[1.3.1] Ferram Aerospace Research: v0.15.9.1 "Liepmann" 4/2/18

[GorillaZilla]

I'm thinking B9 Airbrakes have overpowered properties, they are designed for use with the stock aerodynamics system, so they have to generate HUGE drag to add any real amount to the pea soup drag of stock KSP.

I was once experimenting with HUGE landers capable of re-entering Kerbin's atmosphere with F.A.R safely through deadly re-entry. Basically a short 3.75m core with 4 additional 3.75 outriggers tank/engines.

Re-entering head first With the Huge 6.5 meter inflateable heatshields on each Core/Outrigger I would get a normal ferocious re-entry and major heating, Jettison the shields then flip the lander back over for landing......

I experimented putting a couple of B9 airbrakes on BEHIND the inflated heatshields, and Got so much drag somehow even high up in the 50/40K altitude range I would not get any re-entry effects, and barely any heating at all.....

So I NEVER use B9 Airbrakes for anything anymore, and make my own airbrakes from Control surfaces and ect...

And when right clicked on through the re-entry, the Airbrakes were not showing particularly high drag numbers, so the B9 brakes seem do generate some kind of drag force not monitored by FAR.... Either just a different kind of drag, or some other weird way like an engine that resists the direction of Travel...

Edited March 28, 2014 by GorillaZilla

[MAKC]

B9 airbrakes don't work anymore.

[Dirt_Merchant]

B9 airbrakes don't work anymore.

Unless you update the firespitter.dll, which I assure you, allows them to function just as they are supposed to. (amazingly huge drag force for surface size aside)

[Dirt_Merchant]

@ferram4: Sorry for being a pest about this, but I thought my previous post would most clearly describe the feature I'd very much enjoy seeing in FAR. This post is the one I refer to. The only reason I bring it up is my thought that I may have escaped notice in the barrage of others around those days. Anyways, thanks again for making this totally kick-ass plugin for us!

[lammatt]

does it work with 0.23.5

[taniwha]

For the most part, yes. I haven't seen any obvious problems in my limited testing.

[theSpeare]

Only some of my parts are now showing the isShielded tag. Most of my parts just don't show it at all.

Also, I'm getting this:

NullReferenceException: Object reference not set to an instance of an object
  at ferram4.FARCargoBayModule.BayAnimationSetup () [0x00000] in <filename unknown>:0 

  at ferram4.FARCargoBayModule.OnStart (StartState start) [0x00000] in <filename unknown>:0 

  at ferram4.FARGlobalControlEditorObject.FindPartsWithoutFARModel (System.Collections.Generic.List`1 editorShip) [0x00000] in <filename unknown>:0 

  at ferram4.FARGlobalControlEditorObject.LateUpdate () [0x00000] in <filename unknown>:0 

Edited April 2, 2014 by theSpeare

[a.g.]

The new release turned lots of small parts like batteries, antennas, small science experiments into nonphysical. Parts without physics don't have any drag in any case.

Of course, exceptions like that can also break some things in FAR itself.

[GavinZac]

Unless you update the firespitter.dll, which I assure you, allows them to function just as they are supposed to. (amazingly huge drag force for surface size aside)

Astoundingly so. I was aerobraking at Eve and though it would be smart to stick a couple of them on a probe so it didn't have to dip so far into the atmosphere to be capture. The damn thing dropped like a stone*

*I am aware stones do not drop when re-entering...

[theSpeare]

It wasn't working for even just engines and fuel tanks, no isShielded.

There seems to be something wrong with FARCargoBayModule, as when it throws an exception it'll skip everything else. I have Nothke's 6S compartments and as soon as I removed my compartment everything went back to normal. Any fixes for this?

[ferram4]

The fix for those small issues is to patiently wait until I get the next experimental out, since it involves a pretty big feature to handle the blunt drag of attach node things better. Unfortunately, currently it really makes the game chug when parts stage, so that needs to be fixed first.

[theSpeare]

No problem, sorry, I was just asking. I appreciate highly what you do here No rush.

EDIT: Is there anything else we should avoid?

[Velant]

Control surfaces tweaking not working with this mod in 0.23 and 0.235! And control surfaces not reacting to input when FAR installed.

[BudgetHedgehog]

Control surfaces tweaking not working with this mod in 0.23 and 0.235! And control surfaces not reacting to input when FAR installed.

"Incorrect, FAR 0.12.5.2 is functioning perfectly fine. Whoever says it isn't has other broken mods interfering with it and is blaming the wrong thing."

[Tidus Klein]

soo in other words its .23.5 compatible right?

my download is half way done as of me typing this

[BudgetHedgehog]

soo in other words its .23.5 compatible right?

I'm almost 100% sure it is. I'm having no problems with it and ferram has stated that it compatible anyway.

[Tidus Klein]

sweet thank you

[Velant]

ObsessedWithKSP

It's FAR, not any other mod. I installed FAR - controls tweking stop working. I delete FAR - control works fine again.

[weissel]

ObsessedWithKSP

It's FAR, not any other mod. I installed FAR - controls tweking stop working. I delete FAR - control works fine again.

If it's FAR, then removing all other modules and just running FAR should exhibit the problem. Does it? Try it out!

If not, it's an interaction between 2 or more modules, one being FAR. In which case one, some or all modules in the interaction may be at fault. Which means that if Mod-XXX and FAR don't work together (but each one works perfectly alone) may still be the fault of Mod-XXX instead or FAR.

[Endersmens]

I'm having a small bug in .23.5 where toolbar wont show the far button so the far tab is always open in flight. also it will never show stalling. i can be tumbling out of control and it still reads "no stalling detected"

[ferram4]

Alright, I've updated to version 0.13 which includes a lot of optimizations from a.g. that were in the experimental, some big changes to profile drag of regular bodies that were in the experimental, special handling for asteroids so that they work properly, and making the reference geometry used for aerodynamics change with animations. Also updated to Toolbar v1.7.1 for anyone having glitches there.

It's still using the old attach node code, since the new version is very glitchy for now, as well as being really expensive to run; the methods are in the source, though, so anyone how wants to play with them can find them in FARBasicDragModel. Hopefully that will be ready for v0.13.1.

Anyway, along with trying to get the attach node drag update into the next version I'll also look into adding an API and Dirt_Merchant's "dumb" control surfaces as well.

[Scripto23]

Yay update!

Just for clarification for "Animations will cause part aerodynamics to be recalculated", does that mean something like the shielded docking port will have its aerodynamics recalculated if I open it in flight?

[ferram4]

Yes it will. So will deploying solar panels, deploying landing gear, deploying cargo bays, and deploying Interstellar's giant Microwave Transmitter-parachute.

[Dirt_Merchant]

Anyway, along with trying to get the attach node drag update into the next version I'll also look into adding an API and Dirt_Merchant's "dumb" control surfaces as well.

@ferram4: Wooo!!!

[theSpeare]

Thank you! Is the Cargo Bay issue fixed? 6S etc