Ultimate space simulation software

 
A-L-E-X
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Re: Image Dump

07 Jan 2023 00:51

Wow do you have a lot of cockpit cameras in that 20 km long ship?
I forgot to ask, what's the difference between selecting cockpit camera, behind camera or auto? I normally just use behind camera.  Do the others work differently?

I'm thinking I should max out the FOV to 120 degrees before editing the ship cameras so I can see them even when far away from the ship?

When I detach from the ship cameras, how do I re-attach?

When you make a squadron does the squadron share the 8 camera positions or does each member of the squadron get their own individual 8 camera positions?  Thanks!
Same number of total cameras for a ship, just eight — a mix of cockpit and behind cameras.

Not sure about the differences with the auto camera, I believe it is just a behind camera that gets placed a reasonable distance behind the ship without you having to worry about the exact placement coordinates. Two slight differences between the cockpit and behind cameras — with the behind camera, when the ship manœuvers, the camera lags behind a little. The cockpit camera does not (otherwise it would likely leave the cockpit!). And with the behind camera, right-click and mousing orbits the camera around the centre of the ship, the cockpit camera pans, as if you are looking around. At least, that's the way it used to work in .9.8.0 — with .9.9.0, right-click mousing does nothing with the cockpit camera (which still bugs me  :mad: ) But you can still pan that camera with centre-button click, but as soon as you let go, the view snaps back to forward view. (I don't find that nearly as useful, but maybe that's just me.)

Also, if you have a behind camera active when you switch to ship orbit view, the right-click mouse move orbits around the selected reference body, while having a cockpit camera active it will pan the view. Or it might, not sure with 990. A minor quibble.

To reattach to the ship camera, just press "4" again. If that does nothing, you'll have to go back to the ship menu, make sure the right ship is selected, and click on "Take Control", that should get you back on board.

A ship can be composed from modules, or just one complete mesh. The .sss file contains the module definitions used for the ship. Many models use just one module so the complete ship is one mesh. You can add multiple instances of that mesh as different modules, with different x, y, and z coordinates. So the various ships all act as one unit. But that also means they all rotate as one fixed unit, so not perfect. And since the .sss file also contains the camera definitions, the entire squadron or fleet is still limited to eight cameras max.

Oh... one more difference between behind and cockpit cameras. When going to warp, the behind camera always pulls out well behind the ship (I still find that annoying, too, but what can you do...), the cockpit camera stays in place. I turn the warp effect off, and enjoy the undistorted view from the cockpit when going to warp. Mostly.
Thanks that's really interesting.... I guess 0.980 was better in some ways.  I would have liked that difference between the behind and cockpit cameras better too.

I totally forgot to ask you this very important question I haven't been able to figure out yet-- how do you turn the ship quickly?  Like let's say I'm flying over a planet and I'm in horizon mode (autopilot hold altitude turned on), how do I turn from a 90 degree heading to say a 120 degree heading quickly if I want to move in that direction now?  Using the arrow keys or the num keypad does nothing lol.  Do I have to get out of autopilot hold altitude?  But then that makes the movement of the ship unstable and it wildly swings back and forth and tilts and rotates and I end up losing control lol.  I just want a smooth change of direction while keeping the horizon level and the altitude the same-- is there a way to do this?  And if so how? Do I have to mess around with the retro engines somehow?  That doesn't seem to change directions either.

Have you noticed more stable altitude holding with the new version of SE? I have with a couple of my ships which don't fly off into space or crash into the planet with hold altitude on and better use the hover engines, which automatically adjust to keep the ship within an acceptable distance above the surface (between 5 km and 30 km, mostly around 10 km up.)  Also what happens if I have one of the cameras set to -10000 (10 km lower than the ship) and the ship gets lower, to say around 4 km up....the camera won't crash into the planet will it?  Will it just stop working or will it still be just above the surface recording the movement just like before when the ship was higher up?  And do you use an even number of behind and cockpit cameras or more of one or the other?  I suppose you can place cockpit cameras outside the cockpit too (like the aforementioned 10km lower than the ship to record the surface) and they won't crash into the planet or stop working when the ship gets lower either?  Of the two ships I've been using the most, one has 4 cockpit cameras and 4 behind cameras and the other one has 3 cockpit cameras and 5 behind cameras.  All the cameras I've added to those 2 ships are behind cameras.

Also oops almost forgot to ask this too-- when landing on a planet how come some ships get closer to the planet than others?  There is one annoying ship I stopped using that could never get closer than 15 km above the surface!  I stopped using that ship lol.  It also had this weird bug where as soon as I got lower than 22 km it crashed into the planet even if I turned the engines higher and kept the altitude level.  Completely different engine behavior when above or below 22 km!  The two ships I use now, one can get to within 750 meters above the surface and the other can get to 1.75 km above the surface.  Are those good distances to get to from the surface or would you recommend I find a ship that gets closer than those two?  1.75 km is near the limit of what I find acceptable.



Also, would you suggest direct altering of the ship's cameras in the .SSS file? I've found these files and they do store the updated camera positions and rotations even if the program crashes while using the ship and trying to switch cameras (which used to happen to me but doesn't now that I lowered graphics to medium settings.)
 
Mr. Abner
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Re: Image Dump

07 Jan 2023 10:54

Oh... sorry about that. I haven't done any in-atmosphere flying in 990 for quite some time, so don't know if anything has been improved in that regard. I believe all in-atmosphere flying used a simple MiG flight model, and everything flies pretty much like a brick. Turning, I'm sure, requires much lower speeds. Flight model is comparable to a dart at higher speeds — if you try to turn sideways, or pull up too steeply, aerodynamic forces will try and face you back in the direction you are actually travelling, so you will usually start to oscillate around that vector. So, slow down to turn, and bank like you would an aeroplane.  I'll let you know if I find out anything when I try it again.

As for the cameras, put them where ever you want, and let us know how it worked out for you.  :smile: (They will likely go below the ground mesh if too low, I suspect, but don't know for sure.)

Editing the .sss text file directly really has no benefits when editing or adding ship cameras. Best to do it in SE with the F2 editor — you get instant feedback and the file is saved as soon as you click on the Save button.

Ships in atmosphere should be able to get down to ground level, maybe something like 30m above the terrain. If you are still kilometers above the surface, the ship may be very large, or there is something wrong with it. (Again, unless something has changed in 990 — I'll let you know when I give it another try.)
 
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Re: Image Dump

07 Jan 2023 11:39

But this is the Image Dump thread, so...

Once again in a star cluster...
990-00542.jpg
My god. It's full of stars!

I'll drop off the shuttle here and see how it flies. (On the moon, that is, not the gas giant.)
990-00543.jpg
I brought a shuttle with me!
990-00544.jpg

Then it's off to explore Satans' Heart. A sneak peek from a world nearby.
990-00539.jpg
Satan's Heart
 
Mr. Abner
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Re: Image Dump

07 Jan 2023 18:44

Weather vaning... that's the term I was looking for. It's what a ship will do in atmosphere, trying to stay pointed in the direction of travel.

And after a quick trip into the atmosphere with the shuttle... nope. Still not for me. Hold-altitude autopilot wouldn't even turn on half the time. Many crashes.

The shuttle is listed with a length of 63.58m, and when on the ground reported elevation was 31.79m — exactly half the length. Check your ship size if you are still kilometers above the ground when landed.

Edit: Oh... and having different controls for in-atmosphere controls (rudder, elevator, and ailerons) and thrusters can be confusing if you don't have them set up right. Check your ship control settings. And when does control shift from thrusters to control surfaces anyway? I don't think I've ever seen that mentioned anywhere.
 
A-L-E-X
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Re: Image Dump

08 Jan 2023 02:55

It's different with each ship, Alex, maybe the science of the game makes the physics behave differently with each ship?
I keep my speeds very slow now, acceleration is set to 3 which seems to be the magic number to keep the flight steady, but the ship simply will not go in any direction aside from the random direction it sets for itself at the beginning.  Right now the speed is around 200 m/sec.  Also how does one bank-- do I need to turn off autopilot hold altitude?   Should I set all engines to 0 when trying to turn-- I am worried about crashing in that case.  The two ships I am using seem to do autopilot well (I've kept the ship in the air for 10 days without changing controls).  I saw your ship is called the Marie Claire, is it in the workshop somewhere?  Does that get right down to the surface?

I thought of something else with the cameras....instead of putting them kilometers below the ship to better see the surface detail can I also put them a 100 or so meters below the ship and simply use the FOV controls as a "zoom lens" to zoom closer to the surface?  That way I could have more flexibility with the cameras, getting the view as if looking out of a window on the ship (like looking out of the window seat of an airplane) and when I want to see surface detail far below much better I can simply zoom in by selecting a smaller FOV?  Would that be just as detailed as putting a camera 10 km below the ship?  This would also avoid the problem of having the camera go below the surface mesh of the planet (which we really don't want) wouldn't it?  I also wonder what the camera would do if the ship was flying over an ocean and the altitude got lower than 10 km, would it just go below the water?  I wouldn't see any details though just the water all around me?  I'd rather have the camera near the ship and simply use the FOV controls to zoom in.
Last edited by A-L-E-X on 08 Jan 2023 03:11, edited 3 times in total.
 
A-L-E-X
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Re: Image Dump

08 Jan 2023 03:04

Weather vaning... that's the term I was looking for. It's what a ship will do in atmosphere, trying to stay pointed in the direction of travel.

And after a quick trip into the atmosphere with the shuttle... nope. Still not for me. Hold-altitude autopilot wouldn't even turn on half the time. Many crashes.

The shuttle is listed with a length of 63.58m, and when on the ground reported elevation was 31.79m — exactly half the length. Check your ship size if you are still kilometers above the ground when landed.

Edit: Oh... and having different controls for in-atmosphere controls (rudder, elevator, and ailerons) and thrusters can be confusing if you don't have them set up right. Check your ship control settings. And when does control shift from thrusters to control surfaces anyway? I don't think I've ever seen that mentioned anywhere.
You're right-- I just noticed that part too!.  3.50 km long ship gets to 1.75 km above the surface and 1.5 km long ship gets to 750 meters above the surface.  Both are really good at atmospheric travel so I stick to those two!  Your Marie Claire probably can't get that close to the surface can it?  It also explains why the star trek ships are no good for travel on a planet.

What's this about thrusters?  I didn't know you could control those!  I simply adjust the main engines and let the autopilot hold altitude automatically control the hover engines for level flight (for the two ships I'm using that works really well.)  I don't see any ship controls for thrusts, rudders, elevators, ailerons or any of that stuff anywhere just the regular three engine controls?  Just can't change direction I guess-- I dont want to get out of autopilot hold altitude because the ship become unstable and veers around lol.

Let me know if adjusting the FOV is a good surrogate for placing the cameras far beneath the ship as I dont want to go below the mesh so maybe keeping the cameras close to the ship and then changing the FOV when I want to zoom into surface detail is just as good?
 
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Re: Image Dump

08 Jan 2023 08:49

Hi, I'm completely new to the game. Could someone advise me on the name of the red or orange star where I could find a gaseous planet that looks like blue Saturn, similar to the one in the https://planetside.co.uk/wp-content/upl ... 5486vq.jpg ? I'd like to make some wallpapers for my desktop, but I'm looking and can't find it. Thanks
 
Mr. Abner
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Re: Image Dump

08 Jan 2023 12:33

It's different with each ship, Alex, maybe the science of the game makes the physics behave differently with each ship?
I keep my speeds very slow now, acceleration is set to 3 which seems to be the magic number to keep the flight steady, but the ship simply will not go in any direction aside from the random direction it sets for itself at the beginning.  Right now the speed is around 200 m/sec.  Also how does one bank-- do I need to turn off autopilot hold altitude?   Should I set all engines to 0 when trying to turn-- I am worried about crashing in that case.  The two ships I am using seem to do autopilot well (I've kept the ship in the air for 10 days without changing controls).  I saw your ship is called the Marie Claire, is it in the workshop somewhere?  Does that get right down to the surface?

I thought of something else with the cameras....instead of putting them kilometers below the ship to better see the surface detail can I also put them a 100 or so meters below the ship and simply use the FOV controls as a "zoom lens" to zoom closer to the surface?  That way I could have more flexibility with the cameras, getting the view as if looking out of a window on the ship (like looking out of the window seat of an airplane) and when I want to see surface detail far below much better I can simply zoom in by selecting a smaller FOV?  Would that be just as detailed as putting a camera 10 km below the ship?  This would also avoid the problem of having the camera go below the surface mesh of the planet (which we really don't want) wouldn't it?  I also wonder what the camera would do if the ship was flying over an ocean and the altitude got lower than 10 km, would it just go below the water?  I wouldn't see any details though just the water all around me?  I'd rather have the camera near the ship and simply use the FOV controls to zoom in.
I haven't heard anything new that might have changed, but it used to be that there was just one flight model for in-atmosphere. Didn't matter what the ship was. Only thing that would make a difference is the various engine and thruster strengths.

Yes, I do believe certain autopilot modes will override some control functions. Do you have a joystick? Haven't had one myself for a long time now, but really the best way to fly an aircraft.

As for the cameras... just try moving them, see if you like it. If not, move it somewhere else. Won't hurt anything.
990x-00548.jpg
Settings menu/Controls/Ship Controls. Don't forget to scroll down.

As for the Mary Claire, that's just a repurposed Star Wars Executor class ship I've added many greebles to. It is not on Steam or anywhere else (I'm sure there would be more than a few Star Wars fans that would go ballistic over my sacrilege). It lends itself well to acting as a cruise ship — just look at all those casinos and discos along the top, and rows and rows of passenger staterooms along the sides. :) MVB Cruise Lines — The Most Spectacular Sights in the Galaxy. Someday I would like to build my own Mary Claire, but Blender has such a steep learning curve for even the simplest of things, and the interface seems so counter-intuitive.... but I digress...  More pictures!
 
Mr. Abner
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Re: Image Dump

08 Jan 2023 12:36

Hi, I'm completely new to the game. Could someone advise me on the name of the red or orange star where I could find a gaseous planet that looks like blue Saturn, similar to the one in the https://planetside.co.uk/wp-content/upl ... 5486vq.jpg ? I'd like to make some wallpapers for my desktop, but I'm looking and can't find it. Thanks
SE has literally billions of systems to choose from. You can't find even one?  How about you scroll through this thread, and if you see something you like, maybe the poster of said image will know how to find that world.
 
A-L-E-X
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Re: Image Dump

09 Jan 2023 11:23

It's different with each ship, Alex, maybe the science of the game makes the physics behave differently with each ship?
I keep my speeds very slow now, acceleration is set to 3 which seems to be the magic number to keep the flight steady, but the ship simply will not go in any direction aside from the random direction it sets for itself at the beginning.  Right now the speed is around 200 m/sec.  Also how does one bank-- do I need to turn off autopilot hold altitude?   Should I set all engines to 0 when trying to turn-- I am worried about crashing in that case.  The two ships I am using seem to do autopilot well (I've kept the ship in the air for 10 days without changing controls).  I saw your ship is called the Marie Claire, is it in the workshop somewhere?  Does that get right down to the surface?

I thought of something else with the cameras....instead of putting them kilometers below the ship to better see the surface detail can I also put them a 100 or so meters below the ship and simply use the FOV controls as a "zoom lens" to zoom closer to the surface?  That way I could have more flexibility with the cameras, getting the view as if looking out of a window on the ship (like looking out of the window seat of an airplane) and when I want to see surface detail far below much better I can simply zoom in by selecting a smaller FOV?  Would that be just as detailed as putting a camera 10 km below the ship?  This would also avoid the problem of having the camera go below the surface mesh of the planet (which we really don't want) wouldn't it?  I also wonder what the camera would do if the ship was flying over an ocean and the altitude got lower than 10 km, would it just go below the water?  I wouldn't see any details though just the water all around me?  I'd rather have the camera near the ship and simply use the FOV controls to zoom in.
I haven't heard anything new that might have changed, but it used to be that there was just one flight model for in-atmosphere. Didn't matter what the ship was. Only thing that would make a difference is the various engine and thruster strengths.

Yes, I do believe certain autopilot modes will override some control functions. Do you have a joystick? Haven't had one myself for a long time now, but really the best way to fly an aircraft.

As for the cameras... just try moving them, see if you like it. If not, move it somewhere else. Won't hurt anything.

990x-00548.jpg

Settings menu/Controls/Ship Controls. Don't forget to scroll down.

As for the Mary Claire, that's just a repurposed Star Wars Executor class ship I've added many greebles to. It is not on Steam or anywhere else (I'm sure there would be more than a few Star Wars fans that would go ballistic over my sacrilege). It lends itself well to acting as a cruise ship — just look at all those casinos and discos along the top, and rows and rows of passenger staterooms along the sides. :) MVB Cruise Lines — The Most Spectacular Sights in the Galaxy. Someday I would like to build my own Mary Claire, but Blender has such a steep learning curve for even the simplest of things, and the interface seems so counter-intuitive.... but I digress...  More pictures!
Thanks fellow Alex, I had no idea about this!  I don't have a joystick but can I  access all of these with my keyboard and mouse? I have an old Tandy "deluxe" joystick back from the late 80s in a closet somewhere lol, it's a serial port joystick so probably would not work for any current computer lol.
Maybe it will give me finer control of where I want the ship to go and help me to make turns like the way you described?  Do these extra functions work even with autopilot hold altitude on?  I saved the image!

About how the ships seem much more stable with hold altitude on, I dont know if it's really changed in the new version as I did not use these two ships before, but I can say from personal experience before the update none of the other ships I was using automatically controlled hover engines when the ship got too low during autopilot hold altitude and pulled it back up!  Remember the "old days" last year when I was asking how to keep an interstellar ship just above the surface of a planet (after a long warp journey-- I really didn't want to piggyback a shuttle, I wanted a do it all starship) for 12 hours?  That doesn't seem to be a problem anymore thanks to these automatically adjusting hover engines.

I'll try the old ships too-- but so far these 2 ships are a joy to use for level flight above a planet and they are good for interstellar and intergalactic flight too!  On my 11th day of flying above a planet now, new record!
Last edited by A-L-E-X on 09 Jan 2023 11:31, edited 1 time in total.
 
A-L-E-X
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Re: Image Dump

09 Jan 2023 11:27

It's different with each ship, Alex, maybe the science of the game makes the physics behave differently with each ship?
I keep my speeds very slow now, acceleration is set to 3 which seems to be the magic number to keep the flight steady, but the ship simply will not go in any direction aside from the random direction it sets for itself at the beginning.  Right now the speed is around 200 m/sec.  Also how does one bank-- do I need to turn off autopilot hold altitude?   Should I set all engines to 0 when trying to turn-- I am worried about crashing in that case.  The two ships I am using seem to do autopilot well (I've kept the ship in the air for 10 days without changing controls).  I saw your ship is called the Marie Claire, is it in the workshop somewhere?  Does that get right down to the surface?

I thought of something else with the cameras....instead of putting them kilometers below the ship to better see the surface detail can I also put them a 100 or so meters below the ship and simply use the FOV controls as a "zoom lens" to zoom closer to the surface?  That way I could have more flexibility with the cameras, getting the view as if looking out of a window on the ship (like looking out of the window seat of an airplane) and when I want to see surface detail far below much better I can simply zoom in by selecting a smaller FOV?  Would that be just as detailed as putting a camera 10 km below the ship?  This would also avoid the problem of having the camera go below the surface mesh of the planet (which we really don't want) wouldn't it?  I also wonder what the camera would do if the ship was flying over an ocean and the altitude got lower than 10 km, would it just go below the water?  I wouldn't see any details though just the water all around me?  I'd rather have the camera near the ship and simply use the FOV controls to zoom in.
I haven't heard anything new that might have changed, but it used to be that there was just one flight model for in-atmosphere. Didn't matter what the ship was. Only thing that would make a difference is the various engine and thruster strengths.

Yes, I do believe certain autopilot modes will override some control functions. Do you have a joystick? Haven't had one myself for a long time now, but really the best way to fly an aircraft.

As for the cameras... just try moving them, see if you like it. If not, move it somewhere else. Won't hurt anything.

990x-00548.jpg

Settings menu/Controls/Ship Controls. Don't forget to scroll down.

As for the Mary Claire, that's just a repurposed Star Wars Executor class ship I've added many greebles to. It is not on Steam or anywhere else (I'm sure there would be more than a few Star Wars fans that would go ballistic over my sacrilege). It lends itself well to acting as a cruise ship — just look at all those casinos and discos along the top, and rows and rows of passenger staterooms along the sides. :) MVB Cruise Lines — The Most Spectacular Sights in the Galaxy. Someday I would like to build my own Mary Claire, but Blender has such a steep learning curve for even the simplest of things, and the interface seems so counter-intuitive.... but I digress...  More pictures!
Wow excellent work, my friend!  Do you have any cockpit cameras set up inside the ship to view those casinos, discos and passenger staterooms from the inside? I love views through windows-- ever since I was a kid I loved the "window seat" in airplanes and trains lol.

Did you know a new "air hotel" is in the works-- basically a resort hotel that will stay 10 miles above the ground and planes will fly to it and out of it, bringing tourists in and out.  The concept looks amazing-- these windows and views are something I would want!

https://nypost.com/2022/06/27/inside-gi ... for-years/

Just look at this-- can we make something like this for SE?

A giant nuclear-powered ‘flying hotel’, complete with a gym and swimming pool is set to carry 5,000 passengers in unparalleled luxury.
A new CGI video details how the AI-piloted Sky Cruise plans to remain airborne for months at a time, while also docking to take on new passengers, or to drop off anyone board.
The futuristic hybrid between a plane and hotel – which has 20 engines powered by nuclear fusion – is designed never to land.
Hashem Alghaili, who created the incredibly detailed mockup of the monster aircraft, says the nuclear-powered sky cruise “could be the future of transport”.
Designed to run 24/7, Alghaili even adds that running repairs would be carried out in-flight – a first in aviation.
And, when asked how many people it would take to fly this gigantic plane, he said: “All this technology and you still want pilots?
“I believe it will be fully autonomous”.
Despite plans for a man-less ride, the Sky Cruise will still require plenty of staff on board to be at every passengers beck and call.

The greatly detailed video also promises restaurants, a gigantic shopping mall, a gym, theatre and even a swimming pool – all in the sky.
The promotional clip also promises the human boarded UFO to be the perfect wedding venue, if you’re brave enough.
And it would be perfect as the Sky Cruise offers a panoramic hall, offering breath-taking 360 degree views of the outside.

Look at the top part, a full view of the sky with a swimming pool installed!
 
Mr. Abner
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Re: Image Dump

09 Jan 2023 13:59

Wow excellent work, my friend!  Do you have any cockpit cameras set up inside the ship to view those casinos, discos and passenger staterooms from the inside? I love views through windows-- ever since I was a kid I loved the "window seat" in airplanes and trains lol.

I'm afraid not, all the textures are fairly low res (and the model itself is not terribly well detailed) — looks okay from a distance, but very blocky and pixelated up close.  (Still studying the Blender manual... still hope to build one from scratch someday...)  Oh... I do occasionally put one in a giant observation dome I placed on the bottom of the ship. No internal details at all, thought. :(

Did you know a new "air hotel" is in the works-- basically a resort hotel that will stay 10 miles above the ground and planes will fly to it and out of it, bringing tourists in and out.  The concept looks amazing-- these windows and views are something I would want!

https://nypost.com/2022/06/27/inside-gi ... for-years/

Just look at this-- can we make something like this for SE?

I dunno... looks rather impractical. Actually reminds me of something the Jerry Anderson crew might come up with for a Thunderbirds episode. :)

I'd think that for something you want to stay aloft for prolonged periods you might use lighter-than-air technology. Helium? And solar-powered electric motors. I don't think you'd want to be flying around with any kind of nuclear reactor on board. :o
 
A-L-E-X
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Re: Image Dump

10 Jan 2023 01:03

Wow excellent work, my friend!  Do you have any cockpit cameras set up inside the ship to view those casinos, discos and passenger staterooms from the inside? I love views through windows-- ever since I was a kid I loved the "window seat" in airplanes and trains lol.

I'm afraid not, all the textures are fairly low res (and the model itself is not terribly well detailed) — looks okay from a distance, but very blocky and pixelated up close.  (Still studying the Blender manual... still hope to build one from scratch someday...)  Oh... I do occasionally put one in a giant observation dome I placed on the bottom of the ship. No internal details at all, thought. :(

Did you know a new "air hotel" is in the works-- basically a resort hotel that will stay 10 miles above the ground and planes will fly to it and out of it, bringing tourists in and out.  The concept looks amazing-- these windows and views are something I would want!

https://nypost.com/2022/06/27/inside-gi ... for-years/

Just look at this-- can we make something like this for SE?

I dunno... looks rather impractical. Actually reminds me of something the Jerry Anderson crew might come up with for a Thunderbirds episode. :)

I'd think that for something you want to stay aloft for prolonged periods you might use lighter-than-air technology. Helium? And solar-powered electric motors. I don't think you'd want to be flying around with any kind of nuclear reactor on board. :o
Haha and that's what the comments said-- not wise to have nuclear tech like that in the skies for prolonged periods of times....there are such things as jet streams and air turbulence that can wreak havoc.
I suppose it would be safer in the stratosphere but still a risk.

About changing the numbers for the ailerons and rudders and elevators-- how would I bring them back to default values?  Do they automatically go back to default when I create a new ship or restart SE?

Can I alter them even when autopilot hold altitude is running?  I suspect they would help me change direction more smoothly, but don't know how well they work with that autopilot hold altitude setting on?
 
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Re: Image Dump

10 Jan 2023 07:50

I take it these things can be changed even with the autopilot hold altitude on--
Attack Angle (0.02) (looks like this changes automatically so maybe I shouldn't change this myself)
Sideslip Angle (0.02) but the notation says Autopilot so maybe that can't be changed
Elevator (0.00)
Rudder (0.00)
Ailerons (0.00)
Flaps (0.00)

So using the keyboard shortcuts to alter these should help me turn the ship more smoothly even with the autopilot hold distance on?  Would any new ship I create of the same type or restart of the program cause everything to go back to default values?

Also, how come some of these controls use the same keys?  How would I select which one to use?  For example I see from your settings screenshot two of them use Numpad 6 and Numpad 4 (rudder and ailerons), so how would I select which setting to change if they both use the same keys?  Also can you show the screenshot for the Flaps control, that part got cut off.  And what does + Mouse X and - Mouse Y mean-- is that if I'm using two mice or the XY axis movement of a single mouse (+ Mouse Y moving the mouse up and - Mouse Y moving it down, or + Mouse X moving the mouse right and - Mouse X moving the mouse left? And is this done in conjunction with the keypad or as an alternative?)  Thanks!
 
Mr. Abner
World Builder
World Builder
Posts: 695
Joined: 08 Jun 2017 17:05
Location: Mississauga

Re: Image Dump

10 Jan 2023 12:48

I take it these things can be changed even with the autopilot hold altitude on--
Attack Angle (0.02) (looks like this changes automatically so maybe I shouldn't change this myself)
Sideslip Angle (0.02) but the notation says Autopilot so maybe that can't be changed
Elevator (0.00)
Rudder (0.00)
Ailerons (0.00)
Flaps (0.00)

So using the keyboard shortcuts to alter these should help me turn the ship more smoothly even with the autopilot hold distance on?  Would any new ship I create of the same type or restart of the program cause everything to go back to default values?

Also, how come some of these controls use the same keys?  How would I select which one to use?  For example I see from your settings screenshot two of them use Numpad 6 and Numpad 4 (rudder and ailerons), so how would I select which setting to change if they both use the same keys?  Also can you show the screenshot for the Flaps control, that part got cut off.  And what does + Mouse X and - Mouse Y mean-- is that if I'm using two mice or the XY axis movement of a single mouse (+ Mouse Y moving the mouse up and - Mouse Y moving it down, or + Mouse X moving the mouse right and - Mouse X moving the mouse left? And is this done in conjunction with the keypad or as an alternative?)  Thanks!
Those numbers show the current position of the control surfaces (except sideslip and angle of attack), if using your controls has no effect on them, then the autopilot will likely have full control over them.

As for why there are two different control options for thrusters and control surfaces, I have no idea. When do airplane surface controls take over from thrusters? I have no idea — I imagine when the dynamic pressure is high enough. When is that? I have no idea. Can you use both at the same time? I have no idea, and why would I want to? Even though there is a flaps control, I do not believe any flaps functionality has ever been implemented in SE.

The keys you assign to the controls is a global SE attribute. Any ship you use will use those key controls.  Mouse-X and Mouse-Y refers to the two different axes of one mouse.

You're asking the wrong person about these features, you need to ask one of the programmers. And the most likely answer will be "It's still very much a work-in-progress — didn't you read the warning when you clicked on the "Flight Simulator" button?" Good luck. :)

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