Zorg

Loving the new release! Testing Energia with realplume

Extra Solar adds a red dwarf called Valentine which orbits Kerbol. The star comes with its own little system of planets and moons. Its far out enough that it doesn't interfere with most other planet packs so you can use it with an otherwise stock system, with Outer Planets Mod or even Galileos pack which replaces the stock system entirely (I believe). Personally haven't made it out there in my game yet but had a quick look in a test save and the pack looks amazing! In the OP you mention Interplanetary, perhaps you mean Interstellar? Interstellar is a pretty complex mod that adds a huge number of parts along with complex gameplay mechanics to enable interstellar travel. It would be suitable for use with extrasolar but I personally didnt want to add all those additional gameplay layers. I will probably use roverdude's Alcubieerre warp drive mod to get my kerbals out there (Valentine is a LOT further out than even the outer planets in the OPM mod above). This mod adds an easy to use standalone warp drive although you may need nuclear reactors from something like Near Future Electrical to be able to power and recharge the warp drive easily.

On second thought I think your patch would work as is. The fuel type is defined in the boiloff module after all and your patch is similar to how CryoTanks targets stock tanks which have LFO by default but switch over to LH2 with B9. If that patch doesnt work I would probably try to target the specific LH2 B9 tank types defined for Bluedog in B9TankTypes.cfg Again not so sure but try a couple of things and see if it works. Good luck!

Sorry I don't actually know too much about the ins and outs of module manager to comment on that one, kinda new to all this. I'm mostly looking at existing code and simply trying various things to see if they work. Give it a try on a testing install and see what happens! I'd guess you might have to put a HAS condition for liquid hydrogen to prevent issues.

Thanks! Thats helpful to know. I will add more supplies and hab time relative to the regular orbital modules then.

Hey @Beale, just wanted to add one more thing; I started work on a USI life support patch for Tantares parts for myself but I can submit that as a pull request once I'm done as well. There is an existing open pull request for USI LS on github which blanket patches every crewed part with 75 supplies and 95% recycling. Meaning any fully crewed tantares part will have 138 days of mission endurance. My own proposal will try for a *somewhat* more realistic approach keeping in mind USI life support is more gamified than stuff like TAC life support. Put in simple terms I will do the following: Add maybe 2-4 months worth of supplies to selected space station parts without life support recycling. Salyut/Almaz will get longer endurance than real world I believe. Add an appropriate number of habitation months to every space station crew component. Almaz/Salyut type stations should get something like 12 months of hab time and a fully assembled MIR will have years worth (I dont use the hab functionality myself). No supplies at all in any descent modules just like real soyuz Small amount of supplies for the orbital soyuz modules Large amount of supplies in the Progress orbital module so you can use it for resupply Life support recycling only in the Acamar science modules. Docking a Kvant 1 type module with any station and running the Recycler will drastically extend endurance. Maybe a few days worth supplies in the lander I've been trying to work out how the various parts fit into the real world inspirations behind them. I looked at the craft files which I understand are quite old and out of date but I think I've sussed most things out. Couple of points: Alniyat_Crew_2_2 = A-B12 Crewed Block was used in the crafts for Mir (Kristall, Kvant II, Priroda, Spektre) AND the TKS. Since the TKS was used as a resupply craft I want to add more supplies to it and differentiate it from the MIR modules. As such I will be assuming Alniyat_Crew_2_1 = A-B10 Crewed Block to be used for the station parts above (it has windows and everything). Reasonable amount of supplies as per point 1 Un-windowed Alniyat_Crew_2_2 = A-B12 Crewed Block to be used for TKS. Quite a bit more supplies than the B10 blocks. On the other hand the FGB was a common component between the TKS and the MIR modules so I might keep them with the same amount of supplies... MIR will end up with a lot of food on the station. The only remaining question mark for me is where these two modules fit in. Where do they come from? Which real world craft or proposal do they belong to? I have the outline of my plan here but havent started working out the values yet. I would appreciate any input if anyone has any ideas on whats appropriate or if anything in the overall plan looks odd relative to their real life counterparts even if you don't use USI. Its holidays over here and I've got the whole next 4 days to get into this

I also like the fact that boiloff exists but also like having the option to refrigerate using EC for interplanetary missions. For me the solution was to get procedural parts for when I really need a cooled tank since BD tanks don't support cooling. If you have cryo tanks, there is an included compatibility patch for procedural tanks which adds cryo tanks' LH2 tanks variations via B9 partswitch. Unfortunately the current config file does not include boiloff for procedural tanks so I added the following to the file CryoTanksProceduralFuelTanks.cfg (see spoiler). This will behave as an un-insulated tank so you will have to manually enable cooling in the menu and the EC cost for cooling will be the same as stock tanks. I just sent an Inon on the way to Duna carrying relays to prepare for the first expedition and I used a procedural tank to fit the Inon diameter. Its a good solution as you can easily resize procedural tanks to Bluedog's myriad part diameters. Basic Procedural Textures has some nice textures that will not clash with the Bluedog aesthetic, I would recommend getting that if going the PP route. The pic below though uses a texture based on Ven's stock revamp from KerbalHacks. (links to both below) Its not too bad but its still a bit sad my planned kerballed mission Duna, which will use the VFB module and the S-IVB upperstage will not look quite as pretty with a procedural tank and textures. Oh well. https://forum.kerbalspaceprogram.com/index.php?/topic/174103-14x-basic-procedural-textures/ https://forum.kerbalspaceprogram.com/index.php?/topic/134889-12x-kerbal-hacks-procedural-parts-textures-asphalt-tiles-unusual-parts-other-hacks/

Hi @Beale, wanted to say I am really enjoying this mod, I've installed it alongside Bluedog Design and am having great fun running parallel rival space programs. I did run into a couple of issues with the realplume. I noticed that the 4 engine proton stage is missing the config entirely, I made my own and can submit a pull request if you wish. It basically applies the same effect as the 6 engine version. The other issue is that the N-1 first stage is too quiet! Realplume scales the volume with the size of the plume. Since the plume effect has been scaled down to 0.4x for the 30 Nk33 engines, the N-1 ends up whisper quiet (especially if you throttle down even a little) when it should rightly sound like apocalyptic. I put a volume adjustment that makes it MUCH louder. Again I can put forth a pull request.

@AndrewDrawsPrettyPictures just wanted to say thank you for making this awesome mod! I haven't actually made it out to Valentine in my current playthrough just yet (and might not for a while yet) but I did a quick hyperedit to 1 or 2 planets in my test save to make sure the visuals were working (they look gorgeous!) and that scansat works (it does). Any tips for a newb on how to get out there? Interstellar looks like its more than just parts and comes with a whole raft of additional gameplay mechanics so I would prefer something simpler... the Orion looks interesting. Do you do a hohmann transfer or is an Expanse style Brachistochrone trajectory possible with Orion? @Gordon Dry I had the same cloud issue in 1.4.2 although fairly rarely usually when returning from a moon at high time warp to Kerbin. This was with both scaterrer and EVE/SVE installed but before I installed Extra Solar. Havent had it happen recently on 1.4.3 with the latest versions of EVE and Scatterer installed (with Extra Solar) but it may still be lurking. I suspect EVE issue?

Consider it done!

Fair point, we shouldn't let the poor Kerbals starve each time they need to make a surface expedition. I wasn't too familiar with the proposals that inspired the mission modules, I was working under the assumption the service module carries enough supplies (I also have universal storage to add extra packs into the storage bays of the service module). But taking into account the purpose of extended mission time, I will add some extra supplies into the two MMs in an update to the PR. Edit: I think it might make more sense to add lander supplies to the descent stage as it has already been established to have storage capabilities (for instance KIS storage). Would keep the ascent stage as light as possible by leaving excess supplies behind. It would be expected the ascent stage would rendezvous with the command module asap after lift off.

hi @CobaltWolf, I've just submitted the PR for USI Life Support. The patch does the following Increases hab coverage benefits in Apollo Block 3 mission module to 3 crew although physical crew capacity of the module is 2 kerbals. I think Apollo missions should support at least 3 kerbals. A Kane MM when docked with a Kane capsule would have a lot of living space in total so I think its justified to increase the Hab coverage to 3. I am assuming they hot bunk Adds Hab module to Apollo Block IV mission module. See above. Adds supplies to Leo MSM service module as per existing item description. Adds EC to Skylab airlock. Not super essential in USI as there is always a grace period after you run out of EC but its still convenient so that you can still maintain command on the dark side of a low kerbin orbit without the recycler and lab eating up all your EC. Patches Skylab RAM adapter identical to Airlock with extra EC and supplies. Adds habitation and recycling to Skylab Orbital Workstation. Intended for 90 day mission duration for 6 crew. Adds supplies and recycling to Saturn Venus Flyby module Adds fertilizer and agroponics to flyby module for extended deep space exploration as per the USI paradigm for deep space exploration, saves a lot of weight over pure supplies. Assuming plenty of space for Hydroponic racks in the wet workshop I hope USI users will find the patch reasonably balanced! I don't actually use the Hab functionality in my game but I think the values are in line with existing parts.

Not 100% sure, its just carried over from the default config. I only ever really cared about Flight, EVA and IVA. I just copied some of the changes I made into the other scenes without much specific regard. I think its Map view and or tracking station. Btw I also tried Osmium's subtle.cfg but in my game at least everything looked dark (as in like something was smeared on the virtual lens) until I removed the chromatic aberration node. Maybe thats an effect thats configured differently in unity since they made that config or perhaps something to do with my specific install. Just a heads up in case you have the same issue and are left wondering what the cause is. ps. The descriptions of the parameters in the unity manual ( I think this is the right version for KSP 1.4.x) was quite helpful in tuning the effects without actually downloading unity and while we wait for a GUI for KS3P https://docs.unity3d.com/2017.1/Documentation/Manual/PostProcessing-Bloom.html

I'm by no means an expert by I manage to bumble my way into a config that I personally like. Its a fairly mild config that removes everything except for bloom (with lens dirt), FXAA, and Depth of Field. The bloom is pretty tame too. I use this with a high res skybox and the brightness is fine. I have distant object enhancement with dynamic sky brightness turned on and maximum brightness set to 90%. The config file might be a bit messy as I never intended to share and was just mucking about. Some screenshots I happened to have on hand. Dont have A/B comparisons though. Looking at these you might not be able to even immediately tell that PP is going on but I prefer a subtle effect rather than my game looking like a classic episode of Doctor Who. Try the config and see if you like the difference it makes by toggling on and off. Rocket plumes (here with real plume) get a nice glow about them. Even at the low bloom levels you will lose some detail from the centre of complicated sun flares. Its not as bad in space as it is in the atmo though. Depth of field effects are well and present in this config Can you tell there's post processing being applied? Open and full screen and see. Doesn't kill the skybox. You could also add the following node for film grain in any scenes you like. It worked well for me in game but the screenshots look weirdly smeared unless supersampled. The super sampled screenshots while looking great unfortunately kill Scatterer lens flares due to a bug in Scaterrer. Its a known issue thats been worked on so when Scatterer fixes it I will add the grain node back in.

Once again dropping in to say how great this mod is and with some pics! I'm even learning a fair bit of rocket history after coming across the more obscure rocket parts. I've known for a long time about the Agena Target Vehicle for the Gemini program for instance but the use of the Agena as an integrated satellite bus was news to me. Decided run my own analogue of the KeyHole spy satellite program which used the Agena bus. Pics in spoiler

Hi, @DDE did you by any chance have any further luck with this? I was just starting to think about doing something similar.

Thanks! Just downloaded it and had a look in the sandbox. Very nice! should fit in nicely with my early days of space exploration roleplay with BDB parts in my current playthrough. Erm do you also have the same issue where the delta V stats dont show up in KER/MJ unless you launch it? I can take it up with the mod developer but its not a big deal ig uess. Could be something to do with the way the engine is configured...

Awesome! Is that a Dyna-soar? And where can I get it from?

Cool, I'll have a little time later in the coming week so I'll test it a bit and submit the pull request by the weekend.

My thoughts on BDB 1) 300 parts! Who needs that kind of part bloat, no thank you! 2) Well might as well take a look, some of those interstage parts look interesting, I like some detail at the tail end of my upper stages rather than just an engine attached to a tank... I can select the parts I like and prune the rest 3) This stuff is awesome! I'm keeping all of it! So yeah despite the initial intimidation I am really enjoying these parts and recreating some early missions in my new 1.4.3 science playthrough. Also it took me a little while to realise that the MSM storage bays seem to have been designed with Universal Storage in mind. I was initially quite disappointed at how small the bays were and there was no way I was going to use the ugly stock 2.5m service bay for my life support needs but the MSM with UniversalStorage is pure happiness for extended exploration! (Universal Storage seems more geared towards TAC LS than USI, it has supplies storage for USI but no recycler. Couple of supply packs is honestly enough for the Kane in the Kerbin system but I patched in a recycler anyway using an existing model for TAC for extended mission time.) Speaking of USI life support and patches, I saw in the USI compatibility patch for BDB that the Hokulani Airlock is supposed to have enough life support to support 6 kerbals for 7 months. However, while the patch adds 1470 units of supplies to the airlock, the life support recycler module is missing. Moreover, to stretch 1470 units of supplies for 7 months you would need 89% recycler efficiency which seems a bit OP for USI life support. I personally patched it to add a 75% recycler module which stretches the 1470 supplies to 90 days for 6 kerbals as per the mission profile in the "Manuel II". I saw in this thread that these patches are community maintained so I can submit this as a pull request on Github if the dev wishes. Never used github but I guess I should be able to figure it out. One hold up though, I kept electricity consumption at 1.5 ec/s as a placeholder. I'm kind new to all this and not sure about what a good balance should be. The USI large recycler gobbles electricity at 18 ec/s for 79% efficiency for 3 kerbals... K&K Planetary bases has a 70% recycler at 5.25 ec/s for 3 Kerbals. We need 75% for 6 I was thinking around 10 ec/s to keep things reasonable, the lab itself will also consume 12 ec/s when doing science conversion but the solar panels can handle an additional 10 ec/s. However you might need a lot more batteries for the dark side of your orbit... perhaps someone more experienced in the modding scene and life support could weigh in?

Thanks! Looks useful, there really does seem to be a mod for everything!

Hi Nhawks17, would you mind letting me know which parameters do what in this snippet? The values in the example you gave worked out of the box for my SSME problem but I would like to adjust some other engines. Experimenting blind without knowing what they do can be quite tedious given the game's load times. Cheers

Thanks a lot! This worked a treat! I do have SpaceY so I just took a close look at that config. Unfortunately unlike SpaceY which has unique identifiers within its 2 engine modules, the two engines I'm grappling with don't seem to have any identifiers that I can find for the 2 modules (which run simultaneously). Perhaps I could add an engine Identifier? In any case shortly before I saw your post I got things working by directly editing the part config file and setting the appropriate plume for powerEffectName in each of the modules. I then adjusted parameters in the separate patch file. Its hacky and not best practice but since its just for my personal use and not for distribution its fine I guess. Anyway thanks a lot for your help once again!

Hi! First of all thank you to the developers of this mod, RealPlume is definitely among my favourites of the 80 plus mods I've installed. I was however wondering if someone could help me out with some customization snags I've run into. I recently downloaded the RealEnginesPack by Alcentar; he has recently ceased development of the mod but the models are really beautiful so I decided to modify the pack for a highly customized personal install. I ran into 2 issues when trying to make realplume configs and was wondering if someone could help me out. Bear in mind that I have no prior coding skills and this the first time I'm trying to mess with configs.. 1) For the SSME model, I wanted to use the Cryogenic-UpperLower-375 plume but the volume was very low. I think that the volume is scaled based on the plume size scaling factor after seeing this in the prefab configs and the particular sound effect associated with that plume isnt very loud to begin with. In this case I had to scale it down to 0.5 I tried a few different things but so far have not been able to modify the volume. Is there a way to change the volume to my liking on an engine by engine basis? The Github wiki says use :FOR[zzRealPlume] - Adjust the EFFECTS nodes and engine sounds here. So I tried this config (and several other bumbling variations after looking at other config files etc...) but it makes the plume disappear and doesn't solve the volume issue. I guess its not super critical as using a 1.25m scale cryogenic plume doesnt cause volume issues as its not downscaled. But still I like the colours of the 3.75m plume for the SSME.. 2) The second issue is more troublesome and I fear there may not be a simple solution. The pack contains models for the RD107 and RD108. Both of these models have additional smaller thrusters for attitude control. I am able to apply a realplume to the actual engines but that makes the thruster plumes disappear. I am attaching the part config file below in case someone is keen to have a look. I am not sure how to target the thrusters with a seperate plume such as one of the vernier thruster ones. Alternatively I would be fine with the original plume for the thrusters and realplume for the main engine if thats easier. The thrusters firing separately on the RD108 model without realplume (main engines are deactivated so we can see clearly) RD107 model with succesful realplume config for the main engines. Thrusters fire without plume now... Link to the part config file for the RD108 model https://www.dropbox.com/s/j8oknvf6y54pa1l/RD108.cfg?dl=0 Thanks in advance for anyone who can help out! Edit: The below successfully applies the vernier plume to the thrusters (thrustTransform2) but makes the main engine plumes disappear (although the sliders are still there in the smokescreen config tool.

This looks incredible! I would very much second the notion to have this model be included at least as an option in the upcoming update. In the meantime I have bumbled my way into somehow successfully installing this by replacing squads model directly because I have no idea how to do it with a config.