[WIP][1.8.x] SSTULabs - Low Part Count Solutions (Orbiters, Landers, Lifters) - Dev Thread [11-18-18]

[Shadowmage]

Updated releases are available:

https://github.com/shadowmage45/SSTULabs/releases/tag/0.7.39.147
https://github.com/shadowmage45/SSTULabs/releases/tag/PBR-0.1.0.5

Lots of fixes and a few feature enhancements.  See links for change-logs and downloads.

Edited December 3, 2017 by Shadowmage

[vossiewulf]

That's looking excellent.

How about this for a parking job? Manual, first try, no way MJ was docking that. Just enough room for a Kerbal to use that airlock.

 

BTW Mage putting the default on the checker and stripe as white/white is quite confusing, as mentioned above I thought it was broken and never even looked at the recolor GUI. I'd definitely default it to something, anything that shows where the pattern is.

Edited December 3, 2017 by vossiewulf

[RedParadize]

@Shadowmage There seem to be a problem with SC-Tank-MFL-L in the last update. The Gold Foil normal texture seem to be broken. 

[Drakenex]

main PC out of service (power supply fried) so my videos are on hold until I replace it. In the while, I'm going to create some picture only series. First one:

"Boeing Vision for Exploration: Cislunar Gateway"

 

Edited December 4, 2017 by Drakenex

[vossiewulf]

With arrival of second LH2 tank, fully operational although some fiddling with lights remain and going to add another small hab section, but as of now it's another mostly SSTU highly capable orbital building station.

Oh yeah, one more

[tater]

FWIW, MM 3.0.0 is out:

 

[Shadowmage]

15 hours ago, RedParadize said:

@Shadowmage There seem to be a problem with SC-Tank-MFL-L in the last update. The Gold Foil normal texture seem to be broken. 

MFT-L (old tank) or MFT-LV (new tank)?  Have some screenshots of the problem?

The -LV certainly seemed to be working fine during my playtesting over the weekend - was using the gold-foil LV tanks to build SMs for payloads/capsules.

[RedParadize]

Just now, Shadowmage said:

MFT-L (old tank) or MFT-LV (new tank)?  Have some screenshots of the problem?

The -LV certainly seemed to be working fine during my playtesting over the weekend - was using the gold-foil LV tanks to build SMs for payloads/capsules.

I will send pics tonight after work. I reinstalled twice just to be sure, its weird because I checked on Github it didn't register change in quite a while.

[tater]

2 hours ago, Shadowmage said:

MFT-L (old tank) or MFT-LV (new tank)?  Have some screenshots of the problem?

The -LV certainly seemed to be working fine during my playtesting over the weekend - was using the gold-foil LV tanks to build SMs for payloads/capsules.

The new tank is labeled MFT-L. Least in my install, I don't see the LV any more at all in the menu, though it is still there in old craft.

Which reminds me---I still like the old lander tank.

[RedParadize]

Sorry for my partial answer, still at work. Yes, it is indeed the -LV. But as tater said it show as -L ingame. 

[Shadowmage]

4 minutes ago, tater said:

Which reminds me---I still like the old lander tank.

Its going to be deleted entirely with the next release.  So convert any designs/existing craft files now, because it is going away.

(if you are so inclined, I could offer up a .zip of the model, texture, and config files for you to keep around for your personal use, but I will no longer be maintaining them, and they will not be seeing any recoloring or PBR conversions)

[tater]

Yeah, it will look wrong compared to the rest of it by comparison.

 

[tater]

I was also playing around last night with making my own COS parts via a new cfg file for them. The DSG concepts often have COS parts that are closer in diameter to Orion... which is easy to do as a part cfg  The only downside is the EVA handles scaling.

 

 

[Jimbodiah]

Yeah, but do you really ever use those handles? I always just rcs to where I need to be.

[RaiderMan]

are there any plans for purpose built tanks intended specifically for inflating the inflatable hab modules? cause the lander tank..is the biggest one that can inflate a hab in one go and can be 'thrown away' after use, yet is still small enough to toss up on a launch stack.

[Shadowmage]

3 minutes ago, RaiderMan said:

are there any plans for purpose built tanks intended specifically for inflating the inflatable hab modules? cause the lander tank..is the biggest one that can inflate a hab in one go and can be 'thrown away' after use, yet is still small enough to toss up on a launch stack.

No.  I do not believe in making parts specialized for those kinds of purposes.  Not when a regular old fuel tank fills the need just fine.

You do realize that the MFT tanks in SSTU can be configured in many different configurations?  Including length selection, diameter adjustment, and depending on the part/body, fine-grained-vertical-scaling control as well?  (You also realize that the diameter and scale controls are not limited to the large increments from the buttons, but you can use the slider bar for fine-tune control?)

From your statement I have to believe that you are not utilizing the configuration capabilities of the existing fuel tanks to their full extent.  I have had zero problems in sizing a fuel tank appropriately to deliver any arbitrary quantity of any resource that I have desired.

Please provide screenshots to demonstrate your problems -- I'm fairly certain that someone here will be able to help you accomplish what you are looking for.

[tater]

1 hour ago, Jimbodiah said:

Yeah, but do you really ever use those handles? I always just rcs to where I need to be.

I was thinking more about just aesthetics next to other COS parts with smaller (unscaled) handles.

@Shadowmage, the CFG part menu right-click descriptions include the mass of parts required to inflate them, perhaps the number of parts could be added, since that is how they show up in the "fuel bars" on tanks.

The CFG-10, for example needs 9.36t, which is roughly 3750 rocket parts units.

CFG-20 requires 30.52t (~12,230 rocket parts)

CFG-35 requires 72.05t (28,820 rocket parts)

CFG-50 requires t (~57,000 rocket parts)

[Shadowmage]

1 minute ago, tater said:

the CFG part menu right-click descriptions include the mass of parts required to inflate them, perhaps the number of parts could be added

That was actually added in yesterdays' release.  Inflatable parts (HAB/CFG) should now list the specific resource required, as well as listing quantities in both units and tons.

[RaiderMan]

no problems here..just this idiot(me) having to stop, examine the parts and go 'oh raider you effing idiot...' and go back and redo three hours' worth of work...because I keep forgetting the tankage in SSTU can be modified so much.

question...on the two axis rotating solar wings...did you know if you mount radiators to the one axis, expecting them to rotate WITH the wing axis..that the wings 'phase' right through the radiators?

I'll mock up something to illustrate real quick..

[RedParadize]

13 minutes ago, RaiderMan said:

are there any plans for purpose built tanks intended specifically for inflating the inflatable hab modules? cause the lander tank..is the biggest one that can inflate a hab in one go and can be 'thrown away' after use, yet is still small enough to toss up on a launch stack.

IF the problem you are facing is that you can't partially deploy or store the rocket part in the inflatable, it is indeed a limiting factor. Specially if your plan was to ship rocket part using a small cargo in multiple trip form Minimus, like me. On my side I re-balanced the inflatable a bit, it require less part, so to some extent this problem is mitigated. Personal taste, not complaining here. But it allow me to carry my rocket part using a relatively small cargo, it carry just enough part to inflate a medium Hab that become a "workshop", which is big enough to store part to inflate the big ring. 

[tater]

6 minutes ago, RaiderMan said:

no problems here..just this idiot(me) having to stop, examine the parts and go 'oh raider you effing idiot...' and go back and redo three hours' worth of work...because I keep forgetting the tankage in SSTU can be modified so much.

question...on the two axis rotating solar wings...did you know if you mount radiators to the one axis, expecting them to rotate WITH the wing axis..that the wings 'phase' right through the radiators?

I'll mock up something to illustrate real quick..

Presumably the colliders rotating would be a major performance hit.

[Jimbodiah]

Raider, use the MFT-A (regular rocket tank) for your rocketparts haulage. With all the nose and mount options, and even body types, this is a very functional part. You can size it from 0.625m to 10m diameter and any number of heights.

As for those panels, you can't attach anything to them. (well, maybe you can, but you shouldn't as you know what happens). The solar panels don't have colliders (unless they were added recently), so they will indeed just ghost through other parts.

[edit] Darn... ninjad by two people.

@RedParadize  You can dock one container then press inflate, all RP will be sucked into the CFG/HAB but it will only animate the inflation when you have inflated with enough parts to complete it. So you don't need to have 100% of the RP attached to start filling the cfg/hab parts.

Edited December 4, 2017 by Jimbodiah

[RaiderMan]

ok, answers that question. time to redesign a solar truss I'm building for a friend I guess.

[tater]

8 minutes ago, Shadowmage said:

That was actually added in yesterdays' release.  Inflatable parts (HAB/CFG) should now list the specific resource required, as well as listing quantities in both units and tons.

I was playing with it last night and didn't notice. That's awesome. I was looking in the parts menu right click, not the actual part. Super helpful!

 

 

[RedParadize]

4 minutes ago, Jimbodiah said:

 

@RedParadize  You can dock one container then press inflate, all RP will be sucked into the CFG/HAB but it will only animate the inflation when you have inflated with enough parts to complete it. So you don't need to have 100% of the RP attached to start filling the cfg/hab parts.

Oh, I saw part being trained from the cargo, but I trough that it simply failed because of not enough part! It was quite a while ago.looks like Shadowmage latest patch will make that more evident.