[WIP] Jade's Dev Thread

[JadeOfMaar]

@Clamp-o-Tron I can easily agree on the mixed feelings. RBCC does sound quite powerful, possibly even OP, but there are a few points where I think it's ok to not worry too much:

1. There's a price to pay for the lack of a turbojet phase in this engine. Rocket mode is going to be required at all speeds under Mach 2. And if you try to go around it, you're either bringing dead mass of jet engines into space or you're defeating the point of the engine (its ramjet phase becomes redundant where a Whiplash cluster is at peak performance).
2. Unlike my SABRE rockets, RBCC needs to be very good ASL so it's going to lose out on vacuum efficiency. Well, we'll see how that goes.
3. Being balanced explicitly to 2.5x+, hoping to see these used in RSS, and being largely advanced to the stock engines, they are automatically OP for stock scale. If anyone plays stock scale and comes crying OP then I'm not afraid to say, they are not in the target audience.
4. There are several other great engines that'll help SSTO spaceplanes (or rockets) to get going: the 2.5m and 3.75m SABREs (with atomic version), the Mk2 scramjet and shcramjet, and the circular aerospikes and RDEs (not shown yet).
5. There's a mod for X-33, designed to SSTO in JNSQ.
6. This mod provides nothing to help SSTOs to survive in JNSQ.

There's no OPT or Thor Tech handwavium going on here. Just chemical rockets that could have been and easily could if today's aerospace companies went all-out to develop them.

The total roster of engines is over 30 now, maybe 40. And that's not including the separate intakes and the RCS package.

Edited July 31, 2020 by JadeOfMaar

[Clamp-o-Tron]

@JadeOfMaar agree in all counts, and I did know about mk-33. And also that traditional “rapier, some wings, and a fuel tank” won’t survive either, more like a new generation of giant mk3 two-stage-to-orbiters, like that space shuttle concept.

[JadeOfMaar]

Mk2 intakes

...I'm still in the drafting phase but I think this covers the entire remainder of the intakes selection.

• Shock cone (animates; closed and open states shown).
• Ram.
• Mk2-2.5m inline ram. (Remember that stock adapter just like this but isn't an intake? Well... what if it was?)
• Mk2 "Humpback/Fighter" inline ram inspired by Ace Combat series. It somewhat answers the need for a Mk2 version of the stock Mk1 Divertless Supersonic intake.

Before these, the following have been shown:

• Mk3 turbofan, ram, shock.
• Mk2 scramjet, shcramjet (may or may not be available as separate parts from their engines).

Exist but not shown:

• SABRE 2.5m, 3.75m shock cone (animates) and nacelles.
• SCIMITAR 2.5m nacelle.

Mk2-2.5m adapter intake. More views. I'm unsure whether to keep the intake vanes, reduce them, or lose them altogether.

Edited August 16, 2020 by JadeOfMaar

[hemeac]

These look really nice.  In regards to the earlier post, are you planning on providing TU configs for these or was that just a POC?  Agree that you got the balance right on getting the reflections, but not washing out the color.

[JadeOfMaar]

@hemeac Sorry, I don't have the knowledge to create a working TU config. That first shiny engine indeed was a POC (using just the proper stock shader). I've largely shown already, how and where I want these parts to be shiny for my own interests, and through the POC that I can now achieve this myself and set a baseline for things that are shiny, without or before intervention with TU.

[hemeac]

I think your parts are the first non-probe parts that I have seen that are reflective, so didn't realize that there were shaders for that.

[JadeOfMaar]

@hemeac Heh. I wonder how you missed the Restock solar panels and Angel-125's Mk-33. (Well, I bet the solar panels count as probe parts.)

[hemeac]

I didn't notice the reflective aspects in the Mk-33 screenshots, but will need to check that out closer now

[Northstar1989]

Impressive!

All this, AND those 1.75 meter jet engines we were talking about earlier? (which I BADLY need for the super-heavy airlaunch platform I've been working on for my Career mode games: to lift massive rockets to 24-30 km and then release them for their trip to orbit...)  Rad, man! 

Edited August 22, 2020 by Northstar1989

[Manul]

On 8/16/2020 at 2:51 PM, JadeOfMaar said:

Mk2 intakes

I had been a huge fan of Mk2 Expansion since I first tried it in 1.3.1, but it's intakes make me upset by being stubby and not hypersonic looking.... And your intakes... they are perfect!

[DeadJohn]

On 8/16/2020 at 7:51 AM, JadeOfMaar said:

I'm unsure whether to keep the intake vanes, reduce them, or lose them altogether.

Those intake vanes look good. IMHO keep them. Maybe part variants to hide them if that doesn't complicate development.

I look forward to trying your engines whenever you're far enough along to put them online. I foresee supercruising jets and airlaunch platforms that are better than stockalike mods, but not quite as superpowered as OPT's engines.

[JadeOfMaar]

Modular aircraft atomic rockets

After four design iterations (and with some eccentric advice) I've finally settled on a form for the "Atomic RAPIER" solution, titled "Falx" in keeping with the blade weapon naming convention. Oddly enough, I reused and refined the 2nd iteration design.

• 3.75m atomic ramjet ring
  Comes in long (to accommodate nested nuclear rockets) and short version. Also includes an open boat tail to flush fit a nested 2.5m engine.
• 3.75m atomic truncated aerospike
  Reuses the ramjet ring model but features a closed (not open) bottom and may include tank capacity in the long version.
• 2.5m atomic rocket
  Features optional cosmetic radiators and possibly mount sizes other than just 2.5m.

The rockets will be dual-mode featuring LANTR for heavy lifter potential (I'm looking at Kerbal Atomics). The ramjet will allow for burning air alone or LH2 + air (the latter for the same pros...and cons...of the Wet Panther).

The Falx overall, should be well able to empower heavy spaceplanes (or landers) in the absence of ambient Oxygen.

I can't give any suggestions to actual performance on Eve or Tylo until I get to the configs and balancing phase. I'm still planning and drafting. For now, I'm not hopeful at all that Falx will work well on those worlds.

I might make a distinct 2.5m ramjet form and 1.875m rocket.

Design still subject to change.

 

Edited August 28, 2020 by JadeOfMaar

[Kerbalwings]

Custom Sounds would be cool too.

[JadeOfMaar]

I've taken quite some time to contemplate on, and draft more engines and intakes, and revise earlier drafts...and I can finally start coming out of this phase and start prepping things for UV unwrapping. But I will try to produce everything in phases starting with all intakes.

I've been encouraged to provide 1.875m and 0.9375m parts (There shouldn't be more than a handful of things in each size to be honest, but time will tell) and some odd and eccentric shaped engine nacelles (that is, not Mk2 or circular) will happen too. The roster of intakes is virtually complete now, with a total of ...just over 23.

Here is the "Phoenix" series 1.875m shock cone and nacelle with cowl. An assembly suitable for (though not specifically for) the "Barbary" 1.875m turbojet.

 

[Beetlecat]

Those are extremely *calming* shapes. I'm really enjoying watching the progress.

[Gryphorim]

I was just coming back to ask if this was still being developed. Good to see that progress continues. I am seriously looking forward to trying this pack out when it releases.

I am hoping that it compliments the works produced be Nertea, for making a range of near and far future spaceplanes.

Edited January 18, 2021 by Gryphorim

[JadeOfMaar]

@Gryphorim Yes, it's still being developed. As I said above, I'm only now/finally coming out of the concept/idea-gathering phase and starting to actually prep stuff to become game-ready.

To a modest degree, not intentionally, this mod will complement Nertea (mainly in the near future) but Far Future is out of scope. Filling gaps in stock and extending backwards (with some prop fans) and forwards are part of the idea. How I see Nertea being complemented is/are:

• A wide and novel array of atomic jets and rockets geared towards spaceplanes. Mk1, Mk2, 2.5m and 3.75m sizes are planned.
• Advanced chemical rockets that give more power and design freedom to your ships. There are quite a few hollow toroidal engines that let you mount more engines through them!
• Advanced chemical/non-nuclear jet engines that really shine when applied on airliners and SSTOs for 2.5x and higher scaled systems.
• Some chemical jet or prop engines (where appropriate) will have the option to be electric or to burn LFO + IntakeAtm for high performance on deoxygenated worlds.
• 2x high-capacity TEGs (Thermo-Electric Generators) for small-scale power, between saving you from spamming the stock RTG, and going fully into small/medium fission reactor teritory.
• A very wide and novel array of intakes.

I've been distracted from refining the base models for the intakes, and I finally made initial drafts for the family of super heavy RCS.

[JadeOfMaar]

On 6/13/2020 at 8:19 PM, Gryphorim said:

A (preferrably) stackable prop engine with folding props, so that in it's retracted state, has minimal protrusion from the size of the mounting points. 

I couldn't hold well to the promise of minimal protrusion but here it is. Inspired mainly by a "Lumenier" brand solenoid prop with folding blades. I didn't represent the copper coils this time but I intend to in the release version.

Will have blade count variants: 2 ~ 6 blades. Thrust and speed range will be affected. (Will most likely be separate parts per variant as I expect complications between B9PS and WBI Kerbal Actuators for blurred blade mesh switching).

• Core is 1.25m wide, 1.32m tall.
• 3m total height when stowed. Deployed blade span is 6.6m.

Edited January 22, 2021 by JadeOfMaar

[Spaceman.Spiff]

Can’t believe I hadn’t noticed this till recently...

It sounds great!

Is this supposed to be a more near future OPT?

[JadeOfMaar]

7 hours ago, Spaceman.Spiff said:

Is this supposed to be a more near future OPT?

Well yes... and no...

• Yes
  There are several "near future" engines planned. Things that we could see happen very soon like scramjets and shcramjets, rotation detonation engines, LFO jets, electric props for use on Eve or Duna; And things we would have seen by now if mankind didn't put so many stumbling blocks in its own way, good things like atomic jets and LANTR.
• No
  There's a wide array of small-scale engines planned like props and jets, 1.25m and smaller; There's a wee bit of far future too (the upper tier atomic engines); And there are no fuselages planned. I'm not introducing a new spaceplane profile or expanding any existing (non-stock) one.

[Manul]

25 minutes ago, JadeOfMaar said:

Things that we could see happen very soon like scramjets and shcramjets, rotation detonation engines, LFO jets, electric props

And what about electric plasma jet? (not japier, the real one)

[JadeOfMaar]

@Manul I'm considering it and I've drafted it but I've gotten strong advice that it would be much more efficient (in mass and power usage) to use a nuclear jet. Based on the advice I could still provide what you're asking for, but you might have to curb your enthusiasm (or be prepared to pump KSPI MegaJoules).

[Manul]

7 hours ago, JadeOfMaar said:

it would be much more efficient (in mass and power usage) to use a nuclear jet

I agree, it doesn't sound as a good idea to convert heat from a fission reactor into electricity and turn electricity into heat again. In Thor Tech thread you mentioned that some of these engines will return as sterling engines so I was surprised to see no electrical jet engines in this thread, now i get the idea why you refused from a nice and shiny ionized exhaust (shiny radioactive exhaust is also very nice and it's ionized as well)

[JadeOfMaar]

@Manul Ahhh. You meant WarpJets. I thought you meant IRL microwave air plasma thrusters. I must say sorry. I cannot keep my promise of a reincarnation or expansion of Thor Tech's WarpJet engines. I've added a few such engines to OPT Spaceplane Parts. This mod has grown leaps and bounds from where I first envisioned it, and its total roster of parts may be as wide and diverse as OPT's. My hands are full with my newer committment to fill in, and expand on, stock engine progression, and so, leave sci-fi engines to be a feature of a separate mod. Sadly, I must suggest that you're better off:

• Replacing Thor Tech's tilt WarpJets with OPT's WarpJet MARGE.
• Replacing Thor Tech's Mk2 WarpJets with OPT's WarpJet MARGE, SAGE and the J-81 atomic engine (for its air-breathing mode).
• Using OPT's WarpJet MARGE or SURGE for any high thrust WarpJet.
• Using OPT's WarpJet SAGE, MARGE or any of the FVTs (Fuselage vertical thrusters) for their having a closed cycle and being very useable in vacuum, reducing the need for the hybrid plasma rockets. But you'll need OPT's Mk2 nose or the drop tanks for IntakeAtm tankage.
• Using OPT J-81's closed cycle and the OPT EggDog rockets replace the Thor Tech WarpJets' hybrid plasma heavy rockets.

OPT's VTOL package effectively carries over all the known upper tier engine characteristics in Thor Tech. And Sterling Engines will do justice to the low tech engines-- electric or LFO props as they should have been.

[Manul]

On 1/25/2021 at 7:51 PM, JadeOfMaar said:

Ahhh. You meant WarpJets.

No, I mean electrical aircraft propulsion of any kind. Real life plasma jet still needs a compressor and uses Brayton cycle I guess, so it's closest analog in Thor Tech is electrical turbojet. WarpJet looks like a giant airbreathing ion engine using a magnetic nozzle and some magic for extra performance