BFF Motion Driver v3 - Short User Guide


Contents

 

Appendix 1. Changelog

 

  • 30 Nov 2010 - For v3.0beta831 - corrected Mix settings save to file, added Drive_on_Start parameter for Condor version.
     

  • 14 Dec 2012 - For v3.0beta87 MSFS version - Added 16bit binary output data format BIN2B. Note this is only on the MSFS beta 87 version of the driver.
     

  • 23 Jan 2013 - For v3.0beta90 all versions - Updated 16bit binary output data format BIN2TH for use with Thanos' controller cards.
     

  • 28 Jan 2013 - For v3.0beta91 all versions - Corrected 16bit binary output data format BIN2TH  broken in v90!
     

  • 31 Jan 2013 - For v3.0beta92 X-Plane version - Updated for X-Plane V10 - please see UDP data settings required here.
     

  • 7 Nov 2013 - Documented Rig_Type=5 setting for rigs using pairs of "handed" crank type actuators. See Settings.
     

  • 7th Jan 2014  - Documented the existing Mode=MAEST data output format for exporting actuator positions to Pololu Maestro RC servo cards.
     

  • 8th Jan 2014 - Updated X-Plane version to beta93 and FS9/X version to beta92 to add data output format Mode=KANG for Dimension Engineering Kangaroo motion controllers.
     

  • 22 May 2014 - Updated X-Plane version to V3.1 and FS9/X version to V3.1 - minor changes to licensing text on GUI and some additional logging options.
     

  • 25 June 2014 - Updated X-Plane and FS9/X versions to V3.15 - added USB licence key dongle features to allow portability of registrations between PC's. Fixed DE Kangaroo operation for encoder feedback which require homing before operation.
     

  • 6 Sept 2014 - Updated X-Plane and FS9/X versions to V3.18 - added Prepar3D compatibility to FSX version. Added BINTH output mode to both FSX & X-Plane versions. This provides direct output to Thanos' cards at the sim frame rate without the higher rate data extrapolation used in BIN2TH mode.
     

  • 26th Sept 2014 - Added beta version for rFactor racing sim. See Section 9 for more details. Download from the Introduction page as usual.
     

  • 30th Sept 2014 - Added beta version for early access Assetto Corsa racing sim. See Section 10 for more details. Download from the Introduction page as usual.
     

  • 3rd Oct 2014 - Added beta version for F1 2013 racing sim. See Section 11 for more details. Download from the Introduction page as usual.
     

  • 7th Oct 2014 - Added beta version for Live for Speed racing sim. See Section 12 for more details. Download from the Introduction page as usual.

    Upgraded various versions to V3.20 - added Invert and Disable checkboxes to the M (actuator mix) window. This allows DOF directions to be reversed through the GUI to suit your platform mechanics, and to enable/disable individual DOF's for cue tuning purposes.

    Updated Yaw cue source in the X-Plane (v10.25) and RFactor versions.
     

  • 9th Oct 2014 - Added beta version for iRacing racing sim. See Section 13 for more details. Download from the Introduction page as usual.
     

  • 7th Jan 2015 - Added beta version of the Generic 6DOF motion driver. See Section 14 for more details. Download from the Introduction page as usual.
     

  • 7th March 2015 - Upgraded all versions (except Condor) to V3.30.

    - Added improved cue P, R, H, & Y settings windows which use sliders to tune the cues. Advanced cue settings are still available by ticking the Adv. check-box. This "easy" slider based approach provides a more intuitive cue settings interface to make cue tuning easier.

    - Corrected the BIN2B output format.

    - Changed yaw cue telemetry source in MSFS version from yaw accel to yaw velocity to bring into line with other versions. Velocity provides a better yaw cue.

    - Added Crash_Gs parameter to the racing sim version .bff config files. This sets the vehicle acceleration level at which the software assumes a crash event has taken place. The output will be sent to Hold when the crash detect is triggered. To make the trigger less sensitive to vehicle impacts increase the value (default is Crash_Gs=5.0).
     

  • 27th March 2015 - Added V3.40beta version for GPBikes motorcycle racing sim. See Section 15 for more details. Download from the Introduction page as usual.
     

  • 5th May 2015 - Updated to V3.40beta2 version for F1-2013 / Dirt 3 to work with the new Dirt Rally version of the racing sim.
     

  • 7th May 2015 - Updated various versions to V3.40 to implement some changes to the registration coding.
     

  • 14th May 2015 - Added V3.40b1 for Project CARS racing sim - see Section 16 for details. Download from the Introduction page as usual.
     

  • 17th August 2015 - Added V3.40b4 for Aerowinx Precision Simulator (PSX). See section 17 for details. Download from the Introduction page as usual.

    - Updated all versions of the motion driver (various b3 and b4) to include the new auto-start function. With AutoStart enabled the motion software will proceed to the initialise steps (check registration, select config file etc) automatically when started. This is equivalent to clicking the Start button on the window. To enable AutoStart set parameter Auto_Start=Yes in the Start.ini file.
     

  • 8th Dec 2015 - Updated all to V3.406 (except Condor). Various small improvements & fixes.

    - Added default heavy jet configs to FSX and X-Plane versions
    - Improved resolution of MD_Delay parameter
    - Improved various Easy Slider settings - some were not switching off when slid fully to the right.
    - Corrected default Kangaroo channel 6 to controller address 130 as per documentation (only had effect if channel address parameters not in bff config file)
    - Corrected Yaw movement range calculation for very tall and slim platform geometries
    - Added extra logging for registration checking
    - Added some other extra logging items to assist debugging
    - Corrected Invert Axis save bug
     

  • 14th April 2016 - Updated all to V3.411 (except Condor).

    - Added actuator angle monitoring - see Section 18
    - Enforced hard limits on upper bound of data output MSB bytes to 255
     

  • 16th May 2016 - Added x-IMU interface app to the Generic V3.411 zip package (The motion software itself has not changed).
     

  • 18th Nov 2016 - Added version for Digital Combat Simulator (DCS). For details see Section 20. Download as usual on Introduction page.
     

  • 23rd Nov 2016 - Updated F1 2013 / Dirt Rally version to V3.413. Corrected sense of pitch attitude - previously nose down cue was being implemented when vehicle went nose up. This opposed the correct pitch tilt for acceleration cue - both are aligned now.
     

  • 27th April 2017 - Corrected bug in DCS version which caused pitch angle cue not to reset fully after some crash conditions.
     

  • 20th July 2017 - Updated F1 2013 / Dirt Rally version to V3.414 to support Dirt 4. UDP data output settings for Dirt 4 are as per Dirt 3.
     

  • 16th Aug 2018 - Updated GP-Bikes version to V3.420 to support GP-Bikes Beta 14. This version no longer supports previous beta versions of GP-Bikes.
     

  • 28th Sept 2018 - Updated the fast curve fitting app BFF_6DOF_Background to V1.01 to support Thano's recent firmware fix for the "actuator kick" issue. The new app allows the serial data packet ID bytes to be user-specified. Setting these =255 provides compatibility with Thanos's fix.
     

  • 17th Dec 2018 - Further update to BFF_6DOF_Background to V1.02 to support Thanos' latest Dec 18 firmware (adds bytes for 7th & 8th DOF and packet termination bytes).
     

  • 4th Dec 2020 -

    Various updates to the Generic version V3.501:

    - Added new Platform Test App for use with the Generic software. This app provides sine wave, step and recorded motion playback options which can be sent to the Generic motion software to test single or multiple actuators or DOF's.
    - Added Record motion button to allow recording of live cue data for later playback by the Platform Test App feeding the Generic driver.
    - Added export of output status for BIN2TH mode. This can be used by new UDP output from BFF_6DOF_Background V1.21

    Updates to MSFS version to V3.502:

    - Extended the MSFS version to also support X-Plane via XPUIPC. This avoids use of X-Plane UDP data outputs.
    - Added Record motion button to allow recording of live cue data for later playback by the Platform Test App. Allows flight sim aircraft motion recording.
    - Added export of output status for BIN2TH mode. This can be used by new UDP output from BFF_6DOF_Background V1.21

    Updates to F1-2013 version to V3.421:

    - Added Record motion button to allow recording of live cue data for later playback by the Platform Test App. Allows F1 and rally racing motion recording.

    Updates to BFF_6DOF_Background to V1.21:

    - Added ini file parameters to allow full inversion of actuator cues.
    - Added UDP cue data output for onward export to 3rd party software. See the BINTH.ini file for format details.
    - Significance of previously unused "iCode" output byte changed - now provides status of motion software so can be non-zero.
     

 

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