Downloading and Installing Auto FCS

Alexrey

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I've been trying to find a Shuttle autopilot and it seems Auto FCS is what everyone is using, but I can't seem to find it or activate it in my Orbiter install. I tried Ctrl + F4, but there is no Auto FCS option, and trying to download it from http://www.orbiterwiki.org/wiki/AutoFCS doesn't work either as the site is down. Does anyone know where I can get myself a copy of Auto FCS?
 

IronRain

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Have you already done this config change?

Code:
Orbiter.cfg the line EchoAllParameters=FALSE by EchoAllParameters=TRUE to have correct function for AutoFCS.
 

orbitingpluto

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You don't have to make the changes listed on the wiki. What you do need to change is a single line in the file "Orbiter.cfg", in your Orbiter install's main folder. Near the top of the file, you'll find a line that says "EchoAllParams = FALSE". Change "FALSE" to "TRUE", and save the change. You'll now have a working AutoFCS.

Also, David413 included this info in the documents that came with the STS Payloads addon. :huh:
 

Alexrey

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Yup, that's the very first thing I did, both to Orbiter.cfg and Orbiter_NG.cfg
 

orbitingpluto

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Okay, I didn't realize you were using the shuttle that comes with Orbiter, so I made a mistake. You are going to have to do some editing of the base configs. It's pretty much the stuff you read on OrbiterWiki: Put a copy of the base you want AutoFCS to recognize in the Config folder, with it's location commented out in it's own .cfg file and it's location in the "Earth.cfg".

Also, if a particular base's file your copying has things like these in it:

Code:
BLOCK
    POS -6772 0 2835
    SCALE 13 14 28
    ROT 140
END
HANGAR2
    POS -5943 0 2299
    SCALE 7 4.5 9
    ROOFH 0.5
    ROT 0
END
TANK
    POS -7112 0 2130
    SCALE 12 15 12
END
MESH ; Pad 39B tower
    FILE KSC_3
    POS -11830 0 5280
    ROT 178
    TEX Cape18
    SHADOW
    PRELOAD
END

It's a good idea either to delete those, or comment them out. Not just because you'll prevent having duplicate objects all over the base(s), but it'll also simplify most of the base editing you might do later on. I once had a frustrating time when I tried replacing the stock LC-38 mesh with a custom one in the Canaveral.cfg in Config\Bases, and forgot to change the Canaveral.cfg living in Config\. You can also empty the entries between BEGIN_SURFTILESLIST and END_SURFTILESLIST too, with no harm as far as I know.

Also, David413's Shuttle Fleet(available most of the way down the page here) comes with a Canaveral already setup for AutoFCS, and a bare bones Edwards, Vandenberg, and Zaragoza also ready for AutoFCS. I use Shuttle Fleet for nearly all shuttle related things, so I've always had at least those bases. Took me a moment to realize what was different for you.
 

Alexrey

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I'm actually using Shuttle Fleet v4.8, sorry if I somehow made a misunderstanding.

Is there possibly a written Auto FCS tutorial, or a video that I can find somewhere to understand all the bits and pieces? This is what my Auto FCS page looks like:
 

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orbitingpluto

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So bases still aren't showing up in the list? Double check that you have "EchoAllParams =" in the your "Orbiter.cfg" file set to TRUE, and then nose around in your "Earth.cfg" to see it's surface base part looks like this:

Code:
; === Surface Bases ===
; place additional bases or
; base directories in this list
BEGIN_SURFBASE
DIR Earth\Base
EDW:    -117.92    +34.892
KSC:    -80.675    +28.5208
VBG:    -120.5694     +34.7345
ZZA:    -1.0467    +41.6683
END_SURFBASE

If you've got "EchoAllParams = TRUE" and surface bases listed in "Earth.cfg" but still no bases listed in AutoFCS, you might have something else in the install causing a problem. My advice would be to create a "clean" install of Orbiter, with just Shuttle Fleet v4.8 and STSPayloads2010R0; skip the required addons for both for the moment, along with everything else, including OrbiterSound or whatever graphics client you might want to run. Change "EchoAllParams = FALSE" to TRUE, enable AutoFCS in the modules tab, and load up a scenario like "Endeavour on-orbit.scn" and see if bases show up in the drop down menu. If it works in the new install, you now use the new one to help figure out what is wrong with the old one, comapring files and installing addons you have in you older Orbiter one by one and testing for the one that broke AutoFCS.

Here's hoping it's something simple and easy to fix.;)
 

Shifty

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So bases still aren't showing up in the list? Double check that you have "EchoAllParams =" in the your "Orbiter.cfg" file set to TRUE, and then nose around in your "Earth.cfg" to see it's surface base part looks like this:

Yeah, that's the list you'd be looking for in your Earth.cfg. I had similar problems when I tried AutoFCS last year, and I believe the issue was that I was playing a scenario that used EarthM.cfg instead of Earth.cfg.
 

IronRain

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I'm actually using Shuttle Fleet v4.8, sorry if I somehow made a misunderstanding.

Is there possibly a written Auto FCS tutorial, or a video that I can find somewhere to understand all the bits and pieces? This is what my Auto FCS page looks like:

I'll try to make one later this week. Not sure when though since I'm recovering from a pretty bad concussion.
 

IronRain

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How to install AutoFCS - part 1

Please note that I was not feeling well at all. I did my best to be as clear as possible.

@Alexrey, I think you missed one of these steps and that's the reason why you don't see the bases.
 
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