Draft - Tutorials - Building Custom Props for APS

There are two ways to build props for APS using either .blend files or from a .fbx files.

## Building Custom Props from .Blend files

You can use the (legacy) Prop Builder to import props directly from .Blend files but you must ensure that the .blend file was saved using a compatible version of Blender as is set in the "Blender path" in the prop builder panel!

Simply click Import Prop Model button and select the .blend containing the desired prop model. The prop model should be designed to-scale and have been placed at the origin in the .blend file. Once the Prop Builder has finished processing the model, you should see a new folder containing the prop asset, copy the entire folder to the VR\_MocapAssets folder to make the prop available in the APS prop browser.

### (Updated) Building custom props using the APS\_SDK

In this tutorial I will cover how to create and export props to APS Luxor using models that were exported from Blender as .fbx and imported into Unity and added into the scene to create the assetbundle for Luxor using the APS\_SDK.unityasset and the Unity editor.

Briefly, after adding the .fbx to the Unity project; I add the .fbx into the scene and select GameObject in the scene hierarchy. Then from the APS\_SDK dropdown file menu click on the option: "New APS\_SDK (prop)" to add a new APS\_SDK component to the GameObject 's inspector.

Lastly to create the actual prop asset for Luxor click the button "Build Prop From .FBX" located in the inspector and the APS\_SDK automation should generate a output folder (eg. prop$binos) folder that can then be copied to the VR\_MocapAssets folder. The prop should be available in the VR prop browser!

**Step 1:** Open or create a Blender project with new prop model, ensure that the model is to-scale and that the scale has been applied and that the model is reset to the origin.

**Step 2:** Export the prop model from Blender as a .fbx, exporting it to the assets folder in the destination Unity project.

**Step 3:** Once the .fbx has been imported by Unity, drag/drop the model into the hierarchy.

**Step 4:** With the prop object selected in the hierarchy, add a new APS\_SDK component and ensure it is set as "prop" type.

**Step 5:** After clicking the Build Prop button a new folder should appear containing the prop asset.

**Step 6:** From the APS\_SDK menu, select the Folders dropdown and open the Prop source folder, and the VR\_MocapAssets destination folder

**Step 7:** Copy the folder: **prop$myCustomProp** into the folder: **%USERPROFILE%\AppData\LocalLow\Animation Prep Studios\LUXOR\VR\_MocapAssets\**.

**Step 8:** Fire Steam VR and start Luxor.

**Step 9:** From the holographic menu in VR or by using the redundant Desktop menus navigate to the Prop Browser and locate the newly added prop.

**Step 10:** Search for the prop by name if you have many props!! Props can only be added to the scene by selecting them with the VR controller. Open the Prop Browser using the holographic UI in VR.

If the asset was exported to-scale from Blender then the prop dimensions should be correct in VR, if the prop is not sized correctly simply adjust the scale in Unity and rebuild the prop, or even better fix the model in Blender and re-export the .fbx

## Building Custom Props from .fbx files

To build a .fbx as a prop for APS place the .fbx into the Unity scene and add the APS\_SDK component to it (this is very similar to building a custom avatar) then select Prop from the dropdown menu and press Build Prop From .FBX button.

Afterwards you should see a new folder containing the prop asset, copy the entire folder to the VR\_MocapAssets folder to make the prop available in the APS prop browser.

## Custom props

I think the prop builder thing worked! Did it export it to somewhere or is it automatically loaded into the ANimation Prep Studio application?

Glad to hear it worked out. If the mocap asset does exist you should see a new folder that was created in the AssetBundles folder of the CustomPropBuilder project. To add it into APS mocap environment just move that new folder to the VR\_MocapAssets folder located at %USERPROFILE%\appdata\LocalLow\Animation Prep Studios\AnimationPrepStudio\_Lite\VR\_MocapAssets -- This tutorial shows at 8:27 how to move an avatar asset (which closely resembles a prop asset) to the VR\_MocapAssets folder after the CustomPropBuilder has completed building the asset: https://youtu.be/ykJ7O0Bs8oQ?t=507

Here is a simple diagram showing the steps to import, inspect and how to copy/paste the prop asset folder to the VR\_MocapAssets folder. Try opening the \AssetBundles folder located in the CustomPropBuilder project directories. In that folder you should see folders containing the prop assetsbundles.

The AssetBundles folder contains the prop assets data folders. Here's an example of the actual prop assets contained in that folder:

## Notes on Assetcreator

The AssetCreator is only one part of the project. It runs in the background and creates the .fbx file. In order to build assets for APS and the gameengine then the entire CustomPropBuilder project is necessary and models should be imported through the project's "Custom Asset Builder" menu panel