Game Development Reference
In-Depth Information
scene. Try out some of the sliders and settings and take a few snapshots. (
Note:
Snapshots open under Avatar/
Snapshots.) More information about the WindLight system and how it affects the lighting of your scene is
in Chapter 8.
16.6.1.2 Light Tab
In Figure 16.13, the contents under the Light tab are displayed. In the top left corner is an enlargement of the
Light menu in Phototools. As you can see, the scene has three sources of light: moonlight, a standard point
light on the left, and a projector light on the right. The Phototools tab enables you to affect the lighting and
shadows as well as the Ambient Occlusion settings and Specular Highlight settings in the view. In the lower
right corner is the Build/Features tab, showing how the point light in the scene is set up.
16.6.1.3 DOF/Glow Tab
Figure 16.14 shows the Phototools DOF and Glow settings available under that tab. By utilizing these depth
and glow settings, images you make in a virtual world can take on more realistic lens effects. The range
of focus and movement of the focal plane for the scene are controlled with a variety of sliders, as shown in
the images.
16.6.1.4 General Render and Aids Tabs
In Figure 16.15, two related menu tabs are displayed: General Render settings and Aids. By changing
the Draw Distance under the General Render settings, you can “dial in” the actual elements of the scene to
the rendering levels you want. Note that in the top picture the avatar is looking at some empty islands, and
in the lower picture, the islands are full. This represents a Draw Distance change from 32 to 600 meters.
By making judicious adjustments on this menu, the frame rate can be increased in a complex scene without
degrading the quality of the image. One of the key rendering settings is Draw Distance; make sure you only
have what you need so the graphics card is creating images from only the necessary objects. In the lower
image, the Aids menu is shown, which offers you some interesting tools. Most of these Interface Aids are
for your information about the scene. Obviously, the highest frame-per-second reading is your goal here, and
having the Quick Stats to refer to while you adjust the General Render settings is handy.
16.6.1.5 Camera Control Tab
Figure 16.16 shows the last tab in the Phototools menu, the Camera control tab. This menu page is a com-
pressed version of the menu that opens at World/Photo and Video/Camera Tools, which saves you from
opening two menus while you are shooting a machinima. All the controls for a regular camera are here, as
well as the 3D mouse settings.
You will ind more detailed information about these tools, from the guy who created it, on William
Weaver's blog (http://paperworkshows.blogspot.com/p/home-page.html).
16.7 CONCLUSION
The competent use of cameras in a virtual world is one of the basic skills a designer should have for presen-
tations as well as creating layers of video for a design. The best way to become cognizant of the quality of
machinima possible is to subscribe to as many channels in Vimeo and YouTube as you can. Great machinima
is being made on a daily basis, and you can learn a lot from watching others. You should also volunteer to be
on a machinima project so you can see how other groups organize their shoots and how that affects the inal
project. Finally, remember: it is your world and your story, so tell it well.
