Adobe ATMOSPHERE User Manual page 53

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ADOBE ATMOSPHERE
User Guide
Presets appear as thumbnails or icons in the Presets palette. Since these thumbnails are only references to the actual
resources, deleting a texture preset doesn't delete the texture fi le, only the reference to the fi le. When an environment
is published, Atmosphere reads the reference to copy the resource fi le to the published fi le.
Presets can be saved into different sets using a Manage Sets dialog box which allows you to create and manage sets via
a Set drop-down list at the top of the Presets palette. For example, texture sets could include metal, wood, roofi ng,
grass, etc. allowing you to quickly navigate large libraries of resources.
Lighting and Light Maps
The Lighting Control palette allows you to light Atmosphere scenes in the Appearance Editor's Player View.
Atmosphere uses two different lighting methods – pre-computed and dynamic lighting. Pre-computed lighting
information is placed in Light Maps that are saved along with the environment's geometry information. Dynamic
lighting is applied in real-time using scripts.
Atmosphere offers sophisticated lighting called Radiosity: you can learn more about lighting in Chapter 13, "Lighting
a Scene."
Script Objects
One of the most powerful aspects of Atmosphere is the ability to associate scripts with objects or scenes. Atmosphere
ships with a library of pre-built Script Object Presets (like Fog and Rotation) that allow even those who are new to
scripting to associate behaviors with objects or scenes. Drag a script preset to the Scene view and the Inspector palette
will display properties for controlling the behavior of the script. Changing these properties will change the scripted
behavior.
Atmosphere's JavaScript API includes support for the built-in Havok physics engine. This engine includes realistic
simulation of many physical behaviors including collisions, springs, wheels, wind and fl uids. Chapter 14, "Adding
Interactivity with Scripts," covers using Script Object Presets.
Publishing and Dual File Formats
Atmosphere creates fi les in two different fi le formats. Project fi les created in Atmosphere and saved using the File >
Save command are given the ATMO fi le extension. These fi les can only be opened in Atmosphere.
Atmosphere scenes that are complete and ready to be viewed by others go through a process called publishing. This
process bundles all referenced assets like textures, models and scripts into a single folder. It then saves the Atmosphere
environment fi le, with all references resolved, with the AER fi le extension. Atmosphere can also create a separate web
page in an HTML fi le that allows the AER fi le to be viewed in a web browser.
Published Atmosphere scenes (with the AER fi le extension) cannot be re-opened in Atmosphere. This helps protect
the intellectual property contained within the Atmosphere scene. AER fi les that were created by the Atmosphere
Public Beta can, however, be opened in Atmosphere, in order to allow Beta users to convert their previously created
content.
The publishing process is explained in Chapter 15, "Publishing Atmosphere Scenes."