Shin-Tzu of 4th century China is said to have popularized the following proverb:
A web based architectural model viewer that does not support virtual walk throughs is totally lame.
Now, that’s not totally accurate because Shin-Tzu wasn’t alive until the 5th century. Regardless, his pontifications regarding virtual web based environments and user experience are just as relevant today as they were 1500 years ago.
Though the Assemble model viewer has, since its inception, been a source of pride among those who have prided themselves on their work in creating it, the viewer was nonetheless not quite as wonderful as everyone hoped it would be. For every user who found it a delight to use, and a joy to behold, there were those, though few in number, who felt there was one particular shortcoming that made this particular jewel in the Assemble crown lose some of its luster.
What was this flaw, in an otherwise flawless (ahem) work of art? It was something every 5th century Chinese citizen would immediately notice the absence of: the Assemble model viewer had no virtual walk through.
I mean, sure, you could spin it around, ghost filtered items, xray the walls like a superhero and light up model variances like it was the 4th of July, but how were you supposed to see the model from the inside? How were you supposed to dive into the guts of the model and see what it had for breakfast?
Well, Citizens of the Internet, wonder no more. The Assemble model viewer now supports virtual walk throughs of the model! Pause for applause. Yes, the model viewer now allows you to move through the model using your keyboard, or holographic virtual interface (we don’t judge). To those who’ve ever played any PC-based video game, walking the model will feel natural and intuitive. Most likely.
The great thing is, there is no button to push to enable walk mode since it’s enabled by default. You just press the right keys to move in the direction you want to go:
- W – walk forward (shift to run)
- S – walk backward (shift to run)
- A – turn left
- D – turn right
- R – look up
- F – look down
Now, you’d think we’d be content with finally bringing ancient Chinese proverbs to life in the digital age. We weren’t. We also upgraded how orbiting works. Now, rather than always orbiting from the center of the model, you will orbit from the point under your current mouse location. Just like the cool kids!
As a bonus, we also threw in a way to adjust the field of view of the virtual camera. Now that you can walk through the model, you are gonna want to be able to see more of those interior spaces. To do that, just hold SHIFT and hit + to widen the field of view, then hold SHIFT and hit – to narrow the field of view back down (or to zoom in).
Comments are closed.