(Fixed in 1.0.1) Fairing panels are massless (and it's mass is NOT added to the fairing base)

[ddenis]

Stock fairing panels are massless.

In assembly building it's displayed like they add mass to a craft, but when the craft is rolled out to the pad - the fairing panels` mass is 0/zero/massless.

To clarify: the mass of fairing panels isn't added to the fairing base.

Test 1:

Craft with 4 ant engines, TWR about 1.1, mass ~ 0.7t.

Adding fairings with 2t mass (as displayed in VAB)...

Remove 40% of fuel to compensate fairings' base mass.

And the craft is flying! What the crap, this thing could barely take off the grount without additional 2t of fairings, but it could fly with them.

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Test 2:

Fairing's mass ~3t.

Craft's mass ~ 3.5t.

Gravity is hacked for testing purpouse.

Launching a rocker with fairings: acceleration is about 0.4g.

Stage fairings - acceleration stays the same 0.4g, while fairings are weights as much as the rocket... in assembly building.

Decouple fairings' base - no changes, the same ~0.4g of acceleration.

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P.S. Installed only KER (screenshot were made with other mods already instaled, but then I've deleted them and retested).

Edited May 1, 2015 by ddenis

[JedTech]

I've heard that crafts are not losing the mass that they should on fairing separation. In my opinion one of the worst fails of 1.0

[Jouni]

All heat shields have the PhysicsSignificance flag set, so they're massless parts. Because fairings use the same part configs as the heat shields, they're also massless.

Edit: I was mistaken. The masslessness of the fairings seems to be hardcoded.

Edited April 27, 2015 by Jouni

[EtherDragon]

I've heard that crafts are not losing the mass that they should on fairing separation. In my opinion one of the worst fails of 1.0

If that's the case, that's a big oops! lol.

[ola]

All heat shields have the PhysicsSignificance flag set, so they're massless parts. Because fairings use the same part configs as the heat shields, they're also massless.

Eh. I guess I'll install DRE + FAR + PF ASAP.

[metl]

This is what happens when they jump into release without actually beta testing properly. Manley found a bug on live stream for Squad's sake!

[Radam]

I've heard that crafts are not losing the mass that they should on fairing separation. In my opinion one of the worst fails of 1.0

No, they dont have mass in the first place.

[sal_vager]

The fairing panels don't have mass by design, only the bases, and if this is the worst fail in 1.0 then Squad did pretty good

[JedTech]

The fairing panels don't have mass by design, only the bases, and if this is the worst fail in 1.0 then Squad did pretty good

Squad sure did do a good job! Great improvements! Great release! Although I think a beta release of these great features would have set 1.0 up for even more success.

[ddenis]

Ok, I'm not even asking why such decision was made.

[sal_vager]

They are basically the same as the solar panels, which mass the same when broken

[Technical Ben]

I'll have to devise methods of disposal then for mid/interstages. Perhaps docking nodes (to remove then reattach drive sections etc) or putting them on the end of the craft, not mid stage. I was going to use them to reduce part count (by holding stages mid transit until destination). But extra weight is a pain once not needed.

[NovaSilisko]

They are basically the same as the solar panels, which mass the same when broken

But, solar panels aren't jettisoned halfway through ascent to shed their mass (unless you have a really strange sort of rocket). There's an incentive in real rocketry to jettison the fairing at just the right time - not so soon that drag hurts performance, but not so late you lose performance to the extra mass of the fairing. Finding that sweet spot would be a nice little bit of experience required for players to learn.

[biohazard15]

I don't even... Not only these "fairings" are exploding like a frag grenade, they're also massless?

I don't even.

[sal_vager]

The purpose of the fairings is to shield the payload from atmospheric effects, they could be retained into orbit if the player wants, there's no penalty for doing so or punishment for failing to jettison them as early as possible

[Tobyz28]

Sal_vager, thats a nice spin on it but I'm going to rephrase this another way:

Fairings add increased mass (based on the size fairings) to the fairing base. Players are penalized for the mass of the fairings after ejecting them, since their mass still exists in the base. The bigger the fairing the more noticeable this penalty is.

Perhaps this isn't a bug, but it should maybe considered as an oversight and plans be made to revise it?

Edited April 27, 2015 by Tobyz28

[biohazard15]

Sal_vager, thats a nice spin on it but I'm going to rephrase this another way:

Fairings add increased mass (based on the size fairings) to the fairing base. Players are penalized for the mass of the fairings after ejecting them, since their mass still exists in the base. The bigger the fairing the more noticeable this penalty is.

Perhaps this isn't a bug, but it should maybe considered as an oversight and plans be made to revise it?

Fairing mass is added to the base during construction, right? So just detract said mass during the separation. It's that simple.

[Rosco P. Coltrane]

Fairing mass is added to the base during construction, right? So just detract said mass during the separation. It's that simple.

EDIT: Sorry, I miss read.

[Radam]

Someone should have just set all masses to zero for these unphysical parts... less confusion..

[WinkAllKerb'']

Fairing mass is added to the base during construction, right? So just detract said mass during the separation. It's that simple.

more or less. ±

[Venusgate]

The limitation here is that perhaps only the top 10% of your craft is delicate and non-aerodynamic, the middle section being the interplanetary engines. To seperate the base of the fairings prior to going interplanetary, you would need to put fairings around ALL of your interplanetary vessel, thus making them unessessarily large, adding more mass to fight gravity at liftoff.

As it currently is, the optimum (and really only reasonable use) of fairings is to release relatively small volume payloads into orbit.

I'm kind of on the fence with this one. On the one hand, I think programming design that limits gameplay possibilities is wasteful, especially in a sandbox game. On the other hand, I thought it was a little rediculous to see my fooballfield-sized, station-containing eggs on a stick somehow get to orbit each time, which may be/have been SQUAD's intention.

[metl]

While it might be intended, good lord what a terrible design decision. What the heck Squad? You are much better than this!

[biohazard15]

Procedural Fairings has updated. Rejoice, men, we can again use the real, you know, fairings. Not "fairings".

[Claw]

Ahh, I see what you are saying here and was able to replicate. I agree, this seems like a problem. And I think it also explains some other things I was seeing.

Cheers,

~Claw

[brienne]

So many things added^^ Huge step, minor things to fix : I take it.