City presets
presets files are used to store or load different city configurations (these are the .set files in the presets folder). you can select a different set with the preset menu. here the default set is currently used. the set will apply immediately after it has been selected.
R
allows to check the presets folder for new .set files, or if you renamed an existing one.
save
updates the chosen set with the current configuration.
save as
allows you to create a new set, or to overwrite an existing one.
delete..
..will delete the set from your harddrive, but maybe you've already guess that.
the script allows to load a chosen set at startup (see below). if the case the script fails during loading (missing or corrupted .set file, bug..) please visit the problem resolutions page.
Randomness
the script uses a lot of randomizing functions during the different creation processes. if Replay is disabled, your city will have for sure the properties you asked for, but each time you recreate the same city, it will never have the same look. that's randomness. so it can be frustrating if you've setupped cameras, lights, or a camera path in your scene.
by enabling the Replay button, you'll get exactly the same variation at each execution. so you can change heights or use another library, the volume and location will be the same. the seed and the offset sliders permits to ask for another 'pseudo random', replayable, variations.
you can also wonder what is supposed to be randomness for a computer.. :-)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pseudorandom_number_generator
Default language and city set
some basic info is stored in the Blended_Cities.cfg, located in the .blender/scripts/bpydata/config folder of Blender.
beep
produces a beep for warning or error events, and can acts as a watchdog during the creation process. this can be be boring for a common use... but can be useful if you generate a big city in background. a regular beep is the sign of a good health Blended Cities, not lost in an endless loop..
tips
displays a tip over most of the buttons, at least the simpler ones (microsoft inlfuence, sorry)
refresh
one can observe the city being built in the 3d view at creation time. it's pretty and useful (creation process stage, everything is not lost in case of a bug or a CTRL-C..), but it slows down the process because the 3d view update requires an additionnal lap of time. refresh defines what is the update step. one step is one created (group of) object : 1 to update at every building, 25 to update every 25 buildings etc..
zero allows to update only one time at the end.
increase the value or set it to zero before to generate huge cities in order to speed up the process.
debug
they permit to display the script activity in the blender console. it's useful if you intend to hack the core code or if you're seting up a new library. the debug level permits to display a huge (and messy) amount (0) of info, or no information at all (6) during the excution of the script.
the debug level are not exactly well defined yet, except 5 (default level, notifications) and 6 (silent), and vaguely 3 and 4.
the more info or debug messages in the console, the slower the creation process is.
lines of dots are added sometimes : every dot means that a unit like a crossing, a building, a road etc.. has been created.
save
will save the current GUI language and the current preset as the default ones in Blended_Cities.cfg for the next execution.
load
reloads the last configuration you saved. every changes you've commited since the last save will be lost.
if the script fails at startup after you changed the defaults, have a look to the problems resolution page.
