Project XR2 Ravenstar - Mk II

[thomasantony]

Oh man!! This looks damn cool. Ok .. I don't fly orbiter much nowadays and haven't done so for like .. a few months. But this one make me want to . and those windows .. they strangely remind me of Windows vista .

~
Thomas

 

[Coolhand]

thanks, here's a big view of the 'pit. i've decided to keep it quite dark, and i've reduced the blue of the screen.

 

[dutchpirate]

Having been merrily bouncing around the Solar System in my DGIV, I only today took a look at your project...OMG!!! That is one of the hottest looking craft in any sci-fi realm you care to name! Star Wars/Trek, Babylon V, Galactica, Space:AaB, you name it! Absolutely stunning! Are you entertaining the possibility of offering the skins in .psd format (a-la DGIV) so us mere mortals can creat custom skins? (We're not worthy! We're not worthy!)

 

[willy88]

Ooh, that looks great! Could you show us a closer shot, perhaps?

 

[Coolhand]

Sure, here's a couple more pics. And yes i'll release a paint kit for it too.

 

[willy88]

How do those seats stay in the air, especially during reentry? :huh:

 

[Donamy]

They look like they're attached at the head rest.

 

[Coolhand]

they're attached to the side console and slide back to allow the pilot to climb up from below.

 

[Andy44]

I have to stop looking at this and teasing myself. Whatever else comes of this project, Coolhand one is established: you do some fine modeling work. Really pretty spacecraft you got there. That interior and electric blue is pretty much how I've always invisioned my own personal spacecraft, that high tech look.

 

[Prius]

That is quite possibly the most beautiful bird I've ever seen, real or not. As far as features, what'll it have? Autopilots, payload bay, UMmu, etc.? Looks are great, but I want a bit more before switching off the DGIV.

 

[willy88]

That is quite possibly the most beautiful bird I've ever seen, real or not. As far as features, what'll it have? Autopilots, payload bay, UMmu, etc.? Looks are great, but I want a bit more before switching off the DGIV.

Pretty much everything that the XR1 has.

 

[tl8]

That is quite possibly the most beautiful bird I've ever seen, real or not. As far as features, what'll it have? Autopilots, payload bay, UMmu, etc.? Looks are great, but I want a bit more before switching off the DGIV.

This is the same sort of stuff as the XR-1 and XR-5, of which the XR-1 compliments the DGIV. See XR-5 Dev thread in M6 for more info about the XR series.

 

[Scarecrow]

That is quite possibly the most beautiful bird I've ever seen, real or not. As far as features, what'll it have? Autopilots, payload bay, UMmu, etc.? Looks are great, but I want a bit more before switching off the DGIV.

It will have all the features of the XR1 (which are better than the DGIV IMO, but that's another topic entirely). That means:

- Vertical velocity holding autopilot
- Attitude holding autopilot
- Airspeed holding autopilot
- SCRAM engines
- Ummu support
- Oxygen supplies that get depleted
- Damage and failure simulation (ie: you can die, break things, etc...)
- A radiator that actually dissapates heat instead of just looking pretty
- Voices are done by a voice actress instead of a computer
- Temperature display
- All kinds of other nice things that I can't remember.

I don't think that the XR2 will have a payload bay, but the XR5 has a nice big one, and an excellent payload managment system that allows you to put in pretty much anything.

 

[Prius]

Okay, cool. Will the damage only be the stuff on the wings or will it actually explode and break up and stuff?

 

[Scarecrow]

Okay, cool. Will the damage only be the stuff on the wings or will it actually explode and break up and stuff?

It doesn't actually look like it exploded, but the aerodynamic qualities definately change, and in the event of complete destruction of the vessel or death of the crew, it becomes uncontrollable. Also, (now simply speaking about the XR1, since I haven't seen the XR2 get damaged) if individual systems, like the hover doors or cabin hatch are destroyed, they look like they're stuck in some intermediate state, and they become inoperable. Also, if something major happens, like you crash or burn up, a large, red message will flash and tell you what happened (ie: "Hull breach at Mach 27.5! You and the Crew are DEAD!"). XR vessels also have a very good Master Warning System, and allow you to see just how damaged certian systems are. For example, if you perform a belly landing, then your Hover Engines will be damaged to some degree, and will produce less thrust. You can see how little by looking in the MDA (Multi Display Area, which displays similar things to the DGIV's flight computer, but is less complicated).

 

[Prius]

Okay. I like the damage thing and the systems from the XR1, but I think that later versions should have actual destruction animations and launch/reentry autopilots like on the DGIV. Maybe there can be a cargo version with a payload bay.

 

[Scarecrow]

Okay. I like the damage thing and the systems from the XR1, but I think that later versions should have actual destruction animations and launch/reentry autopilots like on the DGIV. Maybe there can be a cargo version with a payload bay.

There is a cargo version: The XR5 Vanguard.

I would like to see destruction animations too, but it's not really necessary IMO.

Doug Beachy (the developer) has stated that DGIV type do-everything autopilots will never appear in an XR vessel, because flying the ship is the pilot's job. I suppose I agree with him. Where's the fun in sitting back and watching it happen?

 

[Prius]

Well I find that it isn't as fun when I crash into the ground and die while attempting atmospheric flight. It's the one thing I suck at. I would appreciate a simple launch autopilot that puts me in orbit.

As far as the XR5, I haven't tried it. It doesn't look as good as the XR2, though.

Btw, does anyone know where I can find a good tutorial on atmospheric flight?

 

[Scarecrow]

Well I find that it isn't as fun when I crash into the ground and die while attempting atmospheric flight. It's the one thing I suck at. I would appreciate a simple launch autopilot that puts me in orbit.

As far as the XR5, I haven't tried it. It doesn't look as good as the XR2, though.

Btw, does anyone know where I can find a good tutorial on atmospheric flight?

Here is something that looks like a pretty good tutorial for how to fly a plane. Not everything is appliciable to a hypersonic spaceplane, and there are some things that Orbiter doesn't have or does differently. But the concepts should be similar.

http://stoenworks.com/How%20to%20Fly%20Flight%20Sims.html

The part you probably want to read the most starts at about the middle (The section titled "SOME BASIC INFORMATION ON WHY AN AIRPLANE FLIES", and the later one "Let's fly!") Good luck!

 

[Tex]

Sure, here's a couple more pics. And yes i'll release a paint kit for it too.

wow! Great work mate.