fatcargo

Is it possible to set animations/movements in steps ? What i mean is having for example a rail that can move only to certain positions hardcoded in part cfg. Also, is it possible to have a more complex animations than simple translation and simple rotation ?

Ask lo-fi, i think he made KF wheels. He's really into springs, suspensions and stuff. He even might provide a complete "springy" part for you.

After some tinkering i got this, as always mostly basic geometry, once settled it will be only a matter of refinement. Left one is basic "T" channel mounting and on right side is a variation with a trapezoidal-threading screw for heavier loads. You can also add multiple sliding channels to make a wider and flat "palette"-sized rails. Ofcourse, the helical geometry of the screw does not need to be replicated to the last detail, nobody wants to kill the framerate.

Aha ! So, to have surface attach functionality preserved for both parent and child parts is to have usable sizes. Thanks. Here are next version of parts. From left to right : square, round, flat and special via attachment node with additional extender. I know you picked out one of them, but i've left all parts for demonstration purposes.

Thanks for reply, but i'm confused - how come AdjustableRail can be surface attached to parent and have another surface attached child to animate ? Is this attachment method being phased out along with legacy parts ? Does this mean that in future IR will always consider starting attachment node as root from which ALL surface attached (and via optional additional nodes) parts are child of IR animation performed ? If so, i will try to make a design that fits the above limitation, though right now i don't see a nice way to do it - surface attach for root makes only sense here.

Here are my basic suggestions for reworked model of Adjustable Rail. Top row shows basic "T" channel for slider in red color, body in yellow. From left to right : basic "fat" model, slimmer model for radial/surface attach, long thin with similar profile as your rework models and last one is a "heavy duty" that should only go in steps, slowly (with a heavy "humming" of hydraulics) - each stepping position can be locked by closing teeth on sides. All presented model ideas are free for use by anyone.

New parts requests : 1. Inline parts. Example Inline Rotatron (Basic/Free) with rotating "slave" node. That's 3 nodes for a IR part. Not sure if plugin supports it (two "source" stackable nodes, that is). 2. Remodel of old "Adjustable Rail", i like the surface attach with slider, it kind of complements the "Extendatron - Right Angle".

Thanks guys for replying ! I was kind of hoping such a thing existed. I've just skimmed over the intro pics and text and it's nearly dead-on with what i envisioned, sans few odds and bugs but it's there Duhh i forgot to ask ... one more thing : i know its not directly needed for EL, but if it really is possible to plan a EL plugin rework to support retargetable production outputs ? For example Hangars plugin (or any others in future ) may benefit from retargetable outputs. It keeps whole vesseles inside (loaded in scene only upon launch) and (hopefully) obeys some reasonable rules about weight and volume. For (in future) example if players combine Hangars, KIS/KAS and EL in same vessel, they could choose multiple output targets and have parts and vehicles done in all of them. Also another idea is to have Hangars extended to Repair Shops that can take in a damaged vessel and use existing VAB/SPH blueprints to replace missing parts. Yes, i know of KAS/KIS kebonaut EVA part placement but that may be too imprecise - imagine trying to fit a new rocket engine and you offset it's thrust from vessel's main symmetry axis. It will surely make any vessel into a (very short) roller-coaster ride I don't know if there are limits to how much mass a single kerbaonaut can carry, but if there is, a Repair Shop would make even those tasks possible; limited to blueprints ofcourse - making a whole new VAB/SPH IVA would be an overkill.

While i was testing out various mods and reviewed them on youtube for colonization, isru and off-world manufacturing, i've gotten this idea : is it possible to write a bridge-plugin or rework Extraplanetary Launchpads to have different ... "production targets", for the lack of a better expression. What i was initialy considering that EL does not always HAVE to be used in production of entire vessels. What about series of smaller parts, single parts even ? This further got me thinking that KAS (to be replaced with KIS if not already) also features inventory system that can be used as an OUTPUT of EL. You see where i'm going with this ? If EL could be reworked so player can attach KAS/KIS AS/B containers to EL platform (or to be more precise an assembly module) it could churn out whatever parts are needed. From my non-developer standpoint this much may be possible without too much (re)coding. However, this method of manufacture (mass repetition or chain of different singular parts) has to have an build menu window that will enable player to order multiple items that can be then manufactured either in strict order or by skipping down the order list until available resources match the ordered item. Opinions ?

Is there a way to add all Regolith/ORS resources in single MM patch to MFT tank defs ? That way anytime Regolith/ORS adds new resources, they are automatically added by MM patch to MFT. Does MM even have ability to do such "blanket patch" ? [uPDATE NOTICE KSP 1.x] If KSP 1.x onwards now includes resources previously introduced by Regolith (as it became obsolete from now on) they may now be available in MFT by default.

Lo-fi thanks for reply and a workaround. As for "reconfigure" yes it is mostly useful to IR / kOS folks, so adding it to be visible only to kOS as event should suffice for now. Backburner stuff anyway. One mystery remains though - how are stock wheels able to find proper orientation ?

WHOA ! I admit i'm not nearly an expert on aero calculations but pictures blew me away. People will FINALLY be able to make (more or less structurally sound) payload shielding by "stitching" together various parts (and using IR to make some cool designs ). Last pic with overlay visualization left me almost speechless, i just have one thing to say about it : now that reworked IR supports in-editor animation of parts, think how will that curve change as you move parts. You will then be able to directly observe how IR-driven changes in shape affect aerodynamic forces. Robotics and aerodynamics heaven !

Update : i have built a new frame for my drill rig with additional IR parts that orient wheels on vehicle spawn, even when vehicle is in stowed position. This way, KF wheel orientation is maintained in respect to vehicle. Now it is wheels work correctly. Parts/mods used : stock, tweakscale, B9, IR plugin rework, IR parts ZI rework, KF Wheels, Quantum Struts. Here is craft file for demonstration how to bypass the aforementioned bug. Note the landing legs as support for launch, IR servo group to deploy wheels and action group 1 to lock wheels into position once deployed.

Ahh that's why i did not recognize the term, i did not directly learned about this (there is no shame in admiting ignorance, only in refusing to learn if needed). Here is wikipedia article on finite state machines for anyone interested. PS: triggers i proposed earlier are form of states and transitions, so pretty much IR Sequencer is going in that direction

I'm glad you considered my ideas. What will "states" represent ? Something like snapshots of current positions of all parts ? If not, here is (yet another) idea for Sequence Builder (with load/save) - set all parts to certain position and then take a snapshot, set them again then take another snapshot. This kind of workflow is similar to stop-motion animation. That way one can quickly build multiple sequences that are independent from each other. Making sequences that are dependant on each other is a bit non-sensical except for "archiving" purposes (reusing same code etc).

Ok time for idea department to go to work How about sequence BLOCKS ? I mean not just static blocks that can be repeated anywhere that reference specific parts, but also blocks that can be executed on different singular parts or collections of parts. Just feed target part(s) into block and let it work through it/them. Honestly, i see that retargetable blocks are not so easy to implement. And they may be too crude for any complex IR behavior that most likely requires math, loops and feedback. Second is sequence TRIGGERS. Now, these are more kOS-like feature. These have virtually limitless diversity (and thus, sources) which will certainly make this challenging to implement. But starting small is always a good starting point. If the above two are combined, one can make some pretty powerful automation tasks (docking procedures, emergency tasks if crashing craft in flight or rover on surface, touchdown events etc).

Sorry for not replying earlier. @Crzyrndm about 0% fuel utililization bug - i use MFT.

I have found a craft steering/driving bug when using a KF Large Wheel ALPHA attached to IR rework part "Hinge Pivotron - Basic". I have attached a KF wheel to hinge which is in 0 position. Hinge itself is attached and rotated onto a tweakscaled M-beam. Parts/mods used : stock, tweakscale, quantum struts, KF wheels, IR rework, IR parts reworked by ZI. Here is the craft file to test it out. Strangely, this craft, which uses stock TR-2L wheels, works right when launching in stowed form, then deploying.

Great news ! I had some more time to play around with KSP and have tried new IR with in-editor part animation (simply marvelous). I've tried to make a vehicle that uses IR to enable stowage, but have also hit a snag with loading forces from vehicle mass on high-G planetary surface (such as Kerbin). I have used twekscaled I-beams as wheel pylons for KF wheels and attached them to "Hinge Pivotron - Basic" to provide stowed and deployed vehicle frame form. I know IR parts reworked by ZI are not intended to loaded with such high forces, but i hope that new parts will be made for this purpose. An other strange issue - for testing purposes i have launched my vehicle in stowed position. After deploying into driving shape, KF wheels did not properly respond to commands. It is as if wheels had their orientation initialized the wrong way upon scene loading. Annoying issue. Here are some images. Update : I have replaced KF Wheels Alpha with stock stock wheels TR-2L to test if this orientation initialization problem is specific to KF addon. It seems to affect only KF wheels. I'll go over KF thread to report a bug (if not already posted).

Hehe ZI i just wanted to ask for a new IR feature and your reply touched on it ! Is it possible to have named actions for position presets ? If kOS is used it does not matter as much, everything can be done in code. What i ask is for cases of "manual" action control. Currently only "Move To Next Preset" and "Move To Previous Preset" are available. Is it possible to add feature to enable this : 1. add "Hinge Pivotron - Basic" to craft 2. define a preset 75.0 3. go to action editor 4. select part 5. add "Move to 75.0" to action group 1 This way, a specific preset is guaranteed to be used, along with existing preset chaining.

Or Part Wizard . More complex but offers removing individual parts from symmetry (to be honest, partial symmetry removal is kind of "buggy", but that may be just my KSP install). Also has highlighting.

I have a question : I'm trying to make a manned base with life support. As i read, among other parts i also need kerbitat that further relies on habitat. So far so good. I'm not trying to make a orbital station or ground base, i want to make a mobile base, complete on wheels. And this is where i have a problem. Existing habitats (i already know of habitat pack by Porkjet) are just too large for my design target. Inflatable habitat from MKS is too cumbersome and does not fit well with the intended design. So Angel-125, i have request : is it possible to add habitat configuration template to Multipurpose Colony Module, or make it a separate habitation part ? It is compact enough and i only need 1 to 2 kerbals per base subsystem (any of the life support, resource extraction, power, refinery or manufacturing).

I was to read last 10 pages before reporting an obscure bug that crippled my craft editing in SPH and have plagued me since B9PW 0.3x, but i decided to try and hunt it down and have succeeded. Steps i used to to reproduce bug / observations (in sandbox mode) : - set fuel utilitization of procedural wing to 0% - change wing geometry or place wings in symmetry mode - save and reload craft (or launch and revert) in SPH - wing editor no longer responds to J hotkey - wing inherits name of whatever parent part it is attached to (visible with Kerbal Engineer Redux), even re-attaching won't help - if wing is attached to parent non-bugged wing, J hotkey will target and affect parent wing - right click menu still works, in some occasions if i hit the right one of the pwings in symmetry after loading craft, menu completely bugs out and is no longer available - in-game debug log shows multiple [Exception]: ArgumentException: Illegal prefix Parameter name: pfx - setting utilization to 0% also removes "remove all tanks" option from menu - craft price becomes NaN - if craft is large enough game will even refuse to launch the craft with message (in sandbox mode !) Craft is too heavy The Runway can't support vessels heavier than 2357823976234235645 tonnes {can't remember the exact number but it is just as ridiculous} Total mass is NaNt Exception Editor helped me intercept bug events as they occured. In short, as long as i keep proc wing fuel utilitization above 0%, no bugs will hit. Even i if drop it to 0% and immediatley set above 0% it will be ok.

You nailed it.

Ok i'll try to find out about it. In the meanwhile, please look if any of these should be hidden. Using tech level filters, sandbox mode. Tier 6 : Hinge Pivotron - Basic Joint Pivotron - Basic Joint Pivotron - Basic Rotratron - Basic Rotatron - Right-Angle Rotatron - Right-Angle (Rev. Mount) Tier 7 : Extendraton - Basic Extendatron - Right-Angle Extendatron - Stackable Foldatron - Basic Foldatron - Basic (Rev. Mount) Foldatron - Hinge Hinge Pivotron - Flat Joint Pivotron - Narrow Angle Joint Pivotron - Uncontrolled Joint Pivotron - Uncontrolled (Rev.Mount) Joint Pivotron - Wide Angle Movatron - Athlete Movatron - Curiosity Movatron - Hauler Movatron - Spirit Rotatron - Off-Axis Rotatron - Uncontrolled Tier 8 : Adaptron - Basic (120 Degrees) Adaptron - Offset (120 Degrees) Foldatron - Extended Foldatron - Extended (Rev. Mount) Foldatron - Inset Foldatron - Inset (End) Foldatron - Inset (Twist) Foldatron - Mini Foldatron - Mini (Rev. Mount) Foldatron - Offset Foldatron - Offset Mini I have browsed through part catalog using default filter by function and then categories Structural and Utility, none of the above parts showed up. When i place parts on vessel in editor, they are working properly. I have found an old 0.24 post with similar problem Missing stock parts. They mention Cool Rockets mod that caused this. Since we are at 0.90 this may no longer apply, i tried myself to look if there was such a mod in my GameData and found nothing. Will be back with more info when i try to narrow down what mod may have caused this.