SceneComposer Usability Improvements

Start Screen

A "Start Up" panel was added (Mantis 7202 & Mantis 7366). This panel is opened first when the application is launched and allows the user to:

In this start screen a welcome page is offered to the user, with multiple friendly functions.

Scene Transition Editor

The new added feature of scene transition editor allows the definition of transitions on a per scene basis and test these transitions directly in SceneComposer's display preview. The user can use the editor to set the transitions to or from a scene just by dragging and dropping effects onto the scene list. Additionally, the transition framework was extended to support cut, fade, slide and scale transitions or combinations of these effects by default. Transitions are also integrated in the behavior system, which allows the user to add interactive controls to the application from the start. (Mantis 7355).

Scripting Improvements

Since this version on, a new category is available under "Import" menu: "Import Scripts". This operation is possible due to the implementation of a script importer. After every validation of a given script, a specific information is displayed in the Output. In this way the user is aware about the fulfillment of the process. Any script can be saved in any state (with errors or not), but it can be validated only on the solution opening or when pressing F8 (Mantis 7267 & Mantis 7490).

Camera Look-At Node

A new property was added on Camera: Look-at node. When this property is set the camera is automatically oriented towards the look-at-node. Up direction and look-at direction are not shown anymore in property grid. Look-at direction is discarded (Mantis 6819).

Extended Control Functionality

Auto-expand: when the control is dragged and dropped, the control node will not be created. Instead, the content of the control will be directly inserted into the scene, without creating an intermediate group that replaces the control. Behaviors and widgets will still be expanded. A flag to mark controls as auto-expandable was provided (Mantis 7044).

Export SCL Files

The functionality of FTCCMd.exe was extended. Due to this, it is provided support for exporting SCL files from FTCCmd.exe (Mantis 7794).

Importers Textual Meta-Info

Since now on the importers support author and file meta-info. Only "Title", "Author", "Description" and "Filename" are added in the description field of the imported FBX Scene or imported Photoshop scene (Mantis 7368).

Add to Animation Group

In the context menu of any animation a new option is available: "Add to Animation Group..." This allows the user to choose an "Animation Group" item and to add the animation to it (Mantis 7044).

Extended Control Functionality

Auto-expand: when the control is dragged and dropped, the control node will not be created. Instead, the content of the control will be directly inserted into the scene, without creating an intermediate group that replaces the control. Behaviors and widgets will still be expanded. A flag to mark controls as auto-expandable was provided (Mantis 7044).

At the same time the control functionality was extended by providing support to add default content to anchors (Mantis 7617).

Export SCL Files

The functionality of FTCCMd.exe was extended. Due to this, it is provided support for exporting SCL files from FTCCmd.exe (Mantis 7794).

Refresh Reference Files

If a SCL is used in a solution and the SCL is exported to the same location where the reference is used from, the modified SCL shall be automatically detected by the application and the user is notified through a dialog box. The user can choose if the application should be reloaded or not. In this way the modifications are imported. If the user chooses not to reload the solution, the SCL reference is marked as outdated (Mantis 7333).

Importers Textual Meta-Info

Since now on the importers support author and file meta-info. Only "Title", "Author", "Description" and "Filename" are added in the description field of the imported FBX Scene or imported Photoshop scene (Mantis 7368).

Timeslider Improvements

To make the work with the timeslider easier, since now on when double clicking a key frame in both "Animation Timeline" and "Animation Value", the marker will be instantly moved at this key (Mantis 7387). At the same time, the timeslider can be moved by using "Move marker to selected keyframe" option from the context menu of any keyframe available in "Animation Timeline" or "Animation Values" panels (Mantis 7388). Edit Value - edit keyframe popup dialog - is now a context menu item and is not triggered anymore via double click.

Remove AutoSwap and AutoClear in 2D/3D from RenderTarget

AutoSwap and AutoClear options (on RenderTargets) were simplified and they became only SceneComposer features. Auto-Clearing was simplified and when enabled, only a property for choosing the clear color becomes available. These properties are not serialized into the asset - they will not be available into Player (Mantis 6831).

Interleaved Rendering of 2D and 3D Cameras

Rendering in SceneComposer is no longer done separately (2D and then 3D). Now, cameras are interlevead. This means that sequence numbers are global, and not category-specific (2D or 3D). A consequence of this is that Render Targets Panel / Camera Sequence Editor shows interleaved 2D and 3D cameras - it shows effective rendering order (Mantis 6828).

Saving Asset Location

Together with values as "Shader Compiler Type", "Float Number Format" and "Custom ID", the "Asset Location" value can be saved in a specific user defined "Asset Profile" (Mantis 7227).

Minor Improvements