[WIP] KSS Asimov - A spaceship pack - Update 0.1.2 (11/17/2016) [KSP 1.2.1]

[Kosmonaut]

4 hours ago, v1per said:

Adding a small module or two shouldn't be a problem, but to fit something that has an airlock it would require a larger piece. I'll consider it for the future though.

Sorry about that, I wasn't specific enough. An inflatable airlock on the cockpit, not a whole new part. Also, I really like the composite look of the fuel tank (The actual tank part). It looks like it was actually put together, not magically cut from a block of kaluminium. It looks realistic (One of the things I love about this mod).

[v1per]

59 minutes ago, Kosmonaut said:

Sorry about that, I wasn't specific enough. An inflatable airlock on the cockpit, not a whole new part. Also, I really like the composite look of the fuel tank (The actual tank part). It looks like it was actually put together, not magically cut from a block of kaluminium. It looks realistic (One of the things I love about this mod).

Oh, gotcha. It's an idea to consider. It would require to remodel the command module and I'd rather not at this time. And I'm always looking at tons of reference to create these parts to get the look right. It was one of the things that bothered me from my two previous attempts at engines. They just didn't look like they could work. The fuel tank is based on the new carbon fiber tanks being made, so obviously the Space X one was used as reference as well as a few by Nasa I think.

Edited October 31, 2016 by v1per

[v1per]

Further progress today. I ended up completely remodeling the reaction wheels. The model just wasn't very good before. I already have a second model for the reaction wheels though that I'm going to provide as a switchable. It's only a cosmetic thing in case you want it to connect to crewed modules. Basically the middle section gets closed off. I'll post a picture when that's done. For now, here's a quick render of the new reaction wheels and RCS tanks:

It ended up being quite quick to do the second version. Substance Painter rules:

Edited November 1, 2016 by v1per

[Deimos Rast]

those are some stunners right there

Edited November 2, 2016 by Deimos Rast

[v1per]

18 hours ago, Deimos Rast said:

those are some stunners right there

Thanks

Today is a holiday here in Brazil, so I have some time to kill. I already did a UV pass on the other two modules that remain. Going to re texture them now. Then I have to get everything into Unity to export into Kerbal. With a little luck I might release an update for the mod this week  I wanted to release it today, but I think the Command Module and possibly the Solar Panels need a bit of love still. I'll keep you guys posted.

[Kosmonaut]

YESSSSS

[v1per]

Ok, so these aren't as exciting as the others, but the re texture is done:

I'm going to take a look at the solar panels now

[nebuchadnezzar]

@v1per The parts are looking great! 

[StarStreak2109]

I love it and can't wait to give them a shot!

Now that part list flicker is gone...

[Kosmonaut]

The anticipation is CRAZY good.

[v1per]

Thanks guys  Ok, so all parts are in the game now, and everything seems to be working. I forgot about the hatch thing for the living module though, gotta figure that out and also need to make the illumination maps for both parts. After that, there's really only config files to work on. I'm very near a release now

Edit: Oh, you don't need a hatch anymore to transfer crew! That's good...one less thing to do then, haha. Great.

Edited November 4, 2016 by v1per

[v1per]

[Vrana]

Looking awesome!

[Kosmonaut]

hooooooly godddd beautiful

[v1per]

I've hit a bit of a snag with the config files. I converted everything to Liquid Hydrogen and Liquid Oxygen, but I forgot about the volume of the fuel tank  The tank is too small to do what I wanted right now. Bigger tank needs to be developed. I don't want to delay the release though. So I'm going to put a "pre-release" in a little while to see what you guys think of how everything is balanced as well as so you can play with the parts. I'm going to leave both the tank and the engine as Liquid Fuel/Oxidizer for now as well.

I'm providing MM files for USI-LS, MKS, Community Tech Tree and Connected Living Spaces. If you guys have any other requests, let me know. Most important though is the integration with USI-LS and MKS. Might still need some work though, not sure how balanced it all is.

Give me a couple of hours to package the whole thing

[Kosmonaut]

What about strap-on tanks that are like the regular tank but without the white covering?

[v1per]

Yeah, that's one of the things I'm considering. I have also a design in my head for a large cluster of tanks that should look cool. In any event, I'd need to model, texture, etc and that's going to take me some time. I'd rather take my time with the solution than do something rushed and I really want to get the parts out into the wild

[v1per]

New version up on original post. For the lazy, here's the download link: Github

All configuration files are tentative for now. I did a spreadsheet to calculate the fuel thing, it's not as bad as I imagined but I need to work further on it, plus I think a bigger fuel tank is needed for Duna operations. For now, the ship should be an excellent choice for LKO, KEO, Mun and Minmus missions.

There's also a few rotation issues with some of the meshes that I noticed, but nothing that breaks your immersion. I'll have an update for it in the following days. Need a bit of a break.

Let me know if any issues crop up.

[Doomstack]

Hullo hullo...

Longtime lurker first time poster here.

These parts are mint. So glad to see this mod being updated

Regards the fuel tank volume issue:

Once you've settled on a sensible tank volume would you also consider something like this: http://imgur.com/a/OI4SS

So there is somewhere to attach multiple fueltanks/ engines without the craft getting ridiculously wide?

Edited November 5, 2016 by Doomstack

[Starwaster]

13 hours ago, v1per said:

I've hit a bit of a snag with the config files. I converted everything to Liquid Hydrogen and Liquid Oxygen, but I forgot about the volume of the fuel tank  The tank is too small to do what I wanted right now. Bigger tank needs to be developed. I don't want to delay the release though. So I'm going to put a "pre-release" in a little while to see what you guys think of how everything is balanced as well as so you can play with the parts. I'm going to leave both the tank and the engine as Liquid Fuel/Oxidizer for now as well.

I'm providing MM files for USI-LS, MKS, Community Tech Tree and Connected Living Spaces. If you guys have any other requests, let me know. Most important though is the integration with USI-LS and MKS. Might still need some work though, not sure how balanced it all is.

Give me a couple of hours to package the whole thing

Yes, H2 tanks have to be enormous. If you go with a nuclear rocket though, you can use liquid ammonia... higher thrust overall and a higher boiling temperature...

[Vrana]

Congratulations on release. Was definitely worth waiting for this one.

[v1per]

Ok, so I took the rest of the day yesterday and today as well off of this project just to get a bit of a fresh mind on everything. First let me answer you folks:

@Doomstack: Welcome sir  Glad you like the mod. I'm going to do a new fuel tank soon rather than leave it for later. I really like the tank configuration on the Hermes from the Martian. Here's a pic: Link I won't do it exactly the same, but I like the idea of a cluster of tanks. It should increase the volume capacity dramatically without adding a significant footprint to the ships diameter or length. But, I want to make it so that you can chain as much of them as you'd like, so I have some designing to do

@Starwaster: That's something that is on my to-do list, a nuclear engine I mean. We'll get there.

@Vrana: Thanks

Going forward, I'm going to solve the few issues I noticed and also put the second reaction wheel model in the package. If I can figure out the tank thing, then I'll try and have that in the next release as well. I want to keep working on the existing parts as well. Although I'm a lot happier with them, there's still room for improvement  The one thing that I want to improve a lot is the service module. Right now it's kinda meh. I really wanted it to be visually configurable, but I have to wonder if I'd be just recreating the Univeral Storage solution. Maybe a service bay is the way to go? Let me know what you guys think of it.

 

[Kosmonaut]

good idea

[Kosmonaut]

Sorry, I was just scrolling through all of the previous comments, and I just thought, there are so many great ideas, but you can't fit them into one spacecraft. So why not make more? I was thinking once you're completely done with the Asimov, then you could make the Asimov-XL (Or something to that effect), with the greenhouse, and centrifuge, and service bay, and cupola, and other large things with all of the normal parts much bigger, and the regular Asimov could be a shorter range thing, like Duna or Eve Maximum, whereas the XL could go to Dres, Jool, Eeloo, Moho... or even farther. Maybe you could integrate DeepFreeze Continued, and go to other solar systems with Kopernicus. I would say finish the Asimov first, but it may be something you want to think about later.

[v1per]

On 11/7/2016 at 10:42 AM, Kosmonaut said:

Sorry, I was just scrolling through all of the previous comments, and I just thought, there are so many great ideas, but you can't fit them into one spacecraft. So why not make more? I was thinking once you're completely done with the Asimov, then you could make the Asimov-XL (Or something to that effect), with the greenhouse, and centrifuge, and service bay, and cupola, and other large things with all of the normal parts much bigger, and the regular Asimov could be a shorter range thing, like Duna or Eve Maximum, whereas the XL could go to Dres, Jool, Eeloo, Moho... or even farther. Maybe you could integrate DeepFreeze Continued, and go to other solar systems with Kopernicus. I would say finish the Asimov first, but it may be something you want to think about later.

You are absolutely right. The original concept I had for the Asimov was Command Module, Living Quarters, Service Module, Reaction Wheels + RCS Fuel, Fuel Tank and Solar Panels. The engine was something I thought of later. Still, the original balance got thrown off a lot with the addition of other mods, so I'm expanding the original plan to add a bigger fuel tank. I tried a bunch of different arrangements, and I think this is the best one. It's more raw looking, but it doesn't increase the width of the ship by much or the length which are two important goals for me. Here's a very rough mockup:

I already did the calculations and this will bring the Asimov up to the original Duna capability that I wanted. No ETA on when it'll be done as I need to figure out the design properly.

The service module is still on my list of things to improve though. When I started it, the original idea was to keep the part count low. But with the 64 Bit version of the game out, this isn't such a big necessity any more. So, I might possibly separate things in different modules. I don't want to create a Univeral Storage analogue, since well, US already exists and duplicating a system like that seems silly. What I'll do is that once US v2 comes out, I'll create my own fairing for it to fit the theme I'm using for my mods. That said, I had an idea last night to create several big modules that can be stacked as needed. And it could be used for all my ships going forward. Basically, something like:

• Battery module
• Supply Module
• Greenhouse Module
• KIS Container Module
• Cargo Bay Module
• Lab Module (Though this one might possibly become a higher tier Living Module)

And even some that combine things together like a Greenhouse that has less capability, but comes with all resources built in. Anyway, for now it's just an idea and if done it might become separate from the Asimov package. I'll chew more on it. At the very least, the current service module will get a better texture. Same goes for the Living Module and there are improvements coming to the Command Module.

Also, I've been playing with the engine, and I'm not happy with it as a final solution for the Asimov. I think the ship needs something sleeker and higher tech. Basically, you guys are getting another engine 

As far as other ships, I'm already working on something, but it's not very exciting. I'm not a fan of the 2.5m capsule from the base game. And I know there are a bunch of alternatives around, but I'm making my own anyway. Complete with all in one service module based around the Nasa Orion. I want something to ferry my crew from Kerbin to LKO once I have my Asimovs in operation. If there's interest, I'll release it as well.

Finally, I have more ideas, but I'll keep them for myself for now. I'll start thinking about a bigger ship, although Roverdude's Freight mod is excellent, so I'll only do something if I get a really good idea.

Sorry for the long text, but these help me think