Project Infinity - Exploratory Colonisation Construct

[Izack]

This has been lurking around the blog and chatbox for a few days...here it is.

Cavradyne Interstellar presents a poor approximation of the 1-N Infinity starship, inspired by the 'lighthuggers' in Revelation Space. I'm aiming for a semi-realistic implementation. At the moment it's able to accelerate past the speed of light, as is anything in Orbiter, but I'd like to have at least a hack implementation of special relativity (thrust diminished exponentially as velocity approaches c) to make interstellar voyages somewhat less simple. The mesh is of course incomplete.

What it lacks in looks I intend to make up for in the functionality of its DLL, with things like power, engine, cargo and crew configuration management via instrument panel.

So far the plan calls for four crew/cargo shuttles of two different types, airless and atmospheric. I have the basic mesh for the Leo airless shuttle:

The Taurus atmospheric shuttle is 0% designed...Any and all ideas, suggestions or maybe even meshes are very much welcomed! Pretty please?

Each shuttle will be able crewed by 4 people, with the ability to carry a mix of crew and cargo to the ground (max 12 people or max 6 UCGO crates.)
For heavy lifting there will be large unmanned cargo landers with much larger capacity. They should be able to land on a typical planet, take off and rendezvous with the mothership unaided.

Docking bays (~20m wide):

Test cruise from Earth to Venus was successful:

Thoughts please!

 

[Jarvitä]

Yes! I absolutely loved the Revelation Space series. Sadly, Orbiter really lacks the simulation capabilities to do these beauties justice. You're planning to implement relativity and interstellar gas as a part of the addon?

 

[Izack]

I'm just finishing the first book today. Definitely bumping up the list of favourites.

You're planning to implement relativity and interstellar gas as a part of the addon?

Eh, in a general way, yes. (No pun intended.) This is an excercise in C++ as much as anything, so a basic implementation of the equations altering thrust easy enough, but anything considerably realistic is at this point beyond my ability. I'll keep at it, though.

Some eye candy for the Cache would be cool, but both pointless for this simulator and beyond the scope of the project. I'm focusing on exploration.
(Nevertheless the rearmost docking ring mesh group is called 'Gunnery' .)

 

[jedidia]

but anything considerably realistic is at this point beyond my ability. I'll keep at it, though.

Don't even bother with time dilation, without core support it's pretty pointless to attempt.

Nice project! :thumbup:

 

[Izack]

Don't even bother with time dilation, without core support it's pretty pointless to attempt.

Not intending to. Just adjusting the engine thrust so it approaches zero before reaching lightspeed (have to make sure you can't use the RCS to break the limit, too :lol will suffice for me.

Nice project! :thumbup:

Thanks!

 

[Izack]

 

[Frogisis]

Hahaha, that's awesome, I'll definitely download it when it's done - I actually just found Revelation Space in December and was even contemplating making the Nostalgia for Infinity as an addon.

 

[Ark]

Hahaha, "lighthugger" was the first thought that came to mind when I saw the picture.

 

[Izack]

I'm in the middle of adding a limited manufacturing ability to this ship, so it would be able to use stored / mined resources to create cookie-cutter vessels, like IPMS components.

UCGO has a resource ability, but it's too small-scale for this purpose. Shipping up hundreds of UCGO crates to make a few probes is totally unreasonable. Fuel transfer is probably the best way. I'll be having a look at Fuel MFD source whenever schoolwork permits.

Edit: So the manufacturing district will be towards the rear of the cone, with completed vessels emerging through the presently-repurposed aft docking bays. Should make for a good strain of my meager programming skill. :lol:

 

[MaverickSawyer]

Let's see, there's [ame="http://www.orbithangar.com/searchid.php?ID=4593"]the GDI Ore Mill[/ame], which creates ore cargos from rock boxes created by [ame="http://www.orbithangar.com/searchid.php?ID=4577"]the GDI Mk1 Miner.[/ame] Then use the [ame="http://www.orbithangar.com/searchid.php?ID=4386"]UCGO Displacement Booths[/ame] to port stuff to your ship!

 

[Izack]

If I could 'port stuff to the ship, it would destroy the whole purpose of having the ship in the first place. :lol:

 

[MaverickSawyer]

True. The other option is to use an XR5 UCGO rack as your payload handling system by attaching it to the payload bay of whatever shuttle you use.

 

[Izack]

True. The other option is to use an XR5 UCGO rack as your payload handling system by attaching it to the payload bay of whatever shuttle you use.

That's what I'm thinking of using, though I'll probably do something else to save users a mandatory download.

For manufacturing resources, I think I'll use a fuel-transfer system and large crates full of 'fuel' to be carried up and dock to the ship, transferring their fuel into the proper fuel tank.

For now I'm focusing on getting the major shipboard systems running. My programming knowledge has prematurely hit its limit and I'm now perusing the OrbiterAPI files and programming textbooks for info.

 

[MaverickSawyer]

if you find a way to convert one form of UCGO Cargo to another, let me know. I have an idea that will need a lot of that...

 

[Izack]

In case the sparsity of updates didn't make it apparent, this and anything else I was doing is put in slow motion thanks to an influx of schoolwork resulting from my attempting to undertake a few hobby projects.

Implemented:
- Engine thrust as a function of global velocity. Approaches zero as velocity approaches c.
- Bit of framework for 2D Panel. Sketchpad is a puzzler to implement.

In the meantime there's one [ame="http://orbithangar.com/searchid.php?ID=2981"]other thing[/ame] I'd like to upgrade before returning to this project...

 

[Izack]

After a long enough time away thanks to a few issues (lack of motivation, being inexperienced with modelling, having software problems with 3D modellers, and being unable to watch any video tutorials, which comprise pretty much 100% of all modelling tutorials) I'm returning to this project.

The Goal:
A small fleet of vessels, including the Exploratory Colonisation Construct (ECC) - a large interstellar vessel capable of carrying a sizeable crew to an already-scouted nearby star system with a viable colonisation candidate, carrying a sizeable foundry for automatically processing resources and producing orbital and interplanetary exploratory, research and mining vessels. In essence, this is a somewhat more believable version of Homeworld's Mothership, mixed in with the previously mentioned lighthuggers from the Revelation Space universe. Other vessels I would like to make (producable by the ECC) are interplanetary probes, asteroid and planetoid mining vessels, and atmospheric/airless manned transports. Currently, I'm starting with the smallest unmanned probes and working my way upwards.

 

[APDAF]

In essence, this is a somewhat more believable version of Homeworld's Mothership, mixed in with the previously mentioned lighthuggers from the Revelation Space universe. Other vessels I would like to make (producable by the ECC) are interplanetary probes, asteroid and planetoid mining vessels, and atmospheric/airless manned transports. Currently, I'm starting with the smallest unmanned probes and working my way upwards.

I have had the idea of this in the past for some drawings/a short story, although that used something akin to a Star Trek replicator.

But there is a theoretical machine that you could use to both A) simplify the system and B) be able to mine from asteroids without much resources on them but still can get usable materials from them.

[ame="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Molecular_assembler"]Molecular assembler - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia[/ame]

 

[Izack]

Yes, something like that would be used. The technology here is well beyond the present.

 

[APDAF]

I have been thinking about how the mining vessels work.

Would they just pulverise asteroids into dust, or would the do something more elaborate?

:hmm:

 

[Izack]

As far as the simulation is concerned, they land, slowly fill with various useful materials, generate waste, then leave. Planets are untouchable in Orbiter, so they would essentially be limitless sources of mineral resources within the scope of this project; I don't want to make a model for resource abundance and distribution per planet for every planet the user is likely to visit.

Right now, I'm working on an automated interplanetary probe for preliminary research and prospecting upon arrival and deceleration within the system. It is much like a large Flagship-type probe (Cassini) with generic instruments.

The Construct itself will perform very little manoeuvring once it has settled above the body chosen for development. During the decades of terraforming and planetary development, it would likely be gradually dismantled and repurposed as an inhabited satellite or sent on a return course to Sol.