There are five basic areas of ALICE interface (see Figure 1):
World Window:
Object Tree:
Details Area:
Editor Area:
Events Area:
Shows the world you are building.
Contains of the objects in the world.
Provides more information about the world or an object in the world
Allows you to make objects in your world do new things like move and spin.
Allows you to tell ALICE when to make objects do certain things
Figure 1: The ALICE World Interface
2. Create and Play a Simple World
To create a world, first click on File and select New World in the ALICE world interface, as shown in Figure 2.
Figure 2: Creating a New World
You can then select a template for your world, e.g. the sand template, as shown in Figure 3.
Figure 3: Selecting a Template for the New World
After creating a new world, you can add objects, change their positions, sizes, and directions. For example, Figure 4 shows that a helicopter is added. You can simply drag the helicopter in the Gallery and drop it into the new world.
Figure 4: Adding a Helicopter to the New World
You can move the helicopter forward by using a method (Figure 5) of the helicopter object. (see movie step1.wmv)
Figure 5: Moving the Helicopter Forward
The helicopter has individual parts that can also be animated. For example, you can turn the propeller of the helicopter by using the turn method (Figure 6) of the propeller. (see movie step2.wmv)
Figure 6: Turning the Propeller of the Helicopter
Obviously, the propeller should turn while the helicopter is flying. You can do this by running the two methods at the same time. (see movie step3.wmv)
Figure 7: Turning the Propeller while the Helicopter Moving Forward
To play a world, click on play and a running window showing the flying helicopter will appear (Figure 8).
Figure 8: Playing the New World
The source file for the simple world created above is available here (helicopter.a2w).
3. Export Video
Choose 'Export video' from File menu. Note that this feature is not available in ALICE 2.0. You first need to save your Alice world file again.
In the capture window, enter a name for your video file (e.g. work.mov), then click the Record button. This will start playing your Alice world while recording it in the background.
When your Alice world story ends, stop recording by clicking the button “Stop Recording”.
Finally, export and save your movie file (work.mov) by clicking the button “Export Video”. You will see a small dialog box showing progress.
An in-class tutorial for ALICE programming will be provided for FREE by MPI for all interested participating teams on a date to be announced. Remember to indicate your interest in the Entry Form.
In-Systems Tutorials (should be very useful)
To start a tutorial, follow the sequence in ALICE world interface: File --> New World --> select the Tutorial tap --> select a tutorial (e.g. Tutorial 3) --> click on Start the Tutorial button.
