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[1.9.*, 1.10.*, 1.11.*] DockRotate - lightweight robotics - rotational control on docking ports (plus NodeRotate, make any part rotate)


peteletroll

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New release!

Now rotation can be continuous (set rotation step to 0) and fast (new UI for wider speed range up to 3600°/s).

New UI for fine control of rotation step from 1°/s to 360°/s.

You can definitely make action controlled variable-pitch propellers.

Compiled for 1.5.1, but should work with 1.4.* too.

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On 11/2/2018 at 6:26 PM, peteletroll said:

New release!

Now rotation can be continuous (set rotation step to 0) and fast (new UI for wider speed range up to 3600°/s).

New UI for fine control of rotation step from 1°/s to 360°/s.

You can definitely make action controlled variable-pitch propellers.

Compiled for 1.5.1, but should work with 1.4.* too.

YAAAASSS! Simple reusable modular propellors here i come!

proper pitch controlled modular props!

 

thanks so much for this!

oh and does it have an in flight ui that can control pairs of them at the same time? Maybe even keybindable?

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15 minutes ago, BRAAAP_STUTUTU said:

oh and does it have an in flight ui that can control pairs of them at the same time? Maybe even keybindable?

You can add rotation to action groups, but you can't control, say, the rotation speed on multiple docking ports at once.

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53 minutes ago, BRAAAP_STUTUTU said:

hmm, seems like the dockprops i made excert excessive amounts of torque to the main body compared to the amount of thrust they put out

This doesn't surprise me, if you compare it with stock two-vessel propellers. Try making two counter rotating propellers.

Edit: by the way, I love "dockprops"! :sticktongue:

Edited by peteletroll
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2 hours ago, BRAAAP_STUTUTU said:

oh and does it have an in flight ui that can control pairs of them at the same time? Maybe even keybindable?

You can't keybind rotation speed, but you can control blades' attack angle with action groups.

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1 hour ago, peteletroll said:

This doesn't surprise me, if you compare it with stock two-vessel propellers. Try making two counter rotating propellers.

Edit: by the way, I love "dockprops"! :sticktongue:

Dockprops felt aproprriate, one could probably make them seperate stowable vessels if wanted (ie for SSTO drag reduction at oxygenated atmospheres) and then dock the dockprops when near a oxygenless atmospheric body

 

i’ve tried contraprops but wasnt all that sucessful, perhaps i built them wrong, i feel like twin engine designs with contra rotating ones would fare better perhaps

 

but seriously, the torque the dockprops generated really confuses me, since they’re not heavy at all and they didnt generate anywhere near the amount of thrust needed to get such amounts of torque, i’ll have to experiment more but i do wonder if your code actually acounts for the inertia/momentum accurately

 

stock bearing props generate nowhere near as much torque (though they are effectively magic since they generate their rotation without actually being attached to anything)

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1 hour ago, BRAAAP_STUTUTU said:

i do wonder if your code actually acounts for the inertia/momentum accurately

DockRotate code interacts just with joints. Everything else, including inertia, is handled by Unity. I'd try reducing the blades' angle of attack too.

Edited by peteletroll
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Hey there, first of all: THIS IS AWESOME

I just found something though: Whenever i use the rotating parts that come with the mod (didn't test with common docking ports yet), if the first piece i put on them is a cubic or octogonal strut, they don't work (even the right click interface is bugged). Apart from that, pure awesomeness. Thx for this mod.

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4 hours ago, Vegetal said:

if the first piece i put on them is a cubic or octogonal strut, they don't work

This is expected. Many small parts are "physicsless": they "exist" only visually. So, they don't have physical joints that connect them to the rest of the craft. NodeRotate manipulates these joints, so it can't work if the connected part is physicsless.

(DockRotate has no such problem, because all docking ports are full-physics parts.)

There's a PromoteToPhysicalPart() API that could be helpful, but I couldn't make it work yet.

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19 hours ago, peteletroll said:

This is expected. Many small parts are "physicsless": they "exist" only visually. So, they don't have physical joints that connect them to the rest of the craft. NodeRotate manipulates these joints, so it can't work if the connected part is physicsless.

(DockRotate has no such problem, because all docking ports are full-physics parts.)

There's a PromoteToPhysicalPart() API that could be helpful, but I couldn't make it work yet.

Ah that makes sense. More like an engine feature I guess. No issues then, if I want a small connection I use procedural parts usually.

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17 hours ago, Vegetal said:

if I want a small connection I use procedural parts usually

I like using inline batteries for that. But I really want to make PromoteToPhysicalPart() work...

Edited by peteletroll
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I'm back and I've got something to show you.

Here is NOB-05 Step Motor Cap (made by squishing and retexturing stock Oscar-B tank mesh). The focus here is on being less ugly than motorPoints and surface-attaching parts to the rotor (although stack and surface nodes are also available)

Here it is, playing well with S-MINI radial adapters from Near Future Construction mod:

6Y3kqlo.png

With tubes from Structural Tubing mod:

Iss6oIi.png

 

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30 minutes ago, Psycho_zs said:

I'm back and I've got something to show you.

This looks AWESOME. I think we need a plan to distribute it. I see the rotation node is clearly marked.

@Tonka Crash will probably like it too.

Edited by peteletroll
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@Psycho_zs, I merged your PR. And I found some new NodeRotate bug, of course :) I hope to release again this weekend, with motorCap included, and hopefully with physicsless parts problem solved.

Thanks a lot for your work and dedication. I love NodeRotate getting part modders' attention. (And I think you're a part modder officially now. With great power... ;) )

Edited by peteletroll
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You're right, @Psycho_zs: you'll be a modder when someone will complain about your work and ask for more.

By the way, I think the rotation marks on top are a little confusing, because they are on the wrong side. And, could you make larger parts too? You can use inline batteries as base model, they have the right size already.

:P

Edited by peteletroll
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Well, that's the thing about those markings: they are correct if you think of this part as having an external rotor. It's a rotating cap after all.

Is it possible to make NodeRotate assignable to a surface attach node? In this case it would be possible to place attach node roughly at the same position as rotating stack node.

...
rotatingNodeName = bottom
rotatingSurfaceNode = true
...

If enabled and if motor is surface-attached, motorize surface node and not stack node. In this case one could just slap a motor cap on the surface and it will rotate, reducing both part count and rotor-stator ambiguity (and devaluing a pun in the description).

I think if I'm going to make another part it should be a proper original content, dusting off Blender and all.

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4 minutes ago, Psycho_zs said:

Is it possible to make NodeRotate assignable to a surface attach node?

That needs investigation. I still have a lot to learn about vessel structure.

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2 hours ago, Psycho_zs said:

In this case one could just slap a motor cap on the surface and it will rotate

Your MotorPoint already does something close. But I get the part count observation.

2 hours ago, Psycho_zs said:

I think if I'm going to make another part it should be a proper original content, dusting off Blender and all.

Well, the ModuleManager "reskin" trick is pretty cool. If only I was good at graphics...

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