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Hello all,
In preparation for Orbiter 2010, I wanted to get the new XR release candidate builds out for public testing to work out any remaining kinks with the new Orbiter version. I am still working on finishing up the new XRVesselCtrl API 2.0, but that will be included in the next XR update versions a few weeks from now. In the meantime, please feel free to give the XRs a proper shakedown using the latest Orbiter beta, currently Beta 100503 (the Orbiter Beta download page is here) .
Here are the release notes for these builds:
Please remember that since these are release candidate builds no new features will be added at this time. If you find a bug, please be sure to test it in a clean Orbiter 2010 beta installation first. Here are the installation instructions:
1. Install Orbiter 2010 Beta 100503 or later.
2. Install UMMu 2.0.
3. Install OrbiterSound 3.5 (optional, but highly recommended).
4. Install the XR1 and/or XR2 and/or XR5 release candidates.
Several files are necessarily duplicated in each XR package, such as the flight manual and the invisible payload bay vessel .cfg file; you may safely overwrite your existing version (or not) as you choose -- the files are identical in each release.
The zip download links are below:
EDIT:
The RC1 builds have been taken offline now that the RC2 builds are available. RC2 download details are here.
Please note that there are no RAR versions available for these release candidates; RAR versions will be available when Orbiter 2010 goes gold. Thanks for your help testing these release candidates!
In preparation for Orbiter 2010, I wanted to get the new XR release candidate builds out for public testing to work out any remaining kinks with the new Orbiter version. I am still working on finishing up the new XRVesselCtrl API 2.0, but that will be included in the next XR update versions a few weeks from now. In the meantime, please feel free to give the XRs a proper shakedown using the latest Orbiter beta, currently Beta 100503 (the Orbiter Beta download page is here) .
Here are the release notes for these builds:
XR1 1.6-RC1 / XR2 1.1-RC1 / XR5 1.3-RC1 Release Notes
* Added auto-detection of the current video mode's width and automatically load the optimum 2D panel for that width. The '2DPanelWidth' config file setting is still supported, but its default value is now '0' (Autodetect).
* CTRL-Z (Radiator) and CTRL-X (secondary HUD) shortcut keys changed to ALT-R and ALT-T, respectively, to avoid conflict with Orbiter 2010's new CTRL-Z/CTRL-X zoom jump keys.
* Modified hull heating code to be compatible with Orbiter 2010.
* Modified mach callouts to be compatible with Orbiter 2010 (they no longer occur at extremely low static pressures).
* Updated KSC launch scenarios to match the new (and correct!) location of KSC's runway in Orbiter 2010.
* Deleted obsolete "On final approach to KSC" scenarios since the location of KSC has changed. The scenarios may be re-added in the next patch release if and when I have time to recreate all of them.
* Added new XR payload option that specifies whether this payload module's fuel (if any) may be consumed and resupplied by the parent XR vessel. This allows you to carry other vessels that contain fuel without having the parent XR vessel consume its fuel, if desired. Option is:
; (OPTIONAL) set to 'true' if this payload contains fuel or LOX that is consumable by the parent XR vessel
XRConsumableTank = true
* Fixed "PRPLEVEL 0:-1.#IND00" line that could appear for XR payload vessels in saved XR2/XR5 scenarios.
* Updated XR payload logic to no longer require the 'AttachmentPointIndex' config parameter; it now looks for a payload bay slot with the name "XRCARGO".
* Linked using UMMu 2.0 (UMMu 2.0 is required to run these release candidates).
* Added new 'DefaultCrewComplement' parameter:
#--------------------------------------------------------------------------
# Number of crew members to add to the ship if there is no UMMu data in the scenario file.
# Crew will be added starting at [PASSENGER0]
#
# The default is 14 ( [PASSENGER0] through [PASSENGER13] )
#--------------------------------------------------------------------------
DefaultCrewComplement = 14
This is useful if you want your auto-created XR vessels to start with less than a full crew complement. (This feature was requested by Cairn.)
* External cooling line now supplies the ship with oxygen as well; i.e., onboard oxygen is not consumed while external cooling is active. This is nice when you want to accelerate time to wait for a launch window. (Feature requested by Urwumpe.)
* XR ships may now be refueled in-fight (e.g. via FuelMFD) regardless of the 'OrbiterAutoRefuelingEnabled' config file setting. In other words, 'OrbiterAutoRefuelingEnabled' only affects the XR vessel when it is landed.
* Various changes/tweaks to make XR vessels compatible with external graphics clients (i.e., Orbiter_NG). Currently XR vessels are still using Windows GDI calls, but a future version may be refactored to use Orbiter's new sketchpad interface if there is sufficient demand for it.
* Modified payload config file logic to scan all subdirectories underneath Config\Vessels in addition to the top-level Config\Vessels directory.
* XR vessels will no longer create a zero-length .cfg file in Config\Vessels for a vessel if no config file is present for that vessel; this is because the code now parses all .cfg files itself on startup rather than invoking oapiOpenFile(<vessel_classname>.cfg) for each vessel in the scenario.
* Modified XRVesselCtrl class to not require a separate CPP file (moved constructor to the .h file).
* Lots of internal refactoring to cleanly support the upcoming XR2 Mk II's glass virtual cockpit.
* Added new static bool XRVesselCtrl::IsXRVesselCtrl(const VESSEL *pVessel) method that lets external code determine whether a given vessel supports XRVesselCtrl instead of having to query the vessel's classname. (Lots more changes plus a cool demo module coming in XRVesselCtrl 2.0; stay tuned!)
* Fixed XR2 bug where nosewheel steering worked even if the APU was off.
* Fixed XR5 bug where nosewheel steering was incorrectly disabled if AF Ctrl mode was not set to "On".
* Added two missing warning callouts to the XR2: "Warning: Bay doors open" and "Warning: Bay door failure".
* Improved nosewheel steering response using a method similar to how Hielor's excellent "NoseWheelTurn" add-on works. (Many thanks to Hielor for coming up with the idea!)
* Now uses a smaller, thicker HUD font to better match the new HUD look in Orbiter 2010. In addition, XR messages on the HUD now use a different font size based on the width of the video mode.
* Fixed XR5 bug where external cooling switched off when you switched to another vessel and back.
* Fixed XR5 bug in the config file handling where MainFuelISP=7 did not work.
* Fixed XRVesselCtrl bug where GetCenterOfGravity() and ShiftCenterOfGravity() directions were reversed.
* Changed XRVesselCtrl GetStatusScreenText method signature to GetStatusScreenText(char *pLinesOut) for technical reasons (XR vessels use static linking).
* Updated XR Flight Operations Manual, now version 2.1.
KNOWN ISSUES:
* oapiIncHUDIntensity and oapiDecHUDIntensity do not work in the latest Orbiter beta, so the HUD brightness rocker switch only affects HUD data rendered by the XR vessels themselves. Selecting HUD color, however, works fine.
* Payload bay camera view does not work under Orbiter_NG: the ship's mesh is not rendered. This is due to an Orbiter external graphics client issue.
TODO for next release candidate builds:
* XRVesselCtrl 2.0 with more features, such as the ability to set/clear ship damage via the API as well as a cool new demo plug-in module that will let you play with the XRVesselCtrl API. Demo module will include the source code as well so developers will have lots of code samples for the XRVesselCtrl interface.
Please remember that since these are release candidate builds no new features will be added at this time. If you find a bug, please be sure to test it in a clean Orbiter 2010 beta installation first. Here are the installation instructions:
1. Install Orbiter 2010 Beta 100503 or later.
2. Install UMMu 2.0.
3. Install OrbiterSound 3.5 (optional, but highly recommended).
4. Install the XR1 and/or XR2 and/or XR5 release candidates.
Several files are necessarily duplicated in each XR package, such as the flight manual and the invisible payload bay vessel .cfg file; you may safely overwrite your existing version (or not) as you choose -- the files are identical in each release.
The zip download links are below:
EDIT:
The RC1 builds have been taken offline now that the RC2 builds are available. RC2 download details are here.
Please note that there are no RAR versions available for these release candidates; RAR versions will be available when Orbiter 2010 goes gold. Thanks for your help testing these release candidates!
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