This Blog grants insights on things I like feat. lots of different topics. Historical, Sci-fi and nowadays real life stuff gets posted, simulated or reviewed. Basically it's all about close-up views of my favorite vehicles and some info on how to get the whole experience running on your PC, including things to point out, e.g. tech facts or design goodies. All rounded up by some random fun and interesting side notes. Bots like this place. Aimed to be a resource. Heres what I have to share!
That's a little of a kinda old topic. Did you see the new feature where GoogleMaps look GTA style? Well, maybe only in particular or as some early state dev showcase. I duno but that reminds me that GoogleEarth offers some vehicle driving fun and this keeps this piece of software insteresting for me (while Google might launch a game based on GoogleMaps sooner or later, who knows).
(Ay, flying in space is a different topic)
A GoogleEarth community mod for it's flight sim part
We all know the flight simulator that comes with GoogleEarth but did you know that it's one of the most sophisticated flightsims around? It goes far beyond the basic keyboard setup and grants a very detailed flight model. It's tricky to fly but the only place where the maps are real including heightmaps and 3D buildings and so on. But theres only a HUD, not even a cockpit. And there are only two planes to play with. Guess what, there is a way to mod it and theres a set that may contain your favorite sightseeing aircraft. However, the graphic detail is simple and I have no info on the flight model.
This makes GoogleEarth's Flightsim feel more fun
Now, instead of having a boring flight experience, add-load a plane, activate it's animations and press "H" to get rid of the HUD, niiice! There is a set of aircraft included, e.g. the "Super Connie", the Twincopter "Osprey", a F-Jet, a BF 109 or a 747. Skilled Modders could even add more planes.
The installation could not be made easier
It's: Download > pick a planes texture size (big or standard) > double click on it (it's a Google Earth *.kmz file type) > have fun! Heres the link with a instalattion guide Comments
This is more or less a Reblog with my own words since the original topic from Amir B is quite old now and I guess not many people stumbled upon his outstanding solution. It's free and fun. It's not perfect, it just enhances your GoogleEarth experience. Oh and I found another approach on the web but the website of it was down. I will continue looking around and if I find something I will update this post.
Some would say that without any doubt, such image compositions should not be done by Art Directors, not in that unprofessional way having a idea for a composition and making fun like a jocke out of it. Yeah, of course they're right. Some would add that also counts for this blogs layout. ;)
So this is what comes out when you try to keep a Orbinauts community updated even with minor progress.
Work in progress – no time to play but wasting time is a must, sometimes
You know how it is, theres a thin line between what could be done by a artist to introduce his virtual for free product and what nerds do for fun. The balance between those aspects is for sure artistic. Anyway folks, heres another preview of the now so called 'Fruit fly a.k.a. DIGNITY CLASS. Oh and one more thing, the misspelled words in my trash interpretation of a data transfer are due to Cervezas. YaY, hope you enjoy + it's only a #WIP...let's call it a Trash-Up.
(I managed to grab some details while hidding crucial bugs of the mesh. Now that's artistic! ;)
Based on the wonderful Sailing Simulator and on Micro flight Simulator this is an all grounds Simulator with excellent dynamics.
Vehicles, vehicles ...and surroundings:
The weather conditions can be adjusted at a maximum of detail, e.g. wind speed, wind direction, wave height, wave length, water level, ground level, turbulences and so on. Even the water colour can be set or something like adding rain and thunder. Unlike other Sims the cockpit features straight click-at-it action which means you can steer the navigation wheel or control the sails. Some powerfull devices like GPS, Radar, Depth scanner or for planes a HUD can be monitored. All visualized by proper gadgets and overlay cockpit panels. Theres also a wind stroke view aimed to help sailors or pilots with navigation depending on the weather.
No matter what you like to drive, fly or dive there are lots of Mods available as free downloads, be it luxury yachts, gigaliner ships, sailing boats, planes, gliders, hang gliders, helicopters, cars, trucks, a flying saucer and guess what – even more whatevers. By the way: It's the perfect submarine game plattform. Ever wanted to make your very own car? It has it's own vehicle design editor allowing you to create fancy "whatevers". Or you may just try one vehicle after another. In case you like to be a Captain, a Pilot or just a Driver, you have the tricky choice of variety. A combat simulator and AI scripts round the whole thing up.
The GFX and engine are state of the art (compared to other Simulators). Some would say the overall look is deprecated but once you see the real time shadow casting effects ingame you will forget about any bad screenshot + everything can be modded speaking of trees or bees, buildings and sceneries. There are animals around you, the base installation even includes a cat, same goes for dolphins (this blogs insider jocke number one) ;) And just in case, if theres a need for a real living asset you can start a Multiplayer session, do a boat race, fly modern jets togheter, yep, you name it! Practise makes a pro – it's educational!
This game has a price but it's worth every dimme and it's not expensive at all. I say: Strong community, quality Add-ons, accurate simulation. Let 'em all know!
A list of my favorite Add-ons to come soon. I only played the demo yet but soon I will be able to present my first Mod for this game. It will be a Sci-fi supersonic sub. I'm gonna talk about reality Vs. fantasy on another post. Vehicle Simulator allows both things.
VTOL Power*shouting!! Unlike IL-2 as we know it this ain't serious but big fun – a vertical take-off from a Carrier. That carrier must have something like a Warp Drive plus apparently it also produces Anti-Gravity. ;)
We had a truly amazing multiplayer session discovering the powers of some overmodded ships. Many effects were the result including lightspeed or railgun starts, super epic fails, formation VTOL starts and a bullet time hover without moving. Some may call it bugs but it is the best gaming fun ever! It's Ravelli's map (great job), he was there, too. Also 1000 thanks to the player "ForestSwamp" and "Maykay...?" – they helped me find all those bugs. Captured within IL-2 1946 – The best Flight Simulator around!
It only works with a couple of planes. I prefered to use the Komet Me 163 since some time ago I saw funny vids of it doing different things other planes can't handle. Other testing planes were: Go229, Mig-9, Ju88 Mistel, Ta183 and Ar234 and some I can't recall. Landing ain't easy because it's like you are slower approaching fullspeed compared to that ship. Worked best with a japanise ship – that's why I call it the mighty Battleship Yamato. ;)
Maybe this bugs have been discovered by other players before, heres my VTOL thing and by the way a little preview of my carbon Me 163 skin:
Sumo stands for "Surface Modeler".It can help rapidly create aircraft geometries and provides an automaic surface mesh generation. It's like WYSIWYG, just drag parts to shape things. All parts of a plane are featured and can be modified. Editing parts is possible in a CAD-2D view or as 3D view. Even it's easy to learn and intuitive to use the origins of this software reach back to a serious Swedisch Aeronautics Research Project called DirSim. The European Union project SimSAC sponsored further develoments.
Along with the included visualization tool called Scope it is a great problem solver, stress testing simulator and a true plane designers tool. I'm still just playing around with it a bit – this is the way I learn things (with patience). If I ever would design a plane, I would use this tools to benchmark it!
Today I would like to introduce you to Rigs of Rods – a highly sophisticated vehicle Simulator featuring awesome Soft Body Physics and real time processing. It is the first Open Source attempt of this type and the results are breathtaking beeing very accurate. Buoyancy, the blade element theory, distribution, construction, and/or suspension. Those are the things making you believe that you actually sit in that virtual vehicle of choice. Also theres a Multiplayer mode, try to beat the top time of another player racing over a complicated surface. Or you might just like to share your crane handling skills with a dude. Rigs of Rods is made for that – Casual players wont understand.
Currently the development tends to be within the CryEngine3 which can handle Physics way more effective than the original Rigs of Rods Engine could. Of course the CryTek GFX will make it look better but even with some lowpoly Add-Ons it's fun to play now. I would make this game an official ESL (Electronic Sports League) candidate. Take my vote!
The community behind Rigs of Rods is creating something different. Neither the vehicles, the types of machines or the intend of this game are common to most people. Exclusive rides and professional heavy weight machines make this game a perfect education plattfom. Theres something comparable to the Orbiter Space Flight Simulator – Rigs of Rods is another extreme tricky to play game! This is truly a fun Simulator for different types of folks. It allows real handling of any type of vehicle, e.g. cars, trucks, lifts, boats, submarines, planes, trains, bikes, hotrods, misc objects – almost everything except spaceships (so far). Start your motor, shift the gear, drive over a stone a feel the deformation of your car. It's enough to just use a Monster Truck to jump over a set of parking cars and watch the show while things below get stomped down. The other experience is to drive a 4x4 over bumpy grounds. The scenarios couldn't be other to the exclusive Rods part – you can drive your "whatever's" at very exclusive locations. It's a tribute to flexibility! This game has so much style! It welcomes modding and right now offers over 2000 downloadable Mods.
I will list my favorite ones soon...!
Find out more at and take a look at it's repository to pick some Rods:
http://www.rigsofrods.com The latest release version is 0.38.67 downloadable at: http://download.rigsofrods.com/
Installation of Add-Ons is pretty simple but keep in mind, there are two folders – one game folder and one individualization folder (find the second one, usually under C:\Users\XY\Documents and Settings\Rigs of Rods. Place your Rods into that folder). On Windows 7 the game may only run with admistrational rights, right click admin open the RoR.exe to get things working. Note: Full HD resolution is not supported yet, those of you gonna have to play with two black strips just like me.
Coming soon: My screenshots of cool rides inside Rigs of Rods plus some fail compilation (me driving like craizy) and some good manuevers I managed to handle.
+++ Update News 2014: A new Orbiter version is in development and with the D3D9Client Beta 7 available at Orbiter Forum you can instantly discover it. It features 3D surfaces, new particle effects and a a way better D3D9 and and and. They are even working on a DirectX 10 client. +++ Orbiter is an open source game with thousands of free mods. Definitely the only real physics space simulator existing so far. No doubt it feels like space, it's tricky to play but that's it's uniqueness!
It features seamless planetary entries and basicly said our whole Solar System beeing a powerfull Planetarium software and something far beyond any description. Created by Dr. Martin Schweiger, the development continues and new Add-ons get posted everyday. Currently the version Orbiter 2010 is the newest and even in 2013 it still feels relatively new. Real spaceships and unmanned drones, from Apollo's moon lander over Saturn 5 Launchers to X-Wing. Some feature great detail, a cockpit and extras like robotics, life support or cargo management. Even a level 14 Earth map exists which provides incredible satelite image details almost like Google Earth. For the curious ones, how about visiting Alpha Centauri? There a uncountable scenarios available. It also supports TrackIR. Many good Ingame Tutorials teach you how to fly a space ship. This game has nearly endless possibilities and a strong community keeping it alive!
Things to have fun with (or how to spend years playing Orbiter):
Land on any planetary surface, deploy your cargo, place your countries flag, open up your cargo manually, watch an ISRU (Inflatable module), place some seats, beds, manage fuel, oxygen and water cargos, activate gravitational wheel, sit in the cockpit, press buttons, plot courses, deploy drones, do rendevous manuevers, dock, exchange things (open bay), wear a spacesuit, exit ship and float in space, do a sling-shot manuever, enter the door, take off spacesuit, look for your crew, check your ships damage status, listen to music, eat something, sleep in the captains room or go repair a satelite or touch down and create a space colony. Endless possibilities!
Recommended Add-ons (Please check compatibility to each other):
– D3D9 Client (makes for a better overall graphics look enhancing Orbiters Engine)
– Orulex (clever procedural terrain and landscape heightmap generator, beta)
– Orbiter Race League (Multiplayer for Orbiter / also was called Orbiter Multiplayer Client OMPC)
– Level 11 Nasa BMNG Blue Marble Next Generation (a set of seasonal textures for planet earth)
– OrbiterSound (unlike Sci-Fi, only adds great ambient were acoustic is possible)
– UCGO (Universal Cars and Cargo is a must have Add-on simulating management of cargo and consumption)
– UMMU (simulating living crews on board of space stations, ships and bases, must have Add-on)
– HOT: Orcus Patera (the first base recently realeased that can handle infrastructure management)
– Vinka's Spacecraft3.dll (turns the real space simulator into a Sci-Fi game)
– CamControl (walk inside your ship)
– CamShake (feel the shaking your flight skills causes)
– Universal Cargo Plattform (info coming soon)
– Buoyancy (creates wind on planets with atmosphere)
– Warp Drive MFD (for those on a hurry)
– Relativistic Warp MFD (more info coming)
– Time Jump MFD (a powerfull date and time change tool inside the Sim)
– Battlestar Galactica Jump Drive (the FTL "Faster than light" method)
– Gravity Controller MFD (manipulate ships thrusters max output on the fly)
– Higgs Field Controller MFD (manipulate ships mass on the fly)
– Orbiter Galaxy (a prodedural Galaxy Generator)
– Space Trader (play the game Elite inside Orbiter)
– Damage Module (for those crafts without damage simulation)
– Wind Tunnel (external benchmark app)
– Videnei Orbit Drawing (turns Orbiter into a full scale Planetarium)
– ReFuel MFD (transfer fuel between docked ships)
– Test Pilots MFD (more info coming)
– Mfd Irc 100124 (Chat online from a MFD console)
– OrbiterClouds(aka Nebo)_0.3 (more info coming)
– Orbiter Radio (yes, this game has it's own Radio Station, great space age music)
Flight helpers (not cheats):
– AutoRudder (yes spacecraft is different to aircraft so this will help with atmospheric flying)
– RV Orientation (HUD aid for manuevers like docking called "Multi waypoint approach")
– Hover MFD (helps with hovering over the ground)
– AeroBrake MFD (helps with high speeds)
– Precession MFD
– Surface Speed MFD (little visualizer, helps with landing)
– Lola MFD (a true autolander)
– FlyAround MFD (automated fly around a object)
– Lagrange MFD (visualizes your movements)
– Energy MFD mk2 (displays your movements kinetic energy)
– Atmospheric Data MFD (atmospheric conditions in relation to your vessel)
– Rendezvous MFD (not only for meeting girls at the right place just in time)
– Checklist MFD
Multi Function Displays (MFDs):
– LaunchMFD (with HUD, manages flights, launches, rendevous)
– Waypoint MFD (navigate by waypoints)
– Precession MFD (get there more accurately)
– Burn Time Calculator (measure your fuselage needs)
– Map3D MFD (futuristic data visualization of your current position)
– Calculation MFD (complex realtime calculator)
– TransX (move from here to there with plotted courses)
– HAL9000 (Dave, I'm feeling cold, Daefff, Daaaaeffffff, Aeffff!)
– Attitude MFD (holds altitude and visualizes pitch, roll and stuff)
– Date+Save MFD (more info coming)
– State Vector MFD (more info coming)
– Vessel Parameters MFD (more info coming)
– Thrust Control MFD (more info coming)
– Equation MFD (I guess that's something for the math nerds)
– IEAT MFD (for constant Ion like engines)
– Fuel MFD (more info coming)
– Notes MFD (more info coming)
– Tetris MFD (play Tetris on long flights)
– Clock MFD (world clock + timezone worldmap visualization)
– TelescopeMFD
– more coming soon
Untested MFDs so far:
– Attachment Menagement MFD
– Encounter MFD
– Name Change MFD
– Lagrangian points MFD
– Msss MFD (adds multiple Star Systems)
– Interplanetary MFD
– Universal Pointing MFD
– BurnTimeMFD
– PursuitMFD
– DVToolsMFD
– LoadMFD
– AeroBrakeMFD
– FuelQuantityMFD
– WebMFD
– AutoTrimMFD
– Watchdog MFD
– SensorMFD
– BurnTimeCalcMFD
– CameraViewMFD
– HUDdataMFD
– TimerMFD
– IEMFD (The IE browser in a MFD)
– SuborbMFD
– JumpDriveMFD
– WeatherMFD
– SolarSail_MFD
– SafeTimeAccelMFD
– EnergyMFD
– SmokeMFD (inflight particles generator)
– WakeupMFD
– FlightDataRecMFD
– NavMFD
– FlightInstMFD
– ArriveMFD
– PitchRecorderMFD
– Orb2CelMFD (Celestia Exporter)
– Scopesat V2
– IMFD Full Manual/Playbacks
– PlantFlagMFD (wave your flag wherever you land)
– StatusMFD (a awesome MFD for Delta Glider)
– VideoCaptureMFD
– TetherMFD (connect vessels with elastics tethers)
– SpaceTrader (trade cargos between bases)
– Trajectory Optimization Tool v2.1
– Limit Rotation
– Universal Autopilots
– Better Glaspit Buttons (optimize the HUD button visualization)
– Orbiter Speech Recognition Module for Orbiter 2010
– Asteroids! the game (inside Orbiter)
– Heavens traffic 090405 (Track satelite traffic)
– Orbiter Fly-By Camera
– Orbinuid v1.3 Beta (another game for long flights)
– Orbitrader (more info coming)
– Accelerometer
– Autopilot 1.72 with AIRAC and worldwide Airports
A little listing of great ships to download and play with (most of 'em available at orbithangar):
– Fiction-but-real: PTK NP Spacecraft
– Close-to-real: XR 2 Ravenstar (a space shuttle like concept spacecraft with real ambitions and great development)
– For XR 2: Different MFDs for XR2 (extra download)
– Close-to-real: XR 5 (XR 2's big brother)
– XR Facility (a hangar with cargo management features and lots of parking space)
– Close-to-real: G42-200 StarLiner WIP-302 (awesome can move it's wings)
– Real: A4E Skyhawk UPDATE (a Jet plane)
– Real: Mirage2000 (Jet plane)
– Real: Me163
– Real: Me262
– Real: F-35B
– Real: V-22 Osprey ver3
– Real: F-117 Nighthawk ver5
– A-10A
– FA-22A
– FA-18A
– F14A
– Hawker Harrier
– Real: NASA T-38 ver4
– Real: Soyuz 7K series
– Real: Skylab-B
– Real: Dragon Capsule
– Real: Space Ship Two (Richard Bransons spacecraft)
– Real: Soyuz Capsule
– Real: Ariane 5 rocket system
– Real: Saturn 5 rocket system
– Real: Apollo 20 and Tycho Landing Site
– Close-to-real: DGIV Space Compression Engine
– Close-to-real: Perseus Launcher & Perseus MkII 1.3
– Retro: Shuttle Fleet (Space Shuttles)
– Fiction: MIPTS V0.02 (info to come)
– Comic: ACME Rocketship
– Comic: Planet Express Ship
– Star Trek: Chaffe T-10 Shuttle (The Danube Runabouts shuttle craft)
– Star Trek: Danube Runabouts (two variant pack)
– Star Trek: Delta Flyer NX-426 (Voyagers second shuttle craft)
– Star Trek: U.S.S Reliant Miranda
– Star Trek: Enterprise NCC1701TOS and Galileo shuttle (the first tv-show Enterprise)
– Star Trek: Enterprise XI (The Enterprise shown in the recent two movies)
– Star Trek: Federation Starbase XI (The newest Starbase design)
– Star Wars: Slave (Boba Fett drove it)
– Star Wars: Naboo Cruiser
– Star Wars: Naboo Fighter
– Star Wars: Imperial Star Destroyer
– Star Wars: Sky Hopper
– Star Wars: L.A.A.T. (Troops drop ship)
– Star Wars: Shuttle Tyderium (Imperial Shuttle)
– Star Wars: Tie Fighter and Tie Interceptor
– Star Wars: Jedi Starfighter
– Star Wars: Super Millennium Falcon
– Star Wars: X-Wing (most known Star Wars vessel)
– Battlestar Galactica: Colonial Viper MK II (a truly nicely done mod aircraft)
– Battlestar Galactica: Colonial One
– Stargate Universe: Destiny and Destiny Shuttle (if you find it, get it and let me know where to get it again, please)
– Stargate: Daedalus X303
– Stargate: Puddle Jumper
– Stargate: Goa'uld TelTak Shuttle
– Stargate: Goa'uld TelTak Shuttle
– Stargate: Aurora
– Stargate & Battlestar Galactica (lots of spaceships missing since the go down of the Rag Tag Fleet, R.I.P., we miss those files!)
– Spaceman Spiff: A little flying saucer (looks like a beattle)
– Aviation history: Me163 (try flying it on mars, it's fun)
– Spaceballs: The space Van (for funny purposes)
– Futurama: Planet Express (for funny purposes, one of my favorites)
– Space1999: The Eagle (features lots of cargo modules)
– 2001 Space Oddysey Pack (everything mentioned in the book and in the movie, play with the monolith of wisdom)
– Babylon 5: Almost every ship shown in the series
– Buck Rogers Thunder Fighter
Extra things to add to your favorite sceneries like bases or assets / objects:
– Prelude Base Skin Pack (maybe you prefer the dusty Prelude base
– Shukra Earth Weather (a hovering floating airbase)
– Russian's Spacesuit Orlan
– UMmu textures pack (A flag pack for spacesuits)
To be continued, dozens of entries to come! My mods to come:
– Cargo skin set (WIP)
– Arrow Freighter Skin & Cockpit Skin (WIP)
