Generate a walk zone

By default when you "walk" through a scene, objects and the environment floor are ignored. You navigate through objects and the navigation height never changes. Use the Walk Zone feature to generate walkable areas in the scene, based on visible objects and the environment floor. This is useful for large, immersive scenes that contain traversable characteristics such as stairs and hallways.

To generate a walk zone:

1. Hide any objects that should not block a walk path; for example, doors.
2. Select Edit > Walk Zone.
3. In the Walk Zone window that appears, click Make Walk Zone.
4. Click Close.

The walk zone is generated. It is respected during all forms of walking: with the arrow keys, the SteeringWheels, and third-party controllers. Small changes in height (such as a curb) are considered navigable and do not act as barriers. The walk zone is saved with the scene.

To ignore the walk zone while walking, hold down the Z key. When you let go of the key, you will moved to the nearest walk zone point.

You cannot undo creation of the walk zone, but you can disable the walk zone. To do this, open the Walk Zone window again and deselect Use zone when walking.

You can change the walk speed as described in Adjust the navigation speed.

If at any time you add, remove, or transform objects in the scene, you will need to regenerate the walk zone to reflect the changes. Similarly, you should regenerate your walk zone when switching between positional alternatives.

If you find you need to broaden the overhead and side-to-side areas calculated as "walkable," do the following:

1. Select File > Settings > User Settings.
2. In the User Settings window, under Walk Zone, reduce the following values:
   • Head clearance: for example, if you are having trouble going under a balcony or low hanging trees.
   • Side-to-side clearance: for example, to make it easier to get through a door.
3. Close the User Settings window.
4. Re-generate the walk zone.