CGI Studio 3.3.0
CGI Studio 3.3.0 - What's new:
Welcome to CGI Studio 3.3.0, Candera's software development platform for development of hybrid 2D and 3D graphical interfaces for Automotive Systems.
This page informs about the most important features, added since the last Release. Focus of this Release was to improve usability of SceneComposer, but also brand new features have found their way into it. Please see yourself.
Start up Screen:
The first point you'll notice when starting SceneComposer 3.3.0 will be the new Start up screen, which eases the handling of recent solutions and samples. All your recent solutions are visible at a glance, and can be opened by a simple doubleclick. The need for locating known solutions in the filesystem is therefore not needed any more. Additionally you can find many prepared Samples and Templates, both being a reference and a showcase what can be done with CGI Studio.
Scripting:
SceneComposer 3.3.0 introduces Scripting, which turns SceneComposer into an integrated development environment. Using the Lua language, complex behaviors for scene objects and their assets can be implemented and executed without the need to switch to other applications. This facilitates rapid development with fast iteration cycles that improve productivity and reduce development time and costs. Here is an introduction to scripting. The scripting reference manual can be found here.here.
Transitions:
Brand new is our scene transition editor with which you can define transitions on a per scene basis and test these transitions directly in SceneComposer's display preview. The editor is intuitive and allows setting 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, allowing you to add interactive controls to your application from the start.
Controls:
Controls are nodes assembled of other nodes. They offer reusing large systems of nodes and abstracting their complexity. Several Common controls have been created to demonstrate their potential. An example is NeedleControl - an analog gauge you can place in your digital dashboard. The often needed settings - such as the range of values representable by the gauge's needle - are accessible as public properties. Many controls arrive with default graphics; a user will hastly grasp their concept.
Behaviors give controls functionality and so bring life to images and shapes on the screen. Each behavior is a simple building block that does something: one rotates a node, another handles an input, the other scales a real value from one interval to another, etc. They work together to compose more complex behaviors. By placing behaviors together comes the possibility to rapidly create animated or interactive elements on the screen without coding.
Appearance Library:
The appearance library is a huge collection of various appearances. They can be used as templates that can simply be dragged on a 3D object to change its appearance. Among the appearances are wood, fur, carbon and cube-mapping-effects for example. On of the sample solutions shows all the different appearances. The appearances have special exposed properties that allow to modify the desired appearance. Please visit Materials Solution for more informations about the sample solution that shows the appearance library.
3D Primitive Shapes:
3D Primitives have been added, and can be used from within SceneComposer. They can e.g. be used as placeholder objects if the desired 3D model is not yet ready. This is also one of the means to support rapid prototyping. You will find a sphere, a cylinder, a cube, a plane and a torus ready to be used.
Community Integration:
On the new Start up screen there is also a link to the "CGI Studio Lighthouse". Clicking on it will open your web browser pointing at the CGI Studio Lighthouse.
The CGI Studio Lighthouse provides access to common resources like news and an FAQ. Additionally registered users can post their questions but also urgent requests there.
Feedback Form:
From now on it is possible to immediately send a feedback when using SceneComposer. Just select from the menu "Send a smile..." or "Send a frown..." and tell us what you like or don't like.
Optionally you can include a screenshot and/or a recent log file to your feedback, which can be included automatically. If you provide us your e-mail address we can get back to you regarding your feedback. The data will be treated as confident and we will take any feedback serious.