A new Flight Simulator
Posted: Wed Feb 28, 2018 10:02 pm
Hi Guys
This post is a fishing expedition.
I wanted to throw out there the crazy idea of making a new GPL flight simulator, as a feasible alternative to FlightGear.
There are so many essential elements of FG that are not done with future-proof in mind, and I'd like to see if there would be CORE-Developers that would be willing to consider jumping on such a Crazy Wagon.
The more people would be interested to participate, the more possible trying something of this nature could become.
I wrote an email to a friend about some philosophical principles I'd like to move forward: this post reproduces this idea:
This post is a fishing expedition.
I wanted to throw out there the crazy idea of making a new GPL flight simulator, as a feasible alternative to FlightGear.
There are so many essential elements of FG that are not done with future-proof in mind, and I'd like to see if there would be CORE-Developers that would be willing to consider jumping on such a Crazy Wagon.
The more people would be interested to participate, the more possible trying something of this nature could become.
I wrote an email to a friend about some philosophical principles I'd like to move forward: this post reproduces this idea:
If we decide to go this way, We would need to make some philosophical points; my ideas are :
1. License: Core being GPL (I wouldn't devote free time to a project otherwise)
2. Modularity should be a central philosophy. Hopefully Pluggability of extensions? Allowing these extensions to be rather open in terms of licensing.
3. A more logical better 3D rendering framework? maybe your blender idea? others? Performance here should be taken hard in consideration: As FG has become a Bloated software hard to run in low specs machines
4. I thing for PUI and core development, I'd love to go in a python framework (as oppose to PLIB?, C++, OSG?).
5. Terrain engine? Maybe using non-binary terrain lookup tables that can be directly generated from Shapefiles? (see gdal). This would be a rather different approach to the terragear system (as well as the crazy ideas of Terrain version 3 that the core move forward trying to damage TerraGIT, and which they seem to have already dropped;
Modularity on terrain would be critical
pythonize terrain? GDAL works really nice with python, too
6. 3D models. I think FG got it correct here, by using ASCII-based AC3 format. But any (1) open sourced, (2) text based non-binary alternative could be considered
7. FDM: Drop YASIM. Support Only JSBsim
8. Drop XML configurations. Maybe make configurations based on JSON-like structures
9. Kill nasal, completely. (that thing is the major FG bullshit), and make replace fully with python?
10. Drive development in a way that converting the current JSBsim FG aircrafts to the new FlightSim is not that difficult, so we can start porting?
11. Maybe write some python code that allows creating JSBsim using configuration files? so Converting YASIM crafts can be also be achieved?
AND FINALLY
12. Modularity, modularity, modularity and REUSABILITY
It will be great if we can per example make the aircraft development to be like python name-space creation? so any instrument is very pluggable and thus aircraft/scenery development is more similar to developing apps/plugins. And thus making and reusing instruments is fast and doable. I say this because most FG code is overbloated. Like instruments copied all over the place, and code lacking total reusability.
13. (PS:) Something else.
I am a multiplayer. I rarely use FG differently.
So, I think rethinking the MP server infrascture will be critical for me.
The capability to have a server that connects/interacts from other simulators would be an interesting thing?
