Project VesselBuilder for Orbiter

[4throck]

Lights and beacons are a must for docking.
You need them for docking at night and distant visual identification
(also on the Moon with long nights you need lights)

No need for a complex interaction, just a on/off key will do.
So yes, they are used and needed !

 

[fred18]

Lights and beacons are a must for docking. How do you dock at night ?
(also on the Moon with long nights you need lights)

So yes, they are used and needed !

Message well received! I ll find the way to do it!

 

[gattispilot]

Beacons really just need a position, size, rate, and color. Lights just a position and direction

 

[fred18]

Beacons really just need a position, size, rate, and color. Lights just a position and direction

Actually not...
Beacons have:
- shape
- position
- color
- size
- falloff
- period
- duration
- time offset
Lights can be Pointlight, Spotlight or Directional.
All of them have:
- Visibility type
- Position
- Direction
Point lights has also:
- range
- attenuation (3 parameters)
Spotlight on top has also:
- Umbra
- Penumbra
- Aperture
Directional light is totally undocumented so I won't add it.
And all of the lights can be of any color.....

 

[gattispilot]

That is true. But you could limit some of those items on the beacons.

 

[fred18]

That is true. But you could limit some of those items on the beacons.

If I do it, the moment the addon is out is the moment in which somebody asks "why i can not set this for the beacons?"

 

[gattispilot]

You could use the reply learn to how code, mesh,......

But will your animations handle parent and child

 

[fred18]

But will your animations handle parent and child

Of course.

The VesselBuilder is allowing to set almost the entire set of options of the vessel's API. The only thing that (for the time being) is more restrictive is relevant to thrusters exhausts: in the APIs you can put a thruster wherever you want and then create an exhaust completely away while (at the moment) the exhausts in the VesselBuilder are linked to the actual thruster position.

It is possible that I add also that option, but now in this first pass for the pre-release.

 

[gattispilot]

Thanks. Look forward to it.

 

[fred18]

Thanks. Look forward to it.

if you watch the youtube video relevant to the creation of the Robotic arm you'll see that for each animation component I choose its parent

 

[gattispilot]

Great. Maybe I can get the animations on the JAmes Webb to work!!!
I know you will have events so a mesh can be seen/not seen,....., right?

 

[fred18]

Great. Maybe I can get the animations on the JAmes Webb to work!!!
I know you will have events so a mesh can be seen/not seen,....., right?

Each Mesh have the options to be seen externally, in the cockpit, in the virtual cockpit, a combination of them or not seen. The events are not yet implemented but for how i have them in mind yes, it will be also possible to make a mesh visible/invisible on command.

 

[gattispilot]

Great

Looking forward to testing it.

So will you be able to add forces?

Like add rotation torque?

 

[fred18]

Great

Looking forward to testing it.

So will you be able to add forces?

Like add rotation torque?

No, for that you need to learn to code by yourself

It will have (still to be added) a gyroscopic control option, so you can use Gyro instead of RCS thrusters. Maybe it will suit your needs

EDIT: anyway this could be an event option... Add a certain force for a certain time... so maybe yes it will have it...

 

[gattispilot]

Sounds good. I am thinking of vessel that spin upon separation.

I am thinking that this might make more payloads for rockets with MS2015

 

[fred18]

I am thinking that this might make more payloads for rockets with MS2015

Payloads for MS will be the usual business for this.

What I have in mind, with the right set of options and events that maybe this could even replace MS and have everything in just one package.

 

[gattispilot]

Wow. Too bad there is not a mesh building program. Like pick a nose cone, fin,.......

I guess that will have to be done the old way

 

[fred18]

Wow. Too bad there is not a mesh building program. Like pick a nose cone, fin,.......

I guess that will have to be done the old way

The drawing of the mesh file itself of course shall be done with exterior design programs as usual but if you want to assemble different meshes...

maybe you haven't seen this:

of course you can create meshes for a fin or a nosecone and then add them to the vessel

 

[gattispilot]

Wow this looks to be a great tool.

So do you see this working in 2016 and 2010?

 

[4throck]

Actually not...
Beacons have:

Agree with Gattis, in practice we can do with less parameters.
But no harm in having the full parameters available.


About the video above, developers should use mesh names and folder a bit better...
It's a mess to sort out what mesh to load from that listing!