[WIP] Coatl Aerospace ProbesPlus Dev Thread [Beta] 10/19/2020 (1.8-1.10)

[akron]

9 minutes ago, Jhorriga said:

Progress on ground ops?

It is being worked on simultaneously to the regular mod. "Ground Ops" parts will be included with the normal mod until there are enough of them to separate them as a lander pack. Surveyor, for example, is part of the lander pack.

[Jhorriga]

Wat's gonna be in the next update

[akron]

2 minutes ago, Jhorriga said:

Wat's gonna be in the next update

Cassini, Surveyor-B, and STEREO parts

[vossiewulf]

On 10/31/2017 at 6:24 AM, akron said:

You can post your logs to see what is going on. I am wondering if the issue is there because you already had the upgrade, and are instead changing the stats mid-save. I'm hoping the save is not corrupted, but it is rather strange. CTT should not really affect the part upgrade progress since it only adds nodes without moving any on its own so ModuleManager is the only I can think of. I could make the upgrade piece an optional thing from now on. I'm not sure.

@danfarnsy solved it in the GPP thread, the cause is using KK in GPP without telling KK that it isn't in Kansas anymore.

[akron]

5 hours ago, vossiewulf said:

@danfarnsy solved it in the GPP thread, the cause is using KK in GPP without telling KK that it isn't in Kansas anymore.

That's awesome. Thanks for letting me know!

[vossiewulf]

2 hours ago, akron said:

That's awesome. Thanks for letting me know!

Sure. And sorry for the interruption, you can resume being interrogated now.

 

[akron]

Tiny update

Sorry things have been a bit slow again, things have come up. Mostly just RL stuff as usual, plus I can only avoid so much sleep.

I've gotten back to Cassini and the main FT assembly is *almost* done. All the big pieces are textured, I just have to get into the more detailed parts. Since the texture is shared with the engine and equipment skirt, those got done as well. The engine actually made it all the way in-game. The skirt will likely be next since it is textured already. Hopefully I can wrap these up and get you guys a playable release on Git within a couple of days while I finish the science pallets. No promises.

I wanted to wait until the parts were further along to say something but I could not help myself. Here is a WIP:

No specular or normal maps yet. The thermal blanket will be done last with the colliders (Hopefully, I will not let that be a hold up if I get frustrated with it).

And as usual, Meridiani needed a patch... might recolor it once it is done.

 

~Cheers!

 

Edited November 14, 2017 by akron

[MaeharaProjekt]

@akron Without a doubt, RL comes first. We hope all is well, or will become so!

Love that Cassini teaser! 

[akron]

Git it on Github

 

For any new people, this is not a release, I upload "checkpoints" to Github every once in a while for testing and folks that like to experiment ahead of release. Repository download instructions are on the Github page. I would not suggest adding this to an active career game.

On to the actual update. All the main Cassini "stack" parts are in. No science parts or Huygens have been completed yet although Huygens is pretty well along. The fuel tank is a very complex part so expect some issues. 'Meridiani' is not as RAM-saving as other parts but it was the best way to get decent detail. As usual, please let me know how it performs so I can tweak it. It is currently very roughly balanced. IIRC it came in at about 3400 kg fueled and has close to 20 minutes of main fuel for about 1900 dV. The RCS are balanced to the real craft and eat monoprop very quickly. Here are some other "Real Life" features that you may find odd in KSP (So you won't have to mention them on your feedback):

• The orientation puts it on its "side." Rotate the bottom parts 90 degrees in the VAB if you gotta have some symmetry
• RCS are not 3-axis. It will still assist in yaw but it won't be as effective
• The probe core has no advanced attitude control. It is handled by the "Fuel tank" assembly to simulate the gyros and startrackers mounted there
• SAS/Reaction wheels are on the bottom of the probe so the probe core won't have powerful wheels built-in
• Only one engine plume fires! Situation normal: Cassini had redundant engines but only one fired at any given time. Both were operational until EOM as far as I know

Here are some know issues:

• Foil cover is not very good (I think, so does @CobaltWolf and we're all who matter  ). I ran into some texture issues so I will try to fix it. This won't be very high on my to-do so if it looks like it will hold me up, I'll release it as-is and fix it later.
• Attachment colliders on the top part of the fuel tank is wonky. I know what's wrong, to be fixed soon
• The Huygens structural ring does not currently decouple. I'm still figuring out whether Huygens or Cassini should have the decoupler. Probably Huygens. BYOD

Thank you guys for patiently waiting on the release which feels like it's right around the corner. Huge shout out to @Nicome for supporting the mod through Patreon.

~cheers

 

 

 

Edited November 20, 2017 by akron

[Scorpiodude]

Are there any rover parts in this pack?

[akron]

4 minutes ago, Scorpiodude said:

Are there any rover parts in this pack?

None yet. But some are planned. I was thinking I might take a stab at one sometime soon-ish just to see if I can get wheels working

[notJebKerman]

1 hour ago, akron said:

None yet. But some are planned. I was thinking I might take a stab at one sometime soon-ish just to see if I can get wheels working

Please do it. There are no mods that offer realistically sized retractable wheels (one of USI packs has them but those are way too big for something similar to Curiosity or MER)

[akron]

14 minutes ago, notJebKerman said:

Please do it. There are no mods that offer realistically sized retractable wheels (one of USI packs has them but those are way too big for something similar to Curiosity or MER)

The retractable part is where it gets tricky. It is VERY hard to do a rocker-bogie wheel system in KSP, which is what all Mars rovers use, let alone make it retractable. It will almost certainly mean using a custom plugin. Wheels are difficult as it is and I don't think you get a return investment in the effort since KSP physics are just so bad at them.

Regardless, I think my first rover would have to be this beautiful and often forgotten machine:

[Mecripp]

5 minutes ago, akron said:

The retractable part is where it gets tricky. It is VERY hard to do a rocker-bogie wheel system in KSP, which is what all Mars rovers use, let alone make it retractable. It will almost certainly mean using a custom plugin. Wheels are difficult as it is and I don't think you get a return investment in the effort since KSP physics are just so bad at them.

Regardless, I think my first rover would have to be this beautiful and often forgotten machine:

Back in the day lol they used a plugin called CleverWalrus there was a couple of mods that used it for rovers but thought most of it got put into stock game not sure about that.

[akron]

7 minutes ago, Mecripp said:

Back in the day lol they used a plugin called CleverWalrus there was a couple of mods that used it for rovers but thought most of it got put into stock game not sure about that.

I think KerbalFoundries might be the better option. It looks like it does a good job adding the right features and setup. A rocker-bogie essentially needs a nested gear within a gear in KSP terms. One for the rocker, and one for the bogie, but then you'd also need to leave the steering to the outer wheels. I don't know, it just will take a lot of doing and I don't think it' worth it for broken KSP driving physics.

By the way, this is what I mean for those unfamiliar:

Edited November 20, 2017 by akron

[notJebKerman]

44 minutes ago, akron said:

The retractable part is where it gets tricky. It is VERY hard to do a rocker-bogie wheel system in KSP, which is what all Mars rovers use, let alone make it retractable. It will almost certainly mean using a custom plugin. Wheels are difficult as it is and I don't think you get a return investment in the effort since KSP physics are just so bad at them.

Regardless, I think my first rover would have to be this beautiful and often forgotten machine:

[Lunokhod]

If it means adding retractable wheels, i definetly dont mind using any plugin. But i do agree that Lunokhod should be one of the first additions on wheels.

[akron]

13 minutes ago, notJebKerman said:

If it means adding retractable wheels, i definetly dont mind using any plugin. But i do agree that Lunokhod should be one of the first additions on wheels.

I don't think Lunokhod's retract but they do have a suspension. They should be a good "Toddler's first wheels" so I can learn how to make them before moving to more complex stuff

[akron]

Has anyone had a chance to test the current Cassini parts? Any thoughts on how they're working so far?

[notJebKerman]

33 minutes ago, akron said:

Has anyone had a chance to test the current Cassini parts? Any thoughts on how they're working so far?

I've tested them. Not much, but from few burns and flybys I've pulled off they seem well balanced and without any major bugs.

Cover isn't perfect for surface attach and in terms of looks, but hey, it works!

[akron]

3 minutes ago, notJebKerman said:

I've tested them. Not much, but from few burns and flybys I've pulled off they seem well balanced and without any major bugs.

Cover isn't perfect for surface attach and in terms of looks, but hey, it works!

Thanks for the feedback. The cover was never meant to be surface-attachable. It's a thin layer of insulation after all

[KerBlitz Kerman]

On 11/20/2017 at 12:44 PM, akron said:

I think KerbalFoundries might be the better option. It looks like it does a good job adding the right features and setup. A rocker-bogie essentially needs a nested gear within a gear in KSP terms. One for the rocker, and one for the bogie, but then you'd also need to leave the steering to the outer wheels. I don't know, it just will take a lot of doing and I don't think it' worth it for broken KSP driving physics.

By the way, this is what I mean for those unfamiliar:

Maybe don't have them retract just extend with hydraulic pistons/shock absorbers being the extenders.

[akron]

3 hours ago, KerBlitz Kerman said:

Maybe don't have them retract just extend with hydraulic pistons/shock absorbers being the extenders.

Well, it's just that the real missions have interesting and very different cruise/stowed profiles.

MER:

MSL:

 

Heck, even Sojourner...

 

[DiscoveryPlanet]

is it work in ksp 1.3.1?

[akron]

55 minutes ago, DiscoveryPlanet said:

is it work in ksp 1.3.1?

Your question is answered 2 pages back. Check it out so you can also catch up on the latest updates, then head over to the mod's Github page. Link on the 1st page (You can also click the mod's logo on my signature to be taken to the 1st page)

Edited November 29, 2017 by akron

[DiscoveryPlanet]

On 10/17/2017 at 8:33 PM, akron said:

On 10/17/2017 at 7:00 AM, GDJ said:

Not completely. The core mod "Probes Plus" works fine, it's the DMagicScienceAnimate Plug-in that's the issue at the moment. I have Probes Plus in my KSP 1.3.1 without the DMagicScienceAnimate plug-in and it works fine.

So go ahead, put the mod in, take out the DMagic stuff, and when Coatl gets a official update, you can add/overwrite the old mod and still keep your probes.

Thanks for checking. @enlait until DMagic Science animate updates, you'll run into this issue, I guess. Keep an eye out for the 3 dependencies to update. It is is kind of a bummer, but there is not alternative short of learning how to code a new science and animation module.

same happen to me , then i try del DMagicScienceAnimate file and it works fine