Gemini RCS Physics
One of the bigger fixes this upgrade has is the rewrite of the RCS logic and jet physics for the Gemini spacecraft. Previously, the RCS and LV gimbal systems has made it impossible for some to reach orbit, or use the RCS due to it being overpowered. This was because of an issue with the attitude control physics implementation. Most players on either powerful PCs or PCs below the minimum requirements especially saw this issue, but it has been present for all.
Public Issue Tracker
I have been working with the Test Pilots on setting up a public issue tracker that you can use to see what bugs has been reported, and what has been fixed or is waiting for release to EA.
This is a board that is started from scratch, so it does not yet contain all the issues. The Steam and Discord moderators will be adding tasks to this board as things are reported.
You can find the board here:
https://trello.com/b/PHdetNmC/public-issue-tracker
Apollo CSM Environmental Control System
The biggest new feature of this update is the complete rewrite of the CSM ECS. It is the first of many iterations of it, and the intention of this first release of it is to get the procedures in place, the major features, and see how it all works together. As you can imagine, a lot of things functions together here and needs to become solid both during normal operation, and while time scaling. Once stable, I will iterate and go deeper in more specific areas of it.
It's a beautifully complex system that interacts with a huge loop of equipment to function correctly. The Oxygen Supply System is responsible for providing oxygen to the pressurized suit circuit (PSC), pressurizing the cabin, the water and water-glycol tanks in the water and coolant subsystems, while the heat exchanger in the PSC provides temperature control and to work with the water accumulators to pick up humidity from the oxygen the crew has been breathing. This water is then supplied to the evaporators for thermal control in the glycol loops, and so on.
In short, the ECS does the following primary tasks:
- Spacecraft atmosphere control
- Water management
- Thermal control
Part of the atmosphere control is that in the PSC, the air will go through the CO2 absorbers. There are two if these in the CSM. These will need to be replaced every 12 hours to avoid the CO2 to reach high levels (>7.6 mm Hg).
A new setting allows this to be done automatically, if you don't want the extra work of doing that (however, it is fun and the procedures are simple).
By looking at this diagram, you can see the complexity of the ECS:
The Reentry CSM Flight Manual has been updated with a new chapter covering the ECS too. In the manual, I have created and colored diagrams to simplify the understanding of this. It can be found here: https://reentrygame.com/manuals
A word about the PTC roll (aka "BBQ roll"): The radiators will be affected by its orientation relative to the sun and a planet. An ECS radiator that is exposed to the sun will receive heating from it, while a radiator that is "looking" into deep space will be cooled. Some of this logic has been applied to systems too. However, since I have yet to implement the PTC-roll features the sun will not be able to fry equipment that is exposed to the "sun" over long durations. A PTC-roll could be done manually by orienting the spacecraft and applying a slow roll so that a specific side of the CSM is not exposed to the sun for too long.
CSM ECS Academy lessons & Checklists
4 new Academy lessons has been added to cover the basics of the CSM ECS, and how to operate it. In addition, multiple new checklists can be found in the CSM Checklists tab on the mission pad. This covers the procedures on monitoring the ECS, checking the redundant components, pressurizing the cabin, changing the CO2 filters, and so on.
CSM IMU Gyro Error Accumulation
The optics system was released a few patches ago and gave you the possibility to use it to align the IMU, and use the scopes onboard the CSM. This has now been iterated on. As you use the CSM gyros in the IMU, they will drift and accumulate errors over time. Program 52, option 3 (see the CSM OPTICS lesson or the video below) is used to correct this, and should be used frequently during an Apollo mission, usually ahead of critical burns if it has not been aligned for a while. The procedures are complicated, so I have provided a realism option (Main Menu) that disables gyro drift.
See this video for a guide on how to operate the optics of the CSM:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fGY7QH_F49c
New CSM Panels, COAS reticle and Caution & Warning panel
Most of this update covers fixes and systems that is only visible through instrumentation. But the ECS has required the addition of some new panels (the 600's). I also fixed the COAS reticle so it has degrees measurements and change the look and feel of the CnWS system. In addition, multiple panel texture label typos has been corrected in the CSM and some on the LM.
P600,601,602 & Forward Hatch logic:
These panels are used with the Oxygen Supply Subsystem to vent and pressurize the cabin. There are other procedures that can do this too and are covered in the Academy and the Flight Manual.
The CO2 ABSORBER PANEL cover needs to be opened to expose the CO2 Canisters assembly. It can be a bit hard to find the first time you look for it, but keep exploring the spacecraft you want to learn and it will all start to reveal itself for you :)
COAS Reticle:
The COAS reticle has been redesigned to better reflect its real design and functionality.
CnWS:
The labels, lights and model has been altered to better reflect the real CnWS as well.
Long duration Apollo Missions will no longer fail the EPS
One major issue that we have seen is that the CSM will go all dark after about 160 hours MET. This issue was a combination triggered by players who usually do not purge the Fuel Cells and some internal temperature mechanics that would trigger an undetected overheat that would completely disable the EPS. Thanks to the work by JFast, I was finally able to pinpoint this issue and solve it. What a relief!
Lunar Module Master Alarm and CnWS rewire
The Lunar Module Master Alarm logic has changed. It now has a continuous signal tone & light (should not flash as the CSM). Pressing the Master Alarm button will silence the tone and reset the MA light.
New Gemini Scenarios
The update has removed the old deprecated Gemini Missions that was not working. These has been replaced with scenarios that allows you to train on rendezvous & docking. No instructions or mission commands exists, just an open world set up for a specific purpose.
The two first missions are full missions (like Free Play) set up to rendezvous with another Gemini, or to rendezvous & dock with Agena. The two bottom ones will load you close to either the Rendezvous burn for Agena, so that you can only focus on the burn and see how close you will end up with the target, or load into a stage where you are placed above the Agena and will need to perform the final approach.
Mission info on load screen
When a mission loads you will see a summary of the current mission settings. You will see the name of the mission, where it should start (so if you then start on the pad but the mission says Orbit, try to reload the mission), and if failures are enabled or not.
Major CSM SCS and EMS tweaks
The EMS has had some issues with the direction it counts and how it behaves in certain situation when in orbit. It would also trigger unplanned burns, and pressing THRUST ON when the SCS is not yet programmed for a burn could trigger an unexpected burn later when it is properly set up (but you did not press THRSUT ON). This has been corrected.
EECOM Station in MOCR
The EECOM station has been updated with a new CSM ECS CRYO TAB channel to monitor the major aspects of the CSM ECS. If you are a Mission Controller with the focused role of EECOM, then your role just got a lot bigger (and more fun).
Other fixes and tweaks worth covering
- Opening a checklist will reset the scroll position to the top, so it no longer starts in the same position as the previous checklist you did.
- Gemini SFX on load in orbit fixes. You should not hear all the ascent SFX played at once when loading a Gemini mission
- Fuel gurgle sfx in Gemini before ignition
- With the new Gemini Jet Physics: Gemini RCS thruster and Roll Program/ascent guidance power and inconsistency fixed
- A new Gemini OBC checklist has also been added to list the OBC cores. Remember that the computer will need to run for it to function.
- Gemini: Timescale should not influence the rendezvous radar anymore
- Gemini: External LV thruster light should not illuminate and create artifacts in the cockpit interior
- Gemini: Sun Visibility Check in cockpit view (corrects dark side of the Earth visibility)
- Gemini: PULSE mode is more stable and triggers correctly each time you press instead of being inconsistent.
- Lunar Module: Corrected the possibility to use the TTCA to decrease throttle in automatic mode. It should only be possible to increase throttle manually when in TTCA and auto mode. Manual control will give full throttle control.
- Lunar Module: Prevents the LM descent engine to be throttled below 10%. Changes in thrusting mechanisms too.
- Lunar Module: LM Ascent Engine can be started with He regulators closed. Reworked some of the He circuit logic in the Descent and Ascent engines. The He from the DES and ASC sources meets and goes through the primary/secondary regulators. Only one needs to be active for it to be properly pressurized.
- Minor Mercury mission and system fixes by watching N9 Gaming videos on YT.
- Lots of improvements to the underlying logic of the CSM burn planner and LM burn calculations, but still a long way to go when it comes to consistency of units (km vs. nmi vs. meters vs. feet) and precision throughout these tools and the game.
- Mercury VR: Inverted the selector direction of some cockpit selectors
- Lunar Module: Descent Stage stairs are not part of the ascent stage during the initial ascent phase, same with the RCS covers.
- Lunar Module: Ambient He flow and consumption fixes as the DPS engine is ignited and the Supercritical He takes over the role of pressurizing it.
The next few patches will correct more reported issues, and add the first iteration of optics for the Lunar Module, a burn planner tool for the Lunar Module, and some other surprises, while I continue to add language support and prepare for the 0.9 era. :)
I would like to thank Johannes Kemppanen (AFJ, A13) & Paolo Mangili for their input and discussions around the CSM ECS, as well as robryk for the extensive and detailed reports of issues with various CSM and LM systems. In addition, I want to thank all the Test Pilots for their testing and input of this build, N9 Gaming for the Mercury and Gemini bug reports and the great videos he has made on Reentry on YouTube, and the Discord and Steam community for their great feedback, input, feature suggestions and bug reports. I also want to thank Kamparo (Виталий Кампаро) for his Russian video tutorials for Reentry. The game could not exist without all of this support I get from you. This makes it a joy to work on this project, so thank you again!
- Petri
Changed files in this update