I heard that quote from someone talking about individuals like Bob Widlar, Linus Tirvalds etc. that have forged paths where others have said "that's impossible". Bob Widlar famously wrote an editorial stating exactly why the integrated IC was impossible while actually doing it, such was his mastery of trolling those who knew it couldn't be done. I live by it.
I guess I do too, but I just never dedicated enough thought to it to realize that's what I what I was doing. I just plow forward and bounce off obstacles kind of like a roomba. Eventually I get the job done but only after crossing the same path 87 times. The only thing that can deter me is being distracted by something even more intriguing, which happens more often than not, and is the reason I am up for consideration as patron Saint of unfinished projects.
As someone who's run a large open source project, I'm here to tell you that "build it and they'll come" is the way you get stuff done. Beavering away on your own will get you so far, but you need the fresh injection of ideas, collective reasoning and brain power that opening it up brings. It's a fundamental human thing, I think, practicality aside. You need that spark of someone to jump start it, though. Once it's tangible, people latch onvshd amazing things happen....
I've seen it happen, so I know what you are saying is true. And that's why I am reluctant to proceed until I have convinced myself that I have the resolve to stick with it. I've also seen examples of open source projects that went nowhere because the starter lost interest or gave up before it gained any traction. You see many examples on github and other hosts, where the work remains skeletal and stagnant for years. Even worse is when the starter didn't even consider it worth sharing and only dangled carrots leading to a dead end. Like most of the DIY 4th axis 3d printer examples.
Google Kerbal Foundries if you're interested... Same forum handle.
I did, very cool. I have never heard of that game. It looks interesting, stimulating, and maybe a good semi-educational use of one's time. Not like the games my kids play on Roblox. I may introduce them to it. I would rather see them play something like that. It looks like something I would play myself, but I have forbidden myself to play video games because of certain epiphanies in self awareness. I can't casually play video games for the same reason I can't casually smoke meth. It would take over my life, and I would become a less dedicated father, husband, and wage earner.
But anyway, you designed a mod for KSP and that's awesome. My kids are interested in game design and I have tried to get them engaged with it, but it is daunting. I downloaded Roblox Studio for them and they played around with it, made some interesting environments that characters could traverse, tinkered with textures, meshes, messed with physics settings (moon gravity, etc.) but they couldn't make an actual
game (with objectives, score, inventory, UI, etc.) because that requires programming. I tried to teach them but I don't know the language (Lua). I directed them to tutorials and reference texts but I think it was a little "much" for them to self-teach at this point. They are 8 and 12 years old. If the game was programmed in Python or VB, I could guide them along. So I'm wondering how difficult it is to design mods for KSP. What language is it? Do you think a kid could manage on their own?
I agree 100% with your assesment that making something that's usable in a general sense is the only sane way forward, and I would urge you not to reinvent the wheel with your own motion controller. Motion control is a solved problem, and the current offerings have tend of thousands of hours of work sunk into something that you can buy for a couple of hundred bucks... Duet has everything you need and superb support, for example. It's the software that's the issue here.
You keep talking about Duet and you're going to be responsible for my next impulse purchase. I was initially turned off by it because it costs (a lot) more and seems less popular, therefore less examples to draw inspiration from. But I think I finally understand now why you keep suggesting it. I did skim through the link you provided and I see where it has support for multi-axis built in (yes, you said that, I was listening but it didn't sink in). I also looked at some examples of where others had modified Klipper to control extra axes and it required extensive software modification. This was unexpected as at the start of this thread, operating under previous experience only with LinuxCNC, GRBL and old school Marlin (very limited+obsolete) I was under the impression that any of these boards was capable of however many axes the board had physical outputs for. I suppose that is actually true, but with a big caveat. I have purchased two BTT boards; a big fully featured one that I intend to use for the Prusa Resto-rod project and a smaller one I am going to use to replace the GRBL board I typically use for camera gimbals. The current camera project will be a trial of the little SKR board to see just what it can and can't do easily. By the time I'm done with it I will hopefully know if I need a Duet board for the Prusa.
Coincidentally, Cura just opened up their slicing engine to plugins (rather than just UI plugins), which opens up just the opportunity you're looking for...
I noticed that as well and bookmarked it to come back around and investigate. Cura is what I had been using with the Ender for the past few months so I am comfortable with it, but the new Qidi came with Qidi Slicer which is basically just Prusa slicer, and some have indicated that Prusa slicer is better. I figured I would give this slicer a shot and decide if I think it is better or not. So far I'm leaning toward not, but I haven't given it due diligence. I'm about to start jumping back and forth between the two, make comparisons, and come to a decision. While I'm in Cura I'll see what this new plugin feature is all about.
