Kerbal Cockpit Simulator

[Kotagi]

42 minutes ago, BlackHat said:

First of all your insane!!! Your actually building this thing!!!

Second, Where do you live... I definitely want to test it out when your finished.   (just joking)

As far as I know ALL the astronauts seats were mounted lying down when they boarded their spacecrafts. (ie when they were strapped in, they were laying on their backs as opposed to sitting upright prior to launch. So they could withstand the G-Force of take off without risking blacking out.

Best advice for your seats, make the seats mounted on Slider racks, so you can slide them back 1-2 feet, sit down, then rack them forward into position. [Looking at the photo probably stand behind the co-pilot seat, slide pilot seat back, get in from the inside and then slide forward]

Thank you. It's definitely a big project. I think building it will be the easy part, getting everything to work properly will be the hard part. But its really cool to be able to peruse everyones projects and see what others have done. Most others seem to have done a better job documenting everything..lol. When I first started I just wanted to be enclosed when I played. I was going to put a projector outside a porthole window to project the outside of the ship around me. But it definitely evolved quick. I didnt have any intention of making everything work until @richfiles showed me his meters working and that really made me think its better do make the panels slowly, but make them work, than to take a shortcut and make decorative panels. I dont think Im going to make all 500 switches on the original picture but I do want to make quite a few. I like the idea of tracking fuel real time on the dash. The analog meters are awesome. All these little things cost $ tho so as I am not working right now, the progress is probably going to slow down quite a bit here soon. I need to work on getting the rest of the monitors. I need 3 more. The plexi for the windows is going to be pricey as well. I am also trying to find the best way to illuminate the plexi dash panels after painting them. I dont have a laser etcher. I thought about painting over stickers but its going to be hard to find stickers in the right font and size. Probably not impossible though...I live close to Seattle. For the seats I was thinking about using a track system just like you were just describing. Maybe use 2x3's to make a channel they can slide up and down or be removed. I like that idea

My other worry is that I planned on building a cover that slides over the armrest that has the joystick in it. There ended up being less room between the seats than I had anticipted(I could only make it 6 feet or under in order to have it movable in my house. That changed the angle of the window and the sides and obviously the seats ended up closer together than the actual endeavor. So I need to make this joystick armrest cover have as little of a footprint as possible. Maybe even change location. But it has to be on the right side since its for the right hand. Open to suggestions. Ok I have rambled on enough for tonight. I think.. 

 

1 hour ago, richfiles said:

Oh yeah. you were asking about HOW I controlled the meters too. Forgot to mention. I'll be using KSP Serial IO to communicate to an Arduino. Kinda important to include that detail. 

is that better than krpc? Can the same be done with both?

Edited October 12, 2016 by Kotagi

[richfiles]

2 hours ago, Kotagi said:

is that better than krpc? Can the same be done with both?

I haven't used krpc, but I've seen it mentioned before. I think so. If you can communicate with an Arduino or other microcontroller with it, and send values from KSP, then it ought to work just fine. There's plenty of types of meters too. I restricted myself to edgewise meters, cause that's the style i wanted, but there are other styles. Many meters can be had for fairly cheap. $3-6 for a meter or two from China. It's just dependent on what style you want, and how large you want it. Not many builds even go with edgewise meters, but I always share my experience building with them, incase others want to follow suit.

[stibbons]

2 hours ago, Kotagi said:

is that better than krpc? Can the same be done with both?

The same can indeed be done with both.

The way I see it, KSPSerialIO is simpler to get up and running, as your arduino interfaces directly with the mod. On the downside, Unity makes in-game serial pretty crunky. The mod has issues with most Arduino boards on Windows 10, and my attempts to get it running on Linux and MacOS probably only work on my hardware.

KRPC can export a lot more telemetry and offers richer controls, but only works with network sockets. You'll have to either write your own "bridge" program that listens on the network and relays over a serial connection, or borrow somebody else's code from the handful of hardware projects that also use KRPC.

My build uses KSPSerialIO. But if I were starting a new one today, with the knowledge and experience I've gained, I suspect I'd go with a KRPC-based solution. Although I do kind of sort of have a very bare bones start to my own plugin to deal with all of this.

[Sputnix]

I love this. So amazing (and such progress too!).
I'm incredibly jealous of people like you that have the space to build something like this!

I think it's amazing that you're taking the opportunity and doing it! 

When I conceived of a 'cockpit' idea, I considered having the entire thing move. Simple tilt (lying down on planet earth, and slowly putting you up to a normal sitting position once in space) - just to give the sense of lying + gravity pushing you down. Of course that would be its own engineering nightmare - but would be so awesome! 

Definitely gonna keep following this thread! Keep up the amazing work! 

Oh, and I love how so many people have cats (which appear in build logs)

Given there's actually a fairly limited amount of 'controls' in game (as opposed to real life) will you just leave most of the cockpit panels empty, or will you duplicate controls around the place?

[Kotagi]

[Kotagi]

5 hours ago, Sputnix said:

Definitely gonna keep following this thread! Keep up the amazing work! 

Given there's actually a fairly limited amount of 'controls' in game (as opposed to real life) will you just leave most of the cockpit panels empty, or will you duplicate controls around the place?

First thank you. I am definitely not going to have as many switches as the pic I modeled it after. But, with infernal robotics, the mod that extends action groups and just the sheer amount of different things I need to be able to access from a view with no hud at all will give me more than enough to be a handful. Im going to build it basically 1 panel at a time once I get to that stage. I really want to get the plexy, screens and dash done first. Than Im going map out the controls on paper before I start. Based on as close as possible to the endeavor's panels. That way I can see how many kerbal controls I can get mapped. I havent used an arduino yet. I bought a pi for this project. I was going to use 1 screen for the pi and have it control all the on board systems..Like humidity, air, temp, lights and it can be running without my whole rig running. I think arduino might be a better solution for the electronics though since it is 5v instead of 3.3v and seams to be more oriented to this project. Im still very new to this but Im definitely learning alot everyday. I need to read into some other people projects and take a break for awhile and probably gather information. I started reading documentation on krpc and I think it should be something I can learn. 

I never gave my background so no better time than now. I have been working as a low voltage electrician since I was 18, 27 now. Started in telecommunications and ended at an electrical company before I got hurt. Im a union member. Ibew local 46. Ive only recently began to learn how to code. I know a decent amount about electricity, construction, electronics, but a jack of all trades is a master of none..(who doesnt love a pun every once in awhile). So basically that is my experience.. If anyone is from the south puget sound area, let me know when you comment

[Sputnix]

2 minutes ago, Kotagi said:

I think arduino might be a better solution for the electronics though since it is 5v instead of 3.3v and seams to be more oriented to this project. Im still very new to this but Im definitely learning alot everyday. I need to read into some other people projects and take a break for awhile and probably gather information. I started reading documentation on krpc and I think it should be something I can learn. 

 Ive only recently began to learn how to code.

It's the best way to learn - I find - by focusing on a project that 'forces' the learning

If you're ever wanting some help with the code - feel free to PM me. I've helped a couple other people out on the forums; I've been inactive for a while, but wanting to jump back in and get involved again

I think your background will put you in good stead. 
One possible suggestion: in the lunar lander (or was it the command module - I can't recall) -- anyway, there were duplicate controls; so that people either side could activate things. This becomes somewhat problematic with the programming, but it could allow a nice way to fill the void. Of course, that means twice the cost (in switches, buttons, labels, wires, etc). You could also possibly put some nicely designed signage / posters up reminding you of the steps to key things (ie. orbital rendevous. That's something I keep having to look back on, as I don't play nearly enough KSP to remember between the 6 months I play  )

[Kotagi]

1 minute ago, Sputnix said:

It's the best way to learn - I find - by focusing on a project that 'forces' the learning

If you're ever wanting some help with the code - feel free to PM me. I've helped a couple other people out on the forums; I've been inactive for a while, but wanting to jump back in and get involved again

I think your background will put you in good stead. 
One possible suggestion: in the lunar lander (or was it the command module - I can't recall) -- anyway, there were duplicate controls; so that people either side could activate things. This becomes somewhat problematic with the programming, but it could allow a nice way to fill the void. Of course, that means twice the cost (in switches, buttons, labels, wires, etc). You could also possibly put some nicely designed signage / posters up reminding you of the steps to key things (ie. orbital rendevous. That's something I keep having to look back on, as I don't play nearly enough KSP to remember between the 6 months I play  )

My wife was laughing at me when I started doing this. I spent so much time learning just to get into orbit. Ive come a long way since then, but like you said, I took a break and my wife keeps saying I wont remember how to play by time Im done..lol.  This game is a black hole of education.. I wish this game was around when I was in school, it would have given me such a drive to take advantage of education when it was free.. I remember learning so much and just thinking I would never see this or need this again, then I met kerbal. 

I think I am trying to do something close to what your saying with the dual controls. It wont be a mirror image but I do plan on making both seats able to fully control the ship, at a minimum 1 at a time. I will have to experiment as I go with what works and what doesnt. I plant on having most of the important controls on the center console that isnt built yet. 

Finally I really appreciate your offer for help. This community is so awesome thank you everyone for your ideas so far it has been so helpful. Also your kind words have been great encouragement to keep progressing. I appreciate the virtual pat on the back. I will definitely reach out to you when I get to that step. Thank you again

[Notanerd]

What the actual... This is amazing. Just amazing. If my high school didn't give like 2 hours of homework per day (and more on weekends) I would so build one. T-200ish days to summer.

[Kotagi]

So I am building the seat tracks and experimenting with different ways to hang and arrange the flight screens. When I get a little more progress I will update with pics. Probably a couple days..

Ive also decided not to use plexi, or at least i am going to try to just build around the screens and using the screen glass as the window. Like I said I am still experimenting

[Kotagi]

obviously not even close to done but this is my solution to the seat problem I had brought up earlier. This allows the seats to be moved forward, backwards, and easily be removed. I looked into building a metal track system but this was way cheaper as I already had the materials and anything is more expensive than free...

Edited October 18, 2016 by Kotagi

[richfiles]

Check your local hardware store or Walmart, etc and look for furniture slides. They are (usually) a teflon foot that slides really easily over carpet and other flooring. Put those on the bottom of the seats, and they should slide really easily. Some should even be meant for permanent mounting (by screw or nail). Should be perfect for you!

Edited October 18, 2016 by richfiles

[Kotagi]

https://vid.me/HPhd

[Sputnix]

25 minutes ago, Kotagi said:

https://vid.me/HPhd

Wait. Is that from in-game?!? o.O 

 

[Fred Cop]

32 minutes ago, Kotagi said:

https://vid.me/HPhd

 

That, is amazing!

Now I'm really curious as to what it'd look like when piloting a craft, but I'll just have to wait for you to add the controls.

[richfiles]

Amazing! I'd love to see more (we'll see more pixels of you ro-ro-rotate your   owl   phone) 
Sorry! I LOLed when I thought that though!

It really is awesome to look at though! Can't wait to see it with the main screen in place! I've been thinking of upgrading from a Radeon 5770 to possibly an R9 280x or... go Nvidia... I run a Hackintosh, so my card selections can be limited sometimes. I'd love to be able to drop in the visual enhancements. I already run a quad i7 at 3.5 GHz (trying to figure out how to OC it to 4.1-4.3), so physics processing is a breeze. I just have an old GPU. I run triple monitors, but only use the center for KSP.

What you're doing though... with the camera views and the side monitors! It's just simply INCREDIBLE!!! 

[Kotagi]

[richfiles]

My brain just did a Philae seeing those pics!!! Bouncing and tumbling, stunned at the influx of data, but sorta dazed...
WOW! That's Kerbal Kool 

You know, before paneling in those side consoles... Make sure you remember the frosty beverage receptacles! Highly important to secure your hydration/inebriation source! 
With a suffient power source, you could probably even look into Peltier devices to literally keep your beverages frosty cool! 

Edited October 21, 2016 by richfiles

[Kotagi]

36 minutes ago, Sputnix said:

Wait. Is that from in-game?!? o.O 

 

Yes it is. Im experimenting with different resolutions and this looks really good so far. This is just a sneak peak..lol 

29 minutes ago, Fred Cop said:

That, is amazing!

Now I'm really curious as to what it'd look like when piloting a craft, but I'll just have to wait for you to add the controls.

Thank you. I am just as antsy to see it all done as well but I want to spend time on the details. Try to at least. Im focusing on the basic elements to get it up and running and Im going to build from there..

27 minutes ago, richfiles said:

What you're doing though... with the camera views and the side monitors! It's just simply INCREDIBLE!!! 

Thanks man I think it looks pretty awesome as well. The stretching is a problem right now because i havent added the back 2 screens yet. 5 flight screens in total. Basically at the edge of the screen is about 180 degrees, so I need to have 180 degree window to account for that. I think when I add the back 2 it will fix it though. Im going to work on the big screen first. I have a gtx 970 and gtx 950 for a total of 8 screens plus I can add an endless amount of telemetry screens with raspberry pi's.

BTW that pic of the moon is pretty epic. 

I thought about adding a fog machine in the dash or vent system for when it overheats too. Someone on reddit gave me the idea..The more special effects the better 

Edited October 21, 2016 by Kotagi

[Sputnix]

1 minute ago, Kotagi said:

I thought about adding a fog machine in the dash for when it overheats too. Someone on reddit gave me the idea..The more special effects the better 

Yeah, but then you need flashing red-lights , and things blowing up from over-head... it gets into a crazy pyrotechnics mess. And to reset you can't just say "Computer -- reset simulation"; you have to replace the blasting caps, re-attach the bulkhead... you'll need an entire crew ready for when you crash into the Mun!   

[Kotagi]

1 minute ago, Sputnix said:

Yeah, but then you need flashing red-lights , and things blowing up from over-head... it gets into a crazy pyrotechnics mess. And to reset you can't just say "Computer -- reset simulation"; you have to replace the blasting caps, re-attach the bulkhead... you'll need an entire crew ready for when you crash into the Mun!   

Lmao. Where there is a will there is a way..

[richfiles]

I love the fact that Sputnix is in Australia, at a perfectly normal and reasonable time right now, as Sputnix, Kotagi, and I all revel, in nearly the same moment, at Kotagi's KickS rig! 
The one thought I get from this (after ERMERGHERD, AWESOME!): "Holy $#!?, the time! I gotta work in the morning!" 

[Kotagi]

http://vid.me/OxPh

Last one

Edited October 21, 2016 by Kotagi

[The Raging Sandwich]

That is... AWESOME! 

[Kotagi]

11 hours ago, richfiles said:

You know, before paneling in those side consoles... Make sure you remember the frosty beverage receptacles! Highly important to secure your hydration/inebriation source! 

I was so tired i must have missed this last night..That's pretty good