General Question Question about Vinkas Add on

[XLR82SPACE]

I am wondering what exactly Vinkas Add on is. I see it listed as an "essential utility" on the recomended add ons page. You go into the link and there are several to choose from???? Its very vauge, nothing really explaining what it is or what it does. I know it must be important, but don't understand it or the concept. Nothing out there to explain it to a new person starting Orbiter. I see A LOT of add ons require it. Again what is it? Whats it for? What does it do, How is it used? I need a Vinkas for dummies lesson I guess. Can a more expierianced Orbinaut, please help me with this and shed some light on the matter. I'd like to get started and this question is preventing that. Thank you to whom ever can help.:sos:

 

[Hmuda]

It's a DLL AFAIK. I'm not a modder so I can't explain what it does exactly, but it allows a lot of new features that stock orbiter was incapable of and really detailed mods use it to achieve stuff they couldn't before.

You don't need to "use" it, just download it, extract it into your Orbiter folder and the mods requiring it will use it on their own.

Get the "spacecraft3 full package" and the "Spacecraft3 patch" from said page and you're pretty much set.

 

[TSPenguin]

Spacecraft3 and multistage2 enable developers to write ini files which are interpreted by these DLLs. They translate the variables from the ini into calls to Orbiters API.
That way ships can incorporate advanced features for which they would otherwise require to have their own DLL programmed.

 

[XLR82SPACE]

Thank you guys , that helped me out. Still over my head about the programing file stuff. I do know now the importance of them and what they do. I'm downloading now. I appreciate it!