Logan.Darklighter

So Nertea's new Mk 4 Spaceplane parts are perfect for recreating Thunderbird 2. In fact Nertea has confirmed a couple of times it's inspired by and meant to do similar heavy lifting jobs. You can make some truly GIGANTIC SSTO load lifters with this mod. But yeah - Thunderbird 2. I had to try my hand at my own version. And it flies very nicely! And fast, too! (Mach 3+ top speed and around 23,000 meters max altitude) So I managed to load a rover from the runway and carry it over to the Snowy mountain area (Kerbinside). This is the real gimmick though. Achieved with a little help from IR Robotics parts. Ta daaa! Full Album below:

It would indeed be nice to have the Yellowjacket VTOL engines in two modes - Jet type and Rocket Type. In fact - if I may make a suggestion? Why not add a third option and make a RAPIER variant that can switch to either mode on the fly? There's two basic reasons why I think that third option would be a good idea: 1) For the obvious use of being able to VTOL in both Jet-mode in air-breathing mode to save fuel and yet not need an extra part to do the same on a vacuum world like the Mun. 2) to be able to switch to closed cycle rocket mode for quick bursts of power when making final landing approaches even in an air-breathing environment. Rockets always provide better, faster response times for VTOL in situations like that.

Salute to Gerry Anderson. Thunderbird 2 into the sunset.

Nert, you've got yourself a masterpiece here! I was actually able to make a straight-up Thunderbird 2 and it works BEAUTIFULLY!! It'll never match turns with a fighter, but there's enough control to make the traditional low-level fly-by. I think it helps that the whole structure is a lifting body in the new aerodynamics. My inner Jeb is telling me - "Hang on a sec, that last pass wasn't low enough, we can do better than that!" Top speed is apparently around Mach 3.4 at 23,000 meters with not a SINGLE temperature gauge on any part giving warning signals! Mind you - all of the above was on the maiden test flight with an empty cargo hold. But it certainly seems promising! Now all I need is an update of Kerb Paint to get the right shade of green on her and I think we're set! You've got a real winner in this mod, Nertea. Kudos!

Elwood Kerman: "It's got a cop motor, a four hundred and forty cubic inch plant. It's got cop tires, cop suspensions, cop shocks. It's a model made before catalytic converters, so it'll run good on regular gas. What do you say? Is it the new Jebmobile or what?" Elwood Kerman: "It's a hundred and six miles to KSC, we've got a full tank of gas, half a pack of cigarettes, it's dark, and we're wearing space helmets." Jake Kerman: "Hit it." "Use of unnecessary violence in apprehension of the Kerman Brothers . . . has been approved." They'll never get caught. They're on a mission from God.

KLONG!!! * (*Sound of jaw hitting deck concussively.) My mind... it is BLOWN. Here - have some rep, you magnificent SOB!

JEB: "Bill? Get me my brown trousers..." Seriously - that is freaking awesome.

And the first craft is a Long range supersonic bomber. I present to you, the - B7 Valkyrie It's a long range supersonic bomber capable of carrying several types of payloads. Inspired by Rune's White Dart space plane, I've included in the download files several different pre-made payload bay options. Some carry ground attack missiles in various configurations. Some carry bombs, and there's even one with air to air missiles (on the assumption you want to try your hand in dark multiplayer or against AI opponents fighting off multiple attacking fighters or supporting one group against the other with missiles fired from the edges of the battle). With 8 .50 caliber turrets spaced around it, the B7 can defend itself against fighters or even shoot down missiles! It has 8 Countermeasure pods, just to make sure you don't run out at a bad moment. Why the .50 cal turrets? Well - they sit flush to the frame, unlike the other guns available in BD armory, and I figured that aesthetically they made more sense for a supersonic bomber. On the B7, in their "folded" position, the guns are all pointing to the rear with the back of the turret facing the airstream. But they have full 360 motion. At almost every angle, you'll have at least 4 turrets able to train on a target. And straight forward you can get all 8 on target if you aim right! In guard mode they are DEADLY accurate versus fighters and can even shoot down incoming missiles. (Don't depend on that, though - use those countermeasure pods!) They also do fine double-duty as low level strafing guns. But the B7's main defense is sheer SPEED. The idea is to massively bomb or missile saturate an enemy defensive position and get the HELL out of dodge before taking any damage. "Though I fly through the Valley of Death, I shall fear no evil. For I am at 80,000 feet and climbing..." It was based around the frame of my latest spaceplane, the Antares. The Antares uses OPT engines that are - quite frankly - almost ridiculously over-powered. But the basic airframe is more than capable of high speed with just the stock "Whiplash" turbojets. It's capable of getting from the runway up to 10,000 meters and Mach 2 in about 30-40 seconds. The trick is holding BACK on the throttle at the right time to avoid overheating and exploding engines! I'd consider "safe" cruising speed and altitude to be Mach 2.5 at around 15,000 meters. And the Valkyrie is capable of BRIEF sprints at well over Mach 3 between 16,000 and 20,000 meters. WATCH THOSE TEMPERATURE GAUGES though if you do that! You can push it too far and then you'll REALLY be sorry... But - if you plan your speed and altitude properly, you can "supercruise" halfway around Kerbin for a strike one way, and at least half of that distance if you plan a full return round trip afterwards. The main design by default has the action groups set up to cycle through the weapons and drop missiles or bombs individually, but you may wish to change that. It's easy to set up volley fire with the action groups. In fact I recommend it in some cases. Though not required, I HIGHLY recommend TAC Fuel balancer and set up the fuel tankage feeds back to front to maintain the COG forward of the lift when the fuel gets low. Payload Options: The Payload bay is capable of holding the following that I've tested and saved as sub-assemblies included in the package: - 3 Cruise missiles - 6 Maverick Missiles - A mix of 12 Hellfire and 4 Mavericks - 5 AMRAAM missiles - 3 Cluster Bombs and 6 Mk 82 Bombs - 12 Mk 82 Bombs - 12 Mk 82 Snakeeye Low Altitude Bombs A note on designing your own payloads: One of the things that kept destroying my test Valkyries - particularly at high drop speeds over Mach 1 - is the fact that you need to set your drop time on the missiles to MAXIMUM and your Ejection speed on the launch rails high. You basically need to KICK those missiles down and away from the payload bay and clear of the aircraft so they have enough clearance before they ignite their rocket engines! Also - try to give the missiles clearance space from the back of the bay. As well as clear drop angles that don't get entangled with other missiles/bombs! I can't tell you how many times I've watched a missile pin itself against the forward wall of the bay before exploding and shredding the plane... oy... A very full bomb bay - A word on naming and history: Though the B7 Valkyrie resembles an SR 71 Blackbird, I decided for several reasons to name it as an homage to a fantastic piece of Aviation history and technological know-how - that unfortunately wound up obsolete in terms of mission profile before it ever had a chance to see production. That plane was the XB-70 Valkyrie and it was a transonic bomber with speed rivalling that of the Blackbird but capable of delivering several nuclear bombs! It was an amazing plane, but ICBMs and stealth technology basically ensured it would never enter production. That and an unfortunate crash of one of the prototypes caused by an F-104 getting too close in formation and colliding with and shearing off the vertical stabilizers ensured the end of the program. As for my particular choice - well - that row of 6 engines, it's Mach 3.3 top speed and capability as a bomber pretty much were reason enough, I'd say. Well - here's the bomber for you to test. There are two SPH craft files - one is the regular Valkyrie, the other is an unarmed version in case you want to come up with a completely different weapons config from the ground up. B7 Valkyrie Craft files Also in Sub-Assemblies are several Payloads ready to slot in. They've all been tested to make sure they can all fire or drop all their payloads without destroying the plane. Still - occasionally weirdness happens. I make no absolute guarantees. The Payloads are: Air to Air payload: 5 AMRAAM Missiles. Air to Ground Payload: 12 Hellfire and 4 Maverick Missiles (seen in the screenshots above) Cruise Missile Payload: 3 Cruise missiles Maverick Payload: 6 Maverick Ground Attack Missiles Mixed Munitions Payload: 3 Cluster Bombs and 6 Mk 82 Bombs Mk 82 Bomb Payload: 12 Mk 82 Bombs Snakeeye Bomb Payload: 12 Mk 82 Snakeeye Low Altitude Bombs So - take her for a spin and let me know what you think! - - - Updated - - - Link is fixed! - - - Updated - - - Oh - one other image for anyone wanting to see some Kerbal Engineer stats.

Been watching The various videos of Kollaborative Warfare Series on Youtube in-between bouts of fighting KSP 1.04 over which mod packages will actually WORK and not crash the game. (GRRR... Why does Astronomers Pack remain so steadfastly BROKEN?!?! Everything ELSE works more or less just fine, but that one STILL crashes my game even when NOTHING ELSE is added! *Sadface* I want 1.04 to be as pretty as .25 was, dangit! ) Ahem... Right, so Kollaborative Warfare - very entertaining series. Here's a link to a list that's got all of their videos to date. Some members/nations are very competent (AI Industries) some are hilariously incompetent (Spacegame Junkie) some are hilariously devious and/or agressive in an almost Black Adder fashion (Beardy Penguin and TAPE) and then there's Twitchy... who brings a certain insane style all his own... I mean... LOL and wow... Overall the series has inspired me to really work on some good designs for true mayhem and destruction! First - before going any further, I'll list what mods the KW guys are using. These HAVE to be part of the mod files - except astronomers pack - even a couple of the guys in the series are having trouble with that one. Basic EVE works okay though. I'd recommend making AP optional myself. BD Armoury (The weapons. Obviously it's MUCH harder to have a war without this stuff - though Macey Dean managed with pure stock...) Vanguard Technologies (Parachutes for the Kerbals - I'd recommend the version with default parachutes. You WILL have to bail from a plane sooner or later... ) Kerbinside (Need this for the various bases around Kerbin) Texture Replacer Diverse Kerbal Heads (Texture Replacer and this give your Kerbals individuality) Tweakscale (REALLY helpful always) Environmental Visual Enhancements (the basic version works just fine, but... ) Astronomer's Visual Pack (This does NOT for many people, myself included. A real shame, that.) Burn Together (If you want to fly or drive stuff in formation) Improved Chase Cam (Really handy to help perspective during maneuvering) Infernal Robotics (HInges, pistons, all that good stuff) Kerbal Foundries (Awesome and durable set of wheels and tracks - great for making robust rovers, movable defense turrets and TANKS. Also some hover parts!) Firespitter (More good stuff - mostly useful for adding helicopter and prop plane tech) Kerbal Aircraft Expansion (More useful options for planes, jets, props and the like) I'm using others as well, and if I started a KWar with anyone, I'd argue for those mods to be included as well, as the ones I'm adding are for the most part, stock-a-like. There are some exceptions, but I'll note them. For now, here's the mods you're going to see in this particular post with the first craft: Adjustable Landing Gear Mk 2 Essentials Mk 2 Stock-a-like Expansion Next - the first entry -

Always remember - it's not MY Eagle 1999, it's Devo's. I don't want to derail the thread with this, so the rest of you can ignore this, Dr Ted, look behind the spoiler for the rest of my post. [spoiler=]That said - I haven't yet had a chance to test it. I've been learning how to use CKAN and I've been adding (most) of the mods I really like to 1.04 and testing which config gives me the most yet remains stable. I've had good luck with almost everything else installed except for Astronomers pack, which remains steadfastly broken. ( *Sadface* I want my 1.04+ to be as pretty as .25 was... ) Also been watching the KSP Kollaborative Warfare series on Youtube and, inspired by that, been - in-between tweaking the modsets - testing various military aircraft designs. (In fact I'm about to post one in the Craft Share thread that has worked out to be pretty awesome.) As for the Eagle, I wanted to get the install of 1.04 right before I loaded it in to test. I'm almost to that point. I know I'll have to redo some of the mission pods (KAS no longer works the same, and resource gathering is a thing in the stock game, so the Kethane/Karbonite Prospector pods will be undergoing MAJOR changes). But the LLL Parts still work pretty much as they always have, and Quantum Struts is still around, so the basic structure of the pods will likely stay the same. Of course this all assumes the bloody thing still even works properly anymore. I know the new atmospheric model may make getting it into orbit (and back) a significant hurdle at the very least. Plus even assuming I can tweak the .cfgs to work in 1.04, there's the fact that it will only work in sandbox mode - it's never been integrated into the tech tree. What I'd REALLY like to do is talk Devo into allowing another modder to take over the Eagle since he's pretty much abandoned all his stuff. Assuming it still works on a basic level, I'd love to see the Eagle get a once over by someone truly able to give it the love it deserves if Devo won't/can't do it. When I get around to figuring it out, I'll post something where people will see it, either in the mod forums in general or in the old Wayland thread.

This is absolutely amazing work! One of the best aspects is the sheer size of the parts and cargo bays. They are ENORMOUS! I was BARELY able to fit an LLL body rover into the previous version, but the wheels couldn't stick out - NOTHING could stick out. It was a TIGHT fit! Now... whoa... Anybody hear an ECHO in here... here... here... ? AND you have bays that open DOWNWARD too! You can drive a rover in on the runway - secure it via dock clamp and KAS struts to the ceiling, fly it to where it's supposed to be, and literally DROP IT OUT THE BOTTOM TO DEPLOY IT!!! (Hopefully with parachutes and braking rockets/jets! )

My version of the M35 Mako from Mass Effect. Definitely NOT stock. If you want to see more pics and a craft download go here.

I designed this homage to the Mako from Mass Effect 1 back in KSP .25. Had surprisingly little trouble porting it up to 1.04. Though some oddities/bugs have shown up that I'm trying to address: - It's a bit part-heavy, coming in at around 180 parts. But I've certainly seen worse. Nevertheless it does mean that putting more than one of these out on the field is going to make things start to get laggy. - The system that I used to get a Kerbal in and out of the tank no longer seems to work right. I'm not sure if that's a fault of the craft or of the specific set of mods I have running. Currently you can use Crew Manifest to get a Kerbal OUT of the Mako, but you can't get them back IN. - When I made the Mako back in .25, the root part was a Rovemax module (buried deep inside the center of the frame) but I mounted it sideways. This caused no issues back then, but in 1.04, if you use the improved chase cam mod, it thinks the left side of the tank is the front and the right side is the rear. In all other respects though, it is unaffected. Mechjeb for example will navigate properly. But these are minor issues and I think I can fix them (particularly that last one - since I can now make the root part the cockpit pod instead of the Rovemax module.) I find it a fun craft to work with, and I hope anyone else using it will like it as well. I used a LOT of mods to create this, I hope this is the full list, but if you load it and find something missing, let me know. Mod parts required: B9 Aerospace (Cameras. some struts and the headlights) Aviation Lights (the "brake lights") Lackluster Labs (LLL) Most of the body pieces Procedural Fairings (the sides of the "nose") KW Foundries Wheels BD Armory (Guns and Countermeasures) Realchutes Not needed but HIGHLY recommended: Mechjeb and the mod that allows mechjeb to be used with all pods. Mainly for help with the dynamic stability. Vessel Viewer Raster Prop Moniter (with this, you can actually see OUT of the Mako from the cockpit through the cameras placed around the hull - if you don't want to bother with that, then remove the cameras, it'll reduce the part count) Crew Manifest (almost required to move Kerbals in and out (but see above for problems with that) So how does this version of the Mako handle? Pretty damn nice I must say. The KW Wheels really do a nice job of recreating the whole "Stable yet bouncy" feel of the original from Mass Effect. You can go up to 20-21 MPS on level ground and the wheels will handle at least as much as 30-40 on a down-slope. You can get the wheels off the ground in a tight turn and even tip it over, but you have to be REALLY TRYING HARD to do so! These pics here with the lifted tires were done when I was pulling the Mako HARD over at a full 20 Meters per second! (There is ONE oddity you'll have to address when you load it up. For some reason the left-right steering is reversed and I can't adjust it in the SPH. When you load it on the runway, right click on each wheel and click "invert steering" on each wheel individually. Then it'll drive correctly.) Also - the scale of the Mako is more correct than others I've seen. This is more like a standard sized rover and will easily pass through the underpass in the research section of the launch site. The brake lights work and the Mako if stopped HARD from 20 MPS will nose dive but will NOT scrape the nose on the ground (unless you're on a steep incline or hard terrain). The headlights are BRIGHT and will illuminate everything you need to see. And there's four of them, so you can afford to lose a couple. The turrent works and spins a full 360 degrees. The main gun is the BD Armory Howitzer. The main drawback is that it only has 20 shots. So make them count! The coaxial guns are Hidden Vulcans. And they have enough ammo to deal with minor ground targets. Only drawback is that they don't traverse up and down. But they'll point wherever the turret is pointing. The main problem with this version of the Mako in terms of taking it into an actual fight is that it's really not armored. I figure you'd need to get by with speed and maneuverability - dodging around the shots of slower vehicles and finding an opening for a shot. And any missile hit would wreck it instantly. So I gave the Mako countermeasures against missiles. How does the Mako climb? Like the original, pretty much. A mountain goat. And I've taken it up into the mountains west of the KSC and driven it up even steeper inclines then that! Enough so that I think this version of the Mako earns it's place on the "Mountain Climbing" team. Lastly - this version of the Mako has Monoprop Engines, but they aren't enough to actually lift it. Or even really cushion a fall fully in full Kerbin gravity. I'm looking into the possibility of a version that uses Bajamoto's "Pop out" engines. But for now, this Mako CAN be airdropped with a combination of Parachutes and the Monoprop Engines! So there you have it. And here's the download link for the craft file. Have fun! M35 Mako

Really nice! And I for one don't mind you posting this here. But - just a suggestion? Make a thread in the mod development section? Then make a link back to it here? (Or in your sig or something) As for the missile - maybe it needs better reaction wheels or an RCS system of its own?

My latest spaceplane, the Antares shuttle. Look at that smexy rear end. Breaking the sound barrier on the way up to orbit. Might be a little over-powered, we're not even to 10,000 meters yet... The heat shielding is definitely getting an early workout...

Ah yes - a tip of the ol' bean to Gerry Anderson and U.F.O. (Or as the Brits would say it - "You-Foe" ). Gotta love a sci-fi TV show set in the amazing future world of... 1980, where - -- with the above SHADO Fighter you get ONE SHOT before having to turn around and go back to base, so make it a good one! (On the other hand, you're effectively firing 1/3 of your craft's entire mass at the enemy, and if the payload is Nuclear, then you don't HAVE to be dead on target!) -- where a badass sub with a front half that separates to become a badass jet fighter doesn't seem all that outlandish by comparison! (Hmm... Now I need to MAKE Skydiver in KSP! Damn you for giving me ideas! LOL! ) -- and the men all dress like Dr. Evil and the moon women all where purple wigs. -- speaking of which - Lt. Gay Ellis... Can I get a YOWZA?!?!?

My jaw literally dropped open when you got that MASSIVE AIRCRAFT CARRIER to actually LIFT AND FLY. That was awesome. My only nitpick - I think you need a slight re-design on your VTOL jet for landing on the carrier. The landing gear is almost too wide to fit on the deck! (And speaking of tweakscale - I wonder if you could make the runway wider?)

You are having WAY too much fun with this. Love watching your reactions on the video.

Believe it or not - this actually made it into space legit! So what is the bloody thing FOR, I hear you ask? Cargo and passenger transport! And lots of both!

Back in my .25 save, I'm playing around with missions to Jool/Laythe and Duna. But back closer to home I'm setting up mining/processing/refueling stations on both Minmus and the Mun. And of course the trusty Eagles are doing a lot of the grunt work of ferrying and placing of modules. Here, we've got the first permanent station on the Mun. Capable of mining both Kethane AND Karbonite and processing it for fuel. There's a space station in orbit with storage capacity and an Eagle assigned there for ferrying fuel up from the surface station. For sharp-eyed Space 1999 fans, you may notice that I've done something kinda clever here. I went online and looked up what the coordinates of Moonbase Alpha were supposed to be in canon. Which so happens to be Lunar 51.6° N, 9.3° W. Well it just so happens that in my game a MAJOR Kethane Deposit is located around that spot. With Karbonite hotspots nearby as well. So - very close to those coordinates on the Mun, I placed the mining and hab modules for Munbase Alpha. Not quite EXACTLY on those coordinates - there was some tricky terrain at that spot. But within 2-3 Km of there was this nice round crater with a relatively flat bottom that was perfect. In this shot are two Eagles that have recently set down and docked a mining pod and a hab to the existing structure. Kethane extraction is ongoing (the green cloud). And how about that - Kerbin is about exactly in the same place above the horizon of the Mun as the Earth was above the horizon of Luna. (Before that unfortunate incident with the Nuclear waste and all that.) A shot from the 1st Episode of Space 1999 "Breakaway" for comparison: And here's a better view of Eagle 4 with a Karbonite Survey and Mining Pod transporting it over a few Kilometers from Munbase Alpha to the richer mining nodes in the Northern crater for drop off.

That right there - this entire thread - is awesome. /e salute

Heh. You already have the values, Lack. All I did was do a copy/paste of the TAC Module in the CFG for your 2x1 Life support box - the one with the blue trim that appears under the science tab. Just inserted it into the CFG file and done. Mind you - that was for the .25 version. If you've changed/altered the parts or removed the 2x1 Life support box from the mod for .90, then maybe you don't have it effectively. But here's the values from the .CFG that I'm currently using in my .25 version. RESOURCE { name = Food amount = 2560 maxAmount = 2560 } RESOURCE { name = Water amount = 2560 maxAmount = 2560 } RESOURCE { name = Oxygen amount = 2560 maxAmount = 2560 } RESOURCE { name = Waste amount = 2560 maxAmount = 2560 } RESOURCE { name = WasteWater amount = 2560 maxAmount = 2560 } RESOURCE { name = CarbonDioxide amount = 2560 maxAmount = 2560 } MODULE { name = LifeSupportModule } Mind you - I'm thinking of adding a couple of zeros to the oxygen level number. Because if you take a look at a standard TAC Large Life support cannister --- RESOURCE { name = Food amount = 1038.3 maxAmount = 1038.3 } RESOURCE { name = Water amount = 686.3 maxAmount = 686.3 } RESOURCE { name = Oxygen amount = 105113.2 maxAmount = 105113.2 } MODULE { name = LifeSupportModule } ... See what I mean? The Oxygen levels for a given length of life support are at least a factor of 10 higher than the other consumables in terms of the raw numbers the system uses. Maybe higher than that. I'm going to be playing around with the numbers tonight and seeing what making those changes I suggested does. The idea is to find a value that closely matches the duration of the other consumables.

Remember - still in development. He may be on a new version and pulled the old one. Patience my friend.

The Kraken paid my space station a visit...

6/10 The Satellite of Love from Mystery Science Theater 3000.