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VirtualStage
Knowledge Base

Installation

1. I get a plain blank window during the installation.

Using VirtualStage

1. I only have a 2 button mouse. How do I position props and get the characters to walk?

Sets

1. How can I make minor changes to a set, such as reposition props, between scenes?
2. How can I place an image on the wall without stretching or tiling it?
3. When I try to decorate the ceiling, it stays the same dull grey colour.
4. I downloaded a prop from a website but when I load it into VirtualStage, I cannot see it.

Performance

1. How do I save camera movements like pans and tilts?
2. I've created my production but I want to render it to a standard video format. How?

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Answers

Installation

1. I get a plain blank window during the installation.

   This can occur with some ATI graphics cards with Java. If you experience anything similar, the solution is relatively simple:
   You need to alter the ATI card's 3D quality setting from "High Quality" to "Balanced". You can do this from the ATI control panel that you can access from the Display properties panel.

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Using VirtualStage

1. I only have a 2 button mouse. How do I position props and get the characters to walk?

   You can press the ALT button on your keyboard and then press the left mouse button. You may need to configure the settings on your computer so that this workaround will operate successfully, particularly on IBM Thinkpads. Alternatively, this software provides a 3 button mouse emulator:

   http://www.geocities.com/pronto4u/mouseemulator.html

   although we haven't used the program ourselves and can make no assertions or guarantees of its quality.

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Sets

1. How can I make minor changes to a set, such as reposition props, between scenes?

   The way to do this is to make a copy of the set in Set Manager. Then 'edit' the copy in the Set Designer, move the props around or change the decor of the walls as required. In the second scene, simply use the copy of the set. As far as VirtualStage is concerned, this is a different set but, to us, it simply looks like the same room with a few minor changes.

2. How can I place an image on the wall without stretching or tiling it?

   Suppose you wanted to hang a picture on a wall in a room. The way to achieve this would be to create a new image in a graphics package with the same proportions (height and width) as the wall. You should then copy and paste your image of the picture as a moveable selection into this main image. Position it by using the graphics package's own positioning tools. Save the image. Then, in the Set Designer of VirtualStage, select the image and choose to stretch it across the wall. In this way, you can build up a montage or a composite picture, to use to decorate the wall of a set. The image could contain pictures hung on the wall, window frames and so on.

   Don't forget, you are not restricted to creating indoor locations using walled sets. You can paste images of the outdoors on to the walls of a box set in order to create an outdoor location, a forest, a street scene or whatever.

3. When I try to decorate the ceiling, it stays the same dull grey colour.

   This is simply because the only light shining onto the ceiling is the ambient light and that isn't enough to highlight the colour that you have chosen. Although you can change the horizontal direction of the lights and their colour balance in the current version of VirtualStage, they are all pointing down towards the ground. We intend to provide greater flexibility in the lighting configuration in a future release.

4. I downloaded a prop from a website but when I load it into VirtualStage, I cannot see it.

   This could be for a number of reasons:

   • The props in VirtualStage have their origin (x, y, z coordinates equal to 0,0,0) on the floor and in the centre of the object. This makes both placing them on the floor and rotating them for better position so much easier. Not all models available for download from 3D resource websites have their origin in this position, so placing them in a set may be a little more difficult - though still perfectly possible.
   • In VirtualStage, we use 1 unit as 1 metre. Not all 3D packages do this. However, when you import the models, you can set a scaling factor so that your models appear the correct size when seen alongside the others. For example, if your modelling package uses 1 unit = 1 cm, you will need a scaling factor of 0.01. You can fine tune this scaling factor after you've seen the models in a set or scene.
   • If you cannot see a prop model when you first add it to a set, move your viewing position backwards (by pressing and holding the down arrow key). Keep moving back out until the prop comes into view. Does the prop appear too big? Is the prop's origin too far from the centre of the set?
   • If your prop is present but appears to be white or pale grey without the colours you were expecting, was it supplied with a texture map? If so, it appears that the texture map isn't being found by VirtualStage. This is likely to be because VirtualStage is case sensitive - even on Windows. Look in the Java Console (which you can open from the Java icon in the Windows Control Panel). Is there an error message saying that a texture file could not be found? If so, it should give the name of the texture file using the uppercase/lowercase combination that the 3D file was expecting. Rename the texture map to match the letter case mentioned in the Console.

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Performance

1. How do I save camera movements like pans and tilts?

   At the moment, there is no way to do this. Currently, VirtualStage only has an option to record switches between cameras.

2. I've created my production but I want to render it to a standard video format. How?

   There is no inbuilt rendering software in VirtualStage and its low price reflects that. However, great results can be obtained by using video capture software targeted at computer games, such as Fraps.

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