5 Shortcuts/Useful Buttons in CryENGINE

1. Select Objects : Control+T opens the 'Select Objects' window which contains a list of all objects in the current scene.
2. Asset Browser : Allows you to browse for Brushes, Textures and other assets in your build.
3. Database Viewer (DB) : Contains Entities, Prefabs, Vegetation, Particles, and other useful objects.
4. Lighting Tool : Allows you to change the Time of Day, Sunrise and Sunset times, and other interesting environmental factors that affect the lighting of the scene.
5. Flow Graph : The central hub for level scripting. Scripting is done visually in the Flow Graph, which simulates the effects of code using simple diagrammatic information.

Bonus:  
Track View : This is used by animators to create and adjust animations of characters, environments, and the camera itself.

3 ways to navigate in CryENGINE Editor

1. Hold down middle-mouse (mouse-wheel button) and move the mouse around to pan. Hold down the right-mouse button and move the mouse to look around.
2. Use the W,A,S,D keys to move forward, left, backward, and right correspondingly.
3. Use the middle+right mouse buttons together to fly around the scene by moving the mouse around. Scrolling the mouse wheel also lets you move forward and backward.

Bonus: Holding SHIFT speeds up camera movement.

5 ways to Customize your Sandbox editor

1. Multiple toolbox windows can be combined into a single window, by using Tabs.
2. Floating windows can be attached to the parent window by dragging them onto the predetermined attach section buttons on-screen.
3. When attached, windows can be resized and moved about by dragging their edges.
4. Floating windows can also be dragged to a secondary monitor, to improve workflow.
5. Each toolbar can be disabled or enabled by right-clicking on any empty area around the toolbar, and unchecking the toolbar's name in the context menu that appears.

Bonus: Each toolbar can also be customized - new buttons can be added, removed, or ordered differently in the 'Customize' view. Entire toolbars can also be created from scratch in the same view.

10 Tips when using the CryENGINE UI

1. The resolution of the viewport can be changed by right-clicking the resolution text on the top right of the viewport
2. Pressing Ctrl+Shift+F or clicking the search bar on the top right of the viewport  can allow you to search for objects in the scene using just the name.
3. Below the viewport, you can see how many objects are selected currently.
4. There's a button that allows you to lock selection, letting you manipulate just the objects selected without accidentally selecting other objects.
5. Objects can be locked to the grid, allowing you to position them more precisely.
6. Objects can also be linked together using the Link/Unlink options from the Modify menu.
7. Clicking the X, Y, or Z buttons locks the particular axis for movement.
8. All the toolboxes and windows are accessible from the 'Open View Pane' option in the View menu.
9. Right-clicking on the top of the viewport can give you other rendering options, such as Wireframe mode.
10. The Ruler tool allows you to measure distances between points in the viewport.

5 Interesting facts about the CryEngine Folder Structure

Getting Help

As with any aspect of CryEngine development, the following websites are a great place to find help and resources when working in this system.

• The SDK documentation - http://docs.cryengine.com/display/SDKDOC1/Home
• The public forums - http://www.crydev.net/forum.php

32-bit and 64-bit Editors

There are 2 editors ("Editor.exe"), each located in the "Bin32" and "Bin64" folders. They correspond to the 32-bit and 64-bit architectures respectively. 64-bit copies of the editor will only run on a 64-bit version of Windows.

Running the Game

You can run the CryEngine game from the "Launcher.exe" executable. After 'cooking' any maps you've created, you can play through them in the Launcher.

Pak Files

These contain all the assets required to run the game. They are essentially similar to .zip files - they're simply compressed archive files.

Config Files

The 'system.cfg' is a text file that is read by the Editor during runtime. Containing a series of settings, this file can be edited to manipulate the Editor into performing tasks in a different fashion, or just for customizing the interface.

Instead of editing the 'system.cfg' file directly, Crytek recommends you create a 'systemcfgoverride.cfg' or 'user.cfg' file instead.

An example of a useful setting to change via Config Files is the 'Motion Blur' option.

Hello, World!

I'm a third-year Software Engineering student, and a game developer with prior experience in Unity, Blender and Photoshop. Having created games for multiple platforms, I'm doing this course to learn more about architecture so I have a stronger knowledge of spaces, environments, and level design in general.