Installing and Using the 3D Viewer ---------------------------------- 1. INSTALLATION The viewer is downloaded as a single self-extracting archive file, 5.9 megabytes in size, called VWR1.EXE. Once this file has been downloaded it should be placed in a temporary directory on your hard disk and run. The self- extracting archive can be run under DOS or WINDOWS. A group of files comprising an InstallShield setup package will be extracted. You should then run the SETUP.EXE program to formally install the 3D Viewer application. This can only be done under Windows. The program was developed using Windows 98 but should work successfully under NT and 95. After a successful installation you should clean up the temporary installation files created (the VWR1.EXE file and the InstallShield files). 2. LIMITATIONS The 3D Viewer requires a hardware accelerated OpenGL graphics card to operate successfully. While it can operate using the software implementation of OpenGL included in Windows 95 OSR2 and 98, the replay performance is so slow as to be impractical (generally less than one half frame per second replay speed, compared with 20 frames per second or more with hardware acceleration). Typical hardware accelerated OpenGL graphics cards are the nVidia TNT, TNT2 and GeForce range of cards, and the FireGL range. A number of other suitable cards also exist. 3. OPERATION When initiated the 3D Viewer will display a Startup screen where some selections need to be made. The program will need to have a 3D scene selected, and a 3D car model (defined using the list boxes on the screen). A motion path will then need to be selected (using the LOAD PATH button) and the program can then be started (using the START button). The 3D display screen should then appear after a few seconds with the selected scene and vehicle visible in the centre of the screen. To run the motion you are provided with a row of video recorder type control buttons. The green arrow icon starts the motion. The red square icon stops the motion. The blue arrow icons to either side move forward or backward by a single frame. The blue barred arrow icons move to the beginning or end of the motion path. If support for a sound card is available on your computer the Viewer will play sound, varying in frequency according to the vehicle speed. The sound replay can be turned on or off by the control buttons on the button bar. You can change your viewpoint of the vehicle dynamically at any time, either when the motion is playing or while it is stopped. The viewpoint is controlled by the Mouse. You can use the Left Mouse Button to pan the view, and the Right Mouse Button to rotate the view. You are also able to zoom in and out by using the Left Mouse Button while also depressing the key on the keyboard. The Right Mouse Button and key will tilt the view up and down. On the Startup screen is a listbox to allow the selection of Imperial or Metric units. Depending on the selection of this a range of either Imperial or Metric vehicles and scenes will be provided. The 3D objects will be set according to what objects are present in the VIEWER directory. A Porsche 928, open wheel racing car and a rectangular box are provided with the Viewer, together with a scene comprising a ground plane with a reference grid on it. This selection process allows other models to be easily added at a later date. A scene of Winton Raceway, with an associated motion path, are available for download and display using the Viewer. A Metric and Imperial sample motion path are included with the Viewer, each comprising a simple acceleration from rest to speed, followed by braking back to rest. The motion path files are simple ASCII data files. The specific format is available on request. The Porsche model has steerable front wheels. These will also eventually be added to the open wheel racing car model. The rectangular box is provided as the simplest vehicle model, with the lowest polygon count, and so permitting the best possible replay performance. A FRAMERATE button is included on the Viewer control bar. This will display the replay framerate, or at least give an approximate indication of it. In practice the replay speed will depend on the particular computer and graphics card being used. The frame rate displayed is usually a bit higher than is actually achieved in practice. To give some control over the replay rate the Startup screen includes a text box where a requested framerate can be set. This can be adjusted to give some control over replay performance. A configuration file is used to save some basic data between program sessions. This file is called VIEWER1.CFG and contains six values, on three successive lines. The first line stores the frame rate. The second line stores the sound status (either 1=ON or 0=OFF), while the third line stores the units being used. The fourth line stores the index for the scene file being used while the fifth stores the index for the car model being used. This is done so the program always starts with the last used models as the default settings. Finally, the sixth line stores the last path file name used. If no configuration file is found, one will be created. If the configuration file becomes corrupted, simply delete it and the program will create a new one the next time it is run. 4. WARRANTY & LIABILITY This 3D Viewer is provided as a free software application, intended to promote our ANALYSE motion path analysis software. We take no responsibility for the program's operation on your computer system, or how you may use the program. Although we are always interested in receiving feedback as to how this software is used, and how it performs, we do not offer any technical support for the application. 5. CONTACT DETAILS Temporal Images Web Site: http://www.temporal.com.au E-mail Address: 100243.504@compuserve.com john@temporal.com.au Mailing Address: Post Office Box 20 Ormond Victoria 3204 Australia -oOo-