[1.11.x] Lionhead Aerospace Circular Solar Panels v5.1 (Requires Firespitter Plugin)

[therealcrow999]

v5.1

- Darken the blue panels to match the shade of blue that stock solar panels have. I was never a favor of the original light blue of the original mod panels, they never really matched the stock game.

====================================================================================================================================================

With permission from yogui87, I am able to release my copy of the original LH Circular Panels.
It appears the old link from the original thread is gone. I may be one of many few who has still has these solar panels. 

I have also updated it to included Firespitter plugin (dependency), to change solar panels in VAB or SPH, thanks to @COL.R.Nevilleadditions he added.

Download from CKAN or Manual install below.

LH Circular Panel Sizes Album

 

 

Video Showcase v4.0:

Spoiler

 

 

The solar panels where sitting on my HD and figure I should share them with you all.

I just came back to game in 1.4.5, so far the panels work fine, they may need some updates. If anyone thinks the code needs updating
and can do it, I can re-upload with the update and give credits. By far this isn't my mod, I just had possession of the mod, these solar
panels belong to the community and yogui87 feels the same way.

The solar panels come in 3 sizes: small, medium and large. One set comes with protective cover and the other set does not. Action Groups also work.

Small  EC = 1.6/sec.
Medium EC = 3.2/sec.
Large  EC = 6.4/sec. 

In career mode, solar panels will unlock in Advanced Electrics, just like the stock solar panels.

 

LH Circular Panel EC Album

 

They come in default Black, but can be changed to Blue. 

To change color, go in:
VAB or SPH, when a solar panel is placed on a craft, right-click and you will get options to change colors. Make sure the solar panel is extend, so you can see the color change.

These solar panel were originally designed to recreate Orion type space craft, with the black circular panels. But they can be used
for any type space craft or mission.

 

You can find it on CKAN

Here is the download link for v5.1:

SpaceDock

Installation is straight forward.

You will also need Firespitter, in order to change the color of the solar panels in the VAB or SPH:

https://snjo.github.io/

Just download the Plugin and place it in your GameData folder. This is if you don't already have Firespitter. 

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The original v4.0 by yogui87, unedited by myself or anyone. For those who want it and archive purposes:

http://www.mediafire.com/file/9ijzwmctcwkjotl/LH_CircularPanel_v4.0.zip/file

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Credits and thanks to:

@COL.R.Neville For putting in the Firespitter code and other help.

@Mecripp For reference of his v5.0.

 

Original Thread:

***Written permission granted from yogui87 to distribute.

Edited February 25, 2021 by therealcrow999

[therealcrow999]

I hope everyone is getting some use out of them.

[JadeOfMaar]

On 10/26/2018 at 4:03 PM, therealcrow999 said:

Small  EC = 0.5/sec.
Medium EC = 0.75/sec.
Large  EC = 0.90/sec. 

I'm liking the idea of this mod but I'd like to suggest you buff these to playable amounts. Compare their surface areas to those of the stock solar panels and you'll see something like:

Small EC = 2/sec.
Medium EC = 10/sec.
Large EC = 24/sec. 

[Gordon Dry]

3 minutes ago, JadeOfMaar said:

you'll see something like

Stock values are too high - fitting the also too high EC consumption of antennas - so kinda balanced ...

[JadeOfMaar]

Hmm, I didn't think of antennas and science. Actually I was anticipating their use with life support mods and other mods that make high use of EC.

[Gordon Dry]

https://github.com/NathanKell/RealSolarSystem/wiki/On-MBMs-and-Other-Image-Formats

Because textures are mostly TGA.

[overkill13]

On 10/29/2018 at 1:43 PM, JadeOfMaar said:

I'm liking the idea of this mod but I'd like to suggest you buff these to playable amounts. Compare their surface areas to those of the stock solar panels and you'll see something like:

Small EC = 2/sec.
Medium EC = 10/sec.
Large EC = 24/sec. 

I reckon 1.3 (a little less than a 3X2 Foldable) , 6.5 (a little bigger than 2 OX-STAT-XLs)  and 12.5 (half a gigantor) might be more accurate.

Edited October 31, 2018 by overkill13

[COL.R.Neville]

here is the cfg i use. i fixed these along time ago for myself and friends and added in the firespitter texture switching. ive got the textures updated to dds as well if you want a copy to update yours. 

this is the small just change the rescale factor 1.1 1.8 for medium and large.  

Spoiler

PART
{
// --- general parameters ---
name = LHCircularPanel4
module = Part
author = Yogui

// --- asset parameters ---
mesh = model.mu
rescaleFactor = 0.6

// --- node definitions ---
// definition format is Position X, Position Y, Position Z, Up X, Up Y, Up Z
node_attach = 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1, 0, 0

// --- editor parameters ---
TechRequired = electrics
entryCost = 1200
cost = 300
category = Utility
subcategory = 0
title = Circular Solar Panel (small)
manufacturer = Lionhead Aerospace Inc.
description = A small circular panel to produce electricity for your ship.

// attachment rules: stack, srfAttach, allowStack, allowSrfAttach, allowCollision
attachRules = 0,1,0,0,1

// --- standard part parameters ---
mass = 0.01
dragModelType = default
maximum_drag = 0.2
minimum_drag = 0.2
angularDrag = 1
crashTolerance = 8
maxTemp = 3200

// --- Electric parameters ---
MODULE
{
    name = ModuleDeployableSolarPanel

    animationName = deploy
    sunTracking = true

    raycastTransformName = SunCatcher
    pivotName = SunPivot

    isBreakable = false

    resourceName = ElectricCharge
    chargeRate = 4
    powerCurve
     {
        key = 206000000000 0 0 0
        key = 13599840256 1 0 0
        key = 68773560320 0.5 0 0
        key = 0 10 0 0
     }
}
    MODULE
    {
        name = FStextureSwitch2
    textureRootFolder = LionHead_Aerospace_Inc/CircularPanel2/
        textureNames = CircularPanel2000;CircularPanel2010
        objectNames = Circle_001;Circle_002;Circle_003;Circle_004;Circle_005;Circle_006;Circle_007;Circle_008;Circle_009;Circle_010;Circle_011;Circle_012;Circle_013;Circle_014;Circle_015;Circle_016;Circle_017;Circle_018;Circle_019;Circle_020
        textureDisplayNames = Black;Blue
        mapNames = CircularPanel2001_NRM;CircularPanel2001_NRM
        useFuelSwitchModule = false
        nextButtonText = Next Texture
        prevButtonText = Previous Texture
        //debugMode = true
    //showinfo = true
    //showListButton = true
    }
}
 

 

[therealcrow999]

5 hours ago, COL.R.Neville said:

here is the cfg i use. i fixed these along time ago for myself and friends and added in the firespitter texture switching. ive got the textures updated to dds as well if you want a copy to update yours. 

this is the small just change the rescale factor 1.1 1.8 for medium and large.  

  Hide contents

PART
{
// --- general parameters ---
name = LHCircularPanel4
module = Part
author = Yogui

// --- asset parameters ---
mesh = model.mu
rescaleFactor = 0.6

// --- node definitions ---
// definition format is Position X, Position Y, Position Z, Up X, Up Y, Up Z
node_attach = 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1, 0, 0

// --- editor parameters ---
TechRequired = electrics
entryCost = 1200
cost = 300
category = Utility
subcategory = 0
title = Circular Solar Panel (small)
manufacturer = Lionhead Aerospace Inc.
description = A small circular panel to produce electricity for your ship.

// attachment rules: stack, srfAttach, allowStack, allowSrfAttach, allowCollision
attachRules = 0,1,0,0,1

// --- standard part parameters ---
mass = 0.01
dragModelType = default
maximum_drag = 0.2
minimum_drag = 0.2
angularDrag = 1
crashTolerance = 8
maxTemp = 3200

// --- Electric parameters ---
MODULE
{
    name = ModuleDeployableSolarPanel

    animationName = deploy
    sunTracking = true

    raycastTransformName = SunCatcher
    pivotName = SunPivot

    isBreakable = false

    resourceName = ElectricCharge
    chargeRate = 4
    powerCurve
     {
        key = 206000000000 0 0 0
        key = 13599840256 1 0 0
        key = 68773560320 0.5 0 0
        key = 0 10 0 0
     }
}
    MODULE
    {
        name = FStextureSwitch2
    textureRootFolder = LionHead_Aerospace_Inc/CircularPanel2/
        textureNames = CircularPanel2000;CircularPanel2010
        objectNames = Circle_001;Circle_002;Circle_003;Circle_004;Circle_005;Circle_006;Circle_007;Circle_008;Circle_009;Circle_010;Circle_011;Circle_012;Circle_013;Circle_014;Circle_015;Circle_016;Circle_017;Circle_018;Circle_019;Circle_020
        textureDisplayNames = Black;Blue
        mapNames = CircularPanel2001_NRM;CircularPanel2001_NRM
        useFuelSwitchModule = false
        nextButtonText = Next Texture
        prevButtonText = Previous Texture
        //debugMode = true
    //showinfo = true
    //showListButton = true
    }
}
 

 

Yeah someone I guess did that a while back:

I tested it last night and it didn't work. I guess I needed the firespitter plugin. I think that is a neat feature. 

Yeah if you want to give me a copy, I can upload it and give you guys credit. We will keep them in one spot. I will keep the download link to 4.0, for a clean copy, if for some reason, someone needs it.

 So it works fine in 1.5.1?

[COL.R.Neville]

yeah the 4.0 version  in that folder is the older one. just the lionhead aero folder zip is the updated one with dds textures etc and im using it now so yeah its good for 1.51 may want to see what the ec charge is set to on them some may already be close to what overkill was suggesting which sounds about right alot of these solar panels are set ludicrously low.  

yeah mecripp and i worked alot on the aies stuff and a bunch of other stuff long time ago. 

Edited October 31, 2018 by COL.R.Neville

[therealcrow999]

39 minutes ago, COL.R.Neville said:

yeah the 4.0 version  in that folder is the older one. just the lionhead aero folder zip is the updated one with dds textures etc and im using it now so yeah its good for 1.51 may want to see what the ec charge is set to on them some may already be close to what overkill was suggesting which sounds about right alot of these solar panels are set ludicrously low.  

yeah mecripp and i worked alot on the aies stuff and a bunch of other stuff long time ago. 

There is something in part code:

	powerCurve
     {
        key = 206000000000 0 0 0
        key = 13599840256 1 0 0
        key = 68773560320 0.5 0 0
        key = 0 10 0 0
     }
	

I don't know if it allows the panels to get more power under certain circumstances. I do agree the EC generated needs to go up more. I'm just not to sure if the power curve helps or not. 

I thought about taking out the older Module code:

	// --- Electric parameters ---
MODULE
{
    name = ModuleDeployableSolarPanel
	    animationName = deploy
    sunTracking = true
	    raycastTransformName = SunCatcher
    pivotName = SunPivot
	    isBreakable = false
	    resourceName = ElectricCharge
    chargeRate = 2.5
    powerCurve
     {
        key = 206000000000 0 0 0
        key = 13599840256 1 0 0
        key = 68773560320 0.5 0 0
        key = 0 10 0 0
     }
}
	

And replace it along the lines more updated stockish, for example:

	MODULE
    {
        name = ModuleDeployableSolarPanel
        isTracking = false
        secondaryTransformName = suncatcher
        pivotName = suncatcher
        isBreakable = false
        resourceName = ElectricCharge
        chargeRate = 0.35
        extendActionName = #autoLOC_6001805 //#autoLOC_6001805 = Extend <<1>>
        retractActionName = #autoLOC_6001806 //#autoLOC_6001806 = Retract <<1>>
        extendpanelsActionName = #autoLOC_6001807 //#autoLOC_6001807 = Toggle <<1>>
    }
	

I just don't know much about the coding. I might play around with it when I get some time.

[Mecripp]

Nice to see these parts still going and on the textures one could use the stock textures changer now

[COL.R.Neville]

yeah i thought about that too mecripp but the way each of the textures is applied to each of the "petals" I'm not sure that the stock system can do that. you can do alot with it though like model switching for different engine mounts etc.. 

the power curve if i remember correctly is based on the distance you are from the sun and does the falloff. so out by eeloo you arent going to get as much as by moho. 

be careful with the transform and pivot names since those are associated with the model and may not be the same as something built by squad. like the aies landing legs were all in portuguese i think hehe. 

im pretty sure that they are set correctly though but id double check to be sure you can use this 

 

just hit alt p in the VAB etc and it will show you all the names associated with the model. that way you can set those to the "correct" values. 

great for fixing old stuff like this.

[therealcrow999]

This is what I got for EC, now:

Small = 1.6/s

Medium = 3.2/s

Large = 6.4/s

Kind of in-line with stock panels, base on their sizes. 

I'm probably going to upload a newer version in a few days, with the Firespitter addition and tweak to EC rate. 

[therealcrow999]

With version 5.0, I am adding in mecripp code to use Firespitter to change the panels colors in the VAB. 

• The panels will unlock in Advanced Electrics, just like the stock panels. 
• I am going to keep the .tga format for the images for right now. I was having some visual issues with .dds, there was a lot of aliasing going on. I will figure that out later. Also, I would like at some point to re-do the blue color on the panels, they seem to bright. I want more of a stock color. 
• mecripp added in the code like stock extendable panels to have: heatConductivity .
• Electric charge is going up. I wanted to keep it near stock areas. I also took in consideration of their size radio. I think this number will work well, better than the original number. 

Small EC = 1.6/s

Medium EC = 3.2/s

Large EC = 6.4/s

Credits and thanks to:

@Mecripp
@COL.R.Neville

LH_CircularPanel_v5.0

Firespitter - Just download the plugin and put it in your GamaData folder, if you don't already have Firespitter from another mod. 

Edited November 1, 2018 by therealcrow999

[therealcrow999]

Also, shouldn't it be possible now with Stock game to change the skin through KSP, instead of using Firespitter? 

[Gordon Dry]

@therealcrow999 the stock switcher is okay for a low amount of variations (in this case there are two variations, so it's okay), because

 

[Gordon Dry]

I edited my config and will test it with the stock switcher next session.

[overkill13]

I still think that the medium and large panels are criminally under charging given it's size and I clipped them into the comparison panel's in my previous post, but I'll just edit the cfgs for myself.

You should probably remove the isBreakable = false since that prevents the panels from ripping off in atmospheric flight, which these panels, most certainly, should.

Edited November 1, 2018 by overkill13

[Gordon Dry]

6 hours ago, therealcrow999 said:

Also, shouldn't it be possible now with Stock game to change the skin through KSP, instead of using Firespitter? 

Ok, I already had the assumption it will fail - but I tested it whatsoever:

As you can see, the FStextureSwitch2 has a field

objectNames = Circle_001;Circle_002;Circle_003;Circle_004;Circle_005;Circle_006;Circle_007;Circle_008;Circle_009;Circle_010;Circle_011;Circle_012;Circle_013;Circle_014;Circle_015;Circle_016;Circle_017;Circle_018;Circle_019;Circle_020

I don't know if there is a counterpart in the stock texture switching.

[therealcrow999]

1 hour ago, overkill13 said:

I still think that the medium and large panels are criminally under charging given it's size and I clipped them into the comparison panel's in my previous post, but I'll just edit the cfgs for myself.

You should probably remove the isBreakable = false since that prevents the panels from ripping off in atmospheric flight, which these panels, most certainly, should.

Small I came up close to the stock small static one, 1.6, then I just doubled the number each time for each new tier. That was my simple quick way. I will probably tweak them later, I just wanted to get the 5.0 out. I believe the large LH on looking is like 1/3 the size of the Gigantor. I do like your numbers though. Like I said mine were something quick and made sense at the time, better than the defaults for sure.

isBreakable = false, I have this weird feeling yogui87 put it there because they broke off to easy, I mean way easy. I can change that too. I will just wait and see how the parts test out. If they seem fine, I will change it. I'm sure you guys had these parts longer and done a lot of test. What you guys can do is set isBreakable = true and see how they do. Do some test. I might do some test also when I get some time.

Also throw some more ideas on where the EC should be with small, medium and large. I don't want crazy numbers. I like overkills13 ideas. 

overkills13                                                                                                                            5.0

1.3 (a little less than a 3X2 Foldable)                                                                              1.6                                                  

 6.5 (a little bigger than 2 OX-STAT-XLs)                                                                          3.2

12.5 (half a gigantor) might be more accurate.                                                              6.4

 

I will come up with some better numbers later, instead of my generic ones. I know when I was seriously formulating, small started out 1.3. To me started at 1.6 made sense, then doubling each time, since each panel was in reality double the size before. 

1 hour ago, Gordon Dry said:

Ok, I already had the assumption it will fail - but I tested it whatsoever:

As you can see, the FStextureSwitch2 has a field

objectNames = Circle_001;Circle_002;Circle_003;Circle_004;Circle_005;Circle_006;Circle_007;Circle_008;Circle_009;Circle_010;Circle_011;Circle_012;Circle_013;Circle_014;Circle_015;Circle_016;Circle_017;Circle_018;Circle_019;Circle_020

I don't know if there is a counterpart in the stock texture switching.

It's like some of the new stock codes don't allow us to do thing, but only on Squad end. I notice some things like that when I was trying to update a Module code and I was using new Squad one for reference, and it didn't work at all, which it should have.

[overkill13]

3 minutes ago, therealcrow999 said:

isBreakable = false, I have this weird feeling yogui87 put it there because they broke off to easy, I mean way easy. I can change that too. I will just wait and see how the parts test out. If they seem fine, I will change it. I'm sure you guys had these parts longer and done a lot of test. What you guys can do is set isBreakable = true and see how they do. Do some test. I might do some test also when I get some time.

You don't actually set it to true, you just delete the line.  I'm about to try a reentry test with the panels deployed.  I'll return with details.

[therealcrow999]

12 minutes ago, overkill13 said:

You don't actually set it to true, you just delete the line.  I'm about to try a reentry test with the panels deployed.  I'll return with details.

Sounds good. 

[TranceaddicT]

9 hours ago, therealcrow999 said:

With version 5.0, I am adding in mecripp code to use Firespitter to change the panels colors in the VAB. 

• The panels will unlock in Advanced Electrics, just like the stock panels. 
• I am going to keep the .tga format for the images for right now. I was having some visual issues with .dds, there was a lot of aliasing going on. I will figure that out later. Also, I would like at some point to re-do the blue color on the panels, they seem to bright. I want more of a stock color. 
• mecripp added in the code like stock extendable panels to have: heatConductivity .
• Electric charge is going up. I wanted to keep it near stock areas. I also took in consideration of their size radio. I think this number will work well, better than the original number. 

Small EC = 1.6/s

Medium EC = 3.2/s

Large EC = 6.4/s

Credits and thanks to:

@Mecripp
@COL.R.Neville

LH_CircularPanel_v5.0

Firespitter - Just download the plugin and put it in your GamaData folder, if you don't already have Firespitter from another mod. 

Out of curiosity, why FS and not IFS?

[COL.R.Neville]

the is breakable is more for bumping into them in orbit or getting hit by ejection force/exhaust of fairing separation. 

just lower the temps down to 1500-1800 that will make sure they burn up during reentry.

 

when i did this originally i tried to use the part variant thing too but found out its at the part level not the object level. so its kinda one dimensional 

so changing the color of a cubic strut or fuel tank etc no problemo its one part. this is like 20 plus pieces being assembled into one part. so the part variant stuff would need to be able to do the equivalent of change the color of each face of the tank or cubic strut to a different color. Thats why i went with the firespitter plus since roverdude uses it throughout USI it was pretty safe to use since chances were it would always be kept up to date.