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The Questionable Aesthetics of the RAPIER Engine.


Highlad

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Ok, to start off let me just say this:

I was never really one of those people that went mad about the introduction of the RAPIER (mainly because i prefer rockets to planes) but I do think is a valuable asset to have.

During my long nights of playing KSP I have come to respect craft that look good more than those that have all the bells and whistles, and as such, I was quite disappointed with the aesthetics of the new RAPIER engine. Honestly, I think that they have slapped the back of a SABRE engine onto the top half of a reaction control wheel (SAS module).

Don't get me wrong, I like the back end of the engine and I can appreciate the coding that went into allowing multiple exhausts and all that, but I feel like the developers just worked too long on the rear end of the model and realised they were missing the front and so slapped a SAS module on it.

If you search up 'SABRE Engine' in google images you will see they look pretty badass and, to a degree, so does the RAPIER, but I just wish they had made the front of the model a little nicer...

I would love to hear your thoughts on this matter! Do you think the RAPIER model is not as awesome as it could be? Do you think it is cool the way it is? How would you change it if you could?

Edited by Highlad
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I don't think it's just the texture, though, that's the problem. It's the actual mesh. As far as I can tell, it's just a simple cylinder with four more cylinders sitting inside it.

It doesn't look anything like any other engine we have in the game. The jet engines have texture to them, and the bells on almost all the rockets are exposed with the juicy bits for us to oogle at. I get that in a lot of the pictures the thing is a smooth cylinder in real life, but that's fairing rather than engine. If they jutted the four bells out to match the other rockets in the game, and perhaps modeled the stair-step look of the intercooler, I think we'd have a unique, awesome looking engine that doesn't look like it came from a different game.

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It could be a placeholder model to test out how the engine will be received, since they are improving the game with every patch I would bet that this current model will most likely get a reskin. Look at the science lab right now, it has no IVA mode but I feel that will most likely change as well. I kind of like the cylinder shape myself to be completely honest, it makes it feel like part of the fuel cell to me. If anything maybe the four pipes could come out a bit further, but not too much.

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The actual SABRE engine is pretty boring looking, as it's housed inside the shroud. It's the pre-cooler on the front and the curved shape that makes it look cool.

Unfortunately Squad seems to have forgotten the pre-cooler, which is really the biggest feature of the SABRE and the part that makes the whole thing possible.

Leaving out the curved shape is understandable, as it would limit construction options.

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I think Squad wanted a proof-of-concept for multiple nozzles and saw the RAPIER as a chance to play with that. There can always be mods to tweak looks or provide alternative parts. I'm glad they took the opportunity to create the code to allow for a different aesthetic, even if the rest of the engine is uninteresting.

The way I see it, Squad is focusing on the core capabilities of the game engine. Modders can focus on the interesting parts and variations until the game itself is complete.

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I enjoy the look of the RAPIER and feel it fits stock nicely. That aside, when I get back to playing with mods again I will probably use SABRE engines instead because they blend nicely with associated stock mods. That being said, and the reason I'm replying honestly, is just to say I find the RAPIER to be incredibly powerful. I never use SABRE even when I have KW installed because I could just never get it to work nicely for me. Well having just unlocked the RAPIER I made one of my better if not best SSTO's in recent memory in one go. It runs on 870/880/108 LF/OX/MO and 2 RAPIERS/1 Turbo Jet with 4 Intakes. There is some part clipping involved to use 2 large 1.25m fuel tanks between the wings with a bi-plane wing setup. With some luck I might be able to do a stock single stage to laythe and back here eventually ;)

(First 2 pictures in this album should be of the SSTO http://steamcommunity.com/id/4th3ist/screenshots/)

Edited by Arsonik
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While I do think it should get overhauled, so should all plane parts. C7's look was good in 0.15, not now. Next to the new parts, old ones just look bad. I believe that when devs get around to an art pass on plane parts, they'll do the RAPIERs, too.

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I thought it was rubbish to begin with but once I'd used them a few times and saw some of the hidden detail, I have to say I really like it. About the only thing I find questionable is the use of the warning stripe.

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I thought it was rubbish to begin with but once I'd used them a few times and saw some of the hidden detail, I have to say I really like it. About the only thing I find questionable is the use of the warning stripe.

WARNING: This end has FIRE! See the warning stripe makes perfect sense in Kerbal LOL :sticktongue:

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