[WIP] [1.4+] Space Taxi

[TiktaalikDreaming]

I've had this thing sitting around for a while, mostly modeled etc.  See http://www.projectrho.com/public_html/rocket/spacesuits.php#spacetaxi

I was also considering a simple capsule to use to write up an IVA tutorial.  So, I thought I'd get this ready.  10% of the way in I've realized it's a really bad example to use for an IVA tute seeing it's symmetrical in every which direction.  But I'm going to release it anyway.

Releases: https://spacedock.info/mod/1856/Space Taxi

DEV: https://github.com/TiktaalikDreaming/SpaceTaxi/releases/

Anyway, pics or it didn't happen;

Attempting to test the docking node;

IVA showing I really need to sort a different position for the second Kerbanaut, or we'll have conjoined twins only.

 

Currently Licensed as MIT due to never really knowing and selecting that when creating a github repo.

I may need to change the license to include code so the 2 docking nodes can both function without needing to split this into multiple parts.

Edited May 17, 2018 by TiktaalikDreaming
license

[Burning Kan]

ROFL,a capsule for siamesic twins nice idea ,doubles the workflow and half the ressourcecosts )-just joke looks cool also the 4 minitanks outside, like a emty rcs tank rescue capsule with dockingports,-it dosnt survive reentry or?are the hatch work?greetings bk

[TiktaalikDreaming]

10 hours ago, Burning Kan said:

ROFL,a capsule for siamesic twins nice idea ,doubles the workflow and half the ressourcecosts )-just joke looks cool also the 4 minitanks outside, like a emty rcs tank rescue capsule with dockingports,-it dosnt survive reentry or?are the hatch work?greetings bk

The main problem with the Siamese twin kerbanauts is driving the space suit designers bonkers with the helmet.

It shouldn't be able to survive reentry, it's basically just a tube with some rcs to enable ship to ship transfers without having to suit up.

[TiktaalikDreaming]

OK, Hatches are fixed, I just made the trigger collider smaller than the empty space in the docking node.  I've started work on the normal mapping and texturing.

Oh, and I consolidated the assets into their own folder seeing the part, the IVA, etc all use the same 1k texture atlas, and don't fill it up.

[TiktaalikDreaming]

OK, I finally sorted my lights (turned out that in juggling things around I'd set the range to 0 and surprisingly nothing much worked).

So, release times.

https://spacedock.info/mod/1856/Space Taxi
 

Plus of course a repack on github.

So, there's 2 whole parts.  There's a pod, and a docking node.  I had to separate the docking node so you can do the "control from here" thing.  But the "node" is basically just a ring, very much like the stock docking node's connecting ring thing.  I'm guessing there's some abusive/cheaty uses it may enable due to having docking node facilities on a very small form factor, but I couldn't think of a way around it.

There will be further work on the IVA, but I don't generally consider the populating of gauges etc to be critical to normal game play.

[Daniel Prates]

Wasn't this thing used in that "hunt for the red october" film?  The part where they travel underwater from sub to sub using.... well,  this?  

Edited May 17, 2018 by Daniel Prates

[TiktaalikDreaming]

8 hours ago, Daniel Prates said:

Wasn't this thing used in that "hunt for the red october" film?  The part where they travel underwater from sub to sub using.... well,  this?  

I can neither confirm nor deny its use of the space taxi in the strategic submarine fleet.

 

[Tyko]

This is cool, but I'm not sure what I'm looking at...is this for 1 or 2 crew members? It looks too small for two and the IVA pretty much confirms that

[TiktaalikDreaming]

18 minutes ago, Tyko said:

This is cool, but I'm not sure what I'm looking at...is this for 1 or 2 crew members? It looks too small for two and the IVA pretty much confirms that

This is the two Kerbal version, but I've yet to figure Kerbal positions that make that work.

Turns out Kerbanauts use up a different shape space than those human things. But it turns out they're much shorter, so the passenger will likely end up in what was the foot well.

[Daniel Prates]

7 minutes ago, TiktaalikDreaming said:

This is the two Kerbal version, but I've yet to figure Kerbal positions that make that work.

Turns out Kerbanauts use up a different shape space than those human things. But it turns out they're much shorter, so the passenger will likely end up in what was the foot well.

Keep tweaking it though,  till you get there. You got something here. Maybe put one seat at the bottom and the other at the top,  near the hatch.

[Tyko]

9 minutes ago, Daniel Prates said:

Keep tweaking it though,  till you get there. You got something here. Maybe put one seat at the bottom and the other at the top,  near the hatch.

yep..seems like you either have to increase the diameter or stack them on top of each other     or use a food processor and make kerbal sausage...that'll fit no problem. It's hard on the crew though.

[TiktaalikDreaming]

At the moment, the main pilot is pretty much where they should be, eyes facing forward out the hatch. The passenger is just a copy rotated 180° around the centre line. I haven't had a much time as I'd like messing with the set up in unity. I can't borrow time on some of my locations like I do for the 3d and texture work because I can't install unity on my work pc.

But I'll get there. Also a dash that has stock widgets rather than the first that looked about right from a mod rich install.

[Wolf Baginski]

A half-remembered point about node-specification. Some multi-node components use a different way of specifying node positions, putting them in the .mu file. An example would be the Engine Plates in the Making History set. I don't know where you would find documentation, and I am not sure it would get you out of having a separate docking port component because of the control-from-here setting.

[TiktaalikDreaming]

30 minutes ago, Wolf Baginski said:

A half-remembered point about node-specification. Some multi-node components use a different way of specifying node positions, putting them in the .mu file. An example would be the Engine Plates in the Making History set. I don't know where you would find documentation, and I am not sure it would get you out of having a separate docking port component because of the control-from-here setting.

You can have multiple docking nodes, but when you click a part to do that "control from here", it's the colliders you're clicking, and there's no stock way of the game knowing which node you meant. There are addon modules that allow that via a mini GUI. But I decided that for a craft that would be all of 3 parts, it was better to avoid the extra dependencies.

[TiktaalikDreaming]

Well, "progress".  It no longer looks like a horribly failed medical experiment and more like a horribly failed social science experiment.

 bit more moving stuff around.  Unity 2017 is being a nuisance though.  

Edited May 19, 2018 by TiktaalikDreaming
trying to embed imgur links... wah, imgur, why do you keep changing

[Gargamel]

On 5/17/2018 at 5:20 PM, TiktaalikDreaming said:

This is the two Kerbal version, but I've yet to figure Kerbal positions that make that work.

Turns out Kerbanauts use up a different shape space than those human things. But it turns out they're much shorter, so the passenger will likely end up in what was the foot well.

Do what I used to do in ultra light weight, ultra small backpacking tents.  One points one way, One points the other.   So the wider parts of the head/shoulders is beside the feet of the other.    There is no 'up' in space :).

 

You should make a re-entry version of this.  One kerbal, little more rcs so there's enough to deorbit, and a chute.  Make a nifty little escape pod. 

[DStaal]

9 hours ago, Gargamel said:

You should make a re-entry version of this.  One kerbal, little more rcs so there's enough to deorbit, and a chute.  Make a nifty little escape pod. 

That sounds a lot like REKT.

Not that we couldn't use more escape pods...  (The only one I know of besides REKT is USI's inflatable.)

[TiktaalikDreaming]

This thing is totally wrong for reentry. I think I'd rather do a rigid MOOSE type thing. Built-in chutes docking mode and rcs, with a heatshield on the bottom. Sort of like a micro Apollo capsule for one.

[TiktaalikDreaming]

A bit like

[Gargamel]

3 hours ago, TiktaalikDreaming said:

A bit like

The problem with that design is that it looks horrendous when you have 8 of them radially attached around a mothership.  

[TiktaalikDreaming]

33 minutes ago, Gargamel said:

The problem with that design is that it looks horrendous when you have 8 of them radially attached around a mothership.  

Not if they sit in a cradle. I'd mock something up to explain, but my pc has just started experimenting with random reboots.

[Gargamel]

4 minutes ago, TiktaalikDreaming said:

Not if they sit in a cradle. I'd mock something up to explain, but my pc has just started experimenting with random reboots.

I get ya. 

I can see a wrap around radially attached part, a couple variants of it maybe so it would work nicely with 6 on a 2.5m part and 8 on a 3.75m part.  The decouple action has a bit of force to it to get the pod clear of the vessel, and little SAS to orient the pod, and then a solid engine to de-orbit.   The rest would be ballistic.   Built in chute and battery to supply enough power for the maneuver. 

I like to build ships with aesthetics in mind, so a wrap around cradle that lines up cleanly with others would be nice. 

And heck, a little bit of code to automatically move all the kerbals to the pods and jettison them in sequence would be nifty.

I don't ask for much do I? 

[TiktaalikDreaming]

Well, it would fit nicely six times around a 1.25m diameter part.  Ghosted cylinders are 2.5m and 3.75m, central 1.25m

The cradle would look a bit like 

The "I'm not working on it, honest", minimal pod would look like 

[TiktaalikDreaming]

Escape pod discussion to go over to 

 please. 

 

[ARS]

Not the intended use:

Sorry if I misused it , can't hold back my creativity