Bilgewater

The current model of data gathering is a grind of the worst kind. All it consists of is clicking buttons. I feel it is worth it, but extremely boring and unrealistic, to continue to gather data until you start getting below five points or so, which is a lot of button pressing. My suggestion would best be shown in the following example. Let's say I've just arrived in orbit around Eve with a probe, which is pretty easy around the middle of the tech tree, and I've got a Science Jr. on board. Rather than activate the module twenty times each time I'm "near Eve" or "high above Eve," I'd like to turn the thing on, have it continuously collect data, then transmit the data at my leisure. During continuous collection, the value of the data decreases as an inverse proportion to time. So, the first interval of ten seconds of research would be worth, say, 30 points, next interval, only 20, next interval only 10 (these are just illustrative values), and so on until the data you could collect at such a position isn't going to yield valuable information. This data is then stored in an on-board computer in the command module which has some capacity threshold to force you to transmit sooner or later. One nice gameplay effect of this would be that gathering data, a low energy task, could be done on the dark side of a planet and transmission could be done while in direct sunlight. Summary: -Add data storage values to command modules -Make research continuous -Research in a particular spot should be inversely proportional to time rather than button clicks -As stored data is transmitted, it frees up space in the on-board computer

Here's a shot of the newly armed Torus, four torpedoes, one smart missile, and two utility droids: And a video of the ship's assembly:

Thanks! It's not real hard to make a ship combat capable. If you add some jr. clamps to the stern you can always add torpedoes or smart bombs later. I had to give up on an anti-personnel droid; it's just to cumbersome and stupid looking. I have attached two utility droids and I'm planning on attaching one smart missile and a torpedo group to the front of the Torus. Maybe someone would be interested in passing a save file back and forth to have a legit FTL/KSP battle?

@ info600 The Future! I'd love to see you or anyone else give the Osprey a try. @ The Error Nice Kestrel, bud! Thanks for the contribution. @ 5thHorseman Thank you, I'm definitely most proud of the Torus above everything else I've made recently. I just attached a utility droid to it. Once I've got an anti-personnel droid and torpedoes attached I'll show the truly finished product. Thanks again! I'm glad there's been some interest in this. I'd still love to see some other submissions. Anyone want to take on the Mantis Cruiser or one of the rebel ships?

As promised, the Torus: Like the Kestrel I made earlier, this one is also composed of four modules assembled in orbit. Docking the left arm to the rear body. Docking the front body to the right and left arms. The suggestion jaked122 made of having more interior room for the Kerbals to move around was appreciated and used. There are now seven manned compartments, most notably the bridge on the front of the vessel. The current crew is eight, but this ship could carry many more. This Torus also has two jr. clamps for torpedoes or other small arms on the left arm and front body and another two clamps on top of the left arm for droid or small fighter berthing. I can try to upload the craft files if anyone is interested. Some assembly required.

Sure. Is there a better way to set this up as a community project? I thought this would kind of be it. My OP was my second post on these forums so I'm a little inexperienced with the community. Also, I don't want to discourage people from using mods if they want to. Vanilla KSP is just how I like to play. I like the idea of jr. clamps as being weapon mounts, but for some of the more unusual designs (Engi/Zoltan vessels in particular) people should definitely get creative with the placement. There's something attractive about asymmetrical ship designs. Looking forward to your Osprey.

Absolutely! I was kinda hoping other people had already made versions of the FTL catalog so we could compare and get tips. If you've got a Kestrel or a FTL inspired design I'd like to see that too.

Sadly no. I'll probably make another version that's a bit better looking with more compartments like the FTL Kestrel, but for now I wanted to post this and see if anyone else had tried building any of these. Like I said, I'm probably going to work on the Torus next but I'll use that suggestion for future builds, thanks!

That might be a misleading title. I meant FTL the game not the actual concept. Whatever! I just completed work on my first model of the Kestrel: It's got a few embellishments but I think they're reasonable. I had wanted to use fuel lines to recreate the decals on the ship but... I forgot. And now it's up there. Oh well. Assembly was performed in orbit. The two engines are mounted radially using bi-couplers to ensure proper spacing and alignment. The main body is split front and back. You should be able to see a seam running horizontally down the midsection just ahead of the engine attachments. The ship has 2 Jr. ports and 2 regular ports and can be equipped with a variety of armaments or droids. A big mistake was not putting a port on the rear of the ship. Trying to refuel this thing with anything larger than those skinny tanks is an exercise in wobbly terror. But after all, it's more a vanity ship than anything else. I wanted to get as close to the Kestrel as I could and I'm fairly satisfied with this. Specs: 316 parts Approx. Weight: 160 tons Max. Fuel: 8640 Liquid, 3000 MonoProp Max. Crew: 3 Propulsion: 6 Nuclear Engines Sadly, no transporter, engine room, shields, weapons, medical, FTL drive, door control, surveillance, or stealth capabilities. In fact, the interior is mostly fuel tanks so if this thing got in a fight it would probably explode faster than actually playing FTL. Gonna try for the Torus next. I'd love to see what others can come up with too.

I am a long time kerbonaut but this is my first post on these forums so... hi! Down to business. This is Kerbiter One, orbiting at a height of 250 km (104 parts, 64 tons, 5 modules): Here's Malsy Fuel Station at a height of 580 km (398 parts, 190 tons, 8 modules): And finally my pride and joy, the Winie Interplanetary Rescue Vehicle at 400 km (342 parts, 290 tons, 8 modules): These vehicles are all made of stock parts and were launched without any mods/cheats/edits. And them tanks is full, baby!