Author Topic: Droppin' by to say hello  (Read 8021 times)

Greyhawke

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Droppin' by to say hello
« on: May 08, 2008, 02:14:47 AM »
Hi all!  Having always been very interested in manned space flight I've been thinking about purchasing this product for a while now.  Given the excellent review of SSM 2007 over at AvSim I decided it was time to add this product to my collection of manned space flight items.

My game plan is to use the medium difficulty settings as a training simulator and then once I feel confident with all the basic stages of a space shuttle mission - that is, all the basic tasks required by all space shuttle missions (pre-launch checks, launch and ascent, orbital insertion, etc.) then I will launch and conduct STS-1 on the hard difficulty setting, using only my checklists and training experience to successfully accomplish the mission.

After this first step, the gameplan is to conduct mission specific training on the medium difficulty setting (such as using the RMS, orbital rendezvous, docking, etc.) and then conduct each of the subsequent missions on the hard difficulty setting.  Again, using only checklists and training experience to accomplish each mission.

Along the way I will document what I do and when I do it, so that at some point in the future it will be possible for me to share my training program and schedule with anyone else who might be interested in exploring SSM 2007 in a similar fashion.

Basically, I'll be trying to replicate the space shuttle astronaut cycle of general training, mission specific training, and then actually conducting the specific mission for which completed training will make an SSM 2007 "sim" astronaut qualified/competent enough to complete with only what "they have up there".   :)

Having recently retired I have found myself with plenty of time on my hands to pursue interests such as this and look forward to the SSM 2007 challenge.

Lastly, let me say that I think the level of product support thus far, as exemplified by the information available on this website, in the form of released product service packs, and the release of the free new mission content is impressive indeed.

In closing, I'm glad to be aboard!  :)

Best Regards to All,

"Greyhawke"
"Hold on tight to your dreams . . ."

Zenra

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Re: Droppin' by to say hello
« Reply #1 on: May 08, 2008, 08:59:25 PM »
Welcome, Greyhawke!

I am new to SSM, too, and really enjoying it.  I have adopted a similar approach to what you describe, and feel it will be a rewarding way to climb the learning curve of this terrific simulation.

If you haven’t seen it already you might be interested in this:

http://www.space-shuttle-mission.com/forum/index.php?topic=1441.0

It includes a suggested approach to providing training within the mission structure of the program, which I think would be great, and the developers seem to have received theh suggestion favorably.

Looking forward to reading what you learn and have to offer from it, and have fun.

Zen

Zenra

Greyhawke

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Re: Droppin' by to say hello
« Reply #2 on: May 10, 2008, 09:48:25 PM »
Zen (and anyone else interested),

Well, so far here is what I have done.  May not seem like much but I did have a son graduate from college this week, and both my son and daughter had housing moves involved with the end of the semester (my son to his new apartment for his new job, and my daughter to the house she'll be renting with some friends for her last year at MSU).  Forgive my ramble, lol.

Anyway, I printed extra copies of pages 35 and 36 (the pages in the manual with the panel layout diagrams - and yup I printed the entire manuals and put 'em in a binder for reading away from the computer) and then the downloadable checklists and put all of them into document protectors to keep them in good shape after repeated use.  I am going to switch to using the Michael Swannick compressed checklists after yesterday's session.  So those are now printed out and in document protectors as well.

It goes without saying that the real astronauts would practice procedures/train much more than I did, that being said I figured at least one run in each commom mission phase for familiarization purposes and then a second run for a full "mock" rehearsal should be the minimum amount of sim "training".

For the record, I found no difference whatsoever (difficulty-wise) between using the sim on "medium" difficulty with printed checklists and using the game on "hard" difficulty with printed checklists.  Basically found myself running off the checklists and panel layout diagrams period.  Perhaps this is just  a learned habit from days as an instrument rated private pilot, but to me the process was easy and intuitive and the learning curve not that steep at all.

In short,

All training sessions conducted as follows:

-No use of drop down panel selection menu (only 3d cockpit view and manual panel selection with mouse)

-Timeskip feature used as often as preferred (would rather spend simulation training time actually training rather than waiting for the next comm/procedure)

1) Using STS-1, completed a familiarization run of Prelaunch sequence on medium difficulty.

2) Using STS-1, completed a second "mock" rehearsal of the Prelaunch sequence on hard difficulty.

3) Using STS-1, completed a familiarization run of the Ascent sequence on medium difficulty.

4) Using STS-1, completed a second "mock" rehearsal of the Ascent sequence on hard difficulty.

5) Using STS-1, completed a "mock" rehearsal of both the Prelaunch and Ascent sequences on hard difficulty.

I think you get the drift, I will continue training in this fashion until I have completed all the basic mission sequences of STS-1 and have completed a "mock" rehearsal of the entire STS-1 mission.  Further, I will probably require at least 5 good consecutive landings in order to consider the Deorbit and Landing sequence "passed".

In subsequent missions, I'll do familiarization and mock rehearsal runs as necessary to become competent with any new mission goals being introduced, then do a mock rehearsal of the entire mission before actually conducting the mission for "real".

To help differentiate between training runs and actually conducting a mission, I have created two users, one with my name only (for use when doing the missions with "everything on the line"), and another with my name followed by a TRNG designator (for use when conducting any "training" scenarios).

Of course, there will be no use of the save feature except to temporarily end a game session for later resumption (and right now I'm thinking of foregoing the use of the Timeskip feature as well) when conducting missions "for real".  :)

We'll see, again, I will come back with an abbreviated schedule/list of what I have done after I have finished with STS-1 and then again after subsequent missions.  Will start another thread so that all the information can/will be found in one place.

Anyway, there you have it, my finalized "method" for completing all the missions.  Details will follow down the road.

Take care and best regards all!  :)

"Greyhawke"
« Last Edit: May 10, 2008, 09:50:26 PM by Greyhawke »
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Zenra

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Re: Droppin' by to say hello
« Reply #3 on: May 12, 2008, 07:23:30 PM »
Greyhawke,

You certainly have a structures approach - looking forward to hearing of your progress.

I find, too, that there is little difference between "medium" and "hard" once you learn you way around the flight deck.  I have been flying STS-1 a lot as a way to learn where everything is and how things work.  As I have posted in another thread one of the things I really like about SSM is how so many of the systems are modeled and available.  Have you found your way to some of the real world Shuttle manuals available on the net?  Many of the systems, DPS displays, etc. are "undocumented", at least insofar as the manual that comes with SSM is concerned.  It's really cool to read through the real procedures and then try it in SSM and find it actually works!  To me this is the best part of this sim and I continue to be impressed.

Zen
Zenra

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Re: Droppin' by to say hello
« Reply #4 on: May 12, 2008, 09:28:20 PM »
You are of course correct. The only major difference between easy, med and hard levels is the degree of "hand-holding" one gets.

The higher you go, the less on-screen information/help arrows about what to press, where to go and when. At the highest setting you are more or less expected to use checklists, manuals etc. just like in the real Shuttle.

If you went in an orderly fashion and trained enough through the easier settings, you will not have a hard time finishing missions at the hardest level. It is only a matter of the "three Ps" I've been evangelizing around here: Patience, Perseverance and Practice.

Keep up the Ps!
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Becker07

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Re: Droppin' by to say hello
« Reply #5 on: May 12, 2008, 11:55:33 PM »
Great post :)

Looking forward to hear about your familiarisation with the landings. I've lost count now yet I still find it takes every little bit of concentration as when I started. Good luck and keep posting. Nice to see someone take their time.

Greyhawke

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Re: Droppin' by to say hello
« Reply #6 on: May 14, 2008, 09:33:14 AM »
Right on and thank you very much for the kind words Becker07, they are very much appreciated.

As far as the landings go, I haven't had any problems but then I must admit to being a very avid flightsim fan, and as a point of information, not a boast, a non-current private pilot as well (lost my medical certificate for a heart condition).

The thing from my realworld flight training that has carried over and served me very well both in this sim and other flightsims, especially when it comes to flying approaches is this:

When manually flying any aircraft, or the shuttle in this case, you are better off making small corrections early rather than big corrections late.  Make this your rule of thumb to live by when landing and I promise you will see immediate and definite improvement.   :)

And I can tell you for certain that EVERY good landing, starts with a good approach.   That's a fact, not just an old aviation axiom.

Best regards and thanks again for your thoughts,

"Greyhawke" 
"Hold on tight to your dreams . . ."

Zenra

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Re: Droppin' by to say hello
« Reply #7 on: May 15, 2008, 02:04:31 AM »
Quote
As far as the landings go, I haven't had any problems but then I must admit to being a very avid flightsim fan...

This has been my experience, too - after reading many posts here when I first got SSM I was prepared for the worst the first time I tried to land but instead found it rather easy, not due to any particular skill on my part but rather to the thousands of hours I've spent with computer flight sims (and just ask my wife if you'd care to hear a rather colorful description of just how many hours have and continue to be so spent :)).  The only time I've blown a landing in SSM is when I landed on the wrong runway (tried landing on teh paved runway at Edwards :D)  Small, gentle control inputs are almost always the way to go, and patience is required in that you want to give the plane time to react to your control inputs.  Even F16s as in Falcon 4 respond best to a gentle hand on the HOTAS when it comes to landing.

Zen
Zenra

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Re: Droppin' by to say hello
« Reply #8 on: May 15, 2008, 06:23:25 AM »
Speaking for myself, The shuttle Landing is the most exciting aspect of flight for me because you only have ONE attempt at getting it right. As with most here, I'm am also flightsim refugee and with the aircraft I fly I could always grab throttles and have some margin of error. Using the same equipment in SSM2007, I find myself wagging on the power settings in the terminal stages of a shuttle landing!!! :D Seems like all those flights soaring in the glider looking for thermals paid off.