Creator
Creator is the industry's leading software for creating highly optimized high-fidelity real-time 3D content for use in visual and urban simulations as well as in other applications. Specifically designed for real-time 3D simulation, Creator streamlines the modeling process and increases your productivity by enabling you to easily and effectively create highly detailed 3D models and digital terrains. The powerful plug-in architecture together with the integrated and extensible toolset provide interactive real-time 3D modeling power for creating precise visually exceptional content and synthetic environments.
One of the key characteristics and a major differentiator of Creator is its extremely high level of precision, control, and accuracy at all levels of the scene, from site level to vertex level. Extensible and multi-purpose, the Creator software provides immersive control over your entire modeling process. The polygon-based authoring system in Creator quickly generates optimized object models, high fidelity terrain, and realistic synthetic environments. And, because Creator displays the scene that you are modeling in an OpenGL-direct renderer, you can build and make real-time changes from within the world being created.
OpenFlight® is the de facto standard real-time 3D database file format and is the native output file format of Creator, offering comprehensive interactive control. The customizable extension capabilities of the OpenFlight format provide a common ground for its diverse users and a mechanism to save and re-use objects or environments for future projects.
The Creator 4.0 release contains many new features and improvements which are briefly described below.
Creator 4.0 - New features and enhancements
Creator Airports - Optional module that enables users to rapidly generate high fidelity airport site models.
- Use of templates, parametric modeling techniques and clipping rules provide maximum flexibility and accuracy while removing time consuming manual modeling steps
- 3D view enables full visibility on result of creation steps as site model is constructed
- Robust editing tools enables rapid construction
- Wide range of source data formats supported
- Output ready for use in non-CDB and CDB applications
- Fast and accurate generation of airport site models designed for use in both CDB and non-CDB workflows
- Significant time savings in total workflow
Analyze Model - A new tool Analyze Model helps you prepare your OpenFlight models to be imported into a Common Database (CDB). It reports problems it finds and can optionally correct many of them automatically.
- NOTE: CDB Centric
- Removes requirement to review detailed specification and rely on manually invoking all required components and constructs
- Provides automated functionality to correct many of the potential errors found
- Significant time savings in total workflow
Convert to GIS Source - A new tool Convert to GIS Source allows you to extract GIS source data from your existing OpenFlight site models. You specify an OpenFlight site model and select which GIS source data components to extract. The GIS source data extracted is done so into formats that can be then imported directly into a Common Database (CDB). Enables robust use of site models in a CDB environment.
- Automated process removes the need to manually generate the data for use
Skirt - The Skirt tool, located in the Geometry toolbox creates a sloped "skirt" around your site models. A site skirt is sloped, textured geometry that extends below the bottom of a site and is useful to hide any cracks between it and the terrain onto which it might be placed.
- Automates an otherwise manual task
CDB Model Attribution - Several new tools have been added to help you attribute your CDB compliant models. These tools include: CDB Lightpoint Palette Name, Assign FID/SMC for CDB Material, Set DOF Name for CDB, Set Switch Name for CDB, Assign FACC for Linear Network, Assign FACC for External Reference and Assign ICAO/Runway Designation for Lightpoint.
- Removes requirement to review detailed specification and rely on manually invoking all required components and constructs
- Provides automated functionality to enable user to rapidly make choices on attributes without worrying about making typographic or syntax mistakes
- Significant time savings in total workflow
Project Objects - Project Objects (available in Creator Pro) is a new tool in the Modify Geometry toolbox that allows you to project selected items (Objects, Groups, etc) in the z direction so that they set on polygons in the scene. You can adjust the distance to project on, below or above the polygons.
- Great tool to perform what otherwise would be a manual task
- Automation provides a significant increase in accuracy and mechanical soundness of the resulting construct
Workflow time saver
Model Inventory - The Model Inventory tool, located in the Attributes menu creates HTML reports containing graphical snapshots of your models. This might be useful, for example, to document the contents of a particular model folder on disk.
- Rapid, automated report generation
Paste to Select - Paste to Select lets you paste multiple copies of the Graphics Buffer to the points you select. This allows you to more rapidly populate items in your scene.
- Workflow time saver
License Borrowing - Creator licenses associated to a License Server can now be "borrowed" using the Creator License Borrowing Utility (found in the Start menu) . Borrowed licenses can be configured to run on a remote laptop or other computer not connected to your Network License Server.
- Greater flexibility in use of licenses without managing dongles
OpenFlight API Improvements - Ability to set the parent through the API
- Provides additional capability in the API
Creator 4.0 - Improvements to Existing Tools
Generate Report - The Generate Report tool can now create reports that include graphical snapshots (in JPG format) of LOD, Switch and DOF nodes in your scene. Report settngs can also now be saved and reloaded. This allows you to maintain multiple report settings for different projects or uses.
- Greater flexibility in report generation - content, complexity
- Workflow time savings - multiple report settings can be saved and re-used
Creator Buildings - Many enhancements were made to Creator Buildings. First, it can now generate typical floor plans for you automatically for any footprint and several different building types, including residential house, aircraft hangar, factor, store/commercial building and storage shed/barn. Next it now supports the placement of furniture and features into your building levels. It includes many common furniture types and allows you to add your own. The tool can now also import DXF models to use as backgrounds to help you position elements in your building. It also allows you to specify different textures for any individual building element. This affords you much more control over the visual appearance of your building. Finally a copy/paste feature was added that helps you to more rapidly create elements in your building.
- Significant enhancements results in higher quality, richer content generation
- Interior auto-generation provides a significant reduction in workflow time
Building Wizard - The Building Wizard now allows you to save building layouts and reload them in future modeling sessions. This enables you to create building "templates" and reuse them over and over in your scene. The settings you use for a particular building are also now stored with the building itself in the OpenFlight file. This enables you to modify the buildings you create - even in future modeling sessions. You can also create a building skirt as part of the building geometry. A building skirt is textured geometry that extends below the bottom of a building and is useful to hide any cracks between it and the terrain onto which it might be placed.
- Significant workflow time savings
- Can now "go back" and make minor changes in any aspect of the wizard design
- Reuse existing templates for future projects
Bridge Wizard - The Bridge Wizard now allows you to save bridge layouts and reload them in future modeling sessions. This enables you to create bridge "templates" and reuse them over and over in your scene. The settings you use for a particular bridge are also now stored with the bridge itself in the OpenFlight file. This enables you to modify the bridges you create - even in future modeling sessions.
- Significant workflow time savings
- Can now "go back" and make minor changes in any aspect of the wizard design
- Reuse existing templates for future projects
OpenFlight Extensions - A new, simplified mechanism is now available for you to add custom extension data to existing nodes in your scene. You can do this completely within the Creator modeling environment with no programming required.
- Leveraging the OpenFlight 16.4 specification
- Opens the door to a wide range of use cases with greater flexibility and control than use of the 'Comments' field
Operating System Support - Creator, as well as the Presagis License Tool are both compatible with Windows Vista (32 and 64 bit) as well as Windows XP (32 and 64 bit) operating systems. Note that when running on a 64 bit operating system, Creator (even though still a 32 bit application) can take advantage of up to 4Gb of RAM (if available).
- Greater flexibility in choice of operating systems
- Leveraging 64 bit OS enables use of up to 4Gb RAM
Provides control over the rendering process as well as over the structure of your models.
Plug-in tool architecture
Facilitates custom tool development so that you can create solutions that extend Creator to suit your specific needs.
Wizards
Generate runways, billboards, bridges, buildings, and tree models quickly and effectively.
Advanced polygon generation and editing tools
These tools quickly produce textured primitive geometry and organic shapes.
Texture power tools
Use common 2D concepts for easy 3D texture mapping.
Texture mapping tools
Easily applied and modified dynamic texture mapping tools.
Authoring
Precise and reliable real-world unit and geo-coordinate authoring.
3D painting
Custom tool palette and integrated texture editor with 3D painting.
Advanced light string/light point modeling and editing
Advanced light string/light point modeling and editing directly feeds into real-time applications.
Radiosity tools
Automatic generation of light maps to significantly improve scene accuracy and realism.
Place model
Quickly and easily create architectural models and place these architectural features, such as doors and windows, on a building wall, or rapidly and easily place trees, vehicles, and other models into a scene.
Shader palette
Provides the capability to attach, preview, and control nVIDIA Cg and OpenGL shader programs to OpenFlight files to greatly improve the visual quality of models and scenes.
Expanded set of deformation tools
Facilitates the construction of more irregular or organic shaped geometry.