AxleMC131

Just flicking through and saw the above image. As with lots of things I see on these forums, my initial thought was, "I've GOT to re-create that in my game!" So I did. I have to say GoSlash, that little parasail jet is possibly the most fun thing I have ever flown in KSP, ever. I mean, it ain't fast or the easiest thing to control, but man is it nimble! Definitely a great machine for flying around the KSC.

Hey, it works now! Thanks so much for the help Randazzo! Time to get to work and do this for all the parts...

Gotta love helping people out. I'm not hugely well versed in KSP to be honest, but I know a thing or two about docking! Docking is one of those things that requires patience and a steady hand. It definitely takes practise too, so to get you started, here's my basic checklist when I'm trying to dock two spacecraft in orbit: 1. Choose which craft you will be controlling. Usually this will be the smaller, more manoeuvrable one, especially when docking a node onto a space station. The other craft will be the Target. 2. Make sure the target craft has a docking node in an appropriate alignment. If your target craft is an equatorial orbit, you can do this easily by pointing it (or the docking node at least) directly north, using the nav-ball as a reference. 3. Manoeuvre the craft you are controlling near the target vessel (within, say, ten metres depending on vessel sizes) using RCS. 4. Now align the controlled vessel to have a docking node pointing directly south on the nav-ball. 5. Manoeuvre the craft to be directly over the target docking node using the Translate keys. You can use Docking Mode if you like, but I've started using the I, K, J, L, H and N keys (Translate keys) as it still allows me to roll, pitch and yaw the craft if I need. 6. If you are having trouble lining the craft up by eye, make sure you have the target docking node (Yes, you can set a specific docking port on a vessel as a target instead of the whole ship!) as your "Target" (double-click on it), and use the nav-ball as a reference. Then use the translate keys to move your spacecraft until the Target marker and Prograde marker are directly overlapping each other. 7. Once the prograde and target markers are on top of each other, simply use the H key to translate forwards a little! If you've lined it up right, your spacecraft should hit the target port straight-on, and the magnets will take over. Even if you aren't lined up when your burn forwards, you can still use I, J, K and L to correct your position before you contact. That's a really rough description of what I run through, and you shouldn't take anything I've said here as unchangeable fact, but I hope it works as a good guideline. As with a lot of things in KSP, everyone has a slightly different way of doing things, and you should absolutely choose whatever way works best for you. If you find a mental checklist like this one works best, then by all means use it! Once again, it also takes practise, so don't worry if you don't get it right first, second, or even third time! At least with docking, you can always pull back and try again. - - - Updated - - - Also, yeah. Find Scott Manley on YouTube. He's the go-to YouTuber for KSP and all things Astrophysics! If there's something you don't understand, want a tutorial on, or just want to watch some classically Kerbal explosions, chances are he's got what you're looking for!

I've got a query about this. I have another thread relating to a mod I'd been working on (http://forum.kerbalspaceprogram.com/threads/132487-Legalities-and-Moralities-of-a-Pseudo-mod?p=2158065#post2158065), and I've been having trouble getting a config file to add a new part that uses an existing Squad model, but a custom texture in the mod folder. The MODEL tag I have for the part config looks something like this: MODEL { model = Squad/Parts/Aero/cones/TinyCone texture = BackyardRocketryRemastered/Parts/ARD_noseCone/coneTexture.dds } But this doesn't work. Any idea what I'm doing wrong? I noticed you have an extra bit before the file path: "texure = Jumbo, Squad/Parts/FuelTank..." Is this something I need, and if so what does this actually mean? Any help appreciated!

SSTO's and VTOL's. So much fun! Ahem. VTOL's in my experience take a lot of trial and error. In the Spaceplane Hangar, the Centre of Mass, Lift and Thrust nodes are your best friend, so never underestimate them. This is especially important with a spacecraft that uses rocket fuel, as it drains from the front (or top) of the vehicle to the back (or bottom), and this throws off your centre of mass. Be ready to pump fuel around, or feel free to play around with fuel lines until you can keep the centre of mass in approximately the same place at all times. Other than that, I do want to give this little anecdote out: A long time ago I played around with SSTO's that went to Minmus and back, just for fun. I had a very successful design I used almost religiously called the "Mirage", which had two turbojets for taking off and flying horizontally on Kerbin, a single LV-T45 for space travel, and three of the little Rockomax 48-7S (or whatever) engines for vertical landings on Minmus. The idea was to come down on the greater flats without killing my horizontal velocity, drop the wheels gently onto the surface with the vertical engines (plenty powerful for the extra-low gravity), and let the wheel brakes bring me to a stop. Of course, I had overlooked the fact that brakes only work because of friction between the wheels and the surface, and because of the aforementioned extra-low gravity, there was very little friction and thusly very little braking... I had to resort to using RCS to thrust backwards to slow me down, and used up almost all of my monopropellant... Basically, if you're going to build an SSTO spaceplane with VTOL capabilities, and you're planning to land it like I did without killing horizontal velocity, make sure you add front-facing engines or lots of RCS for braking! Anyway, good luck with building your vessel Chano!

Dude, these are awesome! Points to all the above creations.

Having said that, is there a way to make the part reference an existing model in the Squad folder, but use a new texture in another location? I've tried the following for one of my edited parts: MODEL { model = Squad/Parts/Aero/cones/TinyCone texture = BackyardRocketryRemastered/Parts/ARD_noseCone/Cones.dds } But this doesn't seem to work! Am I missing something that is required in the Model parameters?

Dude, that looks freakin' awesome! Jeb would definitely be proud to have something like those lying around in his junkyard.

I'm all for this idea because I really like the addition of the cargo bays and service bays in the latest versions of KSP, and I also played with the Near Future Spacecraft mod briefly, which had a part called a "Service Tank" I believe. Basically it was a rocket fuel tank with a service bay attached on top, including monopropellant tanks, all in one part!

Ah, my apologies then; I misunderstood the question. Thanks for catching that out.

Awesome! Thanks everyone for the help, does anyone want to see what the mod would have in store then??? As a YouTuber (not for KSP yet, but soon!) I simply ADORE feedback!

When you say "reference" to existing Squad files and models, do you mean the MODEL tag under some configs? For example, this one comes from the tiny C7 Aerospace nose cone: MODEL { model = BackyardRocketryRemastered/Parts/ARD_noseCone/TinyCone } Obviously re-pathed to work with my pseudo-mod. Is that what you mean by referencing? If so, I should be able to go back through, remove all the duplicated models and add that tag to each part with reference to the original models in the Squad folder... ... Right? XD I'm not a coder...

This is good to know. I think I'll still be keeping this work for my own personal use though, until I can be bothered to learn how to make my own models & configs from scratch.

These parts are all really cool! Here's hoping they work in 1.0 without too much fiddling about in config files...

Okay, so it seem that most of the moral concerns are all the common-sense ones: ask before using other people's products, and always reference work that isn't your own. Thanks! Chances are I'll be keeping this pseudo-mod to myself then. Wow, those are some cool-looking models! You say those parts are all available for public use? If so I might download them and fiddle around with them myself, thanks!

Really? Well, that makes me feel a lot better!

This is news to me: do the craft actually get removed from the game? In my experience, the craft is still listed in the SPH or VAB, but it has an orange warning text under it saying "contains invalid or locked parts". Trying to load the craft will result in an error message, saying it is unable to load because of missing parts, followed by a list OF the missing parts. I also believe that you can re-enable the craft simply be reinstalling the mod(s) that add the missing part(s). Not sure if this is just something that happens for me, or something that everyone's game does. Either way, hope this was helpful! - AxleMC131

Greetings fellow KSP players! An important question for you lot... Although I only created this forum profile about an hour ago, I have been playing Kerbal Space Program for a good year or two now, and still thoroughly enjoy it. Recently however, I have had a go at messing about with part config files just to see what I could create. Long story short, I ended up duplicating and editing several parts and arranging them into what I like to term a "Pseudo-mod" that goes by the name of Backyard Rocketry. This was inspired by a couple of videos I saw on YouTube involving realistic progression mechanics, including early sounding rockets of the 0.313m part type. The idea of this "pseudo-mod" was to add my own sounding/model 0.313m rocket parts to my own game for a little extra flair in the early stages of KSP. Now, I'm quite proud of what I have created, and I would love to make something like this publicly available to get feedback, but I have a big problem: all of the parts are just copied and edited from stock parts. A good example part is the 'FireHawk' Model Rocket Motor, which is literally just a super-downscaled BACC Thumper with thrust, fuel and weight stats edited accordingly. Oh, and a fancy red & yellow retexture. Anyway, as nothing is truly original - models, textures or config files - I am worried that this sort of thing would not be allowed to be published, even though I would credit Squad and make zero profit from the venture. If anyone can point in the right direction, what is Squad's opinion on this sort of thing? Would this "pseudo-mod" be allowed publicly, and if so, what restrictions would be put on its distribution/use? More importantly, would anyone actually be interested in trying it out if the mod was publicly available??? All answers and feedback greatly appreciated! If anyone wants a full list of the "new" parts in the mod, let me know! - AxleMC131