Projects are now launched using the same engine selected in Unreal Engine Version Selector
New Connection Status Panel
Ability to re-order Presets
Search for actors & functions
Viewport fullscreen mode added
Glimmer Spectator mode has been renamed to "Camera Tracking".
New Alerts Panel
Re-designed settings panel with the ability to create a studio for adding multiple render PCs
Ability to increment/decrement transform values with a left click and slide.
New Hidden Actors panel. Shows a list of actors you've hidden so you can easily restore
Trigger Sequences using an LTC signal from any audio source on your PC
Multi-render support. Trigger presets on multiple devices and view their output using Pixel Streaming
Version 1.0.74
Actor transform presets. Ability to save & recall actors position/rotation/location/scale at runtime. ()
Transform now automatically now hides when snapshots for presets are taken
Fixed issued where you could not type in the Location X textbox
Version 1.0.55
New on-boarding and project selection experience
Easier control of advanced settings and setup for remote mode
Version check for updates. You are notified under Help when a new version is available.
Fixed issue where you could not open projects when Windows was setup for regions other than United States. To resolve you must delete your C:\ProgramData\SequinAR folder and restart Glimmer Virtual Control.
Glimmer Virtual Control closes Glimmer Server background process
Bugfixes
Occasional crash on using Unreal byte types
Stacking of project and map thumbnails when resizing with a hidden project and maps window
An actor transform preset is the full actor transform (location, rotation, and scale) that you see in the transform bar on the bottom of the viewport. These presets can be assigned to the selected actor or unassigned and used as an arbitrary positioning preset. These can then later be recalled very quickly from the preset panel on the right side
Select the icon in the side bar
Alter preset name as needed
Actor association means the transform value & actor will be saved together. Unassociated presets mean only the transform value is saved and can be applied to any actor.
Click Save and your Preset will now appear on the right side preset panel
Deleting Presets
Presets can be deleted by selecting "Edit / Order Presets", selecting Edit on the preset, and then selecting delete.
Hidden Actors
Actor visibility can be toggled by using the Eye icon in the toolbar after selecting an actor
Actor Visibility
Hidden Actor SM_Ottoman_2
List of hidden actors
Hidden actors can be made visible again from the Hidden Actors panel
Presets
Visual presets is a way to triggers events, animations, and other changes in your Unreal Engine scene
Creating a Preset
A preset is the combination of a blueprint function or variable of an actor with a set value. These can then later be recalled very quickly from the preset panel on the right side
Welcome Screen & Scene Launcher
Overview of the welcome screen and how to get a project.
When you first launch Virtual Control you will be presented with the Welcome Screen and a list of projects that have been previously opened by Virtual Control.
Selecting "Open a Project":
When you select this button the file explorer will appear (fig. B) allowing you to navigate to your .uproject location bring it into Virtual Control
Once you are in the desired location select the Unreal icon then press open or just double click and it will open a list of all scenes in your project.
Selecting "Auto Discover Projects":
Installation
Virtual Control installs both the main application & plugins for Unreal Engine 4.24, 4.25, & 4.26 automatically.
Unreal Engine plugins will be installed to your Unreal Engine installed location in the following folder.C:\Program Files\Epic Games\UE_4.2X\Engine\Plugins\VirtualProduction\SequinAR
If you install a plugin for a version of Unreal that is not installed the plugins will be placed in: C:\SequinVirtualControlPlugins
After installation Virtual control will appear in your Windows start menu
Text Actors
Overview of using 3D Text Actors
Glimmer has the ability to auto discover all the 3D Text Actors in the scene and separate them out from all the other actors. These 3D Text Actors can be found in the Text Tab. This allows the user to quickly find and work with any text actors implemented in the scene.
By selecting the Text Actor in the left-hand column the user will have access to selected properties of that selected actor. These properties include Text, Kerning, and Word Spacing.
Once all the properties are set the user can either "Execute" and apply the changes in real-time or "Save as Preset" and execute them at a later time by selecting from the Presets section.
When selecting "Save as Preset" the user will be prompted with the following section to save a preset.
Getting Started
1) You must first Open a Project to bring a project into the Virtual Control project launcher
2) Select open a Project and find an Unreal Engine project file you wish to use and select Open
3) Your project has been added in Virtual Control and the available scenes will be shown. You can now launch the project by selecting your scene.
Select the "Preset Setup" tab
Select an actor
Select a blueprint function or variable in the middle pane
Enter in any parameters required for the function/variable.
Press "Execute" to see your changes live in the viewport
"Save as Preset" opens a new window where you can specify a preset name and replace the default image captured from the viewport.
Click Save and your Preset will now appear on the right side preset panel
Saving a Preset
Editing Presets
Presets can be edited, re-arranged & deleted by selecting "Edit/Order Preset" in the Preset panel
Presets can be re-arranged by selecting and dragging them.
Preset names can be changed, update thumbnails, and deleted by selecting edit.
This works the same as open projects except it scans the selected folder for all Unreal projects and automatically adds them to Virtual Control
Selecting a Scene to launch
After selecting a project you will be presented with a list of scenes (maps) in your project and the associated version of Unreal Engine that will be launch.
Can I access my data?
An overview on how to access data directly from Glimmer Database.
Direct access to Glimmer Database data is available through PostgreSQL's pgAdmin. Below we will cover the installation and setup of pgAdmin 4, as well as, the steps required to view the data inside of the Glimmer Database.
pgAdmin 4 - Installation and Setup
Below is a one time set up and does not need to repeated unless you are re-installing pgAdmin.
Follow the download link , click on the x64 version and wait for the download to complete.
Click on the downloaded .exe file.
Follow the installation prompt to install pgAdmin
Run Glimmer Server
Run the pgAdmin4.exe inside of the installation directory of pgAdmin
(conditional) Once pgAdmin is running, if prompted with a prompt to enter a master password enter your windows password here
With pgAdmin open right click Server -> Create -> Server
8. Under the General tab (enter as followed)
Name: Glimmer
9. Under the Connection tab (enter as followed)
Host name/address: localhost
Port: 7375
Maintenance database: postgres
Username: glimmer
Password: glimmer
Glimmer Database Access
Now with pgAdmin set up and connected to the Glimmer Database you can view the data collected with by Glimmer.
Glimmer Server has to be running in order for pgAdmin to connect to the database.
If Glimmer Server is not running, run Glimmer Server.
Open pgAdmin
Click Glimmer under Servers in left panel.
After you do that a query will occur and all the data with be shown for that table. Repeat to refresh table data or to query the data for any other tables.
If issues occur please contact support at --------------------------
FAQ
Frequently Asked Questions about Glimmer Virtual Control
Why do I see a gray sphere in my level when using spectator mode?
This is the default geometry for the DefaultPawn in Unreal Engine. If you create a new pawn with no geometry and assign it to your GameMode you will no longer see it.
How do I change which version of Unreal Engine is used when launching a scene with Virtual Control?
Right click on your uproject file in Windows Explorer and select "Switch Unreal Engine version".
Sequences
Overview of using Sequences
Controlling Sequences
Virtual Control has the ability to auto discover all the Sequences in the scene. This allows the user to quickly find and work with any sequences implemented.
When you want to operate a sequence you start by selecting a sequence from the sequence list on the left. Once a sequence is selected you are able to operate the sequence with the provided control panel.
System Requirements
Virtual Control is a relatively lightweight application that can run on the same or separate PC as Unreal Engine
Operating System
Windows 10
Client PC Requirements
Processor: i5 2.0Ghz or higher
Object Positioning
Overview of how to position objects in a scene
Moving Actors
Actors can be positioned using the transform bar above. Left mouse click and drag will adjust the actor in addition to entering in new values
What is Glimmer Server?
Overview of Glimmer Server and its components.
Overview
Glimmer Server is the component that connects all the different aspects of the Virtual Control product together. Glimmer Server is launched through an executable (.exe) and can be left running even when the Glimmer Client and Unreal Editor are not.
So what does Glimmer Server connect and how does it do it?
Glimmer Server is made up of multiple processes that run simultaneously together to ensure the user has real-time interaction between the Glimmer Client, Unreal, and all projects and maps.
The server is made up of a database which stores all the Glimmer and Unreal information that pertains to the operation of Glimmer. The Server also contains a Glimmer Search feature which we talk about in a couple sections later. The final major component is all the server processes that makes sure everything runs in-sync and provides real-time interactions with the Unreal project.
Click Databases to show all databases.
Click database named glimmer-psql-dev.
Click Schemas
Click Tables
At this point a list of all the different Glimmer tables should be visible to you. Be careful in what you do with these tables because since it is a relational database is a connection is broken or altered the functionality of Glimmer Server or the Client may become limited and unstable.
To view the information of a table continue.
Selecting the "Play Button" will play the sequence
Selecting the "Reset Button" will stop the sequence and reset the timeline to the beginning
Selecting the "Pause Button" will pause the sequence in its current position in the timeline
Selecting the "Rewind Button" will play the sequence in reverse from its current position in the timeline
When you need to operate another sequence in the scene just simply select another one from the sequences list.
4GB Ram
Storage: 450mb
Unreal Engine 4.24,4.25 or 4.26
Render PC Requirements
Graphics Card: Nvidia or AMD (Required for Pixel Streaming viewport)
NVidia Hardware must supports Hardware-Accelerated Video Encoding (NVENC). See link for more info.
AMD Hardware must support Advanced Media Framework (AMF). See link for more info.
All other requirements are Unreal Engine project dependent.
Select an actor by clicking or tapping on it
Timecode
Trigger sequences to start using an incoming LTC audio signal
Sequences can be triggered to started when an incoming LTC signal is received on any audio port on your PC
Select Sequence
Select the sequence you want to be triggered when Program Start Time is reached.
Moving around in a scene
How to move around the scene with keyboard/mouse
To turn off free movement and use camera tracking setup in your enable Camera Tracking in the toolbar.
Glimmer Database
Overview
The Glimmer Database is a component of Glimmer Server which provides all the storage and caching of Glimmer data such as presets and favorites. It also stores the locations of Unreal projects, Unreal maps, Unreal Editor executables which we will talk about how we get these locations in the next section.
Glimmer database is a based relational database. The database is created when GS is ran for the first time and kept locally in the C:/../ProgramData/SequinAR/GlimmerServer folder. GS also does a quick check every launch to see if the database exists; just in case a user decided to do a hard deletion. If the database exists Glimmer Server continues as normal but if the database does not exist a new database is created and set up for the user automatically.
Caution: Deletion of the database will delete all saved Glimmer data .
This is the LTC time when the selected sequence will begin playing from the beginning of the sequence (Frame 0). Example: When Program Start Time is set to 00:01:00:00 it will play the selected sequence at frame 0
Start Time (MM:SS)
Start Time is how far into the sequence it will be played when active timecode is equal to Program Start Time + Start Time.
Example: Program Start Time is 00:01:00:00 and Start Time is 01:30. When the incoming LTC timecode is equal to 00:02:30:00 (Program Start Time + Start Time) the selected sequence will begin to play at 01:30 into the sequence.
Primary/Secondary Audio Source
List containing all audio devices on your PC. Select the audio device you wish to use that has the incoming LTC signal.
Active
Toggle whether or not the sequence will be triggered when the active LTC time is reached.
Live
Toggles whether Primary or Secondary audio input is used for triggering
Timecode Panel
Visibility
Orbit Mode
After an object is selected you can orbit around with mouse or touch. Enable Orbit mode with the following toolbar button.
After enable orbit mode you can then right click and move your mouse to orbit the object. Single finger down touch also orbits around the object.
Jump to Home
Clicking this toolbar button moves the spectator to the PlayerStart you have added to your level. To add a PlayerStart to your level select it from the Place Actors area on the left and drag it into the viewport to add it to your level.
