Annotations in standalone VR walkthrough

1st Official Post

    Hey guys!


    It would be extremely helpful during the design process and client presentations to be able to make annotations within the standalone VR file by using the headset/controllers. This could in a few different ways. It would be excellent to be able to draw in 3D within the model and then save this annotation to the standalone file that could then be opened on another system. Creating point nodes saved to the standalone file that can be clicked on to open up a 2D sketch drawing within the file would also be a great way to take notes when walking through the model during the design phase. The ability to take a screenshot within the VR walkthrough would also be very beneficial, particularly if you have the option to markup these screenshots in VR before saving them either to the cloud or directly to the system.


    Are any of these interactive features or anything similar currently being worked on? This could make Enscape much more integrated into our design process and also help us in annotating client feedback as we walk them through the building in VR.


    Thanks,

    Gordon

    My idea was to insert an "Enscape Hotspot" in the same way as you insert a light, sound source or proxy:


    This would be a sphere that could be clicked on within the Enscape window.


    - Set a sphere size (Necessary? could just size it like standard geometry.)

    - Set visibility (Necessary? you could just use whatever material and set that material's opacity.)

    - Attach a RTF file or text to be displayed. (And/Or link to a property of a component* that the sphere was placed on/in)

    - Option to display info as a heads-up display or floating text

    - Hud background (colour or image file**) & transparency. Font colour & transparency.

    - If floating text, option to pin "open" all the time or only display when clicked on.

    - Attach a sound to be played when clicked on. (Plays once)

    - Attach a location/view/scene that (if entered) would insert an activation icon on the HUD to take you to that location when clicked.

    - Attach a material that would insert an activation icon to replace the loaded material through the model with the hotspot's material (and swap them). {Default to the material of any 'linked' component}


    - (Global setting to position and size the HUD area to display the information and whether to draw a connecting line between the display and the relevant hotspot)

    - (Global setting to show/hide all hotspots during walk-through)


    * this could be used to display dimension information or prices or any BIM info.

    ** Maybe among the .jpg .png (...) file type options there could also be a .mov (...)


    {On a future development I think that the same mechanic/UI could be used to trigger geometry to move/animate.}

    • Official Post

    Hey Gadget and Gordon S , both of your detailed feature requests have been filed. Thanks for the feedback. :)


    Furthermore, Gordon S , you can already take screenshots from within VR:


    Just head into the corresponding VR menu and select the "Screenshot" functionality after clicking the camera icon below - now you can use your right controller like a camera to take screenshots. I highly recommend that you also refer to our more detailed knowledgebase article section "Screenshot" here:


    https://enscape3d.com/knowledg…-virtual-reality-headset/


    This way you should get all the information necessary to create nice renderings from inside VR. If you have any questions regarding this subject, please let me know. :)


    Finally, annotations inside VR are not planned yet, but through the submitted feature request our developers will be aware of the demand for the implementation of this feature. ;)

    The screenshot function is great, but you can easily lose track of where images were taken.


    It would be great if each screenshot was accompanied by an image of the map view for the full building, so that after walking around large buildings for a while you had a record of where you took the screenshots.

    • Official Post

    Thanks for the request Colin.Magner , this has been asked before so it's already filed as a feature request on our agenda. :) I've happily given the topic a further upvote through your voice.