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

[ComatoseJedi]

1 hour ago, Noname115 said:

Is there an issue with the MFT fuel tanks regarding texture change? I can't seem to change the texture of the fuel tank at all. I am unaware if this is because those tanks currently don't have any other textures, or if it is an issue that has recently opened up. All in all, I love the mod; but for things such as building an SLS, I would love if I could change the texture to a more shuttle type external tank texture. Keep up the great work  

LOG: https://drive.google.com/open?id=0BwZHDX3K4KIudlpwUWM0V1ZhdWM

did you download and put in the texture pack that's posted in the OP?

[Shadowmage]

Speaking of texture-sets, I'll be merging those into the main distribution starting this weekend, just to clear up all the apparent confusion.  They'll still have the same directory structure (GameData/SSTU/.... and GameData/SSTU-Textures/....), but will all be shipped in a single .zip file.

23 hours ago, tater said:

Did you see that my lack of SAS functionality was in career, not sandbox? I was trying to figure out why---SAS parts on a capsule require a pilot, perhaps, whereas sticking a probe as a different part (even if not root) negates this... No idea.

Noted;  Pretty sure the fix I have in place should work for career, sandbox, whatever.  I added minimumCrew = 0 for the ModuleCommand, and added serviceLevel=3 to the SAS modules.  So all pods/etc should have a full unmanned command capability, including vector hold abilities.

 

9 hours ago, tater said:

The SRB has an exhaust issue with this nozzle. Need to test the others.

Are those the stock effects or real-plume effects, and what diameter is that SRB? 

I may not have repositioned/rescaled the stock effects... I'm not even sure if I positioned them at all.... I've been using RealPlumes exclusively, and have been mostly ignoring the stock effects due to their extremely limited nature and ...backwards... config settings.

If those are the stock effects... not honestly sure that I want to spend the time trying to fix it.  Stock effects are extremely limited as far as selection and ability to manipulate them, and I might not be able to 'fix' it at all.  Feel free to try out some different positioning in the config though, and if you find one that seems to work I'll be glad to update the files in the distribution.  Otherwise I might get around to this in the next few weeks.

[Noname115]

8 hours ago, ComatoseJedi said:

did you download and put in the texture pack that's posted in the OP?

D'oh!  Now I feel dumb. Should have taken the time to look in the OP. Thanks for letting me know though! Apologies for making myself look idiotic. 

[ComatoseJedi]

22 minutes ago, Noname115 said:

D'oh!  Now I feel dumb. Should have taken the time to look in the OP. Thanks for letting me know though! Apologies for making myself look idiotic. 

No problem, that's what we are here for  Happy flying

[tater]

Yes, stock, I don't have real plumes (I'm waiting for 1.1 to bother with visual effects mods, I'm more concerned about functionality). I want to say the diameter was the stock starting diameter, so 1.25m.

[GoldForest]

Anyone else having this visual bug?

Also @Shadowmage , are you planning on adding the ARES V mount into the mix? I know there's the SLS, but it doesn't look right. And the Saturn V mount doesn't look right either.

Edited March 24, 2016 by GoldForest

[Shadowmage]

2 hours ago, GoldForest said:

Anyone else having this visual bug?

Also @Shadowmage , are you planning on adding the ARES V mount into the mix? I know there's the SLS, but it doesn't look right. And the Saturn V mount doesn't look right either.

Are you referring to the extra exhaust plumes?  They are intentional (as there are three thrust transforms on each of those engines); however the stock effects cannot be scaled.  And they might not have been positioned very well/at all. 

As posted above, I've been using RealPlumes exclusively, and will likely move to stop supporting stock effects entirely very soon (unless someone volunteers to take over that end of the setup).

 

Ares mount - not sure what you are referring to (is this not inline Direct mount)?

The SLS and Saturn Mounts look fine to me, else I would not have bothered to texture them.  So, you'll have to define 'doesn't look right' a bit better.

Edited March 24, 2016 by Shadowmage

[ComatoseJedi]

 

Possibly this is the Ares V engine mount with alternate engine layout?

[Shadowmage]

On Saturday, March 19, 2016 at 3:52 PM, StickyScissors said:

@Shadowmage Here we are, hopefully void of all parts other than SSTU and stock: https://www.dropbox.com/s/odpybu16481ri4n/Testcraft.craft?dl=0

I downloaded that craft for testing, and it is using the old engine cluster parts.  Those parts have been deprecated for a few weeks, having been replaced with the new set of parts that allow for dynamic changing of the # of engines.  I had supposedly removed the old ones from the editor parts list, but they are apparently still available in your game.

Those parts and the module that runs them have been replaced, and as such will not be seeing any further updates or fixes. They have been fully removed in current dev setup, and will no longer be available at all with this weekends release.

Please let me know if you still experience that issue when using the new parts.

2 hours ago, GoldForest said:

Anyone else having this visual bug?

Have removed the second thrust transform effects for stock setup; will be fixed in the next release.

[Shadowmage]

22 hours ago, tater said:

The SRB has an exhaust issue with this nozzle. Need to test the others.

Investigated this tonight;  apparently there is no way to scale the stock effects.  So the stock effects for those parts will always be off except for on whatever single diameter they are setup for.

This comes down to there just being no way to scale them (that I can find).  There are options for speed, emission rate, and energy; which I -do- scale with the size changes... however none of those effect the actual size of the particle image being used.

[GoldForest]

1 hour ago, ComatoseJedi said:

 

Possibly this is the Ares V engine mount with alternate engine layout?

That's not it. This is what I'm talking about.
@Shadowmage I didn't say the SLS or Saturn V mounts had anything wrong with them, I just said they didn't fit the feel of ARES mount.

[Shadowmage]

7 minutes ago, GoldForest said:

That's not it. This is what I'm talking about.
@Shadowmage I didn't say the SLS or Saturn V mounts had anything wrong with them, I just said they didn't fit the feel of ARES mount.

That makes a lot more sense   Aye, neither the SLS or S-V really fit that form.

Can't say as I've seen either of those mount types before (though I don't really go looking for mount stuff); so have saved those pics for reference.  At this point though creating new mounts isn't the highest priority, but when I do make up the next batch I'll certainly consider those.

[GoldForest]

10 minutes ago, Shadowmage said:

That makes a lot more sense   Aye, neither the SLS or S-V really fit that form.

Can't say as I've seen either of those mount types before (though I don't really go looking for mount stuff); so have saved those pics for reference.  At this point though creating new mounts isn't the highest priority, but when I do make up the next batch I'll certainly consider those.

Awesome.

[The Destroyer]

Fantastic mod! Is the R-7 parts not complete yet? The soyuz has a fairing of 1.8m (ish), but the engines are smaller than that, and there's no texture options for the main tanks?

[ComatoseJedi]

6 minutes ago, The Destroyer said:

Fantastic mod! Is the R-7 parts not complete yet? The soyuz has a fairing of 1.8m (ish), but the engines are smaller than that, and there's no texture options for the main tanks?

did you download the texture file per OP instructions?

[blowfish]

27 minutes ago, The Destroyer said:

Fantastic mod! Is the R-7 parts not complete yet? The soyuz has a fairing of 1.8m (ish), but the engines are smaller than that, and there's no texture options for the main tanks?

The R-7 core is actually smaller at the bottom than at the top - you can see this in pictures if you look closely - and there is an adapter specifically designed for that launch vehicle.  As for the textures, what ComatoseJedi said.

[The Destroyer]

1 hour ago, ComatoseJedi said:

did you download the texture file per OP instructions?

Well... now I did... I just found the mod via CKAN and didn't really read OP...

1 hour ago, blowfish said:

The R-7 core is actually smaller at the bottom than at the top - you can see this in pictures if you look closely - and there is an adapter specifically designed for that launch vehicle.  As for the textures, what ComatoseJedi said.

 

Oh, neat. Just assumed it was inline, stupid me

[JoseEduardo]

7 hours ago, ComatoseJedi said:

did you download the texture file per OP instructions?

yeah... but there is no texture option for the Soyuz tanks, only gray (R-7 was green, Sputnik light gray and Vostok had white, gray and green, I'm not counting the ice sheet, but the actual color)







that reminds me of something...

Edited March 24, 2016 by JoseEduardo

[ComatoseJedi]

This mod is on CKAN? No wonder the texture issue is popping up more frequently. 

23 hours ago, Shadowmage said:

Speaking of texture-sets, I'll be merging those into the main distribution starting this weekend, just to clear up all the apparent confusion.  They'll still have the same directory structure (GameData/SSTU/.... and GameData/SSTU-Textures/....), but will all be shipped in a single .zip file.

But no worries the fix is in place. 

[blowfish]

Yeah, given that this is a pre-release mod that could still encounter breaking changes, it worries me that this is on CKAN.

[Shadowmage]

1 minute ago, blowfish said:

Yeah, given that this is a pre-release mod that could still encounter breaking changes, it worries me that this is on CKAN.

Me too... who the ___ did that, and who can I slap to have them remove it?

I just actively -don't- want the mod on CKAN, regardless of its status.

[blowfish]

1 hour ago, Shadowmage said:

Me too... who the ___ did that, and who can I slap to have them remove it?

I just actively -don't- want the mod on CKAN, regardless of its status.

Actually now that I look I can't find it on CKAN repository ... @The Destroyer are you certain you got it from CKAN?

I'm generally supportive of finished mods getting on CKAN, but WIP stuff tends to be a headache.  Past experience has suggested that it's very hard to get something off CKAN once it's on ... you might want to add an exception to the license if you want to prevent this from happening (basically the policy has been "if the license allows us to distribute, we're not taking it down" ... ask ferram4 if you want gritty details).  Maybe something like "you must get permission from the author to distribute" or "you must get permission to distribute provided the author can be contacted in a timely manner" (no one plans to go AWOL but it does happen occasionally ).

[Shadowmage]

RD-0110 After poly reduction (27k -> 14.5k; nearly 50% reduction, with minimal visible quality loss; bezier curve-based stuff is terribly inefficient until it is cleaned up (pipes, struts)):

Might do a bit more touch-up on the verniers / actuator geometry, but other than that the model is ready for UV unwrap and layout... so -might- have it available for this weekends' release (all dependent upon how busy I am at work the next two days).

 

In general news, I spent last nights dev time doing plugin UI interaction cleanup.  UI buttons will now only show up for texture/mesh/etc changing if there are other variants available.  Additionally, I fixed up the 'enable fairing' button to only show up when the fairing is currently disabled AND can be enabled (part attached to watched node).  Lots of other little UI tweaks and cleanup in there as well.

10 hours ago, The Destroyer said:

Well... now I did... I just found the mod via CKAN and didn't really read OP...

 

Oh, neat. Just assumed it was inline, stupid me

The 'core' tank should be at 1.4375m diameter (set it to 1.25m diameter, and then set the 'diameter adjust' to 0.3, IIRC), and hit the 'prev nose' button once (this selects the soyuz nose adapter).   This sets the top of the adapter to be at 1.875m to line up cleanly with the upper stage, allows the RD-108 engine mount to lineup with the tank size, and gives proper proportions between the 1.875m boosters and core tank diameters.  I don't remember what length the main tank needs to be set to (I just line it up visually), but I'll make some notes / set of instructions for those before too long (and craft files should be coming within a month; just waiting for the 1.1 update/breakage).

[Shadowmage]

And here is the -nearly finished- shuttle cargo bay / docking adapter textures (more so the docking adapter in this shot):

Going to do some small touchups to the coloring of the DA frame and/or struts (add some contrast between them), and then I think the base shuttle textures are about finished.

[ComatoseJedi]

CKAN: You don't suppose that you having your mod on Curse has anything to do with this, @Shadowmage? Perhaps -someone- submitted this mod to the CKAN repository? I don't use CKAN so I don't know how it exactly works to get the mods.