Wait- Was That Important?

October 27, 2020

So cool! I installed this mod right away. It'll take a rebuild of my scanner satellites but totally worth it if I can get that sweet sweet xenon I crave!

I found a simple issue and have uploaded it to GitHub with a description and logs. Please let me know if I'm doing this wrong, this is my first time using git: https://github.com/ChrisAdderley/SpaceDust/issues/15

As always, thanks for sharing your cool mods & ideas with us!

October 26, 2020

Have you ever looked up at the night sky and wondered at the big questions of life? Is there anyone else out there in the cosmos? Are we doomed to die as a single-planet species? Does Jool have too many moons?

Wait... what? That's right! JEXA, the Joolian EXploration Association, is working to solve these big issues so you don't need to! When they're not torturing acronyms, JEXA is diligently toiling away to bring Pol's delicious crust and-or mantle to your doorstep! As the smallest and loneliest moon of Jool Pol has few friends willing to come to its defense, thus making it the perfect ~~victim~~ location for industry-scale ~~strip mining~~ respectful utilization of its available resources.

This playthrough takes place in a modded 1.10.1 career mode save with about 40 hours plalytime and 9 years of elapsed in-game. I've already done missions to every planet, two comets, and fully unlocked the tech tree as a result; I find that sort of thing to be generic and so will not focus on those activities in this mission report. Primary mods are Nertea's legendary Near Future suite and Stockalike Station Parts Expansion Redux, not to mention Strategia and the various Contract Pack expansions which are integral to a meaningful career playthrough.

The Polony

"Sand Castle", a nuclear-lithium Pol miner designed to harvest 40 kg/s of ore and loft 160 tons of payload to the refinery

"Ion Fairy" a temporary Jool mothership assembled from 4 different modules, deploying a smaller exploration frigate for a tourist contract

"Ion Godspeed", the second of two Nuclear Ion ferries, visits intermediate-period comet Gilong-1 after dropping off two advanced probes at Jool

Program Objectives:

Establish a refinery in Pol orbit to produce general fuels like LF/O, monoprop, and lithium
Construct advanced Pol surface bases to produce exotic fuels like argon, xenon, and enriched uranium
Build reusable surface-orbit freighters to ship highly refined products from Pol's surface
Construct a fleet of nuclear lithium MPD tugs to freight cargo and passengers from Kerbin to Pol and back using fast transfer orbits (<1 year each way)
Fund activites through Tourism Plus contracts to take tourists on flybys and landings of Jool's moons and ISRU extraction contracts to ship ore from Pol
Support these initiatives using existing infrastructure like the nuclear-ion Fast Crew Ferries and Argon Giant superheavy nuclear propulsion bus
Redirect intermediate-period H-class comet Gilong-1 around Kerbin using infrastructure staged and supported from Jool

October 25, 2020

15 minutes ago, TBenz said:

Atmospheric ISRU isn't being removed from Nertea's mod lineup, it's getting a major overhaul and being spun out of NFP into its own mod, "Space Dust"...

Oh awesome! I haven't been on the forums in ages and hadn't seen this thread. Sorry for the confusion and I can't wait to see what becomes of Space Dust! Thanks for linking that thread for me

October 25, 2020

On 10/20/2020 at 12:48 PM, Nertea said:

Impending depreciation warning!

2. In the next update, the atmospheric processing equipment (M-2 Cryogenic Gas Separator, AIReS Atmospheric Sounder) will be removed from NFP. This will initially be a soft-deprecation.

Hi Nertea, I'm a longtime player with the NF mods and am curious as to the reason behind dropping the atmo ISRU gear? It seemed like they purposefully balanced the sheer power of Argon/Xenon thrusters by making those fuels difficult to get on planets without atmospheres. Plus, there's some real-life near-future plans of things like argon and methane production from the Martian atmosphere: http://phobosorbust.blogspot.com/2016/02/interorbital-exchange-part-2-mars-cargo.html?m=1

I understand that the 3.75m converter your mods add can also produce some Xenon/Argon just from ore and circumvent this, but it's a hilariously inefficient transformation (no doubt involving alchemy and perhaps a pentagram or two) which basically demands a level 5 engineer and a fixed surface outpost to make viable, as even my Pol miner with a payload of 160 tons of ore can't carry enough to the orbital refinery to produce a reasonable amount of xenon per trip.

I can understand deprecating these from the standpoint of "well, most players just accept the inefficiency of the 3.75m converter and use time warp" but have always enjoyed the emergent mechanic of Duna being the only realistic place to make a xenon/argon production plant where it still has an atmosphere to mine but the dV to orbit is low enough that tankers aren't too hard.

Anyways. Just my 2 credits! I'm not a mod developer and have no idea of the work involved to support parts from version to version, and am sure there's a good reason for deprecating these. I appreciate the work you do and am so happy I've been able to play with your mods for so many years! Thanks Nertea

October 1, 2014

Hey there,

I was wondering if there was a mod for the alteration of sea level? I think it'd be pretty neat to play a "waterworld" style Kerbin, where your locations for landing and takeoff are very limited. If anyone has any ideas or input, it would be welcomed.

Thanks,

WWTI?

July 27, 2014

"I'm gonna need about 150 more triangle-v"

July 23, 2014

I've noticed something weird when trying to build large vessels.

Drag is calculated in a really arbitrary and weird way in KSP, to conserve computing resources. Every part has its drag value utilized, regardless of aerodynamics or hydrodynamics, and the drag value is based on mass.

The ration is 0.008 m² kg^-1, which, simply put, means that for every kilogram of mass, an object is said to have a certain amount of set drag.

I know there are various mods which better simulate the way drag is calculated, such as FAR, but I've never heard from SQUAD as to whether they were going to make a better drag model in the future.

An improved drag model would make planes fly more realistically which means that it's more difficult to build them, much less actually fly them. Rockets also become more difficult to fly, as you can only turn several degrees at a time. Because KSP calculates gravity in the same way it's done in the real world, this means that the most efficient fashion to make orbit is the same way NASA does it: in small but constant incremental course changes using computers. MechJeb does this, but causes KSP to lose some of its loveable haphazardness in both engineering and piloting.

SQUAD used to list on its wiki that it intends to eventually automate crew functions, but this has now been removed. This, interestingly enough, does not have a citation to it- which means that there's some reasonable doubt as to whether they want it or not.

The Pros

-Automated control would make realistic aerodynamics feasible

-KSP tends to get routine after awhile, as doing rendezvouses over and over feels like a grind

-Towards the endgame, this means that modules which required a lot of launches, like warp drive and interstellar implementation, would take on more of a RTS style as you use these ships to build colonies piece-by-piece

The Cons

-KSP is fun because you fly the rockets, and bad piloting is a constant source of explosions and other hilarious yet perilous situations

-The endlessly customizable KSP engineering would take on more of a constrained, modular approach: think how colonies would be built, requiring a certain ratio of habs to electrical power and other resource drain mechanics

What do you think the endgame of KSP's physics will be?

July 16, 2014

Obviously this means SSTO's are now the new meta

July 15, 2014

I like the entries so far guys! I wish the real F-22 was a SSTO, that'd be the coolest thing!

1 stock jet, 150 fuel, 2 lasers (optional wingtip payload) and you got yourself a deadly kills-anything, fully tracking weapon platform that runs for as long as there's fuel flow.
http://i.imgur.com/sEABgEP.png
Oh, and: 2400+km range (suborbital skipping), 11.3g tested banking at mach 3, and unclassified maximum speed@21km of 1610.1m/s. TOW: 4.48t
(question: how *do* you score Romfarer lasers?)

Err... I hadn't really imagined people using lasers. The whole idea of the "payload" requirement was assuming missiles and bombs as weapons. I guess call each laser 2 ton equivalent (about 6 missiles) or such. Those are impressive statistics for such a small jet! I guess simple really is better.

I finished my entry, proving that the first tier is attainable. I'll do the second tier tomorrow. In the meantime, enjoy a message from your politikal sponsor over at Kongress:

"So you actually managed to do it? And meet all of the design criteria as well? I'm impressed. I knew you could do it all along! What betting circle? I don't know what you're talking- oh, that betting circle. Darn loose-lipped interns. Okay, so maybe we were taking bets on your failure. Just a bit of harmless fun. And besides, I bet on you too! Oh, he told you that as well? That intern is a security risk I tell you, but he makes the best koffee I've ever drank.

Interns aside, you've proven yourself and have now earned the title of... er... Dedicated Engineer! No, I didn't just make that up on the spot, thank you very much. As the very first Dedicated Engineer of the Kerbal People's Military, it would be unfitting for you to toil away on measly Tier 1 projects. You've earned the privilege to take on the even more challenging Tier 2 projects! Do you have a facial tick? Why is your lip quivering? Chin up man, what's the worst that could happen? Oh... I guess you're right, execution as an enemy of the state is pretty bad. I guess you'll just have to succeed again! Good luck!"

Tier 2 Coming Tomorrow!

July 14, 2014

The requested ranges are a bit small eh?
I think you can easily triple them. 2500 km isn't much for a supersonic bomber.

Yeah, that's a good point. As I'm making my way through this I'm realizing that the way KSP's jet engines work it's really easy to get planes with absurd ranges.

July 14, 2014

May I present, The Kerbal People's Militia of Wait, Was That Important?!

Dagger Fighter Jet

Sporting two cruise missiles and four air-to-air missiles, this fast jet can strike from afar or in close. Its maneuverability is hard to beat, but as a result, it burns through vomit bags nearly as quickly as it does jet fuel.

TOP SPEED: 880m/s @ 15km

HANDLING: 6.7g

RANGE: 4,450km

SIZE: 9,970kg

PAYLOAD: 4 tons

Mace Ground Strike Jet

Two cruise missiles for long-range attacks are coupled with 12 highly accurate ground-attack missiles to produce a craft which can obliterate an entire squadron on the ground. A single engine leaves the craft somewhat lacking in regards to flat-out speed, but its 10,100km range makes up for it.

TOP SPEED: 505m/s @ 15km

HANDLING: 5g

RANGE: 10,100km

SIZE: 13,050kg

PAYLOAD: 7 tons

War Axe Supersonic Bomber

The War Axe comes in two variants. Mark 1 holds 24 ground-attack missiles, making it a formidable opponent for any ground force. Mark 2 sports 16 cruise missiles with over 100km of range each, giving this incredibly fast plane a formidable strike capability. Able to fly up to 25km and hit speeds of up to 1250m/s, you'd be best not to wind up underneath the War Axe.

TOP SPEED: 1,160m/s @ 20km

HANDLING: 4.1g

RANGE: 3,880km

SIZE: 53,250kg

PAYLOAD: 25 tons

Pike Transport

The Pike's unique wing shape gives it a large amount of lift and a surprising agility for its size and girth. Carrying two cargo engineers inside its bay, it is primarily used for fuel transport, a role it excels at. Some Kerbals have been known to stuff sizeable Surface-to-Air missiles adapted for air launch into its bay, along with powerful radar systems, as a kind of airborne Q-ship, but this voids the warranty and more often than not leads to violent explosions in and around the cargo bay.

TOP SPEED: 290m/s @ 10km

HANDLING: 3.9g

RANGE: 9,280km

SIZE: 58,280kg

PAYLOAD: 40 tons

Halberd High Altitude Reconnaissance

A miracle of modern engineering, the Halberd is a marvelous craft. Replacing the role of the old Space Program's light lifter series, this craft can lift small payloads that are of a definitely-not-military-oriented-but-still-classified nature into low orbit for reasons. It's also a very fast atmospheric plane, able to both reach and exit orbit and serve as a recon plane in one flight. If versatility owned a plane, this would be it.

TOP SPEED: 1730m/s @ 28km

HANDLING: 4.1g

RANGE: 2,362km plus 75x75km orbit

SIZE: 18,890kg

PAYLOAD: 5 tons

July 14, 2014

Well Ladies and Gentlekerbs, it seems that Kongress has finally gotten bored of going to space. To be fair, the fact that most Kerbals who went up there never came back was pretty bad for morale, and towards the end there we were practically locking those guys in there so the couldn't get out on the way up.

But no matter! With an inflated budget and no dreams of stellar exploration to fritter it away on, the Kerbal government has decided to become a despotic military state (who elected these turds? Oh wait, that's right...) with a powerful fighting force that spans the solar system.

You've survived the purges that took place at the Kerbal Space Center after this shift in attitudes, and are now the premier engineer for the newly formed Kerbal People's Militia. The Kerbal State has been calling itself a "military powerhouse" for about two months now and those jerks over at KSC-2 have been actually asking questions, and nobody likes those. So before they decide to pop over here and actually check to see if we have a military, you need to build one for us.

What? That's not ridiculous. Why are you laughing? Seriously, we only have like a month to do this. It's your head if everyone is laughing at us in a month's time. Why are you crying now? Geez, are you bipolar or something? Stop being so emotional and get to work! You have an entire military to build!

The Kerbal People's Militia

Challenge: Alright, listen up. We have a limited time to do this in, but thankfully sport a huge budget and large pool of test subjects available manpower to abuse utilize. The plan is broken down into a few "stages" for you to achieve, I'll break them down for you below. But first, there are a few limitations imposed by those Kongressmen on what you can do. First, we realize that most of the parts you have to work with are made for peaceful exploration, which aren't so conducive to making imposing-looking war craft. So, in the interest of saving time and face, mods are allowed, even encouraged. Now, obviously, as a newly despotic state, nobody really wants to sell us pre-made military craft. But no matter! Part packs like B9 (especially the D12 expansion!) and KW Rocketry have all the parts we could ever need to make a fighting force, but feel free to use any other mod that's NOT a military replica craft. Other than that, try to avoid crashing your things into the VAB- it's expensive and we don't have many spares.

Stage One: We Shall Call it the "Fair" Force

Summary: In the name of justice, equality, happiness, and the empowerment of all Kerbals everywhere, it's your job to make an oppressive air force for one Kerbal nation. Don't look at me like that. We need a few craft that can do all sorts of roles, that I'll list below:

TOP SPEED: How fast can you go? Floor it, and make sure you meet these requirements below a certain altitude.

HANDLING: Put 'er hard over and see how she goes! You can check this by pressing F3. Warning: this voids the warranty of all parts and may cause unconsciousness, structural failure, or unplanned disassembly.

RANGE: Can it blow up those buttheads over at KSC-2? You don't actually have to fly it that far: Take your full fuel capacity and divide it by your consumption per second. Then, multiply this by your top speed in meters per second, and divide by 1000 to find your range in kilometers.

SIZE: We don't have the best runways. We can't have hundred-ton behemoths taking off from here every other day. Keep it kompact, Kerbal!

PAYLOAD: This is not included in the vessel size. You can actually slap missiles and such on here if you have a mod for it, but otherwise, use fuel tanks or other heavy items (you CANNOT use fuel from these!). These can also be kept in internal bays.

REWARD: This is how you're scored! While technically you don't have to meet all these criteria, it's highly recommended.

1. Fighter Jet

Sleek. Sexy. Savage. Our jet fighter needs to be none of these things. If it works, then that's fine by us. It can look like a flying version of Bill's Butt as far as we care, just make something that can blow a good sized portion of the sky out of the... umm, sky.

TOP SPEED: Greater than 500m/s below 15km

HANDLING: Greater than 5g

RANGE: Greater than 2000km

SIZE: Less than 10 tons

PAYLOAD: Greater than 2.5 tons

REWARD: Up to 5 points, one for each criteria being met

2. Ground Attack Craft

Much like the old Space Program, we here at the Kerbal People's Militia greatly dislike the ground. Those old guys spent all their time trying (and usually failing) to get away from it. We think running is for chumps: we plan to blow it up instead. No, obviously not the whole ground. Did you even go to school? Whatever, don't answer that. Just make us a fast jet that can frag a certain portion of the ground somewhere far far away.

TOP SPEED: Greater than 500m/s below 15km

HANDLING: Greater than 3g

RANGE: Greater than 2000km

SIZE: Less than 15 tons

PAYLOAD: Greater than 5 tons

REWARD: Up to 5 points, one for each criteria being met

3. Supersonic Bomber

Bomber jackets are cool, right? Yes, I know that the advent of pressurized cockpits and interiors means that we don't need bomber jackets any longer. But they just look so awesome! We need an excuse to give these out to pilots, as a PR thing. I know that we're a despotic state, yes. That doesn't mean we can't look cool once and awhile. Give us a big plane than can turn those darn guys at KSC-2 into slag. Handling? Ehh... if it goes fast enough, it doesn't need to outmaneuver anybody, right?

TOP SPEED: Greater than 1000m/s below 20km

HANDLING: Greater than 1g

RANGE: Greater than 4000km

SIZE: Less than 75 tons

PAYLOAD: Greater than 25 tons

REWARD: Up to 10 points, two for each criteria being met

4. Cargo Transport

Ah, yes. The inglorious but necessary logistical backbone of any Kerbal operation. How hard can this be? Try to make it look cool so young and newly-drafted Kerbal pilots won't get depressed when they're told they actually have to fly the darn thing. Oh, and make sure it can carry some of their friends too, at least that way they won't get bored.

TOP SPEED: Greater than 250m/s below 15km

HANDLING: Meh

RANGE: Greater than 5000km

SIZE: Less than 50 tons

PAYLOAD: Greater than 25 tons, including 2 Kerbal passengers

REWARD: Up to 10 points, two for each criteria being met

5. High Altitude Reconnaissance Plane

No, High Altitude does not mean "in space". We don't really have available satellites, they crashed, remember? Yes, all of them. Why is that hard to believe? Okay, maybe we did shoot a few down as target practice... okay, more than a few. That's not the point. We need a plane now that can fly high over the battlefield and take pictures. No, not selfies. Sometimes I honestly can't tell if you're slow or just sarcastic...

TOP SPEED: Greater than 2500m/s above 25km

HANDLING: Meh

RANGE: Greater than 4000km

SIZE: Less than 60 tons

PAYLOAD: Greater than 5 tons

REWARD: Up to 15 points, three for each criteria being met

Points total for Stage One: 45 points

More stages to come if there's interest in this challenge!

Spoiler from Stage 3:

Okay, so you've proved yourself with this whole aerospace engineering thing. Don't worry, take a break now, we don't need more planes. Why do you have that face? I- okay, yes, you're right, I do have something else for you. So you remember that Laythe colony we started awhile back? Yeah, of course you do, you were supposed to go out there before the Space Program closed down. They've decided that they're not in to the whole "despotic" thing we're doing... trouble is, the whole point of being despotic is that you can't just decide not to be despotic. So we need you to build a craft that's a little... extreme...

July 13, 2014

Is there a way to make the missiles go further than 5km away from your craft? I set my Lazer "view distance" to 99900m, but that didn't work. Otherwise, I don't see much use for those neat cruise missiles

EDIT: After some more playing around, I figured I might as well ask if the wings were balanced according to their surface area to normal B9 wings. They seem like they have really low lift values for some reason to me.

July 8, 2014

Is it possible to do a land-only circumnavigation? I have a beast of a vessel I'd want to do it in.

It weighs 1,200 tons at launch and burns 12.5kg of fuel per second at 77 knots cruising speed...

...over land.

July 3, 2014

Now that's a genius idea! Do you have any other pics of the the undercarriage? I'd love to see how crazy you went with the wheels.

Sure! There are wheels on all of the fuel/ chassis system tanks, and (were) three shock-absorbing wheels at the bow where the ship makes contact with steep hills occasionally, which were also useful for steering. They got knocked off when I was trying to go faster than 60m/s, unfortunately.

Here you can see how the bow wheels lift off the ground when cresting a hill. Eventually the deck flexes enough to bring them back into contact, but the ship can be supported by just the central three rows.

A camera bug demonstrates how the frame is built. The row of three in the middle is the integral part of the structure.

This shows the rows of wheels leading to the stern. I think it has 20 individual units of wheels, each with shock-absorbency, turning, and motors. B9's landing gear truly is a miracle sent by Jool himself.

July 3, 2014

The so-called US Navy fields a class of so-called "amphibious assault vehicles", essentially cut-down aircraft carriers.

Well, I decided that they were wrong for being called "amphibious", seeing as how they could only go on water. Being as such, and having access to the rather pretty B9 parts pack, among others, I set out to make my own so-called aircraft carrier. It was only after I built the darn thing that I realized there actually was an aircraft carrier mod, but oh well...

The design process was long and started off simple.

But quickly I turned to larger, less-floaty designs.

Unmanned testing proved the concept sound, but the execution was clunky, unpolished.

But then, suddenly, divine inspiration struck me: if it took 100,000 liters of fuel to go 3 kilometers in the water, but also had to roll down the runway, why did it even have to go in the water in the first place?

So, ladies and so-called gentlemen, let me present to you:

The Merriam, Amphibious Carrier mk. V

It rolls over the land on a so-called "articulating chassis" (read: flexy connections between parts).

Able to launch and land light to medium-sized aircraft on any terrain, thanks to its flexible deck.

Refueling is done by way of aerial tankers. I'm not quite enough of a design genie to make one that can land 40 tons of fuel on the carrier's short deck, but seeing as how the carrier has a 1,500 kilometer range at 30m/s, I'm not too worried about fuel.

The carrier, using a KW 3.75m engine at the rear, can climb up to 45-degree slopes and hit 60m/s on flat surfaces, as shown here.

Landing, especially for me, is tricky, seeing as how I'm pretty bad at actually flying planes...

But with patience, it can be done.

Attempts to make a carrier that could hit 100m/s over land proved destructively inconclusive.

This was really fun to do and build. Thanks to B9's brilliant shock-absorbing heavy-duty landing gear, I actually could support the 1,200,000 kg. carrier at speed. I only wish KSP's water physics was more forgiving! Ah well. Thanks Squad, for making a game about so-called spaceships that doesn't necessarily have anything to do with them at times, and to the respective mod authors.

Merriam, out! :cool:

Mods used: FusTek station parts, B9 Aerospace, KW Rocketry

January 28, 2014

Hey everyone, I'm back from a long hiatus.

Does anyone have a link to the old mod that gave asteroids with realistic masses and such?

Also, what ever became of KMP? I know it's still around. Is it popular?

December 8, 2013

For some reason I thought of this as a Sabre:

Okay, so clearly not that. Maybe now I'll make an SSTO!

December 6, 2013

Is this mod no longer updated or the servers hosted? I can't see anything at http://klf-info.general-physics.de/ where I used to be able to. I really enjoyed this mod while it was still active, what happened?

October 15, 2013

As of this moment, I'm completely in the dark about how tech trees are conducted. One one hand, it looks like Squad has put a lot of work into making them work well and work right, and on the other hand, that means more complexity on the user end. Much as it's difficult for players to modify wing part config files (what the hell is a float value anyways?!), I worry that modded parts could be left out from career mode if the tech tree isn't easily modifiable on the user end.

At the same time, that could completely ruin the game if users were allowed to cheat their way through the tech tree. Why squander science points when you can get that 2400 ISP, 6000kN thrust Z-Pinch engine right from the get-go?

What do you guys think? Is it reasonable for tech trees to be easily modifiable? Would alienating mods from career mode spell its death? Discuss below!

October 15, 2013

Perhaps have a somewhat large part (like a lab) that takes a bunch of power, but continuously provides science no matter how long it has been running.
Maybe make it so that it produces more science either the farther from KSC it is, or maybe the vessel it is on has to be in orbit or something to keep them from being spammed around KSC, but I think it could work.

I think this is an awesome idea. This would make space stations relevant in 0.22- I hope this is given consideration by the devs, but I'm sure a modder can make it as well shortly after release.

October 14, 2013

The brakes take some time to loosen up.

Is that really it? Because either I don't have the attention span for them to release or there's something wrong because half the time I wind up overpowering them and snapping the landing gear off, and the other half the time I have to stop and thrust again.

October 14, 2013

So many Kerbin stations, my poor little Duna Hub feels lonely.

She has space for 33 Kerbals, 3 orange tanks worth of fuel storage, 6000 units RCS, and space for 4 large ships with 2.5m ports and 4 small ships with 1.25m ports. Pictured here, the tug which brought half of it to Duna is approaching from the lower right to dock. Check out the building of it here!

October 14, 2013

Space? Acknowledgment that planets are round? Fire?
Definitely controversial/adult content for the esrb.

I'm still laughing at this 5 minutes later.

I say KSP get slapped with an Ao rating, adults only. Mainly because kid me would've had his mind explode if he were to try the orbital physics KSP requires.

October 14, 2013

On a different note, is anyone aware of how the parts are organized by tiers in the config files? Will that be easily accessible to players? I play with a very unique arrangements of mods and would hate to have to resort to stock parts. I hope that we're allowed to make our own progression trees and that it's not hardcoded in the way it is.

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