Project ORRL - dev

[wehaveaproblem]

UPDATE: Today I recieved an email via my blog host saying that the official Rocket Racing League has filed a complaint against me for breech of registered trademark! Therefore, it has been removed from my blog for the time being until I get to the bottom of it. This will also mean that, most likely, the project name will change. Although dev for it has gone quiet, it is not dead. So watch this space.


UPDATE:
There will now be two seperate releases of this addon:

AIA ORRL package: This will contain all the necessary content for OFFLINE play only. It will allow you to fly all the courses against the clock, either for practice/fun or for entry into the Offline league tables. This package is essentially complete, technically. It just requires finalisation of courses, the RCPMFD and documentation. It will be released as soon as the beta is complete in the new year.

SF ORRL OMP package: This is a larger, collaborative and open source effort between multiple Orbiter developers and contributers. This is aimed at the ONLINE multiplayer side of the ORRL, using Face’s OMP server/client architecture. Once the project is out of early beta and running as intended, we plan to run MP sessions, with league tables, for Orbitnauts to join in and race or just spectate. This project will take longer than the offline version to establish and will be an ongoing developmental project.




I have started work on the Orbiter Rocket Racing League Stuff.

The conversation was starting to get split over various threads, so I thought I would make this one to keep it all in one place.

Dev on this should be fairly quick, since there isn't much to it. So I plan to get this out and running by the new year.

However, the project comes with 2 parts: The offline time trials and the multiplayer. The first open multiplayer tests won't take place until some time in January (Face and HiPotOk1978 are organising that), but the addon should be out and the offline Legaue tables running by the new year (my bit).

computerex is also working on a checkpoint mfd for use both online and offline, I have no ETA on this as yet. If I can include it in the release, then I will. If not, it will be a seperate download.


Ok, so here's what I have so far, mesh and graphics wise:

Logo thang:

The finish line, can be used for offline and multiplayer. Not decided on the crowd stands yet, I like them, but maybe horribly dangerous.

This is the mock up of the balloon pylons, used to mark out the course in multiplayer, and maybe used on final approach for offline. They will be tethered to 2000m and lit with beacons. Plus they will have multiple advertising/sponsor boards (20mx20m).

Post any thoughts or suggestions you have here.

You can see the other threads here:

Need Sponsors
Original Concept Thread
Pre-season Racing Begins
Scenario AI racing

You can also join the Orbiter Rocket Racing League forum group.

I will also keep my blog updated with this stuff, more pics on there.
Also, remember to join the Rocket Racing League forum group.

 

[Linguofreak]

Another idea I've had for a possible race type:

Make a "racecourse" vessel that marks out a course several km, or tens of km, long. Dock it to a port on the ISS (or any other space station, or let it fly free in LEO). Racers fly some low performance spacecraft (dragonfly?) around the course. Because of the large size of the course, its location in LEO, and the low performance of the race craft, racers will have to correct for orbital effects as they fly around the course.

 

[C3PO]

Racers fly some low performance spacecraft (dragonfly?) around the course.

Or a MMU!

 

[EliNaut]

Or a MMU!

Alternatively, an MMU on Earth to do turbopack racing
Would be pretty cool to have a track that at the end that curves straight up so you can ditch the pack and freefall down. First chute that opens wins :speakcool:

 

[Linguofreak]

Alternatively, an MMU on Earth to do turbopack racing
Would be pretty cool to have a track that at the end that curves straight up so you can ditch the pack and freefall down. First chute that opens wins :speakcool:

Neh... First to touch the ground at a safe velocity wins. Encourage people to wait on opening their chutes 'till the last possible moment. Makes things exciting.

Another idea:

It would be interesting in an orbital race to have checkpoints that have a specification for being passed at a certain speed, especially one significantly different than what would be typical at that stage of the flight. Forcing players to be a km/s or two below orbital velocity on a cruise leg (don't lose too much altitude or you'll reenter), or a km/s or two above orbital velocity just before the window for a reentry on the steepest safe glideslope closes could be interesting (gaining too much altitude, or being slow about making your reentry burn could be fatal).

 

[Face]

Looks very good!

wehaveaproblem, I've a question regarding those balloon pylons: are they implemented as vessels or as part of the scenery/base?

It is important for me to know it, because if they are vessels, I'd have to come up with something to ignore them as session vessels in OMP in order to lighten up the traffic between machines. No need to replicate them as they are static anyway....
If they are part of the scenery/base, all is good .

regards,
Face

 

[wehaveaproblem]

Cheers face.

And aha! You may have unwittingly forced my hand on a problem I had.
Basically, vessels are much easier to position and look a little sexier, but their render distance is apparently ****e. If they are part of a base, then they are more of a pain to position but render is not an issue. Plus, in conjunction with the Check Point MFD in dev, I need to set their long/lats, which again is easier to do with vessels.

If I cannot get better render distance with vessels, then I will use base objects anyway. But in short, I think one of us has a mild pain here. Either me with positioning or you with coding. I would wager my pain would be comparatively less.


EDIT: Ok, so I'm just a nub at the .cfg files, vessels work fine. So I shall leave the decision up to you, Face. Vessels are much easier for me. But if they are a pain in the arse for you...?

So, unless I find a way to increase vessel render distance, then I will do the leg work, which means you won't have to. Watch this space and I'll update when I find out.

 

[Face]

EDIT: Ok, so I'm just a nub at the .cfg files, vessels work fine. So I shall leave the decision up to you, Face. Vessels are much easier for me. But if they are a pain in the arse for you...?

So, unless I find a way to increase vessel render distance, then I will do the leg work, which means you won't have to. Watch this space and I'll update when I find out.

It is not such a big problem to do it... just wanted to know how you're about to implement them.

I've a relatively easy solution for that problem in mind, anyway, as long as those vessels are not of the SC3 kind. It would be a simple server-side mapping, causing clients to ignore specified vessel-classes.

So go ahead with what your needs fits best.

regards,
Face

 

[wehaveaproblem]

Well, both ground stuff and balloons look nicer as vessels and are easier to position, plus they don't requitre base files. So I would choose vessels for those reasons. But it would mean a fair few vessels for each scenario, although none are sc3, just plane mesh .cfg vessels.

That said, the only downer with using vessels is no beacon arrays to mark the balloons. But I reckon I can make them visible enough, especially when combined with the CPMFD for that not to be a major issue.

So, for now I will go with vessels, please mate. But if it becomes a problem, just let me know.
Cheers for your work on this.

 

[Woo482]

You can add lights to the vessels I think so that they can look like beacon arrays

 

[wehaveaproblem]

I know I can use emmisive materials, but I'm not sure it has quite the same effect. besides, I don't suppose we will be doing much racing at night anyway.

Here's a pic of the balloon gates as seen from distance so far.

There is a close up of them in the sponsorship thread

 

[Artlav]

I know I can use emmisive materials, but I'm not sure it has quite the same effect.

Why not add beacons in the dll?
Or better, why define the balloons as cfg vessels instead of making a simple dll?

 

[wehaveaproblem]

For the simple reason I cannot code c++, only simpler languages, Artlav.

 

[Artlav]

For the simple reason I cannot code c++, only simpler languages, Artlav.

Which does not mean you cannot ask someone to do it.

 

[Dig Gil]

You really like programming, don't you Artlav?

 

[wehaveaproblem]

Very true Artlav, very true... If only I knew someone capable and willing...


As it happens, computerex just asked if there was anything further he could do so I ran the idea of doing the dlls past him. If he isn't up to/for it then I shall come knocking, Mr Artlav, sir.

much obliged.


-----Post Added-----


Ok, so the beta mfd is working great, thanks to computerex for that. He is also going to code the .dll for the beacons.

I took a DG on a little test race around a 7 gate course above Ascension today. Judging by that I think I will make either smaller gates or multiple kinds. The MFD allows the CP size to be configured for each gate, so they can vary without trouble. It also means the final gate can be at runway height. Plus it's amazing how much detail you can make out on the gates as you pass through, good sponsorship spot definitely.

In short, dev is good and things are seeming rather sexy actually. I'm going to try and get a beta out by next weekend. Showing the meshes and testing some sub-orbital time trial races and shorter racing circuits. That way I can get some feedback on track layouts and what works etc before release proper.

 

[Woo482]

so how will you do the multiplayer races ?

 

[wehaveaproblem]

The first multiplayer beta tests (planned for January) will be gated racing circuits with stock DG's. Depending on how this goes we will then look at other craft and race types etc. After that, if successful and popular, we need to find a server host and arrange racing nights. Join the ORRL forum group, stuff like that is being discussed in there.

 

[Woo482]

Ok I will join it now

 

[tgep]

It will be very intesting to see how this turns out. Offline time trial should be a blast. Offline users can have more fun with this than a barrel of monkeys.

Viper races anyone ?