Atlas : Resurrection
It's Halloween, so time for some thread-o-mancy :stirpot:
After months spent working on another project an learning a LOT of things, let's try to resume work on this one.
Ideally I'd like to try to implement a sort of VAB interface, with some similarities with KSP in the concept of mixing parts, but with limitations to stay in reasonable limits.
Right now starting with the Atlas V family would be a nice beginning, and the good part is that I have most of the meshes and textures.
Just had fun with Blender (learning this one, huge improvement over Anim8tor I was previously using), and got this draft VAB interface design. Of course, all the photographs/drawings would be replaced by renders of the in-Orbiter parts. Allowing to see the model in 3D would be awesome, but I don't see how to do that yet. For now, I see the interface as a "2D panel", with the central viewport showing Orbiter. Could be a scene with a "blueprint" plane background (giving size indications) to begin smoothly, rather than a complex VAB model à-la-KSP. It could evolve to a "3D cockpit". Do you think it worths the cost going directly for a "3D cockpit" inplementation ? I'm not very aware of the possiblities and limitations there. Anyway, here's the rough idea :
The letters on the left would be "button filters", allowing to display :
L : the Launchers (in fact the "core" part, which would be very dependant of the rocket. For Atlas 400 or 500 it would be only the first stage, but for let's say a Proton-M, it would include stages 1, 2 and 3, or for a Saturn V, stages 1 and 2. Everything that is not an upper stage or a strapon booster.
E : the Engines. The availables ones would depend of the active element. The choice would probably be very limited for "Launchers" in order to keep a reasonable amount of realism (for the Atlas V, RD-180 or engines using the same propellants and comparable in thrust / size / weight ; for the Centaur you could have 1xRL-10 or 2xRL-10, etc...).
U : the Upper stages. Probably a bit more flexibility there. In that category would fit the Centaur, ACES, Fregat, Breeze, S-IVB, Block-D, whatever...
P : the Payload(s). There you could select 1 (or more) payload(s), position them, and select one of the available fairings. Of course, the ideal would be a system that is compatible with most of already existing payloads. But that's easier said than done ! "Fairings" would include say the CST-100 adapter, Apollo CSM abort tower, etc...
So that's quite a bold concept that involves a lot of coding, but it seems it would be interesting.
Edit : oh and I would need a "B" button for the Boosters, solids or liquids, that would be one of the most "mixed" categories.