[1.3.1] LonesomeRobots Aerospace: POLYOT

[silentvelcro]

POLYOT PROBE. (ver1.0)

Originally a kermunist design anti-satellite system, has since been converted to a science probe. The warhead part is now filled with Radar Altimetry sensors and various science experiments.
Rumour has it that if you slam it hard enough on a satellite or space station it will still do the job it was originally designed to do.
Consits of 3 parts: Main bus featuring liquid fuel, oxidizer, monopropellant, liquid fuel engines, a generator and attitude control monopropellant RCS thrusters.
Guidance unit featuring a probe core, Level 3 SAS Control, antennas, data transmitter and 4 high power translation control thrusters that use liquid fuel and oxidizer. Also features a Flight Computer if you have kOS installed.
Finally the science payload, if you have SCANsat installed, it will work as a RADAR altimetry sensor. Also contains a gravity sensor and experiment, a temperature sensor and experiment, as well as a Mystery Goo experiment.

Use @raidernick's awesome R7 from his Soviet Rockets mod to launch the Polyot.

This mod comes bundled with dependencies. Module Manager, Textures Unlimited (For reflections and general texture awesomeness).

INSTALLATION
Unzip and merge with your GameData folder.
The folder GameData/LonesomeRobots from the zip must be merged with, not replace, any existing GameData/LonesomeRobots folder.

DOWNLOAD

https://spacedock.info/mod/1637/Polyot. LonesomeRobots Aerospace

.craft files for all LRAERO ships can be found here . These are saved from KSP 1.3.1.

Licensing.
This mod is licensed under:
Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International Public License

Redistributed with this mod.
ModuleManager created by Sarbian. Redistributed as per license.
Textures Unlimited created by Shadowmage. Redistributed as per license.

Screenshots

 

Edited January 7, 2018 by silentvelcro

[Taio06]

Usually I do not comment on mods but this is Very Well Done outstanding texture. Any chance I can get you to make a few specific parts ? lmao or rather what program did you make them in ? 

 

[silentvelcro]

Hi @Taio06 thank you for your kind words and glad you like the mod. I create my models in C4D and the textures in Photoshop and sometimes Illustrator.

[Electrograch]

I never write on this forum, but for your outstanding work I especially created this account.

First of all, the richness of your modelling is just breathtakingly beautiful! I really can't think of any other mod which is as nice to look at as yours.

Secondly, I think your work is really underrated in the community. I mean for me your mods are really in the leage of the big ones but you don't seem to get the same amount of people... I know it means additional work and trouble making your mods available on CKAN but maybe it would allow you to reach a far bigger community and thereby the appriciation and support your work deserves?

In any way keep up your brilliant work!

[silentvelcro]

Hello @Electrograch. Thank you so much for your kind words. I really appreciate it and i am so glad that you are enjoying the LRAero mods.
The CKAN thing keeps popping up in the comments and it seems that it is high time to look into this.
Or should we keep this a niche for people willing to download, copy and paste manually? Answers on a postcard...

[Syrius]

I have really come to love ALL of Lonesome Robots Aerospace mods. 

The parts are amazingly detailed and well done, they add a lot of options and fun to the game, and in general just incredible. Like Electro mentioned I am surprised that you have not been showcased as much as others. 

At this point I almost just auto DL anything you make because they are always winners. Keep up the good work and I cannot wait to see what else you come out with.

Edited January 8, 2018 by Syrius

[silentvelcro]

Hi @Syrius. Thank you so much for your support and kind remarks! Hope i bring fun and meaningful addition to our favourite game with my work.

Comments like yours and from the other posters on this thread are the best kind of reward and inspiration i can ask for.

It makes me so happy that you guys like playing with the LRAero mods as much as i love making them. Cheers!

[THX-1138]

Hello @silentvelcro,

You have a unique touch when making mods for KSP.  I enjoy every single one of your works, some more than others but they are all have great workmanship, attention to detail which make them stand out.  I know that this is a hobby for you but I really hope that you will continue to follow KSP versioning and do not disappear in time as many of your predecessors have done.  Downloading now.

P.S.: 

Do you have any updates in regards to DADV-1 and making the elevator? 

Do you have plans to make rovers? colonization surface and/or space equipment?

I notice that you enjoy or are inspired by North American and Soviet aerospace technologies from the late 1950 to early 1960s.

[silentvelcro]

Hi @THX-1138. Can't thank you enough for your kind words!

Regarding the update cycle. I am now finishing the interiors (which is always tedious) for the Duna Base Camp and HOYO CEV expansion (New tracking solar panels, engines and the huge SM for the HOYO capsule) for use with the DADV.
I also switched reflections for all my mods to the awesome Textures Unlimited (i am dropping Texture Replacer) and also added the solar shader to all solar panels.
So i will release the DBC and the updates for the rest of the mods and then i am gonna look at fixing the DADV elevator and/or rover.
I love vintage space stuff. The aesthetics of the era are awesome. I have one more vintage mod i made but needs serious balancing and some rework. A take on the soviet TMK-1.
Cheers!
 

[Syrius]

8 hours ago, silentvelcro said:

Regarding the update cycle. I am now finishing the interiors (which is always tedious) for the Duna Base Camp and HOYO CEV expansion (New tracking solar panels, engines and the huge SM for the HOYO capsule) for use with the DADV.

I love vintage space stuff. The aesthetics of the era are awesome. I have one more vintage mod i made but needs serious balancing and some rework. A take on the soviet TMK-1.
Cheers!

YES! OMG I would love to see some colonization/lunar planet structures made by Lonesome, as well as a rover build. There is a mod for A.S.E.T that had a sexy rover, albeit modern but it was nice. 

If you do get into lunar/planetary structures you could start with the older tech (50's to 70's styled) and then make an upgraded more "modern" set. You could even market it as the upgrade. Personally I love using the earlier tech (50's - 70's) when I start play and then slowly use more advanced stuff to simulate new technological advances and innovations.

I cant wait to see your next vintage mod.

[Syrius]

Maybe you could even add a rover delivery frame. 

https://imgur.com/a/er3CX

[THX-1138]

On 1/9/2018 at 4:40 AM, silentvelcro said:

Hi @THX-1138. Can't thank you enough for your kind words!

Regarding the update cycle. I am now finishing the interiors (which is always tedious) for the Duna Base Camp and HOYO CEV expansion (New tracking solar panels, engines and the huge SM for the HOYO capsule) for use with the DADV.
I also switched reflections for all my mods to the awesome Textures Unlimited (i am dropping Texture Replacer) and also added the solar shader to all solar panels.
So i will release the DBC and the updates for the rest of the mods and then i am gonna look at fixing the DADV elevator and/or rover.
I love vintage space stuff. The aesthetics of the era are awesome. I have one more vintage mod i made but needs serious balancing and some rework. A take on the soviet TMK-1.
Cheers!
 

@silentvelcro That is indeed great news! Duna Base Camp? HOYO CEV expansion to be used with DADV? What motivates you each day to make these gems?  I know it takes much time, effort night after night.  I have made mods for other games in the past and I know.  Keep it up since you have a fan of your work always looking forward to everything that you create for KSP.

[silentvelcro]

@THX-1138 When i was researching the MADV i found out about the MBC space station and the CEV variant of the Orion.
So i decided to implement all three since pretty much the DBC and the DADV need each other to work properly. The HOYO is also my first mod and could use some new parts.
Modding is quite an amount of work. I really love modelling and texturing spacecraft and KSP then sort of brings them to life, so it's double the fun.

[THX-1138]

@silentvelcro Ohhh wow!  That definitely looks extremely good and practical for my Duna colonization missions.  It is pleasant when you have a passion for one hobby that can easily compliment another one like 3D modeling, texturing and KSP does for you.  In my case, I found that creating mods took much of my time from playing the game that I was making the mods for.  Hope that you are able to balance both better than I did.

[silentvelcro]

Thank you again @Kottabos !!!

[Syrius]

Silentvelcro,

I do have some feedback for you with regards to the Polyot Probe.

Thought - First it is a great probe and something that can do a lot already; however, it is also a great platform for so much more science, power, and communication options. It comes with 3 attachment points (Engine, Unmanned Control, and the Science Package) which is great but if you wanted to upgrade or use this platform for additional science there is not much you can do to easily expand it.

Idea - Add 3 connection points over each of the "rivets" on the square frame of the Polyot (providing a total of 12 additional connection points). This would allow the installation of a variety of components such as; 

- Solar panels - for deep space energy generation without fuel consumption
- Science - Whether it is solar wind experiments, gravity sensors, etc. the connection points would allow more variety in the probes function
- Communications - If you really want to send these into deeper space they will need stronger comm arrays, with these side attachment points you can now do that.
- Payload - If you are building a larger more expansive probe core to explore the deeper reaches of space or just want to include the probes as part of the payload on a manned mission having a way to attach the Polyot to a structure or other craft on its side expands the versatility of how someone can deploy the probe. You could even expand on that idea and make a simple truss or I beam part that has a "dock" or "cradle" so a player could build say a 3.5, or 5.0 rocket but with 2, 3, or 4 (with a bi, tri, or quad cradle/coupler) of these inside a fairing. Once in orbit either the probes could be individually deployed or if part of a second stage could be sent off to do science and individually deployed once they reach their destination. If you like I even have some ideas and sketches on how this may look.

Another Idea - If the connection points did not sound interesting or in the nature of the craft (although I really think it would make the probe so much better) you could also maybe allow the science payload to open up, say the top opens up in a tri-leaf or quartered panel revealing an inside that can store more science components for those that wish to add them. This would limit how much could be added so more science would require more probes but it has promise and potential as well. And animations and moving parts are always sexy. I still think the above cradle idea however is worth investigating and you could even build a single connection point on one side to allow this to happen.

Sorry did not mean for this to be so long but your mod really got me thinking as I played more with it. If you want to chat sometime about these ideas I do have a VoIP we could use.


Big Fan,
Syrius
 

Edited January 17, 2018 by Syrius

[silentvelcro]

Hi @Syrius. Thank you for your suggestions and kind words.
I completely understand what you mean regarding deep space missions.
I wanted to explore the original design and without solar panels i had to do a lot of testing, especially with the SCANsat mod, in order for the probe to be able to fully scan a planetary body without running out of power.

Regarding the deployable science payload, i think it is quite small and you wouldn't be able to fit many experiments inside. It is supposed to already have 3 experiments and a SCANsat sensor in there .

I think the attachment node idea is better and i can work on this. I will definitely add more nodes and truss parts on the next update.
Maybe i could also make a dish antenna that fits the design better than the stock parts and solve the deep space comms problem.

I would love to see your sketches. PM them to me if you want. Cheers!

[Syrius]

5 hours ago, silentvelcro said:

I wanted to explore the original design and without solar panels i had to do a lot of testing, especially with the SCANsat mod, in order for the probe to be able to fully scan a planetary body without running out of power.

Regarding the deployable science payload, i think it is quite small and you wouldn't be able to fit many experiments inside. It is supposed to already have 3 experiments and a SCANsat sensor in there .

Well that is why I was curious about adding the attachment points on the frame, although even 1 or 2 per side is a help. 

I gather that the Science Payload may be small but again that was the thought behind the attachment points on the square frame. There are several science experiments that are small and would fit on the probe that are from other mods than SCANsat. DMOrbital Science, Probes Plus, etc. Again just an idea of how someone can use this Polyot as a probe platform for other types of science.

I will put some stuff together so when I send you a PM/message I can better show what I mean.

[Syrius]

5 hours ago, silentvelcro said:

I think the attachment node idea is better and i can work on this. I will definitely add more nodes and truss parts on the next update.
Maybe i could also make a dish antenna that fits the design better than the stock parts and solve the deep space comms problem.

I would love to see your sketches. PM them to me if you want. Cheers!

There are several points in here so I will tackle each:

Truss Parts - Sounds cool and if the sketches I have help maybe they can make the cut before the update launches, if not the next. In general I find additional ways to store, launch, and deploy objects whether a probe, sat, or vehicle to be a good thing

Antenna - I think the one you have is pretty damn awesome already. It fits well, but yeah it has a limited range when you are looking at really pushing it out to the outer planets. I have been compensating by launching Relay Comm Sats and having them orbit planets as I go. So the first KOPCommS (Kerbal Outer Planet Communications Satellite) was placed in orbit around Kerbin, the next Duna, and I have the next in transit to Jool, although to be honest it wont make it. I under powered the satellite and the solar arrays on it will not be enough to keep it functional. That being said perhaps instead if replacing the stock antenna, you can build off some of the ideas on SCANsat with antenna that fold down but have a greater communications range.

Payload Delivery Attachment Node - I will put my sketches together so when we have a chance to talk we can go over them. I have a couple of options that I think are pretty cool. Do you happen to use TS3 at all?

[Greythorn032]

I personally think this mod as it is right now is already nice enough, considering how many parts you need to slap on a satellite core to make one that does the jobs Полёт can do. reducing 5-10 part count won't significantly improve the gameplay but it still is a good thing.

On the other hand... I'd really like to see where this conversation goes. I have two Полёт sats each orbiting Duna and Eve, sent by 7.5m rockets with quite a few boosters which cost me a lot. Making it more versatile would definitely be awesome.

[silentvelcro]

All LonesomeRobots Aerospace mods have been updated. Now reflections are handled by the awesome Textures Unlimited mod by master modder Shadowmage. The solar shader is used in all solar panels.
There has been some bugs removed and a little cleanup on all mods. TextureReplacer is no longer used by any LRAero mods, so if you are not using it for anything else you can delete it from your GameData folder.

Also the Duna Base Camp & HOYO CEV expansion has been released. Check it out.

[Shadowmage]

On 1/7/2018 at 5:00 AM, silentvelcro said:

 

[snip...]

 

So very pretty.

Reflections + bloom = better than most of NASA's renders.

[Syrius]

On 1/18/2018 at 11:49 PM, Greythorn032 said:

I personally think this mod as it is right now is already nice enough, considering how many parts you need to slap on a satellite core to make one that does the jobs Полёт can do. reducing 5-10 part count won't significantly improve the gameplay but it still is a good thing.

On the other hand... I'd really like to see where this conversation goes. I have two Полёт sats each orbiting Duna and Eve, sent by 7.5m rockets with quite a few boosters which cost me a lot. Making it more versatile would definitely be awesome.

Hey Grey,

So I have been working with SilentVelcro and we have built some new parts for the Polyot probe. A mountable frame so people can send up more than 1 at a time, as well as a truss for it that will mount 2, 3, or 4 Polyot probes on the same vehicle.

It should be live in an upcoming update, but it turned out really nice.