The scope of version 1.0 was to:
1) Launch into Orbit in Project Mercury
2) Rendezvous and Dock in Project Gemini
3) Land on the Moon in Project Apollo
The scope was to implement the core features and systems needed to let game support these three features.
In addition, the following requirements had to be met:
1) Each craft needs a dedicated Academy, Flight Manual and a Campaign
2) A functional tool for planning burns, retrograde burns, landing locations
3) English is the 1.0 language, but all tools to provide translation support must exist
Version 2.0 will improve the systems of each supported craft, and add additional features to the game. It will also improve the burn planners, and add additional languages to the game.
That is unfortunate. This is a very complex game, running on a very complex game engine (Unity).
Not meeting hardware requirements
80% if the crash reports are due to memory issues/too little system and/or video memory. Make sure your game meets the minimum requirements.
Other frequent crash issues
- Running on a system that does not have a dedicated GPU
- Not having the latest GPU drivers installed, or various system drivers
- Conflicting software can make the game crash, such as XR LAYERS (even if not playing in VR), reshade, etc.
- The game.rsf / storage.rsf files are corrupt due to various reasons (unexpected shutdowns, game crash, system crash, etc)
For solutions to various known crash scenarios, please check the pinned threads on the games Steam Community Hub:
Steam forum:
https://steamcommunity.com/app/882140/discussions/
A short-term roadmap can be found from the in-game menu.
Please note that this does not include my visions and unannounced features. Its intent is to give you a general state of the development work currently being done. I have many plans for this game, and reaching 1.0 was just the beginning. The1.0 release was all about the removal of the Early Access flag, and adding the core features needed to orbit Earth, rendezvous and dock, and land on the Moon.
The easiest and most direct way is to post it in the #suggestions channel over at the official Reentry Discord group. I'm active there, and we have a team of Test Pilots who registers and handles suggestions and feedback. Posting the log file also helps.
The Reentry project is a very complex one. It requires me to push many of the boundaries and limitations of the Unity game engine, as well as my own capabilities. What you currently see is the absolute best I can do with my current skills and game engine limitations. However, I frequently try to improve every aspect of this sim, either logic or visuals, and if I figure out or learn something new to improve the game, I will. This game is an ongoing project and you will (and maybe have already seen) many improvements after the 1.0 milestone.
The current visual quality was the scope of the 1.0 milestone.
However, as mentioned above, I hope to improve and make this game better and better for as long as I can support it.
I strive to make this game as good as possible, and every time I learn a new skill or method that can be used to improve the game, I will try my best to apply it. When it comes to simulation, the target simulation level of this game is medium fidelity. This means that systems, physics, and modelling will in some places be simplified. I strive to make this game as approachable as possible for the general gamer, where simulation meets gamification. For example:
Earth Oblateness
The oblateness of Earth is not modelled in this game. The physics assumes a spherical Earth and Moon. The variable lunar gravity (non-uniform strength differing across the Moon's surface) is also not modelled.
Systems
I try to make systems as realistic as possible when it comes to the procedures needed to operate them. The goal of version 1.0 is to get the core systems needed in Mercury to complete an orbital mission, the core systems in Gemini to complete orbital maneuvering, rendezvous and docking, and the core systems needed in Apollo to land on the Moon and return back to Earth for a safe splashdown. To keep a realistic scope, systems outside of this are not modelled, or kept as a placeholder for version 2.0.
The goal towards 2.0 is to implement more systems, and improve the existing systems so that the procedures that you follow are as realistic as possible.
Roll affects Pitch and Yaw during drifting
While you maneuver in space, you fire various jets to create an angular rate. Each jet is designed to affect roll, pitch and/or roll. The game mostly uses custom double precision physics for orbital mechanics, but when it comes to attitude control I wanted to try and use PhysX, the built-in physics engine that comes with the Unity Engine. This gives me the option to use powerful engine features for attitude control, docking, collision detection, and the other physics-features the engine provides. However, this also comes with a limitation. Unity uses a set way for transforming its rigid bodies. This causes an unrealistic drift when roll is applied during a maneuver. This is only visible if you have a roll, or apply a roll, during a maneuver.
As I transition from version 1.0 and towards 2.0, I wish to try and solve this issue. From my research related to this topic, I feel I have 3 different options:
1) Full built-in engine use: Figure out if there is a setting that can let me change this behavior. So far I have not found this.
2) Hybrid: Create different logic for roll and store it in a custom transformation matrix, but use the built-in PhysX for pitch and yaw. This will lead to some game logic modifications and guidance logic modifications, but it will let me control roll individually. From my initial testing this seems to work and is doable.
3) Custom physics controller/engine for attitude control: This will be a big task but basically solves the problem by writing my own physics controller for this. This will force me to opt-out from PhysX and the benefits it has in many other aspects of the game.
There is always a case where this might not be solved, but my desire is to do so. Most players won't notice, but the main downside of this is drift prediction, and the need to tune roll during a maneuver at the expense of some extra fuel. I have experienced about 2-8% extra fuel consumption during a mission due to this, and I have compensated this in the fuel consumption ratio. If you struggle with this in-game I recommend you to complete the roll maneuver either before or after completing the maneuver in pitch and yaw - this way there will be no extra fuel consumption. The autopilot will tune during the maneuvers as it has been designed with the goal of me finding a solution for this.
Having my own implementation of the Space Should would be a dream come true. To stay withing the 1.0 scope, the Mercury, Gemini, CSM, and the LM has received most of the focus before the 1.0 milestone was reached. With 1.0 reached, the game will start to evolve towards 2.0, and a Space Shuttle DLC is being researched. No promises.
It makes sense to have Russian spacecrafts in Reentry. I have been looking into this for quite some time, and if there is one that I would like to implement, it would be Vostok, the Soyuz TMA or the TMA-M variant. However, getting the documentation I need (in English), rights to used them, and the data I need seems to be very hard. I have access to the Souyz TM manual, but that's about it. If you have manuals, please reach out and send them my way so I can do some research!
The current main blockers for Vostok is licensing and the rights to use it in the game.
Translation will be largely community based. The scope of version 1.0 is to have full support for English, and English will be the only full language of the game. However, community contributions has already been applied and translates parts of the game to various languages.
A language system is available in the game that will let you translate the game, or parts of it.
You can learn more about how to contribute from the Main Menu of the game, or on Git Hub:
https://github.com/ReentryGame/Languages/
If the game crashes when loading into a mission (you select a mission from Main Menu, and the mission loading screen shows), it typically means that your hardware does not meet the minimum requirements. Make sure you have a dedicated graphics card and enough memory (RAM). You can also try to set all the graphics settings to minimum (Earth Textures to LOW, and graphics setting slider to Minimum).
If the game crashes even before the main menu loads (not while loading a mission. If this is your issue, see above), ie. when you open the game from Steam, it can mean that some settings are corrupt for some reason.
Try the following (please use caution and take backups):
1) Reinstall the game
2) Verify games file integrity
3) Make a backup and then remove the "ReEntry" folder here:
%appdata%\..\LocalLow\Wilhelmsen Studios\
4) Disable Cloud Storage from the games properties on Steam
The game will automatically recreate the required settings files. Please note that deleting this folder will remove the settings, saves, progress, missions etc. that are stored in this folder. Make sure you take a backup of this folder before removing it.
Steam is the platform for the games Early Access phase and release.
Windows Store was the platform for the Technical Preview, a phase that is completed. Reach out to convert your license to Steam.
The Technical Preview was hosted on Windows Store to test the game concept. However, the two versions had their differences:
- No TrackIR support
- No Virtual Reality support
- No multiplayer modes
- No DLCs
- Slow update cycles
These are two very different platforms. While Steam aims for the desktop market, Windows Store can be compared to stores for the mobile market (AppStore etc.). Due to code execution security, many SDK and functional calls are different or not allowed on Windows Store, making it impossible to port parts of the project. The major differences is the lack of support for SteamVR (meaning no Virtual Reality (VR) in the Windows Store version) and TrackIR. Multiplayer modes will not be supported, as with future DLCs.
In addition, the certification process and the manual steps required by the app certification team in Microsoft leads to delayed and slower updates, making the process slightly harder than for Steam versions. Due to this, I submit only a few of the updates I roll out through Steam to the Windows Store publishing pipeline (multiple updates are packed into a larger update).
A simulator like this needs VR support, and this is why I decided to release a preliminary support for Virtual Reality even before the 1.0 milestone, just to get started with VR development. You can consider the implementation as being in a research phase and is currently not affecting the price of the product.
It leverages the OpenXR API. I have had support for VR in internal branches for a long time but have not yet had the time to focus on it. I decided to just release its current state, so those who wish can start helping me in testing this. This is in an experimental phase and requires an HMD with motion controllers.
Multiplayer is considered and will be reaching it's 2nd phase of development after the 1.0 release. This means that the work has started on releasing a player driven Mission Control for Mercury (the Mercury Control Center) and Apollo Mission Control (MOCR). This allows a Mercury Astronaut or Apollo Astronaut (a player) to host the game session as a multiplayer game. Telemetry is being broadcasted from the spacecraft to the Mission Control Center. Other players can join in and work as a team to execute planned missions, and react to failures.
Current implementation:
Technical Preview and alpha testing round 2: Learn about network programming and verify if the architecture chosen works in the Reentry Universe.
Co-op would be great for spacecrafts that supports more than one astronaut. This is something I wish to support in the future, and could be possible by using the Mission Control Live logic as the basis. More research has to be done in this field.
This section will contain the Early Access interview used on the games Steam Store page before the 1.0 release. It sets the scope for 1.0, and what to expect after the 1.0 release. This is kept for reference.
“Reentry - A Space Flight Simulator is a physics-based space flight simulator where you will learn how to operate and fly spacecrafts used in real life. The project is in active development and currently has the spacecraft from Project Mercury, Project Gemini and Project Apollo. The goal of the project is to create a game that meets the balance between realism and gamification.
In such a complex game as this I believe in a development process where the community is involved early, and through Early Access I hope to both get feedback on what's already in the box, as well as suggestions on improvements, details and feature requests.
I'm constantly working on new features, as well as adding more and more details and improvements so you can get an immersive experience. After the 1.0 release, the development will continue to add new systems to existing spacecraft, improve existing systems, and add new game modes.
The target of Reentry is not to create a 100% replica/simulation of each module and their system (that would take more than a lifetime), but a playable craft that will let you experience how they mainly were operated, while also getting to experience more than one craft. The aim of the project is to let you experience human space flight through multiple craft, instead of going deep in a single craft.”
“The goal is to release 1.0 in November 2025.
All the spacecraft (Project Mercury, Project Gemini and Project Apollo with the Lunar Module) has reached their target 1.0 feature levels, where gamification vs. realism is considered per. system. Towards 1.0, I will polish the missions, systems and features. After 1.0, the game will focus on improving existing systems and content, but also might be expanded further with VR, multiplayer and other space programs like the Space Shuttle or the Russian programs as an expansion/DLC to the game.”
“In the full version of the game I wish to have the following improvements and features ready:
- Support for the Command Module and the Lunar Module of Project Apollo with their minimum/core systems needed to land on the Moon in the game. Some systems will not be simulated for 1.0, as the target is a general simulator for multiple spacecrafts.
- Able to land on the Moon in the Lunar Module, and perform lunar EVA's
- Campaigns where you start with the basic suborbital flight (Mercury) and end up having landed on the Moon (Apollo)
- Custom missions and Steam Workshop alpha-support
- A technical preview/concept of a multiplayer mission control module for Project Mercury and Project Apollo so you and your friends can fly a mission, where one controls the spacecraft and the other plays mission control. This will allow you to create your own flight plans, and execute them.
- Basic system failures and emergency procedures”
“Reentry - A Space Flight Simulator has been in development for 10 years (2015). The simulator is already in a fully playable state where you can complete missions and enjoy the simulator, and the view of Earth from orbit, and land on the Moon. The game is currently at its 1.0 feature level and scope.
It currently allows you to sit inside a highly interactive virtual cockpit for Project Mercury, Project Gemini, the Command Module and the Lunar Module. Almost every switch, circuit breaker, gauge and button can be modified and will trigger a reaction in the game.
The game also has a high resolution representation of Earth (64k) so you can see landmarks and details on Earth from orbit, as well as a view of the stars surrounding you. The current Earth and Moon models/graphics level, and transitions between landing areas is at the target for 1.0, but improvements can be made as I progress towards 2.0.”
“The price will always reflect the value of the implementation that is live right now (meaning future plans are excluded from the current price). The price will increase when the game transition from Early Access to 1.0*. This is a long term project and 1.0 is only the beginning. The price will change during development as major updates are released.
The game might further expand with DLCs and additional content.
* The price increase has been applied so the current price will be the 1.0 release price.”
“I'm actively seeking community feedback and suggestions.
There are many details and systems to simulate in Reentry, in addition to the realistic physics on launching into space, orbiting Earth and landing on the Moon. Community feedback helps me prioritize the tasks and features I wish to implement, as well as fixing serious issues and bugs.
There are many other space enthusiasts who might know some details I don't, as well as have feature requests I haven't even thought about. By involving the community, I can learn about these and add features and functionality based on the feedback.
My goal is to work with the Community to create a fun, immersive and realistic (but with simplifications) space flight simulator.”