Firespitter propeller plane and helicopter parts v7.1 (May 5th) for KSP 1.0

[Bloodbunny]

Woah are those Machine guns?

Yup, AKS Technologies mod, there are several guns, from tiny Lewis/Spandaus like those, and 30mm WW2 style gun pods

[Renousim]

I've got a problem, apparently there is 2 of each part but when I delete the firespitter folder there is still firespitter parts, I've searched all the folders for firespitter things and deleted them but they are still there, what do

[Snjo]

I've got a problem, apparently there is 2 of each part but when I delete the firespitter folder there is still firespitter parts, I've searched all the folders for firespitter things and deleted them but they are still there, what do

Maybe you put some files in KSP-Win\Parts?

[Renousim]

Like I said, I checked every file for Firespitter parts

[Snjo]

Amazing news! I fixed the water launch system, converting it to a coordinate based system.

You can now save the vessel's current position to a file, and re-use that position later when setting the launch site in the hangar.

You are no longer restricted to the areas around the space center, meaning you can create a spawn point on the beach, by the island, on the island runway, or anywhere on Kerbin!

I just launched a plane on the north pole!

It looks a little shaky in the part alignment because of floating point errors, but it's totally fine if you leave the flight and come back to it.

If you want to try it out, go ahead!

edit: the position files are saved in Firespitter/PluginData, so if you want to alter the altitude of a launch point for instance, just edit the file there.

Edited January 18, 2014 by Snjo

[wasmic]

Amazing news! I fixed the water launch system, converting it to a coordinate based system.

You can now save the vessel's current position to a file, and re-use that position later when setting the launch site in the hangar.

You are no longer restricted to the areas around the space center, meaning you can create a spawn point on the beach, by the island, on the island runway, or anywhere on Kerbin!

I just launched a plane on the north pole!

It looks a little shaky in the part alignment because of floating point errors, but it's totally fine if you leave the flight and come back to it.

http://i.imgur.com/bXFuVZp.png

If you want to try it out, go ahead!

edit: the position files are saved in Firespitter/PluginData, so if you want to alter the altitude of a launch point for instance, just edit the file there.

Anywhere on Kerbin? Hmmm... how about Duna?

I should just install Extraplanetary Launchpads and set debug to true, then I won't have to houserule myself so much.

Oh, and congratulations on fixing the water launching thing.

[Snjo]

Anywhere on Kerbin? Hmmm... how about Duna?

I should just install Extraplanetary Launchpads and set debug to true, then I won't have to houserule myself so much.

Oh, and congratulations on fixing the water launching thing.

Even if I could theoretically get the coordinates for Duna and move the craft there at launch, the severity of the floating point errors would be so bad that you would just get a random heap of parts in some unreliable location on, or slightly in the planet. The method used to set the launch site is still hacky, just less so now.

Until Squad decides to open up the launch site selection code there will probably never be a fool proof method that is guaranteed to work from one version to the next. The method I am using now is close to the original method that broke after 0.20. It's an interesting battle

There are now two sliders in the launch site selection tool on the Water Launch part:

-Timer sets the amount of time the code will force the move. If this value is too low, you will snap back to KSC and/or explode. If it's too long you get bored. Better go with more time, especially if it's far away or you machine is slow.

-Altitude shift launches you higher or lower than the saved launch site, in case your vessel is taller or shorter than then one you were using when saving the site. That way you can avoid launching partially dug into the ground.

[Renousim]

So what is going to be included in the next update?

[Snjo]

So what is going to be included in the next update?

So far:

v6.2

-Landing gear tires bump, screech and smoke when touching down, and have rolling and retract sounds.

-Overhauled the Water launch system. Save your current position to re-use in new vessels. Launch anywhere on Kerbin! More reliable coordinate saving.

-Scaled f-86 wing lift back to 72%, which should be around the realistic lift amount (still more than stock lift)

-Subtle braking sound.

-Fixed some old tail gear scaling and floating point error rendering issues (Scale has changed a little bit)

-Support for part effects (sounds etc) in the animation module.

I'm a bit all over the place right now in terms of new stuff. Today I've been working on helicopter rotors using actual wing lift code. It works very well. So well in fact that I'm automatically getting some of the problems associated with helicopter rotors, like Dissymmetry of lift, but it's also very safe in landing situations, since even when the blades have no angle, they still act as a kind of wing, slowing your fall slightly, and keeping your vertical speed more stable. Most of that effect is because the blades have too much surface area in the current setup, but it points to interesting stuff down the road. Including a much easier to make auto-rotation system.

[likke_A_boss]

Do you think you could dadd an option where there are no memory-consuming sounds? When I just delete them out the the folder my debug log rages that it can't find sounds and gives me a bunch or errors.

Edited January 20, 2014 by likke_A_boss

[Renousim]

I really hope the nose cone comes out soon so I don't have to use a jet intake on my planes that use propellers

[Raven.]

The biggest propeller is too small for my transport helicopter. I'm sorry for my bad English.

http://cs314520.vk.me/v314520692/52f1/Ey7GRg_fe70.jpg

PS: I would be happy to see the big fuselage for helicopters. Beautiful sightseeing and cabin size 2.5m. for example ch53

and add animation for propeller please.

That's a big helicopter. I like it.

Although I'm wanting to pick people's brains on the helicopters and how to fly them. I have constructed a small copter using the basic heli blades from Firespitter. It lifts off the runway perfectly fine except for the fact that it's extremely difficult to maneuver in situations such as landing on the helipad on the VAB. VTOLs made using parts from the B9 mod (which I understand use the exact same plugin) are stable, but the helicopter is extremely difficult to control as it does not want to stay on a given trajectory like the VTOLs do. Is this just simply the nature of the beast or am I doing something wrong?

[Flixxbeatz]

This is one of the very first plugins I have installed (the other one was UbioZur's). Everything's working well (propellers provide thrust, and has animation) except that there are no sounds produced. I have triple-checked everything to make sure that all of the stuff needed is placed on the right folder. I'm using 0.23 (latest version) btw.

I just noticed that there are two folders named "Sounds" inside the KSP folder, but on different locations. The first one is already visible once you opened the KSP folder while the other one is located a little deeper than the first one. Which folder should I must put the sound files to make it work? It's currently on the "deeper" one.

[ModZero]

Uhh… *always* install the *entire* mod directly into GameData directory. Do not mess with the GameData/Squad or anything below GameData (well, Ships and Subassemblies are okay to mess with). The only exception is the Squad texture reduction pack (but it’s better to use the active memory management mod anyway).

Make sure you put the Firespitter files in the GameData folder the way it is presented in the zip file. This mod relies on many assets that have to be in the right folder, like sounds and textures. If you get creative with the file and folder names, stuff will break!

[Snjo]

Yeah, the sounds need to be in the Firespitter/Sounds folder. Anywhere else, and it won't work.

This is simply how the game asset loading works, there is an absolute path name for each asset. The only reason this isn't an issue in most models and textures is because it looks in the local part folder first.

(Although it is an issue when using the new model node system)

[Flixxbeatz]

I've put the sounds in ...Kerbal Space Program/GameData/Squad/Sounds. I have also put all the other parts and stuff inside the "Squad" folder. Am I doing it right? Or should I create a new folder in "GameData"?

Please pardon my ignorance, this is the first time that I'm meddling with things like this in my whole KSP history

[zxczxczbfg]

You should have a folder called Firespitter or something like that in GameData, that's where all the stuff goes. In fact, the mod as it comes from the site should already have a GameData folder inside it with all the structure pre-prepared, so you can just drop that into the main KSP file and merge it.

[RussianIvan]

That's a big helicopter. I like it.

Although I'm wanting to pick people's brains on the helicopters and how to fly them. I have constructed a small copter using the basic heli blades from Firespitter. It lifts off the runway perfectly fine except for the fact that it's extremely difficult to maneuver in situations such as landing on the helipad on the VAB. VTOLs made using parts from the B9 mod (which I understand use the exact same plugin) are stable, but the helicopter is extremely difficult to control as it does not want to stay on a given trajectory like the VTOLs do. Is this just simply the nature of the beast or am I doing something wrong?

Thank you! I use SAS from B9. At this helicopter worth largest SAS module. configs this module also changed x3 performance, but too large values ​​are irrelevant. Sorry for my bad English.

Edited January 21, 2014 by RussianIvan

[Torham234]

I decided to redo the Huges XF-11 I made last year, this time in 0.23. I think it turned out fairly decent...

Thank you for the Firespitter mod! Its always fun to play around with the propellers

[Renousim]

Am I the only one that thinks the pusher propeller's animation needs to be faster

[Flixxbeatz]

Trying to do a replica of Solar Impulse.

Battery: Check.

Structure: Check.

Electric Propellers: Check.

Solar Panels: err none yet...

Details here.

oh, and btw at OP (and other people here who helped me), I finally got the whole plugin working (including the sounds). Thanks guys!

[Bloodbunny]

Am I the only one that thinks the pusher propeller's animation needs to be faster

I think its mostly for blimps and zeppelins. Just use reverse thrust on the regular props if you need a "pusher" aircraft and want the props to spin normally

And in other news, thanks to Firespitter, I have yet to orbit Kerbin in my current .23 career mode (custom more realistic tree)

Edited January 22, 2014 by Bloodbunny

[Torham234]

@flixxbeatz: You have a lot of air intakes. Is that just to keep with the original design?

I have previously tried ion powered gliders, but My PC was dying from the part counts (lots of solar panels).

[Flixxbeatz]

@flixxbeatz: You have a lot of air intakes. Is that just to keep with the original design?

I have previously tried ion powered gliders, but My PC was dying from the part counts (lots of solar panels).

It was muscle memory. Didn't knew that electric props doesn't need intakes anymore though it looked like I needed it to push the CoM forward.

[martinezfg11]

Hi, I have a part request. I would like a bigger version of the Russian bear rotor. I've found that even the bear rotor is not big enough to scale properly with larger helicopters. Thanks!