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Service bays, perfect for parachute deployment.


TimePeriod

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I've recently discovered the delights of the service bay, which much to my surprise acts as the perfect container and drag-inducer for parachutes deployment, I even store extra batteries which would otherwise be attached to the hull somewhere fiddly.

+1 For the service bay imo.

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Aye, they are super useful. Great places to cram drag-inducing or oddly shaped objects where they can stay locked up during drag-critical stages of the flight. This also works great for deployable solar panels. Keep them locked inside and run off battery/alternator power until in orbit, then open the bay and extend them. Pack the panels and close up the bay during atmospheric entry.

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Aye, they are super useful. Great places to cram drag-inducing or oddly shaped objects where they can stay locked up during drag-critical stages of the flight. This also works great for deployable solar panels. Keep them locked inside and run off battery/alternator power until in orbit, then open the bay and extend them. Pack the panels and close up the bay during atmospheric entry.

I use the service bays for slowing down during high speed descents. Since the service bays also have a huge heat tolerance, you can unlock the service bay and create more drag.

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Until one day you see the message "cannot deploy [chute] while stowed."

There are many parts suffering from that bug, but none as critical as parachutes.

I have never encountered that problem. Ever.

It must be something on your end.

Yeah... thing is, AFAIK service bays make very good Kraken magnets: once your ship will suddenly be reduced to pieces for no apparent reason or crash miserably into the ground, you'll reconsider them. :wink:

Again, I've used them for a good month now(IRL) and I have not encountered that problem. Not sure why some people are affected and not me.

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Yeah... thing is, AFAIK service bays make very good Kraken magnets: once your ship will suddenly be reduced to pieces for no apparent reason or crash miserably into the ground, you'll reconsider them. :wink:

I have thrice received the gift of phantom torque from them, I have since just stopped using them lol

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Yeah... thing is, AFAIK service bays make very good Kraken magnets: once your ship will suddenly be reduced to pieces for no apparent reason or crash miserably into the ground, you'll reconsider them. :wink:

Yea, very buggy.

They sink into the ground, parts inside them overheat for no apparent reason, they can suddenly get the Kraken shakes...

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I noticed the phantom torque/wiggling that service bays cause usually happens when parts get attached to parts outside the bay accidentally. For example, my ship wiggled and shattered to pieces because a probe core inside the bay was somehow attached to a heat shield outside the bay, instead of to the bay's floor like it looked like it was.

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Yea, very buggy.

They sink into the ground, parts inside them overheat for no apparent reason, they can suddenly get the Kraken shakes...

Don't all objects which clip into something or make contact with something, create phantom forces? Kraken drive, landing legs, ladders, kerbals etc?

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Don't all objects which clip into something or make contact with something, create phantom forces? Kraken drive, landing legs, ladders, kerbals etc?

Kinda, but service bays are just in another league concerning these bugs...

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I find that the service bays I spend the time to develop into a sub assembly never have an issue. I have one with a core batteries solar panels, and 6 parachutes that tops every one of my rocket lifters. Those 6 parachutes are for tip control. The landing chutes go on the body inside the fairing.

If I stick some stuff in one for a one off mission. That craft will have the shakes man.

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The problem with service bays vs all the rest is that their inside nodes are like a milimeter away from their outside nodes, there's no visual indication you've attached to the wrong node, they don't enforce node orientation (so you can attach to outside node from inside, and generally while with most parts you need to try pretty hard to cause clipping issues, with service bays your chance is 75% if you use both top and bottom nodes, and you won't spot it until it's too late.

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Two kinds of people who use service bays. Those who pay attention to how they load them and have no problems, and others who put parts in willy-nilly and then say it is just bugged when things go wrong.

That's not at all fair to say. How can you load one wrong? I use it to hold goo and batteries, nothing clips, yet receive problems. Unless I missed an official memo on its proper usage?

By all means if I did, please enlighten me.

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Two kinds of people who use service bays. Those who pay attention to how they load them and have no problems, and others who put parts in willy-nilly and then say it is just bugged when things go wrong.

Not entirely true.

In fact I only had one craft that really had a problem with them. I had placed a landing gear too close to the bay. The part itself didn't touch the bay (when it was closed, or fully open) but just the act of having the tiniest bit be in the doors way when they would open caused the entire craft to wobble something horrible... even when the bay was not opening/closing.

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Important things when putting stuff in service bays:

1. Attach other rocket parts to bottom and top of the service bay first. Then you'll only have inside nodes left.

2. Do NOT use angle snap. Without it you don't need to roll stuff to get them inside.

3. Don't put anything even remotely close to the side walls and doors.

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I use them and think they are vital for that sleek, streamlined look for your rockets with no ungainly batteries, goo containers or other scientific brik-a-brac strapped to the side.

I've thus far avoided Kraken assault, but I don't doubt those who say it has lured the Kraken for them.... I also don't think its fair to say its because they don't know how to use them. It would be interesting to know the common factors between those who have drawn the Kraken from those who have not but the use of this handy piece of Kerbaneering. Is it heavy mod use? High part count? Voodoo curse?

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Aye, they are super useful. Great places to cram drag-inducing or oddly shaped objects where they can stay locked up during drag-critical stages of the flight. This also works great for deployable solar panels. Keep them locked inside and run off battery/alternator power until in orbit, then open the bay and extend them. Pack the panels and close up the bay during atmospheric entry.

Am I the only one who just leaves all the sticky-outy, breaky-weaky, non aerodynamicy bits exposed to the wind and just hopes that they don't break off or cause trouble?

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Am I the only one who just leaves all the sticky-outy, breaky-weaky, non aerodynamicy bits exposed to the wind and just hopes that they don't break off or cause trouble?

Yes! ;) No, honestly i like the service bays a lot, but they have indeed problems, even when used properly in a stack with no clipping. It sometimes creates such physics glitches, that the craft disassembles on launch. However... When you are fast enough to open the bays, the craft survives. The glitch is gone, when you close them again. So its definitely a bug with this part, the animation system and physics initialization. I havent tried to launch with opened service bays, closing them on launch, though... Have to try...

Edited by Frank_G
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I find that the service bays I spend the time to develop into a sub assembly never have an issue. I have one with a core batteries solar panels, and 6 parachutes that tops every one of my rocket lifters. Those 6 parachutes are for tip control. The landing chutes go on the body inside the fairing.

What is tip control and how do 6 chutes help?

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Well, I just use MK2 or MK3 bays.

Generally, I love MK3 parts for spaceships. Great aesthetics and supreme durability combined with nice capacities. The only serious problem is that I can't happily apply 4x radial symmetry, need to go for 2x twice.

And the durability often lets me forgo any kind of landing legs.

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