[1.12.X] Feline Utility Rovers v1.3.4 (28. April 2022)

[MemeBeam]

Cant wait to see this mod progress. Would like for there to be a adapter so I can use stock or other mod wheels. (But the custom wheels still work great)

 

[Nils277]

Update to 0.2.0 aka the Life Support Update

Quote

0.2.0

Enhancements

• Rebalanced the EC of the unmanned control units

New Parts

• Added Canister with Fuel-Cells

Mod Support

• Added support for Snacks!
• Added support for TAC-LS
• Added support for USI-LS
• Added support for Kerbalism
• Added support for IFI Life-Support
• Added support for KeepFit
• Added support for RemoteTech

 

  

 

I skipped support for ECLSS for now as it seems to not be updated anymore.

Edited September 14, 2017 by Nils277

[Rybikson]

Hi, this rover looks and works great

I'm wondering about 2-3 extras. Main purpose: universal + low-mass-center transporter to carry heavy stuff on land + drive into mk3 cargo ramp with some big stuff on my back i only lack some parts

- pure chasis without the "container" on it, ofc the existing wheel + front+rear hitch nodes

  - extra 3 top nodes : front, cargo/robotics in middle, rear - we can use front and rear to attach control point or some driver chair

? rover front in flat version to attach on upper front node

- legs suitable in wheel place

Is there any possibility to make wheels autobrake when accelerating in opposite direction?

p.s. I really appreciate ur work and dont want to sound demanding, just stuck in unity/blender and got my mind blown trying to make things on my own for the first time

 

[Raptor22]

12 hours ago, Rybikson said:

Hi, this rover looks and works great

I'm wondering about 2-3 extras. Main purpose: universal + low-mass-center transporter to carry heavy stuff on land + drive into mk3 cargo ramp with some big stuff on my back i only lack some parts

- pure chasis without the "container" on it, ofc the existing wheel + front+rear hitch nodes

  - extra 3 top nodes : front, cargo/robotics in middle, rear - we can use front and rear to attach control point or some driver chair

? rover front in flat version to attach on upper front node

- legs suitable in wheel place

Is there any possibility to make wheels autobrake when accelerating in opposite direction?

p.s. I really appreciate ur work and dont want to sound demanding, just stuck in unity/blender and got my mind blown trying to make things on my own for the first time

 

By those legs, are you talking about having extendable legs like with trailers?

BTW, I think that having legs like that would be nice. 

And with the "pure chassis" are you talking about having a flat bed, or just the chassis to attach wheels on?

Edited February 5, 2017 by Raptor22

[Dr.Wolfram]

20 minutes ago, Raptor22 said:

By those legs, are you talking about having extendable legs like with trailers?

BTW, I think that having legs like that would be nice. 

And with the "pure chassis" are you talking about having a flat bed, or just the chassis to attach wheels on?

i think he means flatbed, and yeah that part will be nice to build trains... ehm cargo rover trailers

[Nils277]

I'll add flatbeds to the list of potential new parts. They will not be a priority though. There is support for KIS/KAS etc first.

Legs have been asked for multiple times now...i'm not really fond of that idea but i'll add them to the list too.

Edited February 6, 2017 by Nils277

[Rybikson]

Im not skilled in EN car parts names but i mean the flatbed chasis to attach wheels on my own. What seems to be obvious since every chais'ed part got no wheels by default. Moreover, the pure chasis is easy to configure with those great low-mounted canisters. Just take off the hut from the dark grey chasis and tune the mounting nodes so we can add some probe on the front/end (also the original flat Lynx command unit) it would be great to have predefined 3 top nodes for cargo.

About the legs and wheels:

- i cannot ad any part between chasis and wheels (wanted to use robotic hinges to make retractable wheels )

- there are some low-profile legs in K&K Ground base, It would be great if we have some similiar legs adjusted to the whole Lynx profile, just for:

+ hard parking without rover mods to autobrake

+ stabilising vessel on the sloppy ground for eva activities or raising some upper mounted construcion (legs got to be wide, like basic lynx wheels, to deal with raising mass center)

+ parking the unmanned flatbed trailer for future hitch docking*

 

*some asci art for the one-pair-of-wheels trailer

1==2======3=1

1- hitch

2- front legs

3- wheels

= chasis

[Antik]

May i suggest making cargo ramp celling higher and level, not angled? Otherwise, in current its state it's hard to make a sub-rover that can fit by height and widh in cargo bay. Or maybe even make the whole cargo bay parts higher than other rover parts? With adapters ofc.

[Rybikson]

IMHO the low profile is the Rover beauty and the whole concept. Another adapter + hi/lo may break this concept.

How about the pure ramp without ceiling?

 

I know im stick to my flat bed but if u got the pure chasis u can easy make own cargo config without additional parts and rovers dont need the walls/coverage.

 

On 6.02.2017 at 11:36 AM, Nils277 said:

Legs have been asked for multiple times now...i'm not really fond of that idea but i'll add them to the list too.

Due to the sloppy terrain its good to have some good ground touch.

Any chance of K&K adapter/decoupler?

I'll make u some pretty YT teasers, like how to carry 200t ship or deploy 300t K&K base on the shore with half of base on the water with legs/winch + buoyancy blister + anchors support and eva tools

Btw it looks like the rear ladder is unreachable

 

[Nils277]

19 hours ago, Antik said:

May i suggest making cargo ramp celling higher and level, not angled? Otherwise, in current its state it's hard to make a sub-rover that can fit by height and widh in cargo bay. Or maybe even make the whole cargo bay parts higher than other rover parts? With adapters ofc.

Will make the ceiling of the ramp even. Hope this does not break the aesthetics of the part  Making the Cargo Bay higher is not really possible. I want the rover to be able to fit into the garage from KPBS and it wonn't fit of the cargo bay is higher.

On 6.2.2017 at 0:34 PM, Rybikson said:

Im not skilled in EN car parts names but i mean the flatbed chasis to attach wheels on my own. What seems to be obvious since every chais'ed part got no wheels by default. Moreover, the pure chasis is easy to configure with those great low-mounted canisters. Just take off the hut from the dark grey chasis and tune the mounting nodes so we can add some probe on the front/end (also the original flat Lynx command unit) it would be great to have predefined 3 top nodes for cargo.

About the legs and wheels:

- i cannot ad any part between chasis and wheels (wanted to use robotic hinges to make retractable wheels )

- there are some low-profile legs in K&K Ground base, It would be great if we have some similiar legs adjusted to the whole Lynx profile, just for:

+ hard parking without rover mods to autobrake

+ stabilising vessel on the sloppy ground for eva activities or raising some upper mounted construcion (legs got to be wide, like basic lynx wheels, to deal with raising mass center)

+ parking the unmanned flatbed trailer for future hitch docking*

 

*some asci art for the one-pair-of-wheels trailer

1==2======3=1

1- hitch

2- front legs

3- wheels

= chasis

Flatbeds will be added.

Now i know what you mean with the legs. Will see if a can add anything like this in the future  

[Rybikson]

1 minute ago, Nils277 said:

Making the Cargo Bay higher is not really possible. I want the rover to be able to fit into the garage from KPBS and it wonn't fit of the cargo bay is higher.

Now i know what you mean with the legs. Will see if a can add anything like this in the future  

1. IMHO pure ramp will do the trick i mean without any walls/ceiling, like ladder

2. I never imagined landing/huge legs i was rather inspired by KBPS retractable wheels and their legs to let the rover stand still when:

a) the long trailer without front wheels waits for cargo

b) the main car is making some hard climbing/crane operations/winch retracting the rear packages/ partked on the hill while the driver runs to plug the front anchor-winch to pull higher

[Guest]

Very good mod, I installed it as soon as i finished reading the description. 

It would be difficult to separate the two mods, but I think you should add a chassis adapter for the KPBS modular storage system

[Rafael acevedo]

Tester notes 
I had the unique pleasure of alpha testing the Lynx rover or as Jeb or Rafaelito Kerman call it the Ice Kream rover ( the origins of this is an running joke between Nils, me, and a couple of other guys in the KPBS development thread). And I must say it was a blast. First kudos to Nils, not only for the excellent beta mod, but also for having prepared an almost finished, fully functional alpha version. I also would like to thank him for his advice of just playing with the mod, rather than following an scripted testing program.
I tested the mod on 2 different PCs ( a powerful gaming computer and  a surface pro)  and  a Mac Pro. I ran a stock install, a lightly modified install, and a heavily modified install ( 51 mods). I had conversations with Nils about possible additions and was allowed to give ideas of my own. ( sorry guys not allowed to tell you some of the things in the pipeline) . However there were a few rules I decided to follow. First I would like to keep the part list small ( for user of less powerful computers) as such I would not recommend an addition to the mod that could be replicated by using stock parts. Secondly, I would compare the Lynx to other rovers mods to ensure that it was fairly balanced, thirdly, it must work with kpbs, and finally I wanted to recommend something that would make the mod unique a must have.   Needless to say, during testing we found a few things.
We found that the rover speed needed to be controlled, as the rover was able to attain formula one speed on kerbin. That the rover will bounce upon release inside the kpbs hangar ( don't put anything on top) At one time Nils wanted to add a stabilizer legs and a way for the rover to right itself. I recommended against it, one because you can do the same using stock landing legs, and the second because you can always right you rover with enough torque on reaction wheels. ( do try this and build the amazing dancing rover. Build a small rover and in a cargo section add enough reaction wheels for 60 torque, turn upside down and launch you'll be able to right the rover easily, but if you get up to speed and then start pressing  keys at random the rover will dance) Finally I recommended something to make the rover different, and Nils did not agree as it did not fit his concept.  But it is okay because what he built to make the rover unique ( the hitch and accordion) was a thousand times better 
In the end, in over 500 hours of  alpha gameplay my kerbals visited  moons, landed on duna and eve, got blown up and stranded, executed long traverses, parachuted out of planes and built boats, cranes, and flat beds all using the Lynx  and It was great.

Edited February 15, 2017 by Rafael acevedo

[SmashBrown]

Can't wait to try this out when I get some time again.

[Rybikson]

Rover config for Mun, maybe usefull infos:

- dont try to cover all your wheels EC consumption with solar panels, you will use like 10-20% of the power because theres very little gravity and youll just slide/jump/drive with very small drag/ground resistance. If u dont need huge power ammount - dont be afraid of the driving EC consumption

- keep 6,5 - 7 days reserve of electricity in ur batteries (6 days for the moon day/night cycle, 1 extra day for the terrain obstacles blocking light)

- keep your mass center as low as possible, the lack of gravity is not your friend, theres no friction and no decent force to keep your wheels on the ground, the tracking control is also kinda useless

- have some extra reaction wheel (may be packed in KIS) its hard to flip over from your back if u got accident and th winches are also hard to use coz of lack of the ground resistance (u need 2-3 winches to flip over: 1 low mounted to clamp to the ground, and 1-2 others high mounted on the opposite side to provide the flipping momentum (i mean rotating force) - much easier with extra roof legs/robotic arm or reaction wheel

- have the retractable solar panels with a nice white case, to keep it safe in case of uncontrolled roll

- keep all precious things in the service bay

- do not relay on sas, theres no option for "keep me flat positioned" - use MechJeb rover stability assist

- do not let the Mech jeb drive for you hes stupid and able to flip u over on the simpliest hill

- dont try to turn when going faster than 15m/s

[Rybikson]

Theres one part missing at early stage - Science Jr

So far i was "cheating" it by rescaling stock module to fit in the service bay, but maybe in some "spare time" someone provide more adequate solution?

Reasons To Be:

- stock wheels are crap, Lynx is great science-traveller even for catching KSP subbiomes science

- Lynx got 2 crew cabin so we may go with engineer (no reason to take pilot) and scientist (to reset science modules)

- almost every other early-mid game part suit well on Lynx only this Science barrel is a nope-design

[DStaal]

32 minutes ago, Rybikson said:

Theres one part missing at early stage - Science Jr

So far i was "cheating" it by rescaling stock module to fit in the service bay, but maybe in some "spare time" someone provide more adequate solution?

Reasons To Be:

- stock wheels are crap, Lynx is great science-traveller even for catching KSP subbiomes science

- Lynx got 2 crew cabin so we may go with engineer (no reason to take pilot) and scientist (to reset science modules)

- almost every other early-mid game part suit well on Lynx only this Science barrel is a nope-design

My I suggest DMagic Orbital Science?  It has a couple smaller form-factor versions:

 

[WuphonsReach]

On 2/16/2017 at 10:25 AM, Rybikson said:

Rover config for Mun, maybe usefull infos:

- do not relay on sas, theres no option for "keep me flat positioned" - use MechJeb rover stability assist

 

One trick is to use "linear docking mode" when driving rovers.

http://wiki.kerbalspaceprogram.com/wiki/Rover#Piloting_rovers

You'll have to add the key mappings in the KSP settings, but it makes it so that W is forward (and not pitch down) and S is backward movement (and not pitch up).  Combine that with SAS and you'll be less flippy.

[Rybikson]

Any tips on how to carry rovers on kerbin? IK the methods but wanted to know what u use as most efficient and easy to run. Today im trying to make giant kk garage with copter engine to reach 150km far places coz im bored driving rover 45 minutes

[GrapeInvaders]

Oh boy! I'll have to check this out... NOW! 

[DStaal]

48 minutes ago, Rybikson said:

Any tips on how to carry rovers on kerbin? IK the methods but wanted to know what u use as most efficient and easy to run. Today im trying to make giant kk garage with copter engine to reach 150km far places coz im bored driving rover 45 minutes

Honestly, my solution is this mod:

 

[SmashBrown]

Tested this out the other day. Lovely mod and fits perfectly with the stock-a-like design. Would like to see some bigger wheels that would extend dark out from the Base for extra stability in low g.

 

[Dr.Wolfram]

3 hours ago, Rybikson said:

Any tips on how to carry rovers on kerbin? IK the methods but wanted to know what u use as most efficient and easy to run. Today im trying to make giant kk garage with copter engine to reach 150km far places coz im bored driving rover 45 minutes

I'm using Bon Voyage myself and I love it, but if you wanna deliver rover manually, I can suggest you Heisenberg Airships mod, no need of copter engines, just place garage(or just dock rover) in internal zeppelin's bay and fly to yer target... yeah, but be carefull of airship pirates in Kerbin Skies

[iTzPepperony]

I've never commented on any mod, just used them and evaluated myself.
Today I decide to do different, I spent hours looking for cool mods, to be more direct, related to land vehicles, like rovers, for example.
I found your mod, downloaded it and went to use it at the same time, the first reaction that came in my head after doing my first rover was this: HOLY excrements THIS IS THE BEST MOD EVER.
So TODAY I decided to do it differently, I created this account, just so I came to comment here how amazing your mod is, and please do not give up on it, it is sure to be a great success.
Every time I play KSP or recommend a friend to play, I'll recommend your mod, you deserve it, this mod is amazing.

Sorry for my English, I'm Brazilian and I do not handle it very much.

[Rybikson]

Making RoRo's from stock parts is a true pain, let me remind us some nice features ;P

- best unmanned rover command probe is not flat aligned so u got to drive with the sky on the navball or place other pod ... or carry it in vertical position

- all manned parts are round, u cant deploy Rover with the EVA-sit only

- early wheels are made of paper mixed with celestial cow manure, it even got a specail feature to stop functioning without "broken" status so u cant repair it, moreover, the springs can easy shoot straight in your eyes when the physics engine re-engages

- u got to spend tons of time to design a good chasis, and never try to modify it later because the symmetry breaks in the moment u rotate the main node (i made many symmetrical H-shaped designs for a stable chasis)

- finally u use so many parts it starts to lag and the vessel explodes in the jet cargo bay because of inner collision mesh disasters

With Lynx rover i was able to travel over 10 minutes 30m/s on warp 3 without any fkin collision with ... map texture edge ;P