Week 1 Independent Study

"Customising the Editor"

1. You can change the skin colour of the Editor by clicking the "Skin" tab in the "View" rollout bar.
2. 
   

"Viewports"

1. Wireframe mode (can be shown using F3)
2. Safe Frame mode. This will lock the viewport's aspect ratio if you're making a video with a certain aspect ratio, ie. If making a video in 720p, it will lock the viewport to 1280 x 720
3. In the Top, Front or Left views.

"User Interface Panels - Overview"

1. Holding Alt+Middle Mouse Button will pivot the viewport around the centre point.
2. The 1, 2 and 3 buttons switch between the "Move", "Rotate" and "Scale" tools respectively.
3. Holding down space will show the name of every object in the Level in the viewport.
4. Ctrl+1/2/3/4 will constrain movements to "Follow Terrain", "XY Axis", "X Axis" and "Y Axis" respectively.
5. Pressing the F3 button will change the viewport to wireframe mode.

Sandbox UI 10 Tips and Tricks

1. The 1,2 and 3 buttons switch between the "Select and Move", "Rotate" and "Scale" tools respectively.
2. The lock selection button locks in the currently selected entities so that only they may be used and edited.
3. The "Select All' drop down menu allows you to control which types of selections you can make at any time ie. only brushes, only entities, only prefabs.
4. The "Snap to Grid" tool allows you to snap an objects movement to a grid of defined size. For example, moving a house 1 metre at a time on the X, Y or Z axis.
5. AI/Physics allows you to experience the game engine working while still being able to edit the Level.
6. Goto position allows you to jump to an exact coordinate in the level when entered.
7. You can change the skin colour of the editor by going to the "Skins" rollout in the "View" tab.
8. Holding down space shows you the name of all objects and entities in your Level.
9. By going to the View Settings in the "RollupBar", you can hide objects in your level by category, ie. Brushes, Decals or Entities.
10. Holding down Alt and the middle mouse button allows you to rotate the view around the centre of your screen, holding the focus point in the middle.

Sandbox Folder Structure

5 things I've learned about the Sandbox folder structure:

1. I can create new config files to modify the way I CryEngine works for me.
2. The Settings Manager (SettingsMgr.exe) can detect the resource compiler (rc.exe) and its status.
3. The RC compiles your CryTIF textures into DDS textures that can then be exported.
4. I can install plugins for 3DS Max, Maya and Photoshop which allows me to import entities from these programs into the CryEngine Editor.
5. I can install a CryEngine Tool Bar in 3DS Max from the Cryengine folder.