KSP Interstellar Extended Continued Development Thread

[Kenken244]

the VASMIR engine is operating very strangely in the latest patch. it is pulling LESS power at higher throttle, which means that in atmospheric mode, it actually has more thrust at lower throttle, and can't even run at high throttle, in addition, even at zero waste heat, it uses significantly less power overall than it did previously. this makes the engine almost unusable for its intended purpose, since it cannot generate significant thrust in any configuration. it seems like the efficiency is being counted twice, both reducing the power demand, and the power used.

Edited August 11, 2016 by Kenken244

[secretly_asian]

13 hours ago, Makeone said:

Greetings.

 

Is it just me, or is someone made a mistake on spelling again, my stock Ion Engine reads that it requires megajoules and Xenon Gas as fuel. All fueltanks, including those that comes with KSPI-E, reads XenonGas. I think that engines still work, but KER doesn't calculate their dV, which is bit of  a pain, really. I though that we rid from this weird resource naming thing, when pretty much all modders started to support CRP?

I dont think that is a KSPI issue. I remember reading on the KER thread that the mod is a little wonky with dV calcs for the xenon engines, particularly asparagus staging ion engines

[FreeThinker]

2 hours ago, Kenken244 said:

the VASMIR engine is operating very strangely in the latest patch. it is pulling LESS power at higher throttle, which means that in atmospheric mode, it actually has more thrust at lower throttle, and can't even run at high throttle, in addition, even at zero waste heat, it uses significantly less power overall than it did previously. this makes the engine almost unusable for its intended purpose, since it cannot generate significant thrust in any configuration. it seems like the efficiency is being counted twice, both reducing the power demand, and the power used.

mm, this is not intended, Thanks for reporting. I will investigate.

Edit. I found a mistake in the Efficiency calculation for VASIMR, but the intention is that efficiency get's lower at higher atmospheric pressures

VASIMR are technically open magneticly confined plasma chamber, just like in a Tokamak core fusion engine, which it only works at low pressures.

Edited August 11, 2016 by FreeThinker

[Northstar1989]

Hey @FreeThinker, any word on the questions I asked you about ISRU?  Namely, what is the underlying system we've currently got it running on?  Is it still ORS-based?  It's been so long since I took a peak under the hood at it, and I have terrible internet currently, so I'm reluctant to download the mod just to look...

Also, an idea I think I mentioned ages past and nothing ever came of...  We really should find a way (perhaps by co-opting code from the stock ISRU system) to make asteroids mineable for LqdWater, if we haven't already while I was AWOL.  This would play very well with Propulsive Fluid Accumulators around Duna in particular, as it would allow players to collect all the resources needed for the Sabatier reaction (CO2 and Hydrogen) in the vicinity of Duna without ever needing to land mining equipment on the planet or its moon...

Edited August 12, 2016 by Northstar1989

[FreeThinker]

Surface resource mining is replaced by Stock Resource system. For resource scooping at Sea / Atmosphere is still uses ORS

Beside that iKSPI-E still uses ORS Power distribution system for all power applications, there is no Stock equivalent for this.

Edited August 12, 2016 by FreeThinker

[Northstar1989]

30 minutes ago, FreeThinker said:

Surface resource mining is replaced by Stock Resource system. For resource scooping at Sea / Atmosphere is still uses ORS

Beside that iKSPI-E still uses ORS Power distribution system for all power applications, there is no Stock equivalent for this.

@FreeThinker alright, great.  Do we still have custom resource-abundance maps for the ground-based resources: for instance making sure Lqdwater (actually ice) is only found in the polar craters on the Mun?

Also, do we still use Regolith for the Propulsive Fluid Accumulator code?

EDIT: Probably going to make a return to using the mod (and many others) when 1.2 rolls out, with its included optimization pass.  Ever since the heating changes of 1.05 KSP has just barely managed to run at all on my craptop, without any mods but MechJeb.  Maybe sooner if my little brother lets me use his 9 year old gaming rig (which he abandoned here at home- which I've moved back to while I apply to medical schools- when he moved to Colorado), though.  It still has impressive specs compared to my much newer laptop...  Not much free time even so, though.

 

Regards,

Northstar

Edited August 12, 2016 by Northstar1989

[FreeThinker]

@Northstar1989 I never used regolith except temperaily for a radiator refrigerator.

I introduced several resources to allow mining of all essential KSPI-E profellant/nuclear fuels, and made other minable resource more biome specific. You should check out the ResourceConfigs folder for details. Note that I tried to make water only avialable on polar lowlands the mun moon but due to a stock Bug, this doesn't seem to work. Not sure this is reported

Note that I added the bit vague resource called SolarWind, which is ment to represent the melecular depostis from Solar Wind bombardbent in the Regolith It mianly consists of  protons and helium but also trace amounts of Helium3. The Idea is this allow Helium3/Helium4/Hydrogen mining on the moon/gilly/moho.

riocrokite is currently creating a top soil surface bucket  scoop miner which will be used to mine the lunar regolith for Helium3. Note that Stock Resource system has a depleability feature, but it is currentlky broken. Hopefully, Roverdude has enough time to fix it.

Edited August 12, 2016 by FreeThinker

[Northstar1989]

On Friday, February 20, 2015 at 9:46 AM, FreeThinker said:

I already partialy use Regolith. This reminds me to add it to the dependancies. But I guess you mean to replace ORS resource detection/extraction by Regolith

I don't have any real objections to switch to Regolith, but I do not understand how to implement it for resource collection/extraction.

Once upon a time you said you used Regolith.  Are you sure it was just for a radiator?

Also, what have we done about RealFuels since we swapped over to CRP?  We use some of the same resources now- are the RealFuels config files I wrote for Interstellar Extended last year still part of the mod, or did we adopt them wholesale?

For example can players now routinely customize what types of fuels and how much of each the ISRU refineries hold in their internal storage, or do they still need RealFuels installed to do that?  And, did we adopt any of the boil-off code from RealFuels, or do we still use our own version for things like deuterium boil-off?

Regards,

Northstar

Edited August 12, 2016 by Northstar1989

[FreeThinker]

1 hour ago, Northstar1989 said:

Once upon a time you said you used Regolith.  Are you sure it was just for a radiator?

Well my understanding of Roverdudes Regolith Mod was very limited back then, and I'm still technically correct that "used" Regolith,(resource converter parrtmodule) but nothing of its Resource system.. Note the current KSP Resource model is actualy a continuation of Regolith, which it replaces.

1 hour ago, Northstar1989 said:

Also, what have we done about RealFuels since we swapped over to CRP?  We use some of the same resources now- are the RealFuels config files I wrote for Interstellar Extended last year still part of the mod, or did we adopt them wholesale?

Well MKS was mostly updated by other people,  and I use RealFuels resource defenitions when ever they got something I can use in KSPI-E

1 hour ago, Northstar1989 said:

For example can players now routinely customize what types of fuels and how much of each the ISRU refineries hold in their internal storage, or do they still need RealFuels installed to do that?  And, did we adopt any of the boil-off code from RealFuels, or do we still use our own version for things like deuterium boil-off?

I simply added a IFS holding tank which can switch between resources in VAB and in flight, people can also use MKS to do the same. I still using the exisitng cryogenic boil off system, which is doing a reasonable job.

Edited August 12, 2016 by FreeThinker

[Northstar1989]

13 hours ago, FreeThinker said:

Well my understanding of Roverdudes Regolith Mod was very limited back then, and I'm still technically correct that "used" Regolith,(resource converter parrtmodule) but nothing of its Resource system.. Note the current KSP Resource model is actualy a continuation of Regolith, which it replaces.

Well MKS was mostly updated by other people,  and I use RealFuels resource defenitions when ever they got something I can use in KSPI-E

I simply added a IFS holding tank which can switch between resources in VAB and in flight, people can also use MKS to do the same. I still using the exisitng cryogenic boil off system, which is doing a reasonable job.

@FreeThinker but the ISRU refineries.  They start out with their own internal storage tanks...

The RealFuels config file I wrote last year allowed, by popular demand, players to change the allocation of tanks (for instance eliminate the Water storage tanks and replace them with extra UF4 tanks if heading to Dres) if they had RealFuels installed.  I'm wondeting if (1) the config/compatibility files for RealFuels are still part of the mod and (2) if you had integrated the RealFuels system for changing the tank allocations of a part into KSP Interstellar Extended directly, or might consider doing so...

I see that the mod has gone increasingly down the road of focusing on ultra-futuristic technology, but I'm here to try and refocus it on the more "low-tech" stuff just a couple decades away instead of 80 or 90 years in the future again.  For instance, when are we going to get Methane Pyrolysis as a reaction?  (all we need for it is a new "graphite" resource, which should be solid and thus exempt from the fuel-flow system.  Later we can add an additional reaction to clear it using ThermalPower resource on planets with an O2 or CO2 containing atmosphere, or alternatively for Engineer kerbals to manually clean the ISRU out- but this part can wait.  I know coding that might take a bit longer,  and methane pyrolysis is still useful without a way to dispose if the graphite...)

Edited August 13, 2016 by Northstar1989

[Kyrt Malthorn]

On 8/10/2016 at 6:16 PM, FreeThinker said:

 

• Fixed Radiator compatibility with Near Future Electric technology

 

 

 

Gee I wonder who tipped you off!  ^.^ 

 

Thanks man! 

[FreeThinker]

6 hours ago, Northstar1989 said:

@FreeThinker but the ISRU refineries.  They start out with their own internal storage tanks...

Yes, but it is only very small amount (not more than a liter), they are added for convenience and requested by several people

6 hours ago, Northstar1989 said:

I see that the mod has gone increasingly down the road of focusing on ultra-futuristic technology, but I'm here to try and refocus it on the more "low-tech" stuff just a couple decades away instead of 80 or 90 years in the future again.  For instance, when are we going to get Methane Pyrolysis as a reaction?  (all we need for it is a new "graphite" resource, which should be solid and thus exempt from the fuel-flow system.  Later we can add an additional reaction to clear it using ThermalPower resource on planets with an O2 or CO2 containing atmosphere, or alternatively for Engineer kerbals to manually clean the ISRU out- but this part can wait.  I know coding that might take a bit longer,  and methane pyrolysis is still useful without a way to dispose if the graphite...)

I already taken the liberty to add Carbon to CRP because I needed it for intentional, unintentional Pyrolisis processes. The stuff is supposedly also useful for seeding hydrogen, making engine more efficient, which is something I intend to implement later.

Now before I can implement Methane Pyrolisis, I need you to figure out how much power it requires to break down a ton of Methane into Hydrogen and Carbon.

Adding the ability to remove the soot by an engineer sounds good Idea. I had a similar idea for the engine nozzle, which have a similar problem, but this properly requires reactor shutdown  otherwise the Kerbal will be fried.No Kerbals, except fearless would be that stupid

 

Edited August 13, 2016 by FreeThinker

[volcanicshrimp]

What is the "apply rotation" option of the new rectenna supposed to be used for?

[FreeThinker]

3 minutes ago, volcanicshrimp said:

What is the "apply rotation" option of the new rectenna supposed to be used for?

Currently nothing except representing the ability to-pivot by 270 degree, which is useful for retrieval

[raxo2222]

Apparently Nuclear Turbojet is best option for atmospheric exploration: its cheap, and it has highest core temperature of 3200 (and higher if less fuel flows trough engine).

But its thrust is flickering at high speeds when on atmospheric mode.

I built space plane that can fly as low as 0.4 mach.

http://imgur.com/a/ly1fm

[Diche Bach]

I have this mod installed (one of ~60) and am slowly progressing through my career campaign to the point where I actually use the stuff in it . . . Couple questions:

1. I notice there have been a couple updates to the mod, but given I'm not really using it yet, I figured I can hold off on updating?

2. Apart from Kumar's Dwarves, and the Valentine system, are there any other solar system mods I might want to eventually install?

3. I notice a great deal of lag in VAB and SPH as my game progresses . . . my inclination is to chock it up to just the sheer number of mods I have installed, but given the performance issues (game starts using enormous quantities of RAM) in certain specific situations (e.g., flight view no problemo, map view no problemo, but VAB and SPH = problemos!) maybe the problem's I'm experiencing are ones that could be mitigated by tweaking else eliminating certain mods.

I'll forego posting my mod list here, but thought  that-- given the gigantic size of this mod--this general topic might be one that I might get some good guidance on from folks in this thread: basically optimizing a mod permutation that includes this mod, and several others. However, some other thread might be a better place to get into the nitty-gritty on it, so I'll leave it at that for now.

[volcanicshrimp]

Is the nuclear ramjet (Tory) meant to work when stationary/at low speeds? It seems to provide easily enough thrust even when stationary for takeoff and getting up to its ideal airspeeds despite ramjets not working at low speeds at all irl.

[raxo2222]

I slightly changed my nuclear fly.

It achieves stable flight at 30 km @ 5.5 mach.

It starts to glow though both from hypersonic compression and engine heat generation.

http://imgur.com/a/ra2Y4

[raxo2222]

http://imgur.com/a/676PY

I achieved new record in slowness of aircraft

Edited August 14, 2016 by raxo2222

[FreeThinker]

4 hours ago, volcanicshrimp said:

Is the nuclear ramjet (Tory) meant to work when stationary/at low speeds? It seems to provide easily enough thrust even when stationary for takeoff and getting up to its ideal airspeeds despite ramjets not working at low speeds at all irl.

Well the thrust is very much linked to unlocked techs. If all tech are unlocked or playing in sandbox mode, performance even at low speed is significantly better. But perhaps I do need to tweak it a bit

[raxo2222]

Apparently thermal nuclear ramjet is prone to overheating and frying whole ship when DR is installed - I disabled internal heat generation, and now my ship is fine.

http://imgur.com/a/yi2QP

[Nansuchao]

Just now, raxo2222 said:

Apparently thermal nuclear ramjet is prone to overheating and frying whole ship when DR is installed - I disabled internal heat generation, and now my ship is fine.

http://imgur.com/a/yi2QP

Long standing issue. DR hve the bad abitude to mess with the temperature of some KSPI parts. I had the same issue back in 0.25, 0.90, 1.0, 1.0.2, 1.0.3,1.0.4,1.0.5,1.1.2,1.1.3.

- Easy fix, don't install them both. One or another.

- Possible fix, try to reinstall DR, sometimes it works

- Sure fix, delete the DR plugin and use the stock he system, maybe with higher values.

[raxo2222]

1 hour ago, Nansuchao said:

Long standing issue. DR hve the bad abitude to mess with the temperature of some KSPI parts. I had the same issue back in 0.25, 0.90, 1.0, 1.0.2, 1.0.3,1.0.4,1.0.5,1.1.2,1.1.3.

- Easy fix, don't install them both. One or another.

- Possible fix, try to reinstall DR, sometimes it works

- Sure fix, delete the DR plugin and use the stock he system, maybe with higher values.

Or just disable stock heat generation altogether - even smallest earliest nuclear engine produces MW of power.

[Nansuchao]

55 minutes ago, raxo2222 said:

Or just disable stock heat generation altogether - even smallest earliest nuclear engine produces MW of power.

Yes, you can, but that way you have no more the heat limitation on engines, reentry heating and so on. It's legit of course.

[raxo2222]

13 minutes ago, Nansuchao said:

Yes, you can, but that way you have no more the heat limitation on engines, reentry heating and so on. It's legit of course.

Well I meant disabling heat generation for KSPI engines. Or reducing it to stock levels.