[WIP][1.8.x] SSTULabs - Low Part Count Solutions (Orbiters, Landers, Lifters) - Dev Thread [11-18-18]

[Shadowmage]

Also... working on these a bit this week:

Left-to-right: Merlin-1A, Merlin-1C, Merlin-1D (no vacuum variants yet)

Intending to position the Merlin-1A at the start of the tech-tree as it has stats fairly equivalent to the LV-30/45 engines (~200kn thrust, ~300 visp, ~25 TWR); the 1C, 1CV, 1D, 1DV engines will all come later in the tree as distinct engine types.  Its not quite true to historical advances, but the engine fits nearly perfectly stat-wise (and I'm willing to fudge it a bit on the -1A to make it fit as a low-tech engine if needs be).

 

[Brainpop14]

I'm having a problem. Anything that's supposed to have an animation won't work. Is there something else I need to install?

[Shadowmage]

4 minutes ago, Brainpop14 said:

I'm having a problem. Anything that's supposed to have an animation won't work. Is there something else I need to install?

KSP 1.1.2 is needed

ModuleManager and CRP are -mandatory- dependencies that you need installed (they are included in the .zip).

Aside from that nothing else should be needed (assuming the install was setup properly).

[blowfish]

@Shadowmage Nice work!  I could swear all the pictures I've seen of the 1D show the exhaust nozzle pointing straight down though.

[Shadowmage]

5 minutes ago, blowfish said:

@Shadowmage Nice work!  I could swear all the pictures I've seen of the 1D show the exhaust nozzle pointing straight down though.

Thanks

You are likely correct; I'm still in the process of sorting out all of my resources (images) and figuring out which variant is which.  Is also just some quick 'slapped together' geometry, so plenty of time to fix it

Hoping to have the whole series (5 engines) done within the next 2-3 weeks, but we'll see how it goes with all of the other projects I'm working on.

[Theysen]

31 minutes ago, Shadowmage said:

Thanks

You are likely correct; I'm still in the process of sorting out all of my resources (images) and figuring out which variant is which.  Is also just some quick 'slapped together' geometry, so plenty of time to fix it

Hoping to have the whole series (5 engines) done within the next 2-3 weeks, but we'll see how it goes with all of the other projects I'm working on.

There seem to be some different pictures / variants on the internet, some show the whole gas generator nozzle angled along the engine bell, on some others the nozzle is straight but the outlet is angled (which makes sense, you don't want the exhaust stream hit your main nozzle structure). 

 

http://www.b14643.de/Spacerockets_2/United_States_1/Falcon-9/Merlin/index.htm - unfortunately, they're missing the gas generator tubing for the newest ones .. 

 

Awesome models already anyway, I'm stunned

Edited May 2, 2016 by Theysen

[blowfish]

2 minutes ago, Theysen said:

There seem to be some different pictures / variants on the internet, some show the whole gas generator nozzle angled along the engine bell, on some others the nozzle is straight but the outlet is angled (which makes sense, you don't want the exhaust stream hit your main nozzle structure). 

The 1C definitely has an angled exhaust nozzle, but the 1D is straight in those pictures and everywhere else I've found.

[rasta013]

@Shadowmage I just want to express my stunned admiration at what you've put together here with this mod.  I took a break from KSP last year about the time you started this thread so never used it until now.  Since 1.1 came out I've been busy bug hunting and rewriting all my old MM patches but finally decided to start a game today and was exposed to your parts and their abilities for the first time today.

AMAZING!!! 

You have really created a work of art here that has some of the best flexibility I've seen coupled with some really gorgeous models.  Really great job and I look forward to using this and seeing what you have coming in the future.

[ComatoseJedi]

6 hours ago, Shadowmage said:

Have been debating on if I should add VolumeContainer support to the command modules and service modules; does anyone see a need for swappable/alterable resources for those parts?  E.G. removing some propellant to add KIS storage, or include some different resources (no clue why on that one).  Could also potentially make adding Life-Support supplies a bit easier as they could be added as a second sub-container that would allow for the player to adjust the amounts/ratios of the various LS supplies (or remove some in favor of more KIS storage or otherwise).  Thoughts?

There was a little MM mod out called Command Inventory that put KIS inventory slots in anything that holds a kerbal, including your pods. I haven't seen it back for 1.1.2, but I'm sure it's nothing to update it. After all, it's just a few lines of code that took the number of kerbals that pod could hold and multiply it by 300 for storage capacity. Probably the only thing I'd like to see KIS on your parts are more containers. But, with the introduction to your station part, I can see that being very handy and you are working on it. 

Edited May 2, 2016 by ComatoseJedi

[Musil]

I am having a problem where quite a few parts appear invisible. They will not show on the parts-menu, the R&D tech node selection or on the VAB. I suspect I installed something wrong. Do textures go on the SSTU main folder? Thanks. 

[tater]

21 minutes ago, Musil said:

I am having a problem where quite a few parts appear invisible. They will not show on the parts-menu, the R&D tech node selection or on the VAB. I suspect I installed something wrong. Do textures go on the SSTU main folder? Thanks. 

There should be 2 SSTU folders inside GameData:

SSTU

SSTU-TextureSets

[Musil]

Just now, tater said:

There should be 2 SSTU folders inside GameData:

SSTU

SSTU-TextureSets

Yeah, I did put them both in the GameData folder, but no textures show up. Any sugestions as to what I could try? 

[Shadowmage]

1 hour ago, Musil said:

Yeah, I did put them both in the GameData folder, but no textures show up. Any sugestions as to what I could try? 

Would need a screenshot of your GameData folder to know any more; but it sounds like something did not get setup properly.

Are you running any texture-mangling mods (ActiveTextureManagment, DynamicTexture-whatever)?

What specific textures are missing?  (e.g. tanks, command pods, engines, others?)

Edited May 3, 2016 by Shadowmage

[Brainpop14]

18 hours ago, Shadowmage said:

KSP 1.1.2 is needed

ModuleManager and CRP are -mandatory- dependencies that you need installed (they are included in the .zip).

Aside from that nothing else should be needed (assuming the install was setup properly).

Would Firespitter help?

[Shadowmage]

In general development news:

Got the Float-Curve Editor working last night for the SRBs.  So far I haven't actually hooked it into the engine module or worked on making the data persistent in any fashion; it is merely a visual float-curve tool at this point.  Bit of UI/accessibility cleanup to do on it as it is a bit...finicky to use (as it re-sorts the entries after every change... trying to set the 'time' value is a bit difficult); will likely go to a manual-update system where the user presses a button to update the displayed graph and sort the entries.

Today/tonight I'll be working on adding in the 'preset' thrust curves and the ability to load, use, and edit those, along with the first pass at some sort of persistence for the custom curve data.

@blowfish  do you know if I can mark a FloatCurve with [KSPField(isPersistent=true)] ?  That would pretty much just 'solve' the problem, but I've never tried it.  My other option would be to encode the data for the entire curve to a single string and store that as a persistent field (no idea if there is a size limit on those strings.... a fully defined thrust curve could be rather large); have done similar with a few other modules with good results, but would prefer to not resort to such hackery if it can be avoided..

Anyhow, the SRB thrust curve stuff is literally the last thing on my pre-balance-pass TODO list.  So after it is done I should be able to devote most of my dev time to balance stuff and hopefully get it all cleaned up in a timely manner.

6 minutes ago, Brainpop14 said:

Would Firespitter help?

No, I do not use Firespitter.  You can install it if you want, but it won't fix anything (shouldn't break anything either though).

What parts are having problems, what KSP version are you using, how did you install everything, and are there any errors in your logs?

Notably you -must- have a SSTU/Plugins folder, and it -must- contain the SSTUTools.dll.

[tater]

On the soyuz reentry capsule (and possibly others) there are 2 "decouple" buttons on the right click. One decouples at the bottom, one at the top. If they cannot be marked, it might be better to simply eliminate one, and have the player have to use an extra part (it could be that I'm just too clueless to deal with it, lol, but before using them I have to do a quick save, since It's always a coin flip for me to get the right one).

Also, on the one test flight of that I did, after having to reload because of decoupling the wrong node, I had a perfectly nice reentry, and I watched the chute to see when it was safe... and it was never safe.

 

[MrMeeb]

I am also experiencing @Brainpop14's problem. I downloaded SSTU from Curse last night, and about a third of the parts are invisible on KSP 1.1.2:

Here's my GameData:

SSTUTools.dll is present.

[Shadowmage]

8 minutes ago, MrMeeb said:

I am also experiencing @Brainpop14's problem. I downloaded SSTU from Curse last night, and about a third of the parts are invisible on KSP 1.1.2:

Here's my GameData:

SSTUTools.dll is present.

 

Edit: Folder setup looks correct, so likely not related directly to that.

 

Try removing TextureReplacer.... and anything else that mangles or manipulates part textures.

Also logs would probably help; nay... they will be mandatory if you guys want me to actually be able to solve this....

Edited May 3, 2016 by Shadowmage

[Musil]

Yup, I am having the same problem as @MrMeeb. No TextureReplacer installed. I thought it might be interfering with ProceduralParts, but I just noticed it was not installed either. 

I am sorry to say I am unsure as to how I can produce a log... Noobme. 

Also, I should point out that I am running on a Mac. Thought that could be the problem, but since MrMeeb is clearly not... 

[Shadowmage]

12 minutes ago, MrMeeb said:

I am also experiencing @Brainpop14's problem. I downloaded SSTU from Curse last night, and about a third of the parts are invisible on KSP 1.1.2:

Here's my GameData:

SSTUTools.dll is present.

 

Ahh... just noticed what the problem might be:

"Just downloaded from Curse last night"

The version on curse is for KSP 1.05 ONLY; hence the version number listed there.

You will need to use the download from GitHub; I will -not- be updating the Curse releases until I have a 1.1 stable version.

[MrMeeb]

 

Just now, Shadowmage said:

 

Ahh... just noticed what the problem might be:

"Just downloaded from Curse last night"

The version on curse is for KSP 1.05 ONLY; hence the version number listed there.

You will need to use the download from GitHub; I will -not- be updating the Curse releases until I have a 1.1 stable version.

Ah! Never mind then!  Sorry, must have missed that. Thank you!

Edited May 3, 2016 by MrMeeb

[Shadowmage]

Just now, MrMeeb said:

Removed TR, no change.

Here are logs for before and after removal:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B3KMolVXKZX_OW11X3FmQWRPX3c/view?usp=sharing

 

Try using this SSTU download: https://github.com/shadowmage45/SSTULabs/releases/tag/0.4.31-pre7

and see if the problem persists....

[Musil]

Trying GitHub now... 

[Shadowmage]

Note to self - include some KSP version check on startup and at least log if there is a error/mismatch....

 

Please let me know if that was in fact the problem; I'll make some notes in the OP to only use Github for the 1.1.x versions...

[Musil]

8 minutes ago, Shadowmage said:

Note to self - include some KSP version check on startup and at least log if there is a error/mismatch....

 

Please let me know if that was in fact the problem; I'll make some notes in the OP to only use Github for the 1.1.x versions...

I am trying, but with so many mods it takes a loooooong time to start KSP, lol. 

On top of an amazing mod, great support, @Shadowmage. I can already see this mod becoming a must for me. 

Edit: Yes! Everithing works fine now. Thanks a lot, @Shadowmage!

Edited May 3, 2016 by Musil