User manual

Exorcist User Manual
2
Introduction
Exorcist is a software and hardware package that was been designed to seamlessly
trigger VSA routines using switches and sensors or an infrared remote control.
About VSA:
The VSA animation software is published by Brookshire Software
(http://brookshiresoftware.com). VSA is the software shipped with every SkullTroniX
talking skull. VSA allows simple drag’n’drop animation for a variety of animatronics,
robots and lighting devices.
VSA is designed to run only one routine at a time and is typically activated by
pressing the ENTER key on the keyboard. A single VSA routine can control the
lights, sound and animation for a single haunted house scene. But VSA doesn’t allow
you to trigger the routine with devices other than the keyboard. Nor will VSA support
multiple routines simultaneously.
Thus was born the Exorcist. While not of much use to non-VSA users, the Exorcist
allows VSA to become the heart and brains of a modern haunted attraction. With VSA
and the Exorcist you can trigger and control the playback of multiple sound files and
VSA routines simultaneously. This allows VSA to not only control multiple routines
for multiple scenes but also to be interactive with both the visitors and the staff of the
haunt.
The Exorcist interfaces directly with VSA and as such greatly expands the versatility
of VSA, and even makes it possible to drive multiple animatronics or props
simultaneously from a single computer. Each animatronic can even have its own
unique sound.
System Requirements:
Because the Exorcist can run multiple VSA routines simultaneously it can eat up
considerable processing power and memory. We recommend a minimum of 1024MB
RAM, Windows XP and the fastest processor you can afford. We also highly
recommend a powered USB hub to both supply sufficient power as well as protect
your PC from shorts or surges in your USB devices. You also need VSA and VSA
Console. See below for more details.
We do not yet support running the Exorcist software under Windows Vista.