BeastofChicken

Hey everyone, sorry for the lack of updates on this mod. Work has just gotten the better of me, and I've been unable to keep working on it like I had planned. I've written MrWizerd relinquishing control of the mod and parts over to him.

Hey everyone, sorry for the long hiatus on this. I'm back now with some more time on my hands. What with the release of stupid_chris's AdvancedAnimator mod, I'm hoping I can now do some things I couldn't do before. It's looking like this mod still works with the new 23.5, let me know if you guys see anything that's off. I'll be updating this mod, mid next week with two new parts (a larger sampler, and a smaller drill-like sampler) so stay tuned for that. If I get the chance, I'll also be updating the scoop-o-matic model with some new textures (getting rid of the bright colors) and a couple tweaks on the mesh I've been wanting to do.

Hey everyone, sorry for the lack updates on this lately, work has been kind of insane. I do want to keep expanding this, but it's going to be a bit before I get any more parts added. Again, I appreciate all the feedback I've gotten

Yeah.. what with his mod, and the L-Tech-Scientific stuff... I don't think I need to spend much time on my camera. I'll keep it in there for now, but I'm going to focus on improving the Scoop-O-Matic for now.

Oh very cool, he's doing a nice job. Hmm.. I'd rather not spend time working on something someone else has been working on. Then again, mine looks quite a bit different...

Some very good suggestions, I appreciate it. Yeah, the colors are a bit bright. The Jr. is purple right now for example, but that will change once I get a new model for it, it'll look very similar to the Kam in appearance to match the style of the rover body. Some good points on the models sticking out, and the states they are in when used/unused, I'll take those into consideration when I do another pass on them all. Keeping the Jaw open when it's clean would be really good, especially if I bring the scooper back into normal position when its been used. I've been going back and forth on Crew Reports and EVA... still not sure which one to use for good. Ideally, I'd actually like to create another report entirely, but I haven't had the time to do it. At higher tech levels I was also thinking of adding in thermal imaging and other experiments into the camera.

Hey everyone, I've updated the part again. The Kerbal Kam was generating surface sample reports, instead of crew reports. It's fixed now. :|

Right now to save time, I just made a smaller one, but next week I plan on making a new model for the Scoop-O-Matic Jr, that will fit more inline with the rover body model. It'll be a stowaway thing that pops out when in use.

Hey everyone, I've updated the first post. I've added the Kerbal Kam, and also the Scoop-O-Matic Jr. I've kept it to just Crew Reports, to still give manned missions an edge. The crew report can only be generated once before you have to clean the part. It also gives less science per transmission. Also a note about the Kerbal Kam, the attachment node is rotated incorrectly, and for some reason I'm having trouble correcting it. I'll get it fixed probably tomorrow, but in the mean time, just rotate the part until it fits on there nicely.

Glad to know you guys are enjoying the mod. I'll be releasing an additional part (Kerbal Kam) near at the end of this week (hopefully) that will allow for EVA reports and crew reports. It'll fit well on top of rovers.

Just wanted to show one of the new ideas I've had floating around in my brain to get some feedback. It's essentially a baby kraken tester, somewhat like the one shown in the Science video Squad put out. You expose the kraken to space and observe his reaction.

Hey everyone, the part has been updated. The weight has been changed to .15 (same as the goo experiment) and the size has been reduced by 25%.

I'm not sure on the weight issue right now. I'm contemplating making it weigh the same as the Mystery Goo container, mostly for gameplay purposes of being able to balance the two parts with each other on opposite sides of a craft. Not the most realistic weight imo, but it might make the most sense for the game. With the size, yeah I'm going to be making it smaller, at least for now until I get a second digger. I'd like to make a smaller Scoop-O-Matic Jr. that would fit well on small rovers.

Hey everyone, thanks for the comments! The Slurp-O-Matic idea sounds hilarious, I'm going to have to look into what it takes to make unique science ID's and see if I pull something like that off. I have a few more science parts I'm cooking up, so stay tuned. I've been getting feedback stating that it's made some crafts wobble and turn when they're landing, and sometimes the part itself moves around oddly. Anyone else seeing that as well? I'm probably going to need to drop it's weight down a bit I'm thinking.

Yeah, I'm in agreement I think. Going with with the current balance for now. I've just released the part in this thread for all whos interested LINK

Beastly Science Industries DOWNLOAD FROM SPACEPORT Please delete the Scoop-O-Matic folder in your KSP install from previous versions. I've changed my folder structure for the install. Don't want to risk a kerbal when all you're trying to do is collect some dirt? Don't want to weigh down your rocket with life support or a capsule? Do your science with robots! Beastly Science Industries introduces the Scoop-O-Matic! Do all your digging without hands, and use the Scoop-O-Matic to do all the digging and sciencing for you! How to Use: The Scoop-O-Matic works just like any other science part, following a few simple rules. In order to work, you must be on the ground, and the part must be cleaned before reuse. The part is located in the Science Tech slot in the tech tree. You will have to unlock it if you're using the part in an already existing saved game. The Scoop-O-Matic Jr. can be found under the Landing tech slot. This part brings in less science than its larger cousin, but is much, much smaller and lighter. Kerbal Kam can be found in the Field Science tech slot. This part generates Crew Reports, and uses the same science from the manned reports. However, this part can only be used once before cleaning, and delivers a reduced amount of science per use. How to Install: Copy GameData folder in the .zip file into your KSP directory. Changelog: JAN0214 - Fixed incorrect reports from Kerbal Kam JAN0214 - Added Kerbal Kam (Generates crew reports) and the Scoop-O-Matic Jr. (smaller version for rovers) DEC2913 - Reduced size by 25% and changed weight to .15 Future plans: Indicator light on the scooper to show when it's been used. Separate model for the Scoop-O-Matic Jr. Collision detection to make sure you are hitting the ground. (right now, you can actually put the part anywhere) License: All Rights Reserved. If you would like to modify and redistribute this part, please just ask. New Scoop-O-Matic Jr. and the Kerbal Kam Careful when using on the launchpad! The part collides with the metal pad. (I'm not even sure why it does this, but consider it a happy accident) Ready to dig! Digging for SCIENCE! Ahhhh yeaaah.

Actually yeah! I'm going to be releasing to the public sometime this week. I was hoping to get it done sooner, but my work has been keeping me pretty busy. I've been thinking long and hard about the cleaning thing, and I'm still going back and forth on how to keep it balanced. My thoughts right now, is that I want this thing to work like a real surface sampler on a rover that can be used multiple times. You should be able to drive around on a rover to different biomes without having to haul the sample up to a science lab. I've been looking into making it use it's own experiment ID, so its completely separate from the manned surface sample... but I'm not quite sure yet.

Had another thought I'd like to add. Long term goal for this, is to make it so the scooper and the analyzer part are separate. I'm not sure if it's entirely possible, but I'd like to make a few different scoopers, and then several different analyzers that test different things in the surface. So you could do a mission to test radioactivity, another to test for water, microbial life, or whatever else I can think of. The analyzers would be up the chain in the tech tree, so you had to do simple tests in the beginning and work your way up to the bigger ones. Thats the idea anyways.

For now, the same amount as a manned sample. I haven't spent any time doing any balancing yet, and probably won't until I release it officially. Since science gathering is changing a bit in .23, I might wait until then to make any big changes. Not sure though.

Thanks for the suggestions everyone, I've been able to spend some time on it, and I actually have it collecting science now! I do have a problem with the animation though.... Everytime you reset the container or send the science away, the animation plays again backwards. It's kind of weird. I'm wondering if I have to make it use two animations, one to dig and one to sit there, but I'm not sure if thats even possible. Anyways, I'm uploading it here to let you guys play around with it, and to see if anyone has any other suggestions about what to do Thanks again for the help Oh, as for the collisions... that part is also a bit strange. So I took off the colliders for the arm part, and the only part that has one, is the base/container of the part. When using the scooper on the launch pad, it still collides, but if I move it over to the dirt, or use it on the mun, it doesn't.... Here is a video of the part in action: And here is a download of the part: https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/18268118/Soil%20Sampler.zip Just extract and merge with you GameData folder. The part requires the Science Tech in the research tree.

Hey thanks for the comments everyone, I really appreciate the feedback. I'm glad you like the part TheCanadianVendingMachine, I was wondering why it was hitting the ground like that... had a good laugh about it when I first tried it out! I'll change it to a non-entity and see how it handles that. Thanks! NathanKell, actually that sounds interesting... sending you a PM in a bit! --- Gonna still see if I can get this part finished, or at least to a point where I can release it into the wild and let people use/modify it. Stay tuned...

Beastly Science Industries Dev Thread. I'm keeping my original post here as a record, but I'm changing this thread to talk about all the mods I'll be working on from here on out, and to show WIPs, and getting advice etc. -BeastofChicken Hey everyone. Hopefully this is the right place to post this... if not feel free to move it wherever. I've been wanting to get into modding KSP for quite some time, but I haven't actually sat down and done anything about it until now. Basically, I'm either looking for a mod group to join up with, or some pointers on where to go next or what to do. For example, I made this thing last night: It's very rough looking since I only spent a few hours on it, but hopefully it shows that I know what I'm doing to a point. I've gotten to where I know how to get everything imported and "working", but I have no clue how to make it actually do anything useful like collect science or whatever. I'd like to be able to do it, but with work and everything, I just don't see how I'm going to have time to pick up even more knowledge by myself. I'd much rather make the art and let someone else make it work to be honest. A little bit about me is in order I suppose. I'm a professional game artist. I've been working as a freelancer for various studios for the past few years. I'm fluent in 3ds Max, Blender and Maya, but I prefer 3ds Max. I can model, texture, rig and animate, and I have a little bit of experience in Unity... which helped me get this far with the above model. So anyways, if there's anyone out there that would like to team up, or a mod group that's looking for an artist, hit me up. Or if you are a kind soul and have any resources or pointers that could help me out I would appreciate that as well.