Project XR2 Ravenstar - Mk II

[TSPenguin]

I have been using XR2.
I like it a lot.

I noticed that VC does not allow MFDs.
Also it seems to be able to carry passengers.
Are there plans to add them?

And on a side note, I have noticed that DG, XR2, DGIV have only seat compartment only. No rest room, no beds, no kitchen...
For long trips, crew activities might matter. I know it sounds like The Sims in space... but I had to mention this.

edit: I should not let me get distracted while posting, this posting took over 1 hour

The VC will be fully active in the Mk2 release and all MFDs will work.
As said before, the passengers were removed to save polys.

The XR2 addresses the problem with the restrooms with the CHM. The crew habitat module has a toilet, carries equipment for food preparation and everything else humans need to survive. It is default in all scenarios. But you can make a flight without it for short missions to safe fuel or maximize your payload capacity.
The crew will be well throughout the longest trip, they have the furry dice to play with :speakcool:

EDIT: I should not post while beeing distracted... This post took me over 1 hour...

 

[ar81]

It is great to hear such news.
:woohoo::thumbsup::dance2::thankyou:
I know how much work it takes to do any piece of work for Orbiter, specially something of such high quality.
Keep up the good work.

 

[ar81]

I only think that one comment is needed.
The sound of XR2 engine interferes with the voice of the computer voice.
For a certain range of frequencies you need to have a certain difference in dB to make sounds recognizable, so what you need is to either move one of those sounds to a different frequency or to remove a certain range of frequencies for the computer voice.

To me, the most suitable solution would be to change the in-cockpit sound.
So it would sound loud in external view, and in internal view acoustically isolated cockpit would let only a certain range of frequencies to listen to the engine.

If you fly any commercial jet sim you may notice that sounds inside and outside are very different, not just same sound with lower volume.

 

[Dman1410]

about the interlock why not have an emergency button that closes the inner and outer airlocks at the same time

 

[Cornflake]

Just now finding out about the release v1.0 of the XR2. Can't wait to try it! It's needless to say that having a fully active virtual cockpit will be kick-ass in Mk II. Once it is released I will finally be able to fly another ship besides Atlantis totally in the 3D cockpit.

P.S. Yes I know the DG has a VC but it's a bit cramped and not very functional IMO.

 

[Omhra]

not sure if this has been mentioned before, but when I record an ascent to orbit; on the replay there is a "wheels up-wheels down... wheels up- wheels down" voice bug...
truly a nice addon in all other respects...

 

[Coolhand]

here are some alternative mk2 designs... first i tried 2 extra rockets, which looked silly, then 1 central rocket, which i really liked but were disregarded for technical reasons. The current design extends the fuselage so instead of totally blending into the lifting body it has an actual tail - with the extended passenger cabin the lines became too steep. The current version also has extra elevons inboard of the engines to compensate for the engine positions resistance to roll.

 

[Cornflake]

I'm liking the tail! Also, didn't know you were a Stargate fan until I saw the crew and payload references Time to launch a rigged Naquadah payload to the Russian's MIR and give them a piece of Oneill's mind! :rofl: Teal'c would be flying, of course -- I wouldn't let Jack touch the controls of such an expensive vessel with a thirty-nine-and-a-half foot pole!

EDIT

here are some alternative mk2 designs... first i tried 2 extra rockets, which looked silly, then 1 central rocket, which i really liked but were disregarded for technical reasons.[...]

Hmm 3 engines reminds me a bit of the modified F-14 in Swat Kats, the cartoon I used to watch as a kid:

 

[the flying monkey]

Just a thought what do you think about adding a small jet engine for taking off and landing

 

[EliNaut]

Or even, in referance to Flying Monkey, mayby creating a lifting body, for shuttle-style launches? I know I could always strap it to an Energia, but still... =)

Probably would be best in extending the XR2's flight range, that way, we could lower the fuel settings that are made for mars and such, just to bring it a little back to reality.

Just a thought. =P

 

[Cornflake]

And while we're at it, In reference to EliNaut, the ground turn performance of the XR2 is a bit sluggish. I had it parked on the landing pad by runway 33 at the KSC but ended up tearing up the grass because I could not turn tight enough to get from the pad to the runway!

 

[Coolhand]

Or even, in referance to Flying Monkey, mayby creating a lifting body, for shuttle-style launches? I know I could always strap it to an Energia, but still... =)

Probably would be best in extending the XR2's flight range, that way, we could lower the fuel settings that are made for mars and such, just to bring it a little back to reality.

Just a thought. =P

Lifting body? thats an aerodynamic feature... seems like you mean a booster rocket or something like that to make it into an STS like stack.

I've mentioned i'll build a booster for it before, but time is factor and getting the model for the mk2 complete is my goal at this point.

People have already used it with velcro rockets & energia, though that system is probably overkill... have fun.

 

[Cornflake]

[...]
People have already used it with velcro rockets & energia, though that system is probably overkill... have fun.

Hehe, the XR series vehicles are pretty powerful and can get to orbit quite easily... I'd rather strap a Velcro on the slow-arse Delta Glider EX

 

[dutchpirate]

I just tested the XR2 on Kultch's TX winged booster and it worked quite nicely. The screen shot is just after firing the SCRAM engines on the XR2 and separating from the TX. Get the TX here [ame="http://www.orbithangar.com/searchid.php?ID=421"]TX winged space launcher, release 5[/ame]

 

[wehaveaproblem]

I personally don't like it when people strap big dirty boosters on to a craft as beautiful as the XR2, plus it largely defeats the object of the craft's core design features and purpose.

To theflyingmonkey - RussH had a design once for a craft that had jets and scrams and rockets like you describe. It was largely torn apart technically by the big brains on the old forum... why? because a jet engine is a lot of dead weight to carry just for low atmospheric flight, when the rockets do the trick. His design was a lovely thing, but practicality does largely rule it out as a choice.

 

[Coolhand]

plus one small jet engine probably wouldn't cut the mustard for takeoff which is when you need a lot of power...

The booster was for when i figured we could have a "hardcore" mode, which so far hasn't come to pass.

as it is, its totally not needed... the booster (winged booster but launched vertically from a pad & glides home) would have launched the ship up to scram speed - saving internal rocket fuel because the hardcore mode would have made fuel consumption more realistic... and the booster is more interesting looking than a regular fuel tank with engines.

this was my idea originally, essentially if you want to just carry passengers then you fill the payload bay with fuel and you have an SSTO configuration, if you want to launch a big payload too then you'd use the booster. Currently you can fill the cargo bay with payload and it'll still work as an SSTO.

 

[wehaveaproblem]

That's a fair point about fuel consumption and levels certainly. I'm actually a bit surprised that none of the XR series came with underslung, jettisonable fuel tanks for the flight to SCRAM.

 

[Coolhand]

Again, its not actually needed with the XR2's current settings, or any other XR and this time the additional fuel was meant to be internal, not carried underneath. infact i doubt anyone really bothers to use the additional fuel options that were included for carrying fuel in the bay, because you don't really need it.

 

[wehaveaproblem]

I guess the orbiter community just isn't ready for hardcore mode...

 

[Coolhand]

Well you can always edit your own mode with the cheat codes, however i'm not sure anyones going to edit the ship to make it more difficult to fly.