nerdboy64

I'm still getting used to the new aerodynamics, so I always end up having my rockets flip around and rip themselves apart in the ascent phase. If I make it into the upper atmosphere I'm safe, but that middle layer is always rough going, at least for pure rockets.

I used to have a very complicated identification system with codes for the type and purpose of a craft (RT = pure Rocket Transport, HSP = Hybrid Spacecraft (used for SSTO planes) Personnel transport), followed by a number to differentiate multiple craft with the same type and role (RT-1, RT-2, and so on). Now though I mostly just give them whimsical names followed by a Mk. I, II, III, and so on. Sometimes I give them a prefix when I'm coordinating multiple craft in a larger program. My favorite is the Duna Extended Research Program because the acronym is DERP.

Now that school's out of my life, I've been working hard on Alpha 1.0. There's still a long way to go, but I'm making good progress. I already have the basics of free-form systems implemented. Additionally, I have added several new weapons to the game, in addition to re-balancing and visually redesigning the old ones. Click here to read about it on my development blog. Here's a screenshot of the new free-form systems in action. Corridors, cargo holds, weapon controls, and crew quarters are all free-form now.

We recently got a new router at my house, and unlike the previous one it comes with a built-in firewall. This has been causing no shortage of problems with Minecraft, FTP and, as I've just discovered, KSP. When I try to start the launcher, the patcher gets stuck at "Checking for updates," and I suspect it's something to do with the firewall. Does anyone know what IPs and ports KSP uses for checking and downloading patches so I can whitelist it?

Now that I can work on the game again, I've outlined my plans for Shipyard Alpha 1.0. In addition to a shiny, new version number, I have big plans for the update. I wrote an "outline" for it on the Brass Watch Games website. Click here to read it, but be warned, it's quite the wall of text. Like seriously, it's about a meter of vertical screen space. I won't blame you if you just roughly skim it.

After five months, I've finally sorted out my server troubles and released the 0.8.1a update. As usual, it is available both as a full download or through the launcher. The update itself is just a bugfix, certainly not worthy of the time it took to get ready, but now that I can upload again, I can get back to working on actual game content.

The changelog is just an HTML file and operates independently from the actual launcher. I updated it preemptively not expecting the update to go wrong, and now I've edited it again to be less misleading. Unfortunately, the server still refuses to accept the update, which is why you're still getting the bug. I'm updating the changelog to be less misleading while I continue to try to work out the server issues. Glad you like it. Hopefully you don't run into any, y'know, game-breaking bugs or anything.

For reasons unknown to me, the server is rejecting the update every time I try to unload it. I will try again in a few hours and, if that fails, sometime tomorrow. Until then, unfortunately, you will have to put up with the bug.

I've never experienced that in my testing. I'll look into it. EDIT: Nevermind this; see below. Run the game and try to reproduce the problem. Then save, quit, and look in your Shipyard folder (wherever you put the game files) and find debug.txt. Attach it to a post and I'll take a look at it to see what was going on when it happened. EDIT #2: I've done some testing and found your problem. What's happening is the enemy is attacking systems with no crew inside, and rather than stay at zero, they're being assigned negative crew values. Crew are supposed to repair systems at a rate of 5 times the number of crew in the system, so your systems are being negatively repaired. I'll try to fix the problem and release a quick update to elminate it. EDIT #3: I'm uploading a hotfix as we speak to address the problem. I've added multiple layers of protection to ensure that a system's crew cannot drop below zero. If this does not fix your issue, let me know and I'll continue to look into it. The update should be ready to download within a couple hours. The launcher will recognize it automatically, but if you downloaded the full archive, you'll have to reinstall manually. I get that a lot. FTL was part of my inspiration, but hopefully I've done enough to make this a different game.

Man, it's been ages since I posted anything in this old thread. It's also been ages since the last update to the game. Or at least, it had been ages, until I released pre-alpha version 0.8.1 earlier today! The new update includes working items, an improved navigation screen, background music and more. Get it from http://www.brasswatchgames.com/games/shipyard/. You can either download the full game as a .zip file, or download the launcher which will handle that for you as well as checking for future updates. NOTE: If you have the launcher version 2.1 or previous, you may get an error saying "The files received from the server are corrupted." If this is the case, redownload the launcher as there is an updated version which fixes this.

I kinda like your original idea of Gladius. If I had to pick something else, maybe name it after some sort of snake since the shape of the hull could also look like a snake's head. Just don't call it the "cobra" because that would be super cliche.

For something relatively easy like Mun or Minmus, I like to RP a little and do it Apollo-style: 1. Lots of big boosters to get off the ground. 2. Fewer boosters to get up to parking (LKO) orbit altitude. Any leftover fuel will be used to begin the orbital burn. 2.5. For larger payloads, an extra stage may be added to help get into and circularize the parking orbit. Otherwise, this job it split between the second ascent stage and the transfer stage. 3. Transfer stage to get payload from LKO to target. For a full Apollo RP, this is the command unit with lander attached. 4. Descent stage to deorbit the lander and get it down to the surface. 4.5. For a fully Apollo-style mission, the lander will have a second stage to get back to orbit, leaving the descent stage on the surface. Otherwise, the same stage will be used for both functions. Depending on the mission either the lander will rendezvous with the command module, which carries the crew back, or the lander will simply fly back on its own.

I made a terrible mistake spaceship. Composed of seven individual components (central core, crew compartment, rear bit, and 4x engine pods), its main features are idiotically flopping about and lagging my PC into the stone age. It also includes a science lab, seating for 15 kerbals, 5 docking ports (though one is only there as an attachment point for the orbital tug that put it together), and as much electrical power as my current research level will allow (I have neither nuclear power nor the 3m battery packs). Once fully loaded with Kerbals and fuel, I plan to send it to the Jool system to perform science and eventually aid in founding a colony on Laythe. Of course, that's assuming it doesn't shake itself to pieces as soon as I fire up the engines.

It's been a while since I posted here, but yesterday I put up a new development news post: http://www.brasswatchgames.com/2014/08/08/shipyard-development-news-8-august-2014/ The hiatus was due to a three-week family vacation and, after returning, my temporarily switching focus to experimenting with 3D graphics and physics.

Maybe at some point, but it would only come after the single-player mode is close to completion. Also, whatever happens, it would have to be run on private servers as I can't afford to make an official server for a free hobby project. For the normal shop ("Merchants' Guild United Trade Post"), left click while your ship is over the shop (within the green box that appears when you mouse over it) and click "shop." Items don't do anything yet, but that will be the main feature of the next update. Shady Steve's Discount Shuttles is a dummy station, and it will also be fully implemented in the next update.

This is a tough one, but I think it has to be: 1. Minecraft - Not exactly an original choice, but an honest one nonetheless. Even though I've gotten a bit tired of it recently, the amount of fun I've gotten from it over the years is unmatched by any other game, not to mention that the modding scene motivated me to get better at programming. Since then I have transferred those skills to working on my own games (*cough signature cough*), I figure that has to count for something as well. 2. StarCraft 1/Brood War - I used to love this game as a kid. It was already an old game at the time (late PS2 era), but it was just so much fun. It was also my first real foray into the world of PC gaming, whereas previously it was either consoles or silly flash games. I went back and played it again recently and it was still enjoyable even after the nostalgia wore off. 3. KSP - Come on guys, you knew it had to be on here. 4. Kingdom Hearts - Another choice from my childhood, this was my favorite game in the world until I discovered StarCraft. Sadly my parents sold it off so I haven't been able to return to it. Still, the gameplay was fun and the story was compelling despite the challenge of having to make a bunch of existing characters work in the same universe. 5. Pokemon Emerald - To avoid starting a generation war, I'll admit I chose this version over the others because it was the one I played the most. It hit at just the right time, when I was old enough to understand it but young enough not to get bored of the formula. It was also the last generation to have that quaint, pixely aesthetic which everybody, including myself, loves and tries to replicate these days. Runner Up: Deus Ex Human Revolution - This game was, purely and simply, a lot of fun. It managed to have a both a decent story and enjoyable gameplay. It didn't quite make the list because, while the story was mostly good, the ending was a little generic: you were literally given three "mutually-exclusive ethical decision" buttons, making your decisions throughout the rest of the game completely pointless. Also, despite the gameplay being generally very good, the boss fights were a bit lame. Each one had an annoying gimmick which you had to figure out, and it was always something stupid like "hit him three times with an explosive barrel" or "electrocute her by blowing up power supply boxes in this conveniently flooded room." Still, it was a great game for the majority of the time.

Double click it like you would a normal program. If that doesn't work, right click it and go to Open with... Java Platform SE Binary. You need the latest version of Java for it to work.

Shipyard version 0.8.0 or "The Combat Update" has just been released! As the largest update the game has ever seen, there is too much to discuss in one post. You can read the abbreviated version on the Brass Watch Games blog or see the full changelog at the bottom of the game's page. If you already have the launcher, the update should be ready for download. Otherwise, you can get either the launcher or the full client archive from my website.

You have to manually allocate your crew from the ship management window in the current version. From navigation, press V, go to crew and power, and use the sliders to change your settings. It's a little annoying, which is why it's getting some major improvements in the next update. Unless I forgot to write something down, I didn't add a crew count separate from your crew capacity stat until after releasing that version. If this didn't help, you can send me a bug report using the "Contact" page on my website.

The combat update is still far from finished, but it's coming along nicely. Since last time, I have made a couple big changes including the addition of an entirely new resource: Scrap. Scrap is dropped by destroyed ships and is used for repairs or can be sold back to the shipyard. You can read more about it on my website.

There's a new progress report posted on my website. The latest changes include crew repairing systems, improved crew and power distribution, and pirates which actually fight back. Expect to see more news over the next week, as school has gone on spring break meaning I actually have some free time to work on game development.

Not a rocket per se, but of my greatest achievements nonetheless: The HS-830 Hercules SSTO HS stands for "Hybrid Spacecraft"; 8 and 3 refer to the number of engines: 8 turbojets and 3 rockets. I built it before the addition of the RAPIER engine, hence the need for multiple engine types. It was able to carry 15 kerbals into orbit with fuel to spare. I probably could have made it more efficient, but I figured that if you're bringing 15 kerbals to space, you should do it with style. More in line with the "rocket" theme, we have my as-historically-accurate-as-possible-with-stock Mun mission spacecraft: I avoided asparagus staging (at least in the launcher), and included such historical touches as an escape tower on the upper stage, a small manned rover, and a lander that re-docks with the command module before transferring crew and being discarded. No science equipment as the mission was pre-Research and Development.

I definitely like my SSTOs, though the vast majority of them fail to achieve the "TO" part. I've recently been experimenting with SSTO heavy lifters, but so far a working design has eluded me. Some of my more recent attempts: HSTp-1 "Atlas" -- Too nose heavy, tended to fall out of the sky. HSTp-2 (no given name) -- Not enough rocket fuel, failed to make orbit; adding more makes the plane too heavy. Earlier attempts (pre-RAPIER engine): Three similar designs, all failures: First ever attempt: On the other hand, some of my non-heavy-lifting designs have been very successful: "Hercules": "Photon": I forget the name of this one: I've also dabbled in atmospheric aircraft, typically focusing on novel ideas including airliners, flying boats, and open-cockpit biplanes, but I think that's enough images for one post.

Currently, I typically build a "new" lifter every time, though I generally use the same design repeatedly. However. with the addition of subassemblies and my recent experiments with heavy-lifting SSTO concepts, that may change in the near future.

I tried to build a heavy-lifting SSTO using the new RAPIER engine. Tried. I present to you the HSTp-1 Atlas, the biggest flying brick since a delivery truck bound for Shady Steve's Discount Brick Emporium had an unfortunate encounter with one bound for the Rockomax Conglomerate warehouse: In the foreground of the first picture is an unmanned station core which I was using as test cargo. I figured that if it couldn't at least get that to orbit, the plane was a failure. Spoiler alert: it didn't, so it was. I didn't take any screenshots of its actual crashes, but might I say they were spectacular. I'm not abandoning it yet -- I think there's still hope of making a usable craft out of this design -- but as it stands, it has a better chance of success cooking breakfast for the crew than it has of ever seeing space.