MindSetter Release Notes

********************
V2.5 3rd December 1997
********************

There are more powerful features included in this release.
In particular, the walkthrough functionality opens up many new
applications for the VREK. Also, the addition of a navigation gadget
in the 2D displays allows for much easier viewpoint placement.
Global axes have also been added to the 2D displays.

(1) Added Global axes to 2D (orthographic) displays. These are displayed
in dark grey.

(2) Added navigation gadget to XZ orthographic display. This yellow box
allows the user to drag the 3D view position around using the 2D plan view.
The purple line shows the direction of view and there are two extra gadgets
located along this line. The gadget closest to the yellow box is a direction
gadget allowing the orientation of the view to be changed. The gadget furthest
away from the yellow box is the view-drag gadget which allows the position as
well as the direction of view to be altered.
    The yellow navigation gadget also helps when adding new objects to the scene
when in the XZ display mode. New objects are located with the yellow box at the
centre of the new object.

(3) Object placing methods. Objects can now be located relative to the current
view as well as the more normal 'global' method. There are three object placing
options which can be chosen from the OBJECT/PLACING menu. These are:
    
    DEFAULT - This is the default 'global' object placing method.
    ATTACH  - This causes the object to be 'attached' to the viewpoint.
        This is done with the object's position relative to the global origin
        and positioning the object as if the viewpoint was at this origin.
        The position of the object in the 3D view will remain constant even
        when moving the view position around a world.
    LOCAL   - This is similar to ATTACH but will cause the object to appear
        at the screen plane when in stereoscopic modes.

    Note that the scene file contains information regarding the placing of
    objects and that object placing will not take effect when using earlier
    versions of MindSetter/MindViewer.

(4) Walkthrough functions.
This release of MindSetter and MindViewer includes walkthrough functionality.
This functionality includes the ability to record and playback navigation
and HMD information from a session. Multiple sections of navigation may
be concatenated in one recording file. This functionality is available
from both the MindSetter and MindViewer tools.

In the main menu of each tool there is a SESSION menu which is now described:

PLAYBACK...
    This sub-menu contains commands relating to session playback.
FILE...
    This command allows the user to specify the current playback file.
PLAY
    This command causes the current playback file to start running.
STOP
    This command causes the current playback file to stop.
PAUSE
    This command pauses the current playback.
RESUME
    This command resumes the current playback from a prior PAUSE.
HMD Info...
    This sub-menu contains two commands USE and DISCARD. USE causes
    the HMD information in the playback file to vary the view.
    DISCARD causes the HMD information in the playback file to be
    ignored. This allows a user to use their own HMD in conjunction
    with the navigation information in the playback.


RECORDING...
    This sub-menu contains commands relating to session recording.
FILE...
    This command allows the user to specify the current recording file.
    Note that the user may specify the name of a file that does not yet exist.
RECORD
    This command clears the current recording file and starts a new recording.
APPEND
    This command starts a new recording by appending to the end of the current
    recording file.
STOP
    This command stops the current recording. The user may then continue
    recording by subsequent APPEND commands.

The following hot-keys are now active:

Shift-F1
    To toggle between PLAY and STOP of the current playback file.
Shift-F2
    To toggle between PAUSE and RESUME of the current playback file.
Shift-F3
    To perform a SESSION/RECORDING/RECORD command to record to the
    current recording file.
Shift-F4
    To perform a SESSION/RECORDING/APPEND command to append to the
    current recording file.
Shift-F5
    To STOP the current recording.


Note that the user must enter MOVE mode in order to record navigation
information in the recording file.

Walkthrough files are in a text format and have the .MSR file extension.
These files are kept in the CONFIG sub-directory.

Note that it is possible to play and record at the same time. For example,
by using a source playback file which contains navigation information we
can play back the session discarding the HMD info. If, when the source session
is played back, we are recording at the same time, then not only will the
navigation information be recorded to the new file, but so too will any
new HMD information - allowing a user to record different subject's responses
to the same navigation walkthrough.


MSR File Format (MSR=MindSetter Recording)
---------------

An MSR file is a text file. Each line in the file contains a time stamp,
a command and command parameters.

<TIME> <COMMAND> <COMMAND PARAMETERS>

The time indicates when the command will be obeyed. In the case of the
INTVIEW command, which causes a smooth change in view position, orientation
and HMD information, the time indicates at which time the smooth transition
will be completed.

The time stamp can be written in one of two formats:
(a) Formatted time:
    HH:MM:SS.hh
    eg. 12:34:56.78 is 12 hours, 34 minutes, 56 seconds and 78 hundredths.

(b) Hundredths:
    eg. 123456 is 123456 hundredths of a second.
    Note no decimal places allowed in this format.

There are currently 4 command types:
    SECTION     - indicates start of a 'scene'.
    ENDSECTION  - indicates end of a 'scene'.
    SETVIEW     - Allows setting of view position, orientation and HMD info.
    INTVIEW     - Allows smooth changing of view position, orientation and HMD info.

The command parameters depend on the type of the command:

SECTION - No parameters
ENDSECTION - No parameters
SETVIEW and INTVIEW use the following parameters:

<CHANGE> [<Tx Ty Tz> <Ox Oy Oz> <Hx Hy Hz>]

The <CHANGE> parameter is a number which indicates which parameters follow
on the same line. The <CHANGE> parameter is the sum of the following
numbers:
    1 - indicates that the T (view position) parameter follows.
    2 - indicates that the O (view orientation) parameter follows.
    4 - indicates that the H (HMD orientation) parameter follows.

    For example, a <CHANGE> value of 7 indicates that all three parameter
    types follow. A value of 5 indicates that only the T and H parameters
    follow, and 3 indicates that only the T and O parameters follow.

    Examples of valid parameter lists for the SETVIEW and INTVIEW commands are:
    7   0 0 0   0 0 0   0 0 0
    7   100 0 0     0 45 45     12.1 34.2 5.68
    1   100.12 50 50.456
    2   45.1 315 0
    5   10 20 30    12.3 14.4 123

    Note that in the last example, above, the last three numbers are the HMD info.


An MSR file is made up of 1 or more sections. Each section can be thought
of as a scene in a movie. Each section must start with a SECTION command
and terminate with an ENDSECTION command.
    In general, it is good practice to follow the SECTION command with
a SETVIEW command with a change parameter of 7 (ie. specify all of the
initial position, orientation and HMD information).

Examples of simple MSR files:

Example 1 - This moves the user in a square-shaped walkthrough alternating
    between moving and turning. Each moving or turning movement is
    smoothly interpolated and takes 15 seconds.

00:00:00.00 SECTION
00:00:00.00 SETVIEW 7   0 0 0   0 0 0   0 0 0
00:00:15.00 INTVIEW 1   0 0 100
00:00:30.00 INTVIEW 2   0 90 0
00:00:45.00 INTVIEW 1   -100 0 100
00:01:00.00 INTVIEW 2   0 180 0
00:01:15.00 INTVIEW 1   -100 0 -100
00:01:30.00 INTVIEW 2   0 270 0
00:01:45.00 INTVIEW 1   100 0 -100
00:02:00.00 INTVIEW 2   0 0 0
00:02:15.00 INTVIEW 1   0 0 0
00:02:15.00 ENDSECTION


Example 2 - This also moves the user in a square-shaped walkthrough but
    this time the movement and turning motions are performed at the same
    time (until the last side of the square which is movement only).

00:00:00.00 SECTION
00:00:00.00 SETVIEW 7   0 0 0   0 0 0   0 0 0
00:00:15.00 INTVIEW 3   0 0 100         0 90 0
00:00:30.00 INTVIEW 3   -100 0 100      0 180 0
00:00:45.00 INTVIEW 3  -100 0 -100     0 270 0
00:01:00.00 INTVIEW 3   100 0 -100      0 0 0
00:01:15.00 INTVIEW 1   0 0 0         
00:01:15.00 ENDSECTION



********************
V2.4 27th August 1997
********************
(1) The purpose of this release is primarily to provide full
    SpaceOrb 360 support. This low-cost device, from SpaceTec Inc. allows
    6 degrees of freedom when navigating. More details on the device
    are available from http://www.spacetec.com

    To run MindSetter with SpaceOrb support, type:
    MSORB [scenename]
    To run MindViewer with SpaceOrb support, type:
    MVORB [scenename]

    The buttons on the SpaceOrb have been configured as:
    A: Standard left mouse button.
    B: Standard right mouse button.
    C: Hold down to increase speed by a factor of 5.
    D: Press once to enter 'full' control navigation mode allowing
       complete control over orientation and movement.
    E: Hold down to decrease speed by a factor of 5.
    F: Press once to enter 'normal' control navigation mode allowing
       only 'yaw' orientation changes (rather like using the mouse to navigate).
       Press again to zero your 'roll'.
    Reset Button (located on back of SpaceOrb):
       This button will level your view (set to zero for pitch, yaw and roll).

    You may also use the SpaceOrb when moving, rotating and scaling
    objects in a scene.

(2) A few more bug fixes included in this version.

********************
V2.3 11th August 1997
********************
(1) Generally more stable with some user-reported faults repaired.
    Many thanks to those of you who have reported faults (again).

(2) We have changed the look and feel of the interface to provide a more
    pleasant appearance and to respond better to the user.

(3) Interactive elements now include new actions and new events as follows:

    Triggers
    --------
    The user may now select whether the events will be detected
    on the leading or trailing edges as well as whether the event
    is always true or always false. Triggers can be specified to
    perform action lists in sequence or in parallel.

    Events
    ------
    Mouse Over Object : This event detects if the mouse cursor is
    placed over a part of a specified object.

    Object Collision : This event detects if an object collides with
    another object.

    Range Test : This event detects if an object (or the user) is within
    a certain distance of another object.

    Actions
    -------
    Object Toggle : This action allows control over turning objects
    on and off in the world.

    Trigger Toggle : This action allows control over turning triggers
    on and off in the world.

    Caption : This action allows the designer to present a text caption
    to the user.

    Scene Jump: This action allows a jump to another world!

    Interpolation: This has been enhanced to provide:
        Selective interpolation (position, orientation and/or scale).
        Position movement can follow heading.
        Collision detection can cause sliding, stopping or bouncing.
        Ability to set an object's current status in the interpolation fields.


(4) User navigation collision has been integrated correctly using the
    Menu/View/Collide command. There are three sub-commands as follows:
    On : Turn navigation collision on.
    Off: Turn navigation collision off.
    Radius: Specify the size of the user. This allows the user to navigate
    at various sizes since you may wish to pretend to be a small mouse to 
    squeeze through small holes, or you may wish to be a giant and not be
    able to even pass through a normal door!
    User navigation collision will cause the user to slide along surfaces
    when trying to move through them.
    

(5) Scene options are stored with the scene file. This means that you can
    decide how to present your world to other users.
    These options include:
    Starting position and orientation for the user.
    Lighting conditions.
    Background colour.
    Gravitational conditions (direction and force).
    Fogging conditions.
    Stereoscopy parameters.
    Collision detection parameters.
    Navigation sense (whether to follow direction or HMD direction).
    
(6) VRML (v1) objects can now be imported directly into MindSetter and
    can be included and mixed with MindRender objects in the same world.
    This means you can now use MindSetter as an immersive VRML browser!

(7) We have included a screen refresh hotkey (F2) which will redraw the
    entire screen and reset the video mode. This enabled Windows95 users
    to recover after switching between applications. It is now possible
    for Windows95 users to run MindFormer in one DOS box and MindSetter
    in another (using Alt-TAB to switch between the tools).

(8) We have included, for VFX1 users, the ability to set the zero point
    for the headset.

(9) MindSetter and MindViewer can now be invoked from the command line
    with the scene name.

*****************
V2.2 23rd June 1997
*****************
(1) Generally more stable with some user-reported faults repaired.
    Many thanks to those of you who have reported faults.

(2) We have changed the look and feel of the interface to provide a more
    pleasant appearance and to respond better to the user.

(3) Interactive elements now include new actions and new events as follows:

    Triggers
    --------
    The user may now select whether the events will be detected
    on the leading or trailing edges as well as whether the event
    is always true or always false.

    Events
    ------
    Mouse Over Object : This event detects if the mouse cursor is
    placed over a part of a specified object.

    Object Collision : This event detects if an object collides with
    another object.

    Range Test : This event detects if an object (or the user) is within
    a certain distance of another object.

    Actions
    -------
    Object Toggle : This action allows control over turning objects
    on and off in the world.

    Trigger Toggle : This action allows control over turning triggers
    on and off in the world.

    Caption : This action allows the designer to present a text caption
    to the user.

(4) User navigation collision has been integrated correctly using the
    Menu/View/Collide command. There are three sub-commands as follows:
    On : Turn navigation collision on.
    Off: Turn navigation collision off.
    Radius: Specify the size of the user. This allows the user to navigate
    at various sizes since you may wish to pretend to be a small mouse to 
    squeeze through small holes, or you may wish to be a giant and not be
    able to even pass through a normal door!


*****************
V2.1 1st May 1997
*****************
Released as part of the MindRender VR Explorer Kit (VREK).