source: GTP/trunk/Lib/Geom/shared/GeoTool/README.txt @ 1526

Overview
--------

The GeoTool application exposes all the funcionality of the GTGeometry library to
make it directly usable by the user. The features are: LodStrips generation and 
visualization, LodTree model generation and visualization, mesh simplification and
stripification.
These features are described in more detail in the Gametools Geometry User Manual 
and in the README.txt file of the GTGeometry project.

The following sections will explain howto build a LodStrips and a LodTree object.
This information is also available in the GameTools Geometry User Manual.

HowTo construct a LodStrips model
---------------------------------

First step is open a mesh object. We can do this by the 'Open' option of the 'File' 
menu. The next step is to select option 'Generate' of the 'LODStrip' menu to begin 
the generation process. At right appears the 'Generate LODStrips' panel, in which 
we can choose the simplification methon between 'Geometry base' and 'Viewpoint Driven'. 
In addition, we must specify mesh reduction by percent or by the number of triangles 
to obtain. Pushing the 'Process' button the simplification is performed and its result 
can be viewed at screen. At this point, if the result of simplification don't like us, 
we can undo this step and change simplification options. In the other hand, if the 
results of the simplification are OK, we can build the LOD object pushing the 'Build' 
button and filling the name of this one. If we can view the result of build process 
can do this by selecting the option 'Visualize' of the menu 'LODStrips' that makes a
slidebar appear in the right panel. By moving the slidebar we can change the Level 
Of Detail of the object.


HowTo construct a LodTree model
-------------------------------

After having a tree mesh opened in the application, we must select the 'Select Leaves'
option of the 'Edit' menu. This makes that the 'Select Leaves' panel appears. In this 
panel there is a mesh info browser that shows the submeshes in which is divided the 
object and relevant geometric information. Clicking a submesh in the browser paint this 
in red at the view window. We must choose the treetop submesh and push the button 'Process'
to make the selection of leaves. Next we can go to do the LODStrip procress as described 
before. Finaly the result of the LODStrip process is used as inpunt of the LODTree one. 
Using the 'LODTree' menu we can perform the LODTree building following the same steps 
than a LODStrip process.