CREATING VISTAPRO SCRIPTS

SCRIPTS & ANIMATION
Vistapro has the ability to do animated fly throughs of landscapes. This is done by producing a series of images with a slightly different camera and/or target location for each frame. Sitting and rendering each frame could get tedious, so Vistapro provides the ability to run the rendering process by way of a script. Each of the camera and target locations are contained in a script file.
Animations can be saved as a series of PCX files or in the VANIM format. Animations saved as a VANIM file can be played back by using the VIEWER program that was distributed with Vistapro. To view a PCX animation, you would need to have a different software package that allowed loading and viewing a series of PCX files as an animation.
CREATING A SCRIPT
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There are two ways to create a script file in Vistapro. The first is to use the Generate option from the script menu. Choosing this option will result in a script file that starts with your current camera and target position and with each frame moves the camera toward the target. The script generation ends when the camera and target locations are the same.
The second way to create a script file is by manually specifying the camera and target location for each image (frame).
Choose the Create option from the Script menu. Vistapro will create a blank script file using the name that you specify.
The next thing to do is to begin adding frames to your script file. Position the camera and the target at the position where you want your flight to begin. Next choose the Add option from the script menu to have the camera and target positions added to the script file. Now reposition the camera and target slightly along the path that you plan to take, and repeat the Add option. Repeat this until your camera has flown the desired path.
If you want to add on to a script file that was created during a previous session, then choose the Open option from the Script menu and specify the script name. You can then continue to Add on to the script file.
After a script has been created, the camera positions can be viewed by choosing the Preview option from the Script menu.
PREVIEWING A SCRIPT
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Choosing the Preview option from the Script menu and specifying an existing script name will result in a series of little black dots being displayed on the topographical map. Each of these dots represents a camera location within the script.
CREATING A VANIM FILE
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Let's create a VANIM animation. Load a landscape and create a script using one of the methods described earlier. For this tutorial, call the script:
TESTSCR.SCR
Under the GrMode menu, pick the VANIM 320X200 option. This is the only graphics mode in which VANIM animations can be created. Picking any of the other options will result in a series of PCX files rather than one VANIM file.
At this point adjust the settings (poly, shading, timber line, snow line, etc.) to the desired values.
Now select the Execute option from the Script menu. Specify the name of the script that you created earlier (TESTSCR.SCR). Next specify the name that you would like the VANIM to be stored under. Call it:
TESTPIC.VAN
Vistapro will now begin rendering each frame in the script file.This can take some time depending on the speed of your machine and the number of frames in the animation.
VIEWING A VANIM FILE
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After your machine is finished rendering each of the frames, you are ready to view the animation.
To do this, you must be at the DOS prompt and in the directory that you specified for the file TESTPIC.VAN. The file VIEWER must also be present in the directory (unless there is a DOS path to it). Pick the Quit option from the Projects menu to exit Vistapro. Type:
VIEWER TESTPIC.VAN
followed by pressing the ENTER key. You will now be viewing your animation. Use the numbers on your keyboard to change the playback speed. To exit the VIEWER program, press the ESC key.
Reference the Animation Viewer section of this manual for more details on keyboard controls.