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

[JoePatrick1]

21 hours ago, Synthesis said:

That's what I get for waiting for one particular mod to be updated before I start a new game.

I'd use the old release in the meantime, but it's flat out not compatible--no idea what might've been broken in moving to 1.1....

Just an hour or so to go.

Here's a little teaser

 

Edited April 26, 2016 by JoePatrick1

[Synthesis]

Wow, can't wait! What song is that by the way? 

[JoePatrick1]

v0.3.2 Released for KSP 1.1

Changelog

-Recompiled for KSP 1.1

-Lift limit tweakable removed and replaced with a new automatic system

-New settings in each part.cfg to tweak said system

 

On 26/04/2016 at 7:55 PM, Synthesis said:

Wow, can't wait! What song is that by the way? 

The song is Jump by Two Steps From Hell. If you like it you should listen to other songs by them and Thomas Bergersen (the composer). Zack Hemsey is also very good.

edit: and 3 hours later I've only just realised how relevant this song is. I didn't even think about the name when I chose it, I just used it because I like the song.

Edited May 1, 2016 by JoePatrick1

[Synthesis]

5 hours ago, JoePatrick1 said:

v0.3.2 Released for KSP 1.1

Changelog

-Recompiled for KSP 1.1

-Lift limit tweakable removed and replaced with a new automatic system

-New settings in each part.cfg to tweak said system

 

The song is Jump by Two Steps From Hell. If you like it you should listen to other songs by them and Thomas Bergersen (the composer). Zack Hemsey is also very good.

edit: and 3 hours later I've only just realised how relevant this song is. I didn't even think about the name when I chose it, I just used it because I like the song.

Huzzah! I FINALLY got my 1.1 career off the ground, launching a few weather balloons and gradually working my way up the tech tree! Works flawlessly, can't wait to see your future visual updates down the line. 

I'll also need to check out that music. 

[Squeaky]

17 hours ago, Synthesis said:

Huzzah! I FINALLY got my 1.1 career off the ground, launching a few weather balloons and gradually working my way up the tech tree! Works flawlessly, can't wait to see your future visual updates down the line. 

I'll also need to check out that music. 

Same Here

Couldn't start 1.1 till KerBalloons was ready 

Thanks for the hard work MR JoePatrick

 

 

[Squeaky]

On 4/26/2016 at 8:16 PM, JoePatrick1 said:

v0.3.2 Released for KSP 1.1

Changelog

-Recompiled for KSP 1.1

-Lift limit tweakable removed and replaced with a new automatic system

-New settings in each part.cfg to tweak said system

 

The song is Jump by Two Steps From Hell. If you like it you should listen to other songs by them and Thomas Bergersen (the composer). Zack Hemsey is also very good.

edit: and 3 hours later I've only just realised how relevant this song is. I didn't even think about the name when I chose it, I just used it because I like the song.

 

Hi thanks again for updating to 1.1 awesome work.

 

Quick question, the 5 m/s speed limit is a bit to slow for me and took a look at the part.cfg to tweak and im kind of struggling to find what to change.

 

I tried maxSpeed to no effect, do i need to change values in that whole section?

 

Thanks again

[JoePatrick1]

42 minutes ago, Squeaky said:

 

Hi thanks again for updating to 1.1 awesome work.

 

Quick question, the 5 m/s speed limit is a bit to slow for me and took a look at the part.cfg to tweak and im kind of struggling to find what to change.

 

I tried maxSpeed to no effect, do i need to change values in that whole section?

 

Thanks again

I am assuming that it is not reaching the maxSpeed? Most likely just need to increase the targetTWR or speedAdjustMax as well but here is what each of the speed limiting properties do.

targetTWR
This is the TWR that you wan't your balloon to maintain. Bear in mind that this is obviously limited by the maxLift but you can always increase that as well.

liftLimit
Obsolete - forgot to remove from the cfg

speedLimiter
True/False. If disabled then the balloon will maintain it's targetTWR but will continue to accelerate rather than maintaining a speed if this is set to true

maxSpeed
This is the speed that the balloon will try to maintain. If the balloon is not reaching this speed (eg 'maxSpeed = 10' but speed tops out at say 7) then you need to increase the targetTWR.

maxSpeedTolerence
A percentage (eg 0.05 = 5%) that the speed can deviate from the maxSpeed before the balloon will compensate.

maxSpeedStep
Essentially how fast the speed limiter will compensate if the speed deviates from the maxSpeed. Higher number = faster response

speedAdjustMin
Difficult to explain but the lower you set this then the more the speed controller will lag (not game lag - just how quickly it reacts) but can reduce the speed further. Mostly just leave it alone but if you find that your balloon is going above your maxSpeed (usually at higher altitudes where there is less air resistance) and keeps getting faster then make this number lower.

speedAdjustMax
The same as the min but the other way round. This one doesn't need to be changed as much though as you can just change the targetTWR. This can be used to allow the balloon to reach higher speeds like targetTWR however doesn't result in as fast acceleration on liftoff like increasing targetTWR will.

You have to fiddle around with the numbers a bit but eventually you'll find a combination that suits your needs
Hope that helps. If you have any other questions just ask

Edited April 28, 2016 by JoePatrick1

[Squeaky]

 

13 minutes ago, JoePatrick1 said:

I am assuming that it is not reaching the maxSpeed? Most likely just need to increase the targetTWR or speedAdjustMax as well but here is what each of the speed limiting properties do.

targetTWR
This is the TWR that you wan't your balloon to maintain. Bear in mind that this is obviously limited by the maxLift but you can always increase that as well.

liftLimit
Obsolete - forgot to remove from the cfg

speedLimiter
True/False. If disabled then the balloon will maintain it's targetTWR but will continue to accelerate rather than maintaining a speed if this is set to true

maxSpeed
This is the speed that the balloon will try to maintain. If the balloon is not reaching this speed (eg 'maxSpeed = 10' but speed tops out at say 7) then you need to increase the targetTWR.

maxSpeedTolerence
A percentage (eg 0.05 = 5%) that the speed can deviate from the maxSpeed before the balloon will compensate.

maxSpeedStep
Essentially how fast the speed limiter will compensate if the speed deviates from the maxSpeed. Higher number = faster response

speedAdjustMin
Difficult to explain but the lower you set this then the more the speed controller will lag (not game lag - just how quickly it reacts) but can reduce the speed further. Mostly just leave it alone but if you find that your balloon is going above your maxSpeed (usually at higher altitudes where there is less air resistance) and keeps getting faster then make this number lower.

speedAdjustMax
The same as the min but the other way round. This one doesn't need to be changed as much though as you can just change the targetTWR. This can be used to allow the balloon to reach higher speeds like targetTWR however doesn't result in as fast acceleration on liftoff like increasing targetTWR will.

You have to fiddle around with the numbers a bit but eventually you'll find a combination that suits your needs
Hope that helps. If you have any other questions just ask

Thanks

I was being stupid and didnt change targetTWR.

 

[JoePatrick1]

Just now, Squeaky said:

 

Thanks

I was being stupid and didnt change targetTWR.

 

To be fair it's not that self explanatory but yeah these balloons unsurprisingly have a lot of air resistance which results in a low terminal velocity if this isn't increased.

[Squeaky]

11 minutes ago, JoePatrick1 said:

To be fair it's not that self explanatory but yeah these balloons unsurprisingly have a lot of air resistance which results in a low terminal velocity if this isn't increased.

Turns out I was being even stupidlier and editing the wrong size as a tester. 

I've not changed the TWR but changed the maxSpeed to a number it wont reach effectively removing max speed and its spot on for me now. Starts quite slow and gradually builds up speed.

Thanks for the mod and thanks for your help matey

 

[luisair]

Would it be possible to add Airship-"Ballons"? Zeppelins would be awesome^^

[JoePatrick1]

19 minutes ago, luisair said:

Would it be possible to add Airship-"Ballons"? Zeppelins would be awesome^^

Not currently planned. Though modding is fairly easy and I have written a tutorial for making your own balloons if wish to do it yourself.
Here is the tutorial

[Mr. Coldfusion]

I believe I'm facing a bug or an issue. (Currently running 1.1 w/ KB 0.3.2)

When my balloon is light my speed is unbounded but when it is heavy (too heavy) it lifts based on the .cfg maxSpeed.

Example:

- Lifting a 6.7 ton ship with one 0.675m high altitude ballon makes it raise at 5 m/s
- Lifting a 6.7 ton ship with two 0.675m high altitude ballon makes it raise at up to 130 m/s
- Lifting a 6.7 ton ship with one 1.25m high altitude ballon makes it raise at up to 130 m/s

But, based on the max payload all these should stay on the floor, right?

Also, thanks for the amazing mod! Keep up the outstanding work!

 

 

 

[JoePatrick1]

4 hours ago, Mr. Coldfusion said:

I believe I'm facing a bug or an issue. (Currently running 1.1 w/ KB 0.3.2)

When my balloon is light my speed is unbounded but when it is heavy (too heavy) it lifts based on the .cfg maxSpeed.

Example:

- Lifting a 6.7 ton ship with one 0.675m high altitude ballon makes it raise at 5 m/s
- Lifting a 6.7 ton ship with two 0.675m high altitude ballon makes it raise at up to 130 m/s
- Lifting a 6.7 ton ship with one 1.25m high altitude ballon makes it raise at up to 130 m/s

But, based on the max payload all these should stay on the floor, right?

Also, thanks for the amazing mod! Keep up the outstanding work!

 

 

 

Thanks for letting me know. I'll look into it

[JoePatrick1]

v0.3.3 Released for KSP 1.1.2

Changelog

-Recompiled for KSP 1.1.2

-Fixed issue where balloons could lift an infinite weight

-Multiple balloons on a vessel no longer causes high speeds

 

Edited May 1, 2016 by JoePatrick1

[Pkmniako]

So I have a question.

Is there any plans to make a lift-controllable balloon? So we can put something stationary in the air? (Like a weather balloon or a floating base)

[JoePatrick1]

 

Quick fix release. Sorry for the inconvenience.

v0.3.4 Released for KSP 1.1.2

Changelog

-Fixed incorrect variable used in lift calculations which meant that lift did not decrease with altitude

1 hour ago, Pkmniako said:

So I have a question.

Is there any plans to make a lift-controllable balloon? So we can put something stationary in the air? (Like a weather balloon or a floating base)

Sort of. Currently you can achieve this by making sure the mass of your vessel is in-between the two payload ratings. Right click the balloon in the editor part list, the mass needs to be less than the recommended payload but more than the number in brackets. As lift decreases with air pressure (so altitude) the balloon can carry more at sea level than higher up. By having a mass in between the two, it will rise then start to fall when the balloon doesn't have enough lift then rise again when it gets low enough to have enough lift. This will just keep repeating. The balloon needs to be the active vessel or in physics range for this though.

Tethered balloons are planned in a future update which may suit your needs better. In the mean time you can achieve the same thing with the KAS winches.

Edited May 1, 2016 by JoePatrick1

[Noob21]

This is a pretty cool mod. I wanna do a Vega mission now with this. Would that be possible?

[Wuwuk]

ckan dont install it - bad link.

[nobodyhasthis2]

2 hours ago, Wuwuk said:

ckan dont install it - bad link.

Report on the CKAN thread. 

Will not go into the details here for the sake of brevity. Curse is tricky to get right and does not like getting indexed. The CKAN team have to input the url manually. There a project running to fix this in the future. 

Edited May 2, 2016 by nobodyhasthis2

[Wuwuk]

Thanks.

[JoePatrick1]

On 01/05/2016 at 0:03 PM, Pkmniako said:

So I have a question.

Is there any plans to make a lift-controllable balloon? So we can put something stationary in the air? (Like a weather balloon or a floating base)

That version doesn't work with 1.1 anyway - you want v0.3.4 which isn't on CKAN yet but I'll try and get it up soon

Edited May 4, 2016 by JoePatrick1

[Rory Yammomoto]

I would like to report something ...interesting.

I noticed that the balloons have a limit on them- they partially 'deflate' at around 5 m/s to slow you back down. that is very well, but the balloon cannot differentiate between horizontal and vertical velocity. As such, going faster than 5 m/s horizontally causes the balloon to 'deflate' to try and stop this. As it cannot stop the balloon moving horizontally, only vertically, it tends to lose all buoyancy, making it fall out of the sky. for me, I learned this trying to create a craft analogous to the balloons used to cross the atlantic and circumnavigate the world. However, trying to go faster than 5 m/s caused the afformentioned drop-out-of-the-sky effect. However, this makes another way to control altitude (So long as you don't mind moving slowly): simply make your horizontal velocity to ~4 m/s - that way, the balloon will only move 1 m/s vertically. 

Edited May 5, 2016 by Rory Yammomoto

[JoePatrick1]

10 minutes ago, Rory Yammomoto said:

I would like to report something ...interesting.

I noticed that the balloons have a limit on them- they partially 'deflate' at around 5 m/s to slow you back down. that is very well, but the balloon cannot differentiate between horizontal and vertical velocity. As such, going faster than 5 m/s horizontally causes the balloon to 'deflate' to try and stop this. As it cannot stop the balloon moving horizontally, only vertically, it tends to lose all buoyancy, making it fall out of the sky. for me, I learned this trying to create a craft analogous to the balloons used to cross the atlantic and circumnavigate the world. However, trying to go faster than 5 m/s caused the balloon to seemingly drop out of the sky.

Thanks for finding that, I'll be sure to change it so that only vertical velocity is accounted for.

[Rory Yammomoto]

Just now, JoePatrick1 said:

Thanks for finding that, I'll be sure to change it so that only vertical velocity is accounted for.

could there also be a hover mode in the works? I really want to go around the world at walking pace in a science balloon à la the Breitling Orbiter.