Project Wideawake International Update

wehaveaproblem

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Update:
Following the excellent feedback I recieved, thanks again for that, I have decided to do the following:
Update Wideawake International, adding the following:-
-Launch structure over the launch runway, including an animated blast screen and maybe with night floodlight option too.
-Invisible pads for vessel placement.
-Basic taxiway markings and signage.
-A few other cosmetic tweaks and changes that have been bugging me since release.
That is all. I've decided not to add too much to the base, instead I will move on to my revamped Toehold Project... a moon base. More to follow on that after Wideawake is done.
***


Hi Orbitnauts, especially all users of WIN.

I've decided to develop an expansion pack for Wideawake International and Ascension Island. I've been considering it ever since WIN was released and after seeing the feedback and usage of WIN since it's release, I want to add more. Consider it a "Director's Cut", with all the things I couldn't be bothered to put in the first release.

So, to that end, I wanted some feedback on what you guys would like to see at WIN. What do you think should be there? What do you not like? What do you want more/less of? etc etc.

So far my to-do list looks something like this:-

- Launch Runway Development: The main crit of WIN is the launch runway position and VAB. So rather than move the VAB/Runway I'm going to develop a structure that sits over the base end of the runway with gantries, blast deflection/water suppression and spotlights etc. The plan is to make it clear that this runway is NOT for landing, hopefully bypassing the confusion and sexying up the area. That and finally putting to bed the LL/RR debate and redesignating it entirely.

- Floodlights: As mentioned above, I'm going to add spot/floodlights to the launch area (perhaps other areas of the base too. This will be the standard faux-light exhaust texture as a scenario addable SC3 vessel.

- I'm also considering the following: Sea Port, animated doors for the main hangars, more beacons, service vehicles and more random buildings for atmosphere. I might even pull my finger out and do some more topography meshes...

But anyway, so yeah that's the rough plan. But what do you want to see?

Definite:
Launch Facility on launch runway, with ummu building.
Invisible Launch pads for easy vessel placement
Some New, WIN centered scenarios (ships, support vehicles, launch/land with a purpose)
SeaPort
SC3 included

Possible:
Taxi-way markers
Visible VOR transmitter
Interior of VAB

Your input would be greatly appreciated.
WHAP
 
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astrosammy

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Wow that... sounds amazing. I'll take a close look at the base again, and look if there's something that I want to see.
 

Kaito

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Wideawake International is my most used spaceport. Its SEXY!!!
*cough* anyway...
More Vertical launch pads
The GPLP_gpmlp, i think, shouldn't be SC3, incase someone (like myself) wants to have more of them (for multiple vertical launches)
Maybe some more scenarios with ships in the hangars, maybe some "urgent" scenarios (such as a damaged space ship needs help and wideawake is at the right spot to launch)
Maybe some smaller "sister" islands with a super short runway or something.
Concrete ICBM launch bays (You never know when someone's gonna start a nuclear war)

Those are just my ideas. Thank you so much for updating (although WIN is PERFECT the way it is)
 

insanity

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One thing that I would love to see is taxiway and runway designations and markers. However, I love it as-is and I use it as a staging point for most my spaceflights (I've just created one scenario file with a bunch of craft in the hangers and a couple of rockets on the pads). It is a good feeling to pop out of space on-top of a small island in the middle of the ocean.
 

Yoda

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No problems with the island itself, but I would love to see the shuttle "Resolve" finally have a better cockpit lay-out; after all, ascension island was first developed for use with the "Resolve" but this beatiful ship still lacks a detailed cockpit or cargo-bay.
 

wehaveaproblem

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Cheers Kaito:
More Vertical launch pads - possible, but WIN is more future-tech orientated. Build me a rocket that can actually utilise the GPLP 130m tower and I will consider it! ;)
The GPLP_gpmlp, shouldn't be SC3 - I agree, if anyone wants to code me a .dll they are more than welcome!
Maybe some more scenarios - great idea, I shall do that.
Maybe some smaller "sister" islands - There aren't any nearby IRL and I don;t really see the purpose, although there is a very slim chance I still might dev a base on Diago Garcia one day.
Concrete ICBM launch bays - never gonna happen I'm afraid, Ascension Island is none-military.


One thing that I would love to see is taxiway and runway designations and markers.
I couldn't agree more, and I very nearly did it, it's just a painful, arduous task getting them all positioned correctly since I can't use basewizard on vista64. But I do want this as well.


No problems with the island itself, but I would love to see the shuttle "Resolve" finally have a better cockpit lay-out; after all, ascension island was first developed for use with the "Resolve" but this beatiful ship still lacks a detailed cockpit or cargo-bay.
Yeah, the poor Resolve has been rather neglected it's whole life really. Donomay only just finished the mesh, myself and RussH abandoned the dll recode, so I only just patched together an SC3 ini for it... now it is just gathering dust. I'm sure I still have all the 2D graphics that I did for the Resolve.dll cockpit, so if someone wanted to do the coding, I'm sure it could be resurrected.

cheers peeps.
 

Kaito

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Cheers Kaito:
More Vertical launch pads - possible, but WIN is more future-tech orientated. Build me a rocket that can actually utilise the GPLP 130m tower and I will consider it! ;)
Hehe, don't tempt me :p
Concrete ICBM launch bays - never gonna happen I'm afraid, Ascension Island is none-military.
Aw man...I guess I'll make my own mesh and insert it...sorry :p
 

astrosammy

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Ok, here my suggestions:

-Interior of the VAB, would be really nice to have something in it.
-Invisible launch pads inside hangars and at runway ends, to make it possible to place vessel via the scenario editor much faster.
-Spacecraft3 included, vinka allows that: "All add-ons based on spacecraft3.dll may be distributed freely with this base package include."
-A visible VOR transmitter
-Some vegetation.
 

Countdown84

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I use WIN almost exclusively as my "default" spaceport and LOVE it.

Some ideas:
-Runway and taxiway markers would be the biggest improvement
-vegetation
-some kind of crane or gantry for lifting payloads into cargo bays (could be SC3 but preferably would have it's own .dll
-Perhaps some "active base" components like PreludeII. Perhaps you could make a control tower with a VC so you could look out the windows at the landing craft or something. You could also have the same (or a different) building be able to spawn UMMU crews to load onto waiting spacecraft.
-It would be really sexy (and Thunderbirds / James Bondish) to have a vertical launchpad INSIDE the main hill/mountain, but this is kind of silly
-It might be neat eye candy to have a seaport with some cargo ships docked. Maybe you could tie this in with the heavy cargo loading area or something

To be completely honest, I would almost rather see a second (new) spaceport that's similar to WIN, but perhaps positioned halfway around the world to give us an alternate landing site. You've already done such a great job with Wideawake I think any further improvements will add relatively little the experience.

Thanks, WHOP! Very excited that you're still developing your base.
 

wehaveaproblem

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Nice one, astrosammy:
-Interior of the VAB - I hadn't actually thought about that, it's certainly doable. But if I did that I would want roll-out too, and that's too much for WIN.
-Invisible launch pads - good Idea, I'll add that to the list.
-Spacecraft3 included - good thought, will do.
-A visible VOR transmitter - Will do that if I do a bunch of extra buildings.
-Some vegetation - I did think of that orignally, but the scale just makes them almost a waste of polys.

Countdown84, thanks for the kudos.
-Runway and taxiway markers - see my previous post for that answer.
-vegetation - likewise, see above.
-some kind of crane or gantry for lifting payloads into cargo bays. - I did think about this, but decided against it because the XR-5 (the most likely cargo carrier) has a great system for it. In short, I think it's a cool idea, but it's quite a lot of work for very limited use I think.
-Perhaps some "active base" components - I set up some camera positions on important spots around the base, I think I'll leave it at that, can't bothered to model an ATC tower, as nice as that would be.
-a building be able to spawn UMMU crews to load onto waiting spacecraft. - excellent idea, I will incorporate that into the launch structure.
- launchpad INSIDE the main hill/mountain - I concur, awesome, but silly ;)
-a seaport with some cargo ships docked. The blueprint is there for exactly that from the original WIN design, I just didnt have the inclination to model it in the end. It's on the maybe list atm.

To be completely honest, I would almost rather see a second (new) spaceport that's similar to WIN, but perhaps positioned halfway around the world to give us an alternate landing site. You've already done such a great job with Wideawake I think any further improvements will add relatively little the experience.
Cheers man, I appreciate that. But man, you're a git, I was trying to resist doing that lol. I have 2 possible new bases. Diego Garcia, which is another UK Territory, but in the Indian Ocean, about half way round the world from Ascension, but on a similar latitude. But the google earth pics are a real mess to clean up. Although it would make a frickin wicked base. Check it out on google earth. My other idea is to build a moon base. I'm seriously considering making the Toehold Project just a straight up moon base, rather than making all the modules that were gonna get me there. I might just jump a step and say "here ya go, WIN's sister base on the moon"...

Thanks, WHOP! Very excited that you're still developing your base
lol.. that's a first
 

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I'd really like to see a seaport- rocket parts and space station modules don't just appear out of nowhere. ;)
 

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I'd like to second (or third) the seaport, maybe a pier for a Coast Guard cutter for SAR missions. Also the idea of support equipment would be a nice touch (tow tractors, fire and rescue vehicles (perhaps a heliport for SAR also), golf carts (or does everyone on the island actually walk to the bar (I mean, uhh, pilot's lounge).
What about a steam catapult? The DGEX seems to take up a lot of runway on it's takeoff roll.
 

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wehaveaproblem

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Thanks for further comments, guys.

I'd really like to see a seaport-
It seems to be a popular request, think I better throw one in.

I'd like to second (or third) the seaport, maybe a pier for a Coast Guard cutter for SAR missions. Also the idea of support equipment would be a nice touch (tow tractors, fire and rescue vehicles (perhaps a heliport for SAR also), golf carts.
ok ok, seaport is in lol! I'm sure there are a few ships on orbithangar, I'll grab one and scale the port accordingly. I'm also gonna look on there for vehicles, I'm sure all support stuff is already on there. Maybe I should compile a list of them and build an example scenario to make it easier for people. lol @ golfcarts, nice one. I know I won't bother with that, but it's a cool idea.

What about a steam catapult? The DGEX seems to take up a lot of runway on it's takeoff roll.
I had thought about it at one point, that and maybe one of those rail launch things. But tbh, The majority of the craft, even heavies, can take off no toruble on WIN, and that bloody DGEX would still run out of runway if I give him 10km.. ;)

I will add another vote for taxiway and runway lighting and markings.
You can find out how to do it correctly in the Aeronautical Information Manual, Chapter 2 "Aeronautical Lighting and Other Airport Visual Aids".
I think making the base as a "ship", like Dan's "Prelude II" is a good idea. It allows for easily switching viewpoints, animated hangar doors, control of lights and beacons, etc.
Thanks for the link, I shall check it out. Like I said earlier, the only thing holding me back really is the pain-in-the-arseness of it. Since I can't use mesh wizard I have to manualy place them by editing the base config file... that's slooow going.
It's an interesting idea to make the base a single mesh, and maybe I should have done that from the start. Although it does allow more flexibility to those who want to expand/change the base themselves, so I don't think i will change that format now. Although I probably will do it like that if/when I make a moon base.
 

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First of all, I love Wideawake.
Maybe the VAB at the end of the runway could be placed at a safer location?
 

Countdown84

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Thanks for the link, I shall check it out. Like I said earlier, the only thing holding me back really is the pain-in-the-arseness of it. Since I can't use mesh wizard I have to manualy place them by editing the base config file... that's slooow going.

Have you tried using something like VirtualBox ( http://www.virtualbox.org/) to install Surface Base Wizard? I haven't tried it myself, but if I understand it correctly this software should let you emulate a 32-bit environment inside 64-bit windows. I'm actually surprised that you can't use SurfaceBaseWizard on 64-bit, I use Meshwizard all the time on Vista x64 and I believe it was developed by the same person.
 

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-some kind of crane or gantry for lifting payloads into cargo bays. - I did think about this, but decided against it because the XR-5 (the most likely cargo carrier) has a great system for it. In short, I think it's a cool idea, but it's quite a lot of work for very limited use I think.

While I like the XR-5, the payload loading system doesn't even seem to resemble 'realiastic' to me. There's no arm or crane for getting things into or out of the bay. The Manager and buttons and switches on the panel will just make thing appear in the bay or next to the ship. There's no appearrent way that these things are actually loaded or unloaded except perhaps with a transporter (and if we have one of those, why do we need an XR-5 for hauling stuff within it's realistic range?)...
 
E

ex-orbinaut

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First of all, I love Wideawake.
Maybe the VAB at the end of the runway could be placed at a safer location?

That was exactly what I was going to suggest, and I second it here. There is no safety overrun. Otherwise, it is great as it is and I really cannot think of anything else.
 

wehaveaproblem

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First of all, I love Wideawake.
Maybe the VAB at the end of the runway could be placed at a safer location?
That was exactly what I was going to suggest, and I second it here. There is no safety overrun. Otherwise, it is great as it is and I really cannot think of anything else.
You are not the first to raise this, far from it lol. But the intention of that runway is for launch only, it always has been and always will be. It is not intended for landing. That's why it is where it is relevant to the VAB and other pre-launch structures. As stated earlier in the thread, I'm going to develop a final pre-launch structure over the base end of the runway to help reinforce this notion. The VAB is not going to move.

Have you tried using something like VirtualBox ( http://www.virtualbox.org/) to install Surface Base Wizard? I haven't tried it myself, but if I understand it correctly this software should let you emulate a 32-bit environment inside 64-bit windows. I'm actually surprised that you can't use SurfaceBaseWizard on 64-bit, I use Meshwizard all the time on Vista x64 and I believe it was developed by the same person.
Maybe I've just been unlucky, I'll give it another go. CHeers for that link I'll take a gander.

While I like the XR-5, the payload loading system doesn't even seem to resemble 'realiastic' to me. There's no arm or crane for getting things into or out of the bay. The Manager and buttons and switches on the panel will just make thing appear in the bay or next to the ship. There's no appearrent way that these things are actually loaded or unloaded except perhaps with a transporter (and if we have one of those, why do we need an XR-5 for hauling stuff within it's realistic range?)...
You make a fair point. I just figure that people will load and unload on earth the easiest way, since this game is about doing things in space afterall. So sitting in a nice hangar on a nice base, but loading with XR5 magic is, I think, an ok compromise, since you spend such a small portion of your orbiter missions doing such things. Would you seriously want to manualy unload 30 containers with a robotic arm/crane?
I could make a cosmetic addition to the loading hangars and add a static gantry crane, but again I half think it's a waste of polys - something I try to keep under control for the sake of fps on weaker machines.
 

Countdown84

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Nice one, astrosammy:
I was trying to resist doing that lol. I have 2 possible new bases. Diego Garcia, which is another UK Territory, but in the Indian Ocean, about half way round the world from Ascension, but on a similar latitude. But the google earth pics are a real mess to clean up. Although it would make a frickin wicked base. Check it out on google earth.

Diego Garcia looks pretty sweet. I went on Bing to search for some alternate aerial views and what they have looks fairly clean :
http://www.bing.com/maps/default.aspx?v=2&FORM=LMLTCP&cp=-7.343569~72.425308&style=h&lvl=12&tilt=-90&dir=0&alt=-1000&phx=0&phy=0&phscl=1&ss=yp.diego%20garcia%20island~pg.1~sst.0&encType=1

I'm not sure about other sources for good images - are some of the NASA ones public domain?
 
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