Almathera Ten Pack 3: CDPD 3/Almathera Ten on Ten - Disc 3: CDPD3.iso/fish/726-750/727/vertex/docs/chapters/0-intro

Text File | 1995-03-18 | 8KB | 147 lines

INTRODUCTION

Vertex is a 3d object editor designed to be used with other,
commercial, 3D rendering packages available on the Amiga. It includes
a host of unique functions, along with the standard ones expected of
most 3D design software on the market today.

Vertex enables you to read and write files from most of the major
3d object formats. While this is similar to other commercial
packages which cost much more, Vertex does much more, enabling you to
use the program as a virtual object creator and editor. You will find
all the necessary tools to edit shapes, load and save them, delete and
undo, make curves and polygons, add cubes and spheres, and even apply
special functions only available within Vertex.

Vertex offers either traditional pull-down menus, or convenient
pop-up menus. You, the user, can choose the menu style you like best.
Please note, however, the menu style you choose will effect the
Fast-Key system employed by Vertex. With traditional pull down menus,
you must use the right Amiga key in conjunction with the letter next
to the menu option. Conversely, the pop-up menus used by Vertex let
every function be accessed by a fast-key. As you grow more used to
the functions used by Vertex you will probably rely more and more on
the fast-key system.



Probably the most important of all is the ability to read and write
many of the 3d file formats available for the Amiga. This makes it
easy to use Vertex as a standard interface by which to create
objects, then save them in the format of your choice. You may then
use the rendering capabilities of your favorite software to produce
the all-important final image. (Please note, I have no plans for
creating a raytracing or scan line rendering system with Vertex. I
will hapily leave this chore to the already available packages on the
market.) Since Vertex does not currently support face attributes, you
will still be forced to use some other software to add color,
reflection and transparency to your objects.

Vertex also contains some special purpose features to help you create
curved objects. From the technically orientated Multiply function to
the unique bezier curve tool, to the intuitive gravity interface, I'm
pretty sure you'll find the tool you need to make just the right
curve.

The gravity tool is very similar to the "magnet" tool found in most
other software. It has the ability to operate on any set of axes at
once, and has a power setting to further fine tune your approach.
Also, the gravity influence is not bounded - in other words you can
have your power setting up quite high to produce over-shoot. Try this
effect on a flat grid - I think you'll like what you see.

The bezier curve interface is unlike others of it's ilk due to one
main difference - how the curve is applied to the object. You are
not limited to just defining a basic curve and forcing your shape to
end up looking just like the curve - you can add the new curve to the
former object or average between the two. I'll admit it's not the
easiest tool to learn to use, but the results can be quite original.

Of the curve tools, the Multiply function is probably the most
useful. With it, you can apply ANY mathematical formula to your
object(s). These can be complex 3rd degree polynomials, or simple
addition formulas. (Try this - load in a text object of your choice,
and make it italic by applying this formula: X=X+Y. It's that simple
to tilt any object!) As you can see, multiply can be used for a myriad
of functions, not only curves.

Aside from curves, Vertex enables you to make many other
modifications to your objects. You can fuse vertices together
(deleting all unneded faces and edges in the process), create a bevel
effect on any flat object, randomize on any or all 3 axes, subdivide
edges and faces to add detail, connect objects together, and move
individual points in a variety of ways.


With all these neat-o modifications going on, I tried not to lose
sight of some important considerations of the 3D user. The most
important of these is the creation of "good" objects. I'm not
referring to design and composition here, I am talking about what
makes a "proper" object. The ideas of duplicate edges and faces,
unneeded edges, and faces defined by only 2 vertices are problems
which can occur during object creation. All of my routines attempt to
make "proper" objects. Extrude (and bevel) do not create unseen faces
in the center of the extruded object. Fuse makes sure all unneded
faces and edges are flushed before finishing. The add-face and
add-edge commands will not allow you to create new edges over top of
existing edges. Also, I've added utility functions to do this work
for you if you need to (perhaps on objects created with other
software.) Under the delete menu you will find: Delete Duplicate
Edges, Delete Duplicate Faces, and Delete Unneeded Edges. On
extremely complex objects these routines may take some time, but when
each face can add time to frame rendering time, I felt these were
important and useful tools.

Speaking of rendering, I've also included some basic solid-modelling
functions to help in object creation. Trying to create a 3D object by
only looking at a wire-frame image is rather like trying to paint a
picture without seeing the palette. These routines are not perfect,
(you will no doubt see overlapping faces), but they are pretty fast,
and I find them invaluable when making 3D objects. They do not
include any color at this point (they should once I get the face
atributes done), but they can be 16 level gray scales. Also, there is
a special mode to generate "real-time" rotating wire frames, just to
give you a further aid in "seeing" your object(s).

Vertex also contains some extra benefits for you. There is a user
settable UNDO feature, an Arexx Port, a memory reporter, a constant
display of your: selected vertices, vertex, edge and face totals, view
rotation, position and scaling, and the handy Euler number. You'll
also find a wide array of selection features, the ability to name
individual vertices, full transformation support (moving, scaling,
and rotating), the ability to hide vertices, and some useful basic shape
creators.

Before we get into the specifics of how to use the features available
in Vertex, I must explain some important points.

First, most functions, except saving, require vertices to be
selected. A selected vertex is drawn in white, while an unselected
vertex is drawn in black.

Most functions which require mouse input can be aborted by pressing
either the space bar or the right mouse button. If you are using the
pull-down menu system you will most likely want to rely on the space
bar to abort these functions, since the Amiga will "trap" right mouse
button clicks.

The requesters used by the software will allow you to respond to them
by pressing return on the last line. Also, alerts, which will appear
from time to time, will let you respond by pressing the return key.
The button which is outlined will be "pressed" when you hit the
return key.

Vertex does not multitask all that well while in it's operating
phase. To get it to multitask better, press the HELP key, or choose
the Globals-Sleep menu option. This will close the main window and
open a small window on the WorkBench screen. Close this little window
to get back to Vertex.

The chapters ahead offer a menu-by-menu rundown of all the functions
available within Vertex. I've tried to explain things as clearly as I
can, but I'm no english expert...

    -- Alex Deburie