Early December saw High Fidelity slip out a series of introductory videos on their YouTube channel under a play list entitled Intro to High Fidelity: The Basics.

At the time of writing this piece, six video are included in the play list, which together run to a total of some 16 minutes, although individually they range from just over the minute mark to just shy of five minutes in length. All six are narrated / produced by Chris Collins from HiFi, and the topic areas covered are:

First time log-in

Edit entities

Stack Manager

Oculus Rift set-up

Hydra support

Leap Motion controller.

First time log-in: takes the user from the point at which they have downloaded and installed the High Fidelity client software – referred to as “the interface”, and have logged-in for the first time, arriving in the High Fidelity sandbox area.

From here, Chris takes users quickly through changing the appearance of the default robot avatar by using one of the available pre-sets (“Ron”, shown in the image above), and noting that people can also upload their own avatars. He also covers ensuring the audio is correctly set (microphone pick-up, etc.), and basic navigation between domains / locations within the High Fidelity topography. Interface customisation through the use of JavaScript elements is also touched upon (the entire interface is written in JavaScript and includes some additional elements, making it highly customisable).

Editing entities: the second video provides a very high-level overview of creating and editing content (entities) in High Fidelity, starting with making sure the toolbox is correctly displayed (if necessary). Importing pre-built elements supplied with the interface is covered, and the ability for collaborative building within a domain is mentioned as is using FBX animations, and editing object properties is looked over.

A quick overview is also given on uploading custom content (in .FBX format), noting that it needs to be available from a web service (such as Dropbox or your own web server, if you happen to run one.

The Stack Manager focuses on building your own server to host a dedicated domain where you can build and share content, invite friends to come an join you and interact with them, etc. Servers can be run on your own local machine, or on any other machine to which you have suitable access (e.g. a web server).

The video runs through everything from downloading and installing the Stack Manager through to importing initial content. An overview of various settings (security, audio) and tools (logs, nodes), is also provided.

The final three videos provide quick start guides to using the Oculus Rift, Sixense Hydra and Leap Motion (attached to the Oculus Rift headset). All assume that you already have the hardware set-up and ready to go with your computer, and so each simply steps you through the basics to get yourself going (making sure the correct scripts are running, etc.).

As noted, these are introductory videos, so don’t expect them to go into great detail in terms of what you can do, troubleshooting or anything like that. However, as quick start guides, they are clear, concise and do exactly what it says they do on the label.

Related Links

Videos courtesy of High Fidelity Inc.