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Space Shuttle

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Re: Space Shuttle

Postby Thorsten » Tue Dec 13, 2016 11:51 am

Is it possible to assign different fonts in the same SVG?


Possible yes - but now we're talking about 'by text element' assignments.

The hope would be to get 95% right by assigning one font to the DPS pages and then do the last 5% by hand - but right now the problem is that sizes of the SSU fonts don't match, and I have no idea how to modify a ttf font to have the same bounding boxes as another monospace font.
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Re: Space Shuttle

Postby Thorsten » Tue Dec 13, 2016 11:57 am

But the real fps killer is the PFD. Worse in my case, maximizing PFD settings doesn't only cut fps by half, but also introduces an almost imperceptible but annoying stuttering each 2-3 seconds


Did you actually use the quality slider? By sacrificing a modest amount of detail, this ought to get *much* lighter.
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Re: Space Shuttle

Postby Thorsten » Fri Dec 16, 2016 1:39 pm

Starting to install the various features of the original HUD - note the aim point/touchdown point markers...

Image
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Re: Space Shuttle

Postby wlbragg » Fri Dec 16, 2016 6:39 pm

Cool, maybe I can effect a better landing :) Although at 4-8 FPS I doubt it is going to help me much.
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Re: Space Shuttle

Postby Thorsten » Fri Dec 16, 2016 6:43 pm

Likely not. Situational awareness is *much* better using the FG-native HUD, the view during final flare is pretty poor from in-cockpit.
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Re: Space Shuttle

Postby amalahama » Fri Dec 16, 2016 11:11 pm

I'm full of happiness to see the first baby steps on the HUD, but I have to say that graphically lags several generation behind current military flightsims:

* HUD is a projection, and therefore is not completely opaque, neither is affected by shadows.
* Because is a projection focused on infinity, the image is optically collimated, and therefore it looks like "fixed" in relation with the world (it's not affected by the PoV)

This is what a state-of-the-art HUD in a military flight sim looks like:

Image
(When moving the difference is more prominent, specially due to the collimation effect)

This is a generic critics about the FG HUD representation. At least the collimation effect would be nice to have, not only for Shuttle but in general as well, otherwise I don't see how the runway point markers are going to work properly.

Regarding the specifics of Space shuttle HUD, I think lines are too thick and numbers too big. Just as reference

Image

Also regarding the typefont, you can first try with Larabiefont, it fits well although no perfect, but definitively better than the font you're using.

I can't wait to land in KSC in a CAT III approach with the shuttle using the synthetic runway representation in the HUD! Although as I side note, I think Shuttle HUD was never certified as a primary flight instrument.

Regards!
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Re: Space Shuttle

Postby Thorsten » Sat Dec 17, 2016 8:10 am

Starting to install the various features of the original HUD


Adding features usually comes in my checklist above polishing appearance. As for the projection discussion, let's say I am aware of what needs to be done.

Regarding the specifics of Space shuttle HUD, I think lines are too thick and numbers too big. Just as reference


At some point, it also has to be usable, aka you need to be able to read the numbers without having to zoom in too much.
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Re: Space Shuttle

Postby Thorsten » Mon Dec 19, 2016 4:48 pm

After beating the guidance for this into shape for a few days, the HUD is now actually useful in both TAEM and approach mode. Here's my last test with the TAEM phase symbology.

Image

I've managed a few pretty good landings using the flare indicators in the approach mode. Note - for touchdown, de-clutter the HUD if you have the runway in view till you get the alphanumerical altitude rather than the tape, only that is any good to gauge descent rate.
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Re: Space Shuttle

Postby Thorsten » Tue Dec 20, 2016 11:08 am

Last element of the symbology - the runway outline so that you get a feeling for your approach even in overcast skies.

That's how it looks with a good state vector:

Image

... and that's how it looks with a not-so-good state vector:

Image

(which is why you shouldn't use this feature for the actual A/L phase...)
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Re: Space Shuttle

Postby amalahama » Tue Dec 20, 2016 1:26 pm

Very nice indeed!! Is the runway outline behavior when flying off-nominal intended?

I was thinking of printing the deluxe manual, but because I understand it's a living document I'm afraid that it will get outdated pretty fast. For future revisions, could you add "change bars", so we know exactly what changed and print only the updated chapters? Depending on the text editor you use it can be done automatically. Or at least a list with the modified chapters would be nice.

The deluxe manual adds some extremely interesting chapters, but something I miss it's a comprehensive description of the Shuttle flight dynamics in both atmospheric and orbital environments (something you already have in the wiki actually) and a more in-deep explanation of the DAP.

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Re: Space Shuttle

Postby Thorsten » Tue Dec 20, 2016 2:14 pm

Is the runway outline behavior when flying off-nominal intended?


Sorry, I don't understand the question. From the (sparse) description I've found in SCOM, it's a function of de-clutter level whether you see this or not, it doesn't require a nominal glideslope or anything.

Which may or may not be wrong.

For future revisions, could you add "change bars", so we know exactly what changed and print only the updated chapters?


Should be easy to provide a version with all added paragraphs since the last revision highlighted (it's LaTeX, which means it's easy to do almost anything) on the download area in addition to the 'clean last'.

but something I miss it's a comprehensive description of the Shuttle flight dynamics in both atmospheric and orbital environments (something you already have in the wiki actually)


Atmospheric flight dynamics I plan to add in an appendix at some point. Orbital navigation will come once the avionics adds a little more support for it (I suppose that's what you mean?)

DAP explanation I don't really know what you're missing - could you elaborate?
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Re: Space Shuttle

Postby amalahama » Tue Dec 20, 2016 2:49 pm

Thorsten wrote in Tue Dec 20, 2016 2:14 pm:Sorry, I don't understand the question. From the (sparse) description I've found in SCOM, it's a function of de-clutter level whether you see this or not, it doesn't require a nominal glideslope or anything.


Sorry, it was my fault! Actually I didn't read the remark about the state vector and I though the disagreement between "reality" and the runway outline was due to the current attitude of the shuttle - but my question now is, is the data needed for outline runway fed by the ILS/MLS or by the INS?

Atmospheric flight dynamics I plan to add in an appendix at some point. Orbital navigation will come once the avionics adds a little more support for it (I suppose that's what you mean?)


Yes, it's exactly what I meant. Good to know :)

DAP explanation I don't really know what you're missing - could you elaborate?


A complete chapter describing the different DAP schemes in orbit and transition modes is available in the wiki, in the deluxe manual you refers to the DAP here and there in several sections but you didn't reserve a whole chapter for such an important element of the Shuttle, something I miss. It's just a personal appreciation, you can rather leave the way it's now and that's totally fine.

Regards
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Re: Space Shuttle

Postby Thorsten » Tue Dec 20, 2016 5:02 pm

but my question now is, is the data needed for outline runway fed by the ILS/MLS or by the INS?


Nominally before intercepting MLS it ought to be driven by TACAN, after intercepting MLS that would largely replace the state vector.

At this point in-sim it's just fiddling around - in the near future, there'll be a state vector error simulation during entry where subsequently air data probes, TACAN signal and MLS improve the state vector and you can add manual offsets on SPEC 50.

Currently just some elements of this are in place - radar altimeter needs to be on to get radar alt (though you can't switch it off), MLS intercept is checked but not used yet, I vaguely remember TACAN signal is checked,...
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Re: Space Shuttle

Postby amalahama » Wed Dec 21, 2016 1:01 am

Thorsten wrote in Tue Dec 20, 2016 2:14 pm:(it's LaTeX, which means it's easy to do almost anything)


I don't use LaTeX anymore, but I remember with fondness the old days when I used it a lot for my degree projects . For my thesis I wrote a parser in MATLAB that automatically format, copy and paste all the plots in a LaTeX document... basically the thesis wrote itself :lol:

Regards!
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Re: Space Shuttle

Postby Thorsten » Wed Dec 21, 2016 7:34 am

Heh - quite a while back I told my wife to use it for her thesis, and in her field it wasn't a wide-spread tool then, so when they re-formated a document, they had to manually fix all page references. Which led to some incredulous stares from her co-workers when she ran the document through a different format definition and the references were all just taken care of automagically :mrgreen:

(actually, also the two versions of the manual are in fact the same document controlled by a single flag in the header and liberal use of the \ifthenelse package...)
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