Making stairs or ramps in Utherverse can be a complicated process. As you need to line up collidable objects correctly. Therefor this guide will attempt to explain this as easy as possible with a complete understanding of all the aspects. Important to note that this article assumed you have a basic knowledge of the prop editor and decorating in general. If you want to skip all the details how to make a ramp and just get started go to the short step by step guide.
Types
There are a variety of ramps, that are possible to create. You can make stairs, ramps, ladders, curved paths. All these vary in difficulty. In general this article describes the techniques to make a simply ramp. To make any of the other types see special ramps specific section, below.
Floors
There will be a couple of questions you will need to ask yourself when you are creating ramps. The first and foremost will be, the floor. There are 2 types of floors that you could use. The first is the property template itself. These are non editable floors, that are unmovable. They can however be edited with the World Texture Editor. The other type of floor is one that is user created. This can basically be any prop set to collidable in the prop editor. In general there are a few preferred props for this, though in essence any prop could serve this purpose. The most common and preferred ones are:
- Flat Plane 1 Base, for really small landings (usually not used, unless making very detailed stairs, such as spiral staircases)
- Collidable Floor Plane Medium, for medium to larger areas, but smaller then a 25% of a Water Surface.
- Water Surface, for larger areas.
Why are these above props vastly better then any of the other props? When scaling them they do not deform as much, and the collidable areas are offset only by a small margin.
Now an important factor for scaling is that any of the above props, will work best with a certain scaling range.
For all of them the following is always true on the scaling tab: X and Z can be scaled from 0.25 to 1.5. However Y in general is set to 1, this pertains to the height an avatar is offset to the prop. In simple terms where the avatar will not sink under. Note that avatars all have a specific height of 591 points from where their feet touch the ground. That said, depending on the angle of the ramp, the Y value might need changing to a lower or higher number until it looks correct where the avatar will touch the visual floor.
Ramps
For ramps the best prop to use, is again up to whatever prop you desire. However the most easy and workable ramp prop is in general the Collidable Floor Plane Medium, the same Collidable Floor Plane Medium as is used as a floor. This is due to the scaling of this prop. The rest of this section assumes that you are using a Collidable Floor Plane Medium as ramp prop, other props might vary in settings.
Angle
The first thing to discuss is the angle in general the best angle is 26.4° on either X or Z. This angle works best when using a primitive staircase set to default. Of course the moment you start scaling the primitive staircase, the angle of the ramp will also change accordingly. A noteworthy fact is that between 20° and 40° the Y value does not need to be changed from 1. If you decide to venture beyond these degrees you will need to change the Y value in order to make it look like the avatar is walking on the visible floor.
Scale
For most Collidable Floor Plane Medium ramps, either the X or Z axis should be modified to 0.5 in scale for the width of the ramp or stairs. Of course if you want wider ramps or stairs, this needs to be larger. The length of the ramp set to 1 on X or Z axis can in general be considered the height and length needed to ascend 1 floor of a house. Which axis you pick for width or length is not important this is your own choice.
Landings
Above image displays three Collidable Floor Plane Medium. A scaled: 0.5x1x0.5, B scaled: 1x1x1, C scaled: 1,5x1x1,5. As you can see the deformation of the collidable edge from the Plane_01 is minimal.
Landings is a pretty simple topic, these are the exact same props as used for floors. Since they would simply be the floor for the next level and so on. As to which one to pick is simple the area you need to be walk-able, the same principle applies as to floors: Water Surface for large areas, Collidable Floor Plane Medium for the in between, and Flat Plane 1 Base for the really small areas.
Never scale landings bigger then 2 in scaling on the X or Z axis. As this will cause issues when using this landing a floor the next level. If you have the aesthetics in place, it is best to align the landing floor already up with the visible aesthetic floor. This will make sure you have already set this up correctly. This will make it however that the object you will be manipulating will be the ramp.
Connecting floors, ramps and landings
Step1: Connecting the bottom floor and ramp.
Putting it all together, for the static floors (not user created), simply put a ramp of your chosen angle to the floor. You have a margin of 200 points where this ramp can float above the floor. As Utherverse automatically will put any avatar upon this ramp. A user created floor however needs to be more exact.
The Plane_01 on the left is wrong, the collidable (red line) is not sunk into the floor. The right Plane_01 is correctly placed with the collidable under the floor.
Therefore in both cases it is recommended to put the collidable red lines at the bottom where the ramp will start, underneath the floor. As seen in the image on the left. Sinking in this prop to the floor below these lines is not going to cause an issue. You can lower it as much as you like, though be careful with anything build underneath, as one might run into this collidable and get stuck or unable to move. Recommended is always to make the ramp as close as possible to the size it needs to be.
Viewing the collidable (red) lines
Right-click the prop you want to show the lines of, then hover your mouse cursor over the "Properties" on the pop-up menu. Now without clicking the pop-up menu, move your mouse off this menu to the right, then click anywhere outside of the menu. The collidable (red lines) now stay visible. Note, that if for some reason this is not working, close and reopen the Prop Editor.
Step 2: The choice of ramp
The angle and distance of the ramp is something you need to decide yourself. Recommended is to never make the Collidable Floor Plane Medium larger then scale of 2 on the X or Z axis. If you really need larger ramps, Water Surface is recommended. Depending on your build style you can either build the ramp first and the aesthetics later, or visa versa. Some decorators find it more easy to visualize where the ramp will be, other find it more easy to see the actual ramp that will be in place later on. In case of this guide we set the angle to 26.4° on either axis.
Step 3: Connecting the upper floor (landing) with the ramp
The further ramp shows the collidable landing lined up with the visable floor texture.
Probably the most important step as this in general completes the ramp and in considered the most difficult part by most. First is putting the landing in. If you have a aesthetic landing in place, you simply have to raise the landing collidable floor up to it's level and line it up with the edge. In this scenario you will be lining the ramp up with the landing. In the other case if you have put the ramp at the right spot, then in general it is better to be moving the collidable landing to line up with the ramp. Both are viable options.
Tip: When doing step 3 it is advisable to have flying enabled. This will make it easier to test if you have the collidable walls lined up correct and if you are stuck you can simply fly out of it again. It also makes it easier to fly right up to the collidable (red) lines to see how close they are with each other.
Measurement tool
Measurement Tool (512x512) used on a Wall prop with default scaling.
Now you have the choice to do this with or without a measurement tool. As this guide is written with new decorators in mind we will use this tool. Once you get more comfortable and more used to this you can simply use the wall as a guide or even none at all. There are a variety of other options to do this, but this is deemed the most straight forward and simplified method.
Please do not hotlink this tool, rather grab the file and host it at your own hosting site!
Create a wall prop and put the tool on it. Now put this wall perpendicular to the ramp you have made. In general it is recommended to set the wall position to the level of the landing floor, but leave the wall set to default scaling. Now make the collidable lines visible and select the ramp or landing that you going to move in position. Now simply start moving the prop until the lines intersect at the center point where the wall meets prop you are lining it up to.
Once you have completed this, you should have a ramp that is functioning from floor to ramp to landing. To test if this is the case, it is best to test this.
Testing ramps
The best way to test if you made a correct ramp is to simply walk up and down it. However not every computer and person playing in Utherverse is the same. Therefor it is best to test your ramp for a variety of systems and people. The best way to test the full range simply pick the following 4 settings:
- Female avatar set to Micro at 15fps
- Female avatar set to Micro at 30fps
- Male avatar set to X-Large at 15fps
- Male avatar set to X-Large at 30fps
If you do not want to test the whole range, best test subject is a Female avatar set to Micro and 30fps.
If all these can walk up and down the ramp, you have set up the ramp correctly.
Problems during testing
There might be one of two things occurring during testing:
- You cannot walk up the ramp and you walk against a collidable wall.
- You fall between the two props and are stuck in a falling animation.
When the first thing occurs this means that the landing is higher then the ramp, or that the ramp is underneath the landing floor. Simply change the position of the movable prop, a point or 2 up or down and test again. If this does not work, position it back and then play with either the values with a point or 2. The axis which to pick is of course the axis that moves the ramp or landing closer or further from the point you want to connect it to. When the second thing occurs this usually means there is a gap between the landing and ramp. In general this means the props need to be closer together. In general this means the X or Z axis is offset, if this is not the case then the Y value is set to low. Simply move the prop a point or two.
Tip: When doing the final adjustment sometimes you might move the prop into the wrong direction. IF you have closed the prop editor once before the final adjustments. You can use the revert button ...image here... to move the prop back to it's original position and then move it the other way.
I cannot get up the ramp
It might be that you have move up the ramp prop too much from the bottom floor. Open the prop editor and recheck if you have the red bottom lines of the ramp underneath the collidable floor. If this is not the case you most likely will need to scale the length up the ramp and line it up again at the top landing. The other main reason this occurs, is your FPS settings as low as 15 FPS, and/or the floor scaling is smaller then 0.25 or bigger then 1.5 in scale.
Aesthetics
This section deals mostly with how the end result will look. In the above floor, ramp and landing sections you have made props that eventually will be made invisible in the state tab of the prop editor.
From left to right, sign_01 used alot for a smooth ramp, with a hollow bottom, Primitive Stairs used for most stair cases, Primitive Ramp used mostly when a closed smooth ramp is needed.
In the above figure is a selection of the most common used visible props for your ramp, once they have been lined up correctly underneath the collidable Collidable Floor Plane Medium ramp you will have a correct looking and working ramp.
Short step by step guide
This short step by step guide explains how to build a ramp in the simplest method possible without going into detail on every part as to why you do this.
- Open the prop editor, select either Collidable Floor Plane Medium or Water Surface, and place these where you want the floor. On the state tab enable Collidable.
- Create a new prop Collidable Floor Plane Medium,with the following settings: Scale: 0.25 X - 1.0 Y - 1.0 Z and set an angle of X 26.4° and on the state tab enable Collidable.
- Place this prop created in step 2 on the floor you created in step 1. Raise/lower it in the position where you want your ramp. situated on the floor. Make sure you have the ramp lowest collidable line underneath the floor.
- Create a landing floor, select either Collidable Floor Plane Medium or Water Surface, and place it near the top of your ramp. Make sure you choose an edge which you want to lineup with the ramp top. On the state tab enable Collidable.
- Make the collidable of the ramp visible, then raise or lower the landing floor until the upper lines meet exactly on top of each other. So that from all angles only 1 line is visible where they intersect.
Video about making ramps
Video about making spiral stairs
Special ramps
There are a variety of special types of ramps, though in essence most of these are made in the same manner. The only major difference is usually that there is a secondary angle or a need of multitude of props in order to make these. As these require good knowledge of the general standard ramp making it is advice to only attempt these more complex ramps and stairs if you are more comfortable with the basics. As a side note it is advisable to seek help of people who have made these before in order for you to learn how to make these special ramps.
Courtesy of SifuPeter who has made a tool to help for advanced ramp making.
Spiral or curved
Long distance ramps
Ladders
Slides
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