In this blog, I'll be giving you a brief overview of the variety of objects you can add to your CenarioVR scenarios.
A little about me: I'm an elearning developer for Transition Associates and Video Interact, and I have been working with CenarioVR since its beta launch in 2018. I have created courses for the fashion, health and safety, construction, automotive and healthcare industries with many more on the way.
Introduction
Objects can be added to your scene by selecting the ‘plus’ icon in the upper right of the screen. This will display a dropdown menu with the following objects available to select:
As well as this dropdown menu, you are also able to drag media directly onto the your scenario.
When you add an object to your scene, it will be listed under the your scene in the 'scene list' found to the left of the screen.
To edit an object's options, double click on the object in the scene, or select the 'edit' button in the scene list.
The following is a brief explanation of each object you can add into your scenario.
1. Hotspot
Hotspots are at the core of CenarioVR. They add interactivity and function to your scenes, giving you the option to do pretty much anything you could want inside of your scenario.
When you add a hotspot, you are asked to choose an 'image resource' to use as the hotspot's image. This can either be an image you have custom created, or it can be an image (or 3D model, which we will talk about further on) found in the 'media library'. You also have the option to make a hotspot 'transparent', which is great for hazard identification activities.
The 'media library' gives you access to a diverse library of pre-made imagery to help you get started with your hotspots. All of the imagery you find can have its colour customised to match your branding.
Hotspots themselves have 3 triggers:
On Select
On Hover
On Hover Out
Each of the above triggers can be customised with actions. A number of actions can be triggered via a hotspot, these include actions for:
Scenes
Object Actions
Audio, Video and Timers
Variables and Completion
Web
I will delve into the depths of actions in a future blog.
Other features of a hotspot include the ability to:
Alter the sound effects of the Hover In and Click trigger
Move the hotspot along a motion path
Fix the hotspot's position on the page (no matter where the user looks, the object will always be in front of them)
Turn the hotspot into an interactive (draggable) object, allowing you to create drag and drop activities
Turn the hotspot into a 3D model which the user can rotate and interact with
Initially hide the hotspot
Add an effect to spin the hotspot on its axis, as well as alter the opacity and give the hotspot a tooltip (a small label for the object)
2. Question
The question object allows you to add multiple choice questions to your scene.
When adding a question, you are immediately given the opportunity to change the question text and choices. You are able to add as many choice as you like (but I recommend you keep this a reasonable amount, around six or so, as a long list will look distorted within the scene).
Scoring for the question is handled automatically - when the user chooses the 'correct' option, a score is added to CenarioVR's default scoring variable. If you would like to add custom scoring, use the actions found on each choice. These actions can be customised to anything you desire, for example, if I select choice A, I can add 5 to the score and show a tick image.
The appearance of the question can also be altered by using the 'appearance' dropdown menu. This allows you to change the lettering/number format for the choices, or remove this formatting altogether by having each choice in its own separate box.
You also have the ability to edit the text style of the question. This allows you to edit the font, text size, shape and colours of the question object.
Other features of a question include the ability to:
Move the question along a motion path
Fix the question's position on the page
Hide the question when it has been answered
Add an effect to spin the question on its axis, as well as alter the opacity and give the question a tooltip
3. Info Card
An info card is CenarioVR's terminology for a text box. In an info card you are able to add your own custom text and customise the style of this text.
Customising the style of the info card allows you to edit the:
Font
Text size
Box shape
Text justification
Colours
Opacity
The customisation options available for info cards are very limited at this moment in time, with some basic features missing. However, I have made a feature request with the CenarioVR development team to improve this (so feel free to vote for it!).
Other features of an info card include the ability to:
Move the info card along a motion path
Fix the info card's position on the page
Initially hide the info card
Add an effect to spin the info card on its axis, as well as alter the opacity and give the info card a tooltip
4. Audio
When you add audio to a scene, it can be:
Used in the background
Triggered via an action
Looped
Autoplayed
Set as spatial, meaning its sound originates from a position in the scene
Please note: CenarioVR currently only supports mp3 audio files.
If an audio object is not set to 'loop', you will have the option to add 'on done' actions to it. For example, after the narrator has finished his introduction, the user is taken to the next scene.
Other features of an audio object include the ability to:
Adjust volume of the audio. This is great for background music and you will want to reduce this to allow any speech to be clearly heard
5. Image
Adding an image does what it says on the tin. When you add an image object, you can:
Initially hide the image
Move the image along a motion path
Fixed the image in position
Animate the image with an effect to spin the image on its axis, as well as alter the opacity and give the image a tooltip
Tip: When you resize you image in the scene, you will find that it snaps to the size of other objects inside the scene. To stop this happening, hold the alt/option key on your keyboard as you resize the image (and any other object).
6. Video
This object is only for flat video footage, not 360 (360 footage is specifically for Scene objects, we will cover this later on). Adding a video to your scene places a flat video inside your 360 scene.
When adding a video object, you have the option to:
Loop the video
Autoplay the video
Fix the position of the video
Initially hide the video
Please note: CenarioVR currently only supports mp4 and m4v video files.
If your video is not looped, you can add an 'on done' action to it. For example, when the video finishes, hide the video and resume the scene.
Other features of a video object include the ability to:
Adjust the volume of the video
Add an effect to spin the video on its axis, as well as alter the opacity and give the video a tooltip
7. Timer
Timers are great to set time limits for activities, or just to let the user know how long a certain scene will be. I often find myself using timers to set time limits for hazard spotting exercises, for example, “Can you find all 5 hazards within the limit?”.
When you add a timer to a scene, you have the option to make it:
Autoplay
Fixed
Initially hidden
You are able to edit the style of the timer, altering the style, font, colours and whether the timer counts up or down.
In addition, sound can be added to timers to give them that authentic Countdown feel. The volume of the sound can be edited, much like the other objects that include sound.
8. 3D Model
3D objects are a great way to enhance that VR look and feel. Giving the user the chance to examine a 3D object from all angles in their own time is a much more engaging method than showing a flat image.
There are two ways you can give the user the ability to drag and rotate a 3D model:
Add a hotspot, use a 3D model as the resource, turn on the interactive tab, then select ‘spin’ from the dropdown menu
Add hotspots around the 3D model and add actions to animate the 3D model to spin on its X, Y or Z axis.
When you add a 3D model to a scene, it can be:
Fixed in position
Initially hidden
Please note, CenarioVR currently only supports glb files for 3D models.
Other features of a video object include the ability to:
Add a motion path to the 3D model
Add an effect to spin the 3D model on its axis, as well as alter the opacity and give the 3D model a tooltip
9. Scene
Adding a new scene gives you a new canvas to add your 360 awesomeness. This new scene will appear on the 'scene list' panel to the left.
Either a 360 video or a 360 image can be used to create a scene.
The duration of the scene will automatically match any video used. However, if you are using an image, you can customise the length of the scene. This allows you to still add timed actions to the scene even when it is a static image.
If the image or video isn’t looped, you are able to add 'on show' and 'on done' actions to the scene.
You are also able to set the initial orientation of the user for the scene. This can be done by pressing the ‘Set initial view’ button on the scene’s thumbnail.
You can edit your scene's properties any time by clicking the blue 'edit scene properties' button on the scene's thumbnail in the scene list.
10. Timed Event
Timed events allow you to trigger actions at certain points in the scene. They can be added via the objects dropdown menu, or by using the ‘add event at current time’ button found at the start of the timeline.
Once you add a timed event, you will be able to see them along your timeline.
To edit your timed event, you can click each red flag to edit the event’s name, trigger time and actions.
Summary
This has been a brief overview of the objects found in CenarioVR. Stay tuned for future posts on helpful tips and tricks for creating your 360 VR content.
Visit our showcase to see some CenarioVR® content.
If you have any questions, are interested in us producing CenarioVR content for you, or would like a live product demo, please get in touch using the contact form at the bottom of this page.