Scene Object Types - Adobe ATMOSPHERE User Manual

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CHAPTER 4

Scene Object Types

Atmosphere supports a number of object types. Everything that Atmosphere can place in a scene is called a Scene
Object. Some of the Scene Objects have special properties and uses, as explained below.
Solid Objects
This is a geometric object type that is built directly in Atmosphere. You can create and edit these objects using the
Solid Object Editor. Solid Objects, are constructed by combining a small set of primitives such as Box, Cylinder and
Cone into arbitrarily complex constructs using boolean operations (sometimes called Constructive Solid Geometry,
or CSG). Solid Objects can be lit and textured in the Appearance Editor.
Solid Object creation is covered in Chapter 9, "Assembling Solid Objects."
Viewpoint Objects
Viewpoint Objects are 3-D models created in other applications and imported into Atmosphere using the Viewpoint
Media format (MTX, MTZ).
Viewpoint Objects carry their own lighting and textures and cannot be globally lit by Atmosphere. They can contain
animations that can be controlled by the JavaScript API at run-time. Currently, Viewpoint Objects directly loaded
into an Atmosphere scene act as the "props" in that scene.
Viewpoint Objects are covered in Chapter 8, "Using Scene Objects."
Surface Objects
Surface Objects are 3D mesh objects in a format native to the Atmosphere platform. They provide a way in which
users can import external 3D scene components (including geometry, UV coordinates, and texture properties), and
use them as full "citizens" of an Atmosphere scene. In this way, parts of an environment can be constructed as Solid
Objects using Atmosphere, and parts can be created in external design applications and imported into Atmosphere.
External formats must be converted into Viewpoint format in order to be imported and converted to native Surface
Objects. Once imported as Viewpoint Objects, they are then converted into Surface Objects using Atmosphere's
Object > Convert to Surface menu command. Surface Objects are included in global illumination processing and will
cast and receive soft shadows within the scene. Surface objects can also be textured in Atmosphere, or the textures that
were imported with them can be edited.
The basic form of Surface Objects cannot be edited using Atmosphere and the conversion process loses any
animations that were associated with the original Viewpoint Objects that were imported and converted.
Surface Objects are covered in Chapter 8, "Using Scene Objects".