[1.1][v0.9] PanzerLabs AeroSpace K-Sat Series

[JohnnyPanzer]

RELEASED!

A new thread will soon be up in the released forum, but you can allready download the mod at SpaceDock:

DOWNLOAD

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First in line to be introduced we have the very first step in the K-Sat series: Pzl-BB 888. It's intended to be more of a DIY probe, with more flexibility but less integrated parts. As far as antennas go, it only features an always-on launch omni (500km) but it still provides a small battery bank and a trickle of power using a miniscule nuclear generator. The most interesting part of the design is without a doubt the fact that it is hollowed out, making it possible to place the fuel tank inside the probe, keeping the spherical shape of the probe intact. It is also the only probe core in the series that allows surface attachment, and it has it's own dedicated support pylon available, giving it lots of options for bringing scientific equipment along for the ride. To further help with that last part, I've also made an inline part containing all four basic enviromental experiments: Temp, Pressure, Grav and Acc.

Spoiler

"At a press conference today, representatives from the up and coming tech developer PanzerLabs AeroSpace released information regarding their latest project: The K-Sat Series.

The K-Sat Series aims to make the construction, and launch, of low orbit satellite networks a more streamlined experience. It will introduce several new probe cores on the market, all of which will feature integrated com relays of some sort, as well as a buildt in power supply and power generation. Side by side with the probe cores, several accessories will be released, such as structural pylons, fuel tanks, battery banks and scientific equipment. Construction of an engine specifically designed for satellites is also under way.

'For too long we have struggled under the yoke of complicated satellites' said CEO Johnny Panzer. 'We intend to cut the ammount of assembly required to get a satellite network up and running in, like... half or something' he continued, before adding 'I will not rest until every man, woman and child on this great planet of Kerbin is able to launch their own network, no matter how inept and/or incompetent they are!'

Test flights have begun, and PanzerLabs claims that they will be able to release a 'mostly explosion free' line of products within a few weeks. After the press conference, the media was invited into the spacious launch facilities at PanzerLabs HQ, where we witnessed the very first test flight of the interesting little probe PzL-BB 888. After a few minutes of intense silence during the launch, the probe settled in a circular orbit roughly 125km above the surface of Kerbin, and the launch crew exploded in a flurry of cheers. (editors note: we have been asked by Johnny Panzer to point out that the launch crew did not actually explode)"

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This probe is called PzL-LO 242 and it's the first of the LO models. It lacks a dedicated dish, but more than makes up for that with a powerful omni (5Mn). I carries 500 units of electrical charge in it's integrated battery bank, and a small nuclear generator provides 0.3e/s, slightly more than the BB 888. During this test flight we also attached our latest stand-alone battery bank, the EC-500, capable of storing 500 units of charge.

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The next step up from the 242 is the PzL-LO 1138. It comes with a 2.5Mn omni and a 50Mn dish with a standard 45 degree cone. It carries 600 units of electrical charge and provides 0.4e/s using a slightly beefed up version of the K-Sat integrated nuclear generator. Provided that at least one solar panel is included, the power will last through Kerbins darkness time at altitudes of up to 1,500,000 meters. Also presented below is the K-Sat Fuel Tank A. It's half a meter tall (10 centimeters taller than the Oscar) and carries 27/33 units of fuel.

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The last step in the LO series is the PzL-LO 1142. It comes pre-packaged with a medium ranged omni (3Mn) and a dish capable of reaching Kerbin from the edge of the planets SOI (80Mn). It is also by far the most capable model in the series as far as power production goes, with 0.5e/s produced and 700 units of charge stored in the internal battery banks, making it possible to operate trhoughout the darkness time at a keosynchronous orbit. We also get a look at the all-purpose structural girder, K-Sat Structural Support A, with cross-feed for fuel and... not much else. It's there to glue stuff to. Lastly, we have the first stand-alone dish, the K-Sat COM-D1, an interesting dish with a very specific purpose. It's limited range (15Mn) and an unusually narrow cone of angle (12.5 degrees) makes it more or less useless for all other tasks other than communication with The Mün, but the upside is that it requires much less electricity to run than most other dishes, and on top of that it has it's own small battery bank.

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K-Sat LFE-808 "Bolt" is PanzarLabs in-house engine. It's designed specifically with satellites in mind, and as such it is almost useless in atmospheric flight, but has a very good Isp in vacuum. The trust is slightly lower than that of the "Spark" engine, but the Isp makes up for it and then some. It comes with custom made engine FXs and heat emission. The actual values are subject to change as I'm still balance testing it, but right now it has an atmospheric Isp of 110 and a vacuum Isp of 340, with a maximum thrust of 14.

 

Edited April 3, 2016 by JohnnyPanzer
New content

[CobaltWolf]

Of course the core is called the 88. Looking nice tho.

[JohnnyPanzer]

3 minutes ago, CobaltWolf said:

Of course the core is called the 88. Looking nice tho.

Crap! I didn't even consider the implications of mixing certain number combinations with the word "panzer".  I can only hope that most people make the other connection first (BB-8), maybe I should change it to 888? I felt that a single 8 was too short.

[CobaltWolf]

23 minutes ago, JohnnyPanzer said:

Crap! I didn't even consider the implications of mixing certain number combinations with the word "panzer".  I can only hope that most people make the other connection first (BB-8), maybe I should change it to 888? I felt that a single 8 was too short.

Oh jeez, I assumed that was the intended connotation. I appreciate that it apparently wasn't, I didn't even think of the droid.

Edited March 19, 2016 by CobaltWolf

[JohnnyPanzer]

30 minutes ago, CobaltWolf said:

Oh jeez, I assumed that was the intended connotation. I appreciate that it apparently wasn't, I didn't even think of the droid.

God no. As a war-nerd I've been using the nickname for so long that I don't even make the connection anymore. Thank you very much for pointing it out.

I'm changing it for sure. A triple eight still works for the droid reference, goes well together with the T-1000 for a double terminator reference, and it avoids the issue alltogether.

[Kerbal01]

Don't need the RP in the OP, makes it too long and wordy.

[JohnnyPanzer]

14 hours ago, DarthVader said:

Don't need the RP in the OP, makes it too long and wordy.

Thank you for the input. I'm kinda fond of it myself, but I agree that it was too "in your face", so I moved it down and made it smaller. Going forward I think I'll post the press releases in it's own post and then link to the new album in the OP.

[JohnnyPanzer]

"Following up on their last successful launch, PanzerLabs AeroSpace today invited the press to get a sneak preview of their latest probe: The K-Sat PzL-LO 242. This probe will be the first of the LO models, featuring a powerful omni-directional antenna, integrated battery banks and nuclear generated electricity.

Not satisfied with the current options for low orbital networks, CEO Johnny Panzer had this to say of the new probe 'It may lack a dedicated dish, but you know what? So does every other probe on the market, at least this baby's bringing some omni to the party!'. He also claimed that the omni antenna will be strong enough to establish a connection with The Mün, and added 'Sure, you might have to be very careful with how you set up your network in order for that to work, but in a pinch you could always send out Jebediah with some copper wires to act as a temporary relay.'

Along with the new probe, we were also shown a new battery bank that holds 500 units of electrical charge. It seemed to work fine, but apart from being able to store energy, it didn't do much. As I pointed this out to a representative for PanzerLabs, he replied 'Just like your face', made a fist pumping motion and high-fived a nearby engineer."

New images in the OP!

[JohnnyPanzer]

"Today PanzerLabs AeroSpace unveiled their latest probe core, the weirdly named PzL-LO 1138, along with their in-house fuel tank. The PzL-LO 1138 is part of their K-Sat series currently under development, and is supposed to be the next step up after the 242. We asked CEO Johnny Panzer about the specifics, and why he thinks it will generate traction on the market:

'It's a clever little thing, lemme tell ya' he said 'it features an integrated omni, just like the 242, but it also comes with it's own dish with a 50Mn range. The omni is not as powerful as the one on the 242, but it's mostly there to allow communication between satellites in the same SOI, while the dish is the real star of the show.'

Needless to say, it comes with the same integrated power supply and storage as the rest of the series, and this reporter took the time to test it's hull integrity by banging on it repeatedly with a stick. Only a few rivets came loose, and after a brief but heated discussion with an engineer I concluded that it'll probably hold up to the rigors of space, and thus I left PanzerLabs HQ and my now confiscated stick behind to return to my desk at The Daily Kerbal."

 

New images in the OP!

Edited March 21, 2016 by JohnnyPanzer

[CobaltWolf]

Wow, more really cool stuff out of nowhere. Awesome.

[wasml]

Your parts have a very distinctive style - nice!

[JohnnyPanzer]

13 hours ago, CobaltWolf said:

Wow, more really cool stuff out of nowhere. Awesome.

 

11 hours ago, wasml said:

Your parts have a very distinctive style - nice!

Thanks! I think I'll be finished with the last part this weekend, I have most of what I need ready to go and I'm just missing a few accerories. An engine and one or two extra dishes.

Right now I'm focusing on balance testing, and it's a lot more fun than I thought it would be. Originally I intended for every probe core to include lots of dishes, but after numerous failed attempts I settled for a maximum of one omni and one dish per core. In hindsight I'm kinda glad I never figured it out, because from a game balance perspective it's turning out to be pretty interesting. I'm trying to make my stand-alone antennas very specialised, allowing extremely tailormade satellites. I think it fits the original intent of the mod pack nicely and it avoids duplicates of the exact same antenna.

For example, I just made a dish for setting up a relay to the Mün, but I didn't want to make a skinned version of the DTS-1, so instead I made a smaller version with a range of 15Mn and a rather small cone of 12.5 degrees. It's perfect for pointing at the Mün, but that's also pretty much the one and only thing it's useful for. Combined with the last probe I introduced you'll get a satellite that's perfect for a relay network in Kerbin's SOI (1x2.5 omni, 1x 15Mn dish, 1x50Mn dish) and the small dish even comes with a tiny 50 charge battery, giving the satellity juuuust enough storage to run all three antennas during a 750km darkness time.

I'll probably present the last probe core tonight, and then settle in for some testing and finishing the last remaining parts before I release the package. Hopefully someone will enjoy it besides me. 

[JohnnyPanzer]

"During yet another press conference today, PanzerLabs AeroSpace revealed more of it's ongoing K-Sat project. First to be presented was the latest, and last, probe of the LO models: The PzL-LO 1142. It's an angular looking thing with a dedicated dish array capable of reaching Kerbin from the edge of our SOI, and it also features a decent omni for short range communication. When it comes to power production it's very capable, with lots of battery banks and an internal nuclear fuel cell that seemed to give off an unhealthy glow. The engineers assured us that radiation levels were perfeclty safe, but the fact that they were hard to hear through the muffled sound of their radiation suits did nothing to allieviate our fears.

Later on we were also allowed to have a look at the structural pylon for the LO models, which was just the right ammount of boring. It seemed good enough, but without a stick to test it with I had to settle for a visual inspection. A far more interesting thing to look at was the new dish antenna presented to us. It was very small, and a representative confirmed that it was in fact rather weak (capable only of reaching The Mün) but that it's reduced power consumption and small internal battery bank still made it an interesting choice for anyone looking to build a relay network in Kerbin's SOI.

As the day grew to night, we were once again invited to watch a test launch of the probe presented, and once again it went off without a hitch. As the 1142 reached it's target altitude, it deployed it's dish and started sending back information. In it's deployed state, it almost looked like some sort of crab, and CEO Johhny Panzer leaned in to tell me that the in-house nickname for the probe was 'Sebastian', a reference so out of this world that I couldn't make heads or fish-tails out of it."

 

New images in the OP!

[JohnnyPanzer]

"Today, after weeks of anticipation, PanzerLabs AeroSpace unveiled their in-house engine: The K-Sat LFE-808 'Bolt'.

It was a proud CEO that grabbed the mic during the press conference, and Mr Panzer had this to say: 'It's been an uphill battle. Engines were, like, way harder than we first anticipated, but now we're finally able to present this marvel of engineering to the world. It's a very tightly tailored engine, with nothing but satellites in mind. OUR satellites, to be precise.' He also added that the engine will be priced fairly, and that despite the very intricate technical details of the Bolt, it's simple enough for 'any idiot' to use.

This time, we didn't get to see a test launch, instead we were led out to the launch pad where a single FLE-808 was strapped to a large girder. 'It's safer this way' Johnny Panzer told us 'We haven't worked out all the kinks yet' and then he made a hand gesture, motioning us to stand back. As soon as the engine ignited, it became apparent that it was a unique piece of engineering, as a clearly visible electrical field was generated near the nozzle. It crackled and singed the nozzle, and as the throttle increased, the field grew stronger, only to fade once more at the highest trottle. I asked one of the engineers about the field, and he looked nervous as he mumbled that it was 'certainly not a rip in space and time, no sir!' At any rate, it was pretty to look at, and with that I left PanzerLabs HQ feeling like I might just have witnessed something great. Or possibly the awakening of something truly ancient and evil. Who knows..."

 

New images in the OP!

[Table]

Awesome parts, very detailed, textures and the modeling are great.

 

You're doing a great job, keep it up!

[komodo]

I quite like the engine, i'll have to check these out! Very cool!

[JohnnyPanzer]

On Monday, March 28, 2016 at 3:55 AM, Table said:

Awesome parts, very detailed, textures and the modeling are great.

 

You're doing a great job, keep it up!

Thank you very much!

4 minutes ago, komodo said:

I quite like the engine, i'll have to check these out! Very cool!

Thanks. I'm still balancing it but at the moment it yields roughly 10%-15% more Dv on a medium size satellite, compared to the Spark. I might lower the thrust and increase the vacuum Isp even further, but I'm mostly happy with it's current performance.

[JohnnyPanzer]

For anyone interested, and as a general information for entry-level part modders (oh, hi there, me), I just tested my parts in 1.1 and they worked just fine even without upgrading them through the new part tools. It seems there's not much to worry about for those of us making simple part packs without custom plugins.

What this means for this mod in particular is that I hope to have it released either this weekend, or shortly thereafter. I still want to update it through the new part tools (I was planning on re-compiling all parts anyway, as I have learned to streamline a few things since I made the very first parts) just to be safe, and possibly to make use of higher resolution textures. I will also have to wait for Remote Tech to be updated, since a large part of the usability of my parts is hingent on that mod. But all in all, 1.1 does not seem to be as large of a speed bump for my release as I thought it would be. So yay.

[JohnnyPanzer]

Right, so I'm pretty much ready to release the mod. All the parts work for 1.1, only they will have to do without Remote Tech support as there is no way of knowing when that mod will be updated. For players using 1.0.5, all the parts will be patched to use Remote Tech correctly.

I'm getting ready to package the mod, write readme files and licenses and upload it to SpaceDock. With any luck it'll be ready in a couple of hours, I'm just making some final tests to see if I've forgotten anything important. My thinking is that I'll release it as a beta build first, even though it's stable. I have found that it's almost impossible to properly test game balance issues on your own, and my dog is of no help at all in that regard. So by releasing it, I'll be able to get some input from other players, which could be used for further balancing. However, I feel like it's in pretty decent shape as it is, I can't see anything that sticks out too much.

My question now is what do I do as far as forum threads go? Do I create a new one in the released section and then a moderator can merge this thread once I have everything uploaded to SpaceDock, or should I simply ask for this thread to be moved? Input from moderators would be greatly appreciated.

[JohnnyPanzer]

It's now available at SpaceDock. I will create a new thread in the released section and once that is up moderators can decide what they want to do with this thread, merge or delete.

I have included ModuleManager for both 1.0.5 and 1.1 in the download. Please note that while the mod will run in 1.1, it will not be able to make use of any Remote Tech features untill that mod has been updated. By the looks of it, that could be sooner rather than later (some brave souls are working on a RT frok as we speak) but for now 1.1 will only give you a standard data transmitter as far as antennas go. Everything else should be working in 1.0.5 and 1.1 both.

 

EDIT: The new thread is up.

 Moderators should merge this thread or delete it.

Edited April 3, 2016 by JohnnyPanzer

[Snark]

Locking the thread, it'll naturally percolate down over time.  Anyone interested in the mod, please see the release thread that JohnnyPanzer links above.