[Freddy]

Edit :  I am no longer working on or supporting this program.  It pretty much does what it says on the tin and appears to work well for most people.  Feel free to download it still though, if you think it may be useful.



For a while now I have been working on a Haptek application and this is a tentative beta release, I'd be glad if folks would give it a whirl and see if it works on other systems.  All you need to do is unzip it and click on 'setup'.  There's also a help file zipped with it that should answer most questions.

The installer it uses is the inbuilt one for Visual Basic Express but I am still a little unfamiliar with it but I think it will work.  

For this program to work you need to install Micro$ofts .NET framework.  The link I provide here is to version 3.5 and should be fine for these purposes as it includes the old versions too:

Get .NET...


Here's a quick run down :

Hap Explorer was created to make it easier to fiddle around with Haptek models and make each of their settings simpler to navigate when trying to create things like hap-files and animations.  If you have tired of examining Figure Definition files for switches and parameters then you should find this tool useful.

If you have spent any time at all on Haptek then you may have found the simple command line interface of the player console a bit restrictive when it comes to messing around with the models and all their various settings.

With this program I have tried to put a front end on the Haptek Player for people who want easier access to a model's numerous settings and parameters etc.  I hope this tool will help speed up the whole process.

At the time of writing this is considered a semi beta release as it is hoped that I will get some feedback on what if anything needs to be added to this.  I have done a lot of testing but this still needs more, so unless you are happy to test this program without warranty, guarantees or all the rest of it then please do not use it.

Hap Explorer should run on Windows 2000 and XP -  basically with a set up that will run the Haptek Player without difficulty - if it runs on anything else then I would be happy to hear about it.  Many thanks.


Features

• Works with fullbodies, heads and torsos, infact it should be ok with all htr or haptar file types.
• Easy access resource files - organise your Haptek files into one easy place.
• Customise folder access to use your existing folders.
• Material Lighting Files - change material properties and store them for further use.
• Parameter/Switch access - get easy access and control of a models settings/animations.
• Positonal and rotational readouts - get coordinates easily
• Note Pad - note model settings and properties as you work.
• Speech Pad - prepare and test Text-To-Speech
• Hap Pad - work on and test hapfiles with this simple editor.
• Plus a few other things...

Reviews

"Heck, before Hap Explorer arrived we were all smoking dog hairs, now we know better!"
    - Red Neck Review

"I was lost without hope, all that changed when Hap Explorer came into my life, now I go out on Tuesdays!"
    - Bedroom Hacker Gazzete

"Duh, um like where is dah neked button, i know dere must be a neked button some place."
    - The Vocal Yocal

Note : If you download this piece of software, please return some feedback to help with development.  Without you there may not be any, and it's just nice to say thanks...

Latest Version : v 0_8_0_20 ( I have left the previous working versions in case there are problems with this build.)  The latest version hopefully fixes bugs with European Operating Systems.

Log :

v0_8_0_10 - stable, seems to work in most cases, non-English issues.
v0_8_0_11 - added warning if notepad contains data, still issues with non-English installations (being worked on).
v0_8_0_20 - fixed bug for German OS, may possibly work in other European countries now.

[Freddy]

One thing to note is that the program needs to know the location of the hap_temp folder - and if it can't find it it will prompt you.  All is explained in the help document as to how to go about setting the hap_temp path.

Sorry 'bout that, I will try and get it to do an auto search if this presents a problem.


Here's a few screenshots too...

The first shows the general layout and is using the speech feature.
The second shows a little of how you can mess around with a model's material lighting.
The third shows how you can change the render settings and play with a model's parameters.

[wgb14]

Fredy you tool is extremely useful, but may i suggest something? Why don't you try to add a timing query command + a stop and play button for every sound file that is loaded so to make sync with the animations easier? For example:

............load the sound file 2.ogg into your editor
........... use the play and stop commands to do things based on the current times
...........write the below script in the script file

\clock [t= 0.0] \load [file= [Intro\2.ogg]]
\clock [t= 13.600] \setmood [action=[sw=GestureMaster m=sleep]]
\clock [t= 13.600] \setSwitch [figure= fullBod switch= GestureMaster state= off ]
\clock [t= 13.600] \loadbackground [file= [BACK\entrance_2.jpg] ]

........save the final result

That way, we can create whole movies with our characters simply by using your tool! Let me know what you think! I defintely think is brilliant

[wgb14]

Hi Freddy,

Installation was OK, no problems at all (it never asked me for the hap-temp folder, it found it automaticaly). As for .NET i already have it installed on my PC. The OS that  I am using is Windows XP Pro. As for the timing, what i am talking about is basically sync switches with the audio files. You can do that easily simply by using the appropriate query ("soundmgr currenttime soundfilename" and implement a simple pause and play button (\soundpause [file= [soundfilename] ] and \soundplay  [file= [soundfilename] ]). I think this will increase greatly the usefulness of your tool and it will be something that it would provide me great help to my work (I am a PhD student). Again many thanks for this excellent tool!

[Freddy]

Ok, I think I see more clearly what you mean.   I'll have a play with it when I get some free time - again, thanks for your input, it is much appreciated. 

[wgb14]

Just to be more speicifc:

I've loaded a file called 1.ogg using Browse and then query the player from the concol using soundmgr currenttime 1.ogg. It returned 77845. Now, using this value I  can issue a clock command and control any of the animations that are build in the character. That way I can create full screens with minimal efford. I think it is only matter of adding the appropriate buttons!
I can wait to see this in your tool! Again many thanks

[Freddy]

I see...so you just want to be able get the /clock time at cetain points of the ogg file...if thats sufficient then I can easily incorporate that...working on it now...

Hmm I seem to have deleted my earlier post by mistake..oh well...here's a quote in case someone finds it useful or informative..

Hi wgb14, thanks for the positive comments!  Strangely enough my original idea for this program was as a animator and was going to be much as you have described.  I had got as far as generating timed events such as movement and position but found that not all commands can be timed using the \clock command, so I decided to omit the animation side for the time being.

For now I left it with people having the option of creating hapfiles with the hap pad that they could test live and then use elsewhere, perhaps along with the \clock command.

There's many ideas that could be added to this but it was convenient for me to draw a line for now and see how well it is received so far.  This first step is mainly to get the program to the point where it is useful, later I can add in more functionality like timed control of commands.

I'm interested to know how installation went and what version of Windows you are using.  Did the installer install .NET 2 for you as well?  As long as this build is pretty solid then I can take it further.  Also how did you get on with the hap_temp folder - did it find it ok or was it somewhere else?

Many thanks for your input

[Freddy]

I've done some work on this and I will post a new version later in the day which has some further audio controls, that will probably be around 8.00 pm UK time...i think thats roughly between 1.00/ 2.00 pm US time give or take...

[wgb14]

Thanks Freddy can't wait to test it!

[Freddy]

Here we go...this has extended audio functions for TTS and OGG, you can now:

• Pause play back and resume both OGG and TTS
• Text for TTS is automatically loaded into the Speech Pad.
• Grab the time during the play back for both.

I hope this is the kind of thing you wanted wgb, if not I am open for further enhancements

I had to limit the TTS time readout to whole seconds because for some reason the Visual Basic timers are not that accurate for timing tasks that involve updates which are less than 1 second.  I think with a bit of fiddling you will be able to sync things ok. 

****SEE TOP OF THREAD FOR LATEST VERSION****

[wgb14]

Hi

The tool is now far more better than before. I just have two questions: a) When i initally load an ogg file it will not allow me to pause it unless i click stop first! b) Is there any way to set the size of the player in my own dimensions without dragging it? (e.g., I may want for example 1024x768)  Again many thanks for this great tool!

[Freddy]

Hmm yes I noticed that strange glitch with the sound files too.  The only way I could get around it was to first select the viewer window before you do anything - this provokes the player into acknowledging an object - which in the first instance is the camera.  For some reason it works better that way, at the moment I am not sure if it is a Haptek problem or in some way related to my code.  I'll look into it again though, but try my suggestion.

On the player size I did originally allow the user to type in the dimensions of the player but I couldn't implement it well enough.  If you think that would be useful I will go back and take another look at it.

[wgb14]

Hi Freddy,

Yes your suggestion works ok, but if it is possible to fix it i would be greatful (it creates problems in the sync process). As for the size of the window, i think if you are about to do anything serious with the player you have to set its size propely first. At the moment it is impossible to set the correct dimensions just by dragging! Again many thanks for this great tool!

[Freddy]

wgb,

I will see if I can get it to select the viewer window automatically.

On the player size - would being able to tap the dimensions into the size display boxes be enough?

[wgb14]

Sure, taping the dimensions in the boxes is OK! Again i think the tool is brilliant! Its something that i would expcet from Haptek to do. Many many thanks!