[1.0.4] Arkas 0.2.1 - A Thick Atmosphere on a Desert World - 17 Unique Biomes - Cloud Support Added!

[CoriW]

By that I mean CoriW's opinion.

After taking a day to think about it... I've come up with Kraus and Oresn

[The White Guardian]

After taking a day to think about it... I've come up with Kraus and Oresn

Those also sound epic!

Alright, I have an idea. I'll create a bunch of 'modular' moons. They can all load at the same time, but I'll leave it up to the players which moon(s) they want.

[FungusForge]

Those also sound epic!

Alright, I have an idea. I'll create a bunch of 'modular' moons. They can all load at the same time, but I'll leave it up to the players which moon(s) they want.

That sounds awesome. I will eagerly await for updates on the moons.

Edited October 9, 2015 by FungusForge
they are moons... not planets.

[The White Guardian]

That sounds awesome. I will eagerly await for updates on the moons.

Wait no more, I have an update! I've created textures for two more moons, I'll write the Kopernicus script now.

And, just for fun: I'm working on textures of an earthlike moon. A 'tropical' moon to do all sorts of Kerbally things on.

[Jodo42]

Attempted a mission to Arkas earlier today. Tried to deliver a rover to its surface.

Javascript is disabled. View full album

I'll have to try again soon. Should probably test the aeroshell this time.

Really looking forward to your moons, White Guardian! I hope they're as high quality as your clouds were.

Has anyone thought about a 64k config for this mod? Arkas fits in with stock wonderfully, much like OPM, and OPM has a 64k config.

Edited October 10, 2015 by Jodo42

[The White Guardian]

Really looking forward to your moons, White Guardian! I hope they're as high quality as your clouds were.

I've finished one moon (...almost finished. Still have to write the Science ), and the moon seems to work as intended. No spontanous explosions, good SOI, realistic gravity and an interesting color. I'll make two to three more moons today. (I've already finished the textures of five other moons, but I have yet to write the Kopernicus Configs.)

Oh, and just for fun: here's the description of the only moon working so far:

Okay... did anyone else just see this thing appear out of nowhere, or is it just me?

Oh, and a tip for your rover: try to pack it in a 2.5m... eh, forgot the name of that part. Basically the giant RCS tank but with two doors on opposing sides. Place a heatshield at the bottom and parachutes on top, and you're good to go. At least, that's how I got a probe to the surface.

Edited October 11, 2015 by The White Guardian

[The White Guardian]

More news on the moons! So far there are six. Five of them have been named by the KSP community.

The moons are:

Kras (a desert moon that closely resembles Mars)

Kraus (a moon with icy poles and a tropical equator. Next to it's sandy surface, it also has many large lakes.)

Larr (a deep brown rocky moon)

Oresn (a moon with an eerie crimson color and icy highlands)

Rokar (an orange sandy moon with canyons)

Vin (asteroid)

Let me know what you guys think! Also, I'm open to suggestions, so if you guys have any ideas, please let me know!

[Sylandro]

Nice, White Guardian!

How about Garfes, a moon with a planet-wide canyon that runs across it's equator?

[The White Guardian]

Nice, White Guardian!

How about Garfes, a moon with a planet-wide canyon that runs across it's equator?

Sounds good, I'll give it a go and see what happens.

[skykooler]

Nice, White Guardian!

How about Garfes, a moon with a planet-wide canyon that runs across it's equator?

Inspired by Charon?

[linuxgurugamer]

Inspired by Charon?

More like the Death Star. planet-wide canyon?

[The White Guardian]

More like the Death Star. planet-wide canyon?

I think Sylandro means that the moon's equator is slightly lower than the surrounding terrain, resulting in a giant canyon at the equator. With 'planet-wide' he means that the canyon covers the full equator.

[aramil]

Some more mood pictures

scouting for mining sites

Drop pod delivering an automated miner (massive drop pods Launched from Kerbin (route tweaked on approach))

[CoriW]

More news on the moons! So far there are six. Five of them have been named by the KSP community.

The moons are:

Kras (a desert moon that closely resembles Mars)

Kraus (a moon with icy poles and a tropical equator. Next to it's sandy surface, it also has many large lakes.)

Larr (a deep brown rocky moon)

Oresn (a moon with an eerie crimson color and icy highlands)

Rokar (an orange sandy moon with canyons)

Vin (asteroid)

Let me know what you guys think! Also, I'm open to suggestions, so if you guys have any ideas, please let me know!

Just going to mention, don't forget Arkas proximity to the sun, I can't help but think about that when I see notes about ice and lakes. Also keep in mind the relatively small SOI, if somebody were to install all of the moons it could get really crowded really quickly...

[FungusForge]

I'm curious if any of these moons are going to be sporting atmospheres. Because Kras sounds like it might have an atmosphere, since it's being compared to Mars.

Also, Rokar and Vin fit how I was imagining them.

[rabidninjawombat]

Just going to mention, don't forget Arkas proximity to the sun, I can't help but think about that when I see notes about ice and lakes. Also keep in mind the relatively small SOI, if somebody were to install all of the moons it could get really crowded really quickly...

Id have to agree on that

Love the Arkas (have landed on it several times and working on a colony )

But I cant imagine it with more than 3 moons honestly. 1 good healthy Mun sized one. And 2 smalller large asteroid sized ones.

[FungusForge]

On the topic of Arkas' puny SOI, I think it'd be better to set up the moons in different packs (Rokar and Vin, Kraus and Oresn, Krass and Larr, etc.) and not be too concerned about all six moons being able to fit together. Maybe have more than just the three provided combos, but trying to stuff 5 Mun-sized moons in the Arkas SOI is going to get pretty tight pretty fast.

[CoriW]

Also on the note of the moons, one of my biggest concerns is that a moon might be so interesting as to take too much attention away from Arkas, which is of course the centerpiece of the mod. Not to say that I don't want interesting moons because I do, it's just that to be honest when I read some of the descriptions The White Guardian is posting, I think "Planet" and not "Moon".

[The White Guardian]

Just going to mention, don't forget Arkas proximity to the sun, I can't help but think about that when I see notes about ice and lakes. Also keep in mind the relatively small SOI, if somebody were to install all of the moons it could get really crowded really quickly...

Some of the moons will have the same orbit, though I'll make sure that they orbit on opposing sides of Arkas so they're always compatible. About the temparature, I'm currently sending a probe to Arkas to log the temparature so I can be more accurate.

I'm curious if any of these moons are going to be sporting atmospheres. Because Kras sounds like it might have an atmosphere, since it's being compared to Mars.

Also, Rokar and Vin fit how I was imagining them.

Yes, some of the moons will indeed have a small atmosphere, though getting those atmospheres to work as intended may take some time.

On the topic of Arkas' puny SOI, I think it'd be better to set up the moons in different packs (Rokar and Vin, Kraus and Oresn, Krass and Larr, etc.) and not be too concerned about all six moons being able to fit together. Maybe have more than just the three provided combos, but trying to stuff 5 Mun-sized moons in the Arkas SOI is going to get pretty tight pretty fast.

Yes, it may get a bit crowded, but not all moons are intended to use at the same time. Also, they can all fit around Arkas if some of them share their orbits, so it is possible to use them all at once.

Also on the note of the moons, one of my biggest concerns is that a moon might be so interesting as to take too much attention away from Arkas, which is of course the centerpiece of the mod. Not to say that I don't want interesting moons because I do, it's just that to be honest when I read some of the descriptions The White Guardian is posting, I think "Planet" and not "Moon".

I know what you mean. Don't worry, the moons won't be that large, 300km is the max. Also, expiriments performed around and on the moons give less Science than Arkas, so for Science, Arkas is the destination. And with Arkas' clouds, I personally find Arkas more interesting than the moons.

[The White Guardian]

New info on the moons! I've finished two more moons, Vin and Oresn.

I haven't been able to test Vin yet, but it shows up in the tracking station and it looks amazing.

Oresn has been landed on. So far everything works, though Oresn's terrain is unusually steep, so Oresn will be a bonus moon.

I've also tested the SOI of Oresn and Larr, and they are rather small with the moon's sizes, so Larr and Oresn will be downscaled to +- 100km.

[CoriW]

New info on the moons! I've finished two more moons, Vin and Oresn.

I haven't been able to test Vin yet, but it shows up in the tracking station and it looks amazing.

Oresn has been landed on. So far everything works, though Oresn's terrain is unusually steep, so Oresn will be a bonus moon.

I've also tested the SOI of Oresn and Larr, and they are rather small with the moon's sizes, so Larr and Oresn will be downscaled to +- 100km.

Oh by the way if you need any assistance with atmospheres I have access to a tool that calculates stock like atmosphere keys. All you have to tell me is the atmosphere altitude, pressure ASL, temperature ASL (in Kelvin), and how dense you want the atmosphere to be in relation to other planets. (For Example: more dense than Duna but less dense than Kerbin)

With that info I can give you the pressureCurve, temperatureCurve, temperatureSunMultCurve, and atmosphereMolarMass.

[The White Guardian]

Oh by the way if you need any assistance with atmospheres I have access to a tool that calculates stock like atmosphere keys. All you have to tell me is the atmosphere altitude, pressure ASL, temperature ASL (in Kelvin), and how dense you want the atmosphere to be in relation to other planets. (For Example: more dense than Duna but less dense than Kerbin)

With that info I can give you the pressureCurve, temperatureCurve, temperatureSunMultCurve, and atmosphereMolarMass.

You mean this one?

-snip-

Edited October 13, 2015 by The White Guardian
Removed the link.

[CoriW]

You mean this one?

-snip-

Indeed I do mean that one. Also based on the below PM I received from KillAshley I suspect he doesn't want the link open to public due to potential problems that may arise as a result, so please consider removing your link to it. If people are interested in using it they can PM KillAshley about it and I'm sure he'd happily provide the link.

Bear in mind that i ask you to please be considerate when using it as a lot of people use it too. I do have backups though, but sending the link to everyone again can be troublesome

[The White Guardian]

Alright, I've got all of the moons to work so far. Kras even has clouds! However, Kras' atmosphere is bright blue instead of deep red.

@Kopernicus:AFTER[Kopernicus]
{
    Body
    {
        name = Kras
        flightGlobalsIndex = 1762
        cacheFile = Arkas/ArkasMoons/Cache/Kras.bin

        Template
        {
            name = Laythe
            removeOcean = true
            removePQSMods = PQSLandControl, PQSMod_VertexHeightNoise, PQSMod_VertexSimplexHeightMap, PQSMod_QuadEnhanceCoast, PQSMod_VertexHeightNoiseVertHeight, PQSMod_VertexHeightMap
        }

        Orbit
        {
            referenceBody = Arkas
            inclination = 4.215
            eccentricity = 0.225
            semiMajorAxis = 2353000
            longitudeOfAscendingNode = 24
            argumentOfPeriapsis = 20
            meanAnomalyAtEpoch = 0
            epoch = 0
            color = 0.6117647058823529,0.3254901960784314,0.1686274509803922,1
        }

        Properties
        {
            description = This moon closely resembles it's parent Arkas. Proper description still being made.
            radius = 215000
            geeASL = 0.508
            rotationPeriod = 60000
            rotates = true
            tidallyLocked = false
            initialRotation = 0
            isHomeWorld = false
            timewarpAltitudeLimits = 0 40000 40000 60000 80000 140000 200000 300000

            ScienceValues
            {
                splashedDataValue = 2
                landedDataValue = 4
                flyingLowDataValue = 6
                flyingHighDataValue = 6.5
                inSpaceLowDataValue = 5
                inSpaceHighDataValue = 4.5
                recoveryValue = 6
                flyingAltitudeThreshold = 25000
                spaceAltitudeThreshold = 220000
            }

            biomeMap = Arkas/ArkasMoons/Textures/Kras_Biome.png

            Biomes
            {
                Biome
                {
                    name = Mountains
                    value = 1.0
                    color = 1,0,0,1
                }

                Biome
                {
                    name = Northern dunes
                    value = 1.0
                    color = 0,1,1,1
                }

                Biome
                {
                    name = Major sandy plains
                    value = 1.0
                    color = 1,0,1,1
                }

                Biome
                {
                    name = Minor sandy plains
                    value = 1.0
                    color = 0,0,1,1
                }
                Biome
                {
                    name = Anomaly
                    value = 1.0
                    color = 0,1,0,1
                }
                Biome
                {
                    name = South pole
                    value = 1.0
                    color = 0,0,0,1
                }
                Biome
                {
                    name = Deserts
                    value = 1.0
                    color = 1,1,1,1
                }
            }
        }

        Atmosphere
        {
            ambientColor = 0.612,0.325,0.169,1
            lightColor = 0.612,0.325,0.169,1 // shader.invWaveLength = Color( 1 / r^4, 1 / g^4, 1 / b^4, 0.5);

            albedo = 0.52

            enabled = true
            oxygen = false

            altitude = 80000.0
            pressureCurve
            {
                key = 0            303.975            -4.06308E-02        -4.06308E-02
                key = 4000        141.4518        -2.865E-02            -2.865E-02
                key = 8000        74.775            -1.25981775E-02        -1.25981775E-02
                key = 12000        40.66638        -6.593355E-03        -6.593355E-03
                key = 16000        22.02816        -3.422445E-03        -3.422445E-03
                key = 20000        13.28682        -1.8002925E-03        -1.8002925E-03
                key = 24000        7.62582            -1.166055E-03        -1.166055E-03
                key = 28000        3.95838            -7.23015E-04        -7.23015E-04
                key = 32000        1.8417            -3.9063E-04            -3.9063E-04
                key = 36000        0.83334            -1.688625E-04        -1.688625E-04
                key = 40000        0.4908            -6.04875E-05        -6.04875E-05
                key = 44000        0.34944            -3.16575E-05        -3.16575E-05
                key = 48000        0.23754            -2.469E-05            -2.469E-05
                key = 52000        0.15192            -1.85325E-05        -1.85325E-05
                key = 56000        0.08928            -1.31925E-05        -1.31925E-05
                key = 60000        0.04638            -8.6775E-06            -8.6775E-06
                key = 64000        0.01986            -4.9725E-06            -4.9725E-06
                key = 68000        0.0066            -2.1E-06            -2.1E-06
                key = 72000        0.00306            -6.825E-07            -6.825E-07
                key = 76000        0.00114            -3.825E-07            -3.825E-07
                key = 80000        0                -2.85E-07            -2.85E-07
            }
            pressureCurveIsNormalized = false

            temperatureSeaLevel = 395
            temperatureCurve
            {
                key = 0            450                -0.00802083375        -0.00802083375
                key = 9600        331.8011257        -0.0011360735        -0.0011325715
                key = 16800        331.8011257        0.0011325715        0.0011325715
                key = 24800        416.2288931        0.000619018            0.000619018
                key = 44800        416.2288931        -0.000853660375        -0.000853660375
                key = 64000        287.2846666        -0.0011360735        -0.0011360735
                key = 72000        287.2846666        0.000592218125        0.000592218125
                key = 80000        353.2918301        0.000868255125        0.000868255125
                key = 120000    0                -0.000562011375        -0.000562011375
            }
            temperatureCurveIsNormalized = false
            temperatureLapseRate = 0.001
            temperatureSunMultCurve
            {
                key = 0                1        0            0
                key = 6153.846154    0.5        -0.000075    -0.000128306125
                key = 6780.941539    0        0            0
                key = 12346.44923    0        0            0
                key = 29138.03077    0.2        0            0
                key = 44184.71385    0.2        0            0
                key = 56178.21535    0        0            0
                key = 80000            0.4        0            0
            }

            adiabaticIndex = 1.20016284302591
            gasMassLapseRate = 2.04291043733601
            atmosphereMolarMass = 0.035982203485
        }

        ScaledVersion
        {
            type = Atmospheric
            fadeStart = 110000
            fadeEnd = 140000

            Material
            {
                texture = Arkas/ArkasMoons/Textures/Kras_Color
                normals = Arkas/ArkasMoons/Textures/Kras_Normal

                shininess = 0
                specular = 0,0,0,0

                // Atmosphere settings
                rimPower = 2.06
                rimBlend = 0.3

                // Atmosphere color ramp texture
                Gradient
                {
                    0.0 = 0.7607,0.6980,0.4313,1
                    0.4 = 0.7607,0.6980,0.4901,1
                    0.6 = 0.7607,0.6980,0.5490,1
                    0.8 = 0.0588,0.0588,0.1568,1
                    1.0 = 0.0196,0.0196,0.0196,1
                }
            }
        }

        PQS
        {
            maxQuadLengthsPerFrame = 0.03
            minLevel = 2
            maxLevel = 12
            minDetailDistance = 8

            pqsFadeStart = 130000
            pqsFadeEnd = 170000

            materialType = AtmosphericOptimized
            Material
            {
                saturation = 1
                contrast = 1.4
                tintColor = 1.000,1.000,1.000,0.000

                powerNear = 0.6
                powerFar = 0.3

                groundTexStart = 0
                groundTexEnd = 5000

                steepPower = 2
                steepTexStart = 0
                steepTexEnd = 50000
                steepTex = BUILTIN/terrain_rock00
                steepBumpMap = BUILTIN/RockyGround2
                steepNearTiling = 8000
                steepTiling = 500

                lowTex = BUILTIN/SandyGround
                lowBumpMap = BUILTIN/quiet
                lowNearTiling = 4000
                lowMultiFactor = 100
                lowBumpNearTiling = 4000
                lowBumpFarTiling = 4000

                midTex = BUILTIN/terrain_sand00
                midBumpMap = BUILTIN/SandyGround
                midNearTiling = 4000
                midMultiFactor = 100
                midBumpNearTiling = 4000
                midBumpFarTiling = 4000

                highTex = BUILTIN/SandyGround
                highBumpMap = BUILTIN/quiet
                highNearTiling = 4000
                highMultiFactor = 100
                highBumpNearTiling = 4000
                highBumpFarTiling = 4000

                lowStart = 0
                lowEnd = 0.3
                highStart = 0.7
                highEnd = 1

                globalDensity = 0
                fogColorRamp = BUILTIN/desert_atmogradient
            }

            Mods
            {
                VertexColorMap
                {
                    map = Arkas/ArkasMoons/Textures/Kras_Color.dds
                    enabled = true
                    order = 500
                }

                VertexHeightMap
                {
                    map = Arkas/ArkasMoons/Textures/Kras_Height.dds
                    offset = 0
                    deformity = 4500
                    scaleDeformityByRadius = false
                    enabled = true
                    order = 20
                }

                @AltitudeAlpha
                {
                    atmosphereDepth = 10000
                    invert = false
                    enabled = true
                    order = 999999999
                }

                VertexSimplexHeight
                {
                    seed = 94237927
                    deformity = 1200
                    octaves = 16
                    persistence = 0.4
                    frequency = 6
                    enabled = true
                    order = 21
                }

                VertexSimplexHeightAbsolute
                {
                    seed = 43186434
                    deformity = 700
                    octaves = 8
                    persistence = 0.8
                    frequency = 12
                    enabled = true
                    order = 30
                }

                VertexHeightNoiseVertHeightCurve2
                {
                    noiseType = RiggedMultifractal
                    deformity = 1350
                    ridgedAddSeed = 92347927
                    ridgedAddFrequency = 22
                    ridgedAddLacunarity = 2
                    ridgedAddOctaves = 8
                    ridgedSubSeed = 34349823
                    ridgedSubFrequency = 12
                    ridgedSubLacunarity = 2
                    ridgedSubOctaves = 6
                    ridgedMode = Low
                    simplexHeightStart = 0
                    simplexHeightEnd = 1600
                    simplexSeed = 64327467
                    simplexOctaves = 6
                    simplexPersistence = 0.60000002384185791
                    simplexFrequency = 12
                    enabled = true
                    order = 12
                }

                VertexSimplexNoiseColor
                {
                    seed = 82937498
                    blend = 0.4
                    colorStart = 0.76078,0.69803,0.50196,1
                    colorEnd = 0,0,0,1
                    octaves = 6
                    persistence = 0.60000002384185791
                    frequency = 12
                    enabled = true
                    order = 200
                }
            }
        }
    }
}

Here's the script. Based it off Arkas' script because Arkas' script is so nicely organized. Does anyone have an idea why the atmosphere is blue instead of red?

[ibuckshot5]

-snip

Your lightcolor is off. Try using the Kopernicus fork of Kittopia, that helps.

Atmosphere color is inverted (for some crazy reason) and if you want a blue atmosphere you type this code:

lightColor = 0.666,0.666,0.333,1

and for a red atmosphere, type this:

lightColor = 0.333,0.666,0.666,1

These are both examples, but they work fine.