User Guide for the DigitalSpace Real-Time Simulation

of the Colorado School of Mines' Lunar Bucket Wheel Excavator.

This document supports DigitalSpaces (DSS)

version 0.0.3-G and the vehicle simulation BWE-Env v4

Date of Release: July 11, 2005

Authors:	Glenn Campigli
	Bruce Damer
	Merryn Neilson
	Peter Newman
	Ryan Norkus
	Dave Rasmussen

Step 1 - Getting the latest version of DSS and the BWE environment.

Un-Zip the file BWE_Scene_v4.zip in it you should find 4 files

BWE-Doc.doc	This Manual but in .doc format.
BWE-Env_v4.exe	Installable Environment
DigitalSpaces-0.0.3-G.exe	Installable DSS
README_v4.txt	More info

Step 2 - Installing the latest version of DSS.

Note - It is not necessary to uninstall any previous versions of DSS but doing so will not effect the operation of DSS but you will lose your graphics configuration and any bookmarks.

After opening the file DigitalSpaces-0.0.3-G.exe you will be presented with this screen.

These install options are rather generic but you have the options of installing/not installing:

• Start Menu Shortcuts
• Desktop Shortcut

These are a matter of personal preference, but in writing this guide I will assume you will be installing both.

Once you are satisfied with your options click Next.

The next screen is where you will configure your Destination Folder, that is, the directory where DSS will be installed to.

You can change this either by clicking the Browse button and by browsing to the target directory, or you can manually enter the directory path. The Destination Folder is really a matter of personal preference and will not affect the operation of DSS, although it is strongly recommend you install to the default folder.

Once you have configured you Destination Folder click Install to begin installation.

After a short delay your DSS installation should be complete, and you should have the following screen.

If you have successfully installed DSS you can click Close and you should have this icon on your desktop:

If you do DSS is successfully installed!

Step 3 - Installing the latest version of the BWE Environment.

With the most current version of the BWE Environment downloaded (BWE-Env.exe) you can begin installing the BWE Environment.

Open the installer, BWE-Env.exe.

With the installation of an Environment you have the options of:

• Adding the environment to your DSS Bookmarks
• Setting the environment as your DSS Home Environment

It is advisable to Add the environment to your DSS Bookmarks, but it is entirely your preference as to whether or not you set the environment as your DSS Home Environment.

Again, this guide assumes you do both. To continue with installation click Next.

The next step in the installation process is to configure your destination directory. Again this is purely up to you as it will not affect the operation of DSS.

Again it is strongly recommend you install to the default folder.

Click Install to continue.

After a short delay you should have a similar screen and the BWE Environment should be successfully installed.

Click close to close the installer.


Step 4 - Calibrating your joystick.

Note: Keyboard controls for the BWE are available and are documented in Step 5.

Calibration of your joystick is a simple process which just ensures correct operation of your joystick. If you experience difficulties controlling the BWE with your joystick, for example only being able to move in one direction or the joystick is totally unresponsive you may need to recalibrate your joystick.

Note: Your joystick must have at least 5 buttons and an 8way POV (Point Of View) Hat to be able to fully control the BWE.

This guide was written with a Logitech Wingman Force 3D joystick with the latest Logitech software installed (as of 10th July 2005), so the screens included in this guide may not match your configuration, although the actual process of calibrating your joystick should be similar.

Begin by opening your Windows Control Panel and opening the Game Controllers applet.

Select your joystick from the list and click the Properties button.

Once the properties screen opens up click the Settings button.

In the Settings window which will open click the Calibrate button to begin calibration.

Step I - Move the handle to all four corners a few times.

When you have satisfied the calibration application the red X and the traffic light should change to indicate this, press a button on the joystick to contonie.

Step II - The next step is to center the joystick handle and press a button to continue.

Step III - Move the throttle forward and back several times and press a button to continue, remembering the traffic light will change color when satisfied.

Step IV - Twist the handle completely left and right several times and press a button to continue.

Step V - Leave the handle centered and press a button to continue

Provided you satisfied each step of the calibration routine you should be presented with this screen. If so you have successfully calibrated your Logitech WingMan Force 3D.

Don't have a Logitech WingMan Force 3D?

As this guide was written assuming a Logitech WingMan Force 3D joystick was being used this may or may not match your configuration. Included here is the generic default windows calibration routine, which may match your configuration. If your configuration differs please refer to the manufacturer of your joysticks website or other documentation.

Select your joystick from the list and click the Properties button.

Once in the properties window select the Settings tab.

From here click the Calibrate button to begin calibration of your joystick.

Once the Game Device Calibration window opens click Next to begin calibration.


The rest of the process is simply following the instructions at the top of the window.

Step I - Press a button on your joystick with the joystick handle centered.

Step II - Move the handle in complete circles and then press a button on the controller.

Step III - Verify your center position by leaving the handle centered and pressing a button.

Step IV - If your joystick is fitted with a throttle slider you must move it all the way up and down and then press a button on the controller.

Step V - If your joystick is fitted with a rudder of twisting handle you must rotate is all the way to the left and to the right and then press a button on the controller.

Step VI - After clicking next you will come to the end of the Calibration process and all you must do is click Finish to finish calibrating your joystick.

After having completed that 6 step process your joystick will be calibrated and ready for use.


Step 5 - Running DSS with the BWE Environment.

This guide assumes you added the BWE Environment to your DSS and set the BWE Environment as your DSS Home Environment during install of the BWE Environment.

Begin by either double clicking the desktop icon labeled "Launch DigitalSpaces" or by clicking the "Launch DigitalSpaces" item in your start menu.

The first thing you should see is the graphics engine configuration dialog.

At this point you must select your Rendering Subsystem and configure it. For the purposes of this guide select Direct3D9 Rendering Subsystem and leave the settings for the time being.

Click OK to save the setting and load DSS.


Note: Graphics settings can be changed by clicking the item and selecting the option from the drop down box as shown. For information on these settings refer to Appendix I - Graphics Settings at the end of this guide.

Once DSS has loaded you should see this:

To move around in the scene use the following controls.

And using the arrow keys and page up/page down keys to manipulate the view.

Using the following keys you can control the BWE.

To control the BWE itself using a joystick the following controls are used. Joystick handle to control the BWE, Buttons 4 and 5 to start and stop the bucket wheel and the 8way POV hat to control the bucket wheel arm.

To exit DSS click the Quit button on the main menu.

You will be prompted to confirm this action, click Yes to quit.


Appendix I - Graphics settings.

To reset your graphics settings you must delete the file named "OgreRenderer.cfg" from you \config\ directory. - This file is usually within the directory c:\Program Files\DigitalSpaces\config\ .

When you first loaded DigitalSpaces you had to setup graphics settings in the Ogre Engine Rendering Setup window.

Below are details pertaining to the different options offered for the rendering subsystems and their effect.

Direct3D9 Rendering SubSystem

Anti aliasing:

Options: None, unless resolution is above 1024x768 @ 32-bit colour, else, NonMaskable 1-4, Level 2, Level 4.

Effect: Increasing this setting will increase the graphics quality by helping to remove "jaggies" but will considerably lower performance, especially on lower end hardware.

Floating-point mode:

Options: Fastest, consistent.

Effect: In DigitalSpaces currently, none. The consistent setting it used when dealing with high precision maths which DigitalSpaces does not perform.

Full Screen:

Options: Yes, No

Effect: When fullscreen is set to Yes, DigitalSpaces will launch in a fullscreen window taking up the entire screen. When set to No DigitalSpaces will launch into a window of at your specified resolution.

Rendering Device:

Options: Depends on your system configuration.

Effect: Used when multiple graphics cards are installed in a single system (not SLi). Default setting should suffice for the majority of configurations.

VSync:

Options: Yes, No

Effect: By default this setting is set to No. Setting this to yes will make the graphics engine wait for vertical sync on your monitor, so if the refresh on your monitor was set to 60hz, this will limit it to 60fps. Mainly used when excessive tearing (graphics artifact when you seem to have half of 2 pictures in a top/bottom arrangement) occurs, default setting should suffice.

Video Mode:

Options: Depends on your system configuration, 640x480 @ 16-bit colour - 1280x1024 @ 32-bit colour as an example.

Effect: Default setting is 800x600 @ 32-bit colour. Basically increasing this setting will increase the resolution of the graphics, improving over quality, but reducing performance. The performance you obtain in a given video mode depends entirely on your system specs, mainly graphics card.


OpenGL Rendering Subsystem

Colour Depth:

Options: 16, 32
Effect: Default setting is 32. Reducing this setting will increase performance but it is strongly recommended to keep this at 32.

Display Frequency:

Options: Depends on system configuration. 60, 75 for example.

Effect: Increasing this setting increases the refresh frequency for your display. This is limited by your display and as a general rule, the default setting of 60 should suffice.

FSAA (Full Scene Anti Aliasing):

Options: 0, 2, 4, 8, 16

Effect: Increasing this setting will again increase visual quality while encountering a substantial performace decrease. Higher end hardware will be able to use higher settings while lower end hardware won't.

Full Screen:

Options: Yes, No

Effect: When fullscreen is set to Yes, DigitalSpaces will launch in a fullscreen window taking up the entire screen. When set to No DigitalSpaces will launch into a window of at your specified resolution.

QuadBuffer Stereo:

Options: Yes, No

Effect: The availability of this setting depends on your hardware. QuadBuffer Stereo is a feature of professional level graphics cards such as an NVIDIA Quadro card. Enabling this will enable the use of these graphics cards stereoscopic cababilites.

Stereo Seperation:

Options: 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6 0.7 0.8 0.9 1.0.

Effect: This is part of the QuadBuffer Stereo configuration and defines the separation of the two views within DigitalSpaces.

VSync:

Options: Yes, No

Effect: By default this setting is set to No. Setting this to yes will make the graphics engine wait for vertical sync on your monitor, so if the refresh on your monitor was set to 60hz, this will limit it to 60fps. Mainly used when excessive tearing (graphics artifact when you seem to have half of 2 pictures in a top/bottom arrangement) occurs, default setting should suffice.

Video Mode:

Options: Depends on your system configuration, 640x480 - 1280x1024 as an example.

Effect: Default setting is 1024x768. Basically increasing this setting will increase the resolution of the graphics, improving over quality, but reducing performance. The performance you obtain in a given video mode depends entirely on your system specs, mainly graphics card.

Back to Main BWE Simulation Page