SSU Development thread (4.0 to 5.0) [DEVELOPMENT HALTED DUE TIME REQUIREMENTS!]

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DaveS

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Just committed a very simplified MEC that corrects the timing of the separation events, so the launches will now look more familiar. :lol:
One bug that exists, and I can't figure out, is the touchdown points not working during the launch. The vehicle has to sit on the ground between HDP fire and enough SRB thrust is developed to start rising, but the touchdown points don't work at all, no matter where I put them. If I don't ignite the SRBs, the vehicle just falls, and falls, and falls until the center of the Earth. :facepalm:

---------- Post added at 09:31 PM ---------- Previous post was at 10:54 AM ----------

Another partially fixed issue is the drag chute CTD. I moved all the drag chute code to a class (so it has more privacy :lol:) and it now runs in the pre-step call, so no more CTDs. But, sometimes it still zooms out like there's no tomorrow... :uhh: Frame rate might be an issue there. More, if the drag chute "survives" jettison, it then goes away when it touches down, regardless of whether or not I use the new touchdown points. :facepalm:

Another change I did was to the default mission file parameters. I discovered that if no mission file is specified (the defaults are used instead), some of the optional systems/panels are not created. Stuff like the RMS or the Ku-band antenna can't be on by default with the current load state architecture, so I changed the defaults and corrected the mission files.

---------- Post added 08-27-16 at 05:59 PM ---------- Previous post was 08-26-16 at 09:31 PM ----------



We can scratch this one, as I think I found the source of the issue by accident: I was browsing the Atlantis class for old/unused stuff and I'd just passed the Twang function and then came across the LaunchClamps function. "What does this one do?" I check the code and it adds forces to the vehicle... "Can't be for the twang, as that is done by the other function... hmmm, what happens if I disable this?" And sure enough the twang worked normally and then T0 came and the vehicle didn't fall. :thumbup:
I looked up old versions of the code and this function exists since day one... was it the "original" twang? Anyway, it seems like it's not needed anymore and causes problems so I'll throw it out with the other old stuff.
I think it might have been used to simulate the SRB HDPs. And I checked through the sources of the default Atlantis, and there it is.
 

GLS

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One thing that should be decided: do we keep the (currently inactive) EVA code and make it do something now, or throw it all away and in the future come up with something new?
 

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One thing that should be decided: do we keep the (currently inactive) EVA code and make it do something now, or throw it all away and in the future come up with something new?

My vote: We should throw it away IMHO and create something working later, when we have the resources for it. Right now, it is just a lot of non-functional code possibly causing errors.

And before we implement something there, we should agree how EVA in SSU should be like.
 

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The cleanup is done. Please test to be sure it all works as before.
 

DaveS

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Everything seems to work fine here, including all the staging events. Also, the X-Trk and delta Inc text on the PFD needs to be moved a bit to left as they're currently being obscured by the boxes:

SSU_PFD_text.jpg
 

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Everything seems to work fine here, including all the staging events. Also, the X-Trk and delta Inc text on the PFD needs to be moved a bit to left as they're currently being obscured by the boxes:

SSU_PFD_text.jpg

That is because I can't control the width of a font in Sketchpad, only the height. :shrug: The MOGE displays are all "perfect" as we're using GDI in there, and that gives us a bigger tool set. Leaving this like that isn't a fix, but as we're not releasing (5.0) anytime soon, I think we can wait and maybe in the meantime Sketchpad will get some more things for us to play with.

Another issue is the vertical position of the text in D3D9, that appears to be 1 pixel above where it should... or GDI puts the text 1 pixel below. Who's at fault hasn't been determined yet.
We're also missing arcs in Sketchpad. Let's see if they are implemented... if not, then we'll have to make them ourselves.
 

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Can't we just calculate a fixed offset as we are using the same font there? We have no resolution issues there except the MFD size, and the possible MFD sizes are limited in 2016
 

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Can't we just calculate a fixed offset as we are using the same font there? We have no resolution issues there except the MFD size, and the possible MFD sizes are limited in 2016

What do you mean, use the same position for the text in GDI and Sketchpad? We already do that.
 

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What do you mean, use the same position for the text in GDI and Sketchpad? We already do that.

We should use one. Not both at the same time.
 

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We should use one. Not both at the same time.

GDI is used when running in MOGE, as it has more toys to play with than Sketchpad, and in the end it will use GDI anyway.
Sketchpad(2) is used in D3D9 to get the extra performance of the graphics client. It works for us as Sketchpad2 has the mesh render stuff, and also we can use bitblt. Sketchpad in MOGE just won't work for us as the ADI needs bitblt (or mesh render).
I think it's the best we can do with the tools available... currently my only complaint with Sketchpad is the lack of font width control and arcs, other than that I sleep well at night with the current setup.
 

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Hi! I feel a bit anxious replying in a pure development post, but because it's an issue related with Orbiter 2016 and the new display system here I go: PFD is refresing at same rate as DPS (0.5 Hz) which makes its use very difficult and it's unrealistic according to videos from the STS. I don't know what's the exact refresh rate of PFDs, but it should be something around 20-30 Hz. Any chance to get this fixed?

Regards
 

DaveS

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The refresh rate is tied to the Orbiter MFD refresh rate.
 

GLS

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:facepalm: Thank you, it was long since my last time in Orbiter, and I'm rusty. Just another one: Do you keep track of the features already implemented, those beeing actively developed, and those missing? This list: http://orbiter-forum.com/showthread.php?t=15598 seems to be largely overdue.

Regards

Well, most of those systems are already partially implemented, but on most cases further development needs upgrades to the "brains" of the shuttle: the GPCs and the DPS.


To anyone who worked in this: what is needed for me to play with the SSUMissionEditor and/or the SSUWorkbench, and what is each of them supposed to do? I'd like to get that doing something other than collecting digital dust...
 

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To anyone who worked in this: what is needed for me to play with the SSUMissionEditor and/or the SSUWorkbench, and what is each of them supposed to do? I'd like to get that doing something other than collecting digital dust...

SSUMissionEditor - deprecated
SSUWorkbench - current

SSUWorkbench is essentially designed to be a C# tool to configure SSU and create missions and the scenario files. I did the primary layout around the STS mission overview file by NASA, which was a very good overview of the configuration changes done for each flight and the most important mission parameters.

"Workbench", because it was designed to be more than just a mission editor. For example, I also wanted it for creating the various configuration files of SSU, like the MDM PROM images or the DEU display format tables.
 

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So it can be deleted, right?

I wouldn't mind. I am a bit helpless in C#, but I believe for the project, a C# based Workbench for SSU is the better way to go, since we all have access to C# when we use a Visual Studio for development.

And with a Workbench approach that goes beyond just creating missions, we could have reference data and mission specific data, making it easier to create consistent missions. Also, I start to see a sequence of missions (flight manifest) as the ultimate scenario for SSU, since our goal is to highlight the limit re-usability of the Space Shuttle.
 
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GLS

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I am a bit helpless in C#

Please, let me welcome you to the club. :lol: The extent of my C# knowledge is the it's called "c-sharp" and not "c-hash" or "c-hashtag".... :uhh:
 

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Please, let me welcome you to the club. :lol: The extent of my C# knowledge is the it's called "c-sharp" and not "c-hash" or "c-hashtag".... :uhh:

I already know that it is an attempt to create a hybrid between Java and C++, which resulted in a language that combines the weaknesses of both. :lol:

Especially the nonsense of partial classes constantly gives me cold shivers. The WPF is nice, but the modern JavaFX is vastly better implemented. Still... it makes no sense to use a Java language tool in a Windows project, that is already using Visual Studio as common development tool.
 

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I already know that it is an attempt to create a hybrid between Java and C++, which resulted in a language that combines the weaknesses of both. :lol:

Typical microsoft. :facepalm:
 
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