![]() ![]() Here’s an auction for, “The first personal computer”, a MICRAL N, released in 1974. The Apple I is right out, and there were some weird Italian things that don’t quite count. It wasn’t an IBM, and the guy who invented the personal computer said he didn’t invent the personal computer. Quick question: what was the first personal computer? We love pointless arguments over technological history, so let’s just go down the list. Posted in Arduino Hacks, Peripherals Hacks Tagged arduino, controller, kerbal space program, ksp, KSPSerialIO The overlap between KSP players and hackers seems unusually high, but of course a game that lets you build and fly contraptions of your own design does sound like something that would be right up our alley. We’ve covered quite a number of custom KSP controllers here at Hackaday. ![]() He also went through the expense of having the panel and case professionally laser cut and etched, which definitely gives it a polished feel. That’s an extra step that isn’t strictly required for a build like this, but once you see it, you’re going to have a hard time not wanting to include it on your own panel. went with a fairly general purpose panel, but did spend quite a bit of extra time to get some slick LED bar graphs hooked up to display resource levels of different systems on his craft. There’s a whole lot of things you can build in KSP, and the layout, inputs, and displays on your controller should ideally reflect your play style. Are you looking to fly planes? Control a rover? Maybe you just want a master control panel for your space station. The first step in building your own KSP controller is deciding what you want it to do. Once the logistics of how you’ll talk to the game are settled, the rest is really up to the individual. For his controller, forked KSPSerialIO, a plugin for KSP that allows bidirectional communication between the game and your controller, enabling things like digital readouts of speed and fuel levels on the controller’s panel. This works fine up to a point, but is limited because it’s only a one-way method of communication. ![]() Wiring switches and buttons to the Arduino.Īt the most basic level, building a KSP controller consists of hooking a bunch of switches and buttons to a microcontroller such as the Arduino or Teensy, and converting those to USB HID key presses that the game understands. Luckily for us, he’s written up an exceptionally well detailed guide on building KSP controllers that should prove useful even if you don’t want to clone his. If you want the ultimate KSP control setup, you’ll need to follow in the footsteps of and build your own. You really want a joystick and throttle at the absolute minimum for accurate maneuvers, but even you’ll be spending plenty of time back on the keyboard to operate the craft’s various systems. Right now you need to focus on getting those rockets built and establishing a network of communication satellites so you can get out of low orbit.įor those of you who’ve played the game (or are joining us again after playing KSP for the prescribed 10, 12, 16 hours), you’ll know that the humble computer keyboard is not very well suited to jaunts through space. ![]() Don’t worry, Hackaday will still be here when you get back. If you haven’t, then you should set aside about ten hours today to go check that out real quick. If you have even the most passing interest in space and what it takes to get there, you’ve probably already played Kerbal Space Program (KSP). ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |