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[1.3] KerBalloons v0.4.2 - Balloons for KSP!


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v0.3 has been released.
Download it here
o1TqHME.png

Changlog

Quote

-Recompiled for KSP 1.0.5
-Added 9 new balloons ranging from 1.25m to 3.75m in size.
-Tech tree placement and lift ratings changed for the 0.625m balloons from v0.1
-Fixed issue where when a balloon bursts, all other balloons of that type also burst regardless of whether or not they should
-Fixed issue where some cfg values could not be edited
-Updated source code in download file

 

Edited by JoePatrick1
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2 hours ago, Gaiiden said:

My main install is still on 1.0.4 but setting up a 1.0.5 install just for this. Wheeee!

Haha, I haven't tested it but it might work in 1.0.4  

edit: just did a quick test and seems to work fine

Edited by JoePatrick1
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Fantastic idea! this is brilliant! What about instead of making different balloons tuned for different payloads and planets, you implemented a way to change the amount of helium (or Kerbal counterpart). With this you would have to tune your balloon to your payload. As of now with a tiny payload the balloon shoots up at absurd speeds. if you set just the correct amount of helium in your balloon it would lift far more realistically and give a more realistic trade off between payload and lifting capacity/max altitude. this would also allow you to make balloons that would essentially hover at a certain altitude with out popping like a real weather balloon.

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hey,,

i also dont understand why there is the need to explode / pop.

as my understanding is a baloon would lift as far as it contains lighter air than its surrounding- meaning at some altitude it justwould not lift any higher - but not exploe either - it would just hover there.

Is that wrong?

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12 hours ago, holy_cow_i_ate_a_pancake said:

Fantastic idea! this is brilliant! What about instead of making different balloons tuned for different payloads and planets, you implemented a way to change the amount of helium (or Kerbal counterpart). With this you would have to tune your balloon to your payload. As of now with a tiny payload the balloon shoots up at absurd speeds. if you set just the correct amount of helium in your balloon it would lift far more realistically and give a more realistic trade off between payload and lifting capacity/max altitude. this would also allow you to make balloons that would essentially hover at a certain altitude with out popping like a real weather balloon.

Not a bad idea, I'll look into something like this and see what I can come up with

 

11 hours ago, Speadge said:

hey,,

i also dont understand why there is the need to explode / pop.

as my understanding is a baloon would lift as far as it contains lighter air than its surrounding- meaning at some altitude it justwould not lift any higher - but not exploe either - it would just hover there.

Is that wrong?

When the balloon reaches an altitude where the external pressure is too low - it will burst

 

8 hours ago, RYU AZUKU99 said:

Can you please post this mod on Kerbal Stuff instead of the horror that is Curse?

I have submitted it to be hosted on CKAN, it should be up in the next week.  
Also if you use kerbal.curseforge.com  it is really no different to any other site - people just hold a grudge when it is unnecessary.

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On 5/4/2015, 10:55:44, JoePatrick1 said:

v0.9:

If I can find a way to get it to work, I will add the ability to tether balloons to the ground in this release. A use for this could be for RemoteTech ground relays.

Have you seen AirPark?

Also, RT config:

@PART[*]:AFTER[KerBalloons]:HAS[@MODULE[ModuleKerBalloon]]:NEEDS[RemoteTech]
{
  %MODULE[ModuleSPU] {}

  %MODULE[ModuleRTAntennaPassive] {
    %TechRequired = unmannedTech
    %OmniRange = 3000

    %TRANSMITTER {
      %PacketInterval = 0.3
      %PacketSize = 2
      %PacketResourceCost = 15.0
    }
  }
}

First flight tomorrow!

gqVNEqll.png

Edited by Gaiiden
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8 hours ago, JoePatrick1 said:

Also if you use kerbal.curseforge.com  it is really no different to any other site - people just hold a grudge when it is unnecessary.

srsly. I go to KerbalStuff and click Download. Mod downloads. I go to Curse and click Download. Mod downloads. I go to Curseforge and click Download. Mod downloads :P Well ok - sometimes on Curse or Curseforge I get a 5s wait timer before download. But still. As an end user I can't see any difference. Of course, I don't rely on any of the sites for updates or anything maybe some people wish they could.

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ooops I derped on the MM code and the HAS should go before the AFTER so that it actually is taken into consideration and not added to every part.

alternately too you can remove the HAS and change @PART[*] to @PART[*Balloon*]

Edited by Gaiiden
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  • 2 weeks later...

Hey @JoePatrick1,

wouldnt it be a good idea to max the speed of a balloon on the terminal velocity of a vessel (or even less cause the drag the baloon is creating might be way higher than the weight of the vessel itself)?

I cant believe that its realistic to reach soundspeed with a balloon at 50m above sealevel ;)

Even with a mice on it :P

Edited by Speadge
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hmmm.... can they be stored in KAS/KIS Containers and attached/inflated by a kerbal ? Then the easiest way would be ground pylon + balloon attached and voila stationary balloon festival :D or attached to a KAS winch with a loooong cable :D

 

*edit*

oh god, it works :D awsome :D ground pylon -> winch -> some electricity -> any command module then build second "ship" with command module+balloon+connector and then connect winch to connector , inflate and release the winch . 

Would be nice if after deflate it could be reflated/repaired by a kerbal

 

 

Edited by Ringkeeper
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This looks like one of the most intriguing new mods out there, and I'm looking forward to playing with it. 

I do wonder, though, if you intend to add some sort of gas-venting / ballast drop mechanism to give the players some potential control over altitude. While zooming up to altitude and popping is a good simulation of an uncontrolled balloon, there are mechanisms that work around this, typically a barometer triggering a release of gas if the air pressure gets too low, and another that drops ballast if it gets too high. Systems like this were in use at least as early as World War II and allowed uncrewed balloons to stay aloft for days.

Also, please consider some sort of "random drift" mechanism that would give balloons a random ground speed and direction. I'd suggest making this feature toggle, since someone might actually write a full-feature wind simulator at some point. 

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On 22/12/2015 at 3:53 PM, Speadge said:

Hey @JoePatrick1,

wouldnt it be a good idea to max the speed of a balloon on the terminal velocity of a vessel (or even less cause the drag the baloon is creating might be way higher than the weight of the vessel itself)?

I cant believe that its realistic to reach soundspeed with a balloon at 50m above sealevel ;)

Even with a mice on it :P

This is something I am looking at working towards in the next update.  

18 hours ago, John Nowak said:

This looks like one of the most intriguing new mods out there, and I'm looking forward to playing with it. 

I do wonder, though, if you intend to add some sort of gas-venting / ballast drop mechanism to give the players some potential control over altitude. While zooming up to altitude and popping is a good simulation of an uncontrolled balloon, there are mechanisms that work around this, typically a barometer triggering a release of gas if the air pressure gets too low, and another that drops ballast if it gets too high. Systems like this were in use at least as early as World War II and allowed uncrewed balloons to stay aloft for days.

Also, please consider some sort of "random drift" mechanism that would give balloons a random ground speed and direction. I'd suggest making this feature toggle, since someone might actually write a full-feature wind simulator at some point. 

Thanks, I am not sure if I will add balloons like this but I will certainly look into it.

As for wind, I won't be adding it because if people want it then they can use one of the wind mods that already exist. Such as this one

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I think I found something interesting.

If you use KAS winches you can tether the balloons to the ground.

You'll say: "But the cable is only 50 meters!".

Yes but if you put more winches stacked like this

e1de1l.jpg

You can make loooong cables and attach the craft to the ground.

Actually I arrived at 3 winches for 150m of cable.

11w3fdh.jpg

 

 

 

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53 minutes ago, wasml said:

@silversliver - If you look in the KAS winch .cfg file there's a "maxLength" parameter - a simple MM patch (or text edit) might extend the length.

I know, I but I wanted to use it as intended.

Before making this thing I looked at the .cfg files, but I decided that it was funnier to work around the limitation than to break it.

 

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Hey, great mod there!


I actually enjoy a lot using your kerballoons mod

It is very easy to tether the balloons with KAS mod, I use a Vehicle to move around balloons, but there are a couple of things that bugs me

1- I wonder if Engineers can be used to repack the balloons (and restock gas) as we do with stock parachutes?

2-

On 12/9/2015 at 2:53 AM, JoePatrick1 said:
On 12/8/2015 at 3:34 PM, Speadge said:

hey,,

i also don't understand why there is the need to explode / pop.

as my understanding is a balloon would lift as far as it contains lighter air than its surrounding- meaning at some altitude it just would not lift any higher - but not explode either - it would just hover there.

Is that wrong?

When the balloon reaches an altitude where the external pressure is too low - it will burst

Well as far as I know atmospheric balloons don't burst that easy, I wonder if there is a way to make balloons reach top altitude then float around or make them move like the EVE clouds do to simulate wind.

 

Anyway, thanks for this awesome mod!

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