Question Frusturated Developer

[Live4Him]

I would love to make addons for Orbiter and have a few ideas, but I'm not really sure how to. Last time I tried, my addon failed. Would anyone have simple tutorials or anything I could use to start making addons? Not a big deal if you don't but feedback would be appreciated. Thanks alot, God bless! :thumbup:

 

[donatelo200]

I had a failed project before. I was making a supermassive black hole and things got sketchy after that. What type of add-on are you making? Tutorals are Here.

 

[Xyon]

There are some basic principle tutorials in the "Tutorials" page here on Orbiter-Forum which will get you started on, funnily enough, basic principles. It all really depends on the types of "addons" you want to make.

To make complex vessel addons, you'll need some knowledge of C++ and a working compiler setup to make vessel .dll modules. Same with "plugin" modules for Orbiter. These are the most complicated addons to create, but least limited in functionality terms. There is a video on setting up a compiler for Orbiter somewhere on the internet, and information on the Orbiter API is included in the SDK (which is part of Orbiter).

Simpler vessels can utilise the Spacecraft3 module and its associated files - these are .cfg files (Which Orbiter uses) and .ini files, which the spacecraft3 system itself uses. There should be some details on using this bundled with spacecraft3 itself. Whilst limited, SC3 vessels can still do many things like animations (and I believe rudimentary virtual cockpits).

The simplest vessel-type addons use only .cfg files. They are very easy to create, needing merely a mesh, textures and a single file, but also the most limited in their functionality.

Also in the mix are planetary systems, which can use a mix of C++ modules and cfg files, meshes and textures.

Developing addons is no simple task. It takes time and effort to create anything people will enjoy using. It also will take lots of time and practise to get anything made which works in the first place. Stick at it, persevere, and keep practising, and you'll get there eventually. Best of luck to you.

 

[N_Molson]

I will add that Martins added another way to create vessels in Orbiter 2010 : by LUA scripting. There is some samples including the ShuttlePB. It requires only Notepad.

I never really used this function, but it's probably an interesting "lite" alternative to C++.

 

[Izack]

I will add that Martins added another way to create vessels in Orbiter 2010 : by LUA scripting. There is some samples including the ShuttlePB. It requires only Notepad.

I never really used this function, but it's probably an interesting "lite" alternative to C++.

I've been meaning to try this at some point. Once upon a time I spent a weekend learning LUA. I didn't get very far, but I found it less intimidating than C++.

 

[computerex]

I've been meaning to try this at some point. Once upon a time I spent a weekend learning LUA. I didn't get very far, but I found it less intimidating than C++.

Don't learn the language, do stuff with it :thumbup: Learning by its very nature is interactive... Trial, error, and feedback response. You can waste a couple months trying to learn a language, or you can start immediately using it, reading references on the way. In the end you'll end up with something worth looking at rather then a bunch of hello world programs

 

[PhantomCruiser]

You could very easily model a V-2 rocket, and use multistage to get it flying, this you could probably do in a few hours...
Then step up to do a multi-stage rocket (with simple payload) also using multistage. Follow that up with a simple payload that uses spacecraft3...

Then work on a spaceplane using spacecraft3, add in animations later (landing gear, control surfaces. ect). The craft the Greg Burch put together is probably the pinnacle of what SC3 can do, they are really amazing.

Then there is a great leap from SC3 to compiling (once you've got the compiler to "work"), and then there's the Lua scripting (neither of these am I ready for due to other commitments)

 

[Talon1]

I've had more failed addons than successful ones... :facepalm:
Here's a list of my addons:
-[ame="http://www.orbithangar.com/searchid.php?ID=3540"]Shuttle Discovery skin for DG-IV[/ame] -> 1st Successful addon.
-[ame="http://www.orbithangar.com/searchid.php?ID=3605"]XR2 and XR5 EXTREME OVERKILL[/ame] -> Scenario addon, only 2nd Successful.
-EFSS (Extremely Fast Space Ship..., I think) -> 1st attempt at a ship addon, abandoned cause it was a stupid idea with an equally stupid name. -_-" Also cause I lost the files when my old computer crashed. :facepalm:
-Orbital Cannons -> Failed attempt, I might try again with a different approach.
-LCAM-01XA Archangel assault ship -> Epically failed attempt, the ship it self was too hard for me to model, so I've abandoned this project.

All these projects were done when I was only 13 and now that I'm 15, in retrospect, I feel like an idiot! Especially on making Archangel, don't even read the thread! :facepalm::beathead:

 

[Xyon]

I've had more failed addons than successful ones...

Don't we all? That's just how it works. Provided you can learn from your mistakes, it's part of the process.

 

[Enjo]

Don't learn the language, do stuff with it :thumbup:

Or do both, not to ask stupid questions later

 

[Xyon]

I think computerex's point was that you will learn the language and you'll learn it much faster and better by doing stuff with it.

 

[Enjo]

You would learn only what you want to learn, ie. what you only use. Many of my friends, who haven't read enough theory, keep asking me "why do I need to declare char[3] if the string that will be stored there contains only 2 chars?".

It's much easier to have creative ideas if you are confined in a given "knowledge" space, but fully understanding it in the same time.

 

[Xyon]

I think I see your point. Grasping the fundamentals of arrays, pointers and the like is important too, and while you can program without knowing such things, it increases both programmer and program efficiency to use them effectively / correctly.

For myself, however, I learned to use C++ by doing, and then, once my interest was secure (by making things for Orbiter which actually had some purpose, rather than simple "Hello world" apps), I went and taught myself about pointers, arrays, and the like. I'm still learning the language now, but I'm also using it too - just a few weeks ago I learned about hash_maps for instance, and all the associated joys. I'm now using one in my current project.

You're not wrong when you say that you'll only learn what you need to use, but that learning process stimulated me to go off and learn the basics of the language, to make me a better programmer and to make my projects with better quality. Maybe I'm alone in that, but I hope not.

 

[Enjo]

You're not wrong when you say that you'll only learn what you need to use, but that learning process stimulated me to go off and learn the basics of the language, to make me a better programmer and to make my projects with better quality. Maybe I'm alone in that, but I hope not.

It may stimulate you, alright, but I'm afraid that if your psychics tells you that "some pointer / array stuff" is uninteresting, you may avoid reading about it / using it and then ask questions like the quoted one when your deadline is coming.

 

[Xyon]

Deadline? If you're programming simply for Orbiter, there should be no deadlines but what you set for yourself, IMO. If you're programming professionally, then you should probably know the language you're employed to code in.

 

[Enjo]

If you're programming professionally, then you should probably know the language you're employed to code in.

ohohoooo, I'd tell you things ...

 

[Xyon]

That's what the daily WTF is for, is it not?

And, of course, cheap laughs like these:

http://thedailywtf.com/Articles/Nothing-to-See-Here.aspx

 

[N_Molson]

I'm trying to learn it "by doing stuff with it", and I think I've done progress in a few months (the only programming language I knew was Basic, more than 10 years ago).

I fully agree with ComputerRex point of view and as a student teacher I think it's the best way to learn : while having fun and actually creating something. In schools, I can tell you that the children get really involved if you show them they can do interesting things with grammar and this kind of stuff.

I see C++ as any other language : their is a "structural core", which is the grammar of the whole thing : conditionnal structures (if-else), callbacks, declaring variables int/char/double..., using the {} correctly. The computer needs that to understand you.

After that, all the vocabular you need for Orbiter is in the Reference API, and tutorials like those of Computerrex are very helpful. From there you can start your own little projects, like a ShuttlePB with a RCS tank or Fuel Cell that depletes with time. The first add-on I did was a "realistic settings" PB launched from a ramp on the Moon, with 2 small SRBs (that you could jettison but not extinct) at the end of each wing. I had a lot of fun with it, it had just enough fuel to get in orbit and land.

Really, I think that the key is to start slowly on personal, fun, but not too ambitious projects. You won't create something like the XR-Vessels the first time ! :lol:

In my opinion, it's easier than learning a foreign tongue, while similar. You'll never have to worry about the spelling, and VC++ is here to watch your grammar !

 

[Live4Him]

Thank you all for your advice, it was very helpful. The problem I have is that I don't really know C++ code, and I don't know how to write config files, but I do know a few basics of modeling. Thank you. Keep the feedback coming. Praise God!

 

[Xyon]

We all start out like that. If you let that put you off, you'll be in the same position this time next year.