Introduction to the Remote Control API

The VR-Forces Remote Control API is a set of classes that allows an application to easily control one or more remote VR-Forces applications (that is, an application that is using the VR-Forces simulation engine to simulate entities and other objects.) The VR-Forces GUI (the vrfGui executable) uses the VR-Forces Remote Control API to control the vrfSim application.

The Remote Control API is also meant to be used in custom VR-Forces front-ends, simulation managers, or Instructor/Operator Stations.

When you use the Remote Control API, you do not need to worry about the details of the network messages being exchanged between your application and the VR-Forces applications. These are handled transparently, in the implementation of the Remote Control API. On the other hand, the API provides access to these messages, so that you can extend or modify the way the Remote Control API communicates with VR-Forces simulation engines if you need to.

You can use the Remote Control API to drive a VR-Forces simulation engine that is running as a part of the same application (that is, building a GUI and simulation engine into a single executable). However, when you do so, you are controlling the simulation engine as if it were remote. You cannot take advantage of detailed knowledge of the internals of the simulation engine, as you could by using the VR-Forces simulation engine's API directly. But in exchange, you gain the flexibility to easily separate your GUI into a separate networked executable later.

VR-Forces also has a mechanism for controlling remote front-ends through MTL commands.

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