MaianTrey

Just a heads up for KSP 1.8.0 - this mod seems to still function correctly in flight. In the VAB, though, I get a 0% estimated recovery percentage for all stages no matter what.

This just randomly stopped working right after I tried to get it to work. I've tried uninstalling the mod and re-installing it and Alt+3 does nothing anymore. Has that happened to anyone before?

i7 6700k processor, overclocked to 4.5 GHz and 32GB of RAM. I recently upgraded the GPU to a RTX 2070 Super, but that was for VR and hasn't affected KSP since the CPU is the main bottleneck. I had a GTX 970 before. But for bigger builds (in case those reading this aren't aware), RAM and CPU core speeds are the bigger factors in performance. Core count doesn't matter much, and GPU generally doesn't matter a whole lot for KSP until you start using graphic overhaul mods.

STS-110 uploaded to Youtube and KerbalX Craft: https://kerbalx.com/Maian/STS-110-Atlantis Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rCkEccXRDxs

So I've created a space shuttle with a Canadarm that uses Clampotron Jr's for the end effector. I cannot dock with the same vessel at all. It tries, but every time, they get stuck in a weird locked magnetized state just inches apart until I undock it from the arm. In the images below (in spoilers), they get stuck in that position, and one of the two docking ports is available to 'undock.' If I undock the connection to the arm, it will then dock correctly and close the gap that is shown, but not until then. It's the same for grabbing the module in the payload bay - I have to decouple it from the rest of the craft to get it to dock. Changing the magnetization of the docking ports has no effect. Is this just how it is? I swear I've been able to get the docking to work correctly when Breaking Ground first released, but I haven't gotten it to do anything other than what's shown since then.

So I did get STS-110 launched and landed, a few months back, but never finished uploading it. I think in the next month or so I'm going to try to finish launching my Vanilla ISS and upload it with a few screenshots and no videos to finish the project, and then update them with Breaking Ground robotics where necessary. In the weeks leading up to Breaking Ground's release, I completely re-created my shuttle from scratch, and then incorporated robotics into its design for the Canadarm and other bits. So far I've only completely created STS-88 along with recreating the first two Russian segments (Zarya and Zvezda). I recreated and improved my Proton-K rocket as well. Everything is still completely stock, with Breaking Ground parts. No parts from the Making History are used in the following craft. I've automated the installation of STS-88 -- There are KAL controllers that completely perform grabbing the payload, lifting it out of the bay, docking it on the orbiter's docking port, extending out to grab Zarya, and then putting it on Unity once coupled. The launch sequence is automated through SRB ejection thanks to the newly released v1.7.3, you just have to steer. I also recreated the P6 truss (so far) right after Breaking Ground released to test out the robotics for a self-deploying solar array. It folds up nice and tight to fit in the payload bay just like the real one did. https://gfycat.com/brightunacceptablehalicore (recommend playing at 4x speed)

Based on what nestor said earlier in the thread, this should be possible with this upcoming update. Since you can lock/unlock parts with the Part Action Window, this should be doable with the KAL.

Yea that's how my current shuttle setup is. I just have 7 kickbacks (6+1 center) that have variable thrusts to start tailing off about 35-45 seconds in. My shuttle re-work that I finished a couple of weeks before BG released, I did an 8+1 SRB to get a little longer burn, but I couldn't figure out an ascent profile that worked as well as the 6+1. I end up shooting into a super elliptical orbit unless I burn towards the ground a bit when I start nearing the end of the burn. For the thrust curve, I would just make them all have the same curve on the one controller. No need for variable thrust limiters if I can control it with the KAL.

Well great, now I know what I'm doing this weekend with my shuttle... RIP other productivity.

Part Action Window It's the right-click window.

You can pause the KAL-1000. If you have it set to play when you press an Action Group key, that button pauses if it's currently playing. It will continue playing from where it left off when you activate it again.

I did have a couple of kraken strikes along the way to get to this point haha! I do have a servo in there to rotate them, works pretty well, just didn't get it recorded. I have one set to be inverted, so I can tie the rotation to the 'roll' axis on a non-default action set and keep them pointed the same way. I also have the pistons for the extension, and the servos connected directly to the Solar Panels set so I can toggle the 'lock' on them, and when locked, the whole array still rotates and is rock-solid! I was stoked when I realized that worked haha. This DLC is terrific - Action Sets, Robotics Parts, and the KAL-1000!

I finished my ISS Solar Array mechanism. Screenshots below, GFYCAT video here. Not much wiggle. But there is a little bit, more-so when I retract.

@sgt_flyer That's probably a little simpler solution than what I was thinking of, because I was assuming that would be the issue (once docked, it would all be the same vessel, and clip apart). I was thinking of a way to mimic the stowage system in the orbiter - some krakentech-style hold-points that would hold it in place after disconnecting the payload from the orbiter to keep it a second vessel. It could be as simple as an extra set of RCS balls on the payload, and half-open hinges on the orbiter closed off by BG hinges that you can open after docking. But all this seems more complicated than just using the krakentech Canadarm!

Have you bound them to axis groups on different sets? Like for my first draft of the orbiter-mounted Canadarm, I bound in Action Set 1 the shoulder pitch and yaw joints to Pitch and Yaw (WS, AD) and the elbow joint to roll. Then the LEE's 3 joints to the three translation keys (HN, JL, IK). They are set to override default control groups so it doesn't pitch the whole craft. Set the translation to 1.0, and use fine control (caps lock) and you can get pretty good manipulation. Just a little time consuming when putting it in action. When you put commands in alternate Action Sets, an icon shows up in the default toolbar area in flight that allows you to switch between them at the click of a button. The main issue I'm having is the part-clipping. I've tried putting the end effector docking part as a separate craft that's tied in with Barometer experiments around a gravioli detector (so a hinge, but with no rotation allowed). It seems pretty good for maneuvering, but haven't tried the docking part of it just yet.