OHM Project-Outposts: Wet Workshops

[Ark]

The burnup sequence may be the coolest thing I've ever seen in Orbiter. HD 6790 at 1600x900, it's awesome.

How does it work? Do various attachment points release as the altitude value drops?

 

[Pioneer]

:hmm: Will there be more additions to the outpost project?

 

[Interceptor]

:hmm: Will there be more additions to the outpost project?

Yes, it"s stated in the manual.

 

[Screamer7]

Hi Steve

Is it possible to use the XR5 to carry the modules to orbit? I looked at the .cfg files of the XR5 cargo modules and yours. What must I do to alter your modules configure files for the XR5 to recognize it?
Please make no mistake, your space shuttle work perfectly.
I tested it against Kulch Universal Cargo Deck. It work without a hitch.

Johan

 

[Steve]

I remember reading about the "reduced textures" in your development thread. I work third shift so my memory gets foggy on a regular basis (my wife and kid love it though "Don't you remember us talking about my new wardrobe dear?").

Anyway, that did the trick! Even at the lowest setting (I get 120 FPS or better) it looks amazing. In the "Station burns up!" scenario I get around 15-20 FPS during the break-up, so it is still quite watch-able. The fireworks show as the station breaks apart is really cool, and the 'finale' is incredible!

I can't wait to see the wheeled stations and the elevator. Wet Workshops is a masterpiece!

Thank you ever so much, you really are too kind - all of you. It is really nice to see the work I have put into this over the past year and a half has been worth it. I loved making this add-on and I am so glad I released this after all. I nearly didn't.

I shall keep you posted on the development of the other add-on packs listed in the user manual, these are the ones I shall be working on next. I do have ideas about other packs for Project-Outposts but I need to clear the current list first!

Again thank you all for your support!

---------- Post added at 08:23 AM ---------- Previous post was at 08:12 AM ----------

Hi Steve

Is it possible to use the XR5 to carry the modules to orbit? I looked at the .cfg files of the XR5 cargo modules and yours. What must I do to alter your modules configure files for the XR5 to recognize it?
Please make no mistake, your space shuttle work perfectly.
I tested it against Kulch Universal Cargo Deck. It work without a hitch.

Johan

That's perfectly OK. I never intended the shuttle to takeover or replace anything. I want others to adapt the pack to suit their needs.

It should be a case of adding attachment points to the current list of child and parent points. Which ones you need depend on what the XR5 requires to attach to its payload bay. There may be specially required IDs needed to recognize the attachment points, these are typically 3 letter string codes at the end of the attachment point declaration. For instance in my modules you will see UTL and UTS which stand for Utility Large and Utility Small attachment points.

I shall look into the XR5 pack for you and see if I can come up with a patch for you.

Best wishes,
Steve

 

[Interceptor]

Steve,I just wanted you to know that after playing with this addon for a day,I would have to say that your a true Pioneer,and you just upped the bar level for orbiter addons,and I can't wait for the other addon packs.Thanks again.

 

[jedidia]

Just thought I'd throw this in here, regarding the textures problem.

many graphics card can't handle textures that are not to a power of 2. Could that be the case here?

 

[Pinguinboy]

Thanks Steve, for this wonderful addon! I might ask you if you are ever planning on making the attachment points into docking ports, because I'm not an ace at attaching solar panels/antennas to attachment points with the canadarm.

 

[Steve]

Just thought I'd throw this in here, regarding the textures problem.

many graphics card can't handle textures that are not to a power of 2. Could that be the case here?

Yes this is quite common, even among newer cards. The width is the main concern but the height should be a power of 2 also. Powers of 2 make for easier memory alignment.

I think they are all powers of 2, but its worth checking again incase one slipped through. They should be either 4K, 2K, 1K, or 512x512 - I don't think I have anything else. However I will check tonight.

---------- Post added at 12:55 PM ---------- Previous post was at 12:40 PM ----------

Thanks Steve, for this wonderful addon! I might ask you if you are ever planning on making the attachment points into docking ports, because I'm not an ace at attaching solar panels/antennas to attachment points with the canadarm.

Ah, I plan on releasing a canadarm in the Project-Outposts: Robotic Manipulators add-on. The Power Data Grapple Fixture (PDGF) model included in Wet Workshops does support attachment points for connecting objects to them. The canadarm I am currently building will be able to walk around the station using these scenic items. All of the robotic manipulators in Project-Outposts: Robotic Manipulators will come with a similar tool to the docking panel currently supplied in Wet Workshops, this will let you snap the attachment objects together easily. Project-Outposts: Robotic Manipulators will also come with a more advanced EVA character which will replace the current one used in Wet Workshops, this is NASA MMU provided by Orbiter.

In the mean time you could use the docking panel for the module in question to perform the final attachment of the solar panel to the habitation module. Alternatively it is possible to copy or move the attachment points you need over to the docking port list for the modules in question.

In short if you all feel this would benefit the usability of the add-on then I would be happy to.

 

[Scruce]

This is just brilliant! Exactly one year ago, igel released Vostok which was incredibly detailed. It seems this week is a lucky week in the year for well-done addons!

Fantastic! This addon is what brought me out of a six month long Orbiter hiatus.

 

[Steve]

The burnup sequence may be the coolest thing I've ever seen in Orbiter. HD 6790 at 1600x900, it's awesome.

How does it work? Do various attachment points release as the altitude value drops?

Magic!

No, I'm just kidding. It's quite simple really.

In the Orbiter SDK documentation there is an equation for calculating the strength (or alpha) of the plasma texture. This essentially works out how hot an object gets when descending through the atmosphere of a planet. It's based around air resistance and velocity of travel; basically friction. This is used by the parent modules to gauge when a critical point is reached when the module should explode. This point is determined by, well, guess work and experimentation.

I use this to workout how the child vessels attached should burn-up also. Each object independently monitors the friction build-up and each has a unique break-up threshold. Also the parent module has different friction values which trigger the ejection or ripping off of attached child objects.

The code for ripping attached objects came from the SRB jettison code from the Atlantis project. I tweaked the code a bit and added some spin to the objects as well as giving all of them an aerofoil. This helps create more random effects as objects rip off a module.

The modules also have panels that rip off, these again have aerofoils and when ripped off actually reduces the modules' mass also. This affects the trajectory and velocity of the burning module. The module slows up as friction reduces the velocity of the module through heat transference. Eventually the module loses enough energy so it cools down and the plasma disappears. As the remains of the module plummets to the ground the air resistance slows the module to a terminal velocity.

So by using a published plasma equation and some artistic license I created the effects you see now. Most modules have 3 or 4 bursts of debris before they explode fully, this is timed by the value obtained from the plasma equation. The exact values you will have to play with.

 

[Screamer7]

I shall look into the XR5 pack for you and see if I can come up with a patch for you.


That would be very nice of you to create a patch for the XR5.
I actually intended to ask you for it.:lol:

I noted in the burn up sequence that some small particles shoot forward from the main cluster.
Is that modeled correctly?

 

[Steve]

I shall look into the XR5 pack for you and see if I can come up with a patch for you.


That would be very nice of you to create a patch for the XR5.
I actually intended to ask you for it.:lol:

I noted in the burn up sequence that some small particles shoot forward from the main cluster.
Is that modeled correctly?

Let's just say they are explosions... for now. They may not be there in the next version

 

[Screamer7]

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!:uhh:
Ahem..."get a hold of myself.":dry:
I LIKE the burn up sequence.
Please do not remove that.:hail:

 

[Ark]

Magic!

No, I'm just kidding. It's quite simple really.

In the Orbiter SDK documentation there is an equation for calculating the strength (or alpha) of the plasma texture. This essentially works out how hot an object gets when descending through the atmosphere of a planet. It's based around air resistance and velocity of travel; basically friction. This is used by the parent modules to gauge when a critical point is reached when the module should explode. This point is determined by, well, guess work and experimentation.

I use this to workout how the child vessels attached should burn-up also. Each object independently monitors the friction build-up and each has a unique break-up threshold. Also the parent module has different friction values which trigger the ejection or ripping off of attached child objects.

The code for ripping attached objects came from the SRB jettison code from the Atlantis project. I tweaked the code a bit and added some spin to the objects as well as giving all of them an aerofoil. This helps create more random effects as objects rip off a module.

The modules also have panels that rip off, these again have aerofoils and when ripped off actually reduces the modules' mass also. This affects the trajectory and velocity of the burning module. The module slows up as friction reduces the velocity of the module through heat transference. Eventually the module loses enough energy so it cools down and the plasma disappears. As the remains of the module plummets to the ground the air resistance slows the module to a terminal velocity.

So by using a published plasma equation and some artistic license I created the effects you see now. Most modules have 3 or 4 bursts of debris before they explode fully, this is timed by the value obtained from the plasma equation. The exact values you will have to play with.

Thanks for the explanation! I don't know code, but I was very interested in what parameters and little code events were at work there. It all comes together to create a very impressive and convincing burnup sequence that very few addons can match. I'm probably going to enjoy casting my stations into the atmosphere just as much as constructing them.

 

[Screamer7]

I echo Ark. The XR2 and DG 4 have some nice re-entry animations, but that is it. No "exploding to smithereens" as in Steve's work.
Correction...the DG4 also fall apart in pieces, but not like THIS ONE.

 

[Cras]

This looks like quite the impressive project. And from the early reviews here, I have no choice but to download it and see it for myself.

I will report back when I get a chance to use it. This thing looks amazing.

 

[PhantomCruiser]

I think I may have found another few bugs for you. I'd quicksaved and went to work during the Mission 1. When I came back home and started the current scenario, after just a few seconds the shuttle's OHMs engine fired, shortly thereafter the RCS put me into an uncontrolled spin, then the cradle (with solar array's) departed the cargo bay.

Tried this multiple times always with the same result, so... I tried to use the kill rotation option from the scenario editor (from the angular momentum button?). No joy, it stopped long enough to comply with the kill rot, then started rolling again. Then I tried to empty all the fuel tanks, then kill rot, then added fuel back. That worked, but the cradle still departed the bay after a few seconds.

Then I thought Oh wait, there is a patch...

Installed the patch with the same effects. With the addition of the return of the invisible ET. Went to the vessel configuration on the startup screen to change to low res, with no luck. It seems to default and return to high res. Meaning I selected low res, select OK, open vessel config again and the radio button is back on high res.

SO... I unloaded the patch. And did the mission start-to-finish.

Still an awesome add-on!!!

 

[Steve]

I think I may have found another few bugs for you. I'd quicksaved and went to work during the Mission 1. When I came back home and started the current scenario, after just a few seconds the shuttle's OHMs engine fired, shortly thereafter the RCS put me into an uncontrolled spin, then the cradle (with solar array's) departed the cargo bay.

Tried this multiple times always with the same result, so... I tried to use the kill rotation option from the scenario editor (from the angular momentum button?). No joy, it stopped long enough to comply with the kill rot, then started rolling again. Then I tried to empty all the fuel tanks, then kill rot, then added fuel back. That worked, but the cradle still departed the bay after a few seconds.

Then I thought Oh wait, there is a patch...

Installed the patch with the same effects. With the addition of the return of the invisible ET. Went to the vessel configuration on the startup screen to change to low res, with no luck. It seems to default and return to high res. Meaning I selected low res, select OK, open vessel config again and the radio button is back on high res.

SO... I unloaded the patch. And did the mission start-to-finish.

Still an awesome add-on!!!

Cheers, I'll get straight on to that one for you.

This is how software testing works my friend, there is only so much one programmer can find. Once you release a product the masses will always find new bugs. That's what support is for!

By the way nice test procedure and bug report.


Could you check the Textures2 directory for me and see if you see these folders:

Project-Outposts
Project-Outposts-LO
Project-Outposts-MED

Or if you see:

Project-Outposts-HI
Project-Outposts-LO
Project-Outposts-MED

I think you have found a possible bug in the config plug-in which might affect the original Wet Workshops download if it crashes.

Cheers,
Steve

PhantomCruiser, I have confirmed your bugs. I am working on a fix this evening for you. Thank you for your bug report.

Guys any other bugs you have found could you also send me bug reports with procedures to recreate the bug like PhantomCruiser has supplied. This will help me get fixes out to you faster.

Kind regards,
Steve

 

[PhantomCruiser]

Textures2 folder review yields...

Project-Outposts
Project-Outposts-LO
Project-Outposts-MED

While in the service I'd often heard the term "Sailor-proof". Well, nothing is ever sailor-proof, it just means that the right sailor hasn't come along to tear it up yet. :thumbup: