Scene Editor

Manual / Content Creation / Scene Editor

Scene Editor

Contents

1 Overview
2 Creating a new scene
3 Editing objects
- 3.1 Creating a new object
- 3.2 Editing position
4 Ribbon tab
5 Object creation modes
- 5.1 Layers
- 5.2 Creating objects with a brush
  - 5.2.1 Surface
6 Builder 3D
7 Terrain
8 Surface Area
9 Shortcuts
10 Scene properties
11 See also

Overview

Scene editor is designed for performing various operations in 3D space.

Creating a new scene

Scene can be created via creating the corresponding resource. Read more about resource creation. When scene is being created, you can pick basic template, so the initial scene would be prefilled with some objects, like skybox or several light sources.

Editing objects

Scene editor has several instruments for objects editing. There is Scene Editor tab in the ribbon, where additional instruments can be found. This tab will be described below. You can also edit objects through Objects Window or Settings Window. These windows can be used to edit any other kind of resources as well.

Creating a new object

The easiest way to create an object is through Resources Window. Just pick desired object and drag it to the scene.

Another way to create an object is to use context menu.

Editing position

Once an object is selected, it can be moved with Transfom Tool instrument. With this tool you can translate, rotate, or scale the objects.

Transform tool regime can be switched by clicking on the corresponding icon in the ribbon, or via pressing R, T, Y, U keys.

Name	Description
	Switches the control mode of the selected objects to the Selection mode which allows to select objects only, without the possibility of their transformation.
	Switches the control mode of the selected objects to the Move mode which allows to control the position of the objects.
	Switches the control mode of selected objects to the Rotation mode which allows to control the orientation of objects. When single object is selected then only this object can be rotated. When a group of objects is selected then the rotation occurs around a central point among all selected objects.
	Switches the control mode of the selected objects to the Scaling mode which allows to control the scale of objects.
	Switches the control mode of the selected objects to the Transformation mode using the local coordinate system instead of the global one. The local coordinate system is based on space of the object.

Ribbon tab

When scene editor is activated, Scene Editor tab appears in the ribbon. This tab has some additional tools for scene editing.

Name	Description
	Allows to configure whether to display various additional data in the scene.
	Align selected objects positions along all three axes. Alignment step can be configured in Project Settings.
	Align selected objects positions along X axis.
	Align selected objects positions along Y axis.
	Align selected objects positions along Z axis.
	Adds physical body to selected objects.
	Removes physical body from selected objects.
	Attaches one object to another. This button can't be pressed unless two or more objects are selected.
	Detaches selected objects between each other.
	The mode of creating objects using the Drag and Drop method.
	The mode of creating objects by mouse clicking.
	The mode of creating objects with brush.
	A list of objects you can create objects within. The list may contain Root (scene), Group Of Objects, Layers.
	Brush size.
	Brush strength of impact.
	Brush hardness. Determines the strength of impact depending on the distance to the center of the tool.

Object creation modes

In addition to the Drag and Drop method of creating, there are two more: creating by clicking and creating using a brush. Modes are switched in the Scene Editor tab.

Creating by clicking is almost the same as Drag and Drop mode. For its working, you need to select the created object in the Resources Window, then click the left mouse button in the workspace.

Layers

Objects can be grouped using layers. To place objects in a layer, you need to select the desired layer in the Destination list. New objects will be created in the selected layer.

You can hide layers and change the ability to select objects in the workspace. A layer object with nested objects can be found in the object tree in the Objects Window.

Creating objects with a brush

Creating with a brush is the third mode of creating objects. This mode is suitable for creating a large number of objects. Brush options are specified in the ribbon tab.

A brush is commonly used to create a large number of objects of the same type. To effectively create a large number of objects, there is a special type in the editor: Group Of Objects. This type is a container for the effective management and display of a large number of objects of the same type. Unlike objects created in the usual way, objects created in a group are not components.

In order to draw something with a brush, you first need to select the desired object to create in the Resources Window, for example, 'Samples\Starter Content\Models\Sci-fi Drone\Sci-fi Drone.fbx'. In the tab, select Brush mode, also select 'Group Of Objects' in the Destination list. A brush frame will appear in the workspace, after that you can draw.

In order to draw into a group, it is necessary to configure its basic objects or, in other words, base objects. You can find information about it on the link.

Surface

Brush mode has additional features compared to the two previously described methods for creating objects. With a brush, you can create objects using the so-called surfaces, which are determined by Surface type. The type of surface, or the surface, determines which set of objects will be created during the drawing process and how exactly it will be created.

For example, when creating vegetation, a large number of similar 3D models are usually used. Placed objects can have different sizes, random rotation. All this can be configured using the surfaces applied by brush.

You can find the example of the customized surface in 'Samples\Starter Content\Models\Ribbon Grass\Ribbon Grass.surface', the scene in 'Samples\Starter Content\Scenes\Surface.scene'.

Builder 3D

Builder 3D is an extension of the scene editor. It includes fast level creation tools, 3D modeling tools, constructive solid geometry operations. Read more.

Terrain

NeoAxis includes landscapes support. Read more.

Surface Area

Surface Area is used to automatically fill with a large number of objects in a given area.

Shortcuts

Name	Description
Q, W, E, A, S, D	Move camera.
R, T, Y, U	Change mode of the transform tool.
Ctrl + C	Copy an object to a clipboard.
Ctrl + X	Copy an object to a clipboard for later transfer.
Ctrl + V	Paste an object from a clipboard.
Del	Delete selected objects.

Scene properties

Name	Description
Rendering Pipeline	The rendering pipeline of the scene.
Background Color	The background color of the scene.
UIScreen	The element of user interace of the scene that will be used in simulation.
Camera Editor	The camera used by the editor.
Camera Default	The default camera used.
Gravity	The gravity applied on the physical objects.
Physics Simulation Steps	The number of simulation steps performed by the physics system per second.
Physics Number Iterations	The number of iterations performed by the physics system.
Wind Direction	The direction of the wind.
Wind Speed	The speed of the wind.
Background Sound	Specifies background sound of the scene. Usually it is a music.
Background Sound Volume In Editor	Specifies background sound volume in the editor.
Background Sound Volume In Simulation	Specifies backround sound volume in the simulation.
Display Development Data In Editor	Whether to show development data in the editor.
Display Development Data In Simulation	Whether to show development data in the simulation.
Display Text Info	Whether to display text information of the development data.
Display Labels	Whether to display development data of the labels.
Display Lights	Whether to display development data of the lights.
Display Decals	Whether to display development data of the decals.
Display Reflection Probes	Whether to display development data of the reflection probes.
Display Cameras	Whether to display development data of the cameras.
Display Physical Objects	Whether to display physical objects.
Display Areas	Whether to display areas.
Display Sound Sources	Whether to display development data of the sound sources.
Display Object In Space Bounds	Whether to display the bounds of the objects in space.
Display Scene Octree	Whether to display scene octree.
Frustum Culling Test	Enables the frustrum culling test.
Octree Enabled	Enables the scene octree.
Octree Object Count Outside Octree To Rebuld	The number of objects to rebuild outside the octree.
Octree Bounds Rebuild Expand	The expand vector of the octree bounds.
Octree Min Node Size	The minimum node size of the octree.
Octree Object Count To Create Child Nodes	The number of objects needed to create child nodes.
Octree Max Node Count	The maximum number of nodes created by the octree.
Display Physics Internal	Whether to display the internal physics data.
All Scenes	Gets the list of all enabled scenes.
First	Gets first enabled scene.