okan170

I've had some success with the Octotruss parts. They have octagonal docking ports that rather blend in. (mostly)

Actually, support for the space program has remained fairly constant since the late 60s. I'm beginning to think that people just assume it goes on. I suppose, as far as the public is concerned in silly terms, NASA is on a mission to take the most amazing pictures, and sometimes the only way to make them more amazing is to have people in them. Since people assume lots of money is spent on NASA, most of them also just expect space stuff to keep trundling along. Getting rid of it would invite awkward comparisons to other countries, and in fact, even companies. Any comments section after a SpaceX story is usually excited and sad that NASA isn't doing this itself anymore. People just assumed the Shuttle was A-ok and could keep flying because... well I guess the feeling is "They would have built another one if they needed it". Things like the HDEV Experiment and even involvement in KSP have shown a new side of NASA's PR though, and its amazing how fast its integrated itself with social media. Personally, I think this is a great idea as it gives people an experience that they can call their own as related to spaceflight. Properly used, the internet could be VERY useful in reaching out in ways that people themselves can interact with in a somewhat freeform way. Things like HD YouTube videos from space, streaming spacewalks, blog entries on neat experiments, its all much more accessible that it has ever been before, and properly used, could lead to more people becoming aware of these things in the future. If I were NASA, I'd be seriously looking at maybe doing tie-in events with games to bring them to real launch events. We have ARM, but what about a small parts pack of some kind (and by then, probably missions) related to EFT-1 this fall/winter? As it came out, it'd be a great way of building awareness among players, after all!

Has anyone got this weird issue? I tried redownloading and no dice. Its like the normal maps are strange or something. Perhaps it has something to do with ActiveTextureCompressor.

The RL-10 is as much fun as I'd hoped it'd be. Just like NASA, you can stick them in nice awesome clusters in upper stages! (especially with the FASA interstages). Is it possible to have its emissive effect be simply bright blue-white on the inside of the nozzle?

Meanwhile, estimates for the F-35 continue to go over $400 Billion in development alone, with a $1.65 trillion cost over lifetime... Nonetheless, in a world where multiple countries possess the basic capability and billionaires can launch rockets without them exploding… no matter what it won't stop. Sooner or later, mankind will be going to the planets and into space. Its a matter of time, not if it'll happen at all.

In general as well, I think KSP could use some nice trusses. They're a very prominent part of the ISS after all (and Freedom here). I've been on the look out for radiators like that (ISS Style) and though I've used the interstellar ones sometimes, they're just not the same.

On the CSM model, there appear to be some smoothing issues, are these from the normal map or could they be they just need to have their hard edges set? If you'd like I can take a quick look at the model, since I do a bit of 3D stuff. Just trying to help make things look their best!

Is there any plan to fix the polygon smoothing on the Apollo CM? There some odd smoothing going on at certain angles, and I suspect setting some hard edges would alleviate the problem.

Well, that looks awesome! I've always kind of waffled between putting one kind of Cupola or the other on, but I think this makes for an addition yet functional distinction. Regarding the lighting, something darker with a lot of illumination nearer to the window to make it feel more atmospheric might be nice, with the glow of the electronics in the shadows.

This pack is really really useful for taking an "Eyes Turned Skyward" look at post-Apollo. Its an Alternate History fiction that goes on if the US had decided to commit to space stations instead of a shuttle, having to use their now-slashed budget to build a station with Apollo hardware. Interestingly, the troubles faced are similar, though the vehicles are not. Being derived from Apollo hardware means you can kind of build this kind of stuff with FASA. http://wiki.alternatehistory.com/doku.php/timelines/eyes_turned_skywards_images_and_fanworks I'm a particular fan of trying to make the Saturn 1C which in the timeline is a 1B replacement where the first stage is a single F1-A. It kind of works well-ish with a hacked-together F1-A. With the Fustek parts and some other stuff, you can use FASA to build a neat-o alternate space station too. Great pack! My only question is, is there any plan to fix the polygon smoothing on the Apollo CM? There some odd smoothing going on at certain angles, and I suspect setting some hard edges would alleviate the problem.

I just duplicated the F1 and rewrote it slightly as an F1-A. A slightly increased thrust and slightly increased fuel load as, I guess a way to emulate the more powerful and somewhat more efficient F1-A. Still looks the same, just a different part. I wonder if theres a way to shorten a part using the cfg, as a half-size Apollo SM for LKO operations.

Not to dispute any of this, though technically the Challenger's SRBs did not explode. They were detonated by range safety after vehicle breakup. The burn-through was an equally unstoppable situation though.

Cheaper to develop. At the time they were approved, NASA was under a huge budget crunch on the Shuttle. Originally the boosters were to be Kerolox and recoverable/reusable. This was expensive as heck to develop and congress balked at the bill. Thus the ATK Reusable Solid Rocket Booster, which is partially based on their expertise on building large segmented SRBs for the Titan motors. Thing is, over time, the SRBs are far costlier to procure and operate, and it was one of those cases where budget and time conspired to leave the Shuttle with a more expensive operational life in order to save on its very development.

Are there any plans for a spacer type of a part? Usually I use two of the docking adapters stuck together in the VAB to make sure the modules don't clip into each other, though this does add to part count. If not, no biggie there are always other options, I just rather like the aesthetic. The day IVAs arrive, this is going to have to be a mandatory mod for my future installs!

With regards to the textures, are they near final or are there any additional tweaks, like baked AO on the LEM and CSM textures? They look awesome though they seem overbright because of the brightness of the texture and multiplying an AO pass over the texture might bright that back around in line with the rest of the parts visually.

I do mean the RS-68s. I like using the normal sized constellation parts and just wondered if the other engines were coming up at some point...

I wonder if theres a way to scale the RSS parts to normal KSP size. Those engines look like they'd be fun to play with.

This. At this point, I'm basically using KSPX as a holdover until all the parts are in the stock game. (especially the adorable escape tower!)

The only part it'd be really needed on is the CM. Perhaps two versions could be offered, one with the plugin on that one part and one without? Edit: does the CM texture exist in a version without the cubemap?

Was reading a Something Awful thread about the final space shuttle launch and someone posted this little simple game. I dropped a few bucks donation on it then and have been playing ever since. Back before the map view,reaching orbit with an eye on a table of orbital speeds... 2011 was such a different time...

And we welcome the Antares launch vehicle into the family of orbit-capable launch vehicles! They should get a muffin basket for induction into the club!

Nice that the atmosphere shader seems to have been updated (the sky gradient now wraps around the earth instead of being an "outer glow" around the planet, simulating the look of air.

The moment that shifted my gameplay style was when one particular catastrophe occurred during ascent. The command pod was severed from the main rocket and its parachutes and for 30 seconds I watched my three Kerbonauts plunge to their inevitable deaths. Realizing later that thats what basically happened on the Challenger flight, I'm far more cautious with my designs now before I commit a crew to them.

I can\'t wait till the day this pack sees the .15 part changes like normal maps and glowmaps. It\'ll make for some glorious launching!

I\'ve had the opposite happen actually. There seem to be less of them but each is more detailed (or less where appropriate). Actually this is unashamedly my favorite change in this update. Its so PRETTY!