[WIP] Moar Launchpads! (Need someone willing to texture)

[Budgie]

I'm bored with KSC's launchpad. Its really dull to always take off from the same pad at the same spaceport for every flight. So I went ahead and started modelling some other launchpads, based on those found at real space centers like Kennedy Space Center and Vandenberg AFB.

So I present to you Launchpad 2A, based on the Delta IV's Mobile Service Tower, and 3A (model still WIP), based on the Atlas V rollout and launch pad system:

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Now, its obviously very untextured right now. I have tried to make textures and I'm really just bad at it. I was hoping someone would like to team up and help me give any new launchpads I'm making some colour while I learn to use Kerbal Konstructs to introduce them to the game. (This also hinges on me figuring out how to make collision meshes for this, right?)

I'm always welcome to some constructive criticism and tips and tricks, since I'm still figuring this modding stuff out, and any suggestions for new pads to make. Any ideas on making sure the memory footprint is as low as possible are also welcome

Note: I really love the Kerbinside mod, but it's a little too much on the cartoon-y side for me. I'm kinda hoping to provide an alternative to that, based a bit more on realism, aesthetically. As such, my pads and buildings will all be inspired by or based on actual launch facilities.

[Van Disaster]

Might want to be a bit wary of adding something so close to the pad - people love to make wide launchers! looking good so far though. I don't have time or much motivation to do texture work at the moment, but I might suggest - based on your other point about Kerbinside - that making the Kerbinside textures a little more grimy & shaded would be good texturing practice. If it's possible anyway, I've not looked how they've mapped those.

[Ikaneko]

At first I thought this was yet another, "I have no skill in texturing or coding, but am happy to lead the project" thing. I was pleasantly surprised; that's a mighty fine model there, although space is an issue. We don't want to add the launch tower back into our games.

I hope you find a texturer (protip: Beale, of Tantares fame, is an excellent texturer if you can get him )

[RobotsAndSpaceships]

Wow, these are really pretty, since they're all simple shapes, I don't think it would be that hard to texture yourself.

[Budgie]

I think I fall into the camp of players that miss a launch tower next to the pad. My goal with this project is to add some variety to the KSC. Big, super wide asparagus-staging rockets should still take off from the biggest pad that already exists. Then I can provide smaller pads for 1.25 and 2.5m rockets to use. Of course, I can certainly put out a launch tower-less version if people want.

The biggest issue with the texturing right now, I think, is all the metal trusses on the inside of the Mobile Service Tower and the Launch Tower. I may try out a simpler model where the trusses are painted on instead of modelled, that will make the texturing a little easier to do, hopefully.

To all, thanks for the attention and the rep! I really want to put this mod out there for people to use, so I'll keep trying to figure things out slowly

[RobotsAndSpaceships]

If you do really need someone to texture them, I'd be up for it.

[SmallFatFetus]

BEALE! I SUMMON YE!

Really like the idea of making a separate launchpad for smaller (1.25m) rockets. you could use kerbinside and branch the pad away from the KSP like this.

This way we can have launch complex 38k and 39k! Maybe one of them can be the tier one pad and then you can unlock the ability to build the next one at the first heavy rocketry node on the tech tree, (where you first get 2.5m parts) Then you can upgrade that so it can support 3.75m+ parts. This way the pad that your first Trash-Bin-O-Boom launched on can still be applicable when you're building a colony on Laythe.

EDIT: here's a picture i think you should look at. I really like the red color scheme.

Edited April 15, 2015 by SmallFatFetus

[AlphaAsh]

Might want to be a bit wary of adding something so close to the pad - people love to make wide launchers! looking good so far though. I don't have time or much motivation to do texture work at the moment, but I might suggest - based on your other point about Kerbinside - that making the Kerbinside textures a little more grimy & shaded would be good texturing practice. If it's possible anyway, I've not looked how they've mapped those.

One texture per material. No UV maps or texture atlases. There was no real benefit to using them. And feel free to re-use any textures from Kerbinside - consider the textures licence free.

[Budgie]

The extra attention is getting me motivated. College exams are getting really close, but ill give the launchpad abother try if I find a chance!