[1.0.5] FASA 5.44

[MOARdV]

Oh its a typo, but because I miss spelled Piston in the cfg....

The legs seem to be working on my build, are they going through the ground when you land or just sitting on the pad?

"Edit" They seem to clip into the ground sometimes, I will make the foot collision bigger so they are less buggy.

Just to make sure I characterized it right: on landing, it drops through the ground. However, on the launch pad, it's much more fun. I took a Gemini + BigG, with 4 gear arranged around the bottom edge of BigG and the typo fixed in the cfg. I extended the landing gear, and they lifted the capsule off of the ground, until they reached full extension. Then the ship fell to the ground like the gear were gone. When I retracted them, it launched the pod into the air a few meters, and it fell down and blew up the BigG (which hit the ground first). It's like the foot colliders aren't registering at full extension (?).

[frizzank]

I had some fun with the Agena, I docked it with my Gemini capsule then took it out to the mun, and suprisingly as I came back from the mun I got swung out and into minmus's SOI then back to the moon and then to an escape trajectory, without even lifting a finger! XD

This is the weirdest luck in the world

I always love the gravity assists when they line up nice and easy....

The landing legs are just broken. My attempt at doing the springs in the legs did not work out so well.

[ethan829]

Are you using the joint reinforcement mod. I heard it was causing problems with the launch tower?

The included craft file works fine. Use that as an example of how to build.

Make sure you are using clamps at the bottom as well.

The umbilical swing out to the left. Make sure they are not hitting the rocket when you detach. You can make sure by Rotating the tower slightly and putting it an angle to the tank rather than perpendicular.

Sometimes the rocket jumps on load. If it moves too much just reload your launch and it should set in a better position.

No joint reinforcement, using the included craft. Tried quicksaving and loading on the launchpad, but I'm still just getting this:

Edited January 22, 2014 by ethan829

[Deltac]

The Explorer I was more fun than I thought. Managed to get it into a 93x83 orbit. Mechjeb can handle it without freaking out, you just need to manually turn the engines off and on. Mechjeb will throttle up and down, so that's your cue. I had fuel left over, so I said "water buffalo," and brought it back to Kerbin, not safe, or sound.

[Corsini]

Good night Frizztank

First I would like to thank you for your work.

It's amazing what you could do.

These towers are a masterpiece, FASA is my favorite mod today, along with the bobcat's Soviet Pack .

i can not play Kerbal without one.

Please continue your work always developing this with humility.

this is one of the qualities I most admire.

(Forgive the poor quality English, I'm Brazilian)

Below are images with your towers and my new Space Shuttle.

[frizzank]

That's awesome. You can also attach lights and anything else you like to the towers (Lasers!). Makes for a great light show!

[MaverickSawyer]

Lights? BRB, adding them to my CTV LR ship...

EDIT: Lights, camera, and hood ornaments all stick to those towers just fine. Ready to film my new rocket launching for the first time!

Edited January 21, 2014 by MaverickSawyer

[m00f]

Wow! This is sooooo awesome! Also, awesome job on Explorer-1!

[tygoo7]

Is there a config to make this compatible with Engine Ignitor?

[NathanKell]

Yes, the realism patch for FASA (post two of Realism Overhaul thread, link in sig).

[tygoo7]

Yes, the realism patch for FASA (post two of Realism Overhaul thread, link in sig).

Thank you

EDIT: Wait is there a config for users that don't use real fuels or rss?

Edited January 22, 2014 by tygoo7

[NathanKell]

Uh, no? It's a realism patch. :]

[brooklyn666]

So this happens whenever I separate the launch tower...

the rocket violently explodes and parts go flying hundreds of meters in the air and/or sideways. The launch tower and umbilicals also go flying backwards. This is using the Titan Gemini IIIc.

[MaverickSawyer]

Uhoh... Looks like you've got too much ejection force going off at once. Try decoupling them one at a time from top to bottom.

[brooklyn666]

Uhoh... Looks like you've got too much ejection force going off at once. Try decoupling them one at a time from top to bottom.

That's ONLY the launch tower, everything else is flying off from the explosion. I'm thinking it might be a conflict with RO?

[ferram4]

Launch clamps do weird things with RSS. They can jump around a bit and no one's really sure where that comes from, though it's probably some floating point issue during initialization.

[Rokker]

Love it. Explorer's antenna are a bit to straight, but beautiful none-the-less. Although I do find the Mercury-Atlas nearly uncontrollable with FAR, though that could just be me.

[CaptRobau]

Frizzank could you give some insight on how you go about making your textures/models? You are hammering out things like there's no tomorrow and I'd like to see what your process is.

[Guest]

Love it. Explorer's antenna are a bit to straight, but beautiful none-the-less. Although I do find the Mercury-Atlas nearly uncontrollable with FAR, though that could just be me.

It's a known issue with Mercury retropack decoupler. Due to how FAR calculates aerodynamics, it's small diameter causes a huge increase in drag, meaning that the Atlas wants to flip engine-first.

Oh, BTW, I've found that Atlas engines did, in fact, gimbal. Verniers were for roll control only, and mostly after the booster engines were jettisoned. They also did attitude control after the booster burnout, presumably during coast phase of Atlas variants with spin-stabilized, solid-powered kick motors.

[ferram4]

Actually, the latest version of FAR includes a fix to the config that hotfixes the Mercury retropack decoupler. So I don't know what his issue is, I've flown the Mercury Atlas into orbit quite fine.

[Rokker]

Actually, the latest version of FAR includes a fix to the config that hotfixes the Mercury retropack decoupler. So I don't know what his issue is, I've flown the Mercury Atlas into orbit quite fine.

I'm probably just trying to pitch it a little too aggressively.

[frizzank]

So this happens whenever I separate the launch tower...

the rocket violently explodes and parts go flying hundreds of meters in the air and/or sideways. The launch tower and umbilicals also go flying backwards. This is using the Titan Gemini IIIc.

try decreasing the mass of the towers...

It will make the connection a bit looser.

Also you cant fly these rockets like fighter planes. I intentionally made them harder to control than the stock ones, though not a whole lot (and FAR changes things more). The Redstone will very easily pitch down in an uncontrollable dive while in the lower atmosphere, re-living its former glory days as a missile.

Edited January 22, 2014 by frizzank

[frizzank]

Frizzank could you give some insight on how you go about making your textures/models? You are hammering out things like there's no tomorrow and I'd like to see what your process is.

Well most of my speed comes from just good old fashioned experience. I have been working in the professional games industry for about 10 years now. I know what parts of a model I need to spend time on, what parts no one will notice, that I can skim over, and what parts I can reuse for other things.

The Explorer parts for instance, small, not a lot of detail, only took about 8 hours to complete. Half of it was getting it set up and working in game.

As far as my process, first and most important is reference, lots and lots of reference. If I cant find a picture of what I want I find something similar I can grab ideas from.

Second, it's important to remember that it's more important that it LOOKS and FEELS correct than it actually IS correct. As many of you have pointed out there are more than a few minor inconsistencies between my models and real life. Most of those are on purpose so it works better with stock parts, but some are choices I made to save time. The point is they are so small that most do not notice or care, and they saved me a significant amount of time. Most new people when modeling get so caught up in the minor details, spending hours getting one spot just right. That they completely miss how the whole thing ties together and that you don't even see the part they just spent hours on.

An example of this is if you look at the tops and bottoms of my fuel tanks you will see that they all use the same texture. You only see this part while your placing the tank, so why would I try to create new textures for each one when its already made and looks good? Do you care that they are all the same? Most people do not and it saved a lot of time.

Third, tools. Tools do not make you a better artist. They only make better art easier and faster. I have 13 years of experience using modeling and texturing tools. I know which ones let me UV faster (3d Coat). Which scripts let me bake better light maps (TextTools). Also 13 years of building a library of textures and Photoshop brushes at my disposal.

Edited February 11, 2014 by frizzank

[MedievalNerd]

Awesome! I won't have to release my 'awesome' nosecone for RPL, lol! Great work on Explorer-1!!

[Rokker]

Hey frizzank, any plans on possibly making the Vanguard rocket or maybe the adorable, yet somewhat useless Little Joe booster?