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Getting started with Builders' Buddy
For a while I have been wanting to be able to create whole scenes that I can just take out of my inventory and rez for language learning sessions without having to spend ages setting everything up. So I attended the seminar on using Builders' Buddy at WIAOC09 (offered by Cvetka Nacht), but couldn't get it to work - until last night. Happily my "scenes" folder in my inventory is no longer empty - the simple scene I built is currently parked on my launchroom.
It's actually dead easy now that I have the hang of it.
Builders' Buddy is basically two scripts, one which is placed in a 'BASE' object, and the other in all the different COMPONENTS of your scene.
Once I had created my scene, here's what I did:
STEP 1: Rezzing the BASE
The BASE (or 'container') controls the scene and is the tool that will enable you to create it, pack it and unpack it later. Create a simple prim for this purpose. I just built a box, stretched and flattened it, uploaded a photo of the scene and added it to the box as a texture so that I can easily identify which scene the base is for (I'm hoping to find the time to create several). Any object will work though.
STEP 2: Inserting the Scripts into the COMPONENT objects
When you like the way your scene looks, find the Builder Buddy COMPONENT script in your inventory and copy it into each of the objects. Right-click on each object, and open the Edit menu window from the pie. Click the CONTENT tab and drag the appropriate script from your inventory so that you can see it inside the content tab window. You need repeat this step for every object in the scene. Note that all objects need to have Copy and Modify selected in the edit window for you to be able to do this.
STEP 3: Inserting the Script into the BASE object.
Now copy the Builder Buddy BASE script inside your base object. Make sure that you use the BASE script for the base, and the COMPONENT script for the components. See - it's not rocket science :-)
STEP 4: Recording the Scene.
After you have closed the BASE edit window, touch your BASE photo. A blue menu will pop up on the top-right of your screen. At this point DO NOT TOUCH "DONE" OR YOU WILL ERASE ALL SCRIPTS. Select RECORD and wait until all the objects in your scene have been recorded. You should see the swirling white dots and then see a message in the local chat saying that the position of all your objects has been recorded.
STEP 5: Copying Components into the Base.
Right-click and choose TAKE from the pie menu for each of the components in the scene to take them back into your inventory (remember to keep your inventory tidy! I gave my scene a name and created a folder with the same name where I file a copy of each object in the scene as well as the base object). IMPORTANT: do not take the Base object just yet. Now copy each of the components into the Base. Right-click the Base photo and open the Edit menu. Select the Content tab. Open the folder where you filed all the component objects. Drag all of them into the Content tab of the base. Close the BASE edit window. Close your inventory.
STEP 6: Building your Scene.
Touch the Base photo so that you see the blue menu. Select BUILD. The components will all rez in what will look like a jumbled mess to start with, then they will position themselves correctly. If you have followed all the steps correctly and in order, you should now see your scene in position just as you created it. You can now take the Base object and file it in the scene folder.
It was at this point in the seminar that I realised I had done something wrong, as my objects just stayed in a jumbled mess attached to the Base object. I must have missed something out. Last night I did everything by the book, and it worked fine.
STEP 7: Cleaning up your scene.
To take away your scene, rez the BASE object and touch to open the menu. Select CLEAN. Remember, do not select DONE or else you will remove all the scripts from the objects.
Hope that's helpful. I'm looking forward to creating some more scenes. If you want the scripts, feel free to message me in SL and I can give them to you, or otherwise they can be copied here.
It's actually dead easy now that I have the hang of it.
Builders' Buddy is basically two scripts, one which is placed in a 'BASE' object, and the other in all the different COMPONENTS of your scene.
Once I had created my scene, here's what I did:
STEP 1: Rezzing the BASE
The BASE (or 'container') controls the scene and is the tool that will enable you to create it, pack it and unpack it later. Create a simple prim for this purpose. I just built a box, stretched and flattened it, uploaded a photo of the scene and added it to the box as a texture so that I can easily identify which scene the base is for (I'm hoping to find the time to create several). Any object will work though.
STEP 2: Inserting the Scripts into the COMPONENT objects
When you like the way your scene looks, find the Builder Buddy COMPONENT script in your inventory and copy it into each of the objects. Right-click on each object, and open the Edit menu window from the pie. Click the CONTENT tab and drag the appropriate script from your inventory so that you can see it inside the content tab window. You need repeat this step for every object in the scene. Note that all objects need to have Copy and Modify selected in the edit window for you to be able to do this.
STEP 3: Inserting the Script into the BASE object.
Now copy the Builder Buddy BASE script inside your base object. Make sure that you use the BASE script for the base, and the COMPONENT script for the components. See - it's not rocket science :-)
STEP 4: Recording the Scene.
After you have closed the BASE edit window, touch your BASE photo. A blue menu will pop up on the top-right of your screen. At this point DO NOT TOUCH "DONE" OR YOU WILL ERASE ALL SCRIPTS. Select RECORD and wait until all the objects in your scene have been recorded. You should see the swirling white dots and then see a message in the local chat saying that the position of all your objects has been recorded.
STEP 5: Copying Components into the Base.
Right-click and choose TAKE from the pie menu for each of the components in the scene to take them back into your inventory (remember to keep your inventory tidy! I gave my scene a name and created a folder with the same name where I file a copy of each object in the scene as well as the base object). IMPORTANT: do not take the Base object just yet. Now copy each of the components into the Base. Right-click the Base photo and open the Edit menu. Select the Content tab. Open the folder where you filed all the component objects. Drag all of them into the Content tab of the base. Close the BASE edit window. Close your inventory.
STEP 6: Building your Scene.
Touch the Base photo so that you see the blue menu. Select BUILD. The components will all rez in what will look like a jumbled mess to start with, then they will position themselves correctly. If you have followed all the steps correctly and in order, you should now see your scene in position just as you created it. You can now take the Base object and file it in the scene folder.
It was at this point in the seminar that I realised I had done something wrong, as my objects just stayed in a jumbled mess attached to the Base object. I must have missed something out. Last night I did everything by the book, and it worked fine.
STEP 7: Cleaning up your scene.
To take away your scene, rez the BASE object and touch to open the menu. Select CLEAN. Remember, do not select DONE or else you will remove all the scripts from the objects.
Hope that's helpful. I'm looking forward to creating some more scenes. If you want the scripts, feel free to message me in SL and I can give them to you, or otherwise they can be copied here.
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