[1.12.x] Near Future Technologies (September 6)

[Nertea]

5 hours ago, King Arthur said:

So I finally bit the bullet and installed Restock/Restock+ for a trial run to see what it's like. As I found out, the restock'd-stock heatshields work perfectly with the NFSpacecraft command modules (stock heatshields otherwise have hideous clipping). While it is not my intention to sound ungrateful or anything, I would appreciate it if Restock was listed as a soft dependency if the expectation for NFSpacecraft (and other NFT mods...?) is that it's to be used with Restock.

 

If you want to get technical there is a soft dependency for Restock in everything I make because they all target the porkalike style. However there is no expectation of needing it installed to have good results. 

For this case, you absolutely need to use the tweak gizmos in stock. The way the stock heatshield and pods were designed tends to be as a single unit - placing them on other parts or specifically capsules that have a different bottom node layout (one that is logical rather than really, really stupid) results in visual problems. This is most visible with the 2.5m and 1.25m ones. I have obviously fixed this with Restock, but the options for this mod with many new capsules are:

1. Design the bottom of each pod to be identical to the stock one (attach node protruding far out, strange bulge, inconsistently angled sides)
2. Place a second special heatshield-only attach node to use with the stock heatshield
3. Include a new, fixed heatshield model with adjusted nodes
4. Accept that you will need to use the offset gizmo to align the heat shields with the bottom correctly

To me there's no contest - (1) means pods will all look weird at the bottom, (2) is player confusing and (3) is basically what Restock does. That leaves (4), which uses what I would consider to be a well-known player friendly solution. 

I mean I can clarify that in the FAQ I guess, but there's no perfect solution. I believe I have a long Discord rant about there being no optimal solution somewhere. 

 

[sturmhauke]

1 hour ago, Nertea said:

I believe I have a long Discord rant about there being no optimal solution somewhere.

This is probably inscribed on the legendary tomb of the first engineer or something.

[Nertea]

Two more bugfix updates

NFLV 1.2.3

• Updated B9PartSwitch to 2.10.0
• Fixed incorrect labeling of Buzzard's Compact and Boattail variants
• Restructured how RealPlume FX is handled (Zorg)

NF Electrical 1.0.3

• Updated B9PartSwitch to 2.10.0
• Updated DynamicBatteryStorage to 2.0.6
• Made use of B9PS 2.9+ features for reactors (colours, labels)

 

[King Arthur]

3 hours ago, Nertea said:

If you want to get technical there is a soft dependency for Restock in everything I make because they all target the porkalike style. However there is no expectation of needing it installed to have good results. 

For this case, you absolutely need to use the tweak gizmos in stock. The way the stock heatshield and pods were designed tends to be as a single unit - placing them on other parts or specifically capsules that have a different bottom node layout (one that is logical rather than really, really stupid) results in visual problems. This is most visible with the 2.5m and 1.25m ones. I have obviously fixed this with Restock, but the options for this mod with many new capsules are:

1. Design the bottom of each pod to be identical to the stock one (attach node protruding far out, strange bulge, inconsistently angled sides)
2. Place a second special heatshield-only attach node to use with the stock heatshield
3. Include a new, fixed heatshield model with adjusted nodes
4. Accept that you will need to use the offset gizmo to align the heat shields with the bottom correctly

To me there's no contest - (1) means pods will all look weird at the bottom, (2) is player confusing and (3) is basically what Restock does. That leaves (4), which uses what I would consider to be a well-known player friendly solution. 

I mean I can clarify that in the FAQ I guess, but there's no perfect solution. I believe I have a long Discord rant about there being no optimal solution somewhere. 

 

Roger that, appreciate the reasoning behind it.

As a personal workaround, I'll see about taking the Restock heatshields and using them as a separate standalone mod rather than a stock-replacer for my own personal use with NFSpacecraft, since I find using the tweak gizmo for this kind of thing to be tedious and above all inconsistent.

51 minutes ago, Nertea said:

Two more bugfix updates

NFLV 1.2.3

• Updated B9PartSwitch to 2.10.0
• Fixed incorrect labeling of Buzzard's Compact and Boattail variants
• Restructured how RealPlume FX is handled (Zorg)

NF Electrical 1.0.3

• Updated B9PartSwitch to 2.10.0
• Updated DynamicBatteryStorage to 2.0.6
• Made use of B9PS 2.9+ features for reactors (colours, labels)

 

Thanks!

[Nertea]

16 minutes ago, King Arthur said:

As a personal workaround, I'll see about taking the Restock heatshields and using them as a separate standalone mod rather than a stock-replacer for my own personal use with NFSpacecraft, since I find using the tweak gizmo for this kind of thing to be tedious and above all inconsistent.

 

Cool - you probably want to ensure you get the Mk1-3 replacement also, as the fix involves both parts. 

[King Arthur]

I don't think so, since my plan is to have both the stock and Restock heatshields side-by-side rather than the latter replacing the former. If that doesn't work out though, I'll make sure to replace the stock Mk1-3 too.

[pp3d]

are NFT engines persistent through time warp?

[Streetwind]

1 hour ago, pp3d said:

are NFT engines persistent through time warp?

Not sure what you mean, but if you're asking if they produce thrust while under non-physics time warp: no, they do not.

If it still exists, there's a mod called BetterTimeWarp I used to play with, that let me safely do up to 20x physics timewarp. Helped quite a bit with long burns.

[Brigadier]

15 minutes ago, Streetwind said:

If it still exists, there's a mod called BetterTimeWarp I used to play with, that let me safely do up to 20x physics timewarp. Helped quite a bit with long burns.

Yes, it still exists and works with KSP 1.7.3.

[pp3d]

cool. thanks to both of you

[BuckNova]

So, I'm having an interesting issue with Near Future Spacecraft [1.2.3]. parts SD-01 and SD-02 have no data on the parts. The pods with integrated engines, I am unable to get the engines to fire. I'm sure the pods are operator error. Any advice?

[Streetwind]

5 hours ago, BuckNova said:

So, I'm having an interesting issue with Near Future Spacecraft [1.2.3]. parts SD-01 and SD-02 have no data on the parts. The pods with integrated engines, I am unable to get the engines to fire. I'm sure the pods are operator error. Any advice?

Generally - and this works with all mods, not just Near Future - go through this checklist:

1. Am I on the right version of KSP? The one advertised in the thread title?
2. Has the mod updated since I last downloaded it? If yes, does updating the mod fix the issue?
3. Did I install the mod, and all of its dependencies, correctly?
4. Can I reproduce the error in a fresh install with only the mod and its dependencies?
5. Is it a cross-mod conflict? Can I narrow down the interaction that breaks the mod by successively removing mods from my install (or adding them to a fresh install) until I see a difference?
6. Does the problem generate an error message in my logfile? %USERNAME%\AppData\LocalLow\Squad\Kerbal Space Program --> output_log.txt

If you went through this list, and it didn't fix your problem, you can post again with more details. For example the logfile, in case the answer to #6 is positive. Screenshots also often help.

[MerlinsMaster]

Apologies if this question has been asked, but I'm trying to understand how capacitors work in the game.  Do they recharge batteries the same way solar panels or RTGs, just with a limited amount of recharge?

[Altaille]

Capacitors act like batteries (they store EC and can be discharged / recharged). They have greater capacities for a same volume or weight, but you have to manualy trigger them. Once you start discharging one, you can't stop it (and you may lose EC if nothing is using it and your classic battery storage is full). They are usefull for application needing a lot of EC over a small duration. The best exemple : ion drives (and other electric motors). It allows a ship equipped with limited power generation (like small solar panels) to make a burn long enough for escaping a body.

[BuckNova]

Performed a fresh install. Redownloaded mod files from links. Installed only NTF Spacecraft and propulsion. Using game version 1.7.3. RMB data for the SD-01 and SD-02 are still missing. Unable to activate engines on the NFT command pods with integrated engine pods.

Screen shot: https://imgur.com/a/yqHATD7

11 hours ago, Streetwind said:

Generally - and this works with all mods, not just Near Future - go through this checklist:

1. Am I on the right version of KSP? The one advertised in the thread title?
2. Has the mod updated since I last downloaded it? If yes, does updating the mod fix the issue?
3. Did I install the mod, and all of its dependencies, correctly?
4. Can I reproduce the error in a fresh install with only the mod and its dependencies?
5. Is it a cross-mod conflict? Can I narrow down the interaction that breaks the mod by successively removing mods from my install (or adding them to a fresh install) until I see a difference?
6. Does the problem generate an error message in my logfile? %USERNAME%\AppData\LocalLow\Squad\Kerbal Space Program --> output_log.txt

If you went through this list, and it didn't fix your problem, you can post again with more details. For example the logfile, in case the answer to #6 is positive. Screenshots also often help.

 

[Nertea]

1 hour ago, BuckNova said:

Performed a fresh install. Redownloaded mod files from links. Installed only NTF Spacecraft and propulsion. Using game version 1.7.3. RMB data for the SD-01 and SD-02 are still missing. Unable to activate engines on the NFT command pods with integrated engine pods.

Screen shot: https://imgur.com/a/yqHATD7

 

Yeah... That's never going to work. The two radial pods are just that, pods, not engines. You need to install engines. Same thing with the pods.

[BuckNova]

31 minutes ago, Nertea said:

Yeah... That's never going to work. The two radial pods are just that, pods, not engines. You need to install engines. Same thing with the pods.

First time with this mod, If you couldn't tell. I had a feeling it was operator error, not something with the mod itself. Thanks for the info.

 

[KSPrynk]

@Nertea, I love the new plumes on all the engines, but the NFP Electric Engines seem to have issues with inconsistency of EngineLight effects.  The stock Dawn Xenon engine produces a blue illumination glow, which appears to be in the engine-configs.cfg folder of EngineLightRelit (v1.6.1.1).

The KA NTRs have a reddish glow when using LH2, as expected to match up with their red plumes.  The KerbalAtomicsEngineLightRelit.cfg patch appears to follow the same definitions as the Dawn glow that comes with EngineLightRelit.

Pretty much all the NFP electric engines produce a bright yellow-tinged glow, regardless of the propellant's plume color.  It looks like the NFP patch for NFPropulsionEngineLight.cfg all point to the same !MODULE[tjs_EngineLight].  Is this module supposed to be figuring out the appropriate EngineLight color, based on plume (propellant) color, or is the yellow glow by design for all of them?  Or is this NFP EngineLight code obsolete, and in need of a refresh for EngineLightRelit?

[theesigil]

Hey @Nertea, this is one of my favorite mod collections and Ive been using it for a long time. I just got back Kerbal after a long absence and and reinstalled everything fresh and I'm loving the additions. The one thing that's giving me a lot of trouble are the Grip o Trons. I can get the ships to bump together but they dont dock. They just stick together in a wobbly dumb magnetic embrace. I've tried over and over and over, both manually and using docking autopilot in Mechjeb. Am I missing something? Thanks!

[zer0Kerbal]

12 hours ago, theesigil said:

Hey @Nertea, this is one of my favorite mod collections and Ive been using it for a long time. I just got back Kerbal after a long absence and and reinstalled everything fresh and I'm loving the additions. The one thing that's giving me a lot of trouble are the Grip o Trons. I can get the ships to bump together but they dont dock. They just stick together in a wobbly dumb magnetic embrace. I've tried over and over and over, both manually and using docking autopilot in Mechjeb. Am I missing something? Thanks!

welcome back!

don't think grip'o'trons are NF - Infernal Robotics perhaps?

[DStaal]

12 hours ago, theesigil said:

Hey @Nertea, this is one of my favorite mod collections and Ive been using it for a long time. I just got back Kerbal after a long absence and and reinstalled everything fresh and I'm loving the additions. The one thing that's giving me a lot of trouble are the Grip o Trons. I can get the ships to bump together but they dont dock. They just stick together in a wobbly dumb magnetic embrace. I've tried over and over and over, both manually and using docking autopilot in Mechjeb. Am I missing something? Thanks!

They're orientation-sensitive.  Are you using the small ones or the large ones?  The large ones have to be lined up at 0% - even 180% won't cut it.  (The smaller will dock at 0 or 180%, though they sometimes take a bit to get into place.)

[Chandra Aerospace]

@NerteaI love your Mods, they are some of the best stuff ever created in KSP.
I have a Few suggestions about Nearfuture Solar.
1. Add shroud to some solar panels like the Megalador Panel, It would look awesome if you put a shroud variant to some panels, Especially the Megalador.
2. Make a mid-late game techtree node called Flexible Nanotubes that makes some solar panels retractable, Enabling some intresting stuff to happen.
 

Edited September 19, 2019 by IronKerbal

[theesigil]

7 hours ago, DStaal said:

They're orientation-sensitive.  Are you using the small ones or the large ones?  The large ones have to be lined up at 0% - even 180% won't cut it.  (The smaller will dock at 0 or 180%, though they sometimes take a bit to get into place.)

they were at 0% for sure. In about a dozen attempts, I got them to dock one time. And that one I just let them sit there and wobble together for a while and they just connected no dice any other time, same orientation/build. It is perplexing because it is a really awesome part and I really would like to use it

[Chandra Aerospace]

I have a Issue to report:
The OKEB-150 "Halo" has no Collider, it can not be moved around in the VAB 

[King Arthur]

 

51 minutes ago, IronKerbal said:

I have a Issue to report:
The OKEB-150 "Halo" has no Collider, it can not be moved around in the VAB 

This was fixed in NFSolar v1.0.5 as mentioned earlier in the thread, be sure you have the latest release.

On 9/10/2019 at 7:58 AM, Nertea said:

I released NFSolar 1.0.5 with a fix for that Halo collider issue.