VRTK_SimplePointer

extends VRTK_WorldPointer

Overview

The Simple Pointer emits a coloured beam from the end of the controller to simulate a laser beam. It can be useful for pointing to objects within a scene and it can also determine the object it is pointing at and the distance the object is from the controller the beam is being emitted from.

The laser beam is activated by default by pressing the Touchpad on the controller. The event it is listening for is the AliasPointer events so the pointer toggle button can be set by changing the Pointer Toggle button on the VRTK_ControllerEvents script parameters.

The Simple Pointer script can be attached to a Controller object within the [CameraRig] prefab and the Controller object also requires the VRTK_ControllerEvents script to be attached as it uses this for listening to the controller button events for enabling and disabling the beam. It is also possible to attach the Simple Pointer script to another object (like the [CameraRig]/Camera (head)) to enable other objects to project the beam. The controller parameter must be entered with the desired controller to toggle the beam if this is the case.

Inspector Parameters

• Enable Teleport: If this is checked then the teleport flag is set to true in the Destination Set event so teleport scripts will know whether to action the new destination. This allows controller beams to be enabled on a controller but never trigger a teleport (if this option is unchecked).
• Controller: The controller that will be used to toggle the pointer. If the script is being applied onto a controller then this parameter can be left blank as it will be auto populated by the controller the script is on at runtime.
• Pointer Material: The material to use on the rendered version of the pointer. If no material is selected then the default WorldPointer material will be used.
• Pointer Hit Color: The colour of the beam when it is colliding with a valid target. It can be set to a different colour for each controller.
• Pointer Miss Color: The colour of the beam when it is not hitting a valid target. It can be set to a different colour for each controller.
• Show Play Area Cursor: If this is enabled then the play area boundaries are displayed at the tip of the pointer beam in the current pointer colour.
• Play Area Cursor Dimensions: Determines the size of the play area cursor and collider. If the values are left as zero then the Play Area Cursor will be sized to the calibrated Play Area space.
• Handle Play Area Cursor Collisions: If this is ticked then if the play area cursor is colliding with any other object then the pointer colour will change to the Pointer Miss Color and the WorldPointerDestinationSet event will not be triggered, which will prevent teleporting into areas where the play area will collide.
• Ignore Target With Tag Or Class: A string that specifies an object Tag or the name of a Script attached to an obejct and notifies the play area cursor to ignore collisions with the object.
• Pointer Visibility: Determines when the pointer beam should be displayed:
• On_When_Active only shows the pointer beam when the Pointer button on the controller is pressed.
• Always On ensures the pointer beam is always visible but pressing the Pointer button on the controller initiates the destination set event.
• Always Off ensures the pointer beam is never visible but the destination point is still set and pressing the Pointer button on the controller still initiates the destination set event.
• Hold Button To Activate: If this is checked then the pointer beam will be activated on first press of the pointer alias button and will stay active until the pointer alias button is pressed again. The destination set event is emitted when the beam is deactivated on the second button press.
• Activate Delay: The time in seconds to delay the pointer beam being able to be active again. Useful for preventing constant teleportation.
• Pointer Thickness: The thickness and length of the beam can also be set on the script as well as the ability to toggle the sphere beam tip that is displayed at the end of the beam (to represent a cursor).
• Pointer Length: The distance the beam will project before stopping.
• Show Pointer Tip: Toggle whether the cursor is shown on the end of the pointer beam.
• Custom Pointer Cursor: A custom Game Object can be applied here to use instead of the default sphere for the pointer cursor.
• Layers To Ignore: The layers to ignore when raycasting.

Example

SteamVR_Unity_Toolkit/Examples/003_Controller_SimplePointer shows the simple pointer in action and code examples of how the events are utilised and listened to can be viewed in the script SteamVR_Unity_Toolkit/Examples/Resources/Scripts/VRTK_ControllerPointerEvents_ListenerExample.cs