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[1.8.x] UnKerballed Start v1.1.0 (updated Oct 27, 2019)


SpinkAkron

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  On 2/14/2019 at 1:41 AM, SpinkAkron said:

@Trulight, In spite of being at death's door from the dreaded man cold, I bravely stayed home from work and worked on the NovaPunch config. I did end up moving almost every single part. Through OCD and over-medication, I persevered.  Want to take a looksie and let me know what you think?  You'll need to install the full mod and then stick these in GameData\UnKerballedStart\Mod Support.

NovaPunch.zip <--- that one

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Looks really good bro :), great work don't see anything out of place looks fun.

1.) Mk1 inline cockpit can be used to get a manned mission right off the start :P

2.) Mk2 Stack Decoupler in (Basic Rocketry) seems out of place.  Should swap the td-06 from (basic construction) with it.

 

Edited by Trulight
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  On 2/14/2019 at 9:40 AM, Trulight said:

 

Looks really good bro :), great work don't see anything out of place looks fun.

1.) Mk1 inline cockpit can be used to get a manned mission right off the start :P

2.) Mk2 Stack Decoupler in (Basic Rocketry) seems out of place.  Should swap the td-06 from (basic construction) with it.

 

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The Mk1 Cockpit is for making stylish science buggies.  Some weirdos think you should make "flying machines" with it. Whatever trips your trigger, I guess.

I think that decoupler must be from a mod. What  other mods are you using?

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  On 2/14/2019 at 4:08 PM, SpinkAkron said:

The Mk1 Cockpit is for making stylish science buggies.  Some weirdos think you should make "flying machines" with it. Whatever trips your trigger, I guess.

I think that decoupler must be from a mod. What  other mods are you using?

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Gonna be these probably.

kEy8vOY.jpg

 

 

Edited by Trulight
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  On 2/14/2019 at 4:27 PM, SpinkAkron said:

Recycled Parts.  I'll take a look. I won't get this one out to you early since I'll need to see what @theonegalen does with the aero stuff first.  So look for it in v1.0.  

 

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Yeah i understand that, it's the only thing i've seen out of place, and it wasn't on your end :)  We do need some mini control surfaces early on though :P

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  On 2/14/2019 at 9:40 AM, Trulight said:

 

Looks really good bro :), great work don't see anything out of place looks fun.

1.) Mk1 inline cockpit can be used to get a manned mission right off the start :P

2.) Mk2 Stack Decoupler in (Basic Rocketry) seems out of place.  Should swap the td-06 from (basic construction) with it.

 

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I would use the upgrade system to fix #1. Set the heat tolerance for the pod to about 450K and it'll burn up on every reentry. Then use the upgrade system to change the value back to normal once the actual orbital pods are unlocked. Maybe in Reentry Pods 1.

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  On 2/14/2019 at 5:14 PM, theonegalen said:

I would use the upgrade system to fix #1. Set the heat tolerance for the pod to about 450K and it'll burn up on every reentry. Then use the upgrade system to change the value back to normal once the actual orbital pods are unlocked. Maybe in Reentry Pods 1.

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I don't think it's something that needs fixed.  If a player wants to use cockpits to get around the delayed availability of capsules, that's their business.  There's no wrong way to play.  If a player doesn't want to be restricted to unmanned at start, they probably wouldn't be using this mod anyway.  My view is provide the playground, don't dictate the game.

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I suggest adding an experiment to all probe cores to avoid KSC science hopping in the beginning. RP-0 have telemetry report/ analysis, and it helps a lot. If you make flying low and space low biome dependent, then gathering science with sounding rockets becomes an alternative to KSC science.

I also would move batteries to the first node. There is not enough electrical charge in the Stayputnik to send science, and that makes the first flight a science only or a flight only mission. For me, the idea of putting something on the launchpad just to measure the temperature and barometric pressure is not a fun way to begin a space career. 

I think reaching space is a little bit too easy, and I was able to reach it without even spin stabilising using only three fins on my first (real) launch. I didn't install FAR, but I still think reaching space should be harder than that. Maybe the small liquid engine and Oscar-B tanks should be moved and the first solid-fuel booster could be made less effective by making it a bit heavier or something.

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  On 2/14/2019 at 6:34 PM, MaltYebisu said:

I suggest adding an experiment to all probe cores to avoid KSC science hopping in the beginning. RP-0 have telemetry report/ analysis, and it helps a lot. If you make flying low and space low biome dependent, then gathering science with sounding rockets becomes an alternative to KSC science.

I also would move batteries to the first node. There is not enough electrical charge in the Stayputnik to send science, and that makes the first flight a science only or a flight only mission. For me, the idea of putting something on the launchpad just to measure the temperature and barometric pressure is not a fun way to begin a space career. 

I think reaching space is a little bit too easy, and I was able to reach it without even spin stabilising using only three fins on my first (real) launch. I didn't install FAR, but I still think reaching space should be harder than that. Maybe the small liquid engine and Oscar-B tanks should be moved and the first solid-fuel booster could be made less effective by making it a bit heavier or something.

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Well, making more science available at first launch means you'll more quickly get the tech that makes getting to space easier. So the first kind of defeats the purpose of the second. Adding more science speeds up the pace.  In my mind, we're starting just after the sounding rockets phase and are ready for real rockets. They're dumb, uncontrollable rockets, but we're on the verge of changing that. 

I really like the idea of the probes having a telemetry experiment. I think it should be in stock.  If there was a standalone mod for it, I'd use it. But I'm committed to making no changes to parts other then their position on the tech tree. I don't want to limit the player's ability to mix/match mods to give them the game they want.  Too many mods do too much, in my opinion.

Hoovering up the KSC science is unfortunately something we're stuck with. I view it as the kind of easy tutorial level most games have at start.

Thinking about this puts me a bit of a mood to ramble on for a while about my design philosophy. Oh goody, says no one.

I've been trying to balance too easy vs frustrating. I prefer a very hardcore game but I know many players don't, so I try to err on the easier side.  I think it's easier to find mods/settings to make an easy game harder than a hard game easier.  I also think getting into space should be harder so I use mods like FAR and Deadly Reentry.  But I don't want to force all players to do it my way.  Everyone has their own vision of what KSP should be, which is why we make and use mods.  I try not be do anything that would be a barrier to them making theirs. If that vision includes this little contribution, that give me warm fuzzies.

I think a lot about pacing.  Where's the right balance? What's too fast for one player may be too slow for another.  I can design a tech tree to make a milestone dependent on tech at a certain tier. Like heat shields for instance.  You're not recovering anything from orbit before that.  That's the pacing I can control.  That's the one I do have to force on everyone. The other pacing is how many missions should it take to reach those milestones. That is up to each player and it controlled by how quickly you can gather science.  Change the sliders or add/remove science and contract mods and you change the pacing.  Having a contract packs that are a good match for your tech tree is important.

Anyhoo...I thought explaining my mindset might help understand where I'm coming from.  I am open to changing stuff.  I'm constantly tweaking things.  I've probably made the most changes to that starting parts. Back and forth, this way or that way.  I'm pretty satisfied with it.

 

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@MaltYebisu, upon reflection and with a much less stuffy head, I've come around.  Your suggestions would provide a much more satisfying beginning to the 'meh' that it is currently.  I'll move the battery to start and the LV-T05 up to tier 2, displacing the LV-T10 to tier 3.  Dropping the effectiveness of the SRB is a good idea too.  So thanks!

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  On 2/16/2019 at 7:51 PM, catonthekbd said:

Interesting Mod - my first time with custom tech trees.

The "remove unused tech tree node" mod seems a good "recommends" to this mod.

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Yep.  Hide Empty Tech Tree Nodes Mod

  On 2/16/2019 at 2:04 PM, MaltYebisu said:

I can't wait to try it out :)

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It'll be in v1.0 with the aero stuff.

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Suggestion: you could add a scaled down Remote Guidance Unit and make it a sounding rocket probe core that doesn't have torque. This would be better than the Stayputnik because it's more aerodynamic (assuming you also move the small nose cone to start). 

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  On 2/18/2019 at 6:44 PM, EchoLima said:

Suggestion: you could add a scaled down Remote Guidance Unit and make it a sounding rocket probe core that doesn't have torque. This would be better than the Stayputnik because it's more aerodynamic (assuming you also move the small nose cone to start). 

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The Stayputnik gets no respect.  Stayputnik deserves its moment of glory as the starting probe. There is no point in it being in the game otherwise. It serves admirably for the first few launches where there's not really much need for steering anyway. When you're ready to try for orbit at tier three, the control parts come in and you can retire the Stayputnik draped in well-deserved wreaths of glory.

Edited by SpinkAkron
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  On 2/18/2019 at 9:32 PM, catonthekbd said:

I finally made it into orbit [1] :)

I have L2 misson control and tracking station, but I could not get any manouver nodes :( what else do I need?

(I have also got FAR installed as well)

 

[1: I actually ended with 3000 m/s spare - and only using smart ASS got a lunar orbit and landing :) ]

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Gosh, it's been so long since I played without using kOS, I don't really remember how to play the normal way. Wiki says L2 Tracking Station and L2 Mission Control allows for maneuver nodes. I didn't change anything related to that.

Playing on hard mode, I just got my first unmanned Mun landing on day 309 on my 40th launch. 

I did my first manned mission on day 224 but haven't got a kerbal in orbit yet. 

Edited by SpinkAkron
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I've been using Space Age, which keeps track of all your achiements.  Here's what it looks like for my current run using kOS, Kerbal Construction Time, Oh Scrap, and a bunch of others. I'm using SETI Contracts for the career and other contract packs for everything else. Stock contracts are disabled.

  Reveal hidden contents

 

Edited by SpinkAkron
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  On 2/18/2019 at 10:11 PM, RocketPCGaming said:

@SpinkAkron Great mod so far, but I do have a suggestion: Have a .625m fairing moved to early aero? The Sputnik is under utilized but it's aero is so poor that it needs a fairing as soon as possible, especially if using FAR

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Thanks. I've got the 1.25m fairing at Aviation. A .625m one would come earlier if there was one available. Is there one in a mod? 

I'm using FAR and don't recall any problems getting through the atmo after I get controllable parts at tier 3.  I think I may have switched to the QBE at the same time tho.   Before then, it is a kind of a crapshoot. Sometimes you get lucky. Spinning is all you have for stability.   I use the AV-D13 Delta-Deluxe Winglet from aeronautics(t2) extensively but its a bit big for those early launches.  My intent is that getting to a controllable rocket feels like a real milestone rather than something you take for granted.

For v1.0,  I've made some part moves suggested by @MaltYebisu that make the game start easier but it's still pretty dicey on hard. I was stuck at 4.8 science when I got lucky and had a probe core survive impact after another failed attempt to complete the starting 18k mission from SETI Contract Pack.

Edited by SpinkAkron
spelz gud
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  On 2/18/2019 at 10:11 PM, RocketPCGaming said:

@SpinkAkron Great mod so far, but I do have a suggestion: Have a .625m fairing moved to early aero? The Sputnik is under utilized but it's aero is so poor that it needs a fairing as soon as possible, especially if using FAR

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Yes, I second this.  One of the key mistakes made by the stock game is denying you access to the fairing that is mandatory for a Stayputnik launch to work until after you have better probes than the Stayputnik, thus causing the Stayputnik to have no purpose whatsoever in the game.  In the very first Sputnik launch, the USSR already used a fairing, and it's not like a fairing is some mysterious advanced technology.

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  On 2/18/2019 at 10:07 PM, SpinkAkron said:

I've been using Space Age, which keeps track of all your achiements.  Here's what it looks like for my current run using kOS, Kerbal Construction Time, Oh Scrap, and a bunch of others. I'm using SETI Contracts for the career and other contract packs for everything else. Stock contracts are disabled.

  Reveal hidden contents

 

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Thanks for another great mod suggestion - I tried another launch and the manouver nodes were available !

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  On 2/18/2019 at 10:36 PM, Steven Mading said:

Yes, I second this.  One of the key mistakes made by the stock game is denying you access to the fairing that is mandatory for a Stayputnik launch to work until after you have better probes than the Stayputnik, thus causing the Stayputnik to have no purpose whatsoever in the game.  In the very first Sputnik launch, the USSR already used a fairing, and it's not like a fairing is some mysterious advanced technology.

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I found a .625m fairing in KSP-ExtendedAntennaProgression.  It hasn't been updated for a couple years so may be abandoned.  The license is CC BY-NC-SA so technically I would be able to include it even if I was unable contact the modder.  Sounds like it's pretty crucial to have one. hmm...

Any others anyone knows of?

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