[0.25]KSP Interstellar (Magnetic Nozzles, ISRU Revamp) Version 0.13

[Evis03]

Hey guys, a quick question on resource location...

So I landed an ISRU on Minmus with the intention of mining some water to create fuel. I can mine and electrolyze water, so that works. However the set up also had a hybrid aluminum rocket so it could be relocated if needed (I wanted to keep it near a lab I'd put down but the lab wasn't in a great place- this is why flying while drunk is never a good idea).

Anyway, I can't mine alumina. I'm guessing that minmus contains no alumina which is fair enough, but it would have been better to know that before I added all that mass! So does anyone know how to establish the mineral content of a planet? I know the Gamma Ray Spectrometer can locate nuclear fuels, but is there any other way to establish what other resources are available on a planet? For example, is there water on the Mun? How would I know without going online or checking the game files (which scare me).

Thanks in advance everyone!

[cy-one]

but it would have been better to know that before I added all that mass!

Aluminum is used along with oxidizer as the fuel source for Aluminum-Hybrid-Rocket.

It is obtained by the electrolysis of Alumina, which is currently only located on Mun, Tylo, and Ike

ten characters >.<

[Donziboy2]

@Deredere

1. Boring...

2. Burn in hell LN-V

3. Yes your right we only need Electric Charge and LFO why have variety....

4. Make it easier?

or

4. Wait till it costs you a year of funding per 3.5 reactor.... O wait then you will just timewarp... We need to get ride of timewarp next....

5. Sigh....

6. I agree on the boost of Helium-3...... I have found AM to be easier to get ahold of.

7. I believe Fractal_UK has said it many times but I will just say that if you can model he might use it. Many of the models have been made by others.

8.

9. Weight really isnt a limit since you can just add Moar Boosters.....

10. Erm... Hell NO...

Your right it is a game, Fractal_UK has a vision of what he wants to. If you dont like it your free to make changes to your game or make your own damn mod.....

[Evis03]

ten characters >.<

Well given that I was looking to mine Alumina, I searched for that. Guess what, it doesn't have a wiki entry.

Plus that doesn't answer my question. Is there any way to locate these items in game or do I need to refer to a wiki?

[Fractal_UK]

The distinction between reactors and generators is not something I would ever consider changing, for the record. In my opinion, it's critical to maintain a distinction between the raw form of energy that is being generated by the reactor and the electrical power that comes out. There is a world of difference between a spacecraft designed to use a nuclear reactor as a heat source for a thermal rocket and a bimodal rocket that can generate electrical power from that reactor as well.

When I started work on Interstellar, I did it with modularity in mind. Most people will use reactors and generators as a pair and generally just think of them as one combined unit that does something useful, I do most of the time too, but the point is that you don't have to and that you can save mass by doing something different if you can live with the more constrained design.

I also think it's valuable to take a more realistic approach with the techologies that are closer to real time than the more advanced technologies, generally it's tough to get the physics spot on for technology that hasn't been invented but I also want to bear in mind that people play in Interstellar for different things. The people who really focus on the very near future possibilities in space exploration are probably also more interested in having a moderately believable potrayal of that technolgy. As the tech scale advances, an increasingly rough portrayal is perfectly adequate.

I have been working on writing a new set of back-end code for the reactors but this is all about increased reliability and providing more information, rather than fundamentally changing the way they work. In fact, functionally, you shouln't really see a difference aside from the increased reliability of more well designed code. I am, however, away on work business at present so expect any news of future development to be slow for at least the next week or so.

[Westi29]

Any suggestions for complementary mods with Interstellar? I want to do a career mode with it and am not sure if I should include KAS or Kethane or TAC Life support, and am wondering if they had any conflicts or synergies with Interstellar. Any suggestions to get the full experience out of Interstellar (I am already an avid Manley fan). Thanks!

[Deredere]

Any suggestions for complementary mods with Interstellar? I want to do a career mode with it and am not sure if I should include KAS or Kethane or TAC Life support, and am wondering if they had any conflicts or synergies with Interstellar. Any suggestions to get the full experience out of Interstellar (I am already an avid Manley fan). Thanks!

I use all of those, and they work great. I'm also a fan of extraplanetary launchpads.

To be honest, TAC life support isn't as interesting as I'd imagined. There really isn't much management involved, it's just extra weight. Put in your oxygen/water/food and let the recyclers do the rest for the next 3 years. One thing KSPI does is obliterate any need to think about energy management; even the smallest basic nuclear reactor will run all sorts of life support, drills, and refineries and never exceed its minimum output.

Be aware that Kethane basically nukes any need to use KSPI's ISRU capability.

[Drew Kerman]

I've been trying to change the small radial radiators back a node into Electrics but MM and even straight up editing the part cfg doesn't seem to work - they always show up in Advanced Electrics. What's up with that? Some other mods give small solar panels in Electrics so it would make sense to have some small radiators there too no? Or is the idea that you're not supposed to yet be able to build a long-term craft with solar panels and instead have to do things like plan for night transitions to bleed heat or just make short orbital missions with them?

[Einarr]

To do what you want with the radiators, you might need to check the tree.cfg in your savegame folder. Treeloader will automatically change the placement of parts on the techtree according to the settings in the tree config file, this generally takes place after MM finishes patching all that it is set up to patch. As a result, modifying the part configs, or creating an MM patch will not work. There's the main tree config file found in the /gamedata/warpplugin/ folder, and it also gets copied to the/savs/(insert your savegame name here)/ folder. The one in your savegame folder likely gets overwritten anytime there's an updated sonfig that Treeloader detects (not entirely certain how that works).

As to complimentary mods, I use TACLS and KAS as well, but refuse to touch Kethane...can't stand having to leave a vessel focused at ~50x or less for hours/days in order to get a complete map. I am beginning to consider removing TACLS as it doesn't really add much aside from weight with KSPI, and weight is easily compensated for. I also use Ship Manifest, and, by extension, Connected Living Space (gotta love dependencies...).

Edited May 20, 2014 by Einarr

[ArcFurnace]

Yeah, any part that has an entry in the TreeLoader KSPI tree will not respond to anything except modifying the tree.cfg file in the savegame, because that just overwrites the part.cfg's. I discovered this when I saw TAC-LS had a MM .cfg to move the 100EC radial batteries to an earlier node, and it wasn't doing so. Parts that don't have an entry there (I assume that includes pretty much everything besides stock parts and KSPI parts) can have their node positions edited the way you would normally do so (MM or direct .cfg editing).

Editing the tree.cfg in your savegame to change node positions works, but it will also cause TreeLoader to helpfully suggest that there is an "updated" (i.e. different than what you currently have) KSPI tree available. Installing the "update" will, of course, set things back to where they originally were.

[ArcFurnace]

Hey guys, a quick question on resource location...

So I landed an ISRU on Minmus with the intention of mining some water to create fuel. I can mine and electrolyze water, so that works. However the set up also had a hybrid aluminum rocket so it could be relocated if needed (I wanted to keep it near a lab I'd put down but the lab wasn't in a great place- this is why flying while drunk is never a good idea).

Anyway, I can't mine alumina. I'm guessing that minmus contains no alumina which is fair enough, but it would have been better to know that before I added all that mass! So does anyone know how to establish the mineral content of a planet? I know the Gamma Ray Spectrometer can locate nuclear fuels, but is there any other way to establish what other resources are available on a planet? For example, is there water on the Mun? How would I know without going online or checking the game files (which scare me).

Thanks in advance everyone!

The Gas Chromatograph Mass Spectrometer will tell you the elemental composition of an atmosphere it's in (it's also a science-point-producing experiment!). The Liquid Chromatograph Mass Spectrometer will tell you the elemental composition of an ocean it's splashed down on. The Gamma Ray Spectrometer can locate Alumina as well as Uranium/Thorium. There currently isn't a sensor for water ice on a planetary surface, although I believe Fractal was planning on implementing one at some point.

The oceans of Kerbin, Eve, and Laythe are an obvious answer. Duna has water ice in its polar icecaps, with decreasing concentrations as you move towards the equator. Minmus has water in its icy flats. The Mun has ice in a few specific craters, near the north and south poles. Vall is an iceball and has ice everywhere.

Edited May 20, 2014 by ArcFurnace

[Drew Kerman]

AH! Thx I figured there had to be an extra step I was missing somewhere. I edited the tree.cfg file and worked great, no annoying message popup either.

[Einarr]

Editing the tree.cfg in your savegame to change node positions works, but it will also cause TreeLoader to helpfully suggest that there is an "updated" (i.e. different than what you currently have) KSPI tree available. Installing the "update" will, of course, set things back to where they originally were.

To get around this, make the same changes to the tree.cfg located in the /gamedata/warpplugin/ folder, as that is where Treeloader seems to look to see if there's an 'updated' config.

[ArcFurnace]

To get around this, make the same changes to the tree.cfg located in the /gamedata/warpplugin/ folder, as that is where Treeloader seems to look to see if there's an 'updated' config.

Ah, I see.

[Tristavius]

How do you do spoiler tags?

[Fractal_UK]

The Gas Chromatograph Mass Spectrometer will tell you the elemental composition of an atmosphere it's in (it's also a science-point-producing experiment!). The Liquid Chromatograph Mass Spectrometer will tell you the elemental composition of an ocean it's splashed down on. The Gamma Ray Spectrometer can locate Alumina as well as Uranium/Thorium. There currently isn't a sensor for water ice on a planetary surface, although I believe Fractal was planning on implementing one at some point.

It's in the pipeline, I need to improve the mechanics by which ORS displays resources in order to do it which makes it a relatively complicated update. At present, ORS does a decent job at potraying a small number of interesting resource locations but is almost useless when it comes to displaying large areas with high abundance.

I have a working demonstration of that system in place though so it shouldn't be too far over the horizon.

[phoenix_ca]

How do you do spoiler tags?

Why are you asking that question in this thread? And you could just quote someone's post to see.

[adoreoner]

Hi there, I have a more questions again,

-do all types reactors need a direct connection to a eletric generator to generate eletricity(megajoules/whatever)? or do some types not need a direct connection?

-do all types of engines(excluding thermal rocket nozzle and warp drive) need a direct connection to a generator to function?

example:

if i had a fusion reactor then two eletric generators (set to the two different types) then a DT vista innertial fusion engine, would both the generators power the engine?

also, does the liquid fuel for DT fusion engine need to be connected to the engine at all? or is it like RCS fuel?

[Aedile]

Hi there, I have a more questions again,

-do all types reactors need a direct connection to a eletric generator to generate eletricity(megajoules/whatever)? or do some types not need a direct connection?

-do all types of engines(excluding thermal rocket nozzle and warp drive) need a direct connection to a generator to function?

example:

if i had a fusion reactor then two eletric generators (set to the two different types) then a DT vista innertial fusion engine, would both the generators power the engine?

also, does the liquid fuel for DT fusion engine need to be connected to the engine at all? or is it like RCS fuel?

Electric engines (plasma etc), can be anywhere.

Generator needs to be next to a reactor, however there is a small 'feature'. Thermal energy/Charged particles will freely fill any reactor. So for example you can have 3.75 generator on a 3.75 fusion reactor which is offline, and a tiny fission generator someplace else. This setup will produce MJ very slowly.

[PoeticIron]

Would there be any way (custom or otherwise) to add another warp speed - 0.001c? Because I feel that even the minimum speed is too fast in some situations. I know it's probably just me being lazy and not wanting to use engines, but it seems like the warp drive should be able to go slower.

[blitz2190]

A drive meant to travel faster than the speed of light go slower ? 0.o

[Taribu]

Would there be any way (custom or otherwise) to add another warp speed - 0.001c? Because I feel that even the minimum speed is too fast in some situations. I know it's probably just me being lazy and not wanting to use engines, but it seems like the warp drive should be able to go slower.

I think that is "hard-coded" within the dll, so no

But wait, this gave me an idea.

If it was possible to plot any warp-speed you want (measured in m/s or alternatively c), and if it was possible to keep the ships orientation while on timewarp + warp(engine), shouldn't it be possible to orbit a body no matter what (actual) velocity you have (as long as you can power your warp-drive) ? This would be an interesting feature i think.

But maybe a little OP.

[Evis03]

The Gas Chromatograph Mass Spectrometer will tell you the elemental composition of an atmosphere it's in (it's also a science-point-producing experiment!). The Liquid Chromatograph Mass Spectrometer will tell you the elemental composition of an ocean it's splashed down on. The Gamma Ray Spectrometer can locate Alumina as well as Uranium/Thorium. There currently isn't a sensor for water ice on a planetary surface, although I believe Fractal was planning on implementing one at some point.

The oceans of Kerbin, Eve, and Laythe are an obvious answer. Duna has water ice in its polar icecaps, with decreasing concentrations as you move towards the equator. Minmus has water in its icy flats. The Mun has ice in a few specific craters, near the north and south poles. Vall is an iceball and has ice everywhere.

Exactly what I needed. Thanks!

[Threadsinger]

The distinction between reactors and generators is not something I would ever consider changing, for the record. In my opinion, it's critical to maintain a distinction between the raw form of energy that is being generated by the reactor and the electrical power that comes out. There is a world of difference between a spacecraft designed to use a nuclear reactor as a heat source for a thermal rocket and a bimodal rocket that can generate electrical power from that reactor as well.

When I started work on Interstellar, I did it with modularity in mind. Most people will use reactors and generators as a pair and generally just think of them as one combined unit that does something useful, I do most of the time too, but the point is that you don't have to and that you can save mass by doing something different if you can live with the more constrained design.

I also think it's valuable to take a more realistic approach with the techologies that are closer to real time than the more advanced technologies, generally it's tough to get the physics spot on for technology that hasn't been invented but I also want to bear in mind that people play in Interstellar for different things. The people who really focus on the very near future possibilities in space exploration are probably also more interested in having a moderately believable potrayal of that technolgy. As the tech scale advances, an increasingly rough portrayal is perfectly adequate.

I have been working on writing a new set of back-end code for the reactors but this is all about increased reliability and providing more information, rather than fundamentally changing the way they work. In fact, functionally, you shouln't really see a difference aside from the increased reliability of more well designed code. I am, however, away on work business at present so expect any news of future development to be slow for at least the next week or so.

Thanks for all your efforts creating this mod, Fractal! Regarding modularity, I love having to add some extra components to the vessels, if only to simulate realism requiring all that extra hardware to work. Hell, some life support modules (I don't use TAC balancer, not at the point yet where I feel I want to deal with potentially killing kerbals due to advancing time too fast), or a cryo module, or a better hab module would be neat flavor stuff. Even thermal panels and heat management, which is fairly easy (sans the cost mechanic - I may eat those words someday), adds a welcome bit of realism. The only thing I would personally appreciate would be folding generators and engines into smaller packages once you hit the (near) very-end of the tech tree, so you can do some wicked sci-fi stuff on spacecraft without needing all the size and weight of extra parts (perhaps being able to research some dedicated reactor/engine hybrids optimized exclusively for flight as opposed to thermal and electrical power? Worse ISO, better output?) Either way, curious to see what new parts, if any, are coming down the pipeline!

(Side note: still haven't found a niche use for the particle fission reactors though...)

Also, if you do make something of the ambient radiation mechanic, I'd hope to see various forms of current, plausible near-future, and hypothetically plausible-far-future means to stave off kerbal BBQ until they can crash into a suitable planet.

[DaveStrider]

(Side note: still haven't found a niche use for the particle fission reactors though...)

I believe they are pretty useful for low-tech interplanetary tugs due to their (optionally) high core temperatures.

Btw, i have a little problem with the gravity lensing mission, in that i'm not sure what place it has in the mod. I just launched my telescope to the 7500 Gm Apoapsis, only to find that it would take 270 years to arrive. by this time i would have already filled my tech tree, leaving the telescope useless.

perhaps this is just me and my unwillingness to let my space program do nothing for a few centuries, idk.