SimToolsUserManual-v1 2
SimToolsUserManual-v1 2
2
Directions of Movement in SimTools ................................................................. 65
Tools ......................................................................................................................... 69
Game Engine Tools.............................................................................................. 70
Tuning Center ....................................................................................................... 73
Quick Links ........................................................................................................... 79
Disclaimer ............................................................................................................. 80
Game Manager ............................................................................................................ 81
Game Manager GUI Overview ................................................................................. 82
Game Manger GUI Status ........................................................................................ 85
Tools and Remote Profiling .................................................................................... 87
Enable Game Vibe ................................................................................................... 90
Enable Game Dash .................................................................................................. 92
Patching a Game for Motion ................................................................................... 94
Profile Editor (Create, Edit, Delete) ........................................................................ 98
Main ....................................................................................................................... 99
Editor................................................................................................................... 101
More .................................................................................................................... 102
Installing Plugins....................................................................................................... 104
Appendix A: Output Type ......................................................................................... 106
Appendix B: User Formatted Output ....................................................................... 107
Appendix C: Bit Resolution Chart............................................................................ 108
3
Installing Simtools
A dual computer installation of SimTools allows you to move some of the work required
to run your simulator to a second computer to help prevent latency and free up some
CPU. In this type of installation you will setup a Gaming Computer that will run your
video games and Game Manager to manage game patching, profiling and data
collection. The second computer will be used to control hardware that is connected to
your simulator. This computer will run Game Engine and any other companion apps like
Game Vibe, Game Dash, etc…
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Single Computer Installation (Recommended Setup)
If this is your first time installing SimTools, please make sure you read through
Installing SimTools first. Follow the steps below to install SimTools for a single
computer setup.
1) Launch the SimTools installer by double clicking the file you downloaded. Read
through the license agreement, accept the agreement and click “Next”.
2) Use the default installation folder, or select where to install SimTools by clicking
“Browse” and then click “Next”.
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3) Select “Full Installation” from the drop down menu and click “Next”.
4) Use the default Start Menu folder, or select a Start Menu folder to install the
SimTools shortcuts in by clicking “Browse” and then click “Next”.
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5) Choose to add a desktop shortcut and click “Next”.
6) Click “Install” when you are ready to proceed with the installation of SimTools.
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7) Press finish when the installation is complete.
Note: A single computer installation will set the Game Engine IP address and Game
Manager IP address to the default IP address of “127.0.0.1”.
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Dual Computer Installation (Advanced Setup)
If this is your first time installing SimTools, please make sure you read through
Installing SimTools first. For a dual computer setup we will install SimTools on the
Gaming Computer and then again on the Second Computer. Follow the steps below to
install SimTools for a dual computer setup.
1) Launch the SimTools installer on your Gaming Computer by double clicking the
executable you downloaded. Read through the license agreement, accept the
agreement and click “Next”.
2) Use the default installation folder, or select where to install SimTools by clicking
“Browse” and then click “Next”.
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3) Select “GameManager Installation” from the drop down menu and click “Next”.
4) Use the default Start Menu folder, or select a Start Menu folder to install the
SimTools shortcuts in by clicking “Browse” and then click “Next”.
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5) Choose to add a desktop shortcut and click “Next”.
6) Click “Install” when you are ready to proceed with the installation of SimTools.
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7) Click “Finish” when the installation is complete.
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2) Use the default installation folder, or select where to install SimTools by clicking
“Browse” and then click “Next”.
3) Select “GameEngine Installation” from the drop down menu and click “Next”.
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4) Use the default Start Menu folder, or select a Start Menu folder to install the
SimTools shortcuts in by clicking “Browse” and then click “Next”.
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6) Click “Install” when you are ready to proceed with the installation of SimTools.
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8) Next, we need to let Game Engine know where Game Manager is on your network.
Open Game Manager on your Gaming Computer and click “Tools”. The IP address
of the Game Manager is displayed as seen in the image below.
9) Open Game Engine on your Second Computer and click “Tools” and then click
“Manager IP”. Update the Game Manager IP setting to reflect your Game Manager’s
IP address.
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10) Finally, we need to let Game Manager know where Game Engine is on your
network. Open Game Engine and click “Tools”. The IP address of Game Engine is
displayed as seen in the image below.
11) Open Game Manager and click “Tools” and then click “Engine IP”.
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12) A window will appear that says: “Already patched games may need to be Re-
Patched after an IP change. Should a game stop working, Un-Patch and then Re-
Patch the game.” Click “OK”.
Once the IP addresses are properly configured, your dual computer setup of SimTools
is complete!
Note: Game plugins need to be installed on both computers for a dual computer setup
of SimTools. Interface and axis assignment plugins only need to be installed on the
Second Computer.
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SimTools Registration
SimTools will run in “Demo” mode until a valid license has been registered.
The plugin for Live for Speed is fully operational for testing while SimTools is in demo
mode. (The demo of Live for Speed will work for testing SimTools too.) You can find
more information and download Live for Speed at https://www.lfs.net/
You can learn more about the different SimTools licenses and prices at
https://simtools.us/license/
1) Launch “SimTools Registration”. This should be in the Start Menu shortcuts folder
you created during installation. You can find the default location by navigating to
Start All Programs SimTools SimTools Registration.
2) Enter the email address you purchased your license with into the Email Address text
box.
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3) Enter the license you received into the License Key text box.
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You can also check to see if your license is valid by clicking “Check License”.
21
Game Engine
Game Engine is a system-tray application with access to the tools needed to configure
many different types of motion simulators. Game Engine can control a large number of
hardware interfaces and can be configured to almost any type of build you can think of.
Game Engine must be running in the system-tray during game play to allow SimTools to
communicate with the devices you have configured. You can still play a game after it is
patched for motion output without your simulator. Simply exit Game Engine from the
system-tray before you launch the game.
Game Engine needs to be installed on the computer that is connected to your motion
simulator even if you are installing a dual computer setup for SimTools. (Note: If you are
configuring a dual computer setup, please see the dual computer setup guide for more
information.)
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Game Engine GUI Overview
Main Menu – This is Game Engine’s main menu. (We will go into more detail on these
items later in the manual.)
License Marker – This shows what license version the software is currently using.
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Game Engine GUI Status
Game Engine has three different modes that it can be in. The three different modes can
be identified by the connection status as follows:
Not Connected – (Red) identifies that Game Engine is not connected to Game
Manager. This usually means that Game Manager is not running. Once you start
Game Manager, Game Engine and Game Manager should automatically connect.
Game Running – (Blue) identifies Game Engine has detected a patched game has
started. Correctly configured SimTools modules and any associated hardware will
start at this time. Notice Axis Assignments and Interface Settings change to blue.
This means they are locked and cannot be modified while a game is running.
These three color coded indicator modes can help you quickly identify the current status
of SimTools.
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Home
Home – The Home tab is displayed by default when you launch Game Engine. You can
add a picture by simply double-clicking the picture area shown below and selecting a
“.jpg” from your computer.
This is a great place to display your wiring diagram during setup, or to display a picture
of your simulator once completed.
(Note: The home picture can be removed in the tools menu - see Clear Your Home
Pic)
Back to Table of Contents
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Conventions for Game Plugins
Surge means the acceleration of the vehicle in longitudinal direction in g-force [g]
Sway means the acceleration of the vehicle in lateral direction in g-force [g]
Heave means the acceleration up and down in g-force [g]
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Axis Assignments
Axis Assignments – The Axis Assignments tab is where you configure the output from
any game into logical motion for your simulator. The (a) Axis Assignments and (b) Axis
Assignments pages each have six axes that can be configured. There are a total of 12
axes that can be configured as needed for your simulator. (Note: Most simulators will
only use (a) Axis Assignments. You cannot modify options on these pages until you
select an axis type.)
Axis Type – Select an axis type from the drop down menu shown in the picture below.
The options below will be present with any axis type you select.
Game List – This is the list of installed game plugins that can be configured including a
default profile.
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Load Default – Loads the default profile to the current game plugin selected in the
Game List drop down menu.
Reset – Clears the form of any settings that have been selected.
Presets – This button opens a panel that allows you to create or load presets for the
currently selected game plugin listed in the Game List drop down menu.
Select “Load a Preset” to choose from a list of presets, or click “Create a Preset” to
name the preset you are creating.
Each axis type listed in this section builds upon itself. Generic 2D Standard includes all
the functions of Generic 2D Basic and Generic 2D Advanced includes all the functions
of Generic 2D Standard. We will go through and explain what each setting does and
show with examples how to configure each one.
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Generic 2D Basic
The “Generic 2D Basic” axis type allows you to configure a combination of forces for
each axis in order to produce sensible motion for your simulator. It is always a good
idea to configure the “Default” profile first, because these settings will be copied to any
newly installed game plugin as a starting point.
Dir – This is the direction the forces will be applied. Check this to change the direction
of motion to the opposite direction for each DOF (degree of force).
Force – This is the source of the input for this DOF setting.
% (Percent) – This is the amount of the selected force that will be combined into the
final output for this axis.
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Save – Click “Save” to save the current axis assignments for the selected game plugin
listed in the Game List drop down menu. These settings will be used the next time this
game is launched.
Example
This simulator uses two motors to power the chair from the rear corners. It will provide
for a 2 DOF simulator including roll (leaning side to side) and pitch (leaning front to
back). Each motor gets assigned half of its total movement for roll and half of its total
movement for pitch. There are many examples on YouTube of this kind of simulator
build. Simply search on YouTube for SimforceGT.
The picture below shows the axis assignment needed to move the example simulator
pictured above.
Axis1a is assigned to sway at 50% and surge at 50%. Axis2a is assigned to sway at
50% with the “Dir” option selected to reverses output and surge at 50%.
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Half of each axis will respond to roll with the axes responding in opposite directions to
one another. This gives us our roll output by moving our example simulator from side to
side.
The other half of each axis will respond to pitch with the axes responding in unison to
one another. This gives us our pitch output by tipping the example simulator forward
and back.
Example
This simulator uses two motors to power the motion simulator; one in the rear and one
on the side. It will provide for a 2 DOF simulator including roll (leaning side to side) and
pitch (leaning front to back).
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The picture below shows the axis assignment needed to move the example simulator
pictured above.
Axis1a is assigned to roll at 100%. Axis2a is assigned to pitch at 100%. Each axis is
only responsible for one force, so we suggest using the entire axis available for each
one.
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Generic 2D Standard
The Generic 2D Standard axis type builds upon the Generic 2D Basic axis type adding
independent filtering for each of the settings.
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Smoothing – Is needed when you are experiencing a jumpy DOF input. The filter works
by taking “X” number of last know positions and making an average for the resulting
output (mean value). Setting this filter too high may cause some lag in getting to the
exact position desired quickly.
Dead Zone - Is for setting a dead zone around the center of axis. We can eliminate any
small twitches we feel from a particular game. Say our Min Max in the tuning center is
set to Max 10 Min -10 and we don’t want to feel the jittery motion between Max 3 Min -3
we can set a percent to represent this and take these values away from the equation,
resulting in a dead zone on the center of our axis movements.
Boundary - Is to make sure the single DOF does not use more than X amount of the
available axis. In turn letting you have a very sensitive axis while still making sure it
doesn’t take over the whole axis and leaves room for other DOF’s.
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(Washout) Gain – This is how much we will react to changes in the input from the
game. If your simulator is not moving enough from the output from the game, Increase
this value.
(Washout) Return – This is how fast we try to return to zero after a movement has
occurred. If your simulator is not homing (re-centering) fast enough after a movement,
Increase this value.
The Washout Filter is needed when your DOF input fails to return to center after the
force is applied to the axis.
Example
When a car's rear end slides out the axis is left in a non centered position. If the car
needs to slide out in the same direction again, there would be no room left for the
needed travel. We use a washout filter to slowly move the axis back to center without
the rider’s knowledge of it occurring to overcome these circumstances. A gain of one or
above must be used for the washout system to be considered active. A setting of 50%
for both gain and return is a good place to start for any game.
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Generic 2D Advanced
The Generic 2D Advanced axis type builds upon the Generic 2D Standard type by
adding a new filter and settings for rotational to linear output correction.
Anti RollOver – Click any of the “Flt” buttons to access the Anti RollOver setting for
that axis and DOF. This setting returns the output value to zero when the input is at its
max or min setting. For Instance, if we had a Max and a Min of 180°/-180° for an input
and this setting was on, any values after 90° start counting back to zero. Making an
input of 100° = 80°, 120° = 60°, and 180° = 0°. The same thing happens for the negative
values also meaning that a -180° = 0°. (Note: This setting is only intended for the Roll
and Pitch inputs from a game.)
Out Type – You can get much better linearity from rotational connected equipment by
using the rotational to linear output correction system. Click the “Out Type” button as
seen in the image below to access these settings.
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Output Type – This setting lets you select the output type you want for your axis. Linear
output type is the default output type for SimTools and it can be selected here.
Rotational output type can also be selected in order to make a rotational setup have a
more linear output. (Note: The Total Degrees used for Axis should be set when using
the rotational output type.)
Total Degrees used for Axis – This is the total travel distance you have for the axis. In
most cases the travel arm can swing 90° up to the sky and -90° down to the floor
resulting in a setting of 180°. Be sure to also deduct any axis limiting you may be using
from the axis. (Note: This setting is only available when Rotational Output Type is
selected.)
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Axis Limiting
Axis Limiting – The Axis Limiting page will let you select the total percentage of an axis
to use. This can be very helpful when you are worried your axis may hit its end limits.
For example, setting the axis limiter to 90% will provide a 5% safety gap at each end of
the axis. This means 10% of the axis will not be used. No clipping will occur from
limiting an axis, because the output is remapped over the usable range.
You can also use this limiter to adjust for the amount of output you desire for a given
simulator. For example, you can limit a 270° potentiometer to 180° of output, but this
comes at a cost in resolution. Therefore, when possible potentiometer scaling should be
done in the hardware you selected to run your simulator.
Axis Selection – Lets you select the (a) or (b) Axis Assignments axes for Limiting.
Reset All – Clears the form and sets all axes for the currently selected Axis Selection to
100%. (Default Value)
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Save Settings – Saves the current selected settings.
% (Percent) – This is the amount of axis to use as a percentage. This value changes
when you move the Amount of Axis to Use slider bar.
Amount of Axis to Use – You can move the slider bar to adjust the amount of axis to
use as a percentage. Axes are displayed in order from one to six.
clr – Click the “clr” button to reset the Amount of Axis to Use to the default value 100%.
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Interface Settings
The Interface Settings tab is where you can assign Axis Assignments to hardware
connected to the computer. You can have up to six interfaces running hardware at the
same time. (Although most people will only need one or two)
SimTools provides the following interfaces to be used with different hardware you might
want to run with your simulator.
If the provided interfaces do not run the hardware you have, or you wish to build your
own custom hardware for your project; you can learn about building a custom interface
plugin with the SimTools Interface API here:
https://www.xsimulator.net/community/threads/how-to-write-an-interface-plugin-
for-simtools-2-0-api-documentation.8813/
We will go over all of the interfaces provided with SimTools below. Please note that
since anyone can build and share an interface plugin for SimTools, there may be more
interface plugins posted that SimTools can use to connect to different types of
equipment. You can look for more interface plugins for SimTools by looking in the
interface plugin section on XSimulator.net found here:
https://www.xsimulator.net/community/marketplace/categories/interface-
plugins.35/
The following settings and selections will be available for all interface type: (Note:
Interface Type needs to be selected before anything on the page is accessible.)
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Presets – You can select any presets you have available.
Create Preset – You can configure the settings for any interface type and save them as
a preset to be used later.
Reset – Clears the form and deletes any saved settings for the current selected
interface.
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Serial Interface
Serial – This Interface can be configured for many types of interfaces on the market
where a serial connection is required. It can be configured to work with many interfaces
whether they are a DIY solution or off the shelf part like an Arduino.
Save – Saves the current interface output selections to Game Engine. These settings
will be used the next time a game launches.
BitsPerSec – Select the speed that the interface runs at. This is frequently set to
“115200” bits per second.
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DataBits – Select the number of data bits in each character. This is frequently set to “8”
bits.
Parity – Select a parity bit. This is a method of detecting errors in data transmission and
is frequently set to "None".
StopBits – Select the number of bits that will allow the hardware to detect the end of a
character. This is frequently set to "1" bit.
Output - Bit Range – Select the number of bits the interface is expecting when setting a
new target point. Most interfaces at this time use 8 bit or 0 to 255. The Output - Bits
settings allows for interface target points to be from 8 to 32 bits.
Output - Type – Select the format in which the new target points are presented to the
interface. (Note: More information on Output - Type can be found in Appendix A of this
manual.)
Startup - Output – You may use <x> anywhere in the output string (where x = 0
through 255) to send an ASCII char for the value of <x>. Other than that, what you type
here is exactly what is sent to the controller. This area can be left blank if no commands
are needed before Interface output begins.
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HW Start - The number of milliseconds after the Startup output has been sent to
continue with Interface Output. This selection is not needed if Startup Output is not
used.
Interface - Output – This is where you enter user formatted output. You are able to
define a formatted output string of what the output will consist of. You can use the
following to get any of the axis values: <Axis1a>, <Axis2a>, <Axis3a>, <Axis4a>,
<Axis5a>, <Axis6a>, <Axis1b>, <Axis2b>, <Axis3b>, <Axis4b>, <Axis5b>, <Axis6b>
anywhere in the output string you want. You can also use <x> anywhere in the output
string (where x = 0 through 255) to send an ASCII char for the value of <x>.
Output Rate – Select how often to send Interface Output data in milliseconds.
Shutdown - Output – You may use <x> anywhere in the output string (where x = 0
through 255) to send an ASCII char for the value of <x>. Other than that, what you type
here is exactly what is sent to the controller. This area can be left blank if no commands
are needed after Interface output shuts down.
HW Stop – Select the number of milliseconds after the Interface Output stops to
continue with Shutdown Output. This selection is not needed if Shutdown Output is not
used.
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Example
In the picture below you can see that we use "<Axis1a><Axis2a>e" as the string for our
Interface - Output. We have “Binary” selected for Output - Type and “8” bit selected for
Output - Bit Range. We can expect our output to look like "cde" when Axis1a = 99 and
Axis2a = 100. Remember Binary = one character between 0 and 255. When the
interface receives this string "cde" it recognizes the "c" as 99 and the "d" as 100. Then
finds the trailing "e", which for this example tells the interface it is a valid update.
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Network Interface
Network – This interface can be configured for many types of interfaces on the market
where a UDP connection is required.
Save – Saves the current interface output selections to Game Engine. These settings
will be used the next time a game launches.
IP Address – Enter the IP address of the target device you are trying to send the data
to.
Port – Enter the port of the target device you are trying to send the data to.
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Output - Bit Range – Select the number of bits the interface is expecting when setting a
new target point. Most interfaces at this time use 8 bit or 0 to 255. The Output - Bits
settings allows for interface target points to be from 8 to 32 bits.
Output - Type – Select the format in which the new target points are presented to the
interface. (Note: More information on Output - Type can be found in Appendix A of this
manual.)
Startup - Output – You may use <x> anywhere in the output string (where x = 0
through 255) to send an ASCII char for the value of <x>. Other than that, what you type
here is exactly what is sent to the controller. This area can be left blank if no commands
are needed before Interface output begins.
HW Start - The number of milliseconds after the Startup output has been sent to
continue with Interface Output. This selection is not needed if Startup Output is not
used.
Interface - Output – This is where you enter user formatted output. You are able to
define a formatted output string of what the output will consist of. You can use the
following to get any of the axis values: <Axis1a>, <Axis2a>, <Axis3a>, <Axis4a>,
<Axis5a>, <Axis6a>, <Axis1b>, <Axis2b>, <Axis3b>, <Axis4b>, <Axis5b>, <Axis6b>
anywhere in the output string you want. You can also use <x> anywhere in the output
string (where x = 0 through 255) to send an ASCII char for the value of <x>.
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Output Rate – Select how often to send Interface Output data in milliseconds.
Shutdown - Output – You may use <x> anywhere in the output string (where x = 0
through 255) to send an ASCII char for the value of <x>. Other than that, what you type
here is exactly what is sent to the controller. This area can be left blank if no commands
are needed after Interface output shuts down.
HW Stop – Select the number of milliseconds after the Interface output Stops to
continue with Shutdown Output. This selection is not needed if Shutdown Output is not
used.
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Example
In the picture below you can see that we use "<Axis1a><Axis2a>e" as the string for our
Interface - Output. We have “Binary” selected for Output - Type and “8” bit selected for
Output - Bit Range. We can expect our output to look like "cde" when Axis1a = 99 and
Axis2a = 100. Remember Binary = one character between 0 and 255. When the
interface receives this string "cde" it recognizes the "c" as 99 and the "d" as 100. Then
finds the trailing "e", which for this example tells the interface it is a valid update.
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Memory Map Interface
Memory Map – This interface can be configured to place a string in memory that
contains all 12 of the axis outputs from SimTools. The output placed in memory will be
located at the Memory Mapped Name configured below.
Save – Saves the current interface output selections to Game Engine. These settings
will be used the next time a game launches.
Output - Bit Range – Select the number of bits the interface is expecting when setting a
new target point. Most interfaces at this time use 8 bit or 0 to 255. The Output - Bits
settings allows for interface target points to be from 8 to 32 bits.
Output - Type – Select the format in which the new target points are presented to the
interface. (Note: More information on Output - Type can be found in Appendix A of this
manual.)
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Memory Mapped Name – The name of the Memory Mapped file in memory.
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SCN Interface
SCN – This interface can be configured to drive two SCN actuators. All of the SCN
actuators we have seen come from the factory with the ID = 0. If you change an
actuator to be ID = 1 with the manufacturers provided tools, you can drive two SCN
actuators per SimTools interface.
Save – Saves the current interface output selections to Game Engine. These settings
will be used the next time a game launches.
Assigned Axis ID = 0 – Select the output axis you want to tie to the actuator that has
its ID equal to zero.
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Output Rate – Select how often to send interface output data in milliseconds.
Assigned Axis ID = 1 – Select the output axis you want to tie to the actuator that has
its ID equal to one.
Speed - The top speed of the actuator, how quickly we try to follow our set target.
Acceleration - How quickly the actuators react to changes to its target location.
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HyperAxis Interface
HyperAXIS – This interface is for fixed length HyperAXIS 100mm actuators. This
Interface can be configured to drive up two HyperAXIS actuators. All of the HyperAXIS
actuators we have seen come from the factory with the ID = 0. If you change an
actuators ID = 1 with the manufacturers provided tools, you can drive two HyperAXIS
actuators per SimTools interface.
Save – Saves the current interface output selections to Game Engine. These settings
will be used the next time a game launches.
Assigned Axis ID = 0 – Select the output axis you want to tie to the actuator that has
its ID equal to zero.
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Output Rate – Select how often to send interface output data in milliseconds.
Assigned Axis ID = 1 – Select the output axis you want to tie to the actuator that has
its ID equal to one.
Speed - The top speed of the actuator, how quickly we try to follow our set target.
Acceleration - How quickly the actuators react to changes to its target location.
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JRK Interface
JRK – This Interface can be configured to run many of the JRK line of motor
driver/controllers. SimTools versions above v2.2.5 will also run the new G2 line of motor
driver/controllers from this manufacturer.
Save – Saves the current interface output selections to Game Engine. These settings
will be used the next time a game launches.
Device Number – Select the device number of an attached JRK device. (Note: JRK’s
will be listed in the dropdown box for easy user selection)
Assigned Axis – Select the output axis you want to tie to your equipment.
Output Rate – Select how often to send interface output data in milliseconds.
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AMC 1280 USB Interface
AMC 1280 USB – This interface is designed specifically to run Thanos AMC 1280 USB
interface. Set the COM port that is connected to the AMC and configure the Output Axis
Settings for your simulator.
Save – Saves the current interface output selections to Game Engine. These settings
will be used the next time a game launches.
Output – Bit Range – Select the number of bits the interface is expecting when setting
a new target point. The AMC 1280 USB default setting is 16 bit, so this setting is
already selected for you.
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Output Rate – Select how often to send interface output data in milliseconds. The AMC
1280 USB default setting is 2 ms, so this setting is already selected for you.
Output Axis Settings – Reconfigure the output axis in any order needed for your
simulator build.
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Output Testing
Output Testing – Once you have Axis Assignments and Interface Settings
configured correctly, you can test output to your interfaces. This is very helpful for
making sure your interfaces are working correctly. It also helps you understand how to
mix DOFs (Degrees of Force) correctly to create the best possible experience on your
motion simulator.
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Axis Testing
Axis Testing – This allows you to directly test your axes or Axis Assignments to make
sure they are configured and working correctly.
Turn On/Off – You must click “Turn On” to access options on this page. Notice that
Axis Assignments and Interface Settings turn blue when Axis Testing is turned on. This
means that you are not able to modify any Axis Assignments or Interface Settings
during Axis Testing. Also, notice the “Turn On” button turns red and changes to “Turn
Off”. If your Interface Settings are configured correctly, your interfaces should show they
are receiving data and most will come to their center positions and await the next
command.
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% – This displays the percent of change.
Amount of Axis to Use – This scroll bar allows you to test your axes or Axis
Assignments by moving from -100% to 100% where zero is center.
clr – The “clr” button resets the value to zero. This should be your center.
Output Type – Select the type of output you are testing. You are able to test output in
two ways.
1) DOF Output – This is the default option that allows you to simulate Roll, Pitch,
Heave, Yaw, Sway and Surge as if the simulator was receiving these values from
a game plugin. Moving the Roll slider left and right should move your simulator
from side to side. Moving the Pitch slider left and right should tip the simulator
forward and back.
More – The “More” button only appears when DOF Output is selected. This
allows you to test Extra1, Extra2 and Extra3 if they are setup and configured
correctly.
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2) (a) Axis Output or (b) Axis Output – These selections provide simple per-axis
output allowing you to move all individual axes independent of any DOF settings.
This is simply direct output control to and from their configured limits. Moving the
Axis1a slider left and right should move the configured axis accordingly. (Note:
The output may skip some output numbers when the sliders are scrolled. This is
normal behavior.)
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Virtual Axes
Virtual Axis – This allows you to verify that the data coming from a game plugin is
actually moving your axes and axis assignments correctly. Virtual Axis only works with a
game running. Once the game is running and Virtual Axis is turned on, you should be
able to drive or fly in the game and see corresponding movements for each axis and
DOF.
Turn On/Off – Click “Turn On” to receive data. Notice the “Turn On” button turns red
and changes to “Turn Off”. Data should stop when the game ends or you click “Turn
Off”.
Axis Selection – Select the axis outputs (a) or (b) that you want to test.
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0% Amount of Axis Used 100% – The top green portion shows incoming telemetry
data from the game that is currently running. You are able to see the DOF movement
combined with any profile selections you are running at the time.
The bottom purple portion shows the axis mixing output you setup in the Axis
Assignments section. You are able to see what the output of your axis assignments
look like while a game is running. Make sure the output looks correct here before you try
your first live run on any new simulator.
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Directions of Movement in SimTools
Below are example car movements and the corresponding direction each slider moves.
Acceleration – The Pitch Slider should move to the left and the Surge Slider should
move to the right.
Deceleration (braking) – The Pitch Slider should move to the right and the Surge Slider
should move to the left.
Right turn – The Roll Slider should move to the left, the Sway Slider should move to
the right and the Yaw Slider should move to the left.
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Left turn – The Roll Slider should move to the right, the Sway Slider should move to the
left and the Yaw Slider should move to the right.
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Driving Downhill – The Pitch Slider should move to the right.
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Tilted Right – The Roll Slider should move to the right.
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Tools
Tools – This section has a collection of helpful utilities for Game Engine, a Quick Links
launching center and a basic Disclaimer where you can review some basic licensing
information.
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Game Engine Tools
The Game Engine section of Tools is where you can manage presets and find IP
settings, Tuning Center and other related tools.
Start with Windows – Check this to start Game Engine when Windows starts up.
Manager IP – This is the IP address of the computer running Game Manager. This
defaults to 127.0.0.1. If you are using a dual computer setup, then you need to change
the IP address to the computer running Game Manager and click “Save”.
Set Priority – You are telling Windows what priority Game Engine can run at. You can
select “Normal”, ”Above Normal” or “High” priority for Game Engine.
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Clear Your Home Pic – Click the “Clear Your Home Pic” button to remove the picture
displayed on the Home page of Game Engine.
Manage Quick Links – Click the “Manage Quick Links” button to add or delete
shortcuts to any file or program on your computer. This opens the folder where
shortcuts are located. These shortcuts are displayed on the “Quick Links” page of Tools.
Axis Presets – Click the “Axes Presets” button to open the folder that holds your axis
presets. You can delete axes presets here. You can zip a preset file to send to a friend
and name the zipped file anything you want, but do not change the name of the file.
Interface Presets – Click the “Interface Presets” button to open the folder that holds
your interface presets. You can delete interface presets here. You can zip a preset file
to send to a friend and name the zipped file anything you want, but do not change the
name of the file.
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Preset Installer – This is a drag and drop importer for axis and interface presets. There
is no limit to how many profiles you can drop at one time. Presets that are emailed to
you from a friend, or downloaded from the web can be imported here by simply
dragging and dropping them into the box pictured below. You can change the name of
the zipped file, but do not change the name of the file.
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Tuning Center
Tuning Center – Tuning the max/min values of a game ensures that the motion you
output to your simulator is the best it can be! You only need to do this once per game
and it can greatly improve the overall ride of your simulator.
You can get to the Tuning Center for Game Engine in two of ways:
2) Right click on the “Game Engine” icon in the system tray and then select “Tuning
Center” from the pop-up menu.
The tuning window allows you to set the max and min values that will be used by Game
Engine to calculate how much of the axis is used. It does this by comparing the
incoming value with either the max or the min value and then calculating the correct
percentage needed for output.
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Each game plugin allows up to nine DOFs (Degree of Force) to be sent and used for
output to your simulator including: Roll, Pitch, Heave, Yaw, Sway, Surge, Extra1, Extra2
and Extra3. Each of these nine DOFs that are used for a game plugin should have a
corresponding max/min value.
Increasing the max/min values to higher numbers will result in less movement. The
game values will seldom reach their max or min values resulting in less overall
movement, but they will in turn have more range overall for output.
Decreasing the max/min values to lower numbers will result in more movement. The
game values will end up reaching those max/min settings a lot quicker resulting in faster
and snapper movements, but they will have less overall range for output.
The primary goal of tuning the max/min values for a game is to have numbers that allow
for enough range on the simulator to match what happens on the screen under normal
circumstances, but not so much range that you lose all of the finer details from the
game.
Game Data - Output – This is your output data. You are not able to modify the green
values, because they are coming from the game. Roll, Pitch and Yaw are in degrees.
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This gives you an idea of how to modify the values that are in the tuning center. You
can also refer to the Conventions for Game Plugin for a directional diagram.
GameSelected – Select the game you want to create max and min limits for.
Caputer Max Min/Stop Capture – Select the “Capture Max Min” button to capture or
modify max and min values for a selected game. Notice the “Capture Max Min” button
turns into “Stop Capture” and the Game Limits - Max/Min values become editable.
Save New Settings – Select the “Save New Settings” button to save your settings.
Max/Min Options – Select the color that correlates to the max/min option you want for
each DOF. Selecting “green” (Balance) makes your max value equal to the opposite
min value.
Selecting “blue” (Capture) captures the max/min values coming from the game.
Select “red” (Off) if you do not want to change the DOF while capturing live data.
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Game Limits - Max/Min – You are able to modify the max and min values in this area
after you select Capture Max Min values.
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Example
1) Start Game Engine and Game Manager. Game Manager needs to be on, connected
and the game needs to be patched before you can retrieve data. Game Manager
should be all green as seen in the image below.
2) Start the game you want to capture new max/min limits for. We suggest using a
medium car on a somewhat curvy and hilly track if you can.
5) Drive around the track carefully not to bump walls or hit anything that will skew the
results. You should see the new max/min values being captured in the Tuning
Center window.
Below are example ways to capture valid max/min values from a car game.
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Surge and Pitch – Step on the gas from a complete stop and continue full speed
until you shift into third gear and then hit the brakes and you will capture surge and
pitch. Do the same thing on the steepest hill or slope in the game and you can
capture a more accurate pitch.
Roll and Sway – Driving around corners helps capture roll and sway.
Heave – You can capture good heave data by slightly running your wheels over the
curb, but make sure not to drive into the grass or dirt as it will skew your data.
We suggest setting your DOF to “Balance” for Roll, Pitch, Yaw and Sway. We
suggest using “Capture” for surge. This makes sense for surge as your engine could
be more powerful than your breaks. Heave can be set to “Balance” or “Capture”
depending on the game.
6) Once you feel you have received all the max/min values the game has to provide
and you are happy with your new settings, click the Save New Settings button. The
new max/min will be applied live while the game is running.
7) Press the Stop Capture button when you are finished altering the max/min limits.
If you want to start over, you can re-install the original plugin and start again.
Fine tuning the max/min values for the game can provide a much more accurate ride on
your simulator.
Back to Table of Contents
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Quick Links
Quick Links – This page shows a list of launchable shortcuts that have been placed in
the Manage Quick Links folder.
This is the Manage Quick Links folder that holds your shortcuts
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Disclaimer
This page displays a condensed version of the usage agreement you accepted when
you initially acquired the program.
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Game Manager
Game Manager is a system-tray application with quick access to the tools needed to
manage your simulator experience. It provides an easy way to select the motion profile
you want to use with any game supported by SimTools. Game Manager allows you to
Create, Delete and Edit all profiles. It also provides access to Game Patching and any
Extra Plugin Information and Settings used for a particular game.
Game Manager must be running in the system-tray during game play to allow Game
Engine to be initiated and begin outputting data. If you want to play a game after it is
patched for Motion Output without your simulator, simply exit Game Manager from the
system-tray before you launch the game.
Always install Game Manager on the computer where your games are installed even if
you are installing a Dual Computer setup for SimTools. (Note: If you are installing a
Dual Computer setup for SimTools, please see the Dual Computer setup Guide for
more information.)
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Game Manager GUI Overview
System On/Off button – This is the “STOP ALL” button for SimTools. If you want to
keep SimTools running, but do not want it to react to anything launched on the
computer, simply set this button to “Off”.
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Patched Indicator – Helps you to quickly identify whether or not the current game
selected has been patched.
Current Status – Shows the current running state of the system. (Note: More
information on this topic can be found in the next section.)
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Game Selection – Shows the current game selected. (Note: This will automatically
change to the current game launched when a patched game is running and the system
is on.)
Profile Selection – Shows the profile that is currently selected for the game.
Main Menu – This is Game Manger’s Main Menu. More information on these items will
be provided later in the manual.
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Game Manger GUI Status
Game Manager has three different modes that it can be in. The three different modes
can be identified by the Current Status as follows:
Not Connected – (Red) identifies Game Manager is not connected to Game Engine.
This usually means that Game Engine is not running yet. Once you start Game
Engine, Game Manager and Game Engine should automatically connect.
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Game Running – (Blue) identifies Game Manger has detected a patched game has
started. Correctly configured SimTools modules and any associated hardware will
start at this time.
These three color coded indicator modes can help you to quickly identify the current
status of SimTools.
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Tools and Remote Profiling
Click the "Tools" button to access Game Manger’s Tools menu. A drop down window
will appear that contains the tools below. (Note: Remote Profiling only functions with
Professional or Entertainment licenses.)
Start with Windows – This option will automatically start Game Manger when Windows
boots up.
Engine IP – The IP Settings will automatically fill in for you if you are running both
Game Manager and Game Engine on the same computer. (Note: The IP address
should be 127.0.0.1 when both apps are installed on the same computer)
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If Game Engine and Game Manager are installed on different computers, the IP
address of the computer running Game Engine will need to be entered into IP Settings.
Profiles – Click to open the folder that holds all of your current game profiles.
The folder that appears will contain a folder for each game you currently have profiles
for. Profiles can be emailed to friends, or uploaded to the web for others to use.
WARNING: Do not use this feature to delete profiles. Only delete profiles from within the
Profile Editor for safe operation.
Profile Installer – Drag and drop importer for game profiles. Profiles that are emailed to
you from a friend, or downloaded from the web can be imported here. Simply drag and
drop them into the box pictured below. There is no limit to how many profiles you can
drop at a time.
You can reveal the Remote Profiling output options for Game Manager by clicking either
of the arrows on the sides of the drop down window.
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Enabled – Check the Enabled option shown in the Picture below to enable remote
profiling. The Remote Profiling companion application can be downloaded at
https://simtools.us/downloads-links/.
IP Settings – The IP Settings will automatically fill in for you if you are running both
Game Manager and Remote Profiler on the same computer. (Note: The IP address
should be 127.0.0.1 when both apps are used on the same computer)
If Remote Profiler and Game Manager are installed on different computers, the IP
address of the computer running Remote Profiler will need to be entered into IP
Settings.
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Enable Game Vibe
Click the "Vibe" button to access the Game Vibe Output Settings in Game Manger. A
drop down window will appear that contains the tools below. (Note: Game Vibe only
functions with Professional or Entertainment licenses.)
Enabled – Check the Enabled option shown in the picture below to enable Game Vibe
output. The Game Vibe companion application can be downloaded at
https://simtools.us/downloads-links/.
IP Settings – The IP Settings will automatically fill in for you if you are running both
Game Manager and Game Vibe on the same computer. (Note: The IP address should
be 127.0.0.1 when both apps are used on the same computer)
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If Game Vibe and Game Manager are installed on different computers, the IP address
of the computer running Game Vibe will need to be entered into IP Settings.
Packet Rate – This value determines how fast you want to send data to Game Vibe in
milliseconds.
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Enable Game Dash
Click the "Dash" button to access the Game Dash output settings in Game Manger. A
drop down window will appear that contains the tools below. (Note: Game Dash only
functions with Professional or Entertainment licenses.)
Enabled – Check the Enabled option shown in the picture below to Enable Game Dash
Output. The Game Dash companion application can be downloaded at
https://simtools.us/downloads-links/.
IP Settings – The IP Settings will automatically fill in for you if you are running both
Game Manager and Game Dash on the same computer. (Note: The IP address should
be 127.0.0.1 when both apps are used on the same computer)
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If Game Dash and Game Manager are installed on different computers, the IP address
of the computer running Game Dash will need to be entered into IP Settings.
Packet Rate – This value determines how fast you want to send data to Game Dash in
milliseconds.
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Patching a Game for Motion
We must patch the game for motion in order to use the plugins we previously installed
with the SimTools Game Plugin Updater. All game plugins require patching. This is how
SimTools knows you want output for the game when the game is launched on the
system.
Click the "Patch" button to access the Game Patching section of Game Manger. The
Game Patching section of Game Manager will appear in a drop down window.
Patching a Game – Below is an example of patching the game “Live for Speed”.
2) Select “Live for Speed” from the Game Selection drop box.
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When the drop down window opens, you will notice that this game requires a patching
path. This is shown with a “Path Required” in the text box below. (Note: Some games
require no patching path, but they still must be activated “Patched” to enable them for
use by SimTools.)
9) Click “OK” if you would like to patch the game for motion.
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11) In the “Browse for Folder” window select the “LFS” directory where you installed the
game Live for Speed. (For example, mine was installed at C:\LFS)
12) After selecting a folder, click “OK” as shown in the image above. The path will be
validated by the game plugin. If it passes validation, the game will be patched.
These steps should be repeated for any game plugin you installed with the Plugin
Updater.
Un-Patching a Game – Please note if you change or update a game plugin, you might
need to first remove the patch as follows: (Remember to Re-Patch after the change or
update.)
2) Select “Live for Speed” from the Game Selection drop box.
3) Click Patch.
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4) Click “Remove Patch” and follow the prompts to un-patch a game.
You are now free to update the game plugin with the SimTools Plugin Updater.
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Profile Editor (Create, Edit, Delete)
All of the games listed in Game Manager will have their own set of motion profiles.
Creating and editing motion profiles is very easy with Game Manager. Simply click the
"Profile Editor" button shown in the picture below. You will be presented with the Game
Manager Profile Editor for the currently selected game.
Remember that Game Manager Profiles can be changed at any time during a live
game. There is no reason to stop the game first to change profiles.
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Main
Here you can select the game you want to create or edit profiles for. You can set the
overall speed of the profile, which is an easy way to quickly adjust a profile for a rider.
Game Banner – The Game Banner for the currently selected game is shown at the top
of the Main tab.
Main Settings – Main Settings are displayed in the middle of the Main tab.
1) Selected Game – Here you can change the game you are creating a profile for.
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2) Main Level % – This applies smoothing to all outputs from the game. If you have a
game with jumpy outputs, or you wish to soften the ride for any reason, you can do
this by lowering the Main Level value. (Note: Using too much smoothing could cause
some delay and responsiveness in output.)
Forces Available – The bottom of the Main tab shows all of the forces available from
the currently selected game. (The More tab will show more detail on what Extra1-3 can
be used for)
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Editor
Under the Editor tab you can fine tune any profile being used with your simulator. Here
you can increase or decrease the max/min values for Game Engine that control the
output of your simulator and even create individualized profiles for particular cars, tracks
or aircraft. For example, if you are driving an off-road car, you may want more roll than
you would with the stiff suspension of an on-road car.
The Editor tab also gives you the ability to Copy, Rename and Delete profiles. (Note: All
profiles except the Default profile can be deleted.)
Profile Management – The Profile management section at the top of the Editor tab
allows us to select the profile we want to edit, copy, rename or delete.
Profile Settings – The bottom half of the Editor tab allows us to fine-tune any settings
we want for our currently selected motion profile.
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More
On the More tab we can see in more detail what is contained within the game plugin.
We can also adjust the profile settings for the Extra1-3 outputs for the currently selected
game.
Plugin Information – This section will tell you a lot of information about how the plugin
works and what it supports. (Note: The version number of the plugin is located in the
upper right corner of the More tab.)
1) Process Name – This is the executable name SimTools is looking for when a game
launches. This is also the same name that appears in the process section of the
Task Manager for Windows when you launch a game.
2) Port Used – This is the UDP port that the Game Plugin uses to send the data.
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3) Dash and Vibe – These indicators tell you if the plugin supports Game Dash and/or
Game Vibe.
4) Map and Hook – These indicators tell you if the plugin uses Memory Mapped files
and/or Memory Hooks for collecting telemetry data.
Extra1-3 – These panels allow you to see what data is being used for Extra1 through
Extra3 from the game. It also allows you to edit these values for the currently selected
profile.
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Installing Plugins
The SimTools Plugin Updater was created to make life easier for the end user. The
Plugin Updater has the ability to absorb most SimTools files zipped or not. Simply drag
the plugin zip file you want to install into the Plugin Updater and let go. It is that easy!
Please make sure Game Engine and Game Manager are not running in the system tray.
The Plugin Updater will not start if they are running.
You do not need to unzip the plugin files. You can drop the plugin zip files directly into
the Plugin Updater.
1) Make sure that Game Manager and Game Engine are not running in the system
tray.
2) Launch “SimTools Plugin Updater”. This should be in the Start Menu shortcuts
folder you created during installation. You can find the default location by navigating
to Start All Programs SimTools SimTools PluginUpdater.
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4) If you are loading a game plugin you already have installed, the plugin updater will
ask you if you want to replace the existing max/min file for the game.
This plugin will now be available. Remember to patch the games you want to play. Have
fun!
Note: Game plugins need to be installed on both computers for a dual computer setup
of SimTools. Interface and axis assignment plugins only need to be installed on the
Game Engine Computer
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Appendix A: Output Type
There are three different output formats you can select from to send to an Interface.
Decimal output is very straight forward. For example if an axis value equals "1127", then
"1127" will be the output for that axis. No formatting change is done when Decimal
Output Type is selected.
Binary Output
Represented as a Char - Range of 0 to 255
Char's Used to Represent the Axis Value Char 4 Char 3 Char 2 Char 1
Hex Output
Range of 0 to 15
Hex 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
Bit's Used 32 28 24 20 16 12 8 -
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Appendix B: User Formatted Output
Output can be achieved to just about any serial device with some basic output
formatting. Output formatting allows you to send both the axis information along with
any additional information you need to send to your interface.
Take this interface for example; it requires a "Hello" to be sent at the beginning of every
message to the interface. An "End" string is also required to be sent at the end of every
message. If we were using Axis1 for our output, it would look like this.
Hello<Axis1a>End
If the value of Axis1 is "1123" and Decimal Type output is selected, the output would
look like this "Hello1123End". The "1123" simply gets substituted for "<Axis1a>" when
the string is sent to the interface.
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Appendix C: Bit Resolution Chart
Axis Resolution, or the number of stop points you have on your axis is based on the
number of bits your interface accepts for an axis output. If your interface accepts 8 bits
of resolution, then you will have 256 stop points on your axis with a range of 0 to 255.
See chart below.
Bits
18 17 16 15 14 13 12 11 10 9 8
Used
Stop
262144 131072 65536 32768 16384 8192 4096 2048 1024 512 256
Points
Range
262143 131071 65535 32767 16283 8191 4095 2047 1023 511 255
0 to n
Bits
26 25 24 23 22 21 20 19
Used
Stop
67108864 33554432 16777216 8388608 4194304 2097152 1048576 524288
Points
Range
67108863 33554431 16777215 8388607 4194303 2097151 1048575 524287
0 to n
Bits Used 32 31 30 29 28 27
The formula for the center location for any bit range is: (Stop Points / 2) – 1
Example
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