Meshland

Project home: Two sources Meshland, official site. MeshLand_1.9.2, Orbiter-forum/resources. Author: Artyom "Artlav" Litvinovich Current version: 1.9.2, 2006-06-05 Compatibility: Unknown

MeshLand is an Orbiter plugin which offers a vessel-terrain and vessel-vessel collision detection and handling for Orbiter. MeshLand interfaces with Visosad, which is a rigid body physics simulator and integral part of Meshland.

Versions and variants

MeshLand 1.x is based on the original idea collision detection engine. Collision handling utilised the Orbiter's LANDED state and touchdown points modification, which resulted in highly-stable and time acceleration-neutral system, but highly physically inaccurate model.

MeshLand 1.1 Apollo version is based on the 1.x engine, but with minimal tilting support and well-debuged SDK.

MeshLand-Visosad vessel-vessel beta is based on the new idea engine using forces and shifts to simulate collision handling, thus achiving higher physical accuracy, but lower stability. Only MeshLand version to date to be able to do plausible vessel-vessel collisions.

MeshLand-Visosad 1.9.x is based on the stabilised vessel-vessel collision beta with vessel-vessel part coded out, and vessel-terrain part fixed to presentable level.

MeshLand-Visosad-Orulex system is based on the 1.9.x version with collision detection removed and collision handling system linked directly to Orulex terrain function for collision data. Composes the ideas from 2.0 and 1.9, therefore quite unstable.

MeshLand-Visosad 2.0 is based on the new idea engine using shifts and vector modifications to simulate collision handling, features high physical accuracy and decent stability. Orulex support is integrated. As of April 1, 2008 when the Orulex 1.0 was released, the current version is 080327 and this version is unstable.

General features

• Allows to land on terrain meshes, planetary meshes (asteroids less than 20Km for <2.0) and multi-level structures.
• Collision detection is largely independent from the sizes and amounts of landscape details.
• Generic vessel support allows to use unmodified vessels when landing on the landscape (With small limitations for <2.0).

v1.1 Key Features

• For advanced features there is Collision SDK.
• A "3D surface" MFD is included, which is a scratch of Surface MFD with some Visosad controls.
• Project Apollo version allows limited tilting.

v1.1 Bugs/limitations

• Physically inaccurate solution.
• When vessels (all of them, unless modified) are in generic mode, landing gears are assumed to be in the same state (that of the beginning of the simulation) regardless of their current state.
• Bases that uses SPHEREMAPPED feature are not supported.
• Configuration and documentation is known to be confusing.

v1.9 Key Features

• Physically accurate collision solution.
• For advanced features there is Collision SDK
• V-V beta calculates collisions between vessels.

v1.9 Bugs/limitations

• When vessels (all of them, unless modified) are in generic mode, landing gears are assumed to be in the same state (that of the beginning of the simulation) regardless of their current state.
• Bases that uses SPHEREMAPPED feature are not supported.
• Configuration and documentation is known to be confusing.
• Little stability on slow systems or high time accelerations.

v2.0 Key Features

• Landable terrain meshes, asteroids meshes, dynamic meshes and multi-level structures.
• Physically accurate collision solution.
• Generic vessel support allows to use unmodifyed vessels when landing on the landscape.
• Collision SDK for landscape information and run-time mesh modifications.
• Landing gears support.
• Friction and springiness definition support.
• High stability under higher time accelerations, possibly time accel-neutral scheme.
• Very probably, a good manual-reference.

v2.0 Bugs/limitations

N/A

External Links

• Latest unstable version of Meshland 080327
• Current version: 1.9.2.1_ml-060606 at Orbiter Forum/Resources.
• Vessel-vessel beta version: ml-060227
• Project Apollo version: 1.1_ml-060120
• MeshLand 1.x release: 1.1_ml-060115
• 2.0 preview video (20Mb, 3min, DivX5)
• 2.0 preview thread at Orbiter forum
• Vessel-vessel beta thread at Orbiter forum
• Old Author main site (development status, etc) (Beware of parasitic pop-ups)
• New Author main site