Dev Insights: The Lunar Module and new checklist features
The Lunar Module is now at a stage where it's major systems and functions can operate individually and together as a whole.
As with the other spacecrafts in Reentry, nothing is checklist based (complete checklist X to progress with the mission). This means that each system has an underlying system controlled by the Lunar Module panels, giving you a lot of freedom on how you achieve and react to situations, and handle failures, mistakes and bugs.
However, checklists are still a standard way to operate the spacecraft, and the in-game Mission Pad has checklists resembling the ones used for real.
During the initial part of the mission, the Lunar Module is in a near Cold & Dark configuration. This means that when you wish to power up the Lunar Module, a lot of systems needs to be turned on, from electricity to the oxygen supplies. The checklist used by the crew to perform this is a very lengthy checklist, and has made me rethink how some of the checklists can work.
With this, I now added new checklist features, such as being able to verify and run sections of some checklists, where it makes sense, such as the LM Subsystems Activation checklists. In addition, some tasks such as setting powering the LM through the LM can be performed by other crew members such as the Command Module Pilot (you can switch to the CM and do this yourself too, if you wish).
As a side track, this can be developed into a new and better interaction system where a dedicated menu can exist, where you can give some commands to the crew and mission control in a new and different way.
The Lunar Module will soon be rolled out to the Test Pilots, for initial testing, as I continue implementing the details that happens between the panels and the systems.
As with the other spacecrafts in Reentry, nothing is checklist based (complete checklist X to progress with the mission). This means that each system has an underlying system controlled by the Lunar Module panels, giving you a lot of freedom on how you achieve and react to situations, and handle failures, mistakes and bugs.
However, checklists are still a standard way to operate the spacecraft, and the in-game Mission Pad has checklists resembling the ones used for real.
During the initial part of the mission, the Lunar Module is in a near Cold & Dark configuration. This means that when you wish to power up the Lunar Module, a lot of systems needs to be turned on, from electricity to the oxygen supplies. The checklist used by the crew to perform this is a very lengthy checklist, and has made me rethink how some of the checklists can work.
With this, I now added new checklist features, such as being able to verify and run sections of some checklists, where it makes sense, such as the LM Subsystems Activation checklists. In addition, some tasks such as setting powering the LM through the LM can be performed by other crew members such as the Command Module Pilot (you can switch to the CM and do this yourself too, if you wish).
As a side track, this can be developed into a new and better interaction system where a dedicated menu can exist, where you can give some commands to the crew and mission control in a new and different way.
The Lunar Module will soon be rolled out to the Test Pilots, for initial testing, as I continue implementing the details that happens between the panels and the systems.