Buffalo 2 Modular Space Exploration Vehicle

[610yesnolovely]

Last picture is giving me Milllennium Falcon vibes.

Luke Kywalker: Look at him. He's headed for that small moon.
Han Kolo: I think I can get him before he gets there. He's almost in range.

I love the MAS IVA.

[Manul]

6 hours ago, Angel-125 said:

MOARdv's Avionics Systems:

Unfortunately MAS MFDs and HUD don't indicate the radar altitude correctly when underwater. I'll make a PR to MAS repo to fix this.
There is an easy fix for props that use fc.AltitudeTerrain(bool ignoreOcean) just need to make it's argument true when underwater like this fc.AltitudeTerrain(fc.Altitude() < 0) but there is nothing I can do with fc.AltitudeBottom() that is used for more precise indications  (it calculates altitude from the lowest part of a vehicle, not from a root part).  This function always counts sea level as a terrain and turns negative when underwater

Edited November 18, 2022 by Manul

[Angelo Kerman]

Ok, this morning, I updated the position of the control panel. It's a compromise between having the HUD in a good spot so it's level with the camera when you first tap the "C" key, and being not too far down that the other controls are more difficult to see.

 

[funnelton]

Howdy, im curious, will the heisenberg airpack/bison gondola system work with this? thanks!

[Ooglak Kerman]

48 minutes ago, funnelton said:

Howdy, im curious, will the heisenberg airpack/bison gondola system work with this? thanks!

I think that with the Heisenberg, that there is a great deal of uncertainty around all of it.

[Angelo Kerman]

16 hours ago, funnelton said:

Howdy, im curious, will the heisenberg airpack/bison gondola system work with this? thanks!

Buffalo 2 wasn't designed to work with the Hesisenber/bison gondola system, sorry. I have no plans to update Heisenberg at this point.

[funnelton]

 

38 minutes ago, Angel-125 said:

Buffalo 2 wasn't designed to work with the Hesisenber/bison gondola system, sorry. I have no plans to update Heisenberg at this point.

oof, alrighty, thanks for the awnser!

[Ooglak Kerman]

5 hours ago, Angel-125 said:

Buffalo 2 wasn't designed to work with the Hesisenber/bison gondola system, sorry. I have no plans to update Heisenberg at this point.

The uncertainty compensator has been applied!

[TheSaint]

14 hours ago, Ooglak Kerman said:

The uncertainty compensator has been applied!

He collapsed the wave function.

[Angelo Kerman]

1 hour ago, TheSaint said:

He collapsed the wave function.

Maybe in KSP 2 I can revisit the Whipcrack jump engine for Blueshift. It depends on how KSP 2 handles interstellar travel.

[Angelo Kerman]

Last part for Buffalo 2!

Today I started modeling the B2 Submarine Sail. I am aiming to finish it by end of the month (ideally by the weekend, but we'll see). Here's a look:

The leg from the stilt lift module is a stand-in for a retractable snorkel. I'm not sure that I'll keep it since Buffasubs tend to travel deep underwater. But the hollow space for an external command seat or perhaps some science instruments will definitely be a feature. And since the part requires SunkWorks, it will have a built-in sonar system as well.

 

[JadeOfMaar]

On 11/17/2022 at 9:03 PM, Angel-125 said:

 

Remember when everyone only had IBM or DELL® computers? (That damned black keyboard needs a logo so badly xD) Pepperidge Farm remembers.

[Angelo Kerman]

11 minutes ago, JadeOfMaar said:

Remember when everyone only had IBM or DELL® computers? (That damned black keyboard needs a logo so badly xD) Pepperidge Farm remembers.

I.B.M. -> H.A.L.

[Ooglak Kerman]

4 hours ago, JadeOfMaar said:

Remember when everyone only had IBM or DELL® computers? (That damned black keyboard needs a logo so badly xD) Pepperidge Farm remembers.

My first was a TRS-80 model 1.  Trash80 basic didn't cut it so I learned assembly.

[Angelo Kerman]

Not much done today due to life going insane, but I did get the prototype part into the game:

[Ooglak Kerman]

That is so awesome!  Sitting up in the sail and driving.  Memories of stuck on the surface north of U.K.  In the winter.  In a 100 year storm.  So.. much... barf..

[Angelo Kerman]

1 hour ago, Ooglak Kerman said:

That is so awesome!  Sitting up in the sail and driving.  Memories of stuck on the surface north of U.K.  In the winter.  In a 100 year storm.  So.. much... barf..

Do submarines have rooms inside the sail where you drive? Or are they like a… laundry closet where machinery goes but people don’t normally hang out there? 

Glad you like the sail, it was a challenge to set up the colliders to make a “tub” for the kerbal to sit in. There will be a hatch to cover the top as well as air inlets, but I don’t think a snorkel is needed. Instead I think the sail will have a retractable flagpole- perfect for hoisting the jolly roger

[Ooglak Kerman]

10 hours ago, Angel-125 said:

Do submarines have rooms inside the sail where you drive? Or are they like a… laundry closet where machinery goes but people don’t normally hang out there? 

Glad you like the sail, it was a challenge to set up the colliders to make a “tub” for the kerbal to sit in. There will be a hatch to cover the top as well as air inlets, but I don’t think a snorkel is needed. Instead I think the sail will have a retractable flagpole- perfect for hoisting the jolly roger

There is room up at the top of the sail.  Usually the Officer of the Deck and a couple lookouts.  It's pretty close up there though.  Nuke boats aren't designed to hang out on the surface.

[RobFalcon]

18 hours ago, Angel-125 said:

Do submarines have rooms inside the sail where you drive? Or are they like a… laundry closet where machinery goes but people don’t normally hang out there? 

Glad you like the sail, it was a challenge to set up the colliders to make a “tub” for the kerbal to sit in. There will be a hatch to cover the top as well as air inlets, but I don’t think a snorkel is needed. Instead I think the sail will have a retractable flagpole- perfect for hoisting the jolly roger

Depends on the boat.  Mine was more like a longer version of what you made, with room for a few people to stand within.  Can confirm Ooglak's comments.  (Was an Officer of the Deck back in that life.)

Semi-related side note:

I'm running what I call my Munar Buffalo in my current science playthrough, and thus far have driven further than in all other playthroughs combined.  Enough space to hold 11 kerbals (though I'm running a crew of 6), and all the science equipment I have unlocked at the moment.  After some testing, I decided to go with a set of 8 TR-2L wheels, as I desired to go recklessly fast. 

I've learned that, very surprisingly, the things I learned driving a submarine on the surface have served me very well driving on the Mun.  Look way ahead, maneuver carefully, and "brakes" are going full reverse.  That doesn't help as much when I suddenly discover that what I thought was a hill was, in fact, the rim of a crater, and I proceed to yeet my rover far higher than intended.  Thankfully, TR-2Ls provide excellent suspension in 0.166 g.   

[Angelo Kerman]

1 hour ago, RobFalcon said:

Depends on the boat.  Mine was more like a longer version of what you made, with room for a few people to stand within.  Can confirm Ooglak's comments.  (Was an Officer of the Deck back in that life.)

Semi-related side note:

I'm running what I call my Munar Buffalo in my current science playthrough, and thus far have driven further than in all other playthroughs combined.  Enough space to hold 11 kerbals (though I'm running a crew of 6), and all the science equipment I have unlocked at the moment.  After some testing, I decided to go with a set of 8 TR-2L wheels, as I desired to go recklessly fast. 

I've learned that, very surprisingly, the things I learned driving a submarine on the surface have served me very well driving on the Mun.  Look way ahead, maneuver carefully, and "brakes" are going full reverse.  That doesn't help as much when I suddenly discover that what I thought was a hill was, in fact, the rim of a crater, and I proceed to yeet my rover far higher than intended.  Thankfully, TR-2Ls provide excellent suspension in 0.166 g.   

Nice! Do you think you could post some pics? I'd love to see what people are doing with Buffalo 2.

No updates today, I've been going crazy with work stuff and pre-Thanksgiving stuff. That' and watching the full PC Gamer interview on KSP 2. Hearing that it can take years of in-game time to reach the next star might mean that Blueshift in KSP 2 would be a viable concept-if the game supports it. And skyscraper-sized interstellar ships suggests that the KFS mothership should be big.

[Ooglak Kerman]

2 hours ago, Angel-125 said:

Nice! Do you think you could post some pics? I'd love to see what people are doing with Buffalo 2.

No updates today, I've been going crazy with work stuff and pre-Thanksgiving stuff. That' and watching the full PC Gamer interview on KSP 2. Hearing that it can take years of in-game time to reach the next star might mean that Blueshift in KSP 2 would be a viable concept-if the game supports it. And skyscraper-sized interstellar ships suggests that the KFS mothership should be big.

I just watched the full interview.  Pretty exciting stuff.  It looks like we'll be able to have multi-faceted games with more than just one thing happening at a time.
It seems to me that the big challenge for the modders will be less about the actual mod and what it brings and more about how it will be fit in with the colony and resource driven scheme that it appears the KSP2 will have.   On a personal level, I'd like to see things like warp technology have the possibility of very difficult resource dependency trees - or easier, more approachable resource trees for those of us (like me) who are a bit lazier and more (in the words of JadeofMaar) hand wavy.
Here's hoping it lives up to the hype!

[RobFalcon]

I'd be happy to post!  Been keeping a record of my escapades for my coworkers.  Got a lot of folks looking forward to KSP2.   

Here she is in all her glory, the Munar Buffalo.

From front to rear, she consists of: Command Pod, Habitat, Observation, Large Logistics, Airlock, Ramp.  Full chassis provides power storage.  Solar panels up top are from Planetside, each giving 15 EC/sec, which has been more than sufficient.  Bon Voyage is included, but so far I've done all the driving manually.  Science gear is combination of stock and DMagic, along with a BTDT scanner.  Got scanner arms on both sides to simplify scanning surface features.

I've got stock girders giving support to my wheels.  They also hold additional science gear and four additional cargo storage units.  I have a bunch of EVA repair kits and three deployments worth of Breaking Ground science gear.  I'm planning to send a resupply mission once everything is deployed.

The Munar Buffalo, with those wheels, is shockingly fast.  I'll accelerate up to about 20 m/s and coast.  Gentle declines build on that, and I've ended up going between 40 and 45 m/s.  (So, about 100 mph.  On the Mun.)  It's only really a "problem" when a real rock hides within Parallax 2.0 rocks.  Then I'm yeeted once again.  A couple times without my wheels.  (Always remember the quicksave option!!)  The Buffalo's compartments are extremely resilient, I'm happy to report.  She beached herself without complaint, and just waited for the reload. 

The equipment behind the rover is a remote guidance system and a couple batteries; all that remained of the rig I used for landing.

The aforementioned landing rig!  I brought her over unkermaned, just in case.  TCA was used to maintain stability during landing.  Worked surprisingly well!

And here's my crew.  They've already gone somewhere between 80-100 km, meandering towards the northern polar region.  I was initially planning on rotating crews out, but now I'm thinking they'll go the distance.

I'm planning my next version to be deployed to Minmus.  I'll add in additional reaction wheels so I can better keep her wheel-side-down during unexpected flights, and remove the light bar.  I won't be driving at night, and strangely enough it's the one thing to have caused lag thus far.  (And this playthrough also included a single launch orbital station in a ludicrously long fairing.)  Buffalo will eventually be deployed all over the Kerbin (+OPM) System.

Biggest hurtle may be my planned amphibious version.  To be named the Higgs Bison, which is the friendliest species of water buffalo, after all.    (Shamelessly stolen reference.)

If I get any other good images, I'll pass them along!  Thoroughly enjoying Buffalo 2, and looking forward to exploring many worlds with the herd!

[Angelo Kerman]

1 hour ago, Ooglak Kerman said:

I just watched the full interview.  Pretty exciting stuff.  It looks like we'll be able to have multi-faceted games with more than just one thing happening at a time.
It seems to me that the big challenge for the modders will be less about the actual mod and what it brings and more about how it will be fit in with the colony and resource driven scheme that it appears the KSP2 will have.   On a personal level, I'd like to see things like warp technology have the possibility of very difficult resource dependency trees - or easier, more approachable resource trees for those of us (like me) who are a bit lazier and more (in the words of JadeofMaar) hand wavy.
Here's hoping it lives up to the hype!

I had a feeling that modding would be more about filling niches. That's why I looked at bringing the concepts of SunkWorks, Kerbal Flying Saucers, and possibly Blueshift to KSP 2. Based on that interview, I could see Graviolium being hard to find- possibly mined from asteroids like it is now- and requiring other rare resources needed to build the parts/vessels. Sandcastle has the ability to require specific conditions to manufacture parts- like heavy gravity, high atmospheric pressure, and so on. It can also require specific parts as sub-components in order to manufacture a part. I could see bringing that idea over as well. Imagine that, like Celestial Being in Gundam 00, you need to make Graviolium-powered gravitic engine components in the atmosphere of Jool, for instance, and other components on the surface of Eve. At one point that was the plan for printing gravitic engines with Sandcastle.

55 minutes ago, RobFalcon said:

I'd be happy to post!  Been keeping a record of my escapades for my coworkers.  Got a lot of folks looking forward to KSP2.   

Here she is in all her glory, the Munar Buffalo.

From front to rear, she consists of: Command Pod, Habitat, Observation, Large Logistics, Airlock, Ramp.  Full chassis provides power storage.  Solar panels up top are from Planetside, each giving 15 EC/sec, which has been more than sufficient.  Bon Voyage is included, but so far I've done all the driving manually.  Science gear is combination of stock and DMagic, along with a BTDT scanner.  Got scanner arms on both sides to simplify scanning surface features.

I've got stock girders giving support to my wheels.  They also hold additional science gear and four additional cargo storage units.  I have a bunch of EVA repair kits and three deployments worth of Breaking Ground science gear.  I'm planning to send a resupply mission once everything is deployed.

The Munar Buffalo, with those wheels, is shockingly fast.  I'll accelerate up to about 20 m/s and coast.  Gentle declines build on that, and I've ended up going between 40 and 45 m/s.  (So, about 100 mph.  On the Mun.)  It's only really a "problem" when a real rock hides within Parallax 2.0 rocks.  Then I'm yeeted once again.  A couple times without my wheels.  (Always remember the quicksave option!!)  The Buffalo's compartments are extremely resilient, I'm happy to report.  She beached herself without complaint, and just waited for the reload. 

The equipment behind the rover is a remote guidance system and a couple batteries; all that remained of the rig I used for landing.

The aforementioned landing rig!  I brought her over unkermaned, just in case.  TCA was used to maintain stability during landing.  Worked surprisingly well!

And here's my crew.  They've already gone somewhere between 80-100 km, meandering towards the northern polar region.  I was initially planning on rotating crews out, but now I'm thinking they'll go the distance.

I'm planning my next version to be deployed to Minmus.  I'll add in additional reaction wheels so I can better keep her wheel-side-down during unexpected flights, and remove the light bar.  I won't be driving at night, and strangely enough it's the one thing to have caused lag thus far.  (And this playthrough also included a single launch orbital station in a ludicrously long fairing.)  Buffalo will eventually be deployed all over the Kerbin (+OPM) System.

Biggest hurtle may be my planned amphibious version.  To be named the Higgs Bison, which is the friendliest species of water buffalo, after all.    (Shamelessly stolen reference.)

If I get any other good images, I'll pass them along!  Thoroughly enjoying Buffalo 2, and looking forward to exploring many worlds with the herd!

Wow, those pics look fantastic! I like the idea of a long-duration rover traveling across the Mun, and your pics look even better with Parallax. The idea of a water buffalo is perfect! Thank you for sharing your adventures.

[Horizons Aerospace]

I found some broken normal maps on the ballast vents of all the sub parts. They seem to be reversed for the ones on the top of the screen.

Edited November 25, 2022 by Horizons Aerospace

[Angelo Kerman]

2 hours ago, Horizons Aerospace said:

I found some broken normal maps on the ballast vents of all the sub parts. They seem to be reversed for the ones on the top of the screen.

Can you tell me which parts are having that issue? I'd like to finish up the mod ASAP.