DART MAX Authoring
Three levels of tools to create different types of courseware.
The common phrase is “content is king” but when it comes to training only “relevant content is king”.
In the past, you had to rely on the manufacturer to provide courseware (usually at significant cost), because the process of creating new content was difficult and expensive – requiring specialized skills, equipment, and time.
Not only does DART MAX make it possible to create your own drills, courses, and scenarios – it actually makes it easy. Because everyone has their own unique needs, we have three variants of authoring software so you can pick exactly the tool you need.
MAX Editor
MAX Editor is used to adjust settings for 3D targets, flat targets, and reactive targets, such as the number of hits to fall, reset time, target sounds, and score values. Targets can then be saved and used in practice sessions or shared with other MAX users.
MAX Editor is included with DART MAX.
MAX Creator
MAX Creator is an optional program designed for building any type of qualification course. MAX courses contain one or more stages, each can have its own rules, requirements, targets, and environments. MAX Creator allows you to use an unlimited number of flat and reactive targets with the ability to move these targets with paths and motion controls.
MAX Studio
MAX Studio is an optional program used to create virtually any type of drill, course, or scenario that you can think of. In addition to all the tools found in MAX Creator, MAX Studio adds human characters, additional environments, video targets, full-screen video, object behaviors, and more. There has never been a more complete solution for designing and building courseware than MAX Studio.
Share Your Courses
No matter which tool you choose, MAX makes it easy to share courses with others. This distinctive feature allows the seamless transfer of courses developed by your team to locations in the next county or another country. In return, your team gains access to valuable courses developed and shared by fellow MAX users from around the globe.
Step One
Place your objects in the scene.
Start by opening the library and selecting objects for your course. There are a dozen different object types and hundreds of individual objects to choose from including flat targets, 3D reactive targets, human characters, props, lights, cameras, and more. All MAX programs use a simple drag-and-drop approach so placing objects couldn’t be easier.
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Flat Targets – familiar 2D silhouette targets for qualification courses and drills
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3D Targets – silhouette targets mounted to realistic stands – some with motion
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Reactive Targets – 3D targets with built-in scoring zones and physics
- AI Targets™ – 2D and 3D targets with embedded motions and behaviors
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TruTargets™ – realistic humans with behaviors and mortality settings
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Video Targets – innovative video clips of people with poses, motion, and behaviors
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Video Scenarios – full-screen video experiences within the 3D simulation
- Groups – combinations of objects that can be saved and moved together
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Props – Building blocks used to recreate realistic settings and locations
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Lights – featuring multiple light types capable of recreating any lighting condition
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Environments – hyper-realistic interior and outdoor settings for targets and people
- Viewpoints – cameras that can be freely moved, adjusted, and controlled
Step Two
Adjust object settings.
Once objects have been placed in your scene, use the Settings panel to change their attributes. Each object type has its own characteristics. For example, a Texas star has settings for the number of elements, required hits to drop an element, points, and sound when an element is shot. Human characters have mortality settings including ‘hits to wound’ and ‘hits to kill’, which can vary depending on the point of impact. Setting controls are easy to change using the mouse.
Step Three
Add motion to your objects.
In MAX, any object can move around the screen by assigning it a path. Paths are built using a series of waypoints. Because any object can have its own path, you are free to move targets, people, props, lights, and cameras – and once you know how to create and edit paths, you can use the exact same process to make anything in your scene move.
Step Four
For the final touch add lighting and behaviors.
Course objects can be further customized with behaviors and rules. Behaviors are particularly powerful cause-and-effect options that change an object or course setting when specific actions are taken within and outside the simulation. For example, people in a crowd can run when gunshots are heard.
Flat Targets
DART MAX comes with more than 100 familiar silhouette targets and you can add your own.
Poppers
Choose from basic metal poppers to the most widely used military targets.
Stars and More
DART MAX also includes many targets with built-in motion and physics such as Texas stars, Roger’s Range targets, and swingers.
Exclusives
These are just a few of the many features that you won’t find on any other firearm simulator.
The objects and environments in MAX Creator and MAX Studio are like building blocks that you can use to build virtually anything imaginable. Most of the time, this may take the form of qualification courses and drills. Other times you may want to focus on situational awareness. The point is that MAX will not limit you. Here are a few examples of courseware that would simply be impossible to create on any other system.
Video+
Video content is not only possible in MAX Studio – it’s supercharged. Because everything is integrated in a 3D world, video can be shown full screen or in a window. DART MAX takes video even further by allowing video characters, like the instructor in this example, to operate in a 3D world.
A Matter of Perspective
Control your view with cameras in MAX Creator and MAX Studio. Easily move the shooting position from prone, kneeling, standing – to forty feet in the air. Not only can you create and control any number of cameras in a scene, but each human character can act as a camera, so you can see the action from anyone’s perspective. Don’t try that with a video-based system.