Choreography to Action Converter

[HomeSlice]

I've been playing around with something called Titanium Developer, which allows you to write an application using web developer skillz ( HTML, CSS, Javascript, PHP, Ruby and Python ) and then package it as a desktop application.

 

So I wrote a very simple program to convert a Choreography file to an Action file. When I installed it on WindowsXP, the installer threw an error half way through the installation process, but it installed OK and worked just fine. I can't test it in Win7 or Mac, so you're on your own there...

Windows and Mac (OSX 10.5 Intel based) versions are available here:

http://api.appcelerator.net/p/pages/app_page?token=R4qf9KX0

 

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This utility is intended to convert static Choreographies into Actions. This is most useful when building sets and you have a project in which several Choreographies share the same set. Using it for other types of Choreographies, such as those with rigged characters and/or animation, is not supported though it sometimes works.

 

Build your set in a Choreography, where it is much easier. Then convert that Choreography into an Action file. In each Choreography, you can add the base model (or Default Model) to the Choreography, then simply drag the Action onto the base model in the Choreography to automatically construct the rest of the set. If you need to change the set, all you need to do is change the Action file and all the sets in all the Choreographies will be updated automatically, without you having to make the same changes in every Choreography.

 

Step 1: Click on the button labeled "Open a Choreography File" and browse to the location of the Choreography file you want to convert.

 

Step 2: Once you select a .cho file, a select menu will appear. Select the model you intend to use as the "Default Model" for the Action. This is usually the floor of a room or the base terrain mesh (if it's an outdoor set). This is the model you will drag into a new Choreography and onto which you will drag the new Action file you are about to create.

 

Step 3: Once you select a Default Model, a button labeled "Save Action File" will appear. Click on the button and navigate to the location to which you want to save the new Action file.

 

Requirements for Preparing the Choreography you wish to Convert to an Action:

*Only models and lights will be converted.

*Lights must be embedded in the project.

*The Choreography must not have any Action Shortcuts in it. Only Choreography Actions are allowed.

*There can be only ONE instance in the Choreography of the model you intend to use as the Default Model for the new Action.

[Rodney]

Very interesting Holmes!

[robcat2075]

This looks like an promising way to make utitlities for A:M!

[largento]

It definitely is more difficult to build a set in an action. I'll give this a try!

[HomeSlice]

Here is the test project I used. If you are having trouble, first try converting the chor in this project. Just open the chor with the Chor2Action converter and save an Action file and see if the Action file matches the original chor. For "Default Model", choose "Ground".

Also, all the source files are included in the "Resources" directory. So if you know a little Javascript and want to improve it, please do! But would appreciate it if you share your improvements with the rest of us

chor_to_action_test_v16.zip

[NancyGormezano]

muy bueno, muy gracias! I converted your chor - now I will try one of my own.

 

I am curious: Just what did I install on my computer? Seemed like a whole lotta stuff went somewhere when I first doubled clicked on the shortcut (gulp).

 

Looks like it shall be a very useful tool - Thanks!

 

EDIT: Just converted a more complicated chor & it worked a charm! Very, very neat!

Edited January 27, 2011 by NancyGormezano

[Fuchur]

Thanks for the tool! Will be very handy .

 

I am curious about Titanium Developer... any tipps on who to get started with that tool? Javascript, PHP, CSS, HTML are all no problem for me... learned the basics Java during my study too.

 

See you

*Fuchur*

[HomeSlice]

I am curious: Just what did I install on my computer? Seemed like a whole lotta stuff went somewhere when I first doubled clicked on the shortcut (gulp).

I'm not really sure .... I think it was a runtime environment which allows php/ruby/python to run, as well as hooks to allow access to your computer (which normal web stuff cannot do because of security concerns). Consequently, I started this project as pure javasacript, but you cannot read the contents of a file on a user's computer with javascript, so I had to use a very new api from Mozilla FF just to read the darn Chor file (and it didn't work in any other web browser). Then, I couldn't save the Action file to the users computer without including a java applet ... ugh. So I just used php to open, read and save the files, but then I realized that this would limit the number of people who could use it, since not a lot of people have php installed, or know how to run it. So then I hunted around and found Titanium developer, which seems to work.

 

I am curious about Titanium Developer... any tipps on who to get started with that tool?

There is much more documentation on developing mobile apps that there is for the desktop api. In fact, the desktop api documentation is terribly limited.

Here are some desktop programming guides, as well as an api reference: http://developer.appcelerator.com/doc/desktop/guides

Here is some stuff on the Titanium javascript environment. http://developer.appcelerator.com/guides/e...nvironment.html

Here are some very good tutorials on accessing the file system. http://www.smokycogs.com/blog/tag/titanium/

[Animus]

Thank you Holmes!

 

That will be very useful.

 

Michel

[Rodney]

This seems somewhat like Qt which I thought I read Steffen Gross has been using for some development with A:M.

Qt is open source development framework from Nokia: http://qt.nokia.com/

 

I really should lean forward and learn this stuff. I appreciate your work here Holmes.

I hadn't even heard of Titanium Developer yet.

 

I'd love to work out some basic apps to compliment workflow with A:M files outside of A:M; organizing/reorganizing project assets and altering rendering cues via a smart phone without even entering A:M for instance. I'd love to return to the idea of using low-rez 'Lendering' to quickly prototype and plan. A:M can do the job easily, I just need to be more productive with my time and effectively utilize the imagery A:M produces for me.

 

The ability to build my own custom applications to meet specific one-off needs is ideal.

I may not have that max-capacity need at present but know I will some day.

 

Thanks for the heads up on Titanium.

I'll investigate.

[itsjustme]

Very cool, Holmes!

[Fuchur]

QT is "just" a GUI-Framework like GTK+ or wxWidgets which allows you to programm interfaces with some predefined classes and helpers, but in the end you are using C++ to use it... Using web-languages for GUIs is much easier for me, since I have several years of experience with that and only very limited once with C++. (a little bit more with Java).

 

See you

*Fuchur*