565 lines
38 KiB
HTML
565 lines
38 KiB
HTML
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<title>David Wyand's Looking Glass</title>
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<p align="center"><b><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Release Notes</font></b></p>
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<p><b>November 4, 2005 (Version 1.02):</b></p>
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<p>- Added tool tips to all GUI controls. Hold the mouse pointer over any control
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for a couple of seconds for the tool tip to be displayed.</p>
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<p>- The Torque Game Engine v1.4 added support for more than 8 collision meshes.
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TST Pro has been updated to also remove this limitation.</p>
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<p>- The full PDF documentation is now available from the Help->Complete Documentation
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menu item.</p>
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<p>- Under OSX, the standard Quit menu item now shuts down the application.</p>
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<p>- OSX 10.3.9 is now the minimum version that is supported. The same application
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bundle now runs under OSX 10.3.9 and OSX 10.4.x.</p>
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<p> </p>
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<p><b>May 3, 2005 (Version 1.01 OSX Only):</b></p>
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<p>- Corrected a bug under OSX 10.4 (Tiger) that was preventing TST Pro from launching.</p>
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<p>- Under OSX, it is now possible to open shapes on volumes other than the one
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TST Pro is launched from.</p>
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<p> </p>
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<p><b>December 15, 2004 (Version 1.0):</b></p>
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<p>- Under the Mounting window, the left list that contains the nodes for the
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object to be mounted now has a new entry: [origin]. Selecting this entry rather
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than one of the node names in the list will mount the object from its world
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origin. This is to work around objects that don't have a proper mount point
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node (normally called mountPoint), such as the TGE Orc crossbow. </p>
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<p> </p>
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<p><b>December 1, 2004:</b></p>
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<p>- Fixed a bug where only the triggers in the first sequence that had them were
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correct and subsequent sequences with triggers always pointed back to the first
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sequence. Now all animation sequences correctly show their own triggers.</p>
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<p>- Added a check at object load time for shapes that may be corrupted due to
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an older 3DS Max exporter. These shapes would normally require UnmessDTS to
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be run on them to fix them. If the user has not yet run UnmessDTS, then the
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shape would crash Looking Glass. When loading one of these shapes, the user
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is presented with a messaage boxing asking if they would like to continue to
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load the shape even though it likely contains errors. This user request was
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added just in case Looking Glass has missinterpreted the DTS file (a false positive
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on the test) and it is indeed OK to load it. Whew!</p>
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<p>- The current mip map level may now be modified from the bottom of the Materials
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window. Either the value may be entered into the "Global Base Mip Map Level"
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text field (remeber to press Enter for the value to take) or the double-arrow
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drag button may be used.</p>
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<p>- The locking of the max mip map level may now be done from the bottom of the
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Materials window. Use the "Lock Mip Map Level" checkbox. This is the same as
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pressing the "m" keyboard shortbut or using the "M with Lock" button in the
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toolbar at the top of the main window.</p>
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<p>- A new option has been added to the Materials window. The "Draw Material Window
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bitmap at current mip map level" checkbox, when activated, will force the bitmap
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of the currently selected material (at the top of the Material window) to draw
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at the current mip map level. This is handy if you wish to see how OpenGL is
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scaling the various mip map levels.</p>
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<p> </p>
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<p><b>November 8, 2004:</b></p>
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<p>- Both the shape tree view and rendering simulation tree view on the Shape
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Properties window have a checkbox added to determine if primitives should be
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included in the list. With this option checked, all primitives and their number
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of vertices will be shown as children of their materials. By default this option
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is off as very large objects or slower machines may take a while to generate
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this list upon object load and switching between objects.</p>
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<p></p>
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<p>- Two new rendering modes have been added: Triangle Strips and Tri-strip Wireframe.
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Both of these rendering modes will disable all texturing and assign a random
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colour to each triangle strip in the object. The wireframe mode adds a coloured
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wireframe over the triangle strips for better individual triangle visibility.
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As always, the wireframe colour may be controlled using the Display Properties
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window.</p>
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<p>- The Mount Window now has a new checkbox underneath each of the node lists
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that allows the user to sort the list alphabetically. With sorting turned off,
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the node list will be in the order in which it was saved within the DTS file,
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just as it has worked in previous versions.</p>
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<p>- Created a new button for Light Properties. This opens a new window that contains
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all of the controls that were under the Light tab of the Display Properties
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window.</p>
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<p>- Removed the Light tab from the Display Properties window and replaced it
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with a Node tab. Any controls that were under the Render tab that had to do
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with nodes have been moved to this new tab.</p>
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<p>- When an environmental map is loaded using the Display Properties window's
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Render tab EMap popup, it is now displayed underneath the popup list. This helps
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to identify what the actual bitmap looks like.</p>
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<p>- A new slider control has been added to the Display Properties window's Render
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tab: Tristrip Bias. Using this slider forces the triangle strip display mode
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to cycle through the random colour table, changing the colour of each triangle
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strip. If you find that two triangle strips that are next to each other are
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too similar in colour, use this bias to help them stand out.</p>
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<p>- There is now a default environment map (clouds from TGE) that will be selected
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when the environment map toolbar button is clicked. To load up a different environment
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map, use the popup under the Display Properties window Render tab. The last
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selected bitmap will always be used with the environment map toolbar button
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within the same session.</p>
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<p>- The 'Show rotation/translation axis' checkbox has been moved to the Render
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tab of the Display Properties window.</p>
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<p>- A new checkbox has been added to the Display Properties window's General
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tab entitled 'Invert view's mouse rotation'. When this is checked the mouse
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controls will be inverted when rotating the main viewing window. This allows
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the user to match their own 3D application's method of rotating a view with
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the mouse.</p>
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<p>- When loading in a bitmap such as for an environmental map or a background,
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the load file dialog window now contains a small preview of the selected bitmap.
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It's useful to make sure you have the correct one selected before actually loading
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it.</p>
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<p>- Fixed a bug where the rotation of the mount point of a child object (the
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node of the object being mounted onto the current object, often named 'mountpoint')
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was not being taken into account.</p>
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<p>- Windows such as the Display Properties are no longer stopped from moving
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past the edge of the main window. This means that you could have a window that
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is partially moved off screen.</p>
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<p>- There is now a minimum size that the Looking Glass window may be shrunken
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to in order to keep some of the interface accessible. However, as the window
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is made smaller, some of the buttons and popup controls will disappear to prevent
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controls from being drawn over top of each other. When this occurs, the text
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'MORE' will appear with an arrow to indicate that there are more controls if
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the window were to be made larger. This applies to the toolbar buttons along
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the top, the object and node popups along the bottom, and the item coordinates
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display at the bottom left.</p>
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<p>- With a sorted mesh (TSSortedMesh) is being viewed it is now possible to see
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the rendering order of the clusters within the 3D view. To activate this mode,
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select the 'Show Sorted Mesh Draw Order' checkbox from the Rendering tab on
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the Display Properties window or use the button in the toolbar that looks like
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two intersecting planes. It may also be toggled from any preset. With this mode
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active, each cluster of primitives will be drawn in a shade of gray depending
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on its drawing order -- the first cluster drawn will be very dark and the last
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cluster drawn will be very light. It is usually best to use this mode with lighting
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disabled so that the shading due to lights doesn't conflict with the cluster
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colouring. And while this mode may be used with texturing turned on, it may
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be easiest to view in a display mode that does not include textures. A good
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object to try this on is any of the leafy trees that come with the TGE demo.</p>
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<p>- A new rendering mode has been added that will force a shape to render transparently.
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This is most useful when used in combination with the new solid bone mode mentioned
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below. To activate this mode, use the 'Render meshes in ghost mode' checkbox
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from the Rendering tab on the Display Properties window or use the button in
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the toolbar that looks like a ghost. It may also be toggled from any preset.
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When active, all shapes will be drawn with a transparency value set with the
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'Fade Amt' slider under the checkbox. Setting the slider to 0 will cause the
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shape to be completely transparent and a value of 1 will force the mesh to be
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opaque as if the ghost mode were turned off.</p>
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<p>- A new method of drawing the connections between nodes has been added: Solid
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Bones. As usual, this method may be selected using the 'Connect nodes as' popup
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from the Nodes tab of the Display Properties window. It may also be set from
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any preset. With this connection method active, all connections will be drawn
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with a filled-in bone shape and both the connections and the node axis' will
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take the depth buffer into account. This will cause the 'bones' to not be drawn
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if they are inside the shape. However, when used in combination with the ghost
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mode above, it is possible to see the bones within the shape and get a sense
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of their 3D position.</p>
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<p>- The camera's field of view may now be interactively modified using the button
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with the vertical and horizontal boxes that is located between the Target and
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Rotation buttons located at the upper right of the main screen. Holding down
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the left mouse button will display the current FOV underneath the row of buttons
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(in the HUD). Dragging the mouse left and right will modify the camera's FOV.</p>
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<p>- The fix for the child's mount point rotation not being taken into account
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introduced a new bug with wheeled vehicle wheels. The TGE wheeled vehicle code
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mounts its wheels differently than the shapebase mount code in that it doesn't
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take the child's mount point rotation into account. To correct for this, the
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Mount Left, Mount Right and Mount Wheels buttons on the Mount Objects window
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will not take the child's mount point rotation into account. However, the regular
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Mount button still does.</p>
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<p>- Added an 'Unmount All' button to the Mount Objects window.</p>
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<p>- New buttons have been added to customize the background, direct light and
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ambient light colours. Beside each text edit control for red, green and blue
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is a button with two arrows on its face. Holding down the left mouse button
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and dragging left and right will modify the neighboring colour value and automatically
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switch the accompanying popup to Custom.</p>
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<p>- A new set of popup controls have been added to the Mount Objects window.
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In place of the checkboxes that allowed for the sorting of the node lists are
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popup controls that provide three options: don't sort (same order as loaded
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from DTS file); sorted; and sorted but with all nodes that begin with 'mount'
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placed at the top of the list. The last option is quite useful when you're referencing
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nodes with the standard TGE naming convention.</p>
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<p> </p>
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<p><b>September 22, 2004:</b></p>
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<p>- Under Windows, a new button has been added to the Project Directory modify
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window. It is a picture of a right pointing arrow. This button will open a standard
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Windows dialog that allows the user to choose the project directory and populates
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the chosen pathway into the "Path to Project Directory" edit field.</p>
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<p></p>
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<p>- The Shape Properties window now contains two tabs along the top: Tree and
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TSDump. The TSDump tab provides access to the standard TGE TSDump facility that
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was provided in a previous release. The Tree tab provides a hierarchical view
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of the displayed DTS file including detail levels, subshape structure, and skins.</p>
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<p>- Added the ability to render objects using the Synapse Gaming Lighting Pack.
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This may be toggled on or off using the Synapse Gaming Lighting Pack check box
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under the Lights tab of the Display Properties window, or using the icon in
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the toolbar with a lightbulb and 'LP' text beside it. Note that when in this
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rendering mode, having the main light over 50% strength (or 128 in any of the
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text fields) will create an overexposed look.</p>
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<p>- Added a new tab on the Shape Properties window: Rendering. This tab contains
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a tree view that simulates the order that meshes are rendered in. This is useful
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to determine if your non-transparent meshes are indeed being rendered before
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your transparent ones. The information updates based on the currently viewed
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detail level.</p>
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<p>- The Tree and Rendering tab trees under the Shape Properties window may have
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their columns resized. To do so, click the mouse on the vertical column separator
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bar within the header and move the mouse left and right.</p>
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<p>- Shifted around some buttons. The Presets drop-down is now underneath the
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tool bar beside the Grid drop-down. The Shape Properties button has been moved
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down to just above the Sequence Info button.</p>
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<p>- New preset options have been added: Use Synapse Gaming Lighting Pack, set
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the background colour, and set the background bitmap.</p>
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<p>- Added in three new items to the LOD HUD: Alpha In, Alpha Out, and IntraDL.
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The first two define when the current detail level will fade in the next detail
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level and when the current detail level will fade out, respectively. The IntraDL
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value is the current shape instance intraDL and controls when the fading occurs.
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The standard TGE formulae are as follows:<br>
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<br>
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CurrentIntraDL > AlphaIn + AlphaOut: render current DL <br>
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else<br>
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CurrentIntraDL > AlphaOut: render next DL with alpha, then render current DL<br>
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else<br>
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Render current DL with alpha, then render next DL</p>
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<p>- A new 'S' button has been placed beside each of the sequence, object, and
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node popup lists on the main screen. When this button is depressed, the popup
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list will be sorted alphabetically. With the button raised, the list will be
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in the same order as defined within the DTs file (as it has always been).</p>
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<p>- Modified the Project Directory window to operate like the Presets window.
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Selecting an entry and editing either the optional name or pathway will change
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the selected entry rather than requiring the user to also add a new entry. A
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new button has been added: Copy Directory, which will copy the selected directory
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name and pathway to a new list entry. The other buttons operate the same as
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in previous releases.</p>
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<p>- The camera rotation, translation, and zoom are now stored with the individual
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object. With this change, the camera will no longer be reset when switching
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the view between multiple objects. The camera may still be manually reset using
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previous methods.</p>
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<p>- Added a new button to the tool bar labeled 'MP'. This allows the user to
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toggle the rendering of all mounted objects within the current view.</p>
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<p>- It is now possible to set an animation to ping pong forwards and backwards
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while playing. This may be activated regardless of the animation sequence's
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capability to loop. To turn this feature on, toggle the new button in the lower
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right of the main window that has a right and left arrow on its face. This is
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beside the original Play button.</p>
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<p>- Added in support for TGE shape instance material reskinning on a per object
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basis. The controls for this may be found at the bottom of the Material Properties
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window. With the checkbox selected, the current object will be forced to reskin
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using the name in the text edit box. With the checkbox unselected, the current
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object will revert to the materials it had when first loaded. Reskinning of
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an object may also be set up using the Presets drop-down menu. This allows for
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easy toggling between the red team's colours and the blue team's colours, for
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example.</p>
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<p>- When using the 'Load DTS & CS' option, the .cs file will now always be first
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compiled before it is loaded. This should ensure that any changes made to the
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file are recognized, even if it was previously loaded in the same Looking Glass
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session.</p>
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<p>- The load file dialog has been updated to include a Refresh button to reload
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the list of displayed files. This was required as the list of files is buffered
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within the internal resource manager. Also, a new Project Directory drop-down
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has been added to the top of the load file dialog to allow the user to browse
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through their project directories without needing to first close the dialog.</p>
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<p>- The Shape Properties Tree tab now has Expand All and Collapse All buttons
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to expand or collapse the displayed tree.</p>
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<p> </p>
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<p><b>August 30, 2004:</b></p>
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<p>- David Wyand's Looking Glass now runs on Mac OSX.</p>
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<p></p>
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<p>- A number of new buttons have been added to rotate, translate and zoom the
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display. These are located in the upper right of the window and allow you to
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perform these functions with only the left mouse button (or from a single button
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mouse in the case of the Mac).</p>
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<p>- Added a button that looks like a bullseye to the upper right of the window.
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This performs the same function as click on the 'a' key: recentre the display
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around the current object.</p>
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<p>- Added a new drop-down to change the current view. The options are: top, bottom,
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front, back, left, right and perspective. The perspective option is the standard.
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Keys 1 through 7 match up with the options in the drop-down (ie: pressing a
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'7' will change the display to perspective) and may be used to change the display.</p>
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<p>- Under OSX, a new button has been added to the Project Directory modify window.
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It is a picture of a right pointing arrow. This button will open a standard
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OSX window that allows the user to choose the project directory and populates
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the chosen pathway into the "Path to Project Directory" edit field.</p>
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<p>- It is now possible to translate and zoom with the left mouse button. Holding
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down the CTRL key with the left mouse button will cause the view to translate
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(the same as using the right mouse button) while holding down the ALT (Apple
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or Command key on the Mac) key will cause the view to zoom (the same as using
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the mouse wheel). All of the usual modifier keys will also work at the same
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time ie: hold down SHIFT in addition to CTRL to translate faster.</p>
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<p>- Implemented user defined presets. From the Presets drop down menu in the
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upper left, the user may choose the modify option which will open a new window.
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From here, presets may be built and assigned to a function key (F1-F8). The
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checkbox beside each parameter indicates if the selected preset will change
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that parameter or leave it alone. Clicking on the "G" button beside each parameter
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will get the currently set value (such as setup in the Display Properties window).
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There must always be one preset in the list, although it doesn't have to be
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the supplied default one. These presets are saved when the program is quit.</p>
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<p>- Added a grid size drop down menu to the tool bar area. It is now possible
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to change the grid size without having to go to the Display properties window.</p>
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<p>- From the HUD, the specifics of a tsLastDetail (billboard) detail level are
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shown, such as the number of equatorial and polar steps, etc. The currently
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rendered bitmap index and the angles at which it was rendered at are also shown.
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This may be toggled on or off from the Display Properties window.</p>
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<p>- A new icon has been added to the toolbar to toggle the window always being
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on top. The 'w' key may also be used. Previously this was only possible using
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the Display Properties window.</p>
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<p>- A new icon has been added to the toolbar to toggle the grid. The 'g' key
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may also be used.</p>
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<p>- The Mount Objects window has a new button: Mount Wheels. With a standard
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TGE wheeled vehicle object in view, select a tire object from the drop-down
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list. Then click on the 'Mount Wheels' button (there is no need to select a
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hub from the right node list). The wheel will automatically be mounted to each
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of the hub nodes and oriented correctly based on which side of the vehicle the
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hub is on.</p>
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<p>- A new button and window have been added: Shape Properties. Clicking on the
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Refresh button on the Shape Properties window will generate an outline of the
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currently viewed shape using the standard TGE tsDump facility. Clicking on the
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Export button will save the currently viewed object's tsDump to the file 'dtsdump.txt'
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into the same directory as the Looking Glass executable. These features will
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be expanded upon in future releases.</p>
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<p> </p>
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<p><b>July 30, 2004:</b></p>
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<p>- The program now uses the Windows' mouse cursor rather than the TGE-drawn
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mouse cursor. The main advantage is the cursor doesn't disappear when it is
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in the window's title bar, making it easier to drag the window.</p>
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<p></p>
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<p>- An hour glass mouse cursor will now be shown when the program is busy.</p>
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<p>- It is now possible to resize the main window to any dimensions, including
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minimized and maximized.</p>
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<p>- It is now possible to have texture maps that are larger than 512x512 in size.
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2048x2048 with an alpha channel has been tested. Please note that standard TGE
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does not handle texture maps that are this large.</p>
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<p>- Added FPS and MSPF rows to the HUD. While this would not be an indication
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of how well your objects will perform in game, it does provide something to
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compare your objects relative to each other. This may be turned on and off under
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the General tab on the Display Properties window.</p>
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<p>- It is now possible to view a node's local coordinates. This is selected from
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the drop down list at the bottom left of the main window that includes a node's
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world coordinates and an object's bounding box dimensions.</p>
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<p>- When the Looking Glass is not the foreground window, it puts itself to sleep
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for a short while between screen redraws. This allows other applications more
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time at the CPU. This may not be desirable if the Looking Glass is playing back
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an animation on a second monitor while another program is being used on the
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main monitor (the animation playback will be jerky). The user may change how
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long the program sleeps (even setting it to zero milliseconds) when in the background
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under the General tab on the Display Properties window.</p>
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<p>- It is now possible to view all of the vertices that the selected node has
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influence over. This may be toggled on or off either from the Render tab of
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the Display Properties window, or the small 'V' button beside the Node drop
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down list. The colour that the vertices are drawn in depends on the weighting
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of the node on the them (0% weight to 100% weight). These colours may be changed
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under the Render tab of the Display Properties window. You'll also find there
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a preview of what the colours look like at the various weights. Note that this
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currently only works for 'Skin' meshes and their nodes.</p>
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<p>- Added a Help drop-down to the main screen. There are a number of options
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from this menu. The first labeled 'Contents' opens a web browser to the local
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documentation files. The second labeled 'Help on the Web' is meant to go to
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a support forum, but for the moment goes to www.gnometech.com. The third labeled
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'About OpenGL' displays some OpenGL and screen info. This will be expanded in
|
|
the future. The fourth labeled 'About Looking Glass' opens a window with the
|
|
usual information about the software.</p>
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<p>- It is now possible to give a Project Directory a name. Sometimes a project
|
|
directory may be really long or only different from a previous project directory
|
|
by one directory. This can make finding the correct directory in the Project
|
|
Directory drop-down difficult. The name may be assigned using the optional 'Name'
|
|
field in the Project Directory dialog window that is opened when the '[modify]'
|
|
option is selected in the Project Directory drop-down menu.</p>
|
|
<p>- The licensing window that is displayed when the user clicks on the 'Quit'
|
|
button has been removed. Now the licensing information is displayed when the
|
|
program is first launched and goes away when the first object has been loaded.</p>
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|
<p> </p>
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|
<p><b>July 13, 2004:</b></p>
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|
<p>- Added the ability to render the LOS collision meshes. This may be turned
|
|
on under the Render tab of the Display Properties window and using the toolbar
|
|
LoS icon.</p>
|
|
<p>- Fixed a bug where using the Load Recent popup didn't always initiate the
|
|
correct Project Directory, which would prevent the loading of some/all assets.</p>
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|
<p>- Added a toolbar icon to toggle the nodes display. The 'n' key may also be
|
|
used.</p>
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|
<p>- It is now possible to reload an object that has been changed (such as with
|
|
a 3D program) and see the changes within the viewer. Previously, once an object
|
|
had been loaded, it would stay resident in memory and the file would no longer
|
|
be accessed, even if the file had changed.</p>
|
|
<p>- Mounted objects will now correctly show the appropriate detail level. To
|
|
change how a mounted object is drawn (detail level wise) go to that object and
|
|
either set the LOD manually, or turn on automatic LOD selection. Those settings
|
|
carry over when the object is mounted to another object.</p>
|
|
<p>- Improved how mounted objects animate. However the object has been setup (including
|
|
multiple threads and moving the animation slider to a non-zero value) is how
|
|
it will look when mounted. Note that if the object is animating while viewed,
|
|
the animation will stop when viewing it mounted on another object. This should
|
|
also correct a bug where mounting an object, then viewing it separately, and
|
|
then going back to the mounted view could cause the mounted object to change
|
|
its animation sequence.</p>
|
|
<p>- Two new buttons have been added to the Mount Object Window. The Mount Left
|
|
button will mount the object as if it were a left wheel in standard Torque,
|
|
and the Mount Right button will mount the object as if it were a right wheel.
|
|
The standard Mount button still exists and will mount an object without any
|
|
added rotation.</p>
|
|
<p>- When the user quits the program, the mouse now automatically moves to the
|
|
OK button of the licensing window.</p>
|
|
<p>- It is possible to set the program's window to always be on top of all other
|
|
windows (Top-most window). This is toggled under the General tab of the Display
|
|
Properties window.</p>
|
|
<p> </p>
|
|
<p><b>June 30, 2004:</b></p>
|
|
<p>- The Sequence Info window now shows all trigger properties such as trigger
|
|
state and activation position if the selected sequence contains one or more
|
|
triggers. A column (Trig) has been added to the sequence list to indicate which
|
|
sequences contain triggers.</p>
|
|
<p>- If a sequence is selected that contains triggers, a white line will be drawn
|
|
on the main sequence time slider in the position of each trigger.</p>
|
|
<p>- The recently loaded files list now supports loading a DTS file and its corresponding
|
|
CS file as if the user used the "Load DTS & CS" button. This is indicated with
|
|
a "[cs]" shown beside the file name.</p>
|
|
<p>- The Sequence Info window now shows all nodes that are used in the selected
|
|
sequence. The node information scrolled window displays if the node has a translation,
|
|
rotation or scale change in the selected sequence.</p>
|
|
<p>- The Render tab on the Display Properties window has two additional option:
|
|
a check box to draw all nodes that are used in the selected sequence in a 'bolded'
|
|
fashion, and a drop down list to select the colour to draw the animated nodes
|
|
in. If the 'Use node color' option is selected from the drop down list, then
|
|
the animated nodes are drawn in the same colour as the non-animated nodes (selected
|
|
from the Node Axis Color drop down list).</p>
|
|
<p>- Holding down the ALT key and using the mouse wheel over the object view will
|
|
change the object's detail level (and lock to that LOD). This is the same as
|
|
using the left and right arrow keys.</p>
|
|
<p>- Added the ability to load files from any directory. This is accessed from
|
|
the Project Directory drop down list. By selecting a directory from the list,
|
|
the internal resource manager will point to that directory and provide a listing
|
|
of all valid files within the load dialog windows. If the [modify] option is
|
|
selected, a new window opens to allow the user to add or remove directories.
|
|
At this time, the directory pathway must be entered manually. Also note that
|
|
all subdirectories are searched for valid files, so setting the project directory
|
|
to C:\ will take a while (listen to the hard drive churn!). Note that if you
|
|
load in an object from one project directory, move to another project directory
|
|
and then bring up the load requestor that the already loaded object will show
|
|
up in the list. Consider it a feature for now... :o)</p>
|
|
<p>- When a file is loaded from the 'Load Recent' drop-down list, and the current
|
|
project directory is not the same as the chosen file, the project directory
|
|
will first change to that needed for the file and then change back. This may
|
|
cause a slight delay in loading the object if there are a lot of files and subdirectories
|
|
in the project directory.</p>
|
|
<p>- A HUD has been added to show more information about the loaded object. The
|
|
HUD options may be found on the Display Properties window under the General
|
|
tab. The location of the HUD (and being able to turn it off) and its text colour
|
|
may be changed. Currently the grid size and the viewed object detail level statistics
|
|
may be displayed. The 'h' key may be used to toggle the HUD.</p>
|
|
<p> </p>
|
|
<p><b>June 20, 2004:</b></p>
|
|
<p>- Added a 'rewind' button. If an animation sequence is playing, it will jump
|
|
to the beginning and continue to play. If the sequence is paused, it will jump
|
|
back to position 0 and stay paused.</p>
|
|
<p>- Added an 'M' (for mip map base level) and 'D' (for detail level) to the item
|
|
coordinate display. Each shows the current respective values. If a lock icon
|
|
is displayed beside the 'D', then the user is manually controlling the value.
|
|
If a lock icon is beside the 'M', then the user has locked the base and max
|
|
mip map level to be the same.</p>
|
|
<p>- Pressing the 'm' key will force the max mip map level to be the same as the
|
|
current base mip map level. This effectively turns off mip mapping and leaves
|
|
the textures at the currently displayed mip map level. This may also be controlled
|
|
with a toolbar icon.</p>
|
|
<p>- Pressing the 'd' key will toggle the manual control of detail levels. This
|
|
may also be controlled with a toolbar icon.</p>
|
|
<p>- With the left and right arrows, the user may manually control the current
|
|
detail level. This is the same as using the detail level slider.</p>
|
|
<p>- Added a drop down list above the item coordinates display. This allows the
|
|
user to change the item coordinates display to show either a node's world coordinates
|
|
or a selected object's local bounding box coordinates.</p>
|
|
<p>- Added the Thread Controls window. From here it is possible to add new animation
|
|
threads to play multiple sequences at once. There are also various controls
|
|
for manipulating how sequences transition from one to another. This transitioning
|
|
works even if there is a single thread. The 'TS' icon in the toolbar may be
|
|
used to enable or disable animation sequence transitioning in addition to the
|
|
checkbox located on the Thread Controls window.</p>
|
|
<p>- The mini-slider in the Thread Controls window has multiple uses. Normally,
|
|
it is just a mirror of the main animation slider. When there is a transition
|
|
between sequences occurring, it will go from a yellow colour to a red colour
|
|
to indicate how far along the transition is. If the transition is set to occur
|
|
at the slider's position (rather than synchronized), then the mini-slider may
|
|
be used to set where the transition will occur in the target sequence. In this
|
|
case, the mini-slider will show a cyan (at the left) to blue (at the right)
|
|
colour.</p>
|
|
<p>- Added support for the numpad's Enter key in all text edit controls.</p>
|
|
<p>- Added tabs to the Display Properties window to help break up the options,
|
|
and to allow for more to be added without needing a bigger window. The current
|
|
tabs are: General, Render, and Lights.</p>
|
|
<p>- It is now possible to change the ambient and direct light colours. These
|
|
options are found under the new Lights tab on the Display Properties window.</p>
|
|
<p>- It is now possible to change the colours that the nodes and their connections
|
|
are drawn in. It is also possible to disable the connections between the nodes
|
|
using the 'Connect Nodes As' drop down list. These may be found under the Render
|
|
tab.</p>
|
|
<p>- Many more predefined colours have been added to the colour drop down lists.</p>
|
|
<p>- When the user changes the angle of the direct light, a light box is displayed
|
|
in the 3D view to give a better sense of where the light is being aimed. Under
|
|
the Lights tab on the Display Window, the user may change the distance from
|
|
the object that the light box is shown (given as a multiple of the object's
|
|
radius). From here the user may also manually enter in a rotation for the direct
|
|
light (using the SET button) as well as view in realtime the direct light's
|
|
rotation.</p>
|
|
<p>- Timed automatic texture cache flushing is now implemented. Currently, it
|
|
is quite heavy-handed as the entire texture cache is flushed rather than just
|
|
those that have changed. This may cause a slight hesitation in the cursor when
|
|
the cache is being reloaded. To enable this, go to the Materials window and
|
|
at the bottom there is a checkbox as well as a place to enter in how many seconds
|
|
there should be between flushes. There is also an icon in the toolbar with a
|
|
picture of a 'T' and a toilet that will turn on and off the timed flushing (the
|
|
same as if the user clicked on the checkbox in the Materials window).</p>
|
|
<p>- The page up and page down keys will now cycle the user through the loaded
|
|
objects as if they were selected in the object drop down list.</p>
|
|
<p>- A reference axis is now displayed when the user rotates or translates the
|
|
view. The appearance of the reference axis is different depending on if a rotation
|
|
or translation is being performed. This axis may be disabled under the General
|
|
tab of the Display Properties.</p>
|
|
<p> </p>
|
|
<p><b>June 1, 2004 (first alpha release):</b></p>
|
|
<p>- Loading of multiple DTS objects into their own view. DSQ files may be loaded
|
|
individually or through a standard .cs file to import multiple animation sequences
|
|
at once. Using the 'Load DTS & CS' button is like loading an object in the TGE
|
|
showtool where the TSShapeConstructor is called in a script file with the same
|
|
name as the DTS file. </p>
|
|
<p>- A list of the last five loaded objects is available (will load only a DTS
|
|
without first executing the script file, for now)</p>
|
|
<p>- Multiple rendering formats: textured shaded, untextured shaded, flat shaded,
|
|
textured wireframe, front face wireframe, wireframe, vertices, and bounding
|
|
boxes. </p>
|
|
<p>- User selectable bitmaps for environmental mapping -- See the Display Properties
|
|
window (for choosing multiple emaps) or click on the 'EM' button at the top
|
|
of the ShowTool (which will toggle that last chosen emap). </p>
|
|
<p>- The light source may be moved around with the mouse in a 'trackball'-like
|
|
fashion, or turned off for unobstructed viewing of the applied textures. While
|
|
holding down the 'l' key, press the left mouse button and drag. This will move
|
|
the primary light around. Clicking on the 'lightbulb with an arrow' button at
|
|
the top of the ShowTool will toggle this mode on without needing to hold down
|
|
the 'l' key. </p>
|
|
<p>- The light source may be turned off by pressing the 'L' (shift-l) key, clicking
|
|
the lightbulb button at the top of the ShowTool, or through the Display Properties
|
|
window. </p>
|
|
<p>- The current texture mip map level may be changed at any time with a key press.
|
|
Use the up and down arrow keys to control this, and look at the 'Mip Map Base'
|
|
value in the bottom left of the ShowTool </p>
|
|
<p>- Textures may be flushed and reloaded with a key press. Press the 't' key
|
|
or go to the Material List window and press the 'Flush Texture Cache' button.
|
|
</p>
|
|
<p>- All material properties are displayed in the Material List window.</p>
|
|
<p>- A user definable grid at 'ground level' -- see the Display Properties window
|
|
</p>
|
|
<p>- The view background may be a solid colour (selected from a list or user defined)
|
|
or a bitmap. A snapshot of a game's level could be used as the background. --
|
|
See the Display Properties window </p>
|
|
<p>- All nodes and their parental links may be shown. -- See the Display Properties
|
|
window </p>
|
|
<p>- When a node is selected, its world position and rotation are shown as well
|
|
as a graphical representation of the node's axis.</p>
|
|
<p>- Individual object bounding boxes (rendered solid or wireframe) and collision
|
|
meshes may be displayed. </p>
|
|
<p>- Any loaded object may be mounted to any node on another object. -- Use the
|
|
'CM' button at the top of the ShowTool to activate collision meshes. Use the
|
|
button with a box on it at the top of the ShowTool to activate solid bounding
|
|
boxes. Alternatively, go to the Display Properties window. </p>
|
|
<p>- Levels of detail may be manually selected or automatically displayed as they
|
|
would in game. -- See the Detail Levels window </p>
|
|
<p>- Animation sequences may be played forwards or backwards at a user defined
|
|
time scale. The sequence may also be scrubbed through using the animation slider
|
|
control. -- The time scale is the text edit control at the bottom right. Be
|
|
sure to press return after changing the value </p>
|
|
<p>- All animation sequence attributes may be viewed using the Sequence Info window.</p>
|
|
<p> </p>
|
|
<p> </p>
|
|
<p> </p>
|
|
<p> </p>
|
|
</body>
|
|
</html>
|