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[1.0.4] Instell Incorporated Experimental Technologies


8bitsblu

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For a spaceplane fan, these parts are really nice, but I reckon it would be worth the time to integrate with Community Tech Tree and bury them deep, deep at the far end of the aerodynamics line.

If you're interested in doing so, a file named instell-ctt.cfg placed in the root Instell directory with the following contents will do the job:


@PART[XE101Scramjet]:NEEDS[CommunityTechTree]
{
// 1500, end of tree
@TechRequired = expAircraftEngines
}


@PART[XE202Scramjet]:NEEDS[CommunityTechTree]
{
// 1500, end of tree
@TechRequired = expAircraftEngines
}


@PART[HyperIntake]:NEEDS[CommunityTechTree]
{
// 1500, end of tree
@TechRequired = expAircraftEngines
}


@PART[XE404]:NEEDS[CommunityTechTree]
{
// 550, between turbojets and rapiers
@TechRequired = hypersonicFlight
}

The scramjets and the hypersonic air intake become end-game items, after rapiers, and cost 1500 science to unlock. Serious investment for the serious spaceplaner :)

The pulse jet is moved to the node between turbojets and rapiers, which seems a logical slot. I left the electric engine alone, since it is currently occupying a medium-high (550) node, and is off on a sideline, making it a niche investment for niche purposes, which I think is what it's intended for :)

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- - - Updated - - -

Sorry, I don't think I'll make this change. I don't know what math you've been doing, but the sources I used to make this engine placed the top speed range at Mach 12 to 24. The engine already has a slightly lower activation speed than in real life, so I don't think raising the top speed would be very balanced.

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  • 2 weeks later...
  • 2 months later...
[quote name='Lego8_bit']is this mod compatible with 1.0.5 ???[/QUOTE]


It should be. honestly I haven't tested it yet in my own game but I don't think any changes were made in this update that would really affect these parts. You might need a later version of firespitter though as the current one is a bit outdated. If everything works fine then I probably won't update till 1.1. I'm thinking that there might be some issues when that update comes.
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  • 3 months later...

Holy excrements it's been a while. Sorry everyone, college gets in the way of everything. Anyways I'll be reuploading the mod to SpaceDock and linking it in the OP. Also hopefully in the next update I'll be adding hypersonic fuselage parts (with sexy chines) possibly along with a new engine that'll be a blend of the F-22's F119 engine and the F-35's F135 engine. It'll have 2D thrust vectoring along with slightly higher thrust than the J-404 Panther. It'll be optimized for supercruise for all of those people out there who like to go places fast and still be able to pull a 180 degree turn in a half second. The next update will be coming whenever 1.1 comes around, as I don't want to risk releasing a bagillion parts and then have them immediately break. Have fun friends.

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  • 1 month later...

Alright so I've tested this mod in 1.1 and it looks like it mostly checks out. Except for the XE404, which is now ittybitty for some reason. Scramjets are confirmed to work fine, I havent checked the XE303 since there isn't a 1.1 version of firespitter out yet but it looks like it actually aligns better in the editor now, so that's a plus. The new parts aren't ready yet, but I'll work on a compatibility release to make sure everything's peachy with 1.1.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Very nice parts! I wish they wouldn't be so overkill, though. I'd expect a 200 kN scramjet to be way bulkier. Because of the supersonic combustion chamber, scramjets have to be very long to give the fuel enough time to burn. And they're extremely weak. There doesn't seem to be a way to achieve a thrust-to-weight significantly better than 2:1 (with intakes). I think roughly the dimensions of a Mk-1 tank (without intakes) and a thrust of some 40 kN seem more realistic (and in fact, quite enough for the low atmospheric pressure at high altitudes). I know this game isn't about realism, but since this is an endgame engine, I'd deem it quite appropriate if it made the engineers scratch their heads a little.

I don't like the idea of "scramjet only" intakes. There's no justification for that. In fact, you can build ramjets that still work as scramjets (increasing weight and reducing the efficiency at both stages). Supersonic intakes are very simple, they can just "shove in" air, the trick is to make them produce as little drag as possible, and to still work at subsonic speeds where the air has enough time to literally evade them (which is why even plain turbojets need fans). In KSP, you already have all the intakes you need - fan intakes for turbofans/turbojets, shock cone intakes for ramjets, and pitot intakes for ramjets and scramjets.

Edited by cami
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On 4/14/2016 at 10:05 AM, cami said:

Very nice parts! I wish they wouldn't be so overkill, though. I'd expect a 200 kN scramjet to be way bulkier. Because of the supersonic combustion chamber, scramjets have to be very long to give the fuel enough time to burn. And they're extremely weak. There doesn't seem to be a way to achieve a thrust-to-weight significantly better than 2:1 (with intakes). I think roughly the dimensions of a Mk-1 tank (without intakes) and a thrust of some 40 kN seem more realistic (and in fact, quite enough for the low atmospheric pressure at high altitudes). I know this game isn't about realism, but since this is an endgame engine, I'd deem it quite appropriate if it made the engineers scratch their heads a little.

I don't like the idea of "scramjet only" intakes. There's no justification for that. In fact, you can build ramjets that still work as scramjets (increasing weight and reducing the efficiency at both stages). Supersonic intakes are very simple, they can just "shove in" air, the trick is to make them produce as little drag as possible, and to still work at subsonic speeds where the air has enough time to literally evade them (which is why even plain turbojets need fans). In KSP, you already have all the intakes you need - fan intakes for turbofans/turbojets, shock cone intakes for ramjets, and pitot intakes for ramjets and scramjets.

Yeah I do agree that the Scramjets need to be updated a bit. I also agree that "scramjet only" intakes are a bad idea, I've never liked the thought of implementing that. I will probably be reworking the appearances and stats of the scramjets once I finish the chine parts. Honestly I kind of want to give the whole mod a visual revision.

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  • 3 weeks later...

Hey 8bits, how's the project going? Can you tell us what are you working on atm? Also, does the mod in the current release work for 1.1.2?

 

Thank you

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I love this mod 8bitsblu.  I am glad you are still working on it and wanted to give you a thumbs up!!!!  I just came back to ksp and this is the 2nd mod I started hunting around for.  My space planes are missing there scramjets.

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  • 11 months later...
  • 4 weeks later...
50 minutes ago, rohanguard1 said:

Can Someone Please Update this Mod?

Hi. I am taking a look at this right now, but the mod author has not been around since December of last year. This geing the case, and as it says that he was looking for help back in 2016, it is probably not going to be updated unless someone wants to take it up. If there isnt much to do, i might be able to, but dont expect anything for a while. 

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