Popping Rockets

[BowlerHatGuy3]

We already know that explosions have been revamped. They react to the fuel in the tank, atmosphere, pressure, surrounding objects ect.

But how big do you think they are going to be? Do you think they’re going to be limited to the sizes from Kerbal 1, or do you think they’re going to be able to get bigger? How big? Are they going to be limited by traditional chemical explosions, or do you think other fuels could create larger explosions than others? 

[t_v]

My hope is that not only will explosions be larger, they will also generate a simplified physical effect. I think that on the technical side, larger explosions are relatively easy to implement, by waiting a bit before creating the explosions and allowing groups of parts to explode instead of having a smaller explosion for every single part.

However, with chemical fuels, we shouldn't expect immense explosions unless there are immense rockets, as standard rocket fuel can only burn so hot, and some fuels like solid fuels burn slowly by default. I'm more interested in seeing how the devs implement small craft with very explosive fuel, because the effects of explosions of that magnitude can be extreme. If an NSWR engine needs to be kept away from a base because of radiation issues, what happens when highly fissile (or fusile) fuel gets caught in a large explosion?

[BowlerHatGuy3]

14 minutes ago, t_v said:

they will also generate a simplified physical effect.

Yes. I think it would be cool if they simulated a shockwave effect, that travels through the atmosphere and slowly dissipates. For example, it would be cool in multiplayer if a noobs spaceship explodes a few kilometers away from another player and they feel the shockwave a couple seconds later. It would be cool if radiation from some of the other sussy fuels could make the surrounding area radioactive, or possibly create a “wind” that can make colonies with kerbals downstream up their stupidity metric.

[Bej Kerman]

3 minutes ago, BowlerHatGuy2 said:

Yes. I think it would be cool if they simulated a shockwave effect, that travels through the atmosphere and slowly dissipates. For example, it would be cool in multiplayer if a noobs spaceship explodes a few kilometers away from another player and they feel the shockwave a couple seconds later. It would be cool if radiation from some of the other sussy fuels could make the surrounding area radioactive, or possibly create a “wind” that can make colonies with kerbals downstream up their stupidity metric.

Explosions shouldn't become almost silent a kilometer out.

[Ember12]

When the second N1 rocket crashed back onto the launchpad, it was exploded with around 7 kilotons TNT of force.  The rocket was a bit smaller than a Saturn V, and only around 15% of the fuel was consumed in the blast.  With some KSP2 rockets which will be much, much bigger, we're talking Hiroshima-sized (15 kiloton) or possibly much larger explosions.  That might get a bit tricky to simulate.

[t_v]

17 minutes ago, Ember12 said:

When the second N1 rocket crashed back onto the launchpad, it was exploded with around 7 kilotons TNT of force.  The rocket was a bit smaller than a Saturn V, and only around 15% of the fuel was consumed in the blast.  With some KSP2 rockets which will be much, much bigger, we're talking Hiroshima-sized (15 kiloton) or possibly much larger explosions.  That might get a bit tricky to simulate.

That’s very true, the interaction of thousands of exploding fuel tanks (because someone will make a rocket like that) seems tricky to simulate without freezing the game entirely, and I doubt that the shape of the explosion as  gas rushes outwards will be accurately simulated. However, a rough estimate system ignoring a lot of the complexities would be easier for computers to run and would still semi-accurately portray the magnitude of an event like a rocket exploding. 

[magnemoe]

Much much larger, it was stated that crashing an Orion nuclear pulse engine magazine will set off the bombs  
Now this is not realistic with real nuclear bombs but its very Kerbal. and help balance them a bit. 

[BowlerHatGuy3]

2 hours ago, Bej Kerman said:

Explosions shouldn't become almost silent a kilometer out.

What I meant is that due to the speed of sound you would hear the explosion a couple seconds after it actually happened.

2 hours ago, t_v said:

the interaction of thousands of exploding fuel tanks (because someone will make a rocket like that) seems tricky to simulate without freezing the game entirely

I think a good way to simulate it would be to act as if some of those fuel tanks are one part. So instead of getting a bunch of tiny explosions you get a couple of really big ones. Not only would it look better but it would also theoretically be more preforment. I don’t think the size of the explosion really matters, as there are mods in Kerbal 1 that do nukes.

[Bej Kerman]

11 minutes ago, BowlerHatGuy2 said:

3 hours ago, Bej Kerman said:

Explosions shouldn't become almost silent a kilometer out.

What I meant is that due to the speed of sound you would hear the explosion a couple seconds after it actually happened.

I wasn't arguing with that, just making the point that it's weird that very loud noises in KSP 1 fade very quickly over distances they should definitely be heard from.