Ok, so maaaaaybe I might be working on something again.

[r4pt0r]

why do your sepratrons include probe cores?

[Foxster]

why do your sepratrons include probe cores?

I'd say its cos they have engines, which would stop running after separation without a probe core.

[Whackjob]

why do your sepratrons include probe cores?

Oddly enough, custom seperatron engines like that will not ignite if you shear them from the main ship if you turn the engine on at the exact same time. Probe core with it, and it does. A puzzle I figured out long ago.

Side note: It's been a while. I'm sure there's thousands of mods now. I may need one. Here's why:

The VAB is too small. Is there a mod that lets me build in open air, gives me more zoom-out, or preferably, unbinds the center of rotation of the camera?

#EDIT: Or better yet. Is there a modder out there who can slap that together? A "Whackjob" toggle where you can build outside in the dirt and the sun, and have more room to work?

[r4pt0r]

do they? I thought for sure i've seen engines fly around on their own after a failed launch. maybe I never looked close and those were just SRBs.

EDIT: ahh ok that makes sense whackjob. I knew i wasnt crazy

[TMS]

EDIT: Turns out my little 80 thrust seperatrons weren't anywhere near sufficient. So to the surprise of nobody, I've gone bigger.

Meet the Seperatron Superstar M:

http://cloud-4.steamusercontent.com/ugc/710781191332145909/0AFC9653C5A3A04B85749BA6C67D080BC10D2E6A/

A mainsail on a two second burst ought do it.

#EDIT2: Woooo!

http://cloud-4.steamusercontent.com/ugc/710781191332169115/74956944C372858634C73F6A438F2E2228EE17F0/

Now THAT is a seperatron!

I use the smaller SRB as a seperatron on my larger builds. Just tweak it down to minimal fuel values.

[Whackjob]

Woooo! The boosters are panning out! Look at that! No really, look at that! Do you see how much the trusses are flexing here?! Done any other way, those would've sheared off immediately! Another point to the tank-truss-strut-truss-tank system! Tank-strut-tank could never do this! Just gonna test out the staging here and make sure my fuel bus is working like it should.

#EDIT: Spoke too soon.

The outer boosters started to warp in an odd fashion I have not seen before. Then the engines turned about 90 degrees, sheared off, then went off whale hunting apparently.

More reinforcements are required.

Edited March 29, 2015 by Whackjob

[NFUN]

Haven't tried it, but this mod might be what you're looking for, Whack.

[Whackjob]

Looked good, but I think the file isn't available anymore. I'll check curseforge thing.

[Zephram Kerman]

Juuuust in case... although I'm 99% sure you of all people would already know this...

By strategically dragging the ship around, you can build things 3x the size of the VAB. For example:

Being "mod averse", I'd rather finagle around with techniques. But, there's always Snjo's Hangar Extender.

[r4pt0r]

yeah, you can use the change root part gizmo, then the offset gizmo on the new root to move the whole craft around, and repeat as needed. not quite an infinite VAB, but a decent workaround.

[Whackjob]

Yeah, I knew that trick.

Tried the hanger extender. Installed it per instructions, and nothing appears to happen. Then I realize that I can just offset the root part and get to where I need to. The tools I need are already there haha.

Though I'd still love a free roaming camera instead of being bound to the center of the VAB.

yeah, you can use the change root part gizmo, then the offset gizmo on the new root to move the whole craft around, and repeat as needed. not quite an infinite VAB, but a decent workaround.

LOL! Great minds, thinking alike, et cetera.

[RocketPilot573]

Though I'd still love a free roaming camera instead of being bound to the center of the VAB.

You can load VAB craft in the SPH now, just go inside the hangar and select "VAB" at the top of the craft list.

[LordFerret]

"ludicrous speed!"

[Cmdr. Arn1e]

I've now been inspired... stand by! ;D

[Redshift OTF]

Looked good, but I think the file isn't available anymore. I'll check curseforge thing.

It is available. Get it here. It's just a bit slow to load. Must be better than changing the root part all the time.

[JAD_Interplanetary]

http://cloud-4.steamusercontent.com/ugc/710781191332169115/74956944C372858634C73F6A438F2E2228EE17F0/

Words fail to describe the joy I feel at the awesomeness of this pic.

[DMSP]

This is getting scary...

Offset, you just gave Whackjob some dangerous options...

*Locks self in high-tech superbunker*

[Keras]

So I have seen the strutting technique you use and found it odd so I made a quick stress test comparing yours with the standard cross strutting:

Javascript is disabled. View full album

Both hold but the "tank-truss-strut-truss-tank system" shakes uncontrollably while the cross struts stay stable.

Am I doing something wrong or what exactly makes the "tank-truss-strut-truss-tank system" better? I did use the editor extensions mod to make the cross struts align perfectly, does that make much of a difference?

[Whackjob]

No, you're not missing anything. The truss cage system is mainly for the very large things. Stresses that would normally shear a plain strut setup can't touch the truss setup. It's supposed to flex. Though I counter the flex by including a lot of equilateral triangles.

It's a lesson I learned very, very long ago... (queue flashback picture)

I couldn't strut this one up enough to make it rigid enough to not shear off in flight. It drove me berserk for a very long time.

Here's an early Arkingthaad Tower Lander. Launch system looks waaaay different, no?

This one actually flew, but maybe 80% of the time would shred during launch.

And here's the earliest picture of mine that I could find using trusses to bolster structure:

And finally the method proved itself for good with the larger Arkingthaad Lander Tower:

The good ol' days.

[Majorjim!]

I don't know how this normally works, since you've been on hiatus since before I bought the game, but: Whackjob, will you be offering a craft file of your creation so those of us who are masochistic can try it ourselves?

I'm curious to see what could actually push my new box.

Sadly it doesn't matter even if you have an 8 core 6ghz water cooled monster CPU. The game code is the limitation. Whackjob must be a very patient man!

And to those that put his build style down, he is part of a spectrum of build styles. The awesome end.

[Keras]

Holy crap that`s a lot of struts

I guess it gets useful once physics can`t keep up with the awesome anymore ^^

[Vanamonde]

As this appears to be the report of a mission which is still under construction, it has been moved to Mission Reports.

[Captain H@dock]

As of post 94, I'm sure people who were unaware of who this whackjob was are now less surprised by the welcome [back] he was getting.

If I may modestly contribute, I don't know how long you've been away from KSP, but mods are now easily installed by CKAN, a gui that list, download and install them for you. That's an option if you've found the name but aren't able to make it work easily.

Download CKAN (download link is there, scroll down a bit), run it as admin, and keep on amazing us.

[Frybert]

Looks like fun!

[Kieve]

If there was ever one person I should be getting advice from about my Kraken...

Maybe when this terrifying planet-wrecking endeavor has ended.

In the mean time - Mainsail Seperatrons have reached a whole new level of what-the-fluff for me. Yikes.