Project XR Facility and base

[Interceptor]

HI guys great job,everything looks,and performs great,found a bug thou, when running in 1920X1080 in default orbiter the readout on the crane panel the numbers are squished looking,I took as good a pic as I could.Thanks to you,and Russ for all the hard work.BTW,I haven't tried it out on D3d9 yet.

 

[Interceptor]

OH yeah one more thing, does the fan button serve any purpose,or is it just for looks?

 

[Russ_H]

OH yeah one more thing, does the fan button serve any purpose,or is it just for looks?

There are animated fans on the inside top of the hanger that spin when the button is turned on.

when running in 1920X1080 in default orbiter the readout on the crane panel the numbers are squished looking

I am not sure what the deal is here. I run the same 1920X1080 just fine, but in the past I have seen that happen. I will add it to our bug list.

When we get to a true release we are going to have options for all size screens.

 

[Russ_H]

At some point the crane will be UCGO compatible. We are at some point going to open up the SCC code so developers can make their own cagro add ons. The issue is we needed to get into beta to test what we have done so far. The SCC is still in development as well as the crane. I don't want to open up the SCC code because I am not done with the crane and I don't know how much is going to change.

Here is our dream. :lol:

This is all going to lead into being able to build things in space and at land bases. The SCC will help supply the goods needed to do this. We may have space ports that manage cargo with a data base. So there is a lot to be developed and cargo management I feel is the core to all this.

Wanting to do this and doing it are 2 very different things.

 

[JSwift]

Thank you PennyBlack and Russ_H for this great add-on. Love that extra taxiway mesh at the North end of KSC 15/33.

A fair framerate hit on my older (but not ancient) PC with WinXP & D3D9 but still very playable.

 

[PennyBlack]

A fair framerate hit on my older (but not ancient) PC with WinXP & D3D9 but still very playable.

I also use WinXP and D3D9. The default scenario "XR Facility - Full container and XR5.scn" pushes my pc somewhat if I add more cargo and an XR2, a couple of UMMU's and a cuddly toy.
I set the default scenarios to what my computer could handle, so by editing out some of the cargo containers in the scenario files, you can increase performance even with D3D9 active.

 

[PennyBlack]

These containers will be included into the update to increase the varity of choice. The textures on the 2nd container design are repeated and only the colour of the band and writing are different due to the time needed to produce them as individuals. So every effort is made to ensure the quality of them. Shown in a standard Orbiter run (Not in DX** mode).

The container dds's are 1024x1024 and the door addons are 256x256. There are two peices that compose the containers, the container itself and a door addon, so two dds files are used, as the pictures below show.

I will add more cargo as I build them.

 

[PeterRoss]

I take it that one can open these containers and fill them with something else? UCGO cargo maybe?

 

[PennyBlack]

No, there just standard cargo that are compatable with the facilities crane system PeterRoss.

Nice idea though.

 

[PennyBlack]

I am in the process of making 40ft tanks similar to these as well as other containers. To many of these loaded into the bay can cause a drop in fps. But I would add that the user be aware of their own system performance when loading for long hauls.

The textures on these are all different, but the framework holding the tanks are reused. Again two meshes are used to comprise these cargo tanks. The tank and then the frame and, both are 1024x1024 dds's. Images are standard Orbiter setup and non DX**.

 

[PeterRoss]

Who was shooting at the hydrogen tank?!!! :lol:

 

[PennyBlack]

Just a few more...

This type 3 cargo has a very good paintkit with it. Type 1 hasn't due to the makeup of the layers that compose the skin and how the mesh was laid onto the dds. Type 2 has a simple paint kit while the type 3 has an extensive layer set. It's very simple for the user to get easy results from it. For different colours and colour brightness, the user only has to ajust the upper (rustic, shader ect) layers to offset their apperance on the skin.
I've been tatting with the paint kit all day and the below image shows a few examples with effects. I'm going to include just three type 3 containers with skins created from the paintkit, which I have to finish, tomorrow. The door addons are missing, I'll also add them, tomorrow.

 

[PennyBlack]

At this moment, I have finished to 40ft tanks and textured four. I'm in the process of creating another couple of textures, which I have yet to complete. These tanks textures where created with two seperate paintkits which I am getting better at creating. Again, just spray the bottom paint layer for instant results. It's all going well, as is the few 40ft containers I am doing. I'm trying to produce alot of cargo, and lets face it... you can never have to much cargo.
Created with the 40ft tank paintkits...

I have decided to seperate all of the cargo from the XR Facility download and present the cargo as a seperate download.
As the new cargo as well as the older cargo that came with the original facility download is now compatable with the current cargo payload management system within Orbiter, I think it would be more convenient for the user to be able to access the cargo without having to download the facility as well, although the cargo will still be compatable with the facilities crane system. I will include the functional DDLs that make the cargo compatable with the payload manager in the download. I have already tested the cargo seperate from the facilities DDL in a clean install without issue. User chioce is paramount and it will also reduce the download size of the facility itself. However a few scenarios I want to create will require the cargo download.
The cargo I have made is a sizable download and I wouldn't like to estimate it's final size, but they won't be memory resident until you select them from the payload management system, like the other cargos available in Orbiters environment. I should only be a few more weeks with this lot so it shouldn't be to long now.

I'll post the 40ft containers prior to release.

Thankyou.

 

[paddy2]

Thanks for keeping us informed. Like the idea of a separate download too.

 

[PennyBlack]

I think I have created enough cargo now and at the last minute, thought about consumable tanks holding Lox, Main and Scram fuel at both 40ft and 20ft.

It made sense to add them and they work ok. I have tried to add all cargo wieghts as close as possible, viewing the containers that came with Orbiter. So hopefully, you will struggle to lift off with a full load.
Here are the 40 ft containers, made with the two paintkits, type1...

And type2...

The only thing remaining is the 50 plus thumbnails for the Payload Management System, a tidy up of a few paint kits, edit the XR Facility and a few cups of tea should do it. :thumbup:

 

[Interceptor]

Great work as always PB,can't wait to load them up on the XR5.:thumbup:

 

[garyw]

They are BEAUTIFUL pennyblack, These along with Woo482's TEU and forget playing around in orbit because we'll have so much to do on the ground :lol:

 

[ky]

Now all we need is a flatbed

 

[dbeachy1]

They are BEAUTIFUL pennyblack, These along with Woo482's TEU and forget playing around in orbit because we'll have so much to do on the ground :lol:

:hesaid:

Great work!! :thumbup:

 

[PennyBlack]

Final Update prior to V2 release

Final Update prior to V2 release...

The Facility has been trimmed from 40mg's to 28mg's. Removal of the unused textures which arn't required as they will be included in the cargo pack. A simple mesh material edit to give the external top,front and back doors the same same appearance as the facilities exterior. A few replacement scenario files. However. there will be reduntant files left from the first release. Textures that are stored in a redundant folder. This makes the update untidy, which I never enjoy the thought of.

I have taken time think and have made the decision to remove the display screens. I find that some displays malfunction, displaying fractal art. It is unfortunate and distracting, but until the issue is resolved, I cannot garrentee proper function. On the bright side, it makes the cargo more universal in use, within the environment.
There will be two downloads for the cargo pack, one will be more manageable for the average user with an acceptable standard of graphics. I use this pack and I can have a full cargo payload aboard the XR5 without it affecting my longer flight plans in the environment. If you want to see if your CPU/GPU is up to spec and worth the money, then another download containing twice the resolution on the textures will also be available.
I'll have to put a "Not for low spec PCs" on the hi-res download. I have to be careful when I get greedy now, but someone who wants to smell burnt silicon, may want them. I

I consider my pc setup in the medium user range.

My machine specs... (Mine ran full cargo layout .scn at Standard res)
AMD Athlon(tm) 64 X2 Dual
Core Processor 4800+
2.51GHz 3.50GB of RAM
GeForce 8800 GT 256MB
Windows XP Pro
SP3

Swift-Nicks Test machine... (This ran full cargo layout .scn at hi-res)
Intel(R) Coral(TM)2 QuadCPU
Q6600 @ 2.40GHz
2.40GHz 3.25GB of RAM
Geforce 9600GT 512MB
Windows XP Pro
SP3

I only have to do promotional pics, page discriptions and pack the release files. I am very nervous about release. I don't think people ever stop worrying if those files are ok, in order and the decisions made which alter the orginal plans are the right ones. How many others mentally picture "crossed Fingers" when they hit the addon upload tab.

Release day...

TUESDAY :thumbup: