Project G42-200 StarLiner

[Eli13]

You need to mentally insert some smilies into my post.

Maybe you should add them yourself btw its hard to tell emotion over text with certain sentences (well most of them )

 

[boby_nadeau]

Fantastic ! Can't Wait ! But will it slow the framerate ?

 

[Moach]

Fantastic ! Can't Wait ! But will it slow the framerate ?

not having any trouble with FPS so far... i've tested it out on my work pc (which is NOT fitted with a GFX580, like my home rig:lol and it runs just fine :thumbup:

maybe that's because of the way i modelled it, making sure no unecessary polygons were used (i'm kinda paranoid about that, i think)... anyways, no FPS hit at all so far...




BTW - i'm having trouble containing my satisfaction right now, because -- ladies 'n gentlemen... WE'RE IN SPACE :woohoo:

that's right - i've figured out most of the settings and have successfully rigged ALL stages of the ascent, including the waverider-wing simulation (you get a "hypersonic bonus" on lift with the wings bent down)

she reached LEO (ISS alt) with an expected amount of 20% left on the main tanks - this is a good thing, considering i had no cargo mass and didn't fly a plane-intercept leg... there's still some tuning to get around, but we're close enough for today :thumbup:


now i have yet to port out the RCS code from the '100, tweak the hell out of it, wire it up so that orientation-swivel knob can do it's job.... then i think we're on to systems, but before that - there's gonna be a first WIP release

i expect within the next week or so i may upload the first flyable version - then i'll need some beta-test candidates (which i guess won't take much convincing from me, will it?) so we can properly figure out the best way to fly this thing, ascent/reentry procedures, V-speeds, cockpit layout, you name it....



later, folks!

 

[jangofett287]

CAN. NOT. WAIT.

 

[Hlynkacg]

Looking forward to it Moach.

 

[Eli13]

Agreed. I'll be testin that bird out. To the limit! :lol:

 

[halcyon]

I'll definitely be testing the reentry profile.
We'll see how AeroBrakeMFD and GlideslopeMFD perform.

 

[Eli13]

Oh, I forgot I have some serious time on FSX plus like 20 minutes on a real aircraft too :lol:

 

[Grover]

Yo dawg, ill do you some testing, ive done beta testing before with the italian guys, should be good

But in the WIP, make sure to say which systems are still unfinished, so we know what not to feedback on

 

[Moach]

Yo dawg, ill do you some testing, ive done beta testing before with the italian guys, should be good

But in the WIP, make sure to say which systems are still unfinished, so we know what not to feedback on

i surely will do that! :thumbup:

for now, most systems are inoperant, except the engines (which are rather basic needs, i guess), but even those are running a bit more "shallow" than i intend to keep them... good enough to get by for now, tho :hmm:


other things like canards, gears and visor are animated, tho not actually simulated (they move, but they could be either way and not affect anything)
i'll see if i can get something of more meaning to them, if not, then that'll be for WIP-2


my still pending must-finish requirements for WIP-1 are, roughly:
- save/load state to scenario file
- RCS / OMS thrusters (RCS is mostly set, OMS is not at all ATM)
- some basic form of engine condition displays... cant fly blind
- more fuel gauges (only main fuel is shown so far)


other things i'll TRY to get done before then, but will not guarantee:
- animated ACS and VC flight controls
- visible RCS thrusters and exhausts
- whatever else comes to mind that can be done quickly :lol:



now, quick note about the save/load thing...

there's WAY too much information to write for each instance of the G42 (more than 50 flickable switches by now, plus a bunch of other crap... )
this is bound to make a mess of the .scn file, which i believe should be mostly human-readable...

but saving all that info into it would cause it to bload hundreds of lines per ship - or, if i save in binary form, which is easier to code, we'll be left with a ton of gibberish-looking characters polluting a portion of the file... not ideal...

my idea to solve this is this - i write most of the petty-detail stuff into a separate savestate file in the G42's config folder (which contains a sub-folder for those), i then link to it from the scenario file using a single entry :hmm:

"larger" stuff, like fuel contents, orbital state and whatnot can go in the .scn file as usual, but i think this way of handling more intricate stuff allows some much-appreciated head room and a ton of .scn lines...


the PMDG 747 for FS2004 used a similar approach... they did have almost ALL the switches on the Boeing working :blink: (it was quite awe-inspiring) - so the state of the plane's more advanced systems was saved separately :tiphat:



any thoughts? - would anyone prefer i leave everything in the .scn file instead? (for whatever mad reason)



cheers!

 

[Grover]

couldnt you group some of the saved items into boolean groups, like having an scn like this:

lights 0 0 1 0 0 1 0 1 1
wings 0 ;can be 0,1,or 2
bay doors 0 1 ; state then position

or whatever, you might be able to leave some of the things out altogether, like a few MFDs on the engineer side (if you have time to look over there, you must have time to set the MFD) and other little things, but if you look at the XR5s scenario saves, its not to bad to go crazy

but saving some stuff in another file is good, if a little unstable (it should work but it wouldnt be hard for something to mess up), especially if we can then save its entire state without messing up the scn. if you can do it, then you should, but theres nothing wrong with a 70 line scn entry

keep at it man!

 

[Moach]

couldnt you group some of the saved items into boolean groups, like having an scn like this:

lights 0 0 1 0 0 1 0 1 1
wings 0 ;can be 0,1,or 2
bay doors 0 1 ; state then position

or whatever, you might be able to leave some of the things out altogether, like a few MFDs on the engineer side (if you have time to look over there, you must have time to set the MFD) and other little things, but if you look at the XR5s scenario saves, its not to bad to go crazy

but saving some stuff in another file is good, if a little unstable (it should work but it wouldnt be hard for something to mess up), especially if we can then save its entire state without messing up the scn. if you can do it, then you should, but theres nothing wrong with a 70 line scn entry

keep at it man!

that's actually some good thinking there :thumbup: - i think i'll just do that then - thanks! :tiphat:

 

[Grover]

no worries man

---------- Post added at 03:11 PM ---------- Previous post was at 02:23 PM ----------

ive got my test install ready for the WIP. as soon as its uploaded, ill have a little go, see what youve managed to come up with, and if anything needs fixing/updating.

off to work now, laters

 

[Moach]

it's done now :thumbup: - your quick thinking cut me several hours of uneeded programming, thanks again


anyways, the .cfg line the defines the VC switches positioning isn't exactly readable...
a G42 save goes like this:

G42:StarlinerG422
  STATUS Orbiting Earth
  RPOS 6316119.14 -2496517.98 -662616.60
  RVEL -2786.034 -7112.947 267.327
  AROT -88.71 9.65 -127.60
  AFCMODE 7
  PRPLEVEL 0:0.190078 1:-3.541216 2:0.958480 3:1.000000
  NAVFREQ 0 0
  XPDR 0
  GEARS 1
  CNRDS 1
  VISOR 1
  INLET_MAIN 2
  INLET_RAMX 1
  WING_WVRD 1
  WING_FTHR 1
  VC_SEAT 0
  VC_SWS =======-=v-vvvvvvvvvvvvvv=--v----====vvvvvv^v===-==+-=
END

as you can see, the important stuff is still easily modifyable... just notice that last line, and see how each character defines the state of a switch in the cockpit... it's not reader-friendly, but stops a huge mess from taking over the screen :lol:


oh well... more later

 

[cymrych]

"I'm pilot. I fly" said the drunken out-of-shape crop-duster in that ridiculous movie featuring lots of ships running on handwavium...

Been enthusiastically watching this thread for a long time, and I gotta say the 42 is a beauty. Excellent work to date! :tiphat:

Not sure if you were planning a simple WIP release here on the forum for everyone interested to be a sacrificial test-dummy, I mean, test pilot, or a more limited engagement of heroes specially chosen from the elite of the Orbinautical Corps. Either way, I'd like to sign up for testing. My life insurance policy is up to date, and my beneficiaries have been notified.

Again, brilliant job Moach!

 

[Moach]

"I'm pilot. I fly" said the drunken out-of-shape crop-duster in that ridiculous movie featuring lots of ships running on handwavium...

Been enthusiastically watching this thread for a long time, and I gotta say the 42 is a beauty. Excellent work to date! :tiphat:

Not sure if you were planning a simple WIP release here on the forum for everyone interested to be a sacrificial test-dummy, I mean, test pilot, or a more limited engagement of heroes specially chosen from the elite of the Orbinautical Corps. Either way, I'd like to sign up for testing. My life insurance policy is up to date, and my beneficuaries have been notified.

Again, brilliant job Moach!

make sure you've signed all the papers that say "at your own risk" and "manufacturer not liable for damages" before taking her out, then :rofl:

it's looking good, actually - i might be able to pull off the WIP-1 earlier than i expected... (if you guys don't mind a loose end or two)
it's shaping up well on the ways for a possible weekend treat

no promises tho... and no guarantees it won't implode your PC or make it chase down your cat/dog/fish/pet-zombie/iPad :hmm:

 

[halcyon]

Your G42 can implode my PC anytime.

 

[Grover]

perhaps that could be another goodie in the VC: the "PC Imploder arm" button... there was a similar button in the XR2 labelled "do not press this under any circumstances". i think you could put a similar one in the VC through the texture.

if you really want to compete with the XR2 on all levels, you need some easter eggs, to loosen up the seriousness of this awesome craft.

later man!

 

[Moach]

(...)
if you really want to compete with the XR2 on all levels, you need some easter eggs, to loosen up the seriousness of this awesome craft.

well, you wouldn't think i had forgotten about that, right? :lol: - but then, they wouldn't be "easter eggs" if i told you what they were ahead of time, is that not?

 

[Grover]

nice one hopefully they'll be hidden enough that we'll still be finding them this time next year, the XR2 certainly managed that

cant wait for the WIP! show us what you got Moach!