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PTNLemay

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Everything posted by PTNLemay

  1. I haven't done a whole lot of number crunching, but I have been able to see the result in the Kerbal Engineer deltaV indicator. Looking at almost every payload choice, the Wolfhound or the Cheetah come out on top when it comes to deltaV. But in some cases it's very close. The only times I can see myself using the Poodle anymore is if I know the top stage will need good thrust, but not be too heavy. Which is a rare necessity... if your top stage needs that thrust to get into orbit, it usually means your before-last stage didn't do it's job properly (like an over-burdened Skipper). It's a shame, because the Poodle is an old favorite and I definitely have a soft spot for it. But the new ones ones are just better. I do love the look of the Cheetah, but the Wolfhound feels a bit meh. That rectangular baseplate is very... bland.
  2. There's just something about the new 1.875m parts that's making me fall in love with it. I know they were always an option via mods, but it's so nice having them come in the stock game. It's a perfect middle ground of usefulness and compactness... so cozy.
  3. I've been checking the mods on CKAN to try them out on the new version. I think that I have it in some weird mode that only shows the ones that are set to be compatible with the latest version of KSP. How did you set it so you could install mods that aren't?
  4. @HebaruSan Ah, sorry for being annoying. And thank you for directing me to the answer.
  5. I'm not sure if I've done something wrong here, but I'm encountering a tenacious issue. Every time I open CKAN I get this error message. It also comes up if I try to refresh the mod list. I was running a somewhat old version of CKAN (I had turned off auto-update for some reason) so I decided to get the latest one. I deleted the old .exe, installed the new one, and... the error message still comes up upon opening. I put the whole error message here: EDIT: Huh... well, for whatever reason it appears to have fixed itself. I'm able to start it up and even refresh now. Weird.
  6. @blowfish I just felt like saying thank you for continuing to work on this mod. I don't play it as often as I'd like, because I too often get stuck trying to finish achievements in stock career runs (which can be a long and arduous task). But this one has always been one of my favorites. And it always tickles me when I look in on it and see that, yes, it is up to date and ready for the latest version of KSP. You do great work that is greatly appreciated.
  7. @Yargnit None of the ports were undocking, not until I undocked it myself to allow the alignment to complete. The reason I know it was off (aside for the 0.12 degree misalignment and the visably crooked docked ports) was that I couldn't summon the rotation function on those last joints. The game can tell something is off with that connection point. I'll start up the game and get more screenshots to show what I mean. Also, for hypothetical really large structures, that 0.12 degree misalignment could lead to big problems down the road. Just to be clear, these are fringe problems that are only likely to pop up when building huge ring stations around asteroids or the like. And having a pseudo-ring where the last joint is aligned by not actually connected is still LOADs better than how it used to be. With nearly every dock connected almost right but still not right. Which in the end compounded to a huge misalignment when you tried to close the ring station. With this mod, you can guarantee all of the joints are perfect, except for the last one. Going from 1/10 perfect connections to 9/10 perfect connections is a hell of an improvement. And the mod is still perfect for "Christmas-tree" structures without loops where you just want all of the station-parts to be aligned so that it's aesthetically pleasing. I just wanted to get that out there, I don't want it to sound like I'm complaining about a nitpick. EDIT: So here's a "real world" example of a ring-station. I built it entirely in the VAB, so all of the connections started out pretty perfectly. https://i.imgur.com/i8JFTAb.png I then separated the right-side arm, and nudged back towards it, to simulate what it would be like to try and build it in pieces. I missed the screengrab, but interestingly, on the first attempt the top connection was able to use the rotation function. But the bottom one wasn't. On the second attempt, neither was able to. https://i.imgur.com/IqwURVA.png Like I was saying earlier, I think that what's happening is that the game initiates the connection before things have stopped moving. Resulting in these wonky connections. My previous post showed examples where misalignments were evident. But even here, the game can tell something's off.
  8. I've been experimenting with the multidocking myself, and while I'm not sure the issue I'm experiencing is the same as that of others, if it is I don't think the problem lies with the mod. It's more an issue of the way the game makes the docking happen. In the following links you can see a basic square structure with a total of 8 ports. All identical to one another. I started by connecting them in pairs (using the mod to get the angles perfect), then brought the two together. https://i.imgur.com/yOVv2I4.png I bring them together as best I can, and end up with a misalignment of about 7 degrees. Once again, I use the rotation function at the recent connection point to correct. https://i.imgur.com/aD30XMd.png What happens next is that the game will establish a connection before those last two docking ports are properly aligned. The two lock, thus preventing the rotation from completing. With the arms at this length, the final misalignment is 0.12 degrees. The controls to initiate a rotation appear on all the ports, except for that last crooked one. The only way I can finish correcting the alignment is to undock that crooked one. Then the connection that's off by 0.12 degrees can fix itself. But then, the structure is no longer a closed loop. That last joint has been disconnected and it stays disconnected. You need to separate two docking ports by a certain distance before the connection can be restablished. On a (mostly) rigid body like this, the ports can never be separated enough for that to happen. https://i.imgur.com/ZKSuAqt.png So, the only way I can see this being solved is either to create a delay that makes is so that the last docking ports to touch don't prematurely establish the connection. Or remove that minimum separation distance that two ports need in order for the connection to be restablished. EDIT: Another way would be to add some sort of telescoping arm at the last connection (which would require another mod, but there we have it). This way the arm could secure itself solidly at one point, and extend itself out to close the loop.
  9. I was about to post "Man, these would be so amazing with IVAs. But I get those are really tricky to pull off, especially with so many parts here." Only to realize... you actually went and did it. These are very impressive. Well done.
  10. An idea just came to me. Not saying that OP needs to implement it (because quite frankly it sounds kind of hard to do) but it's a way that Squad could feasibly integrate the mods features into the vanilla game. One argument that might be made against these super rotating docking ports is that they are too sophisticated. Especially earlier on in the tech tree when you first unlock docking ports. It's a fairly complex system, because it can lead to thing like robotic arms. It's sort of like introducing Canadarm2 technology during the Apollo era. So, have the different docking port capabilities be unlocked as you move up the tech tree. You'd start off with docking ports as they are now. Dumb ports that just get drawn towards one another via magnets, and they snap together at whatever alignment they were at when you snapped them. A bit later on you unlock the ability to give rough rotation. No finer than 15 degree increments, and only at low speeds. And we could say that if you stack more than three such pairs of ports together, the rotation doesn't work (limiting the complexity of robotic arms). Then closer to the end of the tech tree, you unlock the full capability. Fine rotation, as many dock pairs as you want. I'm not sure when you'd introduce rotate with "snap to" feature, because I find that to be one of the most useful features (even more useful than fine rotation). So I wouldn't want it to be too high up the tech tree. Anyway, it's just me thinking out loud. Edit: For reference, Canadarm2 is the real-life insane robotics gizmo they have on the ISS to move things around. It can detach on either end and do all sorts of fun manipulations:
  11. @peteletroll I really wanted to thank you for creating this mod. Since I started playing the game I’ve tried experimenting (and usually failing) with multi-point docking. And time after time the thing that always messes it up is that little misalignment that you have in one of the dock-connections. I still can’t fathom why a feature like this isn’t in the stock game. I haven’t tried the mod yet, but thanks again for taking the time. I’m sure this will be super useful.
  12. As I mentioned earlier, on this rescaled solar system the rescue missions are extremely difficult because the Kerbals are effectively spawning inside of the atmosphere. You have... maybe a minute to get to them once they enter physics range before they overheat and explode. I pulled off one such rescue so far, all the other attempts failed catastrophically (usually ending up with me losing the rescue vehicle as well). So I finally got a new rescue mission, this time involving a Kerbal stuck in Minmus orbit. Great! No atmosphere there. And it's not like the rescaled system could cause it to be so confused that it would spawn it with a suborbital orbit. Right? I think the only way I will be able to safely rescue a Kerbal is if he's in a kerbol orbit. I mean... is there a way to easily edit the ship's orbit? Any other thoughts or suggestions on how I might save poor Greglo? On a more positive note, the Ares probe successfully pulled off a Duna flyby not too long ago. I'm going to try and get the capsule to return in one piece, to fulfill a milestone mission. She has over 3 km/s left over in the tank, so I'm not too worried. But I'd love if it I can get the stage to hit Kerbin. Keep the sun's orbit nice and clean.
  13. Yeah, that's what I'm doing for the second attempt (in addition to the mini-2nd-stage-winlgets). Still... I can usually omit all that stability stuff when I reach high enough in the atmo. I guess 24 km isn't all that high, all things considered. But I would love to know what's causing that drag spike.
  14. I built a fairly large ship and assumed that the 2nd stage wouldn't need ailerons, because it would be pretty high up. Sure enough, I staged the part in question at around 24 km in altitude. And yet, the thing flipped instantly. I turned on the aerodynamic vector indicators, and it does look like something near the tip is creating a huge amount of drag (note the really long red arrow). And idea which part it could be? I've got a science lab, the 1-seat lander can, the 2-seat passenger tube. That 1.25 to 2.5 m adapter. Aside for that it's just a lot of nicknacks that shouldn't be affecting drag coefficient that much... I'm really stumped. Any help would be really appreciated. Oh, and in case it's relevant, I'm playing on a 2.5x scaled Kerbin. Which doesn't scale up the atmosphere in the same way. It actually goes up to 94-ish kilometers.
  15. Progress! The mobile lab made it to the Mun, I got the crew on board safely and did a quick refuel. Made it onto the surface with 600 m/s to spare (so she's not taking off again, at 2.5x scale it takes about 850 m/s to achieve munar orbit). I'm also pretty confident that I can take on Duna at this point, I just want to wait for the milestone missions to bring it up. Also trying out some new parts I unlocked. This is the ship I'll be using to perform docking experiments in Munar orbit (part of a mission). The capsule on the top is sort of a mish-mashed Gemini capsule analog. It can safely bring two kerbals back from orbit. I don't think the specs are much better than just stacking two 1.25m cans on top of one another. And it's certainly heavier than that earlier approach I had. But... it looks cool.
  16. @DAL59 Yeah, that was the plan. I just misjudged the sheer weight of the thing and the needed thrust to get it up. The third attempt worked. This time flown entirely by remote with no Kerbals on board. It doesn't look half bad when it's not sitting on top of a huge stack. Now I just need to refuel, get scientists onto it, and head off to the mun.
  17. Staging accident nearly killed two of my scientists today. The mission list called for a Mun base, with a lab on it, and I tried to launch them in this monstrosity. But I thankfully felt that this was sketchy, and put them in the passenger pontoons on the sides. They have 40 m/s impact resistance, vs the main lab's resistance of just 6 m/s. I wish I could get a safer launcher, but I need every bit of deltaV. Even with a rocket this big I'll need to refuel before I can reach the Mun. EDIT: Eh... scratch that. They are now very much dead. Turns out the thrust wasn't high enough in the upper stages, so the (normally more than enough) 6 km/second wasn't able to get them into orbit. I dropped the security parachutes once we reached space, not even considering we wouldn't make full orbit. They survived the re-entry heat, but hit the water at 130 m/s. Now I'm out of scientists... this is tough.
  18. Today I learned... 9 km/sec is not enough delta-V to perform a Mun landing and return at 2.5x scaled solar system. Which... surprised me. I got so mad in the moment that I forgot to take a screen-capture, but suffice to say Val managed to just make it into a Mun-escape trajectory (while her capsule fell crashing back onto the Mun on a sub-orbital trajectory). She was later safely rescued. Another fun fact, rescuing an astronaut who was on the surface of the Mun does not count as a vehicle returned from the Mun, so I missed that achievement... I suspect that the changed scale is confusing the contracts, or maybe it's the Space Hotel mod I'm using that's messing with them. Putting a small satellite in an equatorial orbit of Kerbin gives me 58,000 credits. But sending a kerbal to the mun and returning him/her gives me 88,000. With this altered difficulty curve, it feels like it should give you 100,000. That's what my spacecraft is going to end up costing just to get her safely back in a single vehicle. Also, an interesting little bug with the rescale mod. The astronauts you are meant to rescue are spawning inside of the atmosphere (between 80 and 90 km). It's still possible to rescue them, because they don't start experiencing the drag until you get close. But it's astonishingly difficult to get to them in time before they burn up. I've succeeded 1 out of 3. And failing gives you a big reputation penalty. At the moment the only contracts that really turn a profit are satellite missions. My program is basically riding on them.
  19. I remember looking this up a few years ago, and concluding that it's okay to let contracts expire. If you're at the point where you're exploring both the Mun and Minmus, and you see a contract for the Mun, you can let it go, and the next one to appear will randomly be one of those two. Is that still the case in the current version of the game? Do exploration contracts just cycle through a data-base hidden under the hood that players never see, pick one, and throw it at us randomly? If that is the case, has anyone ever compiled a total list of all exploration contracts? Like, for each planet, these are all of the explorations you can end up doing. I ask because I'm a hard-line completionist, and it always bothers me moving onto the next stage of the game without being sure that I've completed all of the things to do at the planet I'm still at. Also, speaking of moving onto the next thing. What exactly do you lose when you jump ahead to a new sphere of influence without first receiving an exploration contract for that planet? For example, say I've just unlocked the parts needed to race to Duna, but the exploration contract for Duna hasn't shown up. Do I only lose that first "Enter Duna's sphere of influence" but all the other stuff about orbits, returning science, rendez-vousing crafts around it, will all still appear in the Exploration contract? The game sees "Oh he's at Duna now, I can throw these missions at him." Or, by not waiting to see that first Duna contract, do I burn off the entire list of Duna-Exploration-Contracts? Sorry if this question has been asked a lot already, I did look in the backlog. The problem is that very often when people ask the question they muddle the terminology. They bring in missions and campaigns and tech trees, and it's hard to parse which part people are answering. That's why I wanted to reformulate the question, and ask it in three parts so each one could be easily answered. Thanks in advance.
  20. Hmm, thanks. I hadn't heard of SSTU before. I just about managed to pull myself out of the fire. The bailout ruined my reputation, but I was able to rebuild the VAB. So I won't have to resort to flying my rockets out of the SPH. A few juicy satellite missions should have me on my feet again. I wish I had more wild narratives with which to fill, but really it was just that smoking crater that I felt like sharing. Jeb died in that accident! And on hard mode, he's not coming back.
  21. Just Engineer Redux, KIS and KAS. I thought of adding more, but even just those few mods introduce enough little bugs. I didn't feel like contending with more. Those three just feel like things that absolutely should be in the stock game, so I rarely play without them. Also, I realized this should have probably been put in the Mission Reports section... not a big deal, but if a passing mod sees this could you please nudge the thread into that sub-forum? EDIT: I just remembered, I'm also using the Space Hotel mod. Which gives more elaborate space tourism contracts.
  22. One SRB-test later. (cue soft melancholy...) And the really bad part is that I'm not very far into the tech tree, so I don't have a lot of tech or available missions to grind much money. I was getting a few nice satellite missions, but I suspect those will disappear after I resort to the bailout. The spaceplane hanger is unupgraded, which means I can't use it for any of my spacecrafts that use more than 30 parts. I must confess, this is quite a pickle! Intro I want to try a scaled up career mode game using only stock parts as much as possible. I thought I had installed KIS and KAS, but it turns out I forgot to add them. So all I have really is Kerbal Engineer Redux, Sigma to rescale the system, and a Space Hotel mod that just gives me more interesting contract missions. Everything else is stock. I don't have much of a "narrative" planned to follow through with this career run, so I'll mostly just be posting highlights and fun/interesting/terrifying moments that I run across. Achievements thus far: Docked in orbit of Kerbin Manned landing on the Mun Unmanned landing on Minmus Orbit Kerbol Unmanned flyby of Duna Fatalities: Jebediah Kerman Erton Kerman Triger Kerman Bob Kerman Daphsey Kerman
  23. Okay, I knew it was something I'd missed. I should be able to run a line around the side and make the fuel connection that way. It is more fun when the game adds these limitations, but it helps to know what it is that's doing the limiting. Thanks for the quick answer bewing.
  24. So, I haven't played the game in a long long time, maybe over a year. I decided to get back into it by doing a random, no limits, sandbox run to the mun. I threw 5-crewman ship together and I'm testing it in orbit. And... I can't seem to transfer fuel from one tank to the next using the old alt+click trick. It's possbile I'm forgetting something obvious, but I think I'm doing everything right. Hold alt, click one of the tanks, and click the second tank. Then release alt. I get the two little windows showing the states of both tanks, but no options to transfer. This is in sandbox mode, so there aren't any upgrades needed to be unlocked or anything. Am I going crazy? Or did they change the way fuel is transferred at some point? I'm running 1.3.1 off of Steam with no mods installed. Hard mode, in case that matters.
  25. Looks nice. My computer's not too potato, but I notice it sometimes struggles with things it really shouldn't be struggling with (might just be a layer of dust in the GPU mucking up it's efficiency) so I want to give it a low-powered visual enhancer. I noticed this mod isn't in CKAN though. Are there any big compatibility issues that I should know about? I don't keep many mods, but I like using Distant Object Enhancer. Will this play well with that one?
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