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

[AetherGoddess]

is this mod compatible with other mods like Kethane and Fine Print?

I have personally used this with both Kethane and Fine Print. i would avoid any mods that use the CRP, however, as some resources are used in both this mod and the CRP. if you use any CRP mods, then consider using either Wave's KSPi_LITE release, which already has CRP integrated, or undercoveryankee's adaptation pack that fixes KSPi to play nice with the CRP.

[KoolBreeze420]

is this mod compatible with other mods like Kethane and Fine Print?

it is with kethane not sure about fine print though don't have that mod

[Atrius129]

Can some one tell me what LFO stands for? and Can anyone tell me what nozzle or engine uses thermal power? I have attached a few nozzles to a reactor but they all flame out no matter where I am or how much thermal power is available I Am stumped and the wiki guide isn't helping me much any direction would be greatly appreciated thanks.

LFO tanks hold both Liquid Fuel and Oxidizer. The liquid fuel is assumed to be liquid hydrogen and the oxidizer liquid oxygen. You need either the thermal turbojet or the thermal rocket attached directly to either a reactor or an inline receiver (and a power network) to directly use thermal energy. Make sure your reactor is producing power/has fuel.

is this mod compatible with other mods like Kethane and Fine Print?

I have had no trouble using either of these mods with KSPi. Fine print is a lot smaller and less complicated though.

[RoverDude]

I have personally used this with both Kethane and Fine Print. i would avoid any mods that use the CRP, however, as some resources are used in both this mod and the CRP.

Actually, there are no conflicts with this and CRP mods since CRP originally included the entire KSPI list of resources (well, unless Fractal_UK changed some recently, which I doubt). So KSPI in it's current form will work fine* side by side with any CRP mod (which includes any USI mod).

By fine I mean they will not interfere with eachother - but they do not interop (i.e. a scanner that finds LqdWater in KSPI is not going to find water for MKS and vice versa). UndercoverYankee's patch does a really good job of shuffling things around and making some appropriate compromises so you get true interop. But it's not required since I go through a lot of effort to make sure I don't break other people's stuff.

So no, please don't avoid any CRP mods - we have cookies

(Edit / addendum) I'm checking currently on whether it even makes sense to include KSPI resources in CRP, since the only mod that used a lot of them was KSPI-L. If that need no longer exists, then we'll just be down to the overlap of obvious things like oxygen, etc. in which case we take our cues from mods like TAC-Life Support, Universal Storage, or Near Future Technologies (and for ones that are CRP-curated if we do hit an overlap would be careful not to stomp on a KSPI one, because that's just being neighborly).

Edited November 1, 2014 by RoverDude

[KoolBreeze420]

Liquid Fuel and Oxidizer: essentially the same stuff that most regular rockets use.

Most of the Thermal nozzles are explicitly marked as such. the Thermal engines use Thermal power, which requires a reactor and they break down into two classes: Thermal rockets, which heat and expel fuels without atmosphere, and Thermal Turbojets, which heat and expel only atmosphere. Thermal turbojets can be upgraded to be Thermal Hybrid rockets, which can use intake air, LFO, LF, or sometimes more exotic fuels. Make sure you have 1) enough fuel for the reactor in the form of Uranium, thorium, deuterium, tritium, or antimatter 2) enough thermal reactant, in the form of Liquid fuel, LFO, or intake air, and 3) enough radiators that your reactor doesn't melt. thermal engines throw off waste heat, but not generally enough to keep the reactor cooled in vacuum.

related, there are three classes of Electric engines, Plasma rockets, Arcjets and Magnetic Nozzles, all of these require megajoules, not thermal power. Plazma jets are essentially high-thrust Ion engines, that expel high temperature charged plasma. Arcjets use electical arcing to add energy to the propellent. Magnetic Nozzles take advantage of focused charged particles put off by reactors to create thrust for the craft. all of these require a generator attached to a reactor, and the magnetic nozzles require a charged particle source, such as a fusion reactor.

OK here's what I I am trying right now I am using the 3.75 antimatter reactor paired with an equal sized electric generator and rads they are working flawlessly. Regardless I haven't been able to start any of the engines take for example the thermal rocket nozzle it states that it must be attached directly to a reactor. When I do this the engine will not start regardless of where I am. I am not sure what I am doing wrong must I add a liquid to this nozzle as well as being on the reactor? DO they use thermal power and a liquid? Should I attach some kethane tanks or other liquid to the reactor and run hoses to the nozzle?

[AetherGoddess]

OK here's what I I am trying right now I am using the 3.75 antimatter reactor paired with an equal sized electric generator and rads they are working flawlessly. Regardless I haven't been able to start any of the engines take for example the thermal rocket nozzle it states that it must be attached directly to a reactor. When I do this the engine will not start regardless of where I am. I am not sure what I am doing wrong must I add a liquid to this nozzle as well as being on the reactor? DO they use thermal power and a liquid? Should I attach some kethane tanks or other liquid to the reactor and run hoses to the nozzle?

Thermal rockets require Thermal Power and something to heat. Thermal power requires a reactor with it's own fuel (i.e. Antimatter) and radiators. remember that all reactors in .13 do not have their own internal storage, so you have to add a fuel tank and set the fuel mode of the reactor accordingly. something to heat can be LFO, LF, Argon, Xenon, etc, all of which have their own ISP:Thrust trade-offs.

if you right click the rocket, you should be able to toggle the fuel mode between various fuels on the ship. if you are using Thermal Turbojets or Thermal Hybrids, then one of those fuel options will be intake air or intake atmosphere.

[Shalashalska]

Thermal rocket nozzles need to be both adjacent to a reactor and have a fuel supply, just like normal engines. However, they can use a wide variety of fuels, such as LF, LFO, MethaLOX, water, kethane, karbonite (if you have the CRP adaptation pack) and ammonia.

[Cybersneeze]

Anyone know if the IR telescope generates stock science now? I remember it not working back in KSPI 0.11, and I haven't bothered taking it on any of my missions since then; I hear the science-lab works now, which is why I'm planning on launching it as the core piece of my SS, and just wanted to know if theres a point launching a IR telescope with it.

[NeoAcario]

So... I took my usual summer break for work, but now I'm back! I'm also ever-so happy to see that Fractal_UK came back to resume development!

I have just one quick question before I start up a new campaign: Does tritium decay into h3 on unfocused vehicles yet?

~Steve

[Bolter]

Same problem.

What the correct configuration of parts (reactors-generators-engines) should be?

How to start any magnetic nozzles?

Why DT Vista engine start works, but shutting down after couple of seconds?

Can anyone please clearly explain how to combine parts for IS propulsion (youtube tutorials not really helps)?

The DT vista needs 2500 Megajoules regardless of throttle setting to operate. People that are seeing it start, then fizzle out should look at their resource bar to understand the issue. After you are placed on the pad you'll see your Megajoule resource bar start to increase. Once you've passed 2500 you have enough power to start the DT Vista. If after you start the engine you see the MJ resource bar decrease, then the engine will turn off when you go below 2500 MJ. What is happening is that the reactor and may look good on paper, but their efficiency is dependent on the thermal gradient set between the core temperature and the heat radiating capacity of your radiator setup. Sometimes it is impossible, because of space or weight, to put enough radiators to increase the efficiency to where you want it, and you have to live with some loss.

It is also very important to select the correct size and mode for your generator. Using generators smaller than the reactor diameter may seem attractive to save weight, but they simply don't have the output to keep the MJ bar filled against a DT Vista firing. Better to use the same diameter generator, and ensure that it is set to the correct mode in the assembly building. KTEC if you're using core temperature, or direct conversion if you're using charged particles.

Talking about charged particles, the magnetic nozzles require them exclusively. Megajoules are worthless to them. There are a very few generators that produce them, namely the upgraded Sethlands and Akulas, as well as the upgraded fusions running on He3 mode. He3 is now available for purchase in the assembly building for v525 per unit. To switch fuels, simply right click on the reactor in the assembly building, drag the current fuel bar down to zero, and increase the desired fuel bar while watching your funds disappear. A big mistake that some people make with magnetic nozzles is to put a direct conversion generator on the reactor. This is precisely the wrong thing to do, as the generator will convert charged particles to MJ, thus taking them away from your nozzles (if you need MJ out of the reactor use its thermal power in KTEC mode and leave the particles alone.) Finally, Magnetic nozzles have zero thrust in atmosphere, so they're not suitable for orbital launches.

With that said, though, I'm seeing bugs with both the Fusion reactors and the magnetic nozzles themselves. The my fusion reactors are showing only Lithium as fuel since I upgraded to 0.13, and they don't seem to perform according to their stats. My magnetic nozzles show zero fuel flow with full charged particles and fuel lines into the nozzle and reactor well outside the atmosphere *shrug*

However, the DT Vista works great so long as you don't use it to rendezvous/dock with manned craft. You can use it at the KSC as they seem to clear everyone out because your radiation safety interlock doesn't trigger there. Here's a picture of an SSTO built around the DT Vista engine as an example of a working configuration:

[KoolBreeze420]

Thermal rockets require Thermal Power and something to heat. Thermal power requires a reactor with it's own fuel (i.e. Antimatter) and radiators. remember that all reactors in .13 do not have their own internal storage, so you have to add a fuel tank and set the fuel mode of the reactor accordingly. something to heat can be LFO, LF, Argon, Xenon, etc, all of which have their own ISP:Thrust trade-offs.

if you right click the rocket, you should be able to toggle the fuel mode between various fuels on the ship. if you are using Thermal Turbojets or Thermal Hybrids, then one of those fuel options will be intake air or intake atmosphere.

AHh that's where I have been going wrong I thought it was one or the other thanks so much for helping me clear this up, I was really starting to tear my hair out.. lol

[NeoAcario]

So I'm having a problem with the Tree Loader. At least I think it's the tree loader.

My save is from right after 0.25 launched (and no mods were yet compatible). It has Kerbin and the Moon 100% explored and about to begin Minmus. I have the stock research tree completely unlocked with about 14k science to spare. I install KSPI with tree loader, select the Interstellar Tech Tree and then go to the science lab... I see this:

Whenever I try and upgrade the 3 nodes, nothing happens. However, when I leave and return to the science lab the science has been reduced by the proper amount and the 3 nodes are unlocked. No further progression is presented.

Anyone know a quick fix for this? I'm going to try and quickly edit my save to not have any of the standard final science techs unlocked and see if that works.

~Steve

[ArcFurnace]

So I'm having a problem with the Tree Loader. At least I think it's the tree loader.

My save is from right after 0.25 launched (and no mods were yet compatible). It has Kerbin and the Moon 100% explored and about to begin Minmus. I have the stock research tree completely unlocked with about 14k science to spare. I install KSPI with tree loader, select the Interstellar Tech Tree and then go to the science lab... I see this:

https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-bk7PY5RU9CE/VFV82zEz86I/AAAAAAAACIw/YT91KSeSuxo/w1916-h1078-no/screenshot7.png

Whenever I try and upgrade the 3 nodes, nothing happens. However, when I leave and return to the science lab the science has been reduced by the proper amount and the 3 nodes are unlocked. No further progression is presented.

Anyone know a quick fix for this? I'm going to try and quickly edit my save to not have any of the standard final science techs unlocked and see if that works.

~Steve

The TreeLoader plugin included with the current download in the first post is broken in 0.25, and will not add the extra nodes default KSPI requires. It can be replaced with TechManager. For now you can just do this manually, Fractal will update the download in the first post as soon as he gets enough time (along with fixing a few other known issues with the current version).

[NeoAcario]

The TreeLoader plugin included with the current download in the first post is broken in 0.25, and will not add the extra nodes default KSPI requires. It can be replaced with TechManager. For now you can just do this manually, Fractal will update the download in the first post as soon as he gets enough time (along with fixing a few other known issues with the current version).

Worked perfectly, thank ya kindly!

~Steve

EDIT:

One more dumb question, if I may - Is KSPI set so that we can sell back all resources that we mine/farm, to include antimatter? Just curious before I set up any large infrastructure to test it out. aka... are there buy back prices set for all resources?

Edited November 2, 2014 by NeoAcario

[Demitor]

Ever since getting the new version for .25 KSP.. The interstellar engines wont produce any thrust or fuel flow. (Even using cheats for infinite fuels).. Even the DT Vista engine will not produce any thrust. Was this a bug? I cant find it discussed anywhere in the forum thread and i searched for hours.

I did a bit more fiddling with this by modifying the config files for interstellar engines. Removing fuel requirements, raising crash tolerances and heat tolerances and even giving it more thrust. And even with that in the game the engines produce no thrust.. its only Interstellar engines, KW, stock engines, B9 and the rest work perfectly fine. And also none of the reactors work for interstellar regardless of what I do, (ive tried everything) Am i seriously the only one with this problem?

Could this possibly have something to do with the resources and not the engine?

[ArcFurnace]

Worked perfectly, thank ya kindly!

~Steve

EDIT:

One more dumb question, if I may - Is KSPI set so that we can sell back all resources that we mine/farm, to include antimatter? Just curious before I set up any large infrastructure to test it out. aka... are there buy back prices set for all resources?

I'm pretty sure the answer is "yes", but not 100% sure. If you dig around in the GameData files you should be able to find the .cfg file with all the resource definitions. If the resource definition has a set price then I believe that is both the price you pay when creating a rocket with resources onboard, and how much you recover when recovering a rocket with resources onboard.

[Shirson]

...

Thanks a lot! Great explanations!

With that said, though, I'm seeing bugs with both the Fusion reactors and the magnetic nozzles themselves. The my fusion reactors are showing only Lithium as fuel since I upgraded to 0.13, and they don't seem to perform according to their stats. My magnetic nozzles show zero fuel flow with full charged particles and fuel lines into the nozzle and reactor well outside the atmosphere *shrug*

Yes, I was confusing with this parts too.

However, the DT Vista works great so long as you don't use it to rendezvous/dock with manned craft. You can use it at the KSC as they seem to clear everyone out because your radiation safety interlock doesn't trigger there.

Thanks again.

[Oscilllator]

If you switch back to the space centre (leaving the transmitter on), then back to the vessel, does it start to work?

It does work if I switch to it from the tracking center, but not if I go directly to it from the space center (since it's sitting on the runway).

Thanks for the help, I hope that since you were able to identify a workaround for this you have some idea what caused it.

[Fractal_UK]

Worked perfectly, thank ya kindly!

~Steve

EDIT:

One more dumb question, if I may - Is KSPI set so that we can sell back all resources that we mine/farm, to include antimatter? Just curious before I set up any large infrastructure to test it out. aka... are there buy back prices set for all resources?

You can buy and sell most of the advanced Interstellar resources. So far, I've avoided including antimatter in that calculation. As much as I'd like to make it sellable, the cost would just be too large and the economy becomes entirely determined by how much antimatter you can produce.

Before I can include the buying and selling of antimatter, I'd need to make the cost of it variable depending on your current position in the tech tree. That would allow you to sell tiny amounts at huge prices earlier in the game but later on buy and sell at somewhat more reasonable prices after the technology to produce it becomes more widespread on Kerbin.

If you want to make money from resources at the moment, the most effective way is to produce Tritium or Helium-3.

[NeoAcario]

You can buy and sell most of the advanced Interstellar resources. So far, I've avoided including antimatter in that calculation. As much as I'd like to make it sellable, the cost would just be too large and the economy becomes entirely determined by how much antimatter you can produce.

Before I can include the buying and selling of antimatter, I'd need to make the cost of it variable depending on your current position in the tech tree. That would allow you to sell tiny amounts at huge prices earlier in the game but later on buy and sell at somewhat more reasonable prices after the technology to produce it becomes more widespread on Kerbin.

If you want to make money from resources at the moment, the most effective way is to produce Tritium or Helium-3.

Awesome, Fractal. Any chance Tritium now decays into He3 when unfocused?

~Steve

[merendel]

However, the DT Vista works great so long as you don't use it to rendezvous/dock with manned craft.

As an additonal tip along those lines a pair of plasma engiens mounted on radial pods next to the vista works wonders as manuvering thrusters for in close work. As long as you got relative velocity's low with the vista prior to geting into the safety range the low thrust isnt a huge deal. Can still let you manuver around on the same fuel as the vista with much higher ISP than useing RCS.

[NeoAcario]

Would someone please remind me how to edit the science.cfg to allow for both impact and seismic scans? I've done a couple searches but obviously came up empty handed.

Thanks in advance,

~Steve

[Cybersneeze]

Would someone please remind me how to edit the science.cfg to allow for both impact and seismic scans? I've done a couple searches but obviously came up empty handed.

Thanks in advance,

~Steve

Honestly, i'm using a heavily modded build, and just use the sensors package from B9... Nobody seems to know how Scott did it from the week or so I spent looking; be cool if someone packaged it as a config with the base mod

[Cybersneeze]

Awesome, Fractal. Any chance Tritium now decays into He3 when unfocused?

~Steve

To my knowledge, it still only works on active vessels.

[Sacnoth]

Would someone please remind me how to edit the science.cfg to allow for both impact and seismic scans? I've done a couple searches but obviously came up empty handed.

Thanks in advance,

~Steve

You need to remove the following line from the Science.cfg File in de Warpplugin folder:

!MODULE[ModuleScienceExperiment]

That line removes the stock seismic experiment.

Good luck!