Programming Question Creating a ship as a beginner

[DanScall]

First of all, I apologies if this has been answered already. Seems like it would be a common question, but I can't find it anywhere.

There's a ship I'd really like to fly in Orbiter, nobody is making it and nobody seems to have any plans to, so I'd kinda like to simply make it myself. It's a simple sphere ship, so it shouldn't be too hard I'm hoping.

What I'd like to know is, is there a tutorial that teaches you to create a ship from scratch? Like, the whole shebang. Meshes, textures and config.

Thanks very much.

 

[MJR]

Yes there is. Here are some. [ame="http://www.orbithangar.com/searchid.php?ID=2730"]Anim8or tutorial: How to model a rocket (Lesson 2)[/ame] If you want to make a multistage here is one I made. [ame="http://www.orbithangar.com/searchid.php?ID=4013"]How to make a multistage2 vessel[/ame] Here is one to help make the .cfg. [ame="http://www.orbithangar.com/searchid.php?ID=3640"]Tutorial: Spacecraft3.dll advanced concepts[/ame]

 

[orb]

There were already such questions, and there were already these answers given. You probably didn't provide right keys for the search function, and hence it didn't give you the right answers.

If you want some more links with tutorials than those MJR already gave you, take a look at:

• "Tutorials for Addon Developers" section of Tutorials page
• "Add-on Development Resources" article

 

[SolarStorm]

What I'd like to know is, is there a tutorial that teaches you to create a ship from scratch? Like, the whole shebang. Meshes, textures and config.

Yeah, I've been wondering if there's a tutorial like that out there because I've only found a few pieces, but they aren't from the same jigsaws.

Personally, I've made the mesh, but I can't figure out how to texture it (working on it and confident I'll get there in the end) but my main worries are that I don't know how to use MeshWizard 1.9, and I'm also having trouble using spacecraft3.
Like you, I'm making my first add-on, and I know the manuals are supposed to help me, but I don't know what the manuals are saying (terminology problems) or even what I'm supposed to be looking for. I'm also wondering if I should even use spacecraft3 or just learn VC++.

There has to be a tutorial somewhere that gives detailed step by step instructions in 'baby talk' on the method to get an idea from conception to actually piloting.

 

[PeterRoss]

I'm also wondering if I should even use spacecraft3 or just learn VC++.

Make it with spacecraft3 for starters. You will always be able to use the same mesh with C++ .dll if you need.

 

[Urwumpe]

I would say you can attempt both - start making a prototype that feels good for you in spacecraft3.dll. Then, once you have reached the normal limits of spacecraft3.dll and would need to learn dirty tricks, you switch to C++ and just implement the spacecraft3 model in C++. Once you can do all, that spacecraft3.dll did, with your DLL, begin adding new stuff, like VCs, or UMMU support, or UCGO - and feel free to experiment. Trying to make something new is half of the fun.

For me, it is already simpler to make a spacecraft in C++, than doing the same steps in spacecraft3, but that is also that I have never been a great spacecraft.dll user.

 

[Moach]

spacecraft3 or custom dll is a choice that manly depends on your goals....
i, myself, never really made anything with sc3... i started making ships as a fun way of getting some C++ hands-on practice, so i went for DLL right away, since i already knew modelling and all...

so it's really up to what your initial goals are... if you have a lot of ideas on how a ship would handle (cockpit workings, button-flicking, the works...) - go for learning how to make DLL's -- if you have a mostly visual concept for a ship in mind, then use sc3, so you can focus more on modelling than on interactive features :thumbup:

 

[SolarStorm]

I'm trying to make my ship (actually a purely atmospheric aircraft to start with) as aerodynamicly realistic as possible. Sure I want it to look good, but my main goal (for now) is to make it fly as the real version did. I've got as much data as I can about it's performance, but now I need to try and put that into orbiter, and if what Moach is saying is right, then it sounds like I need to use C++ for this. First time for everything I guess...