trueBall

trueBall is a trueSpace eXtension (TSX) for trueSpace 5.2 and above that allows you to use 3Dconnexion's 3D motion devices within trueSpace. (Note: Devices from 3Dconnexion were previously sold under the Labtec, SpaceTec and Magellan brand names as well. They have also been re-branded and sold by various OEM's such as Compaq and IBM).

Devices such as the SpaceBall (pictured below), SpaceMouse, CadMan etc. provide a much more intuitive way of navigating and manipulating objects in a 3D computer environment than a traditional 2D mouse/keyboard combination can achieve. Specifically designed for use with 3D computer graphic environments, they provide full six degree freedom of movement, sensing both movement along all three axis as well as rotation around all three axis simultaneously.


SpaceBall 2003	SpaceBall 3003	SpaceBall 4000

Pre-requisites

	Caligari trueSpace 5.2 or later
	3Dconnexion's 3DxWare 1.0 or later (you can download current versions of 3DxWare from 3Dconnexion's website)
	A 3D motion device supported by 3Dconnexion's 3DxWare

You can download a beta version of trueBall here:

trueBall version 0.7 beta

Please carefully read the ReadMe.txt file included in the zip file.

You can provide feedback via e-mail to:

snewnham@ozemail.com.au

NOTE: Wherever I talk about the SpaceBall below, the same applies to the other devices supported by 3DxWare, e.g. the SpaceMouse, CadMan and SpaceNavigator range of products.

Unicode config file

It seems that 3D Connexion have changed the configuration file for their driver from an ASCII format to a Unicode format. If you are having trouble getting trueBall to work with the newer 3DConnexion drivers, try replacing the "truespace.scg" file with the one in this .zip file:

Unicode configuration file

What's new in Beta 0.7

	View Memories are now saved and loaded with the scene file - you no longer have to set up memories from scratch each time you return to work on a scene.
	Sensitivity adjustment for each axis - allows you to tweak the sensitivity of individual movement (X, Y, Z) axes and rotation (Pitch, Yaw, Roll) axes.
	Eye dependant widgets, such as the Navigation Tool widget, now retain their correct position in the view as you use the SpaceBall to move around the scene.

What's new in Beta 0.5 release 2

Additional 3DxWare configuration file for 3DxWare version 3.5.15 or later. 3Dconnexion have updated the configuration file format for 3DxWare version 3.5.15 or later, so the .zip file you download now contains two different configuration files - one for this version or later and another for ealier versions of 3DxWare. If you have trueBall Beta 0.5 already installed, and haven't updated your 3DxWare to 3.5.15 or later, you don't need this new file. As usual, the ReadMe.txt inside the .zip file contains all the relevant details.

What's new in Beta 0.5

	View Memories - allow the user to memorise particular view location and direction settings and map these to buttons on the SpaceBall. These provide shortcuts for navigating around complex scenes where you want to be able to quickly return to pre-defined locations.
	Option to reverse movement in "Camera Mode" - this was added at the request of a Unigraphics user. With this option enabled, movement around the scene in "Camera Mode" is closer to what a Unigraphics user expects.

What's new in Beta 0.3

New "Object" mode - allows moving and rotating the selected object in the scene using the SpaceBall. This includes not only geometry that you have created in the scene but cameras, lights, etc. See the ReadMe.txt file included in the zip file for details on using this new feature.

What's new in Beta 0.2

	Initial public release.
	Includes "Camera Mode" only - allows you to move the active view's viewpoint and rotate the view direction using the SpaceBall.
	Includes "Wireframe Move" feature - when this feature is turned on the active view will automatically switch to displaying objects in wireframe mode while you are moving about the scene using the SpaceBall. When you stop moving the view will revert to displaying objects according to your trueSpace settings (e.g. Solid mode, transparent mode, etc.). This feature is designed to improve framerates while moving through large/complex scenes - toggling this feature on/off can be mapped to one of the SpaceBall's buttons if desired (it is mapped to Button A by default for SpaceBall 4000 and SpaceBall 5000 users).
	Includes AutoStart feature to selectively enable/disable automatically connecting to the SpaceBall on trueSpace startup - most people will leave this turned on, but if you only have a SpaceBall connected some of the time (e.g. on a laptop) this can be handy.
	Currently does not allow banking the view - restricting view movement to five degrees of freedom of movement rather than the full six degrees the SpaceBall is capable of.

Planned for the future

	Add support for banking the active view, i.e. rotating the view around the direction of view, like an aircraft banking in flight.
	Selectable "Camera Move" feature. Currently, if the active view is a camera view (i.e. locked to the view from a camera object in the trueSpace scene) you cannot move that view with the SpaceBall. This planned feature, when turned on, will allow you to use the SpaceBall to move as in a normal perspective view, moving the camera within the scene to match your indicated movements.