[1.0.5/1.1] Flight Systems Redux ASET Props and RPM IVA (8 April 2016)

[cipherpunks]

Tried this today, despite being ignorant to real Gemini panel layout.

For sure it looks much better than stock.

Found some not-so-good things too :-\ First, for me analogue gauges weren't drawn, so at first I thought that there was no way to see how many MP/EC/fuel left, but later I discovered simple digits on that place that the gauges were supposed to be, without much legend - but hey, those should be MP/EC readings (I think). One idea is those yellow/red flashing indicators should become akin to LED "gauges", not only becoming yellow or red when fuel is low/absent, but also having more or less "segments" light up. I do not know if RPM is capable of that, though.

"Reserve fuel" button works only one-way - it unlocks the tank, but I can't lock it back. Would be nice if I could... Would be even better if it unlocked locked tanks one by one - that is, I have MP in Gemini equipment module, but I also have MP in Transtage, and I want my equipment module MP to remain locked until I stage Transtage, but then I want nose RCS reserves locked still, right untillreentry - as it was on the real Gusmobile.

Maybe I'm dumb, but I was unable to figure out where IVA shows the speed relative to surface. All I saw was orbital speed and vertical speed. Also, no way to see how many Ablator is left (real thing had only 144kg of it btw, so I set @amount=144, but for circumlunar variant they planned to increase it AFAIK)

Direction buttons only command MechJeb as far as I saw, and time-warping this way (without enabling SAS direction instead) is incompatible with PersistentRotation. Would be good if, when SAS switch is "on" direction buttons would command SAS directions, not MechJeb ones. TBH I do not know if it is at all possible.

Also, it is sad that I can not see what's inside my vessel (including fuel reserves etc) on MFD. I guess VesselViewer integration is absent too?...

Moreover, setting angle to some direction (say, +8 pitch to retrograde) from IVA would be great. AFAIK real Gusmobile had it - modal buttons were on pedestal (but I'm unsure just how they used to set degrees - velocities were set on left panel I think)

Haven't docked with this yet, or used external camera, but will try.

- - - Updated - - -

Plotting vessel performance data (TWR, thrust, G-force, stage dV left, Ap/Pe with times, horiz/vert speed - all hiding after 2nd click on that button) on external camera displays would be good too - will be useful for "booster cam"

[MOARdV]

I've been away from the Gemini pod for a while. I know the current version doesn't work correctly (it never got updated for 1.0.x and the updates I've done for RasterPropMonitor). But, since I'm going to slow down on RPM feature development, I've dusted off the Gemini capsule:

Version 3.0 early WIP. Some placeholder props.

[Guest]

Thank you, thank you, THANK YOU!!

[Virtualgenius]

I love this addition to the Gemini pod great to see it getting some love

[MOARdV]

More progress. It's flyable, and most of the information needed for launch / orbit / rendezvous / return is accessible. I'm using the Gemini familiarization manual and other references to try to organize the controls like the original. It won't be identical, of course. For instance, there weren't 7-segment LED displays on Gemini, but, since I want to have some numeric displays, this one does have them.

Once again, some placeholder props are visible. The center console is fairly empty right now (I don't have all the fuel / life support gauges, nor the communications system). The Pilot's station (the other seat) is mostly bare, and it still has an MFD (final version won't - I'm trying to style it without resorting to a glass cockpit).

[Tybarious]

Awesome! Keep it up!

[MOARdV]

Latest version:

I am putting the work-in-progress on GitHub, so anyone who wants to give it a try is welcome to do so. Updates will be made as I think of it (typically once or twice a week).

There is no documentation yet, so you might be scratching your head at a couple of the props I'm using. They'll make sense later. To download the work-in-progress, click on the "Download ZIP" on the right side of the screen (regular releases will be through KerbalStuff or on the GitHub releases page). You will need the current version of RasterPropMonitor, of course, along with Alexustas's ASET Props and ASET Avionics. License on the new version is CC NC-BY-SA.

[MOARdV]

Verison 3.0 is now updated:

As before, the work-in-progress is on GitHub (choose to download zip). With the dev version of RasterPropMonitor v0.23.0, you can now use the Gemini rendezvous radar to lock on to a target in front of the pod. You can also control undocking from the center console. Documentation has sort-of started on the GitHub wiki, but it is really sparse right now. I will work on it some more this weekend.

[MOARdV]

Now on GitHub, in an official release. This version includes new props from alexustas (including a Flight Director Attitude Indicator navball replacement!). It is still under development (which is why there's an MFD hanging under the Pilot's main instrument panel), but it's come together enough that I've flown several orbital flights, including rendezvous, strictly from IVA. Documentation is on GitHub, but it's also very badly in need of updating. I've been too busy working on the IVA to update the documentation.

[Mecripp]

This looks Great much thanks to you and alexustas great job

[Rathma]

Awesome!!

[BevoLJ]

Loving the Gemini IVA! I do have a question or two however, is it possible to use the default navball? I have been trying out the IVA, but can't for the life of me figure out how to find my pro/retrogrades, anti/normal, and radials on it.

Edit: I think I have *kinda* figured it out. It is hard to figure out! =D In the FDAI GUID thingie under the nav ball I found the Orbital, Radial, and Normal options. Still trying to figure out how all that works on the ball using trial/error, but if anyone has any tips it would be greatly appreciated!

Edit 2: Oh, the plus/minus makes it go from pro to retrograde and I just line up the lines on the ball. Got it all sorted. Please ignore me!

Going to leave the post incase it can help anyone else. =)

Edited October 20, 2015 by BevoLJ

[MOARdV]

Loving the Gemini IVA! I do have a question or two however, is it possible to use the default navball? I have been trying out the IVA, but can't for the life of me figure out how to find my pro/retrogrades, anti/normal, and radials on it.

Edit: I think I have *kinda* figured it out. It is hard to figure out! =D In the FDAI GUID thingie under the nav ball I found the Orbital, Radial, and Normal options. Still trying to figure out how all that works on the ball using trial/error, but if anyone has any tips it would be greatly appreciated!

Edit 2: Oh, the plus/minus makes it go from pro to retrograde and I just line up the lines on the ball. Got it all sorted. Please ignore me!

Going to leave the post incase it can help anyone else. =)

Yep, you figured it out. Sorry, that's one of the major bits of documentation that I need to do. Alexustas's navball takes a little bit of adjusting to get used to compared to stock, since you have to use the FDAI control to select what the error needles are pointing at. One other feature on that control panel: If you're using stock SAS to align with one of those directions, you can flip the 'SAS' switch on the FDAI panel to automatically display that direction.

The next update I release will include some improvements for docking that I have been testing (docking port alignment information).

[BevoLJ]

Awesome! Thanks m8. Playing with a Gamini vehicle with an IVA like this is such a WILD new experience from how I've usually played KSP. =)

[MOARdV]

Another organized update, available on GitHub. The Command Pilot now has a proper instrument to help with docking (thanks again to alexustas!), the FDAI now has a Docking Port Alignment mode, and most of the rest of that console is finalized. The center console has been tweaked a little bit more, and the pilot's panel now has controls to manage altitudes, launch inclinations, and transfers (MechJeb required).

Oh, and I've actually documented most of the console as it stands. Some bits are missing (details on the Pilot's panel, in particular), but maybe it'll be a little bit less cryptic.

[Svm420]

Does this use any props from the FASA folder? Or is it just your new props and ASET? I know you use the FASA/Spaces folder. I was just seeing if I could remove FASA/Props to save some ram. Thanks!

[MOARdV]

Does this use any props from the FASA folder? Or is it just your new props and ASET? I know you use the FASA/Spaces folder. I was just seeing if I could remove FASA/Props to save some ram. Thanks!

No FASA props now that I have the FDAI from alexustas.

[HerrGeneral]

If I could download only the Gemini capsule from FASA I'd totally do it just for this mod, it looks incredible. I think the Gemini uses a lot of special adapters and such though so it probably wouldn't work too well.

[MOARdV]

If I could download only the Gemini capsule from FASA I'd totally do it just for this mod, it looks incredible. I think the Gemini uses a lot of special adapters and such though so it probably wouldn't work too well.

You'd need a few other parts from FASA (the equipment section parts, the forward RCS ring and docking adapter) - it's not a huge number. But it also depends on how close to the RAM limits your installation is.

[G'th]

So I've been playing with this today, and unless I'm missing something about how the FDAI works (or somehow have a bugged install), it seems like the needles aren't actually pointing where they should be.

My first test was just to see how it works by playing with a maneuver node active and working to align myself to it. However, if I follow the needles until moving in one direction moves the needle to the opposite side of the navball that I moved in (IE, I move left, the needle goes to the right side), and do that for every direction, I end up in a spot where I seem to be aligned. But then I go out of IVA to see if I did it right, and I'm nowhere near the node, and instead I'm aligned to +radial.

I've got an imgur album displaying what I'm seeing. You can see how I do have man. node set for the FDAI and what it looks like when I am actually aligned with the node versus when I allow the needles to tell me where to point. And just to clarify, while I am past the node at the point I took the pictures, how it was aligning me didn't change regardless of whether I was ahead of or behind the node. So thats not the issue.

Javascript is disabled. View full album

There first two are what it looks when aligned properly, and the last two when aligned according to the needles.

[MOARdV]

It looks like the +/- switch is set to '-', but I don't think that has any effect when the FDAI is set to M.NODE. Which version of RPM are you using? I've not seen a problem like this. I'll go try it out some today to see if I can reproduce it here (usually I use MJ to manage maneuvers, so I don't align it manually). However, I use the FDAI manually for pretty much everything else, and I haven't hit that problem.

When you're aligning to the maneuver node, do you zero the yaw (bottom) needle first, or the pitch (side) needle? Typically, I will zero the yaw needle (maneuver so it's in the center of the FDAI), and then I will zero the pitch needle.

Also, for some reason, your speed indicator reads zero (bottom of the two-row numeric display) - it should be showing orbital speed. That's really strange. You have the latest release of RasterPropMonitor, correct?

[G'th]

^ I'll have to reinstall manually for RPM and see if it helps. So many mods bundle it and its hard to tell if all of them updated it, even if the rest of the mod is updated to 1.04.

Also, just to clarify with what I was doing, I was following that yellow triangle thingy that's on the navball. Should I be looking at the separate bars top, right, and bottom? If so, could have sworn those were supposed to just be my rates and not my alignment indicators.

And personally I don't like MechJeb. For one because I like piloting myself, and two because its overloaded with stuff. I like RemoteTech for autopilot purposes better because its cleaner and still requires a bit of effort on my part.

[MOARdV]

Also' date=' just to clarify with what I was doing, I was following that yellow triangle thingy that's on the navball. Should I be looking at the separate bars top, right, and bottom? If so, could have sworn those were supposed to just be my rates and not my alignment indicators.[/quote']

Ahh. No, that's not right.

The white strips with black triangles at the top, right, and bottom are the rate indicators (how quickly your orientation is changing along each axis) - roll on top, pitch on the right, yaw on the bottom.

The yellow triangle/chevron (at the top in this picture) that rolls around the edge is the roll angle indicator.

The yellow "needles" on the top, right, and bottom are the error indicators (roll, pitch, and yaw, respectively).

After you set the FDAI mode on the guidance control panel, you want to adjust the error needles to "zero" them so they're centered, like in the screen shot above. Because the yaw error ranges between -180 and +180, but the pitch error ranges between -90 and +90, you ideally will zero the yaw error first, and then the pitch error. So, the "best practice", at least from what I've found, is to maneuver in the yaw axis until the yaw error needle (bottom yellow needle) is centered. Then you adjust the pitch until the pitch error needle (right needle) is also zero'd. All the yellow chevron does is indicate roll.

The roll error needle (top needle) is only used for docking (FDAI GUID MODE = TARGET, +/- switch = -) when a docking port is targeted (which happens automatically if you're using the Gemini docking nose cone and you turn on the radar).

By the way, thank you for the feedback - it points out an important detail that the wiki overlooks. The FDAI takes some adjustments to get the hang of it.

[G'th]

^ Oh.

Well that makes a lot more sense.

[ATG]

I take a break from KSP and when I return I find this?!  MOARdV, you really did an awesome job on the IVA! Thanks.