Cosmo Player 1.0

        by Cosmo Software, a Silicon Graphics Company


The Short Version:  How to Use Cosmo Player

In a 3D world:

Walk: Drag with the mouse in the world to move around.
Slide: Alt-Drag to move straight up and down, or to slide left and right.
          (You will not be able to move up very far if gravity is on.)
Look: Ctrl-Drag to look around without moving.
Point: Shift-Click to get closer to an object in the world

For an object or group of objects floating in space:

Examine: Click on Examine, then drag in the world to spin the object(s) in front of you.

Also see Keyboard Shortcuts.


Using Cosmo Player 1.0

Overview:

Dashboard Controls
Interacting with Objects
  - Examine
Moving Around
  - Walk
  - Slide
  - Look
  - Gravity
  - Point
  - Straighten
  - View
Right Mouse Menu
Keyboard Shortcuts
More Information

Dashboard Controls

The dashboard is the black band with text items on it at the bottom of the screen. Dashboard items are white when they are on, and blue when they are off. Items have black stripes through them if they are disabled. Items will be enabled and disabled based on the different worlds that you visit, and the types of viewing that are appropriate for those worlds.

Interacting with Objects

When the cursor turns into a pointing hand, that means that it is over an object in the world that will activate when you click or drag on it. If text appears in the status bar, that means that the object contains a link to a different page or world. Try clicking on objects that are under the cursor when the hand appears. If nothing happens when you click, that might mean that the object is activated by dragging it, rather than clicking on it, so try dragging instead.

NOTE: When Point is highlighted, none of the touchable objects in the world are active.

EXAMINE

WARNING: Examine is best used in worlds that have one or a few objects floating in the middle of space. Using Examine in worlds that have ground and sky, or floor and ceiling is not recommended.

Spinning an object:
o Highlight Examine by clicking on it.
o Make sure that the object you want to rotate is in the exact center of your screen.
o Drag the mouse to tumble the object.
o If you want to move closer to or farther from the object, you can use the up and down arrow keys.
o If the object you want to examine is also an active object, you can hold down the SHIFT key to highlight Point and disable the activation while you spin it.

Moving Around

When the cursor is over the world and looks like an arrow, that means that you can move through the world by clicking and dragging in the world. If you want to move but the cursor is a hand, you can hold down the SHIFT key to highlight Point, and then you will be able to navigate by dragging anywhere in the world. You can always use the arrow keys to move.

WALK (Drag)

Moving forward or backward:
o Highlight Walk by clicking on it.
o Place the mouse cursor in the 3D world, hold down the left mouse button and drag up to go forward.
o Drag the mouse down to go backward.

Turning right or left:
o While Walk is highlighted, drag the mouse to the right or left.
o You can move and turn at the same time by dragging diagonally.

Moving faster or slower:
o The farther you drag, the faster you will move or turn.
o If you hold down the SHIFT key on the keyboard while dragging, your forward and backward speeds will increase.
o You can adjust your speed using the right mouse menu Speed option.
o "-" and "=" on the keyboard ("-" and "+" on the keypad) set your movement slower or faster.

Arrow keys:
o The up and down arrow keys on the keyboard will move you forward and backward, and the left and right arrow keys will turn you left and right.

SLIDE (Alt-Drag)

You can hold down the ALT key on the keyboard to highlight Slide, or you can click on Slide. Note that if you hold down the ALT key, Slide will not light up until you drag the mouse in the world.

Moving up (off the ground):
o Click gravity to turn it off (blue is off), then highlight Slide.
o Place the mouse cursor in the 3D world, hold down the left mouse button, and drag up.
o You will not be able to move up off the ground very far if gravity is on.

Moving down:
o To move straight down, drag the mouse down while Slide is highlighted.
o You will not be able to move down if the ground or other objects are below you.

Moving sideways (slide or sidestep):
o Highlight Slide, place the mouse in the 3D world, and drag to the left or right.

Arrow keys:
o While Slide is highlighted, the up and down arrow keys on the keyboard will move you up and down, and the left and right arrow keys will move you left and right.

CAUTION: Using ALT plus the left and right arrow keys will NOT slide you. These are the Netscape shortcuts for Back and Forward. To use the left and right arrow keys to slide, click on Slide on the dashboard to highlight it.

LOOK (Ctrl-Drag)

You can hold down the CTRL key on the keyboard to highlight Look, or you can click on Look.

Looking around without moving:
o Highlight Look and drag in the direction that you want to look.
o You can not turn yourself upside down by looking around.

Arrow keys:
o While Look is highlighted, the up and down arrow keys on the keyboard will tilt you up and down, and the left and right arrow keys will turn you left and right.

GRAVITY

Gravity On:
o When gravity is on (white), you cannot move up off the ground very far.
o If you walk along an uneven surface, you will follow the ups and downs of that surface.
o If you are up in the air, and you turn gravity on, then you will fall to the ground if there is a surface beneath you.

Gravity Off:
o When gravity is off (blue), you can fly up off the ground.
o You can use Slide to move straight upward.
o You can use Look to tilt up or down, and then when you walk, you will move in the direction you are looking.

POINT (Shift-Click)

You can hold down the SHIFT key on the keyboard to highlight Point, or you can click on Point.

Moving to a object:
o Highlight Point and click on the object in the world that you want to move closer to.
o As long as Point is highlighted, a single click on an object will move you up to that object.
o Dragging while Point is highlighted will behave like Walk, Slide, Look, or Examine, depending on which is highlighted at the same time (see note below).
o While Point is highlighted, objects in the world that respond to the mouse are not active, so you can move by dragging anywhere in the world.

NOTE: The SHIFT key also adds a "turbo boost" to your movement in the world, so you will move faster while you are holding it down.

STRAIGHTEN

Click on Straighten to set your view upright and straight ahead, on a plane level with the ground.

Pressing and releasing the END key on the keyboard will also activate Straighten.

VIEW

Viewpoints are interesting places in the world. Clicking on the arrow to the right of View will take you to the next viewpoint in the list of viewpoints in the world. Clicking on the left arrow will take you to the previous viewpoint. If you go to a viewpoint, and then use other controls (like Walk) to move around, clicking on View will bring you back to the viewpoint.

You can get a list of all the viewpoints in the world by clicking and releasing the right mouse button and selecting the first item in the right mouse menu.. Select a viewpoint from the list in order to go there.

Pressing and releasing the HOME key on the keyboard will also activate View.

Right Mouse Menu

Click and release the right mouse button to bring up the right mouse menu.

Keyboard Shortcuts

More Information