What does ksp interstellar extended change about the nerv engine

[olieeee]

.

[Poppa Wheelie]

I have KSP Interstellar Extended.  One thing I've noticed, that seems different from behavior in videos I've seen, is that the Nerv continues to produce a little bit of thrust, and only slowly reduces thrust to zero, after I've set thrust to zero.  All other engines go directly to zero thrust immediately upon command.  This may be a KSP Interstellar behavior, but I also have plenty of other mods that may be doing this.  Or, maybe this is standard behavior for the Nerv now.

[olieeee]

On 10/28/2022 at 2:37 PM, olieeee said:

.

help

[Poppa Wheelie]

I just removed KSPIE from my save and checked the Nerv engine.  It looks like KSPIE replaces the 'LV-N "Nerv" Atomic Rocket Motor' with the '"NERVA" Solid Core Fission Engine'.  I found these 3 differences (maybe more that I might have missed):

1.  KSPIE causes the Nerv engine to slowly thrust up, and slowly thrust down.  This is what I was referring to above.  When you go to full throttle, you don't have full thrust immediately.  When you cut throttle to zero, you still produce a little bit of thrust until it falls off to zero.  I have found this to be a difficult and frustrating feature to deal with.  Putting exact amounts of dV into a maneuver node, for example, is difficult
2. KSPIE causes the Nerv engine to produce electricity.  I have found this to be a useful feature.
3. KSPIE changes the exhaust plume.  Meh.

Also, I don't get any dV readings in the VAB for the NERVA.  I didn't notice if I can see dV numbers for the Nerv.  For the NERVA, dV is fine once launched, and seem to match the Nerv.

Stock Nerv:

KSPIE NERVA:

[ctbram]

That was a year ago.  I have a kspie nerva with nothing but a probe core and clv-800 hydrogen tank and I am getting excrements for DV.  It says 1284dv 1m14s with twr 1.66.  On the launch pad, it cannot even lift itself off and 1284 dv SUCKS ASS vs the non-kspie nerva engine.  what am I not understanding and why does all the kspie stuff suck compared to the original?  I have nothing to help with heat management like the original had its just loveing incomprehensible now.  It is like the mod I forget his name made that has life support that you have to be a non-uclidean-thermodynamic-interdimensional-quantum physicist to understand.  I tried using that and I could not get anything to work.  Aty least kspie used to be usaable, now I can't figure anything out and there are literally no recent tutorials to make sense of it!!!!