MultiGen® Creator

Release Notes
Version 3.0 for Windows
November 2004
Release Notes MultiGen® Creator Version 3.0 November 2004

© November 2004 MultiGen-Paradigm, Inc. All trademarks, trade names, service marks and logos referenced
herein belong to their respective companies. All rights reserved.

MultiGen-Paradigm, Inc. (MultiGen-Paradigm) PROVIDES THIS MATERIAL AS IS, WITHOUT

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subject to terms and conditions set forth therein and applicable MultiGen-Paradigm policies and procedures.
This document may contain technical inaccuracies or typographical errors. Periodic changes may be made to
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MultiGen Creator Release Notes Version 3.0 for Windows

Printed in the U.S.A.

Part Number: CRE-DOC-RN30-0904

November 01, 2004

 Release Notes

MultiGen Creator 3.0 includes all fixes since Creator 2.6, including
patches and additional fixes made later than the patches.
MultiGen Creator runs on standard PC workstations with the Windows
2000 Professional or Windows XP Professional operating system.
For the latest product information, visit our web site at:
http://www.multigen-paradigm.com.

Contents
“Contents of the Creator CD” on page 4
“Compatibility Issues” on page 5
“Performance Issues” on page 6
“Improved Tools” on page 10
“Known Problems and Workarounds” on page 13

MultiGen Creator Release Notes Version 3.0 3

Release Notes

Contents of the Creator CD

• Creator installer: \Creator Install\Setup.exe
• OpenFlight API installer: \OpenFlightAPI Install\Setup.exe
• DFD API installer: \DFDAPI Install\Setup.exe
• Adobe Acrobat Reader Search Software: \Acrobat Reader\rp500enu.exe
• Creator online help file: \Creator Install\Help\Creator_Help.chm
To display CHM files, you need Internet Explorer 4 or higher installed.

• Help Summary, the Creator online help file in PDF format:

\Creator Install\User_Manuals\Creator_Users_Guide.pdf

• Creating Models for Simulations and Creating Terrain for Simulations,

in PDF format:
\Creator Install\User_Manuals\Creator_Modeling_Guide.pdf
\Creator Install\User_Manuals\Creator_Terrain_Guide.pdf

• MultiGen Creator Desktop Tutor, in PDF format:

\Creator Install\User_Manuals\Creator_Desktop_Tutor.pdf.
• Files you use when you perform the tutorials in this book are located
in the Creator Install folder in the following locations:
\User_Manuals\Tutorial_Files\DesktopTutor\Models,
\User_Manuals\Tutorial_Files\DesktopTutor\Textures,
\User_Manuals\Tutorial_Files\DesktopTutor\Batch_Tutorial

• Sample MultiGen models and textures from Victory Simulations,

Inc. (These are provided as a courtesy and are not to be redistributed.):
\Creator Install\Gallery\3rd_Party_Models\Victory_Simulations.

• Textures from www.texturama.com: Registered Creator users can receive a

discount on Texturama textures. See the Texturama README.txt in that
folder.
\Creator Install\Gallery\3rd_Party_Textures\Texturama

• Plug-ins, sample materials, terrain, and MultiGen models:\Free_Stuff

Everything in the Free_Stuff folder is supplied “as is.” MultiGen-Paradigm
Technical Support does not support anything in this folder.
• Media files: .mp3 (audio) and .wmz (skin file for Windows Media
Player 7.0 or higher): \Free_Stuff\Media_Files
• Shadow and building textures for the Tree Wizard and Building
Wizard: \Creator Install\Gallery\Textures
Note: The HMD and NIFF plug-in game console exporters are not
included in this release. Also, the Vpf2Dfd utility (VPF to DFD
conversion utility) is not included.

4 MultiGen Creator Release Notes Version 3.0

 Compatibility Issues

Compatibility Issues
The following are compatibility issues with the OpenFlight format,
OpenFlight Loader, and Windows.

OpenFlight Format
MultiGen Creator 3.0 writes files in OpenFlight format version 16.0.
Opening a database file created with the latest release in an older version
of Creator may result in a loss of data or in objects not appearing
correctly. This is particularly true for new features. The new feature has
not been lost, only the ability to view it, until you save the file using the
older version of Creator.
Creator 3.0 also has the ability to save OpenFlight files in older versions
of the OpenFlight format. You can do this using File>Export or when
using the Copy Model utility. Again, when the OpenFlight file is saved in
an older version, new features will be lost.

Windows Support
Creator 3.0 for Windows is supported on PCs with Microsoft Windows
XP Professional, and Windows 2000 Professional (not the Home Edition).
MultiGen Creator is not supported on Windows NT 4.0, and is not
compatible with Windows 98 or Windows ME.
Note: Please check the Support pages of the MultiGen-Paradigm web site
periodically for updated information:
http://www.multigen-paradigm.com.

MultiGen Creator Release Notes Version 3.0 5

Release Notes

Performance Issues
Consider these issues for best performance in Creator 3.0 for Windows.

Display Settings
For best results when using Creator, turn off the full drag option when
dragging windows. This will improve your performance when moving
windows around. To disable this option, right-click on the Windows
desktop and choose Properties from the context menu. The Display
Properties dialog box is displayed. For Windows 2000, select the Effects
tab and clear the checkbox “Show window contents while dragging.” For
Windows XP, select the Appearance tab and click the Effects button. In
the Effects dialog box, clear the checkbox “Show window contents while
dragging.”

Graphics Cards
Some shader functions may not be supported by your graphics card. For
example, shader functionality is based on “Cg” shader technology, by
NVIDIA. Cg, which is short for “C for Graphics” allows you to modify
the rendering of a 3D model that are rendered by the graphics subsystem
instead of the main PC processor. Future testing will determine the
compatibility with all major graphic board and chipset manufacturers,
including ATI, 3D Labs, and Matrox. NVIDIA cards support different
levels of shader functionality depending on their chipsets, RAM, and
other features.
If you experience problems with rendering when using an OpenGL 3D
accelerated graphics card, visit our web site at http://www.multigen-
paradigm.com for the latest information from MultiGen-Paradigm Support.

6 MultiGen Creator Release Notes Version 3.0

 Performance Issues

Viewing Volume
The Viewing Volume controls the extent to which a database can be viewed
from a given eyepoint. If the eyepoint is moved away from the database
origin (0,0,0) by a significant amount, a portion of the geometry may be
clipped due to the value of the Far Clipping Plane being too small. For
example, if the Far Clipping Plane is set to 10,000 database units, all
geometry farther than 10,000 database units away from the eyepoint will
seem to disappear. The distance between the Near Clipping Plane and the
Far Clipping Plane limits the amount of buffer space required for Z-
Buffering. The values for the Near Clipping Plane and the Far Clipping
Plane can be adjusted in the Viewing Volume dialog box in the View menu
(see the Creator online help).
Note: There is an Auto Near/Far checkbox in the Viewing Volume dialog
box that will automatically set the clipping planes based on the bounding
box of the geometry.

Transparent Materials and the Z-Buffer

Materials with an associated transparency may not appear as expected in
Z-Buffer drawing mode. Creator uses the “fixed list order of drawing”
method to display geometry that contains transparent materials,
regardless of the type of drawing mode in use (except for BSP). A fixed
list drawing order will display geometry in the order of a database
structure: Top-Down, Left to Right. When displaying a transparent object
in front of a solid object in Z-Buffer drawing mode, the order in which the
objects appear in the database hierarchy determines whether you see the
solid object through the transparent object. Place the transparent object to
the right of all other objects on a given level in the hierarchy to ensure
that the transparent objects are drawn last.

MultiGen Creator Release Notes Version 3.0 7

Release Notes

Rendering Problems
If you experience rendering problems, such as refreshing the screen,
redraw functionality, and mouse-related problems, try decreasing the
hardware acceleration for your video card. Decrease the hardware
acceleration one level at a time, and test Creator to see if the problems are
cleared.

Decrease the hardware acceleration one level at a time

Changes to Rendering
Creator 3.0 now uses hardware rendering for polygons with
multitextures, when it is available, rather than software rendering, as it
did in previous releases. Textures with alpha values may look different in
the Graphics view now but they match how the textures will look in Vega
Prime and other runtimes.
Creator uses hardware multitexturing whenever possible instead of
emulating it in software. Creator queries the video card to find out how
many texture units it has (for example, NVIDIA cards usually have four
texture units) then Creator loads each texture layer into each hardware
unit and draws the polygon.
If the video card cannot handle hardware multitexturing (or if the
polygon has more textures than texture units), Creator falls back to
software rendering. In other words, it uses multipass rendering to first
draw the polygon, then each texture layer, then blends all the layers
together.
Note: In the Creator 3D Viewer, textures are still rendered in software.

8 MultiGen Creator Release Notes Version 3.0

 Performance Issues

If you have hardware rendering available on your computer and want to

emulate software rendering of textures in Creator, change your alpha
values to white in the Texture Editor and then select Modulate in the
Texture Attributes window as follows:
1. Open a texture in the Texture Palette.

2. Choose Edit>Edit to open the Texture Editor.

3. Double-click Current Color and select white.

4. Click Select by Color and select the alpha value.

5. Click Bucket Fill to fill the areas with less than opaque alpha value
with white.

6. Choose File>Save As (not Save) and save it with an RGB extension

(not RGBA).

7. Close the Texture Editor. Click No when the Texture Editor asks
whether you want to save the changes to the original file.

8. In the Texture Palette, select the original texture file and choose
Edit>Replace Pattern.

9. Select the texture you saved with an RGB extension and click OK.

10. Choose Edit>Modify Attributes in the Texture Palette.

11. Select Modulate from the Texture Environment list and click Open.

12. In the View Panel, choose Blend from the Texture list.

Mouse Configuration
We highly recommend that you use a three-button mouse to use all of the
Creator features. If you have a scroll wheel instead of a middle button on
your mouse, set up the scroll wheel as a middle mouse button in your
mouse driver.
Note: The scroll wheel now zooms in and out in the Graphics view, the
Hierarchy view, and other windows and palettes. This is a new feature in
Creator 3.0.

MultiGen Creator Release Notes Version 3.0 9

Release Notes

Improved Tools
For a complete list of all the new features and improvements to existing
tools in Creator 3.0, choose Help>What’s New in Creator to open the
What’s New in this Release help topic.

Selecting with the Mouse

When you select an item with the mouse, you can also use modifier keys to
add or subtract items from the select list. These modifier keys are the Ctrl
and Shift keys.
If you don’t use any modifier keys when you select an item, all nodes
become deselected and the picked node become selected.
Note: The ways these keys affect selection has changed in this release of
Creator. Take a moment to familiarize yourself with the new selection
methods.

Function Description Old Command New Command

Toggle Select Selection state of the node is Shift Ctrl+Shift+click
toggled; selected nodes get
unselected, unselected
nodes get selected.

Deselect All All nodes become deselected Ctrl + click Ctrl+D

regardless of what is picked.

Add to Select All nodes previously selected N/A Shift+click

remain selected and any new
ones are added to the select
list.

Subtract from Select Each selected node becomes N/A Ctrl+click

unselected and all nodes
previously selected remain
selected.

10 MultiGen Creator Release Notes Version 3.0

 Improved Tools

Keyboard Shortcuts
Keyboard Shortcuts were improved to allow many more keys to be
assigned as shortcuts. Furthermore, many previously “hard coded”
shortcuts in Creator can now be reassigned to different key combinations.
If you are upgrading a previous version of Creator with version 3.0 (and
you have defined custom keyboard shortcuts in your previous version),
you may find that some of these previously hard coded shortcuts no
longer function after you install version 3.0. The following hard coded
commands may be affected:
• Delete (Delete key)
• Select Up/Down/Right/Left (Up/Down/Right/Left arrow keys)
• Recall Eye 1-9 (1-9 keys)
• Save Eye 1-9 (Shift + 1-9 keys)
• Recall Track 1-9 (Ctrl + 1-9 keys)
• Save Track 1-9 (Shift + Ctrl + 1-9 keys)
Note: By default, the Backspace key (as well as the Delete key) is assigned
to the Delete command. You may reassign the Backspace key to another
command, in which case when it is pressed, it will invoke that command.
However, if the Backspace key is not assigned to another command, it
will invoke the Delete command.
To correct this problem, do either of the following procedures:
You can do this procedure from the Windows file system:
1. Exit Creator

2. Remove <root>\config\creator\custom.ksc

Note: Any custom keyboard shortcut file (custom.ksc) from a previous

version of Creator may not function correctly in Creator version 3.0.
3. Restart Creator

Or you can do this procedure from within Creator:

1. Choose Info>Keyboard Shortcuts

2. Click Restore Default Settings

3. Click Close

MultiGen Creator Release Notes Version 3.0 11

Release Notes

3D Viewer
The Creator 3D Viewer is now automatically installed when you do a
default installation of Creator. It allows you to quickly preview your
OpenFlight file to check its appearance in a runtime environment using
Vega Prime technology with your choice of viewing options. The Creator
3D Viewer has its own online help system and Release Notes available
from its Help menu.
This version of the Creator 3D Viewer uses version 15.8 (06/16/03) of the
OpenFlight Loader and may not display some Creator 3.0 functions based
on OpenFlight 16.0, such as properly displaying shader functions like
bump-mapping.

New License Manager Functionality

This release of Creator uses the FlexLM license manager instead of the
Elan license manager used by previous versions of Creator. See the
Getting Started guide for instructions on installing and licensing Creator.
For Creator 3.0, the version of the License Tool for FlexLM is similar to,
but not the same, as the licensing used with other MultiGen-Paradigm
products. This new version of the Licensing Tool (version 2.0) includes
128-bit encryption for additional security. Even if you have installed other
MultiGen-Paradigm tools, you will still need to install the new version for
Creator 3.0. FlexLM uses USB dongles instead of the old parallel port
dongles used with Elan. Note that dongles are not required; the License
Manager can use them or it can use a simple license file. If you are using a
dongle, the light on the dongle should be lit if it is working correctly. If
the light is not on, unplug the dongle and plug it in again. If the light does
not come on, reinstall the driver.

Face Tools
Rectangle, Circle, and Sphere have been replaced with more powerful
tools: Rectangle Plus, Circle Plus, and Ellipsoid.

DXF Export
When exporting to DXF format, Light Points and Light Strings are now
exported as DXF POINT records.

12 MultiGen Creator Release Notes Version 3.0

 Known Problems and Workarounds

Known Problems and Workarounds

This section describes known problems for Creator. Problem report ID
numbers are referenced in parentheses, and any workarounds are noted.
MultiGen-Paradigm is working to resolve these issues.

Color From Face change (#7988) (resolved)

This bug has been resolved by changing the way the Current Primary
Color reacts to changes in a face color — manually entering a new face
color no longer changes the current color to the same value.
For example, in previous versions of Creator if you had red selected as
the Current Primary Color and changed the color of one face to white by
typing 127 in the Face Attributes window, the face and the Current
Primary Color would change to white. Now when you change the color
of one face, the Current Primary Color does not change.

Offset Selection (#3469)

When a geometry that is far from the database origin is selected, the select
outline is offset from the geometry. The geometry may also appear to
“jitter” when rotating it. Both of these problems are caused by a floating
point round-off error -- the geometry is drawn using one calculation path
and the select outline is drawn using a different calculation path. The
workaround is to localize your geometry so that the coordinates are not
so large (in other words, put the geometry closer to the database origin).

Texture Editor Image Size Limitations (#3947)

Images in the 8kx8k size range or larger probably cannot be loaded into
the texture editor. If the Texture Editor quits unexpectedly when trying to
edit a large texture file, it may be a result of hardware limitations, such as
a limited amount of hard drive space or a limited amount of texture
memory on the graphics card. You can try adding RAM, upgrading the
graphics card, increasing the virtual memory setting in Windows, or
editing the texture using another texture editor (such as Adobe
Photoshop).

MultiGen Creator Release Notes Version 3.0 13

Release Notes

Texture Composer View Altered When Translation

Applied(#4289)
When you select a node in the hierarchy that has a transformation
applied to it, the view in the Texture Composer may be blank or show a
distorted view. If you select children of that node, the contents of that
node are shown as expected.

Duplicate Node IDs (#6043)

Creator automatically assigns node IDs, such as G3, as you create nodes.
This node ID may not be unique in your hierarchy. For example, you
might copy and paste a node in your hierarchy, and later create a new
node that is automatically assigned the same ID. If your runtime system
requires unique node names, you may experience undesired results with
the database model. The runtime system may not be able to read the
duplicate node names in your hierarchy correctly. Rename these nodes to
prevent this problem.

Keyboard Shortcuts (#6171)

Keyboard shortcuts, such as Ctrl+Z for Undo, will not affect the Texture
Editor. Keyboard shortcuts only affect the Creator database window
(which uses its own separate undo list).
Use the menu item Edit>Undo to undo work in the Texture Editor. For
other common functions, use the other menu items or Texture Editor
buttons.

Antialias Settings on Graphics Cards (#10253)

If you are unable to see the selection line when you make a selection with
the mouse in the Graphics view or in the Hierarchy view, it may be a
result of the setting used by your graphics card. If the Antialias setting on
your graphics card is set to anything other than “Off” or “Application-
controlled,” the antialiasing takes place outside of Creator’s control. This
results in the selection lines not being displayed correctly. This also affects
the Modify UVs window and may cause drawing anomalies in other parts
of Creator. The solution is to set your Antialias settings to “Application-
controlled” in your Display settings (use the Display setting in the
Windows Control Panel to open the Display Properties window).

14 MultiGen Creator Release Notes Version 3.0

 Known Problems and Workarounds

3D Paint (#10393)
3D Paint works best on geometry whose texture was applied using Put
Texture (3 Point Put Texture). If you used any other texture tool to apply
texture on your geometry (such as 4 Point Put Texture, Surface Map
Project, Spherical Project or Radial Project), you may get erroneous results
using 3D Paint on that geometry.
In addition, 3D Paint does not work correctly in the following situations:
• When Shrink Mode is ON in the Graphic view.
• When any Freeze Flag (X, Y or Z) is ON in the Graphics view.
• When the geometry being painted has a texture mapping applied.
• When the geometry being painted has transformations above it in
the hierarchy.
• When the Texture Attribute Wrap Method of the pattern is Mirrored
Repeat.

Build Polys from Image: 16-bit image (#10545)

The Build Polys from Image tool doesn’t properly load large 16-bit
images. The workaround is to downsample the image to 8-bit and try it
again. If necessary, chop the image into smaller images. Note that when
you downsample a 16-bit geotiff image in Photoshop, the geographic
data is lost. This is a limitation of Photoshop. To preserve the geographic
information by placing it into an external attribute (.attr) file, use the
offline utility called batch attr edit. This java based utility is available at:
http://www.multigen-paradigm.com/support/sc_unsupported.shtml

MultiGen Creator Release Notes Version 3.0 15

Release Notes

16 MultiGen Creator Release Notes Version 3.0