piping for radiator panels!

[Arugela]

It would be nice to have piping for large and other radiator panels. This would/could allow them to be connected to parts directly and let you use them over the extendable panels when you need them for specific parts that are hard to get to. This can be good for both aesthetics and when you can't get enough extendable panels for space or other considerations. if it could span across parts to the ones you like, perhaps like struts/fuel pipes, they could be placed to allow more variation of cooling systems.

And please make double sides struts.(IE ones that recognize the exact part on both ends so if parts are stacked it goes through the other parts and knows which one to attach to. Regardless of where on the second part it places itself. I would assume it would use LOS.

Edited May 7, 2016 by Arugela

[RoverDude]

The deployable panels already work ship wide, the piping is inferred.

And the static ones are limited by design

[Arugela]

But it would be nice to be able to custom pipe to the static ones. Even at parts count cost and a little mass. Save on deploy space and could help with custom cooling.

Having something like a strut bridging the heat and allowing you to connect more parts to the no deployable parts could be helpful for spot heat removal, aesthetics, or space issues in case the panels don't fit to deploy conveniently.

 

It could also help with testing heating and how it works and give more things to design around for fun.

Edited May 8, 2016 by Arugela

[Alshain]

But how much gameplay value would it really add?  It's just more you have to do in the VAB and nothing you do in space.  Some things need to be left to the imagination I'm afraid.

[Arugela]

I'm not saying all of it would be manually piped. I'm saying add a pipe so you can do it if you need to for no extendable ones and distribute heat more. I'm suggesting it because I could use it on my own ships.

[nli2work]

you can adjust the config of fuel pipe to make it a heat pipe, and it works to some extent; but without heat conductivity adjustments to many, if not all, other parts. the actual in game use is limited.

15 hours ago, RoverDude said:

The deployable panels already work ship wide, the piping is inferred.

And the static ones are limited by design

@RoverDudeDo they work shipwide? deployable radiators doesn't seem to draw much heat from insulated parts like the deployable heatshield, maybe because both parts are super insulated to begin with. with normal parts all seem to behave as expected.

Edited May 8, 2016 by nli2work

[Stoney3K]

1 hour ago, nli2work said:

you can adjust the config of fuel pipe to make it a heat pipe, and it works to some extent; but without heat conductivity adjustments to many, if not all, other parts. the actual in game use is limited.

@RoverDudeDo they work shipwide? deployable radiators doesn't seem to draw much heat from insulated parts like the deployable heatshield, maybe because both parts are super insulated to begin with. with normal parts all seem to behave as expected.

That's because the radiators draw from core heat, not surface heat.

The heat shields are designed to have a high surface temperature without the core temperature becoming too high.