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- Virtual cockpit support, including active MFDs and instruments, mouse-activated controls, animations, viewpoint-corrected HUD.
- Viewpoint direction can now be rotated in virtual cockpit and other cockpit view modes. Support for camera rotation via mouse-drag.
- New delta-glider external mesh, including high-resolution textures. New delta-glider virtual cockpit.
- DG-S (scramjet version) added, as a reference implementation for air-breathing supersonic engine support.
- Gravity calculation for nonspherical bodies.
- Vessels and surface objects defined by meshes can cast shadows on the ground. In 32-bit modes shadow appearance can be improved (semi-opaque) by stencil buffering.
- MFD upgrades: Orbit MFD can now display parameters in equatorial frame of reference, Map MFD supports zoom and track, Align Plane MFD supports target plane definition by parameters.
- More functionality for ground camera: convert current camera pos to ground observer mode, specify position with equatorial coordinates.
- Corrected spectral dependence of specular reflection from planet surface w.r.t. angle of incidence.
- New rendering algorithm for planetary atmospheric haze improves visual realism from orbit.
- Improved rendering of planets with clouds and ring systems. New configuration parameters for planetary atmospheres.
- Planets seen through an atmosphere are now tinted with the background colour.
- Added more tiles to KSC.
- Modified "pixel block" rendering of planets (reduced blockiness and correct colours at 16bpp)
- Keyboard mapper for custom key assignment. Key associations can be modified in keymap.cfg.
- New callback interface for vessel modules. VESSEL2 interface now includes callback methods, removing the need for standalone (ovc) callback functions.
- New planet module API interface. Planet modules now create an instance of a CELBODY-derived class and respond to callback methods.
- Updated planet ephemeris code. Offset between heliocentric and barycentric coordinates is now included. Each planet now has its own module, accessing the VSOP driver (vsop87.dll).
- New lunar ephemeris code. Now uses ELP2000-82 perturbation solution. This removes inconsistencies in state vector calculations (also fixes the lunar surface sliding bug).
- New ephemerides for Galilean Jupiter moons. Now use analytic perturbation code (GALSAT), eliminating long-term stability problems.
- Orbiter can now be run in demo/kiosk mode: Automatic reset after a given maximum simulation time, automatic launch of demo scenarios, preventing users from accessing configuration tabs in the launchpad dialog.
- Improved orbit stabilisation code. Stabilised trajectories are now based on osculating elements w.r.t. primary gravity source. Only perturbations are propagated dynamically.
- Various bug fixes and small additions.
- Various bug fixes (details in 031217change.txt)
- Specular reflection from water surfaces: modified colour distribution
- Cloud shadows projected on planetary surfaces supported
- Planets are now rendered at larger distances.
- Orbiter now uses the Hipparcos star database with 100000+ stars.
- Ecliptic and eclestial grids can now be displayed with the F9 ("Planetarium") function, as well as planet and vessel labels. New Ctrl-F9 dialog for selecting display features.
- TransX MFD upgraded to v3.05.
- Mouse wheel supported for changing camera-target distance.
- Level 9 textures for polar regions are now supported. Surface base texture tiles are now supported for the southern hemisphere.
- Celestial body info has been moved from the simulation window to the info dialog (Ctrl-I). Vessel thrust ratings are now also displayed in the info dialog. Onscreen info-blocks in the top right and top left corners of the simulation window have been cleaned up.
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Planets now support resolution level 9. Currently they are
implemented for Earth only (but maybe the planet builders
among you will take care of others). Unlike the lower levels, not
the whole surface needs to be covered. Any "missing" patches
at level 9 will be filled with a lower resolution. The level
9 textures of a planet involve 2 files, _tile.tex
which contains the actual texture maps, and _tile.bin
which contains information about the texture coverage. There
is a tool "TileManager" in the orbiter directory which allows
to edit these files. The level 9 tiles in the Textures2 directory
contain pretty much all of Earth's land area. The tiles in the
Textures directory only contain the Golf of Mexico area. (Note
that you can use level 9 tiles even if the resolution level of
the "standard textures" is less than 8.)
As a result of the new resolution level I had to reorganise
the way reflective (water) surfaces are handled. Before, water
surfaces were kept in a file _water.tex, where land
areas were masked out. Now, these are replaced with
_lmask.tex and _lmask.bin which contain the
*land* areas, while the *water* areas are masked out (i.e. the
other way round). Also, only those patches which contain both
land and water areas are required, therefore the size of the
texture file may be smaller than before. The latest version
of pltex supports this feature. Earth uses new land mask data
which contains more inland water areas. This puts a bit more
strain on the renderer, but the effect is quite spectacular. Try
looking across Canada against the sun, or check the Amazon river
glittering in the sun ... (eh, sorry, got carried away).
You can also use pltex to generate texture files for level 9
tiles from a sufficiently large planet map (32768x16384 or larger).
The help system of TileManager contains more information.
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KSC:
The KSC area has moved and got slightly
squashed in longitude. This means that some scenarios may be
out of date. I think I fixed all the standard ones, but make
sure any of yours still work. Also the Lc39 launch pad has been
rotated. Shuttles should now have a lauch orientation of around
180 degrees (tail fin pointing south)
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Particle systems:
Supported for engine exhaust and reentry flames. To get them for
exhaust you need to explicitly define them in the vessel dll.
This is currently done for the deltaglider and Atlantis, until
I get around to do the other standard vessels as well. Reentry
flames are default, but the standard one can be augmented by more
fancy components.
The particle systems are quite extensively configurable (particle
generation rate, initial velocity and velocity randomisation,
grow rate, life time, fading behaviour ...
Have a look at the API documentation (guide and reference) and
the glider and Atlantis sources for details. In particular you
can specify the particles as either emissive (glowing) or diffuse
(e.g. vapour clouds). A mixture of both seems to look quite
attractive.
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This version includes all of Duncan's modified planet masses. This
provides better compatibility between planet masses and orbits, which
will solve some problems with trajectory prediction.
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New atmosphere models. Radial temperature profiles are now supported.
They are coded into the planet dlls. (Can't remember if I have
already written the documentation for this, but in any case it
will appear eventually). This is currently implemented for Earth and
Mars. For Earth, I am using a "standard model" I found in some
aerodynamics textbook (see API guide for details). Essentially this
means that pressure at high altitudes is now lower than before, which
at the moment makes it easier to get into orbit (but this may all
change with the new flight model). The surface MFD has a few new
readouts for temperature, static and dynamic pressure, and Mach
number.
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New flight model.
The atmospheric flight model has undergone major reworking. Atmospheric
parameters are now specified by defining airfoils for vessels, each
of which can have individual profiles for lift, drag and moment
coefficients. Drag calculation is more detailed. In particular,
vessels can now define Mach-number dependent wave drag to simulate
transonic and supersonic drag effects.
This new flight model will be most beneficial for winged vessels and
lifting bodies, such as the Delta-glider and Shuttle, but should also
make launch and reentry of capsules more realistic.
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Aerodynamic control surfaces are supported now. This is currently
implemented for the glider and shuttle in the stock orbiter distribution.
The glider panel has a switch to turn on/off user input to the
control surfaces. Attitude thrusters have been down-rated since
they are no longer required at low altitudes. The shuttle can now
be flown with rudder and elevons during final descent. When you
launch the glider you will notice how the control surfaces become
less effective as you gain altitude, up to the point where you
have to switch to RCS to maintain attitude control.
Glider control surfaces are animated.
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Orbiter now contains Duncan Sharpe's TransX MFD mode for advanced
planetary transfers. The MFD is provided as a plugin, so must be
activated in the module list before it can be used. Documentation
on how to use TransX can be found in the Doc folder.
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ISS has been replaced by Andrew's Project Alpha version. The
old mesh is still included, and some of the scenarios still use
the old one. I'll convert those gradually, but maybe I'll keep
a few "legacy" scenarios for people whose machines can't cope
with the new model.
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Moon textures have been replaced with Jens Meyer's version.
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Venus textures have been replaced with BigJimW's version (including
surface textures and cloud layer).
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Shuttle models have been replaced with donamy's (orbiter) and
slat's (ET and SRBs) meshes. Shuttle RMS arm can now be controlled
via dialog (Ctrl-Space). Payloads can be released and _recaptured_
with the RMS! A few scenarios with Hubble Space telescope (HST)
and LDEF satellite have been added to demonstrate this. Shuttle
rudder speedbrake and glider speedbrakes can be activated with
Ctrl-B.
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Dialogs: User-defined dialog boxes now work in fullscreen mode.
I have put a dialog template into the SDK samples directory, and
extended the old rcontrol plugin to something which may actually
be useful. There is also a new plugin called "FlightData" which may
come handy especially if you are testing the flight model. There is
a "Custom functions" dialog (ctrl-f4) where addon developers can
deposit links to their dialog boxes (and other plugin functions).
The main menu (previously ctrl-f4) is now f4. I have added a few
examples (source available in the SDK package): extended remote
vessel control, visual flight data display, and graphical frame
rate display.
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New camera modes (movable ground camera, either slaved to target or
freely rotatable), and ability to create camera mode preset lists
for quick view selection (accessible via Camera dialog, Ctrl-F1).
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The joystick tab now lets you select the axis for the throttle
control. I have no idea if that actually works, but if any of
you has a joystick with defunct throttle (I think Duncan has)
please give it a try. If it doesn't work, I may have to bury the
hope of getting the throttle to work under XP (short of upgrading
to a newer DX SDK).
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Extensive modifications to the flight model, including improved ground contact handling. The delta glider can now take off from a runway. It also supports wheel brakes.
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Major changes to thruster definitions. Thrusters can now be addressed individually or in "logical group". Many restrictions have been removed. In particular, thrusters can now induce linear and angular moments simultaneously. This enhances realism, but requires more discipline by spacecraft designers.
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Introduction of fuel resources. Different thrusters can be attached to different fuel resources. Attitude thrusters now consume fuel by default.
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Vessel-vessel docking is now supported. Docking clearance is no longer required. Old-style space stations are still supported for the moment, but all stations should be converted to vessels at some stage.
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New vessel type "Dragonfly" designed for assembling structures in orbit. The Dragonfly comes with panels and electrical/environmental systems designed by Radu Poenaru, and mesh enhancements by Roger Long.
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Completely redesigned Shuttle-A by Roger Long. Rotating engine pods make use of new thruster interface. Includes panels.
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Revised target selection for navigation instruments such as Launch/Land MFD and Docking mode: data are now passed via tunable NAV receivers. NAV signal transmitters can placed into spaceport scripts (e.g. locators for launch pads). New MFD mode (Shift-C) allows tuning of available receivers.
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New Information dialog (Ctrl-I) replaces the info display in external camera modes.
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Redesigned Surface MFD mode.
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Dialogs are now supported in fullscreen mode. Improved camera configuration dialog. Ctrl-F2 is now obsolete. Time acceleration dialog is now incorporated into the Orbiter core ("Warpcontrol" module removed)
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"Scenarios" folder now supports subdirectory structure. The directory structure is reflected in a selection tree in the Launchpad. This allows better grouping of addon scenarios.
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Added "focus-enable" state for vessels for restricted F3 selectability.
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Sun glare effects can now be turned off.
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Added scale transformation to VESSEL::MeshgroupTransform() method.
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Atlantis module: Now includes Robert Conley's functional arm with grappling and MMU capabilities.
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Atlantis module: improved cargo door animation sequence: starboard door now opens before port door, front radiators are deployed after doors are fully open.
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Atlantis module: extensive modifications to adjust new thruster model.
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Deltaglider module: Improved thruster manipulation in main panel. Added bottom panel for wheel brakes.
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Deltaglider now supports thrust vectoring for main thrusters via 1-axis gimbal mode.
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"Translation" animation mode is now supported.
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New Mir model, courtesy of Jason Benson (agent036)
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New VAB at KSC, courtesy of Valerio Oss.
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Now includes Robert Stettners Uranus-Neptune-moons package, adding Uranus moons Miranda, Ariel, Umbriel, Titania, Oberon, and Neptune moons Triton, Proteus, Nereid
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New generic components for surface bases: BeaconArray and RunwayLights, for improved runway/taxiway illumination, including approach path indicator.
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Fixed bug which caused angular velocity divergence at high time accelerations.
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Support for custom panels. Use F8 to toggle between onscreen instruments
and panel view. Initial implementation for Delta glider. Panels can be
scaled and scrolled. Multiple panels per vessel are supported.
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The Delta glider now comes with a completely new mesh, generously provided
by Roger "Frying Tiger" Long. It contains moving parts for landing gear,
nose cone docking and airlocks.
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Preliminary API interface for custom MFD modes. An ascent profile recorder
is provided in orbitersdk\samples\CustomMFD as an example.
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Mouse interface for panels implemented. Among other things, MFDs can now
be fully operated via the mouse (in panel mode).
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Switched key event handler for buffered keys from Wondows message loop
to DirectX. This may have an effect on key mapping on some keyboards.
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Implemented additional navcomp modes: "Turn prograde" (key "["), "Turn
retrograde" (key "]"), "Turn orbit-normal" (key ";") and "Turn orbit-antinormal"
(key "'").
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Fixed bug which caused Orbiter to run out of file handles.
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Fixed bug which caused initial velocity offset in vessels created by modules.
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Fixed bug which caused invalid initial orbital elements in moons defined
wrt the equatorial frame of the parent planet.
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More API functions. The API reference manual now contains 80+pages!
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Earth surface texture now uses the "Blue Marble" map from the NASA Visible
Earth project.
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Orbiter now supports rendering of emissive city light textures on planet
night sides. City light textures for Earth are included.
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Support for reflective ocean surfaces. Included for Earth.
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F3 now allows to switch to any vessel any time.
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Reference objects for Orbit and Docking HUD can now be manually selected
with Ctrl-M.
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Atlantis module: SRB thrust at separation adjusted to 5% max. SRBs no longer
overtake the orbiter after separation.
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Numerous minor bug fixes.
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Bugfix: ShuttleA and ShuttlePB can lift off again with hover thrusters.
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ShuttlePB now implemented as module.
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Bugfix in Atlantis module which caused crashes during liftoff.
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Bugfix in SDK which resulted in inconsistent state vectors.
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Additional SDK functions, including retrieval of orbital elements.
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Fixed a bug which prevented the Deltaglider from taking off.
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The flight model realism can now be selected via the "Complex flight model"
box in the Parameters tab. As a result, the original and MK2 versions of
the Deltaglider have been merged.
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The manual is now provided in PDF format (Doc\Orbiter.pdf), so it can be
viewed with Acrobat Reader and does not require MS Word.
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This version features Orbiter's first "realistic" spacecraft type: Space
Shuttle Atlantis, based on Javier Fernandez' superb model. This is also
a reference example for the extended API interface. Features include:
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Realistic behaviour of solid rocket boosters (SRB). SRBs fire as soon as
the main engines reach full thrust, and can not be turned off once ignited.
SRBs separate 126 seconds after ignition.
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Main tank can be jettisoned.
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Mesh animation: Payload bay doors and landing gear can be operated.
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Fixed bug causing crashes when turning off object shadows.
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Extensive additional API functions, including a vessel interface.
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The extended flight model is now default for the DeltaGlider, the Glider
Mk2 class has been removed.
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Improved and debugged the shipedit utility in the orbitersdk\tools directory.
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The full source code for the Atlantis module is included in the SDK. This
should provide a good starting point for the development of complex customised
spacecraft.
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Preliminary implementation of runway touchdown for Atlantis.
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Added specular reflection effects (e.g. shiny solar panels). Can be enabled
from the launchpad.
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Improved planetary positions. Orbiter now uses VSOP87 perturbation terms
for Mercury to Neptune. VSOP87 code is encapsulated in a separate module
with public interface, so can be replaced by the user.
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Improved lunar position using perturbation terms. Accuracy is now sufficient
to recreate eclipses.
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Adjusted Earth's siderial day by ~1sec to 23h 56m 4.09s. Sunrise and sunset
times should now be fairly accurate.
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New integration scheme improves stability at 1000x time acceleration.
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Orbiter now supports programming interface (preliminary version). Added
an SDK (software development kit) package which includes headers and libraries
for addon development.
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Planetary texture tool (pltex) has been moved into the SDK package.
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Support for cloud layers added: Earth clouds are now rendered as a separate
layer down to ground level.
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Atmospheric "horizon glow" support added.
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Modified Sun texture.
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More eye-candy: Nicer engine exhaust flare.
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Saturn moons added: Mimas, Enceladus, Tethys, Dione, Rhea, Titan
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ISS mesh improved (plus new docking port)
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Added Mir station.
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Added Transfer orbit MFD mode.
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Orbit MFD now supports open (e >= 1) orbits.
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Fixed bug in Orbit MFD which caused crashes when selecting planets as targets.
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Fixed teleport bug when selecting new docking target while docked.
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Fixed bug which kept main engine going when out of fuel.
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Fixed bug which caused jumps in vessel position.
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Fixed bug causing crashes in Orbit sync MFD.
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Target selectable in Docking MFD (Shift-T)
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Added MFD parameter menu support (Shift-`)
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Mesh format has changed slightly - modellers and mesh converter developers
should check out the format in the '3DModel' SDK document.
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"Derailed trains" bug fixed.
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"Launchpad" startup dialog for improved parameter selection. Includes video
mode, joystick parameters, simulation parameters and scenario load.
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Modified configuration interface: Spacecraft parameters now in scenario
file, instead of individual .cfg files. Spacecraft references in Solsys.cfg
no longer required.
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Online help via Launchpad (preliminary).
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Pause function (Ctrl-P) implemented, optionally with movable external camera.
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New flight model (experimental, currently only used by GliderMk2 class):
Modified atmospheric flight characteristics, modified rotation mode.
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Improved Map MFD: moons and ships can now be selected as orbit targets
(Shift-T); reference planet/moon is user-selectable (Shift-R); removed
bug in display of orbital planes.
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Improved Orbit MFD: Selectable reference (Shift-R), extended target selection
(Shift-T), indicator for G-field contribution of reference, auto-reference
selection (Shift-A), removed bug when switching reference.
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Improved Docking MFD: works now for vessels which do not dock along the
longitudinal axis.
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Improved Docking HUD: Negative velocity marker ('+'), and direction indicators
for offscreen target and velocity markers.
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Improved Orbit HUD: Direction indicator for offscreen prograde marker.
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Docking to other stations than ISS is now possible.
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Improved eccentricity calculation fixes problems with launch from Mars.
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Added Jovian moons Io, Europa, Ganymede and Callisto.
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Attitude fine control (10% max) for keyboard implemented (Ctrl-Numpad key
combinations). Linear forward/back attitude mode (Numpad-6/9) implemented.
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New vessel class: Balázs Patyi's nifty PTV single seater is now
included in Orbiter, with some interior design by myself.
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Time deceleration key is now 'R' instead of 'Ctrl-T', by popular demand.
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New instrumentation for rendezvous and docking manoeuvres with orbital
stations: "Synchronise Orbit" (Shift-Y) to intercept the station, "Docking"
(Shift-D) for final approach. Also new "Docking" HUD mode.
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Attitude thrusters can now be engaged in parallel pairs (translational
mode). Switch between rotational and linear mode with Numpad "/" key. Mode
indicator added to HUD.
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Corrected axis of rotation (obliquity and longitude of Sun's transit) for
all planets.
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Added Mars moons Phobos and Deimos.
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Inner/outer radius of Uranus ring system corrected.
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Orbital elements for secondary bodies (moons and orbital stations) can
now be specified with either the ecliptic or the parent body's equator
as frame of reference (config file option 'ElReference').
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New external camera modes: target-relative, absolute direction and global
frame. See manual for description. (F2 to toggle or Ctrl-F2 for menu -
note that the menu for external view targets is now accessed via Ctrl-F1).
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Instrument modes can now be selected via a menu (Shift-F1).
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Instruments can be made opaque for better readability (MFDTransparent entry
in Orbiter.cfg).
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Target object for Orbit MFD can now be selected with Shift-T.
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Selection lists rewritten and cleaned up.
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Extensive additions to the manual, including all new instruments and associated
manoeuvres, and a detailed check list for a complete flight from launch
to docking at the ISS.
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New resolution level for planetary surfaces: 8192x4096 (!) This requires
some serious 3D hardware (around 32MB texture memory and DXT1 texture compression
support). Earth, Moon and Mars textures at this resolution level are provided
as separate downloads. The standard ORBITER distribution contains textures
up to 4096x2048.
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Re-organised planet texture resolutions. 8 levels are now supported: 64x64,
128x128, 256x256, 512x256, 1024x512, 2048x1024, 4096x2048 and 8192x4096.
The following have been dropped: 512x512, 1024x1024 and 3072x1536.
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Included planetary texture tool (pltex) to allow users to generate their
own texture maps from planet surface bitmaps.
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Added Uranus and Neptune.
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Saturn has new surface texture.
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Saturn and Uranus have rings now. Shadows are partly implemented (planets
cast shadows on rings but not vice versa).
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Added generic mesh as surface base object type to allow inclusion of custom
objects. Removed remaining inconsistences in surface base definition file
format.
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Added section on planetary surface textures to the manual.
Build 13.2.01
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Fixed a bug in displaying constellations caused by invalid code optimisation
(release version only).
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A star catalogue containing ~16000 bright stars is now included. The actual
number of rendered background stars can be set in Orbiter.cfg via option
"NumStar". Star brightness can be adjusted with option "StarBrightness".
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Display of constellations can be toggled with F9 ("planetarium mode").
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Orbital elements for ISS improved.
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First lunar surface base opened.
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New instrument "Align orbital plane" (Shift-A) included. This aids in the
initial stages of rendezvous and transit maneuvers.
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Updates to the manual. Now contains a "Basic Flight Maneuvers" section
to explain some of the fundamental navigation methods.
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Limited fuel: Each spacecraft now contains a limited supply of fuel. The
ship's mass decreases during flight as fuel is burnt. The "Mass" entry
in the ship and class configuration files is now interpreted as "empty
mass". Two new options have been added: FuelMass and Isp (fuel-specific
impulse). Fuel level is displayed on the HUD above thruster settings. The
Orbiter.cfg now has an option "UnlimitedFuel" to ignore fuel consumption.
A ship is automatically refuelled after touching down on a landing pad.
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Selectable ships: Whenever the user-controlled ship has safely touched
down on a surface base landing pad, the user can jump into any ship currently
parked at the same base by pressing F3. Try flying the glider to Cape Canaveral,
hop into the little transporter, and return it to Habana.
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Blue sky: Background colour is adjusted to simulate light scattered in
the atmosphere when the observer is located within a planetary atmosphere.
Currently very simplistic (homogeneous, direction-independent)
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Additions to the Map Virtual Instrument (Shift-M): Projections of orbital
planes of ship and selected orbital station are now plotted.
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Major rewrite of the atmospheric flight model. The glider should now actually
glide in the atmosphere. Still more work to be done for ground contact/takeoff
scenarios.
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Delta glider now has trim control (Ctrl-Keypad2 and Ctrl-Keypad8) to manipulate
flight characteristics in atmospheric flight. Added visual trim control
display to HUD.
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Full support for dynamic surface object shadows.
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Modifications to surface base configuration files. Object lists are now
better structured, making it easier to generate custom bases. See documentation
for format.
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Turned off generic texture maps for Earth for the time being.
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Some joystick configuration options available via Orbiter.cfg.
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Included Doc directory which had been left out in the first release.
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Added "H-level" (L) navigation computer mode which keeps the ship level
w.r.t. the horizon. Also important for other high-level modes.
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Added "HoldAlt" (A) navigation computer mode which maintains current Altitude
above ground by modulating hover thrusters.
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Improvements to the surface base visuals.
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Preliminary object shadows.
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Some modifications to configuration files.
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