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hello! + tutorial req

Discussion in 'New users start here - FAQ' started by AldoZ, Aug 28, 2010.

  1. AldoZ

    AldoZ Member

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    Hello all, I am from Italy and it's a pleasure for me to be here.
    I would just start to understand the logic, step by step for build my own moving platform.
    So, exist some good,basic and easy tutorial to start?
    I download the x-sim software but i am a little disoriented by the various programs of the pack.


    Thank you for now!
  2. Frakk

    Frakk Active Member

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    Hi AldoZ and welcome!

    Start off on the wiki and try to understand the software documentation: http://www.x-simulator.de/wiki/X-SIM_2. ... umentation

    It should give you a basic understanding of the main concepts. From there I would recommend playing with the Sender and Profiler, first just creating some test profiles and getting familiar with the structure.

    Good luck!
  3. AldoZ

    AldoZ Member

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    Hello Frakk and thank you very much for the welcome.
    Hey dude, I think i am getting some trouble here! haha
    I am a just a poor DarkBasicPro programmer, i am not an high-level engineer or a geek (god, i would but the real thing is different :\ ) but i love to accept challenges and i love robotics too! (yea just a lover, not over).
    So i would to set some little points to understand if i am getting the basement of the matter:

    1) the force sender it's a program that takes the parameters of the game like g-force, speed, gears, crashes, track inclinations etc and after some math operations gives these parameters to another software, the force profile.

    2) the force profile software picks the force sender parameters and give these parameters to the connected motors, actuactors, pistons etc, in other words force profile it's the arm which moves the actuactors, the motors (all phisical platform component)

    3) Yoda.. i understand that this software connect the force feedback devices (wheels, pedals, joysticks) to the game.. right? Yoda is in the middle and the game and the devices are in the right and in the left.
    But why? the game is already connected with the force feedback devices!..

    4) force-profiler software is used for the setting of my actuactors, motors and all moving components. it's right?


    4)I can use the visual gauges if i want to read my LiveForSpeed g-force or speed or gears. Right?

    5)For now i would just to see in my desktop the values of my LiveForSpeed race. So, i have not actuactors, platform, wheel and peda. I have just my LFS simulator, some visual gauges and my mouse. I need to start force-profiler software?

    PS.really sorry for my weak english

    Thank you!
  4. AldoZ

    AldoZ Member

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    Ah ok, yoda is needed just if the game have not the plugin for force feedback effects.

    Ok i am playing with force sender..

    1) I just created and saved my own profile

    2) when i save my profile i skip the force profiler2 matter, so my setup it's saved without the force profile2 setup.

    3) I choose the official developer plugin, with the plugin assistant i set live4Speed plugin, i push the little ... button and i load my own profile.

    4) I set my PC IP.

    5) I set the LFS.exe location

    6) Leaving clean the game parameter bar.

    7) I launch LFS and a voice tell me the game si launched.

    8) I start a race session with the game in windowed mode but i see that outsim parameters remain all to 0.
    (haha I was sure i will watch all parameters changing!..)

    why?
    I notice that outsim game paused info is always turn on so probably outsim think about my game is in pause?
    It's impossible to turn off the game pause.

    Thank you in advance!
  5. Frakk

    Frakk Active Member

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    First you should experiment with the TestPlugin in the Sender. It gives you sliders that can be used to simulate in-game data and they will give you a good understanding of the upper-lower limits of an axis, setting up math calculations and effects, etc... You can manually experiment, without jumping in the deep water right the way.

    Most games need some editing in setup files that enable the Sender to grab the information.
  6. AldoZ

    AldoZ Member

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    Hello again.
    I made a lot of tries with the testPlugin and finally some good wins :)

    Now i can use Force-Sender with the test plugin, and i can make force-sender start to comunicate with force-profiler!

    In a single PC configuration and in a double PC configuration too!.
    I notice that the sliders of the test plugin (test tablet) are just from 21 to 40. Now when i move the sliders i can watch the values changing in the INPUT SETUP of force-profiler.

    At this point, i have tried to connect these values to some Gauge setup.
    So I have tried using tire temp gauge (my edited version) and i attach the effect 21 slider1 value into this gauge.. so yeah, now i can see my tire changing colour when i move the slides in the force-sender testTablet.

    (Also i noticed that in dual PC configuration, the Gauge work much fine than in the single PC configuration, in fact in the single PC configuration i see a bad flickerin in the tire colour when it's changing!.. but can be due to so many things like some problem in my main PC . however in the dual PC configuration works perfectly.

    I also tried to study a bit about the Axis.
    I understand, the Axis are the result of various math calculation of the sender data. And these results will go to the actuators, pistons and motors.

    The math calculations are the math plugin.
    So i can Add my prefer math plugins to my axis! a
    Little example :

    Axis 1 : Will be the axis that will move my left actuator (i apply for example the Outiput 1:1(GForce) math plugin + Threshold math plugin)

    Axis 2 : Same as above but for my right actuator

    Axis 3 : Same as above but for my central actuator.

    So.. the logic is right?

    Please, tell me what is for your idea my next step.

    And for now thank you again for the attention!
  7. Frakk

    Frakk Active Member

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    You are pretty much there.

    From the Sender you receive the 20 sliders, Effect 21-40 as you said. In the Math section you have to create the axis, add an effect(sliders with the testplugin, or game values when you have a game plugin in the Sender) and add math plugins to modify this axis/effect. In the graphs you can observe the effects of each math plugin vs the actual incoming data (green and blue lines).

    From the Math section you can then output these axis values to the actual hardware. SCN5's have their own plugin, but you can also use Synaptrix and USO.
  8. AldoZ

    AldoZ Member

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    Hello again Frakk, i used the RNR-3d simulation too with good results! Now with using just 2 slider i can move my virtual moving platform.
    So i am very happy to get all these results but i would to get more and more so..

    here some other little questions.. :)

    1) You speak about SCN5. Are these the actuators right? And SCN5 is just one of the families of the actuators in the market.

    2) Other actuators can be used with Synaptrix and USO plug-in in the force profiler2 software but SCN5 need the own plug-in, then these SCN5 plug-in are external to force profiler2.. it's right? About that i find this link :
    http://www.x-simulator.de/wiki/How-to_d ... -Sim%C2%B2

    these are the instructions for using SCN5 with X-SIM with an interesting video too. haha yes, i know, this is a bit too far for me for now :) but please tell me if i am writing right or wrong things.

    3) The ladder of the motion hardware is:
    the seat (chair) -> linked to -> the actuators -> linked to -> the Servo Motors -> linked to -> the synaptrix hardware -> linked to -> PC

    4) What is the Rodless (Slider-Type) Cylinders ? Maybe is where is mounted the actuator?

    5) Synaptrix And USO hardware are just some PCI cards for PC? Or just external boxes linkable to a PC? and linkable where? COM ports? USB? FIREWIRE?

    6) I really would to link LFS game to my force sender. I see that in docs folfer of LFS game i can find the InSim.txt doc. Maybe i have to use that for configuring my LFS game to my force sender?

    7) I have also seen the cfg.txt file of LFS game and i find these values :
    OutSim Mode 0
    OutSim Delay 5
    OutSim IP 127.0.0.1
    OutSim Port 31000
    OutSim ID 0

    But! i read in the InSim.txt that it's not necessary to change these values. In fact i have just to activate the InSim in LFS. It's right?

    Ok for now it's over, and dude, thank you VERY much for help, really.
  9. AldoZ

    AldoZ Member

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    Hello again. while i am awaiting the answers for my last post, i am continuing to read and try to learn.

    I am watching many videos, really a good help but obviously i need other.

    *About my question number 2 i need just to know which are the best actuators using Synaptrix and USO hardware (just the main actuator characteristics) for a simple 2dof platform.
    And what is the cables of an actuator? electrical cable 220v + cable for attach a synaptrix or USO hardware? or other cables too?

    * About my question number 4 I have learned that Rodless (Slider-Type) Cylinders are just another type of actuator, in fact with a slider :) . And in fact was a stupid answer.

    * About my question number 5 I have learned that the hardware i need for the control of my actuator are :
    1) RnR USB 1.3 X-Sim Rock’n’Ride interface
    2) LPT card (??)
    3) Mini SSC II R/C servo interface
    Just i need to know if these 3 devices make the same work?? (getting input from PC and send these input to actuators) and what is the best choice about a good mix between easy of use and performances?

    * My question 3 ..:
    the seat (chair) -> linked to -> the actuators -> linked to -> the Servo Motors -> linked to -> the synaptrix or USO hardware -> linked to -> PC
    I think so and so this is the correct order but.. the servo motors maybe are already mounted in the actuators? Are there some BASIC tutorials about just the component i need just to move my seat without complex things?

    * About LFS, please, i need just an input to understand if i need to use InSim (inside LFS) for use my game with X-SIM.

    Please tell me if it's better to post these question in other sections or i can just to continue here. And sure.. help!

    Thank you
  10. Frakk

    Frakk Active Member

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    Synaptrix and USO is just a section where you can set up the interface between the PC and the hardware.
    USO for example uses the Serial COMM ports, but you can also use a USB-Serial adapter if you don't have regular RS232 port in your PC.

    Plugins can be written to make things much simpler (like the SCN5 plugin), sometimes a plugin is the only way to interface with other hardware.

    An actuator is just the mechanical device that moves things.
  11. AldoZ

    AldoZ Member

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    Good good, i starts to understand the real situation! 8)

    Now Frakk, i just need something to start to use LFS on force sender! An'input, a way to follow!
    Please! :eek:
  12. Frakk

    Frakk Active Member

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  13. AldoZ

    AldoZ Member

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    Thank you very much dude! Now i can try to do some serious experiment!
  14. AldoZ

    AldoZ Member

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  15. yingxuy

    yingxuy New Member

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    It gives you a slider can be used to simulate the game data, they will give you a good understanding of a lower limit on the axis, mathematical calculations and results.
  16. agil24

    agil24 New Member

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    Hello everybody

    I am confused and I need your help, I was checking in the X-SIM 2.0 Software Documentation section and describe 3 kind of programs: x-sim profiler, x-sim sender, and yoda...when I download the X-SIM software it have 3 programs: x-sim converter, x-sim extractor and video plugin, the question is: are this programs equivalents between them?

    Yoda= x-sim extractor?
    x-sim profiler= x-sim converter?
    x-sim sender= video plugin?

    Where I can find the old version of X-SIM (yoda, x-sim profiler, x-sim sender)?...I think that old version will be easy for me to start on this amazing world.

    Thank you in advance
  17. bsft

    bsft

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    From what I understand , all x-sim 2 related software and documentation has been removed and cannot be re-posted for copyright reasons, (correct me if I am wrong)
    So for future help...
    Please refer to my signature....