Vasco da Gama 5 - MotionStudios

Vasco da Gama 6 

and 

Vasco da Gama 6 HDPro 

Creative Route Planning 

User Handbook 

Page 1

Page 2 

Information 

Copyright © 2010 MotionStudios, Osterholzer Dorfstr. 73a, 28307 Bremen, 

Deutschland 

This manual may not be copied, translated, or otherwise used, in whole or in part, without 

prior written permission of MotionStudios, unless the owner of the copyright agrees, or 

copyright laws permit it. 

Internet Page: http://www.motionstudios.de 

Email: support@motionstudios.de 

Concept and Development: Ingo Kleefeld 

Liability Disclaimer: 

The information contained in this instruction manual was prepared carefully, but errors 

cannot be completely ruled out. 

MotionStudios accepts no liability for direct, indirect, accidental, or other damages or 

consequences that arise from the use of application of the information contained in this 

instruction manual. 

MotinonStudios reserves the right to modify the information in this instruction manual 

without notice. No liability is accepted for the error-free status of the program, or the 

correctness of the statements made. In particular, no guarantee is made that the program 

meets the requirements and purposes of the purchaser, or is compatible with other programs 

selected by the user. 

No liability is accepted for consequential damages. This also applies if the license issuer 

has been informed of the danger of such damages. In all cases, liability is limited to the 

amount that the licensee paid for the program. Liability for gross negligence is denied 

for business persons.Claims that are based on mandatory legal regulations for product 

liability are not affected. 

Trademarks used: 

Windows is a trademark of Microsoft Inc. USA. 

Other product and trademark names may be trademarks or registered trademarks of their 

respective owners.

Table of contents 

Information 2 

Foreword 6 

What is Vasco da Gama 7 

New Features 8 

Extended range of functions from 

Vasco da Gama 6 HD Professional 13 

Chapter 1 „Installation of Vasco da Gama“ 14 

Installation 15 

Registration 20 

Chapter 2 „User interface“ 21 

Introduction 22 

Start the program 23 

Editor area 24 

Camera area 26 

Lower bar 27 

Chapter 3 „Basic functions“ 28 

Mouse configuration 29 

Keyboard shortcuts 30 

Keyboard shortcuts „Preview“ 32 

Chapter 4 „Main menu Route“ 33 

Route, Object and Global Tabs 34 

Base/Stop over points 36 

Settings for the head object 39 

Settings for the stop over object 42 

Settings of the text object 45 

Camera settings 49 

Page 3

Page 4 


Chapter 5 „Main menu Object“ 50 

Settings for free objects 51 

Settings for free objects 55 

Chapter 6 „Main menu Global“ 60 

Route line 61 

Size setting for objects 63 

Text Attributes 64 

Light, shadows and particles 66 


Chapter 7 „Main menu Tools“ 71 

Tools 72 

Chapter 8 „Further Dealogue windows“ 73 

Main settings 74 

Project settings 76 

Map selection 79 

Select own maps 82 

Adapt the map 83 

Location search 86 

Import a GPS-Tracking route 88 

3D Object selection 89 

Real time preview 90 

Video output settings 91 

Information, warning and error messages 95


Chapter 9 „Creating a Travel route“ 96 

Create a route 97 

Position a head object 104 

Change the head object 108 

Setting the stopping time 110 

Route speed 111 

Positioning free objects 112 


Chapter 10 „3D-Object Gallery“ 116 

2D-Objects 117 

Cars 118 

Busses and Vans 119 

Aircrafts 120 

Watercrafts 121 

Trains 122 

Peoples and Animals 122 

Buildings 123 

Miscellaneous 124 

Trees and palms 125 

Flags 126 

Objects of interest 127 

Sport 129 

Other vehicles 129 

Chapter 11 „Important Informatio“ 130 

Quality Settings 131 

System requirements 133 

Troubleshooting 133 

Support 134 

Glossary 135 

FAQ 137 

Index 139 

Page 5

Dear Customer, thank you for choosing our Vasco da Gama software. 

Vasco da Gama 4 offers a series of new functions for the PC for increasing your video 

production values. 

This operation manual will introduce you to the expansive capabilities of the software 

and give you tips for using it effectively in practice. This manual is divided into the main 

sections Installation and Fundamentals and Creating Routes with Vasco da Gama 4. 

At the end of the manual you will find a small glossary, in which technical terms are explained.If 

you find a term in the text that you dont understand, you can check the glossary. 

We wish you much enjoyment with your new Vasco da Gama 4 software. 

Your MotionStudios Team 

Page 6 

Foreword

Vasco da Gama 6 – The latest step in route animation 

Experience the new possibilities offered by Vasco da Gama 6 and create even more diverse 

travel route animations. Start in Hamburg at grey daybreak with a camper, drive into the 

sunset to Munich and then from there fly towards the sun again… 

Generate comfortable and intuitive travel routes on your PC - without the aid of pen and 

paper! Enter your location in Vasco da Gama 6 through a GPS data base or turn the globe 

to the suitable position, in order to start fantastic journeys. Exciting 3D-elements provide 

for a vivid and attractive route organisation which supports your presentation to family 

and friends or in front of a specialised public. 

Produce your travel route 

The method of the route organisation is completely in your hands. Plan your cruise, 

demonstrate how your dream journey should look using high-quality objects. Did you 

make your way into deepest Africa for research or documentary reasons? Present your 

journey in a presentation or in a documentary film. With the help of Vasco da Gama 6 

you can create sophisticated travel films for TV or lectures with an animated journey over 

the entire globe. Pep up your film material and guarantee the attention of your spectators. 

Vasco da Gama 6 in practice 

What is Vasco da Gama? 

Let your fantasy run wild! Organise your route according to your individual criteria whilst 

using the options of numerous and versatile effects. Take advantage of the real time preview, 

in order to make direct and precise changes. Use the professional, high-resolution 

technology to make your high quality videos. After you have made your videos you can 

put them all together without any further ado using any current video editing system! 

Bring your shots together with the Vasco da Gama 6 to produce holiday and travel films, 

which are otherwise only known in TV productions! 

Page 7

New Features 

Stereo 3D: High-quality travel route animations which jump out at you 

With Vasco da Gama 6 it is now possible to produce travel route animations with a spatial 

impression of depth. We even go a further step: In the preview you can already examine 

the animation with 3D effect and optimise the animation before the actual computation 

in order to emphasise the desired Stereo 3D-Effekt even more. The globe then functions 

like a round ball, which floats in the area, and airplanes seem to want to leave the screen! 

Features: 

• Now output is also possible as stereo 3D, different export formats are available 

• You can already see the stereo 3D effect in the preview 

Sun animation: Even more dynamic travel routes through spectacular light and 

shadow play 

Many journeys take hours or even days and lead you into different time zones. In order 

to create an even more realist route animation, it is important that different hours of the 

day can be indicated for the different stopping points on the route. So you can start your 

journey, for example, with sunrise and steer towards the evening. During the course of 

the day the light and shadow changes. And this in quick-motion! A really stunning effect. 

Features: 

• The position of the sun can be statically specified for the entire route 

• Dynamic adjustment of the sun position at each stopping point and thereby 

different times of day can be selected for the respective section. 

• Soft focus transitions between different time periods 

Page 8

New Features 

GPS functions: Important upgrades to the popular GPS functionalities 

Vasco da Gama 5 already ensured that travel routes, for example, could be produced 

simply and precisely from imported GPS tracks. We have extended these functionalities 

even further with version 6. You can now, for example, enter GPS data by hand and 

select different representation formats of the GPS coordinates. The import possibilities 

were also extended and multi-tracks are recognised automatically and united in a route. 

Features: 

• different representation formats for the GPS coordinates 

• automatic format recognition during the input of GPS coordinates 

• revised GPS data base now covers more than 238,000 entries (in the HDPro 

version) 

• extended filter functions help when looking for places 

• now the direct input of GPS coordinates by hand is possible 

• found place names can now be changed directly in the search window 

• further variants of the different format are now supported 

• Multi-tracks are now recognised and united in a route 

City layer: Efficient and effective simplification of the production of route animations 

A further important function extension which many of our Vasco da Gama users wanted: 

With our new City layer it is now possible to indicate approx. 30,000 city names at their 

exact position through existing basic maps or imported maps as well. You no longer, 

therefore, need to register cities which are on your travel route by hand. Both you as 

well as the viewer of the animation always know exactly where you are on the globe. 

Features: 

• A City layer with approx. 30,000 city names can now be entered on each basic 

map 

• The representation colour of the city names can be individually adapted 

Page 9

New Features 

Optimisations: Improved performance, facilitation during work and improvement 

in the details 

Thanks to talks with many of our customers, we have integrated many new functions and 

detail improvements in Vasco da Gama 6 so that you can create your travel route animation 

even faster and simpler. The heavily revised functions which enable you to simply place 

your own maps on the globe must surely rank amongst the absolute highlights, whereby 

even imported maps will automatically blend in with transparent edges. You will even learn 

to love the window to search for locations widely extended by functionalities. Moreover, 

there is also, for example, a revised Render engine, a further optimised user interface, 

simplification in the setting of the video output and much more besides. 

Completely revised Render Engine: 

• smaller memory consumption 

• clearly smaller CCU load with same performance 

• improved representation quality of the maps (sharper) 

• clearly more stable even with older graphics maps 

“Location search” window: 

• completely revised surface 

• faster search algorithm, now 10 times faster 

• pre-filtration by country, region and number of inhabitants 

• search now also possible directly, without input of the location, via 

country > region > Local list 

• direct input of the GPS coordinates is now also possible 

• place name modification possible 

User surface: 

• revised user interface 

• within texts (with input fields) the mouse can be used to directly click on the 

required letters 

• with draw bars you can now click above/underneath the bars, to scroll sideways. 

Page 10

New Features 

User surface: 

• revised user interface 

• within texts (with input fields) the mouse can be used to directly click on the 

required letters 

• with draw bar can be clicked now also upper/underneath bars, around by page 

to sheets. 

Video output: 

• the desired video output format is now only queried with the creation of the 

video 

• video width/height can now be changed independent of the selected video output 

format. 

• all video templates (HD formats indicated) are now always indicated independent 

of video output format 

• with storing of the video only video output formats which are possible with the 

video width/height are indicated. 

• Video output has now been accelerated by factor 2 

• video output format is now also possible in QuickTime (different codecs 

selectable) 

• now Windows Media Video, video output format (wmv) is also possible 

Route courses: 

• arrival time can be turned off so that an even trip is possible over several stopping 

points. 

• revised course computation meaning, amongst other things, the forming of loops 

is prevented. 

• now representation of the route course as Loxodrome or Orthodrome is possible 

• multi colour route courses which overlap are now drawn correctly one above 

the other. 

Page 11

New Features 

Adapting maps: 

• simplified map adaption - by pressing the left or right mouse button the map or 

the reference picture can be simply shifted and adapted 

• improved orientation possibilities through additional display of boundary lines 

and city points 

• maps can now be provided with an alpha transition at the edge of map in order 

to avoid hard edges with the transition from basic map to own map 

• Dialogue window adapts to the size of the main window so that the space is 

optimally used, by pressing the Strg key, the map can be proportionally enlarged 

or downsized. 

• Different GPS format are now automatically recognised for the input of 

coordinates 

New tools: 

• The route process can now be inverted so that, for example, the route can be 

driven in the opposite direction. 

• Copy or shifting of a route to another route space 

Font/text representation: 

• clearly improved representation quality of the indicated texts 

Page 12

The following functions are only included in the “HD Professional” 

version: 

Page 13 

Extended range of functions from 

Vasco da Gama 6 HD Professional 

• Add from up to 3 of your own maps to the respective basis map. 

• GPS database with approx. 238,000 positions of cities, capitals and villages. 

• Import from GPS tracking routes (formats such as CRS, G7T, GPX, KML, TCX, 

OVL and others). 

• Evaluation of GPS data from pictures, with which pictures can be automatically 

placed at the location where the picture was taken. 

• Support of high definition video HDV, high definition television HDTV and 

resolutions of up to 3840 x 2880. 

• Start of the route with exact time data. 

• Simulate up to 10 independent routes at the same time (rallies). 

• Different speeds can be set for the selected objects from stop to stop. 

• Extended dual monitor support. 

• Improved preview perspective, among other things setting MarkIn/Out points. 

• Supports ShuttlePro and compatible input devices.

Chapter 1 

Installation of Vasco da Gama 

This chapter focuses on the installation of Vasco da Gama 6 and 

Vasco da Gama 6 HDPro software 

Page 14

In your Vasco da Gama software package are the instructions, a registration card with 

serial number, and a CD (Not included in the download version). Before you start working 

with Vasco da Gama, the software must be installed. 

Note for PC Configuration: 

Your PC should have at least an 2-GHz-processor, 2GB RAM system memory, and a 

3D-capable graphics card. Also use one of the following operating systems: Windows 

XP (32/64Bit), Windows Vista (32/64Bit) oder Windows 7 (32/64Bit). 

Your desktop resolution should be at least: 1024x768 Pixel, 24/32Bit colour depth. 

If you have an installation DVD insert it in your DVD drive, otherwise start the download 

file. 

Page 15 

Installation 

After the automatic installation of the DVD 

has started or the download file is opened 

and started, a window appears with the 

language selection. 

Select your language preference here, by 

moving the mouse arrow to one of the flags 

and click on the left mouse button 

. 

The Vasco da Gama - Installshield Wizard 

starts automatically. 

Now click Next.

Installation 

You will now see information in the 

assistant on which software should be 

installed. 

Click on Next again. 

The license agreement now appears. In 

order to use Vasco da Gama 4, you must 

confirm by clicking I accept the License 

Agreement. 

If you do not accept the license agreement, 

the installation is halted. 

Click on Next again 

A dialog now appears requesting you to 

enter the User, the Organization and the 

Serial Number. 

You can find the “serial number” in the 

DVD box. Alternatively you can receive 

your “serial number” by e-mail. 

Page 16

Note: 

Take care to enter the serial number exactly as it appears. Otherwise Vasco da Gama 

will not be enabled. If you release the fields for the serial number, „Vasco da Gama“ is 

automatically installed as a demo version. 

You can also determine whether only you want to use the software, or whether others 

should also be authorized to use the software. 

Click on Next again. 

Page 17 

Installation 

In the following dialog, you can set the 

target directory for installation. 

Hier werden alle notwendigen Informationen 

für das Programm gespeichert. 

Here you can Use the Default Path or 

click on Browse to select your own path. 

Then, click on Next. 

In the following dialogue you can determine 

the target directory for the data. All 

the information (3D objects, etc.) needed 

for the program is stored here. 

Here you can Use the Default Path or 

click on Browse to select your own path. 

Then, click on Next.

Installation 

A dialog is now displayed that summarizes 

all the selected settings. 

Using the Back button, you can go back 

and change any of the settings. 

Now click on Install. 

The installation begins. 

Depending on the DVD drive the installation 

can take up from 30 to 90 minutes. 

Page 18

Page 19 

Installation 

In order to be able to open the instruction 

manual on your PC, you should install 

Acrobat Reader. If you already have it on 

your PC, you can skip this part. 

After installation is complete, click on the 

Finish button. 

Finally, the system components that are 

needed for Vasco da Gama are installed.

Registration 

You should register your Vasco da Gama. This has some advantages: If you lose your 

serial number, we can find out what it is and inform you free of charge through your 

registration. Furthermore you can take advantage of some attractive offers, which are 

exclusively available for our registered customers. Likewise if you send any questions 

to our support team, you need to have already registered. 

Page 20

Page 21 

Chapter 2 

User interface

Introduction 

In this chapter, the focus is on the basic functions and the user interface of Vasco da Gama 

4 software, a creative tool for editing an interesting travel video. 

You can use it to recreate your vacation route - that is, you can fly or drive through your 

trip,step by step, using extensive mapping materi-als and various 3D objects (such as 

airplanes, vehicles, or ships). 

You can set stops (such as a layover stop on a trip), and later insert your actual video 

footage from a video editor. 

The video project created in Vasco da Gama 4 is then exported as a DV.avi. When creating 

the DV.avi file, you can insert separations that corr-spond to stop points in the video. 

Several scenes are then stored in the created file, which can beedited further individually 

in your video cutting system. 

Page 22

Page 23 

Start the program 

After successfully installing the software you can start Vasco da Gama by 

clicking on the icon displayed on the Desktop. 

The user interface of Vasco da Gama appears.

User interface 

Editor area 

In the following you can arrange the course of your travel route, position objects and texts. 

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 

10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 

26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 

Page 24

Page 25 


Editor area 

1. Create your route and place the objects in editor. 

2. In the camera mode you can set the points of view and zoom for the later video. 

3. Specify a starting point for the route. 

4. Select any location from the GPS data base. 

5. Shift the current waypoint on the basis of the GPS data base. 

6. Determine a starting or a further waypoint from the GPS data base. 

7. Import a GPS tracking route. 

8. Selection of the route to be processed using several routes. 

9. Delete an individual route. 

10. Indicate broken line. 

11. Indicate head objects. 

12. Indicate stop objects. 

13. Indicate text objects. 

14. Set chronological sequence of the route. 

15. Convert a stopping point in a support point. 

16. Convert a support point into a stopping point. 

17. Alignment with angular process. 

18. Alignment with rounded off process. 

19. Undo: Cancel last change. 

20. Change to starting point. 

21. Change to previous camera point. 

22. Change to previous support/stopping point. 

23. Change to next support/stopping point. 

24. Change to next camera point. 

25. Change to end point. 

26. Align map northwards. 

27. Set size of the control point on the map. 

28. Set next way point with angular alignment. 

29. Set next way point with round alignment. 

30. Set next way point as support point. 

31. Set next way point as stopping point. 

32. Set from end points On/Off. 

33. Setting of the camera zoom.


Camera area 

In the camera area you can change the perspective and zoom so that it is identically 

displayed in the video later on. 

Depending on the setting you can also still determine whether the camera is to be automatically 

centrally positioned towards the respective waypoint or whether you would 

like to adjust it manually. 

Note: 

You carry out all the camera settings in the camera mode. Using the keyboard shortcuts 

“Pos 1” (select starting point), “end” (select end point), “picture up” (select previous 

point) and “picture down” (select next point) you can switch between the individual 

points. Begin with the starting point and select the desired camera zoom shot as well 

as the perspective. Then you set your next stop and choose your desired settings again. 

You use this method to define all the stops as well as finally for the appropriate end point. 

In the camera mode you will always see the clipping, which is to be seen later on in the 

video 1:1 at this point in time. 

Page 26

On the lower bar you will find all the functions needed to load/secure a project, to save 

the video or end the program. Moreover one you can navigate from here to the project 

and main settings of the program. 

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 

1. Create a new project. 

2. Open an existing project. 

3. Save the current project. 

4. Save the current project with a file selection window. 

5. Save the current map as a picture. 

6. Save the project as a video. 

7. Display a preview of the project. 

8. Navigate to the project settings. 

9. Select, create and delete maps. 

10. Reset all values. 

11. Navigate to the main settings of the program. 

12. Open the help file. 

13. Navigate to the program information. 

14. End the program. 

Page 27 


Lower bar

Chapter 3 

Basic functions 

Page 28

Left mouse button: 

The left mouse button can perform various actions. 

1. On the route line 

Here you can select waypoints, shift and set new waypoints. 

2. On the globe 

If point on the globe with the mouse, you can freely turn the globe. 

3. With free objects 

If you selected free objects in the menu, you can select and move them accordingly. 

Right mouse button: 

Various actions are possible likewise with the right mouse button: 

1. On the route line 

If you follow the route line and click with the right mouse button on the waypoints already 

set, you delete them. 

2. On the globe 

Here you can set the perspective and the tilt angle. 

3. Different button-actions: 

If you made a change e.g. with a pop-up or a wheel button and did not confirm them yet, 

you can stop the change by using the right mouse button and resume the previous value. 

Middle mouse wheel: 

With the middle mouse wheel (between the left and right mouse button) you can set the 

camera zoom. 

Page 29 

Basic function 

Mouse configuration

Vasco da Gama is operated using the mouse, unless you are entering text. Aside from 

this there are also keyboard commands. These facilitate the operation for the advanced 

user, as there are some actions that can be performed more quickly. 

In „Vasco da Gama“ there are the following keyboard commands: 

Ctrl - C: (Copy Key) 

Using Ctrl - C the most important data of a stop are copied into the cache. 

Ctrl - D: (Copy Camera) 

Using this keyboard shortcut the position and setting of the camera are copied into the 

cache. 

Ctrl - V: (Paste) 

Here the cache (of Ctrl C or Ctrl D) is copied into the stop. 

Ctrl - Z: (Undo) 

The Undo function (reset). 


Keyboard shortcuts 

Ctrl - I: 

You can hereby insert a base/stop on the map, the mouse position is important here. The 

data from Ctrl C are used. 

Picture up: 

With this shortcut key you activate the previous base/stop. 

Picture down: 

With this shortcut key you activate the next base/stop. 

Shift- Picture up: 

With this shortcut key you activate the previous base/stop, which contains a camera point. 

Shift- Picture down: 

With this shortcut key you activate the next base/stop, which contains a camera point. 

Page 30

Pos 1: 

Activate the starting point. 

End: 

Activate the end point. 

Ins (-ert key): (set the base) 

A base is hereby set on the map; the position of the mouse is to be noted. 

Del: (Delete Key) 

Using Del you delete the base/stop. 

Esc: (Cancel) 

Using Esc you can cancel an action. If you move, for example, a free object with the 

mouse, but you did not release the mouse button, then the object is still in “limbo” and 

you can press the ESC key to cancel the procedure and the object goes back to its starting 

position. You can do the same thing, if you click on the right mouse button, while the 

left is continuously held down. 

1-9 and 0: 

With these keys you can select the respective route 1 to route 10. 

Q: 

Specify the representation of the route line. 

W: 

Display head object: on/off 

E: 

Display retaining object: on/off 

R: 

Display text object: on/off 

Page 31 


Keyboard shortcuts

I: (only in the preview) 

Set the MarkIn position 

O: (only in the preview) 

Set the MarkOut position 

P: (only in the preview) 

Start/stop preview 

Ctrl-P: (only in the preview) 

Start/stop preview of the marked area (MarkIn/MarkOut) 

+: (only in the preview) 

fast forward-wind (10 Frames) 

-: (only in the preview) 

fast rewind (10 Frames) 

Right arrow: (only in the preview) 

Single frame advance (1 Frame) 

Left arrow: (only in the preview) 

Single frame return (1 Frame) 


Keyboard shortcuts (Preview) 

Page 32

Page 33 

Chapter 4 

Main menu 

Route

You can perform all the settings for the route, objects and texts in the main menu. 

Route: 

Here you can make the adjustments for the route, head object, retaining object and texts 

on the respective stop. 

1 2 3 4 5 

1. Menu: Base/Stop 

2. Menu: Settings of the head object 

3. Menu: Object on the stop 

4. Menu: Text on the stop 

5. Menu: camera focusing 

Object: 

To carry out adjustment for the free Objects/Texts, select the “Object” tab. 

1 2 

1. Menu: Setting free objects 

2. Menu: Setting free texts 

Main menu 

Route, Object, Global and Tools Tabs 

Page 34

Global: 

Here you can make global adjustments such as light, shadows and particles. 

1 2 3 4 5 

1. Menu: Settings for the route line 

2. Menu Size setting for attributes 

4. Menu: Settings for light, shadows and particles 

5. Camera settings 

Tools: 

Here you will find the functions with which to invert or copy a route. This could be very 

useful if the route was, for example, set wrongly or you would like to drive off a similar 

route at the same time with another head object. 

1 2 

Main menu 

Route, Object, Global and Tools Tabs 

1. Tool, to invert the route course 

2. Tool, to copy or shift a route 

Page 35

Page 36 

Route main menu 

Base/Stop over points 

The Route Register makes it possible 

for you to make adjustments to the stop 

and base points. In order to carry out any 

adjustments in this menu click on the 

„convert base to stop“ button. 

Now the Settings Menu appears at the 

stop. 

Time and date at the stopping point: 

The time and date can be only made if 

the time calculation was set on “absolute” 

or “relative” times in the project 

settings 

Use arrical time: 

Indicate here whether you would like 

to indicate an arrival time at the current 

stopping point. With this you can make 

different speeds from stopping point to 

stopping point or select an even speed 

over several stopping points. 

Time of arrival: 

Here you specify the arrival time, when 

the head object (e.g. airplane) reaches 

the stop. 

Stopping time: 

Here you specify the time for how long 

a head object stays at a stop until the 

journey continues to a further stop. If the 

stopping time lasts longer than 2 pictures, Vasco da Gama can make a cut in the middle 

of the stopping time. This makes it easier later on when merging further video clips in a 

video editing program whilst it is stopped.

Page 37 



Sun position: 

To use this dynamically the light must 

previously be set at a dynamic variant 

in the global settings. Otherwise you 

receive the message as indicated in the 

left picture. 

After you have selected dynamic light 

the time and date switch in the menu 

is indicated. Now you can provide the 

current stopping point with the required 

sun position. The different sun positions 

make a smooth progress over the route. 

With this function you can simulate 

different times of day at run-time and 

produce dynamic and very beautiful 

travel routes.

Page 38 



Advanced line settings: 

Layout of the line: 

This can be selected as follows: 

Colour: 

When selecting a local or global line 

layout you can make colour adjustments. 

To do this click on the select colour 

button. In the colour selection dialogue 

you can set your chosen colours for the 

course of the line. 

When you click on Ok the colour setting 

is adopted (e.g. the colour yellow). 

Style: 

Next select the style of the line. 

Length: 

If you have selected a broken line, you 

can furthermore specify the length of 

the dashes. 

Note: 

Please note that when you have selected the option No change and Off in the settings for 

the layout of the line, it is not possible to make any adjustments to the colour and style.


Settings for the head object 

The Route register, adjustments to the 

stop and base points, the settings menu 

for the head object. 

Object selection for the head object: 

Head object (moving object): 

When you click on the button No 

change, further options appear. In the No 

change mode, it is not possible to make 

any adjustments. 

The options 3D Object or Image Object 

allows you to select a new head object. 

When you press Change setting you 

can change the currently selected object 

(but an object must have already been 

selected). Switch off object removes the 

object from the route. 

Select: 

After you have selected the option 3D 

Object or Image Object the Select object 

button will appear. 

Now click on the Select object, button 

and a dialogue appears Object selection 

or file selection window depending on 

the respective selection of the head 

object. 

It is recommended that your turn on the 

auto direction option, so that the head 

object moves in the direction of the 

course of the route. 

Size: 

Here you can specify the setting of the object size (from 1 % to 1000 %). Please also note 

the global settings for the object size of 3D objects, pictures and text. 

Page 39



Position setting 

Angle, distance and height: 

With these automatic controllers you can 

specify the exact position of the object 

at the selected stop. 

Angle: 

Here you indicate, in a clockwise direction, 

in which direction the object is to 

distance from the stop. In doing so 0° stands for the direction of north, 90° is east, 180° 

is south and 270° is west. 

Distance: 

The greater the distance the further away the object moves from the stop. 

Height: 

Here you can specify the relative height of the object on the map. This is particularly 

interesting, if you would like, for example, to have an airplane fly along the ground. 

View setting 

Camera direction: 

Select On if you liked to have the objects 

always turned towards the camera. This 

is very useful in order to for example 

always turn a picture at the optimal angle 

to the camera. 

Angle X, Angle Y and Angle Z: 

With these automatic controllers you can move the object in X/Y/Z direction. 

Page 40



Fading out time: 

Here you specify how long it will take to fade out the object. 

Blending time setting 

Fading in effect: 

Click on the Fading in effect, in order to 

call up and choose from a selection fade 

in / out effects. 

Select, for example, Soft fade. 


Here you specify how long it will take 

to fade in the object. 

Fading out effect: 

Click on the Fading out effect button 

in order to call up and choose from a 

selection fade in / out effects. Select, for 

example, Soft fade. 

Journey setting 

Accelerations: 

In order to define acceleration, you 

click on the Off button. Now select the 

On option. 

Acceleration distance: 

You can now define acceleration with the 

assistance of the automatic controller. 

Brake: 

To define a deceleration of the head object before a stop, click to critical point on the Off 

button. Now select the On option. 

Braking distance: 

You can now define the braking of a head object with the assistance of the automatic 

controller. 

Page 41


Settings for the stop over object 


stop and base points, the Object at the 

stop menu. 

Object selection for stop: 

Object: 

When you have selected the Off option, 

you cannot make adjustments in this 

menu. 

For each individual stop in your travel 

route you can integrate another object. 

To do this select the 3D Object or picture 

object option. This activates further 

setting possibilities. 

Press on Select object, in order to open 

the object selection (with 3D Object) or 

the file selection (with Image object). 

Select the object, which you would like 

to place at the stop. 

Object size setting: 

Size: 

Here you specify the setting of the object 

size (up to 1000%). Please consider also 

the global settings of the object size for 

3D objects, pictures and texts. 

Page 42

Page 43 








Angle: 


in which direction the object is to 

distance from the stop. In doing so 0° stands for the direction of north, 90° is east, 180° 

is south and 270° is west. 

Distance: 


Height: 

Here you can specify the relative height of the object on the map. This is particularly 

interesting, if you would like, for example, to have an airplane fly along the ground. 

View setting 








With these automatic controllers you can move the object in X/Y/Z direction.




















Here you can set a stopping time of the object at a stop/base. With the stopping time you 

can specify on the one hand for how long the object should be visible at the stop. On the 

other hand you can determine additional stopping time. 

Page 44

you reject it. 

Page 45 


Settings of the text object 


stop and base points, the Object at the 

stop menu. 

Every stop can be labelled with a text 

element, in order to label stations, for 

example, that still have no name within 

the points used so far. 

Text data for the stop: 

Display text: 

Here you can select whether you would 

like to insert a text element at the stop. 

If you would like to insert a text, select 

the On option. 

Activate text entry: 

Open a new window in which you can 

work on the text. By pressing Ok you 

can confirm the entry and with Cancel 

Please also note the keyboard shortcuts on the next page for the entry of text! 

Font: 

Select the character font to be used to display the text. You carry out the respective 

configuration of the font in the global settings. Here you can freely select the font, size, 

colour, etc..

Downward arrow: 

To arrive at the text line one row below. 

Upward arrow: 

To arrive at the text line one row above. 

Esc: 

To cancel the entry. 

Return: 

To end text entry. 

Control - C (Ctrl - C): 

To copy the text of a line into a file. 



Control - V (Ctrl - V): 

To copy the text from the file into a text line 

Keyboard shortcuts for the entry: 

Pos 1: 

To arrive at the beginning of the text line. 

End: 

To arrive at the end of the text line. 

Remove: 

To delete the characters on the right. 

Delete: 

To delete the characters on the left. 

With the last two key combinations you can very easily copy texts from other programs 

and insert them in Vasco da Gama. Thereby you can also insert and represent Asian 

characters, by selecting a character font that also contains these characters! 

Page 46

Page 47 



Alignment: 

Here you can specify the alignment of 

the text (useful only if you have several 

lines of text) 

Left: 

The text is aligned to the left. 

Centre: 

The text is aligned to the centre. 

Right: 

The text is aligned to the right. 






Angle: 


in which direction the object is to distance from the stop. In doing so 0° stands for 

the direction of north, 90° is east, 180° is south and 270° is west. 

Distance: 


Height: 

Here you can specify the relative height of the object on the map. This is very useful, for 

example if you would like to place text over a retaining object (picture or 3D object).



View setting 





























Page 48

Hauptmenü Route 

Camera settings 

Camera position Information 

No camera position is indicated in the 

editor mode. Change to camera mode 

by simply pressing the “Activate camera 

mode” button for this. 

The view will change and you will see 

further setting possibilities with which 

to adapt the camera according to your 

requirements 

. 

Camera position at the way point 

Camera control: 

There are three possibilities if “manual” 

is set in the Vasco da Gama global 

settings. 

Off: No camera position is made at this 

way point. 

Manual: You can manually carry out 

camera zoom, - angles, - inclination and 

the camera position. 

Centred: The camera position is centred 

automatically on the way point by Vasco 

da Gama. Camera zoom, - angles and - 

inclination can be made manually. 

Page 49

Page 50 

Chapter 5 

Main menu 

Object

1 2 

Main menu for objects 

Settings for free objects 

The Objects register, positioning of free 

objects and text, the menu Settings for 

free objects. 

In this menu you can select objects, 

which you can freely position (align) in 

the respectively used map in the work 

monitor. 

Note: 

In the Objects register you can select 

the base and stop points, which however 

cannot be moved. 

Object selection: 

Type of object: 

Here you enter whether you would like 

to use a 3D object or an Image object. 

Press on Add new object, in order to 

open the object selection (with 3D 

object) or the file selection (with Image 

object). Select the object you would like 

to place on the map. 

After you have selected the object, the Change (1) and Delete (2) buttons are active. 

By using Change (1) you can adapt the current object or replace it with another object. 

If you would like to remove the object from the globe, press on the Delete (2) button. 

Adapt the names of some objects individually, in order to make it quick and easy to find 

them again for when you use them another time. 

Page 51

Now you can indicate the positioning 

of the objects. 

„Dynamic positioning“ means that the 

objects ‚walk along together‘ on the globe and the same on the route. In contrast to this 

there are static objects, which are fixed in the selected position and remain fixed, even if 

the globe is moved. So, for example, pictures can be placed at the top right hand corner 

in a static position and they will remain in the same position during the whole process. 

Caution: 

Static objects (3D objects, pictures or texts) can only be worked on in the camera mode, 

since an indication of the position is only possible here! When working in the editor 

mode all static objects are faded out so that they are invisible. 

If you would like to work on the static objects switch to the camera mode. However 

dynamic objects are also displayed in the editor mode so that they can be modified. 

Positioning: 

Dynamic: 

The selected object is set in a dynamic positioning. The dynamic objects walk along 

with the map. 

Static: 

The selected object is set in a static positioning. The static objects stop in the video at 

the selected fixed position and do not walk with the map. This is suitable particularly for 

sub-titles and stationary pictures (for example in the top right hand corner). 

Page 52 



Linking to the stop 

Here you can set, display or delete a link 

to the free object. 

Setting object size 

Size: 

With this automatic controller you can 

specify the display size of the free object. 

After the change by the automatic 

controller, the size of the free object has 

changed as follows.



Position setting (dynamic) 

For dynamic objects the respective position 

is indicated on the basis of longitude, 

latitude and height. Thus you can 

place the object at any place on the map. 

Longitude: 

The longitude determines the position from west to east, whereby 180° 00’ 00” W represents 

the westernmost point and 180° 00’ 00” E the easternmost point on the map. 

Latitude: 

The latitude determines the position from north to south, whereby 90° 00’ 00” N represents 

the northernmost point and 90° 00’ 00” S the southernmost point on the map. 

Height: 

Here you can specify the relative height of the object on the map. So you can, for example, 

position a hot-air balloon at a certain height. 

Position setting (static) 

For static objects the position is indicated 

relative to the width and height of 

the video. 

Horizontal: 

Here you can specify the horizontal (x axis) position of the object over the map. 

Vertical: 

Here you can specify the vertical (y axis) position of the object over the map. 

Page 53


for example, Soft fade. 





View setting 







With these automatic controllers you 

can move the object in X/Y/Z direction. 













selection fade in / out effects. Select, 





Page 54


Settings for free text 

Register of objects, positioning of free 

object and text menu, the Settings for 

free text menu. 

In this menu you can insert texts, which 

you can freely position in the work monitor 

on the respectively used globe section 

- independently of a base or a stop. 

Text object selection 

1 2 3 

1. You can insert a new text object in the 

current position. 

2. Click on this if you would like to add 

a text object from the GPS database in 

a certain position. 

3. Remove the current text object from 

the map. 

Activate text entry: 

Open a new window in which you can work on the text. By pressing Ok you can confirm 

the entry and with Cancel you reject it. 

Please also note the keyboard shortcuts on the next page for the entry of text! 

Page 55

Downward arrow: 

To arrive at the text line one row below. 

Upward arrow: 

To arrive at the text line one row above. 

Esc: 

To cancel the entry. 

Return: 

To end text entry. 

Control - C (Ctrl - C): 

To copy the text of a line into a file. 

Page 56 



Control - V (Ctrl - V): 

To copy the text from the file into a text line 

Keyboard shortcuts for the entry: 

Pos 1: 

To arrive at the beginning of the text line. 

End: 

To arrive at the end of the text line. 

Remove: 

To delete the characters on the right. 

Delete: 

To delete the characters on the left. 

With the last two key combinations you can very easily copy texts from other programs 

and insert them in Vasco da Gama. Thereby you can also insert and represent Asian 

characters, by selecting a character font that also contains these characters!

Now you can indicate the positioning 

of the objects. 

„Dynamic positioning“ means that the 

objects ‚walk along together‘ on the globe and the same on the route. In contrast to this 

there are static objects, which are fixed in the selected position and remain fixed, even if 

the globe is moved. So, for example, pictures can be placed at the top right hand corner 

in a static position and they will remain in the same position during the whole process. 

Caution: 

Static objects (3D objects, pictures or texts) can only be worked on in the camera mode, 

since an indication of the position is only possible here! When working in the editor 

mode all static objects are faded out so that they are invisible. 

If you would like to work on the static objects switch to the camera mode. However 

dynamic objects are also displayed in the editor mode so that they can be modified. 

Positioning: 

Dynamic: 

The selected object is set in a dynamic positioning. The dynamic objects walk along 

with the map. 

Static: 

The selected object is set in a static positioning. The static objects stop in the video at 

the selected fixed position and do not walk with the map. This is suitable particularly for 

sub-titles and stationary pictures (for example in the top right hand corner). 

Font: 

Select the character font to be used to display the text. You carry out the respective 

configuration of the font in the global settings. Here you can freely select the font, size, 

colour, etc.. 

Alignment: 

Here you can specify the alignment of the text (useful only if you have several lines of text) 

Left: 

The text is aligned to the left. 

Centre: 

The text is aligned to the centre. 

Right: 

The text is aligned to the right. 



Page 57

Page 58 



Linking to the stop 

Here you can set, display or delete a link 

to the free object. 

Position setting (dynamic) 

For dynamic objects the respective position 

is indicated on the basis of longitude, 

latitude and height. Thus you can 

place the object at any place on the map. 

Longitude: 

The longitude determines the position from west to east, whereby 180° 00’ 00” W represents 

the westernmost point and 180° 00’ 00” E the easternmost point on the map. 

Latitude: 

The latitude determines the position from north to south, whereby 90° 00’ 00” N represents 

the northernmost point and 90° 00’ 00” S the southernmost point on the map. 

Height: 

Here you can specify the relative height of the object on the map. So you can, for example, 

position a hot-air balloon at a certain height. 

Position setting (static) 

For static objects the position is indicated 

relative to the width and height of 

the video. 

Horizontal: 

Here you can specify the horizontal (x axis) position of the object over the map. 

Vertical: 

Here you can specify the vertical (y axis) position of the object over the map.



View setting 





























Page 59

Page 60 

Chapter 6 

Main menu 

Global

Main menu Global 

Route line 

The global register, settings of the head 

object and global objects, the Settings 

for the route line menu. 

In the global register you can enter unique 

settings for all points of your travel 

route. The settings are then globally 

adopted. 

It is different in the route register: Here 

you always refer to the settings of the 

respectively activated point of your 

travel route. 

Settings for the course of the line 

Course: 

Here switch the Display line function On 

and/or Off. This line indicates the course 

of the travel route. Select for example, 

an airplane as a head object, it leaves a 

line behind it as it travels from A to B 

Colour: 

By using the colour button you determine the colour of the course line. A yellow line 

is standard. 

Style: 

Click on the style button. You can choose from different forms for the arrangement of 

the course line. 

Length: 

If you are working with a broken line, then you can indicate the respective length of 

the lines here. Depending on, from which distance you are viewing the earth, it may be 

necessary to change the length of the lines so that these can also be clearly recognised 

from far away. 

Width: 

Using the automatic controller specify the width of the line. 

Page 61

emains the same. 

Page 62 

Static width: 

Here you can indicate whether the line 

width is the same as the camera zoom 

shot or if should increase or decrease. 

Alternatively you can adjust it so that 

the line is not affected by the zoom and 

Fade out: 

Here you can select 3 conditions: Off, On (still) and On (consecutive). When you select 

the Off setting, the line course remains faded in for the entire course of the journey. 

In contrast to this, with the other settings the line course is only displayed immediately 

after the head object. You can see the difference at a stop with stopping time: With still 

the line remains as it is, with consecutive the line is faded out further on. 

Fade out duration: 

This function is active, if On (still) and On (consecutive) were selected before fading out. 

With this setting you specify, how long the line course lasts for, before it is faded out. 

the course of the route. 


Route line 

Settings to mark the line 

Distance: 

. If you switched this option to On, the 

complete route is shown as a line. Provided 

that the line course is also turned on, 

the distance is displayed over it during 

Colour: 

By using the Select colour button you determine the colour of the distance.


Size setting for objects 

Global register, settings for the head object 

and global objects, the Size settings 

for objects menu. 

Apart from the possibility of individually 

modifying the size for each object 

(head object, stop, free object) you can 

set the size for all respective 3D objects, 

image objects and text objects. This 

can be very useful if you would like to 

illustrate a route close to the ground or 

from a great height. 

3D objects: 

Here you can modify all 3D objects, which are present on the map. 

Image objects: 

Here you can set the global size of all Image objects. 

Text objects: 

Here you can modify the global size of the Text objects. 

Page 63

in the work monitor. 

Page 64 


Text Attributes 

Global register, settings for the stop and 

base points, the Text attributes menu 

In this menu you can enter the settings 

related to the inserted text in the selected 

map in the work monitor. 

Settings for the font 

Font: 

Click on the Font 1 button, you will then 

see Font 1 – 5 displayed. 

Note: 

It is imperative that you note the link into 

register for route / text data for the stop. 

If you select Font 1 in the font menu, 

then you must likewise select Font 1 in 

the register global / text attributes / font. 

Only when the font sizes agree, you will 

determine a change of the inserted text 

Upload: 

With this function you can upload font settings that you have previously saved. Thus 

you can use settings saved for other projects and you do not have to select these again 

every time. 

Save: 

With this function you can save font settings that you would like to use more frequently.


Text Attributes 

Settings for the style of text 

Font: 

If you click on the Select font, a dialogue 

appears so you change the font. Here you 

can select a suitable font. 

Font size: 

Set desired font size here. The changes 

are immediately visible on the world 

globe. 

Font colour: 

By clicking on the Select colour button 

you define the colour of the text on your 

globe. 

Settings for the framework 

Framework: 

Here you can specify whether there is 

to be a frame around the existing text. 

Framework colour: 


you define the colour of the text framework 

in the following colour selection 

dialogue. 

Page 65

Australia. 

Page 66 


Light, shadows and particles 

Global register, settings for the stop and 

base points, the Light, shadows and 

particles of the objects menu. 

In this menu you can enter the global 

settings for light, shadows and particles 

related to all objects used in your travel 

route 

Settings for the light 

Light: 

The following settings can be made: Off, 

On (local time) and On (GMT time). 

Off: Select this option, if you do not want 

any lighting on the objects. 

Static (local time): The sun position is 

always adapted to the respective location 

on earth. This setting is particularly suitable 

if you wish to create a route around 

the globe and always represent a certain 

time of day which is valid at all points. 

Static (GMT time): The sun position is 

always calculated based on the Greenwich 

position (GMT = Greenwich Mean 

time). So you can set the midday sun 

in Europe and simultaneously night in 

Dynamically (local time): As is the case with “static (local time)”, the sun position is 

adapted to the respective place. The sun position (time and date) will be indicated for the 

respective stopping point and can thus be changed dynamically with the route. 

Dynamically (GMT time): Here the sun position is likewise indicated via the stopping 

point and calculated dynamically based on the Greenwich position.

Page 67 



Time: 

Set the desired time here. The position of 

the sun will change accordingly thereby. 

The changes are displayed immediately. 

Month: 

Here you can modify the season. Thus the days become shorter in the winter and longer 

in the summer. The position of the sun adapts accordingly. 

Light colour: 


you define the colour of the light, which 

radiates on the objects already integrated 

on your globe. 

Surrounding light: 

Here you can select the colour of the surrounding light. The surrounding light is radiated 

on the side turned away from the sun. 

on every dynamic object. 

Shadows for dynamic objects 

Shadows: 

The use of the shadow option can be 

switched on and off. When the shadow 

option is switched on it casts a shadow 

Intensity: 

With the intensity you can indicate how dark the shadow is to be displayed.



Shadow for static objects 

Distance: 

Set the distance of the shadow to the respective static object. 

Angle: 

You can determine the direction of the shade. 

Shadows: 

The use of the shadow option can be 

switched on and off. When the shadow 

option is switched it generates a shadow 

for each static object. 

Intensity: 

With the intensity you can indicate how dark the shadow is to be displayed. 

Use of setting particles 

Particle: 

This concerns the main switch for the 

particles: By using Off with all objects the particles are switched off. By using On only 

particles with the objects are turned on, which also switched on particles with the local 

settings. 

Page 68

Page 69 



Global register, global settings for the 

route, the Camera settings menu. 

Vasco da Gama 6 follows the course of 

a travel route with a virtual camera. Set 

how it is to be controlled here. 

Camera guidance: 

Vasco da Gama 6 offers you three options 

for camera guidance: automatic, 

manual and static. It is recommended 

that you select the automatic camera 

guidance in your first Vasco da Gama projects. In this mode Vasco da Gama 6 adjusts 

the camera in such a way that it follows the route. You can set the camera zoom and the 

perspective for each point of your route. 

With “manual” you can specify whether a camera position is to be set at each waypoint. 

Moreover you can freely select and place the camera position as you wish. 

In the third variant there is only one camera position, which is valid for the entire distance. 

Rigid camera positions are also easily possible. 

Camera point: 

In this option you can select whether only stops or all points are to be used as bases for 

the camera guidance. 

If only stops (this also includes the starting and finishing points) are used as bases, it is 

not possible to edit the camera at route bases. The corresponding control elements are 

then darkened.

this effect is particularly important. 

Page 70 



Vasco da Gama 6 now offers you the 

possibility of displaying the picture, 

and naturally also the later video, as 

stereoscopic 3D and thereby simulating 

a spatial effect. If you work with many 

3D models (car, trees, houses etc.), then 

3D mode: 

In order to see a stereoscopic 3D picture already in editor or in preview, select the “Anaglyph 

(red/cyan) mode. Appropriate “red/green” or “red/cyan” eyeglasses are required 

in order to see the stereoscopic effect. The “only left eye” and/or “only right eye” mode 

are only a control, in order to regard the respective picture for the right or left eye. No 

stereoscopic effect is obtained. With “out” you can reset the normal mode. 

Eye distance: 

Here you can change the value of the viewing distance, whereby the distance between 

the left and right eye is meant. The default value is 60mm.

Page 71 

Chapter 7 

Main menu 

Tools

Page 72 

Inverting route 

With this tool you can very simply invert 

your route. This can, for example, 

be very useful if you have already set a 

route and only now notice that you have 

exchanged the start and end point. In this 

case you can simply invert the route and 

the route immediately runs in the desired 

direction. Another area of application would be if wish to drive a route in both directions, 

then can you simply the copy the route and convert with this tool. This enables you to 

drive the route first in one direction and then back again in the other direction 

. 

Main menu Tools 

Tools 

Copying/shifting routes 

Copying or shifting of a route can be 

very useful in different cases. The one 

possibility would be, as already mentioned 

with “inverting route”, if you want 

to drive a route in both directions and 

do not want to register the route twice. 

A further possibility would be to use 

the camera position independent of 

the route. So you can simply apply an 

already entered route on “route 2” and 

thereby apply “route 1” independent 

of the camera position. In practice you 

will undoubtedly find further application 

possibilities. 

Mode: 

Here you select whether the function should “copy” or “shift” the route. 

Source: 

Indicate here which route you would like to copy or shift. 

Destination: 

Indicate here in which route the data are to be copied/shifted. 

Start copy/ shifting: 

Here the selected function is implemented.

Chapter 8 

Further 

Dialogue windows 

Page 73

Page 74 

Further Dialogue windows 

Main settings 

Main Program Settings: 

Move to the program’s project toolbar. Start the Settings Dialog with the To 

the Main Settings button. 

A Dual Monitor Mode button has been 

added to the main settings. Here you 

can switch to Dual Monitor operation. 

An extra preview window opens on 

the right side (in the second monitor.) 

This mode is not only used for dual 

monitor operation, however, but is also 

interesting for a PC monitor with resolution 

>=2048x768. 

Activate the secure area for the video. 

Display the button area and the secure 

area is shown in camera mode and in 

the preview. 

The non-secure area is darkened. If the 

button is on „OFF“, the video secure area 

is not displayed. Here you should note that the video-secure area is not used when saving 

the video. You can therefore continuously work with the video secure area without later 

affecting the video. With the size area adjuster, you can set the secure area in the video 

from 5%-25%. The greater the selected value, the greater the dark edge around the video 

which is considered a video non-secure area. 

With GPS format you can change the output format for the representation of the GPS 

coordinates according to your wishes. You can select between “degrees, minute, seconds“, 

“degrees, decimal minutes” and “decimal degrees”. At locations where you can enter 

GPS coordinates, all three variants are always recognised automatically and converted, 

independent of this setting.


Main settings 

GPU mode: 

With Vasco da Gama 6 we now offer 

you an optimised GPU acceleration, 

with which the representation is clearly 

accelerated and GPU load simultaneously decreases. These optimisations are, however, 

unfortunately not compatible with all graphic map types, meaning errors in the representation 

can occur here. If this should be case, then you set this value on “compatible” 

“and start the programme again. 

to be changed, you can adjust it manually. 

Select language: 

Vasco da Gama comes in German, English 

and French. The selected language 

is read out automatically by Vasco da 

Gama in the Windows system. 

If the automatically selected language is 

Use Mini Help: 

Additional help texts are displayed in the lower bar for symbol button, which assist in 

helping the user understand. If you would not like to use this additional feature, switch 

the mini help to Off. 

Ok: 

With Ok you confirm the selected settings and exit the dialogue window. 

Cancel: 

All selected settings are rejected; the dialogue window is closed. 

Page 75


Project settings 

Project Settings: 

Start the Project Settings Dialog with the To the Project 

Settings button. 

Here you can enter the project-related 

settings, such as for example the selection 

of the video template (PAL, NTSC, 

HDV and HDTV-Format) as well as the 

video settings (the video format 720 x 

576, images/sec amongst other things). 

Furthermore you can enter the settings 

for the type of picture (lower half of the 

image first) and the aspect ratio (4:3 or 

16:9). 

Note: (only HD Professional) 

In order to be able to use the video templates 

for HDV/HDTV, you must first 

change the video output format to “AVI 

(Direct show)” in the main settings! 

With the type of picture it is to be noted 

that this must be correspondingly 

adjusted according to the video output 

format used. If you would like to work 

with Interlace videos, set the type of 

picture for the format of DV-RAW, AVI 

DV Type 1 and AVI DV Type 2 on the 

„lower half of the image first“; for Video for Windows and AVI (Direct¬Show) on the 

„upper half of the image first“. 

As the video is nearly always only displayed as a full screen (progressive) with modern 

PC monitors, projectors, and LCD and plasma television sets, it is recommended to place 

the type of picture on full screen (Progressive Scan). Simply try all 3 variants out and 

use the variant that is best for you. Note: (only HD Professional). In order to be able to 

use the video templates for HDV/HDTV, you must first change the video output format 

to “AVI (Direct show)” in the main settings! 

Pixel ratio:Fundamentally you should always work with the video templates, as all the 

necessary settings (up to the type of picture, see more above) are correctly preset here. 

If on a certain occasion you need different settings, it is to be noted here that the pixel 

relationship is not identical to aspect ratio! For example, the pixel relationship is square 

with HDTV 1920x1080 (1:1), but the aspect ratio is 16: 9 

Page 76

With the selection of the line calculation 

you indicate the method with which Vasco 

da Gama should calculate the line on 

the globe. Here we differentiate between 

Loxodrome and Orthodrome. With the Orthodrome calculation the shortest path between 

two points on a globe is calculated. The Loxodrome calculation resembles a spiral route 

line over large distances. 

The Automatic separation with stops 

option should be turned on, so that for 

each course between 2 stops, a video clip 

can be generated. This has the advantage 

later when you further process the video you do not have to make any more cuts. The 

entire video is created in a number of video clip frames whereby each clip would be a 

section of the journey (from stop to stop). The automatic separation takes place, however, 

only if a stopping time has been given 

Page 77 



Within the field for the time calculation 

of the entire route you now have 3 

options: 

1. Total route corresponds to the time 

calculated for an entire route. Here you 

can very easily set the length and thus 

also the speed of the entire route. 

2. With relative times and 3. absolute 

times corresponding times can be set in addition at the stops (to do this use the automatic 

controller for the arrival time in the Route register > Settings for the base/stop). 

With relative times a time is set from stop to stop. With absolute times the exact time is 

specified from the start of the route. Here all stopping time and fading in and out of the 

objects are also added in automatically. The minimum running time from stop to stop 

amounts to 1 sec. Previous sections are shortened or extended with absolute times, which 

automatically changes the time of all stops behind it, e.g.:



Absolute time Relative time 

Starting point: 0 seconds 0 seconds 

Stop 1: 5 seconds 5 seconds 




If you change stop 2 to 12 sec., the table changes as follows: 

Absolute time Relative time 






The times always correspond to the arrival time, i.e.: Object fade out and stopping time 

at the respective stop are not considered here. 

A further example with 2 sec. stopping time at stop 2: 

stopping time Absolute time Relative time 



Stop 2: 2 seconds 10 seconds 5 seconds 



If you change stop 2 to 12 sec., the table changes as follows: 

stopping time Absolute time Relative time 



Stop 2: 2 seconds 12 seconds 7 seconds 



Page 78

Page 79 


Map selection 

Map selection: 

Here you can select the desired basis map, give it with boundaries 

and add your own maps. 

Select basis map: 

In the basic package from Vasco da 

Gama 6 there are two basis maps of 

the earth (ClassicEarth and ClassicSat), 

which are based on the classic maps by 

Vasco da Gama 4. However it rejects the 

use of individual map parts, as an image 

of the whole world is present. 

Settings for the boundaries 

Boundaries: 

Here you can decide whether you would 

like to represent the borders in between 

countries or not. Select On if these are 

to be displayed. 

Colour: 

You can likewise select the colour of the 

borders. The change becomes immediately 

visible in the small preview 

City names: 

Set a checkmark here if you would like to indicate a prefabricated template for city names 

on your globe. This template already covers approx. 30,000 city names. 

Note: The character font or - form cannot be changed and no individual city names can 

be removed. 

Colour selection: 

Here you can set the writing colour of the city names.

Page 80 

Select your own maps 

Add a new map: 

If you would like to add your own map, 

which is to be later placed on the basis 

map click on the Add new map button. 

Now a further dialogue window opens up 

where you can make further adjustments. For this see also “Select own map”. 

Select map 1 to map 3: 

Here you can select your own map. Depending on the version of Vasco da Gama 6, you 

can use up to 3 of your own maps at the same time, in order to supplement the basis map. 

If you now select one of your adapted 

maps with the “map 1 selection”, then 

you can make further settings for this 

map by pressing the button to the right 

of the map selection. 

Visibility settings 

Here you can now indicate within which 

zoom range of the camera your map is 

to be indicated. 

Visibility: 

Select “Always visible” if your map is 

always to be indicated independent of 

the camera zoom. With “Fading in” the 

map only becomes visible with the zoom in on the map. In contrast to this, with “Fading 

out” the map becomes invisible with the zoom in. 

With camera zoom values over or under the start and final height, your map is completely 

visible or invisible depending on the selected visibility. 

With ok you confirm your input. 


Map selection


Map selection 

Delete the map data from the hard 

drive: 

Here you can delete your own maps, 

which you do not need any longer. In 

doing so the map from Vasco da Gama 

is discharged and the hard drive memory 

(cache) is free again. The original map is not affected and remains as it was. 

Note: 

If you want to delete a map that you used in the meantime in a project, these project data 

are deleted! In this case you should recreate the deleted map. 

Delete map: 

Select the map you would like to discharge from Vasco da Gama and remove from the 

hard drive. 

Discharge map data and delete cache 

After you have selected the map you would like to remove, click on the map data to 

deliver and cache Discharge map data and delete cache. 

Now a warning appears, whereby you are requested to reconfirm that you want to delete 

the map data. 

Press on Yes in order to irrevocably 

delete the maps. 

Page 81

Page 82 


Select own maps 

Select own maps: 

There are 3 input fields, with which 

you can insert your own maps in Vasco 

da Gama. 

In the first field you can enter a directory 

and file name. To the right of this field 

there is the to the File selection window 

button. With one click you open the 

standard Windows file selection window. 

Here you can now select your map. This should be present in a common graphics format 

(PNG, JPG, TIF, GeoTiff, BMP, etc.). 

Note: 

Vasco da Gama supports different graphics formats with additional coordinates for the 

geo-referencing of the display window, like for example, GeoTiff or XML files. Hereby 

Vasco da Gama can automatically assign the maps and insert them on the basis map. 

Select the directory for the cache: 

The map is converted into a readable format for Vasco da Gama; the data is stored in a 

so-called cache. Select a directory on your hard drive with sufficient memory. Depending 

on your map, the volume of data can quickly amount to several 100 MByte. If you work 

with a lot of your own maps, save them in a directory with several free Gbyte of memory. 

You can enter the cache separately in addition, for each map, in order to distribute the 

data over several hard drives. 

Enter the map name for the selection list: 

Finally you enter the map name, which is to appear later in the selection list of Vasco da 

Gama. Without specific user settings, Vasco da Gama automatically uses the file names 

as the map name. They can amend this however as desired. It is advisable to select a 

name, which describes the contents of the map and so making it easier to find it later on 

.


Adapt the map 

Adapting own map 

In this dialogue window you can adapt your map so that this is later indicated in the 

correct place on the globe. 

Settings with the left mouse button: 

You can adapt the area of your map by clicking on the corner or peripheral points with 

the left mouse button and pulling these in the required direction with the pressed mouse 

button. If you click on the corner points and simultaneously keep the “STRG” key pressed 

down on your keyboard, the proportions of the map are maintained. In order to move 

the whole area, simply click with the left mouse button within the area and pull the map 

to the desired place. 

Settings with the right mouse button: 

With the right mouse button you can shift the reference map (the background map) and, 

with higher map zoom, shift the reference map to the required position. 

Page 83

Page 84 



Transparency: 

Set the transparency of your map here, you can see your map through the reference map 

and adapt your own map better. This value is only used for adapting the map and has no 

influence on the later appearance on the globe. 

City names: 

As a guideline, when adapting the map you can additionally indicate the city names so 

that you can adjust your map accordingly on the basis of the city points. Set a checkmark 

to indicate the city names. 

Boundaries: 

Likewise, the borders serve as an orientation guideline and are indicated with the setting 

of a checkmark. 

Map zoom: 

With the buttons “- “and “+ “you can set the map level and thereby the zoom factor of 

the reference map. Thereby you can adapt your map even more exactly to the reference 

map and increase the correspondence. 

Alpha edge: 

If you have not already allocated your map with a Malprogram a soft focus transition area, 

then you can carry this out at a later date using this function. The map will no longer be 

indicated on the globe with a hard edge but will insert itself with a soft transition in the 

basic map. Set the checkmark to use this function. 

Alpha area: 

Select here the area meaning the thickness of the alpha edge, which is to be set around 

your map. Please ensure that your map has sufficient reserves all around, otherwise 

important information could be lost in the alpha area.

Page 85 



You can also register the coordinates of your map in the 

fields by hand. The fields are laid out so that they reflect 

the appropriate edge of your map in each case. 

With the left and right entry field you can enter the longitude degree and in the upper and 

lower input field the degree of latitude. 

Note: 

Please consider the input format, so that Vasco da Gama can read your data correctly. 

Three variants are available for the input of the coordinates. 

Degree, minutes, seconds 

Latitude: 30° 26‘ 20“ N (N = north) or S (S = south) 

or N 30° 26‘ 20“ or S 30° 26‘ 20“ 

Longitude: 100° 13‘ 50“ W (W = west) or O (O = East, here the 

English E = East is possible) 

or W 100° 13‘ 50“ or O 100° 13‘ 50“ 

Degree, decimal minutes 

Latitude: N 30° 26.54326 or S 30° 26.54326 

or 30° 26.54326 or -30° 26.54326 

Longitude: W 100° 13.5564 or O 100° 13.5564 

or -100° 13.5564 or 100° 13.5564 

Decimal degree 

Latitude: N 30.7554326° or S 30.7554326° 

or 30.7554326° or -30.7554326° 

Longitude: W 100.853532° or O 100.853532° 

or -100.853532° or 100.853532° 

Note: 

The abbreviations “N “, “S “, “W “ and “O” (or the English variant “E” for east) can be 

indicated at the beginning or at the end of the coordinates.


Location search 

Ort suchen: 

Sie können die GPS-Datenbank an diversen Stellen im Programm aufrufen, um nach bestimmten 

Orten zu suchen. Hierzu geben Sie oben links in das Eingabefeld den gesuchten 

Ort ein und drücken Sie dann die „Eingabe“-Taste auf Ihrer Tastertur, um die Suche zu 

starten. Natürlich werden Sie hierbei von verschiedenen Suchfiltern unterstützt, so dass 

Sie die Suche besser einschränken können und so die gewünschte Stadt schneller finden. 

Sollte Sie die Schreibweise des Ortes nicht wissen, können Sie z.B. über die Land und 

Region einschränken und so die Anzahl der gefundenen Orte minimieren. Oder Sie nutzen 

diese Möglichkeit, um nur die Orte einer bestimmten Region anzuzeigen, indem Sie z.B. 

für das Land „Deutschland“ wählen und als Region „Bayern“. Nun werden Ihnen nur 

die Orte in der Region „Bayern“ angezeigt und Sie können selber entscheiden, welchen 

Ort Sie wünschen. 

Page 86


Location search 

Population: 

A further possibility with which to limit the 

number of places is by permitting only locations 

which have over a minimum number 

of inhabitants. Thereby you can completely 

exclude small locations with a low number of 

inhabitants. 

Degree of longitude, degree of latitude and place name 

Here you see the exact coordinates of the location searched for. You can additionally enter 

coordinates and adapt the position to your requirements. In combination with the input 

field for the place name, you can also set your own places at certain positions on the globe. 

Note: 

As soon as you click a place from the search list, the input fields “degree of longitude, 

degree of latitude and place name” are overwritten with the data from the GPS data base! 

If you only want to change the place name but maintain the coordinates of a place from 

the search list, then first select the place from the search list and thereafter change the 

desired input fields! 

Create text at the stop 

This button appears if you called up the GPS database, in order to create a further waypoint. 

Place a tick here in order to simultaneously enter the name of the location as text 

at the stop. 

In the end confirm your entries with Ok so that they are adopted. Select Cancel in order 

to reject all entries. 

Page 87

Page 88 


Import a GPS-Tracking route 

Create a route from a GPS-Track: 

To import a GPS Tracking route you press on the symbol 

displayed above the editor. Now the file selection window 

opens, in which you can select your GPS Tracking route. Vasco da Gama supports the 

most common formats used by different manufacturers, including formats such as GPX, 

KML, G7T, CRS, OVL, TCX, TK, TRK and TXT. 

Note: Since other manufacturers constantly developing their own formats, it may be that 

Vasco da Gamma does not recognise or cannot read the data format properly. If this is the 

case simply contact our support team and send us an example file. We will then update 

the changed format in Vasco da Gama if possible. 

Optimise waypoints: 

In other cases it may be that the number 

of waypoints is too great in a GPS 

Tracking route and is of no use to you. 

Vasco da Gama offers the possibility of 

optimising this route and of reducing the 

number of waypoints. 

At first you see the number of found 

waypoints in the dialogue window in the GPS Tracking route 

Optimise: 

Select the number of desired waypoints on which the route is to be optimised. Values 

between 100-250 waypoints are completely sufficient in most cases. Vasco da Gama 

supports a maximum of up to 2,500 waypoints for each route. 

Number of stops: 

You have the option of also indicating a stop at each superfluous waypoint. This function 

could be very useful, in order to set camera points at the stops at the same time, so that 

this follows the route instead.

type (category). 


3D Object selection 

Product: 

If you have installed further object 

packages, you can select these with the 

button shown here. If you use the object 

selection of Vasco da Gama, in the basic 

package standardised objects appear. 

Type: 

If necessary, each product is divided 

still further into sub-categories to make 

it easier to find certain objects. 

Now you can select one of the objects by 

simply clicking on the left mouse button 

on the desired object: The selection is 

highlighted with a red border. To the 

right is the pull down bar (scroll bar) 

with which you can navigate, if necessary, 

by the objects of the respective 

Appearance: 

You can use this option if the selected object has various visual appearances or if the 

colour can be adapted. 

Use particle effects: 

You can use this option with different objects that contain particles. You can decide 

whether individual objects are to use particles or not. 

In the end you confirm your inputs with Ok so that they are adopted. Select Cancel in 

order to reject all inputs. 

Page 89

1 2 3 4 

In the real time preview you can examine your past work and watch it as a video. 

In the HD Professional version of Vasco da Gama, aside from the real time preview you 

still have further possibilities in order to specifically control the display. 

1. The actual time is shown here. 

2. On the one hand the time is represented visually here; on the other hand you can drive 

off by clicking on the left mouse button in this area in order to be able to comfortably 

wind backwards and forwards. 

3. Here you will see some of the following standard buttons: (a) to the start or end of the 

route, (b) fast forward wind or rewind, (c) frame advance and return, (d) play button to 

playback the video. 

4. With this button you can set the MarkIn and MarkOut position and playback this 

fixed area. 

Page 90 


Real time preview

output formats provided: 


Video output settings 

Before you produce a video the following 

window is indicated where you can make 

further settings. Asides from the desired 

video output format, you can also select 

the settings for a possible DeInterlacing 

of the video. A further function offers 

you the possibility of creating videos in 

the so-called “Stereo 3D” format. This 

stereoscopically simulates spatial depth 

which you can then see using special 3D 

eyeglasses. 

Video output format: 

Vasco da Gama now offers you 8 different 

output formats so that you can use 

the video produced on all common video 

editing systems. Here is a list of the video 

DV-RAW: Data processing format (only for PAL/NTSC), is, for 

example, used with iMove with, Final Cut and QuickTime) 

AVI DV-Typ 1: Data processing format (only for PAL/NTSC) in an AVI 

file, the Audio trace is stored in an extra file. As 

Vasco da Gama does not support audio no extra file is provided. 

AVI DV-Typ 2: Data processing format (only for PAL/NTSC) in an AVI 

file, the Audio trace is embedded in the Data processing- 

Stream. As Vasco da Gama does not support audio no 

extra file is provided. 

AVI(Video für Windows):Outdated video format which produces an AVI file. 

Only video files smaller than 2 GByte can be produced 

here. This format should only be used in exceptional cases if, 

for example other formats do not function. The AVI format 

(DirectShow) should be preferred here! 

Page 91



Quicktime: With this format you can select different codecs from the 

QuickTime format and create videos which offer High 

quality but clearly require less fixed disk storage. This 

format is particularly suitable for users who want to further 

process their videos on Apple computers (e.g. FinalCut Pro). 

Note: In order to use this video output format, you must 

install the QuickTime Components on your Windows 

system. These are provided free of charge by Apple on the 

Internet: 

http://www.apple.com/de/quicktime/download/ 

Windows Media Video: This format provided by Microsoft likewise offers high 

quality with the requirement of small fixed disks. 

Frames: In rare cases it is necessary to produce the video as a 

sequence of frames to be imported on another system 

which cannot work with modern formats. 

Further options: 

Here further options are indicated for the 

respectively selected video output formats 

where you can, for example, adjust the 

codec and set the desired quality. 

DeInterlace: 

Here before saving a video you can decide 

whether a DeInterlace filter is to be applied 

to the video. A DeInterlace filter works on 

certain areas in the video, which are prone 

to flickering, are treated accordingly, 

thereby minimising the flickering. A special adaptive DeInterlace filter is used that only 

works on areas that exceed a certain threshold value. 

Page 92



The advantage is that the image definition remains and the flickering is greatly reduced. 

DeInterlace: 

Off: The DeInterlace filter is not used for the video to be saved. On: The DeInterlace 

filter is used. 

Threshold value: 

The threshold value indicates from which value the DeInterlace filters is to intervene. 

Effect: 

If a certain threshold value is reached or exceeded, the video is treated within this range. 

The effect now indicates to what extent the video is to be treated within this range. 

The greater the value, the more intense the treatment and thus settling any possible 

flickering. This value should not be set too high however, since the image definition can 

consequently suffer. 

particularly important. 

Stereo 3D settings: 

Vasco da Gama 6 now offers the possibility 

of outputting the picture, and naturally 

also the later video, as stereoscopic 3D 

and of thereby simulating a spatial effect. 

If you work with many 3D models (car, 

trees, houses etc.), the effect becomes 

Stereo3D mode: 

Off: If you did not want to use any Stereo3D effect then switch 

the button to “out”. 

Anaglyph (red / cyan): With the classical format you can produce a video file which 

can be played with any video-player. In order to see the 

spatial effect special “Red/green” or “red/cyanogen“ 

eyeglasses are required. 

Page 93



Side by Side: With this format half of the dissolution of the left and/or 

(half-width) right picture is used. This procedure is actually used by 

many television stations as the receiver does not require 

any additional hardware for the conversion of the pictures 

and the provided video can be treated like a normal video. 

For this format you need a 3D indicator with appropriate 

3D eyeglasses. 

Side by Side: With this format the selected output width is doubled, so 

(full width) that a video is produced from a 1920x1080 picture which 

corresponds to a 3840x1080 pixel, which is then 

represented on the left and right side of the respective video 

picture for the appropriate eye. For further processing 

video editing software is required which can handle this 

format. 

Left eye only: Hereby you produce a video file which only produces one 

point of view of the eye. This video behaves like any other 

video. A Stereo3D video be only be produced in 

connection with the video of the right eye. Video editing 

software which contains this function is required for this. 

Right eye only: Like “Only left eye”, only here a file for the right eye is 

produced. 

Eye distance: 

Hereby you can change the viewing distance value, whereby the distance between the 

left and right eye is intended. The default value is 60mm. 

The video is then created after clicking the Ok button. 

Page 94

Page 95 


Information, warning and error messages 

Whilst working with Vasco da Gama you 

will probably see a sign at one time or 

another that informs you of an information, 

warning or error message. 

The signs are divided into 3 categories: 

Information: 

Information is always symbolised by a 

green warning triangle. Here you will 

receive useful information about the 

program. 

Warning: 

Warnings are symbolised by a yellow 

warning triangle. You will receive 

warnings if you are trying for example 

to overwrite an old project data with 

new project in the program (not on the 

hard drive!) or if a certain file, which is 

needed for a project is no longer present. 

Error message: 

Error messages are symbolised by a red 

warning triangle. If you receive instructions 

with a red warning triangle, then 

there is a serious error whereby the program must be terminated in most cases immediately. 

Do not display warnings: 

With some instructions you have the option of no longer displaying them by putting a 

tick next to the message.

Chapter 9 

Creating a 

Travel route 

Page 96

When you start working with Vasco da Gama the first clip you’ll see is of Europe. In 

order to set a starting point, Vasco da Gama gives you two options: Either you use Create 

GPS database button. 

Page 97 

Create a route 

the starting point of a new route button, in doing so 

a starting point is set in the current position. Or you 

use the Create a waypoint from the GPS database 

button, and then you can look for a specific place in 

the GPS database. Thus the starting point is immediately 

set in the correct position. We start with the 

latter and click on the Create a waypoint from the


The Location search dialogue window now opens. Enter the location you are looking for, 

in our case we are now looking for the city of Bremen. After you confirmed the input with 

Enter, all entries containing the name Bremen, are displayed. The city we are looking for 

is already correctly selected so that no further inputs must be made here. 

Since we would like to use the location name as Text at the stop at the same time also 

we place a tick on the Create text at the stop button. 

The specified input is now adopted with the Ok button. 

Page 98

The Starting point is set now on the map. As you can see the name of the city, Bremen 

is likewise entered in the map. 

Moreover there are additional functions available in the main menu, e.g. set or change 

objects or text in the waypoint (starting point, stop or end point). 

Note: 

It is currently not possible to see a preview as at least a starting point and an end point 

must be set. 

Now we can set a further waypoint with the Create a waypoint from the GPS database 

button 

Page 99 

Create a route


We have selected the city of Munich as the second waypoint. Enter Munich in the upper 

search field and confirm your input by pressing the enter key (Enter key on your keyboard). 

You can now see the search results in the lower field. The city we are looking 

for is not correctly selected yet. You can find it manually by clicking either directly on 

the desired location with the mouse or to the right of the search results to the pull down 

menu (scroll bar) or use the arrow buttons. 

We want to display the name of the city again this time as text at the stop so we place a 

tick for the Create text at the stop. 

In the end we confirm our input again with the Ok button. 

Page 100

Now we already successfully created the first travel route. Now, if you like, you can 

adjust the camera zoom using the mouse wheel (which is in between the left and right 

mouse button), to implement more exact inputs or changes in your journey, for example. 

Note: 

The camera zoom in the editor mode is used exclusively to better view certain areas and 

to make settings easier. Camera settings for the future video are carried out exclusively 

in camera mode (click up on the left on the Camera tab). 

Now you can already see an initial preview of the travel route. To do this click on the 

Show a preview of the project button. 

Page 101 

Create a route


Our journey is to continue still. Now we select a further location and this time the journey 

takes us to Las Palmas. Open the Location search dialogue window again and enter the 

name: Las Palmas. This time a whole series of search results are shown. 

Now select the location Las Palmas in Spain and then press the ok button. 

We would like the names of the location to show up automatically here also as text at 

the stop, therefore we leave the ticks highlighted. 

Page 102

The travel route is now finished. Start the preview in order to simulate the route process. 

Now we would like different vehicles to drive along the route. First select the starting 

point again by pressing either the Change the starting point button or the Pos 1 key on 

your keyboard. The starting point should be shown now green. 

Note: 

First always activate the desired waypoint so that it is shown in green. Only then can you 

make any changes and further adjustments to this waypoint! 

Page 103 

Create a route

Position a head object 

In order to have a vehicle driving along 

the route you must select a head object. 

In addition you click on the Route tab and 

afterwards the Menu button: Settings for 

the head object. 

Afterwards you place the Head object 

button to No change on 3D object. 

Now you can click on the Select object 

button, then the selection window for 3D 

objects opens where you can select the 

desired vehicle. 

Page 104

For the first section of the travel route we have selected a jeep as the vehicle. You can 

find this in the object selection under Product Vasco da Gama, Type car. 

Confirm the selection with the enter key (Enter) on your keyboard. 

Note: 

For further information on the object selection window please refer to the chapter Further 

dialogue windows - > 3D Object selection. 

Page 105 

Position a head object

Position a head object 

Start the preview now in order to check the results to date. 

Note: 

The head object can hardly be seen on the current map in the editor, but it is recommended 

that you do not change the size of the object now in the editor mode since this does not 

correspond to the future video and/or the preview. You can best measure the size of the 

object in the camera mode - more about this later on. 

In order to be able to recognize the object better, simply zoom into the map by turning 

the mouse wheel. 

Page 106

Next we position the head object in such a 

way that it starts to fade in at the starting 

point and only appears after the journey. 

Vasco da Gama gives you two options: On 

the one hand you can let the object appear 

through a Soft fade in, on the other hand 

illustrate it by Scaling (enlargement of 

the object from completely small to the 

full size). For our example we have used 

Scaling. First click on the Fade time tab and then on the Fading in effect button and select 

Scaling. The fading in time shows how long the fading in effect will last. We leave this 

value on 1 second. 

Now you can view the result in preview. 

Page 107 

Position a head object

Change the head object 

Now we select the second waypoint. In this case 

it concerns a stop. Click either with the left mouse 

button on the desired waypoint, so that it becomes 

active (green) or click on the Change to the next base /stop button, if the starting point 

is still selected. 

We would like to have another head object drive along the route now. Select the menu 

from the Route tab for the Head objects and adjust the Head object button again from 

No change to 3D object. Finally you select the desired object in the Object selection. 

We choose the airplane. Now we can go to the preview again to check our work. 

We are still not happy with the change of vehicles yet; we would like a fading in and out 

of the objects. We want to do this in the next step. 

Page 108

First we click the Fade time tab, afterwards we set the Fading in effect and Fading out 

effect to Scaling. Of course, depending on your wishes, you can also use the Soft fade in. 

Naturally you can use also different settings for the Fading in effect and Fading out effect. 

We leave the Fading in time and Fading out time at 1 second. 

With the preview we can check our current changes. 

Page 109 

Change the head object

to save the project. 

Setting the stopping time 

We would also like to specify a further 

stopping time of 2 seconds. To do this click 

on the Route tab and then on the Menu 

button: Base/stop. Now you can set the 

stopping time to 2 seconds. 

Now we have almost already finished the 

basic structure for our travel route. In the 

next step we accentuate and refine the 

route in order to decorate the route arrangement 

visually. 

At this point in time you should save the project. To do 

this click on the Save the current project with file selection 

button. Afterwards enter the project name in the file 

selection window and select the path where you would like 

Page 110

Page 111 

Route speed 

First we set the speed of the route. Until now this has been 

played back much too quickly. Click on the To project 

settings button. 

You can set the route time in the section entitled Time calculation of the entire route. 

The longer the route time the more slowly we drive along the route. 

For our travel route we have set a travel 

time of 30 seconds. Now confirm the 

changes with the Ok button 

In the preview you will see that the route 

now travels much more slowly. You can change or adapt the travel time at any time you 

want.

Positioning free objects 

Now we would like to place a few more objects of interest 

on the globe. On the one hand to give to our viewer a helpful 

guideline and on the other hand to clearly optimize the visual 

effects. First click on the Place a position from the GPS database button. Now open the 

dialogue window for Location search, which is well known to you by now. First we are 

looking for the location, Paris. Select the 

city of Paris and confirm with Ok. The 

world now automatically turns to the 

selected location. 

Now we go to the free objects, to do this 

click on the Objects tab and then on the 

Add new object button. In the Object 

selection we select the Eiffel Tower. 

Page 112

The Eiffel Tower is now positioned in Paris just as it should be. We now repeat this procedure 

with further capital cities such as Berlin, Madrid and London. First we always 

look for the location, in order to determine the position on the map. From this we then 

select the appropriate object in the Object selection. 

Note: 

To get a different perspective, you can simply click on the globe with the right mouse 

button and move then the mouse. That is how to change the tilt angle and the perspective 

as you wish. 

Page 113 

Positioning free objects

Positioning free objects 

Now your travel route should look somewhat as in the picture above. 

In order to optimize the travel route further, you can click for example directly on the route 

line with the left mouse button and create more stops or bases. Move the new waypoint 

(bases/stops) by clicking on it with the left mouse button and keeping it pressed down. 

Note: 

Zoom in on the globe section in order to place waypoints more accurately. 

Page 114

Finally we adjust the camera for the future video. To do this you first go into camera 

mode by clicking above right on the Camera tab. In order to make sure that we are at 

the starting point, press the Change to the starting 

point button. 

Now you can specify the settings for the camera 

zoom, perspective and angle of tilt for the Starting point. You can set the camera zoom 

with the mouse wheel (located between the left and right mouse button). You specify 

the perspective and angle of tilt by clicking with the right mouse button on the map and 

keeping it pressed down. You move the mouse horizontal or vertically. 

If you are content with the settings go on to the 

next point for the camera by clicking on the To the 

next camera point button. Here you can make any 

changes you wish to the settings for this waypoint. 

Repeat these steps until you have dealt with all the 

camera points. Your travel route is now finished. 

Page 115 

Camera settings

Chapter 10 

3D-Object 

Gallery 

Page 116

Page 117 

3D-Objekt Gallery 

2D-Objects


Cars 

Page 118

Page 119 


Busses and Vans


Aircrafts 

Page 120

Page 121 


Watercrafts


Trains / Peoples and Animals 

Page 122

Page 123 


Buildings


Miscellaneous 

Page 124

Page 125 


Trees and palms


Flags 

Page 126

Page 127 


Objects of interest


Objects of interest 

Page 128

Page 129 


Sport / other vehicles

Chapter 11 

Important 

Information 

Page 130

This chapter deals mainly with graphics card settings. Quality improvements in the 

objects integrated in your travel route can be obtained. The higher the AntiAlias-Faktor, 

the better the object will appear while calculating. 

A problem with this is that, if you are using, for example, a graphics card with 64 MB, the 

4x anti-aliasing factor is maybe just barely usable, depending on the desktop resolution 

and the Vasco da Gama window. Test your graphics card settings to see which settings 

are possible, and which are not. Start with a small anti-aliasing factor, then increase the 

factor step by step.. 

If Vasco da Gama does not display the calculation correctly, or long processing times result 

(several seconds for a picture,) then the graphics card does not have enough memory! 

Most graphics cards that have 32 MB (Please note that the Vasco da Gama 6 requires a 

128 MB graphics card memory as a minimum!) or less do not even allow anti-aliasing. 

In conclusion, the more memory the graphics card has on board, the higher the anti-alias 

factor can be set and still get better results with Vasco da Gama. 

The AntiAlias settings are changed in the settings for the graphics card. If, for instance, 

you use a GeForce chip-based graphics 

card (Nvidia), the do the following to 

change Anti-aliasing Settings:: 

Page 131 

Quality Settings 

1. Click with the right mouse on the 

Desktop. 

2. Select NVIDIA System control in the 

pull-down menu. 

3. A dialogue window opens with detailed 

setting options for the graphics 

card. Click on the menu option 3D 

Settings - > Adapt image settings with preview. 

4. Now an automatic controller appears, among other things, so you can adjust the quality. 

Select the optimum quality.

Quality Settings 

For ATI and Matrox graphics cards, the anti-alias factor settings are also made in the 

Monitor and Video Card Properties dialog. 

A small sample calculation may help: 

The Desktop has 1600x1200 Pixel at 32Bit. Without Anti-Alias, therefore , 1600*1200*4 

pixels would be needed to grab one buffer, without textures of 3D objects. This makes 

7.680.000 Pixel (ca. 7.4 MB). At 4x AntiAlias, this becomes 122.880.000 Pixel (ca. 117.2 

MB), since the width and height are multiplied by 4. 

Note: 

It is recommended that you upgrade to a PCIExpress graphics card, since they are particularly 

well-suited for video editing. The reason is that the bottleneck AGP Bus is no 

longer a choke point. PCI Express is significantly faster and data can therefore be read 

from the graphics card much more quickly. 

Depending on the model, up to 2-10 times as fast!! 

Page 132

System requirements: 

• Intel® Pentium® IV 1200 MHz or higher 

• Microsoft® Windows® XP, Vista and Windows 7 

• 2 GByte RAM or higher 

• 3 GByte hard drive for the program installation 

• 3D graphics card with the following minimum requirements: 

• 256 MB RAM or more 

• Supports OpenGL 2.1 or higher 

• Supports ShaderModel 3.0 or higher 

• Supports 8 Texture mapping units or higher 

• Laptop graphics card or Onboard-cards with these minimum requirements can work, 

but they are not officially supported! 

Troubleshooting: 

If Vasco da Gama has a problem when starting, or while working on a problem, this is 

reported to you in an error message. 

Most error messages will never see the light of day. These error messages refer to tight 

system resources, such as working memory. If your Windows system is configured properly, 

then it will send data to the hard drive (virtual memory) when needed. This type 

of error therefore only occurs with a full hard drive. It is generally recommended that 

you ensure that enough free memory is in place on the C:\Partition (5 GB are enough). 

Vasco da Gama requires a powerful graphics card. If the program does not start for you, 

or gives an error message immediately after start, please contact our support. 

If you create videos in the Video for Windows format, your video may not be correctly 

created. In this format, extreme compression algorithms are used, which sometimes don’t 

work with all programs. In such cases, try the DV format type 2 or 1.. 

Page 133 

System requirements and 

Troubleshooting

More help with problems with Vasco da Gama 4, and information on current software 

updates, can be found on our website, or sent by mail: 

Internet Page: www.motionstudios.de 

Email: support@motionstudios.de 

Support 

Please note that you must be a registered user of Vasco da Gama Software to take advantage 

of our support. In order that we can process your email request quickly, please 

send the following information: 

• Vasco da Gama software version number: This is found in the information window, 

which you can call up by pressing a button on the toolbar. 

• Your serial number: 

This number is on the registration card, and on the back cover of the booklet. It is displayed 

in the information window as well. 

• Your address: 

Please also send us your address, so that we can compare it with your registration data. 

Page 134

Page 135 

Glossary 

16:9 

Widescreen format, also used in theatres. There are also lots of TV sets with widescreen 

format. 

4:3 

Screen format of most TV sets. The image is only slightly wider than it is high. 

AVI 

The standard file format for videos on Windows systems. The AVI format describes the 

construction of the file, and can accept different video formats Thus AVI is also called 

a container format. 

DV 

Digital video, standard for digital notation of videos with a camcorder. 

Colour space 

Different colour spaces are defined in the industry. In our case the colour space is determined 

by three values. The colouring that is relevant here goes through the colours 

from 0° to 360° as the rainbow does along with the brightness and the colour saturation. 

Colour saturation 

With colour saturation you determine whether a colour (e.g. red) is only easily discernible 

or if it appears brightly coloured. With 0% colour saturation there is no hue to the colour 

and you see all in grey. 

HD, HDV, HDTV 

It deals with the new high-resolution video formats, which attain a resolution of up to 

1920 x 1080. 

NTSC 

Video standard used primarily in the USA, but also in countries like Japan, e.g. 720x480 

pixels at a refresh rate of 60 Hz. 

PAL 

This video standard is used mostly in European countries, e.g. 720x 576 pixels at a 

refresh rate of 50 Hz.

Glossary 

RAW-DV 

This is not a ‘real’ file format. A file with video data as RAW-DV contains only blank video 

data, without a file header in which additional data, such as video resolution, is noted. 

RGB 

Additive colour model consisting of the components Red, Green, and Blue. If all three 

sections are null, the colour black results. With all three at the highest brightness, the 

result is white. Thus the designation ‘additive’ – white is made by adding colour components 

together. 

Video for Windows 

Standard video format for Microsoft Windows Systems. Files in this format typically 

have the extender ‘.avi’. Video data can be stored in such a file using different processes. 

Widescreen (2,35:1) 

Wide screen, also known as Cinemascope and Panavision. This format is somewhat wider 

than the 16:9 widescreen format of modern TV sets. 

Zoom 

Enlarge (more details) or reduce (better overview) part of an image. 

Page 136

How can I make an object run along the route? 

Actually it is very easy. There is a difference between stop objects and head objects. Stop 

objects only stand at stop points and therefore do not move. If you use a header object, 

it moves along the line. You can place a stop object at every stop point. For example, if 

you would like to fly an airplane along the line, do the following: 

1. Select the starting point (Important because header objects start with the selected 

break point!). 

2. Select the map tab „Route“ at the top right. 

3. Select the menu „Header objects“ (That is the button next to the stop objects, i.e. the 

3rd blue button. 

4. Now set the „Header object“ from „Keep Settings“ to „3D object“. 

5. Select object. 

Finished. It should work now. 

Is there a version of Vasco da Gama or comparable software for Mac, for Final Cut 

Pro? Can you give me a tip? 

No. The only way to use Vasco da Gama for Mac or for Final Cut is to install Vasco da 

Gama onto a Windows PC and to transfer the videos you have created onto a Mac and 

edit them there with FinalCut. 

The PDF help file will not start via the „help button“ on the main menu 

It is possible that the program „Adobe Acrobat Reader“ is not correctly installed or the file 

extension „.pdf“ was not assigned correctly so that the help file is not being recognised 

correctly and therefore cannot be displayed. 

You should therefore re-install the Adobe Acrobat reader. This should solve the problem. 

http://get.adobe.com/de/reader/ 

Can you import your own objects (and from which programs)? 

Only images/graphics can be imported as objects, i.e. only 2D objects. The most common 

graphics formats are supported here, e.g. BMP, PNG, JPEG, TGA, TIFF etc.. 

16:9 Format for Canopus Edius and Let’s Edit: 

Select “AVI (DirectShow)” for the output format and 1024 x 576 for the project size, 

pixel ratio “square (1,000)”. When saving the video select the Canopus DV Codec. When 

loading up the video in Canopus it now appears in the 16:9 format. 

Page 137 

FAQ

FAQ 

What do you do to be able to see the dual monitor mode on 2 monitors. 

The dual monitor mode only works if one or both monitors has/have a resolution of 

2048x768. If not, the program switches automatically back to SingleMonitor. You can 

carry out this setting in the main settings of VdG. 

Unfortunately I am not able to integrate my projects into „Let‘s Edit 2“. My attempts 

were all via the provided formats: AVI 1; AVI 2; WIn etc. Let`s Edit then displays : 

„This AVI format is not supported“. Even changing to the „detection settings“ was 

not successful. 

The following applies for Let`s Edit 2 and Edius 3 (both by Canopus): Select „AVI 

(DirectShow)“ as a video output format and then select the Canopus DV or HDV Codec 

when saving the video. 

Page 138

Symbole 

3D Object 42,51,104 

3D-Object Gallery 116 

3D Object selection 89 

3D Objects 63 

A 

Absolute time 77 

Accelerations 41 

Acceleration distance 41 

Activate text entry 45,55 

Adapt the map 83 

Add a new map 80 

Alignment 47,57 

AntiAlias 131 

Aspect ratio 76 

B 

Basic functions 22,28 

Basis map 79,82 

Boundaries 79 

Brake 41 

Braking distance 41 

C 

Camera 26 

Camera area 26 

Camera direction 40,48,54,59 

Camera guidance 69 

Camera mode 26,52,57 

Camera points 69,115 

Camera position 30, 69 

Camera setttings 26, 69 

Camera zoom 29,69,101,115 

Characters 56 

Color 38,61,62,79 

Page 139 

Index

Color depth 15 

Color settings 38 

Coordinates 85 

Country 10 

Create route 97 

Creating a Travel route 96 

D 

DeInterlace 92 

Desktop 23 

Desktop resolution 15,131 

Dialogue windows 73 

Dynamic Objects 52, 53 

Dynamic Texts 57 

E 

Editor area 24 

Editor mode 52,57,101 

End point 26,69,99 

F 

Fade out 62 

Fade time 41,44,48,54,59,107 

Fading in effect 41,44,48,54,59,107 

Fading in time 41,44,48,54,59,107 

Fading out effect 41,44,48,54,59 

Fading out time 41,44,48,54,59 

FAQ 137 

Font 45,57,64,65 

Font color 65 

Font settings 64 

Font size 64,65 

Foreword 6 

Full screen 76 

Free objects 51 

Index 

Page 140

G 

G7T 13,88 

Geo-referencing 82,83 

Global 34,35,60 

Globe 29 

Glossary 135 

GMT 66 

GPS database 13,25,55,86,97,99,112 

GPS Tracking 13,88 

GPX 13,88 

Graphic cards 131 

Greenwich Mean Time 66 

H 

HD Professional 13 

HDTV 76 

Head object 34,36,39,61,63,106 

Height 53,58 

Horizontal 53,58 

I 

Image object 42,51,63 

Information 2,130 

Installation 14,15 

Internetpage 2,134 

Introduction 22 

K 

Keyboard shortcuts 30,45,55 

KML 13,88 

Page 141 

Index

L 

Language selection 15 

Latitude 53,58 

Length 61 

Liability Disclaimer 2 

License Agreement 16 

Light 66 

Linking to the stop 58 

Location search 86,98,112 

Longitude 53,58,85 

Lower bar 27 

M 

Main settings 27,74,76 

Main menu 33 

Map selection 79 

MarkIn 32,90 

MarkOut 32,90 

Memory 82 

Mouse button 31,114 

Mouse configuration 29 

Mouse wheel 29,114 

N 

New Functions 8,9,10,11,12 

O 

Object selection 42,51 

Objects 29,34,35,50 

Objects size 42 

Operating systems 15 

Optimise 88 

Index 

Page 142

P 

Particle 66,68 

Perspective 29,69,113,115 

Pixel ratio 76 

Place object 51 

Position 58 

Program start 23 

Program information 27 

Program exit 27 

Progressive Scan 76 

Projects settings 27,76,111 

Preview 27,32,90,99,103 

Q 

Quality settings 131 

R 

Registration 20 

Relative time 77 

Route 34,35 

Route line 29,31,61 

Route time 111 

Page 143 

Index

S 

Index 

Save video 27 

Select own maps 82 

Serial number 15,16,17,134 

Settings for free text 55,56,57,58 

Shadow 66,67 

Size settings 35,63 

Software package 15 

Static objects 52,53 

Static texts 57 

Static width 62 

Starting point 26,69,97,99,103,107 

Stop over object 31,34,42 

Stop over points 34,36,42,52,63,69,87,88,98,99 

Stop time 36,44,48,54,59 

Style 61 

Sun position 67 

Support 134 

Surrounding light 67 

System requirements 133 

T 

Table of contents 3 

Tabs 34,35 

Text Attributes 35 

Text data for the stop 45 

Text objects 63 

Time calculation 77,111 

Time of arrival 36 

Tilt angle 29,113,115 

Travel route 114 

Troubleshooting 133 

Type of picture 76 

Page 144

U 

Use Mini Help 75 

User interface 21,23,24,26,27 

V 

Vehicles 103 

Versions number 134 

Vertical 53,58 

Video output format 76 

Video template 76 

W 

Waypoint 26,29,87,88,97,99,114 

Width 61 

Page 145 

Index

Page 146

Vasco da Gama 5 - MotionStudios

Create successful ePaper yourself

Delete template?

Save as template?