Week 1

Getting Started And Folder Structure

• The Sandbox editor is located in the Bin32 and Bin64 folders. If running a x32 operating system it is important to use the Bin32 editor as the other will not work. The Bin64 editor is more suitable if running a x64 operating system as it is faster.
• The "game" folder contains most of the objects used within the editor. Data for animations, music, objects, scripts, sounds and textures are held in .pak files within this folder.
• The "levels" folder within the game folder (Game/Levels) contains specific data for each individual level created. Each level is saved as a .cry file which is the type of file used by the editor when opening a level.
• The "editor" folder contains all the resources that are used by the editor, including icons, settings and templates.
• The "tools" folder holds a number of stand-alone tools, plug ins and exporters for the engine.

Overview Of The CryENGINE 3 Sandbox User Interface

• The menu bar is located along the top of the screen and contains most of the editors functions including basic file saving and opening function as well as more advanced functions such as terrain editing and sound options which can be accessed via the icons or tool bars.
• The "file" menu contains all the commands relating to the opening and saving of files, a list of recently loaded levels and the show log file function.
• The "view" menu allows you to turn a number of windows and toolbars on or off.
• The arrow icons allow you to undo or redo a step to easily revert changes i a mistake is made. When clicked they also display a drop down list showing the most recent actions allowing you to select which step to revert to so you are able undo a number of steps at once.
• Select, movement, rotate and scale icons are located on the main menu.
• Lock selection locks the current selection, preventing new objects from being selected, to allow you to only work with and edit these objects.
• THE X, Y, Z, XY icons allow you to move objects along a particular axis only, you can also enter position by editing the value of each axis in the boxes below the view port.
• The viewport is where the level is viewed and edited. This is where object placement and terrain editing takes place.
• The Rollup bar is a quick menu for a number of functions within the editor including object creation tools, vegetation and terrain editing tools, display options and layer tools separated into 4 different tabs.
• The "By Name, Hide Filtered, AND" search bar allows you to filter the selection of entities, making it easier to select and edit particular objects.

Customising The Editor

• You can change the layout of the sandbox editor with the "display menu" under configure layout. There are a number of preset configurations that can be selected.
• You can scale and resize windows by moving the mouse pointer to edge of the window so that a double ended arrow appears then clicking and holding the mouse and moving it as desired.
• You can change which toolbars are visible, or not visible, using the "view" menu.
• Windows can be docked within others by clicking and dragging one into another. This can minimise the number of windows and reduce the need to have multiple windows open at once.
• You can change how the viewport displays the level using the Viewport Context menu. Options include wireframe and point mode, which render the scene in these modes instead of the default mode.

Viewports

• You can change viewport resolution by clicking on the numbers at the top right of the viewport. You can select a resolution from the drop down menu which appears or set a custom resolution by entering values.
• The W, A, S, D keys allow you to pan the view foward, backwards, left or right.
• Holding down the right mouse button and moving the mouse around allows you to look around the level.

User Interface Panels

• Press Ctrl + G to enter "game mode"
• Press Ctrl + T to open the "select object window." This gives an overview of all the objects in your scene.
• Press F to freeze object in the select object window.
• Press H to hide an object in the select object window.
• Press M to open the material editor.