Need for Speed + 3 Projectors = Insanity

[geneb]

I finished the projector stands I was building for my project yesterday and the first test harness involved Need For Speed:Shift. I almost threw in the towel on this one - the damn game would freeze the instant you'd jump into the car. Eventually we dialed the settings down as much as possible and it finally worked. I'm firmly convinced that EA's QA goes like this, "It compiled?! Holy crap! Ship it, quick!" *snarls*

At any rate, here's what the setup looks like:




The projectors are scratch built using components from DIYProjectorkits.com. Each projector uses a 15.4" 1024x768 LCD panel. The projectors weigh right around 30lbs each. In "optimum" configuration, they'll cover a field of view that's 225 degrees wide. The screen is built with that in mind.

The screen material is canvas drop cloth from the local BORG. The screen has a diameter of roughly 15 feet.

Here's what it looks like during the NThusim calibration stage:



My friend Dave is in the hot seat for this picture. :) The image is a bit blurry because I don't have a tripod and taking very low-light photos with a DSLR can be a challenge with a shutter speed of a full second or more. :)

Here's the rig running in-game:


At 3072x768, NFS:S does a pretty respectable job of giving you a nearly 180 degree FOV. You'll jump if a car bangs into you from the side. :)

Here's a short (and unfortunately very dark) video of it in action:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X5ol9vFbnNw

This setup uses a single GTX260 and a TripleHead2Go.

You can read more about the projectors, etc. at http://geneb.simpits.org

g.

[BHawthorne]

I was curious how the stands would turn out. Looks like a decent solution for mounting. Any word on the racing simpit? I didn't know you had one setup. It looks like the Logitech Mono wheel? I also have one of those. Good bang for the buck for a racing wheel.

[geneb]

Yep, it's just a simple Momo wheel. I've had it for a long time.

It gets the job done for sure. :)

g.

[DeadlyDad]

Just thought I'd let y'all know that Gene got it working with mylar. (Lookaround.)

[BHawthorne]

Yep, he's done some pretty cool stuff pushing the edge of what is possible for hobby builds. I hear he's sourced really wide mylar and can do larger screens now. I understand he's designing his next setup so it isn't effected by the collimated screen patent. Definitely awesome use of multi-projector. :rockout