Creature Creator Pro
User´s manual & Tutorial
for  Standalone users



FXRSoftware can be reached at sales@fxrsoft.com or at http://www.fxrsoft.com. Copyright 1998-2003, FXRealm Studios AB. All rights reserved. Permission is granted for users of this manual to make one printed copy for their own personal use. All product and company names are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective companies. While every precaution has been taken in the preparation of this manual, the publisher assumes no responsibility for errors or omissions, or for damages resulting from the use of the information contained herein.




Table of Contents

Getting Started

Software License
Introduction
Installation
Authorization
 
 

Usage

Project
Main
Prefs
Edit Bodyparts
 
 
Gallery
 
 

Appendix

Appendix A - Contacting Us
Appendix B - Credits
 


Chapter One - Getting Started


Welcome to CreatureCreator, FXRealm Studios´ plugin that lets you create characters and creatures easier than ever before. This chapter tells you how to install CreatureCreator and to start using it.
 


Topics included:
 

Software License

Introduction

Installation

Authorization



Software License

ATTENTION: PLEASE READ THIS DOCUMENT CAREFULLY BEFORE INSTALLING THIS PACKAGE. THE INDIVIDUAL OR ENTITY INSTALLING THIS PACKAGE (THE "END-USER") AGREES TO BE BOUND BY THE TERMS OF THIS LICENSE. IF YOU INSTALL THIS PACKAGE AND DO NOT AGREE TO THE TERMS OF THIS LICENSE, DO NOT USE THE SOFTWARE AND PROMPTLY RETURN THE PACKAGE UNOPENED AND UNINSTALLED, AND THE LICENSE PRICE WILL BE REFUNDED.
The enclosed computer program(s) and the accompanying documentation are provided to the End-User by FXRealm Studios AB ("Licensor") for use only under the following terms. Licensor reserves any right not expressly granted to the End-User. The End-User owns the disk on which the Software is recorded, but Licensor retains ownership of all copies of the Software itself. The End-User assumes sole responsibility for the installation, use and results obtained from use of the Software.
1. License. End-User is granted a limited, nonexclusive license to do only the following:
A. Install and maintain the Software on one computer at any time for use only in the End-User´s own business.
B. Make one copy in machine-readable form solely for backup or archival purposes for the computer on which the Software is installed. The Software is protected by copyright law. As an express condition of this License, the End-User must reproduce on the copy Licensor´s copyright notice and any other proprietary legends on the original copy supplied by Licensor.
C. Transfer the Software and all rights under this License to another party together with a copy of this License and all written materials accompanying the Software, provided (i) the End-User gives Licensor written notice of the transfer (including in such notice the identity of the transferee), and (ii) the other party reads and agrees to accept the terms and conditions of this License.
2. Restrictions. The End-User may NOT sublicense, assign, or distribute copies of the Software to others. The Software contains trade secrets. The End-User may NOT decompile, reverse engineer, disassemble, or otherwise reduce the Software to a human readable form. THE END-USER MAY NOT MODIFY, ADAPT, TRANSLATE, RENT, LEASE, LOAN, RESELL FOR PROFIT, DISTRIBUTE, OR OTHERWISE ASSIGN OR TRANSFER THE SOFTWARE, OR CREATE DERIVATIVE WORKS BASED UPON THE SOFTWARE OR ANY PART THEREOF. EXCEPT AS EXPRESSLY PROVIDED IN SECTION 1.C. ABOVE.
3. Protection and Security. The End-User agrees to use its best efforts and to take all reasonable steps to safeguard the Software to ensure that no unauthorized person shall have access thereto and that no unauthorized copy, publication, disclosure or distribution in whole or in part, in any form, shall be made. The End-User acknowledges that the Software contains valuable confidential information and trade secrets and that unauthorized use and/or copying are harmful to Licensor.
4. Termination. This License is effective until terminated. This License will terminate immediately without notice from Licensor if the End User fails to comply with any of its provisions. Upon termination the End User must destroy the Software and all copies thereof, and the End-User may terminate this License at any time by doing so.
5. Limited Warranty. Licensor warrants that, for ninety (90) days from the date of initial use by the original End User, the Software shall operate substantially in accordance with the published functional specifications current at the time of shipment. If, during the warranty period, a defect appears, End User shall return the Software to Licensor and Licensor´s only obligation shall be, at Licensor´s election, to replace the defective Software or refund the purchase price. The End-User agrees that the foregoing constitutes the End-User´s sole and exclusive remedy for breach by Licensor under any warranties made under this Agreement. This warranty does not cover any Software that has been altered or changed in any way by anyone other than Licensor. Licensor is not responsible for problems associated with or caused by incompatible operating systems or equipment, or for problems in the interaction of the Software with software not furnished by Licensor. No oral or written information or advice given by Licensor or its dealers, distributors, employees or agents shall in any way extend, modify or add to the foregoing warranty.
THE WARRANTY AND REMEDY PROVIDED ABOVE ARE EXCLUSIVE AND IN LIEU OF ALL OTHER WARRANTIES, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. THE END-USER ASSUMES ALL RISK AS TO THE SUITABILITY, QUALITY, AND PERFORMANCE OF THE SOFTWARE. IN NO EVENT WILL LICENSOR, OR ITS DIRECTORS, OFFICERS, EMPLOYEES OR AFFILIATES, BE LIABLE TO THE END-USER FOR ANY CONSEQUENTIAL, INCIDENTAL, INDIRECT, SPECIAL OR EXEMPLARY DAMAGES (INCLUDING DAMAGES FOR LOSS OF BUSINESS PROFITS, BUSINESS INTERRUPTION, LOSS OF DATA OR BUSINESS INFORMATION, AND THE LIKE) ARISING OUT OF THE USE OF OR INABILITY TO USE THE SOFTWARE OR ACCOMPANYING WRITTEN MATERIALS, EVEN IF LICENSOR HAS BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES. LICENSOR´S LIABILITY TO THE END-USER (IF ANY) FOR ACTUAL DIRECT DAMAGES FOR ANY CAUSE WHATSOEVER, AND REGARDLESS OF THE FORM OF THE ACTION, WILL BE LIMITED TO, AND IN NO EVENT SHALL EXCEED, THE AMOUNT ORIGINALLY PAID TO LICENSOR FOR THE LICENSE OF THE SOFTWARE.
6. General. This License will be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the state of Washington, and shall inure to the benefit of Licensor and End-User and their successors, assigns and legal representatives. If any provision of this License is held by a court of competent jurisdiction to be invalid or unenforceable to any extent under applicable law, that provision will be enforced to the maximum extent permissible, and the remaining provisions of this License will remain in full force and effect. Any notices or other communications to be sent to Licensor must be mailed first class, postage prepaid, to the following address:
FXRealm Studios
Voltavägen 2-4
168 69  Bromma
Sweden

This Agreement constitutes the entire agreement between the parties with respect to the subject matter hereof, and all prior proposals, agreements, representations, statements and undertakings are hereby expressly cancelled and superseded. This Agreement may not be changed or amended except by a written instrument executed by a duly authorized officer of Licensor.
7. Acknowledgment. BY INSTALLING THIS PACKAGE, THE END-USER ACKNOWLEDGES THAT IT HAS READ THIS LICENSE, UNDERSTANDS IT, AND AGREES TO BE BOUND BY ITS TERMS AND CONDITIONS. Should you have any questions concerning this License, contact Licensor at the address set forth above .

Introduction

Creature Creator is a modeler plugin, which make the creations of characters like humanoids, aliens, monsters, bugs etc. very easy. It allows you to make new unique characters in a matter of minutes. It ships with a library of body parts for photorealistic characters, cartoon characters, fantasy and scifi characters. These can be combined in numerous ways and tweaked in enledss ways, and therefore no Creature Creator character looks the same. This library can be extended by adding library addons in the future. Check our website for updates.

Installation

The installation of CreatureCreator is simple. After you have unzipped the downloaded file and installed the Creature Creator into a file under programs on your computer, locate the exe-file and doubleclick on it.


Authorization



The first time you run the software it will ask you for name and your registration code. You will not see the requester again unless you completely reinstall the software.

Insert the name and code you received with the software and you will be started.

Chapter Two - Usage of Creature Creator

This chapter describes how all the diffrent functions in Creature Creator works. Use it as a reference guide.

Topics included:
 

Project

Main

Prefs

Edit Bodyparts

Project


New Project:
Choose a new project type, at the moment only humanoid like characters is supported. Different project types will appear in the future for new combinations of body parts, 4-6 legged creatures etc.

Load Project:
Load one of your saved projects.

Save Project:
Save the current project with all its settings.

Save Creature:
Save the current model in *.3ds-format, DXF format or OBJ formats


Tips: The way of using this program is together with other 3d-software. Make the raw-model in Creature Creature, save creature, and continue your work with animating, modification or optimising the model inside your favorite 3d-software.


OpenGL view

Zoom Slider:
Use shift+right mouse


Mode:
Chooses between Wireframe, Solid and Smoothed OpenGL.

Tip:
Use left mouse button to rotate the OpenGL view and the right button to move the view.

Main


Building your character

Drop down menus:
Build your character by choosing body parts from the drop down menus, or walk through the parts by using the left and right arrow buttons next to them. The first object you choose will be the creature´s pivot point.

 

Random Creature:
This new cool feature randomly selects body parts to create the most weird creatures. Really fun to play with, and makes a good start in seconds.

Clear Creature:
Clears the current creature from all your choosed body parts.

Tips:
Remember to often save your project, if you would like to edit any body parts afterwards. When you are satisfied with the character you have built and exported it to a modeler it is recommended that you either uses nurb object or a function like the meshsmooth in MAX. We prefer meshsmooth with a value of 2 and finally triple all polygons. If we´re going to animate the model we keep the original model for keyframing, then we replace it later for the final animations.

Prefs


Object Directory:
This is the path to where Creature Creator should look for its objects. You have to go all the way to the human directory for a correct path.
Example:
C:\Program\FXRealm Studios\Creature Creator 1.5\FXRealm\CreatureCreator\Objects\Human
 
Project Directory:
This is the path where Creature Creator should look for its projects. You have to go all the way to the human directory for a correct path.
Example:
C:\Program\FXRealm Studios\Creature Creator 1.5\FXRealm\CreatureCreator\Projects\Human
All preference settings will be saved automatically when you exit Creature Creator.

Background Color:
Sets the color of the OpenGL window.

Wireframe Color:
Sets the color for the wireframe models.

Tips:
When changing the paths, you have to exit and start the plugin again for the change to take effect. You can create own directories beside the "human" if you want your own object libraries organized separately.

Edit Body Parts


In the picture above the noes has been resized to make him look fatter. In this fashion you can edit any body part to make your own special look of the object. 

Object Part:
Choose the body part you want to modify.

Lock:
Decides what end of the object you want to remain settled while sizing. If you for instance are building a muscle on the arm, you want to lock the Negative Y-Axis and then start modifying.

Value:
Here you can enter the value of your deformation, you can also change this value with the adjust slider.

Slider Step:
This setting determines how much the value should change when you drag the adjust slider.

Adjust:
Drag the adjust slider to modify the apparence of the body part.

Tip:
The best way to figure out how it works, is to take just one object and play around.


Here are two examples of what "scrabbling around" with the "Edit body parts" can do to your objects. These tools can be very useful and save time (compared to do it in a modeler), and they add some personal touch.

Chapter Three - Gallery

This chapter shows some examples that have been made in Creature Creator and then textured and rendered out.








Appendix

This chapter contains the different appendices included in the Creature Creator manual.

Topics included:

Appendix A - Contacting Us
Appendix B - Credits

Contacting Us
If you run into problems and need support with Creature Creator, you can contact us on any of the ways below. E-mail is the fastest and easiest way to get support.

You can also contact us if you have suggestions for improvements or new features.

Internet:
http://www.fxrsoft.com

E-mail:
sales@fxrsoft.com

Telefax:
+46-(0)8 56463221

Adress:
FXRealm Studios AB
Voltavägen 2-4
168 69  Bromma, Sweden


Credits

The persons responsible for Creature Creator.


Programming:
Daniel Collin

Additional Programming:
Bruce Lamming

Modelling:
Michael Palm


Documentation:
Michael Palm
Mats Barrdunge

Project Supervisor:
Daniel Collin, Per Håkanson



Thanks to our betatesters and to you who have has bought this plugin and by that supported our business, therfore we can continue making more cool plugins.