ultrasquid

It's just good to hear you're back.

I'd like to learn more about this.

We're talking about a mod here. If you don't like it you don't have to use it, but don't go dissing the idea.

I'm thinking more in terms of added play value than realism, but you've raised some good points. The types and values of these treasures could be biome specific, and some might respawn while others would not (mushrooms vs. minerals, for example). But to encourage exploration, perhaps there would be dozens of low value objects and only a few high value ones that offer special bonuses in difficult-to-reach places at the end of these trails.

We're still talking about Kerbals, aren't we? How serious can it get?

Maybe these will be of some use to you:

re 1&2: In my vision there would be hundreds of these objects arranged in patterns that facilitate running and jumping. Right-clicking to retrieve each one would be mind-numbingly tedious. They would appear when a kerbal approaches their area, and would respawn after a significant delay from their moment of collection (this interval could be variable, but long enough to keep a player from standing around and waiting for them). 3. A sound, a small particle effect, and a number indicating the object's value, for example. 4. The value of the collected objects would go into a Kerbal's pocket (probably a new custom resource), which would then be converted to Funds upon recovery.

Does the technology for this already exist in a mod, or in the Unity engine ? I figure the following things need to happen, though I'm sure there is a lot of deeper stuff involved in actually programming it. 1. target objects are spawned at ground level 2. kerbal collides with target object 3. object disappears and other effects 4. points are registered Seems fairly straightforward to me, but again, I'm no programmer.

I generally don't approve of such imagery, but in a battle of good vs. evil, somebody has to play the bad guys, I guess.

I just would like to give an excuse for Kerbals to get out of their vehicles and run and jump around for a while, rather than just take a surface sample, plant a flag, and go home.

I don't know what to tell you on that one. Did you only install the Firespitter.dll?

Good lord I hope not.

Could be gems or crystals or whatever, carefully arranged on trails or distributed in more natural patterns, or both. I figured their value wouldn't add into the total funds until the kerbal who collected them was recovered. Still very much at the "throwing ideas against the wall" stage.

Right now Funds come from accepting and completing contracts. But, what if they were just sitting around the place waiting to be picked up? Since the early days of video games, there have been those that involved gathering markers to accumulate points, such as Pac-Man, Super Mario Bros., Sonic The Hedgehog, and many others. Why not on Kerbin too? At the KSC alone the coins or whatever treasure marker you decide upon could be arranged along the service roads and stairwells of the buildings, and other locations could have fields of gold around them too. This would encourage rover and EVA exploration. Some could even be midair targets that must be collided or shot down with a spaceplane. The coins should individually be of low value (1-100√) so that while being a fun diversion they aren't so valuable they take away form the main game mechanic of accepting contracts. They might respawn, but slowly, say a year of game time after being first collected, for the same reasons. This idea isn't fully fleshed out. There are lots of adjustments to be made, and I have no idea how to implement it or even if it could be within the constraints of the game engine. Anybody else have any thoughts on this?

Another use for the balloon, you could pack one into a rocket payload to use as a passive communication reflector satellite, like those used in Project Echo or OVI-08 PasComSat.

The Firespitter.dll has been updated, but not the parts, though they probably still work if you get the latest dll. They are separate downloads right now.

I did once have a variable oblique wing plane that flew rather nicely, but that was many versions back. It's not hard to build with the help of an Infernal Robotics rotatron.

I think I might have figured out why the RetroFuture parts were failing. I had a munged Firespitter plugin install. I had the updated dll file but neglected to include the resources folder from the parts package. Electrical engines require the FSCoolant resource, and if it's not installed the load will hang. I had a similar problem with another set of parts, and that correcting that oversight fixed it, so I'll check if these are likewise affected. Edit: Confirmed! I haven't tried to use the parts yet, but it was the missing Firespitter resource that was causing the hang on loading.

Relax. He's on vacation.

I see you're updating almost all your packs tonight. Are they all like this one? If we already have them installed do we just need to update Regolith, CRP, and USI Tools? Or are there things besides those updated in the other packs?

The Firespitter.dll plugin v7.54… will work with KSP 0.90 and supports several other aviation mods. It's unclear whether the Firespitter parts are compatible with KSP 0.90. I don't blame you for your confusion. I'm still confused.

You can try making a sort of bipod using the included stick to aim your sounding rockets if you want them to go somewhere other than straight up.

Someone up the thread made it work using a combination of KAS winches and Active Struts.

Yes, you don't get them all at once. Makes things more interesting that way.

I've had some success using the radial-mount cockpits from RetroFuture with the Mk IV parts to come up with some interesting new configurations. It's not updated to 0.90 yet, though.