Ascension Ultra Open Beta

Let me just clear the dust off this blog for a moment… *cough* * sneeze*… there’s a lot of it!

 

So, yes, development has largely remained on a plateaux for a long time now, and that is not likely to change in any major way any time soon unfortunately.  That said, last month myself and face decided to open the current beta and make it fully public.  So anyone can now download it and try/use it.  With that decision also came some cool updates from face, so the LFMC is now operational, with the guided launch wizard, animations, beacons and ATC chatter (with synth voice option!).  So the meat of the project is done and working.

There is very little place holder stuff in there now, so it certainly looks how it should, and for the most part it works like it should too.  It is a true beta, not a broken alpha.

For more information about the latest 0.4 update visit the Orbiter forum post here.

The current build can be downloaded from the bitbucket repo.

 

The project is still open source, under GNUGP LICENSE, so feel free to contribute to the project if you want and can.  You can always start a new fork on the repo.  Myself and face still check the dev thread so post there if you have any questions, requests, or wish to get involved.

As I have said before during dev hiatuses, this is a not a dead project, but the word hiatus is being used to the maximum!  I do hope to come back to it, and I still love the project, but my time and creative juices are elsewhere at the moment.

 

 

Palm Rot hits first trees!

So the first tree tests gave mixed results.  The soil could take trees well enough, but not the species first tested.

However a replacement has been found and GRUMP assures me these ones are here to stay, so they have been rolled out across the base.

 

I have worked a new texture (more fitting with the AU colour palette) onto a higher poly mesh.  So although the poly count has doubled(from 36 to 72), the texture and shadows are now more pleasing to the eye.

New gardener tests the soil

Bored of just mowing and watering grass, the Grounds, Utility, Maintenance & Preparation team, or GRUMP for short, started testing the soil for growing palm trees around the base.

It is yet to be determined if the tree species shown will be chosen, but the initial nitrogen tests look good, apparently.  When questioned about the future prospects of the trees planted, Alfy Bootleberry, ex-green keeper at St Andrews Golf Course and head of the Flora Initiative, simply said “well it ain’t dead yet, boss”.

AIA received a rather amusing letter today which we thought our readers might appreciate:

“Dear Mr We Have a Problem,
Please accept this post as a request for a reimbursement payment for the new graphics card I have had to buy myself for Christmas. Following the release of images of the new version of your add on scenery, a requirement existed to upgrade my old card to something which can show your forthcoming release in all it’s shining glory. While we accept the fact that I am able to display your present release, this does not release you from any blame for the overwhelming desire I have to be able to be be able to do justice to the new version when realised. Indeed it is my intention to seek redress in a separate claim for the hours spent enjoying said add on, thinking “This is so much better than any thing I could do”.

This party acknowledges that you have released items from the aforesaid “WideAwake” to be used on self devised add ons but contends that this simply shows ones own “bits” up for the junk they are. This in turn simply fosters the dream that one would be able to humbly gaze on its newer improved manifestation. 

To this end this party feels that we had no option but to make ready for your enhanced and eagerly awaited release. If you are to dangle such fine examples of great work in front of us, you have to pay the price.

It has been pointed out that one does not have to download it when its finished. Our counterpoint simply states that having seen and loved the existing version, not getting ready for the new one is just madness.”

Courtesy of paddy2 on the Orbiter Forum

 

AIA thanks paddy2 for his time and (backhanded) compliments.  Read on to see AIA’s response.

Domestic Airport Overhaul

The old WIN airport building finally got replaced today.  The new mesh design is much more in keeping with the new architecture.

The airport is a static mesh with 6 aeroplane hard stands.  It will have a control room camera point and UMMU access point, accessible via the Ascension Tower MFD.

Here are a couple of pics showing the  front of the Airport and the hard stands.  The entrance to the Passenger Terminal is around the back by the car parking.

The windows are currently missing from the control room… isn’t glass always the last ting to be delivered to site!?

new airport 1

New Airport 2

Airport entrance and carpark

 

Dockyard installation almost complete

It seems the shareholders’ ruffled feathers caused the Dockyard facility development to leapfrog to near completion in under 24 hours!

I took this shot from my helicopter earlier today during monorail transfer tests.

Dockyard under construction

Work started on the Ascension Island Dockyard today (the shareholders were keen to point out the development is well behind schedule!).

The Dockyard facility is designed for quick processing of all oceanic freight, with special focus on container cargo for XR-5 operations.  The crane and monorail system allows for speedy and efficient passage of container freight from docked ships to the AU internal road cargo network and vice versa.  In addition, the docks provide ship maintenance and refuelling capabilities and a Marina for business and leisure moorings.

At present, the Dockyard will be a static mesh, with no actual functionality.  However, this may change in the future, and it will have eye-candy animations.

Here are some CAD shots of the basic design.

overview

crane with monorail being loaded

monorail being unloaded for transfer to trucks

AIA thanks Loru for leasing of the crane mesh.

AU Beta Test is go!

So the Beta Test went live this morning, and AIA eagerly anticipate the subsequent feedback over the coming week(s).

You can track the beta discussion here.

Latest AU Photo Gallery

The beta test is due to go live tomorrow morning, so I thought I would share some up-to-date screenshots of some base features.

 

NB: Many of the beacon lights seen in these pics are not yet animated as intended, so in some shots the number of lights may seem like over-kill… this will ultimately not be the case.

A random thank you from AIA

I just checked up on the WIN version of Wideawake on Orbit Hangar, to find that it has had 16,788 downloads  since December ’08.

I’m sure the vast majority of those are double, triple, quadruple downloads, when people reinstall or get a new pc etc.   But still… it’s a healthy amount of downloads, and puts the base at #25 in the list of all-time most downloaded addons on OH.  And that’s for a base… where you spend 1% of your Orbiter time!

So that makes AIA quite a chuffed company, and quite a surprised one in truth.  So thank you to all AIA followers and WIN users.  AIA would be out of business without you.