Mid split aircraft parts

[Charles Darwin]

So this idea would be I think a fairly easy one, using the mk2 as a base cut the parts in half longitudinally. I have included a couple pictures for reference. Basically this would allow a lot of customization without unnecessarily increasing the length of the ship.

http://imgur.com/a/7Rq7i

[Inqie]

I actually think this is an awesome idea. The stock parts are quite limited and while mods like Mk2 Expansion and MkIV Spaceplane Parts are awesome, they too limit you to certain placement of parts.

If we had Mk2 parts that were split longitudinally, there would be much more choice as to how we set up our spaceplanes.

For example: You could have a cockpit on the top half and underneath it you could have an air intake, a radar, weapons (if it had support for BDArmoury), an autopilot module (such as MechJeb), in-line front landing gear or maybe even a science bay. In the middle of the plane you could have a fuel tank on top with a small cargo bay underneath it, or a set of in-line landing gear, or even a VTOL engine. Crew cabins could be put above cargo holds, or bomb bays below a fuel tank.

Overall I think this is a pretty solid idea that would benefit a lot of people if it were developed in a similar manner to the other mods I mentioned. If any modder feels interested in this idea, please consider taking it on.

[Feradose]

Yes it sounds very much awesome. But, remember the stock node logic. The first top part might connect to the first bottom part, but the rest will be very much like two overcooked cooked spaghettis attached by duct tape by one end.

[FungusForge]

Yes it sounds very much awesome. But, remember the stock node logic. The first top part might connect to the first bottom part, but the rest will be very much like two overcooked cooked spaghettis attached by duct tape by one end.

A solution could be to have frame segment that would be between the top and bottom.

-edit-

As a prospective part list there would be:

-Mk2 Frame Short

-Mk2 Frame Long

-Mk2 Frame End

-Cargo bays and fuel tanks that I don't care to list

Also in case some picks this up I suggest naming the parts either Mk1/2 or Mk2/4.

Edited October 17, 2015 by FungusForge

[Feradose]

*snip*

Now that sounds promising! I hope someone picks this up. Gotta love half fuel tank cargobays and such.

[StahnAileron]

Not to rain on the parade, but I requested Conformal/Blister packs from SuicidalInsanity for the Mk2 Expansion he does. He seems interested, so that might help with the customization you'd like. (This is dependent on how many conformal-style parts he decides to make, if any.)

[Inqie]

Well, I'm trying to make some concept parts, but I've never really had the oppurtunity to create a model file for KSP. I'm fine with texturing and configs, but the modelling gets me. I've looked at some tutorials and gotten started, but it may take a few days before I have anything. In the meantime I encourage people to consider taking on this project.

[theJesuit]

The parts could connect upon launch loading by specific docking port code that only allows for preassembly docking.

A greater issue would be how drag is calculated. You may need a top or most furthest forward part to be a standard part.

So great idea!

Peace.

[Van Disaster]

Well, I'm trying to make some concept parts, but I've never really had the oppurtunity to create a model file for KSP. I'm fine with texturing and configs, but the modelling gets me. I've looked at some tutorials and gotten started, but it may take a few days before I have anything. In the meantime I encourage people to consider taking on this project.

If you're building parts to an existing cross-section - like mk2 - you can just import an existing model ( with Taniwha's Blender .mu filter plugin ) and you've got a basic mesh to modify, which should help with your confidence a bit. You don't have to *keep* it in Blender once you've imported it, you can use it in another 3d package.

[Inqie]

If you're building parts to an existing cross-section - like mk2 - you can just import an existing model ( with Taniwha's Blender .mu filter plugin ) and you've got a basic mesh to modify, which should help with your confidence a bit. You don't have to *keep* it in Blender once you've imported it, you can use it in another 3d package.

That's exactly what I've done. Although I can't keep the collider mesh or set animations when I import it in, as it bugs out when I bisect the part. I'm planning to add a collider mesh tonight though, and finish texturing. Hopefully I'll have atleast one working part done by tonight, which I will add several variations of soon after and then post a download link here for feedback.

Right now I have no idea as to how to make internal views for cockpits or allow cargo bays to work as intended, but I will play around with using the existing parts to make these.

Those are definitely some interesting ideas as to how to connect them together. Unfortunately, the docking port idea I feel would cause too much lag at launch and would be harder to implement than other options. Although the 'frame' idea is rather interesting, I think finding a way to do it with standard assembly nodes would be better. I was thinking the nodes could work where the top half would be placed and then the bottom half placed underneath it, and to counteract the spaghetti monster you are bound to create, short 'bulkheads' (think Mk2 Drone Core) could be used. I don't know whether these bulkheads should be included in the top half parts or included separately. I need to think about how that would work though.

Edited October 19, 2015 by PortalGunner

[SuicidalInsanity]

Collider mesh has to be a separate object in the model, so Unity can distinguish it from the part mesh. For exporting animations, (if you're using Blender) you have to export your model as a .fxb and make sure you check the 'Baked Animation' checkbox in the export settings menu, and then in Unity, you have to select the model in the Inspector tab and make sure that its animation mode is set to 'Legacy'.

Cargo bays need a ModuleAnimateGeneric and a ModuleCargoBay to the part .cfg, and making sure the ModuleCargobay points to the animation module so the bay shields its contents properly. IVAs are somewhat labor intensive, but similar to any other model made for KSP - just model the IVA, texture it, and import it into Unity. There, the part will need to be aligned properly, props, seats, and cameras added, and an internal.cfg for the part written. Lastly, the cockpit part will need to reference the new IVA by adding

    INTERNAL
    {
        name = [I]YourIVANameHere[/I]
    }

to the part .cfg

[theJesuit]

Has there ever been a study done on how many parts is equivalent to a docking port in terms of CPU usage and lag?

Alternately how about a fixed 2D part that acts like a strut but attaches only to nodes?

Peace.

[Inqie]

So I've done my best to come up with a few parts to start off with (Images here). Two nights ago I tried to test them in-game but they would not appear in my parts list. I checked in output.log and I've come across a 'Failed to read past end of stream' error, which suggests that the model file is incomplete. I did a thorough search for solutions and have been troubleshooting over the last two days doing things such as making sure I have a mesh filter, making sure the shader is assigned correctly, looking for rogue GameObjects or borked animations. None of these seemed to help. I'll post downloads to the models and textures below, and if anyone can get it to work, please tell me how you did so.

Download here

[SuicidalInsanity]

Without seeing the Unity scene for the part, I can't say precisely what is wrong, which means generalist advice is all I can give. Double check that the part hierarchy looks something like PartTools ->part name here-> PNH_collider. Collider needs a meshCollider component, convex tickbox checked, and Mesh renderer component deleted(not essential, but prevents the collider from being visible in-game). The part needs to have the shader set to KSP/whatever, for Mk2 parts, set it to KSP/Specular. It could also be a texture issue - make sure when applying a texture to the part in Unity the texture is not a .dds - unity has problems with those - but .tga or .png will work. Lastly, make sure the name of the texture you used in Unity and the texture you use in the GameData/Mymod/parts/Mypart/texture is the same.

[Inqie]

Thanks for all the advice @SuicidalInsanity. I was able to (mostly) complete a couple of parts and get them working in-game (still working on the node placement). I have started a thread [link] in the Addon Development sub-forum for this project.

Edited October 25, 2015 by PortalGunner