SirJoab

Hi guys, I'm just getting into part building and it's gone well up to now. I'm building a tiny Monopropellant engine with built-in fuel storage. I first developed the .cfg file using the LV-1 "Ant" engine and it worked fine, but when I made my own model then engine now starts up, uses fuel, and makes noise, but produces no thrust, and has no vapor trail. When I replace the model with other ones the engine works again. This make me think the problem is somewhere in my model... First I modeled the engine and saved the .blend file: Then opened the .blend file in Unity: Then I added a collision mesh: And packed the file with KSP Part Tools: And just for reference, here is my .cfg file: PART { name = JAT_CubeSat1-2UpropulsionUnit module = Part author = JAT mesh = model.mu scale = 1.0 rescaleFactor = 0.5 node_stack_top = 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0 node_stack_bottom = 0.0, -0.025, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0 fx_exhaustFlame_white_tiny = 0.0, -0.025, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, running fx_smokeTrail_light = 0.0, -0.51, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, running sound_vent_medium = engage sound_rocket_mini = running sound_vent_soft = disengage sound_explosion_low = flameout entryCost = 10 cost = 350 category = Propulsion subcategory = 0 title = JAT-TP Self-Contained-Propulsion Unit manufacturer = JAT Research Labs and Toilet Paper Co. description = Self-Contained Monopropellant Propulsion Unit. Also makes a terrifying woopie-cusion. attachRules = 1,0,1,0,0 mass = 0.0005 dragModelType = default maximum_drag = 0.2 minimum_drag = 0.2 angularDrag = 2 crashTolerance = 60 breakingForce = 2500 breakingTorque = 2500 maxTemp = 3600 stagingIcon = LIQUID_ENGINE MODULE { name = ModuleEngines thrustVectorTransformName = thrustTransform exhaustDamage = True ignitionThreshold = 0.1 minThrust = 0 maxThrust = 0.2 heatProduction = 30 fxOffset = 0, 0, 0.08 PROPELLANT { name = MonoPropellant ratio = 1.0 DrawGauge = True } atmosphereCurve { key = 0 170 key = 1 155 } } RESOURCE { name = ElectricCharge amount = 0.0 maxAmount = 0.1 } RESOURCE { name = MonoPropellant amount = 2 maxAmount = 2 } } Any ideas about what's going on? Are there any engine-specific tutorials I can follow step-by-step?

Infernal Robotics by Magic Smoke Industries has such a part. The mod has worked well for me. http://kerbalspaceprogram.com/infernal-robotics-v0-6a-parts-pack-1-magic-smoke-industries-ksp-v0-21-1/

I'd like to participate, but I'm lost without NovaPunch. Can that mod be allowed?

Buzz was afraid of Jeb running into him on the way to the racetrack, so he hauled the WIPER in on this: I'll take it around the track some time today.

Not entirely. On my car I used aerodynamic surfaces for downforce. The extra traction gives me about 2 m/s more speed than I would have, and allowed me to corner much faster. On a couple of runs I clipped my front wing on a building and lost half my downforce. Without it my car would just flip over on a sharp turn.

Ok, I added lights to the WIPER and the performance seems unchanged. I also performed a full-speed crash test: The driver remained safe, though a little shaken:

Arrrg!!! I forgot headlights...

Manufacturer: JAT Research Labs and Toilet Paper Co. Model: 6U-TT WIPER At the Starting Line: Across the Finish Line! No Pit Stops. Final Time: 9:37 Highest Speed Achieved: 24.3 m/s

I'd like to see a little adjustment to the physics if the engine allows it. I think the stiffness of the connections between parts needs to be way higher. The connection between parts is strong enough, but the joints flex too much. They should be way stiffer. This would fix the floppy rocket problems too.

Explosions are the silver lining to the dark cloud of failure in KSP... I'd like to see the explosions be proportional to the amount of fuel in the tank, and of course the explosion force would detonate any tanks near enough. Would be a magnificent sight! That being said, are there any mods currently available that do this?

I think that fear should make a Kerbal loose their hair. The more times they get scared to the point of screaming the balder they get.

I really like this idea. It might complicate the implementation, but I think it would be cool if this Simulation's parameters could be provided by your probe's returned science data... So if your probe didn't have any atmospheric data, the Simulation would be run as if the planet had no atmosphere... so you want to have a nice sensor array so your simulation mode would be accurate. I don't know how the game mechanics would work with this, but I'd be happy with the simulation planet being a gray [or properly colored with no mapping] sphere, with all parameters set by the returned data. That way there's still stuff to be discovered once you get to the actual planet.

My line of thinking was that the hoses could be simulated as a chain... and could be made of rigid sections to 'explain' the limited flexibility. Then, when used used in the context of interconnecting stationary objects, the physics engine could just ignore them once they've 'settled' on the planet's surface. It would be processor intensive... but if your computer can't handle it, you simply wouldn't use them... and you'd be no worse off than we are now with the game not having them. (I have a weak computer... so this might be me... but the developers are a smart bunch... they might figure something really efficient. )

This is probably really good mod material, but I'd love to see it in the stock game: external power cables and fuel hoses that can be connected to other ships (providing they have the connector port) by a Kerbal on EVA. I have a little Mun base I'm working on that has a couple of different ships and a rover so far, and I'd love to be able to take a Kerbal on EVA and drag a power cord over to my rover to recharge it. Eventually I'd have one unit in the base to provide power, and power cables running to my other units to provide them with power. Hoses could be used to transfer fuel, oxidizer, monopropellant, breathing oxygen (if they implement it), drinking water (ditto), and anything else. They could also be used to 'soft-dock' for refueling a ship as an easier/safer alternative to standard docking with a space station.

Very nice mission recovery!

Just a thought on electric motor torque: When driving a rover, the faster you go the less torque is available. This is proper, but when you hit reverse (or braking for that matter) there should technically be full (stalled, stopped) torque available from the motors. This would be in keeping with how an electric motor actually performs. I don't know if this would be easy hard in the game's code, but it would make rover driving a bit easier, especially on vehicles that use 'tank steering'. That being said, my OCD would be really happy to see the electrical usage rate reflect the output torque.

I'm and engineering nerd kinda guy... and I was thinking it would be pretty cool to have a Jet Propulsion Laboratory (analogous to NASA's JPL) where you can build the engines you need. In this building you need to work with parts like nozzles, cooling jackets, fuel pumps, auxiliary power turbines, coolant, magnetic coils, gimbles... and whatever else you guys might think of. This way you could make precisely the engine you need for a task. Upon save, the program could simply write a CFG file for the engine, thus the in-game physics wouldn't have to work any harder during a space flight. I suppose these features could also be built into the R & D facility too.

Hey guys, I'm just getting started on modding in KSP... having a blast too. Where can I find a full list of keywords for cfg files? I'm seeing things in different CFGs like "isAlwaysActive" or "activateGUIName". Also, is there any way to create IF or any type of conditional statements in a CFG file, or do those kind of things need to be in a plugin?