Thrusting engines shouldn't be creating so much drag

[The_Rocketeer]

@Deddly no because ISP already changes with pressure anyway. When it comes to the RAPIER (on which this whole issue is based, since no other engine (except the "Dawn") can thrust properly with another part attached behind), it has a totally separate burn-mode. So, you could then throw non-oxygen atmospheres at me, but:

We're also talking about a tiny fraction of the overall drag generated by the craft - so tiny that it must be orders of magnitude smaller than either thrust or leading-edge drag. How is it worthwhile to devote time and energy into modelling such physics when doing so adds the kind of puny effect that you can only even detect when using an exploit to minimise drag?

This isn't a world-physics simulator, it's a game about rockets. Many concepts in it are oversimplified abstracts that are marginally inadequate to represent their real world equivalents - let's start with patched conics. I just think this observation/suggestion is banal - to me the most obvious change to make is simply make RAPIER and Dawn engines the same as all the other engines and have their thrust blocked by trailing parts. AFAIC, if the devs made a mistake with this, it was that.

Edit: I think there is a misconception here that turbulence-drag is even a part of KSP's drag model. AFAIK it's not. That said, based on what little I recall of KSP's drag model, I'm not sure why trailing nosecones make the craft less draggy anyway.

Edited June 7, 2016 by The_Rocketeer

[EpicSpaceTroll139]

29 minutes ago, The_Rocketeer said:

@Deddly
Edit: I think there is a misconception here that turbulence-drag is even a part of KSP's drag model. AFAIK it's not. That said, based on what little I recall of KSP's drag model, I'm not sure why trailing nosecones make the craft less draggy anyway.

I think the reason trailing nosecones reduce drag is because of the mechanic of the game which makes exposed nodes have drag. This happens whether the node is at the front, side, back, wherever that's not inside a cargo bay or fairing.

[innociv]

The stock aero may not be made to "simulate every issue", but this is really quite a major issue to have engines be draggy even when creating high pressure behind them, and to be able to alleviate that drag with clipping nose cones and such. :|

And it should be pretty straight forward to fix, so why not...?  Why all the resistance to fix something so basic as this?

I'm not asking for real time computation fluid dynamics. I'm just asking for engines producing thrust to not produce so much drag.

Edited June 8, 2016 by innociv