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[Min KSP 1.12.2] Buffalo: NASA Inspired Modular Space Exploration Vehicle


Angelo Kerman

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Hey Angel, just curious, a while back I posted a PDF about the MSEV and in it was essentially a dockable space exploration vehicle (I call it Space sub) for probing asteroids with robotic arms. Is there anyway you can make an Orbit worthy variant. Maybe not go all out with robot arms, but just something similar.

Well, the arm can be tackled with the Canadarm mod, if you scale it down. And since IR is a depenency for the centrifuge hub on the DSEV.... ;)

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Okay, time for a field report from Minmus...

The rover is quite durable, and with the reaction wheels dialed all the way up, capable of swiftly regaining a proper and safe orientation following a flip, which tends to toss the rover into the air. Wheels have too much bite at low speeds, though, making flips extremely common and severe. I attribute that to the low gravity, though. Need to do some more research on that before committing to a Duna mission.

One thing of note that I could suggest: a conformal radial-mount monoprop or LFO tank to allow self-deployment from orbit to the surface of the moons, or for a Mako-like propulsive landing on Duna. I used existing tanks for my first run, but they're clunky and don't look right, and they're hard to get the balance right. But, it DID work well. Just... don't fly it from the cockpit IVA. Mechjeb freaks out with belly-mounted thrusters.

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Okay, time for a field report from Minmus...

The rover is quite durable, and with the reaction wheels dialed all the way up, capable of swiftly regaining a proper and safe orientation following a flip, which tends to toss the rover into the air. Wheels have too much bite at low speeds, though, making flips extremely common and severe. I attribute that to the low gravity, though. Need to do some more research on that before committing to a Duna mission.

One thing of note that I could suggest: a conformal radial-mount monoprop or LFO tank to allow self-deployment from orbit to the surface of the moons, or for a Mako-like propulsive landing on Duna. I used existing tanks for my first run, but they're clunky and don't look right, and they're hard to get the balance right. But, it DID work well. Just... don't fly it from the cockpit IVA. Mechjeb freaks out with belly-mounted thrusters.

Thanks for the field report! :) I tried it out at Duna and going downhill, I can get around 34kps... and the jumps are spectacular. :) I too had troubles at Minmus and think it is due to the low gravity. I have some ideas on how to get around that.

And thanks for the suggestion on the fuel tanks. Plans are in the works, though not in the next release. Soon! :)

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In theory, low gravity worlds can be manageable with greater weight... and a wider wheel base. Perhaps wider framework pieces need to be created, similar to how we have the wider cargo platforms currently, to make stability in lower gravity easier to maintain.

If you use Kerbal Foundries along with this then your stability in all situations will greatly increase, of course.

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Thanks for the field report! :) I tried it out at Duna and going downhill, I can get around 34kps... and the jumps are spectacular. :) I too had troubles at Minmus and think it is due to the low gravity. I have some ideas on how to get around that.

And thanks for the suggestion on the fuel tanks. Plans are in the works, though not in the next release. Soon! :)

No problem. As for speeds, the fastest I could get on Minmus without risking a loss of stability was about 18 m/s (64 kph/40 mph), which is pretty darn fast!

The fuel tanks, though... could be useful for more than just self-landing. Perhaps they could be of use on a free-flight space vehicle. They would certainly give some amount of extended endurance.

Oh, and I discovered that the rooftop solar panel on the crew cabin is rather fragile. Any chance of making it field-repairable?

Edited by MaverickSawyer
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In theory, low gravity worlds can be manageable with greater weight... and a wider wheel base. Perhaps wider framework pieces need to be created, similar to how we have the wider cargo platforms currently, to make stability in lower gravity easier to maintain.

If you use Kerbal Foundries along with this then your stability in all situations will greatly increase, of course.

Not a bad idea, actually. :) For now you can take a chassis 1u and connect other chassis 1u pieces to its sides. That should help. :)

Here's an example: t6YgOGh.png

No problem. As for speeds, the fastest I could get on Minmus without risking a loss of stability was about 18 m/s (64 kph/40 mph), which is pretty darn fast!

The fuel tanks, though... could be useful for more than just self-landing. Perhaps they could be of use on a free-flight space vehicle. They would certainly give some amount of extended endurance.

Oh, and I discovered that the rooftop solar panel on the crew cabin is rather fragile. Any chance of making it field-repairable?

Fuel tanks that are used in free-flight spacecraft is one of the concepts I wanted as a design feature for the Buffalo, so they're definitely a go. :) I am also investigating how to repair solar panels; the game itself isn't set up to do that. What I don't get is why they break when I specifically set them to unbreakable...

Edited by Angel-125
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Sweeet! I can partially mitigate the fragile panel problem by setting its impactResistance! :)

So far my efforts to allow solar panels to be repaired in game have failed, but with impactResistance set to the part's CrashTolerance, the solar panels will break when the part itself does, effectively solving the problem. :)

Edited by Angel-125
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Not a bad idea, actually. :) For now you can take a chassis 1u and connect other chassis 1u pieces to its sides. That should help. :)

Here's an example: http://i.imgur.com/t6YgOGh.png

Fuel tanks that are used in free-flight spacecraft is one of the concepts I wanted as a design feature for the Buffalo, so they're definitely a go. :) I am also investigating how to repair solar panels; the game itself isn't set up to do that. What I don't get is why they break when I specifically set them to unbreakable...

Isn't the unbreakable flag more for dynamic pressure resistance?

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Saw this with Kobattos. Downloaded. :)

Kottabos reviewed it? Cool! :)

Edit: Yup, those are my first IVAs and I have much to learn to make them better. And definitely want a custom wheel, but I've never made one before. Oh, and that end piece will get storage...

Edited by Angel-125
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I ended up throwing the medium sized stock wheels (not the terribad orange ones) on this thing and it works great. Rovers are kinda useless from the get go as it takes far too long to get anywhere for them to be really playable (that, and surface navigation is just garbage), but one or two of these is just perfect for moving supplies around a base or transporting larger components around that can't be picked up and placed into a kerbal's inventory. Throw the part into the wagon (or attach it to the back of the flatbed) and take it wherever it needs to go to be constructed. I was literally salvaging my spent supply transport landers and combining them to construct new rockets. The 2.5m parts tend to be pretty heavy, but so long as the fuel tanks are empty you can KAS construct most things with 3-4 kerbals.

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I ended up throwing the medium sized stock wheels (not the terribad orange ones) on this thing and it works great. Rovers are kinda useless from the get go as it takes far too long to get anywhere for them to be really playable (that, and surface navigation is just garbage), but one or two of these is just perfect for moving supplies around a base or transporting larger components around that can't be picked up and placed into a kerbal's inventory. Throw the part into the wagon (or attach it to the back of the flatbed) and take it wherever it needs to go to be constructed. I was literally salvaging my spent supply transport landers and combining them to construct new rockets. The 2.5m parts tend to be pretty heavy, but so long as the fuel tanks are empty you can KAS construct most things with 3-4 kerbals.

Sounds cool. :) I have some ideas beyond rovers that will fit the Buffalo nicely and facilitate more rapid planetary travel..

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Latest version is available here.

I'm out for the weekend, enjoy! :)

0.1.3

With this update, the Buffalo also gets some new additions; some mini RCS motors (with sound effects!) and a couple of animated arms (static animations, sorry) to help with asteroid exploration. There's also a couple of bug fixes for the Wagon and Buckboards, the graphics glitch with the crew cab has been fixed. Sorry, no custom wheels- yet.

New parts

- Added the 5-Way Mini RCS Thruster. This is particularly helpful for exploration craft maneuvering around large objects like asteroids. It even has sound effects! You can change the volume or disable the sound effects by opening the Settings window. To do that, press Mod B simultaneously (Mod is the Modifier key, which defaults to Alt on Windows).

- Added the Buffalo Grappler Arm. Just like the stock Advanced Grabbing Unit, the Grappler Arm is useful for grabbing things like asteroids.

- Added the Asteroid Resource Composition Scanner (ARCS). This arm works like the stock Surface Scanning Module, but only for asteroids. However, it tells you the entire composition of an asteroid instead of just its Ore content. Simply right-click on the part and click Scan Asteroid to get its composition.

Buffalo Crew Cab & Wagon

- The integrated solar panels are now more durable. If the solar panel breaks, so has your part.

Buffalo Command Cab

- Increased the crash tolerance slightly and made it consistent with the Wagon and Crew Cab.

Chassis End Unit

- Added a storage tank with some storage capacity.

Buckboards

- Buckboards show up in the Buffalo parts category again.

Bug Fixes

- Increased the Wagon's storage slot capacity to 8x8.

- All Buckboards can now be mounted to the flatbeds.

- You can now see out of both windows in the crew cabin from either seat.

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Very nice update!

One small thing: The buffalo crew cabin still eject EVA kerbals through the back instead of through the sides. Entering works fine on the sides.

Eject as in they go flying off into space when you eva from the back? If they don't, and just grab the ladder like any other eva portal then it is by design. Just like the command cab, you should be able to go out the back door and onto, say, the flatbed. Thanks for the feedback. :)

Oh, do you mean that the default eva port is through the back?

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