[1.8.1-1.12.x] Modular Launch Pads v2.6.1: Launch clamps evolved: Real-style launch bases and towers [03 July 2023]

[Fredde104]

4 hours ago, AlphaMensae said:

Great idea, thanks!  I'd hold off until dev work on v2.1 is done, as there will be some changes to how the general towers will be structured as well as other fine tuning fixes.

I can add more umbilical colors.

 

A WIP, but  here you go. I'll add more in the coming days and update them when there is a newer version available

https://www.dropbox.com/sh/qr13zylacuy41v1/AAA8jOJznRnSVNJvcjP3HJkBa?dl=0

[AlphaMensae]

Been working on the Atlas-Centaur Umbilical Arm, and it was rather complex.  But it's just about finished!

I'll have a demo video up here later.

I think I'll make the arms also available as separate parts so they can be used with other towers, surface-attaching to the top plates.

[hemeac]

Thanks for your work on the launch pads, these are really great!  It really helps with the immersion.

[captainradish]

I'm having an issue where the Soyuz launch clamps are twisted:

Edited July 24, 2020 by captainradish

[AlphaMensae]

The Atlas-Centaur Umbilical Arm is done and now on the AlphaDev branch of the GitHub.

The Centaur shown is the new one from the v1.7 Development branch of Bluedog Design Bureau. I've included two craft files, one for the old (current release) Centaur and one for the new Centaur and SAF fairing.

The Centaur arm assembly is designed for the Centaur style of the Atlas Mini Modular Tower (node attaches), but it can surface attach to the top plates of the larger General Towers

The main frame nests inside the tower, but can be offset upwards over a short range for fine adjustment with different towers, launch stands and bases

The tall arm can also be adjusted both horizontally and vertically over a limited range with deploy limit sliders, for positioning with different fairing heights and/or widths

By default, the arms are designed for the base SLV-3 Centaur, bracketing it at the interstage and fairing junctions as shown

 

[AlphaMensae]

3 hours ago, captainradish said:

I'm having an issue where the Soyuz launch clamps are twisted:

Hmm, all I can think of is to make sure the launch base is not the root part, or strange/bad things will happen.

I have never had this happen, so it could also be some KSP fluke thing.

[captainradish]

1 hour ago, AlphaMensae said:

Hmm, all I can think of is to make sure the launch base is not the root part, or strange/bad things will happen.

I have never had this happen, so it could also be some KSP fluke thing.

I'm unsure. I do know if I rotate everything 45 degrees there's no longer a problem...so I rotated everything 45 degrees.

[OrbitalManeuvers]

13 hours ago, AlphaMensae said:

The Atlas-Centaur Umbilical Arm is done and now on the AlphaDev branch of the GitHub.

This is great! Just yesterday I was checking out the launch of Surveyor 1 ( https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/video/details.php?id=70 ) trying to figure out how to do the tower! Another big thank you for all your work on this mod. I've used it for years now, and it keeps getting better and better. Your modeling and texturing have always been great, but the new functionality, animations, and historical parts you've been doing are really inspiring.

[AlphaMensae]

1 hour ago, OrbitalManeuvers said:

This is great! Just yesterday I was checking out the launch of Surveyor 1 ( https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/video/details.php?id=70 ) trying to figure out how to do the tower! Another big thank you for all your work on this mod. I've used it for years now, and it keeps getting better and better. Your modeling and texturing have always been great, but the new functionality, animations, and historical parts you've been doing are really inspiring.

Thanks very much!  Yep, the Agena and Centaur umbilical arms were a major impetus to the Atlas set of launch stand parts; I wanted to do Atlas right.  

The whole Launch Stand category has grown far beyond the basic general types that had existed, as I revisited an old idea about making a series of specialty launch stands based on actual historical ones.

I will disagree about my modeling and texturing "always been great", as I am not an artist, can't even draw a straight line freehand with a pencil, so my limited skills are best suited to structural parts like I-beams; just do bucket-fill and no brushes.   I have gotten better, but I now look at the Saturn launcher parts and am horrified at what I did way back then---I did not know nearly as much as I thought I did, or I wouldn't have tried to UV Map the entire angled base section for the tower at once. 

For v2.2, the Saturn and Shuttle parts are going to get fully remade or at least re-UV Mapped.   

[NateDaBeast]

Am I stupid or stupid? Why can't I get the fallback tower to line up around my rocket?

[davidy12]

6 minutes ago, NateDaBeast said:

Am I stupid or stupid? Why can't I get the fallback tower to line up around my rocket?

Just use the offset tool.

[AlphaMensae]

3 minutes ago, NateDaBeast said:

Am I stupid or stupid? Why can't I get the fallback tower to line up around my rocket?

Use the offset gizmo while holding down left-shift to get 20m of free offset range.

Except for some special cases (like the Saturn and Shuttle bases) most of the tower/accessory attach nodes on the launch bases are just a starting point; the towers have to be moved into the actual position.

I am going to make a specialized Falcon 9-type launch plate which will have dedicated attach nodes for the general strongback tower.  

[Beetlecat]

I'm really loving this parts/launch towers. It is such a visual improvement and frankly makes the game more fun to play even though they get left behind at every launch.

I finally figured out how to adjust the "deploy limit" sliders to tweak things like the test stand, though figuring out which nodes snap to what is still a bit confounding.

[Beetlecat]

@severedsolo I totally did

 

NVM this post!

 

Edited July 26, 2020 by Beetlecat
multiple tabs open make for multiple chances for failure...

[severedsolo]

@Beetlecat Did you post this in the wrong thread?

[AlphaMensae]

5 hours ago, Beetlecat said:

I'm really loving this parts/launch towers. It is such a visual improvement and frankly makes the game more fun to play even though they get left behind at every launch.

I finally figured out how to adjust the "deploy limit" sliders to tweak things like the test stand, though figuring out which nodes snap to what is still a bit confounding.

Thank you!

Yep, the stock generic animation module doesn't allow for custom labels for the deploy limit sliders, so it can be confusing when there is more than one.  Fortunately, the newest B9PartSwitch has a new UI Groups feature, allowing you to put various B9PS switchers and animations into a custom-labeled group. I've been adding those UI Groups to the newest v2.1 parts, and will be adding it to the older parts as well.

[AlphaMensae]

I've revised the Atlas stand as I had planned, but I didn't replace the rectangular deck style frame, just made it an alternate option. The new default style is a tubular frame, and the default color is now dark gray, as the Atlas mount was never red IRL   The red color is still an option, it's now the first alternate.

I also added a rotation switcher, using B9PS to rotate the whole stand assembly properly, as the new tubular frame is not square.

[AlphaMensae]

As part of the new set of Launch Plates, I've finally got around to making the Falcon 9-type launch plate:

It's not like SpaceX's (use the Tundra Ex one by Damon if you want that), as it shares the same style and construction as the general launch plates.

Both the Strongback and FSS tower attach nodes are placed to put them in the exact position needed, with the Rodan Crew Arm (at max length) centered on the Rodan's hatch.

Have to add some more side panel options to the FSS Crew Access Section, as the double-height variant was needed for the arm, and right now the front of the section has to be bare.  

[AlphaMensae]

The Falcon 9 Launch Plate, and the six general Launch Plates (3 round, 3 square) are now on the AlphaDev branch of the GitHub.

The Shuttle FSS Tower Crew Section also had some extra front panel options added.

Two craft files for Tundra Ex were also added, these two:

The Launch Plates are minimalist very low-profile base clamps that sit flush on the launch Pad. Push the lower dark section of the plate below the VAB floor to ensure proper positioning. Most of that lower dark section is just an extension to cover the gap between the plate and the launch pad, as KSP doesn't put things directly on the top of the pad due to weird colliders or KSP wackiness.

Note that the Falcon 9 Launch Plate is just the plate, the strongback tower and hold-downs (use the General Drop-Arm Hold-Down at medium size) are separate.  

[Starseeker]

So, I've been playing w/ the 2.1 beta, and I've noticed an issue: whenever I use a launch stand, all my stages read as having 0 dV in the staging menu, and all the TWR, burn time, etc. information is blank. This persists even after launch (& removal of launchpad part from the craft), as well as into the VAB if "revert to VAB" is selected. Once in the VAB, the only way to fix the issue is to load a new craft file.
Is this a known bug, and if so, what is the solution, if any?

[AlphaMensae]

17 minutes ago, Alex33212 said:

So, I've been playing w/ the 2.1 beta, and I've noticed an issue: whenever I use a launch stand, all my stages read as having 0 dV in the staging menu, and all the TWR, burn time, etc. information is blank. This persists even after launch (& removal of launchpad part from the craft), as well as into the VAB if "revert to VAB" is selected. Once in the VAB, the only way to fix the issue is to load a new craft file.
Is this a known bug, and if so, what is the solution, if any?

That happens if the launch base, stand or plate is the root part. It's usually best to add the base last, or else you have to reroot to another part like the command pod or probe core.

[Starseeker]

18 minutes ago, AlphaMensae said:

That happens if the launch base, stand or plate is the root part. It's usually best to add the base last, or else you have to reroot to another part like the command pod or probe core.

It's the last part I'm putting on, and Kerbal Engineer's dV readouts don't change, so I don't think it's setting the root part to itself.
Did a bit of experimenting, and found that the following NRE shows up in Player.log when I add one of the parts I have the issue with (the Redstone launch stand, specifically):

Spoiler

NullReferenceException: Object reference not set to an instance of an object
  at VesselDeltaV.ProcessDecouplePartInfoChildren (DeltaVPartInfo partInfoItem, VesselDeltaV+PartStageComparisonOperator comparisonOp, System.Int32 decoupleStage, System.Int32 activationStage, System.Boolean bypassFairings, System.Boolean bypassJettison, System.Boolean setToParentDecoupleStage) [0x001d8] in <9d71e4043e394d78a6cf9193ad011698>:0
  at VesselDeltaV.ResetPartInfo (System.Collections.Generic.List`1[T] parts) [0x007d6] in <9d71e4043e394d78a6cf9193ad011698>:0
  at VesselDeltaV.UpdateStageInfo () [0x0006a] in <9d71e4043e394d78a6cf9193ad011698>:0
  at VesselDeltaV+<RunCalculations>d__100.MoveNext () [0x000bd] in <9d71e4043e394d78a6cf9193ad011698>:0
  at UnityEngine.SetupCoroutine.InvokeMoveNext (System.Collections.IEnumerator enumerator, System.IntPtr returnValueAddress) [0x00027] in <5aeafee3fea24f37abd1315553f2cfa6>:0
UnityEngine.DebugLogHandler:Internal_LogException(Exception, Object)
UnityEngine.DebugLogHandler:LogException(Exception, Object)
ModuleManager.UnityLogHandle.InterceptLogHandler:LogException(Exception, Object)
UnityEngine.Logger:LogException(Exception, Object)
UnityEngine.Debug:CallOverridenDebugHandler(Exception, Object)
UnityEngine.MonoBehaviour:StartCoroutineManaged2(IEnumerator)
UnityEngine.MonoBehaviour:StartCoroutine(IEnumerator)
VesselDeltaV:<CheckDirtyAndRun>b__68_0()
<DelayedCallback>d__1:MoveNext()
UnityEngine.SetupCoroutine:InvokeMoveNext(IEnumerator, IntPtr)

Given the references to "VesselDeltaV", I'd assume that this is, at least in part, the cause of the problem.

EDIT: Here's a link to a pastebin of the contents of Player.log from the point I loaded a vessel to do testing with, up through hitting "launch", loading, and pausing: https://pastebin.com/rQmzAzp0

Edited August 1, 2020 by Alex33212

[Starseeker]

17 minutes ago, Alex33212 said:

It's the last part I'm putting on, and Kerbal Engineer's dV readouts don't change, so I don't think it's setting the root part to itself.
Did a bit of experimenting, and found that the following NRE shows up in Player.log when I add one of the parts I have the issue with (the Redstone launch stand, specifically):

  Reveal hidden contents

NullReferenceException: Object reference not set to an instance of an object
  at VesselDeltaV.ProcessDecouplePartInfoChildren (DeltaVPartInfo partInfoItem, VesselDeltaV+PartStageComparisonOperator comparisonOp, System.Int32 decoupleStage, System.Int32 activationStage, System.Boolean bypassFairings, System.Boolean bypassJettison, System.Boolean setToParentDecoupleStage) [0x001d8] in <9d71e4043e394d78a6cf9193ad011698>:0
  at VesselDeltaV.ResetPartInfo (System.Collections.Generic.List`1[T] parts) [0x007d6] in <9d71e4043e394d78a6cf9193ad011698>:0
  at VesselDeltaV.UpdateStageInfo () [0x0006a] in <9d71e4043e394d78a6cf9193ad011698>:0
  at VesselDeltaV+<RunCalculations>d__100.MoveNext () [0x000bd] in <9d71e4043e394d78a6cf9193ad011698>:0
  at UnityEngine.SetupCoroutine.InvokeMoveNext (System.Collections.IEnumerator enumerator, System.IntPtr returnValueAddress) [0x00027] in <5aeafee3fea24f37abd1315553f2cfa6>:0
UnityEngine.DebugLogHandler:Internal_LogException(Exception, Object)
UnityEngine.DebugLogHandler:LogException(Exception, Object)
ModuleManager.UnityLogHandle.InterceptLogHandler:LogException(Exception, Object)
UnityEngine.Logger:LogException(Exception, Object)
UnityEngine.Debug:CallOverridenDebugHandler(Exception, Object)
UnityEngine.MonoBehaviour:StartCoroutineManaged2(IEnumerator)
UnityEngine.MonoBehaviour:StartCoroutine(IEnumerator)
VesselDeltaV:<CheckDirtyAndRun>b__68_0()
<DelayedCallback>d__1:MoveNext()
UnityEngine.SetupCoroutine:InvokeMoveNext(IEnumerator, IntPtr)

Given the references to "VesselDeltaV", I'd assume that this is, at least in part, the cause of the problem.

EDIT: Here's a link to a pastebin of the contents of Player.log from the point I loaded a vessel to do testing with, up through hitting "launch", loading, and pausing: https://pastebin.com/rQmzAzp0

Update on this: exiting to tracking station and reloading the now-in-orbit vessel fixes the dV readout issues, so it's not game-breaking.

[AlphaMensae]

15 minutes ago, Alex33212 said:

Update on this: exiting to tracking station and reloading the now-in-orbit vessel fixes the dV readout issues, so it's not game-breaking.

You might have some other mod that's causing the problem, as KER works properly for a test multi-stage rocket I made, though my dev install of KSP 1.8.1 is pretty light on mods (just MLP, KER, Collide-O-Scope and whatever part mod I'm designing for at the time). I also tried it out in minimal KSP 1.10 install (only MLP added) in which I still have the stock dV caluclator running, and it worked fine too.

Is there a specific launch base that's causing a problem?

Edited August 1, 2020 by AlphaMensae

[Starseeker]

1 hour ago, AlphaMensae said:

You might have some other mod that's causing the problem, as KER works properly for a test multi-stage rocket I made, though my dev install of KSP 1.8.1 is pretty light on mods (just MLP, KER, Collide-O-Scope and whatever part mod I'm designing for at the time). I also tried it out in minimal KSP 1.10 install (only MLP added) in which I still have the stock dV caluclator running, and it worked fine too.

Is there a specific launch base that's causing a problem?

KER works fine for me in 1.8.1; it's the stock dV readout & burn timer that are messed up.
I'll try running a minimal-mod 1.8.1 install later, and report back.
As for specific launch bases: it seems to be the vast majority of them; however, I've found that the Mini Milkstool Launch Stand 1 is one that doesn't cause any issues.