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PYRAMIDS
FREESCAPE pyramids are similar to conventional pyramids but are truncated at the top. (They are
initially flat on the top). A FREESCAPE pyramid, like the cube, can be stretched and shrunk in 3
directions, but can have its sides pushed in to form a true pyramid or pushed out to form a cuboid. The
pyramid can be rotated so that its base is on any of its six sides.
RECTANGLES
Flat (2 dimensional) boxes whose sides can be stretched and shrunk in three directions at any time.
LINES
Two points in 3D space joined together form a line. These two points may be moved in three directions.
TRIANGLES
Three points in 3D space form a triangle. These points may be moved in three directions.
QUADRILATERALS
Four points in 3D space form a quadrilateral. This can be non rectangular. These points may be moved
in three directions.
PENTAGONS
As triangles but with five points.
HEXAGONS
As triangles but with six points.
SENSORS
Single 3D point which can be moved in three directions. Sensors have the ability to detect your presence
within a defined distance and even to fire at you! These are described in greater detail later on.
Objects such as pyramids and triangles, which do not occupy a whole cube of space, act like solid cubes when
moving around the 3D world. For example, it is not possible to stand on the slope of a pyramid. This cube is
known as the object's BOUNDING CUBE.
When editing points within these object, the points are stored as a fraction of the total object size. This fraction is
represented as a number between 0 and 63, where 0 means that the point is at one side (minimum) of the cube
and 63 means it is at the opposite side (maximum). Each point has a different scale in each of the three directions
(X,Y and Z) to show its position with the objects BOUNDING CUBE.
For example: to make a pyramid with the apex (the pointed top) in the middle of the face of the BOUNDING
CUBE, the apex would have X and Z values of 32 and a Y value of 63.
OBJECT ATTRIBUTES
Objects can exist in three states: VISIBLE, INVISIBLE or DESTROYED.
VISIBLE:
The object is present in the world as a solid form.
INVISIBLE:
The object is not present in the world but can be brought into the world by being made visible.
DESTROYED:
Once an object is destroyed it is invisible and cannot be made visible again (until the world is reset).
OBJECT COLOURS (SHADES)
Each side of an object can have a different shade. A shade is made up of a mixture of the colours available on the
computer used.
The first shade (number 0) has a special property in that it is not drawn. This can be used to improve the speed of
drawing the 3D world when used on object sides which are never seen, such as the under side of a house or the
back of a door which is placed against a wall.
By painting all of the sides of an object with shade 0 it is possible to have an object which cannot be seen but
which is solid and cannot be moved through. Note: In this case the object's attribute will be set to VISIBLE even
though it cannot be seen. This can be used to produce invisible barriers or invisible triggers on floors.
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