Mk3 Expansion - [KSP 1.12x] Version 1.6 [10/5/21]

[SuicidalInsanity]

@AJTheMighty: an inflatable centrifuge wouldn't really work - it would require that nothing be radially attached to it, or the inflating module would clip through the radially attached parts; on a mk3 spaceplane that means players would have to make either huge vessels or design the wings around it. That, and I wouldn't know where to begin with configuring the thing for the inevitible aerobreaking/re-entry while deployed that someone is going to do.

The docking nosecone is something being worked on. A low crew cap hab module isn't something the stock game really supports without a life-support or kerbal psychology framework to tie it into. As for the cannae drive, no; The envisioned scope of the mk2/mk3 expansion mods doesn't include non-Newtonian SpaceMagic engines. That, and KSP doesn't like engines that run on only ElectricCharge. Without a custom plugin, engines require something with mass to throw out the nozzle, be it LiquidFuel, Xenon, Snacks, whatever.

@CptRichardson; Not really?

It's no worse a fit than the mk1 inline cockpit on mk1 stuff, and mk3 craft aren't the sort of things built to break air-speed records anyway.

However,

The issue I have with a conventional mk3 inline design is all that empty space; it just feels sort of wrong, somehow. I suppose I could stick a pair of windows and give it 4 crew capacity like the other cockpits. Option B is scrapping windows entirely and going with RPM as a hard requirement and making some sort of StarTrek/Dr Who style enclosed central command bridge.

[davidy12]

Agreed, if you want a big centrifuge, wait till porkjet releases his new pack.

Edited October 30, 2015 by davidy12

[Siphonophore]

@AJTheMighty: an inflatable centrifuge wouldn't really work - it would require that nothing be radially attached to it, or the inflating module would clip through the radially attached parts; on a mk3 spaceplane that means players would have to make either huge vessels or design the wings around it. That, and I wouldn't know where to begin with configuring the thing for the inevitible aerobreaking/re-entry while deployed that someone is going to do.

That's okay, BUT, why not make the centrifuge internal? That way, it'd seem more realistic, and with a compatibility config for KeepFit, this would be an excellent concept, seeing as this is more reminiscent of the Discovery One's centrifuge.

Yes, definitely go with giving it a pair of windows and no bulge on top. It seems a lot more cooler and you can make more streamlined Skylon-esque SSTOs with that.

As for the Mk3 centrifuge, here are some suggestions for it. I think it should bulge in the center where the rotating part is situated, enabling it to easily house six kerbals, and there could be an arrow on the top and bottom to make it more Kerbal. As for the IVA, I'll leave that up to you. Sounds good?

[davidy12]

I'd say to a hermes cockpit.

- - - Updated - - -

With two attachment points, one for Mk3, another for regular parts.

[davidy12]

PS: If you didn't know, here's Porkjet's new pack

http://imgur.com/a/fZpyU

[SuicidalInsanity]

Hermes cockpit? Unfamiliar with that one; a quick googling only gives me handbags and messenger gods.

Also, those are some nice inflatables. Has Porkjet given any hint to when they'll be released?

[davidy12]

Hermes you know the Martian movie?

[CptRichardson]

Hermes you know the Martian movie?

Easily done by the 'Lustrum Hawk' cockpit.

[SuicidalInsanity]

Spent the afternoon reworking some of the stuff for the mk3 expansion - tweak the Big-S wing models to better fit with one another, reskin the fuselage extensions to permit tank switching via IFS meshswitch, that sort of thing. I also made these:

Still some final model/texture tweaking to do, but mk3 is getting a jet engine and intake. I'm not sure if I want to keep the front 1.25m node in the intake, though, and I have no idea what I want to call the engine.

[CptRichardson]

Spent the afternoon reworking some of the stuff for the mk3 expansion - tweak the Big-S wing models to better fit with one another, reskin the fuselage extensions to permit tank switching via IFS meshswitch, that sort of thing. I also made these:

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

http://i.imgur.com/XZ1oLvb.png

Still some final model/texture tweaking to do, but mk3 is getting a jet engine and intake. I'm not sure if I want to keep the front 1.25m node in the intake, though, and I have no idea what I want to call the engine.

Whatever you call it, make sure to mention in its fluff that Val and Jeb wanted to call it the TURBOZOOMGOINATOR, to the objections of everyone else in the space center.

[SuicidalInsanity]

Keep in mind it's a jetliner style subsonic engine, basically a mk3 version of the Wheesley basic jet. The planned and WIP mk3 TurboRamJet, on the other hand, will very much be a TURBOZOOMFASTNOW sort of engine. Unfortunately, I didn't make much progress on it mainly because I found myself making a mk2 turboprop engine instead:

Rep to the first person to identify the plane, because why not?

Edited October 31, 2015 by SuicidalInsanity

[BudgetHedgehog]

url]http://i.imgur.com/iXMY479.png

Rep to the first person to identify the plane, because why not?

My best guess is an FMA IA 58 Pucará.

[Star-Eagle]

suicidalinsantiy

With regard to a mk3 in-line cockpit could I make two suggestions?

1) Enlarge the bulge on top of the fuselage to something resembling a Boeing 747?

2) Instead of an actual inline cockpit how about a radially attached one? Something like your mk3 wing chines but modified to fit the curved top of the mk3 hull piece. These could solve the unused/unusable space issue, expand the use of existing parts and allow builders more freedom and choice in where they place the cockpit.

[JaffaFediration]

PS: If you didn't know, here's Porkjet's new pack

http://imgur.com/a/fZpyU

Where did you find this???

[SuicidalInsanity]

@ObsessedWithKSP; Nope; too recent.

@Star-Eagle; SXT does pretty much exactly that with the Osaul parts.

@JaffaFediration; Porkjet's Habitat pack thread.

Edited November 2, 2015 by SuicidalInsanity

[BudgetHedgehog]

@ObsessedWithKSP; Nope; too recent.

Daym, I dunno.. Piper Seneca? How far should I be looking? Mid-wing twin turboprop with a cruciform tail? With engine bodies as big as the fuselage? I give up..

[Star-Eagle]

@suicidalinsantiy

Its been a while since I used SXT so I hope you could help me out here, which part of my suggestion where you referring to in your reply? The inline cockpit with enlarged bulge or the radial attached parts?

Also do they work on the stock mk3 parts or something specific to the mod?

[SuicidalInsanity]

@ObsessedWithKSP: McDonnell XP-67 'Moonbat'

@Star-Eagle; Double-checking the parts, it seems to be the latter - the bulged cockpit turns out to be stack, rather than inline, and 3.75m rather than mk3. The radial parts work on mk3, pretty much identically to the chines and fuselage extensions, except intended for dorsal/ventral placement.

Edit: Doing some mocking up in KSP, the fuselage extensions work almost as well in a dorsal/ventral config. Seeing how a crew compartment was requested, it would make sense to make a fuselage extension cockpit part as well...

Edited November 3, 2015 by SuicidalInsanity

[BudgetHedgehog]

Ahh, of course! Duh doy.. nice one!

[Star-Eagle]

@suicidalinsantiy

I hope I didn't pressure you into using my idea. It just seemed to be a good way to get the effect of an inline cockpit without the internal space issue, though if your fuselage extensions do the job just as well then one extra part might not be so bad.

I really feel bad when I mention a new idea here given the scale of your mods so I've been trying to resist the urge to post them though a few like the one we've been discussing slip through if they seem to really something to your mod.

With that in mind could I possibly make another suggestion?

I've been looking through some of the other SXT photos and I noticed the ke-111 cockpit, if you don't know the part I'm referring to its basically a glass nose/cockpit such as you might find on a B-17, B-29 or there German counter parts

I thought something like this would fit in well with the alternative uses for the mk3 parts (such as the deep space ship you posted a few pages back) though as it's for the 1.25/mk1 scale (I think) you'd have to make something a bit bigger. I would recommend making it in either in 2.5m or 3.75m (leaning more to 3.75m) size so it could fit on the rocket parts as well as the mk3 parts with the use of an adapter.

I know your cyclops cockpit does covers some of this but it doesn't seem to have as much lateral visibility as you would get from this type of cockpit, I will admit that I haven't used the ke-111 cockpit itself but I have used your mk2 "rover" cockpit quite a bit and have thoroughly enjoyed the the wider field of view it offers.

[SuicidalInsanity]

@Star-Eagle; No worries; a fuselage extension radial cockpit is a logical and sensible thing to include. With regard to suggestions, feel free to make them; while I won't use every suggestion that comes my way for reason of time/practicality/outside mod scope, simply posting them in the first place gives me ideas and part concepts from points of view other than my own. After all, the LEGO nature of KSP means that player creativity is a large part of this game, and others may see a need or use for a part to use in a certain way that might never occur to me.

The cyclops cupola isn't quite as flat as it looks in those shots - at least one of the seats inside will offer that sort of wide field of view.

Speaking of fuselage extensions earlier:

Crew tank, holds 2 Kerbals

Very, very WIP crewtank IVA

[CptRichardson]

Ooooooh. That will come GREATLY in handy for my designs. Mostly because of madness.

[Siphonophore]

@Star-Eagle; No worries; a fuselage extension radial cockpit is a logical and sensible thing to include. With regard to suggestions, feel free to make them; while I won't use every suggestion that comes my way for reason of time/practicality/outside mod scope, simply posting them in the first place gives me ideas and part concepts from points of view other than my own. After all, the LEGO nature of KSP means that player creativity is a large part of this game, and others may see a need or use for a part to use in a certain way that might never occur to me.

The cyclops cupola isn't quite as flat as it looks in those shots - at least one of the seats inside will offer that sort of wide field of view.

Speaking of fuselage extensions earlier:

http://i.imgur.com/Ds1o8gK.png

Crew tank, holds 2 Kerbals

http://i.imgur.com/PktkJ7T.png

Very, very WIP crewtank IVA

Looks cool @SuicidalInsanity!

[SuicidalInsanity]

@CptRichardson; Madness, or genius? I look forward to seeing what you can do with them.

@Kirondoll; Nice craft!

Regarding your concerns:

-intakes: larger intakes are coming - there's a dev shot of a subsonic intake on the last page or so; there will be at least one other for super/hypersonic applications.

-side tanks: the side tanks are being reworked and expanded on; a truncated tank for fitting around the bay doors will be included.

-Wings are also seeing a rework, and should be a bit easier to use.

[123nick]

Keep in mind it's a jetliner style subsonic engine, basically a mk3 version of the Wheesley basic jet. The planned and WIP mk3 TurboRamJet, on the other hand, will very much be a TURBOZOOMFASTNOW sort of engine. Unfortunately, I didn't make much progress on it mainly because I found myself making a mk2 turboprop engine instead:

http://i.imgur.com/iXMY479.png

Rep to the first person to identify the plane, because why not?

OMG those Mk2 proppeller engines are SOOO GOOOOD. i assume they will be apart of the m2 expansion? because i REALLY want them.