Constellation Mission Packs Discussion Thread!

[WooDzor]

(still off topic) manley just posted a preview on youtube..
 

and it looks smooooth

[Majorjim!]

I am more excited for this update than any other before it! I just completed a successful test of my new 100% custom aeroshell. It was the single coolest thing I have ever seen in KSP. That I have made anyway!

 That was a major worry that it would not work. After 1.1 I will be testing all craft again, tweaking the landers rovers as I decided not to make replicas of the FSPS and DIPS powercart as they have no use once you land so I will have similar rovers but that you will have to use together to complete the mission. That will be much more satisfying I think, having to work to get yourself back home.

So after testing I will make the launchers and that will be it!

@Mad Rocket Scientist you made any progress on the Altair you showed?

 

[Mad Rocket Scientist]

@Majorjim Nothing very interesting, just trying to make a fuel tank setup that doesn't look too weird.

Oh, but I've done some work on the Ares I:

I'm using multiple SRB types, setup like a multiple-segment SRB.

[Majorjim!]

Just now, Mad Rocket Scientist said:

@Majorjim Nothing very interesting, just trying to make a fuel tank setup that doesn't look too weird.

Keep at it man!

[Majorjim!]

3 hours ago, Mad Rocket Scientist said:

@Majorjim

Oh, but I've done some work on the Ares I:

She's looking great!

[Majorjim!]

I just loaded in one of the landers into 1.1 and there is some work to do.. The position of landing legs has changed and my little thermo hinges will need to be tweaked as well. Ho hum.. these are minor issues. On a positive note it loads in a 400 part craft with a flashing green yellow timer which is awesome!

Ive seen all I need to see in 1.1. The performance boost is extraordinary! All my craft run smooth and the more you undock rovers the smoother it gets! 800 parts over 12 craft in close proximity is playable on my system.

 Thank you Sqaud, thank you so much!

Edited March 30, 2016 by Majorjim

[Rolanvorxariat]

(Cues first post after another break due to obsession with pixel tenk games)

Finally, with the new update, I might actually be able to TEST the thousand part lander launch system+constellation lander design I created without crashing the game! 

[Yukon0009]

I STILL don;t have time for 1.1 yet. Oh well.

[Majorjim!]

5 hours ago, Rolanvorxariat said:

(Cues first post after another break due to obsession with pixel tenk games)

Finally, with the new update, I might actually be able to TEST the thousand part lander launch system+constellation lander design I created without crashing the game! 

Bring it on!

5 hours ago, Yukon0009 said:

I STILL don;t have time for 1.1 yet. Oh well.

No rush man. These things take time.

[Majorjim!]

OK, as I said in a few other threads I decided to again completely redesign my two horizontal landers. They came together much faster than I thought and are a quantum leap over the last ones, which looked good already.

 Alas the completely broken landing legs have halted work on them. It is impossible to load the craft in as the legs dig in, vibrate and the craft explodes taking the launch pad with it.. That is with 8 of the largest legs too.. So yup, game is broken and needs fixing ASAP.

Having said that, all the rovers work now, no wheel issues to speak of. This may delay the pack by a long time but it will be worth the wait I promise.

Edited April 23, 2016 by Majorjim

[Majorjim!]

Anyone done any 1.1 testing on their CxP craft yet?

[Mad Rocket Scientist]

12 hours ago, Majorjim said:

Anyone done any 1.1 testing on their CxP craft yet?

I loaded my crew lander into 1.1.  I think it 12.5 FPS on the pad, with the NTRPS attached.

[SaturnianBlue]

I think I'll restart work on the project once my Battle Of The Denmark Strait pack is done.  

Edited April 23, 2016 by SaturnianBlue

[pTrevTrevs]

I don't feel confident making an entire Constellation Mars Mission pack, but I would be willing to try doing Orion, Altair, Ares I, and Ares V. if they all go well, I might think about doing the whole pack.

It would be nice to finally send a crewed mission to Duna. believe it or not,in my three or four years of playing KSP, I've only ever sent probes to other planets (not counting the Mun and Minmus)

[Majorjim!]

7 hours ago, Mad Rocket Scientist said:

I loaded my crew lander into 1.1.  I think it 12.5 FPS on the pad, with the NTRPS attached.

Crikey, how many parts? I'm sure no offsets could cut down on a few parts. And as soon as you start separating craft the FPS shoots way up now which is awesome. How heavy is your Crew lander? Did you have any issues with the landing struts, particularly the LT-2s?

7 hours ago, SaturnianBlue said:

I think I'll restart work on the project once my Battle Of The Denmark Strait pack is done.  

Good stuff mate!

4 hours ago, pTrevTrevs said:

I don't feel confident making an entire Constellation Mars Mission pack, but I would be willing to try doing Orion, Altair, Ares I, and Ares V. if they all go well, I might think about doing the whole pack.

It would be nice to finally send a crewed mission to Duna. believe it or not,in my three or four years of playing KSP, I've only ever sent probes to other planets (not counting the Mun and Minmus)

Yeah it does take a silly amount of time to make every part of it.. Anything you do make keep us posted here man.

[Mad Rocket Scientist]

On 4/24/2016 at 0:24 AM, Majorjim said:

Crikey, how many parts? I'm sure no offsets could cut down on a few parts. And as soon as you start separating craft the FPS shoots way up now which is awesome. How heavy is your Crew lander? Did you have any issues with the landing struts, particularly the LT-2s?

[...]

I haven't tested any of those things, mostly because I just bought Master of Orion, and have been playing that rather than KSP.

However, I think the cargo lander will definitely need a rebuild.  

[pTrevTrevs]

Bah, who needs free time anyway?

 

Ares I WIP. Still needs the abort system adjusted, and I need to increase the burn time and TWR of the SRB slightly. Orion is also built, but i haven't tested it yet because the faring refuses to jettison unless you put it in its own special action group (so prideful over nothing, fairings are still worthless). Once I get Ares I done I think I'll just recycle the SRB for use on Ares V.

[Majorjim!]

Good to see you posting here mate! She's looking great. How are the other bits coming along?

 I have finished my cargo lander and am working on the hab lander now. I can confirm my mission will have 5 crew this time.

[pTrevTrevs]

1 hour ago, Majorjim said:

Good to see you posting here mate! She's looking great. How are the other bits coming along?

 I have finished my cargo lander and am working on the hab lander now. I can confirm my mission will have 5 crew this time.

I haven't done any other parts yet. I decided to do Ares I and Orion first because it would be one of the hardest parts to do (I'm only doing this Lunar mission for now). Ares V seems fairly straightforward once I get the SRBs working. Altair may be a problem, I don't know how I'm going to squeeze three Kerbals in a space the size of a 1.25m ore tank and still have it be light enough for ascent and carry enough fuel to rendezvous with Orion. I guess I'll also need a cargo version of Altair with two rovers and some science experiments...

[pTrevTrevs]

Full test flight of Ares I and Orion

Spoiler

Because the first stage is a bunch of SRBs, it's quite hard to control during the first two minutes of ascent, but I managed to wrestle it into orbit.

The second stage controls much more easily, no manhandling required. The Vector is my new favorite engine, hands down.

Orion in orbit (Sorry, I had to get rid of Scatterer for the time being, it was messing with my install and wasn't working properly. Please don't hurt me)

Final moments of descent. I forgot to screenshot the actual reentry, I was too busy watching the service module burn up a few hundred meters distant.

Drogue parachute deployed.

Mains deployed. I've always wished that Squad would make parachutes able to collide with each other so we can have beautiful descents like this.

Oh well, at least this cool interior cutaway is here, I can take screenshots of the crew like this.

Waiting for rescue. Maybe I should have told them that the Navy doesn't actually have any helicopters. Or aircraft carriers. or any ships at all, really. I hope they brought some waterproof books to read.

 

I'll iron out these last few problems and then get working on Ares V and Altair.

Edited May 3, 2016 by pTrevTrevs

[Majorjim!]

Just now, pTrevTrevs said:

Full test flight of Ares I and Orion

I'll iron out these last few problems and then get working on Ares V and Altair.

Good stuff pTrevTrevs! Agreed the vector is an epic motor indeed! And yeah those SRB bundles have a hell of a lot of torque don't they.

 I look forward to seeing your Altair man!

@Mad Rocket Scientist How's your Altair coming?

 I did a lot of work on my DTV today. I painstakingly completely rebuilt it, looks much better for it. I also nearly finished the Hab lander. I still need to figure out how to get the Hab section out elegantly.. I have a few idea but game bugs are causing me a few headaches..

[selfish_meme]

5 hours ago, pTrevTrevs said:

Full test flight of Ares I and Orion

  Hide contents

Because the first stage is a bunch of SRBs, it's quite hard to control during the first two minutes of ascent, but I managed to wrestle it into orbit.

The second stage controls much more easily, no manhandling required. The Vector is my new favorite engine, hands down.

Orion in orbit (Sorry, I had to get rid of Scatterer for the time being, it was messing with my install and wasn't working properly. Please don't hurt me)

Final moments of descent. I forgot to screenshot the actual reentry, I was too busy watching the service module burn up a few hundred meters distant.

Drogue parachute deployed.

Mains deployed. I've always wished that Squad would make parachutes able to collide with each other so we can have beautiful descents like this.

Oh well, at least this cool interior cutaway is here, I can take screenshots of the crew like this.

Waiting for rescue. Maybe I should have told them that the Navy doesn't actually have any helicopters. Or aircraft carriers. or any ships at all, really. I hope they brought some waterproof books to read.

 

I'll iron out these last few problems and then get working on Ares V and Altair.

Vernor engines on the ascent stage for control

[Mad Rocket Scientist]

19 hours ago, Majorjim said:

Good stuff pTrevTrevs! Agreed the vector is an epic motor indeed! And yeah those SRB bundles have a hell of a lot of torque don't they.

 I look forward to seeing your Altair man!

@Mad Rocket Scientist How's your Altair coming?

[...]

I've been quiet recently, but I'm ready to get back into KSP building!  For one thing, I just bought a new computer, so I'm moving over old files.  When that's done, I'll start looking at the crew & cargo landers.

[Majorjim!]

16 minutes ago, Mad Rocket Scientist said:

I've been quiet recently, but I'm ready to get back into KSP building!  For one thing, I just bought a new computer, so I'm moving over old files.  When that's done, I'll start looking at the crew & cargo landers.

EEK!

 Good news man. Congratulations on the new machine too. I think I am about 90% done now. So many game bugs to work around..

[Raptor9]

Tonight I'm working to get my EV-4 MEV craft files tested and upgraded to 1.1.2 currency.  After that I'm going to resume work on my horizontal landers this week.  I was already working on the cargo lander in 1.0.5.  Main improvements over the ones in my "Red Planet Rivals" video are:

1) Adding the small ISRU and drills to the cargo lander so it can generate propellant for the Duna Ascent Vehicle.  Gives more burn time during landing to ensure the cargo lander gets to the planned landing site if entry trajectory is off.
2) Improving the rovers and rover ramps.  Making the power generating rovers more useful and not reliant on mods like KAS/KIS to use.
3) Making a more logical and better Hab section on the crew/hab lander.
4) Make use of the new clamshell fairings to make the "aeroshell"/drogue chute separation a little cleaner.

Edited May 4, 2016 by Raptor9