[WIP] The Martian Ares Rover

[Mecripp]

After looking at your mod in the picture you might look at this thread http://forum.kerbalspaceprogram.com/index.php?/topic/121967-help-with-dual-side-solar-panel-blenderunity/#post2220924

Maybe alittle info ?

[-ctn-]

Fixed the solar panels not producing energy, but because there can only be one transform for the suncatcher, you have to be in the "exact" right spot for the panels to work. I may just remove the texture and intend for folks to layer the stock, flat solar panels on the part. I'm not "that" keen on using the module from Near-Future to get around it. 

 

 

But, I did drive around 5km during a Kerbin night, to test it out. Still haven't gotten my own wheels in or worked out the trailer/hitch thing, but hey! Progress.

[Dafni]

Very nicely done so far.

[-ctn-]

Thank you, I'm pretty proud of it - even though there are mistakes with it.

Theres still a lot of work to be done, but I'm glad it's *mostly* working so far. 

[ComatoseJedi]

Rovers are one of the hardest things to make work in this game. So many things to consider; when space flight is relatively easy and strait forward. Looks awesome! And as far as the solar power is concerned, you have to remember: Watney did stop the rover and laid out the solar panels so it could recharge, so the solar panels you created are accurate, lol.

 

[-ctn-]

Yeah I suppose, I thought he only did that so the batteries charged faster, but now that I think of it, in the book it says most of the time they plugged them into the Hab's power supply. 

[ComatoseJedi]

Yeah, in the book, the hab was the main source of power for the rover, which would make sense in a sort of "real world" environment. The only time he needed the solar panels was when he went on his treks to Pathfinder and to the MAV at the crater, but he did have the NTG to help with that as well, so that's another option. En route to the MAV, he did encounter a dust storm which cut the effectiveness of the solar panels. 

The big thing here is this: Get it built, we can always "science the $#@^ out of it" later. 

[akron]

This looks brilliant! I love how it sits perfectly between movie accurate and stock appearance. There is some strange shadowing on the texture though, do you have an ambient occlusion overlay?

[-ctn-]

It does have an ambient occlusion overlay, but I also have texture resolution set to "half" or less for faster loading and running. If you look at the Blender renders, those same weird shadows aren't there. 

Edited February 2, 2016 by -ctn-

[akron]

29 minutes ago, -ctn- said:

It does have an ambient occlusion overlay, but I also have texture resolution set to "half" or less for faster loading and running. If you look at the Blender renders, those same weird shadows aren't there. 

I see. I just read the section where you mentioned using AO . I'm curious, do you bake them from a high-res mesh out of blender?

[-ctn-]

They're baked from the mesh used for the model. It just adds some nice depth easily. 

[V8jester]

3 hours ago, -ctn- said:

....

But, I did drive around 5km during a Kerbin night, to test it out. Still haven't gotten my own wheels in or worked out the trailer/hitch thing, but hey! Progress.

Have you reached out to lo-fi? He built a working trailer hitch at one time. As well as may be able to help you get the wheels working in game. Really great work so far. I'm looking forward to seeing how far you take this.

Edited February 2, 2016 by V8jester

[-ctn-]

Thanks! I don't believe I've talked to him/her yet. 

I should clairfy; I do have a version of the wheels working in-game, but I need to tweak the stats so that they don't flip the rover so easily, and the suspension modeling doesn't line up with how it works in game, so I'll have to remodel it to something easier / not screen accurate. 

 

The first release will probably not include a hitch, it drives around just fine if you use the offset tool in the VAB to attach the trailer and use struts. 

Edited February 2, 2016 by -ctn-

[akron]

It actually looks very good with just the stock wheels too

Edited February 2, 2016 by akron

[-ctn-]

My wheel models are the same size as the stock wheels, which is why it looks good with them. My model just has a wider suspension, which helps with the movie look. If I can't get it working quickly enough, I'll just release it without them at first. 

[amankd]

1 hour ago, V8jester said:

Have you reached out to lo-fi? He built a working trailer hitch at one time. As well as may be able to help you get the wheels working in game. Really great work so far. I'm looking forward to seeing how far you take this.

lofi has quick ksp modding all together

 

[amankd]

ti know it may not be good form but this is my rendition, unlike -ctn- i started with just the pod and the wheels and decided to get them balanced, i also came up with a stock pivot yall might appreciate... 

 

[-ctn-]

2 minutes ago, amankd said:

ti know it may not be good form but this is my rendition, unlike -ctn- i started with just the pod and the wheels and decided to get them balanced, i also came up with a stock pivot yall might appreciate... 

 

I would appreciate if we kept this thread about the mod I am authoring, if you want to show off the mod you are working on, please start a new thread for yourself. In my experience, people tend to get confused about which is which when multiple mods of the same part from different authors are posted in the same thread. 

Thanks. 

[amankd]

i did explain that it was mine, not yours... the primary reason for sharing was the pivot since people were asking about it earlier

 

[-ctn-]

I understand, but particularly with this mod and the FaceBook group we're both part of, you have a tendency to answer questions directed to me and borderline hijack the threads. 

I appreciate the help though, just saying if you want to show off your mod, you should start your own thread. 

The claw part looks like it works well but definitely does not look screen accurate. I'm hoping I may be able to model a part that looks reasonably accurate while retaining the ability of the claw. 

[amankd]

if i could find how the claw is set up in unity it wpulnt be too hard to make a tow hitch style thing

[ComatoseJedi]

I'm not even sure who is in charge of lo-fi's mod (Kerbal Foundries) any longer. It's switched hands more than once in a short amount of time and they all ended up pulling their hair out in the process. But, this had to do with the dust fx plugin more than the wheels itself (to my understanding, in any case I could be wrong). Which I could do without special fx on the wheels, unless it's something you really want to do. 

[V8jester]

1 hour ago, amankd said:

lofi has quick ksp modding all together

 

He's not actively developing, but he is still around.

9 minutes ago, ComatoseJedi said:

I'm not even sure who is in charge of lo-fi's mod (Kerbal Foundries) any longer. It's switched hands more than once in a short amount of time and they all ended up pulling their hair out in the process. But, this had to do with the dust fx plugin more than the wheels itself (to my understanding, in any case I could be wrong). Which I could do without special fx on the wheels, unless it's something you really want to do. 

Gallidas is now in charge. Lo-fi has stopped developing KF but he is not totally gone yet. He's actually been really helpful with Zodious's Rework pack. And I would expect still reply to messages to help out fellow devs. Him Aqua or Gallidas would all be great resources to get your wheels in game. Weather you end up using KF or the stock system they should be able to help point you in the proper direction for Unity setup.

 

Edited February 2, 2016 by V8jester

[_Augustus_]

Can you release a beta test?

[-ctn-]

I could, but there's no functionality to it yet. I have to add in the hatch and stuff in Unity for the cab and add KIS space. 

I'll release a test in a few days I guess, once I get some more stuff finalized and actually functional.