[1.0+] CORE Solutions [19JAN16]

[Neutrinovore]

Once again, liking what I'm seeing!

I'm curious, what do you plan to be the complete parts list for this ship? I'm seeing cockpit, cargo bay/'main body', fuel tanks (I guess) and engines. Plus the PAM that you mentioned above. Will there be any other components to add to the modularity and usefulness of this neat ship? Sorry if you've already posted this information, a quick redirect is all I need if so.

Looking forward to continued progress. It looks good now, I'm sure it'll look even better with some color and texture added.

Later!

[Absolution]

The pictures are very washed out from the lighting conditions but the texturing is basically done. I might do an art pass to add smaller details but overall I'm happy with the way it is. I've imagined adding a "racing stripe" or similar decal on the side to add some flair... not sure how good I'll be able to manage that. It's something to experiment with in the future.

The finished ship will have 5 major modules:

Command Module Unit (CMU)

Habitat Module (HAB)

Utility Module (tbd)

Fuel Tank Module (TNK)

Kinetic Energy Generator (KEG)

At the moment there are only two minor modules:

Universal Docking Module (UDM)

Payload Assist Module and decoupler (PAM)

I've imagined what the Utility Module might look like but until I start playing around with it I can't really say for sure. I want it to serve multiple functions:

1) A place to mount a perpendicular docking point

2) A place to house a landing craft of some kind

3) A place to mount experiment modules and attachments

4) A place to mount a large solar panel array

The HAB is nearly done but I put a hold on further development due to a recent update I caught from a dev (a Tuesday Dev Note iirc). They are looking into developing a way to transfer crew between docked modules without the use of an external mod. Maybe it will be ready for .25 or maybe not. I want to wait for that to be put into the game before I give the HAB more attention. The current design forces the player to EVA a kerbal and manually fly them in between modules and that's clunky.

I also have some ideas on additional minor modules. These will largely depend on need:

1) Custom external lights

2) Custom solar array

Of course, nothing is solid and everything might change before the end date. I really hope not; I've done enough changing.

Furthermore, once I work out the kinks of what I've already developed I think I am going to revisit the Anvil and bring her up to code with the latest changes in .24. Then there is the Dune Raider that I have been majorly neglecting. I can't believe it's been nearly a year since I released that.

[Neutrinovore]

The pictures are very washed out from the lighting conditions but the texturing is basically done. I might do an art pass to add smaller details but overall I'm happy with the way it is. I've imagined adding a "racing stripe" or similar decal on the side to add some flair... not sure how good I'll be able to manage that. It's something to experiment with in the future.

The finished ship will have 5 major modules:

Command Module Unit (CMU)

Habitat Module (HAB)

Utility Module (tbd)

Fuel Tank Module (TNK)

Kinetic Energy Generator (KEG)

At the moment there are only two minor modules:

Universal Docking Module (UDM)

Payload Assist Module and decoupler (PAM)

I've imagined what the Utility Module might look like but until I start playing around with it I can't really say for sure. I want it to serve multiple functions:

1) A place to mount a perpendicular docking point

2) A place to house a landing craft of some kind

3) A place to mount experiment modules and attachments

4) A place to mount a large solar panel array

The HAB is nearly done but I put a hold on further development due to a recent update I caught from a dev (a Tuesday Dev Note iirc). They are looking into developing a way to transfer crew between docked modules without the use of an external mod. Maybe it will be ready for .25 or maybe not. I want to wait for that to be put into the game before I give the HAB more attention. The current design forces the player to EVA a kerbal and manually fly them in between modules and that's clunky.

I also have some ideas on additional minor modules. These will largely depend on need:

1) Custom external lights

2) Custom solar array

Of course, nothing is solid and everything might change before the end date. I really hope not; I've done enough changing.

Furthermore, once I work out the kinks of what I've already developed I think I am going to revisit the Anvil and bring her up to code with the latest changes in .24. Then there is the Dune Raider that I have been majorly neglecting. I can't believe it's been nearly a year since I released that.

Ah, okay, sorry to imply that I didn't like the white color or anything, I was just still thinking that it was unfinished, that's all. Also, I guess I was expecting more of a generic 'spaceship gray' as seen in so many sci-fi movies and shows. I mean, Serenity is gray, the human ships in 'Stargate' are mostly gray, plus so are the Puddle Jumpers in 'Atlantis'. I could go on... Anyway, white is better at reflecting heat, so that makes sense.

Thanks for giving us your 'road map' for the rest of the project. Everything sounds well thought out, so I have no major comments, save one: about the HAB unit and waiting until Squad implements native crew transfer functionality - well, cool, that's your decision, but I feel that folks who want to have that ability probably won't mind using one of the three mods (that I know of, anyway: Crew Manifest; Ship Manifest; and Crew Transfer, I believe) available for that purpose. I myself use Crew Manifest all the time. And those who don't mind the EVA requirement or don't worry about transferring crew will likely continue to not mind or not care.

But, I'm biased on that issue anyway, because I'd rather not wait longer to get the finished 'First Light' pack if I can avoid it, lol. So of course I'll encourage you to keep working and therefore release sooner rather than later.

For myself, I don't really see a huge need for bespoke external lights, unless you really want or need them to be very large, and/or placed in a specific location on the vessel, and would therefore want them to blend in and match the look of the rest of the ship. Now, solar panels... hmmm. I kind of like what BobCat did on his last iteration of the HOME parts, where he made a panel that matches the contour and paint job of the rest of the system, but they're still kind of clunky, and don't really look right when put on anything other than a HOME module, so they're still not perfect. But I do think that it would be nice to have some sci-fi looking solar panels that: are fairly sturdy when deployed; generate a decent amount of ec/s; fit the look of the ship and look like they BELONG on the ship, and not just tacked-on as an afterthought; and finally and most importantly are covered and protected against atmospheric entry when closed, once again being properly faired-in and made to look like they belong in that exact location on the ship. But this is all merely a suggestion. Totally up to you if you want to go to this much trouble.

Finally, a request for further Dune Raider development. Could we get a version that looks like a proper space exploration rover, and not a track-day special sports car? And in another color besides 'Green Lantern Green', maybe? I'm partial to blue, myself. Or the aforementioned gray, it literally goes with everything. Just sayin'.

Keep on keepin' on, Absolution, I look forward to future developments.

Later everyone!

[Absolution]

Finally, a request for further Dune Raider development. Could we get a version that looks like a proper space exploration rover, and not a track-day special sports car? And in another color besides 'Green Lantern Green', maybe? I'm partial to blue, myself. Or the aforementioned gray, it literally goes with everything. Just sayin'.

That is part of my vision. The Dune Raider was a moment of inspiration that would have killed me had I not gotten it out of my head and into KSP. I hope to develop a utility rover that, although near-futuristic looking, will fit with the aesthetic I am going for with the First Light. The Fire Hawk, on the other hand, was thrown together at the last second after I realized I needed a way to get the Dune Raider anywhere. I plan to completely re-imagine the Fire Hawk into a landing craft that will also fit in with the First Light. Ultimately, the idea is that they will all go together, along with Anvil and -REDACTED-, to form one unified solution for getting off Kerbin, beyond orbit, transfer to a neighboring planet, land, explore, return home, and most importantly: do it all again. It's my version of NASA's "Mars Mission".

---

Update

It seems like this project has been a long series of 'one step forward, two steps back' so it should be no surprise to anyone who has followed this that I made a change. However, and that is a BIG however, this time I took one step back and then took five steps forward. I'm not kidding when I say that I am very excited by this 'AHA!' moment I had. I've been working 3-4 hours every night for the last two weeks on this thing as well as minor revisions to the First Light to match. I was actually testing this new 'thing' just the other day. Sadly, it failed in classic KSP fashion so I need to engineer a solution but at least it works on a fundamental level. I just need to get it to play nice with the game engine. I'm not ready to show it off yet because I am not sure just how far I need to redesign it to make it work. I've got a few quick and dirty solutions to try before I take the nuclear option. Given my pace I should have something by this weekend. Hopefully.

As for the impact to the First Light I am also not quite ready to go into specifics but I will share some out-of-game renders to show you how the First Light has changed. Maybe someone will care to guess at where I am going with it?

That is 100% a completely modeled First Light. You may wonder what those big gaps are in the middle of the hull. The one on the top is an expansion bay for adding science or cargo modules (to be designed later). I would like for them to be dockable so you can swap them out with every round trip but I'm not too sure of the logistics of that yet. I got the idea from the US Navy which recently began incorporating the same basic concept on their ships. The gap on the bottom of the hull is the docking cradle for the, aforementioned, re-imagined Fire Hawk.

The fuel tanks and engines were lifted directly from the last iteration of the First Light so, thankfully, I wont need to put any more time into those. I might revisit them later (much, much later) but I am happy enough with them that I consider those done.

What's left for me to finally release the First Light? I need to do most of the textures, obviously, but I just learned some new tricks and I am eager to put them into practice. Hint: it makes the panels look very nice. I also need to finish the -REDACTED-. Follow that up with a few functional tests and we will be good to go! If I can keep up my feverish pace I should have something in your hands very soon. There will still be lots of stuff to do once I make that initial release but I want to hit that major milestone of getting a functional ship into orbit.

I'm so close to the end of the tunnel that I can almost turn off my headlights.

Stay tuned!

[wasmic]

I'm so close to the end of the tunnel that I can almost turn off my headlights.

Stay tuned!

Awww man, congratulations! That's awesome!

[Neutrinovore]

That is part of my vision. The Dune Raider was a moment of inspiration that would have killed me had I not gotten it out of my head and into KSP. I hope to develop a utility rover that, although near-futuristic looking, will fit with the aesthetic I am going for with the First Light. The Fire Hawk, on the other hand, was thrown together at the last second after I realized I needed a way to get the Dune Raider anywhere. I plan to completely re-imagine the Fire Hawk into a landing craft that will also fit in with the First Light. Ultimately, the idea is that they will all go together, along with Anvil and -REDACTED-, to form one unified solution for getting off Kerbin, beyond orbit, transfer to a neighboring planet, land, explore, return home, and most importantly: do it all again. It's my version of NASA's "Mars Mission".

---

Update

It seems like this project has been a long series of 'one step forward, two steps back' so it should be no surprise to anyone who has followed this that I made a change. However, and that is a BIG however, this time I took one step back and then took five steps forward. I'm not kidding when I say that I am very excited by this 'AHA!' moment I had. I've been working 3-4 hours every night for the last two weeks on this thing as well as minor revisions to the First Light to match. I was actually testing this new 'thing' just the other day. Sadly, it failed in classic KSP fashion so I need to engineer a solution but at least it works on a fundamental level. I just need to get it to play nice with the game engine. I'm not ready to show it off yet because I am not sure just how far I need to redesign it to make it work. I've got a few quick and dirty solutions to try before I take the nuclear option. Given my pace I should have something by this weekend. Hopefully.

As for the impact to the First Light I am also not quite ready to go into specifics but I will share some out-of-game renders to show you how the First Light has changed. Maybe someone will care to guess at where I am going with it?

http://i.imgur.com/3S8pPdb.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/awfX9is.jpg

That is 100% a completely modeled First Light. You may wonder what those big gaps are in the middle of the hull. The one on the top is an expansion bay for adding science or cargo modules (to be designed later). I would like for them to be dockable so you can swap them out with every round trip but I'm not too sure of the logistics of that yet. I got the idea from the US Navy which recently began incorporating the same basic concept on their ships. The gap on the bottom of the hull is the docking cradle for the, aforementioned, re-imagined Fire Hawk.

The fuel tanks and engines were lifted directly from the last iteration of the First Light so, thankfully, I wont need to put any more time into those. I might revisit them later (much, much later) but I am happy enough with them that I consider those done.

What's left for me to finally release the First Light? I need to do most of the textures, obviously, but I just learned some new tricks and I am eager to put them into practice. Hint: it makes the panels look very nice. I also need to finish the -REDACTED-. Follow that up with a few functional tests and we will be good to go! If I can keep up my feverish pace I should have something in your hands very soon. There will still be lots of stuff to do once I make that initial release but I want to hit that major milestone of getting a functional ship into orbit.

I'm so close to the end of the tunnel that I can almost turn off my headlights.

Stay tuned!

Very nice, very nice! Good to see and hear that progress is being made. I'm still looking forward to the 'First Light', and I like the idea of having modular, uh... modules, to swap out for different mission profiles, as well as the ability to carry some cargo, especially a rover. I'm having the darnedest time coming up with a decent rover carrying ship that doesn't end up being something like 300 parts, and therefore slaughtering my frame rate.

Anyway, keep on keepin' on, sir. Oh, and I'm of course quite curious now about whatever '-REDACTED-' is, lol.

Later!

[Absolution]

And I just got my rear end kicked by KSP. I had my grand new reveal all ready to go. All I had to do was test it and release it but it failed the test so spectacularly I had to go back to the drawing board to fix it. I tried to salvage my work and try out a variety of tweaks but nothing worked. So, I have to scrap it and try a completely different approach. I've done some preliminary testing with this new approach and, while its still iffy, it works well enough for me to proceed with the design.

Fortunately, the First Light is not impacted but I did lose about a week to this thing. Bah! I'll post up some screens later this week.

Stay tuned!

[wasmic]

Good luck!

[Absolution]

Nothing about this last stage of development has been easy. I've gone through 3 different iterations and none worked. I can't blame anyone but myself since I am very much pushing the limits of the game engine and its built in mechanics.

To the good news:

I have solved the last of the design issues and I just completed the First Light's first ever launch! It quickly failed as I realized, much too late, that its engine thrust was pointing in the wrong direction and it began to spin quite violently. Turns out, however, that was the perfect test for the craft's stability, rigidity, and durability. It spun so smoothly without any rattle or wobble. It was like a perfectly balanced drill bit spinning gracefully through space. Lucky for my crew this was an unmanned test otherwise the poor guys would have been pulped in their seats. Hurrah for forethought!

To the bad news:

I took the smart approach to the design and testing of these new parts and did not waste any time doing the UV unwrap or texturing. Now that all the pieces are in place I can go and do those. I don't expect it to take too long but there it is; its not done yet.

I am aiming to reveal the new parts this weekend assuming everything goes okay. I wouldn't hold my breath though since nothing has gone okay yet. :\

Stay tuned!

[reschke]

Quick question....why would the Dune Raider Launcher setup not show up as usable in my VAB when the Crew Launcher from your saves in the OP is usable? I went through the craft file and it doesn't show up anything weird on my end. I originally wasn't able to get the Crew Launcher craft file to work but I didn't have the ANVIL legacy pack installed. I put that in and was thinking that it was something in there that might have been missing and now the Crew Launcher works but the DUNE does not load.

[Absolution]

Sounds like a conflict of file versions or missing files between the two packs. I don't support the legacy files so I can't help you there. The craft file is likely bugged due to KSP updates since I created it or I forgot to update it correctly when I updated its parts.

I'm working on repackaging all of my current mods into a mega-pack and refresh all of craft files and other supporting documentation. Hopefully those types of issues will be gone when I finish that.

[Neutrinovore]

Sounds like a conflict of file versions or missing files between the two packs. I don't support the legacy files so I can't help you there. The craft file is likely bugged due to KSP updates since I created it or I forgot to update it correctly when I updated its parts.

I'm working on repackaging all of my current mods into a mega-pack and refresh all of craft files and other supporting documentation. Hopefully those types of issues will be gone when I finish that.

Btw, I guess things didn't go okay with the First Light finishing touches, as there was no release last weekend. Was there? I'll have to go double-check now... Anyway, I just want to continue my encouragement of your work, Absolution. Still looking forward to ongoing developments.

[Absolution]

I wasn't going to release the First Light. I was going to reveal the *new* parts I've been hinting at.

I've lost some time due to conflicting projects sapping all of my free time but I hope to reveal and release a "press copy" of the new parts tomorrow. From there I plan to run a test of the First Light by doing some laps around Minmus. If that turns out okay I'll get started on the textures. I'm hoping to put my full attention into the First Light for the remainder of the month and, luck holding, make the initial release in the first few days of November. After that I will switch focus to the mega-pack and incrementally incorporating all of my mods. I've got dozens of parts laying around and many of them I haven't given any attention for a long while. There's a mountain of work to do.

I would really like to be done with my back-log of work by the end of the year so that I can start 2015 off fresh with a whole new set of to-do's.

[Absolution]

Wondering what the secret new parts were? See the first post for full details and download link.

MAXIMUS!

Hopefully this was worth the wait. This project came out of my problems launching and assembling the First Light spacecraft. The parts were relatively light but bulky. Only the Anvil IV had the volume and only after I designed special fairings. Even then it wasn't physically large enough to do everything I wanted to do with it. It would have taken half a dozen missions just to get the First Light assembled and mission ready. Then it hit me like a ton of bricks: design a rocket big enough to launch the whole thing together.

MAXIMUS!

The Maximus has a unique configuration where the inside is hollow and the engines and fuel are located on the perimeter. The total diameter is 10m... TEN METERS... with an internal payload capacity of 7m diameter. Think of a hollow rocket with built-in SRBs. In fact, that's where the design started. I created a payload shell and attached very, very large SRBs on the outside to take it into orbit. Unfortunately KSP/Unity is not designed to accommodate that kind of mass and stress on the attach nodes. The first design could get off the ground but would spin out of control as each SRB bent and pointed in a different direction. Solution: build the engines directly into the payload shell making one, un-bendable, structure. It works like a charm! Despite being one of the most massive rockets I have ever seen in the game it flies like a laser beam.

*Caution* because the mass of the rocket is so gargantuan at lift off and it's a SSTO it becomes challenging to control when it nears empty. The trust to weight just rockets off the chart. To counter that gently ease off the throttle progressively throughout the launch cycle. It seems like its best to match thrust % to fuel % (50% thrust at 50% fuel). Your results may vary.

The side effect of this solution is that I have also created a one-stop shop for launching entire space stations into orbit. A creative player may find a way to pack all the necessary parts together and launch it. Once in orbit you could then unpack it and put it all together. Maybe.

What do you think?

MAXIMUS!

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"Are you not entertained?"

[BFGfreak]

It looks like some of the concepts I've seen for the hypothetical Nova lift vehicle that was tossed around back in the apollo days.

[wasmic]

That is impressive.

[Thourion]

Wow! i had this idea in my mind for sooo long. I wanted exactly that, a huge launcher that takes the payload inside.

In my brain the whole thing was gonna cut/open in half once in orbit though, but your version is way better.

1 million thanks

[reschke]

Sounds like a conflict of file versions or missing files between the two packs. I don't support the legacy files so I can't help you there. The craft file is likely bugged due to KSP updates since I created it or I forgot to update it correctly when I updated its parts.

I'm working on repackaging all of my current mods into a mega-pack and refresh all of craft files and other supporting documentation. Hopefully those types of issues will be gone when I finish that.

Thanks for the heads up. I am working on a solution to get this rover to work in .25 but I am not anywhere close to a solution as of right now.

Update while typing:

I finally got around to looking at the issue and I am showing the following parts as not available in the VAB when trying to get your Dune Raider launcher setup working.

FH-COR-1A

FH-TNK-1A

FH-CRD-1A

FH-TRC-1A

FH-TNK-2A

FH-LEG-1A

FH-ENG-1A

DR-CHS-1A

DR-WHL-1A

DR-WHL-2A

DR-BDY-1A

Each one of those are loaded into my installation of KSP but I can not figure out where in the part file the information is wrong to allow them to work with the tech tree within .25.

[Absolution]

Thanks for the heads up. I am working on a solution to get this rover to work in .25 but I am not anywhere close to a solution as of right now.

Each one of those are loaded into my installation of KSP but I can not figure out where in the part file the information is wrong to allow them to work with the tech tree within .25.

That is the problem right there. They are not tech tree enabled. In fact, they pre-date the tech tree entirely.

To enable them in the tech tree you need to add a line to the config file of each part:

"TechRequired = xyz"

The "xyz" is the "Node Name". From the wiki: http://wiki.kerbalspaceprogram.com/wiki/Technology_tree

Example:

// --- editor parameters ---
TechRequired = veryHeavyRocketry
entryCost = 100
cost = 1000
category = Propulsion
subcategory = 0
title = CSB-720-1
manufacturer = C.O.R.E. Concept Rocket Engineering
description = The biggest rocket ever conceived by a guy named Stanley.

My mega pack will enable the tech tree for all the parts. I can't promise they will be properly balanced against stock parts but at least you'll be able to use them in the campaign.

Does that help?

-----

@Thourion

Hopefully the Maximus is meeting your launching needs. Your idea was my first idea, actually, and it failed because the two shell halves wobbled way too much and contributed to the instability of the rocket. I didn't like the idea of having to extract a payload from a container like I ultimately ended up with but "form follows function".

[reschke]

Does that help?

I had forgotten what the code was that I needed to put in the part files and yes that is a huge help. Thanks for the time. BTW I love the Maximus.

[shadowsutekh]

It's been fun using your stuff and watching it change for the last two years.

[reschke]

Got the Dune Raider working now and it hums along like a champ in .25; I just added in that first part of the code and it came to life.

[Absolution]

I think its time for an update.

I've been slaving away quite a lot over the last two weeks on the First Light and I am making great progress. If you've been following this at all you'll know that the entire ship has been modeled and has undergone some preliminary testing.

The first major finding from the preliminary tests is that the weight and balance of the ship is completely wrong. I failed to realize that by putting all of the ~50 tonnes of fuel in the aft 20% of the ship that it would result in a very awkward control scheme with pitching, yawing or translating. Furthermore, as the fuel load burns off the CG of the ship shifts quite significantly aft to forward. That means it is impossible for me to design an RCS system that would work. A whole week was dedicated to designing a solution that I think is quite clever. I redesigned the fuel tank. Instead of one tank at the back of the ship there is now two tanks; one in the aft and one in the front. Not only does that shift the starting CG to the center of the ship but it allows the player to transfer fuel from one tank to the other. In other words you'll be able to shift the CG front to back on command. Okay, maybe its not so clever considering mariners have been using ballast to keep their boats from tipping over for thousands of years but I still gave myself a pat on the back.

I had planned on redesigning the fuel tanks eventually anyway so I don't consider that whole week a set-back. Also part of that plan was to redesign the engines so that, too, is happening now instead of later.

So that's the "bad" news if you've been waiting for First Light but you'll be getting a better product upon first release. The "good" news is that I am now going through the last design pass on each of the parts. I am adding in details, textures, normal maps, emissives, etc.

So here is where I am now.

Design stages (the higher the number the closer to release):

Not Started = 0

Modeling = 1

UV Unwrapping = 2

Texturing = 3

Unity Configuration = 4

Testing = 5

Ready for Release = 6

Modules:

Docking Module: 5

Command Module: 5

Module Hub: 5

Habitation Module: 1

Payload Module: 1

Fuel Tank: 5

Engines: 0

Payload Canister: 0

Payload Shroud: 0

The intent is to release all of that, minus the shroud and canister, as a preview build for community testing. Once that is all released into the wild I will design the canister and shroud. Once those two are done and any bugs are squashed I will do a full release. Sound good?

[Neutrinovore]

Heh, sounds good to me, sir!

Of course I and, I'm sure, many others would like to have everything in a completely finished state yesterday, I do acknowledge that quality takes time, so you do what you need to do to get everything set to your satisfaction.

That being said, screenshots are always appreciated, though, lol. Gives us something to drool over and look forward to.

Keep on keepin' on, Absolution!

[Absolution]

The status of the Hab and Payload Modules are deceiving. The modeling and UV unwrapping is 95% done on both. I just need to tweak a few things to get them to match up with the already tweaked Hub module. In fact, in the time between my two posts I've already finished the modeling on the Hab and I'm working on the textures next.

Unfortunately for me the textures are the most labor intensive portion. I've got my artistic direction set in stone but now that I am doing the 'final' textures there's a lot of little details to get in. Of course, when I say "little details" I mean that for someone of my novice skill. I can't compete with the better known modders.

I'll have pictures up soon.