After installation [see doc section "Installing OpenSteer"] launch the OpenSteerDemo application which opens a window labeled "OpenSteerDemo 0.8". OpenSteerDemo has a single selected vehicle which the camera normally tracks. The user can select another vehicle by clicking on it with the left mouse button. OpenSteerDemo recognizes several single key commands:

The camera (or "point of view") in OpenSteerDemo is typically controlled so that it tracks the selected vehicle. Several different camera aiming modes are provided:

You can adjust the camera's view with the mouse: hold down the keyboard's control (Ctrl) key while dragging the mouse with its left button held down. 2D mouse motion is mapped into the camera's space, rotating the camera's position around its aimpoint. This allows the camera to move on the surface of a sphere centered at the aimpoint. The radius of this sphere--the "viewing distance"--can be adjusted by dragging the mouse with the middle button held down (vertical mouse motion maps to distance). If you use a one- or two-button mouse (hence no middle button) you can adjust the radius by holding down both the Ctrl and Alt ("control-meta-") keys while dragging the mouse with its left button held down.

Sample PlugIns: Capture the Flag: a single (bluish) attacker attempts to reach a central goal while four (reddish) defenders try to intercept ("tag") the attacker before it gets to the goal. Press F1 to add an obstacle (up to 100 of them), F2 to remove one. Pedestrians: 100 agents follow a path (the red line) while avoiding collisions with each other and two large spherical obstacles. Press F1 to add a Pedestrian and F2 to remove one. F3 cycles among types of proximity databases. F4 toggles between two versions of path following. F5 toggles a Pedestrian's wander component on and off. Boids: 200 simulated flocking "bird like objects". Press F1 to add a Boid and F2 to remove one. F3 cycles among types of proximity databases. F4 toggles between two boundary conditions. Soccer: a simple soccer game, blue and red teams of 8 Players each, a green Ball and yellow field and goals. As play proceeds the PlugIn keeps score. Multiple Pursuit: a "test fixture" for the pursue behavior. 30 pursuers chase one wandering quarry. Low Speed Turn: a "test fixture" for evaluating the response of a vehicle to backward-pointing steering force while moving at low speed. One Turning Away: this was the first one, now it serves as a minimal example of a PlugIn.