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[1.1] RLA Stockalike 13.4 [25 Apr]


hoojiwana

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  • 1 month later...
On April 6, 2016 at 2:56 PM, Billy_Is_Dead said:

The pack works in 1.1, all that needs to be done is tagging and maybe changing probe textures to match the new 1.1 one. :D

You sure it's working 100%?

I haven't tested it so it's a serious question. I just know from reading around that similar mods, like Ven's stock revamp, have had issues with engines that have gimbals (not even sure if any of these engines do). 

Just want to make sure that we've  fully tested everything before claiming something works.

either way I'm looking forward to official comparability AFTER 1.1 is released.

happy modding!

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  • 2 weeks later...

I love the modeling and textures and everything on the RCS engines but I struggle to actually find a use for them. At best they seem to be on par with the liquid fuel engines of the same class. The 1 meter monoprop engine is basically the same performance as the LV-909 and the 2 meter engines provide comparable performance to the Poodle.

Am I missing something? Is it for people who use RealFuels or something since monoprop doesn't suffer boil off the same way cryogenic fuels do?

(Also I poked the devs of RemoteTech to make sure that config was added to the download since it wasn't part of the source :))

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Updates! Luckily the gimbals were all lined up for the 1.1 changes, and I took advantage of a new setting and locked the gimbal on the Cutter linear aerospike to only function in one axis (and roll) and increased it's range to 5. Also added search tags including "rla" which only has crossover with the survey scanner in stock. The full changelog is in the OP (and the readme) as always.

On 23/04/2016 at 9:48 PM, Billy_Is_Dead said:

The 1.1 update wait begins...

And now it ends.

15 hours ago, Varses said:

Am I missing something?

Nope, that's roughly the balancing I went with, they should be about as good as their LFO counterparts but just using monoprop instead, the only different one is the Cormorant due to the higher thrust and better atmospheric ISP.  The monoprop engines are a bit weird due to the odd way the stock monoprop tanks are balanced, there was a brief period during 1.1 pre-release where they were fixed but it got deferred until a later update. The tiny monoprop engines are less useful as well now since apparently you can tweak RCS ports to work with the throttle which is pretty cool.

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2 hours ago, toric5 said:

all engine shrouds are missing, giving the solid pink missing texture.

As the readme says, try deleting the PartDatabase.cfg in your KSP main folder, should fix it. It's generally a good idea to do it anytime there's a heavy update on a mod.

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On 2016-04-25 at 5:21 PM, hoojiwana said:

 The tiny monoprop engines are less useful as well now since apparently you can tweak RCS ports to work with the throttle which is pretty cool.

There are many cool things for RCS in stock now, but they still lack the excellent selection of RCS thrusters you offer :)

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On 4/25/2016 at 2:21 PM, hoojiwana said:

Updates! Luckily the gimbals were all lined up for the 1.1 changes, and I took advantage of a new setting and locked the gimbal on the Cutter linear aerospike to only function in one axis

Thanks for the update!

What did 1.1 do to gimbals? I wasn't aware of anything...

I didn't know you could specify gimbal axes, that's cool. Can you allow all axes but set different ranges for each?

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Thanks for this fantastic mod, I've fallen in love with the small monopropellant engines!

bbVBGYr.jpg

Edited by Guest
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  • 2 weeks later...

I'm happy to report that these parts are working just fine for me in 1.1.2.

The 5kN-class monopropellant engines are VERY useful for probes, lander-probes, small manned landers, and "jump-jets" for small rovers on Minmus or other low-gravity bodies. They're also quite useful as "anti-bounce" thrusters on Gilly.

The lower thrust isn't a problem in these applications, and the moderately higher specific impulse is a bonus.
Orbital probes only care that you have "some" thrust, not exactly how much. That's why Ion engines are so good for them, but it benefits these monopropellant engines too.

Even on a lander probe, 40 kN from a pair of stock O-10 "Puff" engines on a 0.625m probe would be massive overkill, I'd have problems hovering with manual throttle controls unless I used the thrust limiter tweakable, which to me is a sure sign I have "too much engine" for that application.

I could use PA-7 linear RCS ports, but it would be terribly inefficient compared for the same thrust as a LV-1 Ant in multiple ways: Mass (2x PA-7 = 100kg, 1x LV-1 = 20kg), Cost (2x PA-7 = 540 Funds, 1x LV-1 = 110 Funds), and Specific Impulse (PA-7 = 240s Vac, LV-1 = 315s Vac).

 

The larger, higher thrust monopropellant engines are great for use in the service module of a crew capsule, the advantage is that they reduce complexity of the service module by only needing one fuel for everything, instead of needing separate LFO tanks for the main engine, or sacrificing specific impulse to use O-10 "Puff" monopropellant engines.

 

The resistojet and arcjet thrusters may not have as much thrust as an ion engine, but the better mass ratio of monopropellant tanks means I can get nearly the same delta-V from the same dry mass, even if the wet mass is slightly higher.

The lower thrust but higher specific impulse on the ion engine is something I will probably pick every time I want to use an ion engine, as by that point I'm already expecting pretty long burn times anyways.

 

The reason I started using this mod was the mini RTG, and the mod had much less in it back then. That is not the only reason I keep using this mod, but it's on my "must-have" list now. I can make do without it, but it's not as fun.

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RLA Stockalike engines are sometimes causing KSP x64 1.12 to stop working without generating a crash log.

This occasionally occurs in the VAB when deleting a RLA engine from the craft.  Usually the Caravel small spike, since that is the one I have been using often in my early career mode.  This crash does not seem be related to session time; it has happened right after launching the game and other times it has happened an hour into the session.  It also does not occur each time an RLA engine is removed from a craft in the VAB - it is an intermittent occurrence.

I am sorry that I do not have more information to provide on this issue.  My KSP directory has been entirely devoid of crash logs since the unity 5 update.

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