Joe Pinball

Instead of trying to re-create KSP on a mobile app (probably impossible)... someone could make a plug-in so that you had a "KSP Mission control lite" on a mobile/tablet. THis might pass over useful parameters & info and allow you (limited) control of a craft, ability to switch craft etc... maybe using a wireframe 3D representation of it? I'm sure that would not be beyond the current crop of smartphones, and means you could keep an eye on your sat mapping project while at school/work/other! Joe

seeing the pic would be appreciated first! (it just looks like a broken pic link to me) Joeeeee

I also had a stab at this: My first effort focussed on getting a Kerb to jump onto one of the big engines, that got me to around 4.5km going straight up. I then decided to add some linear accelerator-style boosters by sticking some upside-down radial boosters onto tanks that were attached to the sides of the main tank, kind of like a rifle bore.... STILL got only 4.5km. someone suggested my Kerbonaut may well have been going too fast to even notice the booster effect, so this time I made it three rows of radial boosters, and increased the gap between them and the starting 'pusher' engine and even with THIS Kerbal Linear accelerator, they STILL peak at 4,538m altitude! I suspect the only way to get higher would be with cfg edits on custom engines to get lolstupid amounts of thrust. Joeeee

[EDIT] -FIXED! I thought you needed BOTH parts on the "mother ship" - turns out that makes it fail. perhaps worth mentioning in the release notes? I take it, I must have the fueltransfer RCS tank on the "recipient" ship? [/EDIT] I have just started to give this mod a try (used version 0.2.0), and for some reason it's not working for me. I have 2 craft close by the pad, one has a 1-Kerb pod+RCS+2 tanks & small engine. The Fuel Transfer one has the Fuel Transfer pod, the modded fuel transfer RCS tank, another RCS tank & 2 fueltanks. As you can see, all I get is the basic UI, which doesn't seem to want to be repositioned unlike MechJeb/other UI elements. Clicking the "System Power" button makes it briefly brighten up. apart from that nothing else seems to happen! I put the FuelTransferMod.dll in the plugins folder and both parts in the parts folder. Anything I am doing stupendously wrong? does this conflict with other plugins in some way? (I run MechJeb Cart, Escapeod, EscapeTower, explosive, hstwLaser, NavLights and PKSMultiJointObject currently) Joe

go into that folder, and everything in the /meshes folder and then restart KSP Joe

At the moment, unless every defective link is hand-edited by a forum mod, this will persist for a while. However it's very easy to find all the most used mods in one of 2 sections of the forums: Either here: Plugin-Powered-Addon-Releases or here: Addon-Releases-and-Projects-Showcase Click through the index pages and I will bet even money you will find what you are looking for within a short time. If a plugin is 'active' and has recent posts on it, it will of course appear right at the top of the list, so making it easy to spot the main "high-traffic" plugins like PowerSats, DYJ robotics, MechJeb and the like. hope this helps! Joe

Try this: hope this helps! Joe

Sorry for necro'ing this thread but a few folks have expressed interest in this escape decoupler and the original downloads (as forum attachments) don't work any more (corrupted file I think). Even though this hasn't been updated in a while, it still works perfectly. I happen to have a clean and still working version of this (the latest one) so have bunged it up on sendspace: [EDIT] ooops! I need to check & get the author's permission before hosting this! pls be patient folks! hope this helps! Joe

If you use MechJeb, when on a flight, simply open the main mechJeb window and select "Vessel Stats" You will get a nice info pane with vessel mass, TWR, etc: however, this is only for a "live" (currently flying) craft. There used to be an "Engineer plugin" which would do a similar thing but while in the VAB, so you could check how your craft was going on. I don't know if this is still up to-date however. hope this helps! Joe

"find" yousrelf a copy of Hiren's BootCD Boot said CD, select the Mini Windows XP run partition find & mount thats on the Live XP you've just booted copy off all you can grab (try RoadKil's Unstoppable Copier, bung it on a pendrive) Joe

I think they fall on land, but around there it's deserted for hundreds of miles in all directions... which is why they located the launch facility there in the first place hehe Joe

If the hatch is obstructed, try rotating the crewtank beofre placing in the VAB with the D/A keys. Each press of D or A will rotate the tank in 90 degree amounts. Holding down SHIFT and pressing D/A key will rotate it in small 10 degree increments. That way you should be able to place the crewtank so that it's hatch is unobstructed by other parts of your craft. Joe

Before you save your craft in the VAB: use your mouse to select the text "Untitled Spacecraft" at the top, then press Delete to remove it. Now type in a suitable name for your craft (for example: "Explorer 1") and THEN press save. This will save endless trips to your SHIPS/VAB folder to rename stuff! hope this helps! Joe

As fas as I am aware: The purple one without a cross through the centre always points towards the 2nd KSC on Kerbin: (would that make it a pro-centre marker?) The purple one with cross/dot through the centre always points away from the 2nd Kerbin KSC feel free to correct, but as far as I am aware these are what the markers do! Joe

Yes, I'm up for this! Lack of bonuses! I can't do it completely stock as there's no stock MechJeb or wobbly hinge, 'rope' part, Rover or drogue chute. I don't really make many spaceplanes so I can;t ferry him back to KSC. I would need a controllable part to re-enter orbit, and for that we need docked multiple craft in .18 (I hope) I started with a 333km circular orbit, and did a full de-orbit burn, then shedding the last stage, leaving the lander "package" to descend. This then deploys a drogue chute to stabilise & slow down the lander assembly. Then it drops it's "heat-shield" and jettisons the drogue chute to fire up the SkyCrane descent motors to (hopefully) bring it to a near-stop above the surface, with the rover paid-out already on the tether, ready for a clean smooth drop. Well that was the plan anyhow... I had already made similar SkyCrane combos for a previous challenge (see http://kerbalspaceprogram.com/forum/showthread.php/16399-Make-a-%2Astable%2A-skycrane-challenge-%2Ahinge-rope-in-thread%2A) However that rocket just made a high ballistic arc to simulate the final part of a re-entry profile, so I had to add some asparagus staging to the first stage, then some SRBS, then a few MORE SRBS, and finally some extra drop-tanks with turbojets for extra cheap lift as well.. Anyway, it grew & grew (as my designs often do!) until this huge rocket was on the pad. Testing quickly revealed the stock 'chute I had used wouldn't even open let alone deploy at the altitudes & speeds I needed it to. I quickly made a copy of the stock 'chute' and edited it a bit, to reduce the pressure at which it opened and made fully opened drag 50 (instead of the stock 500) so turning it into a more realistic drogue chute. A few more tests & struts later and I present to you, SkyCrane VI! http://imgur.com/a/9fJec#0 As you can see from the album I managed to "land" it in a high mountainous area to the west of KSP, although I cocked up the final descent part and ended up with a stuck cart! I'm sure a repeat mission or 3 will yield a good result though hehe. Joe

I have just done a similar challenge over in this thread: http://kerbalspaceprogram.com/forum/showthread.php/16399-Make-a-%2Astable%2A-skycrane-challenge-%2Ahinge-rope-in-thread%2A?p=229834&viewfull=1#post229834 It's all 100% stock parts (so the SkyCrane is a bit bigger & lumpier haha) apart from a cart, MechJeb and the skycrane wobbly hinge & tether from that post. On the plus side, it does do a decent job of recreating a fair bit of the final EDL:- It descends ballistically from 55km and reaches around 730 m/s by around 18km, which is a fair approximation of a re-entry profile. It then deploys a drag chute to slow it down (although it remains furled, so is more there to more accuratley reflect the Curiosity mission profile) After that it drops its "heat shield", and then loses the chute, before firing up the SkyCrane engines to (hopefully) allow for a steady controlled descent to close above the surface. At this point you can wind the tether out to deploy the payload, then sever the connection allowing the rover to be plonked down safely on Kerbin, at which point the SkyCrane will soar up overhead and head off to crash-land a few hundred metres to several km away. I have attached a .craft file & full instructions if anyone fancies giving it a go! maybe rip off my rather basic lifting stage in the VAB and build a proper ascent stage to your liking, and send the thing to Minimus! Joe

This is (I hope) a decent "tester" craft for my hardcore attempt: The hardcore problem: Putting mechjeb/control/command pod on the lander adds some difficulties. Firstly, as the capsule is the top-level "parent" part, the SkyCrane assembly has to go "above" it, which usually means a capsule with an attachment point rather than a MechJeb pod, so we're dealing with live Kerbals here! Also, any attempt to control descent is being effected by the SkyCrane, but the 'target' for such control is at the end of a slightly springy "tether" and wobbling like a pendulum. MechJeb tends to eventually get into a tizzy and the result can be a smooth descent marred by utter chaos and a crash at the last minute. if you manage to actually get the lander within 5 to 10 metres of the ground and not moving too fast horizontally, decouple quickly! controlling it manually leads to pretty much the same lack of control also! My attempt at a solution: This craft's basic premise is to lob the entire SkyCrane & Lander assembly high enough up, so that it returns on a decent ballistic trajectory at high speeds, which is close enough to simulate a proper terminal phase of a re-entry profile. I found through experimentation that without struts, the entire SkyCrane assembly will just flop over & destroy the rocket on the pad the moment it gets unpacked: as the tether's "floppy" behavior is intended, we need lots of struts make it a rigid part of the rocket but also have the ability to get rid of these struts when we want to do the final SkyCrane part. This meant adding a stage with struts and some ballast at the bottom, however I can easily pretend it's the heat-shield part of the martian lander stage! I also decided to add in a chute, even though it would be discarded before it unfurled, to add a touch of drag & also replicate that step in the martian lander. The next problem is how to smoothly migrate from "rigid with struts to stop it falling to bits" to "no struts and still smoothly in control" - I decided the best strategy was to establish a smooth almost vertical descent before decoupling the strut/stiffener bottom stage, so that natural drag would (hopefully) keep the tether taught before the chute would fire to help with increased drag from the top. This approach works, with the added minor issue that the decoupled strut/strengthener stage has LESS drag than the SkyCrane & payload, so tends to remain stuck underneath during cart descent instead of falling away like I wanted it to, so I stuck 4 upside-down engines on it which use the handy small amount of liquid fuel in DYJ's Crew Tank (used as ballast to hekp keep the entire assembly upright during descent). This (usually) blasts this stage clear... After that, the the 'chute is decoupled and the SkyCrane stage is fired, usually using only KILL ROT and keeping it vertical (or trying to when closer to the ground!) Then, use the SkyCrane engines to drift slowly downwards, pay out the tether, keep everything as smooth and as vertical as you can and then decouple when safe & close enough to do so. If you get it right the rover will plop down intact onto the surface and the Skycrane, now freed of it's payload weight, will rise and gently soar overhead just like in the Curiosity landing animations, to crash nicely, from a few hundred meters away to several km. I have attached the craft file for you to have a play with. This one is 100% stock parts except for the following: MechJeb: in AR-202 case on capsule SkyCrane: hinge and 'cylinder' HSTW carts: Large cart Damned Robotics: 1 metre truss Operation: Once the rocket has unpacked, DO NOT use the SkyCrane controls to adjust the tether length! as it is held in place with struts, you will put huge forces on it and possibly break the rocket. Use SmartASS KILL ROT function, wind up to 100% throttle and launch. Leave the rocket pointing straight up, all the way until it runs out of fuel. When the lifter stage is empty decouple it: enjoy a minute or 2 of weightless as you coast to ApoKee, which should be around 55km. Now dial up 2/3 throttle, ready for when you need thrust later. As you begin to descend, try & keep the craft vertical with KILL ROT still. At around 15 km, deploy chute. (it has little effect but what the hey, it adds a bit of realism) Once down to around 200 m/s and/or 3km altitude, fire the retro engines for the ballast & strut stage, and then immediately stage it (I tried to do this all in one but it decouples before the engines fire, and so wont work as intended). Hopefully this will shoot away and veer off to one side. As soon as the ballast & strut stage is cleanly descending, decouple the chute; and then stage again to fire the SkyCrane engines. If you remembered to pre-set the throttle to 2/3, this should gently bring your vertical speed down to something manageable. Now it's up to you to get a nice slow descent speed, and pay out the tether enough. I suspect the way the SkyCrane 'drives' is dependent largely on how much you pay out the tether: too long and it will be almost impossible to manage. When close enough to the ground, a final decouple should allow the SkyCrane stage to soar up and overhead, gently keeling over in a nice satisfying long arc to end in an excellent medium-sized explosion a few hundred metres or more away, and your cart/lander safely on Kerbin! staging: Stage 0 - capsule and Cart (could be lander/probe ofc) Stage 1 - final SkyCrane decoupler Stage 2 - Skycrane proper, 4 engines 5 small tanks 2 RCS tanks + RCS thrusters + SAS Stage 3 - 'chute decoupler Stage 4 - Strut & ballast stage decoupler Stage 5 - ballast tank & 4 retro rockets, struts to keep SkyCrane rigid. Stage 6 - 'chute deploy Stage 7 - lifter stage decoupler Stage 8 - main lifter stage --------------------------------------- Enjoy! Joe

you make the "rope" yourself using fuel line. there are 2 parts: the hinge and the cylinder. the cylinder is what would be the rope (but it only shows up as 2 flat squares) a quick search for IRII escape decoupler will reward you with: http://kerbalspaceprogram.com/forum/showthread.php/7678-Plugin-Part-KSP-0-14-Escape-Decoupler-Alpha note: it was designed for .14 but still works perfectly with .16. Joe I have now switched myself to the stock decoupler, as so few folks seem to know where it is! P.S. I'm still struggling to do the hardcore part of the challenge with any reliability...

For some strange reason the "rope" (modded cylinder) doesn't display correctly for me either in the VAB or at launch. Nevertheless I carried on, knocked up a simple crane of MechJeb pod, 2 RCS tanks (never got around to adding RCS jets tho!), 4 small tanks, with 4 of those boob-shaped engines hung off each tank. underneath is a skycrane hinge, 'rope' part, and an IRII escape decoupler (could have used a normal one I guess, but this one is triggered by a hotkey instead). underneath that I slung a stock cart to simulate the rover probe. I went to launch, and then tested I could lower the cart to the launch pad base, and then wound it back close to the SKyCrane Mk 1 I pressed space to launch, and dialled up minimum thrust on the motors, then used TranslaTron's KEEP VERT function with Kill H/S (Horizontal Speed) also selected, dialled in 1 m/sec, and pressed execute. Once MechJeb had cranked the throttle past 1/3, I pressed space to fire the decouplers, and gently sailed majestically skywards! After that, I waited until i was slightly above the VAB, and then dialled in 0 for vert speed so was now hovering, and then nudged the skycrane slooowly until it was hovering perfectly above the VAB, and then lowered the cart until it was almost above the VAB, and activated the decoupler. Huge Success! \o/ alas, the force of the jets as I moved away from the VAB then made the cart fall off and land on the pad below! having proven the point that it worked (this was a quick first run, I haven't even added RCS jets, this is completely stable when flown as above) I then dialled in -1 on the KEEP VERT to gently descend next to the slighlty dented Rover. Album below: http://imgur.com/a/plOR8#0 also, I have attached the .craft file. the only non-stock item is the IRII escape decoupler, feel free to substitute it with a stock one however, and add it as a stage above the launch clamps! Joe

I decided, before 'fixing' struts etc, and possible changing staging (let along ADDING another stage!), to try fly the stock craft. After blowing up a few times I realised throttling was the key. My first 'serious' attempt was with the original crew, but alas they blew up finding out how little throttle was needed! my second crew fared a lot better though: link to imgur album Joe 8) P.S. craft was 100% stock, completely unmodified from the original download, even though I was aching to put a MechJeb on it, purely for the orbital & surface info, I didn\'t and used just the supplied stock ASAS.

Questions... 1) as the initial staging is a bit sucky, can we move existing stuff around so it stages better? 2) I notice a lot of 'unattached' struts. is this intention or are we allowed to actually make them connect TO stuff? Joe 8) thinking of more questions

you star! just what I needed! ty <3 Joe 8)

I have always wanted to re-create the Apollo-style of missions with KSP. However, to truly re-create them you\'d need docking (which would also bring multiple independent craft flown as a group, also needed) - which we don\'t have yet. Another snag I\'m sure many of you have already found out, watching in horror as your planned ships disintegrated, is decoupled 'mini ships' seem to blow all THEIR decouplers as well. This makes it impossible to 'graft on' to the main rocket a mini lander consisting of more than one stage: once separated from the parent craft any remaining decoupler (that I am aware of) fires. ...except one! a throwback to .14, but still working perfectly now, the IRII escape decoupler ONLY fires when you press it\'s defined hotkey (defaults to B I think, editable in it\'s cfg file) Suddenly, with the addition of a few bits and pieces (DamnYouJapan\'s crewtank, scaled-down to 1m size & stats, a small mechjeb, escape decoupler, a tiny very flat engine & fueltank, a couple of live Kerbals for control) I could have myself a viable Lunar Lander! I could de-orbit to a precise (hopefully) location, and land with it\'s descent stage and engine: and then later on (after suitable exploring has been carried out in the name of Kerbal Science and Jeb\'s desire to try & wheelie the rover) the ascent stage could seperate for the return to orbit & rendevous with the orbiting command & service module, for crew transfer. Then they could discard the now spent ascent stage and return to Kerbin to a ticker-tape parade! It has to be done! It\' still a work in progress, but this is what I have got so far... Question is, is it too heavy? will the lander part be controllable? only time will tell... Joe 8)

Poor old Jeb! Stranded on the Mun after he totalled his Munar Rover probe cart... not like him at all, that... So we sent Bill & Bob (and don\'t forget Siglock!) out to rescue him with a heavy 2.5m-based Munar Rescue Lander, complete with DamnYouJapan\'s crewtank (seats 5). It also had a laser as 'Jeb said it was a good idea and had a spare one' It features 4 very powerful landing engines, which can be dumped for the return trip, using just the small retro braking disc underneath. Amazingly I manually landed it first time 1.1km away from Jeb. here\'s Bill outside basking in the achievement of a nice safe landing with plenty spare fuel for the return trip: Joe 8)

I had tried out Universe Sandbox last year around October time, and after it expired (demo version) I noticed it had a link to KSP. I followed the link, downloaded the new .13 version, and I\'ve been hooked* ever since! Joe 8) *hooked: I last played Skyrim on 3rd Feb this year, and I LOVED Skyrim, that shows how much I love KSP!!!