Thank you for using our super cool interactive physics simulation, Physdom, made and shipped to you lovingly by three greasy high-schoolers: Muyang Yan, Austyn Ngo, and Greggory Hickman, with help from David Zager and Nathan Pang.
Physdom is a Physics Simulation Program made with Unity's physics engine created to help physics students understand several basic physics concepts relating to forces and acceleration. In it, the user may interact with objects such as cubes, spheres, and ramps, and watch as they move and collide with other objects in the simulated environment. The user may edit several properties about the simulated environment, and the objects themselves.
In this file you will find:
- Detailed instructions on how to use our program
- Motivational life advice
If you don't feel like reading an entire essay's worth of instructions, here's the bare basics that you need to know to use our program.
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Move around with W, S, A, D, and use space and shift to move up and down.
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Hold right click and move mouse to look around.
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You can click on stuff with the cursor and edit their properties on the window that pops up.
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Press "p" to pause/unpause.
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Press "q" to open global settings.
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Press "g" to reverse gravity, although you get more precise gravity control from the aforementioned "q" menu.
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Press "z", "x", and "c" to see all of the different map presets.
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Click icon in the bottom left to create new objects.
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Press ESC to exit.
Our program uses simple, easy to remember controls. This section will explain what they are, and what each input does.
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W - Move in the direction of where you are looking
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S - Move in the opposite direction of where you are looking
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A - Move perpendicularly to the left of where you are looking
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D - Move perpendicularly to the right of where you are looking
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SPACE - Move directly upwards
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SHIFT - Move directly downwards
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RIGHT MOUSE BUTTON - Hold and move the mouse to look around
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LEFT ALT + RIGHT MOUSE BUTTON - Hold and move the mouse to tilt the camera (will reset itself upon movement of the camera or camera angle).
There are several different mechanics in our program for you, the user, to utilize. This section explains how to utilize them, and how they work.
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Highlighter (Hotkey: LEFT MOUSE BUTTON) - By clicking on an object in the environment with your mouse, you can select it and change some various properties native to that object (see Properties Panel). You can also drag the object around while it is highlighted with your mouse.
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Properties Panel - The properties panel can be found on the left side of the window in a large, dark box when an object is highlighted. Inside, there are many different properties that you can edit. It will disappear when the object is unhighlighted. More information on this panel and it's properties will be touched on in the "Properties" section.
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Global Settings Panel (Hotkey: Q) - In the top right corner of your screen, there is a gear icon that when clicked, will open the global settings panel, which appears in the middle of the window. The global options panel allows you to change certain global properties that affect the environment as a whole, not necesarily any individual object. The panel can be closed again by clicking the gear again, or pressing the hotkey.
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Play/Pause Button (Hotkey: P) - In the bottom right corner of your screen, there is a play button that, when clicked, will play or pause the environment until the button is clicked again.
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Create Tool - In the bottom left corner of your screen, the is a tool button that, when clicked, will bring up a panel that allows the user to create a new object.
In our program, there are two types of properties: local, and global. Local properties only affect one item or a group of items, while global properties affect the entire environment. This section will explain what each individual property does and how to edit it.
Local: The following can be viewed on the Properties Panel.
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Reset Local Object - In the top right of the Properties Panel (see Properties Panel) you will find a reset button. When clicked, the object is reset back to its original position, velocity, rigidity, etc. that it had when it was first created. Effect is immediate.
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Position - The Position property shows the coordinate position (x,y,z) of the selected object. Can be changed by editing the fields, effect is immediate.
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Rotation - The Rotation property shows the amount that the selected object is rotated by. Can be changed by editing the fields, effect is immediate.
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Scale - The Scale property shows the relative size of the object. Can be changed by editing the field, effect is immediate.
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Velocity - The Velocity property shows the speed in meters per second of the center of the selected object through the environment. Can be changed by editing the fields, effect is immediate.
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Angular Velocity - The Angular Velocity property shows the speed in meters per second of the rotation of each axis of the object. Can be changed by editing the fields, effect is immediate.
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Mass - The Mass property shows the relative mass of the object. Can be changed by editing the field, effect is immediate.
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Friction - The Friction property shows the friction of the object, which ranges from no parallel energy conserved when contact with another object occurs, to having lost no parallel energy when contact with a flat object occurs. Can be changed by editing the fields, effect is immediate, although it may not be immediately visible on an object already at rest.
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Elasticity - The Elasticity property shows the coefficcient of bounciness of an object, effectively showing how much vertical energy is conserved when contact with an object is made. It ranges from zero (0) to one (1), 1 meaning that it will bounce just as high each time on a rigid, flat surface, 0 meaning that it will come to a dead stop upon hitting a flat surface. Can be changed by moving the slider, effect is immediate.
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Static Checkbox - The Static property shows whether or not the object is able to move. Enabling will prevent all movement on the part of that object, although other non-static objects may still interact with it. Can be changed by ticking the box, effect is immediate.
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Delete Local Object - In the bottom right of the Properties Panel (see Properties Panel) you wil find a delete button. When clicked, the object will disappear, never to be seen again. Effect is immediate.
Global: The following can be viewed on the Global Settings Panel.
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Gravity Vector (Hotkey: G) - The gravity vector property shows the direction and magnitude of gravity in vector form. The user can edit it to change the vector direction and magnitude of the gravity in the environment. The Hotkey simply swaps the direction of the gravity to be in the exact opposite direction as it was before. Can be changed by moving the slider, effect is immediate.
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Timer - Automatically stop runtime X seconds after starting.
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Viewport presets - Switch to perfect top, bottom, left, and right viewports.
In the demo version of Physdom, we have some additional features meant to show off the applications and mechanics of our program. This section shows what they are and how to use them.
- Pre-Made Maps (Hotkeys: Z, X, C) - By pressing each of the hotkeys, the user may switch in between the three pre-made environments that we have made to show off how our program handles different situations. This is a temporary feature, and will be removed upon launch.
Remember:
We know that our program is an endless beacon of utility and entertainment, but remember to take a break every once in a while. It's important to go outside, have some fun outside of our program, and to drink plently of water.
Alright, that's it. Have fun!
RIP DAVID