How to use VRTool

VRTool How To

Installing vrtool

1) Download the software installer and save to your computer.

2) After the complete download, run the file. This will install the software in your system.

3) Run the program using the [Start] > Applications > VRTool menu or use the desktop icon.

Updating

If you already have vrtool installed and want to update, download, run the installer program and install in the same directory (normally \program files\vrtool\ ). Overwrite files (unless you edited)

Using VRTool

Run VRTool and load a desktop (use menu option File > Open Desktop). If you are new to the program, use the sample desktop vrtool.nav. This will open a set of charts, routes, tracks and marks. You can add our own marks, design routes and tracks, add great circle routes or use weather routing to generate track candidates and isochrones. All these objects can be saved to the desktop file (*.nav).

In the program toolbar you find the following tools:

zoom - Click left mouse button to zoom in and right to zoom out.
hand - Left click and drag the map.
ruler - Use it to measure distance and course (if the wind grid is loaded it will calculate boat speed, track time and recommended sail, using the polars)
route tool - Use it to draw multipoint routes. Right click to finish and give a name.
track tool - Use it to draw tracks (points with time). If the wind grid is loaded for the whole track, it will calculate point date/times. When you cross a 12h intervals, wind forecasts change automatically.
mark tool - Use to add marks to de desktop. Choose a name and icon for your mark.
pointer - Use to point things in the desktop. It will show the associated texts (mark name, track point text, wind speed etc)

Open the properties frame clicking . This will show tabbed pages with the route/track editor; wind options and Boats.

Load winds (use the Firefox Importer Module or Import grib winds)

Use buttons [Ctrl] [1] to [Ctrl][7].. or buttons in the toolbar to display successive wind forecast periods.

Use the leg calculator for great circle and rhumb line calculations (for long distances)).
Add these routes to your desktop (specify number of points).

Destination

Set your leg destination. This will enable VMC readings (velocity made good to course) and GC distance calculation.

To set the destination, go to the Boat Attitude panel and click the [settings button] in the top left of the panel. Edit latitude and longitude of destination point, or press [point] button and click location with the mouse. VMC, course and distance to destination calculations use great circle formulas.

Designing Tracks

First, populate the wind field, pointing with the mouse and pressing [F2] to download wind forecasts.

Click the track tool button . Click the first point of the track you are planning. Always start a new track clicking in the last wind change position (11 and 23hs game time). This keeps the new track in sync with winds.

As move the mouse, track data can be viewed in the floating cursor and in the boat attitude indicator. Left click the mouse to add a point to the track. As you draw the track, point times are calculated based on polar charts and wind data for each point of the track. Appropriate wind forecasts are selected as you go.

Move slowly as you cross a 12h boundary and plot a point right after that, so you get a peek of the next wind grid before continuing.

When you stretch a new segment, any wind change boundary (12, 24 etc) in that segment is plotted as a little circle. If you hold the [Alt] key pressed while moving the mouse, the boundary keeps inprinted in the chart, building a curve representing the points that can be reached sailing a constant course until the wind change. Handy for quickly figuring the best course to follow next.

If you stretch a long segment and swing it, you will quickly spot opportunities and problems ahead (see image).

You may use the arrow keys to scroll the chart. Or hold [Ctrl] and drag the chart with the mouse.
Holding [Shift] while moving the mouse stretches the line in 0, 45 ,90 degree directions.

Right-Click to finish a track. Type a name for it. You may change color, width , opacity and other track properties (go to Routes/Tracks tab).

After the track is complete, use the button [Mark track 12h 24h..] to convert the seletced route/ track to a new track with extra points added. The points are:

Crossing wind rectangle boundaries.
Crossing a wind forecast change time (12h, 24h, 36h etc)

These are the points where you may have to change boat course or sail, for best performance.

Note: The procedure produces a new track over the original. Delete or hide tracks using the listbox as needed. Track properties can be viewed and changed in the routes/tracks Tab.

Weather routing

Route optimization number crunching Read more abou this here.

Real tracks

It is important to keep your actual track, adding track points one by one, as you go. You might want to keep an eye on a few "friends", keeping tracks for them too. The program you do that for you (see "Boats" item below).

Polar lines

Polar lines allow the calculation of boat speed given boat course, wind speed and wind angle. Polar lines are used to figure the boat speed at points along your track and integrate boat movements.

winds tab

Default polars and MyPolars

The program can use two polar chart databases.

1- The default database comes with the program installation (file polaresvoc.csv in the program directory). The default polars file was improved and is now pretty close.

2- Polar point database can be gathered from game data during the leg. Its called MyPolars. This table is build with data from boats and friends, as they go. The database starts empty. Every time you query boat data (see Boats topic below) you can add points to MyPolars database. MyPolars is in file MyPolars.csv.

Vendée option uses different files.

There is no editor for the polar lines in the program. However the files are text and simple enough to be edited using notepad or Excel. Restart the program to reload a changed polars file.

Winds tab

VRTool can present winds in many different visualization styles. Winds can be represented by arrows, lines, lines with wind speed, wind direction and polar lines.

You can also plot Best Course to Destination and best VMC vectors.

The wind grid opacity can also be adjusted.

wind plot styles

3D View

The 3D View shows a model of the Earth with the current vrtool desktop pasted on it. It's a crude fit (no fancy 3D boats and dolphins yet) but gives an idea of how the flat chart relates to the spheric Earth. VRTool projections are similar to Mercator charts. In these projections, courses and distances are well represented, but shortest routes are curved. By looking to the 3D projection, you can see how routes and tracks look on the surface of the planet.

Using the 3D View

Maximize the chart view before opening the 3D view. Adjust zoom to include the area of interest. To open, select View > 3D View or use the Earth button. A snapshot of the chart is taken, chopped and pasted to the Earth model. You can rotate the model by dragging with the mouse. Zoom in and out with the mouse wheel and trackbars. Click Update button to render the 3D view.

3D View

Warning: This feature uses OpenGL and hardware accelerated graphics. May cause problems with older computers or simple graphics boards.

You will notice that there are gaps between chart parts, particularly in wide area charts, a side effect of the projection method.

If you have a good graphics board (256 MB or more) you may use this high res texture. Save to vrtool directory and rename to EarthTex.jpg (backup original texture). Restart vrtool and open 3D view.

credits: Star dome uses Yale BSC catalog. GLScene used for OpenGL rendering.
Earth textures by Tom Patterson (www.shadedrelief.com)