First project , tips and crits appreciated :)

[orson]

http://img269.imageshack.us/img269/3401/ksp1i.jpg

Hi all , been sending things into space for a while now ... thanks to all the part and plugin makers that make this game fresh on an almost daily basis

...so i figured i would have a go at making a rocket ....

Easy bit done , now to try and get it all in-game : /

starting off small with 3 engines , 3 tanks , 2m->1m adapter , asas , pod and coupler , satellite and 4 piece shroud .

Keep thinking there should be more modelling to do lol.... only 1 resolution LOD and no interiors , geometry ?

I have a question ...

Should i keep each part on a separate texture or can i group a few onto one sheet ?

cheers

Orson

Edited October 5, 2012 by orson
removing img tags

[CAPFlyer]

Only critique I have is remove the bulkheads from the fairings. Makes the upper fairing more flexible because you can use the full volume for bigger satellites and payloads and removes collision issues in the game. If you make the fairings right, you can get the rigidity you need by attaching 4x struts between each fairing section and the payload/upper stage.

[orson]

Only critique I have is remove the bulkheads from the fairings. Makes the upper fairing more flexible because you can use the full volume for bigger satellites and payloads and removes collision issues in the game. If you make the fairings right, you can get the rigidity you need by attaching 4x struts between each fairing section and the payload/upper stage.

I hoped the bulkheads in the fairing would be more cosmetic , with no collision mesh , easily removed though .

Spent today working out node_stack_top and bottom : /

[CAPFlyer]

They might work, I'm not 100% sure with Unity. I've noticed though that the meshes seem to have some level of collider on them, especially if you make the surfaces attachable, even if there's not a specific collision mesh at that location (i.e. if you hit it it won't crash, but stuff will "bump" into it still).

The other problem that you run into is that if you want to change things, the bulkheads make it hard to select what you want since you can't necessarily see what you're selecting.

[orson]

They might work, I'm not 100% sure with Unity. I've noticed though that the meshes seem to have some level of collider on them, especially if you make the surfaces attachable, even if there's not a specific collision mesh at that location (i.e. if you hit it it won't crash, but stuff will "bump" into it still).

The other problem that you run into is that if you want to change things, the bulkheads make it hard to select what you want since you can't necessarily see what you're selecting.

I get your point about obscuring the payload , but cosmetic problems will be solved after i sort this out : /

do i have to set this up in part tools ?

http://img228.imageshack.us/img228/4981/houstonv.jpg

orson -" Huston we have a problem "

Huston -"... problem ? "

so this is how the node is setup , am guessing its totaly wrong for a radial ?

http://img402.imageshack.us/img402/6312/blendshroud.jpg

Edited August 13, 2012 by orson

[orson]

^^

The answer to the nose fairing problem was in the Unity Part Tools tutorial , i need a mesh collider , not node collider for radial mount .

[orson]

This news just coming in .......Reports of strange objects orbiting Kerbin warranted investigation by KSP officials but was found to be nothing more than a cow trying to achieve Munar orbit.

In other news , a little dog was said to have laughed to see such fun .

and now the weather

[orson]

One of the parts i am trying to make is an adaptor for a payload , the part appears in game and 2 of the 3 helper nodes work perfectly , they all appear in the correct places..... but the top one refuses to work : /

any suggestions ?

[orson]

So moving on from the cow , I started on a small project ..an old favourite of mine from the UFO series

http://ufoseries.com/preProduction/moonmobile.jpg

Moon Hopper

Found a guy that makes some awesome scratch built replicas , make for good reference.

http://www.davidsissonmodels.co.uk/moonmobile.htm

some wip soonish

[orson]

This is how the model looks so far

[SkyHook]

Looks excellent man! Whats the ETA on release?

[orson]

Looks excellent man! Whats the ETA on release?

No idea when it will be released , when its ready i guess

[orson]

Had a rethink of most of the mesh this weekend , better topology(ish)

4k+ verts so far , can loose quite a bit on the landing gear if needed .

Anybody got any ideas about how to implement it ?

I would like it to be a ready made vehicle, as the parts would be quite specific to this craft ...but it wouldnt be KSP if you couldnt bolt some random stuff together and fire yourself into the ocean ... so being modular might be better ?

[TheCardinal]

Unless i'm mistaken, you'll probably HAVE to split up the craft. It still isn't possible to have a part function in several ways.

Command pod, fuel tank, rocket engines, probably RCS tank, landing structure are at least five parts.

Should you choose to keep the moonhopper as 1 part, it won't ever fly.

[orson]

Unless i'm mistaken, you'll probably HAVE to split up the craft. It still isn't possible to have a part function in several ways.

Command pod, fuel tank, rocket engines, probably RCS tank, landing structure are at least five parts.

Should you choose to keep the moonhopper as 1 part, it won't ever fly.

I see the point , indeed well modular will do juzt fine then

On the point of getting it to fly , as you can see the orientation would require VTOL ....maybe when its in game.

[orson]

dig that purple hair , thats what space will be like in the future !!

http://www.cloudster.com/Sets&Vehicles/UFO_MoonHopper/ShadoMoonHopperTop.htm

Most of the exterior model down , few bits and bobs left to add

Large image

http://imageshack.us/a/img191/3448/mh8w.jpg

so far its landing gear, command pod , habitat tube, airlock, hull/fuel, main engine pack, rear engines, retro,

http://imageshack.us/a/img24/5368/mh7a.jpg

hatch and ladder made but yet to add animation..

left to do .....textures/normals , RCS tank/s and thrusters , lights , interior , get it in game, make it fly.....stuff like that

[Mekan1k]

There was a craft like that... the Eagle?

Search it on this site- it was a great rocket for 0.16, and kind of explody in 0.17, but it was most of what you wanted to design right there.

[orson]

There was a craft like that... the Eagle?

Search it on this site- it was a great rocket for 0.16, and kind of explody in 0.17, but it was most of what you wanted to design right there.

The Eagle addon is awesome , hope to get this thing working as nice ....

well , it flies ! ...... to a degree , i let mechjeb handle that for now lol

I used a stock engine for testing , the poodle , lifts it no probs ofc , would be way too strong for what is needed , next parts to add would be some RCS and its own advsas module

http://imageshack.us/a/img255/4896/itflies.jpg

Had some teething problems as usual . node placement is still hard going . I tried to gain co-ords from blender as explained in posts on this forum ..but they didnt correspond to ingame co-ords .

here is an e.g ..see if anyone can explain what im doing wrong ..

blender coords for a vert X-1.05809m , Y -1.97322m , Z -65.38106cm

i saw the Z pos and thought , as it was cm and not meters i would use Z -0.65 ...as the first one number given puts the node off the screen somewhere , but using -0.65 also removed it from play ??

The main problems i have right now are the landing gear and the engine

When i place a set of legs further sets become un-selectable in the parts menu , i can see it but its not active on a mouse over , also can a part connect by more than one connector orb to a single part .. i.e 2 orbs on the legs connect to 2 orbs on the hull ? Currently uses one orb to attach but its prone to a wobble and i wanted a rock solid bond (kerbal style) .

As you can see from the screenshot i did get 2 sets of legs attached , so i think it might be another part throwing it out ?

The code from the legs , sorry im not up on forum language or i would put it all in the right tags

name = MHlegs

module = HLandingLeg

author = Orson

mesh = MHlegs.DAE

rescaleFactor = 1.1

texture = MHlegs.png

rescaleFactor = 1.1

//definition format is forward back X, up and down Y, left and right Z

node_stack_top = 0.0, -1.90, -1.95, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 1

node_stack_bottom = -1.058, -1.9, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 1

//node_stack_bottom = 0.0, -1.90, 1.81, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 1

cost = 250

category = 2

subcategory = 0

title = MHlegs

manufacturer = Orsonic Interplanetary Operations.

description = Leg assembly.

attachRules = 1,0,1,0,1

mass = 0.05

dragModelType = default

maximum_drag = 0.2

minimum_drag = 0.2

angularDrag = 1

crashTolerance = 100

breakingForce = 1000

breakingTorque = 1000

maxTemp = 2000

[orson]

moar fun had while testing , look at Jebs face bless him , he thinks hes actually flying ...didnt see the crafty mech on the back

http://imageshack.us/a/img831/1644/screenshot0wb.png

tha muns the other way dude !

http://imageshack.us/a/img23/3280/screenshot1so.png

http://imageshack.us/a/img688/3803/screenshot2aw.png

soft landing , thanks mechjeb (looking at Jebs face, i think he realised at this point he had been merely ballast for the test run )

http://imageshack.us/a/img7/2327/screenshot3if.png

[TheCardinal]

Nice, Orson!

Strange that this thread receives so few posts. You should think such a nice craft would get a lot op reactions.

[BobCat]

Nice craft, but there are problems with the interior in such an orientation command pod. Legs have work suspension?

Edited October 11, 2012 by BobCat

[orson]

Nice, Orson!

Strange that this thread receives so few posts. You should think such a nice craft would get a lot op reactions.

Thanks TheCardinal ..Heh.. MunHopper will live eventually !

maybe its just not everyone's cup of tea , has a quick sniff at armpits ...or maybe its just me ?

shrug..work carries on regardless

Nice craft, but there are problems with the interior in such an orientation command pod. Legs have work suspension?

Hey BobCat thanks

pod orientation ... yep i didn't know if this was going to cause a major headache or not , perhaps when i get the whole thing in game i could ask for a little advice on getting that sorted ?

The legs are not animated right now , I have no idea so far how to add working suspension but it was on the list to do, maybe if i havn't worked it out by then i could ask for some more advice ?

I was in a learning mode with blender recently , tried to play with unity but my poor old brain cant take in like it used to , melt down lol ... one program at a time

[BobCat]

if problem to unity, welcome PM

[orson]

if problem to unity, welcome PM

awesome man.......untill i reach that point , i'll carry on with at least trying to get all the connectors and basic stuff working

[TheCardinal]

....

I was in a learning mode with blender recently , tried to play with unity but my poor old brain cant take in like it used to , melt down lol ... one program at a time

I know the sentiment. My brain went on overload a very long time ago (and i still have to succeed in getting a part loaded in KSP).