Sad state of Rocksim and Openrock

The Rocketry Forum

Help Support The Rocketry Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.
Having experience with both RS and OR, They both have their strong (and weak) points, but IMO RS is the better option unless you need (or want) to extend the function of your simulator. There a few important reasons why RS wins out over OR as it relates to ease of use and accuracy in simulation and plots. I won’t expound on them here, except to say with RS we can draw and simulate very detailed rockets like the one pictured below and they fly as expected (yes this rocket has a flat nosecone :)) . The one caveat is that I don’t use RS 10 only 9. I’m hearing/seeing too many issues with 10 to fully adopt at this time. 9 has some issues too, but I guess its “better the devil you know”.

If you'd like some assistances with RS (incl. getting you design from OR into RS) we offer consulting services for a very reasonable fee. You won’t be billed if we can't get it drawn and simulated.

Allen Hall (NAR #98014, Tripoli #16881)
Reliable Rocket
https://www.facebook.com/ReliableRocket
1656514346388.png
Here is some more info about this bird… it’s 10” in diameter, constructed of “sonotube” airframe and birch ply bulkheads. The RS design file has some 75 components specified.
 
If the OP’s attitude were better I’d say to extend an offer to join the team. Those skills could be put to use in testing releases, but he has no people skills to go with them
When I was working on an AutoCAD NavArch add-on suite, we had a user who could regularly error out any new function you threw at him - but he lacked the ability to recount exactly what he did to get to the error
 
RS is the better option unless you need (or want) to extend the function of your simulator. . . with RS we can draw and simulate very detailed rockets like the one pictured below and they fly as expected
I'm pretty good with both OR and RS. Would you be willing to post the .rkt file (for the one you picture) so I can do a comparison between the two?
 
I've used both RS, OR, and SC (Space Cad) during my time scratch building rockets for myself or with students.
At one of the schools I assist, they bought RS Pro.
My preferred choice, go to is OR as I've never had it crash and as so many people have said, it's free. That is a huge advantage with working with students that can load it on their computers as we discuss designs and changes from home instead of being tied to licensed versions on school computers.
 
A) It was indeed a rant. That was what it was meant to be. :p
B) I have been using OR now for several days importing Rocksim files because RS crashes almost every session. I save after every operation. And the one time I get into it and forget to save, boom gone. Mac Big Sur, Windows 10, does not matter. It is truly sad.
C) Given I have been using OR for several days, I must admit it does not crash. As in just disappear in a cloud of electrons. I have crashed it once or twice, but I have used it a dozen or more times and it's WAY more stable than RS.
D) I still can not figure out why after 22 versions, OR makes me create configurations and then launch them. And I can't edit the damn delay without a new sim. It's still a clunky UI. But I'll get used to it. (or not). Just no reason for that step screen approach.

OR designs coming to a different thread(s) near you soon.
 
D) I still can not figure out why after 22 versions, OR makes me create configurations and then launch them. And I can't edit the damn delay without a new sim. It's still a clunky UI. But I'll get used to it. (or not). Just no reason for that step screen approach.
1) As previously mentioned, there haven't been 22 versions of OR. Major version number is simply the year of release. This is not important to the content of this thread, just a simple statement of fact.
2) You don't need to "create a new sim" to change a delay. Just go back and change the delay in the motor configuration and your existing sim(s) will update automatically.
3) I understand to some extent your dissatisfaction with the separation of motor configs and sims, although I don't think it's as bad as you say. But we're looking at it.
 
A) It was indeed a rant. That was what it was meant to be. :p
B) I have been using OR now for several days importing Rocksim files because RS crashes almost every session. I save after every operation. And the one time I get into it and forget to save, boom gone. Mac Big Sur, Windows 10, does not matter. It is truly sad.
C) Given I have been using OR for several days, I must admit it does not crash. As in just disappear in a cloud of electrons. I have crashed it once or twice, but I have used it a dozen or more times and it's WAY more stable than RS.
D) I still can not figure out why after 22 versions, OR makes me create configurations and then launch them. And I can't edit the damn delay without a new sim. It's still a clunky UI. But I'll get used to it. (or not). Just no reason for that step screen approach.

OR designs coming to a different thread(s) near you soon.
Jeff, What version of RS keeps crashing? If you mentioned somewhere in this thread I missed it.
 
The very latest. 10.3.1f4
Just screw around with custom plan points. Or delete and add a few components. Or cut and paste a few. Or galaxy forbid, try a chamfer.
 
Yep, 10 has lots of issues and Tim refuses to sell version 9 until he gets them worked out. :confused: Talking about shooting yourself in the foot, even MS provides for down or retrograding when a later version can't be used. I had TARC team wanting to use RS, but could not get it installed. One delay that contributed to their failure to qualify.
 
1) As previously mentioned, there haven't been 22 versions of OR. Major version number is simply the year of release. This is not important to the content of this thread, just a simple statement of fact.
2) You don't need to "create a new sim" to change a delay. Just go back and change the delay in the motor configuration and your existing sim(s) will update automatically.
3) I understand to some extent your dissatisfaction with the separation of motor configs and sims, although I don't think it's as bad as you say. But we're looking at it.
Its as bad as I say because I say so. :) Seriously. :) OpenRocket IS - I now see - MUCH MUCH more stable than RS. However having written software for longer than most people reading this thread have been alive, some with UI's even(!), I know how one can be blinded to faults. Thank goodness all I do now is import Petabytes of data from AWS S3 to a 96 node DB! (using java... ok ok switching to Kotlin)

Neil I want to select a motor, a delay, and launch it. Period. I should see the CG/CP relationship at the very same time. At least let me load, delay, and launch on the same page. I hate to say it, but at least rocksim got that right. I want to immediately change the delay. I should not have to click to another tab. JMO. And we all know they stink. :)
 
Has anyone here had stability problems with a version(s) prior to 10? I've never have with version 9, been using it since 2014.
 
Its as bad as I say because I say so. :) Seriously. :) OpenRocket IS - I now see - MUCH MUCH more stable than RS. However having written software for longer than most people reading this thread have been alive, some with UI's even(!),

Neil I want to select a motor, a delay, and launch it. Period. I should see the CG/CP relationship at the very same time. At least let me load, delay, and launch on the same page. I hate to say it, but at least rocksim got that right. I want to immediately change the delay. I should not have to click to another tab. JMO. And we all know they stink.

Blah, blah, blah. Then go in, work within the Java Swing UI framework limitations and provide some pull requests. Or start working on say a Java FX version.

Go to: https://github.com/openrocket/openrocket
Click the Fork button.
git clone <your fork url>
git checkout -b <your branch>

Start "fixing".

Thats all it takes.
 
Neil I want to select a motor, a delay, and launch it. Period. I should see the CG/CP relationship at the very same time.
Oh please. It takes, what, 6 clicks? And it loads instantly. In the time that you spent with all this whining, you could have whipped up a sound rocket design and simulated it on about 50 different motors. Or updated the software’s preferences to your liking to better streamline your work. Or implemented some better ideas yourself, this is open-source software after all.

All this time that you could have spent doing something useful to you and to others, you threw a fit over a difference of, what, 2 clicks? Pretty much nothing. If your time and effort is the issue here, and you have the expertise to do it better, why the rant?

You have absolutely no room to complain and your behavior is flat-out ridiculous.
 
Last edited:
What did you just say about me? I'll have you know I graduated top of my class in Codecademy, and I've been involved in coding for over 35 years, from 8080 assembler, C, C++, Java, and now Kotlin. I am trained in identifying wastes of bandwidth. I know better. I've written code for more computers than cars you've owned. And your parents. You are nothing to me but zeroes and ones. As we speak I am contacting my secret network of cars across the USA and your IP is being traced right now so you better prepare for the storm. The storm that wipes out the pathetic little thing you call your car. Not only am I extensively trained in coding, but I have access to the entire arsenal of the United States automotive industry and I will use it to its full extent to wipe your car off the face of the continent. If only you could have known what unholy retribution your little "clever" comment was about to bring down upon your car, maybe you would have held your tongue. But you couldn't, you didn't, and now you're paying the automotive price. You're move, cardo.
 
Good grief this thread is useless. OP wants to whine because something doesnt work as he thinks it should because he is too lazy to click between tabs… states he can crash it consistently in ways that no one else seems to have an issue with… yet not-so-humbly brags about how great he is but cant be bothered to offer up his greatness to solve some of his perceived issue. Right. Hopefully OP isn’t a first contact for a newbie at any club launch, talk about a buzzkill and a put off. Perhaps you should stick to yelling at kids to get off your lawn or complaining about how your neighbors cut their grass.
 
Back
Top