[1.3] [Kopernicus] New Horizons v2.0.1 [2JUN17] - It's Back!

[KillAshley]

Version 1.6.1 is now live!

Please remember to back up your saves, this update may be game-breaking as i have had to raise the terrain height on most planets to fix sunken terrain issues.

• Removed Kopernicus from the download - please download separately, link available in OP
  
  
• Tweaked textures for all planets.
  
  
  
• Fixed distortion of all planets normal & color maps
  
  
  
• Overhauled Nolas - rebuilt from scratch
  
  
  
• Overhauled Vanor - Finished it's texture finally.
  
  
  
• Atmosphere Tweaks - 1.0.4 changed things again, making atmospheres unbearable!
  
  
  
• Adjusted most atmospheres to make aerocapture possible within certain limits
  
  
  
• Reduced Moho's eccentricity
  
  
  
• Tidally Locked Mun
  
  
  
• Altered Dres's orbit - reduced SMA, reduced eccentricity, tidally locked rotation
  
  
  
• Tweaked Rings
  
  
  
• Fixed sunken terrain issues (hopefully)
  
  
  
• Removed Kopernicus from download for CKAN use
  
  
  
• Lowered Sonnah's GeeASL
  
  
  
• Increased Sonnah's atmospheric science
  
  
  
• Lowered Sonnah's space science
  
  
  

• Added Rescale Support:
  
  
  
  • Added KScale2 support
    
    
    
  • Added Kerbol3.7 support
    
    
    
  • Added 64K support
    
    
    
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  Planet Pack Support:
  • Added OPM support
    
    
    
  • Added KerbolPlus support
    
    
    
  • Added Trans-Keptunian support
    
    
    
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  Added ResearchBodies support
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  Added the start of the DMagic ScienceDefs (thanks to MinimumSky5)

If you find any new issues, please feel free to let me know so they can be dealt with ASAP!

Also be sure to check out the OP! I've added new features, such as a stock planet texture overhaul so they fit in nicely with the New Horizons planets, as well as the resource support and cloud layers!

[Torroza]

It's just me being a ignorant idiot, but what does OP mean?

[eddiew]

Sonnah atmo tweak looks bang on, cheers dude Being able to sensibly capture around big blue is the perfect safety net on a return voyage with a lot of unknowns - especially if you can get away with just pointing your butt into the wind. Worst case you get a stable elliptical orbit with your last 50m/s and send a rescue/resupply ship ^^

I might hyperedit myself to Jool and check out the definitive return velocities, just to be sure

Are the "sunken terrain issues" the times when the ground would be several hundred metres below the launch stabilisers?

...and now I'm intrigued by Kerbol 3.7... but since return from Mun is currently 1600m/s in NH, it probably doesn't need to get any harder xD

- - - Updated - - -

It's just me being a ignorant idiot, but what does OP mean?

Original/Opening Post

Or overpowered, depending on context ^^

[Torroza]

Thanks.

[KillAshley]

Sonnah atmo tweak looks bang on, cheers dude Being able to sensibly capture around big blue is the perfect safety net on a return voyage with a lot of unknowns - especially if you can get away with just pointing your butt into the wind. Worst case you get a stable elliptical orbit with your last 50m/s and send a rescue/resupply ship ^^

I might hyperedit myself to Jool and check out the definitive return velocities, just to be sure

Are the "sunken terrain issues" the times when the ground would be several hundred metres below the launch stabilisers?

...and now I'm intrigued by Kerbol 3.7... but since return from Mun is currently 1600m/s in NH, it probably doesn't need to get any harder xD

yeah I think I'll start doing some testing and find the optimal speed/altitude for awerobraking at all the gas giants so people can see it easier.

Sunken terrain is when you come into land on a body and the terrain itself is below 0 altitude, meaning you sink below 0 to land....cause bad bugs and lots of explosions! Let me know if you find it again on any more bodies and I'll fix it ASAP.

and as for the resize configs...I usually play with at least 2x resize, i like challenges

It's just me being a ignorant idiot, but what does OP mean?

in this context it means original post, as in the first post on the thread where i have ALL the information and links for people

Thanks.

You're welcome! Sorry it took so long, work has been pretty demanding lately! If you have any issues please post them so i can have a look!

[Thomassino]

Yaay update! Thanks so much i've been looking forward to this.

I have a suggestion about Sonnah's clouds. I'd personally add there something like cirrus layer or so just to give it a little more white touch. It looks kinda cold and distant now being only blue. It actually makes sense there could be clouds on Sonnah. It contains a lot of oxygen, probably a lot of hydrogen too so there should be water and clouds. I think it will look great!

Edit: I mean something like this:

Edited July 13, 2015 by Thomassino

[eddiew]

Tbh I don't know if it's even possible to get oxygen in abundance in a gas giant... at least, not molecular oxygen. Oxides and water, yes, but it'd combine readily with the hydrogen in there and rain out.

[Thomassino]

Tbh I don't know if it's even possible to get oxygen in abundance in a gas giant... at least, not molecular oxygen. Oxides and water, yes, but it'd combine readily with the hydrogen in there and rain out.

Maybe there's a life down there...

[MinimumSky5]

I imagined that there was so much oxygen, that even after combine with the hydrogen some pure oxygen was left, forming an oxygen-helium atmosphere.

[KillAshley]

Yaay update! Thanks so much i've been looking forward to this.

I have a suggestion about Sonnah's clouds. I'd personally add there something like cirrus layer or so just to give it a little more white touch. It looks kinda cold and distant now being only blue. It actually makes sense there could be clouds on Sonnah. It contains a lot of oxygen, probably a lot of hydrogen too so there should be water and clouds. I think it will look great!

Edit: I mean something like this:

Yeah the clouds are on my low-priority list really, i do like the cirrus layers like in AVP, however haven't had the time to really work on it much.....

Tbh I don't know if it's even possible to get oxygen in abundance in a gas giant... at least, not molecular oxygen. Oxides and water, yes, but it'd combine readily with the hydrogen in there and rain out.

yeah i though the same, however i thought it'd be a cool mechanic to have an oxygenated atmosphere at Sonnah. Stretching reality can be ok as long as it creates good gameplay and there's reason behind it i reckon!

[fallout2077]

Is it safe to assume that these planets are ScanSat compatible?

[KillAshley]

Is it safe to assume that these planets are ScanSat compatible?

they are, ive used scansat with this since i released the first version

[Olympic1]

Scansat works on every planet except for gas giants and stars because they have no heightmap

[fallout2077]

they are, ive used scansat with this since i released the first version

Scansat works on every planet except for gas giants and stars because they have no heightmap

Alrighty, very awesome! Perhaps this mod is what I need to rekindle my love of this game. Thank you, you two.

[KillAshley]

Alrighty, very awesome! Perhaps this mod is what I need to rekindle my love of this game. Thank you, you two.

thats the reason I made it! I needed something fresh, that changes the entire system and make it interesting once again

[fallout2077]

Another question I have is in regards to clouds and such... do any of the new planets have their own clouds? I'm assuming that mods such as KSPRC and Astronomer's pack do not touch these new worlds, for obvious reasons.

[KillAshley]

I had previously set up KSPRC configs, but they fell so far behind I removed them. Lately I've been working on my own custom ones. The beta for my custom clouds are available in the OP under the optional extras section.

[Thomassino]

Yeah the clouds are on my low-priority list really, i do like the cirrus layers like in AVP, however haven't had the time to really work on it much.....

I will be home in september, then I can help you with it if you'll be interested. Anyway, thanks for all the work you do for us!

[eddiew]

Bad news re Sonnah aerobraking; transferring from Jool to Sonnah crossed the SoI at about 3300m/s. Speed at the atmosphere was 10,800.

Val and Bob were sadly mourned. Until I reloaded.

Might have to turn down the heating to allow aerocapture return journeys for New Horizons. There's no getting away from the fact that Sonnah is going to grab your butt and drag you in as hard as it can, leading to crazy high entry speeds. Though I'm not totally surprised that some compromise on the rules is needed when upending the solar system as much as NH does ^^;

[KillAshley]

Bad news re Sonnah aerobraking; transferring from Jool to Sonnah crossed the SoI at about 3300m/s. Speed at the atmosphere was 10,800.

Val and Bob were sadly mourned. Until I reloaded.

Might have to turn down the heating to allow aerocapture return journeys for New Horizons. There's no getting away from the fact that Sonnah is going to grab your butt and drag you in as hard as it can, leading to crazy high entry speeds. Though I'm not totally surprised that some compromise on the rules is needed when upending the solar system as much as NH does ^^;

problem i face is that i don't think I can turn down the heat from atmospheric entry any more. I've done everything I can to reduce the impact of speed and heat, however the heating system itself is something that i don't touch. Reducing the GeeASL and reducing atmospheric parameters has helped, however the only way I know of that could possibly stop the explosions really would leave atmospheres with absolutely no density...it would feel like flying through space, there's no feeling of an atmosphere at all, as well as some other not so nice effects! I'll keep tweaking the atmospheres as best I can and see if i can find a way around this issue

[fallout2077]

I had previously set up KSPRC configs, but they fell so far behind I removed them. Lately I've been working on my own custom ones. The beta for my custom clouds are available in the OP under the optional extras section.

Well, judging by the screenshots on the OP, the planets/moons already have pretty convincing clouds. Or maybe those are older screenshots way back when you had those KSPRC configs up and running?

[KillAshley]

I will be home in september, then I can help you with it if you'll be interested. Anyway, thanks for all the work you do for us!

almost missed this. feel free to message me when you get home, I'll never turn down free help

Well, judging by the screenshots on the OP, the planets/moons already have pretty convincing clouds. Or maybe those are older screenshots way back when you had those KSPRC configs up and running?

actually no that'd be the beta release of my custom clouds which is there in the OP ready for you to download and use if you wish

[eddiew]

I'll keep tweaking the atmospheres as best I can and see if i can find a way around this issue

On the basis that Squad feel no compulsion to make Jool aerocapture survivable, I've no problem accepting that the issue is out of your control It doesn't look as if we're supposed to be able to atmo-dive on gas giants, or at least, not without attaining orbit first.

I had, btw, managed to come in retrograde - like a moron. Tweaking for a 250km PE in the correct direction resulted in an atmo entry at a slightly more sedate 9.2km/s, which unfortunately also blew me up because as ever, stuff in cargo bays is really random about heating up and exploding. I think a better designed ship might have made it, but yeah, it's still kind of problematic with regards to the return voyage. For my own purposes, I'll probably just nerf heating overall because it'll kill the fun if I have to pack an extra 4000m/s or massive heat shielding on every return vehicle ^^;

[KillAshley]

@eddiew, I'm gonna PM you a config, can you test it out and see if it helps? Think I've got an idea

[fallout2077]

actually no that'd be the beta release of my custom clouds which is there in the OP ready for you to download and use if you wish

Wow, that is very, very enlightening. It looks like I'll be reinstalling KSRPC (I've been using Astronomer's Visual Pack V3 Beta); it looks like the reinstall will be well worth it. Once again, thank you!