New Release XR1 1.8 / XR2 1.3 / XR5 1.6 Released

[dbeachy1]

Hi all,

The new XR versions have passed public release-candidate testing and are now posted on my Web site for download. Changes since the previous XR releases include:

• Fixed bug with 'CONFIG_OVERRIDE_MainFuelISP #' in the scenario file. [Reported by Nistenf]

• Added support for inverted roll settings in Attitude Hold autopilot: you can now select a bank setting of +/-60 degrees or between +120 and -120 degrees. With zero bank you can hold a pitch up to +/-87.5 degrees (as before), and with zero pitch you can hold a bank up to +/-75 degrees or between +105 and -105 degrees. Note: to prevent the pilot from accidentally flipping the ship over during reentry you must temporarily disengage Attitude Hold before you can jump the bank setting from +/-60 to +/-120 degrees and vice-versa. So now you can perform an inverted reentry (aerobraking) using the Attitude Hold autopilot.

• Updated the Attitude Hold section in the XR Flight Operations Manual (page 42).

• Tweaked the XR1's hull mesh specular settings to make the hull appear more metallic (shiny).

• Implemented a new preference setting to invert the Attitude Hold pitch/AoA arrow (up/down) behavior:

#--------------------------------------------------------------------------
# Optionally invert the Attitude Hold pitch/AoA arrow (up/down) behavior.
# This affects both the on-screen arrow controls and the NUMPAD-8/NUMPAD-2 keys.
#
#   0 = normal (default) : down arrow = increase pitch / up arrow = decrease pitch
#   1 = inverted         : down arrow = decrease pitch / up arrow = increase pitch
#--------------------------------------------------------------------------
InvertAttitudeHoldPitchArrows=0

• Implemented a new preference setting to invert the Descent Hold rate arrows (up/down) behavior:

#--------------------------------------------------------------------------
# Optionally invert the Descent Hold rate arrows (up/down) behavior.
# This affects both the on-screen arrow controls and 
# the NUMPAD-8 / NUMPAD-2 / ALT-NUMPAD-8 / ALT-NUMPAD-2 / CTRL-NUMPAD-8 / CTRL-NUMPAD-2 keys.
#
#   0 = normal (default) : down arrow = increase rate / up arrow = decrease rate
#   1 = inverted         : down arrow = decrease rate / up arrow = increase rate
#--------------------------------------------------------------------------
InvertDescentHoldRateArrows=0

• Coded workaround for the MDA, Secondary HUD, and Tertiary HUD not updating after the simulation date is moved backwards. [Reported by Grover.]

• Fixed the XR2's unlit Bay warning light label on the lower panel. [Reported by mc_.]

• Added code and warning callout to prevent accidental undocking when both the inner and outer airlock doors are open.

• Fixed the mouse click handling for throttle handles in the XR1's VC. [Reported by OG Hemp.]

Happy Orbiting!

 

[Nistenf]

I'm on a changelog of the XR addon, I feel honored
Downloading now, thanks for the update

 

[hribek]

Oh, cool. Though I got used to flying at 0 ~ 60 deg AoA with + or - 175 degree bank in my Cape Canaveral - Ascension flights. You'll see in the playback I promised to send you

The autopilot will only get confused if the roll setting is of the opposite sign than current roll value when you use a 180 (not 175) cheatcode and attempt to roll over the 180 mark. The AP will choose the long way and try to do a near 360. I dare to think that it might not be too difficult to add support for full 360 bank (roll) support with nonzero AoA.

If you disagree, please ignore me, I can manage with the cheatcodes for now

 

[dbeachy1]

Please note that you do not need the 'MaxAttitudeHoldNormal' and 'MaxAttitudeHoldAbsoluteBank' cheatcodes in order to fly inverted attitudes with the new builds. Those values are now used internally as max deltas from both 0 degrees and 180 degrees. In the new builds the autopilot should always take the shortest path to reach the target attitude.

To clarify the reason for the default roll limits, in an atmosphere the autopilot controls pitch primarily through elevator trim and CoG shifting, both of which which work best at <= 60 degrees of bank. During reentry the RCS jets are only used to fine-tune the ship's attitude.

 

[ercsim]

When on ground, reversing, XR2 has very weird behaviour. It doesn't reverse as it is suppose to. Both version 1.2 and 1.3 has that problem!

 

[Tommy]

It doesn't reverse as it is suppose to.

What is it doing, and what do you think it should be doing?

 

[ercsim]

instead of moving backwards like a car, it feels more like translation. Happens only when pitch is turned on.

This however does not show when moving forward with pitch on.

EDIT: its reproducible

 

[TSPenguin]

instead of moving backwards like a car, it feels more like translation. Happens only when pitch is turned on.

This however does not show when moving forward with pitch on.

EDIT: its reproducible

Do you know of any vessel that does it the right way?

 

[ercsim]

No1. The reversing works, when pitch is turned off, APU is on. When both is ON, then weird reversing behaviour shows.

To answer your question, DGIV works.

 

[hribek]

It's one of the few moments where DGIV is better, yes. The XR2 doesn't like going backwards.

 

[dbeachy1]

I just did a test here using the default XR2 "Ready for takeoff to ISS" scenario with AF control On/Pitch/Off as well as APU on/off and the ship rolled backwards normally as expected when the retro rockets were fired.

Are you both using clean installations? Also, can you both please be specific about what "weird reversing behavior" means and what exactly you are seeing? I need a little more to go on than just, "Weird reversing behavior" and "The XR2 doesn't like backing up." If I can reproduce what you guys are seeing I'll be happy to look into it.

 

[Tommy]

I was able to reproduce the "strange" behavior using the following steps:

1: Start the "Ready for takeoff to ISS" scenario, open Retro doors. Leave AF controls as they are.

2: (optional) Change to external view and position camera above the vessel, looking down, this allows you to see the behavior better.

3: Give a short (1 second or less) blast of retro thrust to get the vessel moving in reverse.

4: Apply rudder while ship is rolling backwards.

Rather than turning, the vessel will move diagonally. If you apply left rudder, the vessel will move diagonally to the right-rear, and right rudder will cause a left-rearward diagonal "skid". "Skidding" continues as long as rudder is applied AND rearward motion continues (when vessel stops moving rearward, lateral "drift" also stops.

I suspect somehow the code used to assist ground turning is interfering. Behavior suggests that the code may not differentiate between forward and reverse movement, with the result that when moving backwards the code conflicts with the core's physics engine rather than assists it. In other words, when reversing with left rudder, the core physics trys to rotate (yaw axis) the vessel clockwise (as seen from above), while the "steering assist" code trys to rotate the vessel counter-clockwise (which would be appropriate if the vessel was moving forward).

I could, of course, easily be wrong about the cause of this problem. Since it can be avoided by turning AF controls off while trying to taxi the vessel, I'd call it fairly low priority.

 

[emarkay]

Maybe a "dum question f'm a noob", but can you overwrite the previous installs or do you need to manually delete the old before installing the new?

Thanks for your excellent work!

MRK

 

[hribek]

I apologize for my previous post. It wasn't as descriptive as it should have been. Though, Tommy's description (post #12) is accurate. Additionally, the behavior changes if the ground speed (while going backwards) is higher (like 50-100 m/s). Would you like playbacks/annotated playbacks/video recordings, Doug?

 

[dbeachy1]

I was able to reproduce the "strange" behavior using the following steps:

1: Start the "Ready for takeoff to ISS" scenario, open Retro doors. Leave AF controls as they are.

2: (optional) Change to external view and position camera above the vessel, looking down, this allows you to see the behavior better.

3: Give a short (1 second or less) blast of retro thrust to get the vessel moving in reverse.

4: Apply rudder while ship is rolling backwards.

Rather than turning, the vessel will move diagonally. If you apply left rudder, the vessel will move diagonally to the right-rear, and right rudder will cause a left-rearward diagonal "skid". "Skidding" continues as long as rudder is applied AND rearward motion continues (when vessel stops moving rearward, lateral "drift" also stops.

I could, of course, easily be wrong about the cause of this problem. Since it can be avoided by turning AF controls off while trying to taxi the vessel, I'd call it fairly low priority.

Thank you Tommy for the detailed info! I see what you mean. :tiphat: There is indeed code in the XRs to help rotate the vessel when taxiing to make the turning radius shorter. I'll see if I can tweak it to work better when turning while taxiing in reverse. Thanks again for the detailed information.

Maybe a "dum question f'm a noob", but can you overwrite the previous installs or do you need to manually delete the old before installing the new?

Don't worry, you can overwrite earlier installs just fine. No need to delete the old files first. :thumbup:

 

[n122vu]

Interesting. I just downloaded XR2 v1.3 and followed the steps Tommy listed, and although it doesn't seem quite as responsive as the previous version when taxiing in reverse, it does definitely still turn for me. I'm not seeing the 'skid' mentioned above. Rather the nose swings around, albeit a little less quickly than the previous version (tested 1.2 just before I installed the upgrade). But it definitely doesn't look abnormal to me in the movement, just a little slower to turn.

 

[dbeachy1]

FWIW, there's been zero change to the turning radius assist code since its initial release. In any case, I plan to tweak the code to improve turning performance while taxiing in reverse for the next XR versions.

 

[ercsim]

Sorry for the detail-less report of the issue.

cheers,
eric sim

 

[Interceptor]

Hey Doug sorry to bug you,but is there anyway can I please get a copy of the Vanguard XR5 1.8? I made a mistake and deleted it,and, I want to keep a back up of it,like I do with all your released vehicles thanks.

 

[dbeachy1]

Do you really need version 1.8 of the XR5, though? Version 1.9 was just released and is very similar to version 1.8 but includes a few bug fixes and enhancements.

However, if you absolutely positively must have it for some reason drop me a PM and I'll dig it up and drop it into a temp folder on my Web site. Be advised, however, that as a rule I don't support old XR versions, so if you fly with that version you're on your own.