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[1.3] KerBalloons v0.4.2 - Balloons for KSP!

JoePatrick1

By JoePatrick1
in KSP1 Mod Development

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lincourtl

lincourtl

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I will be working on doing this in the next update - this was just a 'proof of concept' kind of release.

Oh, I know. Plus you are limited by the lack of proper rope modeling in KSP (I understand why it's not there). It was just funny to see balloons inflating and staying horizontal.

I love that the balloons expand volume as pressure decreases with altitude, and that they burst at <4kPa (about 17.5km on Kerbin). Too bad we don't have wind in KSP either. It'd be awesome to see a dozen of these lofting over the space center drifting this way and that.

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JoePatrick1

JoePatrick1

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Oh, I know. Plus you are limited by the lack of proper rope modeling in KSP (I understand why it's not there). It was just funny to see balloons inflating and staying horizontal.

I love that the balloons expand volume as pressure decreases with altitude, and that they burst at <4kPa (about 17.5km on Kerbin). Too bad we don't have wind in KSP either. It'd be awesome to see a dozen of these lofting over the space center drifting this way and that.

As for the rope, I will probably make it so it is always straight but always points upwards - probably the best I can model it in KSP - sort of like how parachutes work.

The expanding and bursting was something I thought was necessary for a balloon mod.

Wind is something I am considering modelling for the balloons but I don't know if it would really fit with KSP.

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  • 2 weeks later...
JoePatrick1

JoePatrick1

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Fantastic work!

Oh hey, that's interesting. Kerbals: We're capable of interplanetary travel, but we can't make bendy rope. :D

http://i.imgur.com/iRqqllY.png

1.1 Available

I haven't had much time to work on the mod this week but the ropes act much more realistically now. They still don't work amazingly if placed sideways but they will at least rise rather than stick out. There is also now proper support for multiple balloons and I fixed a reference error that occurred in the editor (not really noticeable but it flooded the debug log). The lift force is also applied to the centre of the balloon now rather than the centre of the whole part, including the base and rope - this makes the balloon orient itself when tipped.

Edited by JoePatrick1
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JoePatrick1

JoePatrick1

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Why are they so expensive? They're just balloons. Also, it seems to be partially broken in my install as it can only lift massless/physics-less parts, is this intended?

It is expensive because when I get round to it there will be pretty high science payout contracts, if they were virtually free that would be really unbalanced. It can lift any part but it can't lift anything heaver than about 0.005t (read the part description) as it is just a balloon - it can actually lift 5-10 times the weight of a balloon on Earth. I am making some lighter weight parts (such as science parts) so the balloons can lift more than a single experiment. I would recommend reading the rest of the thread for more info.

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Galane

Galane

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They're good for the German version but the wrong color for the English version. ;) Then there's this version.

Tethered version = barrage balloons to protect KSC from low flying bombers. :)

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Well

Well

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Thanks for this mod JoePatrick1

Balloons for KSP bring a pleasant variety

It would be pleasant to have a more important payload, but i understands your will of not not broken the gameplay of the game.

In any case one thank you and encouragement for this mod

I believe the record of payload is 2.6 tons on July 22nd, 1990 in Sicily (Thémis experiment) with a stratospheric balloon.

Sorry for my bad english, i'm french.

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JoePatrick1

JoePatrick1

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Thanks for this mod JoePatrick1

Balloons for KSP bring a pleasant variety

It would be pleasant to have a more important payload, but i understands your will of not not broken the gameplay of the game.

In any case one thank you and encouragement for this mod

I believe the record of payload is 2.6 tons on July 22nd, 1990 in Sicily (Thémis experiment) with a stratospheric balloon.

Sorry for my bad english, i'm french.

You're welcome, I am glad you like it.

More is to come when I finish my exams next week as I will have a lot of free time.

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  • 3 weeks later...
kikill

kikill

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hey,

thanks for this addon ! it is good looking, nice textures and model (i think, the "pod" would look better if the bottom face or edges were sharpen or flatten, atm the shading looks curved)

the sound of the balloon is very funny when it deflates, really like it lol

i found this instruments are used on similar balloons http://www.sippican.com/contentmgr/showdetails.php/id/306

looking forward for this promising mod !!

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JoePatrick1

JoePatrick1

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Update:

I have spent a little while improving the code and have made a reasonably decent breakthrough. I have come up with two global formulae for balloon size and lift

l3iUFOA.png

Where as before a pre-defined curve was coded, these formulae allow me to edit the values in the config file. This not only makes it easier to modify them for balancing but also makes it easier to add new, different sized balloons.

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Drew Kerman

Drew Kerman

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Where as before a pre-defined curve was coded, these formulae allow me to edit the values in the config file. This not only makes it easier to modify them for balancing but also makes it easier to add new, different sized balloons.

Sweet! So possibly a balloon capable of carrying a Mk1 pod up really high for a Red Bull Stratos recreation?

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