## Getting Started

After running the SetupDmmAnimator.exe installer:

1. Open Maya
2. Select the Load and AutoLoad checkboxes in Maya's Plugin Editor for the "DmmPlugin.py" file (located at the end of the list)
3. Wait a little for the plugin to first initialize
4. Close the Plugin Editor

The plugin comes with two flavors. We call them "cinematic" and "middleware" modes. The first is the default one and is prefered for creating high quality animations using Maya. The other one trades quality for speed to ensure real time processing. It is recommended to use it when building game assets as the DMM plugin will simulate much in the same way as the game engine.

The approach taken to build a Maya animation using the DMM plugin is different than traditionnal hand-made animation. Every DMM Object behaves as it would in the real world, so if objects are structurally weak they will crumble under their own weight. The two most important things to keep in mind are the scale and the material properties.
For example, a wood chair with a giant size will probably not sustain its own weight. And a concrete wall with a too weak material will crack and eventually crumble down.

Important note on Maya units The DMM plugin treats 1 Maya linear unit equal to 1 meter. In the Maya preferences there is a setting for Linear Working Units. The default says "centimeter." This is a lie. Do not change this setting. Changing the setting will certainly do things that you don't want. Instead ignore it and believe that 1 Maya linear unit equals 1 meter because it really is. You can prove this by leaving the setting at "centimeter", making a polymesh box and making it a Maya Dynamics Active Rigid Body, moving it up 100 units, and turning on default gravity (under the fields menu). Extend the timeline to 200 frames and choose play in real time. Click play and the box will take a bit over 4.5 seconds to reach the y=0 plane. Now, did the object take 4.5 seconds to fall 100 centimeters or 100 meters? Meters, of course! If you must treat Maya units as centimeters, you can set the Unit Scale in the DMM Scene node to 0.01.

Next: Support and Troubleshooting