Customisable Cockpits in the CLB - Cockpit Layout Building

[KamikazeF0X]

When I was younger I was playing a lot with X-plane 7
Why ? The editors ! I've spent hours to try to make a plane and the most important feature for me was the Cockpit Editor
I loved how I can put gauges everywhere ! ^^

This could be nice in KSP !
We have advanced features thanks to the mods like ASET Props Pack, RasterPropMonitor or even B9 Aerospace
But we have nothing to put those screens, gauges, etc... (When i say "Nothing" I'm thinking about a Easy way to place things)

The main idea would be to have a CLB, Cockpit Layout Building
Inside this building you choose a empty cockpit then you put your assets like in the SPH or VAB with the same tools and interface
Every instruments would have a cost, making empty cockpit cheaper (But without Navball, Resource indicators and timer in exterior view)
But a full equipped cockpit will be giving a full range of informations but it will be very expensive !

Like the actual game there will have a standard layout for cockpits, like this someone inexperienced can still play the game without huge modifications to the gameplay

How to use a customised cockpit ?
Once your cockpit saved there is two solutions :

Solution 1 :
Your cockpit becomes a sub-assemblies or appear in the Cockpit tab of the part selector

Solution 2 :
Take the standard cockpit from the part selector
Put it on the vessel
Right-Click on the cockpit
Click on the "Custom Cockpit" button
Load your cockpit via the same interface than the vessel loader with a Thumbnail of the interior of the cockpit

 

So, I hope you appreciate my idea and -most important- I hope you understand me, because my English is ... terrible ...
Thanks for your attention !

[John FX]

I like this idea a lot. You could have the editor be basically sitting in the cockpit with dials and displays that can be placed with drag and drop, like the way we place parts now. To have different levels of cockpit there could be fixed placeholders to limit the amount of displays in a mk1 cockpit and give the mk 3 more options.

Obviously there should be default layouts so if nothing is selected then the new user still has a functioning craft.

Hopefully things like this will be considered more after 1.1 drops and memory is not such an issue. I`m also hoping the game won`t be held back for people who continue to use the 32 bit client...

[CaptainTurbomuffin]

IVA has no real potential currently. I think this would help that, and, custom cockpits could have a real use. It could be like selecting from forks in RPG games.

[KamikazeF0X]

47 minutes ago, CaptainTurbomuffin said:

IVA has no real potential currently. I think this would help that, and, custom cockpits could have a real use. It could be like selecting from forks in RPG games.

My solution can be helpful for the lack of proper instruments and low graphics issue (With the proper modelling)

For the visibility we could use external cameras and RPM
 

[Guest]

Adding something to IVA? Actual functionality? How absurd. 

[nli2work]

setting up IVA is no trivial task, especially if you want to incorporate RPM for all the extra functionality it provides. It would be a monumental task to incorporate all of RPM into some kind of in-game editor.

easier way is for people to distribute custom IVAs for various command pods as INTERNAL[] part; installed and used same as any other mod. There are quite a few out there already.

Edited February 25, 2016 by nli2work

[Wjolcz]

I like the idea. We could design cockpits ourselves and SQUAD wouldn't have to waste so much time putting stuff there. Just put the walls inside so we can add all those important clocks however we like. Not sure how hard an IVA editor would be to code, but if it worked just like the standard VAB/SPH editor with surface attachment I would be super happy about that.

Also adjusting the amount of windows and their shapes. High visibility Arado 234 cockpits on everything!

There was a time I used to be against procedural parts, but they just add too much freedom and design opportunities. Creativity is a good thing.

[John FX]

14 hours ago, nli2work said:

setting up IVA is no trivial task, especially if you want to incorporate RPM for all the extra functionality it provides. It would be a monumental task to incorporate all of RPM into some kind of in-game editor.

easier way is for people to distribute custom IVAs for various command pods as INTERNAL[] part; installed and used same as any other mod. There are quite a few out there already.

That would be easier to code but for the average user it would be good for the game (I am of the mind that any extra user customising options are good for the game) for there to be a way of making their own without breaking out the text editor. There is a good portion of people who would never edit their own displays in a text editor but who would do so in a screen similar to the VAB. One thing that would reduce the complexity of implementing a version of RPM would be to have fixed displays (like a Navball, an orbit info display, a map screen etc) that you just place on nodes inside an IVA rather than multifunction displays of varying sizes. That would fit also with the `Lego style` whilst giving extra info displays for those who brave fully IVA missions and at the same time not breaking immersion in the game.

Edited February 26, 2016 by John FX
clarity

[KamikazeF0X]

3 minutes ago, John FX said:

That would be easier to code but for the average user it would be good for the game (I am of the mind that any extra user customising options are good for the game) for there to be a way of making their own without breaking out the text editor. There is a good portion of people who would never do that. One thing that would reduce the complexity of implementing a version of RPM would be to have fixed displays (like a Navball, an orbit info display, a map screen etc) that you just place on nodes inside an IVA. That would fit also with the `Lego style` whilst giving extra info displays for those who brave fully IVA missions and at the same time not breaking immersion in the game.

That's exactly what I want to say !
I've tried one time to make my own cockpit with Notepad++ ... It's way too abstract !

For example, in X-Plane 7, when you want to setup a PFD you take a empty screen then you put the functionalities inside

[pizzaoverhead]

I've made some progress towards making this a possibility for a mod while working on FreeIVA. So far I can create IVA props and move them about:

http://imgur.com/a/E8s5g#47

If I ever get FreeIVA finished, I plan to make a customisable IVA mod. It would use a node system on the control panels similar to part attachments, with the IVA panels having a number of slots available. For early craft, you'd have to choose which instruments were the most important to you to fit within your panel's slots, available power and weight, but for later ones you could place have a gauge for every individual fuel tank and engine. Ideally you would have researchable instruments available on the tech tree, plus upgrades to capsules to provide more panel space for mounting instruments at the cost of weight and power consumption. You could start off with simple analogue instruments, on to single-purpose CRT screens, and eventually unlocking RPM's multifunction displays for full glass cockpits.

It doesn't need to be limited to gauges either. Placement of seats for crew and passengers, as well as oxygen tanks and supplies for life support mods could be made possible. With FreeIVA you'll be able to travel around inside the capsule and use these items, or discover that you've blocked yourself from getting to the hatches from the inside

[Deizelpunk]

On 2/25/2016 at 6:37 AM, pizzaoverhead said:

I've made some progress towards making this a possibility for a mod while working on FreeIVA. So far I can create IVA props and move them about:

http://imgur.com/a/E8s5g#47

If I ever get FreeIVA finished, I plan to make a customisable IVA mod. It would use a node system on the control panels similar to part attachments, with the IVA panels having a number of slots available. For early craft, you'd have to choose which instruments were the most important to you to fit within your panel's slots, available power and weight, but for later ones you could place have a gauge for every individual fuel tank and engine. Ideally you would have researchable instruments available on the tech tree, plus upgrades to capsules to provide more panel space for mounting instruments at the cost of weight and power consumption. You could start off with simple analogue instruments, on to single-purpose CRT screens, and eventually unlocking RPM's multifunction displays for full glass cockpits.

It doesn't need to be limited to gauges either. Placement of seats for crew and passengers, as well as oxygen tanks and supplies for life support mods could be made possible. With FreeIVA you'll be able to travel around inside the capsule and use these items, or discover that you've blocked yourself from getting to the hatches from the inside

I LIKE DIS! *heavy's voice* But seriously, this is a VERY cool idea! I may have to download free IVA and try it out now!

[Wjolcz]

On 2/26/2016 at 0:37 PM, pizzaoverhead said:

I've made some progress towards making this a possibility for a mod while working on FreeIVA. So far I can create IVA props and move them about:

http://imgur.com/a/E8s5g#47

If I ever get FreeIVA finished, I plan to make a customisable IVA mod. It would use a node system on the control panels similar to part attachments, with the IVA panels having a number of slots available. For early craft, you'd have to choose which instruments were the most important to you to fit within your panel's slots, available power and weight, but for later ones you could place have a gauge for every individual fuel tank and engine. Ideally you would have researchable instruments available on the tech tree, plus upgrades to capsules to provide more panel space for mounting instruments at the cost of weight and power consumption. You could start off with simple analogue instruments, on to single-purpose CRT screens, and eventually unlocking RPM's multifunction displays for full glass cockpits.

It doesn't need to be limited to gauges either. Placement of seats for crew and passengers, as well as oxygen tanks and supplies for life support mods could be made possible. With FreeIVA you'll be able to travel around inside the capsule and use these items, or discover that you've blocked yourself from getting to the hatches from the inside

That would be beyond amazing!

[MatttheCzar]

I like the idea of putting down seats.  Imagine the kerbal clipping montstosities people would have. 74 kerbals in one Mk 1-2...