Which program do you use to make addons?

[GW_Simulations]

Which program do you use to make addons for Orbiter?
Is it free? If so, where can I get it?

[She_Da_Lier]

If you want more advanced add-ons, you have to use C++.
Eventually you can use Vinka's spacecraft/multistage DLL or just write plain Orbiter config files (see Orbiter's docs), then
you use notepad.

[Krytom]

There is no single program for making addons for Orbiter, unfortunately. Ask addon developers what programs they
use to make the meshes and stuff.

[StarLost]

It depends on what you want to do, and how involved you want to get.

The easy way:

Take a look at other addons. Write your own scenarios and configuration files based on them and placing what ships, stations,
planets, asteroids, bases, etc. that you want in them.  No program or modeling experience required, just a damned good text
editor (I use Crimson Editor).

The next step:

Use Daniel's SDK to produce custom skins for the DG3. Best if you use Photoshop, but Paint Shop Pro, Blender and Adobe Photo
Deluxe are acceptable. You need a graphics program capable of handling layers.

The Addon Full Monty:

I think this is what you really want.  A good addon builder for Orbiter has to have a knowledge of modeling and C++. You can
learn, but I warn you, the learning curve is steep, on all counts.

If you have the money to play with, here's what I use:

Adobe Photoshop (7 or CS), 3ds Max (6 or 7), Microsoft Visual C++ 6 and Visual Studio.  My copies ran me about $6000 Cdn.

But there are freebies available that I've tried.  Blender is a very good choice in place of 3ds Max, as is Milkshape. Jasc's
Paint Shop Pro is a very acceptable replacement for  Photoshop (and it can be obtained as shareware). Blender can also be
used as an Adobe replacement. Blender is a freebie (I haven't found an Exporter to Orbiter's mesh format yet so have had to
use a workaround). Another "nocost" modeling program would be Metasequoia.

For programming, there is no replacement for Visual C++.  While there are some "free" compilers out there, it is not a good
idea to mix APIs and SDKs that have been written for different compilers.

You can develop ship addons using Vinka's Spacecraft.dll and Multistage.dll but the documention is sparse and it is mainly
developing by looking at ships that already use these two dlls and cutting and pasting what you need.  For adding interactive
panels there is always Radu's SPSDK.  

You should also take a look at the CVELite project for incorporating their concepts into your addons. This project you will
need C++ knowledge.  You can find it at SourceForge under Project Ganymede.

I'm sure I've missed some thing, but this should give you a pretty good idea.  I'm sure others have more to add.

[harmsway]

http://www.eharm.net/shop/freeware/orbiter/developer/developer.html

[Schimz]

I've found my VSC++ copy in a garbage

(I'm working in a technology park, that's help )