Reentry - A Space Flight Simulator News

As the Holiday season is about to start for many of you, myself included, I decided to give you some new content to enjoy. This content is part of update 0.99.40 and 0.99.41.

If this update gives you issues, you can revert to a previous build using the Steam Betas tab. The previous update is on branch: Reentry Version 0.99.36

In the 2023 state update I talked about the Saturn IB and Skylab, and I know many have been asking about it and have been eager to give it a try.

In this update I have added a new alpha feature (Main Menu -> Settings, scroll down to alpha features) that will enable a preview / very early access of the Apollo Saturn IB booster, and Skylab.

This will enable a development mission for the Test Pilots. It can be found from the Apollo Free Play mission selection, and is used for testing the Saturn IB (SIB), the Milk stool and rendezvous with Skylab.

Again, this is a very hard mission, but if you have the spirit of a Test Pilot, be sure to give it a try! An achievement will be awarded for those who dock with it.


Note: Another patch for this is released, 0.99.41:
- Unlocks preliminary Save/Load State data for Skylab
- Achievement when docking with Skylab




Saturn IB comes with some changes to the panels such as the LV ENGINES lights:


I wish to thank all of you for your support, feedback, suggestions, MOCR organizing, testing and for being a part of this community - I really appreciate it!

Expectations:
This is a very hard mission so please be ready to fail the rendezvous, or spend time and fuel on closing in with Skylab after the rendezvous.

I recommend you do be familiar and skilled with docking through Project Gemini and its Agena missions, as well as having completed the Command Module Academy/Campaign before attempting this mission. It also helps to be familiar with the transposition and docking procedures when extracting the Lunar Module from the SIVB.

In development:
- Dedicated Saturn IB boost checklist (currently you need to use the normal Boost checklist)
- Ascent guidance to insert you closer to target inclination and a circular orbit (currently you need to circulate the orbit after insertion)
- Save/Load state support
- Undocking
- Better rendezvous burn (currently you might have to work hard to approach and get into formation flying with Skylab)
- Beacon lights and improved docking lights to make it easier to locate Skylab (currently you need to search for it after the final burns. Used the EMS ranging feature to help you)
- MOCR: SIB booster monitoring channel

How to rendezvous and dock with Skylab:
1) After insertion, complete the insertion checklists to configure the Command/Service Module for orbital mission.

2) Execute a P30/P40 maneuver to circulate the orbit at Apogee.

3) When you are in a circular orbit, use the Crew Members - Request PADs - P30 Maneuver: Rendezvous with Skylab to request a rendezvous burn.

4) After the rendezvous burn, request a Circulate at Apogee burn to match your orbit with Skylab.

5) Extend the docking probe, and once extended, set it to retract

6) Close in on the target. It can be hard to see it and the burns you executed decides how close you are to it

7) Use the skills from Project Gemini to close in with Skylab and align yourself with it

8) Use formation flying to inspect Skylab

9) Align yourself with either Skylab docking port 1 or Docking port 2.

10) Align the docking port with the Command Module COAS

11) Finalize the docking

12) Retract the docking probe by setting retract to PRIM 1.

I made a little tutorial on how to do it (will need to re-make it due to sound/mic issues). You can see it here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pZf4Rkc8Tfw

I have rolled out a new set of achievements and they are all related to the Historic Missions that was recently added to the game.

Have you got any suggestions for other achievements that could make sense for this game?

NOTE: Another minor update (0.99.38) was released after this with a hot fix for the Achievement Unlocking logic. Thanks for helping me test this Revenant.

TL;DR
*Todays patch contains logic that will unlock these achievements when you complete any of the historic missions, or if you have previously completed the missions. In addition, the patch contains a fix for the Mercury ECS Steam vent and Excess H2O warning light issue that has been reported a few times recently.*


The Historic Missions and their new achievements
The historic missions is a new addition to the game where I have done everything in my power to create detailed, realistic and immersive missions to let you experience how real space flight was.

By using the real flight plan, mission transcripts, and real audio between mission control and the crew, I hope this brings a valuable historic window of how it was to be an astronaut.

To award you for completing these experiences, I have rolled out a dedicated achievement for each of them.
MR-3: Freedom 7
This was NASA and Americas first mission to space where Alan Shepard flew the Mercury-Redstone 3 capsule on a sub-orbital trajectory to space and back, a mission lasting 15 minutes. However, the work load is quite intense during the few minutes of weightlessness.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5_4O_bboeuw

MR-4: Liberty Bell 7
This was NASA and Americas second mission to space where Gus Grissom flew the Mercury-Redstone 4 capsule on a sub-orbital trajectory to space and back. The mission was similar to MR-3 but with different tests and exercises in orbit.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yrbpk86aSkM

MA-6: Friendship 7
The Mercury-Atlas 6 mission, flown by John Glenn, was the first American mission to reach an orbit around Earth. This is probably, imo, the best outcome of the historic missions I have created. You get to experience Earth orbit, its sunsets and sunrises, fireflies in orbit, and the ultimate challenge of handling issues as they happened in real life.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QOjRCDvwZug

GT-3: The Molly Brown
After the Mercury Program, the Gemini Project returned astronauts to space in a more advanced space craft with an on-board computer and orbital maneuvering capabilities. The Gemini-Titan 3 mission covers the first crewed Gemini mission where Gus Grissom and John Young flew three low Earth orbits in their spacecraft. This is the mission where a Corned Beef Ham Sandwich was "smuggled" onboard.

Apollo 13: Odyssey & Aquarius
The Apollo 13 mission is probably one of the most known missions into Space where Jim Lovell, Jack Swigert and Fred Haise had to fight for survival as their Command Module was crippled in Space. This is the biggest campaign I have designed for Reentry - A Space Flight Simulator. The mission is split up into over 20 chapters, with a total in-game play time of up to 20 hours.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MHk8OFC7Wm4&list=PLZCW5geewFbUXTsqOelR2E3jV4UlmmTwS

Mercury ECS: Excess H2O Warning Lights
I have rolled out a fix that caused the Excess H2O warning lights to illuminated and trigger the alarm tone when switching between cabin lighting settings, power modes, etc.

This minor patch focuses on rolling out fixes to bug reports, fixes to typos, improve Save States and continues to iterate on the VR implementation.

Save State improvements
The patch covers improvements to the Save States across all programs, in addition to improving the logic for saving/loading into Gemini/Agena docked states, and improved lunar landed positioning in save states.

Virtual Reality
It also continues to iterate on the VR implementation where I have added the first bits to completely hide and disable the hand controller models during VR Cursor Mode, and it rolls out a pitch offset setting.

Game Overs
This patch also fixes various logic related to Game Overs, such as fixes to suffocation, entry G-Loads (this is off by default, change in Realism Settings), staging requirements during entry dynamics and equipment requirements such as periscope retraction.

Patch notes:

• Save state fixes: Gemini/Agena docked
  
• Save state fixes: Lunar surface landing positioning logic, applies to states made with version > 0.99
  
• A lot of minor fixes to SaveStates
  
• Game Over system fixes
  
• Minor fixes to O2 depletion
  
• Mercury: Retracted perioscope is now required during entry
  
• Academy lesson updates
  
• Rolled out fixes to reported typos and updated the Github repo with latest missions and historical missions
  
• Fixes to switch/panel component collision logic
  
• Updates to the normal mouse cursor depth check logic when interacting with panels & switches
  
• Updates to the VR mouse cursor depth check logic
  
• Added a setting to control the VR mouse cursor pitch offset (different based on your HMD)
  
• Wrote the logic to hide the hand controllers if VR mouse cursor mode is selected.
  
• Improvements to the Level and Xp system
  

In this minor patch I address some issues related to the Gemini electrical power system, fix some visual holes in the Command Module interior, improve Mercury re-entry and continue to iterate on the VR Mouse Cursor.

Gemini Electrical System and the OAMS/Squib bus
I have spent quite some time with the Gemini Electrical Power System for this patch, improving the internal logic of the various components of it. The most visible outcome of this are fixes to reported issues around the OAMS/Squib bus and the voltmeter.

Squib batteries 1 and 2 power the OAMS bus. While monitoring S1 and S2 on the voltmeter, you would previously see a very low voltage, indicating a malfunction. This has now been fixed. This also fixes the pre-launch Abort and squib checks where you are checking if this system works correctly, a test that you were not able to pass earlier.


Command Module Interior Holes
There has been some small visual holes in the Command Module interior where you could see the sunlight and exterior. I have modified the 3d model of the cockpit to fix some of these holes and added a layer to close most of the ones I have found.
Image showing the issue as reported by DadBricks

Mercury entry attitude
I had previously removed the logic where a game over is triggered if the heat shield was unable to protect the hull of the capsule from the heat during atmospheric re-entry. If you now dive sharp-end-forward into the atmosphere, you will burn up, so keep the heat shield in front of the hull (retrograde direction).

VR Mouse Cursor
After the improvements from the previous patch I have dived into fixing the reported issue of the mouse cursor offset, that has prevented some players to move the mouse cursor far enough up. I have not been able to reproduce this issue on my setup but I found an issue that could potentially cause this. Let me know if this fixes the issue, improve it or if it has made it worse.

I also used the fixes from the previous patch to better render the mouse cursor at the depth/distance of the component you are looking at. This should make it easier to aim at the switches you wish to interact with.
Thanks to BazzaLB for testing and feedback.

The next todo item for the VR Mouse Cursor is to figure out how to hide the models of the hands, as they are not in use while in VR Mouse Cursor mode.


0.99.34 release notes:

• Updates to the Gemini Electrical Power System -> Squib logic
  
• Fixes to the Gemini Voltmeter who indicated a low voltage on the OAMS S1/S2 bus
  
• Fixed the CM Interior holes
  
• Re-enabled and fixed the Mercury entry capsule orientation check and flow logic, triggering game over if head shield is unable to protect the hull.
  
• Corrections to the VR Mouse Cursor position, creating an offset to allow the cursor to travel further up. I am not having this issue so I am unable to reproduce it, but let me know if this fixes the issue you were having related to this
  
• Added logic that sets the VR Mouse Cursor depth/distance from camera to the colliders you are looking at. This still needs more tuning but let me know if this initial fix helps with the depth.
  

This patch addresses a couple of reported blocking issues. While it's been a couple of weeks since the last update, the delay was due to the complexity of these fixes, which required quite a bit of time and debugging to resolve.

The biggest issue was related to light bleeding between the virtual cockpit and the exterior, leading to flickering of vertices and fragments. This has been especially visible while doing EVAs in Gemini, but was present in all modules. Another time drain was to improve the decision logic between the VR hand controller mode and the VR cursor mode, and using this to fix the flickering mission pad.

While being a small patch, it significantly improves how I render things. This should now allow me to correct the VR Mouse Cursor Offset issue and correctly set its depth.

Please let me know in the comments of issues and things you would like to see prioritized. With the core feature set of 1.0 in-place, I am now fully focused on fixing issues and polishing the smaller things in the game, and your reports during this process is very important.

0.99.33 release notes:

• Light bleeding fixes
  
• Gemini EVA flickering light fix
  
• VR: Mouse Cursor improvements
  
• VR: Flickering mission pad
  
• Mercury Academy lesson fixes
  
• Minor Main Menu updates
  
• Another attempt at fixing the blue tint some users see, due to reflection probe settings.