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Help with Parachutes

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sciencepanda

sciencepanda

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Hi there,

Let me start off by saying I have no clue what I'm doing. I'm new to modding, and parachutes are really driving me crazy. In short, the parachutes face the wrong direction.

Here's a picture:

%7Boption%7Dhttp://i.imgur.com/U5lifrz.png

As you can see, the craft is falling straight down, and the parachute is doing a great job of slowing it's fall, as it's intended to. Problem is, as you can see, the parachute is facing off to the side. I can't figure out why it's doing this, or how to fix it. Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks,

-SciencePanda

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artwhaley

artwhaley

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I'm still travelling for the holidays and can't jump into this too deep yet...  and, of course, any link I could find to point you the right direction for certain would probably be broken at the moment due to the software switch on the forums, but....

It looks to me like you just need to take your parachute deployed model, in unity, and rotate it (relative to the game object that is the root piece with the part tools scripts attached to it) then export again?  I don't know off the top of my head which axis needs to point where on a parachute, but most of the time, this sort of 'works right, orients wrong' thing is a simple matter of rotating the model in unity without rotating the gameobject parent or any child objects that ARE working correctly.

 

I'll try to take a deeper look tonight or tomorrow if you don't get it based on this!  

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sciencepanda

sciencepanda

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Rotating them in unity didn't work. I might have an idea what the problem might be. Right now there are 3 chutes models combined in the hierarchy into a single object named "chute". Right now, the "chute" object is animated for the deployment. I think that may be causing the problem. I'll try animating the chutes themselves instead of the "chute" object that hold them. I'll report back later.

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artwhaley

artwhaley

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I've found two useful references :  Most useful is this forum post:  

And secondly, the image of the stock parachute where you can view the hierarchy:

h4T5MBC.png

 

I was actually just about to make some parachutes...  I'll be getting into it in the next day or two and then might be able to actually help, once I know what I'm talking about...  I'm still convinced your problem has something to do with the hierarchy and relative rotations in Unity...  unless it has to do with the animations?  Keep posting info - unity screenshots would be great!  We'll get there eventually.  Don't get discouraged!

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sciencepanda

sciencepanda

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I've seen those references before. I'm convinced the animation is the problem. the animation rotates the "canopy" object, so i'm pretty sure that's where the problem in orientation comes from. Unfortunately have a school assignment due in a few hours and I've already spend too much time procrastinating.... so tests will have to wait.

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NecroBones

NecroBones

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Posted (edited)

Yeah, the animations shouldn't be rotating anything. There should be two animations. One scales the parachute from undeployed, out to partially deployed. The second animation takes it from partial to fully deployed. Only the scaling needs to be animated in both cases.

 

Edited by NecroBones
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sciencepanda

sciencepanda

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Good news, IT WORKS! So I kep the rotation in the animation, but the problem was which object was being animated. Originaly I had the object "chute" being animated, which is also the same object defined in the cfg as "canopy name". What I changed was I instead animated each of the three chutes separately, then arranged them as children of "chute".

Now I ran into a new problem, but I don't think it's the chute. The chute does a great job of slowing everything down, but now the whole capsule is gliding sideways undead of slowly falling straight down.... I know a lot of mods had this problem after the aerodynamics changes, so I'm hoping the fix is easy and already known.

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sciencepanda

sciencepanda

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8 minutes ago, CobaltWolf said:

Here's one. My parachute animates correctly, but doesn't actually slow the craft down. Does anyone have ideas for this? Is it a common thing? If not I can hijack this thread post more info.

I ran into similar problems. If you post your cfg, I might be able to help out.

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CobaltWolf

CobaltWolf

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59 minutes ago, sciencepanda said:

I ran into similar problems. If you post your cfg, I might be able to help out.

Yeah sure, here's the CFG. It's mostly copied from the stock Mk1 (Mk16?) chute. I can't open Unity at the moment. 

PART
{
	name = bluedog_mercuryParachute
	module = Part
	author = CobaltWolf
	MODEL
	{
	model = Bluedog_DB/Parts/Mercury/bluedog_mercuryParachute
	}
	rescaleFactor = 1.0
	node_stack_bottom = 0.0, -0.148621, 0.0, 0.0, -1.0, 0.0, 0
	node_stack_top = 0.0, 0.2688744, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0
	buoyancyUseCubeNamed = PACKED
	sound_parachute_open = activate
	sound_parachute_single = deploy
	TechRequired = start
	entryCost = 0
	cost = 422
	category = Utility
	subcategory = 0
	title = Hermes Parachute
	manufacturer = Bluedog Design Bureau
	description = Stupid sexy Mercury chute.
	attachRules = 1,0,1,1,0
	mass = 0.1
	dragModelType = default
	angularDrag = 3
	crashTolerance = 12
	maxTemp = 2500 // = 3100
	emissiveConstant = 0.7
	stageOffset = -1
	bulkheadProfiles = size0, srf
	bodyLiftMultiplier = 0
		MODULE
	{
		name = ModuleAnimateGeneric
		animationName = extendAntenna
		isOneShot = false
		startEventGUIName = Extend
		endEventGUIName = Retract
		actionGUIName = Toggle Antenna
		allowAnimationWhileShielded = False
	}
	MODULE
	{
		name = ModuleDataTransmitter
		packetInterval = 0.6
		packetSize = 2
		packetResourceCost = 12.0
		requiredResource = ElectricCharge
		DeployFxModules = 0
	}
	MODULE
	{
		name = ModuleParachute
		semiDeployedAnimation = semiDeploy
		fullyDeployedAnimation = fullyDeploy
		invertCanopy = true
		autoCutSpeed = 0.5
		capName = mercury_Para_Cap
		canopyName = chute
		stowedDrag = 0.22
		semiDeployedDrag = 1
		fullyDeployedDrag = 500
		minAirPressureToOpen = 0.04
		clampMinAirPressure = 0.04
		deployAltitude = 1000
		deploymentSpeed = 0.12
		semiDeploymentSpeed = 0.5
		chuteMaxTemp = 650
	}
	MODULE
	{
		name = ModuleDragModifier
		dragCubeName = SEMIDEPLOYED
		dragModifier = 0.33
	}
	MODULE
	{
		name = ModuleDragModifier
		dragCubeName = DEPLOYED
		dragModifier = 12
	}
}

 

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artwhaley

artwhaley

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I was trying to integrate parachutes into a command pod and no matter what I did I couldn't get them to slow the craft down, so I'm going to suggest perhaps removing the animation and transmitter modules and seeing if the parachute works without the other modules in the file...  if not, we know it's a parachute problem.  If so, we can start brainstorming on why parachutes conflict with other modules.

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Shadowmage

Shadowmage

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On Wednesday, December 02, 2015 3:11:53, CobaltWolf said:

Yeah sure, here's the CFG. It's mostly copied from the stock Mk1 (Mk16?) chute. I can't open Unity at the moment. 


PART
{
	name = bluedog_mercuryParachute
	module = Part
	author = CobaltWolf
	MODEL
	{
	model = Bluedog_DB/Parts/Mercury/bluedog_mercuryParachute
	}
	rescaleFactor = 1.0
	node_stack_bottom = 0.0, -0.148621, 0.0, 0.0, -1.0, 0.0, 0
	node_stack_top = 0.0, 0.2688744, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0
	buoyancyUseCubeNamed = PACKED
	sound_parachute_open = activate
	sound_parachute_single = deploy
	TechRequired = start
	entryCost = 0
	cost = 422
	category = Utility
	subcategory = 0
	title = Hermes Parachute
	manufacturer = Bluedog Design Bureau
	description = Stupid sexy Mercury chute.
	attachRules = 1,0,1,1,0
	mass = 0.1
	dragModelType = default
	angularDrag = 3
	crashTolerance = 12
	maxTemp = 2500 // = 3100
	emissiveConstant = 0.7
	stageOffset = -1
	bulkheadProfiles = size0, srf
	bodyLiftMultiplier = 0
		MODULE
	{
		name = ModuleAnimateGeneric
		animationName = extendAntenna
		isOneShot = false
		startEventGUIName = Extend
		endEventGUIName = Retract
		actionGUIName = Toggle Antenna
		allowAnimationWhileShielded = False
	}
	MODULE
	{
		name = ModuleDataTransmitter
		packetInterval = 0.6
		packetSize = 2
		packetResourceCost = 12.0
		requiredResource = ElectricCharge
		DeployFxModules = 0
	}
	MODULE
	{
		name = ModuleParachute
		semiDeployedAnimation = semiDeploy
		fullyDeployedAnimation = fullyDeploy
		invertCanopy = true
		autoCutSpeed = 0.5
		capName = mercury_Para_Cap
		canopyName = chute
		stowedDrag = 0.22
		semiDeployedDrag = 1
		fullyDeployedDrag = 500
		minAirPressureToOpen = 0.04
		clampMinAirPressure = 0.04
		deployAltitude = 1000
		deploymentSpeed = 0.12
		semiDeploymentSpeed = 0.5
		chuteMaxTemp = 650
	}
	MODULE
	{
		name = ModuleDragModifier
		dragCubeName = SEMIDEPLOYED
		dragModifier = 0.33
	}
	MODULE
	{
		name = ModuleDragModifier
		dragCubeName = DEPLOYED
		dragModifier = 12
	}
}

 

 

Aside from the other possibilities, I would also try regenerating the PartDatabase file (where drag-cubes are cached).  This can very easily get out of date with constant udpates to models and parts, and I've often had to regenerate it when working through parachute-enabled parts.  It is stored in the root KSP directory.

11 hours ago, artwhaley said:

I was trying to integrate parachutes into a command pod and no matter what I did I couldn't get them to slow the craft down, so I'm going to suggest perhaps removing the animation and transmitter modules and seeing if the parachute works without the other modules in the file...  if not, we know it's a parachute problem.  If so, we can start brainstorming on why parachutes conflict with other modules.

Stock has so many bugs regarding parachutes it is not funny.  -IF- you want to use the stock parachute module, you cannot have -any- other animations on the part, at least not using the stock animation module -- this includes transmitters, or using the AnimateGeneric for lights.  You -MUST- ensure that the ModuleParachute is the -only- module on the part that has IMultipleDragCube interface implemented, or the parachute-modules' drag cubes will be deleted/overwritten by the other modules.

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CobaltWolf

CobaltWolf

Posted
Posted (edited)

@Everyone that's posted help for me, I really appreciate it! I haven't been able to work on KSP stuff the past couple days, between finals and interviews. I will get back to you all once I have a chance to fiddle with it some more.

EDIT: Well, I got rid of the animation module and data transmitter, and now my chute behaves exactly like the OP! Deploys sideways, and does a strange glide. I guess I have to put the parachute in a separate module now. Dern.

Edited by CobaltWolf
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  • 2 weeks later...
CobaltWolf

CobaltWolf

Posted
Posted

Ok, I still can't get it. No matter what I do, it animates correctly, then rotates sideways. I've been struggling to figure this out for days now and have nothing to show for it. I've rotated it every which way, changed the hierarchy several times, redid the animations from scratch. I've uploaded a zip of the Unity folder. Does anyone have any ideas? Do I need to do the animation in unity? Anyways, thanks fellas!

uZUHEA2.png

PART
{
	name = bluedog_mercuryRCS
	module = Part
	author = passinglurker, CobaltWolf

	MODEL
	{
	model = Bluedog_DB/Parts/Mercury/bluedog_mercuryRCS
	}
	rescaleFactor = 1.0
// --- node definitions ---
// definition format is Position X, Position Y, Position Z, Up X, Up Y, Up Z

node_stack_top = 0.0, 0.3571625, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0
node_stack_bottom = 0.0, -0.1465424, 0.0, 0.0, -1.0, 0.0, 0

// --- editor parameters ---
//	buoyancyUseCubeNamed = PACKED
	sound_parachute_open = activate
	sound_parachute_single = deploy
TechRequired = engineering101
entryCost = 2500
cost =  725
category = Control
subcategory = 0
title = Hermes M-LCM Landing and Control Module
manufacturer = Bloeting Areospace Corporation
description = This part contains four way RCS thrusters, a small monopropellant supply, and the questionably-important parachute. Don't forget it.

// attachment rules: stack, srfAttach, allowStack, allowSrfAttach, allowCollision
attachRules = 1,0,1,1,0

// --- standard part parameters ---
mass = 0.2
dragModelType = default
maximum_drag = 0.01
minimum_drag = 0.01
angularDrag = 0.1
crashTolerance = 12
breakingForce = 50
breakingTorque = 50
maxTemp = 2000
fuelCrossFeed = True
bulkheadProfiles = size0
	bodyLiftMultiplier = 0

MODULE
{
	name = ModuleRCS
	thrusterTransformName = rcsTransform
	thrusterPower = 0.3
	resourceName = MonoPropellant
	resourceFlowMode = STAGE_PRIORITY_FLOW
	atmosphereCurve
 	{
		key = 0 240
		key = 1 100
		key = 4 0.001
 	}
}
	RESOURCE
	{
		name = MonoPropellant
		amount = 20
		maxAmount = 20
	}
		MODULE
	{
		name = ModuleParachute
		semiDeployedAnimation = semiDeploy
		fullyDeployedAnimation = fullyDeploy
		invertCanopy = false
		autoCutSpeed = 0.5
		capName = cap
		canopyName = chutepls
		stowedDrag = 0.22
		semiDeployedDrag = 1
		fullyDeployedDrag = 500
		minAirPressureToOpen = 0.04
		clampMinAirPressure = 0.04
		deployAltitude = 1000
		deploymentSpeed = 0.5
		semiDeploymentSpeed = 0.5
		chuteMaxTemp = 650
	}
	MODULE
	{
		name = ModuleDragModifier
		dragCubeName = SEMIDEPLOYED
		dragModifier = 0.66
	}
	MODULE
	{
		name = ModuleDragModifier
		dragCubeName = DEPLOYED
		dragModifier = 25
	}
	MODULE
	{
    name = ModuleDecouple
    ejectionForce = 10
	explosiveNodeID = top
	staged = true
	}
}

 

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NecroBones

NecroBones

Posted
Posted
5 hours ago, CobaltWolf said:

Do I need to do the animation in unity?

 

For mine, I did the animations in Unity, and they worked correctly. I usually animate in Blender, but since the parachute needs two animations, I thought it best to just do them both in Unity, and that seemed to work fine.

 

Animations usually work best if the animation object is on the top-level GameObject, such as this one in Lithobrake Exploration Tech:

 

KSP%202015-12-18%2021-14-00-00.jpg

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