Spacecraft Simulator

[Urben]

Hi,

I had a idea and wanna share it with you.

Instead of "Launch" there could be a second mode which simulates the rocket/spacecraft.

You are ably to test the stages here with more informations than at the actual launch/mission.

The graphics should be different here. Like this:

Surfaces and stuff should have the same graphic. The true visual glory still have to be the "real" launch.

When you are staging, trusting or simply rotate the craft via RCS, the model could show how much mechanical stress each part has.

Just like in the game "Bridge Builder".

Center of mass, trust and lift could be showed here, too. Or a counter of DeltaV. Or whatever might be usefull to know.

This mode could be very usefull once money and stuff are implemented and a trial-and-error way of testing is too expensive.

If you start the simulator, there should be two options where the craft can be located/simulated: At the surface of a celestial object and its orbit. When you start from the surface you can still get into the orbit or vice-versa. Depending on the craft you wanna test it might be easier to start the simulator instandly in the orbit, so the option should be available.

A extra could be to give the simulator at the beginning only the simulation-options of Kerbin: starting from Kerbings surface and orbiting Kerbin. And if you gain data by orbiting a new object, the simulator can be upgraded. Sensors like the "2HOT Thermometer" could/should be necessary for this.

Thats it. For first.

EDIT: Ideas and stuff from other posts in this thread:

red: dangerously pressed

blue: dangerously stretched

(depending on the parts stats)

EDIT: the force itself should not be visible, its just to show the concept how it works.

Edited November 7, 2013 by Urben

[AletzN1]

Second'd its exactly what i had thought of before!

[BrokenPhysics]

Really nice idea! I'd like to see that in career mode as soon as budget/money is implemented. Even before that, it'd be useful for testing concepts without having to put them in orbit first. (I know we can just hyperedit, but I usually avoid mods).

I also like the part with expanding the simulator by getting new data about other planets. I think this would be a good use for a possible observatory: You get the orbit-option by studying the planet through observatory (or probe), but you get surface/atmosphere option only by providing actual data. Also you wouldn't be able to enter the atmosphere in the simulator (due to insufficient simulation data) before you unlocked it. It could just flash an "insufficient data" warning and continue the sim as if there was no atmosphere.

[Urben]

Yeah thats what I had in mind.

[Urben]

Additional idea: While in the simulation, you can load another craft to dock and simulate them. For example space stations.

[Kasuha]

That wireframe is nice but that's not what the physics engine sees. Imagine single stick from that bridge below representing each fuel tank, each engine, each command pod. Then there is some branching towards surface-mounted parts such as decouplers. I guess you won't even recognize your rocket if you saw it how the physics engine sees it.

[Urben]

I'm aware of this fact. Im just thinking of using the normal part-models, take away the texture and highlight edges end stuff. Or create a seperate model for the simulation view.

The trick now is, to change the color of the stripes depending on the force to the stick you've mentioned. Ill try to show it with a picture what I'm talking about:

red: dangerously pressed

blue: dangerously stretched

(depending on the parts stats)

EDIT: the force itself should not be visible, its just to show the concept how it works.

Edited November 7, 2013 by Urben