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

[Qwarkk]

4 hours ago, Shadowmage said:

How detailed should I get with some of this information?  For example, should I create a separate page for each engine detailing its stats and intended purpose, or just leave that up to the currently available in-editor part tooltip info?  How much data is needed regarding the ShipCore parts?

Anything else you guys would like to see added in for tutorials or informational pages?

Personally I found this mod incredibly easy to pick up and understand, so I don't think too much detail is necessary. Covering general editor controls for the tanks / engines / pods would be good, but a seperate page for each engine sounds like overkill to me. 

The one thing that did confuse me at first and might be suitable for the KSPedia is when parts do multiple things per staging icon. A bit of explanation for that would be good. 

[tater]

On the right-click for parts, is there any way to have specific text for decoupling? Take the Soyuz descent pod. It has a decoupler on both sides, could they be marked as such, or is it generic to decoupling? 

[Shadowmage]

1 minute ago, tater said:

On the right-click for parts, is there any way to have specific text for decoupling? Take the Soyuz descent pod. It has a decoupler on both sides, could they be marked as such, or is it generic to decoupling? 

Sure; open a github issue with the relevant part(s) and module(s) and I'll see about updating the text (an issue ticket is the only way I'll remember to get it done).  Decouplers at least can have their staging text altered, as can a few of the other stock modules (but not all of them).

[tater]

After the kids get their homework done (they need a little prodding) I will make this my test focus. It's mostly parts with loads of right-click text, and some get the specific meaning lost in the pile. I've taken to doing a quick save as I press the wrong one about half the time, lol

I'll look at all, and write it up for you.

[Shadowmage]

SSTU-KSPedia progress:

It is fully WIP, with tons of errors, zero proof reading, and in some case completely unfinished; but I've at least got the system for it all figured and can start working on the actual content.  Think of this more as prototype and proof of concept rather than preview or sample of what the end product will look like.  Mostly this is making sure the fonts and layout is consistent with the stock pages, and making sure I have all of the setup and export process working well.

 

I'm more than open to suggestions and contribution for the pages; I'm far better at writing technical documentation than I am this kind of stuff, so even just suggestions or samples for the text would be appreciated.

Will probably only get a few of these done for the next release as they are fairly time consuming (at least for me), so will end up being an ongoing process getting all of the pages put together.  I'm aiming to get at least some basic instructions for the modular parts and fairings in place, though they might be pretty simple affairs initially.

I've also found myself in need of a better flag / logo, and am open to suggestions or contributions towards that as well.  I'm pretty good with the tools, but my limited artistic vision/talent/knowledge can only go so far.

[tater]

In the VAB you see Decoupler: Disable Staging.

In the world you see:

\

I assume the top is the top, and the bottom is the bottom, but it would be helpful for them to be annotated. Looks like the other pods don't have this issue, as they don't have the bottom decoupler.

The "Show Actuation Toggles" Stuff on the upper stages is fairly confusing as there are two sets, as well. Other than that, it was better than I thought, it's mostly the SC-A-DM.

[ComatoseJedi]

So you're looking for a creative writer @Shadowmage?

[Shadowmage]

11 hours ago, tater said:

In the VAB you see Decoupler: Disable Staging.

In the world you see:

\

I assume the top is the top, and the bottom is the bottom, but it would be helpful for them to be annotated. Looks like the other pods don't have this issue, as they don't have the bottom decoupler.

The "Show Actuation Toggles" Stuff on the upper stages is fairly confusing as there are two sets, as well. Other than that, it was better than I thought, it's mostly the SC-A-DM.

Thanks for putting the info together;  have opened an issue ticket for you regarding this:  https://github.com/shadowmage45/SSTULabs/issues/310

 

FYI - I use the issue tracker as my TODO list.  As the mod is quite large, and not the only project that I work on, keeping things organized by using the tracker is the only way that I'll ever remember to look into these problems.  Even if it is a problem that I spot during my own testing I'll still open an issue ticket to make sure I don't forget about it (as I often find things while in the middle of testing other unrelated bits).  With the speed at which this forum goes through pages it is far too easy for a bug report posted here to get lost, if it is more than a page back I won't even bother going back to look for it;  if the problem was important an issue ticket should have been opened for it.

[tater]

I knew that, I just spaced it after hours of homework wrangling and getting my daughter ready for a school camping trip she left for today. Sorry, my bad.

[Shadowmage]

5 minutes ago, tater said:

I knew that, I just spaced it after hours of homework wrangling and getting my daughter ready for a school camping trip she left for today. Sorry, my bad.

No worries, I understand how it goes, and I appreciate you putting the info together for it.  Made it a quick and simple deal for me to paste it all in there.

Should likely have it all cleaned up for this weekends' release.  Am also going to add updated text for the other SC pods for their decouplers to have them state something like 'Decouple Service Module' or similar to help them stand out a bit more.

10 hours ago, ComatoseJedi said:

So you're looking for a creative writer @Shadowmage?

I suppose, pretty much, yes

I'm sure I'll be able to come up with something on my own, but it will likely be dull and dry and more in the line of 'documentation' than the stock pages.

[Shadowmage]

Coming soon to a VAB near you:

Cross-feed toggles on all MFT tanks (no more fuel lines needed!) + a spiffy new radial tank version of the MFT tanks (the MFT-R)!  Will be using the stock radial tank models (mono/xenon) for the time being, but it will still allow for scaling of the diameter/volume.

 

Was trying to design a compact lander a few days ago and realized I had no easy way to add radial fuel tanks for Hypergolic fuels.  Additionally I would have needed fuel lines due to the flow mode of the fuel, which is undesirable for my purposes.

[Shadowmage]

Will also be adding the ability to modify heat-shield 'type' for the various heat-shield equipped command pods.  Ever wanted to do a re-entry from the Mun with the SC-A (Soyuz) craft?  Well, now you'll be able to (provided you changed the shield type from light->medium before you launched ).

Also means that you can 'lighten' the heat-shield on the SC-B & C command pods if you are intending them for LKO re-entry.  Or make them even heavier for aero-breaking through Jool, or just a bit more re-usable for multiple passes or destinations (with more ablator).

Going to be a bit of a change to the module setups for the current SSTUHeatShield and SSTUModularHeatShield modules; the first will become more 'modular', while the second will likely just function to resize the model for the Modular Heat Shield part (may even integrate it completely to simplify the interaction stuff).  Going to take my first crack at the SaveUpgrade stuff with this as well so as to become more familiar with it and hopefully not break anyone's craft.

Heat-shield types will be tech-limited; so you won't have access to the interplanetary types until about halfway through the tech-tree; the medium and light types will unlock much earlier.

[pilot009]

I just tried the Exploration Upper Stage and it disappears along with the Orion Service Module when I save/quit/re-load... using 1.0.5.

[Jimbodiah]

You need to use the last 1.0.5 version of SSTU, check Mage's github page. The current one is only for 1.1.2.

[pilot009]

Yes, I am using the 1.0.5 version and have used these parts in the same configuration before without issues... 

 

It's actually the 6 seat Reentry module built-in separator which fails/collides/whatever every time the craft is reloaded, works fine when the lower node is used.

 

Also, found another bug where the SM engine activates at 50% when craft is on launch pad and reloaded.

 

Will post on github issues page.

 

Thanks, oh and BTW I LOVE the mod and thank you very much for the hard work!!! (Should have said that first)

[Sudragon]

Would it be possible to code the petal adaptors to have the ability to open and close in the VAB? 

 

[GoldForest]

1 hour ago, Sudragon said:

Would it be possible to code the petal adaptors to have the ability to open and close in the VAB? 

 

No, as the petal is the way the fairings seperate. They detach from the base and are not motorized.

[Sudragon]

39 minutes ago, GoldForest said:

No, as the petal is the way the fairings seperate. They detach from the base and are not motorized.

Yes I agree that they're not motorised. But the issues 1.1.2 has with layers and transparency makes it annoying to assemble things inside them. If the petals could open to their deployed position ( while at the same time possibly locking the adjustable dimensions) it would make things easier.

[Shadowmage]

5 hours ago, Sudragon said:

Would it be possible to code the petal adaptors to have the ability to open and close in the VAB? 

 

 

3 hours ago, Sudragon said:

Yes I agree that they're not motorised. But the issues 1.1.2 has with layers and transparency makes it annoying to assemble things inside them. If the petals could open to their deployed position ( while at the same time possibly locking the adjustable dimensions) it would make things easier.

 

Possible, yes.  Easy given the current module structure, not so much.  Would require some additional in-editor GUI methods and handling.  If you open a github ticket I'll add it to the TODO list for one of the upcoming releases.

[Shadowmage]

So.. good news, and bad news.

The good news is I got the modular heat shield code finished and have it added to the pods; have also figured out the stock save-upgrade process.

The bad news is that the changes to the modules in the pods will break existing craft; and the stock save-upgrade handler is mostly limited to KSP version updates -- it is extremely difficult to use it for incremental mod version updates.  Doing the actual 'upgrade' for the saves is easy enough, its the versioning that is problematic.  I may have a workaround though that will let me fool the version checks into still running, will know more after a bit of further investigation.

The MFT-R tank is also 'works', but the stock method of enabling fuel cross-feed for surface attached parts blanket enables it for every part, which is not exactly the desired behaviour.  Its not completely unworkable (as decouplers still stop the crossfeed unless toggled to on), but does change the fuel flow behavior a bit.

 

 

[Temeter]

Sometimes you gotta break a few heads to make eggs... Idk, however that saying goes.^^'

[rasta013]

1 minute ago, Temeter said:

Sometimes you gotta break a few heads to make eggs... Idk, however that saying goes.^^'

I think it's something like...don't put all your heads in one basket?  

Personally, this is a dev version and if people using it don't expect things to break saves then they haven't played with very many dev versions.  I'd say don't worry about breaking stuff...just break it and keep up your primary work, the mod, rather than spending time trying to save a save that will get dumped eventually anyway.  Break away!

[RedParadize]

"quick" question: How do I add new resource type to fuel tanks ?

[Shadowmage]

18 minutes ago, RedParadize said:

"quick" question: How do I add new resource type to fuel tanks ?

Hehe, the quotation marks pretty much tell the whole story there

Actually its not too hard, assuming the resource isn't anything strange.

Find the SSTUVolumeContainer module for the part, and find the CONTAINER within it that you want to add resources to.  From there it is just adding the resource to that container with a new resource = XXX entry;

e.g.:

MODULE
{
	name = SSTUVolumeContainer
	//default placeholder volume; set by MFT module below
	volume = 100000
	enableContainerEdit = true
	enableFuelTypeChange = true
	baseContainerIndex = 0
	CONTAINER
	{
		name = Main Tank
		percent = 100
		tankageVolume = 0.15
		tankageMass = 0.15
		defaultModifier = standard
		defaultFuelPreset = LFO
		resource = LiquidFuel
		resource = LqdHydrogen
		resource = Oxidizer
		resource = MonoPropellant
		resource = Aerozine50
		resource = NTO
		resource = ElectricCharge
		modifier = standard
		modifier = lbo
		modifier = zbo
		modifier = light
		modifier = structural
	}
}

Say if you wanted to add 'Supplies' to that tank, you would just add another entry below the existing resources that read ' resource = Supplies '.  Everything else is handled by the existing code for most resources (cost, volumes, densities, etc).

If the resources is intended to use 1-liter units you will need to make a volume entry for the resource as well, as CRP has not yet defined volume for their resources and it defaults to 5 liter units (whereas CRP is supposed to use 1 liter units as far as I know).  Examples for those can be seen in GameData/SSTU/Data/ResourceVolumes.cfg; create (or add through patch) a new SSTU_RESOURCEVOLUME root config node that matches the format of the existing entries (resource name and volume).

Setting up the pre-set fuel-types, and setting up the default resources for a container are a bit more complex, but I could write something up for that as well if you are interested.

 

[RedParadize]

Thanks allot, is much less complicated than I anticipated. I tried to add food and oxygen to ResourceVolumes and part config... 

Another question: When does the stand alone parachute will make its amaizing comeback ? I miss that little part.

Edited May 14, 2016 by RedParadize