Tip of the Week
by jhammer | May 1, 2009 08:21:32 PMIn past tips, we've referred to and used the Prop Browser without discussing any of its features or windows. So this week, we thought we might show it off and outline some features that will hopefully help streamline your workflow in CityScape. Prop BrowserThe Prop Browser is located in the bottom left-hand corner of the main CityScape window, outlined in the image below.
Because we want to concentrate on the Prop Browser, the first thing we'll do is hide the other panel to the right: the Output Window. Click on the pin button in the upper right corner of the Output Window to minimize it. You will be able to restore the Output Window later by clicking on its tab in the bar that now shows up below the Prop Browser.
The Prop Browser is split into three subpanels (from left to right): the Library Browser (which includes a directory tree view on the left and an item view on the right), the Style widget panel, and the Viewer.
The Library Browser is designed for organizing and browsing your assets which is a bigger topic we'll save for another tip. Thus, we will be focusing on the Style widget panel and the Viewer. Style Widget PanelThe contents of the Style widget panel look a lot like the contents of widget panel to the right of the main Render Window. However, they are separated for good reason: The widgets in the Style widget panel pertain to parameters shared by all of the props of a given type (selected in the Library Browser), while the other widgets control attributes for an individual prop that has already been placed in the world. This is a very important point because you can save a lot of time by adjusting the parameters in the style of a prop rather than selecting each individual prop and changing them one-by-one. In fact, this is one of the core ideas upon which the road system is built (we saw some details on using and modifying road-specific styles in previous tip: Park Path Synthesis). Prop ViewerThe prop viewing window is actually just like the main Render Window, except it simply shows you a 3D view of the currently selected prop. This window also displays the name of the prop in the lower left-hand corner. You can adjust the camera by holding down ALT and using the mouse just like in the main Render Window. This allows you to get a better idea of what a prop will look like in the world. The buttons along the top of the Prop Viewer allow you to change the camera and the viewing mode.
Also, we've added a special hotkey 'F' for manually focusing the camera on the current prop. In PracticeThe Prop Browser is your primary interface to populating your world, whether it be a buzzing metropolis or a simple track based on your favorite MarioKart raceway.
by agoldberg | April 24, 2009 03:26:45 PMLinking is a central concept to road editing in CityScape. This tip introduces road linking and provides a few helpful hints that will have you hammering out professional-quality roads in no time flat. Linking two connected road segments simply forces the two segments to share the same tangent at the common node. A few examples will make this clearer. After starting the editor, enter Road Mode and digitize three nodes using the right mouse button. In doing so, you will have created two road segments as shown:
It may not be immediately apparent, but these two segments are actually linked to each other. They share the same tangent in the middle node and the geometry of both segments meets precisely (i.e. there's no intersection geometry between them). Now select the middle node and create a third segment:
Notice the blue lines connecting our original two segments - these indicate that the two segments are linked. The two segments will share the same tangent regardless of where the nodes are moved, as shown here:
Linking or unlinking segments is easy - simply select both of the two segments to be modified, and choose "Unlink Segments" from the "Road Tools" menu. As a shortcut, you can hold shift and right-click anywhere in the main render window:
Now that the segments have been unlinked, they clearly have differing tangents at the node, and the appearance of the intersection has changed:
Now that we've briefly explored linking, let's go over a few linking tips to speed up road creation: Tip 1: Use the Keyboard Commands. As already mentioned, you can link or unlink by selecting the two segments, holding shift, and right-clicking in the render window. This is quicker than using the "Road Tools" menu. Tip 2: Auto-linking Through Selections. When you lay down a new road segment in CityScape, notice that BOTH the new node and segment are selected:
This indicates that the next digitized node will create a new segment and automatically link it to the selected segment. This behavior applies whenever the last segment and node are both selected:
Tip 3: Understand the Linking Zone. If the segment is deselected (such that only the end node is selected), then automatic linking is determined by a hidden 'linking zone':
If the next node is digitized outside of a roughly 45 degree cone from the current segment, the new segment will NOT be linked:
If the next node is inside the linking zone, the new segment WILL be linked:
Road linking is a relatively simple construct that, when properly understood, can greatly speed up road building. Have fun experimenting!
by agoldberg | April 10, 2009 05:24:48 PMThis tip provides an introduction to road style manipulation. CityScape provides numerous parameters to modify road geometry and textures, allowing endless road style permutations. We'll tweak an existing road style in the demo to create styles more suitable for walking paths. We start by creating a simple terrain with a park scene, using an existing road style in the demo world file:
Now right-click the 'Main_Street' style, and select 'Duplicate' to copy the style:
Right-click the new style, choose 'Rename' and type in a unique name for the duplicated style:
Now let's configure the style parameters. We begin by reducing the lane width to 1 meter and changing the default number of lanes to 1. As you change parameters, the style preview and any roads assigned this style will automatically update to reflect the changes:
Park paths don't typically have medians, so scroll down and uncheck the 'Median' checkbox:
Then do the same for 'Shoulder' to remove the shoulder lanes:
The sidewalks aren't really appropriate for the style, so let's change the sidewalk widths to .5 and the sidewalk height to .1:
We'll then turn off intersection crosswalks:
Setting all the road textures to concrete gets us closer to a park path:
We now apply the same texture for the 'Intersection Texture', and change the scale to visually match the road texture scale:
Finally, we change the sidewalk texture to something more appropriate:
By duplicating our new style, removing sidewalks, and changing the road textures, we can create a dirt path style in a few clicks:
With our style modifications complete, we now apply the new styles to our existing roads. Note that we could have applied the style at any earlier time - style modifications are always updated automatically to the roads that use them. To apply a style, simply select the desired roads and double-click the style icon. Let's apply the dirt path first:
...and then apply the park path to the remaining roads (holding 'Shift' while dragging a selection box is helpful here):
The styles have been applied, but something doesn't seem quite right. The default 'Rounded' curve type attempts to construct roads using arcs and linear segments. This tends to be convincing for city streets, but feels slightly unnatural for a winding park path:
To produce an appearance more natural for park paths, we select all the roads (CTRL+a) and change the 'Curve Type' to 'Cubic' in the right-hand widget pane. We'll also increase the 'Tangent Scale' to 180%:
And now we have two new styles that we can re-use to our hearts' content. Try experimenting with the various parameters to create all sorts of interesting styles, and Have Fun!
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