Will it be possible to set up a colony with legs?

[lugge]

Hi there,

I'm waiting for 1.1, currently I'm in an half-a-year break from KSP.

My latest goal was to set up a Minmus base made up of several modules for living, power generation, ISRU...

The modules would have been connected with tubes. All modules and tubes were planned to have landing legs. Then, a small rover could drive beneath the modules and carry them around and let them connect to each other.

Well, wasn't working. The different weight of the modules made that the legs sunk. Thus, the connectors were on different heigths and wont connect.

I didn't use 3rd-party-parts.

Will this be possible in stock 1.1? I've read there will be some overhauls with the legs.

Edited March 17, 2016 by lugge

[Basto]

1 minute ago, lugge said:

Hi there,

I'm waiting for 1.1, currently I'm in an half-an-year break from KSP.

My latest goal was to set up a Minmus base made up of several modules for living, power generation, ISRU...

The modules would have been connected with tubes. All modules and tubes were planned to have landing legs. Then, a small rover could drive beneath the modules and carry them around and let them connect to each other.

Well, wasn't working. The different weight of the modules made that the legs sunk. Thus, the connectors were on different heigths and wont connect.

I didn't use 3rd-party-parts.

Will this be possible in stock 1.1? I've read there will be some overhauls with the legs.

I have done this in the current version without mods. The trick is to try and make sure that there is very little clearance between the docking port of your rover and modules. Also don't make them too heavy.  It's a very good idea to test it at KSP to make sure you can assemble everything before you ship it out. the biggest problem I have is keeping them stable in lower gravity while assembling. That and landing the parts relatively close together. 

[lugge]

2 minutes ago, Basto said:

I have done this in the current version without mods. The trick is to try and make sure that there is very little clearance between the docking port of your rover and modules. Also don't make them too heavy.  It's a very good idea to test it at KSP to make sure you can assemble everything before you ship it out. the biggest problem I have is keeping them stable in lower gravity while assembling. That and landing the parts relatively close together. 

Yes, I tried at KSC.

My problem was the modules would sunk randomly to the ground.

I understand that a housing module is more heavy than a connector-tube-module.

However, I even had problems connecting two housing modules with the exact same design.

I drove them together, dropped the rover and the completely-the-same modules were standing in front of each other with connectors in different heigths!! I was very liquided...

However, landing on a specific spot on a moon was easy for me, I found some really good videos showing target-landing. This, and my favorite craft, the SKYCRANE :-)

OK, back to my question, will 1.1 change the way the legs are working?

[Basto]

I don't believe they have stated any changes to the lander legs in 1.1. Which legs are you using?  I used the LT-2 and as long as the modules weren't too heavy I had no problems. 

[Randazzo]

It might change the way the underlying model works, but they should be functionally the same.

One thing you can do to avoid the height differences is right click on each leg and click "Lock Suspension". It will make the legs rigid.

[Nich]

You can also raise and lower a pair of legs and docking ports will connect if they are close enough.

[sventhegreat2]

1 hour ago, Nich said:

You can also raise and lower a pair of legs and docking ports will connect if they are close enough.

what Nich says is true, you could also use landing legs to raise the port up to the desired height then have the modules connect and then rise the legs again.

[zolotiyeruki]

When constructing bases in the past, I've built a dedicated "tractor" vessel that acts kind of like a helicopter.  Between that and big docking ports, I had no problem (other than my lack of piloting skills) assembling the station.

[Wjolcz]

Save yourself the struggle and download something that should be stock a long time ago, which is KIS and KAS. ISRU is ridiculously overcomplicated to work with when you lack fuel pipes.

[Rocket In My Pocket]

Placing a few RCS thrusters on the underside of the base module can really help with this problem.

Not enough to lift the whole piece up or anything, but enough to raise it up on it's legs to match other parts.

It should be a one time process typically so it's not like you'll need a ton of monoprop either.