Project XR2 Crew swap

[dgatsoulis]

Don't you all think we NEED Howard Wolowitz? ?

Alright then, will be added in one of the next updates.

Up ! I've dited my post.

I didn't follow anything. First option in my post was the good one !

Edit : OK, downloaded last version, used the keybord shortcuts, and it worked. I was able to make an EVA on the ground, and make the crew member walk. But when i've tried to come back to the Ravenstar, V didn't work. Nothing happened. I was realy close to the docking port. And when i've disembarked the astronaut, first, the ground was full black, as if the astronaud was not "on" the ground, but slightly under. When i made it walk, things became as usual.

Yeah this happens to me also. Not sure why. The mmu is placed in front of the XR2, 1 meter from the dock. But
unless you start moving, the ground remains black. Will look into it more this weekend. I've fixed the code a bit, so you can turn around on the ground without having to move forward or back at the same time.

Then i've made a second try, docked the XR2 to the ISS via scn. editor. I undocked and pushed a little as to not be too close to ISS. EVA OK. I was able to have a short spacewalk (THANX FOR THAT !), but as i tried to come back to the ship, i got a CTD using V. It seems that something's wrong for me with V.

It does feel good to be able to make a spacewalk again, right?
I'll add a VC view through the helmet for the mmu and also a breathing sound, so it should feel much better than it does now. I'll also fix the mmu mesh placement to be higher, because now when you zoom in, the center of the mesh is at its feet.
I've figured out the cause of the CTD and fixed it, so no worries if you get any other CTDs when you press V. It will not be happening in the next version. (fingers crossed).

Tomorrow, i'll try to dock two XR2 and egress from one to the other, and then i'll try to see if everything's fine using the inboard commands.
If you mant me to try anything else, just ask.
I hope this could help, and sorry for my too self-confident first try.

Docked transfers don't work yet, so no need to try it for now. What you can try (if you have the time) is the following:
Exit an mmu from one XR2 and press V when you are close to the docking port of another ship. ( the actual distance needs to be less than 3 meters).

If the other vessel is not an XR2, the mmu will be deleted and the focus will shift to the ship you tried to enter.
If the other vessel is an XR2, the mmu will be deleted. the mesh of the EVA mmu will be added in the first empty seat and the focus will shift to the XR2 you tried to enter.
(On second thought, you might get a CTD because of the "V" button not working properly in this version).

Thank you so much for your time! It is really great to hear how the addon behaves on an Orbiter installation other than my own.

 

[WolfAngriff]

I'll add a VC view through the helmet for the mmu and also a breathing sound, so it should feel much better than it does now

Smells good !

Well, for what you ask me to do no problem, that'll be a pleasure, but it's late now so i'll do that tomorrow. You say the MMu will be deleted if the vessel is not a XR2. So, does that mean that it's deleted from the simulation ? I guess it is, but i'd like to be sure before testing.

Can you explain me how to post my log, just in case ? There's no needing now, but Orbiter's universe is full of dangers !

Maybe it could be a good and funny thing to see Yuri Gagarin and Valentina Terechkova in the XR2's cockpit ? It's not a request, just a suggestion.

See you tomorrow !


Edit 22/01/28 : Strange things happened... So, using V close to XR 2 : CTD / Using V close to ISS : CTD. Problems with V.
But : i docked the XR2 to ISS using scn editor. When i undocked and made the EVA, the ISS disapeared ! Well, it wasn't deleted, but the XR2 was thrown somewhere else on orbit. And the most strange : yesterday, i've made the pilot EVA (character n° 1). Today when i loaded the scenario, the pilot was not onboard. So i've made the captain EVA (character n° 0). Using V close to XR2 = CTD as expected. So i started Orbiter again, loaded the scenario and... the captain was not onboard. I've been able to add another character inside the XR2, but it was like i've loaded the [current state] scenario. Except i didn't quit the game, but i have had a CTD ! So, i'll try this : i'll load the .scn, make a quicksave and quit normaly, and try to reload the provided scn. If strange things still happen, i'll reinstall the scn provided in the addon, and restart all the EVA procedure since the beginning. I've nerver seen a problem like that... hold on, i'll be back soon.

2nd edit : welcome to the fourth dimension.
A good thing : EVA menu pops up when clicking the onboard buttons. BUT even after reinstalling the provided scenario file, the configuration of the XR2 is the same in two quicksaved scenarios with different configurations, one with nobody onboard, another (the last one) with Buzz on the captain's seat, and Helen Ripley on the pilot's seat. I mean, after creating the 2nd quicksave, when i load the provided scenario, when i load the first quicksaved scenario, when i load the second one, all of them load with the last configuration, which is with Buzz and Helen onboard ! I've quited the simulation using Ctrl + Q (A on AZERTY keyboard), avoiding any CTD. I've found no clue in the .scn files, nor in the XR2 prefs file.

About the procedure itself, nosecone and inner door must be closed and opened everytime i want to add a crew member.
I've made an EVA on the ground. Ripley was able to come back to her seat ! But i've had to be very close to the XR2, nearly under the vessel's nose. It's like the trigger's not on the docking port, but on the inner door...

The only way i've found to post my log is to copy and paiste it here. Tell me if you want it.

 

[Ripley]

Aren't logs (and any wall of text) supposed to be pasted in between CODE tags?

 

[dgatsoulis]

Smells good !

Well, for what you ask me to do no problem, that'll be a pleasure, but it's late now so i'll do that tomorrow. You say the MMu will be deleted if the vessel is not a XR2. So, does that mean that it's deleted from the simulation ? I guess it is, but i'd like to be sure before testing.

Can you explain me how to post my log, just in case ? There's no needing now, but Orbiter's universe is full of dangers !

Maybe it could be a good and funny thing to see Yuri Gagarin and Valentina Terechkova in the XR2's cockpit ? It's not a request, just a suggestion.

See you tomorrow !


Edit 22/01/28 : Strange things happened... So, using V close to XR 2 : CTD / Using V close to ISS : CTD. Problems with V.
But : i docked the XR2 to ISS using scn editor. When i undocked and made the EVA, the ISS disapeared ! Well, it wasn't deleted, but the XR2 was thrown somewhere else on orbit. And the most strange : yesterday, i've made the pilot EVA (character n° 1). Today when i loaded the scenario, the pilot was not onboard. So i've made the captain EVA (character n° 0). Using V close to XR2 = CTD as expected. So i started Orbiter again, loaded the scenario and... the captain was not onboard. I've been able to add another character inside the XR2, but it was like i've loaded the [current state] scenario. Except i didn't quit the game, but i have had a CTD ! So, i'll try this : i'll load the .scn, make a quicksave and quit normaly, and try to reload the provided scn. If strange things still happen, i'll reinstall the scn provided in the addon, and restart all the EVA procedure since the beginning. I've nerver seen a problem like that... hold on, i'll be back soon.

2nd edit : welcome to the fourth dimension.
A good thing : EVA menu pops up when clicking the onboard buttons. BUT even after reinstalling the provided scenario file, the configuration of the XR2 is the same in two quicksaved scenarios with different configurations, one with nobody onboard, another (the last one) with Buzz on the captain's seat, and Helen Ripley on the pilot's seat. I mean, after creating the 2nd quicksave, when i load the provided scenario, when i load the first quicksaved scenario, when i load the second one, all of them load with the last configuration, which is with Buzz and Helen onboard ! I've quited the simulation using Ctrl + Q (A on AZERTY keyboard), avoiding any CTD.

About the procedure itself, nosecone and inner door must be closed and opened everytime i want to add a crew member.

The only way i've found to post my log is to copy and paiste it here. Tell me if you want it.

Thanks for the detailed report!
There is no log written by the script, so there is no need to post the Orbiter log.
I have found the source of the CTD and fixed it, so it will be ok on the next update.
I have a small matter to resolve with the config file that saves the crew names and positions. When that's done, I'll add a few more meshes and post the update. (Hopefully some time tomorrow).

 

[WolfAngriff]

@Ripley : haven't tried this. Thanx for the advice, could be useful in the future !

 

[dgatsoulis]

Happy to report that I've solved a couple of issues that I had. Also finished the code for ship to ship (XR2-XR2) transfers.
I am currently adding a few more crew members and then I'll upload the next update.

Features that are working so far.
-35 different crew members --done and more to come
-Place any crew member on any XR2 seat --done
-EVA any crew member on ground and mmu moves on ground normally --done
-EVA any crew member in space and mmu moves with rcs thrusters --done
-Return EVA to same XR2 and sit in the first empty seat --done
-Enter EVA in other XR2 and sit in the first empty seat --done
-XR2 → other ship crew transfers --done
-Sounds --done for crew transfer (egress/ingress/transfer/failed transfer
-Keep track of crew members and tie them to the ship name --done
-Have crew members persist between ships/scenarios --done
-EVA mmu VC and breathing sound --done

More features to add (wip)
-More crew members to choose from
-Other ship → XR2 tranfers
-crew_member weight added to ship weight
-O2 supply for EVA in space. Death if it runs out.
-Ability to remove helmets, both in ship and in EVA.
-Cargo boxes (probably converted UCGO meshes)
-Finally, ability to grapple and deploy cargo boxes (UCGO style, with a key press while the crew member is selected)
-Convert the crew management part of the code (lua script) to MFD.

Instead of going for a large grandiose goal, which (at least for me) 99.99% of the time fails, I am setting small semi-difficult goals to reach and then seeing if I can reach the next one. So far it's working great.
Even in this state (next update -v0.6 to be uploaded soon) the addon is a lot of fun. EVAs are back and they are awesome.

Maybe it could be a good and funny thing to see Yuri Gagarin and Valentina Terechkova in the XR2's cockpit ? It's not a request, just a suggestion.

Will be in the next update for sure (the black bands are the texture alpha channel, won't be visible in the final mesh).

 

[dgatsoulis]

Ok version 0.6 is up.

Features added:
-4 more crew members (current total 39) -Gagarin, Tereshkova, Gibson, Seddon
-XR2 → XR2 crew transfers
-XR2 → other ship crew transfers
-Sounds - (egress/ingress/transfer)
-Keep track of crew members and tie them to the ship name
-EVA mmu VC and breathing sound

Please check post #1 of this thread for download link and instructions.

 

[WingC3]

Just wanted to clarify a few things ,since this seems almost too good to be true:
Is this for Orbiter2016?
Is this working as a standalone already even without OMMU?
I was looking over on their thread earlier, and it looks like there's no link ot a relase of it on the forum or on orbit hangar.
Also, does this now correctly modify the crew count in the oxygen monitor and the associated oxygen usage calculations for the XR2?

Thanks!

 

[dgatsoulis]

Just wanted to clarify a few things ,since this seems almost too good to be true:
Is this for Orbiter2016?
Is this working as a standalone already even without OMMU?
I was looking over on their thread earlier, and it looks like there's no link ot a relase of it on the forum or on orbit hangar.
Also, does this now correctly modify the crew count in the oxygen monitor and the associated oxygen usage calculations for the XR2?

Thanks!

Yes it is for Orbiter2016 and it doesn't require OMMU.
No it doesn't modify the XR2 crew count or oxygen calculations of the XR2, as it is an external lua script that doesn't access the XR2's code.
Although, I am planning to at least modify the XR2's weight, so the weight of the crew is taken into account.

 

[WingC3]

That's awesome! I can't wait to try it out!

 

[dgatsoulis]

That's awesome! I can't wait to try it out!

Great! You can find the download link for the latest version at post #1 of this thread.

 

[WingC3]

Got it downloaded. If I may make one small suggestion: While the installation is quite simple, it might be helpful for users if you include the instructions from post #1 as a small text file within the zip archive itself.

 

[WingC3]

It works great! Just as described. James Holden now has William Adama as his co-pilot. I didn't know that I need that... but I did Will have to try EVA next once I depart from the ISS. (I assume you can't EVA while docked).

Any plans to extend this functionality to the XR1?

 

[dgatsoulis]

Got it downloaded. If I may make one small suggestion: While the installation is quite simple, it might be helpful for users if you include the instructions from post #1 as a small text file within the zip archive itself.

Will do in the next version.

It works great! Just as described. James Holden now has William Adama as his co-pilot. I didn't know that I need that... but I did

Excellent! Great to hear that it works ok for you.
My favorite pair for now is Sisko with Avasarala. I also didn't know that I need that... but now I do

Will have to try EVA next once I depart from the ISS. (I assume you can't EVA while docked).

Actually you can EVA while docked. If you are docked to another XR2 the crew member you selected will transfer to it and grab the first available seat.
If the docked vessel isn't an XR2, the crew member you selected will be removed and it will be stored in the Config\CrewMFD\(docked_ship's_name).cfg file.
In this version, you can't transfer them back though. Only XR2→XR2 transfers are fully supported.
Other ship→XR2 transfers will be added in the next version.
If you can, please try out landed EVAs too. There was a bug that caused a CTD which has been fixed in the current version, so it needs some testing.

Any plans to extend this functionality to the XR1?

A lot of things to finish in this version first, before I add this functionality to other vessels. But when the time comes, sure. The default DG will come first, and since the XR1 has the same(ish) mesh, it will also be added. Then the XR5 and we'll see from there.

 

[WingC3]

Will do in the next version.


Excellent! Great to hear that it works ok for you.
My favorite pair for now is Sisko with Avasarala. I also didn't know that I need that... but now I do



Actually you can EVA while docked. If you are docked to another XR2 the crew member you selected will transfer to it and grab the first available seat.
If the docked vessel isn't an XR2, the crew member you selected will be removed and it will be stored in the Config\CrewMFD\(docked_ship's_name).cfg file.
In this version, you can't transfer them back though. Only XR2→XR2 transfers are fully supported.
Other ship→XR2 transfers will be added in the next version.
If you can, please try out landed EVAs too. There was a bug that caused a CTD which has been fixed in the current version, so it needs some testing.



A lot of things to finish in this version first, before I add this functionality to other vessels. But when the time comes, sure. The default DG will come first, and since the XR1 has the same(ish) mesh, it will also be added. Then the XR5 and we'll see from there.

As requested, I attempted a landed EVA at Brighton Beach.
Unfortunately, my EVA'd character was apparently unable to move on the ground, and upon pressing "v" to re-enter the vessel, I was briefly shown the cockpit, but then the game did indeed CTD.
I was also EVA'd slightly INTO the ground, which is possibly why I couldn't move. (For reference, I was landed on Brighton Beach pad 1)

Any suggestions?

 

[dgatsoulis]

As requested, I attempted a landed EVA at Brighton Beach.
Unfortunately, my EVA'd character was apparently unable to move on the ground, and upon pressing "v" to re-enter the vessel, I was briefly shown the cockpit, but then the game did indeed CTD.
I was also EVA'd slightly INTO the ground, which is possibly why I couldn't move. (For reference, I was landed on Brighton Beach pad 1)

Any suggestions?

New update coming this weekend with bug fixes and added features.
-Changed the ground mmu keys to WASD and E key to re-enter ship.
-CTD bug finally fixed.
-Other ship/station to XR2 transfers added.
-Oxygen and VC hud added to mmu
And some more that I am probably forgetting right now.

 

[WolfAngriff]

Hi !
Nice to read there'll be updates. I haven't been able to follow this since the beginning of february because of family problems, but if you find it interresting, i'd be able to do some testing this week end.

 

[WingC3]

Can't wait to test it! It's been great so far, and I was able to get my character out of the ground by using the scenario editor to move him to another pad. Then I was also able to move around. But definitely worth a double check of how it determines the elevation to place the MMU at.

 

[WingC3]

New update coming this weekend with bug fixes and added features.
-Changed the ground mmu keys to WASD and E key to re-enter ship.
-CTD bug finally fixed.
-Other ship/station to XR2 transfers added.
-Oxygen and VC hud added to mmu
And some more that I am probably forgetting right now.

Still on track for this weekend? No pressure, just planning the rest of my day.

 

[dgatsoulis]

Still on track for this weekend? No pressure, just planning the rest of my day.

Adding some finishing touches and packing the files. Will take about a couple of hours still until I upload this version. Here is a preview of the additions/changes/fixes:

-Changed the ground EVA buttons to WASD (front,left,back,right) and E to enter docking port.
-Fixed: CTD when entering docking port from EVA
-Fixed: Pilot and copilot not visible when XR2 heatshield effect is on
-Fixed: Script crashing when user input was invalid/out of range
-Fixed*: EVA in space moving the XR2 by a few hundred meters. See notes below
-Added: Crew member weight is added to ship weight.
-Added: Option to EVA all crew when landed.
-Added: Option to add/change multiple or all crew members at once! New crew compliment with a single entry!
-Added: (in ship) Helmets on/off animation (RCS and AFCS = OFF, helmets off)
-Added: Other ship to XR2 crew transfers (see supported ships below)
-Added: Oxygen timer in EVA HUD.
-Added: Better EVA VC breathing sounds, low/critical oxygen warnings and death sound (no real gameplay impact yet).
-Added: CrewSwap Readme.txt in "add-on docs" folder with instructions.(wip)
-Added: 3 more crew members: Mark_Watney(The Martian), Camina_Drummer(The Expanse) and Bishop(Aliens). Total number of crew members: 42 (you can load 3 different XR2s with a completely different set of crew members!).
-Changed: Removed unnecessary alpha channels from textures to reduce size.
-Changed: Loaded XR2 crew members are removed from the selection pool.
-Added: Scenarios folder with instructions in the description.
-Added: "Ship has full compliment" sound when the max crew number for ship is reached. (see notes).

Notes:
-"Black Ground" when EVA crew member spawns. Simply tap the W and S keys to move it a little bit and the black ground goes away.
-EVA in space makes the XR2 jump. I tried my best to minimize this effect, but it's not possible to completely avoid it, because the lua script works in "post-step". When the code is migrated in MFD/C++ format, this part of the code will be in "pre-step", so the bug will be gone. For now, every time you EVA a crew member in space, the ship together with the EVA crew member "jump" by a few meters (less than 10) in a random direction. It was a few hundred meters in the previous version.

-Ships (classes) that you can transfer crew members to and from (either by EVA or docking the XR2):
Atlantis, max crew: 7 --no visuals of crew
DeltaGlider, max crew: 5 --no visuals of crew
DG-S, max crew: 5 --no visuals of crew
DeltaGliderIV, max crew: 5 --no visuals of crew
DeltagliderXR1, max crew: 5 --no visuals of crew
Dragonfly, max crew: 2 --no visuals of crew
ISS, max crew: 8 --no visuals of crew
Mir, max crew: 3 --no visuals of crew
ProjectAlpha_ISS, max crew: 8 --no visuals of crew
Wheel, max crew: 20 --no visuals of crew
XR2Ravenstar, max crew: 14 --full visuals of crew
XR5Vanguard, max crew: 14 --no visuals of crew

I'll be back in a couple of hours