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[1.12.x] Shuttle Orbiter Construction Kit | Stockalike Space Shuttle Orbiter! | (Tubes!) | v1.1.8


benjee10

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1 hour ago, Jognt said:

Re: PlumeParty: The Github for PlumeParty has the following bits that concern me:

  1. This pack is currently not to be treated as a dependency [...]
  2. Plume Party is mutually exclusive with ReStock.

Especially the 2nd one :/ does this mean it just won't work? Or it'll break stuff when used together? I'm guessing the 1st bit is just a matter of "Whoops, forgot to update the readme"?

Restock is definitely compatible with Plume Party (in fact Plume Party plumes are used by Restock to replace stock effects). 

1 hour ago, sp1989 said:

First of all...bravo! This is an extraordinary mod and deserves all of the likes and downloads. Frankly all of your released mods are extraordinary. Once again Bravo.

No on to my problems because maybe its just me. Is anyone else having a problem translating up and down? I thought it was just me but even mechjeb cant translate the shuttle during docking up and down.  When I switch the control point back tot he cockpit i can translate up and down but for some reason when I select the docking port it doesnt translate well at all. I cant'' translate up or down or forward and back. It seems to only translate side to side. Is this just me? I hope this si just a me problem and i just have to press an action group or something. 

Once again and for the last time bravo well done.

29 minutes ago, Jognt said:

Except for the few people that are into RO sim stuff, that's bad design. Though I'm guessing (edit: hoping!) this is just the case with the prebuilt craft and not with the individual parts themselves.

 

This is really a limitation of stock rather than the mod. For a craft like this with non-standard RCS thruster placement, you want to be able to define which thrusters are firing in response to various axes in order to minimise induced torque and be as efficient with propellant as possible. In this case, the thrusters are built in, so the thrust transforms have been grouped into separate RCS modules to allow toggling of them separately. However, these action toggles are based on the orientation of the control point, so what is firing 'fore/aft' when controlling from the cockpit will not be oriented correctly relative to the docking port to be firing when controlled from there.

It's certainly possible to reconfigure the Shuttle in-flight to overcome this, but given that KSP doesn't give us a way of naming which RCS group is which on a part with multiple RCS modules, it can get a little confusing. It's for this reason that I'm recommending flying with the cockpit set as the control point, as it maintains a constant control scheme for translation at all times during flight. It takes a bit of practice but I find it a lot easier this way than trying to get my head around constantly changing control schemes/orientations. It just means you have to complete the final part of docking visually, without the help of the navball, which is actually pretty easy if you plan your rendezvous smartly and use attitude hold on both craft to ensure you only have to worry about translation. Also the parts by default have all of their actuation toggles on, so this will only affect the craft files provided. 

21 minutes ago, DJ Reonic said:

Absolutely stunning work, @benjee10!!! Any plans to add texture variants or decal setups for things like the flag at the back of the payload bay, the worm logo on the payload bay doors, or the black areas on the wings near the elevons that only Challenger had? I know those are rather niche requests, but since you're going for the "kerbalized-realistic" look/feel, those would be cool to have. I'm enjoying this mod so far. I'm still working on getting into orbit, and MechJeb's PVG is definitely not behaving well for me.

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a1/Shuttle_profiles.jpg

I definitely plan to add more decals/flags etc. Variants are a bit tricky because of how much additional texture space it uses (which is why the Columbia style wing strakes are an optional extra), especially the black elevon tiles as that'll require dividing up the mesh to allow both the forward wing strakes and the rear of the wing to be switched independently. However it's definitely something I'm interested in and if I can find a workable solution you can be sure I'll add it. 

In terms of PVG, if you look at the manual it includes my suggested settings for use with the reDIRECT stock craft provided. 

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1 hour ago, benjee10 said:

Restock is definitely compatible with Plume Party (in fact Plume Party plumes are used by Restock to replace stock effects). 

 

This is really a limitation of stock rather than the mod. For a craft like this with non-standard RCS thruster placement, you want to be able to define which thrusters are firing in response to various axes in order to minimise induced torque and be as efficient with propellant as possible. In this case, the thrusters are built in, so the thrust transforms have been grouped into separate RCS modules to allow toggling of them separately. However, these action toggles are based on the orientation of the control point, so what is firing 'fore/aft' when controlling from the cockpit will not be oriented correctly relative to the docking port to be firing when controlled from there.

It's certainly possible to reconfigure the Shuttle in-flight to overcome this, but given that KSP doesn't give us a way of naming which RCS group is which on a part with multiple RCS modules, it can get a little confusing. It's for this reason that I'm recommending flying with the cockpit set as the control point, as it maintains a constant control scheme for translation at all times during flight. It takes a bit of practice but I find it a lot easier this way than trying to get my head around constantly changing control schemes/orientations. It just means you have to complete the final part of docking visually, without the help of the navball, which is actually pretty easy if you plan your rendezvous smartly and use attitude hold on both craft to ensure you only have to worry about translation. Also the parts by default have all of their actuation toggles on, so this will only affect the craft files provided. 

I definitely plan to add more decals/flags etc. Variants are a bit tricky because of how much additional texture space it uses (which is why the Columbia style wing strakes are an optional extra), especially the black elevon tiles as that'll require dividing up the mesh to allow both the forward wing strakes and the rear of the wing to be switched independently. However it's definitely something I'm interested in and if I can find a workable solution you can be sure I'll add it. 

In terms of PVG, if you look at the manual it includes my suggested settings for use with the reDIRECT stock craft provided. 

Gotcha! Perfect then. Will do. 

My only request in regard to decals is if you could in the future make it so the the flag decal with the prbiter doesn't invert? Thats just my OCD.

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Could you provide a cleaner, easier to read version of the manual? It's really difficult to read, especially on pages 8 and 15. I do like the style you're going for, but a standardized, plain version would be more accessible for those with dyslexia for example.

Edited by hieywiey
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13 hours ago, AlphaMensae said:

Yes, the shuttle Mobile Launch Platform, FSS and RSS are in my WIP v2 dev build of Modular Launch Pads, on the Github.

One big note:  It was designed and sized for the Cormorant Aeronology shuttle stack, as SOCK wasn't even a rumor at the time. Getting the whole pad to work with SOCK requires a lot of offset gizmo adjustment, and even then it won't look exactly right, i.e. like it does with the Cormorant shuttle. In a future v2 update, I will add some adjustment options to accomodate SOCK.

Thanks for help with this , been trying ages to find that add on . 

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12 minutes ago, space_powder said:

I'm using 1.7.1, and the IR craft files don't seem to work (or maybe all of them, haven't checked yet), everytime I try to load one in it says it's incompatible with this version of KSP. Do I need to use 1.7.2?

Go into your craftfile and change this line into 1.7.1 (you need this for every craftfile):

Quote

version = 1.7.2

 

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19 hours ago, hieywiey said:

Could you provide a cleaner, easier to read version of the manual? It's really difficult to read, especially on pages 8 and 15. I do like the style you're going for, but a standardized, plain version would be more accessible for those with dyslexia for example.

Noted - the parts that are totally illegible are intentionally so, it’s fluff text parodying old bad scans of NASA manuals, but I’ll make a non messed with version available.

2 hours ago, space_powder said:

I'm using 1.7.1, and the IR craft files don't seem to work (or maybe all of them, haven't checked yet), everytime I try to load one in it says it's incompatible with this version of KSP. Do I need to use 1.7.2?

The craft files were made with IR for version 1.7.2, so I couldn’t guarantee that they would work properly in 1.7.1. However the craft file editing workaround should at least allow them load.

2 hours ago, BadModder54 said:

Will there eventually be RSS/RO support? This is beautiful and would be awesome if I could use it for station maintenance and to deploy satellites. :D

It’s not something I’m planning on implementing myself as RSS/RO doesn’t have much interest for me, but if someone else was willing to create configs for it I’d be happy to bundle them (hint hint ;))

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Looks nice, but a few things aren't quite right:
1. Don't use PNGs for release versions. All textures should be converted to DDS. 
2. Aft verniers still missing. 
3. The SSME should use the ReStock model when the latter is installed, instead of whitelisting the stock one.

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12 minutes ago, Dragon01 said:

Looks nice, but a few things aren't quite right:
1. Don't use PNGs for release versions. All textures should be converted to DDS. 
2. Aft verniers still missing. 
3. The SSME should use the ReStock model when the latter is installed, instead of whitelisting the stock one.

Remember, modders put lots of time into their creations. Please don't disrespect them by telling them what they should do with their mod. These kinds of things are what eventually push modders into abandoning mods and leaving the KSP community. Ask and suggest, don't demand things or tell a modder they are wrong for doing or not doing something. If you ask nicely, you may just get what you want. Make good enough suggestions, and you could change the roadmap of a particular mod. 

That being said, I also would like to see a MM patch to give the SSME the Restock treatment. I may look into it myself this weekend, as I am also looking to make configs adding in the LWT and SLWT variants/upgrades of the shuttle tank, as well as up-rated SSME variants/upgrades. I think it will add a neat feature to this mod.

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Just a gentle reminder to everyone to keep things civil.  They've been okay thus far, but things are becoming a bit heated, so please let's comport ourselves like adults, yes?

Just to recap the obvious:

  • Users of mods have ideas, which leads to feedback.  Which is a good thing, and I don't think anybody objects to that.
  • It's also the case-- which I assume everyone also knows-- that no modder owes anyone anything, so it's entirely up to them as to whether to act on any such feedback.
  • As a matter of etiquette, it behooves everyone involved to remember that modders provide their work for free, out of the goodness of their hearts, and as such anyone who uses the fruits of their labors owes them a debt of gratitude.  So it's poor form to be rude, or criticize, or demand, when talking to someone who wrote the mod you're using.  Be polite, please.  It's the right thing to do, and it's also the way to encourage modders to keep wanting to do what they're doing.

We all know the above-- right?-- so I'm sure we can keep things friendly.  Thank you for your understanding.

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Do you have Infernal Robotics mod or Breaking Ground DLC? If you don't have either of them, you will not get those parts.

Edited by Guest
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@benjee10 Forgive me, I have a question about one line In the opening page,

"reDIRECT contains the External Tank & Boosters used in these screenshots, and is the recommended mod for building a complete shuttle stack for 2.5X scale solar systems."

Does this mean we shouldn't use the reDIRECT parts if we're just playing in the stock KSP solar system? 

I'm wary of spending hours fiddling with the reDIRECT parts trying to make the shuttle fly, only to find out that the boosters are too powerful to put me in LKO, and i should have used stock parts. 

Thank you for your time, and any response.

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