junior mechanical engineer in trouble

[a new fan]

hi DCS team,

am a new fan of flight sims but lately i gave this great hobby my interest , last month me and my colleagues in my graduation project ,which share me the interest in flying sims ,decided to make our project a UNIQUE MASTER PIECE , some of theme went for making a computer controlled 5 axes CNC machine , but i suggested a crazy idea .... i suggested to make a FULL MOTION flight simulation machine , a full motion with all what the word can give , as they all interested in flying sims they all found it great , but we argued about which sim we will fly ,but i imposed my opinion , i choose LOCK ON "flaming cliffs" , i appreciate your great efforts and respect your products and consider it as standards to be compared with.

 

we split in teams, one for setting up mechanisms and that is doing well , and the other "my team" went for making the control unite and linking the game with the machine , but unfortunately we had trouble since that is out of our knowledge.

 

1st we decided to make our set of motors take the signals directly from the controls but this wasn`t wise cuz the aircraft do not respond to controls constantly , like in low speeds and stalls ,the aircraft consider the controlling signals in different way then you in the machine in a phase and the game is in another phase .

 

so, noway out , i have to get my signals from the game it self , and this needs professional in games programming to give directions on how can i deal with moving model in the game and tell me from where to start.

 

thanks for the great efforts,

[Speed]

hi DCS team,

am a new fan of flight sims but lately i gave this great hobby my interest , last month me and my colleagues in my graduation project ,which share me the interest in flying sims ,decided to make our project a UNIQUE MASTER PIECE , some of theme went for making a computer controlled 5 axes CNC machine , but i suggested a crazy idea .... i suggested to make a FULL MOTION flight simulation machine , a full motion with all what the word can give , as they all interested in flying sims they all found it great , but we argued about which sim we will fly ,but i imposed my opinion , i choose LOCK ON "flaming cliffs" , i appreciate your great efforts and respect your products and consider it as standards to be compared with.

 

we split in teams, one for setting up mechanisms and that is doing well , and the other "my team" went for making the control unite and linking the game with the machine , but unfortunately we had trouble since that is out of our knowledge.

 

1st we decided to make our set of motors take the signals directly from the controls but this wasn`t wise cuz the aircraft do not respond to controls constantly , like in low speeds and stalls ,the aircraft consider the controlling signals in different way then you in the machine in a phase and the game is in another phase .

 

so, noway out , i have to get my signals from the game it self , and this needs professional in games programming to give directions on how can i deal with moving model in the game and tell me from where to start.

 

thanks for the great efforts,

 

Sounds like a very interesting project! This is your senior design project? The project sounds a bit more fun than mine was :D

 

A professional in game programming- not required. Which sim exactly are you trying to do this with? Flaming Cliffs 2? or DCS? If either of those, I'm pretty sure I can help you.

 

First of all, the developers have put out small guide on data exporting here:

http://www.digitalcombatsimulator.com/en/dev_journal/lua-export/

Now, the listener.lua and talker.lua have supposedly dissappeared in the latest DCS versions, but it should give you an idea on how to get started at least. Anyway, in review, what you need to do is use the "Export" Lua environment (where you can easily retrieve information on your aircraft's roll, pitch, etc) to send data to another program using the "Luasocket" module. You got any more questions, let us know.

[Mojeaux]

Wow Speed these guys got a cool project!!! I would love to hear more.

[Speed]

Wow Speed these guys got a cool project!!! I would love to hear more.

 

Yea... like, when they're done, a price tag :D

[a new fan]

Yea... like, when they're done, a price tag :D

 

actually i`ll will go far than that ,after finishing my project and graduate , am gonna give my pet some addons,am gonna give it some reality like :

 

1- feeling force straight down into the seat in turns and being pushed back to the seat in take off and acceleration and pushed forward in brakes and landing .

 

2-you will not have to use a mouse or a game yoke ,you`ll have lcd moving whenever and wherever you move your head using infra sensors.

 

3- forget about yokes and key boards your gonna have a complete functioned cockpet ,with gauges and else .

 

4- and many ideas under consideration which i look for it`s possibility ,but for now no more promises .

 

and believe me all this is possible but with some help from guys like you in such respectable team work this can be done.

 

am very thankful to you speed for your help , what you told me gave me a relieve ,that made me have more time to work on my micro controllers .

 

and don`t be worry i`ll work on it hard cuz it`s not a matter of entertainment only ,but it is almost about business , and am a man of my word am gonna give u speed an offer on my pet THAT YOU CANNOT REFUSE and i`ll appreciate you and whoever give help , but be patient :) .

 

wish me luck,

[Speed]

Good luck then.

 

If you can create and market a decent system, I think you might find a niche in the market if you can make this thing decently affordable (no more than a few thousand dollars).

 

Another idea I like is, since we can't simulate the G-forces, perhaps a simulator seat could contain straps around the legs/waist/chest/whatever that tighten as more G-forces are applied in game. Just make sure you have a multiple, easy-to-reach, emergency stop buttons :D

Edited March 7, 2012 by Speed

[effte]

Inflatable cushions in the seat/seat back works wonders. Really fools the senses. Unfortunately it also replicated the seemingly mandatory badly placed buckle and associated discomfort. :D

[FLANKERATOR]

Maybe use/combine this in your project ? http://www.ivibe.com/index.php?page=product

[a new fan]

hi speed ,

i looked for Listener.lua and Talker.lua files in fc2 and a-10c and didn`t find any , which version conains this files?

[Speed]

hi speed ,

i looked for Listener.lua and Talker.lua files in fc2 and a-10c and didn`t find any , which version conains this files?

 

I donno what happened to them. I got into Lua after they had already been removed from the game, and none of my projects have gotten to the stage yet where I need Luasocket. However, I did find this file the other day, seems to have some good examples of Luasocket:

In C:\Program Files\Eagle Dynamics\DCS A-10C\Scripts\JConfigurator\Server.lua:

--package.cpath = package.cpath..";c:/lua/clibs/?.dll"
package.path = package.path.. ';.\\LuaSerializer\\?.lua;'
   .. '.\\LuaSocket\\?.lua;'

local socket = require("socket")
local serializer =  require("Serializer")

if dprint == nil then 
   dprint = print;
end;

dprint('listener started\n')
env = {};

host = host or "*"
port = port or 8080

pageIndex = 1;
initialized = false;

-- RequestCallback = function (fun)  
   -- fun();
-- end; 

function applyChanges(data)
   if data == nil then
       return;
   end;
   if data == 'ping' then 
       return;
   end;
   
   dprint(data ..'\n')
   
   local pageName = string.sub( string.match(data, '[%w_]+%.'), 1, -2 );
   local name = string.sub( string.match(data, '.[%w_]+[ =]'), 2, -2);
   local value = string.sub( string.match(data, '[ = ].+'), 4);
   
   dprint(string.format('pageName %s name %s value %s\n',pageName, name, tostring(value)));
   if ChangeCallback ~= nil then
       if string.match(value, 'true') then
           ChangeCallback(pageName, name, true)
       elseif string.match(value, 'false') then
           ChangeCallback(pageName, name, false)
       elseif (tonumber(value) ~= nil) then
           ChangeCallback(pageName, name, tonumber(value))
       else
           ChangeCallback(pageName, name, value)
           value = [[']] .. value .. [[']];
       end;
   end;
   
   local str = 'env.' .. pageName .. '.' .. name .. '.value = ' .. value;
   local f, err = loadstring(str);
   if err ~= nil then
       dprint('loadstring error' .. err ..'\n')
       return;
   end;
   --setfenv(f, env);
   f();

end;   

function sendParams()
   local str = '\n';
   str = '';
   for k,v in pairs(env) do 
       local ser = serializer:serialize_to_string_noCR( k, v)
       dprint(string.format('%s %s %s\n',k,tostring(v),ser));
       str = str .. ser .. ';';
   end
   local res, err = connection:send(str .. '\n');
   if err then
       dprint('error sending params' .. err ..'\n');
       connection:close();
       initialized = false;        
   else
       dprint('sent: ' .. res ..'\n');
   end;  
end; 
 

function main()
   dprint('Starting listener\n');
   dprint("Binding to host '" ..host.. "' and port " ..port.. "...\n")
   s, err = socket.bind(host, port)
   if s == nil then
       dprint('error binding socket' .. err);
   end;
   ip, port   = s:getsockname()
   --assert(i, p)

   while true do 
       dprint("Waiting connection from talker on " .. ip .. ":" .. tostring(port) .. "...\n")
       connection, err = s:accept();
       if connection == nil then
           dprint(err);
       else
           dprint("Connected\n")
           local data, err;
           while err == nil do
               data, err = connection:receive()
               if err then 
                   dprint('receive error ' .. err ..'\n')
                   connection:close();
                   --initialized = false;
                   break;
               end;
               print(data);
               if (data == 'REQUEST_PARAMS') then
                   if initialized == true then 
                       if RequestCallback ~= nil then
                           print('calling request callback');
                           RequestCallback(sendParams);
                       else
                           print('sending test params');
                           sendTestParams();
                       end;
                   else
                       print('sending empty string');
                       local res, err = connection:send('\n');
                       if err then
                           print('error sending',err);
                       end;
                   end;
                 --sendParams(env)
               else
                 applyChanges(data)
               end;    
           end
       end;
   end;    
end; 

function addParam(pageName, name, value, _min, _max )
   dprint( 
       string.format( 'pageName: %s, name: %s value: %s, %s %s\n', 
           pageName, name, tostring(value), tostring(_min), tostring(_max)));
   if env[pageName] == nil then 
       env[pageName] = {};
       env[pageName].index = pageIndex;
       env[pageName].paramCount = 0;
       pageIndex = pageIndex + 1;
   end;
   
   if env[pageName][name] == nil then    
       env[pageName][name] = {};    
   end;
   env[pageName][name].value = value
   env[pageName][name].range = {_min, _max};
   env[pageName].paramCount = env[pageName].paramCount + 1;
   env[pageName][name].index = env[pageName].paramCount;
   
   --sendParams()
end;

function sendTestParams()
   for i = 1, 5 do 
       local pageName = 'Page' .. tostring(i);
       for j = 1, 30 do 
           local paramName = 'Param' .. tostring(j);
           addParam(pageName, paramName, j, i, 100 );
       end;
   end
   sendParams();
end; 


if (arg ~= nil) and (string.lower(arg[1]) == 'standalone') then
initialized = true;
main();
end;

 

BTW, you don't have to put a semicolon after a line of Lua (a single space does just as well). Obviously, whoever wrote this at ED was still in C++ mode :)

[a new fan]

thanx speed , but unfortunately am poor in in programming languages except for some useless c++ ,all i have is mikro C for micro controllers , but i learn these stuff quick and i`ve begun studying lua to be able to understand the luasoket and the export.lua file cuz i may need to modify it for exporting other things like the MFD`s output to be displayed on lcds in the vertual cockpit and any thing that may pop up later , so i think if files like Listener.lua and Talker.lua are important in that field so i need them to be studied cuz modifying them is much more easier than building a new model .

 

i do really need your opinion,

thanx for being near.

[a new fan]

by the way , don`t you think that the P-51D Mustang Coming in 2012 is disappointing a little ?!! where is f22 ? where is the super hornet ?

 

 

[Speed]

thanx speed , but unfortunately am poor in in programming languages except for some useless c++ ,all i have is mikro C for micro controllers , but i learn these stuff quick and i`ve begun studying lua to be able to understand the luasoket and the export.lua file cuz i may need to modify it for exporting other things like the MFD`s output to be displayed on lcds in the vertual cockpit and any thing that may pop up later , so i think if files like Listener.lua and Talker.lua are important in that field so i need them to be studied cuz modifying them is much more easier than building a new model .

 

i do really need your opinion,

thanx for being near.

Lua is a very easy language to pick up- I've advanced to probably a "high intermediate" skill level in Lua in about a year of occasionally programming in Lua in my free time. I'd recommend the online Lua manual:

http://www.lua.org/manual/5.1/

Also google searches for specific Lua functions and implementations can be useful too.

If you want a hard copy of the Lua manual, it can be very useful, buy one here:

http://www.amazon.com/Lua-Reference-Manual-Roberto-Ierusalimschy/dp/8590379833/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1331739134&sr=8-2

 

 

 

by the way , don`t you think that the P-51D Mustang Coming in 2012 is disappointing a little ?!! where is f22 ? where is the super hornet ?

As long as it's true that ED hasn't been spending vast amounts of their time working on P-51, it's not that disappointing, no. The claim made about P-51 is that some developers had developed much of the code for P-51 as a side project for flight model (and perhaps SDK) testing, and then ED decided to take it to completion, as much of the hard work had been done.

 

As far as the F-22, it's far too classified to ever be modeled in DCS. Hell, the US won't even export a dumbed-down version of it to foreign nations, let alone release enough information about its avionics and performance that a development team could make a realistic simulation out of it! The closest thing we could ever get would be the F-15C, and frankly, that's near the bottom of the wish list for most of the community (who would prefer F-15E, F-16, or F-18 instead).

 

As far as the Superhornet goes, that also may have too much classified information to be properly modeled- but it may not. We don't know for sure what the next DCS aircraft will be, other than it will be a US fixed wing fighter or multi-role fighter. The F/A-18C is currently the one most knowledgeable people are placing their bets on, but nothing is certain.

Edited March 14, 2012 by Speed

[PeterP]

Maybe X-simulator is what you are searching for:

http://www.x-simulator.de/forum/brainsto...it=Brainstormer

Check the video of brainstormer!