KSP Loading... Preview: Grip Pads

[Guest]

YES!

This just keeps getting better and better. It looks like Breaking Ground didn't just unleash some mad kerbal energy among us players...!

(Now how about wheels we could mount on rotors? Pretty please...?)

Edited June 26, 2019 by Guest

[RealKerbal3x]

This is very cool. Walker time!

[Starwaster]

32 minutes ago, RealKerbal3x said:

This is very cool. Walker time!

Uh? What do zombies have to do with Kerbal Space Program?          

[RealKerbal3x]

17 minutes ago, Starwaster said:

Uh? What do zombies have to do with Kerbal Space Program?          

I was referring to the walking vehicles everyone’s been building since the DLC released, but hey, nobody’s built a zombie yet...

Edited June 26, 2019 by RealKerbal3x

[neistridlar]

So, is there any new code involved here, or is it just using the landing gear code? Either way looks like very useful parts.

[GearsNSuch]

Interesting part! I can't wait to see what our engineers will do with this one. I assume it has a PhysicsMaterial with the friction ramped up to max?

Also, another one for Dinklestein's! Hooray!

[Majorjim!]

Putting on my pedant hat, these seem a little pointless.. A whole part set for one issue (slippy Walker feet)? Why not simply allow us to adjust the friction levels of any part with a slider? 

Edited June 26, 2019 by Majorjim!

[Guest]

14 minutes ago, Majorjim! said:

Putting on my pedant hat, these seem a little pointless.. A whole part set for one issue (slippy Walker feet)? Why not simply allow us to adjust the friction levels of any part with a slider? 

I suspect the reason is technical and has to do with the type of collider used for each part.

(It's also not just for one issue, there's a lot you can do with these.)

[Majorjim!]

Just now, Brikoleur said:

I suspect the reason is technical and has to do with the type of collider used for each part.

(It's also not just for one issue, there's a lot you can do with these.)

I'm not so sure there is though. Sliding bases would also be better served by being able to adjust friction on the go for any part. Also the part shapes are odd. Why are they so thick? What was the thinking behind each shape?

[Guest]

6 minutes ago, Majorjim! said:

I'm not so sure there is though. Sliding bases would also be better served by being able to adjust friction on the go for any part. Also the part shapes are odd. Why are they so thick? What was the thinking behind each shape?

Well, if you don't want to use them, then don't use them. They're certainly just about exactly what I want for certain things -- specifically, very heavy landing legs, and adjustable foundations for bases so that I can get them level. I'm also going to see if I can use them to make wheels by sticking them radially onto a round part -- that depends on the type of collider being used, not just the physics material.

The aesthetics are also just about perfect for these jobs. I definitely like them better than being able to adjust friction on any part (which would be just... weird anyway, why would you adjust friction on a solar panel, command pod, or even fuel tank?)

 

[Superfluous J]

31 minutes ago, Majorjim! said:

Putting on my pedant hat, these seem a little pointless.. A whole part set for one issue (slippy Walker feet)? Why not simply allow us to adjust the friction levels of any part with a slider? 

From the dev reply regarding using them as feet, it seems they're not specifically for that.

They seem to be specifically for robotic arms that will grab other craft. Or Kerbals. Or surface features. or... who knows what.

[Chryssalid 8492]

Please include these with the next console update.

[mindstalker]

1 hour ago, Majorjim! said:

I'm not so sure there is though. Sliding bases would also be better served by being able to adjust friction on the go for any part. Also the part shapes are odd. Why are they so thick? What was the thinking behind each shape?

There was a thread about this a while ago (I can look it up if you need to). Unity calculated friction in strange ways for non wheeled parts. Its supposed to just average the friction of the surface you are on with the friction of the part, but apparently that gives weird results frequently (no I don't know why). Specialized parts that have friction specifically programmed into them apparently work better.

[RealKerbal3x]

43 minutes ago, Chryssalid 8492 said:

Please include these with the next console update.

When the BG DLC releases on console, I assume these will be in it. We just have to wait for Blitworks to port the DLC to console, and for Microsoft/Sony to do their certification process, which is why console releases take so long.

[Poodmund]

1 hour ago, Majorjim! said:

What was the thinking behind each shape?

Simple shapes, real easy to model (hardly any geometry changes over a primitive mesh), easy to UV unwrap with mirroring (of which there are some not-so-nice mirroring seams on the diffuse maps of these parts), they suit a primitive collider mesh and can feature really simple diffuse textures which repeating details arrayed across the faces.

So like, if you're a decent 3D artist, you can probably knock all these part models and textures and get them imported into Unity in a small handful hours. I expect the majority of time was spent on getting the friction module sorted and working nicely.

[Maxsimal]

11 hours ago, Jimmidii said:

By the sound of it, these aren't designed to be grabbers as such, but more non-slip feet for walkers?

They were considered for both uses, as you'll see when you get to read the part descriptions.

[Majorjim!]

2 hours ago, 5thHorseman said:

From the dev reply regarding using them as feet, it seems they're not specifically for that.

They seem to be specifically for robotic arms that will grab other craft. Or Kerbals. Or surface features. or... who knows what.

I don't think they work like Docking ports or the claw though. I would just like to hear from the devs their thinking behind each part. 

30 minutes ago, Poodmund said:

Simple shapes, real easy to model (hardly any geometry changes over a primitive mesh), easy to UV unwrap with mirroring (of which there are some not-so-nice mirroring seams on the diffuse maps of these parts), they suit a primitive collider mesh and can feature really simple diffuse textures which repeating details arrayed across the faces.

So like, if you're a decent 3D artist, you can probably knock all these part models and textures and get them imported into Unity in a small handful hours. I expect the majority of time was spent on getting the friction module sorted and working nicely.

I'm sure that was part of it yes, it goes without saying that they want to work Efficiently. My question is why the shapes they chose. Did they have a specific purpose in mind. 

2 hours ago, Brikoleur said:

Well, if you don't want to use them, then don't use them. They're certainly just about exactly what I want for certain things -- specifically, very heavy landing legs, and adjustable foundations for bases so that I can get them level. I'm also going to see if I can use them to make wheels by sticking them radially onto a round part -- that depends on the type of collider being used, not just the physics material.

The aesthetics are also just about perfect for these jobs. I definitely like them better than being able to adjust friction on any part (which would be just... weird anyway, why would you adjust friction on a solar panel, command pod, or even fuel tank?)

 

I never said I didn't want to use them. I will definitely use them in fact. 

 I'm just curious as to why squad chose to release all these different shape parts for what is clearly a single Issue, the slippery walkers. 

[AHHans]

1 hour ago, Poodmund said:

So like, if you're a decent 3D artist, you can probably knock all these part models and textures and get them imported into Unity in a small handful hours.

And that's perfectly fine with me!

I expect that they'll be great for the "landing legs" of my big mining rig. (With the caveat that in my current career save the best mining spot on Minmus is on the Greater Flats...)

[Pthigrivi]

Wow wasn't this suggested like a second ago? Nice

[Loskene]

54 minutes ago, Pthigrivi said:

Wow wasn't this suggested like a second ago? Nice

It wouldn't surprise me if most of the "convenience" additions like these are things the devs have all thought of during the production process, they just wait and see which ones get noticed by the community to justify spending time and resources on them.

[Guest]

3 hours ago, Majorjim! said:

 I'm just curious as to why squad chose to release all these different shape parts for what is clearly a single Issue, the slippery walkers. 

You keep repeating that it's "clearly a single issue" when they didn't even mention that issue in the post announcing them. Why is that?

[Majorjim!]

30 minutes ago, Brikoleur said:

You keep repeating that it's "clearly a single issue" when they didn't even mention that issue in the post announcing them. Why is that?

Because of the many requests for grippier parts so walkers are more feasible. What other reason do you think it's for? 

 Slippy bases is certainly not the reason to release these parts. 

 anyway, that's my point, the reasons are vague. Using them grab stuff makes zero sense. How and why? 

[razark]

20 minutes ago, Majorjim! said:

Using them grab stuff makes zero sense. How and why?

By attaching them to robotic grabbers and so the grabbed doesn't slip out of the grasp of the grabbee.

[Majorjim!]

6 minutes ago, razark said:

By attaching them to robotic grabbers and so the grabbed doesn't slip out of the grasp of the grabbee.

LOL, what robotic grabbers?

Edited June 26, 2019 by Majorjim!

[Guest]

5 minutes ago, Majorjim! said:

LOL, what robotic grabbers?

Robotic grabbers you might want to design with the new parts.

Anyway, a number of potential uses for the parts have already been proposed to you in this thread. If you're not interested in them, fine -- but I don't see the point of pretending that they're not there and the only possible use is walker feet. (Again, for the record, I'm currently not interested in making walkers, and I very much want them.)

Edited June 26, 2019 by Guest