openrocket-announce Mailing List for OpenRocket

SourceForge Headquarters 225 Broadway Suite 1600 San Diego, CA 92101 +1 (858) 454-5900

Here is the corrected link to the Tutorials:
https://openrocket.info/tutorials/.  Please check them out and let us know
what you think.

The OpenRocket team is pleased to announce the release of version 23.09.

Download: https://openrocket.info/downloads.html?vers=23.09
Full release notes: https://openrocket.info/release_notes.html
OpenRocket Discord: https://discord.gg/qD2G5v2FAw

We're also introducing a new Tutorials page on the website:
https://openrocket.info/tutorials.html.   We'd love some feedback on these,
along with suggestions for topics.  Come talk to us on Discord, or join
this new mailing list:
https://sourceforge.net/p/openrocket/mailman/openrocket-website/.

*One additional note**: If you’re having trouble with 3D views with the new
version, try toggling the “Use off-screen rendering” setting in the
“Graphics” tab of preferences.*

Major new features of the 23.09 release include:

   - 3D Printing Support: Export any select component(s) to OBJ file (File
   -> Export as -> Wavefront OBJ or the contextual menu)
   - RASAero compatibility: Import / Export CDX1 files (File -> Import ->
   RASAero II and File -> Export as -> RASAero II)
   - Dark Mode (normal and high-contrast) and custom UI font size support:
   See "General" tab in Preferences
   - Export sim results table to CSV: select sims and then File -> Export
   simulation table as CSV File or use the contextual menu.

Major bug fixes:

   - Fixed tube fin drag (most noticeable when using less than a full set
   of six tube fins)
   - Fixed base drag when using Cd override (important when implementing
   Base Drag CP Correction)
   - Fixed atmospheric pressure when using ISA conditions
   - Properly sanitize XML in ORK file (eliminates corrupt ORK files that
   won't load)

And much, much more.  Many thanks once again to our developers, testers,
and users, and financial supporters.  Happy simming!

After 7 years and 9 months, including a full year of public betas, the
OpenRocket team is very excited (and relieved) to announce that the final
version of OpenRocket 22.02 is now available for download.  This new
version includes literally hundreds of new features and enhancements, UI
improvements, and bug fixes.

Huge thanks go out to the following:

   - The developers and everyone who contributed code, documentation,
   language translations, artwork, and anything else that could go into a pull
   request
   - The testers who gave incredibly valuable feedback as we proceeded
   through the public beta period
   - The financial contributors who made it possible for us to sign our
   applications
   - And finally, our thousands of users who have continued to use the app,
   and have waited patiently (?) for a new release

*Download at https://openrocket.info <https://openrocket.info>*

*Release notes:* https://openrocket.info/release_notes.html

Two quick notes:

   1. Mac users running macOS 13 or later must upgrade to 22.02; 15.03 will
   not run anymore.
   2. Windows users may still encounter a warning or two while installing.
   This should go away sometime soon.

Here are the major new features:

   - Rocket design features
      - Pods and strap-on boosters
      - Tail cones
      - Freeform fins on nose cones and transitions
      - Highly configurable rail buttons
      - Massive update to parachute configuration and part library
      - Dave Cook's extensive component library now built-in
      - Coefficient of Drag Override for components and assemblies (and
      more flexible override settings in general)
      - Lots more detailed geometry warnings which identify the components
      involved
   - Appearance updates
      - Settable opacity per-component
      - Separate left/right appearance for fins, and inner/outer appearance
      for tubes
   - App Infrastructure
      - Packaged installers for Windows, Linux, and macOS (JAR file still
      available)
      - Updated to Java 11
      - Native ARM version for Apple Silicon Macs (snappy!)
      - File association for ORK files: double-click files to open in the
      app
      - On Mac, app stays open after last window is closed

*…plus myriad smaller things to make day-to-day use more enjoyable.*

*Thanks for your continued support!*

A new (working) Mac installer for Beta 4 is now available. Mac users, have at it.

-Neil

Hi folks,
It seems there is a problem with the Mac installer for Beta 4.  So Mac
users should hold off for now until we can produce a new one that works.

Sorry for the inconvenience.

- Neil

The fourth public beta release of OpenRocket 22.02 is now available for
download.  This is a great release, with some very nice new features and
improvements along with the usual collection of bug fixes and tweaks.

*Download:* https://openrocket.info/downloads.html?vers=22.02.beta.04

*Full Release notes:* https://openrocket.info/release_notes.html

*Ongoing discussion and support:*
https://www.rocketryforum.com/threads/announcement-openrocket-version-22-02-public-beta-is-underway-download-it-now.171295/

Here are the notes for beta 4:

*Please note:* For this beta, the packaged installers are now back to using
Java 11, due to multiple bug reports related to Java 17. However, the JAR
file will still allow Java 11 *or* 17, so if you want to keep experimenting
with Java 17 then feel free.

*New Features*

   - *File association now works on all platforms* (fixes #1135)
   - *Contextual menus now available via right-click throughout the program*
   - *Edit multiple selected items at once (great for appearance editing!)*
   - Show/hide CG/CP markings in rocket display
   - Support for custom decimal places and exponential notation in
   simulation exports (fixes #1307 and #1354)
   - Simulation warning when no recovery device is enabled (fixes #1436)
   - Remember previously selected tab when opening component edit dialog
   (fixes #974)
   - On Mac, app remains open when last window is closed (normal Mac
   behavior)

*Notable Bug Fixes*

   - *Tube fins are fixed!* Both CP and drag calculations should be good
   now. So good that we are no longer calling tube fin support "experimental".
   Feedback please! (fixes #1258)
   - Guarantee fit in rocket view (fixes #1231 and #1351)
   - Corrected mass display in some situations (fixes #1409)
   - Show combined mass of multi-selected components when hovering (fixes
   #1411)
   - Fix greyed-out buttons on Mac (fixes #1099)
   - Improve scalability of Motors and Configurations tab (fixes #1285)

*Other*

   - Many component edit dialogs reorganized for consistency and clarity
   - Loads more tweaks to parachute and streamer config dialog
   - Modified file size estimation in Save dialog. Feedback please!
   - Improved layout of rocket view ribbon
   - Improved icons for zoom buttons, and launch lugs and tube fins
   - Added sliders to Pod Set config
   - Preset dialog now sorted by manufacturer by default
   - Updated guided tours
   - Improved Russian translation

The third public beta release of OpenRocket 22.02 is now available for
download.  This release includes a number of bug fixes and improvements.

*Download links and instructions are now exclusively available on
OpenRocket.info:*  https://openrocket.info/downloads.html?vers=22.02.beta.03

*Full Release notes:* https://openrocket.info/release_notes.html

*Ongoing discussion and support:*
https://www.rocketryforum.com/threads/announcement-openrocket-version-22-02-public-beta-is-underway-download-it-now.171295/

Here are the notes for beta 3:

*New Features*

   - Big improvements to parachutes:
      - Added manufacturers: Front Range, Fruity Chutes, Rocketman, b2
      Rocketry, Spherachutes
      - Added additional fields to preset DB (e.g. spill holes)
      - Automatic packed size calculation (for select chute manufacturers
      only)
      - Parachute mass is automatically overridden with manufacturer data
      (when available)
      - Parachute component name is automatically populated with preset
      description

*Notable bug Fixes*

   - *Tube fin drag simulation has been extensively rewritten*.  This
   should fix flight simulations of tube fin models.  Please test your sims
   and let us know how it works for you (fixes issue 1207).  *Note that CP
   calculations for tube fins are still not fixed.*
   - Improved ground hit velocity estimation (partially fixes issue 1349)
   - Rail buttons now included in Fin Marking Guide (fixes issue 1259)
   - Tube fin sets now included in Fin Marking Guide (fixes issue... ah,
   there wasn't one)
   - Override mass now divides when fin set is split (fixes issue 1292)
   - Fixes exception when splitting fin sets (fixes issue 1302)
   - Hovering over pod set reports total mass of pod set (fixes issue 1291)
   - Fixes exception when putting fins on transitions (fixes issue 1247)
   - Opacity slider now stays in sync with alpha changes in color selector
   (fixes issue 1326)

*Other*

   - Major cleanup of File menu.  Let us know how you like it.
   - Improved time step selection for descent
   - Java 17 is now included in the packaged installers and supported by
   the JAR file.

Thanks for your continued support, and keep those problem reports coming to
TRF or straight to https://github.com/openrocket/openrocket/issues!

The second public beta release of OpenRocket 22.02 is now available for
download.  This release includes a number of bug fixes and improvements.

*Download links and instructions are now exclusively available on
OpenRocket.info:*  https://openrocket.info/downloads.html?vers=22.02.beta.02

*Full Release notes:* https://openrocket.info/release_notes.html

*Ongoing discussion and support:*
https://www.rocketryforum.com/threads/announcement-openrocket-version-22-02-public-beta-is-underway-download-it-now.171295/

Here are the notes for beta 2:

*Please note:* Tube Fin simulation is currently broken, and will be fixed
in a future beta

*New Features*

   - Check Java version at startup (requires Java 11)
   - Opacity slider on appearance panel
   - Export sim plots as PNG images

*Notable Bug Fixes*

   - Rocksim Import/Export
      - Corrected position offsets when importing and exporting (fixes
      issue 1164)
      - Corrected fin shape when importing (fixes issue 1220)
   - Side boosters
      - Added stage selector for side boosters (fixes issue 1208)
      - Fixed simulation bug with side boosters (fixes issue 1210)
      - Eliminated warning when loading designs with boosters (fixes issue
      1196)
      - Fixed Simulation Plot range with boosters (fixes issue 1228)
   - More reliable creation of simulation when creating a new configuration
   (fixes issue 1163)
   - No longer need to click on motor config to get flight data (fixes
   issue 1175)
   - Motor database search more robust, especially for CTI (fixes issue
   1174)
   - More accurate and reliable simulation of fins on transitions (fixes
   issues 1173 and 1243)
   - plus other miscellaneous fixes

*Other*

   - Set default color for all components to #BBBBBB, with Shine=30 (closes
   issue 1192)
   - Update Mac installer style to more standard "drag app to Applications
   folder"

Thanks for your continued support, and keep those problem reports coming to
TRF or straight to https://github.com/openrocket/openrocket/issues!

The OpenRocket team is very excited to announce that the new version of
OpenRocket is at long last available for everyone to try.  For now this is
a public beta, which means that there are known issues still to be worked
out before the final release.  Nonetheless, the current version is stable
and usable enough for most folks to start using it full-time.

*Downloading links and detailed installation instructions are on the wiki:*
https://wiki.openrocket.info/Downloading_%26_Installing

*Release notes:* https://openrocket.info/release_notes.html

Here are the major new features:

   - Pods!
   - Drop-off boosters!
   - Rail buttons!
   - Attach freeform fins to nose cones and transitions!
   - Coefficient of Drag override!
   - Dave Cook’s fantastic rocket component library now included!

*…plus endless smaller things to make day-to-day use more enjoyable.*

The beta is being released in both packaged form and as a plain JAR file
(for use with Java 11 only), at the link provided above.  *We strongly
recommend the packaged installers for most folks*.

Updated builds will be made available periodically during the beta
period.  OpenRocket
can check for updates either automatically at startup, or manually.  The
settings for this feature are found at: *Edit > Preferences > General*.

This update has taken a long effort from a lot of people.  Please give it a
try, and let us know what you think.  We hope to get back on a more regular
release schedule (!) going forward.

Thanks for your continued support!

*Known Issues at the Time of Release*

This list will be updated on a sticky thread over at The Rocketry Forum:
https://www.rocketryforum.com/threads/announcement-openrocket-version-22-02-public-beta-is-underway-download-it-now.171295/
.

Bugs and feature requests are officially tracked on Github (
https://github.com/openrocket/openrocket/issues).  If you encounter a
problem, please check this list first before filing a new issue.  If you
would prefer to just report and/or discuss it in this thread, that’s fine
too.  Also be sure you’re running the latest version before reporting.

See referenced issue numbers in *Github* for more details on each item
below.

   1. *Backward compatibility*:  *During the beta period*, any design saved
   from the beta app should open correctly in 15.03, provided none of the new
   rocket design features are used.  There will be some warnings upon
   opening the file.
   2. *Java compatibility: *This release of OpenRocket is guaranteed to
   work correctly with Java 11, and that is what the packaged versions come
   with (please use the packaged versions!).  Older or newer Java versions
   are not guaranteed to work correctly. (issue 1022)
   3. *Packaged Installers*:
      - File association with .ORK files is not yet working properly (issue
      1135)
      - Desktop shortcut creation on Windows doesn’t seem to be working
   4. *3D Views:*
      - Click-selection of components in 3D views does not work properly,
      and causes some strange visual behavior (issues 966, 939, 1054)
      - 3D views black out during window resizing (issue 1080)
      - 3D views may not show properly on external monitors (issue 864)
   5. *Centering Rings:* Centering ring configuration does not recognize
   offset or clustered inner tubes (issues 870, 137)
   6. *Exports and Printing:*
      - Decal export will only export the first decal found (issue 823)
      - Report may not include all transitions (357)
   7. *Fins:*
      - Fin roots displayed in unexpected ways on transitions (issue 1021)
      - Fin tabs on transitions may not display correctly
   8. *Mouse:* Double-clicks may not work correctly on Macs using mouse
   (issue 908)
   9. *Photo Studio*
      - Smoke effect may not function properly (issue 874)
      - Turning flame effect on and off can have strange effects on decal
      display (issue 1122)
   10. *Simulation*
      - Asymmetric thrust is not simulated correctly (issue 1062)
      - Plot of side force coefficient is constant at zero (issue 1060)
   11. *User Interface*
      - Selection buttons may be hard to read (issues 988, 1099)

Hello greater OpenRocket community.

Today I pushed OpenRocket 15.03 to the servers and you will undoubtedly 
start downloading and using it. There are a number of improvements to 
the software contributed by 5 developers. This is the largest number of 
developers contributing to a single release since I've taken over that 
responsibility. Thank you each and every one.

The biggest changes are:

Support for scripting in simulation extensions
Experimental support for tube fins
Custom default mach number
Improved preferences UI
Fin fillet masses (no aero effects though)
Custom icons for different mass types (altimeter, hardware, etc)
Mass in the tool tip on the component tree.
And numerous little bugs and annoyances fixed

Kevin

Hi everyone.

Because of the recent problem with thrustcurve.org api changes, I 
decided to push out a build of the OpenRocket Android apk today. The 
version number is 13.11 because its based on the OpenRocket desktop 
13.11 code - not on the latest & greatest.

If you recall, 13.11 introduced the flight configurations which royally 
messed up the utility of the android application for field use 
(basically simulations wouldn't take into account deployment & staging 
overrides). This release of OpenRocket Android will correctly simulate 
these - however you cannot change them on the field.

Kevin

Hi all,

A number of users had been reporting an annoying but benign bug I 
introduced in 14.05. Since this bug is reported about 4 times a day, I 
decided to make a little release mostly to fix this and alleviate the 
noise in my inbox.

There are a couple of minor new features in this release as well:

Texture for Klima motors.
Updated Thrustcurves (pulled yesterday from thrustcurve.org)
Added Knots to windspeed and velocity units for all you aviators out 
there. (Thanks for the contribution Robin.)

Kevin

Hi everyone,

OpenRocket 14.05 has been released.  It has some bug fixes, a couple of 
new features and updated thrust curves.

The new features are:

- computation of optimum delay during simulations
- cg and mass override indicators in the component tree
- Klima motor thrust curves

Enjoy

Kevin

In celebration of the beginning of the Northern Hemisphere flying season 
and the end of the Southern Hemisphere flying season, I've just pushed 
out release 14.03 of OpenRocket.

There's one new feature - a photo realistic 3d image creator.  It's 
available under the Tools menu.

The Spanish language translations now have correct non-ascii characters.

A few annoying bugs were squashed in the motor chooser dialog and the 
flight configuration tables.

A couple of warnings were added to the simulation system to highlight 
possible instabilities.

Kevin

Hi everyone.

I released 13.11.2 today.  Though it was actually released on 1/1/2014, 
since it contains mostly bug fixes, I thought it more appropriate to 
call it a point release of 13.11.

It has:

Updated French, Spanish, and Chinese translations.
Fixes to numerous exceptions in the configuration tab and motor chooser 
dialog.
Usability improvements in the configuration tab (which was renamed to 
Motors & Configuration).
Some layout fixes.

Kevin

Hi everyone,

I just pushed Release 13.11.1 of OpenRocket out.  It has a few bug fixes:

1) I failed to get the updated 3d libs in 13.11.  Don't really know what 
happened but they are there now
2) Restored the Tube Coupler configuration window.
3) Various exceptions in the new Flight Configuration tab
4) Have the Motor Filter remember previous settings used during the 
rocket's session.

Kevin

I recently posted OpenRocket 13.11.  It is available for download from 
openrocket.sourceforge.net and through the automatic update process in 
the application.  This release has a few new features, a few bug fixes, 
and a few new bugs.

1)  Flight configurations have been streamlined.  Instead of using a 
dialog, it is now a tab on the the main frame.
2) Motor filtering has been enhanced
3) Sorting in the Simulation table is now supported.
4) Chinese translations have been added.
5) 3d libraries have been updated and reportedly helps on some platforms
6) Fix to critical bug introduced by Java 1.7.0_45-b18 which effected 
drag&drop in the rocket component tree.

Kevin

Hi,

As some may have already noticed, OpenRocket version 13.09.1 has been
released.  This is a bug-fix release, which contains a number of fixes,
updated 3D libraries and a few updated thrust curves.

You can download if from the usual location:
http://openrocket.sourceforge.net/

This is also the first release which has been completely done by the
development team without my involvement.  I haven't had as much time lately
for OpenRocket development as I would have liked, and have agreed that
Kevin Ruland will take over maintainership for most parts.  He will be
doing most of the releases from now onwards.  I'm still following the
development, and - time permitting - contributing code and ideas.

Cheers,
   Sampo N.

Hi,

OpenRocket version 13.09 has been released.  Most of the work in this
release has been behind-the-scenes.  Visible updates include numerous bug
fixes, updated 3D JOGL libraries, and separated simulation edit and plot
dialogs.

You can download the latest version from http://openrocket.sourceforge.net/

A big thanks to the team for their work!

Cheers,
   Sampo N.

Hi,

After a rather long delay, OpenRocket 13.05 has been released.  There are a
lot of new features, thanks to numerous contributors.  The most important
new features include:

- Realistic 3D rendering with decal support
- Flight configurations replacing motor configurations
- Lower stage descent simulation
- Boosted dart support
- New translations to Portuguese and Japanese

Read more about the new features at
http://www.rocketryforum.com/showthread.php?53619-OpenRocket-13-05-released

In order to support decals, the file format was changes to being ZIP-based.
This means that OpenRocket versions older than 12.03 will not be able to
read files written by OpenRocket 13.05 and later. Nobody should be using
that old versions anyway, so this shouldn't be much a problem. :)  The new
versions will read old files without problems.

The software is available as usual at http://openrocket.sourceforge.net/

Cheers,
   Sampo N.

Hi,

Just out of the oven is the OpenRocket 12.09.1 bug-fix release.
Numerous bugs introduced in 12.09 have been fixed.  The only new
feature is the possiblity to automatically open the latest design file
on startup (in Edit -> Preferences -> Options).

Regular place:  http://openrocket.sourceforge.net/

Cheers,
   Sampo N.

Hi,

OpenRocket version 12.09 for Android has been released.  The main new
feature is the possibility to edit the simulation parameters and then
run the simulations.  These new features are thanks to the work by
Kevin Ruland.

The new version can be fetched from the normal place at
http://openrocket.sourceforge.net/download.html

Cheers,
    Sampo N.

Hi,

After way too long time, the next version of OpenRocket (12.09) is
finally released.  This contains a huge number of improvements from a
large range of contributors.  The biggest improvements is initial 3D
support (thanks to Bill Kuker) and component presets (thanks to Kevin
Ruland and Doug Pedrick).  Other new features include:

- Custom expressions in simulations
- Printing for centering ring and clustered centering ring components
- Support simple arithmetic in dimension entry
- Support deploying recovery device at stage separation
- Support for fractional inches (1/64) for unit length
- Added preference for windspeed units separately
- Added "most recently used files" in File Menu
- Improved printed accuracy in fin marking guide
- Calibration rulers added to printed templates
- Translations in Czech and Polish, numerous updates

A corresponding release for Android will follow shortly.

Cheers,
   Sampo N.

Hi,

The next version of OpenRocket has just been released. This is a very
special release in several ways.

First, the version numbering scheme has been changed.  The new version
number indicates the year and month in which the release was made,
which better indicates the status than arbitrarily chosen numbers.
The first version in this new versioning scheme is thus "12.03".
Potential bug fix versions are denoted by adding ".1" to the end.

Second, this is the first release of the Android version of
OpenRocket.  Kevin Ruland has made a fantastic job at porting
OpenRocket to Android, and this is the first official release of it.
The Android version supports loading ORK files, viewing design
parameters, plotting simulation data that has been stored to the files
and loading and viewing motors from thrustcurve.org.  It does not yet
support running simulations on the device, though that is in the plans
for future versions.  (Other mobile platforms will likely not be
supported - Android was comparatively easy since it uses Java
natively.)

The desktop version also has numerous enhancements, including saving
designs in RKT format thanks to Doug Pedrick, freeform fin set import
from images by Jason Blood, configurable stage  separation events,
guided help tours and displaying the computed motor designation class.
 The application has also been translated to Italian by Mauro Biasutti
and Russian by the Sky Dart Team.

The latest and greatest is up for grabs on the website at
http://openrocket.sourceforge.net/

Cheers,
   Sampo N.

Hi,

OpenRocket 1.1.9 has just been released and is available at the normal
location:  http://openrocket.sourceforge.net/

For this version Richard Graham has implemented geodetic computation
methods, which take into account the curvature of the Earth,
calculates latitude/longitude/altitude and takes into account the
coriolis effect. The computation method is selected by the "Geodetic
calculations" option in the simulation options. It's not (yet) a full
spherical computation model, but should be accurate enough for pretty
much all sub-orbital needs.

Doug Pedrick has also enhanced the printing system with the ability to
print fin positioning guides, transition templates and nose cone
profiles. Other smaller enhancements and bug fixes are also included.

Cheers,
    Sampo N.

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