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

[mechanicH]

12 minutes ago, Invader_guy said:

and outside the "inflate" button dissapears right after you click it

You see on the right where it says rocket parts required. 2.052 tons.   Get yourself and fuel tank and use configure containers to put in some rocket parts. 

[tater]

@Invader_guy, I have noticed the first issue as well, but it is intermittent for me.

@mechanicH ninjaed me on the launched inflation. You need rocket parts to "fit out" the interior. Remember, merely inflated it's just empty volume. To use the space, the astronauts need all the stuff that fills that volume (equipment, bedding, partitions, etc, etc.

[mechanicH]

@tater parts provide all that equipment right?  I was gona use wild blue, but the containers are just not big enough. I rather stuff some of them in with the main lifter tanks. 

[Jimbodiah]

The SSTU tanks actually hold more Rocket Parts per volume than WB tanks

[Shadowmage]

54 minutes ago, Invader_guy said:

I'm having problems with the Inflatable modules.

inside the VAB they stay transparent as if they were not attached after you attach them.

  Reveal hidden contents

and outside the "inflate" button dissapears right after you click it

  Reveal hidden contents

 

The transparency is a known issue; something in the code is not updating the materials/shaders properly.  Unsure if it is my code or stock code... but am in the process of investigating currently.  Hopefully this will be fixed up shortly.

Inflate button disappearing -- hmm... can't say as I've seen that one pop up before.  Is there a specific set of actions that cause it to do it reliably?  (Need to duplicate the problem before I can work on solving it).

[Invader_guy]

56 minutes ago, mechanicH said:

You see on the right where it says rocket parts required. 2.052 tons.   Get yourself and fuel tank and use configure containers to put in some rocket parts. 

Okay, I didn't know that...

14 minutes ago, Shadowmage said:

Is there a specific set of actions that cause it to do it reliably?  (Need to duplicate the problem before I can work on solving it).

clicking inflate when there's no rocket parts in the vessel seems to cause it. 

...but now I'm not sure if it's actually an issue or just an error on my part for not doing it the right way

[Shadowmage]

58 minutes ago, Invader_guy said:

Okay, I didn't know that...

clicking inflate when there's no rocket parts in the vessel seems to cause it. 

...but now I'm not sure if it's actually an issue or just an error on my part for not doing it the right way

Well, the button shouldn't disappear unless the part was successfully inflated, so sounds like a bug to me

Just found the bit of offending code, and have fixed it up.  Testing now, and appears to be fixed.  Was improperly disabling the 'inflate' button even if resources were not consumed / not enough resources used.

 

Also fixed up the in-editor hightlighting of the inflatable parts.  The problem?  I was specifically pulling MeshRenderer in my highlighter update code, rather than generic Renderer (which catches both MeshRenderer and SkinnedMeshRenderer).  So the transparent inflatables in the editor has also been fixed.  I -might- need to fix the highlight update code one more time to exclude particle effect renderers, but not sure on that at the moment.

 

Now onto the 'empty space' / storage container setup, and cleaning up the inflatable modules' resource alteration code.

 

Most of the part/config level changes are done and ready for release for the new centrifuge parts.  Will be spending a few more hours on bugfixing today, squashing whatever I can, and should have an updated release a bit later this afternoon.

[Shadowmage]

9 hours ago, _Krieger_ said:

Could you add the option to toggle the docking port on the capsules such as on the station parts?

Eventually, maybe.  Still testing the docking-port-swapping code to see how badly it breaks things.  -IF- it works out, then still a big maybe.  Due to how the port-swapping code works, it removes all possibilities to be able to patch the docking port modules (as I have to create new module definitions at run-time, instantiate those new modules, and manually insert them into the module list).

 

20 hours ago, Jimbodiah said:

Is the number of crew adjustable in-game? i.e. LF tank for lifter, convert into HAB in orbit?

While I don't really believe in the 'wet-workshop' concept, that is likely about how it would work out.  Except there is no way I'm adding crew capacity to fuel tanks; I may allow them to have 'empty volume', but it won't add crew capacity (they won't even have the modules on them that deal with crew capacity).

This volume <-> crew capacity swapping would only be enabled on specific parts (station core/base core), and they may have a 'minimum crew volume' that cannot be removed (and thus a minimum crew capacity even when the rest is dedicated to storage).  Still working out the details of it.

Most of it will be adjustable and/or patchable though, so you can likely tailor it to your needs/desires.

[BRAAAP_STUTUTU]

Ehh, i'm having an odd issue with the solar panels:when on the surface, they point the wrong side at the sun...

[Pappystein]

On 11/18/2016 at 11:52 AM, tater said:

Wow, so very, very cool. And to think, I started out not liking space stations, lol.

I've been building sort of replica craft. I made a Saturn 1C sort of craft

These replicas will rock in scaled up mods, right out of the box.

At some point a few of us should post various cool LVs and other "stock" SSTU craft, then tweak them to whatever standard @Shadowmage wants, and upload the craft files.

@tater, I am curious what drag and scale mods are you using.   With the SSTU F-1 engine + scaled 3.75m Fuel tank size, I can barely get an Apollo CSM and associated parts into LKO with a Saturn IC as you described.   If I add 4x Castor replica SRBs It is a comfortable Orbit.

I had to use the full up Saturn II with the 5m base diameter and my own SL rated J-2 engines (x6) + 4 UA-1207 SRBs to launch LMO.

*All SRBs are taken from FASA and modified according to appropriately scaled RW mass and thrust.

Edited November 19, 2016 by Pappystein

[tater]

2 minutes ago, Pappystein said:

@tater, I am curious what drag and scale mods are you using.   With the SSTU F-1 engine + scaled 3.75m Fuel tank size, I can barely get an Apollo CSM and associated parts into LKO with a Saturn IC as you described.   If I add 4x Castor replica SRBs It is a comfortable Orbit.

I had to use the full up Saturn II with the 5m base diameter and my own SL rated J-2 engines (x6) + 4 UA-1207 SRBs to launch LMO.

In stock, or 6.4x? I have not yet tried with the latter, but in 1.13 they worked for me at 6.4x. Lesser scales like 3.2X, any of my replicas will easily work.

For the 1C, I used the F1B, otherwise it needs 2xF1. I goes off the pad like a real SV... very, very slowly. 60 m/s at maybe 1km altitude.

[Pappystein]

2 minutes ago, tater said:

For the 1C, I used the F1B, otherwise it needs 2xF1. I goes off the pad like a real SV... very, very slowly. 60 m/s at maybe 1km altitude.

Ok, that makes my launcher just a little heavier than.  With the F-1B I am getting 33m/s at 1km

I did a 3 Core Saturn 1M with F-1s (2x in the boosters 1x in the core) and was able to lift a lot to orbit easy.

 

Edited November 20, 2016 by Pappystein

[Shadowmage]

Updated release is available:

https://github.com/shadowmage45/SSTULabs/releases/tag/0.5.33.129

Adds the nearly-finished inflatable torus parts, cleans up several bugs, and adds a new engine-scaling feature to the ISDC courtesy of @blowfish.  See the link for downloads and full change-log.

 

[JoseEduardo]

yay, now I can save my kerbals in career at an eternal loop from a sub-orbital Orion aborted flight and expand my idea for a interplanetary transfer ship 

after I play around in skyrim, the kerbals can wait

[tater]

Awesome... about to eat dinner, but first glance shows the icons for the CFGs are tiny.

[tater]

 

 

 

 

 

[thomash]

Holy moly!  Those rings are outstanding!  Perfect timing too.  I've been working on a SSTU station and was thinking that I would just assume that gravity would be created by magic.  

I think I found a bug.  Three FR type fairings cannot be rescaled.  Right-clicking only reveals the thrust level scale. 

[tater]

Took 3 of these to fit out the CFG-D (with parts left over on the 3d one). I could redesign and do it with 2. I should have used the pointier nose, and saved a part. Forgot I could configure the main tank to also have the mono needed to dock. Could have eliminated 2 parts, actually. Orange segment is hydrolox (wanted it lighter for docking).

 

[dennislee]

will this work for KSP 1.1.3? I want to use it to RSS/RO...

[mechanicH]

@tater did you use a drone core to get those puppies up there. Or was it manned. 

[tater]

29 minutes ago, mechanicH said:

@tater did you use a drone core to get those puppies up there. Or was it manned. 

I used the Orion (manned) as a tug. Flew it with the lab as cargo (welding port). My Saturn 1C (cargo, just has a fairing) easily lofted the CFG-D (very slow off the pad). The octo-hub and mission support octo-girder was another launch (and the segments with the adapters to round for the welding port). Solar array was last. I shortened the hydrolox upper stage quite a bit as the other stuff was far lighter, and even the CFG-D had extra propellant. If I was not an idiot, I would have just added rocket parts to the upper stage tanks. That said, from a role-playing standpoint, I wanted the "parts" to be docked properly, so they flew in a separate "tank" with a docking port.

The mechanic of loading the parts into the inflatables, then inflating only when enough are aboard is great, @Shadowmage. The only addition might be an indicator on the un-inflated part to show the amount of rocket parts vs total needed. Not at all critical, though, but I play in fits and starts, so sometimes I forget what I have flown already.

 

Edited November 20, 2016 by tater

[tater]

Now we need a career reason for huge stations

Like a mission to loft an orbital hotel, holding XX tourists, the follow up missions to deliver them to orbit for a week or two.

 

[Jimbodiah]

Use life support, it requires large habs for long flights.

[JoseEduardo]

9 hours ago, dennislee said:

will this work for KSP 1.1.3? I want to use it to RSS/RO...

lol no

even if it did, I highly doubt the RO patches would support the new parts at this point

8 hours ago, tater said:

Now we need a career reason for huge stations

Like a mission to loft an orbital hotel, holding XX tourists, the follow up missions to deliver them to orbit for a week or two.

 

maybe missions to Duna, Eve, Jool?

here's an inspiration: http://www.starshipmodeler.com/contest/scr_03.htm

Edited November 20, 2016 by JoseEduardo

[tater]

5 hours ago, Jimbodiah said:

Use life support, it requires large habs for long flights.

I do. The CFG-D is vastly larger than anything in the game, however.

With a 5m diameter, assuming two 2.5m high decks (for humans that would be 3.9m!) gives them each over 70m² of floor space (with 24 crew). It would be a ton of living area even at 50 crew. There's actually room, with typical house ceiling heights (scaled to humans from the 64% it is) for a third deck in the CFG-D, though obviously at the very outside the floor would curve both directions--a running track, perhaps, clear the entire circumference, with equipment/storage along the walls?

Wow, envision that thing fitted out. 3 decks. The farthest out has an unbroken, wide hallway for jogging (wide for kerbals might be 1m) As it slopes in both directions, the area on either side of the track is equipment, and storage. Periodically in an alcove you'd have a ladder to the middle deck. The decks are ~1.67m high (including deck thickness, etc). Middle deck would have some public areas, and some staterooms. You'd run a hall around one side, and have doors into private rooms on the other. Upper deck would have a lot of floor area, but sloped ceilings, so it might be a good place for more common space, since there is not room for hallways.