Kerbfleet: A Jool Odyssey-CHAPTER 22 pg 2: Yet >another< narrative device!

[Mister Dilsby]

  On 2/22/2024 at 6:26 PM, Angelo Kerman said:

You'll find these in the unofficial Kerbfleet mod. The mod doesn't include craft files but if desired I can include them.

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...oh... my... Squad... that is outstanding.  Thanks to that work, I MIGHT (no promises!) be able to tell more of the story in more of the old way than I thought was possible. 

[Angelo Kerman]

  On 2/22/2024 at 6:49 PM, Mister Dilsby said:

...oh... my... Squad... that is outstanding.  Thanks to that work, I MIGHT (no promises!) be able to tell more of the story in more of the old way than I thought was possible. 

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You can also find Counter Kerbin here:

I haven’t tried it yet in 1.12.5 but most likely it will work. I haven’t recreated the Kerbulan flag yet either. I will add the Intrepid to the unofficial mod- minus the life support system so you can use the system of choice. I am partial to Snacks… As I get more craft replicated I will add them too.

[Angelo Kerman]

If desired I can also provide the list of mods for the Kerfleet save that I used to create those pictures.

[Angelo Kerman]

Say… if Intrepid is a Kessex-class ship, where are the Kessex and Yorktown?

[Mister Dilsby]

  On 2/23/2024 at 12:22 AM, Angelo Kerman said:

Say… if Intrepid is a Kessex-class ship, where are the Kessex and Yorktown?

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Look, this is Kebfleet. You might as well ask for a complete listing of General Orders as a full accounting of ships by hull number.

[Angelo Kerman]

I replicated a couple of craft. They look best with Restock...

Gumdrop Pod modernized replica:

Qwammer modernized replica:

... It can take off from and orbit Tylo...

I'll have a look at the Laythe X5 tomorrow...

[Angelo Kerman]

Laythe X-5 modernized replica:

[Angelo Kerman]

If it fits, it ships!

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I tucked some reaction wheels and a tank of monoprop up front to help refuel the auxiliary craft.

The Qwammer also fits. I finally found a reference pic showing that there's a panel between the Qwammer and the ship's drills, so I'll add that in.

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Some views of the hangar deck:

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The original ship used a life support system whose name escapes me, but my replica will leave life support out so you can use the one you like. Here, you can see that I added some parts from DSEV that uses Snacks. If you look close enough, you can see that the port and starboard bays have docking ports that let you swap out the life support modules with whatever you need. There's a Gumdrop Pod and the Laythe X-5 in the bay as well for fit tests.

I couldn't find some good views of the engineering bay, so I recreated it as best as I could. It has its own converter, ore tanks, and S.A.F.E.R. nuclear reactors from Wild Blue Tools. Here you can see that engineering also has a docking port for expansion modules, and of course the front of the port and starboard bays have docking ports too.

Tolerances are very tight, but if you're careful, you can fit a 2.5m module through the bay (along with the X-5). So you definitely can field upgrade the Intrepid. I should look into a version of Intrepid that lets you swap out the engines too...

Next I want to build a Sandcastle Space Dock...

[Ultimate Steve]

Man, we all loved this universe so much that we're collectively resurrecting it! The uniform mods, the planet pack, and now all the craft files... I might take a stab at a few of those if they are needed. Welcome back, @Mister Dilsby! I still remember checking this story almost hourly for updates back in the day. I'll have to go back through it and reread the whole thing when I have time!

[TwoCalories]

Holy Kraken, welcome back @Mister Dilsby! I picked up your mission report trilogy during the pandemic and got totally hooked! It's one of the reports that inspired me to make my own. I'm still trying to figure out how to sneak a "hydrazine" reference in there somewhere...

I'm ecstatic that the Kerbfleet saga will finally see a conclusion, no matter what format it's in. For Kerbfleet! For Science!

[Angelo Kerman]

The ship's design is coming along nicely. I modified Engineering to make the entire unit modular. That'll facilitate in-space swaps for more advanced tech as it comes online. Personally, I want to refit it with fusion reactors and a warp core from my Blueshift: Kerbal FTL mod.

I also built a set of boosters to launch Intrepid into orbit. These are all new- trying to replicate the originals was a lost cause. But I'm able to leverage the massive 5m boosters from Making History. The ship is an absolute beast to fly into orbit, and you have to yaw to the right repeatedly to keep prograde at 90, and you have to empty the center Liquid Fuel bunkers before launch to lighten the load, but it's doable...

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All the boosters are gone, Intrepid is flying on her Rhinos and Vector engine pods...

Time to dump the Vector pods:

Prepare to discard the Q-Bay Drop Tank. I should modify the design with a probe core and some solar panels. Then you could keep it until Intrepid reaches orbit, and then drop it off for later retrieval. The drop tank holds extra oxidizer for the ship's Rhinos. It also compensates for torque imbalance during launch ops.

The Nervs are now online...

Jettison of the Q-Bay Drop Tank. Trying to do this in the middle of a circularization burn is a challenge. KSP's engineering staff (a.k.a. unpaid interns) will mod the tank so this maneuver isn't needed.

Intrepid is in orbit with 5k of delta-v for maneuvering. She'll head to Sandcastle Space Dock, where engineers will scrape the hull of launch hardware and receive her spacecraft complement- as soon as I make the space dock...

 

[Mister Dilsby]

@Angelo Kerman that is AMAZING-- and in other news. WE'VE GOT PAGES!

 

 

Edited February 24, 2024 by Mister Dilsby

[TwoCalories]

  On 2/24/2024 at 7:26 PM, Mister Dilsby said:

@Angelo Kerman that is AMAZING-- and in other news. WE'VE GOT PAGES!

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I would give it a like, but I used up all my rep liking all the other posts in this amazing thread. I'm so hyped right now! Keep it up!

Edited February 24, 2024 by TwoCalories

[Deddly]

WE HAVE PAGES INCOMING! 

 

WHOOP! 

WHOOP! 

WHOOP! 

What is this "cheating" of which you speak, @Mister Dilsby? I believe what you mean to say is that Bill will be putting his save-file editing skills to liberal use and that everyone should stay very still. 

[KSK]

Man, that alarm is getting a workout.  Ahhh - who cares...

For Science!

For Kerbfleet!

 

[Angelo Kerman]

Woo hoo! Never thought I'd see the day of more pages!

[Just Jim]

  On 2/24/2024 at 8:02 PM, Angelo Kerman said:

Woo hoo! Never thought I'd see the day of more pages!

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I know, right???  I'm super-excited that it's actually happening!    

Oh, and @Mister Dilsby Please tell Bill that it's OK to cheat. Or whatever. We all get it. Do what you have to do. We're just glad you're back.

[Chemp]

I'm very happy to see you back here,
@Mister Dilsby !

Duna, Ore Bust was the reason I got into KSP, which in turn sparked my interest in looking up to the stars. I think it's safe to say that my life would have been quite different without this community and you have played a big part in that.

Thank you!

[Starhawk]

I'm so pleased to see new pages!

  On 2/24/2024 at 9:08 PM, Just Jim said:

Please tell Bill that it's OK to cheat.

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I'll echo what Jim said.  @Mister Dilsby please make liberal use of any universe-altering technology that will allow us to once again be immersed in the Kerbfleet universe.

Thank you so much for these stories!  As I see above, your loyal readers are thrilled to see you return, and even more thrilled to see Kerbfleet come to life once again.

For Science!
For Kerbfleet!

Happy Overjoyed landings!

[Mister Dilsby]

And on that note...

VERY sharp-eyed readers will notice Bob apparently got a promotion--he did not! I just haven't gotten around to modifying his suit yet.

Also, I haven't found a way to stop vacuum from killing my Kerbals with their helmets off in the new version. I suppose I could edit the universe to put oxygen everywhere... come to think of it I think that's how I got the game to remove helmets for Minmus greenscreen back in the old days.

Edited February 25, 2024 by Mister Dilsby

[GDJ]

Welcome back! Good to see/hear/read from you!

[Starhawk]

That was so much fun.

Thank you!

And many many thanks to @Angelo Kerman for all the work that will make this project possible!

Bribery, hmmm.  I like the sound of that.  I mean, the moderation team will make sure that everything is fully within the forum rules. 

Happy landings!

 

[Mister Dilsby]

  On 2/25/2024 at 4:12 PM, Starhawk said:

Bribery, hmmm.  I like the sound of that.  I mean, the moderation team will make sure that everything is fully within the forum rules. 

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Absolutely, and I would expect no less from such a dedicated and hono(u)rable team! 

Ummm... I'll just leave these over here, then.

[Angelo Kerman]

@Mister Dilsby I absolutely love that mission patch! I'm honored, thank you.

As for the custom kerbals, fear not, there's a solution built into KSP:

... And I'm pretty sure that I've already solved the helmet issue, I just have to dig through my notes. I vague recall asking Squad to give us a way to check to see if it's ok to remove the helmets specifically for cases like mission reports and dome cities...

[Angelo Kerman]

Yup, I solved that helmet issue. I'll update Wild Blue Tools and ping you when that's done.