RealKerbin - a Real Solar System fork

[metaphor]

Hmm, I just looked at the config file for this 6.4x scale Kerbin system and it seems like the Sun is scaled to the size of the real Sun, instead of 6.4 times the stock KSP Sun, which gives different interplanetary delta-v's.

What I meant by "scaled right" is a scale such that all the relative sizes between planets and orbits stay exactly the same, and the surface gravity of planets stays the same (since Kerbin's surface gravity is the same as Earth's). In order to do that, if you want to scale everything by a factor Z, you need to scale the parameters like this:

- distances are multiplied by Z

- masses are multiplied by Z^2 (so that surface g = M/R^2 is constant)

- times are multiplied by sqrt(Z) (from Kepler's third law)

- velocities are multiplied by sqrt(Z) (velocity = distance / time)

[regex]

Hmm, I just looked at the config file for this 6.4x scale Kerbin system and it seems like the Sun is scaled to the size of the real Sun, instead of 6.4 times the stock KSP Sun, which gives different interplanetary delta-v's.

The problem is that Kerbol in stock is actually much bigger than 1/10th scale, assuming it's a G-type main sequence star, so scaling it up by 6.4x would make it larger than an F-type main sequence (I think, can't remember the numbers off the top of my head). That is why I set it to be Sol-sized. All the planets except for Jupiter have their masses scaled to arrive at the correct GeeASL for the body according to stock, with all the radii and orbits scaled up to 6.4x. The rest of the math in my spreadsheet is just orbital calculations scraped from Wikipedia. If you want the spreadsheet that generated the config file I'll put it up later when I get home.

As always, if you don't like the values in the config you are free to create your own. I have my reasons for the values that are there and that should be noted in the config file itself. Aside from a few little things (rotational periods are pure BS unless they're tidally locked, Kerbol and Jool are scaled a bit differently, etc...) I'm pretty sure I did the math right.

E: Yeah, Kerbol scaled up by 6.4x would have an equatorial radius of 1.674 billion meters, which is 2.4 times as large as Sol. All things being equal, that places it pretty squarely as a B-type main sequence star.

E2: The KSP Wiki says Kerbol has the temperature of a K-type main sequence star; it might be worth redoing the sun for the config. Although that might mean Kerbin itself needs to move to a more habitable orbit... I think I'll leave it as-is, but I might explore a more "realistic" layout of the Kerbol system at 64% scale of what it actually would be.

Edited April 21, 2014 by regex

[metaphor]

The problem is that Kerbol in stock is actually much bigger than 1/10th scale, assuming it's a G-type main sequence star, so scaling it up by 6.4x would make it larger than an F-type main sequence (I think, can't remember the numbers off the top of my head). That is why I set it to be Sol-sized. All the planets except for Jupiter have their masses scaled to arrive at the correct GeeASL for the body according to stock, with all the radii and orbits scaled up to 6.4x. The rest of the math in my spreadsheet is just orbital calculations scraped from Wikipedia. If you want the spreadsheet that generated the config file I'll put it up later when I get home.

As always, if you don't like the values in the config you are free to create your own. I have my reasons for the values that are there and that should be noted in the config file itself. Aside from a few little things (rotational periods are pure BS unless they're tidally locked, Kerbol and Jool are scaled a bit differently, etc...) I'm pretty sure I did the math right.

E: Yeah, Kerbol scaled up by 6.4x would have an equatorial radius of 1.674 billion meters, which is 2.4 times as large as Sol. All things being equal, that places it pretty squarely as a B-type main sequence star.

E2: The KSP Wiki says Kerbol has the temperature of a K-type main sequence star; it might be worth redoing the sun for the config. Although that might mean Kerbin itself needs to move to a more habitable orbit... I think I'll leave it as-is, but I might explore a more "realistic" layout of the Kerbol system at 64% scale of what it actually would be.

Yeah, that's fine, I was just pointing out that you can't really use existing delta-v maps for your config in that case.

One suggestion to get Kerbol to look smaller: you could just change its radius to be smaller and as long the mass is right (6.4^2 times stock Sun mass) that will still keep everything else scaled to 6.4x, the only thing that will be harder would be landing on the Sun. The Sun's mass is the only thing that really matters for planetary orbits.

I was thinking about making it possible to create a system with any given scale factor. I'm not sure what to do with the atmospheres though, and the flatter terrain.

Edited April 22, 2014 by metaphor

[ialdabaoth]

E2: The KSP Wiki says Kerbol has the temperature of a K-type main sequence star; it might be worth redoing the sun for the config. Although that might mean Kerbin itself needs to move to a more habitable orbit... I think I'll leave it as-is, but I might explore a more "realistic" layout of the Kerbol system at 64% scale of what it actually would be.

That would be pretty amazing, actually. If Kerbol is 0.8 solar masses / 0.73 solar radii and Kerbin is at 0.6 AU, then that scales up all the orbital distances by exactly 6.4.

[regex]

That would be pretty amazing, actually. If Kerbol is 0.8 solar masses / 0.73 solar radii and Kerbin is at 0.6 AU, then that scales up all the orbital distances by exactly 6.4.

That, actually, would be pretty amazing. Think I'll look into this further.

[ialdabaoth]

That, actually, would be pretty amazing. Think I'll look into this further.

Excellent! Actually, it looks like the radii are already good; all you'd need to update is Kerbol's mass and radius, and the orbital period of all the planets. Looks like you want:

Kerbol:

Radius = 507715000

Mass = 1.59128e+30 kg

and then multiply all the orbital periods by 1.116295 - which gives Kerbin a year that is 181.2 earth-days / 724.8 Kerbin-days. (also, I'd really suggest keeping Kerbin's 6-hour rotational period; it's cute and makes launches easier.)

[ialdabaoth]

And now, a diversion: Kerbal biology and evolutionary history.

Evolution

Kerbol is a significantly older star than our own; K-class orange dwarfs are notoriously long-lived. That said, Kerbin's 6.5 billion year history has been much less eventful than Earth's.

Part of this is due to the milder weather patterns on Kerbin - without axial tilt, Kerbin's seasons are almost imperceptibly mild, which allows Kerbin's atmospheric dynamics to stabilize more rapidly than our own. This, in combination with other factors, has tended to produce a slower evolutionary process.

The Kerbal proto-ancestor evolved sometimes in the late Kerbaceous period, from a small fuzzy creature something like a cross between a meerkat and a bush-baby. These mostly-herbivorous foragers, called 'meerkerbs', lived in dense underground warrens, where they primarily consumed metamoss and dormant cyanotubers.

At some point in their evolution, these creatures developed the ability to 'steal' the cyanotuber's photosynthesizing endosymbionts and maintain colonies in their own bodies. This ability continued to evolve until the furry, black mammals became almost entirely bald and green-skinned. As a result of being able to synthesize sugars directly from sunlight, the meerkerbs slowly developed into more insectovorous and fungivorous eating habits to maintain a proper intake of proteins and micronutrients. Unfortunately, their high concentration of cyanosymbiont-based sugars made them absolutely delicious to predators, of which the Kerbaceous period provided in abundance.

A lucky break came for Kerbalkind in BKE 66M, when a massive asteroid ended the Kerbaceous period, and with it all the enormous and fearsome predators. With the ecosystem decimated, the meerkerbs managed to diversify into a multitude of abandoned ecological niches. It was one of these diversifications that led to Kerbals, Kerbin's first sapient(?) species.

A Kerbal gets 50% of his oxygen and 90% of his blood l-glucose directly from sunlight, so long as his air supply contains at least 5% carbon dioxide and no more than 30% oxygen. Kerbals can live for extended periods without food or even fresh air, so long as they receive sufficient light. After a few hours, however, they will begin to become very cranky and querrellous if not given an adequate supply of protein-enriched snacks. It is recommended that each Kerbal intake at least 100g of dry snacks per day to prevent temper tantrums, and at least 500mL of water per day to prevent dehydration.

Anatomy

A Kerbal's general shape is held together more by hydrostatics and muscle tension than by a rigid internal skeleton. In fact, the Kerbal's actual "skeleton" only consists of three keratin "bones": a skull, a mandible, and a pelvis. The spine and limbs are flexible, muscular tubes held in shape with hydrostatic pressure, while the squeedlyspooch (a combined heart, lung, and digestive tract) brachiates into several 'nodules' within the body cavity. Toxin filtration is shared between the squeedlyspooch and the cyanosymbiont nodules of the inner dermis.

Edited April 28, 2014 by ialdabaoth

[ialdabaoth]

I am now preparing my plugin list, and modified config files.

I've decided to go ahead and include KSPI, and just use ModuleManager configs to disable fusion, antimatter, and warp technologies.

Finalizing resources to:

Squad

- LiquidFuel (Kerosene)

- Oxidizer (N2O4)

- SolidFuel (APCP)

- MonoPropellant (HAN)

- Xenon (Xe)

- IntakeAir (ambient atmosphere; engines can set CheckForOxygen = true to only use Air with 15% or greater oxygen)

RealFuels / KSPI

- CryoFuel (LH2)

- CryOx (LOX)

- Peroxide (H2O2)

- Methane (CH4)

- Ammonia (NH3)

- Aluminum (Al)

- NuclearFuel (Th232)

- NuclearWaste (various Actinides)

- Water (H2O)

- Argon (Ar)

Life Support

- Biomass

- Snacks

- BioWaste

- Oxygen

- CO2

I'm carefully reviewing the license documentation of the mods I'm going to use; so far it looks like I can modify and redistribute as I see fit the following mods, as long as I contain the appropriate license documentation:

-B9 Aerospace

-KW Rocketry

-RealFuels

-KSPI

[Whirligig Girl]

How's this going? I feel it worthy to mention that nuclear fuel (at least in RTGs) is noted to be Blutonium-238.

Edited July 3, 2014 by GregroxMun

[NemesisWolfe]

Is this still being worked on?

It sounded very promising with the simple resource system.

[rhoark]

Sounds like you're making it just for me.