Neutrinovore

That'd be awesome, thank you! FYI, I play what I call 'sci-fi' style, which is to say I use the infinite fuel cheat, and I also usually edit the configs of the engines to greatly increase the thrust. But before I do that on the Titan (cool name, btw) I'll definitely use it 'as is' and give you my opinion. It'll be nice to not have to add a docking port or probe part to the top of the ship to have proper VTOL control, I like the way you think! And it's cool that it's big, I've been struggling to create a ship big enough to carry a decently sized rover internally without using so many parts that my frame rate can be measured with a sundial. My 'puter isn't really a high-end gaming rig, so it really starts to chug when I try to fly anything with much more than 100 parts or so... Anyway, Vlam (or would you prefer 'Mr. Ballas? ), looking forward to giving this a try. ... Just had a thought: Have you made any accommodation for docking? From the pics you've posted, I don't see any ready-made surfaces for attaching a docking port. A suggestion would be a panel or section of the hull that opens to reveal an extending docking port such as the one in the LLL pack, or the B9 unit, but extending farther, obviously. This would preserve the outward appearance and still give clearance for approaching a crowded space station docking port. Just an idea, worth what you paid for it.

Me likey! I'd be happy to volunteer my services as a play tester. No, seriously. For what it's worth, I helped Lack, of LLL - LackLuster Labs - with his recent parts expansion. Me and several others, not trying to bogart anything. Anyway, glad to see someone working on sci-fi oriented stuff, it looks like Devo of Wayland Corp. is calling it quits, at least temporarily. This looks like a great design, and if you can incorporate all the features listed above, with animations and everything, well that would just be awesome.

A suggestion: If at all possible, the mapping software should be able to 'play nice' with other mods, i.e. one should be able to find a set of coordinates on this map, such as those of an anomaly, and carry them over to another part of the game like the MechJeb landing guidance module. Also, the ability to overlay map data from this mod directly onto the globe on the map screen would be awesome. Just a few ideas, but I have no idea how to implement these things, I'm a player, not a modder.

Yes, for some reason Mr. Lack doesn't update the original post, no idea why, and I've not had the opportunity to ask. In any event, the latest version - 0.10.4.1 - is found on page 70 of this thread. Have fun, this parts pack is seriously cool, IMHO.

AH HAH! Thank you, I didn't know that about the staging thing! When I build a VTOL, I leave all the engines in one stage and activate/deactivate them with action groups, so I never discovered that feature. Excellent! Yes, I can see that that would be a problem. I play 'Sci-Fi' style, if you will, infinite fuel and such, so I don't really even put fuel tanks on my ships anymore, or if I do it's strictly for structural or cosmetic purposes, and it's either empty (via edited configs) or I don't care how much it weighs, and anyway my ship won't change weight or CoM during flight. So I just ignore the dry CoM indicator if I get it. And as I said before, this system isn't totally perfect for me, and I can see where it would be even less so for others, I was just trying to give some tips to Acealeam regarding the thrust vector indicator. Hmmm... now that you mention it, your comment about parts that have no mass in flight clears up some things for me. Sometimes I set up my thrust vectors as balanced in the SPH, and then when I try to VTO the ship nosedives or pitches up uncontrollably anyway... well, like I said, that 'splains that. Thanks, m4v, you've once again proved the adage that we all do indeed learn something new every day, lol! Happy rocketry everyone, Neutrinovore out.

Dude, it's cool, life happens. And as other people have mentioned, you guys work on these mods for free and simply because you want to, so it's not like you're on a schedule, or beholden to anyone other than yourself. Thanks for working as hard as you do, and we'll look forward to new stuff whenever it's ready for YOU to release it. It's all good.

Well, that's what I thought I would have to do too, but you really don't. First, in answer to you question, no, you can't have the Build Aid 'ignore' certain engines, at least I haven't discovered how to. - Aside to the dev, that'd be a helpful feature, no? - But here's what I do: When designing my VTOL craft, I decide ahead of time roughly where I want the center of mass to be, usually somewhere centered on the length of the ship. I get the structure the way I like it, and then place ALL the engines where I want them to be, keeping in mind that any vertical engines need to be approximately the same distance from the CoM, of course. At this point the actual CoM is probably way off, usually way to far to the rear. So I start trimming the craft by adding weight where necessary, usually in the form of rtgs or fuel or monoprop or whatever. Counterweights, whatever you need to get the CoM back to roughly where you want it. Now you'll press 'P' with the CoM indicator on and you'll have a big red circle arrow. At this point you should have pretty much everything on the ship you want, landing gear, ladders, antennae and other assorted greebles, but NO RCS thrusters yet. YET. Now, start adjusting your counterweight(s) and/or engines up & down or back & forth as necessary until you get the red circle-arrow to disappear. Yes, it will show that your overall thrust vector is angled way forward and up, and yes, that's the direction you'd go if you had all your engines on at once, but even if you only have one set (either VTOL or forward thrust) active it won't matter, because your center of thrust will still be aligned with your center of mass, get it? It took me a while to trust this, but it really does work. Oh, and if you're using rotating VTOL engines like the B9 ones, or the new MSI Rotatrons, you can use the same technique, you'll just have to manually rotate the engines in the editor, just make sure that you've got no red circle in BOTH orientations. Finally, once your engines are balanced, add your RCS thrusters last, and balance those as usual. Their weight will probably alter the thrust vector slightly, I usually have to go back and forth a few times to get everything balanced out. The system isn't entirely perfect, I guess because there's still room inside the yellow CoM marker to have a very slight imbalance, but this plugin sure helps you get a lot closer a lot faster than without it. Phew, sorry for the long-winded post. Again, I hope this helps.

The current version already includes this feature. Just activate the CoM indicator then press the 'P' key, it will display thrust vectors of all engines on your ship, and how they affect rotation. Hit 'P' again to turn off, and of course your RCS translation controls will still work. Hope this helps. Btw, since this feature has been added, I've found balancing my VTOLs to be MUCH easier!

That's cool, you can make the engines however you like, I can always just edit the config. In fact, I suggest making the engines 'balanced' for those who like that kind of thing.

If and when this mod is released, I won't be attaching the shuttle to a fuel tank or boosters or anything, inline, piggy-back or otherwise. I play sci-fi style, so I use infinite fuel. I'm gonna put some hugely powerful engines in it (I hope that the engines are mounted internally, that's what it looks like in the pics) and fly that thing off the runway by itself!

Ah, you just answered the question I was about to ask: I'm desperate for some new/better landing legs! I knew you were working on some, so I thought I'd pop in with a quick note. But as you say they're pretty much done I suppose that I can look forward to your parts sometime soon. Keep up the great work!

I'll second this request, although I'll add in a 'please'. The only thing I don't like about this mod is that the legs have to be sticking down all the time, even when retracted. Well, that and the bright yellow of the original part, lol. So, if you would be so kind, would you please consider creating or modifying these parts to fold up or otherwise retract more closely to the hull? I would greatly appreciate it. This is a great idea as it is, and with perhaps a little more tweaking it could be even better! Thanks for your time. Neutrinovore out.

Well folks, I found out why I couldn't download the update from Spaceport... it's because I can't download ANYTHING from Spaceport! Oh, and I tried registering, yeah, it just locks up Internet Explorer when I hit the 'Submit' button. I have to totally quit IE and restart it to clear the problem. I don't know what's going on right now, but at least I know it's not this particular mod that's causing the problem.

Huh. I didn't know that... That actually explains a lot of things... Well anyway, I never signed up over there, don't know why. But I will, well, later today, and I'll see if that helps. For what it's worth, I've never seen the thing that pops up when I click the 'download' button: This little tiny window pops up, and all it says is 'Message from web page', and there's a little yellow triangle with an exclamation point in it, and the number zero. That's it. (Triangle)! 0. Maybe that's not unusual for most of you more experienced internetters, but I don't know what to make of it, lol. So, yeah, I'll have another go tomorrow (for me, I'm just getting ready to go to sleep now).

Hmm. Spaceport download isn't working for me. Meh, I'll try again tomorrow.

Well, I say do ALL of them, but then again I can be kind of greedy, lol. So, if I have to pick just one... I vote for the rotating VTOL engines and legs, I'm always looking for better VTOL stuff. You put them in the same entry so I count that as one! BTW, I really like these new parts, but I won't be downloading V1.1 because I LIKE 'overpowered' parts! I play sci-fi anyway, with infinite fuel and such, so for me it's more about looks and power than realism. I've already edited the configs of the engines, increasing thrust by an order of magnitude. Keep up the great work, looking forward to new parts!

^^ This. Naw, like I said, having some new pictures to drool over is enough for now. Barely. ;P That being said, might I press you for some kind of e.t.a.? I mean, are we talking September? This year sometime? Hopefully this decade? It's okay if you're not sure, I promise I won't hold you to it, just some kind of guesstimate as to when we might be able to partake of this magnificent, epic parts expansion would be nice. Thank you.

Hey, Lack, just checking in. Any updates? New screenshots maybe? I'm sure there's nothing ready for release, but if I had some new pictures to drool over I'd have my fix for a while, lol.

Nope. I deleted the first version, then downloaded this newest version and installed it exactly per the readme file. Now I've got no clock at all, and so needless to say there's no config file in PluginData. I'm about to have another go at it, I'll let you know. Oh, I forgot. I still have the 'unit test' thing on the main menu screen.

I'll try that. That's the thing, after I quit the game, I checked the PluginData folder, and it was empty, so for some reason it's not saving new configurations. I'll mess with the directories tonight, and I'll make sure they're set up as you describe. I'll let you know how it goes either way.

Just tried it out, very handy. Except, in my case, the clock DID NOT remember its position, so every time I switched from VAB/SPH to flight mode, there it goes, right back up into the upper right corner of the screen, covering up the resources tab in flight, and the launch and back buttons in the hangars. Also, the save name of the craft being worked on in the VAB/SPH would disappear at times. This may be your mod or not, I installed several at the same time tonight, but this one is the only one that has any effect in the VAB/SPH, so it might be worth taking a look. But, all in all, this should be quite a useful little tool once these minor inconveniences are ironed out and I can get the clock to stay where I put it. Thanks for updating it to 0.21.1.

Sigh... yes, I know, patience... not a very strong virtue in me, I must admit. ;P I'm sure you're working on this excellent pack as much as time & life allows, I just wanted to express my eagerness at having some new parts to play with. Speaking of which, here's a few suggestions, and a problem or 2. Problems first: I have 0.09.9 plus the 'interim release' and the 'trackhousing' pack too. The problem is with the track housings - me no got! I've fiddled with the .cfg file as much as I could, thinking that might be it, but they don't show up in game no matter what. I tried re-downloading too, still nothing. So, there's that. Lol, I honestly didn't know what a 'track housing' was supposed to be until I saw your WIP pics of the yellow construction equipment type cabs! Then I realized that I was already supposed to have those parts. Oh, 2 other things, the docking lights thumbnail is blank in the editor. It shows up just fine if I put it on a ship, it's just the editor thumbnail. Also, the 2.5 meter to single 2x2 adapter - the "2.5 meter" circle is quite a bit bigger than all my other parts of that size, making it look horrible if I try to use it. And I can't rescale it in the .cfg because that would make the 2x2 too small. Just sayin', FYI. Now some suggestions/requests, in no particular order: - Different lengths of structural parts such as the 2x1 hull, the 1x1 walkways, etc. And in definite increments of the full sized parts, by the way, makes it easier, such as 1/2 length, 1/3, 1/4. Doesn't matter exactly, I just sometimes find myself needing a shorter 2x1 block or 1x1 'basic walkway', that's all. - More adapters and in different lengths, i.e. a 1x1 to 2x1 centered adapter, but the length of a hull or walkway section. Same for the off-center part. Also, how about a 1x1 to DOUBLE 2x2? Centered and off-center, natch. Or a 2x2 to double 2x2, both ways. Meaning rectangle to square, and also rectangle to long skinny double width rectangle, get it? Again, centered and non, as appropriate. These would simply make for more elegant looking, more 'streamlined' designs. They would also complement the 2.5 meter to double 2x2 adapter I saw in one of your pics, that's a part I'm REALLY needing to create some of the designs in my head! Anyway, I submit these ideas knowing that I risk delaying release even longer, but I figured I'd put in my 2 cents' worth. Keep up the great work, Lack, and I shall wait (not so) patiently for more of your excellent parts to arrive someday! Neutrinovore out.

So, okay... am I missing something? You keep showing images using new parts that aren't in the 0.09.9 release, nor in any of the supplemental packs either. Are these parts out yet? If so, I don't seem to be able to find where to download them. I REALLY REALLY REALLY WOULD VERY MUCH LIKE TO HAVE SOME NEW PARTS PLEEEEEEEASE?!?

I love this parts set! I try to work them into pretty much everything I build now, if not use them exclusively. I think you've done an amazing job on this pack, Lack (oops, lol, unintentional rhyme there), and I look forward to new parts a.s.a.p.! Just one question: When do the rest of us get to play with all of these new parts? Or are you just going to keep them all to yourself and tease us unmercifully with more photos? Lol, kidding... at least I HOPE I am! And I guess that was two questions, oops. Anyway... Again, fantastic work so far, Lack, and I look forward to the new parts as soon as they're released!