Angelo Kerman

Kerbal Flying Saucers 0.6: Gravitic Engines Update, is now available: New Gravitic Engines - GND-00 "Beta" Gravitic Engine: This is a 1.25m (Size 1) self-contained gravitic engine that has a built-in fusion reactor and gravitic generator. With Blueshift installed, the generator can switch between Propellium and Fusion Pellets. - GND-01 "Quantum" Gravitic Engine: This is a 2.5m (Size 2) self-contained gravitic engine that has a built-in fusion reactor and gravitic generator. With Blueshift installed, the generator can switch between Propellium and Fusion Pellets. New Storage Tanks The following tanks can store a wide variety of different resources including Propellium and Graviolium. NOTE: These parts are only available if you don't have Blueshift installed. - Mk2 Omni Tank - Mk3-S3 Omni Tank - S-1 Omni Tank - S-2 Omni Tank - S-3 Omni Tank - S-1 Omni Endcap Tank - S-2 Omni Endcap Tank Changes - Added new WBIGraviticEngineGenerator part module. It combines a resource generator with the gravitic engine. It is capable of switching between two or more resource modes defined by a RESOURCE_MODE config node. - Added support for EVA Repairs, if installed. You can find the mini-mod here. Kerbal Flying Saucers is not done yet! The Flapjack is feature complete, and now the standalone gravitic engines are done. The only thing left is the Excalibur mothership- but it needs to wait awhile longer because 1) the IVAs are killing me and 2) I really want to finish SunkWorks before the end of the year, and I've only got 3 months left. At least I've gotten through my burnout...

I'm liking how the artwork on this turned out: In the home stretch, I have some plugin changes to make, then I can finally kick this release out the door.

KSPedia was borked awhile ago due to changes in how KSPedia files are created. Check out the wiki instead. But please bear in mind that at this point, BARIS is on its way out and my ability to support it is limited. By end of 2021 I'll be retiring the mod. Meanwhile, I'm focused on its successor, EVA Repairs:

You can definitely opt-in other parts via Module Manager, but out of the box, EVA Repairs doesn't add them in order to keep things simple. The wiki explains how to add additional parts via Module Manager patches. Unlike BARIS, EVA Repairs doesn't need Module Manager to add part failure functionality to engines, drills, generators, and converters. It's done automatically. Also unlike BARIS, EVA Repairs is enabled by default, but you can temporarily turn it off if needed. There is indeed a dev thread for it: I haven't looked at either of these. EVA Repairs is intended to be simple and lightweight with few configurable options.

Latest Release CKAN? YES Wiki Source Code (GPL-V3) All artwork is All Rights Reserved Special thanks to @Rocketology for helping me test this mod. Be sure to check out his stream! Valentina switched on the Acapello's fuel cell. Nothing happened- except for a dull thump. The battery levels kept dropping. She used the tried and true method to troubleshoot the issue by slamming her hand against the instrument panel. That still didn't help. Not good. Without a working fuel cell, the mission was doomed. "Time to suit up," she said. "Jandolin, grab your repair kit, go outside, and see what's wrong with the fuel cell." Jandolin gulped. "Me?" Valentina barely heard her response. "You're the engineer," she retorted... The stock KSP game now has EVA Repair Kits that are used to fix things like solar panels, wheels, and landing legs. But why not use them to fix engines, drills, and ISRU converters? With EVA Repairs, now you can! This mini-mod introduces part wear and tear, but only to a select few parts like the aforementioned engines, drills, and ISRU converters. These parts all have a Mean Time Between Failure (MTBF) rating, and when that rating reaches zero, the part is disabled until a kerbal or a repair bot goes outside and fixes it with one or more EVA Repair Kits. Once fixed, the part is re-enabled. There are a few configuration options to choose from depending upon how difficult you want your game. To change them: What the Options Do Parts require maintenance: Enabled by default, this option gives you the ability to temporarily turn off EVA Repairs' functionality. Parts can fail when activated: When enabled, whenever an engine, drill, generator, or converter starts, there is a possibility that it will fail. Parts fresh out of the VAB/SPH are highly unlikely to fail, but vessels that have been out there for awhile are more likely to fail. Parts can wear out: When enabled, each time you repair a part it loses some Mean Time Between Failure (MTBF). If you have no more MTBF, then the part fails and can no longer be repaired. You must enable Parts can fail when activated in order to enable this option. Flight experience improves future Reliability: When enabled, Reliability becomes a factor when determining if a part will fail when activated. You must enable Parts can fail when activated in order to enable this option. Reliability represents the flight experience that's gained when using the part, similar to the knowledge gained during the Firefly test flight. When you start the engine, drill, generator, or converter, you gain flight experience that applies to the next flight (but the part on the current flight's Reliability remains unchanged). If the activation check fails, then you also gain Reliability, more than you do when the check succeeds. AND you gain a bit of Science! Starting Reliability: This slider lets you set the Reliability rating that all parts start with. For a more challenging experience, you can lower the starting Reliability, or raise it for an easier time. You must enable Flight experience improves future Reliability in order to adjust this setting. Starting MTBF: This slider lets you set the Mean Time Between Failures rating that all parts start with. The default is 600 hours, but you can adjust the slider all the way up to 6000 hours if desired. If a vessel in flight has less than the starting MTBF then it will be updated to the new starting MTBF. Tech Level Affects Reliability: When enabled, the starting and maximum Reliability improves as technology improves. At the R&D building's starting Level 1, the maximum possible Reliability that a part can attain is 90%. At Level 2, the maximum improves to 95%. If parts previously reached the 90% maximum Reliability cap, then further testing can bring them up to 95%. And at Level 3, the maximum caps at 99%. Again, parts can be further tested to 99% Reliability. Similarly, starting with General Rocketry, as you unlock the various rocketry tech tree nodes (General Rocketry, Advanced Rocketry, Heavy Rocketry, Heavier Rocketry, Very Heavy Rocketry), the starting Reliability of a part with no flight experience improves by 1 to 10%, potentially allowing parts with no flight experience to start at the maximum possible Reliability. Example: your starting Reliability is 50%, and you unlock General Rocketry. The game rolls up a 5% starting Reliability bonus for General Rocketry. You start testing the LV-T30 "Reliant," which has never flown before. Instead of starting with 50% Reliability, it starts with 55% Reliability. Since your R&D building is currently at Level 1, the maximum Reliability that the LV-T30 can attain is 90%. Engines, drills, converters, and generators all automatically gain the ability to fail. But the following parts are completely optional: Reaction wheels can fail: When enabled, reaction wheels are subjected to MTBF, can optionally fail during activation checks, and can optionally have Reliability ratings. Reaction wheels don't lose MTBF when SAS is off, but when you turn SAS on or off, there's a possibility that they can fail. Probe cores can fail: When enabled, probe cores are subjected to MTBF, can optionally fail during activation checks, and optionally have Reliability ratings. Probe cores don't lose MTBF when they're hibernating, and they can fail when they go into or out of hibernation. Deployable landing gear and legs can fail: When enabled, landing gear and legs that deploy can fail during activation checks, and optionally have Reliability ratings. The activation check will happen when you extend or retract the landing gear or leg, and they'll constantly lose MTBF. Enable Debug Mode: This is a simple toggle for debugging purposes, You can use it to manually break and repair parts. Useful Information FAQ Q: CKAN? A: Yup! Q: Robonaut? A: What's with all the one-word questions? Q: Does this replace Building A Rocket Isn't Simple (BARIS)? A: Yes. BARIS will be retired, and its thread locked, by end of 2021. EVA Repairs is its successor. Q: Can you make flight control surfaces/transmitters/parachutes/part X fail? A: Out of the box? No. EVA Repairs is supposed to be lightweight. But the mod supports Module Manager patches that add ModuleEVARepairs to other parts. Check out the wiki for details. Q: Why aren't all the options enabled when you install the mod? A: As with BARIS, different people have different preferences. With no other options enabled, EVA Repairs gives reason for kerbals to step outside and perform maintenance. When parts can fail upon activation, older vessels will tend to break down. With the parts wear out option, the mod encourages replacement of aging space stations and vessels. When Reliability becomes a factor, parts might fail during launch. And with the Reliability slider, you can make it harder to grind out part Reliability- or easier depending upon your preferences. Q: In the real-world, engines have a 99.9% reliability. Why does EVA Repairs max out at 99% reliability? A: Because KSP is a game, and EVA Repairs is designed to make parts fail. Seriously, if you feel that parts shouldn't fail, then disable the Flight experience improves Reliability option, and/or disable Parts can fail when activated. There's a reason that those options are off by default.

Making progress on the 2.5m gravitic engine...

I haven't really thought about that, actually. I did make a Hydrazine template- it's in the life support resources folder- but I could imagine a "Distillery" converter like: @PART[Large_Crewed_Lab] { MODULE { name = SnacksConverter ConverterName = Distillery StartActionName = Start Distillery StopActionName = Stop Distillery AutoShutdown = false GeneratesHeat = false UseSpecialistBonus = false //At least one crew needs to be in the part to run the converter. minimumCrew = 1 //This condition is set whenever the kerbal enters the part and the converter is active, and //when the converter is started. Since it's registered as a SKILL_LOSS_CONDITION, the kerbals will lose their //skills while the converter is running. conditionSummary = Brewing INPUT_RESOURCE { ResourceName = ElectricCharge Ratio = 0.4 FlowMode = STAGE_PRIORITY_FLOW } INPUT_RESOURCE { ResourceName = Monopropellant Ratio = 0.0000121 FlowMode = STAGE_PRIORITY_FLOW } OUTPUT_RESOURCE { ResourceName = HydrazineVodka Ratio = 0.0000121 FlowMode = ALL_VESSEL } //Works like an INPUT_RESOURCE except: // It applies to individual kerbals. // You can specify an AmountPerDay or AmountPerSecond. ROSTER_INPUT_RESOURCE { ResourceName = Stress //AmountPerDay will be translated into: AmountPerDay / seconds per homeworld day //This will override AmountPerSecond if it is defined in the node. AmountPerDay = 1 } } }

Finally got the size 1 gravitic engine done:

Works great in 1.11, I suspect 1.12 is no different:

It's not an advanced battery, so it's bound to be heavier/not as efficient. It's called Mark One Laboratory Extensions for a reason... But if it really bugs you, you can always create a module manager patch for it.

Yup, just rename the .txt file to .cfg, and you're good to go. No need to move the file.

FreshAir and Stress are not enabled by default in order to keep Snacks as a basic life support system. To enable Stress and FreshAir, go to the Life Support Resources folder and rename the .txt files to .cfg

I got the plugin work for EVA Repairs, my simplified successor to BARIS, completed. It has a significantly reduced option set: The first option is enabled by default, but the rest aren't. And if you disable any of them, it won't brick your ship. Parts can wear out: When you repair a part, it could lose some of its Mean Time Between Failures rating. If it drops to 0 then the part has worn out and can no longer be repaired. This will help encourage you to replace aging space stations and vessels. Parts fail when activated: Whenever you activate a part such as starting an engine, then it could fail. The chance of failure depends upon its current MTBF rating. Older parts tend to fail more often than newer ones. Flight experience improves future Reliability: For the ultimate challenge, parts aren't very reliable when you first get them, but flight experience will improve future missions that have that part installed- and give you Science when the part fails! Think of how the Firefly rocket failed, but engineers still learned a lot from the mission. Only a limited set of part types including engines, generators, drills, and converters will potentially fail and optionally wear out. Parts that have an engine, generator, drill, or converter will automatically be given the part failure module. Of course, if you want more types of parts to fail, you can add the part module via Module Manager. To repair them, you need 1 or more stock EVA Repair Kits. The editor's part info list will tell you what the requirements are to repair the part if it fails. You don't have to have an engineer go out on EVA to fix things. Instead, you can send out a repair bot (the part hasn't been made yet, this is just a test): EVA Repairs isn't done yet, but you can give it a try if you like. There's even a small wiki for it.

BARIS 1.11.1 should fix the issue. For issues with Extraplanetary Launchpads, I'm not sure what to do there. It's hard to believe, but BARIS is now 4 years old! I've learned quite a bit since then. Looking back, I wish I had done several things differently, like how the breakable part modules work. Also, the mod has had LOTS of complaints about causing part failures- which was the whole point of the mod. I mean, why install BARIS if you wanted parts to be reliable? Looking back, I would've done several things differently, like using a completely different method to disable part modules when a part breaks. Instead of having ModuleBreakable... part modules derived from their non-breakable versions, and having a required plugin bridge that all my mods at the time needed even if BARIS wasn't installed, I would have just disabled the affect part modules. I would have also limited what types of parts could break to just converters, drills, and engines- and maybe probe cores that weren't hibernating. Vessel integration probably wouldn't be a thing either- I'd just rely on KCT. And I wouldn't bother with trying to make parts fail while a vessel was out of focus- that proved to just slow down the game. It could've been handled by a "catch up" mechanic that is employed when you focus on the vessel again. What I can see after 4 years is that BARIS was just too complicated and it required players to make too much of an effort to configure it to their liking. And as a result, I got a lot of complaints. So, I recently started with a clean slate to apply lessons learned and leverage the fact that KSP 1 has reached its final form. I went back to the drawing board to figure out how to implement my original purpose for BARIS: make things wear out to encourage replacing things like ships and stations. To that end, I'm working on a new soon-to-be-released mini-mod called EVA Repairs that could be thought of as BARIS-Lite. With EVA Repairs: Parts have a Mean Time Between Failures (MTBF), just like in BARIS. When that MTBF runs out, the part fails. EVA Repairs is smart and only reduces MTBF when an engine, drill, generator, or converter is left running (or, possibly, when a probe core is hibernating). Only a select few part modules can fail, including engines, drills, generators, and converters- and maybe unkermanned probe cores. BUT, for each part config, you have the ability to add additional part modules that can fail via the part's config node. If an engine that's currently running can't be shut off (I'm looking at you, SRBs), then I might have it decouple, explode, or just be excluded from failing. I'm leaning towards having it decouple from the vessel- with spectacular results. Instead of making Breakable versions of part modules, when a part fails, EVA Repairs simply disables the part module so that it no longer runs, and its UI no longer shows up. EVA Repairs is smart enough to shut down engines, generators, drills, and converters beforehand. When parts fail, the stock event onPartFailed is called. Similarly, when a part is repaired, the stock event onPartFixed is called. It also calls the part module's OnInactive virtual method. This allows me and other modders to customize what happens when a part module fails right before it's disabled by EVA Repairs. Instead of requiring the custom Equipment resource to repair parts, EVA Repairs requires one or more stock EVA Repair Kits. Various parts will require engineers with 1 or more skill ranks. You don't need a kerbal to go on EVA if you have a T.H.O.M.P.B.E.R.R.Y. Repair Bot with EVA Repair Kits in its inventory that detaches from the vessel to go fix the broken part. If you haven't visited a vessel in awhile, then the MTBF reduction will account for how long it's been and then "catch up" when you return. That's the basis of EVA Repairs. You can have a grand old time with just the basics. But you can ratchet up the challenge a notch by enabling the ability for parts to wear out. If you do: Each time a part is repaired, it loses a percentage of its maximum MTBF. The exact amount is determined by the EVA Repairs config node for the part. When a part runs out of MTBF and it has no more maximum MTBF to replenish it, it not only fails, it wears out and can no longer be repaired. Just those two options is enough to encourage replacement of stations and vessels, which again, is what I originally wanted BARIS to do. But you can make things harder if you wish. You can enable the option for parts to fail upon activation. If you do that: When a part is activated, such as when you activate an engine, there's a chance that the engine could fail. This happens when you manually turn on the engine through the Part Action Window, or when you activate a stage on the craft. The chance of failure is based on MTBF, so the longer the vessel has been out there, the greater the chance of part failure when you activate it. The target number to avoid a failure is: 100 * (current MTBF / max MTBF). You have to roll at or lower than the target number to avoid a part failure. Your vehicle launches aren't likely to fail with the above options enabled, because all parts start with their maximum possible MTBF when you launch. So, if you REALLY want a challenge, then enable part Reliability. You'll have to allow parts to possibly fail upon activation in order to enable Reliability. If enabled: Parts have a Reliability rating akin to BARIS's quality rating. The starting Reliability is 50 out of a possible 100, but you can slide that upwards to a max of 80 starting Reliability or downwards to a minimum of 30. Reliability represents flight experience with the part. Improvements to Reliability are applied to future vehicles, not the current vehicle. Thus, when a part is launched, its Reliability will never change. If Reliability is enabled, then the activation check's target number becomes: 100 *(current MTBF / maxMTBF) - (100 * (Reliability / 100)) If a part succeeds its activation check, then you'll gain 10 Reliability points for future missions, So if your Vector engine has 30 Reliability and the check succeeds, then the Vector on the next flight will have 40 Reliability. If a part fails its activation check, then in addition to failing, you'll gain 5 Reliability points for future missions. So, your if your Vector engine has 40 Reliability, and the check fails, then the Vector on the next launch will have 45 Reliability. If a part fails its activation check, then in addition to failing and requiring repairs, you'll gain 2 points of Science, up to a maximum of 10 points of Science per part type. So once you max out, say, the Vector's science gains, then you won't gain any more Science if the activation check fails. This mechanic simulates the knowledge gained when the real-world Firefly test launch failed. With all those options enabled, EVA Repairs gives you most of the core functionality from BARIS, but without the huge number of optional parameters like deciding if parachutes/transmitters/decouplers can fail, or how many High Bays you want for vehicle integration- for that matter, there's no complexities with vehicle integration. You also don't have a Test Bench- for simplicity, you must fly to improve Reliability. And there aren't any payroll requirements or random events to contend with either. With 3 configurable options, EVA Repairs becomes a lot simpler than BARIS, and you can disable them without bricking your mission. Is your starting Reliability too low for you? Then increase it and parts in the field will increase their Reliability to match the new minimum. Is Reliability simply too much to handle? Then disable it and it'll no longer be factored into the activation check. Or just get rid of the activation check altogether- Reliability will be ignored. Don't want parts to wear out? No problem, just disable that option, and parts in the field that are worn out will suddenly become repairable. EVA Repairs is the wave of the future, but what does that mean for BARIS? Sadly, with my limited free time, it means that BARIS's time is nearing the end. I won't have much time to maintain it and its successor. Like KSP 1.12,2, BARIS 1.11.1 is likely to be the last revision of the mod. And while my older mods (Pathfinder, MOLE, DSEV, Buffalo, Heisenberg) will have legacy support for BARIS, my newer mods (Kerbal Flying Saucers, Blueshift, Mk-33) will use EVA Repairs. In fact, Blueshift already has a built-in prototype of EVA Repairs- which will soon be replaced by its successor as well. I would like to thank everybody who has tolerated BARIS for the past 4 years, your thoughts and feedback have influenced its successor. I can provide limited support for BARIS until the end of 2021, but after that I have to focus my attention elsewhere. If there is someone who'd like to take the reins of BARIS, please feel free to DM me and we can talk about what that'd look like. Thanks again, and I hope you'll give EVA Repairs a look when it's released.

No plans right now, unless someone wants to try making configs for the linear aerospike. @JadeOfMaar's plumes look quite nice. Copy the entire WildBlueIndustries folder from the zip into your GameData folder.

Glad you like the new easter egg. You'll find it somewhere in space if you have Blueshift installed and space anomalies enabled. If you don't then the UFO becomes a part available in the VAB/SPH.

Yup! By the second tier tech node, Gravity Wave Applications, the kerbals are figuring out how the engines work and start making improvements. These engines are a stepping stone to the mothership’s massive engine that has multiple power generators. Meanwhile, I got the plugin for the self-contained gravitic engine working tonight: It properly produces resources, drains them, and shuts off when the Static Charge is full. Additionally, I have a new lightweight mini mod based on Blueshift’s part failure system. It is an alternative to BARIS that leverages the stock repair kits without all the part testing, construction times, and random events that BARIS has. It is slightly better than the Blueshift system because it automatically handles engines, generators, and converters, and you can specify additional part modules that are disabled as well. And it can handle failures when an engine starts up. You can even configure a part to wear out and require replacement. I plan to replace Blueshift’s built in system with the mini mod while keeping it separate and entirely optional. For KFS, if the gravitic engine fails its functions are completely disabled and you will need skilled engineers with repair kits to fix it- or a repair bot with repair kits.

Working on the self-contained gravitic engines. First up is the GND-00 "Beta" Gravitic Engine: The modeling and unwrap work is done, but I still need to paint and finish rigging it. This engine is as fast as the Flapjack's but it has ~4 times the gravity wave output of the original (50 Gravity Waves / sec versus 12 in the original). It runs on Graviolium and Propellium, but if you have Blueshift installed then it can switch to Graviolium and Fusion Pellets. This is inspired by the GN Beta Drive that Geoff Herndon made for his side story:

Parts that don't have thumbnail images will only have the default box icon. It's up to KSP to add the thumbnail images.

Showing some love of KAS: In-flight loading of payloads into the Mk-33 wouldn't be possible without this mod. Thanks @IgorZ!

For the warp cores, engines, and gravitic generators, you could try editing the config files so that, for GravityWaves, you set DumpExcess = false. See if that helps any. If it does then I'll fix that in the next release.

Have you seen the wiki? The way it works, warp engines make the ship go, warp coils make the ship go fast, and gravimetric generators give you the power to energize the warp coils. The generators can be used without the warp coils and engines; they're intended to power the jump engine that I'm planning on.

I finished up Kerbal Flying Saucers' A-51 Flapjack part set. The last part was the landing strut.

Kerbal Flying Saucers 0.5 is now available: This release is a major milestone: the A-51 Flapjack is feature complete! It's been a long road, and one with lots of bumps. The A-51 was originally just a proof of concept to ensure that the plugin worked correctly and that I could make a saucer-shaped aircraft that could fly. But, it morphed into the craft that it is today. It is a complete solution from its early days as a jet-powered VTOL prototype to a rocket-powered lenticular reentry vehicle- based on a real-world Air Force proposal- to a flying saucer powered by gravity waves. Now that it is complete, I can focus on the self-contained gravitic engines (coming next release) and the mothership (as time and sanity permits). New Parts - A-51 Conference Room: This is an alternate version of the A-51 Crew Cabin. It has an interior configured for meetings. Thanks for the suggestion @adsii1970! - Mk2 Engine Plate: This is similar to the Making History engine mounts, but it is made for the Mk2 form factor. - IXS Cockpit: This is a custom Size 2 cockpit that can be fitted with 3 A-51 saucer sections. The design is inspired by the IXS Enterprise cockpit created by Mark Rademaker. - A-51 Landing Strut: This is a landing strut designed for the A-51. it is node-attached to the keel (with another node for saucer sections). Changes - Deprecated the existing A-51 Engine Mount and replaced it with a newer version, called the A-51-Mk2 Adapter, that adapts the A-51 saucer to the Mk2 part set. - Deprecated the existing A-51 Linear Aerospike and replaced it with a newer version that fits the Mk2 form factor. - Updated the Flapjack parts and textures to be closer to Restock. - Added missing stock cargo inventory to the A-51 Crew Cabin. - Added a stock/Near Future Props IVA to the A-51 Cockpit that will automatically be enabled when MOARdV's Avionics Systems isn't installed. - Removed the A-51 Mk1 Adapter, A-51 Size 1.875m Adapter, A-51 Size 1.5 Shroud, A-51 to Mk2 Shroud, A-51 Size 2 Adapter, and A-51 Size 2 Shroud. These are no longer needed as a result of adding the A-51-Mk2 Adapter. - Hid the Advanced Alien Engineering tech tree node when Community Tech Tree is installed; parts slated for AEE will be found in CTT's Unified Field Theory node instead. - Fixed issue where drills were not harvesting graviolium on planetary surfaces that had the resource. - Added new stock Easter Egg-inspired flying saucer Space Anomaly that appears if you have Blueshift installed. NOTE: If you don't have Blueshift installed, then the UFO becomes available in the VAB/SPH. Known Issues - The DepthMask for the Landing Strut's gear well isn't working properly and appears to be an issue with the landing strut's interaction with DepthMask. - The Landing Strut lacks a functioning suspension system due to the way the game works. It has high impact tolerance to compensate.

Moved to Add-on Development. This is more a new mod under development than a texturing discussion.