors Num Specular Color sets the number of gradations of specular light values A higher number of gradations results in smoother transitions between shades of light colors Force Low Black displays the preview model with a black background 2003 Viewpoint Corporation All rights reserved Viewpoint Scene Builder User Guide 85 Scene Builder Menu Options 2003 Viewpoint Corporation All rights reserved 86 Viewpoint Scene Builder User Guide Resetting Elements of Your Scene Appendix C Resetting Elements o
3. 3 Click Load 2003 Viewpoint Corporation All rights reserved 34 Viewpoint Scene Builder User Guide Managing Geometries 4 Choose the image file you want to apply and then click Open Shortcut To quickly apply a bumpmap press the Shift key and drag and drop a JPEG image file onto a geometry Adding Hot Spots to a Viewpoint Technology Scene Hot spots sometimes called widgets are 3D areas within a Viewpoint Technology scene that users can mouse over to display text an image or other media To add a hot spot 1 Go to the Hot Spots 7 menu and click Add Hot Spot 2 Choose the shape for the hot spot activation area you want to add sphere cube box cylinder cone pyramid or plane Show Hot Spots 3 Set both Show Hot Spots and Show Hot Spot Text to On This allows you to see the hot spot activation area while you are setting the related options You can set both of these options to Off before you save your file e Show Hot Spot Text When On hot spot text is always visible regardless of whether the user points or clicks on the hot spot activation area e Show Hot Spots When On the hot spot activation area shape is visible Generally this is set to Off in a scene Click Hot Spot Options to set it to On 5 Move the hot spot activation area shape to the place in the scene you want users to click or point 2003 Viewpoint Corporation All rights reserved Viewpoint Scene Builder User G
4. 44 271999 58 366001 0 000000 12 49 502998 61 441002 0 000000 13 55 0565999 64 331001 0 000000 143 60 752001 66 867996 0 000000 15 56 445999 68 883003 0 000000 16 71 936996 70 209999 0 000000 17 77 0653004 70 578001 0 000000 18 81 552000 70 121002 0 000000 19 85 5309298 68 369003 0 000000 20 88 528999 65 254997 0 000000 21 90 724995 50 388000 0 000000 ONAL UN 0O aes o IO De ONO owog ett Osh 11 te foo Q f Q o D Q o ab GaN WON Ua ma on oo oo 10 a 11 NLH ua Hu Ou o 2003 Viewpoint Corporation All rights reserved Viewpoint Scene Builder User Guide 43 Managing Animations 2 Click Use Continuity to create a working copy of your keyframe set Experiment with this set before saving your changes In the Scene window the original timeline and keyframes appear show as a green line The edited timeline and keyframes appear as a blue line Tip To make sure a specific keyframe is not removed during simplification process click it 3 Use the Precision and Number of Points Between Keys sliders to refine your edited timeline 4 Once your timeline has been edited as you like it click OK to save your changes 2003 Viewpoint Corporation All rights reserved 44 Viewpoint Scene Builder User Guide Managing Scene Hierarchies Chapter 7 Managing Scene Hierarchies Overview of the Hierarchy Menus The Hierarchy menus allow you
5. The hierarchy tree traditionally hangs upside down making it easier to read and to use At the top of the tree is the root and all things are attached to it Every object in the hierarchy is called a node The connections between the nodes are called links Parent and child nodes are linked in such a way that a parent can have multiple children but in this tree each child can have only one parent The nodes that have no children are called leaves because they re at the ends of the tree Each node can trace its lineage up through the tree to the root If you choose any parent then you can call its collection of children a branch of the tree A referencable element within the instancing hierarchy of geometries and their related textures and other materials See also instancing hierarchy Creating a copy of a specific object in a scene by referencing it Creating an instance of an object that already exists can help maintain small file size since the polygons and textures need only be defined once For example the tires on a car model can be created this way The first tire s mesh and texture is defined and the other 3 tires are instanced Elements that allow the user to alter or interact with the scene by clicking or rolling over certain areas within the scene The programmer defines the interactors in the XML code OnClick and OnEnter are examples of interactor events A spherical panorama file format created by Interactive Pictures C
6. and the shade With Scene Builder in addition to importing 3D models from other 3D modeling applications you can add simple 3D geometries called primitives to a scene Primitives include cubes spheres cones pyramids cylinders boxes and planes You can also use Scene Builder to manage the characteristics and textures applied to the geometries in a Viewpoint Technology scene including e Textures You can apply a 2D image as a texture to the geometry With the Scene Builder Texture Lab you can refine a scene texture add alpha map transparency add a noisemap and choose settings by channel You can also control the type and amount of compression you want to apply e Lightmaps Give the illusion of illumination on the geometry You can load a JPEG image file as a lightmap or create your own procedural lightmap with Scene Builder Procedural refers to the fact that this type of lightmap makes procedural calls directly to Viewpoint Media Player instead of referencing a JPEG image thus causing little noticeable file size increase e Bumpmaps With a bumpmap you can give a geometry the appearance of being smooth or bumpy metallic or fabric or made of some other particular material e Hot spots You can provide just in time information about an object by assigning a clickable 3D area that displays text image or other media when the viewer clicks or points to it About I nstances Instancing is a common techni
7. 2003 Viewpoint Corporation All rights reserved 78 Viewpoint Scene Builder User Guide Scene Builder Menu Options Primitives 8 Menu Sphere creates a sphere in the center of the scene Cube creates a cube in the center of the scene Box creates a box in the center of the scene A box has more segments than a cube and behaves differently when transformations are applied Cylinder creates a cylinder in the center of the scene Cone creates a cone in the center of the scene Pyramid creates a pyramid in the center of the scene XZ Plane creates a horizontal plane in the center of the scene XY Plane creates a vertical plane in the center of the scene Show Resolution Options shows or hides the following three resolution options Be sure to set these options before you create a primitive from the options above Resolution X and Y is a slider that sets both X and Y resolution for the selected object Resolution also called tessellation determines the fineness of the segments creating the surface of a model Higher tessellation creates a smoother model Resolution X only slider sets X resolution for the object Resolution Y only slider sets Y resolution for the object Preferences 9 Menu Set Scene Width lets you set the exact pixel width of the Scene window as you want it to display in a web browser Set Scene Height lets you set the exact pixel height of the S
8. Animation starts the selected animation in a scene It is recommended you use this option to test your animations upon loading your file into Scene Builder before you begin working on the scene Then you can easily reload the file to reset to the original location of animated elements When you are finished with your scene publish first to retain the original states of animated elements and then you can test the animation again Editing mode lets you edit the scene On or preview your scene as if it was playing on the scene as if you were viewing it on the web via Viewpoint Media Player Off Help displays this document Scene Builder User Guide 2003 Viewpoint Corporation All rights reserved Viewpoint Scene Builder User Guide 61 Scene Builder Menu Options Scene Commands Menus Load Instances Animation Transformation Globats Textures Hot Spots Primitives Preferences Publish 1 The Load 1 menu enables you to open an existing mtx file or import a file into your Viewpoint Technology scene The Instances 2 menu enables you to control and change polygons You can flip normals make objects geometries into double sided polygons and change the crease angle and transparency The Animation 3 menu enables you to control animation properties in a scene You can reset an animation or change the camera mode You can also collapse objects geometries The Transformation 4 menu enables you t
9. For example in the illustration below left the transparent cube cannot be seen inside a transparent sphere because the sort rule is set to Nearest Below right the cube is visible because the sort rule is changed to Farthest r To set the sort rule for your scene 1 Goto the Globals 5 menu and click Sort Rule 2 Choose one of the following sort rules to specify what renders first 2003 Viewpoint Corporation All rights reserved El Viewpoint Scene Builder User Guide Managing Geometries e Nearest default only surfaces closest to the camera are rendered e Farthest all occluded surfaces will also be rendered e Center the rendering criteria depends on the relative position of centers of bounding boxes Adding a Texture to a Geometry If a geometry contains UV mapping coordinates you can apply a JPEG image as that geometry texture Or you can replace existing textures with a JPEG image Tip You can select a texture by clicking its name on the Textures Shift 4 Hierarchy menu To add a JPEG file as a texture to a geometry 1 Click the geometry in the Scene window 2 Go to the Textures 6 menu and click Texture Diffuse fen di Default 3 Click Load 4 Select the JPEG file and click OK 2003 Viewpoint Corporation All rights reserved Viewpoint Scene Builder User Guide 31 Managing Geometries Applying Alpha Maps Alpha Channels An alpha map or alpha chann
10. Lists each imported animation instruction tag by name Repository Shift 6 Lists all the elements in your scene arranged by type Tip To switch between Hierarchy menus in the upper left corner of Scene Builder press Shift the menu number On the Texture Hierarchy menu click a texture to view a 2D image of it in the Object Info window If a Hierarchy menu is too long to fit on your screen use the scroll bar to scroll up and down To change Hierarchy menus 1 Click the name of the current menu to display the list of all Hierarchy menus 2 Click the name of the menu you want to use next For example the graphic below illustrates how to change from the Instances Shift 1 menu to the Geometries Shift 2 menu Click the name of the Rendering Hierarchy Shift 0 current menu to see a list of all Hierarchy Instances Shitt 1 menus Gaming SS Materials Shitt 3 gt Then click the menu Geometries _ Shift 2 Textures Shitt 4 zb you want fo see 0 MTSRootinstance RE BO Repository Shitt 6 fo display the menu you want Hierarchy Textures Shift 4 sextant8_TEXTURE_0O sextent8_TEXTURE_0 sextant _TEXTURE_0 sextant8_TEXTURE_O sextant8_TEXTURE_0 Shortcut Press Shift the menu number to access these menus quickly For example press Shift 2 to view the Geometries Shift 2 menu For more information about using Hierarchy menus see Chapter 7 Managing Scene Hierarchies 2003 V
11. Scene Builder Menu Options Publish 0 Menu Continued For selected geometry Retain Normals specifies whether or not to publish normals to the scene s mts file Choose On to correctly publish files with explicit normals The explicit normals can be exported from CAD CAM applications using an obj file format Corresponding XML tag SaveNormals Publish produces two files an mt file and an mts file Because Publish compresses the scene elements republishing or resaving an mts file results in a loss of visual fidelity Shortcut You can press p or P to publish your scene Generate HTML creates an HTML file when you click Publish This feature enables you to test Viewpoint Technology content by allowing you to preview it in a web browser Publish for Tuning Studio lets you export an mts file with maximum quality settings that you can import into Viewpoint Stream Tuning Studio Stream Tuning Studio converts your mts scene file to the highest quality with the smallest file size 2003 Viewpoint Corporation All rights reserved Texture Lab Menu Viewpoint Scene Builder User Guide 81 Scene Builder Menu Options Click Load Texture to choose the texture you want to analyze and compress Click Show Channels and then choose from a list of channels in the texture image you want to view RGB RGBA R G B A YCbCr Y Cb and Cr If you zoomed in or out on or moved a texture preview click R
12. Viewpoint Technology scene e Appendix D Keyboard Shortcuts Lists shortcuts that you can use in Scene Builder e Glossary Defines terms used in this guide Related Documents Viewpoint Developer Central contains additional related documentation e Foran introduction to Viewpoint Technology and related concepts see Viewpoint Technology Feature Overview e For a description of advanced concepts and techniques see e Using 3D in Viewpoint Technology e Viewpoint Technology Technical Overview e Viewpoint XML Reference Guide About Viewpoint Technology Viewpoint Technology is a unique technology created by Viewpoint Corporation that streams rich media over the Internet via Viewpoint Media Player a web browser plug in Viewpoint Technology allows you to combine all types of rich media including 2D photos and drawings 3D models animation ZoomView images Macromedia Flash movies text and audio to create rich media content Using a sophisticated set of compression techniques Viewpoint tools create a visually crisp smooth streaming multimedia experience for the user Note To publish Viewpoint Technology content on a website the site publisher must complete a Broadcast License Agreement and acquire the associated Broadcast License Key Broadcast licenses are FREE for non commercial use For more information see the Broadcast Key section of Viewpoint Developer Central What is Viewpoi
13. and Scalable Vector Graphics SVG with other rich media such as animated 3D objects high resolution photographs object movies and panoramas into Viewpoint Technology scenes 2003 Viewpoint Corporation All rights reserved 58 Viewpoint Scene Builder User Guide Help Resources and Feedback Viewpoint Technology Technical Overview Describes the architecture of a Viewpoint Technology scene including the key components that comprise it objects animations events and properties You ll learn how to combine these components and organize them in the Viewpoint Technology scene mtx description file Deployment for System Steps that Administrators can take to set up a web server with Administrators Viewpoint Technology content Testing and Deploying Describes how to test and prepare your Viewpoint Viewpoint Technology Technology content for deployment Details the Content MTS3lInterface the auto installer and their usage making it an invaluable resource for Viewpoint content producers Viewpoint XML Reference Guide A powerful reference tool containing the most up to date information and examples for the XML tags and properties that control a Viewpoint Technology scene Viewpoint Technology uses XML scripted in an mtx file to orchestrate the elements of a scene including animation interactivity and loading of files as well as ZoomView and HyperView functionality 2003 Vi
14. and view the spline path individually Manually Playing an Animation with Time Scrubber Time Scrubber allows you manually run an animation so you can inspect it frame by frame and view the changes to values in the Object Info window To play an animation manually in Scene Builder 1 Go to the Animators Shift 5 Hierarchy menu and click the name of the animation you want to play 2 Goto the Animation 3 menu and click Manual Time Control to set it to On To play an animation with Time Scrubber 1 Inthe upper left of the screen open the Animators Shift 5 Hierarchy menu and click animation you want to play For more on changing Hierarchy menus see About Hierarchy Menus 2 Go to the Interaction Animation 3 menu and click Manual Time Control to set it to On Fixed Time Step sec 3 Drag the Fixed Time Step slider to set a time interval where each increment you drag the Time Scrubber equals the time interval you set here 2003 Viewpoint Corporation All rights reserved Viewpoint Scene Builder User Guide 41 Managing Animations 4 Drag the Time Scrubber slider to move the animation to a specific time value For each time value you can view changes to timeline values in the Object Information window at the bottom of your screen The Time Scrubber always affects the entire animation even if you have selected a child animator or timeline You can enter a number past the end of the animation to add ke
15. before publishing it in the Viewpoint media file format Using High Resolution 2D Graphics in Viewpoint Technology This guide is a comprehensive reference for ZoomView a technology that permits the deployment of large print quality images online The guide explains the three authoring paths to create Zoom View images which include Adobe Photoshop 7 ZoomView Builder and ZoomView Hosted Solutions It also describes how to add advanced features to your ZoomView scenes by making changes to XML code in your mtx file Viewpoint Stream Tuning Studio Guide Explains how to use Viewpoint Stream Tuning Studio to optimize uncompressed mts files from Viewpoint Scene Builder and other applications that export mts files for Viewpoint Technology scenes Viewpoint Media Publisher Guide New features of Viewpoint Media Player provide a fast and convenient path to the web for Viewpoint Technology content Viewpoint Media Player enables you to quickly create Viewpoint Technology web applications from Viewpoint Media Files mtx mtz by embedding them in web html pages or running transformations on mtx xml files This guide includes step by step instructions for creating Viewpoint Technology enabled web pages customizing html templates customizing mtx files with XSLT and publishing Viewpoint content Using Vector Graphics in Viewpoint Technology Describes how to integrate Macromedia Flash
16. command Corresponding XML tag Collapsed Clear All Collapsed uncollapses all geometries to make them visible in the scene Visible works much like the collapse function above however you can also make the selected object invisible and remove it from a scene entirely Corresponding XML tag Visible When Backface Culling is Off the selected geometries are treated as doubled sided polygons Backface Culling On saves rendering resources by rendering only the part of the object that faces the camera If Backface Direction is On you won t see the changes made by Flip Polygons or Backface Culling The default is On Corresponding XML tag BackFaceCull Invert Normals affects how objects are rendered When it is On the direction that the polygons faces are rendered in the selected geometry changes by reversing all scene is reversed Choose Off to see the interior of the selected object in your scene This option takes visual precedence Flip Polygons and Backface Culling that is if you turn this option On this is the default you won t see the changes made by Flip Polygons or Backface Culling Invert Lighting inverts polygon orientation in a scene by flipping all polygon normals 180 degrees without inverting surfaces This affects the model physically and changes the description of the affected geometry in the scene s MTS file This is used primarily as a tool for debugging converted geometry If Backface D
17. for testing the efficiency of rendering algorithms Can be imported into Scene Builder A vector pointing straight out from the polygon at a right angle that defines the outside surface of the polygon Wavefront Object file A 3D file format that defines the geometry and other properties for objects in Wavefront s Advanced Visualizer OBJ can also be used to transfer geometric data back and forth between the Advanced Visualizer and other 3D applications Can be imported into Scene Builder A way of measuring how much light can penetrate an object In a Viewpoint Technology scene 0 opacity makes the object so transparent it is invisible and 100 makes the object completely opaque in other words not at all transparent 2003 Viewpoint Corporation All rights reserved panorama polygon procedural properties QTVR render root instance rotate scale scene shadow blend shadow opacity specularity SWF tessellation texture tiling Viewpoint Scene Builder User Guide 99 Glossary A 360 degree image in which the camera is in the center QTVR and iPIX panoramas can be used in a Viewpoint scene 3D scenes are drawn using polygons or triangles vastly simplifying the computer creation of a 3D world Triangles are defined as three coordinates x y and z one for each vertex Equivalent to parametric Procedural atoms such as geometry and lightmaps are referenced in an mtx file and rendered based on
18. in the scooter model below the Instances Hierarchy menu shows that the geometry citibug is the parent of the other geometries that comprise the model such as citybug_MESH_0 and citybug_MESH_1 2003 Viewpoint Corporation All rights reserved Viewpoint Scene Builder User Guide Managing Scene Hierarchies The Instances Hierarchy menu below shows the parent child relationship of geometries in a model gt Viewpoint Scene Builder Build 3 0 9 5 sell x Editing Hierarchies Scene Builder provides control of hierarchies in a scene You can use the Hierarchy menu in the upper left corner of Scene Builder to e Rename scene elements to descriptive names e Modify how a scene functions by rearranging the parent child relationships among geometries and instances and among animators Rename Scene Elements You can use the Hierarchy menus to rename screen elements Be sure to use descriptive names so that if you need to modify or troubleshoot the scene or edit the mtx file you can easily identify elements To rename a scene element 1 Go to the Instances Shift 1 Hierarchy menu and right click a geometry to select the part you want to rename The names of the instance and its sub elements textures and materials are highlighted in the Instances Hierarchy menu 2 Goto the Instances Shift 1 Hierarchy menu and double click the name you want to change 3 Type the new element name and press Enter Note Avoi
19. is 1 Alpha Channel Quality adjusts compression for the Alpha or mask channel The default compression for this channel is low The range is 0 01 to 10 default is 10 2003 Viewpoint Corporation All rights reserved 82 Viewpoint Scene Builder User Guide Scene Builder Menu Options Texture Lab Menu Continued Click Update TrixelsNT Preview or Update JPEG Preview depending on whether you choose Viewpoint s proprietary TrixelsNT compression or JPEG compression to view the effects of compression on the texture file Match JPEG Size is available when you have created both JPEG and TrixelsNT preview of a texture see option above By clicking this the TrixelsNT version of the texture is created so that its file size is comparable to the JPEG compressed version Note Before you use this option be sure the JPEG file is the optimal file size to match This option can cause the texture file size to increase Use Global Noise to set the intensity of the noisemap from 0 to 100 Click Use Noisemap to apply noise to a texture Default is Off Noise on Noisemap adjusts the fineness or coarseness of the noisemap on a texture The higher the number the coarser the noisemap Click Noisemap Size to choose from a menu noisemap sizes from 8x8 to 512x512 A larger size noisemap creates a coarser noise channel for the texture 2003 Viewpoint Corporation All rights reserved Viewpoint Scene Build
20. much light can penetrate an object In a Viewpoint Technology scene 0 opacity makes the object so transparent it is invisible and 100 makes the object completely opaque in other words not at all transparent In the illustration below the large ball has 50 opacity and the small ball has 100 opacity 2003 Viewpoint Corporation All rights reserved Viewpoint Scene Builder User Guide 29 Managing Geometries To adjust the opacity of a geometry 1 In the Scene window right click the geometry you want to adjust or select a geometry by clicking its name on the Hierarchy menu on the left 2 On the Instances 2 menu use the Opacity slider to change the geometry opacity Instances Delete Selected Clear All Collapsed Transparency and Rendering Using Sort Rule for Overlapping Transparent Geometries If your Viewpoint Technology scene includes multiple semi transparent objects the order in which they are rendered may affect how the scene appears to the viewer The Sort Rule option determines a scene with several semi transparent objects and for objects within the same layer When the Nearest sort rule is turned on only the surfaces closest to the camera are rendered The Farthest sort rule forces all occluded surfaces to be rendered For the Center sort rule the visibility criteria depend on the positions of centers of bounding boxes Note The sort rule is set for the entire scene rather than by instance
21. object or other scene element you select Right click an object in the Scene window to select it and view information about it such as name position size number of points and UV mapping coordinates in this window Tip You can cut and paste coordinates from the Object Info window into your mtx file for animations Click the line you want this automatically copies the line to the clipboard and then Paste Ctrl V the information into your mtx file using a text editor or XML editor Edit the mt file as needed 2003 Viewpoint Corporation All rights reserved Viewpoint Scene Builder User Guide 13 Using Scene Builder As shown below the Viewpoint Scene Builder interface includes a Scene window Hierarchy menu Scene Commands menus and Object Info window E viewpoint Scene Builder Build 3 0 9 6 Scene Window Object Information Window gt SCENE Sw INSTANCE instance name ctybug_WESH_O visti ct rass instance world matric transisie se 357 y 0 DOT 2 0 000 Postion x 0 387000 y 0 381000 z 0 000000 Rotation x 0 000000 y 0 00000 z D 000000 Stabe zt 000000 ye 000000 rer 000000 Opacity 1 000000 ResdRotation 0 090000 y D 000000 z 0 000000 H About Scene Commande Menus The Scene Commands set of menus located on the right side of the Scene Builder page provide options for creating and enhancing Viewpoint Technology scene There are nine menus in this set Load 1 This
22. preset values in Viewpoint Media Player They add very little to a scene s overall file size Attributes of a media atom QuickTime VR is Apple Computer Inc s proprietary technology for creating cylindrical panorama and object movie files mov format that allow viewers to be immersed in a 360 environment The transformation of 3D data into 2D frames for display on a computer screen By default the highest level parent object in an mtx file Moving an object around a specific center and axis Changing the size of an object around a specific axis The highest level of the Viewpoint Technology hierarchy MTSScene tag in XML Scene contains all elements of the mtx and mts files Toggles the shadows in the scene between shadows that blend with an environment and those that are projected onto the ground plane A shadow s intensity the higher the setting the darker the shadow Defines an object s shiny highlights When an object is rotated how much it reflects depends on the material properties The color of this reflection is defined by the specularity Specularity determines how sharp or diffuse an edge the light has at the selected light point and sets the shininess at that point by determining how much light is reflected The Macromedia Flash movie file extension May be pronounced swif Decomposing a complex surface into a series of simple ones that approximate the complex surface Determines the finesses of the
23. spot shape on in the Scene window Corresponding XML tag WidgetAssignRollover Click Text Color to choose a text color other than the default gold color Corresponding XML tag TextColor Click Font to choose a text font other than the default font Corresponding XML tag Font Use the Text Size slider to change the size of hot spot text Corresponding XML tag TextSize Show Hot Spot Text makes the hot spot text or texture visible at all times On The default is Off Click Texture Image to apply a jpg file as a texture to a hot spot The texture will display in place of any hot spot text Corresponding XML tag Texture When Shadow is On a drop shadow displays beneath the hot spot text or texture The default is On Corresponding XML tag Shadow Shadow Radius adjusts the size of the hot spot text or texture shadow Corresponding XML tag ShadowRadius Choose whether you want to display the Hot Spot Line the line between the clickable hot spot activation area and the displayable hot spot text or texture Corresponding XML tag WidgetLine Distance from Hot Spot moves the displayable hot spot text or texture closer or farther from the activation area and adjusts the hot spot line accordingly Corresponding XML tag Radius 2003 Viewpoint Corporation All rights reserved Hot Spots 7 Menu Continued Viewpoint Scene Builder User Guide 77 Scene Builder Menu Option
24. the geometry to which you want to apply the lightmap 2 Go to the Textures 6 menu and click Lightmap Rendering Detault Die Bas 100 Material Opacity mm Material Color Diffuse O Texture Lab 3 Click Load 4 Select the image file you want to apply and click Open Shortcut To quickly apply a lightmap press the Ctrl key and drag and drop a JPEG image file onto a geometry About Procedural Lightmaps Procedural refers to scene elements such as lightmaps primitives and hot spots that are automatically generated by Viewpoint Media Player Procedural scene elements add very little to overall file size of a Viewpoint Technology scene Lightmaps are typically created when external texture images JPEGs are applied to a scene and stored in the mts scene resources file However you can use Scene Builder to create a procedural lightmap for your Viewpoint Technology scene Procedural lightmaps have a smaller file size than regular lightmaps With procedural lightmaps you can 1 Change lightmap colors point by point for each of ten light points 2 Set specularity and intensity for each of ten light points 3 Add a background JPEG to a lightmap You can apply a procedural lightmap like other lightmaps either globally or locally 2003 Viewpoint Corporation All rights reserved Viewpoint Scene Builder User Guide 33 Managing Geometries Creating a Procedural Lightmap 1 Go to the Textures 6 menu an
25. use them in alpha channels To load an swf file as a scene background 1 Click on an empty part of the background to make sure that no scene objects are selected 2 Click Load SWF on the Load 1 menu to add the Flash file By default the loaded swf file is rendered on the scene background 3 To make the SWF animation render on the foreground select the SWF Animator on the Hierarchy Animators Shift 5 menu and then on the Animation 3 menu click Render Animation and choose Post To load a swf file as a diffuse texture 1 Select the material 2 On the Materials 6 menu open the Texture Diffuse dialog 3 Select your swf file and load it The material must have UV coordinates To load a swf file as a bumpmap Use the Bumpmap function on the Materials 6 menu The material must have a diffuse texture already loaded To load a swf file as a lightmap Use the Lightmap function on the Materials 6 menu The lightmap swf file must have resolution of 256x256 pixels 2003 Viewpoint Corporation All rights reserved 94 Viewpoint Scene Builder User Guide Frequently Asked Questions Question How is Publish for Tuning Studio different from Publish Answer When you Publish for Tuning Studio textures and lightmaps are saved with maximum quality no compression This is done to avoid repeated JPEG or Trixel NT compression of images first in Scene Builder and then in Viewpoint Stream Tuning Studio Set
26. 8 This menu enables you to create simple procedural geometric primitives such as spheres cubes and cylinders Preferences 9 This menu enables you to select or clear a default file and set scene dimensions Publish 0 This menu enables you to save files Here you can choose global settings for publishing mts and mtx files Debug D Offers additional debug options Use these options at your own risk Tip For a complete list of Scene Commands menu options and their functions see Appendix B Scene Builder Menu Options Changing Scene Commands Menus As you will see in this guide each Scene Builder Scene Commands menu is mentioned by name as well as number For example the menu below is the Preferences 9 menu To jump from one Scene Commands menu to another 1 Click the name of the current menu to display the list of all Scene Commands menus 2003 Viewpoint Corporation All rights reserved Viewpoint Scene Builder User Guide 15 Using Scene Builder 2 Click the name of the menu you want to access For example the image below illustrates how to change from the Transformation 4 menu to the Globals 5 menu Load fi nen Ze Rotex o ihe current menu s name STE a Rotate Y 0 Transtormation 4 Poste 0 i Globals 5 kees D env you went io use nexe 5 Translate Y 0 _ Hot Spots 17 Translate Z 0 TEE 8 Scaex D Fee 3 ScdeY 0 l Ges e ScaleZ 0 po
27. KD Viewpoint Scene Builder User Guide Version 3 0 11 September 2002 Viewpoint Scene Builder User Guide Copyright Notice of Disclaimer and Limitation of Liability 2003 Viewpoint Corporation All Rights Reserved Viewpoint Scene Builder User Guide Viewpoint the Viewpoint logo Viewpoint Experience Technology VET Viewpoint Media Compressor Viewpoint Media Publisher Viewpoint FinalCheck Viewpoint Scene Builder and Viewpoint Media Player VMP are registered trademarks or trademarks of Viewpoint Corporation in the United States and in other countries Companies names and data used in examples herein are fictitious unless otherwise noted Information in this document is subject to change without notice Macromedia and Flash are trademarks or registered trademarks of Macromedia Inc in the United States and or other countries All other product and company names mentioned herein are the trademarks of their respective owners All other product and company names mentioned herein are the trademarks of their respective owners Disclaimer Except as expressly provided otherwise in an agreement between you and Viewpoint all information software and documentation is provided as is without warranty of any kind Viewpoint makes no warranties express or implied including without limitation the implied warranties of merchantability and fitness for a particular purpose regarding such information software and documenta
28. a Player a web plug in Viewpoint Corporation offers tools and help to bring your 3D and rich media content to the web To download Viewpoint tools for free and for more information visit Viewpoint Developer Central Note Viewpoint Media Publisher functionality is now integrated with Scene Builder enabling you to generate HTML files with your Viewpoint Technology content 2003 Viewpoint Corporation All rights reserved Viewpoint Scene Builder User Guide 11 Introduction 2003 Viewpoint Corporation All rights reserved 12 Viewpoint Scene Builder User Guide Using Scene Builder Chapter 2 Using Scene Builder Scene Builder Windows and Menus Viewpoint Scene Builder is organized into four main functional areas e Scene window Here you set the stage for your 3D scene You can see and adjust the location and scale of your 3D models and their associated textures and other materials e Scene commands menu You can choose from nine menus listing various categories of options for creating and enhancing a Viewpoint Technology scene For a description of these menus and how to navigate them see About Scene Commands Menus e Hierarchy menu This menu is a directory of components in your scene and is divided into seven categories For a description of these menus and how to navigate them see About Hierarchy Menus e Object Information window This window shows the XML code for the
29. aints shows On or hides Off the camera controls listed in Global Parameters 5 Menu Camera Settings The default is Off Click Shadow to view On or hide Off geometry shadows in a scene The default is On Corresponding XML tag DoShadow Blend Shadow removes the white shadow plane and blends geometry shadows with a scene background such as a panorama image On The default is Off Corresponding XML tag BlendShadow 2003 Viewpoint Corporation All rights reserved 70 Viewpoint Scene Builder User Guide Scene Builder Menu Options Global Parameters 5 Menu Continued Shadow Radius controls the blurring strength of shadows and edges The higher the value the more blurred the shadows edges Corresponding XML tag ShadowRadius Bound Shadow binds the shadow to the bottom of the bounding box for the scene The default is On Corresponding XML tag BoundShadow Shadow Position Y moves the shadow plane up and down You must set Bound Shadow to Off for this to have an effect Corresponding XML tag ShadowY Shadow Color lets you choose a custom shadow color The default is black Corresponding XML tag ShadowColor Shadow Opacity controls the intensity of the shadow from lighter to darker within a range of 0 to 1 0 Corresponding XML tag ShadowOpacity Antialias smoothes any jagged edges visible in the scene where 1 means never antialias 0 means antialias based o
30. aviors descriptively and indicate the order and frame ranges in which you want them to occur Then when importing the file using Scene Builder refer your notes to organize your animations by specifying and naming groups of frames 2003 Viewpoint Corporation All rights reserved Viewpoint Scene Builder User Guide 37 Managing Animations To organize animations from imported ase files 1 Import your ase file as described in Importing Files from 3D Modeling Applications The ASE Behavior Editor dialog box opens automatically Animation Ranges O P P 2 Referring to your animation notes name each animation and specify its frame range e In the Name field type the number of the keyframe you want to specify where 0 is the first keyframe listed in the file 1 is the next and so on e In the Start Time field specify type the time increment at which the action starts In the Stop Time field specify type the time increment at which the action stops e Click Add to add each action to the Animation Ranges list e Click Done when you are finished dividing the imported animation 3 To review and edit this information later from the Load 1 menu click ASE Animation Options Scene Builder handles the conversion to Viewpoint time format 2003 Viewpoint Corporation All rights reserved EE Viewpoint Scene Builder User Guide Managing Animations To organize animations from imported mtx fi
31. ber of values you ll find in the timeline for both quat and R3D types can vary depending on your original animation For instance if you animate an object along a TCB spline with ease to and ease from values and then save it as an R3D type animation you get eight values X Y Z T C and B plus ease to and ease from The same animation saved out as a quat type gives you nine values Is there a way to see an animation s spline path in Scene Builder Yes Select your animation from the Animation hierarchy list and then click Show Spline Path Is there a command line interface for Scene Builder No However future versions of Scene Builder may incorporate this functionality Once I published my model in Viewpoint Technology file format is there a way back to my original data file No Once the content is published in MTX MTS format it cannot be converted to any other file format To save content in another format start with your original content from the 3D authoring application 2003 Viewpoint Corporation All rights reserved Viewpoint Scene Builder User Guide 95 Frequently Asked Questions Question Answer What is the purpose of the Itis primarily designed to overcome a limitation of the ASE Simplify Timeline tool file format for recording animations When exporting a keyframe animation from 3ds max into an ASE file all original 3ds max keyframes are disregarded Instead the timeline is sampl
32. cene window as you want it to display in a web browser Load Default File loads a file containing your customized set of defaults Clear Default File resets to Scene Builder original defaults and clear the custom default file Author Name lets you type your name so it will be added to the scene s mtx file Info Font changes the font of the text in the Object Information window Type the name of any system font such as Arial default Times New Roman and so on 2003 Viewpoint Corporation All rights reserved Viewpoint Scene Builder User Guide 79 Scene Builder Menu Options Publish 0 Menu Save MTX saves an mtx or an mtz file that contains the scene description referencing an external data file usually Conese otf one or more mts files Verbose MTX Off Compress File lets you save the scene to a compressed mtz Use Resource Names Off file ON If this option is OFF the scene is saved to an mtx Language Encoding Default file e In the published file Use Resource Names preserves the b i file Re 20 original names taken from the imported file Geama Precison 08 Language Encoding allows you to publish your Viewpoint Use TrixelsNT On Technology scene with a double byte character set required Minimum Triangles o for languages such as Kanji Retain Normals Off Save MTS saves all geometry and textures into a single compressed mts file Unlike Publish this do
33. d developers E Load global lightmap R Reset camera S Toggle shadow Shift S Toggle the Blend Shadow option X Open an mtx file Shift X Save an mtx file Ctrl Right click Load a lightmap Ctrl Alt Right click Load a texture 2003 Viewpoint Corporation All rights reserved 90 Viewpoint Scene Builder User Guide Frequently Asked Questions Appendix E Frequently Asked Questions The following Frequently Asked Questions FAQs were gleaned from Support Forums on Viewpoint Developer Central and from the questions asked through technical support Question Answer Do panoramic images have No It is not required for any diffuse texture maps alpha to be sized to the power of 2 channels or bumpmaps to be sized to powers of 2 However Le 128 256 etc lightmaps should be 256x256 pixels When I open an ase file ASE Animation Options dialog box enables you to split with animations an ASE animations by frames The most commonly used animation Animation Options dialog authoring software packages such as Discreet 3ds max box displays What s the provide a single timeline for animations Web animations purpose of it however usually require multiple timelines For example in 3ds max a model of a computer laptop opens and the screen is activated on a single timeline For Viewpoint Technology the two animations typically need be separated one for opening the laptop and t
34. d calculate possible optimizations that will reduce file size The Simplify Timeline tool is designed to overcome a limitation of the ASE file format for recording animations When exporting a keyframe animation from 3ds max into an ASE file all original 3ds max keyframes are disregarded Instead the timeline is sampled at equal time intervals For example a new keyframe is created every 1 10 second By changing the Controller Output parameters the sampling frequency can be changed Viewpoint Technology files do not require uniform timeline sampling Simplify Timeline enables you to re sample the animation timeline and optimize it for Viewpoint Technology Thus to most accurately export the animation spline path from 3ds max to Viewpoint Technology we recommend that you over sample the number of keyframes in the ASE exporter and then to simplify this animation in Scene Builder To simplify an animation timeline 1 From the Animation 3 menu click Simplify Timeline This displays the Keyframes Simplification dialog box Viewpoint Scene Builder a D H D D D Ki D D D D D Le o D Q D D o 0 1 3 444000 11 319000 0 000000 2 7 080000 17 839001 0 000000 3 10 809000 23 951000 0 000000 14 532000 29 653000 0 000000 S 18 549000 34 945999 0 000000 6 22 559000 39 830002 0 000000 7 26 663000 44 305000 6 000000 amp 30 860001 48 370998 0 000000 9 35 151001 52 028000 0 000000 10 39 535999 55 275002 0 000000 11
35. d click Create Lightmap 2 In the Procedural Lightmaps control window choose the settings you want for your lightmap Procedural Lightmaps aen 0057 0498 Green 0 376471 OOM oan Tip See the effects of your settings as you make them by dragging the Procedural Lightmaps control window to the side of the Scene window 3 On the preview sphere click and drag each light point to adjust its position 4 Adjust the values on the Red Green and Blue slider buttons to set the color of the lightmap 5 Click Save to JPEG to create a JPEG file with the lightmap you have designed For a description of each menu option in the Procedural Lightmaps tool see _ Procedural Lightmap Menu To add a background image to a procedural lightmap 1 Go to the Textures 6 menu and click Create Lightmap 2 In the Procedural Lightmaps window click Load Back Image 3 Choose the JPEG image you want to use and then click Open 4 Click and drag the Spherize Back Image slider if you want apply a fish eye lens effect to the back image Or double click the button and type your setting 5 Click OK to apply the lightmap Applying Bumpmaps to a Geometry A bumpmap is a grayscale image that can be applied as an emboss pattern to the surface of a geometry The bumpmap must have the same pixel size as the diffuse map To apply a bumpmap 1 Click the geometry to which you want to apply the bumpmap 2 Go to the Textures 6 menu and click Bumpmap
36. d use of spaces in names assigned to elements of your scene hierarchies or members of hierarchies Use underlines instead 2003 Viewpoint Corporation All rights reserved 46 Viewpoint Scene Builder User Guide Managing Scene Hierarchies Defining Parent Child Relationships in a Scene By setting parent child relationships between scene elements you can organize instances or animations so that settings for a parent element effect the child elements To define a parent child relationship between geometry elements 1 Right click the model to select each part you want the new parenting to affect The names of the instances and sub elements textures and materials are highlighted in the Instances Shift 1 Hierarchy menu 2 Goto the Instances Shift 1 Hierarchy menu and click the element that you want to become the child in the parent child relationship 3 Drag the child element on top of the parent element The child element name is now listed under the new parent element and is indented to show that it is farther down the hierarchy To define a parent child relationship between animation elements 1 Go to the Animators Shift 5 menu and click the element that you want to become the child in the parent child relationship 2 Drag the child element on top of the parent element The child element name is now listed under the new parent element and is indented to show that it is farther down the hierarchy 2003 Viewpo
37. e camera to fit all objects in view Quick Time VR Import allows you to import an image grid for object movies Quick Time VR files 2003 Viewpoint Corporation All rights reserved Viewpoint Scene Builder User Guide 63 Scene Builder Menu Options Load 1 Menu Load Panorama loads one of three types of panoramic JPEG Continued images e Cylindrical panoramas are generally converted from the QuickTime VR mov file format e Spherical panoramas are JPEGs converted from DIN panoramic images e Flat panoramas are JPEG images used as a still scene background Load SWF loads a Macromedia Flash swf file Open MTX from URL enables you to open a Viewpoint Technology scene directly from a URL 2003 Viewpoint Corporation All rights reserved 64 Viewpoint Scene Builder User Guide Scene Builder Menu Options Instances 2 Menu Delete Selected Clear All Collapsed Crease Angle Delete Selected deletes from the scene the selected element and its related lightmaps bumpmaps and other applied effects Make Instance creates identical iterations of a selected object in the scene Any changes you make to one instance apply to all instances of that object Using this tool for duplicated objects can reduce file size dramatically Collapse hides an instance and its subtree in a scene so that it is still contained within the Scene Builder repository but not rendered This is a cloaking
38. econds Note that the keyframe at 0 15 seconds is now missing The density of new keyframes is defined through the options of the ASE exporter The default settings of the ASE exporter work fine in most cases producing smooth animations with a reasonable number of keyframes The timeline re sampling might occasionally result in large published file sizes or an inaccurate animation path The dramatic example of the latter is when the original animation contained a section of frozen motion in the middle of it when played in Viewpoint Technology the animation might never perfectly freeze In this case you should export the ASE file with an excessive number of keyframes and then use the Simplify Timeline tool to reduce the number of keyframes When I open a file with an animation I m not sure how to play that animation To start an animation choose it on the Animators Shift 5 hierarchy menu Then click Trigger Animation on the Scene Commands menu on the right Is it possible to constrain users from walking through walls with the camera Can I create collision objects in Scene Builder Scene Builder does not support collision detection and it is not possible to constrain users from walking through walls Of course you can limit some camera interaction but if you want true collision detection you should take a look at Adobe Atmosphere Note Some collision detection can be faked using the VolumeTrigger tag but you can
39. ed at equal time intervals For example a new keyframe is created every 1 10 second By changing the Controller Output parameters the sampling frequency can be changed Viewpoint Technology files do not require uniform timeline sampling The Simplify Timeline tool enables you to resample the animation timeline and optimize it for Viewpoint Technology Thus to accurately export the animation spline path from 3ds max to Viewpoint Technology we recommend that you over sample the number of keyframes in the ASE exporter and then simplify this animation in Scene Builder 2003 Viewpoint Corporation All rights reserved 96 Viewpoint Scene Builder User Guide Glossary Glossary 3D three dimensional action alpha map animation anti aliasing ASe axis Broadcast Key bump mapping camera collapse crease angle diffuse edge edge bias An object or volume that exists in the dimensions of width height and depth The transition code the action is executed if the start state of the transition matches the current state maintained by the interactor and the current event is equal to the transition event Also called alpha channel A grayscale image that acts as a mask creating areas of transparency or semi transparency depending on the concentration of black or white White areas are transparent black areas are opaque and all grayscales in between provide different levels of semi transparency A mot
40. efilters an image by antialiasing using multiple resolutions of the original texture Mip mapping creates a blurring effect that eliminates artifacts for selected materials when artifacts appear on tiled textures The default is Off Corresponding XML tag Mip Mip Bias sets the strength of Mip mapping when Mip is set to On Corresponding XML tag MipBias 2003 Viewpoint Corporation All rights reserved Viewpoint Scene Builder User Guide 75 Scene Builder Menu Options Materials 6 Menu Select Object Materials selects all materials of the object in Continued the current selection An object in a scene can have more than one material With this tool you can select all materials instead of one by one Deselect Object Materials deselects all materials of the object in the current selection This tool clears all selections of materials of the selected object 2003 Viewpoint Corporation All rights reserved 76 Viewpoint Scene Builder User Guide Scene Builder Menu Options Hot Spots 7 Menu Show Hot Spots displays On or hides Off hot spots as you work in a scene This option will not cause hot spots to publish as visible The default is On Add Hot Spot lets you choose the shape of the hot spot activation area and adds a hot spot to the scene Set Show Hot Spots to On to see this shape Double click Rollover Text and then type in your own text This text displays when you point to the hot
41. el is a grayscale image that acts as a mask creating areas of transparency or semi transparency depending on the concentration of black or white White areas are transparent black areas are opaque and all grayscale variations in between provide different levels of semi transparency To apply an alpha map in Texture Lab 1 In Texture Lab click Add Alpha Channel 2 Select the JPEG image you want to use as an alpha map and click OK 3 Use the Alpha Channel Quality slider to adjust the alpha channel You may also choose Invert Alpha to invert how the gradations of transparency are applied Click Has Alpha to toggle the alpha map on and off 4 Click Update TrixelsNT Preview or Update JPEG Preview depending on the type of compression you choose to see the results of the settings you choose See the Texture Information window for data showing results of optimization on file size and streaming 5 Click OK when you are satisfied with the optimized texture Applying Lightmaps to a Geometry A lightmap is an image that determines how light interacts with and scatters on the surface of an object This image essentially traps the environment around the object and reflects that environment in the object surface A lighter portion of a lightmap reflects hotly or intensely Generally a lightmap is a photographic image and in a Scene Builder scene is what the camera sees in any reflective object You can easily create lightmap files in Adobe Phot
42. ene Builder icon on your desktop to open the Scene Builder application E Viewpoint Scene Builder Build 3 0 9 6 To stop Scene Builder Click Quit in the Scene Commands menu Quit Restat Clear Scene Reset Camera Trigger Animation Editing Mode Off ne OOo Opening an Existing mtx File To open an existing mtx Viewpoint Technology scene description file 1 Go to the Load 1 menu and click Open MTX 2 Select the mtx file you want to open and click OK Tip You can also use this option to insert an MTX into one of your existing scenes Plus if you have the Show MTX Errors option turned ON the Object window will display any errors 2003 Viewpoint Corporation All rights reserved 20 Viewpoint Scene Builder User Guide Importing 3D Models Chapter 4 Importing 3D Models Preparing 3D Content to Use in Scene Builder To get the most out of Scene Builder make sure your 3D files are ready for inclusion in a Viewpoint Technology scene This way you are less likely to lose work in Scene Builder by having to go back to the original 3D modeling application to rework your file Before exporting to ase or obj check models in their native applications ASE is the preferred file format when exporting from 3ds max Creating a Viewpoint Technology Scene from an Existing ase or obj File You can create a Viewpoint Technology scene based on 3D models that you import from other 3D modeling applications The follow
43. ene is viewed click and drag any part of the scene Following is an alternative approach 1 Inthe Scene window right click the geometry you want to move or select a geometry by clicking its name on the Hierarchy menu on the left 27 2003 Viewpoint Corporation All rights reserved 28 Viewpoint Scene Builder User Guide Managing Geometries 2 From the Transformation 4 menu use the Translate X Translate Y and Translate Z sliders to move the geometry along X Y and Z axis You can also double click any of these fields to type a number directly S K oo Oo ato O a O 0 m on are To rotate a geometry 1 Inthe Scene window right click the geometry you want to rotate or select a geometry by clicking its name on the Hierarchy menu on the left 2 From the Transformation 4 menu use the Rotate X Rotate Y and Rotate Z sliders to change the angle of the geometry in relation to the X Y and Z axis To resize scale a geometry 1 In the Scene window right click the geometry you want to scale or select a geometry by clicking its name on the Hierarchy menu on the left 2 From the Transformation 4 menu use the Scale X Scale Y and Scale Z sliders to resize the length X height Y and width Z Or To resize the geometry uniformly along all three axes from the Transformation 4 menu use the Uniform Scale slider Adjusting the Opacity of a Geometry Opacity is a way of measuring how
44. er User Guide 83 Scene Builder Menu Options Procedural Lightmap Menu Save to JPG saves the procedural lightmap effects you ve created as a JPEG image file You can edit this file in a 2D graphics application and apply it as a lightmap Cancel Changes resets to the last lightmap applied to the scene If no lightmap has been applied to the scene yet resets to the default lightmap Default Lightmap removes all custom procedural lightmap settings and reverts to the default lightmap Click Select Light and choose from the menu to select a light point Points1 5 are on the face of the geometry points 6 10 on the back of the geometry When set to On Show Only Selected shows only the lighting effect for the selected light point Delete Light removes all the lighting for the selected light point X Light Pos moves the selected light point around the X axis Y Light Pos moves the selected light point around the Y axis The Red slider button controls the red value for the selected light point on a scale of 0 to 1 0 The Green slider button controls the green value for the selected light point on a scale of 0 to 1 0 The Blue slider button controls the blue value for the selected light point on a scale of 0 to 1 0 Specularity determines how sharp or diffuse an edge the light has at the selected light point Sets the shininess at a light point by determining how much light is reflected
45. es not save the corresponding mtx file Because Save MTS compresses the scene elements republishing or resaving an mts file results in a loss of visual fidelity Generate HTML Off Template HIME Window width HTML Window Height HTML BKey Image Quality controls image compression for a scene within a range of 0 to 100 A higher setting increases the image quality but decreases compression 100 means no compression Images that contain text for instance require a higher image quality so the text to remains readable Lightmap Quality lets you to control the quality of lightmap compression Within a range of 0 to 100 A higher setting increases the lightmap quality but decreases compression 100 means no compression Geometry Precision controls geometry compression the higher the setting the better the quality and the larger the file Settings range between 0 and 1 6 Default is 0 8 Use TrixelsNT lets you use TrixelsNT Viewpoint s proprietary wavelet compression as the compression format for textures The default is ON For a selected geometry Minimum Triangles sets the minimum triangle count by percentage either for the instance if an object is selected or globally if nothing is selected at which the geometry displays when the model is streamed by Viewpoint Media Player Corresponding XML tag MinTriCount 2003 Viewpoint Corporation All rights reserved 80 Viewpoint Scene Builder User Guide
46. eset View to fit the texture into the preview window again Add Alpha Channel displays a dialog box allowing you to choose an Alpha channel to add to the texture The Alpha channel acts as a mask Invert Alpha reapplies the Alpha Channel as a negative dark areas become light and vice versa Update Trix Match JPEG HasAlpha applies the Alpha channel you selected with Add Alpha Channel to the loaded texture The value is On if you have added an Alpha channel Choose Off to disable the Alpha channel Global Noise Noise on Noisemap Click Compression to choose TrixelsNT Viewpoint proprietary wavelet compression or JPEG compression method Noisemap Size Reset to Default Quality resets the texture map to its default quality setting TrixelsNT Global Quality adjusts the total quality of the compressed texture image You can also adjust the compression of each channel using the controls below The range is 0 to 100 default is 60 Y Channel Quality adjusts compression for the Y channel The default compression for the Y channel which is luminosity is very low The range is 0 01 to 100 default is 10 Cb Channel Quality adjusts compression for the Cb channel The default compression for this channel is high The range is 0 01 to 10 default is 1 Cr Channel Quality adjusts compression for the Cr channel The default compression for this channel is high The range is 0 01 to 10 default
47. eset camera position W Tab through the camera modes Right click Drag Moves the selected geometry When Pass Events to Scene is On zooms the camera in and out Drag amp drop Apply a texture to a geometry Ctrl Drag amp drop Apply a lightmap to a geometry Shift Drag amp drop Apply a bumpmap to a geometry P or P Publish the scene Camera Shortcuts Use this Click Drag To do this Moves the camera position based on the camera mode selected Ctrl Alt Click Drag Change the perspective of the camera Right click Drag When Pass Events to Scene is On zooms the camera in and out When Pass Events to Scene is Off moves the selected object 2003 Viewpoint Corporation All rights reserved Viewpoint Scene Builder User Guide 89 Keyboard Shortcuts Hierarchy Menu Shortcuts Use this Shift 0 through 6 To do this Tab through the Hierarchy menus on the left Click Drag To an item on the Instances tab Drag an instances below another instance to make it a child Alt Click On an item on the Instances tab Shows all information about an instance Click a texture name Display the texture in the Object Info window Double click an element name Allows you to rename the element Additional Shortcut Keys Use this To do this Ctrl D Enable Debug command menu for power users an
48. ets an animation to automatically end when it has played through once Corresponding XML tag RenderAnim Loop Animation loops an animation the specified number of times The default is 1 Corresponding XML tag Clamp Simplify Timeline displays the Keyframe Simplification dialog box where you can streamline your timeline Split Animation displays a dialog box that allows you to divide non ASE animations by frame set 2003 Viewpoint Corporation All rights reserved 68 Viewpoint Scene Builder User Guide Scene Builder Menu Options Transformation 4 Menu Reset Object Transform sets Rotation and Translation to 0 and Scale to 1 for the selected object Rotates X rotates the selected object on the X axis Rotate Y rotates the selected object on the Y axis Rotate Z rotates the selected object on the Z axis f E Translate X translates moves the selected object on the X axis Translate Y translates the selected object on the Y axis Translate Z translates the selected object on the Z axis jojo lo lolo lo lolo lolo j Scale X scales the selected object on the X axis Scale Y scales the selected object on the Y axis Scale Z scales the selected object on the Z axis Uniform Scale scales the selected object proportionally along the X Y and Z axes 2003 Viewpoint Corporation All rights reserved Viewpoint Scene Builde
49. ev Priti Aggarwal Ari Berger Andrew Cook Brian Doherty Christopher Earle Martin Gentry Ben Guihaire Rick Khan Sree Kotay Scott Krinsky Jae Y Lee Nicolas Brun Barry Paul Ed Peters Javier Roca Special thanks to Elaine McClay Drew Cohan Jeremy Young Anders Vinberg Viewpoint Corporation 498 Seventh Avenue Suite 1810 New York NY 10018 2003 Viewpoint Corporation All rights reserved Viewpoint Scene Builder User Guide Contents Contents Chapter ERO OUCHON EE 6 New Features in Viewpoint Scene Builder 3 0 11 6 Resolved ISSUeS x ics c cseeh cdot eadevibla ENEE Edd NENNEN NEES 6 About This Guide ee AER N e EEEE DEEE EAEE EAEAN 7 About Viewpoint Technology ss 8 What is Viewpoint Scene Bulder ss 8 The Role of Scene Builder in Viewpoint Technology 9 Chapter 2 Using Scene BUIGEN cccesicscvevesardserasadesanntearcotenadnnenas 12 Scene Builder Windows and Menus cee ceeecceseeseceseceeeeeseeeaecnaeceeeeeeeeeaeeaaee 12 Chapter EEN EE Ree AE Eege 18 Scene Builder Minimum System Requirements 18 Installing Viewpoint Scene Builder 0 0 ce ccceseesseceeeeceeeeeceeceesaeceaeceeaeeeeneeeeaees 18 Starting and Stopping Viewpoint Scene Builder s nsssssssssssessssssessssssssrsseesses 19 Opening an Existing mtx File ss 19 Chapter 4 lmporting SD Models scccepssoranncncsrmassimnresusmnmeianectcamnns 20 Preparing 3D Content to Use i
50. eveloped by MetaCreations and Intel Architecture Labs A key Viewpoint Technology feature is scalability which automatically maximizes performance and resolution of content according to the available processing power of the user s PC As a result web designers can set the detail frame rate of these 3D objects to ensure consistent high quality viewing Viewpoint Technology also progressively streams content allowing users to experience 3D objects from the moment downloading commences similar to streamed audio or video files A published Viewpoint Technology scene consists of an mts file and an mtx file A Viewpoint XML scene file that contains the hierarchical relationships between objects and other elements in the scene This file is the script for staging the scene elements and usually references an mts file A compressed form of an mtx file and the preferred format for web enabled Viewpoint content Complex animations in an mtx file can make file size large Compressing these large mtx files enables fast downloading of Viewpoint scenes Neutral File Format Files that use a minimal scene description language in order to test various rendering algorithms and efficiency schemes and to describe the 3D geometry and basic surface characteristics of objects the placement of lights and the viewing fulcrum for the eye Some additional information is provided for aesthetic reasons such as the color of the objects not strictly necessary
51. ewpoint Corporation All rights reserved Viewpoint Scene Builder User Guide 59 Help Resources and Feedback 2003 Viewpoint Corporation All rights reserved 60 Viewpoint Scene Builder User Guide Scene Builder Menu Options Appendix B Scene Builder Menu Options This appendix contains descriptions of the command menu buttons located on the right side of the Scene Builder window Navigate quickly through the command menus by pressing the corresponding number keys on your keyboard Main Commands Menu Tools Below are brief descriptions of buttons that appear at the top of all the command menus Quit Restart Clear Scene Reset Camera Trigger Animation Editing Mode Off Help F1 Quit closes the Scene Builder application Publish or save any work you want to keep before choosing Quit Click Restart to quit your current session of Scene Builder and open a new session If you ve chosen a custom default file it will automatically reload Before clicking Restart be sure to publish or save any work you want to keep Shortcut Press F5 to restart Scene Builder and reopen the current file Clear Scene deletes an object from a scene or deletes an entire scene Deleting a whole scene clears everything allowing you to start a new scene Reset Camera places camera in its original orientation to your scene Does not reset Camera Mode See the Animation 3 menu in Scene Commands Menus Trigger
52. f Your Scene You can use the following menu options to reset elements of your scene Menu Use these menu items to reset scene elements Main Command Menu e Click Restart to quit your current session of Scene Tools Builder and open a new session If you ve chosen a custom default file it will automatically reload Before clicking Restart be sure to publish or save any work you want to keep e Clear Scene deletes an entire scene Deleting a whole scene clears all related animations lightmaps and the like allowing you to start a new scene e Reset Camera places the camera in its original orientation to your scene Does not reset Camera Mode See Animation 3 Menu Load 1 Menu e Click Load Panorama and then choose None to clear a panorama from a scene Instances 2 Menu Delete Selected deletes from the scene the selected element and its related lightmaps bumpmaps and other applied effects e Clear All Collapsed restores any and all collapsed geometry in a scene Animation 3 Menu e Rewind rewinds the selected animation in a scene This resets the entire animation and sets the model back to the starting point of the animation just played Transformation 4 Menu Reset Object Transform resets an object to its original imported state Choose this command to clear all modifications to the selected object and resets the transform properties Globals 5 Menu e Set Background Color displays a pa
53. frame sets al toune Cona On ASE Simplify Animation allows setting of a keyframe variation tolerance If the variance of a keyframe is between any two keyframes is within the tolerance level that keyframe is removed This helps reduce file size View Al on File Open On Open ASE MTX max script simultaneously opens ase and mtx files generated by viewpoint_export ms a max script in 3ds max version 4 or later Add OBJ adds a specified obj file from a CAD CAM application to the scene Add NFF adds a specified nff file to the scene Note that only geometry and diffuse color information is supported for imported nff files Add MTS adds a specified mts file to the scene The mts extension indicates that the file is in Viewpoint s proprietary format containing geometry and texture information Scale to Unit Cube allows you to view all objects in a scene in their entirety select all objects in a scene and scale them into an invisible unit sized bounding box for optimal rendering When Auto Scale to Unit Cube is On objects resize at load time so that all elements in a scene can be seen in their entirety On default selects all objects in a scene and scales them down or up into an invisible unit sized bounding box for optimal rendering View All repositions the camera to fit all objects into view When set to On the default View All On File Open automatically repositions th
54. he Scenes Camera cssesuaccdvessduseeiancdeckesaviens setacnedausangeadeaden neue 48 Specifying a Background Color Image or Panorama sssessssesssessssessesseesses 50 Chapter 9 Publishing Your Viewpoint Technology Scene Files 52 2003 Viewpoint Corporation All rights reserved 4 Viewpoint Scene Builder User Guide Contents Publishing and Saving Your Viewpoint Technology Scene Files 52 Publishing for Stream Tuning Studio 00 0 ccc cecsseeecceeeeeeceeeeeaecesaeceeaeeeeeeeeseeees 54 Cr ting a D fault mtx File ege ue tater slates SEENEN 54 Appendix A Help Resources and Feedback 56 Viewpoint Developer Central A Complete Resource 56 Download Viewpoint Applications Guides and Examples cccsccesseeeeeees 56 Appendix B Scene Builder Menu Options 60 Main Commands Menu Tools ss 60 Scene e EE EE 61 Load 1 EE 62 Instances 2 Ment msn um Ee ENEE 64 Animation 3 Menu 67 Transformation 4 Mende nn eege Ee 68 Global Parameters 5 Menu ue 69 Global Parameters 5 Menu Camera Settings cecccececceesceceeteeeneeceeeeeeeeeeeaees 71 Materials 6 MENU isc cscesscsstaccessoeiseccecessesvoursancasesedeeccecsuesdviuscgetceceas seecestesseaveuseats 73 Hot Spots 7 Menu serrr ersen snece sta seeschanccaceniccushesscaagastdcshassasmiansoceneseanea ss 76 Primitives 8 MENU scceecsssssinscccscsssscc ecstesiessooseetseuseeteceasess
55. he negative direction of the Z axis To adjust the setting click and drag the shaded slider or double click the option and type a numerical value 180 to 180 Corresponding XML tag CamRotMinZ Camera Rotation Z limits the rotation in the positive direction of the Z axis To adjust the setting click and drag the shaded slider or double click the option and type a numerical value 180 to 180 Corresponding XML tag CamRotMaxZ 2003 Viewpoint Corporation All rights reserved 72 Viewpoint Scene Builder User Guide Scene Builder Menu Options Global Parameters 5 Menu Camera Settings Continued Min Camera Scale sets the minimum range for the field of view To adjust the setting drag the shaded slider or double click the option and type a numerical value 0 1 to 1000 Corresponding XML tag CamScaleMin Max Camera Scale sets the maximum range for the field of view To adjust the setting drag the shaded slider or double click the option and type a numerical value 0 1 to 1000 Corresponding XML tag CamScaleMax Min Camera Distance sets the minimum camera distance a user can zoom to To adjust the setting click and drag the shaded slider or double click the option and type a numerical value 0 to 1000 Corresponding XML tag CamDistMin Max Camera Distance sets the maximum camera distance a user can zoom to To adjust the setting click and drag the shaded slider or double click the opti
56. he other for turning on the power Those two animations can be separately triggered by different events such as clicking buttons The ASE Behavior Editor and its complementary Split Animation tool on the Animations 3 menu are the tools for splitting a single animation timeline into several In a typical workflow in 3ds max you could animate opening the laptop in arange of frames 0 100 and the animation for powering up the screen activates in a range of frames 101 200 Then in the ASE Behavior Editor you split one timeline into two the first covering frames 0 100 and the second frames 101 200 2003 Viewpoint Corporation All rights reserved Question What s the purpose of the Simplify Timeline tool on the Animations menu Viewpoint Scene Builder User Guide 91 Frequently Asked Questions Answer Simplify Timeline tool on the Animations 3 menu enables you to remove redundant animation key frames by interpolating the timeline Removing key frames reduces the file size The tool is primarily designed to overcome the limitations of the ASE file format In an ASE file the animation timeline is sampled at equal intervals thus creating an excessive number of keyframes For example the original animation created in discreet 3ds max might have keyframes at 0 0 15 and 5 seconds When this animation is exported into ASE then the original keyframes will be disregarded and new ones created at 0 0 2 0 4 0 6 4 8 5 0 s
57. iewpoint Corporation All rights reserved Viewpoint Scene Builder User Guide 17 Using Scene Builder 2003 Viewpoint Corporation All rights reserved 18 Viewpoint Scene Builder User Guide Getting Started Chapter 3 Getting Started Scene Builder Minimum System Requirements Scene Builder runs under the following minimum system e Microsoft Windows 98 Windows 2000 Windows Millennium Edition Windows NT 4 x or Windows XP e Pentium 166 MHz processor e 128 MB RAM e 30 MB available hard disk space e TrueColor display 24 bit recommended e 1024x768 monitor resolution Installing Viewpoint Scene Builder To install Viewpoint Scene Builder 1 Go to the Viewpoint Developer Central website at http developer viewpoint com 2 Inthe upper left corner go to the Tools link and click Viewpoint Tools On the Viewpoint Tools page click Viewpoint Scene Builder 4 Download the Viewpoint Scene Builder application from the Viewpoint Scene Builder page This downloads the exe file for the Scene Builder installation tool 5 On your computer double click the exe file to launch the Scene Builder installation tool 6 Follow the on screen instructions to install Scene Builder onto your computer 2003 Viewpoint Corporation All rights reserved Viewpoint Scene Builder User Guide 19 Getting Started Starting and Stopping Viewpoint Scene Builder To start Scene Builder Double click the Sc
58. iewpoint Scene Builder User Guide Scene Builder Menu Options Materials 6 Menu Continued Texture Lab lets you test and set compression for a geometry s texture Lightmap applies a 256x256 lightmap to the selected object Choose None to remove a lightmap For a specific object this option overrides the Lightmap setting on the Globals 5 menu Corresponding XML tag Lightmap Lightmap Lab allows you to create a custom procedural lightmap Bumpmap applies a bumpmap to the selected material Note that this option requires that a diffuse texture of the same size is also applied to the selected material Choose None to remove a bumpmap Corresponding XML tag Bump Bumpmap Strength sets the depth of the impression made by a bumpmap Corresponding XML tag BumpStrength Environmental Dither introduces lightmap dithering to remove lightmap rendering artifacts Corresponding XML tag Dither Texture Bilinear Filter applies a bilinear interpolation for textures that may improve the quality of texture rendering Select the material for which you want to adjust this setting 1 means never apply 0 means apply based on performance and 1 means always apply Corresponding XML tag Filter Alpha Channel marks the texture as having an applied alpha map Alpha channel image is loaded through Texture Lab Default is Off Corresponding XML tag HasAlpha Mip enable or disable Mip mapping which pr
59. ightmapTexture default Everything is rendered e LightmapTexMod Everything is rendered but material color is burned into texture For a specific object this option overrides the Rendering Mode setting in the Globals menu 5 Corresponding XML tag RenderMode Edge Rendering offers rendering options for the edges of the scene s geometries Corresponding XML tag EdgeMode Edge Bias removes edge artifacts jagged edges that may appear when geometry is viewed at close proximity It is most useful for scenes originally created in third party software It does not improve scenes created with procedural geometry only Corresponding XML tag EdgeBias Material Opacity sets opacity of the selected object within a range of 0 to 100 100 makes the object completely opaque 0 makes the object invisible having only a shadow Corresponding XML tag Opacity Material Color Diffuse sets a solid diffuse color for the selected material How this color appears depends on the render mode This option is especially useful if you want to match the underlying color of an object to its applied texture to avoid color discrepancy when rendering Corresponding XML tag Diffuse Texture Diffuse loads a JPEG file as a texture to the selected material of an object If you choose None it removes the current JPEG texture file Corresponding XML tag Diffuse 2003 Viewpoint Corporation All rights reserved 74 V
60. in web html pages or running transformations on mtx xml files through built in XSLT support e Viewpoint Stream Tuning Studio An application for reducing mts file sizes enabling optimized 3D scenes rendered on a web page to stream quickly and retain visual integrity e Viewpoint Control Panel A utility for checking installing and removing individual Viewpoint Media Player components 2003 Viewpoint Corporation All rights reserved User Guides Viewpoint Scene Builder User Guide 57 Help Resources and Feedback For more information on Viewpoint Technology and related utilities check out these documents on Viewpoint Developer Central See this document To learn about Viewpoint Technology Feature Overview What Viewpoint Technology is and how you can use rich media components including 2D photos and drawings 3D models animation ZoomView images Macromedia Flash movies video text and audio to create rich media content Using 3D in Viewpoint Technology Describes how to create a basic 3D Viewpoint Technology web application with simple interactivity and Flash effects You ll learn how to take content created in a 3D modeling application enhance it with Viewpoint Technology and publish it to a web page Viewpoint Scene Builder User Guide Offers step by step procedures for using Viewpoint Scene Builder to edit and assemble the components of a Viewpoint Technology scene
61. ing diagram illustrates the process The following table describes each basic step involved in creating a Viewpoint Technology scene from an imported ase or obj file and lists where to go to read more about each step Step Basic Steps For more information see 1 Export your 3D model from the 3D Creating 3D Rich Media Web Applications modeling application e If your 3D modeling application includes a built in export utility export the 3D model as a ase or obj file Do not export the file in a compressed form mts e If your 3D modeling application does not include a built in export utility use a conversion program such as PolyTrans to convert native scenes file to mtx format 2 In Scene Builder load or import ase Importing Files from 3D Modeling obj or mtx file from the 3D modeling Applications application 3 Organize imported animations by Chapter 6 Managing Animations frame set 2003 Viewpoint Corporation All rights reserved Viewpoint Scene Builder User Guide 21 Importing 3D Models Step Basic Steps For more information see 4 Add lightmaps transparency Chapter 5 Managing Geometries bumpmaps or any other effects or elements to the scene 5 Publish the Viewpoint Technology Chapter 9 Publishing Your Viewpoint scene both mts and mtx files Technology Scene Files 6 Add any hot spots to your Viewpoint Chapter 5 Managing Geome
62. int Corporation All rights reserved Viewpoint Scene Builder User Guide 47 Managing Scene Hierarchies 2003 Viewpoint Corporation All rights reserved 48 Viewpoint Scene Builder User Guide Setting Other Scene Global Parameters Chapter 8 Setting Other Scene Global Parameters Setting Your Viewpoint Technology Scene s Height and Width The default scene size is 640 480 pixels The height and or width of a scene can be modified with Scene Builder To set the scene s height and width e Go to the Preferences 9 menu shown right and set these options e Use the Set Scene Width slider to adjust the scene width in pixels e Use the Set Scene Height slider to set the scene height in pixels Setting the Scene s Camera The scene s camera is the lens through which the Viewpoint Technology scene is viewed You can adjust settings for the scene s camera to constrain how much the user can zoom or rotate You can use one of four camera modes for your scene e Orbit The camera can rotate around the edge of the scene e Walk The camera can move in one direction at a time e Panorama The camera views the scene around it from the center e Still The camera doesn t move The modes are illustrated below Camera Camera Camera Orbit Mode Y Camere Walk Mode Y Panorama Y o JE ix 2003 Viewpoint Corporation All rights reserved 49 Viewpoint Scene Builder User Guide Setti
63. ion or transition added to a media atom or a group of media atoms over time Examples include an object moving around a scene transitions from one color or texture to another or an object becoming visible Anti aliasing improves the appearance of rendered objects by removing jagged stair step edges and averaging colors to create intermediate colors or shades of gray in the pixels between contrasting colored regions Viewpoint Technology provides real time anti aliasing while the user interacts with the scene See also AccumMax ASCII Scene Export file format Viewpoint Scene Builder imports ase files from 3ds max formerly 3D Studio MAX version 3 1 or greater An imaginary line that represents a dimension in space In 3D space there are three axes X Y and Z The plural of axis is axes A unique alphanumeric string issued by Viewpoint Corporation to companies or individuals licensed to broadcast Viewpoint Technology content The string is stored in an mtx file that is referenced by Viewpoint Technology enabled web pages Viewpoint Technology content without a Broadcast Key displays with a watermark Prior to Viewpoint Media Player version 3 0 8 Broadcast Keys were stored in txt files A method of displaying textures not as a smooth surface but as a rough surface that responds to different angles of illumination The view from which a scene is rendered To hide a geometry in a scene so that the geometry is still contained wi
64. irection is On you won t see the changes made by Flip Polygons or Backface Culling 2003 Viewpoint Corporation All rights reserved Instances 2 Menu Continued Viewpoint Scene Builder User Guide 65 Scene Builder Menu Options Antialias applies antialiasing to selected geometries in a scene where 1 means never antialias 0 means antialias based on performance and means always Antialias For the selected object this option overrides the Antialias option in the Global Parameters 5 menu Corresponding XML tag Antialias Edge Antialias applies antialiasing to creases open edges materials or all of the above true Default is True Corresponding XML tag Edge AntiAlias Specularity Wrap changes the way the lightmap is applied by interpolating between lightmap rendering effect SpecWrap 0 and environmental reflection map effect SpecWrap 2 Corresponding XML tag SpecWrap The Opacity slider allows you to set the opacity for an object with settings ranging between 0 and 100 100 makes an object completely opaque 0 makes it completely transparent Corresponding XML tag Opacity Assign Render Layer reassigns the layer to which the selected instance is rendered Unless otherwise specified layers are rendered back to front with the lowest layer numbers rendered first Corresponding XML tag RenderLayer When Billboard is applied to an object the positive Z axis of the selected objec
65. jects the Sort Rules determines the visibility criteria for different surfaces When the Nearest sort rule is turned on only the surfaces closest to the camera are rendered The Furthest sort rule forces all occluded surfaces to be rendered For the Center sort rule the visibility criteria depend on the center positions of bounding boxes 2003 Viewpoint Corporation All rights reserved Viewpoint Scene Builder User Guide 93 Frequently Asked Questions Question Answer What are the advantages of Procedural lightmaps add very little to the overall scene file procedural lightmaps and size because they are created with X Y positions and RGB how can I generate them colors of up to ten lights that are scripted in the mtx file Regular lightmaps are 256x256 JPEG images that increase overall file size You can use an additional image as a background for a procedural lightmap but then the files size advantage might disappear Scene Builder includes a Lightmap Lab a simple authoring solution for procedural lightmaps Can I change the shape of Scene Builder does not provide such functionality You can an existing hot spot easily change the hot spot shape for instance change a box to a sphere by manually editing an mtx file in a text or XML editor How do I load SWF You can use Macromedia Flash swf files as a background animation files or foreground of the scene as a texture as a bumpmap or as a lightmap You cannot
66. les 1 Load the mtx file as described in Importing Files from 3D Modeling Applications 2 Goto the Interaction Animation 3 menu and click Split Animations Animation On Off Reverse Direction Rewind 3 In the Split Animation dialog box shown below click the shaded bar showing gt gt to view a list of all animations Split Animation Select animation to break from the list below Animation Ranges 4 Click the animation you want to split 5 Click the Add button to add the first animation range for this animation An item called Anim1 appears in the Animation Ranges box 6 Double click an item in the Animation Ranges list to display the name in the Name box below 7 Edit the values in the Name Start Time and Stop Time boxes e In the Name field at the bottom of the dialog box type a unique name for the action In the Start Time field type the time increment at which the specific action starts Referring to your animation notes for times 2003 Viewpoint Corporation All rights reserved Viewpoint Scene Builder User Guide 39 Managing Animations e In the Stop Time field type the time increment at which the specific action stops e Click Store to add each action to the Name List Split Animation Select animation to break from the list below Animation Ranges 8 Click Change add the changes to the Animation Ranges box 9 Repeat steps 6 8 for the remaining portions of this sp
67. lette from which you can select a scene background color e Reset All Constraints resets the camera parameters to their default values Textures 6 Menu e Click Texture Diffuse and choose None to remove the texture from the selected object e Click Lightmap and choose None to remove a lightmap from the selected object e Click Bumpmap and choose None to remove the bumpmap from the selected object 2003 Viewpoint Corporation All rights reserved Viewpoint Scene Builder User Guide 87 Resetting Elements of Your Scene Menu Use these menu items to reset scene elements Hot Spots 7 Menu e Reset to Default Values resets the rollover text and hot spot activation area to their original state Preferences 9 Menu e Clear Default File clears the custom defaults file and resets to Scene Builder s original defaults 2003 Viewpoint Corporation All rights reserved 88 Viewpoint Scene Builder User Guide Keyboard Shortcuts Appendix D Keyboard Shortcuts Commonly Used Keyboard Shortcuts Use this accent key upper left on keyboard To do this Cycles through command menus Backspace or Delete Delete selected object 0 through 9 Tab through the Scene Command menus on the right side of the screen Shift 0 through 6 Tab through the Hierarchy menus on the left side of the screen M View scene data such as polygon count fps memory usage and so on R R
68. lit animation 10 Click Accept when you are finished dividing the imported animation To review and edit this information later you can reopen this dialog box by choosing Split Animations from the Interaction Animation 3 menu Playing an Animation To play an animation in Scene Builder 1 Go to the Animation Shift 5 Hierarchy menu click the name of the animation you want to play For more on changing Hierarchy menus see About Hierarchy Menus E Viewpoint Scene Builder Build 3 0 9 6 5 Scene Commands Click an animation currently set to Off Then click Animation On Off to set it to On This runs the animation 2003 Viewpoint Corporation All rights reserved 40 Viewpoint Scene Builder User Guide Managing Animations 2 From the Interaction Animation 3 menu click Animation On Off and set it to On to run the animation 3 Optionally e Click Animation On Off again while the animation is still playing to set it to Off and pause the animation e Use the Reverse Direction option to change the direction of the animation e Use the Rewind option to return to the beginning of the animation Note A single animation will typically consist of several timelines Each timeline is in turn an individually addressed animation For example if you made an animation corresponding to the rotation and translation of an object it will open up as an animation with two timelines You can trigger them
69. logy With Viewpoint Scene Builder you can put finishing touches on scenes you export from 3D modeling packages and then create mts and mtx files ready to be embedded in a web page To begin you can import ase obj or mts Viewpoint proprietary file format 3D files into Scene Builder Or load an existing mtx file s Viewpoint 3D Application Media Player Ki RAZOLITH Viewpoint Scene Builder gl mts and mtx files Viewpoint Media Publisher ay yt 4 Streaming Interactive 3D Embedded on a Web Page You can then use Scene Builder to manipulate the layout and relationship of objects within the 3D scene as well as enhance the scene with effects and organize or edit animations Using Scene Builder you can enhance your Viewpoint Technology scene by e Adding textures lightmaps hot spots and background colors images or panoramas e Integrating other media types including 2D images Flash movies audio and text 2003 Viewpoint Corporation All rights reserved 10 Viewpoint Scene Builder User Guide Introduction e Using Viewpoint ZoomView technology which allows you to convert a JPEG image into a zoomable image Scene Builder saves the mtx and mts files for your scene Viewpoint Media Publisher reads an mtx file and generates a web page html file using customizable templates Finally visitors of your website can view your Viewpoint Technology scene using Viewpoint Medi
70. menu enables you to load files including opening an existing mtx file importing a 3D file or QTVR movie as well as choosing settings for ASE based animations Instances 2 This menu enables you to control and change polygons You can flip normals make geometries into double sided polygons and change crease angle and transparency to name a few of the controls Animation 3 This menu enables you to edit animations in a scene including testing and resetting an animation or adding a time element Transformation This menu enables you to change the properties of geometries 4 rotation scale and translation Global This menu gives control over most of the scene parameter values Parameters 5 including changing shadow properties choosing render settings setting camera parameters as well as loading global lightmaps and panoramas 2003 Viewpoint Corporation All rights reserved 14 Viewpoint Scene Builder User Guide Using Scene Builder Materials 6 This menu enables you to control material properties and rendering mode by the geometry instance You can apply lightmaps bumpmaps and textures as well as create procedural lightmaps and optimize textures Hot Spots 7 This menu provides tools to create and modify hot spots Hot spots sometimes called widgets are 3D areas within a Viewpoint Technology scene that users can click or mouse over to display text an image or other media Primitives
71. ms over the Internet via Viewpoint Media Player a web browser plug in The web browser plug in necessary to view Viewpoint Technology content with Netscape Navigator or Internet Explorer An image compression method An area in a scene made up of a procedural shape usually invisible and created in Scene Builder Widgets are generally used to define a hot spot that when interacted with displays a text annotation texture or Flash movie For instance when a widget is rolled over a text annotation may appear A representation of a 3D object that shows only the edges of its polygons Extensible Markup Language A markup language for documents containing structured information with instructions for content words pictures etc and the role that content plays for example content in a section heading has a different meaning from content in a footnote figure caption or database table Viewpoint Technology uses XML to define all properties of a scene A third buffer where depth data is stored that determines which textures are visible and which are hidden 2003 Viewpoint Corporation All rights reserved
72. n pan around and examine the finest details without special graphics cards or a high speed Internet access Use Viewpoint Scene Builder to enhance ZoomView scenes with hot spots and 3D objects For more information see these documents which are accessible from Viewpoint Developer Central at http developer viewpoint com e Creating 3D Rich Media Web Applications for information on exporting 3D models from applications other than those mentioned in this chapter See Chapter 2 of this guide for information about preparing your 3D model to use with Viewpoint Technology e See Viewpoint Media Exporter for 3ds max User Guide for details about exporting ase files from 3ds max 2003 Viewpoint Corporation All rights reserved 22 Viewpoint Scene Builder User Guide Importing 3D Models See Viewpoint Media Exporter for Maya User Guide for details about exporting mtx files from Maya See Viewpoint Media Exporter for LightWave 6 5 User Guide for details about exporting mtx files from LightWave To import an mtx file from a 3D modeling application Go to the Load 1 menu and click Open MTX Select the mtx file you want to open and click OK To import an ase file from a 3D modeling application 1 2 Go to the Load 1 menu and click Import ASE Select the ase file you want to open and click OK The ASE Behavior Editor dialog box opens automatically For details about organizing your model s animati
73. n performance and 1 means always antialias For a specific instance you can override this setting using the Antialias option on the Instances 2 menu Corresponding XML tag AntiAlias Antialias Passes controls the number of progressive antialiasing passes A higher number means more rendering passes which increases image quality but slows performance Experiment for the optimal quality performance ratio Corresponding XML tag AccumMax Render Edges affects the strength of rendered edges to settings ranging between 0 and 600 percent The result is a subtle effect that darkens or lightens polygon edges Corresponding XML tag EdgeBias Sort Rule lets you control the effects of multiple transparencies in a scene This option sets the priority of geometries rendered in the scene where Nearest 0 means only surfaces closest to the camera are rendered Farthest 1 means all occluded surfaces will also be rendered and Center 2 means the rendering criteria depends on the relative position of centers of bounding boxes Corresponding XML tag SortRule 2003 Viewpoint Corporation All rights reserved Viewpoint Scene Builder User Guide 71 Scene Builder Menu Options Global Parameters 5 Toggle Panorama shows or hides the panorama image in the Menu Continued scene The default is On Corresponding XML tag TogglePano Set Background Color displays a palette from which you can select a scene background c
74. n Scene Builder cece ceceeseeceneeceeneeeeeeeeenees 20 Creating a Viewpoint Technology Scene from an Existing ase or obt File 20 Importing Files from 3D Modeling Applications sessesseesesssessresessssrsersssssseee 21 Generating Hot Spots and Animation Ranges through 3ds max 23 Chapter 5 Managing Geometries d dk ee EENS dee aa 26 About Geometries in Viewpoint Technology Scenes 26 Adding Primitive Geometries 3D Shapes to Your Scene cecsceeseeeereeeeeees 27 Adding a Texture to a Geometry 30 Applying Lightmaps to a Geometry 31 Applying Bumpmaps to a Geometry sssssssessssessseseeessesrsssrssersressressessessresssssns 33 Adding Hot Spots to a Viewpoint Technology Scene 34 Chapter 6 Managing Ee e E E 36 ADOUE DEIER steen Eege 36 Organizing Animations Associated with an Imported 3D Model eee 36 Playing an Or Le E 39 Manually Playing an Animation with Time Scrubber eee eseeeeeeereeenee 40 Viewing an Animation Timeline ss 41 Chapter 7 Managing Scene Hierarchies 44 Overview of the Hierarchy Menus c cccceesseceeeeceeeeeceeeeeeeeeaaeseaaeceeeeeneeeeeaees 44 Ao t Hierarchies sisi nn E E EEE EEE tt dt 44 Editing Ee s sccsssscccekesccivens casebssdceshancesakasasasseiccasses TEE r SEEE ER EES 45 Chapter 8 Setting Other Scene Global Parametere SEENEN 48 Setting Your Viewpoint Technology Scene s Height and Width 0 00000000000 48 S tting t
75. ng Other Scene Global Parameters To set the camera mode 1 Go to the Globals 5 menu and click Camera Navigation Choose the preferred mode Orbit Walk Panorama or Still Set Minimum and Maximum Camera Zoom You can restrict the camera scale to ensure that the panorama image is seen at its best resolution For example if users can zoom too close on the panorama the image gets very pixilated that is it looks like a bunch of little blocks instead of a smooth picture For example by setting a higher Min Camera Scale value to 0 5 default is 0 2 you can prevent a user zooming in too close Likewise by reducing the Max Camera Scale value to a range between 0 5 and 2 default is 1000 you can prevent the user zooming too far out This is important with a cylindrical panorama for instance to keep the user from seeing the top and bottom of the cylinder To set minimum and maximum camera zoom 1 Go to the Globals 5 menu and click Show Camera Constraints to set it to On 2 Adjust settings using the Min Camera Scale and Max Camera Scale sliders Gaiters Rotation X 30 90 Camera Rotation Y 180 Camera Rotation Z 180 Min Camera Scale 0 2 Min Camera Distance D Cam Nearest X 16 007 Cam Nearest Y 16 007 Cam Nearest Z 16 007 Reset Al Constraints Set Camera Rotate Minimum and Maximum Setting minimum and maximum values for camera rotation is another way to control how your scene is viewed These settings
76. ns about using Viewpoint Technology click Forums under Support in the left navigation bar e Get Examples Click Examples amp Tips in the left navigation bar e Subscribe to the Viewpoint Developer Newsletter Learn new production tips and techniques for creating 3D and rich media content for the web with Viewpoint Technology Click Newsletter in the left navigation bar e Give Feedback About Viewpoint Applications Viewpoint Corporation values your feedback Direct your comments and suggestions to the Viewpoint Forums You can also visit the Viewpoint Corporation website for company news links to websites featuring Viewpoint Technology and more Download Viewpoint Applications Guides and Examples Viewpoint Developer Central is updated continuously with the latest versions of applications user guides and examples Find links to the following in the left navigation bar Viewpoint Applications You can download Viewpoint applications free of charge The following applications are available for download e Viewpoint Media Player The web browser plug in necessary to view Viewpoint content with Netscape Navigator or Internet Explorer e Viewpoint Scene Builder An essential application for assembling a scene and publishing it in html mtx mts format e Viewpoint Media Publisher An application enabling you to quickly create Viewpoint Technology web applications from Viewpoint media files mtx mtz by embedding them
77. nt Scene Builder Viewpoint Scene Builder allows you to compose and edit the contents of a Viewpoint Technology scene Scene Builder creates two Viewpoint Technology scene files e A highly compressed file mts containing 3D objects lightmaps texture maps and panoramas 2003 Viewpoint Corporation All rights reserved Viewpoint Scene Builder User Guide Introduction e A companion XML mtx file containing parameters describing the 3D objects animations and scene as well as references to any external files Once the final mtx file has been generated it can be embedded into a web html page using Viewpoint Media Publisher Note Although a rich media component is in an mts file it is not necessary to use it in the resulting scene The mts file is your creative arsenal The mtx file orchestrates the elements within a scene To place a rich media component into a scene Scene Builder publishes an mtx file containing XML tags to acquire media atoms from its mts file Media atoms can also be stored in externally referenced files such as Flash swf files sound files and JPEG image files Scene Builder employs a combination of wavelet technology and procedural materials producing files that are dramatically smaller yet comparable in quality to 2D image formats The resulting Viewpoint scene can be embedded in a web page via the Viewpoint Media Publisher application The Role of Scene Builder in Viewpoint Techno
78. o change the properties of objects geometries rotation scale and translation The Global Parameters 5 menu gives you control over most of the scene parameter values You can change shadow properties as well as load in global lightmaps and panoramas The Textures 6 menu enables you to control your object s material properties and rendering mode You can also load lightmaps and panoramas The Hot Spots 7 menu provides you with tools to create and modify hot spots The Primitives 8 menu enables you to add 3D shapes such as spheres cubes and cylinders to the scene The Preferences 9 menu enables you to choose or clear a defaults file The Publish 0 menu lets you control settings for publishing or saving mtx and mts files 2003 Viewpoint Corporation All rights reserved 62 Viewpoint Scene Builder User Guide Scene Builder Menu Options Load 1 Menu Open MTX opens and displays a scene You can open both mtx and ml files Uncompress MTZ uncompresses an mtz file as an mtx file in the same folder An mtx file is an editable XML document Import ASE opens an ase ASCII Scene Export file exported from Discreet 3ds max Currently Scene Builder supports only the ase file format from 3ds max 3 0 or greater Click ASE Animation Options to display the ASE Behavior Editor where you can name and edit names of actions as o Unit Cut well as specify frame ranges of animation
79. ology Scene Files Chapter 9 Publishing Your Viewpoint Technology Scene Files When publishing your scene Scene Builder compresses the mts file containing your textures models and lightmaps Important To maintain the visual quality of your scene plan to publish the mts files only once You may edit and resave the mtx file as many times as you want You can now generate HTML files directly from Scene Builder Viewpoint Media Publisher functionality has been built into this version enabling you to preview Viewpoint Technology content by quickly embedding it in an HTML file Publishing and Saving Your Viewpoint Technology Scene Files Once you ve updated your Viewpoint Technology scene using Scene Builder you can save the scene mtx mts files About File Compression during Publishing A central feature of Scene Builder is its proprietary compression of scene elements contained in the mts file The mts file format is a proprietary binary resource file containing all geometry materials and textures in a scene and is referenced by the scene definition file the mtx file When you publish an mts file it s much like saving an image file with JPEG compression If you publish more than once the visual quality of your scene degrades Important For the highest quality scene plan to publish only once from Scene Builder Alternately you can save the scene mtx and mts files separately About Default Settings for You
80. olor Corresponding XML tag BackColor Global Parameters 5 Menu Camera Settings The following options from the Global 5 menu are visible when Show Camera Constraints is set to On So Rotation A 90 Camera Rotation X limits the rotation in the negative wen 90 direction of the X axis To adjust the setting click and drag the shaded slider or double click the option and type a numerical value 180 to 180 Corresponding XML tag CamRotMinX Camera Rotation Camera Camera Rotation X limits the rotation in the positive direction of the Z axis To adjust the setting click and drag the shaded slider or double click the option and type a numerical value 180 to 180 Max Camera Scale DC Min Camera Distance 0 Max Camera Distance j TE Corresponding XML tag CamRotMaxX earest X Cam Farthest X et Camera Rotation Y limits the rotation in the negative Cam Nearest Y 16 007 direction of the Y axis To adjust the setting click and drag CamFethestY 989007 the shaded slider or double click the option and type a Cam Nearest Z 16 007 numerical value 180 to 180 Corresponding XML tag CamRotMinY Camera Rotation Y limits the rotation in the positive direction of the Z axis To adjust the setting click and drag the shaded slider or double click the option and type a numerical value 180 to 180 Corresponding XML tag CamRotMaxY Camera Rotation Z limits the rotation in t
81. on and type a numerical value 0 to 1000 Corresponding XML tag CamDistMax Cam Nearest X sets the nearest camera position on the X axis in Walk mode Corresponding XML tag CamPosMinX Cam Farthest X sets the farthest camera position on the X axis in Walk mode Corresponding XML tag CamPosMaxX Cam Nearest Y sets the nearest camera position on the Y axis in Walk mode Corresponding XML tag CamPosMinY Cam Farthest Y sets the farthest camera position on the Y axis in Walk mode Corresponding XML tag CamPosMaxY Cam Nearest Z sets the nearest camera position on the Z axis in Walk mode Corresponding XML tag CamPosMinZ Cam Farthest Z sets the farthest camera position on the Z axis in Walk mode Corresponding XML tag CamPosMaxZ Reset All Constraints removes any camera constraints and resets the camera parameters to their default values 2003 Viewpoint Corporation All rights reserved Viewpoint Scene Builder User Guide 73 Scene Builder Menu Options Materials 6 Menu Select Object Materials Deselect Object Materials Render Mode assigns a rendering modes to a scene or to selected geometry in a scene e Default Applies the value from Globals Render Mode e Texture Textures are rendered but lightmaps are not e Wire Only the wireframe is rendered e Point Only vertexes are rendered Lightmap Lightmaps are rendered but textures are not L
82. ons see Organizing Animations Associated with an Imported 3D Model To import an obj file from a CAD CAM application 1 2 Go to the Load 1 menu and click Add OBJ Select the obj file you want to open and click OK To insert an mtx file into an existing scene 1 2 3 Open the scene to which you want to insert an mtx file Go to the Load 1 menu and click Open MTX ree mee Select the mtx file you want to insert and click OK 2003 Viewpoint Corporation All rights reserved Viewpoint Scene Builder User Guide 23 Importing 3D Models Generating Hot Spots and Animation Ranges through 3ds max The Viewpoint Scene Builder plug in in 3ds max enables the generation of hot spots and split animations in ranges directly in 3ds max version 4 or later This new capability makes it even easier to import and work with 3ds max files in Scene Builder If you need to make changes to your scene in 3ds max you no longer have to re apply all the hot spots and animation ranges to the scene from scratch in Scene Builder because those options become a part of your 3ds max file To generate hot spots in 3ds max 1 In 3ds max open the scene to which you want to add hot spots 2 Inthe Utilities tool panel on the right side of your screen click MaxScript eiert pen 3 Click Run Script 4 Select viewpoint_export ms from the folder where you installed MaxScript during the Scene Builder install This op
83. orporation that allows users to view images that immerse them in a multi dimensional 360 environment An image that determines how light interacts with and scatters on the surface of an object Material properties such as diffusion specularity and reflection are captured in the lightmap The lightmap in any Viewpoint scene is what the camera sees in any reflective materials of an object Any spherical image can be used as a lightmap image To apply a 2D image onto the surface of an object Surfaces added to the mesh to give it a finished appearance unlike wireframe rendering 2003 Viewpoint Corporation All rights reserved 98 Viewpoint Scene Builder User Guide Glossary media atoms MIP mapping MTL MTS MTX MTZ NFF normal OBJ opacity Components of a Viewpoint scene 3D objects material properties sound object movies animators interactors and the definition of the 3D environment i e panoramas or the maps of environmental lightmaps A technique used to speed rendering of distant textures and remove speckle from distant textures Multiple textures are generated from a single texture to aid in displaying that texture in a smaller form The extension for a text based file that describes the material associated with an obj file A binary resource file containing all geometry materials and texture information for a Viewpoint Technology scene MTS is an open specification 3D file format d
84. osddebcontgensaereesss tease tits 78 Preferences 9 M TE 78 Publish 0 Mem 4h rte le dt redonne 79 Texture Lab Menu iss cisevcssecivateciesiveciecvscctvesscas e aR raa Ee OENE aSa 81 Procedural Lightmap Menu ss 83 Appendix C Resetting Elements of Your Scene 86 Appendix D Keyboard ebe gg Eed 88 Commonly Used Keyboard Shortcuts ceecccessseeeseceeeeceeeeeeeeeeesaeceaaeceeeeeneeeees 88 Cam ra re EE 88 Hierarchy Men Shortcuts isssisssiissesiieueeniiendeiiiersssteientireresne 89 Additional Shortcut Keys sister 89 Appendix E Frequently Asked Questions 90 SSA DT RD TT 96 2003 Viewpoint Corporation All rights reserved Viewpoint Scene Builder User Guide Contents 2003 Viewpoint Corporation All rights reserved Viewpoint Scene Builder User Guide Introduction Chapter 1 Introduction New Features in Viewpoint Scene Builder 3 0 11 This new release of Viewpoint Scene Builder includes great new features e Generate HTML files Test and deploy Viewpoint Technology content by quickly embedding it in an HTML file e Read files from a URL Open files remotely from a URL e Supports swf file loading Load and view swf files through Scene Builder e For discreet 3ds max users improved ASE authoring path It s now easier than ever to author Viewpoint Technology content e Create a No Geometry hot spot You can now add hot spots
85. oshop or other 2D graphics application In Scene Builder you can apply you can apply an image file as a lightmap Alternately you can apply a procedural lightmap that adds very little to overall file size For more about procedural lightmaps see About Procedural Lightmaps For an image to be used as a lightmap it must meet the following criteria e It must be an RGB image e The image size must be 256 256 You can apply lightmaps globally and locally to materials or texture maps In other words if you have a model with three different texture maps you can assign one global lightmap for the whole model or three different lightmaps one for each of the three texture maps Tip You cannot share same jpg file between different types of texture mapping textures lightmaps bumpmaps and so on To use the same image for several types of mapping make a copy of the file and give each copy a unique name To apply an image as a global lightmap 1 Click the geometry in the Scene window to select it Or 2003 Viewpoint Corporation All rights reserved 32 Viewpoint Scene Builder User Guide Managing Geometries From the Geometries Shift 2 Hierarchy menu in the upper left corner click the name of the object to select it 2 Go to the Globals 5 menu and click Lightmap 3 Click Load 4 Select the image file you want to apply and then click Open To apply an image as a local lightmap 1 Right click to select
86. priately e Now add more then 10 OBJs to your scene e Improved primitives functionality so you can now change the diffuse color e Geometry Precision values are rescaled to be measured in bits instead of percent of the bounding box e Hierarchy window scrolling bar working appropriately for large scenes e Removed Quick Time VR Import function because there is a new authoring path For more information on the QuickTime VR importing path refer to Viewpoint Developer Central http developer viewpoint com e Loads OBJ textures in their actual size About This Guide This guide describes how to use Viewpoint Scene Builder M to edit and assemble the components of a Viewpoint Technology scene This guide includes the following chapters e Chapter 1 Introduction Describes what you ll find in this guide e Chapter 2 Using Scene Builder Offers an overview of Scene Builder and a description of how to use Scene Builder menus and options e Chapter 3 Getting Started Lists system requirements for Scene Builder and includes procedures for basic steps including starting and stopping Scene Builder and opening scene files e Chapter 4 Importing 3D Models Describes how to import an ase obt or mtx file from a 3D modeling application into your Viewpoint Technology scene e Chapter 5 Managing Geometries Describes how to add primitive 3D shapes cubes spheres etc to yo
87. que to help reduce file size when working with 3D models with duplicate parts For example if a car has four wheels you can create one wheel and then reference three more instances of it Then you can transform the three instances to their correct locations You can also apply different textures to each instance if you need to To do this you need to change both the texture name and the material name on the instance otherwise the instance inherits the name from its parent and will also inherit the texture and material settings 2003 Viewpoint Corporation All rights reserved Viewpoint Scene Builder User Guide Managing Geometries Adding Primitive Geometries 3D Shapes to Your Scene To add a 3D shape and adjust its location in the scene 1 From the Primitives 8 menu click the 3D shape you want to add It is automatically added to the center of the scene Now you can change the object s position and size You can also adjust its color texture and other characteristics Boxes Versus Cubes While visually quite similar a box has more segments than a cube and behaves differently when transformations are applied Transforming a Geometry Move Rotate Resize To move translate a geometry In the Scene window right click and drag the geometry where you want it to be located in the scene Tip Be sure to look at the geometry from many angles as you adjust its location To change the camera angle from which the sc
88. r User Guide 69 Scene Builder Menu Options Global Parameters 5 Menu Render Mode assigns a rendering mode to the entire scene Default Set to LightmapTexture or the value from the mtx file e Texture Textures are rendered but lightmaps are not Btend Shadow On e Wire Only the wireframe is rendered Shadow Radius 10 e Point Only vertexes are rendered Bound Shadow On 8 e Lightmap Lightmaps are rendered but textures are not _ Shadow Color o Shadow Opacity 035 e LightmapTexture Everything is rendered Antialias e LightmapTexMod Everything is rendered but _ Antialias Passes 0 material color is burned into texture fender Edges 100 Sort Rule Sat For a specific texture you can override this setting using the Rendering Mode option on the Textures 6 menu Toggle Panorama Set Background Color O Corresponding XML tag RenderMode Lightmap loads or clears a globally applied 256x256 pixel lightmap that is one applied to the entire scene Click the option and then choose Load to select a lightmap or choose None to clear a lightmap For an object this setting can be overridden by using the Lightmap option on the Textures 6 menu to specify a lightmap for that object Corresponding XML tag GlobalLightmap Camera Navigation lets you choose from four camera modes Orbit Walk Panorama or Still Corresponding XML tag CameraModeSelect Show Camera Constr
89. r Viewpoint Technology Scene Upon publishing your scene Scene Builder s default settings generally produce the best results Check that your scene has these optimal settings found on the Load Publish 1 menu before publishing or saving Image Quality Image Texture compression setting 60 default e Lightmap Quality 60 default e Geom Setting Geometry compression setting 0 8 default Use TrixelsNT Viewpoint s proprietary wavelet compression On default When this is set to Off textures in the scene are saved with JPEG compression For more information about setting Scene Builder s options see Appendix B Scene Builder Menu Options 2003 Viewpoint Corporation All rights reserved Viewpoint Scene Builder User Guide 53 Publishing Your Viewpoint Technology Scene Files To publish and save your scene s mtx and mts files 1 Goto the Publish 0 menu and click Publish 2 Specify a name for your mtx file and click OK The mts file will be given the same name with a filename extension of mts Note You can use the Save MTX option to save multiple drafts of the mtx file by giving each draft a different name However you should only publish to a compressed mts file once To save your scene s mtx file 1 Optionally use the following options in the Publish 0 menu to specify how you want your mtx file saved e Click Compress File to set to On if you wan to create an mtz file a comp
90. ressed form of the mtx file e Click Verbose MTX to set to On if you want to save a version of the mtx file that includes all tags whether or not they are used in your Viewpoint Technology scene 2 Click Save MTX 3 Specify a name for your mtx file and click OK To save your scene mts file 1 Optionally use the following options in the Publish 0 menu to specify how you want your mtx file saved e Use the Image Quality slider to adjust the image quality and compression high numbers mean high quality and low compression e Use the Lightmap Quality slider to set the lightmap quality and compression high numbers mean high quality and low compression 2003 Viewpoint Corporation All rights reserved 54 Viewpoint Scene Builder User Guide Publishing Your Viewpoint Technology Scene Files e Use the Geometry Setting slider to set the geometry quality and compression high numbers mean high quality and low compression e Click TrixelsNT to set it to Off if you don t want to use the Viewpoint proprietary wavelet compression to create high quality 3D in manageable file sizes Click Save MTS Specify a name for your mtx file and click OK To publish your scene in HTML 1 Go to the Publish 0 menu and verify that the Generate HTML option is set to On Specify the HTML template you want to use Click Publish Scene Builder will prompt you for an MTX filename Type a name for the mtx file then click Save T
91. s Keep In Window forces the hot spot display area to stay within the Viewpoint Media Player window when this option is On Hot Spot Options shows or hides the options that follow for hot spot orientation Text Location and Attach Line The default is Off options are hidden Text Location X Text Location Y or Text Location Z reorients the hot spot text or texture along the X Y or Z axis respectively Corresponding XML tags WidgetCenterX WidgetCenterY WidgetCenterZ Attach Line X Attach Line Y or Attach Line Z relocates along the X Y or Z axis the end of the hot spot line that is closest to the clickable activation area Corresponding XML tags TrackX TrackY TrackZ Anchor Hot Spot hides or displays the options that follow for anchoring the displayable text or texture associated with the hot spot Pin Source X or Pin Source Y sets the X or Y offset respectively for the source of the pinned hot spot Corresponding XML tags SrcPinX SrcPinY Destination Pin X or Destination Pin Y sets the X or Y offset respectively for the destination of the pinned hot spot Corresponding XML tags DstPinX DstPinY Pin Source Coord and Pin Dest Coord specifies absolute or relative coordinates for the source and destination of the pinned hot spot Corresponding XML tag PinSrcCord PinDestCord Reset to Default Values resets hot spot settings to their original values
92. s OR Uniform Scale 0 BoundShadow on Tip To quickly change between Scene Commands menus simply type the menu number For example type 4 to display the Transformation 4 menu Setting Viewpoint Technology Scene Options in Scene Builder Scene Builder lets you adjust settings for your Viewpoint Technology scene The following illustration shows the three ways you can adjust settings using the Scene Commands menu For options that toggle on or off click to change the option setting For options that let you choose from a range of values click and move the shaded bar Or double click to type a new numeric value Press Enter Use TrixelsNT About Hierarchy Menus The Hierarchy menus in the upper left corner of your Scene Builder screen provide a directory of components in the Viewpoint Technology scene There are seven Hierarchy menus Rendering Hierarchy Lists the hierarchical order in which scene elements are Shift 0 rendered Instances Shift 1 Lists the hierarchical relationship between parent and child objects in the scene Geometries Shift 2 Lists all the objects in the scene including meshes primitives and hot spots widgets Materials Shift 3 Lists the materials used in the scene 2003 Viewpoint Corporation All rights reserved 16 Viewpoint Scene Builder User Guide Using Scene Builder Textures Shift 4 Lists the textures used in the scene Animators Shift 5
93. s a template The default file can be a blank scene that has default parameters such as anti aliasing no lightmaps textures already set saving you time to configure those options every time you open a new file 2003 Viewpoint Corporation All rights reserved Viewpoint Scene Builder User Guide 55 Publishing Your Viewpoint Technology Scene Files To save and load a custom default file 1 In Scene Builder set the global settings you want to save For instance you may want to turn anti aliasing off or change Sort Rule from Default to Nearest Go to the Publish 0 menu and choose Save MTX Be sure to name your file something descriptive such as ProjectSettings mtx Go to the Preferences 9 menu and choose Select Default File Choose the default you saved and then click Open Restart Scene Builder The default file will be opened and executed 2003 Viewpoint Corporation All rights reserved 56 Viewpoint Scene Builder User Guide Help Resources and Feedback Appendix A Help Resources and Feedback Viewpoint Developer Central A Complete Resource Viewpoint Developer Central is a complete resource for Viewpoint Technology content developers At this website you can access Viewpoint applications user guides downloadable example files support production tips and techniques to name just a few of the offerings there Access to Viewpoint Developer Central to e Get Assistance For questio
94. segments making up the model A higher tessellation results in a smoother model but larger file size Scene Builder allows the user to define the surface of procedural geometry and allows the user to adjust the number of triangles that define that surface A picture on the surface usually a JPEG or similar image file This image file is rendered over polygons to give the object a realistic looking surface The method of repeating a texture more than once across an object or part of an object A tiled texture looks best if its edges seamlessly match up with each other top to bottom and side to side Tiling is a common method of using the smallest texture possible to cover a large area such as a texture of a brick tiling across a large polygon or object to create an entire brick wall 2003 Viewpoint Corporation All rights reserved 100 transformation translate TrixelsNT uncollapse Viewpoint Technology Viewpoint Media Player wavelets widget wireframe XML Zbuffer Viewpoint Scene Builder User Guide Glossary Transformations refer to these three actions translation rotation and scaling See translate rotate scale To move the object along the x y or z axis in the scene Viewpoint s proprietary image compression using wavelets To render all collapsed hidden geometries in a scene Also see collapse Viewpoint Corporation s unique technology that streams 3D and rich media content media ato
95. t always faces the camera regardless of what occurs in the rest of the scene Default is Off Corresponding XML tag Billboard ZBuffer determines the visibility of an object in a scene For example if you have a box and a sphere and the box is inside the sphere select the box and assign the ZBuffer to be Off The entire box becomes visible If the box s ZBuffer is turned On then the box is invisible Corresponding XML tag ZBuffer Shadow turns the shadow On or Off for the selected object The default is On Corresponding XML tag DoShadow Use Crease Angle allows you to choose between using the assigned smoothing groups of the imported model or the crease angle assigned by Scene Builder 2003 Viewpoint Corporation All rights reserved 66 Viewpoint Scene Builder User Guide Scene Builder Menu Options Instances 2 Menu Continued Sets the Crease Angle between 0 and 180 Adjusting the crease angle determines whether and how much rounding to an object s angles is applied Corresponding XML tag CreaseAngle Recompute Normals recalculates the normals based on the change in the crease angle set by Crease Angle Pass Click allows the click of a parent geometry to pass along to the child object geometry In a scene this is useful if you want a click one part of a model to trigger an action in another part child of the selected model 0 means don t pass click 1 means pass click to the next object
96. t really tie that into a camera See an example on http cole viewpoint com ddavies Keep in mind that even VolumeTrigger has some limitations 2003 Viewpoint Corporation All rights reserved 92 Viewpoint Scene Builder User Guide Frequently Asked Questions Question How do I change the focal length of the camera in Scene Builder Answer Perform the following steps On the Rendering Hierarchy Shift 0 menu click Camera e On the Scene Commands menu choose Transformation 4 e Click and drag on the Scale Z button e Click Yes to the warning message and continue dragging the slider on the Scale Z button to change the camera s focal length You can see the Scale Z values in the Object Info window Are double faces supported Sure Go to the Instances 2 menu and click the Backface Culling button to set it to Off I m usually happy with the results of simulating the environment mapping with lightmaps However when I ve got a flat surface it doesn t work Is there a way to get good environment mapping for flat surfaces Use the Specular Wrap option in the Materials 6 menu How does Sort Rule work on the Global Parameters 5 menu Scene rendering with Sort Rule Nearest below left and Furthest below right The illustration above shows the difference between Nearest default left image and Furthest right image Sort Rules When you have several semitransparent ob
97. tell Viewpoint Technology how much you can move the camera back and forth along a particular axis X Y or Z For example when the scene is in Orbit Camera mode if you set both Camera Rotation Y and 2003 Viewpoint Corporation All rights reserved 50 Viewpoint Scene Builder User Guide Setting Other Scene Global Parameters Camera Rotation Y to 0 the user cannot look up or down in the scene To set minimum and maximum camera rotation 1 Go to the Globals 5 menu and click Show Camera Constraints to set it to On 2 Use the Camera Rotation X Y and Z sliders to adjust the minimum setting 3 Use the Camera Rotation X Y and Z sliders to adjust the minimum setting Specifying a Background Color Image or Panorama You can specify a background color or a background image for your Viewpoint Technology scene You can also add a panorama as your Viewpoint Technology scene background In Scene Builder you can add either an iPIX spherical panorama or a QuickTime VR cylinder panorama to your scene Use Viewpoint iPIX Utility or Viewpoint QuickTime VR Importer to convert these panorama formats for use in Viewpoint Technology scenes For more information see the Enhancing iPIX Panoramas with Viewpoint Technology guide which is available from Viewpoint Developer Central To add a background color 1 Go to the Globals 5 menu and click Set Background Color 2 Choose the color you want to use and then click OK
98. that are not confined to an object Resolved Issues This new release resolved the following issues from the previous version of Scene Builder e For discreet 3ds max users improved ASE authoring path includes e Reads focal length of the camera correctly e Loads all ASE textures e Improved camera rotation animations match those observed in 3ds max e Loads textures in their actual size e Supports morph target animations e Publishes backface culling correctly e Publishes animation On 0 1 correctly e Publishes collapsed for Flash animations e Generates Pre and Post tags correctly e Fixed known issues with Transformation translation rotation scale sliders e Improved reloading of textures lightmaps and bumpmaps e Ctrl Alt drag changes camera Z scale correctly e Tool tips are now available in the object window e Fixed known issues when deleting objects and animations e Import two ASE objects sequentially e Publish crease angles e Now load alpha channels correctly e Rendering property and Global rendering mode now works correctly e Publishes Specwrap correctly Loads the default file automatically 2003 Viewpoint Corporation All rights reserved Viewpoint Scene Builder User Guide Introduction e Loads panoramas e Enhanced Texture Lab functionality e Load SWF files directly through texture loading dialog boxes e Publishes the scene with the original resource names by default e Saves animation play direction appro
99. the texture compression type and level of compression in Stream Tuning Studio My textures look fine in the modeling application but when I bring the model into Scene Builder they disappear Most likely the geometry does not have explicit UV coordinates Scene Builder requires that all textures be UV mapped See your modeling application user manual to find out how to convert implicit mapping such as spherical or cylindrical into explicit UV mapping Does Scene Builder preserve resource names Yes For example name an object in 3ds max and save the scene as an ase file Open the ase file Scene Builder publish it and check the instance name in the mtx file The instance name coincides with the name in 3ds max The naming structure is preserved in the mts file as well Keep in mind however that only the newest March 2002 version 2 5 of Stream Tuning Studio preserves resource names Stream Tuning Studio 2 1 replaces all resource names with default names such as MATERIAL_0 Do I need to convert from Quaternions to Euler using the tool on the Debug D menu Rarely Scene Builder already performs the conversion if it s necessary when publishing files With imported spline path and rotation animations you have the option of saving your animation values with either Quaternion or Euler values Quaternion values are classified as quat types whereas Euler values are classified as R3D values Note that the num
100. thin the Scene Builder repository but not rendered This is a cloaking command The angle between two edges To project light over an entire area of an object scattered light Where two adjacent polygons connect Removes edge artifacts that may appear when geometry is viewed at close proximity It is most useful for scenes originally created in third party software Adjusting edge bias does not improve scenes created with procedural geometry only 2003 Viewpoint Corporation All rights reserved element geometry global flip polygons hot spot hierarchy instance instancing interactors iPIX lightmap map materials Viewpoint Scene Builder User Guide 97 Glossary The complete statement of an XML command contained between an opening and closing tag Elements include attributes and values and may contain nested elements also known as subelements Defines all polygons making up an object Describes properties added to an entire scene Inverts the geometry of a 3D model An area in a scene made up of a procedural shape usually invisible and created in Scene Builder Hot spots are generally used to define a 3D area that when interacted with displays a text annotation texture or Flash movie For instance when a user points to a hot spot a text based annotation may appear A list of things that are linked together in a certain order A family tree analogy helps describe the parts of the hierarchy
101. through the Zbuffer and 2 means pass click up through the hierarchy Corresponding XML tag PassClick 2003 Viewpoint Corporation All rights reserved Viewpoint Scene Builder User Guide 67 Scene Builder Menu Options Animation 3 Menu Animation On Off se Direction d Timeline Manual Time Control Time Scrubber lt Fixed Time Step sec Render Animation Play Only Once Loop Animation Senplity Timeline Animation On Off pauses Off or resumes On an animation Corresponding XML tag On Reverse Direction plays the selected animation backward On or forward Off Rewind rewinds the selected animation in a scene This resets the entire animation and sets the model back to the starting point of the animation just run Show Selected Timeline shows the timeline for the selected animation Manual Time Control allows you to manually track animation actions which is useful when troubleshooting Choose On to enable the Time Scrubber Time Scrubber allows you to play the animation manually drag the slider or jump to a specific time in the animation double click the option and type a numerical value Fixed Time Step lets you set fixed time intervals in seconds for your animations Render Animation lets you specify whether the animation is rendered first as the scene s background Pre or in the foreground Post Corresponding XML tag RenderAnim Play Only Once s
102. tion Viewpoint does not warrant guaranty or make any representations regarding the use or the results of the software in terms of its correctness accuracy reliability timeliness suitability or otherwise The entire risk as to the results of performance of the software is assumed by you In no event will Viewpoint be liable for any special indirect consequential punitive or exemplary damages or the loss of anticipated profits arising from the performance of the software or resulting from the loss of use data or profits whether in an action for breach of contract or warranty or tort including negligence arising out of or in connection with the information technology software and documentation The Web site and publications may contain technical inaccuracies or typographical errors Viewpoint assumes no responsibility for and disclaims all liability for any such inaccuracy error or omission in the Web site and documentation and in any other referenced or linked documentation Viewpoint may make changes to the information software Web site documentation prices technical specifications and product offerings in its sole discretion at any time and without notice Author Doralee Moynihan Carolyn Gronlund Carla Gray Contributors Michael Petrov Dakshitha Ariyaratne Nicolas Brun Jae Y Lee Barry Paul Software Team Scene Builder 3 0 11 was created by Jack Antipin Ales Holecek and Michael Petrov with assistance from Vadim Abadj
103. tion opens the Viewpoint tool panel 5 Select the object that you want to be treated as hot spot Click Convert Object to Hot Spot Convert Object to Hot Spot Select All Hot Spots Revert Hot Spot to Object 7 Switch to the Modify tool panel on the right side of your screen 2003 Viewpoint Corporation All rights reserved 24 Viewpoint Scene Builder User Guide Importing 3D Models 8 In the Hot Spot Properties area specify the rollover text in the Text field You can also specify the color point size font and several other hot spot options 9 Select File gt Export 10 In the Save dialog box select the ASE file format and click Save 11 Switch to the Utilities tool panel 12 Click Save mtx 13 In the Save dialog box select Save as Type Viewpoint MTX mtx and then click Save Important Save the file in the same directory and with the same name as the ase file 14 In Scene Builder click Open ASE MTX max script Note Objects that are primitives in both 3ds max and Scene Builder will be invisible hot spots for example cubes and spheres 3ds max objects that are not primitives such as the teapot myobject will be visible in Scene Builder If you want a primitive to appear in Scene Builder as a mesh change the name of the object in 3ds max to be unique For example rename cube to mycube To generate animation ranges in 3ds max This utility enables you to create animation ranges na
104. tively in 3ds max and then export them to Scene Builder 1 In 3ds max open the scene where you want to create animation ranges 2003 Viewpoint Corporation All rights reserved Viewpoint Scene Builder User Guide 25 Importing 3D Models 2 Inthe Utilities tool panel on the right side of your screen click MaxScript VAALIT ES Click Run Script Select viewpoint_export ms This option opens the Viewpoint tool panel Create an animation Specify the animation names Specify the start and end frames Click Add Animation Ranges NN au P W range2 50 0 75 0 range 100 0 175 0 Name frange3 Stat Frame T00 2 EndFrame 1750 2 9 Select File gt Export 10 In the Save dialog box select the ASE file format and click Save 11 Switch to the Utilities tool panel 12 Click Save mtx 13 In the Save dialog box select Save as Type Viewpoint MTX mtx then click Save Important Save the file in the same directory and with the same name as the ase file 14 In Scene Builder click Open ASE MTX max script 2003 Viewpoint Corporation All rights reserved 26 Viewpoint Scene Builder User Guide Managing Geometries Chapter 5 Managing Geometries About Geometries in Viewpoint Technology Scenes A geometry is a 3D object or any part of an object that can be individually referenced within the scene For example a 3D model of a lamp may include three geometries the base the stand
105. to select and view scene elements by name Additionally you can now drag and drop scene elements to change parent child relationships and rename scene elements The Hierarchy menus are as follows press Shift the numbered specified to display a menu Rendering Hierarchy Lists the hierarchical order in which scene elements are Shift 0 rendered Instances Shift 1 Lists the hierarchical relationship between parent and child objects in the scene Geometries Shift 2 Lists all the objects in the scene including meshes primitives and hot spots Materials Shift 3 Lists the materials used in the scene Textures Shift 4 Lists the textures used in the scene Animators Shift 5 Lists each imported animation instruction tag by name Repository Shift 6 Lists all the elements in your scene arranged by type Tip If a Hierarchy menu is too long to fit on your screen use the scroll bar to scroll up and down For information about navigating Hierarchy menus see About Hierarchy Menus About Hierarchies In a 3D scene hierarchies describe the parent child relationships between geometries and between a geometry and the textures and materials applied to it Animations are also arranged hierarchically In a hierarchy any attribute or action applied to the parent is also applied to the children A parent element can have multiple children and which in turn can have children For example
106. tries Technology scene 7 Resave only the scene s mtx file Do Chapter 9 Publishing Your Viewpoint not resave the mts file Technology Scene Files 8 Use Viewpoint Media Publisher or the Viewpoint Media Publisher Guide MTS3 Interface to embed your Viewpoint Technology scene into a web page See Chapter 2 of Using JavaScript in Viewpoint Technology Web Applications for information about using the MTS3 Interface Importing Files from 3D Modeling Applications You can import files from 3D modeling applications to use in your Viewpoint Technology scene The process varies depending on the 3D modeling application you use e Discreet 3ds max formerly 3D Studio MAX includes a built in export utility that lets you export an ase file e Many CAD CAM applications allow you to export obt files e Alias Wavefront Maya and Newtek LightWave 3D Lightwave include built in export utilities that allow you to export your 3D model and associated animations in mtx format e You can also use 3D scene converter tools such as Okino PolyTrans to convert native scenes file to mtx format e Right Hemisphere VMI Virtual Media Integrator offers publishing from a variety of 3D file formats e Viewpoint ZoomView Builder enables you to create zoomable Viewpoint Technology scenes from 2D images ZoomView enables you to easily deploy large print quality images online allowing users to zoom i
107. uide Managing Animations Chapter 6 Managing Animations About Animations Animation applications such as 3ds max typically provide a single animation timeline Web animations however usually require multiple timelines For example you might have an animation in 3ds max with a laptop computer opening and the screen turning on in a single timeline However in Viewpoint Technology the two animations will be separate one for opening the laptop the other for turning it on With the ASE Behavior Editor you can convert single animation timelines into several enabling you to trigger them individually Furthermore Scene Builder s animation features let you organize and test imported animations Scene Builder lets you divide animations by keyframe This allows you to edit or add to the animations using Viewpoint s XML commands in the mtx file You can also test animations in Scene Builder by playing them frame by frame using the Time Scrubber option Note Viewpoint Technology does not support wildcards for animations that use quaternions Such animations should be converted to Euler coordinate system For details about each animation option in Scene Builder see Animation 3 Menu Organizing Animations Associated with an Imported 3D Model Before exporting the 3D model file from the native 3D modeling application be sure to take notes on the animations you ve included In your notes name the individual animation beh
108. uide 35 Managing Geometries 6 Go to the Transformation 4 menu and use the Scale X Y and Z sliders to scale each vector separately or Uniform Scale slider to resize the hot spot activation area shape to the desired dimensions 7 Go to the Hot Spots 7 menu and click Rollover Text Type the text you want to display when the user clicks or points to the hot spot activation area 8 Use Font and Text Color to change the font style and color Tip If you want to wrap lines of hot spot text use n new line escape sequences to break up the lines For example My word this is a long long text string can be broken up with n My word this is na long long ntext string to create three lines of text To learn more about advanced editing of hot spot such as triggering animation or other action or applying textures see the Viewpoint XML Authoring Guide accessible from Viewpoint Developer Central To create a hot spot with a texture in Scene Builder 1 Goto the Hot Spots 7 menu and click Add Hot Spot Click the shape you want to use for this hot spot Click Show Hot Spot Text to change this option to On Click Displayable Texture and then click Load Select any JPEG file as the texture for this hot spot LI P WM Now instead of displaying text when users point to or click the activation area the JPEG image displays 2003 Viewpoint Corporation All rights reserved 36 Viewpoint Scene Builder User G
109. ur Viewpoint Technology scene and how to manage the texture and other characteristics of the objects in the scene This chapter discusses object opacity textures lightmaps bumpmaps and hot spots e Chapter 6 Managing Animations Describes how to organize and test imported animations in your Viewpoint Technology scene e Chapter 7 Managing Scene Hierarchies Describes how to use the Hierarchy menu to organize elements in your Viewpoint Technology scene e Chapter 8 Setting Other Scene Global Parameters Describes how to set scene height and width define settings for the scene camera and set a background color image or panorama e Chapter 9 Publishing Your Viewpoint Technology Scene Files Describes how to save or publish your scene mtx and mts files This chapter also describes how to create a default file that you can use as a Viewpoint Technology scene template 2003 Viewpoint Corporation All rights reserved Viewpoint Scene Builder User Guide Introduction e Appendix A Help Resources and Feedback Lists available Viewpoint resources e Appendix B Scene Builder Menu Options Lists and defines each menu option in the Scene Builder Commands menu including menu options for Procedural Lightmaps and Texture Lab e Appendix C Resetting Elements of Your Scene Describes how to reset scene defaults menu by menu or for the entire
110. yframes to the animation You can navigate through the keyframes on the timeline by using the following e Press Alt Click to move through forward e Press Shift Click to move backward If the current animation is a timeline the value of the timeline displays on the Time Scrubber menu option An asterisk in front of the value indicates you are on a wildcard keyframe or that one of the frames on either side is a wildcard and that the value shown is affected by a wildcard setting and may change if the wildcard s value changes Viewing an Animation Timeline To see a visual map of the animation timeline 1 Go to the Animators Shift 5 Hierarchy menu and click the name of the animation you want to play 2 Goto the Animation 3 menu and click Show Selected Timeline to set it to On Tip Right click the scene to refresh the timeline iewpoint Scene Builder Build 3 0 9 6 OI x ES Es k ES Tree e Red dots indicate keyframes in the animation e Green dots indicate keyframes that are part of the parent animation but not part of the currently selected animation 3 Now you can run the animation as described in Playing an Animation and _ Manually Playing an Animation with Time Scrubber 2003 Viewpoint Corporation All rights reserved 42 Viewpoint Scene Builder User Guide Managing Animations Simplifying an Animation Timeline Scene Builder can evaluate the timeline for your animation an
111. ype a name for the html file then click Save a Un P WM Double click the icon for the newly created html file to view it in your default web browser Publishing for Stream Tuning Studio Viewpoint Stream Tuning Studio contains settings and options that improve the visual presentation of a streaming 3D scene while dramatically reducing the overall file size Scene Builder offers some scene optimizing features but for more control over texture by texture settings and triangle count and to test streaming as various settings you can bring an mts file through Stream Tuning Studio For files you intend to optimize with Stream Tuning Studio publish with only the compression necessary to convert it to the MTS format To publish for use with Stream Tuning Studio This procedure can be performed in a single step Go to the Publish 0 menu and click Publish for Tuning Studio For more information see the Viewpoint Stream Tuning Studio User Guide available from Viewpoint Developer Central You can also download the Stream Tuning Studio tool for free from Viewpoint Developer Central To see the links for this tool click Create Content then click Authoring and finally click Authoring Tools Creating a Default mtx File The Preferences 9 menu gives you the option to load or clear an mtx default file The most common use of a default file is to save custom global settings for reuse In other words your default file can be used a

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