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

[RyanRising]

there is still the old method of launching 64 bit (grabbing the launcher from unity and renaming it)

and he still doesn't want to get flooded in "OMG I crash on 64 bit" until unity stables up for 64 bit windows

Yeah, I know. I just really like having things fly as they should, but I also like being able to fly them under a sky populated with soft-looking clouds where mountains fade to blue in the distance, or underneath a sky full of all the tiny points that are stars coming from a 4k skybox, each Kerbonaut in a spacesuit designed for their class (and some orange ones for the veterans), and having a few select parts out of Ven's revamp that I like the most. I like my mods, in other words. A lot of them.

[Volt]

I've copied in the Gamedata folder from the master. The error seems to persist (sorry to be a pain).

[Dimenus]

Sorry, I'm terrible at working Github. Would I be able to get this fix immediately? I tried downloading and installing the FAR folder as it stands but it's the same version.

Use git to create a working repository of the master branch ( easily googlable). Then when he publishes fixes, do a 'git pull' on that repository.

- - - Updated - - -

I've copied in the Gamedata folder from the master. The error seems to persist (sorry to be a pain).

If you look at the commits, he's not recompiling the source each time. If you're really interested in getting it to work, you can compile it yourself.

But to that you'll need Unity installed and to re-add all of the references.

Edited May 19, 2015 by Dimenus
clarity

[Volt]

Oh dear. I think it can wait, heh. Don't mess with that which you have no understanding of.

Edited May 19, 2015 by Volt

[Darkway]

Hello. I know that the problem happened to some before nuFAR got released, but now I have the bug too. FAR just dies. The whole aero simulation ends for some reason, and my craft just kisses the surface without losing any speed on reentry. Parts don't even heat up. The problem is hard to reproduce, because it happens totally randomly, once about every 5 reentries or so. Far dies all together when this happens, after an incident, in the VAB, while the FAR window can be brought up, it refuses to calculate stability derivatives, or voxels.

I have ModuleManager, FAR (front page version), KW rocketry, and Crowd Sourced Science installed and nothing else. I have the Modular Flight Integrator, and playing on 32 bit default graphics mode. FAR works wonderfully until the bug happens.

Some evidences:

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The bigger craft is about to come home from a flyby at the Mun, the smaller one is just coming down from a LKO. I dont know when FAR dies actually, cuz I get no feedback whatsoever, so i find the error only during reentry.

Edited May 19, 2015 by Darkway

[Zorbaq]

Whilst EVA-ing with any of my kerbals (regardless of the current situation; happens on the launch pad as well as while orbiting) "Fanno" spams my debug log with this:

NullReferenceException: Object reference not set to an instance of an object
  at FerramAerospaceResearch.FARGUI.FARFlightGUI.PhysicsCalcs.CalculateForceBreakdown (Vector3d velVectorNorm, Vector3d velVector) [0x00000] in <filename unknown>:0 

  at FerramAerospaceResearch.FARGUI.FARFlightGUI.PhysicsCalcs.UpdatePhysicsParameters () [0x00000] in <filename unknown>:0 

  at FerramAerospaceResearch.FARGUI.FARFlightGUI.FlightGUI.FixedUpdate () [0x00000] in <filename unknown>:0

I tried one of the dev builds (somewhere around 17th May) but it consistently summoned forth a Kraken devouring all my active flights (namely while transitioning between VAB and the Launch Pad) and I'm a bit reluctant to try the latest one.

Sorry if this has been addressed before, though I did perform a search referencing "CalculateForceBreakdown".

Edited May 19, 2015 by Zorbaq

[ferram4]

@Volt: To the best of my knowledge, latest dev build fixes it. Then again, I'm trusting taniwha, since I don't use KIS.

@Darkway: Known issue, fixed in dev build, has been addressed a few times in the thread already.

@Zorbaq: Should be fixed in the latest dev build.

[Darkway]

@Darkway: Known issue, fixed in dev build, has been addressed a few times in the thread already.

I know that it was reported, but didnt know if you found the bug or not. Trying the latest dev version now. Thanks!

EDIT: Seems to be working nicely. Thanks again!

Edited May 19, 2015 by Darkway

[Dimenus]

Oh dear. I think it can wait, heh. Don't mess with that which you have no understanding of.

He built the last commit, so its probably worth a re-test now.

[Volt]

Unfortunately, the error persists with the latest dev Gamedata folder, same error as before.

[mreadshaw]

I welded a bunch of wing connectors together to build a under-body for my shuttle. I removed the stock wing modules but I'm not sure if I need to add something for it to function properly in FAR. My thought is that the voxels should do the job just fine since it's really acting as a body piece but I know that FAR wings still need a special module.

[tetryds]

@mreadshaw: when one side of the wings is fully contained it stops acting as a wing.

So it should be working just fine without editing any stock parameters.

Just make sure there aren't any holes.

Edit: this also means that what you get from that part by itself has nothing to do with how it will behave on the craft.

[mreadshaw]

Awesome! Thanks tetryds. There is a small gap at the back currently but I should be able to fix that easily.

Is there a good guide on how modify a craft to change specific stability derivatives? Also am I correct that +z is up in the SPH and +x is toward the doors?

[Wanderfound]

Awesome! Thanks tetryds. There is a small gap at the back currently but I should be able to fix that easily.

Is there a good guide on how modify a craft to change specific stability derivatives? Also am I correct that +z is up in the SPH and +x is toward the doors?

Are you talking about part modding or just airframe design? If the latter:

* Yaw problem = moar tailfin or pull CoM forwards.

* Roll problem = moar wingspan or dihedral.

* Pitch-up problem = moar lift at back or less up front.

* Other forward/down problem = moar wing or less weight.

There are subtleties beyond that, of course, but those'll do to start with.

The X's and Y's relate to these axes:

[ferram4]

If you're sitting there wondering why Z+ is down, it's because 1) we'd like a pitch-up moment to be positive, and 2) we'd like a right-handed coordinate system because we like consistency. So since X is forward, in order to have pitch-up be positive Y+ needs to go to the vehicle's right, which then leads to the requirement that Z+ be down.

[jrandom]

So I tried sending up a pod for the first time since I installed FAR (been flying planes and whatnot), and ran into that "pods keep flipping around!" issue I vaguely remember hearing about. I see that the CoL is lower than the CoM (opposite of what it used to be back when I played KSP .25), and adding a parachute just amplifies the issue.

Is this correct and you just have to rely on SAS + shallow reentry (eg. pilot error) or a genuine issue? (I see this both in Fanno and the latest dev build, and both with and without Deadly Reentry installed.)

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[blowfish]

Ignore the CoL indicator and do static analysis (you probably want to turn it upside down though to assure that the bottom is pointing into the airstream though).

[steve_v]

I'm seeing an issue (regression?) regards the vessel axis for cross section graphs since git @ 18/05...

18/05:

19/05:

20/05:

Curiously enough, adding a pair of drop tanks under the wings (in this case, rad. decoupler + MRS radial tank) 'fixes' the issue.

Looks to be cosmetic only, craft flies fine. For a low-tech VTOL full of compromises that is

Edited May 20, 2015 by steve_v
Screens transposed, add one more.

[ferram4]

@jrandom: I have no idea what you're talking about. That issue was fixed back in Fanno and has never reappeared. Both pods are stable, with and without heatshields, when oriented blunt-end down into the flow. It is possible that the Mk1 is also stable nose-first, but that would be correct since that's the same exact situation as with Mercury, IIRC.

@steve_v: Yeah, I know. There are some adjustments to it in today's builds; always check the latest builds.

[Jashin]

Hi there Ferram. Thanks a lot for all your work on the last update, it was a pleasure to discover how you used the new aero model for this version of FAR.

I have been using the old version since 0.23 to this day, and I seem to be having a harder time launching my rockets now. I've tried to launch a big one recently and it seems to be quite hard to steer properly : I think I'm reaching terminal velocity too early in the lower atmosphere, going transonic a little bit before 10km because of some powerful boosters. I will try to see if less powerful ones will do the trick, but I was just wondering whether the ascent profile I was using before needed some change with the new FAR : I used to be steering the rocket very early at liftoff about 5° West and then simply proceed with my gravity turn as usual.

Again, thanks for your work

[Autochton]

One thing I've thought a little on but which does not seem obvious to me: How does engine exhaust affect wave drag? IRL, I mean, though I wouldn't be surprised if FAR deals well with it.

Here's my thought process: Wave drag is caused by air being displaced by the passage of the hull, and the more radically the air displacement takes place, the more drag it produces. Jet and rocket engines emit significant amounts of high-temperature expanding gas in the area behind them - and while that seems like it might not affect a vehicle when the exhaust is at the very rear of the hull, I would expect it to have at least some effect when e.g. engines are mid-hull mounted as you might see in the SKYLON design.

I tend to like mounting engines on the sides(/tops/bottoms) of planes, as that brings them in closer to the center of mass, so it sparked a bit of curiosity, but I don't quite know where I'd begin to look for a relative layman's explanation. (I know a fair bit of physics - including thermodynamics - but I'm certainly no aerodynamicist.)

[Volt]

I can confirm that today's build fixed the KIS inventory bug. Thanks Ferram and tani for the quick fix!

[B15HOP_xmen]

@ferram4

I realise you are epic busy. I have absolute gratitude for your mod. etc...

I'm curious if ferram includes shock wave drag in combination with the area rule.

Eg in this video:

I recommend anyone using nuFAR watch this video. It blows my mind how much we don't see with regards to real plane designs.

[Ser]

@Ser: I'm not able to reproduce that with a 2.5m shield and a 1.25m bay, except at very low Mach numbers where the convective flux should get around the shield. Then again, the heat isn't gonna be that high at those speeds.

I'll test that again with new dev update of DRE and if it persisits I'll post my test vessel.

[Soda Popinski]

With 1.0, I decided to try playing Career Stock, but I miss FAR and a few other realism mods too much.

Before installing FAR, I'd like to know if recovering parts from orbit is still doable with stock parts? I've typically been using the ARM Grabber, but am worried the airflow will be a bit much for stability.

Edited May 20, 2015 by Soda Popinski