Virtual Reality StarterKit/Virtual Reality StarterKit.iso/swt/vista/copyfile.swt/README.TXT

Text File | 1993-10-12 | 5.9 KB | 107 lines

Vistapro Installation and Quickstart

Thank you for purchasing Vistapro.  Vistapro requires: IBM PC, XT, AT
or true compatible running MSDOS or PCDOS.  640 KB of memory.  Microsoft
compatible mouse and driver. Hard drive with at least 3 MB free space. VGA
or SVGA (VESA compatible) graphics card.

Vistapro allows you to explore real and imaginary landscapes by rendering
beautiful pictures from landscape data. The real landscapes are made from
U.S. Geological Survey Digital Elevation Model data. You can also explore
billions of imaginary fractal landscapes generated from data produced by
Vistapro itself.  Vistapro can also produce a series of images to be played
back for an animated fly through the landscapes.

Running Vistapro

To run Vistapro, select the run option.  You will be presented with a screen
that contains a topographical view of the landscape and a control panel. The
topographical view (left side of screen) is initially green since no
landscape is loaded. The mouse is used to select options on the control
panel and to place the "Target" and "Camera" indicators on the topographic
view.

Using Vistapro

To render a landscape image, a landscape needs to be either loaded or
generated. To load a landscape, position the mouse pointer over the "Load"
button at the top of the screen. Now press and hold the left mouse button.
A menu of other options will drop down.  Now move the mouse (while still
holding the left button) to the first option "Load DEM" and release the
button. A file requestor will appear. In the center there will be a list of
directories. Click the left mouse button on the "DEM" directory. A list of
files will now be presented. Click on the file "BigSur.DEM". Notice that
above the list, right after "Filename:", is the name "BigSur.DEM". Click
on "Load Vista DEM" to load the selected landscape.

After loading, the topographical view will be of BigSur.  Vistapro's
topographical map of the landscape uses shades of green to represent the
lowest altitudes, browns to represent the middle altitudes, and grey/whites
for the highest altitudes. Blue represents water.

Vistapro uses a simple target/camera model for direction control. Notice at
the top left of the control panel (right side of screen) the button "Target"
is indented. With this option selected, the mouse pointer is used to select
a spot on the topographical map for the "Target" to be placed. Pick a spot
on the map, try one of the mountain tops. Now click the left mouse button.
A little black plus sign (+) will appear on the map. This indicates the
direction the "Camera" will be pointing. Notice the "X", "Y", and "Z" values
on the control panel below the "Target" button. Values can be entered
manually in these numerical gadgets.

To place the "Camera", click on the "Camera" button on the control panel.
Now click on the topographical map. Try the water area (left and bottom of
topographical map).

Click on the "Render" button on the control panel (bottom left). The image
is now being rendered. A status line located right above the topographical
map indicates progress. Once the palette and other items have been
calculated, the image will be drawn to the screen.

When the border of the screen flashes white, then the rendering of the image
is complete. Notice how the landscape has a coarse look to it. This is
controlled with the "Poly" setting on the control panel. Click the left mouse
button to return to the control panel/topographical view. Right below the
word "Poly" on the control panel are four buttons, "l", "2", "4", "8". These
control the relative coarseness of the landscape image. The larger the
setting, the larger the polygons used to draw the image. A size of "8"
generates l/64th as many polygons as a size of "1". It takes longer to
render the image on the smaller settings, so the larger setting can be used
to get a rough idea of what the picture will look like.  After the camera
positioning is just right, the smaller setting is used for the final image.
To abort a rendering in progress, click the right mouse button or press the
ESC key.

Click on the "2" button.

Camera and target positions can be changed manually. Let's change the
altitude (or Z axis) of the camera. Below the "Camera" button are the "X",
"Y", and "Z" values for the camera. Click on the "Z" value. A cursor now
appears in the box, allowing the value to be entered from the keyboard.
Delete the existing value and enter 1500 followed by pressing the ENTER key.
Now click on the "Z" button. This locks the Z values for the camera and
target. Normally the Z value follows the terrain. Click on the "Render"
button.

After the image is done, notice how the landscape looks more natural. Also
the increased altitude has probably given you a better view. To get an even
smoother looking landscape, the "Blend" and "Gshade" buttons may be used.
The "Blend" button helps reduce the coarse texture of distant parts of the
landscape. With "Gshade" (Gouraud shading) selected, the landscape will have
a brush like feel to it, as if an artist had painted it.

To create imaginary landscapes, select the "Frac" button on the control
panel. A panel right below the "Frac" button will appear. Click on the
"Random" button. This selects a random seed value for the fractal landscape
generator. An imaginary landscape will now be visible on the topographical
map. Try adding lakes, rivers, and trees to this landscape by clicking on
the appropriate buttons on the control panel. Since the "Z" value is locked,
you can move the camera and still maintain the height of 1500. To change the
camera height, the "Z" button must be clicked on again.

There is obviously a great deal more to discover about this program, but you
should now have the basic idea of how Vistapro works. Take a look at the
manual and explore the many other options. Thanks again for your purchase of
Vistapro.