TheBedla

I'm just thinking, it should be possible to replace a kerbal head texture with Chaka's, right? I don't have the skills or tools to do it, but seeing what others have done with the models, it should be possible. And it would only be fitting for such a brilliant total conversion. Volunteers?

Well there are some nice 1.8 m components, but otherwise I agree. It's just that the StationScience labs exceed 2.5, therefore I find them hard to incorporate nicely into my designs. But that's certainly my problem I'll give the MM config a try and see how that works. I don't think eureka generation is meaningless. It still matters whether you can get an experiment completed in hours or in days - and that depends on eureka generation. I for one don't like timewarping through days just to get an experiment done (though again, I recognize that's a matter of personal preference). I was thinking in-atmo medium-term experiments, something you could do while flying to space (in a spaceplane) or between waypoints (courtesy of FinePrint). Thanks for the reply!

Hey, awesome work. I started using this and it improves the look so much. I do have a few comments - the Hitchhiker starts with the opposite orientation than the other parts (and probably than the stock one as well) - you have to rotate it 180° to have the entrance facing the default view in the VAB. This is really minor, but when I was rotating it, I noticed another thing - it is not perfectly circular, or it is slightly off-center. It seems the side with the ladder is recessed or flattened by a few cm as compared to the other parts. I would also like it better if the 2.5 m decoupler were slimmer, but I suppose you want to stick with the original model's dimensions. Keep up the good work! Looking forward mainly to seeing how you handle the mk1 inline cockpit!

Hey Ethernet, I've been watching this mode since the Alpha stages, as having meaningful stations is exactly what I wanted in my game, and the mod is part of my saves ever since you've had the new models. I did enjoy the challenge of putting the Cyclotron up in orbit and setting up the logistics, but there is something I've been aiming at in my saves, being inspired by real space projects. That's why I appreciate Beale's Tantares pack which included the tremendous Kvant equivalent which generates a paltry amount of science, but does generate some. And I've been using that part ever since, because I like the modular approach to things and to keep my crafts and stations as small as possible (to reflect the reality in some way, or better yet, so they appear believable). I'm writing this post with a proposition of sorts. I greatly appreciate the system you've set up, the experiments and the parts you designed, but I think this mod would be much more useful if offered a slightly different approach to things. I realised that basically all the real station modules that have been up in space have been used for SCIENCE. And I think it would be nice to have options to start your Science Stations small, or to be able to expand them piece by piece, not requiring large additions of >2,5 m modules every time I want to add some more science capacity. I think it would be possible to add a ModuleManager script of some sort which would add eureka generation to all non-piloted crewed parts (e.g. not to capsules and cockpits, but to all Hitchikers and mod parts, airplane and spaceplane crew cabins, even orbital modules). This would allow the player to gradually build up the science generation capacities, even allow performing experiments while flying in atmosphere (I know doing science on Kerbin is something you discourage, but the concept of research airplanes seems to make sense to me). Of course, the amount of eurekas generated would be miniscule by comparison so that your original station part still has its use - there would be no other part which would allow 4 kerbals to generate that many eurekas. I still don't know how to incorporate the Kibbal and Quark generation - and the Cyclotron and Biolab are parts I would esthetically appreciate during late game, but I can hardly bring myself to attaching them to basic MIR and ISS-style stations. Do you find this concept interesting at all? Or perhaps, are you planning on making smaller Station Science parts at some point in the future? Thanks!

I just tried this yesterday, and I must come back to tip my oversized helmet to you. I've been playing KSP for quite some time now (since .18 - not nearly as long or as much as many others), and I was feeling KSP was becoming a little too easy for me. I went through dozens of career starts (or the equivalents where there was no career yet), and my Kerbin orbit operations were becoming monotonous. So when my newest save decided to go AWOL on me, I said hey, why not try this 6.4x thing to make things more interesting? And boy, interesting they are. I did manage to put a Kerbal into orbit and back, and to save one from LKO (thanks to FinePrint) and to do some test launches, and I'm now feeling as if at the start again. Suddenly I have only a rough idea how big a lifter I need to get to orbit, what the most efficient ascent profile is, and how the hell to set up a comms network (RemoteTech). So, I just wanted to say thanks for keeping the game fresh for me. I'm looking forward to the challenges in front of me.

Yeah, that's the one. The lack of sun tracking is OK (I do prefer the non-tracking ones anyway), but it did not generate any power. What I did was once I unlocked the node I just put all of them on a single ship (not intending to launch it) just to see what shape they would get once unfurled. And this set was the only one that did not generate any power at all. I warped from about noon to sunset to make sure it's not due to the angle (unless they're intentionally single-sided, that could have been it). I'll try to do you a screenshot when I get to KSP again.

Hey Beale, been enjoying the new updates, the new Proton is shiny! I have some feedback though: Could you move the panels around in the tech tree? When I reached that node with all the Tantares panels, I felt really overwhelmed by the half-dozen different types that seemed only marginally different. It'd be nice if we could get the basic non-tracking panels relatively early (maybe even with the first stock solar panel, so we can have functional Soyuzes and bases at the TL of their other parts), adding the larger and sun-tracking ones later. I also noticed the largest panel type (don't know the name really) did open but did not track the sun, and produced no electricity (displayed 0 sun exposure even though I warped through several hours). Thanks and keep going!

Oh yes please. As I cherry-pick from a bunch of different mods, and have deleted a lot of stock parts already (no use for stock tanks if you go procedural), it would be a godsend.

Thanks! Probably. They're the only ones I've got this far in the tech tree (have not even landed at the Mun in this save). I've also been using HGR together with this mod to give me a Vostok-like starting capsule and for the Soyuz style fuel tanks, fits very well.

Finally had some time to play with your parts I like my new Mun station, even generates 1 eureka / hour! Thanks for the great work and keep it up!

Okay, I have another idea for the MIR modules, and I'd be interested what you think, Beale (once you sort out the Proton, of course). I noticed this image on Astronautic, and thought it would be excellent if the MIR modules offered modularity (duh) not only for the custom medium-sized diameters the MIR finally used, but also to stock-like standard 2.5 m modules. I imagine if you designed the leftmost cone-shaped part separately (probably identical to Kvant's or TKS's), separate mission modules for MIR, and maybe a modified FGB core module (the green part of the second picture and part of every MIR module - though we could probably jury-rig your current TKS crew/cargo parts for that), we could all make all the MIR modules, the PAROM space tug (very cool), and be able to mix and match MIR modules with 2.5 modules (and even ALMAZ-derived modules) all together with reasonably low part counts. I don't want to come off as a spoiled customer who gets great stuff for free demanding more, but i figured a similar concept could offer good modularity while maximising the outcome of your work. Let me know what you think. (and I can't wait to test that lovely Proton - have been stuck between work and family lately)

That sounds promising I did find something eventually - see no. 58: <i>Yury Onufriyenko and Yury Usachov (...) completed the deployment of the TRAVERS radar antenna on Priroda following the failure of its automatic deployment mechanism.</i> Even though it was designed for automatic deployment, I still think an EVA action would be cool. And here there is a bad drawing of its furled and unfurled configuration. Reminds me of one of the SCANsat dishes. This is probably the best representation of the unfurled TRAVERS antenna. It's probably the long grey tube-y thing at the bottom with the square cone at the right. How it unfurls from that, that's beyond me though. Edit: Thanks, Biohazard! You ninja'd me to that image. Thanks for the diary, I read through his description of the eva (page 25, ang Google Translate seems to do a decent job of it). I still don't understand how it fits to that tiny rod though. Congrats on the new release!

I tried to find the launch configuration of the Priroda module, or at least read how the antenna was actually set up, but no luck. I suppose it was not launched as-is, the fairing would have to be unpractically large (and in Real Life they could not just let it stick through the fairings like we can ). I suppose it was eva-deployed, but I could be wrong (and I have no basis to believe I'm not).

Excellent news Well the "native" station science modules are not terrible, but what seems obvious solutions for Soviet crafts: 1. Progress capsules - these can either be perishable (no return), as you can mostly extract the experiments and load them into manned capsules for reentry, or you can recover the entire capsule (which is unprogresslike, but hey), or you could develop something like the Raduga (how, I'm not sure, and I'm not sure it's worth the effort) 2. TKS modules - just a "cargo module" loaded with the experiment. You could base this one off the current cargo module (in fact a "native" experiment capsule fits just snugly inside as is), just fill the inside with some gubbins that would look experiment-like. Manual extraction before reentry would be required, of course. As to the new experiments - why not start off the MIR experiments themselves? Kvant-2 had a quail-hatching experiment, that sounds pretty much like the kibbal ones in SS. Kristall - material processing (a new experiment branch?) or electric-related stuff (like the quarks or whatever in SS). Spektr seems to be focused on Earth research, so it should have some sort of experiment for analysing the parent body it is orbiting. Priroda also focused on the Earth, so it could be a complement/expansion to Spektr. Of course, there could be more than just this - a bigger Eureka generator than the Kvant-1, and alternatives for the other modules from SS... then one would want to build something like this

Hey Beale, since I see you're enjoying Station Science: I tried it a few times as well, and the concept is great, even though the parts themselves I don't like that much. Granted, it's much better than the stock welds of the first versions, and the challenge of moving around 30t parts is nice, but they still seem a little too "out of place". What I was thinking - could you perhaps make the various Mir modules functional in terms of Station Science (of course at lower effectiveness than the big parts)? Either with slower production of Eurekas/quarks/kibbals/whatever, or maybe collaborate with Ethernet on a new set of experiments? It would be terrific if people would be rewarded for building their own versions of Salyuts and Mirs in terms of science. What do you think?

Hi, I found another issue with the TKS (Sorry, but I really have a soft spot for it). It's great that it is controllable from the control block, but the control block is oriented so that it flies "backwards". I know it's confusing with a TKS, but bear with me. A TKS is launched with the capsule up, but its cargo block engines should point upwards at launch. After separation from the booster it should flip 180° and face with the docking port and the control block forward and with the capsule backward. When you try to control it from the control block (the double-cone shaped part), you have to transfer a kerbal there (which is great), but when you try to "control it from here", the craft retains the same orientation as when controlled from the capsule. Now this is a minor point as long as you use a docking port in the "front/bottom", but it complicates its use in IVA - the kerbal is looking out of the window in the correct direction, but the indicators are backwards. Is it possible to have a part that would have the control direction as "down" in the VAB? Also, the TAC imbalances are still there. I checked, the stock 3-kerbal capsule has 3 units of oxygen. The VA capsule has about 1600. I don't know how long either will last, but I think that much shouldn't be there. I do appreciate shifting the parts in the tech tree, thanks! It makes much more sense now!

This is an excellent mod and suits me perfectly, as I have been trying to recreate Soviet designs with stock parts from the start. So your mod fills my needs perfectly - Soviet designs with perfect stockalike look. However, I think there are a couple issues which could be easily fixed. The TAC config seems off - the TKS modules pack ridiculously high oxygen levels, so the spacecraft is prohibitively heavy. One TKS module (for one kerbal, not a descent capsule) can clock in to 5 tons when full of supplies. I think that's a little too much and the TAC config should be changed. I also feel that the complete Soyuz is available too late in the tech tree to be practical. Currently I think you get the capsule and orbital module at the same time as the TKS, which is not true historically (although this is a minor point), but mainly game-wise. I would love to have a two-kerbal capsule (and craft) before I have access to the three-kerbal capsules (stock Apollo-like and TKS). The Salyut could also be there earlier so that we can have early primitive stations to service (and that could later be updated or deorbited). Of course i could make the changes myself in the cfgs, but I think the mod as a whole would benefit from these tweaks, so please consider them. Thanks for an awesome mod!

That's very interesting. So bringing foreign assets is probably not feasible. It obviously is a test vehicle, but testing for what? X-35 was a test vehicle as well, but its purpose was to test next-gen fighter capabilities. I could rephrase the question slightly to "what is the purpose of the final vehicle that comes from the X-40/X-37 programme?", but that would be quite cumbersome. I also realize that the final version will be larger, and transporting astronauts will be part of its mission. If it were a purely experimental vehicle, I doubt its missions would be run by the USAF and be classified, don't you think?

Delivering six people to a paved landing strip in about an hour (just eyeballing here)? I'm not really sure why you would need it at all - you could get to more locations (no strip needed) and probably for less money with just a capsule, if you needed it, and not worry about recovery and capture of technology. I just don't get how it would be economical and to what purpose.

Why spy sats? What new capability would a shuttle bring over a conventionally launched satellite? Rods of god would probably make sense, you would need the ability to adjust orbit before launching the missile and the ability to stay in space for a long time (which they seem to be testing now).

Hi all. I would expect this would have come up already, as the X-37 is sort of old news already, but could not find any threads on it. It's not just for transpoting stuff to orbit, as it would not need reentry capabilities. It's not just for transporting people to orbit, as a conventional capsule would be sufficient and probably cheaper. And it would not be so secretive, and not run by the USAF. If it's for rapid deployment of something anywhere on Earth (which is probable), what would it be? Munitions payoad wouldn't need a reusable vehicle, troop deployment probably not (as it requires a paved landing strip)... And I'm running out of ideas So, what is it good for (♫♪uh-huh yeah!♫♪)? I know it's classified, but let's speculate!

Okay, I'll probably take this a little too far, but wouldn't this make it possible to add "terraforming parts"? Say like an atmospheric processing station that would slowly use your code to change the appearance of the planet it is on? Maybe a localised spread from its location on the planet? I think this would really push the mod envelope forward.

After playing around with your tanks quite a lot, I have an idea and a bug to report: The idea: As IRL, the coversion would require some manual work (pumping the systems, rebuilding the interior etc.), but it would be too complicated to add a system checking for the presence of Kerbals onboard before allowing conversion, why not make the "Convert to Crew Tank" an action clickable from EVA? Do you think it would work? And the bug - after conversion, it seems the panels covering the door and the windows seem to fly off not directly from the tank, but seem to "get stuck" at a particular point in orbit, and have very high relative velocity to the tank. This actually broke some components stuck on my tanks. I think the correct behaviour should be that the panels would have the same orbital velocity and only gain some small relative velocity from the tank, as decoupled parts do. Has anyone else encountered this?

I'm using the ISS Detector app for Android, also works fine. It's nice to have your phone buzz when 450 tons of SCIENCE zip above. If your phone has a gyroscope, you can even use it to track the position and elevation.

This sounds great, I'll surely try it. Just an idea - would it be possible to insert it into the Astonaut Complex scene instead of having a separate FF window?