SPACECRAFT3.DLL ADVANCED CONCEPTS
By José Pablo Luna Sánchez. 2008
WARNING!!
This is a tutorial for advanced users.
If you are new to Orbiter addon making, it is better to start creating surface bases and editing scenarios.
I also made some other more basic tutorials on Spacecraft.dll.
Vinka's Spacecraft is an addon that allows you to create a flyable mesh.
This tutorial assumes that you already master the following:
REQUIRED TOOLS
To follow this tutorial you need
UNDERSTANDING FILE STRUCTURE
When you build your addon, you must not forget to add any file.
You have the following directories that may contain files you need to add to your addon.
Scenario files make references to your craft and it causes it to be created when you load Orbiter.
Spacecraft.cfg and spacecraft3.dll are files that come with Vinka's addon.
They allow your mesh to be flyable, once you create an ini file that contains all the necessary data spacecraft.dll needs to configure your vessel and make it tick.
Meshes are the 3D models in Orbiter's native MSH format.
Meshes may refer to textures in DDS format.
Mesh names are indicated in the ini file.
Ini file is a text file you can edit with notepad.
So basically when you make your addon, you must make:
Many addon makers prefer to include spacecraft3 addon in their addon.
But be sure to include the whole pack and read the terms and conditions stated by Vinka.
The previous diagram shows the physical distribution of files inside Orbiter.
This diagram shows the logical (not physical) distribution of files.
By logical I mean the hierarchy of files (logical dependency) for different types of orbiter addons.
UNDERSTANDING INI FILE STRUCTURE
An INI file is a script file composed by several sections
If you want more information, you may like to read Spacecraft.pdf that is located in the Add-on Docs directory (if you have Vinka's Spacecraft3.dll installed).