7/21/4   jeff@planetjeff.net  

VRGL 1.5

This is a very early pre-release of Suresh Balu's modified VRGL (executable
only) and how to use it to display UT on a single projector dome.  To
rotate the view need to install the CaveUT Mutator which I'll have
packaged up in a complete DomeUT distribution this week.  It won't be
ready for public release and announcement for some time, but feel free
to point your friends to it.

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Start with a fresh install of UT2004

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Install the latest official code patch for the game.  You can get it
from:

    http://planetjeff.net/ut/ut2004-winpatch3236.exe

Download it to any directory on your computer, run it, and follow the
instructions.  You will have to have the UT2004 CD in for this upgrade
to work.

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Download   http://planetjeff.net/ut/SureshVRGL_Alpha_00.zip 

In there, you will find five files:

    README.TXT      You're reading it now.
    CaveUT.ini      DomeUT's configuration file.
    UT2004.ini      Config file for UT2004.
    OpenGL32.dll    Suresh's hacked OpenGL library.
    spiClops.dll    Elumen's free dome API, spiClops

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Copy directory C:/UT2004/System to C:/UT2004/Sytem.Pristine 
or back it up some other way.

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Copy the two dll files and CaveUT.ini into C:/UT2004/System   

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Copy UT2004.ini into C:/UT2004/System This will overwrite the existing
UT2004.ini, so any setting you had for the controls, screen
resolution, etc., will go away.  The new UT2004.ini works for me.  It
will:

    Sets your screen resolution to 1200 x 1600
    Sets your network speed to "LAN"
    Turns off the HUD
    Enables OpenGL rendering
    Turns off the stupid background music
    Gets rid of the extremely stupid view bob

Alternatively, you could simply make all these changes in your own
UT2004.ini, which is best done by starting up the game and setting the
appropriate settings in the "Settings" menu and sub-menus.  

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Start UT2004.ini and make sure it works.  You should see no difference
in appearance or performance, but it will demonstrate that everything
is installed properly.  You should see the resolution changes.

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From the main menu of the game, go into "Settings-->Display" and set
the screen resolution to the maximum your projector driver PC can
handle.  If the resolution you want is not in the pull-down menu, you
have to edit ut2004.ini  If you do, find:

    FullscreenViewportX=1600
    FullscreenViewportY=1200

And change the values to your desired resolution.

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Edit CaveUT.ini As with any config file, you change the numbers you
want to control the effects produced by SureshVRGL.  There are lots of
settings, but the only ones you will be interested in are:

   SphericalProjection=0  # 0- no spi, 1- truncated spi, 2- centered spi
   spiTextureResolutionX=1600
   spiTextureResolutionY=1200
   spiHFOV=140.0
   spiVFOV=140.0
   spiEyeX=0.0 # EYE position in Dome Coordinate system
   spiEyeY=0.0
   spiEyeZ=0.0
   spiLensX=0.0        
   spiLensY=0.0
   spiLensZ=0.0
   spiTessLevel=21   # Warp Mesh Tessellation ( 21x21 Mesh)
   spiFlushMode=0 # -1 means small viewport instead of ull
   EdgeBlend=0    # Edge blending multiple projectors ; Currently off.


Set the spiTextureResolution[X|Y] to the match the display resolution
you chose or intend to use. 

Set spiHFOV and spiVFOV to the field of view you want the projection
to have.  Because we are using only one internal camera, it seems to
fall apart at 140 for 1600x1200.  You should play around with it, of
course.  

The first line "SphericalProjection..." gives you three choices for
the spherical correction.  Zero gives you no effect, which is what it
is currently set to.  I'm too lazy to explain the other two.  Try
either one and you will see most of screen image warped into a
spherical blob in the center.  You will also notice the normal image
in the background, and it might become a problem depending on your
projection arrangement.  Please let us know.  (Oddly, we do not get
this effect with UT2003...)

The spiEye parameters are supposed to let you locate the "sweet spot",
the ideal location of the viewer and the spiLens parameters let you
locate the projector.  These are largely untested.  If you play with
them, please let us know how what you find.  :-) 

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Start up the game, go to "Instant Action" and choose the virtual
world.  You can use any of the ones that come with the game or
download something off the web.  I'm always flogging Michael
Darnel's Virtual Egyptian Temple, which is accessible off my mainpage
at http://planetjeff.net  It's acceptable for museum audiences.

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When you first enter the game, you will be in "fly" mode with nothing
in visible in the except the virtual world.  You can adjust the HUD
settings in the game to give you a crosshair, which is certainly
useful for testing--and game play.  ;-)  After the first 30 seconds or
so, you can press the fire button to go into walk mode.  That will
cause a great big gun or some other weapon to appear, which is likely
to get crapped-up by the display distortion.  Worth a try.  I usually
just stay in fly mode.  You need to install the CaveUT mutator to get
rid of the gun completely, which I'll address later.

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The last bit of info is that Epic Games' OpenGL drivers for the game
are not as robust as they could be.  Certain virtual worlds have
texture problems in OpenGL mode, depending on the video card you have.
Perfectly good-looking environments can be built for OpenGL in Unreal,
you just have to avoid certain lighting/texturing options. (I don't
know what they are) It's a matter luck, really.

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Enjoy!  

