THE THIRD DIMENSION

3D Kit Modes and Cameras.
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This information file will explain the various kit modes, explain
the difference between FLY1 and 2 mode but mainly explains the
use of Camera modes in kit areas.

The 3D kit modes are Walk, Fly1, Fly2, lock, Cam1 to Cam6.

The 3D kits default to the Walk mode and in in this mode you are
able to walk around in any direction and also crouch down and stand
back up as in real life. You are also able to step onto other objects
providing that they are not too high otherwise you will bump into them.

Using FLY1 from the General and then Mode menu will allow you to leave
the ground using the raise/lower button. In this mode you are able to
look in any direction but travel only parallel to the ground even if
you look down at an angle whilst pressing the Move forward button.
To explain this easier create a cube on the floor. Now Use FLY1 mode
from the General/Mode menu and then raise yourself well above the
ground. Now look at the cube down on the ground and use the move
forward button to advance yourself towards the cube. It cannot be
done, all that happens is that you move forward horizontally and not
at an angle towards the cube. To enable you to do this you need to
use FLY2 mode.

FLY2 mode allows you to move in any direction that you want and the
difference between this and FLY1 is explained above.

The next mode is LOCK. This mode will enable you to lock onto any object
and is most useful when you need to move far back from out of an area to
view it. Using this mode will enable you to view objects from any angle
and all objects will become tangible so that you can pass straight through
them. This is the mode that I use when taking screen grabs as examples.

Cameras
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The camera modes are where a lot of users get confused. These modes are
what Superscape used to great effect in their seminars and demonstrations.
Think of a garage/filling station, now think of cameras positioned around
the pumps that enable the attendant to view cars filling up with petrol
from many angles. Or think of a Shop with cameras that enable the owner
to keep an eye on the people inside it. This should all be possible using
the kit cameras and indeed it is if you are using the menus in test mode
but in reality it is best to use another way if you want to incorporate a
similar feature into a 3D datafile.

You can either have buttons on a border that take you to each pseudo
camera view or you can use kit objects on a desk etc that will do the
same. For more details on using a border with controls take a look at
this months Airsim.txt tutorial. But the basics are simply that you use
the Controls Menus' Add button to find ( General/Controls/add button)
the Procedure control,add a procedure number, and then create and then
edit a procedure that has text telling you to goto the Camera view.

Procedure Example text-

SOUND (4)
MODE (1)
GOTO (2,2)

This presumes that you have used the Fly1 mode to position yourself to
camera ones viewpoint.

Using the GOTOCAMERA command is not possible because of a kit bug which
means that this feature is not implemented but outlined below is the
procedure for creating and using the camera modes in the kit.

Using the Cam Modes
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To create the camera positions, simply create a camera object using the
3D kit and then use the FLY2 mode to move your position to where the camera
is and face yourself to where the camera is pointing. Now select Cam1 from
the General/mode menu and this will then save your co-ordinates into
camera 1's memory. Now reset and press on the Cam1 button again
to take you there. If it fails to work then try pressing on the Cam1 button
again to save this camera position. It works in a similar way to creating
an entrance, whenever you press create entrance it creates one in the
position that you are in and the same applies for pressing on one of the
camera buttons.

When you have one camera set you can use the Cam2 etc buttons to create
more camera views. The camera buttons can also be used to take you
back to another area in a game if you need to get there quick to check on
things etc. So give it a try!

Tony