Interview of Martin

[Raimondo]

Hi!

I'm a student in Switzerland, working on a website called TechHaze. I am soon going to interview Martin Schweiger about Orbiter! If there are any questions you'd like to ask him, please tell me! You can discuss them here or send me an email.

Cheers!

ps. if anyone's interested, TechHaze interviewed X-Plane creator Austin Meyer a few weeks ago.

 

[Izack]

I've always sort of wanted to know whether he uses his own simulator very much. Is it still fun to play with a program if you exactly how it works and what it does? Also, if he does, if he tries out many add-ons.

:shifty:

 

[vonneuman]

I have always wanted to know were he got the idea to create Orbiter, and how long did it take him to make it.

 

[IronRain]

What education did he had, and did he ever thought of making money out of it?

 

[eveningsky339]

What inspired him to create Orbiter?

What were his goals for Orbiter when he first set out?

Where does he see Orbiter ten years from now?

How much as the Orbiter community affected Orbiter's development?

 

[Bendarr]

How often does he peruse the forums and look at the Orbiter community?

How does he feel about it growth?

How does he feel about the direction that Orbiter is taking? (Increased realism, more vehicles, etc)

How does he feel about the various videos that have been made concerning Orbiter? (Tutorials, tribute videos, etc)

Is there anything that he would improve upon or suggest the community work on in the future?

 

[Raimondo]

Great questions guys. I'm going to ask a few of these (maybe I'll rephrase them according to the context).
Keep them coming!

 

[dgatsoulis]

According to this: http://www.medphys.ucl.ac.uk/~martins/

Orbiter is "A realistic 3D space flight simulator I wrote for fun. Freely downloadable."

The other projects though, were the one's he really put his mind into! If the Orbiter community is so grateful for Dr.Martin's work, think of all the others!!!
Orbinauts all over the world are SO lucky! Thank you Dr.Martin! (Did you ever think that such a small "stone in the water" would turn out to become a "Tsunami"?)

 

[Izack]

Well, he is a professor. And a UCL one at that.
Indeed, it would be nice to include a big collective "Thank you!!" from the community somewhere in the interview. I think it's pretty well warranted.

 

[ar81]

I would like to know what makes Orbiter to be fun for Martin.
The challenge of thinking and figuring out a solution? Learing about technology? Flying it? Sense of achievement?

What did he have in mind when he started with Orbiter?

What are the most rewarding experiences he have had with Orbiter?

 

[MeDiCS]

What would he post in the following threads:
"Greatest Orbiter Moment"
"The biggest disaster you have caused in Orbiter"

And, of course, his favourite addons.

 

[Raimondo]

Indeed, it would be nice to include a big collective "Thank you!!" from the community somewhere in the interview. I think it's pretty well warranted.

Totally agree.
I thanked him in the mail asking for the interview, and I won't hesitate doing that again! I think it's impossible to thank him enough.

-
Thanks for the propositions people, I'm compiling them into my list (it's really difficult not making it too long =S)

And keep them coming! It's really good to see what people are most curious about!

 

[Bloodworth]

Add my thanks as well. Heck, we may as well make a big card for us all to sign

 

[Izack]

Add my thanks as well. Heck, we may as well make a big card for us all to sign

That's exactly what I was thinking that when I posted. :lol:

 

[Enjo]

I'd like to know if he realises that he actually changed some peoples minds and lifes by steering them into real science, which is beyond the boring and unmotivating classes' blackboards, and programming from which you can make a living. For example - my master thesis is strictly connected with Orbiter and I program for a living. How does he feel about that?

( Actually I know what I'm going to hear but I want to hear it again, hahaha )

 

[Raimondo]

my master thesis is strictly connected with Orbiter

Really? How?

 

[tblaxland]

Really? How?

Launch MFD direct ascent program: http://www.orbiter-forum.com/showthread.php?p=173790

 

[Enjo]

Yup, the direct ascent program has one code base, which is shared between a window application, where it's easy to debug it and Launch MFD, where the concepts and assumptions are roughly confronted with (Orbiter's) reality, so it needs Orbiter for credibility.

It all started only because of Orbiter, nothing else. Because I already knew what I'd write in my thesis, now I have the code nearly ready, while some other students still visit their advisers, asking them what they actually want the students to do

 

[Izack]

Yup, the direct ascent program has one code base, which is shared between a window application, where it's easy to debug it and Launch MFD, where the concepts and assumptions are roughly confronted with (Orbiter's) reality, so it needs Orbiter for credibility.

It all started only because of Orbiter, nothing else. Because I already knew what I'd write in my thesis, now I have the code nearly ready, while some other students still visit their advisers, asking them what they actually want the students to do

You have my respect for that. Good luck with your thesis! :tiphat:

 

[Urwumpe]

Well, he is a professor. And a UCL one at that.

No professor, a PhD. He still does honest hard work for his living (as SRF).

http://www.cs.ucl.ac.uk/people/M.Schweiger.html