XR2 - Ravenstar

[Coolhand]

Here's a model i've been working on, and off (mostly off) for the last 8 months or so. It's for the freeware simulator Orbiter. The model has been passed onto Doug Beachy who will write all the code for it. The model features numerous moving parts and and a highly detailed interior for a virtual cockpit.

Full version is here

[Talos]

Awesome, a fellow Orbiter simmer! That's one slick looking DG, nice work.

[Coolhand]

There are a few other orbinauts over here too... I haven't had much time with it since christmas but its a program thats definately worth checking out if you want to learn more about things really work in orbit.

[Berticus]

That is an excellent lo poly model! I've played at Orbiter some, but I could never really get it to work for me.

Ah, well, like I said, excellent!

[Monkey Boy]

@ Berticus: yeah, it's not for everyone, and slow & frustrating if you are too use to sci-fi science. Patience is needed in all your attitude changes, together with a large dollop of preplanning.

@Coolhand: looks awesome, has all the features that the default delta glider III has, scram jets under the body, pop out retros; and the nose cone over the front docking hatch is a dead giveaway - I knew before I read any of the posts that you were an OSS user!
I'd love to take this puppy for a spin out to phobos and back

[Coolhand]

OSS? Yeah it's essentially a bigger, more capable version of the XR1, which in itself is a modifcation of the old DG... Doug has made tons of changes to the code which i think makes it feel much better to fly over the old version.

It's certainly a tricky sim to fly, which is what keeps me interested, just making it from the ground to an orbital rendevous with the ISS is a real challenge at first, then there's making longer interplanetary trips and working out aerobraking and other things... It's actually helped a lot in my research for my novel and demonstrates that really anyone can manually fly a spacecraft without needing a vast knowledge of calculus and other things that are way beyond me. It's also incredibly beautiful with a really well rendered earth... Flying back from the moon in an XR1 and looking out the cockpit window at the earth which is suddenly filling the windscreen is an awesome thing. It's amazing that it's released for free really. Oh, and you should really try flying around mars or the moon with the ORulex addon. You can really appreciate just how huge olympus mons is, or get the feeling of a low level rocket bus orbit around the moon, just skimming the peaks and the edges of the craters.

[Lord Ravensburg]

Well, the model is a beauty. I'll have to check out this orbiter sim.

[Talos]

Despite the learning curve, Orbiter is a great sim. I just recently reinstalled it on my desktop (got a new graphics card so I could enjoy some of the visual things I couldn't with my GeForce 2 MX. I recognized this ship as a Delta Glider right from the thumbnail, just had to come and post after I realized what it was.

Docked to the ISS in Endeavour and seeing that sunrise over the Pacific, man that's fun.

[Coolhand]

Geforce 2 mx, LOL.

I had one of those, it was my second card, before i even did any 3D, it was crap at that time. Constantly overheated causing bizarre artifacting on screen and was generally rubbish.

You only got rid of it recently? you could have picked up something much better for pennies years ago

Anyway, yeah this started out as a redressing of the old DG, which i felt looked a bit tired but it sorta grew in scope into it's own thing. It's been a fun project to pick up every now and then and the guy who's writing the code for it is tops, couldn't have found a better home. I'd recommend checking out the XR1 if you want something fun to fly, it'll be some time until this one is ready to be flown in the sim.

[Talos]

Well, it was on my parent's desktop, my laptop's a bit better.

I replaced it for them with a 512mB GeForce 7600GS and things are running a LOT better now.

I've felt for a while that the old DGIV desperately needed a new 3d model, the current one looking very low-poly, blocky, and tired like you said. The XR-1 is a good bird, this one looks awesome too. Maybe for the next eventual release of Orbiter, plus the OVP, they could need a new default DG model...