I present the new OgreMax Viewer for Windows, OS X, Android/Ouya, and iPad/iPhone
Highlights
- Merges useful features from what used to be two separate viewers - The original 'standard' viewer let you move your scene with standard first person controls, but you couldn't do much else. The 'WinViewer' was more of a conventional desktop viewer application that let you select objects and enable animations, but it didn't really work well with various input devices. The new viewer is a blend of both - so you can explore your scene with your preferred controls, and you still have the ability to select objects, enable animations, and so on.
- Intuitive controls for navigating the scene - The options for exploring your scenes are now more explicit. You can now just select from a number of standard view manipulation tools (on the left side of the screen) rather than have to remember odd key combinations. You can also jump to the viewpoint of any camera, and zoom the view to encompass the selected object or the entire scene.
- Faster animation selection and playback - There were a lot of complaints about the old viewer, especially when it came to playing back animations since you had to hunt for them in a tree view, select them, then enable in a separate property window. Now you can just select your object in the scene and if it has animations there will be an extra control panel on the right side of the screen (not pictured above) that appears and lets you select and enable animations for that object.
- Support for a variety of input devices - Depending on the platform you're working on, you can use any combination of keyboard, mouse, gamepad, or touchscreen to manipulate the viewer. You could do this somewhat with the previous viewers, but it wasn't implemented very well and the speed of movement would vary depending on the device you used. Those inconsistencies are gone now.
- Support for a variety of file formats - The viewers support the standard Ogre3D file formats, as well as the OgreMax-specific scene and model file formats. You can also bundle up your files into a zip file and load the zip file directly. If you do this, the viewer will first look for a scene file within a zip file, and if that can't be found, then a model file, then a mesh file. This is helpful if you want to send a zipped package to someone. If you're only going to be viewing Ogre3D mesh files, before loading the file, be sure to set the 'Units' in use in the OgreMax Viewer's settings.
- OgreMax Viewer for Windows - Available now on the OgreMax downloads page. Supports keyboard, mouse, and gamepads.
- OgreMax Viewer for OS X - Available now on the OgreMax downloads page. Supports keyboard and mouse.
- OgreMax Viewer for Android - Available now on the Google Play store or the OgreMax downloads page. Supports touchscreen, keyboard, mouse, and gamepads.
- OgreMax Viewer for Ouya - Available now on the OgreMax downloads page. Supports keyboard, mouse, and gamepads.
- OgreMax Viewer for iPad and iPhone - Available now on the iTunes App store. Supports touchscreen.
As always, the online documentation for the viewers can be found on the OgreMax support page. You can also find documentation specific to each viewer by clicking on the ? button within the viewer (or the Options->Help button if you're on a small screen device).
Feedback
I'm eager to hear about your experiences using the OgreMax viewer, so feedback is very welcome. I'll keep and eye on this forum, but you can also contact me directly through the OgreMax contact page.
Enjoy!
