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[Min KSP 1.12.2] Blueshift: Kerbal FTL


Angelo Kerman

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Yes, it's on CKAN!
License: Source code is GPLV3, all artwork is All Rights Reserved.

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Gerra grinned. While the project that she was originally recruited for two years ago was taking longer than expected, Project Blueshift, an offshoot of the original and equally top secret project bore fruit. She sat in the modified Mk1-3 command pod of an experimental spacecraft that was, in theory, about to become the fastest spacecraft ever built. The ship had a single RE-I5 Skipper  rocket motor, but that was just for orbital maneuvering. For the ship to go fast- really, really fast- it had a prototype torus-shaped engine that warped the very fabric of space itself. Gerra was about to find out just how fast it could go...

"Star Frontier, you are go for warp speed," FLIGHTCOM, the voice of Mission Control said.

"Copy that," Gerra responded. "Hit it..." As she throttled up, the warp engine began humming louder and its pitch increased. Kerbin, already small due to her high orbit, rapidly receded into the distance.

"Picking up some vibrations, but we're still go... Point 8 C... point nine... One point oh!...  vibrations gone, she's a magic carpet ride... One point one, wooo hooo! Ok, Throttling back..." The engineers had done it! Gerra Kerman just became the first kerbal to travel faster than light! She spun Star Frontier around to look at the home she left. It was just a pale blue dot now... "It looks so small from here," she radioed.

"Congratulations, Star Frontier, you just broke the light barrier," FLIGHTCOM radioed several seconds later. Gerra could hear the excitement in his voice. “Your accomplishment opens so many possibilities! Today, we can bend space-time and surf the waves. Tomorrow, who knows? Maybe someday we’ll be able to build a bunch of wormholes and tunnel through it with some kind of interstellar subway network, or better yet, fold space and jump across!”

Gerra caught a glimpse of something off in the distance- way off in the distance. She recognized it immediately, and she smiled.

With the new FTL technologies, Grannus didn't seem so far away anymore...

***

Blueshift is a parts mod that provides stand-alone faster than light travel. Features include:

  • A set of modular FTL parts that enable players to create custom  starships with varying capabilities.
  • A new use for asteroids and comets- mine them for Graviolium, the mysterious substance that makes FTL possible.
  • New Space Anomalies that can be discovered- and might confer technological breakthroughs.
  • Jump gates that can be discovered like space anomalies (if enabled), or player-built.

Image Album

Real-World References

https://thedebrief.org/darpa-funded-researchers-accidentally-create-the-worlds-first-warp-bubble/

Parts Pics

Spoiler

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Tips And Hints

Spoiler

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Not required, but highly recommended:

Mods that use Blueshift:

 

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Thanks all! :)

The idea behind Blueshift is to provide different and optional modes of FTL depending upon desired play style:

  • Warp engines (the default and something I need for Kerbal Flying Saucers) support ships of varying sizes and shapes, but the more massive they are, the harder it is to go FTL. And the further past light speed you want to go, the harder it is.
  • Jump Gates can be discovered or built. You can jump to any gate in the network but unless you make them, you'll have to find and rendezvous with a gate to add it to your jump network.
  • Jump engines can jump ships to any target- just select the target like you currently do in game. But engines are limited by the maximum mass that they can jump (augmented by additional gravimetric displacement generators), and by the maximum safe distance that they can jump (augmented by additional jump computers). The farther the jump, the greater the number of jump calculations that you need. You can jump at any time, but if you only have a fraction of the jump calculations needed, then you might miss-jump and end up in a random orbit.
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Looking.... Looking.... Nuts!  I don't see a download link.  Guess it's not ready to play with yet.  LOL.  Looks like it will be fun though.  Reminds me of the beacon one.  That one you have to send out satellites and get close to them to jump to another sat area.  My old game looked like sonar buoys all over space out side of the system. 

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21 hours ago, BaelRathLian said:

Looking.... Looking.... Nuts!  I don't see a download link.  Guess it's not ready to play with yet.  LOL.  Looks like it will be fun though.  Reminds me of the beacon one.  That one you have to send out satellites and get close to them to jump to another sat area.  My old game looked like sonar buoys all over space out side of the system. 

I have a ways to go before I'll have something to download. I'm hoping to finish the S-3 Warp Engine part during the Thanksgiving break, and then start working on the plugin...

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21 minutes ago, ssd21345 said:

does the engine has limit like other warp drive mods? or not?

Ships aren't limited by physical shape or size, but the vessel's mass will present design challenges. Warp engines are rated for "Maximum C Displacement" which is a fancy way of saying that they can propel a vessel up to a certain mass to light speed without imposing penalties. Beyond that displacement it will become harder to attain light speed, but you'll have additional parts with which to compensate. With stock scale, light speed is plenty fast, but to travel beyond light speed you'll need those additional parts (or a vessel that's under the maximum displacement). Or, if you like, you can stack the warp engines like so:

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The engines will work together and let you move more massive ships or let you move lighter ships faster.

Here is the start of the Star Frontier reference design from the OP's story:

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This should give you a sense of scale. I'm about done with the modeling of the part, and have started unwrapping the model.

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11 hours ago, ssd21345 said:

one of my gripes of warp drive mod that there is no way to integrate them into spaceplanes, if we have folding warp drive like kspie it might better

The S-3 "Star Frontier" Warp Engine is but one warp engine type in Blueshift. The core component (the engine itself) will be available separately, and you can combine it with warp coil parts that are shaped more like Star Trek warp nacelles. That should make it easier to build warp-powered spaceplanes.

Meanwhile, I've prepped the mesh for texturing, and have started in on the alien technology bits:

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The central part's lights even pulsate:

https://youtu.be/msYGlIu0QqE

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Just now, RealKerbal3x said:

@Angel-125 This is looking very cool, what will happen if you, say, enter a planetary atmosphere at warp speed? :sticktongue:

The warp engine plugin will be based on my existing flying saucers mod's plugin. Crazy Mode is the precursor to the warp engine, and I have checks to make sure that you don't hit the ground. I'll have to do something similar for warp speed. One of the limitations will also be that you can't activate the warp engine until you have a flat space-time metric. In other words, when the stock gravioli detector can't read the local gravity anymore, you'll be able to activate the warp engine. For Stock Kerbin, that's about 500km altitude.

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