September 11, 2019

Camera Options – Buildbox 3 Manual

By Buildbox |

Camera Attributes

The camera is one of the most important elements in a 3D game. It acts as the player’s eyes, letting them see the game world from different viewpoints. In Buildbox, the camera is typically located behind and above the player and rotates around the character as it turns.

There are several important Follow camera attributes, such as Follow Position, Rotation, Offset, and others, that you need to define to make the camera move around as desired in your game.

To view the camera attributes in the Options panel, inside a World, click the camera in the Scene Editor or select it in the Outliner.

Option	Description
Name	Change the name of the camera object, only if needed.
Position	Enter the appropriate numeric values for each axis to define the location of the camera. Alternatively, drag the arrow axis handles to the desired location in the Scene Editor. If needed, for details, see Tools.
Rotation	Enter the appropriate numeric values for each axis to define the angle of the camera. Alternatively, click the Rotation Tool button and drag the circle axis handles to set the desired angle for the camera in the Scene Editor. If needed, for details, see Tools.
Scale	Enter the appropriate numeric values for each axis to define the size of the camera. Alternatively, click the Scale Tool button and drag the cube axis handles to set the desired size for the camera in the Scene Editor. If needed, for details, see Tools.
Projection	Select the type of view you want players to see in the game. Perspective (default for 3D games) projection—the camera will render objects the way they appear in the real world, that is, with far-away objects appearing smaller than those nearby. Orthogonal projection—the camera will render all objects at the same scale, with no sense of depth.
Position Follow	Select which object you want the camera to follow in the game: None (the camera will remain stationary) Game Path—the camera will follow the path specified by the Start and End Points. Character—the camera will follow a character asset.
Rotation Follow	Select which object’s rotation you want the camera to match in the game: None Game Path—the camera will match the rotation of the game path along all three axes. Game Path Horizontal—the camera will match the rotation of the game path only on the X axis. In other words, the camera will not roll up and down. It will rotate sideways only (or twist). Character—the camera will rotate so that it is always facing the character.
Follow Force	Enter a numeric value from 0 to 1 to specify how fast you want the camera to follow its target object (selected in the Position Follow field) along each axis, with 1 indicating 100%.
Follow Threshold	Follow threshold is an invisible boundary that defines a distance within which the character can move around without being followed by the camera. As soon as the character crosses the threshold, the camera will start following it again. Enter a numeric value to specify the follow threshold for the camera.
Follow Offset	Enter a numeric value for each axis to specify the distance between the camera and its target object, which should be kept during the game.
Field of View	Specify the extent of the observable game world that the player can see on the screen during the game. The higher the number, the farther away is the camera, and the larger is its field of view. This is not the same as the camera view. To see the camera view, click the Camera button on the Scene Editor toolbar and see how it changes as you enter different values in this field. See also Change the Game Camera View.
Far Render Distance Near Render Distance	Specify the maximum and minimum distance of objects in a 3D scene that are drawn by the rendering engine to balance performance and visuals. See also the Editor settings for the project.

October 13, 2019

0

Touch Rotate Node – Buildbox 3 Manual

By Elena Torres |

Touch Rotate Node

This control node allows the player to change the rotation of the asset by dragging a finger or mouse across the screen.

Option	Description
Name	Type a custom name for this node, if needed.
Sensitivity	How fast or slow the asset will rotate. The higher is the value, the faster is the rotation. To affect the sensitivity along: The horizontal axis, enter a value in the X axis. The vertical axis, enter a value in the Y axis.
Smooth	Enter a decimal from 0 to 1 to determine how smooth the rotation will be, 1 being 100%.
Screen X	Select an axis of the World that will be affected when the screen is dragged along the horizontal axis.
Scale Y	Select an axis of the World that will be affected when the screen is dragged along the vertical axis.
Invert X	Select this checkbox to invert how the asset is rotated along the horizontal axis.
Invert Y	Select this checkbox to invert how the asset is rotated along the vertical axis.

If needed, you can also customize this node. For details, see Customizing Nodes.

September 22, 2019

0

Trail Node – Buildbox 3 Manual

By Buildbox |

Trail Node

This content node creates a trail that traces along the asset’s movement path in a scene.

Option	Description
Name	Type a custom name for this node, if needed.
Position	Enter numeric values to change the starting point location of the trail in relation to the asset that it is attached to. For example, with the value of 4 on the Y axis, the starting point of the trail will be above the asset.
Color	This attribute allows you to add a color overlay to the trail image. To add a color overlay, click the field, and in the Colors window, select a color and click OK.
Texture	To apply an image to the trail, drag a PNG file here. You must upload an image, otherwise no trail will be shown in the game.
Fade	Enter the number of seconds for the trail image to be displayed for before disappearing.
Width	To change the width of the 2D sprite, enter a different value.
Blending	Click the drop-down list to select the type of blending to be applied, if any.

April 9, 2020

0

Trail Brainbox – Buildbox 3 Manual

By Justin Leon |

Trail Brainbox

This physics Brainbox creates a trail that traces along the asset’s movement path in a scene.

Brainbox Attributes

Attribute	Description
Color	To change the color of the trail, click the field and in the Colors window, choose a color.
Texture	To add a new image to the trail, drag a JPG or PNG file from your computer into the field. To add a previous uploaded image to the trail, in the field , click the Edit button, and in the Sprite Editor, choose an image and click Save.
Fade	Enter the amount of seconds you want the trail to remain visible before it starts to fade. For example, a value of 5 allows the trail to remain completely visible and grow longer for 5 seconds before fading.
Width	Enter a numeric value to specify the horizontal size of the trail.

Nodes in Brainbox group

After you add this Brainbox to an asset, a Trail node is added to the Node Map.

September 12, 2019

0

UI Buttons – Buildbox 3 Manual

By Buildbox |

UI Buttons

There are six buttons that you can add to a UI screen in the UI workspace.

To add a button, drag it from the Asset panel to the desired location on the screen in the UI Editor and define its properties in the Options panel on the right.

You need to have an icon image ready for each button you want to add so that it can be displayed on the screen.

Button	Icon	Description
Audio		Turns the sound on and off in the game.
Facebook		Creates a like for the logged in user, in their Facebook account.
Navigation		Depending on the function you select for the button, creates a Pause, Back, Restart, Reset Settings, or any other button on the screen.
Purchase		Allows the player to purchase items typically found in a game shop screen or elsewhere in your game.
URL		Opens a web page specified by the URL.
Lock		Appears as an inactive button that needs to be unlocked by purchase, game progress, or other player actions.
Control		Allows you to create a UI button that you can use as a control node. See also Add a Control Button in the UI.

September 12, 2019

0

Scene Editor – Buildbox 3 Manual

By Buildbox |

Scene Editor

To access the Scene Editor, double-click a purple 3D World node on the Mind Map or click the Edit icon in the top right corner of the node.

This editor allows you to add assets and lights to a scene as well as adjust the game path and camera. By default, every scene includes a camera, a source of light, and a set of start and end points of the current scene.

There are several important Follow camera attributes, such as Follow Position, Rotation, Offset, and others, that you need to define to make the camera move around as desired in your game. For details, see Camera Attributes.

You may also watch the Light Sun and the Camera View videos.

Navigating in the Scene Editor

To zoom or change the 3D view in the Scene Editor, you can use the View options on the Buildbox Menu Bar, which also include a special set of View options available only in the Scene Editor or the keyboard shortcuts below.

Standard Navigation

The controls below allow you to rotate and pan the view around the scene.

Shortcut Keys	Description
Spacebar + Left-click + Drag	Move your view in any direction.
Spacebar+ Right-click + Drag	Rotate your view in any angle
Scroll up	Zoom your view in
Scroll Down	Zoom your view out.
F	Center your view on the selected object

Fly Navigation

The controls below allow you to point your view in any direction, as well as control the movements of your camera with your keyboard.

Right-click +	Description
+ Drag	Look around the scene
+ W	Move your view into the direction you are currently facing.
+ A	Move your view to the left
+ S	Move your view backward
+ D	Move your view to the Right
+ Q	Move your view Up
+ E	Move your view Down

Working in the Scene Editor

To add scenes, click Add in the Scene Selector at the bottom or duplicate an existing ones.
To add assets, drag them from the Asset panel on the left.

If you drag an outside file to the Editor, for example, with an image you want to add to the scene, a Drop Wheel appears that allows you to set the new asset as a character or an object.

Depending on your zoom level and other settings, you may not always see all the objects in the scene. To check what’s added to the current scene, look at the list in the Outliner. To see more of the current scene, you may also change the Render Distance settings on the Editor tab of the Project Settings.

To delete an object from a scene, select and press Delete on the keyboard.
To duplicate an object, press D on the keyboard.
To modify or view the camera, light, or other object attributes, select the object and use the respective Options panel.
To move or resize objects, you can manipulate them directly on the grid using the axis handles or enter the appropriate numeric values in the corresponding entity attributes in the Options panel. You can also use the position, rotation, scale, and other tools at the top. For details, see Tools.
To change the camera view or to open the Collision Shape Editor, use the toolbar buttons at the top. For details, see Toolbar Buttons.

December 11, 2019

0

UI – API Reference

By Buildbox |

Ui

Function	Description
camera()	Returns the Ui’s Camera object. The Ui has an independent camera from the 3D world it’s attached to. It’s recommended to only use the Ui’s Camera for things like screenToWorld() (See the Camera API for more info).
create(name, parent)	Create a new Entity within the Ui based on the given asset name. A parent entity can be passed optionally.
find(name)	Returns the array of Entities, Buttons, or Images with the specified name.
playBackgroundMusic()	Plays the background music of this Ui.
stopBackgroundMusic()	Stops playing the background music of this Ui.

camera()

Returns the Ui’s Camera object. The Ui has an independent camera from the 3D world it’s attached to. It’s recommended to only use the Ui’s Camera for things like screenToWorld() (See the Camera API for more info).

Returns

Camera the Ui’s Camera object

Function	Description
color()	Returns the color of the Light in RGB (Red, Green, Blue) format.
cutOffAngle()	Returns the cutoff angle of the Spot Light, in degrees.
intensity()	Returns the intensity of the Light.
isRemoved()	Returns true if the Light is removed, false if not.
isVisible()	Returns true if the light is visible, false if not.
position()	Returns the Light’s position coordinates relative to its parent.
range()	Returns the range of the Light.
remove()	Remove the light from the Scene.
rotation()	Returns the rotation of the Light in degrees.
rotationQuat()	Returns the rotation of the Light in quaternion.
setColor(color)	Sets the color of the Light.
setCutOffAngle(value)	Sets the cutoff angle of the Light, in degrees. This changes how wide or narrow the Spot Light is.
setIntensity(value)	Sets the intensity of the Light.
setPosition(x, y, z)	Sets the new position relative to the Light’s parent. If the Light has no parent, this sets the world position of the Light.
setRange(value)	Sets the range of the Light.
setRotation(x, y, z)	Sets the rotation value of the Light, in degrees.
setRotationQuat(value)	Sets rotation value in Quaternion.
setVisible(value)	Sets the visibility of the Light; true if the Light is visible, false if not.
setWorldPosition()	Sets the Light’s position coordinates in the world (absolute position).
worldPosition()	Returns the Light’s position coordinates in the world (absolute position).

Function	Description
color()	Returns the color of the Sun in RGB (Red, Green, Blue) format. The minimum value is 0 and the maximum is 1 (think of it as the 0-255 scale divided by 255). For example, {r:0, g:0, b:0} is black and {r:1, g:1, b:1} is white.
intensity()	Returns the intensity of the Sun.
rotation()	Returns the rotation of the Sun in degrees.
rotationQuat()	Returns the rotation of the Sun in Quaternion.
setColor(value)	Sets the color of the Sun. Expected range of {r, g, b} is 0-1.
setIntensity(value)	Sets the intensity of the Sun.
setRotation(value)	Sets the rotation value of the Sun, in degrees.
setRotationQuat(value)	Sets the rotation value of the Sun, in Quaternion.

Function	Description
anchorAtPosition(value)	Returns the anchor position and rotation at the given path position.
anchorPosition()	Returns the current anchor position of the path.
anchorRotationQuat()	Returns the current anchor rotation of the path in quaternion.
pathPosition()	Returns the current path position. The path position is simply how far along the path the game has moved.
pathSize()	Returns the path size.
pathTangent()	Returns the current path tangent.
positionOnPath(entity)	Takes an entity or 3D world position and returns the position along the game path.
setAutoPositionUpdate(value)	Enables/disables auto path update. If it is disabled, levels will not be created automatically along the game path.
setPathPosition(value)	Sets the current path position.

Camera Attributes

Touch Rotate Node

Trail Node

Trail Brainbox

Brainbox Attributes

Nodes in Brainbox group

UI Buttons

Scene Editor

Navigating in the Scene Editor

Working in the Scene Editor

Ui

camera()

Returns

create(name, parent)

Parameters

find(name)

Parameters

Returns

playBackgroundMusic()

stopBackgroundMusic()

Spot Light

color()

Returns

cutOffAngle()

Returns

intensity()

Returns

isRemoved()

Returns

isVisible()

Returns

position()

Returns

range()

Returns

remove()

rotation()

Returns

rotationQuat()

Returns

setColor(color)

Parameters

setCutOffAngle(value)

Parameters

setIntensity(value)

Parameters

setPosition(x, y, z)

Parameters

setRange(value)

Parameters

setRotation(x, y, z)

Parameters

setRotationQuat(value)

Parameters

setVisible(value)

Parameters

setWorldPosition(value)

Parameters

worldPosition()

Returns

Sun

color()

Returns

intensity()

Returns

rotation()

Returns

rotationQuat()

Returns

setColor(value)

Parameters

setIntensity(value)

Parameters

setRotation(value)

Parameters

setRotationQuat(value)

Parameters

Scene Path

anchorAtPosition(value)

Parameters