Project VesselBuilder for Orbiter

[misha.physics]

Thanks.

@fred18, yes, I've just found it's not even necessary for the vessel to move. You can give a very little retro thrust and pressing brakes, so the vessel won't move, but the Follow Me Tool will work correctly.

@jacquesmomo, I'm going to ask you if your Cessna is based only on the VB? Or it uses the General Vehicle and Multistage 2015 as well (exactly for the Cessna aiplane)?

And maybe you could recommend some useful materials to understand VB for the vessel (let's think about an airplane like Cessna) making?

 

[jacquesmomo]

@jacquesmomo, I'm going to ask you if your Cessna is based only on the VB? Or it uses the General Vehicle and Multistage 2015 as well (exactly for the Cessna aiplane)?

Yes my Cessna is a VB airplane

 

[misha.physics]

Hi,
I'm a little confused with my experiments with those two sets for the TD points, so I need any advice.

The question is the following. Is it possible to use the only one SET for the TD points and leaving the "Changeover Animation" undefined? Or the both sets and the "Changeover Animation" must be defined?

For example an Cessna airplane by @jacquesmomo doesn't have retractable wheels and the corresponding animation. I've found that the following minimum TD points section works correctly:

;<-------------------------TOUCHDOWNPOINTS DEFINITIONS------------------------->

TDP_1_0_POS = 0 -2 5
TDP_1_0_STIFFNESS = 100000
TDP_1_0_DAMPING = 3000
TDP_1_0_MU = 5
TDP_1_0_MULNG = 0.5
 
TDP_1_1_POS = -8.5 -2.25 -0.5
TDP_1_1_STIFFNESS = 100000
TDP_1_1_DAMPING = 3000
TDP_1_1_MU = 12.5
TDP_1_1_MULNG = 0.5
 
TDP_1_2_POS = 8.5 -2.25 -0.5
TDP_1_2_STIFFNESS = 100000
TDP_1_2_DAMPING = 3000
TDP_1_2_MU = 12.5
TDP_1_2_MULNG = 0.5
 
TDP_1_3_POS = 0 -1 -5
TDP_1_3_STIFFNESS = 100000
TDP_1_3_DAMPING = 3000
TDP_1_3_MU = 12.5
TDP_1_3_MULNG = 1
 
TDP_2_0_POS = 0 -2.17 5
TDP_2_0_STIFFNESS = 100000
TDP_2_0_DAMPING = 3000
TDP_2_0_MU = 10
TDP_2_0_MULNG = 3
 
TDP_2_1_POS = -8.5 -2.15 -3
TDP_2_1_STIFFNESS = 100000
TDP_2_1_DAMPING = 3000
TDP_2_1_MU = 12.5
TDP_2_1_MULNG = 4
 
TDP_2_2_POS = 8.5 -2.15 -3
TDP_2_2_STIFFNESS = 100000
TDP_2_2_DAMPING = 3000
TDP_2_2_MU = 12.5
TDP_2_2_MULNG = 4

The SET 2 is disabled and the "Changeover Animation" option is undefined in the VB window, but the SET 2 is defined in the code above. And it seems to be necessary.

Then I've found that the minimum working TD points section for the included DG_VB is:

;<-------------------------TOUCHDOWNPOINTS DEFINITIONS------------------------->

TDP_1_0_POS = 0 -2 9
TDP_1_0_STIFFNESS = 1e+007
TDP_1_0_DAMPING = 100000
TDP_1_0_MU = 3
TDP_1_0_MULNG = 3
 
TDP_1_1_POS = 0 -2 -5
TDP_1_1_STIFFNESS = 1e+007
TDP_1_1_DAMPING = 100000
TDP_1_1_MU = 3
TDP_1_1_MULNG = 3
 
TDP_1_2_POS = -8.5 -2 -7.05
TDP_1_2_STIFFNESS = 1e+007
TDP_1_2_DAMPING = 100000
TDP_1_2_MU = 3
TDP_1_2_MULNG = 3
 
TDP_1_3_POS = 8.5 -2 -7.05
TDP_1_3_STIFFNESS = 1e+007
TDP_1_3_DAMPING = 100000
TDP_1_3_MU = 3
TDP_1_3_MULNG = 3
 
TDP_SECONDSET_ENABLED = TRUE
TDP_CHANGEOVER_ANIM = 5
TDP_2_0_POS = 0 -2.57 10
TDP_2_0_STIFFNESS = 1e+006
TDP_2_0_DAMPING = 100000
TDP_2_0_MU = 1.6
TDP_2_0_MULNG = 0.1
 
TDP_2_1_POS = -3.5 -2.57 -1
TDP_2_1_STIFFNESS = 1e+006
TDP_2_1_DAMPING = 100000
TDP_2_1_MU = 3
TDP_2_1_MULNG = 0.2
 
TDP_2_2_POS = 3.5 -2.57 -1
TDP_2_2_STIFFNESS = 1e+006
TDP_2_2_DAMPING = 100000
TDP_2_2_MU = 3
TDP_2_2_MULNG = 0.2

But I can't get these TD points to work without the "Changeover Animation". It doesn't work when I change the animation from "Gear" to another (Elevators or Rudders, for example). Is the "Changeover Animation" option related to the gear mesh groups? It seems to be strange, and I'm not sure in it.

I think it's a general question non specific to the VB only, so maybe someone who programs its own vessel module could suggest something.

I took a quick look at the API_Guide.pdf and API_Reference.pdf, but didn't found the thing. Maybe I was looking badly and in the wrong place...

I'm just trying to understand what is the minimum set for the TD points for an airplane (with three wheels which can't be retracted).

 

[misha.physics]

Finally I've understood how these "SET 1", "SET 2" and "Changeover Animation" work, so I can move on

 

[misha.physics]

Hi.
Sorry for the following amateurish questions.

Let's say I created a vessel based on the VB module, namely I have the vessel *.cfg file (as well as a *.msh file, etc) that the VB uses. Is it possible to automatically transform all the data presented in the *.cfg file to an independent *.dll module for the vessel somehow?

And is it possible to see the corresponding code for the vessel that will contain all the parameters defined in the VB *.cfg file? I'm just wondering how such code might look at all. Could such code be manually compiled later to get the vessel *.dll module?

(Looks like I mean C++ code. I don't know anything about it yet. For now I'm only interested in the concept itself.)