New Release Interplanetary Modular Spacecraft RC9

[NukeET]

My space station converted to IMS (I won't say it is finished - see link to my blog).

http://nukeet.blogspot.com/2009/09/clyde-station-evolution.html

 

[PhantomCruiser]

Nice looking! Very Colliers-ish.

 

[Michael_Chr]

Fiddling with Greg Burch Airdock2

Hi everyone

Was just trying to see if I could convert Greg Burchs famous airdock2 into a IMS config file.

View attachment Airdock2_IMS.bmp

However it seems that I'm doing something wrong since the animations will not work at all. Everything else seems to work OK and I have been able to integrate it. From the appropriate controlpanel in the commandmodule I have both sent it online and I can see the controlbutton label changes (Closed>moving>opened).

I have painstakenly tried to follow Jedidias directions in the config builders guide concerning animations. Include below is my work up until now. If anyone has an idea ir would be greatly appreciated.
Best regards
Michael
My work...

; ======================================
; Standard parameters
; ======================================
MESHNAME=burchismo\AD20
ImageBmp=Images\Vessels\IMS\Airdock2_IMS.bmp
Mass = 40000
Size = 30
Inertia = 11.5 11 2.7

; === Docking ports ===
BEGIN_DOCKLIST
 0 0 -19.138 0 0 1 0 1 0
 -11.453 0 -19.138 0 0 1 1 0 0 
 11.453 0 -19.138 0 0 1	-1 0 0
 -24.248 0 1.710 -1 0 0  0 1 0
 24.248 0 1.710 1 0 0 0 1 0
 0 0 -28.888 0 0 -1 0 1 0 

END_DOCKLIST

BEGIN_ATTACHMENT
P 0 0 -19.138 0 0 1 0 1 0 IM
P -11.453 0 -19.138 0 0 1 1 0 0 IM 
P 11.453 0 -19.138 0 0 1 -1 0 0 IM
P -24.248 0 1.710 -1 0 0  0 1 0 IM
P 24.248 0 1.710 1 0 0 0 1 0 IM
P 0 0 -28.888 0 0 -1 0 1 0 IM
END_ATTACHMENT

; ======================================
; IMS specific parameters
; ======================================
Name = Airdock-2
ModuleType = General
FirstAnimName = Closed
SecAnimName = Opened
PreserveDocks = 0,1,2
PowerInput = 7000

Movements = 3
Movement1 = 27,28,29,30  translate 0,0,1
Movement1Duration = 0.1 0.2
Movement2 = 27,29 translate 0,17,0
Movement2Duration = 0.2 1
Movement3 = 28,30 translate 0,-17,0
Movement3Duration = 0.2 1

And the original SC3 ini file

[LIFT]


[CONFIG]
MESHNAME="burchismo\AD20"
SIZE=30
FOCUS=1
VISIBLE=1
CAMERA=(0,13.178,-20.302)
EMPTY_MASS=40000
FUEL_MASS=20000
MAIN_THRUST=0
RETRO_THRUST=0
ATTITUDE_THRUST=2000
ISP=3844
TRIM=0.05
PMI=(58.2,62.1,7.7)
CW_Z_POS=0.2
CW_Z_NEG=0.5
CW_X=1.5
CW_Y=1.5
CROSS_SECTION=(234.8,389.1,80)
COG=7
PITCH_MOMENT_SCALE=0.00001
BANK_MOMENT_SCALE=0.00002
ROT_DRAG=(.5,1.5,1.5)
WING_ASPECT=0.7
WING_EFFECTIVENESS=0.0

FOCUS=1

[DOCK_0]
POS=(0,0,-19.138)
DIR=(0,0,1)
ROT=(0,1,0)

[DOCK_1]
POS=(-11.453,0,-19.138)
DIR=(0,0,1)
ROT=(1,0,0)

[DOCK_2]
POS=(11.453,0,-19.138)
DIR=(0,0,1)
ROT=(-1,0,0)

[DOCK_3]
POS=(-24.248,0,1.710)
DIR=(-1,0,0)
ROT=(0,1,0)

[DOCK_4]
POS=(24.248,0,1.710)
DIR=(1,0,0)
ROT=(0,1,0)

[DOCK_5]
POS=(0,0,-28.888)
DIR=(0,0,-1)
ROT=(0,1,0)


; ANIMATION SEQUENCES

[ANIM_SEQ_0]
; Door
KEY=G
DURATION=20
REPEAT=0

[ANIM_SEQ_1]
; AirLock Door
KEY=K
DURATION=7
REPEAT=0




; ANIMATION COMPONENTS

; Door 

[ANIM_COMP_0]
; Door1
SEQ=0
TYPE=TRANSLATE
GROUPS=27,28,29,30
RANGE=(0.1,0.2)
SHIFT=(0,0,1)

[ANIM_COMP_1]
; Door2
SEQ=0
TYPE=TRANSLATE
GROUPS=27,29
RANGE=(0.2,1)
SHIFT=(0,17,0)

[ANIM_COMP_2]
; Door2
SEQ=0
TYPE=TRANSLATE
GROUPS=28,30
RANGE=(0.2,1)
SHIFT=(0,-17,0)

; Airlock Door

[ANIM_COMP_3]
SEQ=1
GROUPS=7
RANGE=(0,1.0)
ROT_PNT=(0.635,-13.775,-19.397)
ROT_AXIS=(0,1,0)
ANGLE=90



; === VC ====
[VC]
MESHNAME="burchismo\AD20"
MFD_LEFT=95
MFD_RIGHT=96
HUD=94
HUD_SIZE=15
HUD_CENTER=(0,0,-18)

 

[PeterRoss]

Michael_Chr, you did everything right, you just have to change all your 'translate' commands to begin from capital letter, like 'Translate'. Everything should work then.

 

[Michael_Chr]

Fiddling with Greg Burch Airdock2

Hi Peter
Thanks a lot... It works now. The capitalization from translate to Translate did the trick.
I'm using the airdock 2 in a project I have going - however I thought
I would share it in the meantime...so here it is. One .cfg and the .bmp for the image\vessels\ims\ folder.
You need to download Gregs Burchs Original Airdock 2.0 from here:
[ame="http://www.orbithangar.com/searchid.php?ID=2681"]http://www.orbithangar.com/searchid.php?ID=2681[/ame]

Good luck to everyone

Best regards
Michael

View attachment Airdock-2_IMS2.zip

 

[PeterRoss]

Note that Greg's Airdock2 is made in another scale than SBB4.1, roughly 2:1. I had to rescale his older modules' meshes and configs to make them visually compatible with later ones.

 

[Michael_Chr]

Copy all. I can see that now you said it. Some things about some of his modules had made me wonder about the scale of it. I havnt played much with meshes yet - maybe this is the oppotunity to get into that particular business :hmm:

 

[Mandella]

Speaking of Greg Burch, would it be possible to use IMS to, say, build one Descartes class vessel from the base Descartes plus the dozen or so cargo modules one normally adds to it? (And I manually resized all the old vessels too.)

I suppose what I am asking for here would be IMS-lite, where things like that could be done without having to fiddle with heating and air (as fun as that is to do).

And if at the end of a voyage the process could be reversed....

 

[PeterRoss]

Speaking of Greg Burch, would it be possible to use IMS to, say, build one Descartes class vessel from the base Descartes plus the dozen or so cargo modules one normally adds to it? (And I manually resized all the old vessels too.)

I suppose what I am asking for here would be IMS-lite, where things like that could be done without having to fiddle with heating and air (as fun as that is to do).

And if at the end of a voyage the process could be reversed....

As for IMS RC2.3 - no, because base Descartes vessel covers Command Module and Engine roles, as much as General (i.e. animated), FuelTank and pretty much anything else, and it's impossible to perform all these roles using just a single module (you don't have engine or tankage modules for Descartes, everything is already integrated into the hull mesh). You can't disassemble the already-integrated vessel in this version too.

But everything you said would be possible in IMS 2 which development is just begun. All we have to do is wait...h:

 

[BruceJohnJennerLawso]

I suppose what I am asking for here would be IMS-lite, where things like that could be done without having to fiddle with heating and air (as fun as that is to do).

That can be done by setting the default damage & failure simulation option in the orbiter launchpad to off. Jedidia wisely routed all of the IMS damage calls through there just for this purpose

And if at the end of a voyage the process could be reversed....

Should be possible, but most likely in IMS 3, the new version.
(sorry to be a pain in the butt, but I really think we need to call it IMS 3 just to avoid confusion with the current versions). It should be easy enough to do with a fresh code base, but our current one is inherited from a previous developer working in Orbiter 2006, and is awfully spaghetti with interconnections everywhere.

Jedidia, could you possibly upload the last copy of the RC 2.3 source for me to work on? Even if D3D9 docking port deletion wreaks havoc with construction, I would still like to be able to clean up some bugs & continue to work on it somewhat. Users can hopefully use the D3D7 to build, and then fly it in D3D9. Hows that sound?

 

[jedidia]

(sorry to be a pain in the butt, but I really think we need to call it IMS 3 just to avoid confusion with the current versions)

Nope, definitaley not. Once (if) IMS is actually ever officially released, it'll be just IMS. going through release candidates is a pretty standard process and shouldn't influence further naming process.

Jedidia, could you possibly upload the last copy of the RC 2.3 source for me to work on? Even if D3D9 docking port deletion wreaks havoc with construction, I would still like to be able to clean up some bugs & continue to work on it somewhat. Users can hopefully use the D3D7 to build, and then fly it in D3D9. Hows that sound?

I actually planed something like this, problem is I still have some trouble with the rotations. The thing was so horribly unstable that it was rather tedious to work on that problem. I will have to resolve them for IMS 2 of course, and that step is now pretty close to getting worked on. Once I ironed it out, I will put that code back into the current IMS sourcecode. I'll put it up (both as dll and as sourcecode) when that is done.

 

[Dantassii]

Module count question

Q1) Is there a limit imposed by IMS on the number of modules that can be used in an IMS ship?

Reason I ask this is that I'm discovering that some MDFs stop displaying a drop down list of modules/ships once you get over a certain number. The Align Planes MDF for instance stops displaying the drop down at around 600, but the Sync Orbit MDF still displays a drop down list of modules/ships at 800+. I'm wondering if there is a hard coded limit in the IMS code, or if not, has anyone reached a limit imposed by either the IMS code or the Orbiter code?

Dantassii
HUMONGOUS IMS shipbuilder

 

[PeterRoss]

Even if it's a limitation it's of AlignMFD and not of IMS. I seriously doubt anyone has ever reached as big number of modules in a scenario as you did. One question though: are you talking about this much integrated modules, or these modules aren't integrated yet? Because if integrated they should not affect dropdown vessel lists of MFDs in any way.

 

[jedidia]

Q1) Is there a limit imposed by IMS on the number of modules that can be used in an IMS ship?

No.

Reason I ask this is that I'm discovering that some MDFs stop displaying a drop down list of modules/ships once you get over a certain number. The Align Planes MDF for instance stops displaying the drop down at around 600, but the Sync Orbit MDF still displays a drop down list of modules/ships at 800+.

IMS has absolutely no connection to these MFDs and cannot influence their behavior. It would seem like AlignPlanes MFD has a maximum list size of 600. Nothing I can do about...

 

[Dantassii]

Responses to answers/comments

Even if it's a limitation it's of AlignMFD and not of IMS. I seriously doubt anyone has ever reached as big number of modules in a scenario as you did. One question though: are you talking about this much integrated modules, or these modules aren't integrated yet? Because if integrated they should not affect dropdown vessel lists of MFDs in any way.

Unintegrated. I'm waiting until the very end to integrate it (although I'm doing some initial integrations when I take pictures).

---------- Post added at 09:41 ---------- Previous post was at 09:37 ----------

No.



IMS has absolutely no connection to these MFDs and cannot influence their behavior. It would seem like AlignPlanes MFD has a maximum list size of 600. Nothing I can do about...

I wasn't voicing a complaint about any MFDs, just making an observation. BTW, the Map and Sync Orbits both refused to generate a drop down list on my 98th mission (the next mission I ran after posting my previous comment). So they give up the ghost at around 800 or so.

In all cases, I can still manually type in the name of my station. That's 1 of the reasons I shortened its name to Lunar_Station when I started this time around. Originally I had a HUGE name (to go along with the HUGE station) but I got tired of typing the name when using the Interplanetary MFD (very useful for final approach burns).

You know? This may be an interesting scenario to toss at the Orbiter 2013 Beta...... Just to see what it does... Naw....

Dantassii
HUMONGOUS IMS shipbuilder

 

[BruceJohnJennerLawso]

Q1) Is there a limit imposed by IMS on the number of modules that can be used in an IMS ship?

I think there should be in your case :lol:

Eventually Im sure you could run out of space in the scenario file however. One of the mega-cruisers that was used for flying to Proxima Centauri by one of the beta testers had that issue I believe.

 

[Dantassii]

I think there should be in your case :lol:

Eventually Im sure you could run out of space in the scenario file however. One of the mega-cruisers that was used for flying to Proxima Centauri by one of the beta testers had that issue I believe.

My Scenario file is about 166k right now. Is it a size limitation, number of lines limitation, or what? It's too big for me to post it as an attachment here w/out first zipping it up into a WinZip file.

Dantassii
HUMONGOUS IMS shipbuilder

 

[jedidia]

My Scenario file is about 166k right now. Is it a size limitation, number of lines limitation, or what?

The only limit is harddisk space and RAM for all I know, but the way you are building you might hit them towards the end... :shifty:

 

[Dantassii]

Towards the end?

The only limit is harddisk space and RAM for all I know, but the way you are building you might hit them towards the end... :shifty:

Towards the end? Wasn't it you who said that an IMS ship is NEVER done? I figure if I go through and add the 4 more hab wheels and the 4 more docking areas I'll have close to 5,000-7,500 modules. Maybe a scenario file close to 1Mb in size?

BTW, I have about 200 Gb of free disk space and my computer has 8Gb of RAM... gonna take a HUMONGOUS ship to fill that all up, don't ya think?

Dantassii
HUMONGOUS IMS shipbuilder

 

[orb]

my computer has 8Gb of RAM... gonna take a HUMONGOUS ship to fill that all up, don't ya think?

The orbiter.exe is 32-bit program with no Large Address Aware flag set, so that's only 2 GiB total.