Simulator

[Shane]

Ok, this may seem a little bizarre…then again there might be some kindred spirits out there. I’m building a “space simulator” for EoC and other future space games. I want to do this right, and I’m very interested in any suggestions the members of the forum may have.
Before I get into this, let me convince everyone I’m not crazy (well, not completely). I’m a contractor, so building the structure is easy and I’m currently taking a course in electronics (and have military experience in that area) so I should be able to wire everything up. I’ve wanted to build a simulator since I played Elite in 1986, but the computer games just weren’t able to provide a good enough simulation to make it worthwhile. I’ve waited and watched. EoC’s excellent graphics, sound, and mod-ability made up my mind.

Here’s the current stage: The simulator is 6′ wide and 10′ long. It sits upon two heavy wood runners (skids) so I could call a tow truck to haul the thing if I ever move to another home. It consists of an insulated outer shell and an inner shell (think box in a box). The inner shell is the ‘cabin’ where the pilot sits. The outer shell contains many access ports which give access to the interior wiring. Between the two shells, is a 4 inch space to allow airflow. The simulator will be cooled with a small window-unit air conditioner, which will blow air into the cockpit, then circulate it around the airspace (between the shells, where the bulk of the wiring is), and then return it to the cooling unit. The pilot seat is a suitable bucket seat from a junkyard (I’m still searching for the perfect one).

This is my control setup so far (and this is what I’m really hoping to get input on): Mounted to the right of the chair will be a Microsoft Force Feedback II joystick. This will take care of maneuvering thrusters (up, down, right, left), firing, weapons selection, rolling, and targeting. On the left of the chair will be a panel with six controls (buttons/switches) which will handle things such as autopilots. Also mounted to the left of the chair will be a bar-type throttle control. Four pedals at the floor will handle (for EoC) the thrust override controls. In front of the main screen will be banks of switches. Above the pilot’s head will also be switches. A keyboard and mouse will be hidden under the forward control console (so I can still use the computer to surf the web and other things), but I wish to play the game without ever seeing the keyboard. Switches and buttons will seem much more real.

I’m running all the controls into a patch board behind the seat, which will be hooked up to a keyboard encoder. The patch board will enable me to change control functions easily, so if EoC 2 ever comes out, I’ll be ready. The display system is a 19″ monitor with the images magnified by a fresnel lens, which should display at 27″ and not look ‘flat’ (fresnel lenses basically make the screen look ‘real’…the eye does not focus on the screen 12″ away, it creates an optical illusion that causes the focus point to be infinite…in other words; it will look more lifelike). The sound system will be excellent, and pitched down so the pilot feels the roar of engines. A separate sound system will be available for music (I know EoC has the MP3 mod, but future games may not).

Computer is a HP Pavilion 310n, 1.10 GHz processor, 512 mb RAM, big hard drive, cd-rom, all that stuff…(not sure if anyone would need this for feedback, but just in case).

A bonus of the Force Feedback joystick is that I should be able to hook up a couple of motors to simulate hits and collisions with a ‘thumper’. The FF impulse will trigger a switch which will cause an electric motor to create a crashing/crunching noise in the cockpit.

The interior of the cockpit will be clad in steel plates and utilize metal grates mounted upon the wooden flooring (every time I pirate a container of floor plates in the game I nearly drool…if only they were real!). Air conditioning controls will be mounted in the cabin (labeled ‘Environmental Controls). The doors (one in the exterior shell, one from the shell to the cabin) will have safety latches upon them, to provide quick exit in the case of fire or other emergency (I sincerely hope I’ve planned enough that this never happens), and a fire extinguisher will be mounted in the cabin (just in case).

I know this is a long post (sorry Soup!). If anyone has any questions please let me know and I can reply with more specifics. I would really appreciate any input on this project…good or bad. Thanks.

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