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Ship Control Module
The Ship Control Module maps a Sable ship so an attached Advanced Contraption Controller can control it as one vehicle. Initialization finds the supported propulsion, bearings, docking connectors, and nested sub-levels, then makes Ship Control and Shipping Schedule nodes available on the attached controller.
The Ship Control Module is marked experimental. Airship control is supported; the Plane and Car control modes are present for compatibility but are not supported yet.
- Setting Up
- Initializing a Ship
- What Gets Mapped
- Ship Control Nodes
- Shipping Schedules and Docks
- Updating a Configuration
- Troubleshooting
- Mount the Ship Control Module on a sturdy upward-facing block surface.
- Place an Advanced Contraption Controller on the module's exposed face.
- Build and assemble the Sable ship which the module should control.
- Open the attached Advanced Contraption Controller. Ship Control nodes are available while it is mounted on the module.
The module supplies the map and ship-control runtime to the attached Advanced Contraption Controller. The ACC graph decides when and how the ship moves.
Add an Initialize Control Module node to the ACC graph and pulse its Execution input. Give the ship a name, choose the Airship control mode, and use the initialization options to exclude bearings, sails, or thrusters when needed.
The node reports Progress while initialization is running, pulses Complete when it finishes, and returns Success for the request. Control Module Status can be used at any time to read whether the module is attached, initializing, initialized, and ready.
The first initialization creates the ship's control map. It can take time on a large ship; wait for Complete before sending flight or navigation commands.
Initialization maps compatible propulsion units, bearings, vectoring equipment, nested sub-levels, Ship Couplers, docking connectors, and supported display sources on the assembled ship.
The stored map gives the controller a shared frame of reference for movement, navigation, docking, telemetry, and schedules. Ship Telemetry reports live movement, orientation, navigation, and collision data after the ship is initialized.
Useful Status Nodes
| Node | Use |
|---|---|
| Control Module Status | Check attachment, initialization state, mapped unit and bearing counts, inertia, map ID, and current status text. |
| Ship Telemetry | Read live ship motion, orientation, navigation, and collision data. |
| Ship Coupler Status | Read the state of mapped Ship Couplers and their connected carriages. |
| Shipping Travel Metrics | Read the route, fuel, and travel state of the active Shipping Schedule. |
| Shipping Manifest | Read the current and upcoming Ship Dock stops. |
Ship movement nodes use an Execution pulse. Most return Success; rotation, navigation, docking, and carriage commands also pulse Complete when their command finishes.
Direct Movement
| Node | Use |
|---|---|
| Yaw, Pitch, Roll | Rotate the ship around the selected axis. |
| Pan, Tilt | Apply the matching bearing movement. |
| Accelerate, Forward, Reverse | Move the ship along its forward axis. |
| Strafe | Move the ship sideways. |
| Ascend, Descend | Move the ship vertically. |
| Stabilize, Decelerate, Hover | Apply the selected stabilization or stopping action. |
| Stop Ship Control | Stops active Ship Control movement. |
Navigation
| Node | Use |
|---|---|
| Climb to Y Level | Move the ship to a world Y level at the selected speed. |
| Face Coordinates | Turn the ship to face world coordinates. |
| Navigate | Move the ship to world coordinates. |
| Follow | Follow the selected target. |
| Dock at Coordinates | Move to a docking position with a tolerance and optional rotation target. |
| Set Flight Behavior | Choose how scheduled navigation turns and moves the ship. |
Carriages and Schedules
| Node | Use |
|---|---|
| Couple Carriage | Tells one Ship Coupler, or every Ship Coupler, to attach a carriage. |
| Decouple Carriage | Tells one Ship Coupler, or every Ship Coupler, to release a carriage. |
| Pause, Resume | Pauses or resumes the active Shipping Schedule. |
| Restart | Restarts the assigned Shipping Schedule from its first entry. |
| Skip | Skips the current Shipping Schedule entry. |
| Shipping Travel Metrics | Reports the route, fuel, and travel state of the active Shipping Schedule. |
| Shipping Manifest | Reports the current and upcoming Ship Dock stops. |
A Shipping Schedule needs a seated pilot, an Advanced Contraption Controller mounted on a Ship Control Module, and an initialized ship. Add at least one schedule stop before assigning the schedule to the pilot.
Use a Ship Dock as a named destination. A dock can refuel ships, restock cargo, handle packages, and choose which doors on the docked ship should open. Docking connectors must be bound to the dock before their services can be used.
The Park at instruction selects a Ship Dock by name. Refuel if selects a matching refuelling dock and can use a wildcard name when the route should choose a suitable dock.
Run Initialize Control Module again after changing the ship's propulsion, bearings, docking connectors, couplers, or nested sub-level layout. The new initialization updates the stored map so the ACC does not continue to control removed or moved parts.
Use Stop Initialization to cancel an initialization that is no longer wanted.
| Problem | Check |
|---|---|
| Ship nodes are missing | The ACC must be mounted on the exposed face of a Ship Control Module. |
| The ship does not respond | Run Initialize Control Module and wait for its Complete output before sending movement commands. |
| A component is not controlled | Check that it is assembled with the initialized ship, then initialize again after correcting the build. |
| A Shipping Schedule cannot be assigned | Seat a pilot directly in front of the ACC, mount the ACC on a Ship Control Module, initialize the ship, and add at least one stop. |