[1.0.X - Experimental] [On Hold] FusTek Station Parts (WIPs on GitHub)

[sumghai]

R0.02.1a BUGFIX released - see first post for download link

R0.02.1a BUGFIX    21 June 2013
---------------------------

Fixes
 - Resolved exploding hatch issue with all Karmony modules
    - Consequently, part origins / attachment nodes MAY be affected.  Backup your persistence/quicksave files and crafts before installing this fix 

Warning: This bugfix for the exploding EVA hatch issue MAY affect your savegame due to adjustments made to part origins / attachment nodes. Please backup your persistence/quicksave and craft files before installing this update.

I apologise for any inconvenience this may cause - however, it was down to either offsetting the part origins or continue having rapid unplanned disassmeblies whenever Jeb forces his way out of a blocked hatch.

Edited September 24, 2013 by sumghai

[Chestburster]

Chestburster, I have no idea why the opposite is happening to you. What version of KSP are you running?

Always up-to-date version. Can't explain it myself why this is happening. And its not every mod that uses .tga textures. RLA does the same but the D25 cockpit from B9 doesn't :-/ Using .png doesnt increase loading times on my PC either (since i can test it with the two RLA versions, theres no increase).

[GavinZac]

R0.02.1a BUGFIX released - see first post for download link

R0.02.1a BUGFIX    21 June 2013
---------------------------

Fixes
 - Resolved exploding hatch issue with all Karmony modules
    - Consequently, part origins / attachment nodes MAY be affected.  Backup your persistence/quicksave files and crafts before installing this fix 

Warning: This bugfix for the exploding EVA hatch issue MAY affect your savegame due to adjustments made to part origins / attachment nodes. Please backup your persistence/quicksave and craft files before installing this update.

I apologise for any inconvenience this may cause - however, it was down to either offsetting the part origins or continue having rapid unplanned disassmeblies whenever Jeb forces his way out of a blocked hatch.

What is the likelihood that it will affect a save-game, and apart from backing up, is there anything that can be done to prevent it affecting a save-game?

I've only used one so far, and yes, Jeb exits through a blocked port and sort of squeezes himself between the two modules until he pops out.

Perhaps the Kerbals *are* amphibians.

[sumghai]

Always up-to-date version. Can't explain it myself why this is happening. And its not every mod that uses .tga textures. RLA does the same but the D25 cockpit from B9 doesn't :-/ Using .png doesnt increase loading times on my PC either (since i can test it with the two RLA versions, theres no increase).

My understanding is that there are different forms of TGA compression available for KSP, and I used compressed TGAs as NovaSilisko recommended to speed up loading time.

What is the likelihood that it will affect a save-game, and apart from backing up, is there anything that can be done to prevent it affecting a save-game?

I'm not certain, to be honest. I've only tested these parts in a savegame dedicated to mod development, and even then the most I've done is to load them onto the launchpad / Hyperedit them into orbit. I'll make good use of my break from modding to play around with the parts I've made so far.

For the record, these parts are still technically in their Alpha release, and I'm doing the best I can while balancing real life and other commitments.

[ZobrAA]

This is actualy a very good looking parts! But collision meshes must be as simple as possible, not just a copy of main mesh. Generaly it must be a simple cylinder in most cases. Calculations of possible intersections effects by physics engine with such numbers of triangles must be some pain for CPU... Any hope for collision mesh optimisation?

[kaldak]

FYI, the bugfix does mess with existing ships. They'll still load, but the modules have shifted about a meter relative to any other parts.

[sumghai]

This is actualy a very good looking parts! But collision meshes must be as simple as possible, not just a copy of main mesh. Generaly it must be a simple cylinder in most cases. Calculations of possible intersections effects by physics engine with such numbers of triangles must be some pain for CPU... Any hope for collision mesh optimisation?

For the most part, my collision meshes are already simple, very low poly cylinders.

It's the tapered ends that probably causes plenty of grief amongst everyone (myself included) - I had to use several convex "wedges" to ensure that other parts didn't clip through the ends, while still allowing Kerbals to EVA through them.

[ZobrAA]

sumghai

Okay, then why did the editor allows me to attach antennas to the braces of your modules, but does not allow attach it to the small details of stock parts?

[wasmic]

That might be because the details on the stock parts are only "painted on" using normal maps (was that what they were called?), while the details of this mod actually have models.

[scottholio]

Nice work :-). But one thing i noticed that stops me from using your parts. Memory usage. I know, the pack itself is only 25 megs but the .tga textures add over 450 megs to the actual memory load after starting the game. Happens with other mods that use .tga textures too (like the new RLA Engines, reverting back to .png version saved much memory).

I'm also seeing that sort of memory usage. This is after extensive testing with several game installs. Not sure why it is happening, strange.

EDIT: Love the pack by the way sumghai

[Guest]

That might be because the details on the stock parts are only "painted on" using normal maps (was that what they were called?), while the details of this mod actually have models.

No, this is because the collider on those parts is way too detailed to be actually feasible. I think that's what causes higher memory usage, too (well, that, and the TGA textures).

[jdmgto]

I love the parts, I really, really do but after installing this mod I can't keep my game running. Any time I have to switch from the VAB to the launch pad or even at the moment of docking in orbit the game will CTD. I wanna use the parts, but I can' have the game crashing every time I have to tweak a design or dock with a station.

[sumghai]

To clarify:

- The surface geometry you see are all bump maps. My geometry are very simple 24-sided cylinders with the occassional tapered end / additional bulkhead ring.

- The only complex parts are the colliders for tapered end rings, because they need to be hollow and have the hole in the middle to put your docking ports. If I tried optimising it any further, you wouldn't be able to put docking ports on at all int the VAB.

For those of you with reports that these modules crash your game, I'd like you to provide PC specs and KSP version.

(You know, at this rate, maybe I'm not really cut out for modding - would you guys rather I gave y'all the source blender files and have you guys help me figure out what the deal is?)

[Moon Goddess]

Don't give up. I've had no problem with your parts and I'm eager for your internals

Don't give up

[Gryphorim]

Don't give up, your parts are awesome, can't wait to see the rest of this pack!

[jdmgto]

Core i7 @ 2.8ghz

8GB RAM

Win 7 (64bit)

GeForce GTX 460 w/ 1GB VRAM

I run a lot of other mods and it can take some time to load but anything that makes use of these parts is a guaranteed CTD any time I switch from the VAB to the launch pad or space.

[sumghai]

Core i7 @ 2.8ghz

8GB RAM

Win 7 (64bit)

GeForce GTX 460 w/ 1GB VRAM

I run a lot of other mods and it can take some time to load but anything that makes use of these parts is a guaranteed CTD any time I switch from the VAB to the launch pad or space.

I have access to two systems, and both run this parts pack fine (along with 30+ mods) :

Laptop

Core2Duo @ 2.20 GHz

3.00 GB RAM

Win 7 (64bit)

ATI Mobility Radeon HD 2600

Desktop

Core i7 @ 3.4 GHz

16GB RAM

Win 7 (64bit)

NVIDIA Quadro 600

If you load *just* one module onto the launchpad (and nothing else), does it still crash?

[ZobrAA]

To clarify:

- The surface geometry you see are all bump maps. My geometry are very simple 24-sided cylinders with the occassional tapered end / additional bulkhead ring.

- The only complex parts are the colliders for tapered end rings, because they need to be hollow and have the hole in the middle to put your docking ports. If I tried optimising it any further, you wouldn't be able to put docking ports on at all int the VAB.

So, the braces mesh basically is a ladder-mesh and has no phisics interaction except for kerbals, am I correct? If so, this is a great relief!

Actually, in terms of geometry I would prefere thiner braces, stockalike in general, but it's a question of tastes.

Would you mind if I completely retexture your station parts in stockalike way?

[sumghai]

So, the braces mesh basically is a ladder-mesh and has no phisics interaction except for kerbals, am I correct? If so, this is a great relief!

Actually, in terms of geometry I would prefere thiner braces, stockalike in general, but it's a question of tastes.

I would be tempted to agree with you there, however, one of my design goals was to (mostly) replicate fusty's work.

Would you mind if I completely retexture your station parts in stockalike way?

You're more than welcome to remix your own versions, just as long as you follow CC BY-SA 3.0 licensing (i.e. remember to attribute fusty and myself as the original authors, make sure your work also has the same licence as us).

If you like, I can send you the source Blender files and current FusTek textures, and possibly the Unity project file - you will, however have to release it under your own mod pack.

[Orphican]

Just tested. Works but there is a noticeable slow down in either editor when I pick up the parts. Moving the whole assembled craft caused very noticeable lag. Only CTD once. Thats near perfect in my case as - well lets just say I have most mods available for KSP v0.20.2 . For those of you experiencing CTD and heavy lag I'd suggest lowering your graphics settings *ymmv. Mine are set at . . .

Terrain Detail: High

Terrain Render Quality level: Good

Texture quality: Half-Res

Desktop

Core i5 661 @3.33Ghz

8.00 GB RAM

Win 7 (64bit)

Sapphire Toxic HD 5850 2GB

[ZobrAA]

You're more than welcome to remix your own versions, just as long as you follow CC BY-SA 3.0 licensing (i.e. remember to attribute fusty and myself as the original authors, make sure your work also has the same licence as us).

If you like, I can send you the source Blender files and current FusTek textures, and possibly the Unity project file - you will, however have to release it under your own mod pack.

Sadly, but I'm not very familiar with all that licensing stuff and english is not my native so it's little hard... :/

Would it be okay if I'll send you new textures when they will be done, so you can include it in your pack as a separate option?

Also it would be very handy, to have the UV-map texture templates. Thx!

Blender and Unity files would be useless for me as I'm not familiar with these programs...

Edited June 23, 2013 by ZobrAA

[sumghai]

Sadly, but I'm not very familiar with all that licensing stuff and english is not my native so it's little hard... :/

If you could tell me what your native language is, I can find you a translated version of the licence.

Would it be okay if I'll send you new textures when they will be done, so you can include it in your pack as a separate option?

Please don't. I'm not trying to be rude about this, but the essence of the FusTek pack is that they retain the FusTek aesthetic.

I know Talisar does include alternative textures for his spherical fuel tanks as separate downloads, but I strongly suggest you release your texture pack under your own name (e.g. "Stockalike Texture Variants for FusTek Station Parts Expansion by ZobrAA").

Also it would be very handy, to have the UV-map texture templates. Thx!

Blender and Unity files would be useless for me as I'm not familiar with these programs...

Unfortunately, my UV texture maps were done somewhat haphazardly - in order to save file size and reuse certain graphics, certain maps overlap each other in non-intuitive ways. I've done my best to be consistent, but certain places were rather hamfisted.

If I just gave your my texture packs or UV maps, you have to have Photoshop or GIMP running at the same time as KSP, and constantly reload everything each time you make a change. Much easier to give you everything including the Blender files as well so that you know exactly how I've mapped certain items.

[ZobrAA]

If you could tell me what your native language is, I can find you a translated version of the licence.

There is no ukrainian version of licence, but I already found a russian version

Please don't. I'm not trying to be rude about this, but the essence of the FusTek pack is that they retain the FusTek aesthetic.

I know Talisar does include alternative textures for his spherical fuel tanks as separate downloads, but I strongly suggest you release your texture pack under your own name (e.g. "Stockalike Texture Variants for FusTek Station Parts Expansion by ZobrAA").

Things goes so complicated nowadays

Unfortunately, my UV texture maps were done somewhat haphazardly - in order to save file size and reuse certain graphics, certain maps overlap each other in non-intuitive ways. I've done my best to be consistent, but certain places were rather hamfisted.

If I just gave your my texture packs or UV maps, you have to have Photoshop or GIMP running at the same time as KSP, and constantly reload everything each time you make a change. Much easier to give you everything including the Blender files as well so that you know exactly how I've mapped certain items.

Oh well, if you insist so... I'll PM my email to you.

[Mecha Pants]

I got it into my head to build something decidedly unstationlike and ended up with this:

Planning on using it to rotate crew members on my Duna-bound station.

Edit: An hour or so spent in the VAB, and the first test ship is already obsolete before making a single trip.

This is the new verion, weighing in at just over twice the mass, and about triple the parts:

Edited June 24, 2013 by Mecha Pants
ship update

[Gryphorim]

I got it into my head to build something decidedly unstationlike and ended up with this:

-snip-

Planning on using it to rotate crew members on my Duna-bound station.

You should look into LLL or "LackLustre Labs" there is an engine in that pack that is perfect for your light transport.