Struggling to get my 3 projectors setup....

Hi there to all,

As a continue of ElephantAir build by Nick, and since I am in that stage, I would really appreciate anyone's help in that matter.

I downloaded Fly Elise, the Pro version and to be honest I feel stupid because projectors and generally visuals is not my field at all. First time I get to deal with this and as you have seen in my cockpit I didnt give any attention to the external visuals upto now. No screen yet, just a rectangular wall for the mean time...

I am struggling 2 days to align my projectors, warp their contents, and change my FLT file as per windowmaker tool... The truth is that it is a difficult and time consuming stage, and time is my enemy since I dont have much.

http://i638.photobucket.com/albums/u...psb17ad24e.jpg


To my understanding the first and more importan step is to align the projectors right. My issue here is that my roof is not straight and I am struggling with uneven roof height (see picture below)... It is a process of making minor changes, errors, and trying again. Huuuuhhhh :evil:

http://i638.photobucket.com/albums/u...pse277c54d.jpg

...

Again to my understanding the next step would be to create a new FLT file as per windowmaker tool from wledzian (thanks wledzian ;) ). The trutch is I wasnt expecting such a dramatic FPS drop. I had ~50FPS in the Fly Tampa Athens scenery and now with the 3 views I am getting ~7FPS! That is a disaster!

After reading alot, and as per wledzian post below, I changed my view to 2D and I am having now ~10FPS which is better but not acceptable. The case of getting 2 new PCs with wide view is out of the question and I would use anyone's help in this matter in order to get close to ~20FPS when on ground.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by wledzian

In further reply to Ghetto regarding frame rate hit:
There are Three reasons that you see a hit in frame rate:
1: There is a wider field of view. This means more geometry, therefore more processor load.
2: There are more windows. This means an extra frustum culling (get rid of the geometry you don't need) for each window, thus more processor load. This should be a very minor impact.
3: (this is the big one) Unless your 2D panel is active, FSX must have at least one full-screen window. If you initially saved your flight without the 2d panel, there will be one fullscreen window hidden behind the rest. The solution to that is to save your flight with the 2d panel enabled, modify the .flt file with the WindowMaker information, load the modified flight, then shrink the panel and stick it somewhere unobtrusive. Don't close the 2d panel.

---

http://i638.photobucket.com/albums/u...ps764d2461.jpg

...

Finally the last step, would be to warp and blend the edges of the 3 projectors outputs. I have downloaded both Fly Elise Pro version and Nthusim plus for testing purposes. I have to admit that the fact that Nthusim gives only 10 minutes of demo time has made me unintsall it in seconds. Nthusim what can you do in 10 minutes ? It felt like being 10 y.o. again, for god shake this is a 450 euro software, we have paid thousands in this hobby. So Fly Elise Pro edition is the way to go. It seems like an easy to deal software and I will purchase it as soon as I do enough testings. It gives 30 days trial, this is a good trust worthy attitude from a software builder!

I haven't had the time to do enough warping and blending, just played around, since I still am in the two previous stages in the mean time, but I will definately follow Nick's advices from the ElephantAir thread (thanks Nick ;) )

http://i638.photobucket.com/albums/u...ps4ced04fb.jpg

http://i638.photobucket.com/albums/u...pscc7a2257.jpg

http://i638.photobucket.com/albums/u...ps96cea80f.jpg

http://i638.photobucket.com/albums/u...ps399b3703.jpg

http://i638.photobucket.com/albums/u...psb83f8cb4.jpg


Any help in any stage would be highly appreciated guys, as said I am in a learning stage (again), but this time this is out of my field of knowledge so it feels unsafe dealing with gammas and deltas...

Thanks,

Ok Nick. Hopefully a few pointers to get you going. It's been a while since I last played around with my visuals, and my memory's not what it used to be!

Windowmaker will create 4 camera views for you. Camera.1.1 is the hidden 4th view. The important values here are zoom and rotation. Set zoom at a high number, try 255. Rotation something like -90,0,0. That's either looking straight up, or down. It doesn't matter too much which.

The camera's 2.1, 3.1 and 4.1 should have a zoom figure around 0.63 each (it should be the same for each camera), and rotation something like 0,-75,0 0,0,0 0,75,0 respectively. That's for 225 degree FOV (225/3=75).

Regards Nthusim trial... the 10 minute period is once you've set up the anti-warping effect and is the time you have to fly around to see the results. I'm sure you can take as long as you like to play with the warping effect, so don't dismiss it too quickly.

Regards 1 PC -v- 3 PC. I think I know enough about you and your standards to know you will ultimately not be happy with the framerates from 1 PC. You've mentioned FlyTampa scenery, and that's the problem. Displaying 3 (4) seperate windows on 1 PC is a framerate killer. There is currently no way to avoid this. All the tweaking in the world will not get decent framerates with your current setup. It all depends on what you call decent!

Once again, I'm saying most of this from memory, so forgive me if it's not 100% accurate, but it'll get you started. I'll help wherever I can, you only need to ask.

Sean

PS - it looks like you dont have a curved screen yet, so you have no need to warp. Blending, perhaps, but try by edge-butting until you get the hang of it. It's also quite awkward to adjust your visuals with the shell in the way, can you move yours back on wheels?

Hi Sean,

Thanks for the info, so if I change in the FLT file, camera 1.1 as advised I will gain few FPS ? Is that correct ?

Yesterday it was a trial day for me. I tested Fly Elise Pro and Nthusim. Since it is only yesterday I can confirm that the 10 minutes exist even while configuring, that is warping or blending. This is not the correct way to go, so as said I tried Fly Elise, which is actually a great product.

I am afraid you are right about the PCs, BUT I dont want to admit it to my self yet.... I am to a point that I am building and not flying, and this is dangerous in our hobby... I have to settle down a bit and ...... just fly.

I have managed to do a kind of warping even without the screen, just to spend some time and test flight till I decide about the screen, so I am somehow happy with it for the time being.

Thanks for the info provided...

Depending on what camera 1.1 is drawing before you change it, you may see a gain in FPS, but it won't be big. I have a feeling that windowmaker puts the optimum settings in there to start with. Just check, change if necessary and see.

A good tip when experimenting is to put a shortcut to the flt file on the desktop so it's easy to get at, change settings, save it, then open it to see the changes. If you dont like it, shut down fsx, Alt_F_X (i think). You'll get a previous_flight.flt automatically saved which you can ignore, just re-open your experimental one and tweak the figures and try again.

I did my setting up at an airport without add on scenery, it makes the process so much faster and smoother.

My Nthusim trial 10 minutes started when I hit ESC to minimize the window, I'm certain. Then I had 10 minutes to fly around in FSX before the warping ended. Perhaps it's changed, then that does sound daft!

Sean

Hi Sean,

I am certain that my 10 minutes ended during warping!

Anyway I am with Fly Elise now....

Most of the work has been done. I now know how to warp and blend, so I am just in the stage where I have to think and decide about my screen, curved or flat, plasterboard or fabric, light or permanent, etc....

Go figure... this hobby never ends!!!

If you go for fabric, consider this place. They custom make projection screens to your dimensions. I got mine from there and recommend them.

Carl's Place - Projector Screen Material & More!

Here's how I did mine...

http://www.mycockpit.org/forums/cock...tml#post135975

Still strugling...

Now After my latest windows 7 update my immersive Pro gives me an error and I have to reinstall it, and you know what, it does not find the file unins000.dat to uninstall. Merfy's law....

AlsoI cannot get the 3 windows trick to work at all. My FLT file consists of 4 windows and each window has 19 cameras. This is very fustrating...

I give up

This is my FLT file if anyone is interested in trying to find what is wrong...


[Panels]
Panel.On=True
HUD.On=False


[Window.1]
Order=3
Active=False
Undocked=False
Maximized=True
ScreenUniCoords=4, 4, 1, 1
UndocCoords=0, 0, 3856, 1036
CurrentCamera={B1386D92-4782-4682-A137-738E25D1BAB5}


[Camera.1.1]
Guid={B1386D92-4782-4682-A137-738E25D1BAB5}
Zoom=255
Translation=0, 0, 0
Rotation=-90, 0, 0


[Camera.1.2]
Guid={C95EAB58-9E4A-4E2A-A34C-D8D9D948F078}
Zoom=0.40000000596046448
Translation=0, 0, 0
Rotation=-1, 0, 0


[Camera.1.3]
Guid={8FF6C134-098D-409F-BAEC-CABA3F683F98}
Zoom=0.60000002384185791
Translation=0, 0, 0
Rotation=0, 0, 0


[Camera.1.4]
Guid={195EAB58-9E4A-2E2A-A34C-A8D9D948F078}
Zoom=0.89999997615814209
Translation=0, 0, 0
Rotation=0, 0, 0


[Camera.1.5]
Guid={A5741A54-EA6D-4580-9709-C99161E38A83}
Zoom=0.89999997615814209
Translation=0, 0, 0
Rotation=0, 0, 0


[Camera.1.6]
Guid={4CA337DB-AE88-4C5F-96EA-DDEBBD2A86FE}
Zoom=0.69999998807907104
Translation=0, 0, 0
Rotation=0, 0, 0


[Camera.1.7]
Guid={BCA3FDD1-FB83-4BBA-8407-4922A7F0D00C}
Zoom=1
Translation=0, 0, 0
ChaseDirection=90
ChaseDistance=96
ChaseAltitude=0.91439998149871826


[Camera.1.8]
Guid={BCA3FDD1-FB83-4BBA-8407-4922A7F0D00D}
Zoom=1
Translation=0, 0, 0
ChaseDirection=-135
ChaseDistance=37.5
ChaseAltitude=0.80000001192092896


[Camera.1.9]
Guid={6B79DD49-9B4A-439D-BF40-ACBF157B0BA0}
Zoom=10
Translation=0, 0, 0
Rotation=0, 0, 0


[Camera.1.10]
Guid={A2849229-938A-448F-8AC6-01EF2291C171}
Zoom=80.300003051757813
Translation=0, 0, 0
Rotation=0, 0, 0


[Camera.1.11]
Guid={60BC0819-BD04-4AF6-8954-8FC8AA3545FF}
Zoom=8
Translation=0, 0, 0
Rotation=7.7852025032043457, 48.972084045410156, 0


[Camera.1.12]
Guid={AA8C80C0-9EE2-4284-A1C2-B20CD3F5F3D9}
Zoom=8
Translation=0, 0, 0
Rotation=0, 0, 0


[Camera.1.13]
Guid={607C4520-CA6F-4135-AE10-8BF28838068F}
Zoom=1
Translation=0, 0, 0
Rotation=0, 0, 0


[Camera.1.14]
Guid={54F54B8A-3EC2-2D4E-8D10-B8F9D0F16ACC}
Zoom=0.80000001192092896
Translation=0, 0, 0
Rotation=0, 0, 0


[Camera.1.15]
Guid={0AE3F864-DA10-4E5A-977C-B9BBA47D6F7A}
Zoom=0.80000001192092896
Translation=0, 0, 0
Rotation=0, 0, 0


[Camera.1.16]
Guid={96873AAD-621B-4C45-8A58-DEF7B7FCB051}
Zoom=0.51999998092651367
Translation=0, 0, 0
Rotation=0, 0, 0


[Camera.1.17]
Guid={5C1DF273-034B-4E7F-953A-9D5E26F1646C}
Zoom=0.75
Translation=0, 0, 0
Rotation=0, 0, 0


[Camera.1.18]
Guid={C690EAFD-223A-42D0-99E0-681ADF93BB59}
Zoom=0.5
Translation=0, 0, 0
Rotation=0, 0, 0


[Camera.1.19]
Guid={F25DFA2E-FD2E-4B89-81E2-0575CBCB60DE}
Zoom=0.5
Translation=0, 0, 0
Rotation=0, 0, 0


[Window.2]
Order=1
Active=False
Undocked=False
Maximized=False
ScreenUniCoords=1, 0, 2731, 6144
UndocCoords=0, 0, 0, 0
CurrentCamera={B1386D92-4782-4682-A137-738E25D1BAB5}


[Camera.2.1]
Guid={B1386D92-4782-4682-A137-738E25D1BAB5}
Zoom=0.30194196105003357
Translation=-0.74001389741897583, 1.4254316091537476, 0
Rotation=0, -90, 0


[Camera.2.2]
Guid={C95EAB58-9E4A-4E2A-A34C-D8D9D948F078}
Zoom=0.69999998807907104
Translation=0, 0, 0
Rotation=0, 0, 0


[Camera.2.3]
Guid={8FF6C134-098D-409F-BAEC-CABA3F683F98}
Zoom=0.60000002384185791
Translation=0, 0, 0
Rotation=0, 0, 0


[Camera.2.4]
Guid={195EAB58-9E4A-2E2A-A34C-A8D9D948F078}
Zoom=0.89999997615814209
Translation=0, 0, 0
Rotation=0, 0, 0


[Camera.2.5]
Guid={A5741A54-EA6D-4580-9709-C99161E38A83}
Zoom=0.89999997615814209
Translation=0, 0, 0
Rotation=0, 0, 0


[Camera.2.6]
Guid={4CA337DB-AE88-4C5F-96EA-DDEBBD2A86FE}
Zoom=0.69999998807907104
Translation=0, 0, 0
Rotation=0, 0, 0


[Camera.2.7]
Guid={BCA3FDD1-FB83-4BBA-8407-4922A7F0D00C}
Zoom=1
Translation=0, 0, 0
ChaseDirection=-135
ChaseDistance=37.5
ChaseAltitude=0.80000001192092896


[Camera.2.8]
Guid={BCA3FDD1-FB83-4BBA-8407-4922A7F0D00D}
Zoom=1
Translation=0, 0, 0
ChaseDirection=-135
ChaseDistance=37.5
ChaseAltitude=0.80000001192092896


[Camera.2.9]
Guid={6B79DD49-9B4A-439D-BF40-ACBF157B0BA0}
Zoom=10
Translation=0, 0, 0
Rotation=0, 0, 0


[Camera.2.10]
Guid={A2849229-938A-448F-8AC6-01EF2291C171}
Zoom=256
Translation=0, 0, 0
Rotation=0, 0, 0


[Camera.2.11]
Guid={60BC0819-BD04-4AF6-8954-8FC8AA3545FF}
Zoom=8
Translation=0, 0, 0
Rotation=0, 0, 0


[Camera.2.12]
Guid={AA8C80C0-9EE2-4284-A1C2-B20CD3F5F3D9}
Zoom=8
Translation=0, 0, 0
Rotation=0, 0, 0


[Camera.2.13]
Guid={607C4520-CA6F-4135-AE10-8BF28838068F}
Zoom=1
Translation=0, 0, 0
Rotation=0, 0, 0


[Camera.2.14]
Guid={54F54B8A-3EC2-2D4E-8D10-B8F9D0F16ACC}
Zoom=0.80000001192092896
Translation=0, 0, 0
Rotation=0, 0, 0


[Camera.2.15]
Guid={0AE3F864-DA10-4E5A-977C-B9BBA47D6F7A}
Zoom=0.80000001192092896
Translation=0, 0, 0
Rotation=0, 0, 0


[Camera.2.16]
Guid={96873AAD-621B-4C45-8A58-DEF7B7FCB051}
Zoom=0.51999998092651367
Translation=0, 0, 0
Rotation=0, 0, 0


[Camera.2.17]
Guid={5C1DF273-034B-4E7F-953A-9D5E26F1646C}
Zoom=0.75
Translation=0, 0, 0
Rotation=0, 0, 0


[Camera.2.18]
Guid={C690EAFD-223A-42D0-99E0-681ADF93BB59}
Zoom=0.5
Translation=0, 0, 0
Rotation=0, 0, 0


[Camera.2.19]
Guid={F25DFA2E-FD2E-4B89-81E2-0575CBCB60DE}
Zoom=0.5
Translation=0, 0, 0
Rotation=0, 0, 0


[Window.3]
Order=0
Active=True
Undocked=False
Maximized=False
ScreenUniCoords=2731, 0, 2731, 6144
UndocCoords=0, 0, 0, 0
CurrentCamera={B1386D92-4782-4682-A137-738E25D1BAB5}


[Camera.3.1]
Guid={B1386D92-4782-4682-A137-738E25D1BAB5}
Zoom=0.30194196105003357
Translation=-0.73510116338729858, 1.2029049396514893, 0
Rotation=0, 0, 0


[Camera.3.2]
Guid={C95EAB58-9E4A-4E2A-A34C-D8D9D948F078}
Zoom=0.69999998807907104
Translation=0, 0, 0
Rotation=0, 0, 0


[Camera.3.3]
Guid={8FF6C134-098D-409F-BAEC-CABA3F683F98}
Zoom=0.60000002384185791
Translation=0, 0, 0
Rotation=0, 0, 0


[Camera.3.4]
Guid={195EAB58-9E4A-2E2A-A34C-A8D9D948F078}
Zoom=0.89999997615814209
Translation=0, 0, 0
Rotation=0, 0, 0


[Camera.3.5]
Guid={A5741A54-EA6D-4580-9709-C99161E38A83}
Zoom=0.89999997615814209
Translation=0, 0, 0
Rotation=0, 0, 0


[Camera.3.6]
Guid={4CA337DB-AE88-4C5F-96EA-DDEBBD2A86FE}
Zoom=0.69999998807907104
Translation=0, 0, 0
Rotation=0, 0, 0


[Camera.3.7]
Guid={BCA3FDD1-FB83-4BBA-8407-4922A7F0D00C}
Zoom=1
Translation=0, 0, 0
ChaseDirection=-135
ChaseDistance=96
ChaseAltitude=0.80000001192092896


[Camera.3.8]
Guid={BCA3FDD1-FB83-4BBA-8407-4922A7F0D00D}
Zoom=1
Translation=0, 0, 0
ChaseDirection=-135
ChaseDistance=37.5
ChaseAltitude=0.80000001192092896


[Camera.3.9]
Guid={6B79DD49-9B4A-439D-BF40-ACBF157B0BA0}
Zoom=10
Translation=0, 0, 0
Rotation=0, 0, 0


[Camera.3.10]
Guid={A2849229-938A-448F-8AC6-01EF2291C171}
Zoom=256
Translation=0, 0, 0
Rotation=0, 0, 0


[Camera.3.11]
Guid={60BC0819-BD04-4AF6-8954-8FC8AA3545FF}
Zoom=8
Translation=0, 0, 0
Rotation=7.7344403266906738, 48.92108154296875, 0


[Camera.3.12]
Guid={AA8C80C0-9EE2-4284-A1C2-B20CD3F5F3D9}
Zoom=8
Translation=0, 0, 0
Rotation=0, 0, 0


[Camera.3.13]
Guid={607C4520-CA6F-4135-AE10-8BF28838068F}
Zoom=1
Translation=0, 0, 0
Rotation=0, 0, 0


[Camera.3.14]
Guid={54F54B8A-3EC2-2D4E-8D10-B8F9D0F16ACC}
Zoom=0.80000001192092896
Translation=0, 0, 0
Rotation=0, 0, 0


[Camera.3.15]
Guid={0AE3F864-DA10-4E5A-977C-B9BBA47D6F7A}
Zoom=0.80000001192092896
Translation=0, 0, 0
Rotation=0, 0, 0


[Camera.3.16]
Guid={96873AAD-621B-4C45-8A58-DEF7B7FCB051}
Zoom=0.51999998092651367
Translation=0, 0, 0
Rotation=0, 0, 0


[Camera.3.17]
Guid={5C1DF273-034B-4E7F-953A-9D5E26F1646C}
Zoom=0.75
Translation=0, 0, 0
Rotation=0, 0, 0


[Camera.3.18]
Guid={C690EAFD-223A-42D0-99E0-681ADF93BB59}
Zoom=0.5
Translation=0, 0, 0
Rotation=0, 0, 0


[Camera.3.19]
Guid={F25DFA2E-FD2E-4B89-81E2-0575CBCB60DE}
Zoom=0.5
Translation=0, 0, 0
Rotation=0, 0, 0


[Window.4]
Order=2
Active=False
Undocked=False
Maximized=False
ScreenUniCoords=5461, 0, 2731, 6144
UndocCoords=0, 0, 0, 0
CurrentCamera={B1386D92-4782-4682-A137-738E25D1BAB5}


[Camera.4.1]
Guid={B1386D92-4782-4682-A137-738E25D1BAB5}
Zoom=0.30194196105003357
Translation=-0.83343833684921265, 1.2447055578231812, 0
Rotation=0, 90, 0


[Camera.4.2]
Guid={C95EAB58-9E4A-4E2A-A34C-D8D9D948F078}
Zoom=0.69999998807907104
Translation=0, 0, 0
Rotation=0, 0, 0


[Camera.4.3]
Guid={8FF6C134-098D-409F-BAEC-CABA3F683F98}
Zoom=0.60000002384185791
Translation=0, 0, 0
Rotation=0, 0, 0


[Camera.4.4]
Guid={195EAB58-9E4A-2E2A-A34C-A8D9D948F078}
Zoom=0.89999997615814209
Translation=0, 0, 0
Rotation=0, 0, 0


[Camera.4.5]
Guid={A5741A54-EA6D-4580-9709-C99161E38A83}
Zoom=0.89999997615814209
Translation=0, 0, 0
Rotation=0, 0, 0


[Camera.4.6]
Guid={4CA337DB-AE88-4C5F-96EA-DDEBBD2A86FE}
Zoom=0.69999998807907104
Translation=0, 0, 0
Rotation=0, 0, 0


[Camera.4.7]
Guid={BCA3FDD1-FB83-4BBA-8407-4922A7F0D00C}
Zoom=1
Translation=0, 0, 0
ChaseDirection=-135
ChaseDistance=37.5
ChaseAltitude=0.80000001192092896


[Camera.4.8]
Guid={BCA3FDD1-FB83-4BBA-8407-4922A7F0D00D}
Zoom=1
Translation=0, 0, 0
ChaseDirection=-135
ChaseDistance=37.5
ChaseAltitude=0.80000001192092896


[Camera.4.9]
Guid={6B79DD49-9B4A-439D-BF40-ACBF157B0BA0}
Zoom=10
Translation=0, 0, 0
Rotation=0, 0, 0


[Camera.4.10]
Guid={A2849229-938A-448F-8AC6-01EF2291C171}
Zoom=256
Translation=0, 0, 0
Rotation=0, 0, 0


[Camera.4.11]
Guid={60BC0819-BD04-4AF6-8954-8FC8AA3545FF}
Zoom=8
Translation=0, 0, 0
Rotation=0, 0, 0


[Camera.4.12]
Guid={AA8C80C0-9EE2-4284-A1C2-B20CD3F5F3D9}
Zoom=8
Translation=0, 0, 0
Rotation=0, 0, 0


[Camera.4.13]
Guid={607C4520-CA6F-4135-AE10-8BF28838068F}
Zoom=1
Translation=0, 0, 0
Rotation=0, 0, 0


[Camera.4.14]
Guid={54F54B8A-3EC2-2D4E-8D10-B8F9D0F16ACC}
Zoom=0.80000001192092896
Translation=0, 0, 0
Rotation=0, 0, 0


[Camera.4.15]
Guid={0AE3F864-DA10-4E5A-977C-B9BBA47D6F7A}
Zoom=0.80000001192092896
Translation=0, 0, 0
Rotation=0, 0, 0


[Camera.4.16]
Guid={96873AAD-621B-4C45-8A58-DEF7B7FCB051}
Zoom=0.51999998092651367
Translation=0, 0, 0
Rotation=0, 0, 0


[Camera.4.17]
Guid={5C1DF273-034B-4E7F-953A-9D5E26F1646C}
Zoom=0.75
Translation=0, 0, 0
Rotation=0, 0, 0


[Camera.4.18]
Guid={C690EAFD-223A-42D0-99E0-681ADF93BB59}
Zoom=0.5
Translation=0, 0, 0
Rotation=0, 0, 0


[Camera.4.19]
Guid={F25DFA2E-FD2E-4B89-81E2-0575CBCB60DE}
Zoom=0.5
Translation=0, 0, 0
Rotation=0, 0, 0


[EFIS]
Active=False
NavAid=VOR 1
Type=Rectangles
Density=Thin
Range=Short
Altitude=0
Flags=0