Collaborating in Simcenter STAR-CCM+ Virtual Reality

If you connect to the same Simcenter STAR-CCM+ server as other colleagues, then you can see their position as an avatar when you view the same scene. Use cases are collaborative exploration, tutoring (an experienced user introduces a novice user to virtual reality), or demonstrations (for example at a car show).

  1. To set up a collaborative virtual reality session, follow the procedure for a session that is connected to Simcenter STAR-CCM+, but be sure to specify Collaboration when launching the Simcenter STAR-CCM+ Server. For details of the procedure, see Connected Simcenter STAR-CCM+ Virtual Reality: Launching and Loading Scenes.
When multiple users have joined a virtual reality session, the following information becomes available to all users:
  • The position and orientation of each user and their controllers are transmitted to all other users in the scene—using a different-colored hard hat avatar for each user. Interactive tools such as particle injection and palette settings are also transmitted. Hence you can see the immediate actions of all others users in the scene.

  • All interaction items (plane sections, iso surfaces, clip planes, or particle seed points) are shared globally. The addition or deletion of an item is transmitted to all other users.
  • Palette settings that you use to customize your virtual reality experience can be optionally shared.

All users can perform standard Simcenter STAR-CCM+ Virtual Reality actions, including addition or removal of clip planes, plane sections, isosurfaces, and particle sources. You can remove such elements regardless of which user created them.

  1. To share your virtual reality settings with other users, select Tools > Collaborative and work with the following settings:
    1. Shared Settings--choose which settings are to be transmitted to other users.
      • Show/Hide HUD (heads-up display, or visibility of 2D scene elements in the foreground, such as the color bar and annotations)
      • Enable/Disable Fly Mode
      • Show/Hide Floor and Ceiling
      • Show/Hide Volume Rendering
      • Increase/Decrease Particle Radius
      • Increase/Decrease Particle Speed

      When you share a setting with other users, link symbols, with colors corresponding to the other users, appear on the palette icon of that setting to indicate that it is shared.



    2. Follow Mode--choose from the variations of follow mode, which vary in how they affect followers' ability to stay linked to you:
      • Advanced - Active Tethering: Followers must keep the trigger pressed to stay linked to you. Once the trigger is released, follow mode ends immediately. The follower is allowed to make his own model transformations on top of the shared model transforms. Pulling the other trigger performs a standard rotation.
      • Advanced - Tethering: To link to you, the follower only needs to press the trigger once, after which the follower stays in follow mode until the same trigger is pressed again. Otherwise this mode behaves like Advanced - Active Tethering. Pulling the other trigger performs a standard rotation.
      • Guided Tour: This variation brings the follower into a point-of-view position relative to you. The positions of you and the follower should now align until one or the other physically moves. The follower goes along the guided tour that you present, but is not allowed to perform any model transformation actions independently (that is, translation, scale, rotation).

        To leave this mode, the follower must press both triggers (left and right) at the same time and hold them for approximately half a second; this prevents accidental exiting. Either you (as the leader) or the follower can initiate this action.

  2. To follow another user:
    1. Press a grip button on one of the controllers; the palette appears. A laser beam shines from the front of the other controller.
    2. Point the laser beam at the bounding box of the user's avatar and press the trigger.
      If you are in Advanced - Active Tethering mode, you must keep the trigger pressed to remain connected to the other user in follow mode.
    As a user moves the model (scale, translate, rotate), these transforms are transmitted to the other users in follow mode.
  3. To stop following a user, do one of the following, depending on the follow mode you are in:
    • In any mode, press both triggers (left and right) at the same time and hold them for approximately half a second.
    • In Advanced - Active Tethering mode, release the trigger of your controller.
    • For Advanced - Tethering mode, press the trigger once.
    • In Guided Tour mode, you must press both triggers (left and right) at the same time and hold them for approximately half a second; this prevents accidental exiting from the follow mode.
  4. To locate a user who is not in view, look for an arrow with that user's color that points to the user's location.


    When a user is behind an object in the view, the location is indicated by a diamond.

  5. To move closer to another user, point the controller in that user's direction and press Pull. To move farther away, press Push.
  6. To move the current viewpoint instantly, or teleport, to the viewpoint of another user:
    1. Press a grip button on one of the controllers; the palette appears. A laser beam shines from the front of the other controller.
    2. Point the laser beam of the other controller at the (Teleport) icon on the palette.


    3. Point at the left or right arrow alongside the icon to cycle to the target user.
    4. When the laser beam points to the desired user, squeeze the controller trigger.