totm june 2021 Working Underwater.

[ColdJ]

1 minute ago, Dientus said:

One question, does the engine not produce electricity?

The chair has a 200 unit battery, it does not produce electricity, just uses it to power everything. That was where the drain was.

Separately the Porpoise point drive no longer produces electricity because it runs off it to heat and push water, but the sub runs on RTGs so that isn't a problem.

[Dientus]

1 hour ago, ColdJ said:

Separately the Porpoise point drive no longer produces electricity because it runs off it to heat and push water, but the sub runs on RTGs so that isn't a problem.

Ahh, I see. Just a thought to add an alternator to the output shaft.

You say heat. I may have missed the details. Why not go and claim a Thermionic Generator for electricity production located in the drive if you don't like the alternator? Or for that matter you could create the thermionic gen completely separate, just like a fuel cell, but takes heat resource to make electricity.

[ColdJ]

2 hours ago, Dientus said:

Ahh, I see. Just a thought to add an alternator to the output shaft.

You say heat. I may have missed the details. Why not go and claim a Thermionic Generator for electricity production located in the drive if you don't like the alternator? Or for that matter you could create the thermionic gen completely separate, just like a fuel cell, but takes heat resource to make electricity.

The game already comes with free endless energy in the form of the RTG. For people who think thats cheating then there are the fuel cells.

Someting that requires electricity to run but then produces electricity, would be magic not science

The illusion of the Porpoise point drive is that it uses a nuclear reactor in the sub to flash boil water and then funnels it out the back to provide propulsion. Valve at front opens, water pumped in, valve closes, flash boil into high pressure steam, rear valve opens, high pressure released out the back, Sub pushed forward. I have even created a sound for it that is like a pulse cycle. Taken from an excerpt of the sonic charge going off when it was dropped by Slave 1 in Star Wars and then faded in and out. It's not too bad.

Magic is easy in KSP, balanced plausibility is hard.

Edited April 30, 2021 by ColdJ

[Dientus]

5 hours ago, ColdJ said:

The game already comes with free endless energy in the form of the RTG. For people who think thats cheating then there are the fuel cells.

 

5 hours ago, ColdJ said:

The illusion of the Porpoise point drive is that it uses a nuclear reactor in the sub to flash boil water and then funnels it out the back to provide propulsion. Valve at front opens, water pumped in, valve closes, flash boil into high pressure steam, rear valve opens, high pressure released out the back, Sub pushed forward.

Ok, got it. To sum up, if you wanted to generate electricity underwater you would use the provided RTG ingame instead of creating your own or assuming piping from the steam pulse would also run a turbine style generator. Good enough for me.

 

I was just wondering about it because I am a career tech tree type player is all 

 

[ColdJ]

4 hours ago, Dientus said:

 

Ok, got it. To sum up, if you wanted to generate electricity underwater you would use the provided RTG ingame instead of creating your own or assuming piping from the steam pulse would also run a turbine style generator. Good enough for me.

 

I was just wondering about it because I am a career tech tree type player is all 

 

No worries. I have currently just left the tech requirements at what the main mesh is. If you want to have to earn it in a Career game, simply set the Tech requirement in the cfg to what you think is fair, and then you will only be able to access it when you have unlocked that level.

[ColdJ]

With the benefit of the experience of on the job training for 2 weeks plus. I have made the Squad RCS 4 way and Linear RCS work together and if you don't care about textures, I can simply get the config files to point to the models in their normal Squad folders. So now if you can live without  Mechjeb, a folder with a handful of config files is all that anybody would need to Work Underwater. No custom sounds or effects. I will see if the standard Ion plume looks any good for the underwater thrusters. Maybe the ion sound as well, I can never seem to hear it in game though.

@Tsar_bomba

Edited May 1, 2021 by ColdJ

[ColdJ]

Hello all.

Well, many typos and mistakes and learning from repeated attempts later. The Lite version that only uses the meshes and assets that come with the standard KSP is slowly fleshing out. Also found that I had to add the EVA Ballast resource amount to those extra EVA cfg s in the Serenity Prebuilt otherwise the female Kerbals lose it when they decide to wear the white with blue and red stripes spacesuit. Though not Jeb, very strange.

Can anyone actually hear an Ion Engine in their games?

Nobody in my family can hear it even with the audio volume keys in the cfg turned way up.

I am wondering if my copy had a bad set. I can't go in and check because the location is not in a folder I can find, unlike the explosion sounds etc.

I have got the Ion Plume settings for the RCS thrusters where I want. Just enough so it is obvious they are working.

I have multiple size engines so you can go from micro sub up to Nuclear Attack, or Colony size.

I have both circular (medium and small) and radial water intakes, and a small radial that acts as an Ion Steam generator, so that micro size subs can use the EVA size RCS. Turns out the atmosphere curve of the intakes tends to be more important than the engine one. Small sub doing 10m/s tops on the surface can get up to 100m/s at depth.

You should only use the RCS thrusters yourself as the SAS tends to stutter them when cruising. Also set the authority limiter quite low on your canards when using small to micro size subs. SAS will happily drive you to a target as long as there are no high spots in the direct route. Prograde can be an issue as it tends to slowly curve in towards the ground over time.

If anybody creates a cockpit with opening canopy that you can put an external command chair in, then I can have the chair eject and have an attached parachute on the back so pilot and chair can drift down.

Turns out you don't need to mesh stack the Mechjeb AR202 into the model for the mechjeb core to work.

Light on marine and EMU chairs are properly forward and slightly down.

Ballast tanks in micro and up to Colony sub or even sink the colony you built in SPH ,to somewhere on the sea floor you want.

 

Guppy
 

Spoiler

 

Thrusters both sizes of 5 port.

 

Seen out of water.

Parachute attached to back of chair.

 

How he got there.

Spoiler

@Tsar_bomba

 

[ColdJ]

VAB SPH EDITOR EASIER ALTERNATIVE FLEXIBLE

Above is so the the Forum search engine might actually find this.

Not working underwater I know but rather than start a new thread I just wanted to endorse this great plugin that makes building in the VAB and SPH so much easier.

After looking in search engines with no luck, I asked a Forum member who has always had great knowledge about what is out there in Aether space. The Great KSP Librarian/Historian/Archivist  @Stone Blue. And he put me on to this fantastic plugin made by @linuxgurugamer.

Trying to build in the VAB has always been a pain and as I had been trying to build a very tall rocket to compete in @Kerminator K-100 s Hypersonic Ballistic Challenge. I kept losing the ends. Not to mention cramped angles.

WASD allowed me to go anywhere at any angle, at the speed of my choosing. Through the floor, ceiling, walls, as far as you like. Also to be able to gently go inside the model to find parts that had been buried inside so I could tweak them.

If you really like to make detailed and acurate models. Then I highly recommend it.

That's my 2 cents. Now back to the regular program.

Edited May 6, 2021 by ColdJ

[ColdJ]

https://wiki.kerbalspaceprogram.com/wiki/CFG_File_Documentation#EFFECTS

Handy stuff for modders  config cfg files effects audio part definitions making understanding parameters keys tangents float curves nodes mesh model scale texture volume pitch. There you go forum index, hope that covers it.

When computer says no.

[ColdJ]

If this merges then the stuff under this line is separate stuff.

All achieved with only configuration files and the stock meshes and textures you get with KSP. Here demonstrated in 1.10.1

 

Spoiler

 

This happens when you increase thrust.

Type in water and you will see these.

Type EMU to get these.

Next trick is getting ducted fan blades to push water.

 

@Tsar_bomba

[ColdJ]

I can get ducted fan blades to push water but it is not satisfying so I abandoned the idea.

[ColdJ]

@JadeOfMaar

Hi, Just while you are about. I created a very small engine to put on the back of the marine chair to give it a bit more range vs time. I was having trouble with a buoyant engine. I did finally solve it but I noticed that even though I gave it a very small buoyancy 0.0001, because negative hadn't worked, that making the engine have greater mass made it even more buoyant. I read your thread to try to understand why but I am lost. Would you have insights from your extensive work in this field?

[ColdJ]

While waiting to be able to upload. I decided to add a micro engine for the back of the marine chair. I started with Juno as a model but I could never find a sweet spot where it didn't go nose up or down, so I had to go for gimballing to account and have used the panther. I can't seem to change the mode names so weirdly it has "Dry mode" and "Wet Mode" but it works. Less than 1 meter a second on the surface but below 20 m it has a top speed of 22m/s dry or about 28 wet. Obviously if you use it too much you run your battery down quickly. The node attach for the chair is lower than roughly about right so you need to fine tune it upwards. the pics will show wher it should go when a Kerbal is in the seat.

@Tsar_bomba

Edited May 10, 2021 by ColdJ

[ColdJ]

As Jeb very patiently waits, wondering if he has to keep inventing things to reach a magic number  before getting a response from the many places he has left messages asking for help. He enjoys the latest demonstrator he has added to the Working Underwater Lite SPH, as long as he doesn't try to change pitch at full throttle. The Micro Sub.

@Tsar_bomba

[ColdJ]

Hi. not trying to bug you but my mod is now up on Spacedock so this a 1 time to let you know. Because it is the first and likely only, and I am happy.

https://spacedock.info/mod/2749/Working Underwater Lite

@Tsar_bomba@Caerfinon@Dientus@Astrion@Bej Kerman@Stone Blue@Kerminator K-100@Cavscout74@Angel-125@JadeOfMaar@Stormpilot@Spaceman.Spiff@ronillon@swjr-swis

Except for Tsar_bomba I won't tag you again.

 

[Dientus]

Thanx @ColdJ

 

 

[Caerfinon]

10 minutes ago, ColdJ said:

Because it is the first and likely only, and I am happy.

Huzzah! Well done you! (It starts with one....)

[Spaceman.Spiff]

27 minutes ago, ColdJ said:

Hi. not trying to bug you but my mod is now up on Spacedock so this a 1 time to let you know. Because it is the first and likely only, and I am happy.

https://spacedock.info/mod/2749/Working Underwater Lite

@Tsar_bomba@Caerfinon@Dientus@Astrion@Bej Kerman@Stone Blue@Kerminator K-100@Cavscout74@Angel-125@JadeOfMaar@Stormpilot@Spaceman.Spiff@ronillon@swjr-swis

Except for Tsar_bomba I won't tag you again.

 

Three things: 

1. Congrats on releasing!

2. Does it work with Restock?

3. I should be able to test Thursday or Friday as I am not at home for a few more days. I look forward to it!

 

Also, you should give this a page in the Add-on discussion 

Edited May 11, 2021 by Spaceman.Spiff

[ColdJ]

1 minute ago, Spaceman.Spiff said:

Three things: 

1. Congrats on releasing!

2. Does it work with Restock?

3. I should be able to test Thursday or Friday as I am not at home for a few more days. I look forward to it!

It works in stock Ksp without any patches, just configs, so unless restock fundamentally changes stock parts models/meshes it should be fine. As long as the original folder structure and model.mu files exist, it should be fine. It includes your E.M.U chair. Hope you have fun with it.

Just reread. what should I do in the Add on discussion? @Spaceman.Spiff

[ColdJ]

Ok. I added an Add on Discussion.

 

Been so busy submarining, time to find out what it's like to go dirt rallying in a rover under the sea.

[ColdJ]

At Zinkbots suggestion I have also put in an Add on Releases. Hope I am not coming off as grandiose.

I also reread my ReadMe.txt and found I put Iron instead of Ion. I swear I can reread something ten times and still miss typos every time.

Rallying underwater can be fun but nothing to dodge yet. Make sure you have a roll cage to catch your kerbal though. The ballast tank stops the car from flipping but the chairs don't have seat belts.

[ColdJ]

Oh, all the working out things that might have been easier if I had realised someone had preceded me 4 years previously.

Appears to be a dead thread now, but I am sure their configs could have proved insightful.

 

[Stone Blue]

17 hours ago, ColdJ said:

Oh, all the working out things that might have been easier if I had realised someone had preceded me 4 years previously.

Uhhh... i suggest searching "ballast" on SpaceDock, as well as looking at the mods on SD by @Jatwaa ...
You might find a few moar

[ColdJ]

5 hours ago, Stone Blue said:

Uhhh... i suggest searching "ballast" on SpaceDock, as well as looking at the mods on SD by @Jatwaa ...
You might find a few moar

Great Minds! I have now. I found it when checking to see how well my mod would turn up in searches. Thankfully my ballast tanks seem to be more comprehensive and don't require any new meshes, so I am crossing finger.

[Jatwaa]

On 5/12/2021 at 4:58 PM, ColdJ said:

Great Minds! I have now. I found it when checking to see how well my mod would turn up in searches. Thankfully my ballast tanks seem to be more comprehensive and don't require any new meshes, so I am crossing finger.

 two versions MOIST! and SEA (Sink Em All). 

MOIST! adds parts, SEA doesn't, just resources and functions. I love to see more ideas out there for submarines so I still think it's awesome

 

edit: If I can help, just let me know!

Edited May 14, 2021 by Jatwaa