Create a Bridge

Configuring the Interface

Gaea provides the facility to create an XML mapping file containing the details of all the variables exposed, their type, variable name, friendly name, value limits, and default value.

To produce this XML map, pass the --nodemap switch. The .xml node map file will be created in the same folder as the .tor file being passed to Gaea.Build.exe.

Gaea.Build.exe "C:\Gaea\erosion_automata.tor" --nodemap

Here is an example of such a node map.

Your application should use the XML map to configure the UI for the bridge and present those options to the user.

Invoking Gaea.Build.exe

When you wish to process the heightfield, save it to one of the formats specified above. Also decide on where you want Gaea to save the output so you can read from those files once finished.

Once the files are saved and the paths are prepared, create a command line string you can pass as arguments.

To modify any variables, use the following command line format: variablename:value. All variables must be appended to the command line after any switches such as --open or --savetor.

Here is a full command line example for the above nodemap:

Gaea.Build.exe "C:\erosion_automata.tor" --automata --resolution0512 
 fileInput:"Z:\input.webp" fileOutput:"Z:\output.webp" 
 duration:0.518 finedetail:true verticality:2000

Unless using specific fixed workflows, it is recommended that the --resolutionXXXX argument be passed so Gaea forces the build at the desired resolution. See Build Swarm for the complete list of accepted command line arguments and switches.

Reading StdOut

When Gaea.Build.exe is executed, you can redirect its Standard Output to read status messages during the build process. You can use these messages to display progress or messages to your end-user.

Sample messages:

• Property [name] set to [value].
• Invalid value for property [name].
• Property [name] not found.
• Building [current] / [total]...
• > Building [node] / [percent]...

When a single node requires a long time to build, the progress of that node will be sent with the > prefix. You can use this to either hide such messages from your end users, or use it display a specific progress message.

Each individual message will be delimited by a line break character. In most Windows environments, this will be \r\n.

Raw Data

In most cases, you will want to use Raw Data which is the default option in the Build Manager. This will bring the data within the 0..1 as exported from your application. The scale will be maintained through Gaea's processing and the output will preserve this range. Any File nodes used should NOT use the Use Full Range option otherwise incoming data would become normalized.

Normalized Data

If you prefer to receive normalized data, select the Normalized option in the Build Manager. Any File node should also use the Use Full Range option to normalize the incoming data unless the data is already normalized.

When you receive the data in your application after the build, you must process it as appropriate.

Mapped Data

If you wish to send and receive data (heightfields and masks only) in a specific range, you can choose to use a Custom Range. This can be specified explicitly in Build Manager or can be passed on-the-fly via the command line.

To use a range of -1000..1000, you would supply the following arguments:

--range-min:-1000 --range-max:1000

Locating Gaea

To initiate a command line build, you must first find the location of Gaea's installation.

Query the following registry key for Gaea installation and configuration details:

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\QuadSpinner\Gaea\1.0