OpusFSI_Overview  OpusFSI_User_Guide  OpusFSI_Getting_Started_Single_PC  OpusFSI_Getting_Started_Networked_PCs  OpusFSI_Live_Weather  OpusFSI_Live_Camera  OpusFSI_ButtKicker

 

 

Contents

Overview.. 3

Sim Add-on Menu

Managing Camera Views

Importing Cameras

Camera Editing

Aircraft Walk Around

Camera Views Backup . 14

Adjusting the Camera Dynamic Head Movement (DHM) 14

Adjusting the Camera Automatic Head Movement (AHM) 17

Assigning Joystick Buttons and Keyboard Keystrokes. 20

Creating Panel (Flight Control) Windows. 21

2D Panel 21

Incorrect Eye Position for 2D 'Scenic' Views. 22

Creating a Virtual Cockpit Camera View.. 22

Windowed Views. 25

Tips for Creating Windowed Views. 28

Windowed Views and Frame Rates. 29

Creating Panoramic Views. 30

Out of Sync - OpusFSI External Views. 31

World Views

Spy Messages. 31

TrackIR Head Movement Limits. 32  

Example - Quick Guide to Setting up a Default View on the Server. 32  

Example - Quick Guide to Setting up a Forward and Windowed Side Views on a Server PC with three monitors

Example - Quick Guide to Setting up a Default View on a Client 32

Example - Quick Guide to Setting up a Default Forward View on the Server and Side Views on separate Client PCs. 34

Removing OpusFSI Custom Views and Restoring the aircraft.cfg Files  

Panning Sequences

FAQ.. 34

 

Overview

Live Camera is a standard feature within the OpusFSI Flight Simulator Interface for the Microsoft's Flight Simulator X and Lockheed Martin Prepar3D simulators. Live Camera provides you with a user-friendly interface for creating, controlling and managing virtual cockpit, 2D cockpit, external aircraft, and world views for your flight simulator system.  

Live Camera enables you to create many useful views that are not included as standard in your sim and also control the transition speed between these different views.

You are not limited to VC cockpit views, you can create superb external aircraft views, even sweeping panoramic views with the use of multiple monitors or even networked PCs.

You may assign a group of views with the same key (or joystick button) then use the key/button to cycle between them using your configured transition speed to slowly and smoothly fly from one view to another. You can create walk around sequences and nice fly around sequences.

This can be coupled with Live Camera Control and a dedicated 6-axis GamePad controller to wander or float around the cockpit or exterior to your heart's content.

Dynamic Head Movement (DHM) of course is a big plus as you can enable it for certain cameras and not others. For instance you can enable it for the Captains and First Officers views but disable it for a close up view of the MCP, Overhead panel, pedestal, or throttle quadrant.

Your standard hat switch will work fine since it alters PBY and does not interfere with XYZ, so DHM will not be affected.

Finally of course, you can assign joystick buttons to each view so you can switch from one view to another very efficiently and a far lot easier than using the default sim view cycling. You can jump from Captains view to Overhead and back again, or directly to the pedestal etc.

In short, the options are endless and infinitely more flexible than the default views which seem quite limited after you get used to using and switching between your own specified cockpit and external views. The sim is infinitely better after you get it configured up with a good selection of cameras and can efficiently switch between them, or just sit off the wing tip for fun.

Camera views are displayed either automatically when an aircraft is loaded by configuring the view as Default, or they can be displayed in flight with a keyboard key or joystick button which you have pre-configured.

To experience turbulence effects you must either

·         enable General DHM Options in the Server's Configure dialog or

·         enable Live Camera and create and display a camera view.

General DHM (Dynamic Head Movement) Options include DHM and aircraft turbulence for VC, 2D and opus custom external view modes. Each view mode has its own configurable DHM settings that can be adjusted by you and are relevant to all aircraft.

Live Camera DHM is associated with VC camera views. Dynamic Aircraft Movement is associated with 2D scenic views. A camera view may be associated with a single aircraft, group of aircraft, or all aircraft.

Although you will experience some level of turbulence with other weather engines enabled, for optimum effect enable the OpusFSI weather engine. The Opus turbulence is intelligently controlled by the LWE which knows all the meteorological conditions surrounding your aircraft, can even take into account atmospheric effects and gradients and can take into account additional site effects etc.

In addition to the standard non-windowed views Live Camera allows you to create multiple Windowed Views on your server and client systems. Windowed views are ideally suited to computer systems equipped with either multiple screens or single large screens. Windowed views cannot be associated with joystick buttons or keyboard keys, they are automatically opened when the aircraft is loaded. DHM cannot be specified for windowed view types.

Camera views can greatly enhance your flight simulator experience on both standalone and networked systems by providing easy view control with the press of a joystick button or the use of an assigned keyboard key sequence. The same joystick button or keyboard input can be assigned to multiple camera views. In such cases, repeated use of the assigned button or key will cycle through the assigned camera views.  The cycle will apply to the aircraft associated with the camera view, which may be a single aircraft, a group, or all aircraft according to what you have configured. In addition you can use the shortcut control button/key assignments to restrict the cycle views forward and backward between identical view modes, that is, between the same virtual cockpit, 2D cockpit, or External Aircraft camera views for the currently selected aircraft.

On networked systems Live Camera provides you with the means to create a multitude of display options including wide sweeping panoramic views of the outside world. Joystick buttons and keyboard sequences can be assigned to individual views or multiple camera views spanning the networked system. Duplicated button or key assignments permit simple and fast coordinated changes to your multi-screened display with a single button press or key stroke.

All camera views are created, controlled and managed from the main 'flying' server system, with live view adjustment for each of your client system camera views. Each camera view may be a associated with either a single aircraft, a group, or all aircraft according to what you have configured.

Live Camera features a Dynamic Head Movement (DHM) or 'camera shake' option utilizing actual real-life captured 3D accelerometer for the taxiing, takeoff, and landing phases of flight. The DHM is configured within and associated with each camera view. In order to produce the most realistic head movement, all DHMs are based on actual real-life 3D accelerometer data, captured on Boeing 737-800 airliners and a Europa XS Tri-Gear light aircraft. Special low pass filters have been developed to remove all traces of engine vibration. We have conducted extensive taxiing trials, multiple takeoffs and landings on hard surfaced runways to prepare the accelerometer data. Data comparisons between heavy and light aircraft have also allowed us to mimic the speed dependencies and subtle changes in the natural frequency within the captured data. The end result is an ultra-realistic flight simulator experience.

· Live Camera provides a user-friendly interface for creating, controlling and managing virtual cockpit, 2D cockpit,  external aircraft, and world views.

· Live Camera provides a user-friendly interface for creating, controlling and managing multiple windowed views providing greater flexibility and support to cockpit builders and all systems equipped with multi-screened computers.

· Live Camera stores separate sizes and positions for all docked and undocked Windowed views, allowing the user to save different preferred window position and sizes.

· Live Camera creates, controls and manages all views from the 'flying' server system, with live view adjustment for each of your client system cameras.

· Live Camera allows joystick buttons and keyboard key sequences to be assigned to individual or multiple views. Live Camera does not require you to make any changes to the control assignments.

· Live Camera enables default views to be specified facilitating the use of multiple screens or the creation of panoramic views over networked systems.

· Live Camera provides both coarse and fine zoom control for all camera view types.

· Live Camera gives full control over Dynamic Head Movements all based on real-life 3D accelerometer readings.

· Live Camera supports Automatic Head Movements to assist the pilot whilst taxiing and banking in a turn (disabled when using TrackIR).

· Camera Import and Export options are included. User Camera Definition Files (CDFs) are available on our Downloads page for import.

 

In addition to the above features, the OpusFSI server and client programs provide Save Win, Restore Win, Open Win, and Close Win button options to assist you in controlling your windowed views, both docked and undocked.

 

With the exception to the Save Win button, these options are duplicated within the simulator's OpusFSI Menu as Restore Windowed Views, Open Windowed Views, and Close Windowed Views options, press ALT if the menu is not displayed.  

 

Sim Add-on Menu

The add-on menu has entries for Live Camera Control which is described in the OpusFSI User Guide, and Play Panning Sequence which is described in this document here.  

 

Managing Camera Views

If you have previously used a 3rd party add-on for camera views then ensure your camera views are restored to the FSX default, for EZCA run the configuration utility and select the "Restore" function otherwise EZCA camera definitions are not removed from the aircraft config files and will conflict.

Ensure you have selected and loaded an appropriate aircraft within the FSX or Prepar3D simulator.

To see the main form of the server program you must be running FSX or Prepar3D in windowed mode.

Click on the server's Configure button to display the Configuration dialog.

 

1. If the Enable Live Camera checkbox is unticked then tick it now and restart the server program in order to configure your aircraft camera files.

If you are using Prepar3D then enable the Prepar3D PDK Interface to provide a more efficient Live Camera, Live Camera Control, and DHM eye point control. Refer to the OPUSPDK_SETUP text file to set up the Prepar3D OpusPDK interface. If you encounter problems (errors in the Spy window) then you can disable the PDK.

N.B. If you subsequently untick the Enable Live Camera checkbox then the Opus camera definitions will be removed from the aircraft camera files when the server program is shutdown.  

1a. Tick the Play Sound on View Change if required. This defaults to the standard windows 'ding' sound (Ding.wav) but you can provide your own \OpusFSI\Camera.wav file if you require a different sound.  

2. The Enable Live Camera Control option can be used to enable or disable the Live Camera Control (LCC) feature which is used to adjust the eye point within VC, 2D, and custom external camera views. This is independent of Live Camera and is described in the OpusFSI User Guide.  

2a. The Simulator View Modes can be set to any value from 3 to 6 (default 5). The number of available view modes can be determined simply by pressing the 'S' key and counting the total number of view modes that can be cycled. The normal sequence in the simulator is,

VC - Spot - Tower - Aircraft - External

Giving a total of five (5) different view modes. For example if you have the Tower view disabled, the Simulator View Modes setting can be used to reduce the available view modes and allow the correct selection of your external aircraft cameras.

3. Tick Enable TrackIR if required.

4. The Run TrackIR High Priority option will affect the priority of the Opus FSITRACKIR program as well as any active Natural Point TrackIR4 or TrackIR5 programs. Enable this option if you have problems with TrackIR smoothness after tuning the TrackIR scan speed option.

5. The TrackIR Scan Speed can be altered from 6ms to 60ms. The default is 12ms, try this setting first,  and if TrackIR is jerky then adjust this setting (try 25-30) in conjunction with your TIR device Speed and Smoothness settings to reach an optimum effect. If you set the scan rate too high it stutters, if you set it too low it jumps.

TrackIR Settings

Please refer to the Getting Started guide for Single PCs guide for TrackIR setup instructions.

Please minimize the TrackIR program when not in use to improve FSX performance.

6. & 7. The XYZ raw data scaling (0.5 to 2.0, default 1), and PBY raw data scaling (0.5 to 2.0, default 0.75) can be adjusted on the fly from within the Configuration dialog.

The PBY setting should be adjusted in conjunction with the TIR device speed setting to determine the range of head movement and how far you can see behind you.

General DHM options 8, are an alternative to Live Camera, and apply to all aircraft. If Live Camera is enabled these general DHM options are automatically disabled.

 

A simple dialog is used to manage the camera views. A separate dialog provides 'live' adjustment of all server and client views through the dialog's camera control buttons.

The Camera Management dialog is displayed by clicking on the Cameras button on the FSISERVER's main form.

The Camera dialog will automatically hide the FSISERVER program's main form before being displayed in its last known screen position. The dialog can also be minimised down to the taskbar to assist those with limited screen space.

Camera Management

The Camera Management dialog is used to perform all general camera management functions, that is,

To display the current Camera List.
To change the order of the cameras within the Camera List.
To Create or add new cameras to the Camera List.
To copy or Clone a camera within the Camera List.
To modify or Edit a camera within the Camera List.
To remove or Delete one or more cameras from the Camera List.
To Import one or more cameras stored in a Camera Definition File.
To Export one or more cameras into a named Camera Definition File.

Review and change the Input Device to Sim Joystick mapping.

On networked OpusFSI systems, cameras for the server system or any individual client system can be displayed by first selecting the required system using the Select Computer System button option at the top of the Camera Management dialog. On standalone OpusFSI systems this option is greyed out and disabled. The box to the right displays how many systems have been detected. The box below that displays how many views are configured, and the box below that displays the number of world views configured.

The radio buttons filter the listed view types, you can choose to list All, VC, 2D, AC (external aircraft), or WV (World Views) cameras. 

Single clicking on any listed camera will now display that view on the screen irrespective of the currently selected aircraft and assigned aircraft types. Double clicking on any listed camera will Edit the camera.

Within the Camera List d denotes a default view, w denotes a windowed view, t denotes TrackIR limits have been set for the view, x denotes the view has been disabled. A (C) suffix indicates that it is a 'cloned' view. An (R) suffix indicates the camera has been re-assigned.  

The next column denotes whether a World Views (WV) camera is Fixed or Tracks the aircraft, for other camera types it indicates how many aircraft types have been assigned, shown as either All or a number.

The Details button is used to display a Camera Details form which indicates all the most important configuration details for the highlighted camera. These details include all main configuration options, the Transition and Zoom settings, and the assigned aircraft types.

The displayed Camera List for the chosen system can be restricted to all cameras assigned to a specified aircraft type using the List Cameras for the Specified Aircraft  button option. When the Camera List is restricted the Import options are greyed out and disabled. If you only have "All aircraft types"  to choose from in the camera list then set the "C:\OpusFSI\FSISERVER.EXE" file properties (compatibility tab) to "Run as Administrator".  

The Joysticks button option is used to review and change the Input Device to Sim Joystick mapping. Check the order of the joystick devices in the sim and the order of the devices in the OpusFSI Spy window. They should be in the same order. If they are not you can change the order in the 'Input Device To Sim Joystick Mapping' dialog by using the dropdown boxes on the right. 

 

After changing the joystick numbers to match the controller order within the simulator's Controls Settings the Remap Joysticks button is used to remap all the Camera, Panning Sequence, and Shortcut Command joystick numbers.

If not loaded at the time, all client system cameras will be automatically remapped when they are next loaded by the FSISERVER program.

Changing the Order of Cameras

To change the order of a camera within the Camera List, first click on the camera you wish to move, this will highlight the single camera within the Camera List, then use the Up Arrow or Down Arrow keys to move the highlighted camera up and down the list.

Creating a New Camera

To create a 'new' (blank) camera view simply click on the Create button option along the bottom of the Camera Management dialog. Select the appropriate radio button on the dialog for either Virtual Cockpit, 2D Cockpit, External Aircraft or World View and click OK.

The Create option first creates a new or blank camera then opens the Camera Editing dialog ready for you to edit the newly created camera view.

Newly created camera views are automatically named 'Camera View X', where 'X' is the next camera number in the Camera List. You should change the camera name to something more meaningful (e.g. 'C172 - Captain') in the Camera Editing dialog. It is best to adopt a standard naming convention such as 'Global <description>' for global views, and '<aircraft> <description>' for aircraft specific views (e.g. '737 Left Side View').

Cloning an Existing Camera

To copy or 'clone' an existing camera view, first click on the camera you wish to clone, this will highlight the camera within the Camera List, then click on the Clone button option along the bottom of the Camera Management dialog. The Clone option first takes an exact copy of the camera you have selected then opens the Camera Editing dialog ready for you to edit the newly cloned camera view.

Cloned camera views will adopt the name of the original camera with an added '(C)' suffix to indicate that it is a 'cloned' view. You should change the camera name to something more meaningful (e.g. 'C172 - Captain') in the Camera Editing dialog.

Editing an Existing Camera

To alter or 'edit' an existing camera view, first click on the camera you wish to edit, this will highlight the camera within the Camera List, then click on the Edit button option along the bottom of the Camera Management dialog. The Edit option opens the Camera Editing dialog ready for you to edit the selected camera.

Deleting a Single Camera

To remove or 'delete' a single camera view, first click on the camera you wish to delete, this will highlight the camera within the Camera List, then click on the Delete button option along the bottom of the Camera Management dialog. The Delete option will prompt you to confirm the operation, click 'Yes' to confirm and delete the selected camera, press 'No' to abort the operation.

When you delete a camera view these changes will not be noticeable until you either restart FSX, or reload a completely different aircraft type forcing FSX to reload the modified cfg file.

All the camera views for your main flying server system, or standalone single PC system, are stored in the OpusFSI\FSXSERVER.CAM file for FSX, or FSESERVER for FSX-SE systems, or P3DSERVER.CAM for P3D. You can delete all camera views and start afresh simply by renaming or deleting this file prior to running the FSISERVER program.

Client views are stored in <clientname>.CAM. Previous version _SE and _P3D client CAM files are renamed automatically on first use by both the FSISERVER and FSICLIENT programs.

You will have a backup if you mistakenly delete a view and wish to restore it, see the Camera Views Backup section below.

Deleting a Group of Cameras

To remove or 'delete' a group of camera views, first select the group of cameras you wish to delete, this will highlight them within the Camera List, then click on the Delete button option along the bottom of the Camera Management dialog. The Delete option will prompt you to confirm the operation, click 'Yes' to confirm and delete the selected cameras, press 'No' to abort the operation.

Importing Cameras

The Import option is greyed out and disabled when the current Camera List has been restricted to a specific aircraft type. Any cameras which match existing camera names are not imported.

You can 'import' one or more cameras stored in a Camera Definition File (CDF) by clicking on the Import button option along the bottom of the Camera Management dialog. This option will first display the Open File dialog ready for you to select the required CDF, Camera Definition File. You can click on the 'X' in the top right-hand corner of the Open File dialog to abort the operation. Otherwise, navigate to the required folder and select the required named CDF file, then click on the Open button option.

You will then be asked if you want to change the assigned aircraft types for all the cameras within the CDF to be imported. This is so that you can import cameras for use on a range of a similar aircraft type(s). For example you could import the Lancair Legacy cameras for use on the Maul etc.  

Click 'No' to accept the previously assigned aircraft types. Click 'Yes' if you want to re-assign or change the assigned aircraft types. . If you select Yes then a list of aircraft types is displayed for your selection. Click with the mouse to select an aircraft from the list, use <CTRL><left_mouse_click> to select multiple items from the list, use the standard windows method to select a consecutive group (click on the first item then <SHIFT>< left_mouse_click> on the last item). Each entry you select will turn the selected line blue. If you opt to re-assign the aircraft types then an '(R)' suffix will be appended to each camera name to indicate the cameras have been re-assigned.

If you make a mistake and wish to remove the imported cameras simply select them in the Camera List and click on the Delete option.

Two Opus CDFs are supplied in the OpusFSI folder (Opus_PMDG_737NGX.CDF and Opus_RealAir_Legacy.CDF) containing camera definitions for the PMDG 737NGX and RealAir Lancair Legacy aircraft respectively.  A selection of CDFs are also available on our Downloads page for import but CDFs cannot be imported if they were saved on newer versions of OpusFSI.

After importing edit the camera view to change the key/button assignments for the views if required.

All your camera definitions for your main server system are stored in the FSXSERVER.CAM file for FSX,  FSESERVER.CAM file for FSX Steam Edition, or P3DSERVER.CAM for P3D. Importing from a Camera Definition File (CDF) will automatically save your current camera views and backup your current CAM file into the <system>_UNDO.CAM file. For example, when importing into your main system's camera views on an FSX system your current definitions will be saved in FSXSERVER_UNDO.CAM. To undo the camera import just delete your FSXSERVER.CAM file and rename FSXSERVER_UNDO.CAM to FSXSERVER.CAM. You may notice CAM files with additional date stamps, these are copies of your CAM file automatically saved by the software to provide roll back options.

Exporting Cameras

You can 'export' one or more cameras and store them in a Camera Definition File (CDF) by first selecting the group of cameras you wish to export, this will highlight them within the Camera List. Use the mouse to click on the first view and shift click (or ctrl click) to select a group of views. Then click on the Export button option along the bottom of the Camera Management dialog.

This option will first display the Save File dialog ready for you to select the required CDF, Camera Definition File, or type in the required file name for the new CDF file to be created. You can click on the 'X' in the top right-hand corner of the Save File dialog to abort the operation. Otherwise, navigate to the required folder and select the required named CDF file or type in your file name, then click on the Save button option.

If the file already exists you will be asked if you want to replace it and overwrite the file storing the current selected cameras. Click 'No' to abort. Click 'Yes' if you want overwrite the file.

Selecting Cameras within the List

The standard Windows 'Left Click', 'Ctrl + Left Click' and 'Shift + Left Click' actions can be used to select cameras from within the Camera List. All selected cameras are highlighted with a blue background within the Camera List.

Left Click

Move the mouse over the required camera and left click on the mouse to select a single camera within the Camera List.

Ctrl + Left Click

Move the mouse over the required camera then hold down the Ctrl key and left click on the mouse to select an additional camera.

Shift + Left Click

Move the mouse over a camera then hold down the Shift key and left click on the mouse to select all the cameras inclusively, between the previous selected camera and the current camera.

Where are my Cameras Stored

All cameras are stored in an appropriately named CAM file within your x:\OpusFSI folder, where 'x' identifies your installation drive letter.

The FSXSERVER.CAM file stores all cameras created on your main server system for use with the Microsoft FSX Flight Simulator.

The FSESERVER.CAM file stores all cameras created on your main server system for use with the FSX Steam Edition Flight Simulator.

The P3DSERVER.CAM file stores all cameras created on your main server system for use with the Lockheed Martin Prepar3D Flight Simulator.

Files with names in the form of <ComputerName>.CAM store all cameras created on the named client system. The client computer name will have a suffix of '_P3D' appended if the user has selected the Lockheed Martin Prepar3D Flight Simulator type. For example <ComputerName>_P3D.CAM. The actual client systems can use either simulator type, this does not have to match the server but usually does.

Any time the cameras are stored to disk a backup file is created with the same filename as above with the date stamp _DDMMYYY appended. Where 'DD' is the current day, 'MM' the current month, and 'YYYY' the current year. Hence, previously backed up CAM files can easily be copied and renamed to restore the cameras from a previous date.  

N.B. You can reuse your FSX (or FSX Steam Edition) Opus configured cameras in P3D by copying FSXSERVER.CAM (or FSESERVER.CAM for SE) to P3DSERVER.CAM and vice versa.

Camera Editing

This section describes camera editing for VC, 2D and external aircraft cameras, for World Views please refer to the appropriate section of this document.

The basic steps involved in creating a camera are,

·         Add or Clone a Camera

·         Assign Aircraft Types to the Camera

·         Make adjustments

·         Save Cameras

The Camera Editing dialog is used to perform all general editing of a camera view, that is,

To change the camera Name.

To change the assigned aircraft types.

To change the camera view mode and options.

To change the assigned joystick button or key sequence.

To change the TrackIR option and head movement limits.

To adjust the zoom level for the camera view.

To adjust the eye point for the camera view.

A camera is selected for editing in the Camera Management dialog using one of the Edit, Clone, or Create options, or alternatively by double-clicking on a camera using the left mouse button (which is the same as highlighting and using the Edit option).

Normally a camera is created or edited with the view on the simulator's main display window (or on the client system's main display window when editing a client camera). However, camera management and editing of the server system's cameras can also be done without running the actual simulator.

 

14. Changing the camera name

The camera name is displayed and can be edited in the text box in the top left hand corner of the Camera Editing dialog. Camera names should be chosen to indicate both the assigned aircraft type and view. For example, 'B737 - First Officer'.

15. Assign Aircraft Types

Camera views can be associated with all aircraft, a group of aircraft or a single aircraft. The camera can be assigned or associated with specific aircraft types using the Assign Aircraft Types to the Camera option. The first assigned aircraft type name is displayed (16) below the option along with the total number of aircraft types that have been assigned (17).

You will be prompted as to whether you wish to reassign multiple camera views. If you select Yes then a list is displayed for you to select multiple views from. Next a list of aircraft types is displayed for you to assign the view (or multiple views) to.

Select the 'All Aircraft Types' entry to make the view global, alternatively highlight all the associated aircraft types. Use <CTRL>< left_mouse_click> to select multiple items from the list, use the standard windows method to select a consecutive group (click on the first item then <SHIFT> <left_mouse_click> on the last item). Click OK.

N.B If you are editing a view on a client and the client FSX is using a dummy or simple aircraft (recommended for performance reasons when you are viewing scenery only and not external views of the aircraft) then ensure your assigned aircraft types are set to All Aircraft.

18. Select the Camera View Mode

It can be either,

·         Virtual cockpit

·         2D Cockpit (scenic)

·         External Aircraft

There are no facilities within FSX that gives us the 6DOF control over other view types.

It is pointless creating virtual cockpit views on a client system since you can only monitor and control the flight from the main server PC. DHMs will be most effective when used in conjunction with Virtual cockpit views.

Dynamic Aircraft Movements (DAM) has been implemented for the server's 2D 'scenic' views where the aircraft is shaken instead of the pilot's head. Please refer to the 2D Panels section.

Adjust the eye point using the Camera Editing dialog or the LCC

Adjusting the eye point using the Camera Editing dialog

You can adjust the eye point for the camera view using either the X, Y, Z, Pitch, Bank, and Yaw arrow keys (19) or by setting the numeric values directly in the XYZ PBY text boxes (20). To enter a value into a XYZPBY text box, first click on the box, its content will turn red indicating it is accepting a new entry, enter the new value, then either press the <return> key or click for a second time in the box. All distances are in meters and all angles in degrees.

All these commands are with reference to the aircrafts axes which normally runs through the centre of the aircraft. The X axis moves the eye point left and right, the Y axis up and down, the Z axis forward and back, and the Pitch, Bank, and Yaw movements are as expected.

The example dialog below shows arrow movements as seen from the pilot's seat.

The arrows operate in either continuous or stepped mode (21). In continuous mode clicking on any of the red buttons will stop the motion. They are spread over the dialog to allow mouse selection without too much hand movement, or hand-eye coordination. Also clicking more than once on a green arrow button will speed up the movement in the chosen direction, or slow down any motion in the opposite direction. You can also alter the speed slider (22) to modify the speed of the green arrow controls for altering the XYZ and PBY co-ordinates.

Use the Reset button (19a) if you want to return the camera to its original (last saved) position.

If required use the Zoom button (23) to adjust the camera view's zoom settings. 

Zoom Recommendation for Prepar3Dv3

The assumed default zoom levels are 0.7 for VC views, 1.0 for 2D cockpit views, and 0.8 for External Aircraft views, however Prepar3Dv3 uses different default zoom levels for certain 'inbuilt' VC views. If your VC camera uses the assumed default then the zoom level will not be changed when switching cameras in the same mode. Therefore for Prepar3Dv3 we recommend using a 0.5 (non standard) zoom setting for ALL VC views, since this is non-standard Opus will always set the zoom when first displaying the default VC view and work from there.

 

The Camera Zoom Control dialog provides both coarse and fine zoom control over the selected view.

Zoom control is a two stage process within the simulator, the Coarse control sets the actual base zoom level which can range from 0.3 (fully zoomed out) to 512 (fully zoomed in),  the fine zoom control makes fine adjustments to this zoom level by either 'fine zooming' in a number of steps (positive) or 'fine zooming' out a number of steps (negative).

To make efficient use of the zoom control, first set the required base zoom level using the Coarse zoom controls, the current zoom level is displayed in the green text box and temporarily on the displayed view. After you have set the Coarse zoom level finely adjust the zoom either in or out, the current fine zoom step count (positive for fine zooming in, negative for fine zooming out) is displayed in the green text box. The fine zoom rate (number of steps per click) can be adjusted from 0 to 10 with the slider control.

Each time you adjust the Coarse zoom level the fine zoom adjustment will be reset to zero.

Use the Reset button to reset the zoom adjustment to its original settings.

Use the Default button to reset the zoom to its displayed default setting. The software assumes a standard FSX or Prepar3D set up which uses a Coarse zoom of 0.7 for virtual cockpit view modes, 1.0 for 2D cockpit view modes, and 0.8 for all external views.

Once you have completed the zoom adjustment click on the OK button to accept the settings or Cancel to abort the changes. The current zoom settings are displayed within the Camera Control dialog in a text box (23a). The displayed zoom setting shows the actual Coarse zoom level with either a '+' or '-' symbol indicating any fine zoom adjustment.  

Duplicate Zoom option

This option can be used to duplicate the current coarse and fine zoom settings across to all selected cameras. Only selected cameras of the same type (e.g. Virtual Cockpit, 2D Cockpit, or External Aircraft) will be affected by the duplicate action.

Once you select the Duplicate button a list of camera views are displayed for you to select from. You can use the usual methods to select items in the list. To select non consecutive items use left mouse click plus the ctrl key to select. To select consecutive items use left mouse click plus the shift key, (or drag left mouse button over the items) to select a consecutive block. Click OK to save, then click OK in the Camera Zoom Control dialog.

24. Adjusting the eye point using the LCC

As an alternative to the Camera Editing dialog features you can use Live Camera Control to adjust the eye point position. All changes and movements within the LCC are with reference to the 'current' eye point, hence they are labelled Left/Right, Fwd/Bwd, Up/Down, Pitch, Bank, and Yaw. 

25. Joystick Button and Key Sequence

Windowed views cannot be associated with a joystick button or keyboard key. Default views don't need to be associated with buttons or keys if you don't have any other views.

If you wish to associate the camera view with a joystick button or keyboard key then click within the button or key command text boxes to specify the required assignment. When you click within the text box, the box will empty and turn red indicating it is waiting for your entry. You can now either click a second time to clear the entry, or press your desired joystick button or keyboard assignment, (focus must be on the simulator's window at this point).

OpusFSI will accept buttons 1 through to 32 of Joysticks 1 through to 8. All button and registered key events are displayed within the Spy window when the button or key is pressed. If they are not displayed then the joystick or button is invalid, either not registered within FSX, already assigned elsewhere (i.e. FSX, 3rd party add-on etc), just an illegal entry, or the focus wasn't on the simulator's window when the joystick or button was pressed.

Joystick buttons and keyboard key sequences can be assigned to views on the server and multiple client systems, thereby allowing simple and fast coordinated changes to the multi-screen displays.

Refer to the Assigning Joystick Buttons and Keyboard Keystrokes section of this document for further details.

26. Disable View

The Disable View option can be used to disable or enable a camera view for selection and display. Changing this field for Windowed View types will force the Camera Definitions within all aircraft.cfg files to be updated.

27. Default View

Tick the Default View checkbox if you wish to create (or assign) a default view that will be displayed on startup. You should only have one default view per aircraft but if you have inadvertently created multiple default views then OpusFSI will just pick the first one in the list. Windowed views cannot be assigned as default views since a default view is always displayed within the simulator's main window.

28. Windowed View

Tick the Windowed View checkbox if you want a windowed instead of full screen display. Windowed views are ideally suited to computer systems equipped with either multiple screens or single large screens. 

Windowed views cannot be associated with joystick buttons or keyboard keys, they are automatically opened when the aircraft is loaded. DHM cannot be specified for windowed views. Windowed views cannot be assigned as default views.

Windowed views are displayed as new views within the simulator, these views can be left docked or undocked manually before being positioned and sized, either manually or automatically using the server program's Restore Win button.

All camera view types (including windowed) are edited using the simulator's main window since this is the only window that allows control over the camera's eye position. Windowed views can either be global or associated with specific aircraft groups. Up to nine windowed views can be associated with each aircraft type on each of the server and client computer systems, this gives a maximum of ten views displayable at any one time on each system; typically far more than the simulator can cope with.

With the exception to zoom adjustment, after making changes to any windowed views you must force the simulator on the modified system to reload its aircraft.cfg file. This can be achieved by first loading a different aircraft type (not the same aircraft with a different livery) then reloading your original aircraft. The simulator loads its aircraft configuration file only on start up or after selecting a different type of aircraft.

The Display Window View button (10a) enables you to display an existing windowed view in order to align the view you are currently creating. A list of windowed views will be displayed, select one from the list with your mouse.

Refer to the Windowed Views section below for further details.

29. DHM

Use the DHM checkbox to enable or disable DHM effects, disabling DHM will not change any configured settings within the DHM dialog.

If required use the DHM button (29a) to specify any associated Dynamic Head Movement.

Refer to the Adjusting the Camera DHM section of this document.

30. Transition Time

The Transition Time value allows smooth transitions between virtual cockpit (VC to VC) and 2D scenic views (2D to 2D). A value of 0 is used for instant camera transitions, otherwise the speed can be set between 1 (fastest) to 255 (slowest). All Transition Speed settings greater than 100 are scaled to provide a wide range of camera transition times. A 'slowest speed' limit is imposed on the actual transition speeds to provide more consistency in the transitions. Different aircraft can have different VC panning rates.

Stuttering camera transitions

If you have set large transition times (for a slower transition) then your sim will have to process many more eye point adjustments. If your sim does not have enough time to handle these it will ignore many of them and you could end up with less than smooth motion. If so then you must set much lower transition times. Also check TrackIR and other eye point adjusting software, none of which will be compatible unless it is interfaced to OpusFSI. Switching Vertical Sync (Nvidia Inspector) to 1/2 refresh may fix the problem, if V.Sync is off or on it can cause stutter.

31. Disable TrackIR

Tick Disable TrackIR if you have enabled TrackIR (in the Config menu) but just want it disabled for this particular camera view.

The Toggle TrackIR On/Off button (12) will disable/enable TrackIR just whilst editing the camera view.

32. TIR Limits

If required use the TIR Limits button to create and specify any associated TrackIR head movement limits.  Refer to the TrackIR Head Movement Limits section of this document.  

33. Panning

If required you can assign panning sequences to the camera view. Click on the Panning button and confirm whether you wish to change the assigned panning sequences for multiple camera views. Select No if you just want the panning sequence assigned to this camera view only. Select the required panning sequences from the displayed list and click OK. The number of selected panning sequences is displayed to the right of the Panning button on the dialog. In flight when you select the Play Panning Sequence key/button (configured in the shortcuts dialog) the sequence will be played. If multiple Panning Sequences have been assigned to the camera then the on-screen Menu box will be displayed in flight allowing you to select the required named Panning Sequence to be played.

 

Finally, when you have finished editing a camera you should click on the OK button to end the edit session. You can cancel or abort the edit operation at any stage using either the Cancel option or by clicking on the 'X' in the top right of the dialog.

After your changes have been saved the software will automatically update the system and as a result you may notice the default camera view, if any, will be displayed. If you have selected one of your client systems then the new camera configuration file will be transferred onto your client system prior to reconfiguring all of the client system's aircraft.cfg files.

Aircraft Walk Around

As an alternative to using LCC with a dedicated 6-axis game pad controller, or our Panning Sequences, to perform an aircraft walk around or a fly around in flight you can create a set of camera views to pan around the aircraft.

1.  Create a series of external aircraft views, each view taking you around the aircraft on a walk or fly around.
2.  You can use the up/down arrow keys in the Select Camera View list to reorder the views and keep them together as a group in your camera list. Name them all appropriately as an aid memoir, such as NGX Aircraft View 1 etc.
3.  Assign a joystick button to the first view, and the exact same key sequence (e.g. shift X) to each of the aircraft views, including the first. The joystick button will then select the first view in the sequence. After which the assigned key can be used to cycle through each view in turn.
4.  Assign a high (very slow) Transition Speed parameter to all the aircraft views in this sequence.
5.  Save Cameras.

Now you can press the button to commence the walk around and press the shared key (e.g. Shift X) to cycle the views, resulting in a slow walk around the aircraft.

If you order the aircraft views carefully then you could simply assign the same button or key to all of the views, the first view in the list will be selected first. Remember you can reuse the same button or key sequence over and over again since all view cycling is aircraft specific. So shift X for example could be used for all walk around sequences on all aircraft.

 

Camera Views Backup

You have a backup of your current CAM file in the OpusFSI\FSXSERVER_UNDO.CAM file for FSX, or OpusFSI\FSESERVER_UNDO.CAM for FSX-SE, or P3DSERVER_UNDO.CAM for P3D. So if you delete something by mistake then for FSX just delete your FSXSERVER.CAM file and rename FSXSERVER_UNDO.CAM to FSXSERVER.CAM (or FSESERVER_UNDO.CAM to FSESERVER.CAM for FSX-SE, or P3DSERVER_UNDO.CAM to P3DSERVER.CAM for P3D).

The camera definitions are also backed up into a date stamped file (e.g.FSXSERVER_04062014.CAM) each time the camera views are saved via the Camera dialog's Save Cameras or OK buttons.

 

Adjusting the Camera Dynamic Head Movement (DHM)

Disable the turbulence effects within 3rd party packages since they may conflict with OpusFSI. The turbulence strength and frequency is determined by the LWE based on considering many factors and the meteorological conditions surrounding your aircraft. These parameters effect both the captured high and low frequency accelerometer data. At low levels wind speed and gusts become a factor, one considering the likelihood of rotor type turbulence, the other extending slightly to higher elevations. But many factors are considered, temperature gradients, cloud bases and depths, proximity of CBs and TCUs, etc. Clear Air Turbulence comes into effect above FL200 when the GRIB option is enabled, note that FSX does not show wing flex for Clear Air Turbulence.

To see wing flex you must set advanced animations which is set via the FSX menu option - Options, Settings, Display. Select the Graphics tab. To see changes to the VSI etc enable the options for turbulence and thermal effects on the aircraft in FSX (which is set via the FSX menu option - Options, Settings, Display. Select the Weather tab.

Live Camera Dynamic Aircraft Movements (DAM) for 2D Views

Dynamic Aircraft Movements (DAM) has been implemented for the server's 2D 'scenic' views only. To configure the effect, enable DHM on your 2D view and edit the DHM taxiing and landing parameters to your own preferences. The head acceleration effects do not use the accelerometer data and may not be noticeable in the 2D views. The current  version is scaled with a 2D view offset by 1 metre in the y-axis. If necessary we will adjust the effect to suit the view's configured y-axis offset.

Live Camera Dynamic Head Movement (DHM) for Virtual Cockpit Views

Even though we allow DHM to be specified for all 'non-windowed' view types (Virtual, 2D, or Aircraft), the DHMs will be most effective when used in conjunction with Virtual cockpit views.

To enable Dynamic Head Movement for a specific camera view, first tick the Enable DHM checkbox within the Camera Editing dialog, then specify the required DHM options within the Dynamic Head Movement dialog. This dialog is displayed using the DHM Options button.

This dialog provides options and fine adjustment for both the camera view's Dynamic Head Movement or virtual cockpit camera shake, and the Automatic Head Movement which can be used to automatically look into the turn when the activation bank angle is reached.

N.B. Automatic Head Movement is automatically disabled when you are using TrackIR.

You can use the DHM checkbox to enable or disable DHMs for a camera view without affecting the current DHM parameters. You can also use the OpusFSI Enable DHM and Disable DHM add-on menu options or OpusFSI Shortcut Controls to temporarily enable and disable all dynamic head movements.

Dynamic Head Movement Dialog

1. Light or Heavy Aircraft

Select the appropriate aircraft type using the Light Aircraft or Heavy Aircraft radio buttons. The aircraft type will affect both the natural frequency and the relationship between ground speed and scaling of the accelerometer data. The aircraft type also has an effect on the head movements related to the current body acceleration data.

If you want a Rotorcraft effect with increased vibration effects then select either Light or Heavy and also tick the Rotorcraft checkbox (11).

Strength Sliders

DHM is determined by the current met conditions. You can alter the strength or severity of the DHM using the sliders (2). A setting of zero effectively disables the DHM (scaling of zero), a setting of 10 results in maximum scaling.

Enable DHM for Taxiing/ Landing Checkboxes

Tick the appropriate Enable checkboxes to enable DHMs for the specified phase of flight, Taxiing (3) and/or Landing (6). If you enable DHM for Taxiing (3) then you will enable for all ground movements including the takeoff phase. Ground vibration effects depict vibrations when power is applied against the brakes and during the initial roll out.

Body Acceleration

Tick the Body Acceleration checkboxe (4) to enable additional DHM effects resulting from the current body acceleration data. For example, slight head movements forward and aft to reflect the current acceleration and deceleration in the Z-axis.

Turbulent Bumps

Tick the Turbulent Bumps checkbox (5) to enable occasional extra bumps as appropriate to METAR conditions e.g. in cloud.

Turbulent Motion

Tick the Turbulent Motion checkbox (7) to enable constant turbulence as appropriate to METAR conditions. You can decrease (8) or increase (9) the effect.

Vibration Effects

Tick the Vibration Effects checkbox (10) to enable aircraft vibration. The vibration effect is magnified when Rotorcraft (11) is selected.

Bump Aircraft in Turbulence

Tick the Bump Aircraft in Turbulence checkbox (12) to enable turbulence on the aircraft. When airborne the aircraft will bump in unison with the turbulent motions. Either the Turbulent Motion or Turbulent Bump options must be enabled for the effect to be seen. The sliders for Turbulent Motion, Turbulent Bump, Less Turbulence and More Turbulence all effect the Bump Aircraft severity. 

OpusFSI beta 4.43.3 onwards uses our new injected turbulence and shear data and disables all previous Bump Aircraft turbulence in P3D which many sims and aircraft addons cannot cope with. If you want to experience this 'physical' aircraft turbulence, you will have to enable the simulator's Turbulence and Thermal Effects within its Weather Settings dialog.

The Degrees Of Freedom DOF option can be set to 1,2, or 3 as required. These settings are equivalent to turbulent jolts in Bank, Pitch + Bank, and Pitch + Bank + Yaw respectively. You should set an appropriate DOF to suit your preference and capabilities of the aircraft sim. Set the lower value options if your aircraft sim has trouble maintaining a heading.

Set a Delay value if you have problems with jerkiness or the auto pilot in aircraft sims such as the Dash 8. The Delay factor (0..10 = Fastest to Slowest, default 0) adjusts the Bump Aircraft frequency.  

Gen Delay

A General DOF Delay factor  (15) (default 0ms) allows those who are experiencing DOF exceptions to slow the DOF updates down slightly so their simulators can cope. The delay factor can be set in any DHM dialog (bottom right numeric box) and can be adjusted between 0 and 50ms.

Test Checkboxes

You can tick one of the Test checkboxes to get some idea of the effects of the DHM. This will not be identical to the actual DHM which has other dependencies, such as ground speed, body acceleration, severity of landing etc.

Duplicate Head Movements

The Duplicate Head Movement (13) button allows the DHM and AHM settings for the current view to be duplicated into a number of other camera views selected from the displayed list box.

Automatic Head Movement (AHM)

Automatic Head Movement (14) is described in the following section.

Assign Defaults

Assign Defaults sets all checkboxes and sliders back to their default settings.  

 

The DHM effects will not be displayed correctly on systems with low frame rates. If you are able to use the Smooth Head Movements of AHM then you should be able to render the above effects correctly.

N.B. If you can't see the DHM effect on your aircraft then set the "C:\OpusFSI\FSISERVER.EXE" file properties (compatibility tab) to "Run as Administrator". This can be done by right clicking on the program in Windows Explorer or right clicking on the desktop shortcut.

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