Absolution

Anyone know how to make modded fairings work with the new Aerodynamic system? I understand that structures, such as fairings, contribute to shielding payloads from aero forces. How do I get my own fairings to cooperate with the new system?

Well I'll be a Kerbal's monkey uncle. While I was away they decided to release version 1.0. Guess I should have gone on vacation a long time ago. Congratulations to SQUAD! So what does that mean for CORE? It means my release got pushed back a few days while I download and test my mods against the new version. I'm a little worried because they changed so much in this update but, historically, my mods have proven forward compatible. Fingers crossed!

Thanks for the vote of confidence! I'd love to be able to say that my artistic style was completely intentional but I can't. I've gone through hundreds of iterations and each one was a trial by fire as I fumbled my way around unfamiliar tools and techniques. I certainly like the way things have turned out but, honestly, it was a complete accident. I'm just glad it all worked out in the end and that people like what I've managed to do. I'll be out of town for a few days so I'll be losing that development time. However, I only have to draw one last texture and then test it all to make sure the rockets do what I want them to do. I want nothing more than to quote a release window but that always blows up in my face so... SOON. Good luck and have fun!

Work has been very slow the last two weeks because real work has been overflowing. I haven't had much time to sit in front of my computer let alone do anything with it which is quite annoying considering how little work there is left to do on Anvil. I'm going to spend the next 3-4 days trying to spend every free second I have on completing this phase of development. I usually like to release a video or something to go along with major iterations but I'm thinking I'll skip that this time. I'll come back around to do it later but I see no reason to hold up this project anymore. No promises on a release window but I will try my best to get it out the door ASAP. Thankfully nobody pays me to do this or else I would have been fired long ago.

The name comes from three sources: 1. "First Light" is a term used in astronomy when a brand new telescope performs it's first scientific observation. 2. A term used to describe the first rays of light to appear in the morning. 3. It's just a cool name.

How the heck do I keep losing entire weeks? I would have put money down that I had updated this thread just 2-3 days ago but here I am 10 days later. Annoying. First with the good news: I just finished the Anvil IX and launched a First Light into orbit with it. That's a huge load of my mind because the Anvil IX (previously Maximus) is so dang large and unpredictable that I was worried it was going to flip out on me after the redesign. In fact, it flew very well. Now the bad news: I'm not sure what I was smoking when I redesigned the Anvil III and V's nose cone fairings but they look like trash. So once a freaking-a-gain I'm going to redo them. This is my penultimate design effort for the Anvil and I want to get it right. I don't want to revisit the design again; ever. There is a silver lining, however. The nose cones are very easy to model, UV and texture so I don't expect this to take too much longer. If there's anyone out there that cares anymore I am truly sorry for how long this is taking. I hope to make it worth the wait. As always: Good luck and have fun!

Development on the new Anvil IX has taken longer than I first thought it would. I'm using the Anvil IX to practice the texturing/modeling techniques I intend to employ on the next iteration of the First Light. Both are so large, comparatively speaking, that I can't get away with using a normal map for detail. The scale just doesn't allow it. That means I need to physically model the larger details and that is proving to be time consuming. In particular is the panels that make up the bulk of the body. If anyone played around with the prototype First Light I'm sure you noticed that although there were 3D panels they blended into the rest of the body and the detail was lost. The trick to making that work is to make the gaps between panels dark enough that the panels "stick out" visually. I've spent a lot of time trying to find the right balance between the panel surface and it's gaps. Once I find the secret recipe it should be a relatively quick process to model and unwrap the panels. Furthermore, since I am using the Anvil IX to practice I've also had to do some modeling on the First Light version 2. I need to make sure that what I am practicing on the Anvil will work on the First Light. So where am I in development? Nearly done with the Anvil IX. I've settled on the color palette and I just need to finish up some small texturing details with the body. I don't intend to do anything fancy with the nose cone or the payload adapter so those should go relatively fast.

I apologize for the lack of an update for the last 3 weeks. I had to take a very important test for another one of my hobbies and I had to shelve the Anvil to prepare for it. The good news is I passed my test; the bad news is Anvil didn't develop very much. Furthermore, in my haste I goofed up on the UV mapping of the nose cones so I had to go back and redo them (BAH!). As of today all of the new Anvil III is modeled. All I need to do is get them into KSP and test them. I will start the modeling for Anvil IX on Friday. I am both excited and horrified by the latest development coming out of Squad for the next few iterations of Beta. The Aerodynamic and Drag overhauls might seriously mess with my rockets' balance and I might have to redo the configs to make it all work again (sigh!). However, that's just the name of the game when developing mods for a game in development. The cargo bay/fairing mechanics they are working on should be quite cool and I'm excited to see how that plays out. Overall, my schedule is open for the next few weeks and I hope to put development of Anvil, Dune Raider and the rest into overdrive. I've had too many items on my to do list for way the heck too long. As always: Good luck and have fun!

I don't disagree with you. Originally the Anvils were supposed to be scaled properly to real rockets. I determined that the approximate mass fractions are 75% for the first stage, 20% for the second and 5% for the payload (75/20/5) is reasonable for a real world rocket. It's been too long for me to remember exactly how I came to balancing the Anvil the way I did (78/12/10) but it's probably due to the way KSP reacted to those numbers way back in the day. I remember the Anvil became very unstable at the end of the first stage and would snap into an un-correctable back-flip. I then tried to scale the Anvil just like a real rocket. Most rockets tend to have a scaling ratio near 15:1 so for every 1 unit of diameter they have 15 units of height. The old VAB must have been much smaller than the current one because I remember the prototype Anvils not fitting into the VAB. I don't recall what my current ratio is but I think its about 10:1. The next thing I did was get all the properties (mass, fuel, thrust, etc) into line. Long story short: the numbers refused to all agree with reality at the same time. Ultimately I decided that the engines' T/W ratio and their Specific Impulse were the two values I would prioritize for realism. The Anvil first stages have a T/W of about 1.4 and an Isp of 250. The second stages 0.8 and 350 respectively. That may not be perfect but I think it's close enough. I completely respect your input and truly value it. However, the Anvil is the way it is after many, many hours of testing and balancing over several years. Many of those results have been invalidated due to the evolution of KSP, sure, but I've got this egg standing on end and I'm hesitant to poke at it. Furthermore, I'm so far along with this last, hopefully definitive, revision of the Anvil that I don't want to dedicate more time to do it all over again. The First Light is calling me! --- Moving on to the status of Anvil: I am 99% done with the Anvil V. All I need to do is verify that it wont explode during launch. (9 of 9 parts done) I am 90% done with the Anvil III. Just the nose cones and flight tests remain. (10 of 12 parts done) I am 0% on the Anvil IX. I have a concept in my head but that's it. I don't expect it to take long since it's only 3 parts. (0 of 3 parts done)

I guess it's about time for an update. After realizing my scaling issue with my parts I investigated ways to bring everything back into line. There were a number of ways I could have done things but ultimately I decided to roll up my sleeves and just put the work in to make everything 1:1 and match the scale of the KSP universe. I'm scaling all of my parts up by 125% and, in some cases, remodeling parts to zero them to the nearest nice round number. I was too far along with the design of the revamped Anvil IV so I just scaled it up and left everything else the same. Nobody will notice except me so I'll just swallow that and move on. There has always been a nagging issue with the way I name rocket sizes in the Anvil series. I have it stuck in my head that the series number should match the nominal payload diameter that series is designed to carry. So the Anvil IV is designed for a 4m payload. When I got to the Anvil V I broke that convention and what should have been called "Anvil II" wound up being "V". I have no idea why that made sense to me at the time. Then to compound the issue was the scaling problem I mentioned above. As a result the Anvil IV was 5m and the Anvil V was 2.5m. Next, because of my terribly long development cycle and tendency to design one rocket at a time and come back to it many months later my textures and models show just how far my skills have developed in the intervening time. It's kind of nice to set two rockets side-by-side and see a dramatic difference in quality indicating just how much I've learned. However, as far as a product I'm distributing to the public is concerned that's not good. Everything needs to look like it belongs together. So here's the deal. Like a band-aid I'm going to just rip the sucker off and fix these little quirks in one go. The Anvil IV, which I was working on all through December, is now the benchmark. It's size, it's scale, it's texture and normal conventions. It's been scaled up to be a solid 5m diameter and I am renaming the series "V". The current Anvil V is going to be renamed "III" and redesigned to be 3m in diameter. Next comes the decision on what to do with the Maximus. Anyone who has followed me over the years knows that I have a thing with branding and the "Anvil" brand is my thing. In that regard I've decided to retire the Maximus after a short few months of service and in it's place will be the Anvil IX which, you guessed it, will be a 9m diameter rocket. Fundamentally the new Anvil IX won't be any different than the Maximus. It will follow the same design principles and assembly techniques. However, the Maximus was quite a boring looking rocket. It just didn't look "real" to me. So once I finish up revamping the Anvil III I'll put some energy into the IX to make it more convincing to employ. It's my intent to make that the final major revision of the Anvil series of rockets. Good luck and have fun!

After several years of developing parts that I thought were 1:1 scale with the KSP universe I have just come to realize that is not the case. I've always known that there is a scaling quirk with the KSP universe of 125%. I knew this many years ago and I went through a lot of trouble to make sure that my parts were scaled properly with the universe... then I made sure again. I have been utterly convinced that I was right for so dang long. Every once in a while an informed individual would stop by and say that "when Absolution says '4m' he actually means '5m'" I just thought he was the confused person and not me. How embarrassing. So in fact it does turn out that my "2 meter" parts are actually 2.5 meters and my "4 meter" parts are actually 5 meters and my "7 meter" parts are actually 8.75 meters. What does that mean? Essentially nothing since the parts are the size I want them to be in the universe. I'm just not identifying them correctly. The problem is on my side. My engineering brain just cant stand inconsistent units of measure so as I revisit my parts I will be scaling them properly. In some cases that may require a name change but that's hardly a big deal. So to all of you who have politely tried to correct me over the years; I apologize. Also, thank you for taking the time to help me and contribute to my project. --- Also congrats to all members of Squad, past and present, for achieving the 0.90 milestone! I admit that I haven't played too much of KSP properly but I've sunk hundreds of hours into modding for it and enjoyed every second. Thank you for this wonderful game and good luck with its continued successful development.

Hope everyone is enjoying the new parts. Here's an update: Currently Working on: I'm going through my massive back-log of work on the other parts I have in the pack. At this very second I am refreshing the Anvil IV with improved geometry and textures. I've learned a lot since the last time I touched the Anvil IV and I'm putting it all to good use. What's after that: I haven't done anything with the Dune Raider since I released it a year ago and I am going to show it some love after the Anvil. I've got some ideas for refreshed wheels and an instrument display to make the whole thing "pop" better. Fundamentally I feel that the Dune Raider is a solid design so I am not compelled to do much else to it aesthetically. There's still a nagging issue that some people have reported of physics bugs causing the whole thing to rocket into the air. I suspect it has something to do with the wheel collider not behaving when something hits it on the side. I'll see what I can do on that front. I also have some plans to add some features such as a docking mechanic for refueling and RCS thrusters to aid in control on low G environments. It's been mentioned that the Dune Raider is too... "extreme" for people and they want a more reasonable rover. So... and after THAT: The final stage of my near future plans is to completely redesign the Fire Hawk. It will be designed to pair well with the First Light's design approach. Simultaneously I will be working on the docking bay feature for the First Light. These two features need to be designed in parallel because, obviously, one fits into the other. Also, not so simultaneously but sort of simultaneously, will be the preliminary design effort for the "Dune Crawler". The Crawler will be a practical rover designed with function in mind and not sexiness like the Raider. It too will follow the same design inspiration as the First Light and the new Fire Hawk so all together they will fit together in one cohesive package. @Neutrinovore I released the First Light in its current state specifically so I can get feedback. Furthermore, I am doing all of this stuff for me first and sharing it with the community second. You wouldn't offend me even if you had mean things to say. I want feedback and inspiration from other perspectives. Not only will it make my own experience better but because I am offering my work to the public I feel responsible to do my best to make something worth downloading. I will never promise to do something or change something in response to community feedback but I value it and will always do my best. Concerning textures: on a scale of 0-100 with 0 being pure black and 100 being pure white the base colors fall into the 90-95 range. Yes, very white. That level of white looked the best to me while I was doing the textures but I never reviewed the textures in game as a sanity check. I definitely see what you're saying. Furthermore, the textures have a shininess applied to them so the light reflects and makes light colored objected appear to be lighter. I'll try to knock off some of the shine and reducing the colors to somewhere in the 80s and see what I come up with. I plan on doing some more tweaking of the geometry and textures anyway. Attachment nodes: Yeah, I can see where that could be confusing. I located them where they are to limit the amount of wobbling those parts are prone to. A centrally located node makes for a very stable connection. I'll think about different ways of doing it or, as you suggest, add in some tips to the description. Concerning Docking parts: When I titled them "universal" I meant that to be universal with everything in the First Light. Originally, the First Light was designed as 4-6 separate parts that needed to be assembled in orbit over the course of several launches. This "Universal" docking component was meant to be reused as a mating component for all of them. For mating with stock parts I always imagined using a stock docking component and attaching it to the surface of the First Light if necessary. I never intended my parts to mate directly to a stock part. I understand where the confusion comes in and I'll think about renaming it. Concerning more parts: They will come in time. I have a very specific mission in mind for the First Light, Fire Hawk, and aforementioned Dune Crawler. This means I am focusing all of my energy to develop specific parts to accomplish that mission. I am designing for a manned mission to Duna and back. I also intend on developing separate payload components that will store all sorts of items necessary for deep space missions; food, water, etc. However, since KSP doesn't incorporate any of that yet I decided to wait before proceeding too far. I've got ideas in my head but that's were they will stay in the short term. Once I complete my mission to Duna missions to the other planets will be in store and inevitably other parts will be developed to tackle the unique challenges each planet poses. If you have a vision of where you want First Light to go then please share. As I said above I make no promises but there's always a chance I will be inspired. Good luck and have fun!

I never thought this day would come. I present to you... The First Light: VIDEO: DOWNLOAD: https://kerbalstuff.com/mod/378/CORE%20-%20SOLUTIONS In addition to the release of the preview copy of First Light I have also collated all of my released mods into one, relatively small, mega pack and released it at Kerbal Stuff (link above). Also, I fixed the broken emissives on the Maximus and got the lights to work on the First Light. Turns out that if you set the lights to not use any resources they just don't work. Unfortunately, the save game I have made available includes two First Lights in orbit without any means of generating electricity so you'll need to launch a new one if you want the lights to stay on for more than a few minutes. Overall, I am very happy with this release. Everything works the way I imagined it would and without any signs of fault. Sure, there's plenty to do and it's very bare-bones but it works! Enjoy! *edit* Also forgot to mention. I recently got a new Nvidia graphics card which allows me to use some fancy rendering tricks in Blender (the program I use to make all of these mods and the video logo). This has allowed me to create a new intro to my videos. It's hardly earth shattering but I've been waiting months for an opportunity to upgrade and try it out. I think it turned out way better than the original.

Update: The Docking, Command, Hub, Hab and Fuel Tank modules have all passed ground testing. Textures are done and they all load into KSP fine (pictures below). That's not to say all of the bugs are gone but at least I've got basic functional models now. For example, I noted during static ground testing that the RCS was firing in all directions except up and down. Turns out I installed the monopropellant valve upside down (I forgot the RCS transforms). Easy fix but I'm sure I'll run into plenty of those pesky bugs as I move on to functional testing in orbit. I rolled back my install of Unity to 4.2.2 in an effort to fix the light animation problems and although they work just fine in Unity they are not working right in game. The funny part is that the lights, and emissives, do work in the VAB but not in the live world. I must have goofed up somewhere in the configs. I'll hunt that down later since it only serves as eye-candy... really neat eye-candy that I desperately want to work but eye-candy none-the-less. Time for pictures!

The status of the Hab and Payload Modules are deceiving. The modeling and UV unwrapping is 95% done on both. I just need to tweak a few things to get them to match up with the already tweaked Hub module. In fact, in the time between my two posts I've already finished the modeling on the Hab and I'm working on the textures next. Unfortunately for me the textures are the most labor intensive portion. I've got my artistic direction set in stone but now that I am doing the 'final' textures there's a lot of little details to get in. Of course, when I say "little details" I mean that for someone of my novice skill. I can't compete with the better known modders. I'll have pictures up soon.

I think its time for an update. I've been slaving away quite a lot over the last two weeks on the First Light and I am making great progress. If you've been following this at all you'll know that the entire ship has been modeled and has undergone some preliminary testing. The first major finding from the preliminary tests is that the weight and balance of the ship is completely wrong. I failed to realize that by putting all of the ~50 tonnes of fuel in the aft 20% of the ship that it would result in a very awkward control scheme with pitching, yawing or translating. Furthermore, as the fuel load burns off the CG of the ship shifts quite significantly aft to forward. That means it is impossible for me to design an RCS system that would work. A whole week was dedicated to designing a solution that I think is quite clever. I redesigned the fuel tank. Instead of one tank at the back of the ship there is now two tanks; one in the aft and one in the front. Not only does that shift the starting CG to the center of the ship but it allows the player to transfer fuel from one tank to the other. In other words you'll be able to shift the CG front to back on command. Okay, maybe its not so clever considering mariners have been using ballast to keep their boats from tipping over for thousands of years but I still gave myself a pat on the back. I had planned on redesigning the fuel tanks eventually anyway so I don't consider that whole week a set-back. Also part of that plan was to redesign the engines so that, too, is happening now instead of later. So that's the "bad" news if you've been waiting for First Light but you'll be getting a better product upon first release. The "good" news is that I am now going through the last design pass on each of the parts. I am adding in details, textures, normal maps, emissives, etc. So here is where I am now. Design stages (the higher the number the closer to release): Not Started = 0 Modeling = 1 UV Unwrapping = 2 Texturing = 3 Unity Configuration = 4 Testing = 5 Ready for Release = 6 Modules: Docking Module: 5 Command Module: 5 Module Hub: 5 Habitation Module: 1 Payload Module: 1 Fuel Tank: 5 Engines: 0 Payload Canister: 0 Payload Shroud: 0 The intent is to release all of that, minus the shroud and canister, as a preview build for community testing. Once that is all released into the wild I will design the canister and shroud. Once those two are done and any bugs are squashed I will do a full release. Sound good?

That is the problem right there. They are not tech tree enabled. In fact, they pre-date the tech tree entirely. To enable them in the tech tree you need to add a line to the config file of each part: "TechRequired = xyz" The "xyz" is the "Node Name". From the wiki: http://wiki.kerbalspaceprogram.com/wiki/Technology_tree Example: // --- editor parameters --- TechRequired = veryHeavyRocketry entryCost = 100 cost = 1000 category = Propulsion subcategory = 0 title = CSB-720-1 manufacturer = C.O.R.E. Concept Rocket Engineering description = The biggest rocket ever conceived by a guy named Stanley. My mega pack will enable the tech tree for all the parts. I can't promise they will be properly balanced against stock parts but at least you'll be able to use them in the campaign. Does that help? ----- @Thourion Hopefully the Maximus is meeting your launching needs. Your idea was my first idea, actually, and it failed because the two shell halves wobbled way too much and contributed to the instability of the rocket. I didn't like the idea of having to extract a payload from a container like I ultimately ended up with but "form follows function".

Wondering what the secret new parts were? See the first post for full details and download link. MAXIMUS! Hopefully this was worth the wait. This project came out of my problems launching and assembling the First Light spacecraft. The parts were relatively light but bulky. Only the Anvil IV had the volume and only after I designed special fairings. Even then it wasn't physically large enough to do everything I wanted to do with it. It would have taken half a dozen missions just to get the First Light assembled and mission ready. Then it hit me like a ton of bricks: design a rocket big enough to launch the whole thing together. MAXIMUS! The Maximus has a unique configuration where the inside is hollow and the engines and fuel are located on the perimeter. The total diameter is 10m... TEN METERS... with an internal payload capacity of 7m diameter. Think of a hollow rocket with built-in SRBs. In fact, that's where the design started. I created a payload shell and attached very, very large SRBs on the outside to take it into orbit. Unfortunately KSP/Unity is not designed to accommodate that kind of mass and stress on the attach nodes. The first design could get off the ground but would spin out of control as each SRB bent and pointed in a different direction. Solution: build the engines directly into the payload shell making one, un-bendable, structure. It works like a charm! Despite being one of the most massive rockets I have ever seen in the game it flies like a laser beam. *Caution* because the mass of the rocket is so gargantuan at lift off and it's a SSTO it becomes challenging to control when it nears empty. The trust to weight just rockets off the chart. To counter that gently ease off the throttle progressively throughout the launch cycle. It seems like its best to match thrust % to fuel % (50% thrust at 50% fuel). Your results may vary. The side effect of this solution is that I have also created a one-stop shop for launching entire space stations into orbit. A creative player may find a way to pack all the necessary parts together and launch it. Once in orbit you could then unpack it and put it all together. Maybe. What do you think? MAXIMUS! "Are you not entertained?"

I wasn't going to release the First Light. I was going to reveal the *new* parts I've been hinting at. I've lost some time due to conflicting projects sapping all of my free time but I hope to reveal and release a "press copy" of the new parts tomorrow. From there I plan to run a test of the First Light by doing some laps around Minmus. If that turns out okay I'll get started on the textures. I'm hoping to put my full attention into the First Light for the remainder of the month and, luck holding, make the initial release in the first few days of November. After that I will switch focus to the mega-pack and incrementally incorporating all of my mods. I've got dozens of parts laying around and many of them I haven't given any attention for a long while. There's a mountain of work to do. I would really like to be done with my back-log of work by the end of the year so that I can start 2015 off fresh with a whole new set of to-do's.

Sounds like a conflict of file versions or missing files between the two packs. I don't support the legacy files so I can't help you there. The craft file is likely bugged due to KSP updates since I created it or I forgot to update it correctly when I updated its parts. I'm working on repackaging all of my current mods into a mega-pack and refresh all of craft files and other supporting documentation. Hopefully those types of issues will be gone when I finish that.

Nothing about this last stage of development has been easy. I've gone through 3 different iterations and none worked. I can't blame anyone but myself since I am very much pushing the limits of the game engine and its built in mechanics. To the good news: I have solved the last of the design issues and I just completed the First Light's first ever launch! It quickly failed as I realized, much too late, that its engine thrust was pointing in the wrong direction and it began to spin quite violently. Turns out, however, that was the perfect test for the craft's stability, rigidity, and durability. It spun so smoothly without any rattle or wobble. It was like a perfectly balanced drill bit spinning gracefully through space. Lucky for my crew this was an unmanned test otherwise the poor guys would have been pulped in their seats. Hurrah for forethought! To the bad news: I took the smart approach to the design and testing of these new parts and did not waste any time doing the UV unwrap or texturing. Now that all the pieces are in place I can go and do those. I don't expect it to take too long but there it is; its not done yet. I am aiming to reveal the new parts this weekend assuming everything goes okay. I wouldn't hold my breath though since nothing has gone okay yet. :\ Stay tuned!

And I just got my rear end kicked by KSP. I had my grand new reveal all ready to go. All I had to do was test it and release it but it failed the test so spectacularly I had to go back to the drawing board to fix it. I tried to salvage my work and try out a variety of tweaks but nothing worked. So, I have to scrap it and try a completely different approach. I've done some preliminary testing with this new approach and, while its still iffy, it works well enough for me to proceed with the design. Fortunately, the First Light is not impacted but I did lose about a week to this thing. Bah! I'll post up some screens later this week. Stay tuned!

That is part of my vision. The Dune Raider was a moment of inspiration that would have killed me had I not gotten it out of my head and into KSP. I hope to develop a utility rover that, although near-futuristic looking, will fit with the aesthetic I am going for with the First Light. The Fire Hawk, on the other hand, was thrown together at the last second after I realized I needed a way to get the Dune Raider anywhere. I plan to completely re-imagine the Fire Hawk into a landing craft that will also fit in with the First Light. Ultimately, the idea is that they will all go together, along with Anvil and -REDACTED-, to form one unified solution for getting off Kerbin, beyond orbit, transfer to a neighboring planet, land, explore, return home, and most importantly: do it all again. It's my version of NASA's "Mars Mission". --- Update It seems like this project has been a long series of 'one step forward, two steps back' so it should be no surprise to anyone who has followed this that I made a change. However, and that is a BIG however, this time I took one step back and then took five steps forward. I'm not kidding when I say that I am very excited by this 'AHA!' moment I had. I've been working 3-4 hours every night for the last two weeks on this thing as well as minor revisions to the First Light to match. I was actually testing this new 'thing' just the other day. Sadly, it failed in classic KSP fashion so I need to engineer a solution but at least it works on a fundamental level. I just need to get it to play nice with the game engine. I'm not ready to show it off yet because I am not sure just how far I need to redesign it to make it work. I've got a few quick and dirty solutions to try before I take the nuclear option. Given my pace I should have something by this weekend. Hopefully. As for the impact to the First Light I am also not quite ready to go into specifics but I will share some out-of-game renders to show you how the First Light has changed. Maybe someone will care to guess at where I am going with it? That is 100% a completely modeled First Light. You may wonder what those big gaps are in the middle of the hull. The one on the top is an expansion bay for adding science or cargo modules (to be designed later). I would like for them to be dockable so you can swap them out with every round trip but I'm not too sure of the logistics of that yet. I got the idea from the US Navy which recently began incorporating the same basic concept on their ships. The gap on the bottom of the hull is the docking cradle for the, aforementioned, re-imagined Fire Hawk. The fuel tanks and engines were lifted directly from the last iteration of the First Light so, thankfully, I wont need to put any more time into those. I might revisit them later (much, much later) but I am happy enough with them that I consider those done. What's left for me to finally release the First Light? I need to do most of the textures, obviously, but I just learned some new tricks and I am eager to put them into practice. Hint: it makes the panels look very nice. I also need to finish the -REDACTED-. Follow that up with a few functional tests and we will be good to go! If I can keep up my feverish pace I should have something in your hands very soon. There will still be lots of stuff to do once I make that initial release but I want to hit that major milestone of getting a functional ship into orbit. I'm so close to the end of the tunnel that I can almost turn off my headlights. Stay tuned!

I'm working on some very large parts (~30m long). KSP handles them fine until the physics engine gets a hold of them. They are not heavy parts (3 tonnes) but their size is causing quite a large moment on the single attach nodes that put them together. I've been around the block a few times so I know that "wobbly rockets" was an issue in the earlier days but they seemed to have resolved the worst offenders. I was wondering if there was some config trick I can use to prevent the parts from wobbling so much? I don't want to use struts and I'd prefer not to break up my parts into smaller chunks if I can help it. Ideas?

The pictures are very washed out from the lighting conditions but the texturing is basically done. I might do an art pass to add smaller details but overall I'm happy with the way it is. I've imagined adding a "racing stripe" or similar decal on the side to add some flair... not sure how good I'll be able to manage that. It's something to experiment with in the future. The finished ship will have 5 major modules: Command Module Unit (CMU) Habitat Module (HAB) Utility Module (tbd) Fuel Tank Module (TNK) Kinetic Energy Generator (KEG) At the moment there are only two minor modules: Universal Docking Module (UDM) Payload Assist Module and decoupler (PAM) I've imagined what the Utility Module might look like but until I start playing around with it I can't really say for sure. I want it to serve multiple functions: 1) A place to mount a perpendicular docking point 2) A place to house a landing craft of some kind 3) A place to mount experiment modules and attachments 4) A place to mount a large solar panel array The HAB is nearly done but I put a hold on further development due to a recent update I caught from a dev (a Tuesday Dev Note iirc). They are looking into developing a way to transfer crew between docked modules without the use of an external mod. Maybe it will be ready for .25 or maybe not. I want to wait for that to be put into the game before I give the HAB more attention. The current design forces the player to EVA a kerbal and manually fly them in between modules and that's clunky. I also have some ideas on additional minor modules. These will largely depend on need: 1) Custom external lights 2) Custom solar array Of course, nothing is solid and everything might change before the end date. I really hope not; I've done enough changing. Furthermore, once I work out the kinks of what I've already developed I think I am going to revisit the Anvil and bring her up to code with the latest changes in .24. Then there is the Dune Raider that I have been majorly neglecting. I can't believe it's been nearly a year since I released that.