10 tips and tricks related to the Sandbox
User Interface.
1.
By
typing in the entity’s name in the search box located in the user interface of
cryengine, a user is able to hide all other entities that are of a different
name.
2.
A user
can use the lock selection tool to isolate an entity and customise it without
affecting other surrounding entities.
3.
The zoom
speed can be adjusted to faster or slower levels by adjusting the speed values.
A custom number can be inputted depending on the user’s preferences.
4.
Terrain
clipping when switched off can allow the user to cut through the terrain when
navigating around the scene. When switched on the user can navigate their way
through the scene without cutting through the terrain which could be a useful
tool when creating animations and trailers.
5.
By
switching on the AI Physics button inside of cryengine, a user is able to view
the animation of each object in the scene without being in game as the player.
6.
The go
to position feature can be used to move the camera to a certain position in the
scene by inputting real world coordinates. A useful trick would be to copy the
X, Y and Z coordinates of the camera and pasting them into the go to position
box to return to that specific view.
7.
By
double clicking in the console panel, a user can view a list of comments that
they can alter. For example, the sound in the scene can be turned off using the
console panel inside of cryengine. The console panel also shows the errors in
the scene if there are any.
8.
The hide
by category panel can be used to hide and unhide certain categories inside of
cryengine such as brushes and solids to create for a better work flow
especially when working on a complex and object rich scene.
9.
Solids
and brushes can be exported from cryengine as .obj files which can then be
imported into other 3D software packages such as 3ds Max or Maya to allow for
design work to be carried out on the object.
1. The ruler tool can be used to measure the distance between any two
given objects in the scene.
5 ways you might customize your Sandbox
editor setup.
1.
A user
can drag and drop individual windows onto each other to group them into tabs for
a cleaner user interface and can also attach the combined floating window to
the viewport.
2.
Toolbars inside of cryengine can be turned on
and off depending on the user’s preferences.
3.
A user
can create custom toolbars that contain any type of commands that can be used inside
of cryengine.
4.
A user
can assign hot keys to each command inside of cryengine. For example, the M key
can be assigned to the “move” command and every time the M key is pressed, the
move command will become active.
5.
Custom
macro scripts can be created and commands can be assigned to them. For example,
a custom button to turn on or off sound can be created and added to the toolbar
to turn on or off the sound in the scene which creates for a quicker workflow.
3 different ways of moving around your level.
1.
A user
can fly through the scene using the controls on the keyboard.
2.
A user
can navigate through the scene as the first person shooter and experience the scene
by walking, running and swimming but also have the ability to interact with
objects in the scene and experience the outcome of that interaction.
3.
A user
can assign camera tag positions to different views in the scene. For example, if
a user needs to return to a specific view, then can do so by enabling that
specific camera tag associated with that view without having to fly around the
scene to that view which can be a time consuming exercise.
5 shortcuts or buttons, and what each of
their functions are.
1.
F3
button switches the shaded view to the wireframe view
2.
Ctrl+G
switches to game
3.
By
pressing M on the keyboard, a user can pull up the materials editor
4.
Ctrl+C
clones an object
5. Shift+F1,2,3,4 etc With
this function you can quickly jump to the predefined camera positions.
50 words reflect on this week’s lecture and
make a unique observation regarding its content as it relates to your own work.
This week’s lecture has enabled me to gain
a brief understanding in terms of what will be required from me for each
project. In order to create successful projects, I would have to master the
software packages used in this course and apply myself to being original and
not being afraid to express my ideas and experiment with different solutions to
add a unique feel to all my projects.
