KSP Weekly: Taking a ride to the Moon!

[CoreI]

1 hour ago, klgraham1013 said:

2 hours ago, GluttonyReaper said:

A part that accounts for slope so things can be launched vertically from it?

Most likely this.

Well then, if that is the case, that opens up some interesting possibilities.

Let's assume we can launch this thing into space. In a plot twist, you can use it as a landing platform for a base on the side of a hill?

I love the way the mission builder is turning out though! I'm curious as to how rotating a vessel on the surface would work when you're designing the mission, because wouldn't you need to be able to see the craft to know how much to turn it?

[James M]

Exciting news about a cheat menu in console! I may not use it very much but every improvement added is appreciated  

[Wallygator]

What excites me is that squad is trying to improve their workflow. 

Oh sorry, back to collective fawning about a launchpad  just make it a new collection of parts (that can be assembled into a variety of launching solutions) and be done with it. Let the player assemble designs that suit an individual play style, also enable modding against those parts and any 'leveling control module' that is also in the part set. 

[Abstract_Kerman]

could you at least give us a rough estimate on when it will come out, how much of Making History has been finished.

[rudi1291]

Thats a lot of cool stuff... Mobile Launch Pad sounds nice, but i dont want to hype it or something. After all they talk about designing not implementing. Anyway, waiting for next week

Edited August 5, 2017 by rudi1291

[Foxster]

You don't have to wait for Squad to catch up, you can make your own mobile launch platform...

Edited August 5, 2017 by Foxster

[MiffedStarfish]

Judgin by the responses SQUAD, you should probably drop everything you're doing and focus solely on making mobile launchpads. Add microtransactions and charge a fiver per part.

[KerbMav]

Judging by some responses putting the forums behind a paywall could be nice.

OT: Can you give us a definitely not before x and then some estimate?

[Bottle Rocketeer 500]

I would expect a release in sometime in January 2018.

[Mikki]

Okay, "This launch pad has to be modular to fit various diameters, and has to have a terrain leveling system."

Looks like Kerbals develop a moveable launchfacility... YESSSSS!!!!

Will it be possible to launch stuff from Laythe?
Assemble stuff on Laythe?
Assemble and launch stuff in Laythe orbit?
Launch from Laythe oceans surface?
New ressource system?
New Kerbal engineering capabilitys?
Can we assemble in editormode on another bodys surface/ orbit?        
and because launchpads...

Spoiler

 

Edited August 5, 2017 by Mikki
typo8D

[klgraham1013]

I seriously doubt there will be assembly on site via an editor.  It's just a collection of parts with some leveling functionality.  I doubt it's more than that.

[rudi1291]

Just a thought: Could it maybe be the tease of another DLC? I doubt it is (not before the other DLC is released), but if it adds a bunch of new functionality and new gameplay mechanics (which i also doubt it does), it could be...

[KerbMav]

33 minutes ago, klgraham1013 said:

I seriously doubt there will be assembly on site via an editor.  It's just a collection of parts with some leveling functionality.  I doubt it's more than that.

Ok, boys and girls, all together: 'There is a mod for that!'

[HebaruSan]

17 hours ago, SQUAD said:

The artists have also began designing a mobile launch pad! This launch pad has to be modular to fit various diameters, and has to have a terrain leveling system. The artists are taking inspiration from the crawler-transporter with some elements from other industrial facilities and applications. More details will be released later about this mobile launch pad and how it will work.

What we know: The "mobile launch pad" is being added for the expansion, which is focused around a mission editor and historical parts. The artists are working on it at this point, not the programmers. So we should ask, what new gameplay elements would a mobile launch pad contribute to a mission editor?

Speculation: There aren't going to be a lot of new mechanics involved here. It'll be "mobile" only in the sense that it can appear wherever the creator of a mission specifies (i.e., click "Choose launch location" and an interactive globe of Kerbin appears; click a point on it and that's where your MLP will be for that mission). I expect a static mesh with some ability to be scaled, which will look like a Crawler-Transporter but function like the normal launch pad (in that you can spawn vessels there from the VAB after you choose a given mission), just in an arbitrary location. The "terrain leveling system" would then refer to a way to make the launch surface level even if you put it on a mountain slope, essentially a set of automatically adjustable stilts between the tracks and the rest of the vehicle. (I would not bank on the "tracks" being as complex as in the C-T, since that would present the problem of how to make them lie flat against arbitrary terrain. Simpler to make them round wheels, so they have only one possible orientation.)

[klgraham1013]

2 hours ago, KerbMav said:

Ok, boys and girls, all together: 'There is a mod for that!'

Of course there is.  That really has no relavence to the current discussion about the upcoming DLC.

Other than proof of concept, that is.

[Broke dead dogg]

20 hours ago, SQUAD said:

 

 

Similarly, QA is playing a huge role on the current phase of the development of the updated version of KSP for consoles. As we’ve explained, we are currently putting the console builds under the most scrutinous testing we can with both the internal and external testing teams throwing everything at them. This close inspection has allowed us to detect even the smallest issues. For instance, the team recently found an interesting console bug, where going back to the Space Center will also revert a craft to the runway under some circumstances. This and any issue found is immediately and directly reported to our friends at Blitworks, who with the help and expertise from our team work to find a solution and implement it for the following builds. Additionally, at this point we can confirm that there will be partial support for the cheats menu on consoles, but not everything will work as it does on PC today. However, we will try to improve the support in future versions we release.

This^^^^^ is what we want!

Thank you for listening, it might not seem like much to some but to many of us the Ksp weeklies were a definite "rinse and repeat" affair whereas this^ gives us a feeling of progress.

A problem found, and then addressed.

Plus, a definite statement of intended future/ongoing development for the console.

And with the revelation of a limited cheat menu, I'd like to ask a question.

I've noticed on several YouTube vids, pc players having a modified UI or HUD, is this from a mod, or is it in the stock PC game? If the latter, will we console players have this ability? Since personally I play using a 42" TV at medium to close range, the large 100% UI is unnecessary

17 hours ago, Cpt Kerbalkrunch said:

 

 

Also, would like to tip my cap to Squad for this week's console section of the weekly. I've seen some pretty vehement, though warranted, criticism in the console update thread lately. Seems some of those concerns were addressed in regards to information. A few extra details, and the especially good news of at least partial Alt/F12 (or should I say Right Trigger/L1? ) support. These things show that you guys are listening, and I think it'll be appreciated. Though it means nothing to me, I want everyone to  be able to enjoy this game we all love. Even those who are crazy enough to try to play on a console. Which make potatoes look like freakin' Alienware. 

The alienware reference means nothing to me but you have to understand, choosing a console is all about economics. This way I can toast my crumpets at the same time as playing Ksp without the need for a toaster!

Besides, if I ever got a gaming pc, with some of the games available to you guys, I think it would mean the end to my marriage

[Raptor9]

When I read "Mobile Launch Pad", I thought of this...except it was painted white or gray and carrying a rocket built with Rockomax parts with a payload fairing on top and a Mainsail sticking out the back. 

Edited August 5, 2017 by Raptor9

[tater]

Perhaps this leads to a stock EPL capability.

[Codraroll]

Even if the Mobile Launch Pad turns out to just be another part to stick on a vessel, I'm intrigued by the "adapting to terrain" bit. Because it has implications for making planetary bases, which currently is a rather tedious and unrewarding piece of gameplay. It's nearly hopeless to asssemble anything on a surface, which is made even worse with uneven terrain. It's doable to construct something rudimentary on the flat plains of Minmus, but on more rocky bodies you'd have to be an expert player to assemble anything half-decent (not that there's much to gain from it anyway - you have to physically dock to a stationary base to extract resources from it, which is extremely difficult to do with a vessel built for spaceflight).

Best-case scenario is that this feature allows the construction of launchpads on other bodies. I want to be able to build a "stepping stone" base on Duna and construct and launch my Dres mission from there. If I want to jet ski across the seas of Laythe, and have a well-staffed and -supplied base there already, I shouldn't necessarily have to haul the craft all the way from Kerbin. Opening up for permanent off-world bases would make interplanetary gameplay a lot more rewarding. Besides, it would allow you to create some fun late-game challenge scenarios, such as transporting goods from Ike to Eeloo, or Dres to Duna, or Eve to Tylo The Mun to Kerbin.

[klgraham1013]

I think it best people not extrapolate to much on this and the other things.  Wishful thinking sometimes gets in the way of reality and what was really said.

 

[Foxster]

Had two people ask for the craft file for my mobile launcher. In case anyone else wants it, here you go: https://www.dropbox.com/s/moxb6tctxw9snjl/Mobile launcher B.craft?dl=0

Set full throttle and SAS on, then hit the spacebar to spin up the RAPIER to 80+kN, then hit space again to launch the SSTO spaceplane.

Edited August 6, 2017 by Foxster

[CobaltWolf]

On 8/4/2017 at 3:59 PM, SQUAD said:

Welcome to KSP Weekly everyone. In 1971, the ninth manned mission of the Apollo program took place, Apollo 15. It was the fourth to land on the Moon and it was the first mission on which the Lunar Rover Vehicle was used. The mission began on July 26 and ended on August 7, but it was on this day, an hour before the burn to take the crew back home, that the last activity in lunar orbit took place: the release of the Apollo 15 Particles and Fields Subsatellite (PFS-1). The satellite was released into lunar orbit from the SIM bay. Its main objectives were to study the plasma, particle, and magnetic field environment of the Moon and map the lunar gravity field. Specifically, it measured plasma and energetic particle intensities and vector magnetic fields, and facilitated tracking of the satellite velocity to high precision. The satellite orbited the Moon and returned data from August 4, 1971 until January 1973. In later years, through a study of many lunar orbiting satellites, scientists came to discover that most low lunar orbits (LLO) are unstable. Fortunately, PFS-1 had been placed, unknown to mission planners at the time, very near to one of only four lunar frozen orbits, where a lunar satellite may remain indefinitely. The Apollo 15 mission was regarded at the time as the most successful manned flight ever achieved and it was very well documented, giving us some of the most emblematic video and photographic footage of the Apollo missions (NASA’s full image archive for the mission is located here). How many of you have tried to recreate this mission on KSP, with both the LRV and PFS-1 deployments? It’s certainly a challenge worth trying, but now let’s move on to what you all came here for…news regarding KSP development.

I too am a fan of PFS-1.

 

[Chris_2]

Maybe it's getting time to actually release something... Since last year, 1.2, and when the old Dev's left, only localization has been added to the game, and I don't care about that. So basically development of the game has stalled since the dev's left.

[Vanamonde]

You don't care about other languages = no development. Got it. 

[MrWalrus123]

5 hours ago, Chris_2 said:

Maybe it's getting time to actually release something... Since last year, 1.2, and when the old Dev's left, only localization has been added to the game, and I don't care about that. So basically development of the game has stalled since the dev's left.

There has been development to the game, localization is a tough process, and they've also been working on other features for the next update and new DLC.