anaximander

So I've been messing around with a "delivery aircraft"; ie. an aircraft with decent loiter capability, high cargo capacity, and a targeting pod. What I really want to be able to do is to use this aircraft to drop custom payloads onto a target. Primarily, what this means is that a mothership can select a landing site, target it with the pod, and drop a probe which will fly itself to the target. I've been trying to use the Modular Missile Guidance part, but it doesn't seem to be picking up the target, no matter which targeting mode I have it in - the just flies in a straight line until the fuel runs out. Are there any instructions or tips on how to build something that will act like a missile?

The bug where the right-click menus are empty is back again. This is the only mod I have installed, and for some reason all I have in the science lab's context menu is "Status: Locked" and a toggle for the lights. The radiators have no context menu at all, and when I select them in the VAB action group editor, there's no option to deploy them, so they're stuck as static parts. Any ideas?

This sounds very much like EVE's armour hardeners... which might explain why I find its gentle pulsing hum oddly comforting.

I'd go with something like this: Cost = part mass x type modifier x level modifier To explain what those mean: - Part mass is self-explanatory. - Type refers to what sort of part it is. This might be as simple as a modifier for each category - "propulsion", "structural", "aerodynamic" etc, or it could be more specific - "engine", "tank", "fin", "sensor" etc. This basically gets the calculation to take into account the general complexity of the part. For example, structural parts like girders would have a pretty low modifier, while engines would be higher because they're harder to make. Science parts like the sensors might have really high modifiers because their mass is tiny but they're really high-tech, and therefore expensive. - Level refers to the quality of the part relative to the category. For engines, this would probably be based on Isp and thrust/weight ratio. Thus, a really efficient engine would cost more than a less efficient engine that was the same mass, and an engine with higher thrust at the same efficiency would cost even more. For landing gear, the level modifier might be based on their strength; solar panels might use efficiency, batteries could use storage to mass ratio, etc.

Any ideas why every rocket I launch seems to be more aerodynamic attempting to fly backwards? With this mod, everything starts backflipping the moment I deviate even slightly from straight vertical flight - and yes, I've checked I'm not top-heavy.

Absolutely LOVING these parts. My only issue is that the parameters for connection seem to be a bit low in some cases; I've noticed a distinct slide between S2 fuselage sections. I can't attach the hypersonic cockpit to anything without a handful of struts to stop the wobble...

Bravo. Just... Bravo. My only issue is that I now lack retractable gear of sufficient size to support the monstrous aircraft I'm building.

It's possible you just need to practice landing so you can hit the runway at a lower speed. Or design aircraft with lower stall speeds. Or both. Just sayin'.

Theoretically, if you could throw the Kerbal horizontally, rather than vertically, at a high enough speed, it would act the same as an apoapsis-raising burn, so they'd orbit around and land back at the pad. Of course, they'd have to overcome air resistance, and the orbital velocity required at that level is enormous, but in theory it's possible.

The Munoliths aren't part of this mod; they're part of the stock game. This just helps you find them.

Ok, now THAT is impressive. I'd tidy up the UI a little, perhaps, try to make it more intuitive, but in terms of functionality that is just incredible. I'll be watching this one VERY carefully - the moment I see something downloadable, I'm grabbing it. I have the orbital construction mod, but as has already been said, that's for single craft. What I'd use this for is attaching a small lander to my massive interplanetary craft. That way, I can leave the big ship in orbit, drop a lander, then pick the lander up again and move on to a different planet. With the Kethane mod and the fact that this guy says his docking mod supports fuel transfer as well, you can keep your tanks topped up and keep roaming the solar system indefinitely! Squad, you might want to contact this guy - he might have saved you a job...

Having been using this mod with the orbital construction mod for some time, I can confirm that it is enormously useful. I have a combination spacedock/refueling station in orbit, and I've used it to get some great interplanetary ships up and flying. Another thing I'm trying out is to use the empty command pod mod to have your orbitally-constructed ships start uncrewed, so you have to EVA crew to them from the station, and then send up crew transfer ships, for added realism.

Sounds like the Void Bukerneering parts that Kreuzung made as an example for the old electrical energy plugin.

Er... that doesn't actually help... at all...

I'm getting issues using this with ISA Mapsat; the Kethane scanner map works fine but it seems to screw up the ISA map view once you activate it.

Nice work - I'll definitely be grabbing a copy of this once you release it! Does this only effect when the part is active and focused? I don't know a way of having it otherwise, so I'm assuming so... shame; it'd be nice to have jettisoned parts burn up in a realistic fashion. I guess we'll have to wait for Squad to help us out on that one!

I remember some software for orthorectification and mosaic building of aerial photos from my days programming homebuild UAVs; I'll have to dig it out at some point.

I'm working on a mod to add some of these, in a manner of speaking. I'm building a radiation sensor/particle capture mesh, an atmospheric sensor package, an observations camera set and a soil sampler that will do two things: generate simulated data based on what you'd get in that situation (I'm currently working on estimates for Kerbol solar wind output and flare activity) and also earn science "points" that will alter the performance of various parts, so that atmospheric data makes fins more effective etc. I'm a software developer by trade, so the coding isn't too much of a problem, but I'm less confident when it comes to modelling. Would you mind if I added the functionality to some of your models?

Not sure if it can be done in the stock RCS, but there are various mods (including the MuMech variable engine stuff, I believe) that have separate "max fuel" and "starting fuel" values in the .cfg files.

Such a shame this has been abandoned... Does anyone know how to add a hatch to the BACE command module so my Kerbals can EVA from it?

Yeah, I think it's safe to say that docking is the next Big Thing the game really needs (of the things that haven't already been announced, that is). Launching large ships to other planets is almost definitely going to be difficult - docking would allow us to build things in orbit, saving us a huge chunk of dV. Alternatively, a Mission Planner screen that allows you to mess about with time would be nice. That way you could drag, say, the Mun to where you need it to be to slingshot off it, and it'd give you a launch window time to aim for. It'd make it much easier to pull off complex trips involving the various bodies.

I\'m not 100% sure if this is the right place for this thread; it concerns ideas for addons but it\'s not really a request - more a gauging of opinion. I\'m considering making this mod myself, but first I thought I\'d gather some ideas (and buy some time to learn more about modding KSP). So, there\'s not a huge amount of storyline in KSP. This isn\'t the dev team\'s fault; the game is still in the very early stages and there is much to do in terms of the engine before the actual plot needs to be added. However, I was thinking that in the meantime it might be cool to mod in some simple missions. These missions aren\'t meant to provide a full 'campaign mode' for KSP, or to have any relation or effect on whatever the devs end up adding in terms of progression and plot - it\'s mostly a set of challenges and fun things to do between now and whenever all that stuff gets added officially. The idea is to add a few scientific instrument parts to the game - the list I have so far is an atmospheric sampler, a surface sampler, a radiation detector, and an object recorder. With these, you could fly some basic science missions. In theory, it should then be possible to have the various instruments record their progress in a file which the plugin could check, and use to modify the behaviour of parts. The atmospheric sampler would gather samples of the different gases it passed through - Kerbin\'s atmosphere being the only real one at present, although I\'m guessing other planets will be added in due course. For now, I\'d have it take samples at three or four altitudes, and then also sample the corona of Kerbin\'s star if a ship passed close enough. It might also be possible to have an impactor part, which would throw off a plume of gas on impact so that you could sample the moons. Atmospheric data would improve the effectiveness of aerodynamic control surfaces, and reduce drag slightly. The surface sampler would sample soil and rock from bodies on which it came to rest - possibly different ones from different areas, if it\'s possible to tell what the vessel is sitting on. At the very least, that\'s three samples you could take; one from each of the bodies currently in the game. Surface samples would improve the speed and traction of rovers, and the strength of landing gear. The radiation detector could be placed into space and would record information about the conditions there. The type of information recorded would differ based on the body that the detector was orbiting at the time. The data would improve the effectiveness of solar panels, ion engines, or communications, depending on where the detector was. The object recorder would record information about objects and artefacts found on missions (such as the monoliths), and mark their positions. The effect of this data would depend on the object (assuming there\'s a way of telling what the object is from code), and might possibly include achievements and/or easter eggs. If possible, the discovery of various objects may also unlock parts such as more efficient engines, more effective SAS modules, or better communications systems. There would also be a communications device or two, similar to this great mod, for relaying scientific data and for controlling the spacecraft. Craft without a communications system capable of reaching the KSC would have to return to within range for their data to count as 'collected'. Craft with no antenna would have to get within a certain distance of the KSC. Craft that have collected samples would get a small score for transmitting data back, a larger score for returning to Kerbin with the samples, and the best score for getting those samples to within a certain distance of KSC. So, what do people think? Would anyone enjoy a mod like this? Any further suggestions?

Is it supposed to start afresh every time I launch the game? It\'d be nice if it remembered old data so that I could continue mapping from where I left off, rather than having to find time to leave the game running long enough to map the whole body. If it\'s meant to do that already, then I guess I have a bug to report; if it\'s not then this is a feature request. Either way, thanks!

So I\'m currently trying to launch a probe to Mun, land on it, leave the base of the lander behind as a scientific instrument station and return the top half to Kerbin - without the use of parachutes. The lander section weighs around 2.8 tons, and the section to return is 1.9 tons. The base was built using the Probodobodyne kit, and the return module is the Probodobodyne small core and a couple of fuel tanks, with the MechJeb pod version\'s engines and fuel tank around them (great little engines, those). I\'m relatively confident that they should be able to make the trip, although my launch vehicle needs some work; I keep losing all stability towards the end of the gravity turn, tumbling helplessly past the apoapsis, and plummeting back down. Pictures of the vehicle will follow as soon as my internet connection remains stable enough for me to upload them. Has anyone else tried a no-chutes trip?

Just to clarify... The PowerSat part downloaded from here decouples itself and doesn\'t need a separate decoupler; I get that part. What I\'d like to know is whether it\'s possible to have a multi-part object designate as a satellite using this plugin - for example, using the Silisko Probodobodyne kit to build a satellite that will then change name, orient itself etc. Wouldn\'t building a part around a PowerSat module result in it decoupling from somewhere in the middle? Also, I\'d love to be able to get Silisko\'s solar panels to rotate to follow the sun like that... is it possible to have this plugin output a vector that a custom part could use to orient?