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Modular Computer Package


CSVoltage

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Modular Computer Pack

Compatibility: 0.24.2 Version: 0.8 Beta Updated: 25 Aug., 2014

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What it does:

1.25m probe core:

The ultimate in mod integration for small vessels. Allows for "chips" to be attached that can have any number of gadget modules from other mods. Unfortunately the required factory form for all these modules makes it less than aero dynamic. With this in mind the outer radius is actually 1.23451m, not 1.25, and parts clipping & surface attachment are allowed. This way you can stash it inside a structural part. Stock structural will work fine but for access to your chips I recommend using either Service Compartments or Procedural Fairings

Chip:

Each chip can hold the code for a different mod's particular gadget. Only chips for mods you have installed will be loaded. Their weight is negligable so the COM of your vessel wont be thrown off.

Core Features:

Integrated Radiator

- If you are running KSP Interstellar, the radiator has the same stats as the small radial radiator.

Chip Slots

- 13 slots using the size 0 attachment node

Integrated RTGs

- If you are running KSP Interstellar, RTGs will also slowly generate waste heat. The integrated radiator will disperse most, but not all of this.

Hard Drives

- This -UNMANNED- probe has hard drives for experiment storage. Using Ship Manifest, you can transfer science to this part from your experiments.

Chip Features:

B9: Info Drive

Squad (stock): accelerometer, barometer, gravitometer

Firespitter: move craft gadget, trim gadget

Kerbal Engineer (KER): build engineer, flight engineer

Kerbal Operating System (kOS)

MechJeb

Remote Tech 2: SPU, antenna-integrator

KSP Interstellar: super computer

TT-NeverUnload - (Seriously though, with the advent of 0.24, this is critical for vessel recovery)

ScanSat: MapTraq

I.D. Skillfull Weapons & Damage: FOF Tag

Kerbal Attachment System (KAS)

- Each chip can be picked up and placed while on EVA with the use of the KAS plugin. Unfortunately nodes are not useable while on EVA so the collision mesh for the core extends all the way into each slot. Just stick'em in as close as you can.

Texture Switcher

- Each Chip now has two texture switchers. The first changes the color of the circuit board, the second changes the label stenciled on the covering.

- You can now get boards in red, blue, green, and grey as well as labels for control, info, and sensors.

Basic Chip

- I've included a chip that does nothing at all except allow pickup and suck power. Feel free to use this as a starting point for your own chips if theres something I've left out. Then, if you could upload or let me know in the comments, after reviewing it I'll include it in the next release.

Planned Features:

module switcher: reduce the chip to a single part with a tweakable to swap the function of the chip. Still looking for a plugin to do this with. If anyone know of or can make such a plugin send me a private message. Thanks

purpose-built fairings: will include size-switcher and doors to acces chips and data storage while on EVA

chip-expansion unit: a stack part that will add more attachment points for chips; could also be used as a "dumb" core for your chips.

maybe?: radial version

NOTE!

Mods and their plugins are NOT included. I will also NOT be including links for all those mods because they are subject to change and I would rather invest my time in bringing you new things than needles maintenance of the old. You're smart, you can find them yourself. :)

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Creative Commons License

Modular Computer Package by Colin Votier @ Chroma Works is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

Includes redistributed portions of works:

Firespitter v6.3.4 by Snjo

Module Manager 0.2.3.3 by sarbian, derived from work by ialdabaoth

These works were/are distributed under a "CC share-alike license" as of: 25 Aug., 2014

  1. 0.8 - Beta - 0.24.2 - 31 Aug., 2014

    1. 0.7 - Beta - 0.24.2 - 8 Aug., 2014
      1. Fixed: settings configuration; fixed syntax errors.
      2. Changed/Fixed: re-scaled models directly in Maya. Should help prevent models from randomly doubling in scale on load of already launched vessels.

[*]0.6 - Beta - 0.24.2 - 1 Aug., 2014

  1. Added: settings config. parts that you do not have the mod for won't be loaded
  2. Added: texture switcher. each chip now has two texture switchers.
  3. Fixed: core faces proper direction when surface attached
  4. Changed: mesh for chip. now has carbon fiber debris cover

[*]0.5 - Beta - 0.23.5 - 25 July, 2014

  1. Created: initial release.

  1. Core needs to be the vessel root to allow attachment
  2. TT-NeverUnload chip is x2 actual size in VAB. I think this is due to something in the NeverUnload code so its out of my hands. But don't worry, it's the proper size on launch.

Changed: Minor post cleanup
Added: License information
Edited by CSVoltage
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Thanks for all the feedback! I just got 0.24.2 up on my bootcamp partition and am nearly done with an update. Should be out by sunday night. (EST)

Will be included:

texture switcher

settings file - chips for mods not installed won't be loaded (thnx @sidfu)

Planned:

I still haven't found a plugin that will allow MODULE switching. Any help on that front would be greatly appreciated.

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I like this mod A LOT!!!

However, the latest version isn't recognising that I have MechJeb & Engineer (latest versions) installed and giving me the respective chips to insert in the core CPU.

It recognises the Squad instruments and TT Never Unload ok. Not checked the other options yet... off to do some more testing.

Thanks for you hard work on this mod.

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You are correct... thanks for the quick response. Made the edits myself and now have the MechJeb, Engineer, kOS and Remote Tech boards available to the Chroma CPU. Will check the others later.

Thanks again... this mod has loads of potential. Now all we need is a Kerbal AI chip...

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I love the look and purpose of this mod. Fantastic job!

I've been trying for a couple days to work out the root/attach bug, to no avail. I know exactly what's causing it, the slot attachment nodes, I just have no idea why...

An idea i had would be to make it so that instead of attaching the cards like any other part, have a menu to add them in. Also, possibly make it work with KAS, similar to CactEye and it's processor mounts? It would be awesome to have cards fail and have to fly repair missions for it.

Edited by ChainsDD
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I like the look and design of this mod. It is functional and helps to make smaller craft. As a thought, a smaller core (0.625m) would be good as well as a hard drive module so that a small core could be packed with science data and sent back to Kerbin. Or may be even an Analysis unit that can help the crew in transmitting science...or augment the Laboratory.

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I love the look and purpose of this mod. Fantastic job!

I've been trying for a couple days to work out the root/attach bug, to no avail. I know exactly what's causing it, the slot attachment nodes, I just have no idea why...

An idea i had would be to make it so that instead of attaching the cards like any other part, have a menu to add them in. Also, possibly make it work with KAS, similar to CactEye and it's processor mounts? It would be awesome to have cards fail and have to fly repair missions for it.

Cool idea! I have no idea which mods I would need to set up for this, but it seems like something like this could be hooked up into remote tech where each dish needs it's own card.. something like that...

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Cool idea! I have no idea which mods I would need to set up for this, but it seems like something like this could be hooked up into remote tech where each dish needs it's own card.. something like that...

Hurm...why would it need an additional mod. If the cards are a resource and the core is a container you could have an add/remove card in the tweakables menu, each card you add increases the functionality of the module, but takes one unit (ore more) of resource space. This could even let you have cards take up more room for more powerful options.

Also, you could make it so that the amount of power the unit requires is increased based on the number of cards you have installed (resource space used) that way it is not entirely beneficial to have all the cards you can have in the module as your power draw would be more then necessary. At least that is my thought on it.

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Hurm...why would it need an additional mod. If the cards are a resource and the core is a container you could have an add/remove card in the tweakables menu, each card you add increases the functionality of the module, but takes one unit (ore more) of resource space. This could even let you have cards take up more room for more powerful options.

Also, you could make it so that the amount of power the unit requires is increased based on the number of cards you have installed (resource space used) that way it is not entirely beneficial to have all the cards you can have in the module as your power draw would be more then necessary. At least that is my thought on it.

Maybe each card adds to a CPU resource, and each automated process (communications, science, etc.) takes up so much CPU to be used, thus you would build probes for specific tasks using the needed amount of cpu and specialized cards (maybe somehow communication cards have a bonus to be used for radio dishes/antenna).

Or maybe the cards add specific resources, such as COM-CPU, SCI-CPU, NAV-CPU and each system requires these resources to be active on your probe....

Seems like a whole system could be built up with these parts. Gets my creative juices worked up, wonder if I can figure something out.

Edited by Wren
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Maybe each card adds to a CPU resource, and each automated process (communications, science, etc.) takes up so much CPU to be used, thus you would build probes for specific tasks using the needed amount of cpu and specialized cards (maybe somehow communication cards have a bonus to be used for radio dishes/antenna).

Or maybe the cards add specific resources, such as COM-CPU, SCI-CPU, NAV-CPU and each system requires these resources to be active on your probe....

Seems like a whole system could be built up with these parts. Gets my creative juices worked up, wonder if I can figure something out.

I would be careful on the CPU side, I say this because there are two ways to look at each card. Either the card is a form of program or firmware that needs to run on the unit. Or the card is a Sub Processing Unit that is doing its own calculations. I suppose there could be two "resources" but I would not go much more then that. Those being an internal capacity and a CPU resource.

Those two would offer some interesting possibilities as as with PC's it would be possible to add in SPU's that could increase the CPU resource pool but takes up space in the unit its self. This leads to some interesting paths for parts. I could see Flash Memory for Science storage, SPU's for analysis of data, Compression modules to reduce bit amounts (Reduce Bits, Increase Multiplier), management units that gives a boost to fuel or power efficiency (Say 5-10%, but enough to be worth having). And that is not even including all of the mods out there.

I look forward to seeing what comes of this mod.

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Thanks for all the ideas guys, i love it. Unfortunatly I'm not a programmer so anything beyond config files is probably not gunna happen. The chips are KAS enabled so thers that and ill be looking into "Dang It!" For part failure soon but if you want more ill need help from someone who can write a plugin.

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Thanks for all the ideas guys, i love it. Unfortunatly I'm not a programmer so anything beyond config files is probably not gunna happen. The chips are KAS enabled so thers that and ill be looking into "Dang It!" For part failure soon but if you want more ill need help from someone who can write a plugin.

Well it may be worth poking around and seeing if there is a stray coder out there willing to give you a hand to do more. It may just require you posting such a request.

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