			Visualiser 3-60A Readme
			=======================

Welcome to the Superscape Visualiser, an application that allows you to 
move around and interact with virtual worlds on a desktop computer. 

	   ***** Visualiser 3-60A is a DOS application only *****

This Readme contains detailed information on the following:

 1.  Setting up devices
 2.  Changing the Mouse Movement setup 
 3.  Keyboard controls
 4.  Locking a viewpoint to an axis
 5.  Changing resolutions
 6.  Saving screens
 7.  Printing screens
 8.  Troubleshooting

If you require basic instructions on how to load virtual worlds and move 
around them, refer to the Main Menu that is displayed when you start 
Visualiser.

======================
1.  Setting up devices
======================

    The default installation assumes that you have no devices other than the 
    keyboard and mouse connected to the Visualiser.  If you have an additional 
    device (a sound card or a Spacemouse) or you change a device (a graphics 
    card), you must configure the Visualiser software before you can use it.
  
    You may need to set up some parameters, such as which serial port a device 
    is attached to, which port address your sound card is using, or what 
    resolution you want your graphics card to run in.  Therefore you may find 
    it useful to have any documentation supplied with the device available. 
    
 1.1.Configuring the Visualiser software
 =======================================
 1.  Start Visualiser by typing VIS at the DOS prompt and pressing ENTER. 
     The Visualiser title screen is displayed.
 2.  Press any key to continue. 
     The Main Menu is displayed.
 3.  Click on Visualiser. 
     The Visualiser window is displayed, with a flat cube in the middle of 
     the screen.  This is the default (empty) world.
 4.  Click the right mouse button in the viewing area.
     The Visualiser menu is displayed.
 5.  Choose Device Select. 
     The Device Select dialogue box is displayed.
 6.  Scroll through the list of devices, using the up and down arrow buttons 
     to the right of the list, until you find your device.
 7.  Click on the empty box to the immediate right of the device name to 
     enable it (a tick is displayed in the box when the device is enabled). 
     If you select the wrong one, click again to deselect the device.
 8.  Click on the Setup button to the right of the device tick box. 
     A device configuration dialogue box is displayed.
 9.  Enter the details required referring to the documentation supplied with 
     the device as necessary, and choose OK.
     The Device Select dialogue box is displayed again.
 10. Repeat Steps 6 to 9 for each additional device that you want to set up.
 11. When you have set up each device, choose OK to return to the Visualiser 
     window.
     Some devices, such as sound cards, are activated immediately.  Others, 
     such as graphics cards, are only set up when Visualiser is started; 
     in this case you are warned that you must save your Preferences and
     restart Visualiser.
 
 1.2.Saving a new device configuration
 =====================================
     If you change the configuration of a device, Visualiser prompts you to 
     save the new configuration when you exit the application.
 1.  Press ESC to return to the Main Menu.
 2.  Choose Exit.
     An alert box warns you that you may lose your changes.
 3.  Choose Save.
     The Save Preferences dialogue box is displayed.
 4.  Choose OK.
     An alert box warns you that the file you are about to save (called 
     VIS.CFG) already exists and that you are about to overwrite it. 
 5.  Choose OK to save the new configuration.  (Choose Cancel if you do not 
     want to save the configuration.)  The new device configuration is saved 
     in Visualiser's Preferences file.
     An alert box warns you that you are about to leave Visualiser.
 6.  Choose OK.  You are returned to the DOS prompt. 
 
======================================     
2.   Changing the Mouse Movement setup
======================================

     You can adjust the Mouse Movement setup using the Mouse Movement dialogue 
     box.

 1.  Click the right mouse button once in the viewing area.  
     The Visualiser menu is displayed.
 2.  Choose Device Select from the Visualiser menu.  
     The Device Select dialogue box is displayed.
 3.  Click on the Prop: Mouse Movement Setup button.  
     The Mouse Movement dialogue box is displayed.
 4.  Make any changes that you want to the Home Position, sensitivity, 
     mode transition method, or axes of movement (see below for further 
     details).
 5.  Choose OK.
 
 2.1.Adjusting the Home Position
 ===============================
 1.  Click on the Home Position button to set it to Floating or Centre.  
     *  Floating sets the Home Position to the point where the mouse is 
	clicked in the viewing area.
     *  Centre sets the centre of the screen as the Home Position. 
 2.  Click on the Home Icon button to set Visible or Invisible. 
     *  Visible marks the Home Position with a small square to aid navigation. 
     *  If Invisible is set the Home Position is not visible.
 
 2.2.Adjusting the sensitivity of the mouse
 ==========================================
 1.  Drag the Mov Response slider (or click on the slider scale) to adjust 
     the sensitivity of the mouse in a linear direction.  The further the 
     slider handle is to the right, the more sensitive the mouse will be to 
     any movement.
 2.  Drag the Rot Response slider (or click on the slider scale) to adjust 
     the sensitivity of the mouse in a rotational direction.  The further the 
     slider handle is to the right, the more sensitive the mouse will be to 
     any movement.
 
 2.3.Setting the transition method
 =================================
 1.  Click on the Mode selection button to select the method that you want 
     to use. The transition between Selection mode and Movement mode can be 
     made in one of three ways. 
     *  Pressing spacebar. 
     *  On a three button mouse, using the centre mouse button.
     *  The centre mouse button can be set so that holding it down switches 
	into movement mode.  When released, the mouse returns to selection 
	mode.     
     
     The keyboard method may be used in conjunction with either of the centre 
     mouse button methods.

     (For further information on setting up and using the centre mouse button 
     refer to the documentation supplied with your mouse.)
 
 2.4.Setting the axes for mouse movement 
 =======================================
 1.  Choose the More button in the Mouse Movement dialogue box to move to the 
     second page of the dialogue box.
 2.  Click on the +Left button and the +Right button to set Move or Select.
     *  When Move is set, pressing the mouse button moves your position or 
	rotates the viewpoint in one of the axes.
     *  When Select is set, the mouse acts as it does in Selection mode. 
 3.  Click on the six Move and Rotate axis buttons to set the movement option 
     for each axis and mouse button combination.  The button cycles between 
     the following options:
     *  Move X, Move Y, Move Z moves your position in each axis.
     *  Rotate X, Rotate Y, Rotate Z rotates the viewpoint in each axis.
     These options are only effective if the mouse button is in Move mode.
 4.  Click on the movement type button next to the Move and Rotate axis 
     buttons to switch between Relative and Absolute.  
     *  In Relative mode, the distance of the mouse pointer from the home 
	position determines the speed of rotation of movement. 
     *  In Absolute mode, the distance of the mouse from the home position 
	determines the absolute orientation or position of the viewpoint.
     For example, holding the mouse stationary in Relative mode might rotate 
     at a constant speed, while in Absolute mode it would keep the viewpoint 
     at a constant orientation.
 
======================
3.   Keyboard controls
======================

     You can adjust the keyboard setup using the Setup dialogue box. To 
     display the Setup dialogue box:

 1.  Click the right mouse button in the viewing area.  
     The Visualiser menu is displayed.
 2.  Choose Setup.  The Setup dialogue box is displayed.
  
 3.1.Adjusting the distance you move each time you press a key  
 =============================================================
 1.  Drag the Movement Step slider (or click on the slider scale) to adjust 
     the amount you move in a linear direction each time you press a movement
     key.  Movement Step has a range of 0-100000.  A low value means that you 
     move slowly, and a high value very quickly.
 2.  Drag the Angular Step slider (or click on the slider scale) to adjust 
     the amount you move in a rotational direction each time you press a 
     rotation key.  Angular Step has a range of 0-90.

=================================
4. Locking a viewpoint to an axis
=================================

     The Viewpoint Locks buttons in the Setup dialogue box allow you to lock 
     an object's rotation relative to the viewpoint in each of the three axes. 
     Normally all locks are off, and a viewpoint attached to a rotating object 
     rotates with it.  In this case the object is always seen in the same 
     orientation.  If the object is rotated in an axis where the lock in on, 
     the viewpoint remains stationary and the object is seen to rotate in that 
     axis.  You can lock as many of the axes as you want.

 1.  Click the right mouse button in the viewing area.
     The Visualiser menu is displayed.
 2.  Click on Setup.
     The Setup dialogue box is displayed.
 3.  Select the corresponding Viewpoint Lock button, and choose OK.

========================
5.   Changing resolution
========================

     With some graphics cards, you can use Visualiser in several screen 
     resolutions.  These differ according to the graphics card you are using 
     and its configuration.  To change the screen resolution press SHIFT and + 
     or SHIFT and - on the keypad to change to a higher or lower resolution 
     if one is available. 

     At each end, the resolution changes wrap around.  For example, changing 
     down from the lowest available resolution switches to the highest 
     resolution.

=======================
6.   Saving screenshots
=======================

     You can save the currently displayed screen to disk within the 
     Visualiser by pressing PRINT SCREEN. The screen is saved to disk as a 
     256 colour .PCX format file.  
     By default, the screen file is saved into the current directory, and its 
     name is the first five characters of the configuration file name 
     (usually the same as the VRT file name) padded with underscores if 
     necessary, followed by a unique three digit number, and an extension of 
     .PCX.  For example, if you start Visualiser from the command line 
     C:\VIS3-60A>, load the world OFFICE.VRT and take three screenshots, the 
     files are saved in the C:\VIS3-60A directory as OFFIC001.PCX, 
     OFFIC002.PCX, OFFIC003.PCX.  If you take the screenshots from the file 
     GO.VRT the files are GO___001.PCX, GO___002.PCX, GO___003.PCX.
     Sometimes when you try to capture the current screen file of a dialogue 
     box, the screen is saved but the dialogue box is not.  In this case, 
     display the dialogue box again and press ESC once before you press 
     PRINT SCREEN.

=====================
7.   Printing screens
=====================

     You can print a screen on a connected printer without saving it to disk 
     by pressing CTRL+PRINT SCREEN.  This does not work if you have a 
     dialogue box displayed.
     If this is the first screen to be printed, the Choose Printer dialogue 
     box is displayed, with a list of available printer types.  Follow the 
     dialogue boxes to set up your printer and print the screen.

     If you want to select a different printer press CTRL+P to display the 
     Printer dialogue box.  This allows you to choose another printer.

====================
8.   Troubleshooting
====================

     This section identifies some of the most common problems that can occur 
     with the Visualiser software.
     If you have a problem running the program the first time that you use 
     Visualiser, check first that the hardware is operating correctly and 
     that the software is correctly installed.

     Bad command or file name
     ========================
     For Visualiser to run correctly, the following statement must have been 
     added to the SET PATH line in your AUTOEXEC.BAT file (assuming that 
     C:\VIS3-60A is the directory specified during installation):

       ;C:\VIS3-60A\PROGRAMS

     This is added automatically during installation.  If it is not in the 
     SET PATH statement, you need to add it using a text editor and then 
     reboot your computer.  Refer to your DOS documentation for details on 
     editing your AUTOEXEC.BAT file.

     No system message data specified
     ================================
     This is due to the Visualiser not knowing where to find its own data. 
     Check that the following line has been added to your AUTOEXEC.BAT file:

       SET VIS=C:\VIS3-60A\PROGRAMS

     This line is added automatically during installation.  If it is not in 
     your AUTOEXEC.BAT file, you need to use a text editor to add the line 
     and then reboot your computer.  Refer to your DOS documentation for 
     details on editing your AUTOEXEC.BAT file.

     Visualiser runs in low resolution (320 x 240)
     =============================================
     To run in a higher resolution, your graphics card must be VESA 
     compatible. Most cards come with a small driver to do this. On one of 
     the disks supplied with the graphics card there should be a file 
     supporting this, probably called VVESA.COM or VVESA.EXE. 
     If you cannot find a file with this name, consult the documentation 
     included with the graphics card.  The VESA driver is a small memory 
     resident program that converts the SVGA card into a truly standard 
     VESA SVGA.  Copy this to your hard disk, following the instructions 
     supplied with the graphics card.  (It may also be necessary to copy some 
     other files.)
     To test this, run the driver by typing VVESA (or equivalent) from the 
     DOS prompt.  You should get a short message informing you that the driver 
     has been installed.  Now run the Visualiser.  If the title screen is 
     displayed, then all is well and the VESA configuration has been 
     recognised.
     To make this change permanent, use a text editor to add the following 
     line to the end of your AUTOEXEC.BAT file to run the VVESA program:
	
       VVESA

     When you reboot, the VVESA program should run automatically.

     Blank Screen
     ============
     Some mouse drivers may cause problems with the SVGA leading to a blank 
     screen.  Try removing the mouse driver from memory (usually this means 
     removing it from your AUTOEXEC.BAT or CONFIG.SYS file and rebooting the 
     machine), and running Visualiser without a mouse.  If this cures the 
     problem, try using a different mouse driver.
     Mouse drivers are usually called MOUSE.COM, and be in a directory called 
     MOUSE, or UTILS.

     The view moves by itself
     ========================
     If the control device creeps (the viewpoint moves without the device 
     being touched) release the device and press SHIFT+H to toggle it off 
     and then on again to reset it.

     The control device does not work
     ================================
     The keyboard is a standard product and should always operate correctly. 
     If you have any problems refer to the documentation supplied with it. 
     If you are using a proportional device that does not work, check first 
     that its power supply (if any) is connected, of the correct polarity and 
     voltage, and turned on.  Also check that any other cables are correctly 
     connected to the right sockets on the computer.
     Confirm that the device is active in the world.  Choose Device Setup from 
     the Visualiser menu and check that the device is enabled and correctly 
     set up (See "Setting up devices" above).
     Run another virtual world.  If the device works with this world the 
     device configuration on the world which it did not run may not be set up 
     correctly.

     Playing sounds hangs the system
     ===============================
     The Ad Lib Gold 1000, Sound Blaster 2 and Sound Blaster 16 ASP cards all 
     require a certain amount of processor time to process the sound data. 
     Several other devices, most notably the mouse, work in a similar way.
     Some mouse drivers contain a bug which causes them to lock up when using 
     the interrupt driven sound in this way.  Those that most often cause 
     problems are:
     *  DFI Mouse driver v3.2
     *  Z-Nix Mouse driver v6.11
     *  Systems Mouse driver v3.03
     Try another mouse driver.

     Mouse does not work
     ===================
     First, check that the mouse is connected to the correct port , and that 
     the mouse driver supplied is installed correctly.  Instructions on how 
     to do this are contained in the documentation that accompanies the mouse.
     
     For three button mice, a different mouse driver may be required if the 
     third button is enabled.  Check with the mouse documentation to see if 
     this is the case.

     Error screen
     =============
     Very occasionally a combination of keystrokes and operations may 
     highlight an unreported problem.  If Visualiser is the cause, the screen 
     is likely to contain some form of data and an error message, usually as 
     a red, white and blue error screen.
     Reset your computer, load Visualiser and try the same sequence again to 
     see if it is directly related to Visualiser's operation. 
     If the problem does not re-occur, it may have been due to an 
     environmental problem affecting the hardware, such as a mains spike.