Thus the X coordinate describe's a points horizontal position, the Y
coordinate its depth or 'in-out' position, and the Z coordinate its
vertical position. Note that the center of the Turbo Silver 3D world is at
0, 0, 0, and its extent is 1000 units in any direction. This means that all
realistic coordinates must fall in the range (-1000, -1000, -10000) to
(1000, 1000, 1000).
Each object in Silver (except the special sphere and surface objects--see
Edit Add Sphere and Edit Add Surface below) consists of a set of points in
space connected in triangular faces and/or edges. Objects can be grouped,
and you can manipulate groups, objects and sets of independent objects,
sets of points and faces in a variety of ways all described in detail
below.
As an example and to helpyou start thinking in these terms, imagine an
object at coordinates 0,0,0 illuminated by a light source at -80, -90, 100.
In this case the light source is eighty units to the left of the object,
ninety units in front of it, and 100 units above it.
In addition to describing objects' shape and location, the three-axis
system is used to describe rotational movement. Turbo silver can rotate
groups, objects, faces and points in one-degree increments about any or all
of the three axes.
Since Silver's wireframe editor lets you move groups, objects, points and
faces interactively, you won't often need to deal directly with location
coordinates. But should you need to use the Translate, Rotate, or Scale
commands, it's important to know the difference between local and world
axes. Every object in Silver has a small axis, or set of X, Y, and Z axes,
associated it it that's used as a control and orientationpoint. When an
object is first created, its axis is aligned with the Silver 'world
axis--that is, as seen from the front X is left and right, Y is in and out
and Z is up and down. But when it's rotated it's no longer aligned, and you
get different results from performing the above transformations on the
local or world basis. Silver performs translation, rotation, and scaling in
the direction of any or all of the three axes. Transformations on the local
basis take place in the direction of the object or group's axis. On the
other hand, the world's axis never changes. This flexibility gives you
complete control performing transformations.
HINT: Since you can rotate, translate, and scale objects on their own axes,
you might want to change an object's axis on occasion. For example, you can
rotate any object on any of its vertices by positioning its axis there. To
do this, pick the object, activate Pick Face mode, pick any face, Mark it,
then click on the new location for the axis (you'll find further
explanation in the Reference Section below). Do this from all three views
for precise interactive placement of the axis. By the way, to perform
actual transformations on objects' faces, you must use Point mode, picking
all the faces point by point.
Light in Turbo Silver's 3D World
Turbo Silver uses two types of light--point source and broad source.
Another name for broad source light is ambient, which means surrounding on
all sides. Ambient light doesn't come from anywhere in particular, but
illuminates all things evenly. Your only control over ambient light is its
overall level. As ambient light tends to 'wash' out images and can lead to
a bland look, we recommend minimal usage, especially since Silver allows
you as many as 32,000 point-source lights. You set ambient light in the
Global Settings requester.
Any object in Silver can act as a point-source type of light, which has two
settings--As Sun or As Lamp. The latter is the more conventional setting in
that it illuminates objects in proportion to their distance from it--the
closer they are, the more brightlylit. The As Sun setting, however,
illuminates all objects with the same brightness no matter how distant or
close they are to the source. Also, the Shaded/Bright setting for light
sources determines whether or not it casts shadows. You can set any
point-source light's position as well as its brightness. In addition, you
can assign light positions to paths to create moving light sources during
animations. If you load an IFF brush onto an axis, then set it as a light
source, it projects the picture onto objects it illuminates!
The Turbo Silver Camera
The camera (the small circle near the center of the window) is the only
object present when you enter the cell editor for a new cell. It's an
object like any other in the Turbo Silver 3D world, and the current scene
is always rendered from the camera's viewpoint. Of course the camera can be
positioned at any point in the 3D world, and can be aimed at any other
point. In addition, you can assign the camera position to poths to create a
moving vantage point during animations. Automatic tracking of any object is
a handy option but aim can also be set manually for special effects. For
realistic photograph-like results you can also set the camera's focal
length from extra-wide-angle to super-telephoto.
Using the Program
Turbo Silver uses two modules--the Animation Editor and the Object Editor.
When you first begin using the program you're placed in the Animation
Editor, which resembles a film strip laid horizontally across the screen.
From here you can edit cells or groups of cells, access the Object Editor
for any cell, render cells' contents as still images, and create
animations.
Animation Concepts
To understand how to use Turbo Silver it's necessary to know the difference
between the terms cell and frame. A cell contains all the information
necessary to create a single frame in a Turbo Silver animation. That is, a
cell contains 3D objects and their attributes, IFF brushes and stencils as
well as global attributes for that frame. The term grame in Silver usually
refers to the final image rendered from a cell's contents, plus that cell.
The longest process in Turbo Silver involves rendering a frame from a
cell's contents. But once rendered, you can re-use a frame in an animation
sequence as many times as you like without needing to render it again by
simply replicating the frame.
Entering the Object Editor
Although the program begins in the Animation Editor, most interaction takes
place in the Object Editor. Whenever you load Turbo Silver, your first
action (after setting the graphic mode-see the Animation Editor Reference
introduction) should be to use the File menu to Load an existing file or
create a New one. Then, to enter the Object Editor for any frame, just
click twice on it. The first click selects the frame, turning its text from
orange to white (assuming default colors), and the second makes a cell for
that frame if one doesn't exist, then opens the Object Editor for the cell.
When this happens, Silver's Virtual File storage scheme creates a slight
pause while the cell's previous contents, if any, are loaded from disk.
Similarly, exiting the object editor saves the most recent results of
editing to disk automatically. Since most work is done in the Object
Editor, the manual discusses this section of the program first.
Object Editor;
Basic Operation
When you first enter the Object Editor in an empty cell, the screen looks
like this:
|Cell Editor Front * ===================|
|-----------------------------------------------|
| |
| |
| |
| |
| 0 |
| |
| |
| |
|-----------------------------------------------|
Object Editor Screen
The small circle near the center of the window is the camera and the view
is from the front, as noted in the information bar above the window.
Options available here are many, starting with the ability to create
three-dimensional object ofjust about any shape. You can move them, rotate
and resize them, assign attributes such as color, reflectivity and
transparency to parts or all of an object. You can also create animation
sequences quickly and automatically. All these and more are explained in
this section.
Picking and Selecting Objects
Objects normally appear in the window as white wireframe constructs on a
light blue background, each with its own small XYZ axis showing its
orientation. To preform operations such as translation, rotation, resizing,
and applying attributes such as color and reflectivity, you must first
choose the pertinent groups, objects, faces, or points in a process called
PICKing, as in Pick menu. The default or startup Pick mode is GROUP--click
on an axis origin ofa parent object to pick the associated group. You can
also pick child and independent objects in Group mode. Once picked, objects
and groups turn blue in color. At this point to manipulate parts of an
object you'd select Point or Face from the Pick menu. To perform physical
transformations on parts of objects use Pick pint (Right Amiga-3). However,
to apply attributes such as color, transparency, and reflectivity to parts
of oabjects, use Pick Face (Right Amiga-4). The color red is used to
indicate picked points or faces on an object. As a special case, to
reposition an object's axis, use Pick Face and pick any face, then use the
Position command.
Once an object is picked (blue for objects, red for points) you can
reposition it interactively by clicking again on the axis (for objects) or
point. Or simply press the F1 function key. In any case the entire object
turns green. Click anywhere on the screen and the object or point is
repositioned there. This also works for multiple objects or points (see
Multi Mode below).
Youl can also use menu/keyboard commands to pick objects (Special menu
Home, Next, and Last commands and function key F1), and you can search for
and select objects by names you give them (Special Menu Find command). For
further information consult the Object Editor reference below. Theother
Pick modes are Object, Point, and Face. You can pick any number of
unconnected objects, points, or faces by holding down the left Shift key as
you click ('Multi' pick mode). You can then Mark them for movement by
continuing to hold down the left Shift key and clicking on one of the
picked (red) points. The entire object turns green, but only the picked
points (which remain red) move when you click on a new location in the
editor window.
NOTE: Certain faces in spun or extruded objects cannot be picked by
clicking on any of the associated points. In such a case you must use the
Right Amiga key in conjunction with the N, B, and H keys (for Next, Last or
Back, and Home, the first object added). In many cases you can quickly and
easily pick a 'stripe' of faces on a spun object with alternate presses of
Right Amiga-N (or B) and Left Shift-F1.
Multi Mode
In any Pick mode, you can use the left Shift key to activate Multi mode,
shown at the top of the screen. If you continue holding down the left Shift
key as you click on objects, each turns blue (or red) in turn while all
others previously clicked on remain so. Then any transformation applies to
all picked. When several objects, faces, or points have been picked using
Multi mode, you can unpick each in reverse order of their original
selection with repeated presses of the F2 function key.
Color chart
Selected, ready to Pick:
Object, Group Orange
Edge, Face Green
Point Light Blue
Picked, ready to Mark or transform:
Object, Group Blue
Edge, Face, Point Red
Marked, ready to move:
Object, Group,
Edge, Point, Face Green (Group or entire object)
Note: You can change any or all of these color assignments as well as
various other Silver startup conditions. See Appendix A, "The Silver
Configuration File" for further information. Also, moving an edge or face
results only in movement of the axis.
Edit Menu
This menu is used for basic object creation as well as standard editing
procedures. Most objects in Turbo Silver are composed of triangular faces,
but two of the shapes in the Add menu, sphere and surface, are 3D unfaceted
'primitives' which render quickly. All other objects consist of an axis
(actually a set of small X, Y, and Z axes) and a set of connected faces.
These types of objects, called 'faceted', can be edited point-by-point
for physical remolding or face-by-face change attributes for different
parts of an object. All Edit menu commands, as well as most others in the
editor can be reversed immediately after invocation by use of the Undo
command (Right Amiga-U).
Add SubMenu
This submenu lists commands used to add new objects, points and faces to
the editor workspace. Newly added objects are always located at 0,0,0, the
cneter of the workspace, and are colored orange. This means that you can
pick them by pressing function key F1 (they turn blue), then prepare them
for interactive repositioning by pressing F1 again or Right Amiga-M (they
turn green). Then click on the new location to perform the repositioning.
IMPORTANT NOTE: Turbo Silver doesn't automatically place a light source in
the three-dimensional workspace, so make sure you do or else your objects
will be invisible. We recommend you make it a habit to add and position an
axis and set it to be a light source when first editing any new cell. See
Attributes in the Settings menu section below for details on setting an
object to be a light source.
Automatic Name Requesters
Silver is set up to request names for all new objects created with Add
submenu commands. We recommend that you give all objects unique names
whenever using the Story or Track commands. After selecting the type of
object to add, the Rename requester appears. To easily delete the existing
default object name, press Right Amiga-X, or use the backspace and Delete
keys. Then type a new name in upper or lower case letters, and press
Return, or the names won't be registered. You can rename existing objects
with the Attributes requester. You can disable the automatic Rename feature
by editing the SILVER.CFG file--see Appendix A.
There are a number of different types of objects in Turbo Silver:
Sphere
This 3D primitabe is a perfect surface of revolution, which eliminates any
'faceted' appearance no matter how close the observer. Although you can't
manipulate individual points, all other standard Turbo Silver
transformations, including IFF brush wrapping, are available with the
sphere primitive. As the sphere primitive appears simply as a circle in the
Object Editor window, it helps keep the workspace uncluttered and minimizes
redraw time.
Incidentally, if you're familiar with the original (non-Turbo) Silver, the
Bounding object type no longer exists. Turbo Silver renders more quickly
without using bounding objects than previous versions of Silver rendered
with them.
Stencil
A stencil is a special type of object in Turbo Silver--a drawing that
becomes solid! A stencil starts out as a one-bitplane (two-color) drawing
created in a paint program such as Impulse, Inc.'s new Diamond or Deluxe
Paint II. When rendered in Turbo Silver the background color (usually
black) is transparent while the foreground color behaves like a standard
Turbo Silver object. This means that you can apply such attributes as
color, transparency, and reflectivity--you can even load an IFF brush onto
the stencil! For further information refer to the section describing the
Stencils menu below.
Axis
The Add Axis command is the starting point for building a customized object
point-by-point and face-by-face. After adding and picking an axis, you can
add points and faces anywhere in the 3D space. You can also spin a set f
points and extrude a set of faces to make relatively complex objects easily
and with precision.
The default configuration file SILVER.CFG that comes on your program disk
provides you with an easy two-key alternative to the Add Axis menu command.
Just press and release the Esc key, then press and release function key F2.
You can set other Object Editor menu commands to the function keys by
editing the configuration file. See Appendix A for details.
The object called Axis in Turbo Silver is actually a miniature set of X, Y,
and Z axes with a common origin, called the 'hot spot'. All objects contain
an axis. One method of picking objects for movement or setting attributes
is to click on the hot spot. The axis itself never appears in the final
rendered image.
The axis also acts as a control point for wrapping IFF brushes (images)
onto 3D objects. By loading a brush onto an axis, then grouping the axis as
a parent to an object, you can use the axis to control the image's size,
angle, and various other aspects in relation to the object by performing
transformations on the axis. For further explanation see the section on the
Brush menu below.
There are lots of other possible uses for the axis object--your imagination
is the only limit! Think of the axis as an invisible object that can have
any property available to Turbo Silver objects. For this reason the axis
makes an excellent light source. Or consider an example in which you wish
to show a group of objects orbiting a sphere. By simply grouping the set of
circling objects to the axis, with the axis as parent object, you can
rotate the group about the axis with one setting. Without the axis
describing this type of motion with a group of objects would be difficult
at best. An axis also serves well as a Track object (see Special menu) for
an invisible point of reference.
Custom
Selecting Custom from the Add submenu produces a moveable requestor
displaying Turbo Silver's mini-library of built-in faceted shapes. Select
any of the six button gadgets for:
Sphere -- a ball-shaped object
Torus -- a donut shaped object
Cone -- tapers up from a disk to a point, has no bottom
Tube -- a hollow column
Extrude -- an extruded disk, or solid column
Disk -- a flat but solid circle
and the name of the object appears next to the words 'Choice is'. Then set
the dimensions by clicking in the corresponding box and typing in a new
value. All objects are created by spinning. The dimensions are as follows:
Major Size -- radius of sphere or torus, height of cone, tube, or extrude
(no effect on disk).
Minor Size -- cross section of torusring, or radius or one-half the X-axis
dimensions of cone, tube, extrude, or disk (no effect on sphere).
Divisions -- number of line segments in object's circumference (e.g. four
for square, five for pentagon, more for rounder objects--sphere always
doubles this number)
Keep in mind that the more divisions, the longer an object takes to render.
Object creation is always a compromise between good-looking objects and
time requirements.
Finally, click on the close gadget in the requester's upper left corner to
place the new shape at coordinates 0,0,0 in the editor workspace.
Once you've created a custom shape you can edit it point-by-point, resize
it, spin or extrude or build on it, or even split it! Read on to find out
about these and many other options.
Surface
This primitive (non-faceted) rectangle is provides so that you can include
a flat plane or wall in your animations without having to construct one.
Though you can't edit it point-by-point, you can resize it, load IFF
brushes onto it, and perform other standard Group and Attribute menu
operations with this object. If you want t acheckered ground, the easiest
way is to load the Chex texture (included with your program disk) onto the
surface, or you can load a checkered IFF image. You can use as many
surfaces in a scene as you like.
Ground
The ground is a non-resizeable horizontal surfact that extends to the
limits of Silver's 3D universe. Grounds can be assigned attributes
including brushes and patterns, and they can be repositioned vertically (on
the Z axis) only. You can use several grounds.
Point (Right Amiga-6)
Use points to create paths for object motions or extrusions, or outlines
for spun objects, or creating objects from scratch. The basic procedure for
using Add Point is:
* First place an axis (or other object)
* Pick it (so it turns dark blue)
* Add points
* Connect them with Add Edge (Right Amiga-7) or Add Face (Right Amiga-8)
All points placed before selecting a different command become part of that
object. After selecting Add Point click in the Object Editor window
anywhere you wish to place points. You can change the window to different
views during this process. You must add edges and/or faces for the object
to be useful.
NOTE: Normally when you add a new point to an object, you can only position
the cursor in the two dimensions permitted by the current view (e.g. in the
X and Z dimensions from the Front view), while the point's position on the
in/out axis (Y from Front view) is always 0. However, with the Set Depth
command from the View menu (see below) you can position points anywhere in
Silver's world without having to change views.
IMPORTANT: You can proceed directly from this command to Add Edge or Add
Face (see below) to further work on an object, but you must return to Pick
Object mode (Right Amiga-2) before selecting any other command, otherwise
you'll remain in Add Point mode.
Edge (Right Amiga-7)
An edge is a line connecting two points. Edges are used in Silver primarily
for creating motion paths as well as spun and extruded object outlines,
rather than for creating objects from scratch.
First use Add Axis, then Add Point to add two or more points to the axis
(see above). Then after selecting Add Edge, click on each point to connect
in succession. A green line connects the last added edge, while all others
are green. You need click 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to be grouped.
Cluster (Right Amiga-K)
This command lets you transfer a parent object's non-color-related
properties to all other members of its group. Pick the group by clicking on
the parent object in Pick Group mode, then set any attributes as necessary,
then select the Cluster command. The Cluster command doesn't transfer the
attributes Color, Reflectivity, and Filter.
When grouping objects the parent object is always the first chosen. Objects
needn't be of the same type--for instance, you can set the same properties
for a number of different shapes by grouping them to an axis (which is
invisible), then setting blending, specularity etc. only for the axis. We
suggest an axis because you can also use it as a center of rotation for the
group.
When wrapping a brush around an object (see Brush menu below) you must load
the brush onto an axis, group the axis to the object, and finally Cluster
the two.
Home (Right Amiga-H)
Next (Right Amiga-N)
Last (Right Amiga-B)
Use these three commands to find specific objects in the order created.
They're useful for easing your way in a busy workspace. Home selects and
centers the firs object created in the window, Next selects and centers the
object created immediately after the currently picked or selected object if
any, and Last selects and centers in reverse order of creating. Groups and
objects are turned orange when cnetered, faces and edges turn green, and
points turn light blue, ready for picking with F1 and Marking (see below)
and subsequent repositioning.
Last uses Right Amiga-B as a mnemonic for 'back' or backwards. use the Next
and Last (for Forward and Back) in conjunction with Left Shift-F1
(multi-mode select) in Pick Face mode to quickly mark contiguous faces for
stripes of color or any other effect.
Find (Right Amiga-V)
Use to quickly find an object or group by name. Invoking this command after
selecting an object displays a requester. Enter a unique name--any
combination of letters, numerals, and punctuation is allowed. If the name
is one that you or the program has given to an object or group, the object
appears selected in the cneter of the window. If there are more than one
object with the name searched for, the first one created is shown.
Mark (Right Amiga-M)
Use this command after picking a group, object, or set of points to prepare
it for repositioning. The group or object turns green--click anywhere in
the screen to set the new location. In the case of points, even though the
entire object turns green only the selected points are repositioned. Select
objects by clicking on the hot spots or with the Home, Next, Last, and Find
commands (see above). This also works with faces, only the axis is
repositioned instead of the face.
NOTE: An easy one-key alternative to this command is the F1 key, which
marks picked objects for moving.
Redraw (Right Amiga-R)
Invoking this command causes all objects to be redrawn on the screen in
their current position. This command is necessary as occasionally in the
heat of editing the program can forget to redraw an object.
Auto Redraw
Manual Redraw
Only one of these is active at a time. The program starts in Auto Redraw,
which means that all objects are redrawn whenever you change anything. If
you have a lot of objects on the screen and are only concerned with one at
the moment, turn on Manual Redraw to speed up the program. Other objects
may not appear properly after transformations when Manual Redraw is on.
Select the Redraw command (above) when in Manual Redraw to see all objects.
Hint: Another way to speed up redraw is to set complex objects to Quick
Redraw--see Attributes below.
Settings Menu
This menu contains all the commands for manipulating objects and the 3D
universe in which they're contained. Featured are the four full-screen
requesters; Global settings, Camera settings, Transformation, and
Attributes. Each of these allows you to make a number of varied adjustments
to existing settings at one time without having to invoke several different
menu items.
Globals (Function Key F4)
The first Settings menu item controls aspects of the entire scene such as
ambient lighting, camera, sky characteristics, and heuristics which
controls objects' edges and surfaces. You can invoke the Global Settings
requester at any time with this menu item, or by pressing the F4 key. The
