The agent layout tool is your best companion when populating your scene. Your agent group must have one of the following modules applied to use this tool: pointLayout, cacheRead or any other layout + agentFilter (for deleting agents) + offset (for offsetting agents).
This feature is for Maya only.
Layout Tool and Points Layout Module
Create a new scene and a new agent group. Add a "pointsLayout" and a "stateMachine" module to your agent group.
To activate the layout tool you have two options:
- Select the "pointsLayout" module in the module list, then click on the "Agents Layout Tool" button in the module options.
- With your agent group selected, activate the tool from the Atoms menu: Atoms > Tools > Agents Layout Tool
Click in the viewport to start placing agents.
Please make sure to be on the first frame of your simulation when adding or editing agents.
You have several modes for editing your agents: add, selection, move and rotate.
You can set their parameters through the GUI or via the menu (right click on the viewport).
Add Mode
Left Click to add agents in the viewport.
Ctrl+Left click and drag to edit the direction for the agents.
Shift+Left click and drag to rotate the layout (grid and poisson)
There are different layout type for placing your agents: point, grid and poisson.
Both grid and poisson have some options you can tweak through the GUI.
In the ground mesh list, you can add reference meshes that the tool will use when placing your agents.
Make sure add the same ground mesh as an height field to your agent group, otherwise your agents will intersect with the ground.
In the Agent Types list, you can select the agent types you will be adding to your agent group. If the "Random" checkbox is ticked, Atoms will pick an agent from list randomly.
Selection Mode
Left click and drag to select agents.
Shift+Left click and drag to add agents to the selection.
Ctrl+Left click and drag to toggle agents.
You can erase agents by pressing the "delete selected agents" button in the GUI or via menu.
You can also change their agent types by pressing the "Cachen Agent Type" button.
Move Mode
Click and drag to move the selected agents.
Rotate Mode
Click and drag to rotate the selected agents on the up vector.
Shift+Left Click and drag to rotate the selected agents around their average point.
Layout Tool and other Layouts
You can still use the layout tool with other layouts (gridLayout, meshScatterLayout, etc):
- If you care about moving and rotating your agents, please add an "offset" module to your agent group.
- If you care about deleting agents, please add an "agentFilter" module to your agent group.
- BUT you cannot add new agents.
Then with your agent group selected, activate the tool from the Atoms menu: Atoms > Tools > Agents Layout Tool
Layout Tool and cacheReader module
You can use the layout with the cache reader module:
- you can offset and rotate agents
- you can delete agents
- you can duplicate agents (you will find this option in select mode)
- BUT you cannot create new agents
You can activate the tool from the Atoms menu: Atoms > Tools > Agents Layout Tool
