Devnote Tuesday: Experimental Improvements

[Whirligig Girl]

I'm not saying the other sites should be neglected in favor of the official forums. I'm saying the official forums are being neglected in favor of the other outlets.

I'm not advocating for a "pick your favorite kid" scenario. All I'm advocating for is equal representation. If they make a post on facebook, make a post on here too! If they release information about 1.0 on reddit, release it here too! If they want to advertise a community-based contest to get people pumped for 1.0 on twitter, advertise the damn thing here too!

now I'm getting all hot and bothered about it....

The forum isn't as good as Twitter for sharing small bits of information for the same reason Neil deGrasse Tyson doesn't make a video or a news article whenever he has an odd thought.

I suppose maybe if the Announcements forum had it's own thread where twitter posts could be posted by mods or something, but really I do think Twitter is better!

- - - Updated - - -

In case no one knows apparently maxmaps said the round 8 is staying and there wiol be another tank, however untill the release of 1.0 im keeping my avatar and signature. For all i know this may not be true. I saw it on another thread

It is true. I watched the Squadcast.

[Yakuzi]

In case no one knows apparently maxmaps said the round 8 is staying and there wiol be another tank, however untill the release of 1.0 im keeping my avatar and signature. For all i know this may not be true. I saw it on another thread

That's great news, ROUND8 LFO is here to stay! I'm happy Squad listened, though a discussion beforehand would've been great (and would've saved time/effort on Squad's side blood pressure-related issues of some KSP players)!!!

Is it seriously so bad to call the next update 1.0 that you refuse to do so? Do you despise compromise and related concepts? ...snip...

I'm using Squad's own interpretation for version/development naming conventions. They are still in the process of laying the groundwork for some big systems (ISRU, re-entry heat), so by their own definition they're in alpha -> 0.27 for the next update. I'm a great advocate of compromise, however, if there's no discussion how can there be compromise? The community expressed their concern en masse about KSP going gold, but all we got was 'we're uncomfortable being in Early Access' so 'the next update will be our 1.0 release', followed by a excessive amount of silence on the matter.

No offense

None taken, always happy to discuss!

Edited April 18, 2015 by Yakuzi

[Astrofox]

I'm sad that they re-purposed the Round-8s because they were so good for Mini-Fregats - how about a fuel switch command instead?

This would mean that people could use the Round-8 for storing any fuel type- which in turn means less disappointment!

Well, since I'm talking about Toroidal fuel tanks, why not a toroidal battery bank and structural part?

[Guest]

I think we should find SQUAD CEO's email and complain, that employees are spending too much time on social networks. May be that will make them do announcements on official forum, instead of dispersing them on the some obscure web cites, which decent people never visit.

[monstah]

Okay, so I made it clear that I strongly believed they wouldn't listen to us, and they did.

Just humbly pointing out I was wrong (and probably rash). Thanks, SQUAD

- - - Updated - - -

Know what? Just saw the 1.0 screenshots on the other thread on the Kountdown, and I have to say some of them did impress me. I think the fairing separation is a bit weird, but the air scoops, the terrain around KSC, the service compartment that looks a lot those from the 6s mod, and the overall texturing were really great to me.

I was seriously expecting the worse, thanks for letting me down in this regard!

[kmMango]

The forum isn't as good as Twitter for sharing small bits of information for the same reason Neil deGrasse Tyson doesn't make a video or a news article whenever he has an odd thought.

I suppose maybe if the Announcements forum had it's own thread where twitter posts could be posted by mods or something, but really I do think Twitter is better!

- - - Updated - - -

It is true. I watched the Squadcast.

Hallelujah! Good work, guys!

[Astrofox]

Where did you find the 1.0 screenshots?

Thanks!

[OrbitusII]

Where did you find the 1.0 screenshots?

Thanks!

The 1.0 screenshots were posted on Twitter and during the last Squadcast and are available on imgur.

Link: imgur Pseudo-album

[kmMango]

I see large air intakes in our future:D

[TeeGee]

Where are the clouds????? I read in a previous devnote that someone was working on clouds for kerbin!

[r4pt0r]

Where are the clouds????? I read in a previous devnote that someone was working on clouds for kerbin!

I have on a few occasions expressed my dissatisfaction at this. Their animators are always talking about clouds, or particle effects, or smoke, or a new animation, and it is never for the game itself, only for the next trailer.

So when you wonder why kerbin has no clouds, or why there is no surface sample grabbing/data collecting animation, that is why.

[Starwhip]

Where are the clouds????? I read in a previous devnote that someone was working on clouds for kerbin!

Indeed, it was only for the animation...

Someday, someday may we get physics-based particle system smoke and fire that collides with the ground, and particle system clouds...

[2001kraft]

We can only dream...

[Robotengineer]

We can only dream...

And mod...

[2001kraft]

Actually, modding that in shouldn't be too hard.

*prepare for colorful billboard made out of an entire one color*

EVERY MODDER IN THE WORLD!

Can you take on the challenge?

[Ethanadams]

Hyper edit to the rescue

(it works)

[Scoundrel]

<snips all the posts about Squad posting info on other mediums>

IMHO, as a former marketing guy, I think the real problem is that Squad doesn't know how social media works and how they're supposed to use it to drive users to a single point of primary contact. There should be, when you click on the forums button, a twitter feed on the right hand side with Maxmaps' latest tweets as they happen. Posts on Reddit should be links to full articles/full responses here. Tumblr gets used more often than their own blog feature here. Official Squadcasts should be nested, archived and easily accessible from right here.

The fact that this is not the case is an example of Squad failing to comprehend how new media works.

Now, this is not the failure of Squad as a whole, but rather a succession of failures by previous community managers (and whoever gave those managers their marching orders) who were great at interaction, but clueless as to what they're supposed to be doing. Marketing through new media is about creating networks of consumers and guiding them to a single source to build a community. Kerbalspaceprogram.com is supposed to be the place to go for news and discussions about KSP.

Yet it isn't.

IMHO, it is telling that in order to get the full picture of a feature being implemented or interacting with developers that one must scour multiple forums and mediums outside of this site. In fact, it is the second largest single major contributing factor to their continuing PR blunders and ineptitude at managing their community. They're sitting on a powder keg and don't even know it. They're clueless because their primary focus is on everywhere but here. It isn't malicious... Squad simply takes their own forums for granted and relies on their very capable moderators to avert catastrophe while they delude themselves that focusing elsewhere is good for business.

The ludicrous speculation and mania regarding fairings, or the new aero, or any of the other new features that are hyped but not expanded upon - which is ultimately the source of all the rampant speculation, mass hysteria, irrational criticasting and ridiculous conclusions we routinely see on this site - are symptoms of the fact that Squad's PR and marketing energies and focus is elsewhere. Hell, our own moderators have to hunt down hi rez images and repost them, whereas the low rez should be posted elsewhere with a link to the high rez images originally posted on this site.

Drive the traffic here, not away.

Duh.

Anyways, I think I've written everything I'm going to write on the matter, and leave it at that.

Cheers!

[Franklin]

Like 15 pages of people crying that their tank has been re-purposed in a game that challenges you to think up new designs for new challenges. This is a new challenge, kids. Think up a new design.

edit: Plus let's be honest, that tank was built for clipping exploitation. Having less of a knee-jerk dependency on the usual, "eff it, squish 10 of those tiny yellow donuts under the battery, this probe needs more TWR," is a good thing, and probably the reason a good chunk of people are upset.

Edited April 20, 2015 by Franklin

[NoMrBond]

Like 15 pages of people crying that their tank has been re-purposed in a game that challenges you to think up new designs for new challenges. This is a new challenge, kids. Think up a new design.

edit: Plus let's be honest, that tank was built for clipping exploitation. Having less of a knee-jerk dependency on the usual, "eff it, squish 10 of those tiny yellow donuts under the battery, this probe needs more TWR," is a good thing.

Not even happening any more, the ROUND-8 is staying as a 0.625 LFO tank but getting its numbers balanced while RoverDude made a new 1.25 Xenon tank

[bdito]

Like 15 pages of people crying that their tank has been re-purposed in a game that challenges you to think up new designs for new challenges. This is a new challenge, kids. Think up a new design.

edit: Plus let's be honest, that tank was built for clipping exploitation. Having less of a knee-jerk dependency on the usual, "eff it, squish 10 of those tiny yellow donuts under the battery, this probe needs more TWR," is a good thing, and probably the reason a good chunk of people are upset.

How is that different from any other part? Clipping only affects aesthetics. It doesn't affect drag or reduce weight.

[EtherDragon]

How is that different from any other part? Clipping only affects aesthetics. It doesn't affect drag or reduce weight.

We don't know how clipping will work in the new aero. It may be that it's more accurately modeled, and indeed clipping will allow us to bury some parts that would otherwise be exposed.

[bdito]

We don't know how clipping will work in the new aero. It may be that it's more accurately modeled, and indeed clipping will allow us to bury some parts that would otherwise be exposed.

Clipping has always allowed you to bury things but it's never affected anything, even in FAR. Like you said we'll have to wait and see what the new model does.

[panzer1b]

Clipping has always allowed you to bury things but it's never affected anything, even in FAR. Like you said we'll have to wait and see what the new model does.

Im guessing that they arent going to do a 100% dynamic aero model, as it actually takes alot of processing power to pull something like this off. Id guess that there might be so called part occlusion (say you place a fuel tank behind a nose cone, only the nose cone is considered to exert any drag), so id guess clipped pats could act as if they were hidden behind something else. Still, until release, we can only speculate, hopefully wing effects on other wings and parts blocking wings arent modeled, but if they are RIP sci-fi replicas, as most of them NEED wings/surfaces/ect clipped inside to function at all.

The one surefire way to cancel drag (that im aware of) is clipping stuff into one of those utility or cargo bays, as thatll flag them as shielded and they shouldnt be affected or even checked by the aero model untill you open said bay. Im actually tempted to make a reentry aircraft that has wings inside one of those utility bays, is capable of reentrying on its own,

[Eric S]

Clipping has always allowed you to bury things but it's never affected anything, even in FAR. Like you said we'll have to wait and see what the new model does.

Definitely agree on waiting. I've heard someone claim that the new aerodynamics do account for clipping something inside something else, but I don't know where they got that info, it may just be hopeful thinking, or I may have missed a dev commenting on it.

[r4pt0r]

I wonder what will happen if you put a wing inside a wing. double lift?