[1.0.2] NovaPunch 2.09. - May 6th - 1.0 Compatibility Update

[EvilotionCR2]

This is mine design http://imgur.com/a/0pO0E#1

[MaverickSawyer]

Although this does use the old pack, I have a Titan IIIE design that revolved heavily around NP. Reason: HUGE SRBS, and the TwinBertha.

The small side tanks are supposed to be for Thrust Vector Control on the real SRMs, but since they don't have that, they're starter fuel.

[UBERGEEK]

Here's the 2nd Stage getting in orbit:

[jpkerman]

I recommend you edit the .cfg's of the capsules to MechJebPod

that way, you have your normal pod plus mech jeb, no ugly things hanging by the side

You can edit the NP satellites and unmanned control pod to Mechjebs also. That way they will not be marked as 'debris' in the tracking station and you can control them if you add parts. (plus no Kerbalnauts in your unmanned items)

[LaydeeDem]

You can edit the NP satellites and unmanned control pod to Mechjebs also. That way they will not be marked as 'debris' in the tracking station and you can control them if you add parts. (plus no Kerbalnauts in your unmanned items)

Or you can edit the internal setup and set crewcapacity to zero. Check my blog.

[Hyratel]

I prefer using Crew0 pods for sending up Cargo deeliveries because I don't have to worry about MJ fighting with Remote Tech that way

[Navy4422]

Id like to remind every to post images in spoiler tags [noparse]

content

[/noparse]

[Tiberion]

so, I got done earlier and was packing things up and writing release notes when I noticed I missed the RCS issue on the Odin.

After 5 minutes of looking for the cause, I realize I REALLY fubar'd the part rotation when remaking the rcsblock with a ladder mesh.

So back to square one on that one, but it will actually work better now (though it'll require the use of one of the stock ladder parts, but it looks pretty good.

So.. that is the delay. I'll still upload it before I crash (if I get it working anyway)

Edit: Nope, sorry, the ladders are refusing to work right, need to rework the leg module tomorrow.

I hates me some ladder meshes.

Edited September 7, 2012 by Tiberion

[SciMan]

Hey, Tiberion, loving the pack so far! I have been trying all the parts out to figure out the best way to use them. While doing that, I found a bug with the SPS-175 engine, it was showing fuel consumption = 8 instead of showing me Isp values. I took a look at the .cfg to see if i could fix it, and it has values for Isp and vacIsp, but its still using the old LiquidEngine module.

Its an easy fix, just had to change one line in the .cfg, specifically:

module = LiquidEngine 

to

module = LiquidFuelEngine

and that cleared the problem right up.

One more issue I found, but its just a part balance issue. If the long 3m tank (T3000) holds 10,000 fuel, don't you think the long 5m tank (TD5002) should hold more than 15,800 fuel? Especially so due to the fact that stacking two of the 3m tanks will get you more fuel than one of the 5m tanks, and for less weight to boot!

[Tiberion]

Nice catch on the engine name there.

And I have already updated all of the tank values, they just didnt make it into the 1.3a release. Do keep in mind that the smaller 3 and 5 meter tanks are not half-sized, its more like 60% I did the proper volume calculation and scaling at some point

Edit: 1.3beta is uploading. Will link shortly

Edited September 7, 2012 by Tiberion

[fetusthebard]

Nice catch on the engine name there.

Edit: 1.3beta is uploading. Will link shortly

New version HAYO

Can't wait.

[Tiberion]

Here's the link: http://www./download.php?cn2gl5xb9hfor4p

NovaPunch v1.3beta (bugfix and balance release)

-Engine and Tank rebalance (again)

-Radial Engine and SRB Tweak

-Set Unmanned pod to explicitly have 0 crew (no internal space)

-Capsules can be surface-attached

-Increased Odin fuel

-Fixed Odin RCS plumes

-Re-fixed Odin's legs to play nice with ladders

-Odin now uses a stock collapsing ladder to reach ground in landing config

-Tweaked crash tolerance and breaking forces of a few parts that were abnormal

-Updated 2.5 fairing folder names

-Added 2 engines

-- Bearcat "single" for the '1m' engines

-- LittleMother '3m' engine (think 'smaller Matriarch')

Let me start off by saying that due to the changes in tank mass, fuel, and another round of engine changes, you may find that older vessels come up short of what you expect. I have done my best to approach the performance levels of 1.2, but I can only test so many combos.

I want feedback about how the balance feels. I'd prefer to have a screenshot of your ship if you're struggling with a certain build.

Enjoy!

[antiquark]

Feedback/critiques (not to be taken the wrong way!) All IMHO of course!

- The TD-5001 tank could have more fuel. As it is, it contains slightly more than the FL-T3000. But if you stack a T3000 on a 5001 tank, they're virtually the same height, but there's still a big volume difference. Geometrically, if you calculate the volume difference from the FL-R1000 tank, the ratio would be (5/3)^3 or 4.26. So a scaled up R1000 should have 4.23 * 6255 or 26458 units of fuel. Similarly, if you scaled up the mass and dry mass, they would be 147 and 15 respectively. (Same comments apply to the long 5m tank).

- What personally I did to distinguish the 5m from the 3m tanks was to use the orange color scheme for the large tanks. It looks pretty good that way!

- According to Wikipedia, the real-world Nerva engine had a sealevel isp of 380 and a vacuum isp of 850. But it weighed 75,000 lbs! (Yeah, that big core of uranium ain't the lightest material). In comparison, the J2-X engine gives four times the thrust, but weight 1/13th the weight. So the big price of the NTR isp is the mass of the engine itself.

Those quibbles aside, great package!

[antiquark]

I forgot to mention that the real-world Nerva had a thrust equal to it's own mass. So it actually wouldn't have been able to lift off the ground, it was too heavy. Hence, nuclear rockets are only useful once you get into space.

[nhnifong]

The Nerva was REAL?!

[antiquark]

The Nerva was REAL?!

Yes, the 1960's was an amazing era for rocketry! They actually tested it (but it never flew).

[Tiberion]

Are you using the ingame scaled up versions?

The 3m tanks are really 3.75m in diameter, and the scaled up "5m" tanks are actually 6.25m since everything is set at 1.25.

Everything is scaled properly, but I didn't rename things yet

[gulinotm]

not really that important but on rma-3 orbital achievement device, the description is in the manufacturer field

[zgrillo2004]

I seem to have a problem with this mod. I recently made a NP rocket and when I finish its flight and launch the same rocket, the gam crashes. and I know from early posts that its a memory issue. is so, how do I fix it

Im using Windows XP ans currently have 3.25GB of RAM

[erkha343]

http://i.imgur.com/dgbqT.jpg

hmm...

[antiquark]

Are you using the ingame scaled up versions?

Yes! But even if you apply the same mathematics to the scaled up things, you get the same ratio of 4.2.

[antiquark]

http://i.imgur.com/dgbqT.jpg

hmm...

Try playing with the a,s,d,q,w,e keys when you're assembling it.

[erkha343]

Try playing with the a,s,d,q,w,e keys when you're assembling it.

Nope, they're too small, and the nodes are misplaced, tried reinstalling, but it did not help

[Tiberion]

erkha: Just double checked a clean install, its correct. I am 99.99 percent sure that you need to delete the old NP files (both the NP_ part folders and the NP_ saved ships in Ships/VAB

It looks like you have the old OdinOTV or Odin*launcher craft file; You can tell if its the new one because it will have one of those yellow telescoping ladders attached right under the hatch.

Either way, clean it out and try again.

antiquark: oh I see, you were comparing the height of the 3m long tank and the 5m short. but you are probably right, I never checked my math when I scaled those up. I probably need to run a volume calculation on everything post-scaleup, so that it something for next version. In the meantime, if you use the 5m tanks you should feel free to edit up the fuel

zgrillo: Well, the short answer is to install less parts, as each one adds a little data he game has in memory. I know how harsh that can be when it comes to NovaPunch, heh. It's sadly part of playing a game that is still Alpha software, they don't optimize memory usage. You can try removing your save files (or copying it out of the saves/ folder as a backup) since it can cause a crash there too if corrupted (or if you have too much trash around the space center to eat memory)

[LaydeeDem]

The unmanned core isn't unmanned. I killed three Kerbonauts

Please add this to the part.cfg:

// --- internal setup ---

CrewCapacity = 0

INTERNAL

{

name = GenericSpace1

}