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[WIP] [1.1.2] DIRECT - Super-Heavy Launchers - REVAMP RELEASE

benjee10

By benjee10
in KSP1 Mod Development

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Sylandro

Sylandro

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I've begun work on the crew capsule to go with the launch system (going to wait until 1.1 until messing around with engines and Hydrogen fuel). In order to try and do something unique it's my own design which is a sort of combination of Orion and PPTS with bits of shuttle aesthetic thrown in.

http://i.imgur.com/gnGOeUE.png?1http://i.imgur.com/pOSdvUb.png?1

I'm trying to emulate PorkJet's fantastic style in the texturing. The capsule is 3.75m in diameter, top is 2.5m, and will hold 5 Kerbals with plenty of room for supplies and mission hardware etc.

I'm getting Interstellar vibes from that command module.

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Siphonophore

Siphonophore

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That is fantastic!!!

By the way, remember the centrifuge you mentioned? I think it could look like that of the Hermes's, and it could be fully modular, and the spin hub could be compatible with IR, or stand-alone and use its own custom animation plugins. I suggest it would mandatorily require the wonderful Interstellar Fuel Switch mod to toggle the number of attachment points, and it could have CLS support too!

My suggestions for this mod:

1.875m NERVAS

Spherical fuel tanks

More radiator parts

Heavy-duty trusses

3m ion engine

and a VASIMR!

Edited by AJTheMighty
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benjee10

benjee10

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Cheers guys! Was definitely trying to channel some interstellar with it. Futuristic but kinda plausible.

That is fantastic!!!

By the way, remember the centrifuge you mentioned? I think it could look like that of the Hermes's, and it could be fully modular, and the spin hub could be compatible with IR, or stand-alone and use its own custom animation plugins. I suggest it would mandatorily require the wonderful Interstellar Fuel Switch mod to toggle the number of attachment points, and it could have CLS support too!

My suggestions for this mod:

1.875m NERVAS

Spherical fuel tanks

More radiator parts

Heavy-duty trusses

3m ion engine

and a VASIMR!

I'm currently intending to have the centrifuge be internal, that is to say, from the outside it will look just like a large spacecraft module (7m or 10m) but on the inside it will be spinning. This is a more realistic approach than the Hermes in The Martian since it doesn't require pressurised rotating joints which are exposed to the vacuum. I also want to stay away from an IR driven centrifuge if possible since it has a fair few problems and you need to start it back up again every time you come out of time warp.

As for other parts, I'll definitely consider them!

Progress on the crew vehicle which I've named Fortuna. Still has a bug where the decoupler gets stuck in the heat shield if you translate it too far up so I'm trying to sort out the colliders on the service module.

yGrMpK9.png?1

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_Augustus_

_Augustus_

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Cheers guys! Was definitely trying to channel some interstellar with it. Futuristic but kinda plausible.

I'm currently intending to have the centrifuge be internal, that is to say, from the outside it will look just like a large spacecraft module (7m or 10m) but on the inside it will be spinning. This is a more realistic approach than the Hermes in The Martian since it doesn't require pressurised rotating joints which are exposed to the vacuum. I also want to stay away from an IR driven centrifuge if possible since it has a fair few problems and you need to start it back up again every time you come out of time warp.

As for other parts, I'll definitely consider them!

Progress on the crew vehicle which I've named Fortuna. Still has a bug where the decoupler gets stuck in the heat shield if you translate it too far up so I'm trying to sort out the colliders on the service module.

http://i.imgur.com/yGrMpK9.png?1

Uhh, the top is too big, I would make it smaller.

Who uses the Senior docking port anyway?

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benjee10

benjee10

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The top is designed to accommodate 2.5m, 1.875m and 1.25m docking ports, whichever you want. I'll be leaving it the way it is; I like it. That screenshot is a little misleading anyway, I ramped up the focal length to get a cooler looking shot which showed the relative length of the service module better, the capsule is more conical looking normally.

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-ctn-

-ctn-

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I like it. I use the senior docking port often because the linkage is stronger than the smaller ports.

At first I wasn't too fond of the overall shape of the capsule, but it's definitely growing on me. This will be the first mod I will download that gives bigger rockets than the stock 3.75m.

Edit: is that an OMS/deorbiting engine on the nose?

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Siphonophore

Siphonophore

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Cheers guys! Was definitely trying to channel some interstellar with it. Futuristic but kinda plausible.

I'm currently intending to have the centrifuge be internal, that is to say, from the outside it will look just like a large spacecraft module (7m or 10m) but on the inside it will be spinning. This is a more realistic approach than the Hermes in The Martian since it doesn't require pressurised rotating joints which are exposed to the vacuum. I also want to stay away from an IR driven centrifuge if possible since it has a fair few problems and you need to start it back up again every time you come out of time warp.

As for other parts, I'll definitely consider them!

Progress on the crew vehicle which I've named Fortuna. Still has a bug where the decoupler gets stuck in the heat shield if you translate it too far up so I'm trying to sort out the colliders on the service module.

http://i.imgur.com/yGrMpK9.png?1

*considering it for a moment.....*

Oh oh, hey!

Remember that USS Armstrong spacecraft you posted on DeviantArt? Well the centrifuge could be exactly like those on that spacecraft! I think the Fortuna service module's engines could be vastly efficient in vaccuum and have its own built-in solar arrays which can be retractable when aerobraking, and is there a central engine?

A few more suggestions:

Long-term habitation modules (the IVA could be that of a bar lounge or a private jet)

More solar arrays, particularly circular solar arrays, Orion-like arrays and Hermes-like solar array wings.

Fortuna habitat module for long voyages, and also its own 2.5m telescopic docking port which doubles as a pointy nosecone when clossed!

Edited by AJTheMighty
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benjee10

benjee10

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I like it. I use the senior docking port often because the linkage is stronger than the smaller ports.

At first I wasn't too fond of the overall shape of the capsule, but it's definitely growing on me. This will be the first mod I will download that gives bigger rockets than the stock 3.75m.

Edit: is that an OMS/deorbiting engine on the nose?

The thing on the nose is meant to be a periscope, in the IVA there will be a port you can click on which will allow you to see out of it. The other windows don't provide much forwards view so this should help with docking.

*considering it for a moment.....*

Oh oh, hey!

Remember that USS Armstrong spacecraft you posted on DeviantArt? Well the centrifuge could be exactly like those on that spacecraft! I think the Fortuna service module's engines could be vastly efficient in vaccuum and have its own built-in solar arrays which can be retractable when aerobraking, and is there a central engine?

A few more suggestions:

Long-term habitation modules (the IVA could be that of a bar lounge or a private jet)

More solar arrays, particularly circular solar arrays, Orion-like arrays and Hermes-like solar array wings.

Fortuna habitat module for long voyages, and also its own 2.5m telescopic docking port which doubles as a pointy nosecone when clossed!

Cheers, will see what I can do!

Managed to get quite a few 5m parts done today, tested them out using Nertea's Cryogenic Engines:

Javascript is disabled. View full album

As expected it's relatively overpowered (though not as much as I had worried), but I think I can balance it out reasonably well. There are three different orange fuel tank parts and a fairing base. Not pictured are two other parts which allow the creating of a Shuttle-style external tank.

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sp1989

sp1989

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The thing on the nose is meant to be a periscope, in the IVA there will be a port you can click on which will allow you to see out of it. The other windows don't provide much forwards view so this should help with docking.

Cheers, will see what I can do!

Managed to get quite a few 5m parts done today, tested them out using Nertea's Cryogenic Engines:

http://imgur.com/a/B9PlU

As expected it's relatively overpowered (though not as much as I had worried), but I think I can balance it out reasonably well. There are three different orange fuel tank parts and a fairing base. Not pictured are two other parts which allow the creating of a Shuttle-style external tank.

I see ALOT of potential. I will be keeping my eye attentively gazed on this thread.

giphy.gif

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Siphonophore

Siphonophore

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The thing on the nose is meant to be a periscope, in the IVA there will be a port you can click on which will allow you to see out of it. The other windows don't provide much forwards view so this should help with docking.

Cheers, will see what I can do!

Managed to get quite a few 5m parts done today, tested them out using Nertea's Cryogenic Engines:

http://imgur.com/a/B9PlU

As expected it's relatively overpowered (though not as much as I had worried), but I think I can balance it out reasonably well. There are three different orange fuel tank parts and a fairing base. Not pictured are two other parts which allow the creating of a Shuttle-style external tank.

That looks super fabulous - I'm pumped to bursting for this mod's release.

For the IVAs of the long-term habitation modules, they could be like a mix of a private jet and a bar lounge like I mentioned, but I think they should be 3m or 5m (go for whatever you prefer) and they should have two decks, and there'd be a little library and a small pantry, half-open to make it a bit more Kerbal, and on one of the windows in the IVA, there'd be a sticky note saying "Please fix this crack" and lastly, there would be a bunk bed on the upper deck and a PS4 too!

As for the docking nosecone, it should open to the right ;)

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benjee10

benjee10

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Cheers man! I don't know if I can deliver exactly what you want (due to RAM limitations and stuff I'm going to try to keep the IVAs a little sparse, reusing assets as much as possible and keep things reasonably low-res) but I'll try to fit in what I can.

Here's a 'family portrait' of the parts so far:

EXAHn7W.png?1

Front row, left to right:

Fortuna Command Pod, Fortuna Service Module, Low-Profile 3.75m Stack Decoupler, 5m LH2/Ox nosecone

Second row, left to right:

5m procedural fairing base, 1/4 length LH2/Ox tank (bottom), Linear quad engine adapter (top), 1/2 length LH2/Ox tank (bottom), 5m LH2/Ox end cap (top), full length LH2/Ox tank (bottom), 1.875m SRB nosecone (top)

Back row, left to right:

5 segment "Monsoon" SRB (1.875m), 4 segment "Typhoon" SRB (1.875m)

I expect first release will come in a week or two, that'll just include the basic propulsion parts. I'm splitting the mod up to make it easier for people to choose what they want; this release will include DIRECT_LV (launch vehicles, so the SRBs, fuel tanks and whatnot) and a small part of DIRECT_SC (Space Craft) which at the moment only includes the Fortuna pod but in future should include hab modules, possibly another pod, and station parts. There will be a third part to the mod, DIRECT_ops, which will include things for surface operations like inflatable base structures, rover bits and landers.

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Stone Blue

Stone Blue

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Sweet!...Cant wait for release....Currently, it seems all the large-part (3.75m+) packs, are too large (too many parts), or the textures/designs are a little too cartooney, or the mod hasnt been updated (KW Rocketry - my favorite large-part mod), or whatever...Yours looks great, with the potential for lots of functionality, with few parts...

And I agree on the 2.5m nose of the capsule...I use Sr ports ALL the time...And its always been a pain using them on the nose of ships, when all the capsules are only 1.25m... :( It makes for extra parts, and ungainly, unrealistic desgins to get a 2.5m port on there...

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benjee10

benjee10

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Cheers guys! I will be releasing as alpha the 5m parts and SRBs pretty soon once I have a 5m upper stage engine made. I've made an SSME model but it's only temporary; when 1.0.5 comes I'll see if the stock SSME will do the trick with a MM patch.

Made some 5m LFO tanks (for upper stages primarily) - these are going to be the most OP parts so I will probably need to increase their masses and reduce the amount of fuel they contain for balance purposes.

YCfecI1.png?1

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