Tools and Asset Creation FAQ

From Multiverse

Installation and opeation

Why do I get an error when I try to install the Multiverse tools?

Make sure you have uninstalled any previous version of the Multiverse tools before installing this version. Use Windows Control Panel Add/Remove Programs before installing the new tools, otherwise you will get an error.

Why do tools not work properly on my computer?

First issue might be your graphics card. To properly run the tools you need a graphics card that supports pixel and vertex shader 2.0 or later.

If you are experiencing problems when using Conversion Tool ("System.FormatException: Input string was not in a correct format.") or server world loading (deaths of some processes), change your Regional Options. Open Regional And Language Options in the Control Panel, and you'll see a drop down at the top. Select "English (United States)", then click Apply and OK.

Capabilities

What file formats are used for assets such as 3D models and sounds?

We use the OGRE mesh, skeleton and material file formats for 3D models and the OGG or WAV file formats for sound.

Please describe the asset creation and world building pipelines.

Create 3D assets like models and animations with a 3D tool such as Maya or 3ds Max. Create user interface graphics and sounds using the appropriate tools for those assets. The Multiverse World Builder enables you to place static objects such as buildings and trees.

Are there limits on assets, such as polygon limits for models or number of objects in the game world?

Technically, there are no hard limits on these assets, but if you expect to have thousands of objects on the screen, they should generally be simple. If you only expect to have a few objects in the scene, you may have tens of thousands of polygons in each mesh. Often, texture memory constraints of a graphics card will be a larger issue. We will publish recommendations soon.

How can I use SpeedTree to put trees in my world?

We have integrated support for SpeedTree into our client engine. What this means is that if you license SpeedTree for your game, you do not have to write any code to use it. A limited set of SpeedTree assets is also available as a free starter set, for development purposes.

Can I include video and audio in my world?

Yes! See Displaying In-World Video and Web Pages for full details on video. See Working with Sound for information on using sound in your game/world.

Does Multiverse support normal / bump mapping?

Yes. Multiverse supports custom shaders you write (in Cg or HLSL), for sophisticated lighting, parallax mapping, and so on. The sample assets include shaders that do vertex animation and normal mapping. Currently you can see normal and bump mapping in the Zombie.mesh model in the sample assets. If you want to make your own normal / bump mapped models, look at zombie's material file; it should help you.

Is there a size limit for assets?

Generally, the tools do not impose a limit; however currently, the server's perceiver system does not deal with exceptionally large objects. Because of this, you will probably be tweaking the perceiver radius to be large enough to include the origin of the object, but small enough to not overload the client with objects that are not relevant. This will not be possible if there are very large objects (that you should see from ~1km away) unless the scale of the whole game is such that there would only be a few dozen objects in that 1km range. There is an 'extents' system that we will be adding to better deal with these large objects, so large objects can be seen from very far away, but the smaller objects (like the people in the flying city), would not incur the overhead of being communicated to the client.

Do Multiverse models support multi-textured meshes?

Multi-texturing enables you to layer one mesh over another, for example, to create a mesh for clothing that can then be layered over multiple body meshes. You can make different materials, and the server can assign them to the models via the display context. For more information, see the OGRE manual.

Importing models

What is the scale of models when they are imported to the Multiverse platform?

3ds Max: The standard coordinate system is 1 unit equals 1 millimeter. So if you make a model that is 2 meters (about 6.5 feet) tall, you will want it to be 2000 units tall in your modeling tool. Our converter will look at the system units you set up in 3ds Max and use those when converting. So if you set your system unit to "feet," then you should make your humans about 6 units tall.

Does Multiverse support export from XSI?

Yes. Use the XSI COLLADA exporter and the Multiverse conversion tool. See Exporting Models.

COLLADA exporter plugins for various modeling tools (including XSI) are listed on the COLLADA public forum.

Using the tools

How do I zoom in or move the viewpoint in World Editor and Terrain Generator tools?

You can move the camera using NUM8, NUM2, NUM4, and NUM6 on your keyboard. These keys work in both the World Editor and Terrain Generator. See World Editor and Terrain Generator documentation.

Reference: research papers

TBD

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