Angelo Kerman

You won't have to uninstall Buffalo 1, but once Buffalo 2 is done, I won't provide any further support for the original.

This is outstanding work! Your mods are great fun to use!

My workload is very high with Buffalo 2, and my plan is to be completely done modding KSP 1 by end of the year at the latest. That means I have a limited time to add the Whipcrack into the game. As I did with warp tech and jumpgates, the plugin will handle a variety of different configurations, allowing others with more bandwidth to make custom parts that use the plugin if desired. Hence, I'm planning to add the 3.75m engine and maybe the 1.25m engine and that's it.

Buffalo 2 replaces the original Buffalo completely. While you'll still be able to download and use it, I won't do anything more with it and instead am focusing on Buffalo 2. Buffalo 2 is a separate mod from Buffalo 1 to avoid any issues.

For longer jumps you'd have a couple of options: wait for your engine to cool down, or load up with multiple engines. A key difference between the Whipcrack and the BSG-style jump engine (again, I'm leaning towards making the Whipcrack instead of the BSG) is that when you initiate the jump, your ship moves forward a number of meters according to the distance that you set. You don't just magically end up in orbit around the target moon or target planet. You still have to use other methods of propulsion to speed up, slow down, and enter orbit around said planet or moon.

Yeah, that was the original plan, but looking at the textures, they're not far off from Restock. Plus, when Buffalo 2 is ready, the original Buffalo will be retired. And I figured that since I'm making the aircraft nose variant, I might as well port over the aircraft components as well.

Hm, an "in-system" Size 1 Whipcrack for interplanetary jumps? Maybe something that jumps a max of 1AU (the distance between Kerbin and Kerbol). That would get you to the inner planets pretty easily, but going outward will take a couple of jumps.

It's my day off from modding, but while I waited for my KSP game save to load, I fiddled with the nose a bit more. I'm settled on this, I think: Not as long as before, but still longer than the stub nose. Next week I'll flesh this out. The other thing I looked at is how to revise the tilt-rotors and wings from OG Buffalo. The new wing root will cater to the new body's topside width, and given the problems I've had, the tilt-rotors will get integrated engines instead of running on electric charge (though they may end up dual-mode). I might cram some liquid fuel into the wing-boards as well. I know that I don't want to require Kerbal Actuators to be downloaded with Buffalo 2, so these parts won't be available unless you download the Kerbal Actuators mod. I might even include the revised tilt-rotors as part of Kerbal Actuators...

Hm, did that happen in versions of DSEV prior to 3.12? That is likely happening due to the cryoshelter IVA not being on the proper layer. I'll fix that later this week if that's the case. @Ooglak Kerman are you seeing that in your save?

They're designed to work with DeepFreeze: And an updated aircraft nose:

A warp-powered interplanetary ambulance. I love it!

Yesterday I worked on the last variant for the Buffalo 2 Command Pod that is slated for Phase 1: the Chopper! Here's where it's at: The Chopper variant is something that I wanted to do for the OG Buffalo, but never got around to. As you can see, it works with the V-22 engines from the original mod- I've decided to revise them a bit, but not in Phase 1.

Today I powered through the Pilot House variant of the command pod: The end of Phase 1 is in sight at last.

The idea behind those sofa bed "seats" is that the kerbal either sits upright OR "sits" in the sleeping position, not both unless you're getting cozy... The alert buttons are definitely working, I did thorough testing of them. Be sure to copy Buffalo 2's included WildBlueCore folder. Meanwhile, today I got the Cupola variants for the Buffalo 2 Command Pod. Here's a preview: This is the Station variant of the cupola. As noted a few weeks ago, you'll need to add storage wedges to complete the cylindrical look. And the interior.. Tomorrow I'll tackle the Pilot House front-end variant of the command pod. It will be a superstructure part variant. It's inspired by this:

For those who might not know, Buffalo 2 has a pre-release to play with, and it can be found here. I've updated it with new props- the alert light and alert buttons, as well as the Wild Blue Core plugin that powers them. I also updated the Station textures to give them a "thermal blanket" look. This update is needed if you want to play with the DSEV Refit.

Deep Space Exploration Vessels 3.12 is now available: - Added missing stock inventory storage. - Updated textures on the D2 series of parts to have a "thermal blanket" look. This helps them mesh better with mods like Space Station Parts Redux. - Added "D2 Refit" interior/exterior 3D model updates for the D2 Hab, Science, Briefing Room, and Greenhouse modules, as well as the Clydesdale and Danube Delta, that appear when Bufflo 2 is installed. These "Refit" model updates work like Restock; when Buffalo 2 is installed, the existing parts will get new 3D models. - Added new D2 Stateroom half-sized module. This is only available when Buffalo 2 is installed. - Added new D2 Sickbay half-sized module. This is only available when Buffalo 2 is installed. You'll need Buffalo 2 in order to make use of these changes.

Done.

As I wind down on the DSEV Refit, I had a chance to reflect on Blueshift and its design goal of offering 3 different modes of FTL for players to choose from: warp drives, stargates, and jump engines. The idea being that the tech nodes are expensive, and players should choose between one of the three FTL methods. Currently, warp tech is done, stargate tech is done, and jump engines have been on hold, partly because of time constraints and partly because I haven't settled on a design that I like. The current iteration of jump engines essentially copies Battlestar Galactica, and is detailed here: https://github.com/Angel-125/Blueshift/issues/3. Last night though, I had a fit of inspiration on a unique way to create jump engines, and it is detailed here: https://github.com/Angel-125/Blueshift/issues/19. I am definitely leaning towards the new Whipcrack design paradigm as I haven't seen it done in KSP, it sheds the random die roll approach from the BSG-style engine, it creates a mini-game for the player, and it gives all three kerbal traits- pilot, engineer, and scientist- a way to contribute to Cracking the Whip (initiating the jump). The other thing I'm looking at is adjusting the FTL tech nodes. With Community Tech Tree installed, they'll appear after Unified Field Theory (and require it). There will be 2 tiers of FTL tech nodes. Tier 1 will have Warp Technologies, Gate Technologies, and Jump Technologies. The current jumpgate parts will move to Gate Technologies, and the Whipcrack will take their place in Jump Technologies. Given how fleshed out Warp Technologies is, there won't be a Tier 2 node for it. The Tier 2 nodes would be Improved Gate Technologies- which would offer the miniature jumpgate, and Improved Jump Technologies, which would offer the Whipping Post module. Anyway, I have some research to do on how to draw sinewaves in Unity, but once that's figured out I can build some prototypes. I'm hoping that the Whipcrack will help alleviate concerns about how long it takes to travel between stars via warp tech while offering a new way to travel FTL that still fits in the lore of Blueshift.

Today I hammered my way through the Danube Delta Refit IVA. Both the stock and the MAS versions are done. Here's the MAS version: Almost done with the DSEV Refit!

Today is my day off from modding, but this morning I jotted down some ideas:

Finally tonight, the stock Clydesdale IVA: The captain's ready room and the lounge are unchanged from the MAS version. I should note that I got rid of the vertical bridge since it was too confusing, and replaced it with the captain's ready room- the captain gets a spectacular view. I moved the lounge downstairs where the ready room used to be. That concludes the Clydesdale refit, the last part is the Danube Delta refit...

You might want to download straight from GitHub because I have removed that dependency from my mods.

Today I got the MAS version of the Clydesdale Refit finished: Tomorrow-ish I'll make the stock version...

Yup.

Got the Clydesdale Refit IVA into the game today: Compared to the original: Though I'm not entirely sold on the vertical bridge, the captain's ready room is definitely staying. Tomorrow I'll set up the Clydesdale's props and then start in on the Danube Delta.