Skeletal fuel tanks

[.50calBMG]

Does anyone know what mods have skeletal upper-stage fuel tanks? Something like those used on the Delta IIs?

[kerbiloid]

Near Future Construction contains a conical gird part(s) which you can combine with tanks to get what you want.

http://forum.kerbalspaceprogram.com/threads/52042-1-04-Near-Future-Technologies-%28fully-operational-in-1-04%29

Tantares LV contains a "skeletal" upper stage for Proton (née Block-DM).

http://forum.kerbalspaceprogram.com/threads/81537-1-0-4-Tantares-Stockalike-Soyuz-and-MIR-29-1-13-08-2015-Antares!/page315

Turbonisu's Stockalike parts has one.

(Mod is outdated, "node_stack_bottom" would contain -1.0 as the fifth value.)

http://forum.kerbalspaceprogram.com/threads/69539-0-23-Stockalike-parts-for-useful-esthetics

[.50calBMG]

I currently have both of the Tantares packs, and have looked at Turbonisu's pack before but I dont have any way to convert the files so they work in 1.0.4. I also have Dr Jets Chop Shop installed as his pack has a few parts that can mimic the Delta upper stage, but at one point I thought I saw a model for it in a mod pack a few months ago.

[StarStreak2109]

Aerojet Kerbodyne has the ICPS (Interim Cryogenic Propulsion Stage), but I do not know whether it works for 1.0.4.... Has not been updated yet.

Link: http://forum.kerbalspaceprogram.com/threads/76170-0-90-Aerojet-Kerbodyne-3-0-%28Feb6-Updated-at-last!-Nothing-added%29?highlight=aerojet+kerbodyne

Edited September 1, 2015 by StarStreak2109
Added link

[.50calBMG]

I will give it a try, thanks!

[kerbiloid]

have looked at Turbonisu's pack before but I dont have any way to convert the files so they work in 1.0.4

I've checked at home. I use the Turbonisu Reloaded parts (compatible with 1.0).

http://forum.kerbalspaceprogram.com/threads/102041-1-0-TurboNisuReloaded-Stock-a-Like-Parts-Pack-06-05-15

[Wolf Baginski]

Conversion can get pretty complicated for engines, but the Node Change is the key one for all parts.

Essentially, v0.90 and earlier did some things about the direction of a Node Connection which were inconsistent between different nodes.

These are the nodes for a Rockomax Jumbo tank in v0.90

node_stack_top = 0.0, 3.75, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 2
node_stack_bottom = 0.0, -3.75, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 2
node_attach = 1.25, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1

In each case the first three numbers are the position of the Node, the green ball you see in the editor during assemblyâ€â€Z,Y,Z coordinates related to the centre of the part. The node_attach is for if you want to make a radial attachment, and it does some things slightly differently.

The second set of numbers in the direction of the attachment, a vector with a maximum value of 1.0 for each direction. This can be a bit more complicated, they don't have to be straight up and down. A real-world example was the main engines on the space-shuttle. Of course they were gimbaled, but the central position, the node direction, was slightly off-set to compensate for the unbalanced position of the External Tank.

The last number is the node size, which can affect things like the decoupler fairing over an engine, and the strength of the connection

But you'll see that node_stack_bottom has the same numbers as node_stack_top. It does point in the opposite direction, but how that's done is hidden inside the program code.

These are the numbers for the same tank in v1.0.x

node_stack_top = 0.0, 3.75, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 2
node_stack_bottom = 0.0, -3.75, 0.0, 0.0, -1.0, 0.0, 2
node_attach = 1.25, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1

Only one has been changed, the Y-direction for the bottom node. Now it is made explicit that the node points downwards; the minus sign is added.

What you can do for an old part is find this node in the part.cfg fileâ€â€the name is standard, though there are some parts that have some obvious multiple bottom nodesâ€â€and with a basic text editor add that minus sign.

The particular file is found in the Gamedata subfolder, usually in a mod-specific subfolder. All the stock parts are in Gamedata/Squad/Parts/* When you get down to the actual part you may see a file named part.cfg (which can get a bit confusing) or something such as fuelTankJumbo-64.cfg

If the mod was made with an Apple or Linux computer and you're using Window the EOL (end of line) marker is different, and that can confuse the basic Windows Notepad app into showing one long line. I use a free program called Notepad++ which handles this, and does a lot of other stuff. There are other text file editors, but the important point is that the program is saved in the text file format, not as a word processor file.

There were other changes for v1.0 and some of them make a big difference; engines get very complicated. This particular hack will let you assemble the rocket. Most things had their temperature limit reduced. Just doing this will let you get something into orbit as a subject for photographs.

I''ve made my own parts by using stock models with a new part.cfg, but there are things in there I still will not touch. As long as you have the original download file, you're not going to do anything you can't fix if you make a mistake. As usual, making copies of the original subfolder for the part is a good idea.

Have fun.