Exciting UI Changes and Dynamic Entities

This build (PlayUp Alpha ver 0.9.8.3) comes with a number of improvements and changes. To begin, the UI now takes advantage of Silverlight 4 to open up new possibilities for improving and expanding PlayUp. There is a new Geometry Properties window so that you can easily select between components and groups to view the PlayUp properties (as well as the name that will be used on export). Icons have been added to the toolbar to access this window as well as quickly export a level. The buttons on the bottom of the PlayUp Preferences window have also had a minor tweak.


Of course this build also makes a second pass at the level export functionality for CryENGINE 3, providing major improvements to top-level entities that have been scaled, mirrored and rotated. It's not perfectly getting every rotation right yet, but it's almost there.

Another exciting development is that you can now set entities as "dynamic" for CryENGINE 2 and CryENGINE 3 so that they can have basic rigidbody properties. And finally, the three extra collision flags that CE3 provides are available, but have not been thoroughly tested. So please, give feedback. :)


And to preemptively answer some additional questions that might be on your mind...

Why use Silverlight when wxSU can do the job?

wxSU definitely has its benefits.  For one, it is quicker to implement.  You only have to work in Ruby to do it, whereas Silverlight requires you to make XAML, C#, Javascript and Ruby play nicely with each other to get it to work.  That said, the possibilities with Silverlight are far greater.  It can support just about every crazy feature idea that's come up, and make it look great to boot.  And unlike wxSU, it's a heavily supported product backed by Microsoft.

Ok, so why are you still using wxSU for the PlayUp Preferences then?

A major stumbling block with many of these UI packages that are meant for Internet use is that they limit developers from being able to do certain things that may put a computer at risk.  One of those things is being able to send a full filepath name (which PlayUp needs in order to know where your models and levels need to go).  You would not want a web browser application to have access to your directories, so like many other UI packages, Silverlight blocks developers from accessing it.

These packages obviously weren't designed with SketchUp plugin development in mind like wxSU was, so I am keeping wxSU around for this particular function.

What are these new icons?

The middle one is to bring up the Geometry Properties window and the right one is to export the level.

Why are the Geometry Properties fields grayed out?

Currently you can only modify one component or group at a time, so it will only allow you to change those fields when you have one (and one only) selected.

Why are there icons on the dropdown boxes?

It shows which engines current support which choices. If you choose something that is not supported and export, the default setting will be chosen.

The Unity 3D icon is not on the default setting for collision.  In fact, their really are no choices for Unity 3D in the Geometry Properties window.  Why?  

Unity 3D is not like other engines.  There is no default "sandbox" where you can throw in some terrain, hit a key, and run around shooting at stuff.  It's a very broad engine that doesn't gear itself towards an FPS style (both its strength and its weakness).

That said, I do have some ideas brewing for Unity 3D... but I'm waiting for version 3.5 as I understand they are going to open up the engine a bit more.