Buffalo 2 Modular Space Exploration Vehicle

[Ooglak Kerman]

5 hours ago, Rutabaga22 said:

I am going to build a buffalo base as soon as I get home from school. Operation basealo has begun. 

Pix please!  It's time for me to start building bases on planets/moons rather than just admire them from orbit.

[TheSaint]

So, thinking out loud again: I get that you don't have time to update Pathfinder, because it's a pretty complex mod with all of the resource chains and whatnot. But what would be the odds of us getting just some simple KIS/stock construction compatible inflatable surface buildings in Buffalo? No resources, no ISRU, no workshops, no EPL. Just some habs, maybe a lab, an airlock, and some support hardware that Kerbals can throw in a container and bring to another planet to set up a quick temporary base. Because, TBH, that's mostly what I use Pathfinder for. If I'm building a permanent base, I use hard-shell buildings. But when they're just doing like a one-year expedition to say, Duna, or Laythe, then I use inflatables.

[Rutabaga22]

11 minutes ago, TheSaint said:

So, thinking out loud again: I get that you don't have time to update Pathfinder, because it's a pretty complex mod with all of the resource chains and whatnot. But what would be the odds of us getting just some simple KIS/stock construction compatible inflatable surface buildings in Buffalo? No resources, no ISRU, no workshops, no EPL. Just some habs, maybe a lab, an airlock, and some support hardware that Kerbals can throw in a container and bring to another planet to set up a quick temporary base. Because, TBH, that's mostly what I use Pathfinder for. If I'm building a permanent base, I use hard-shell buildings. But when they're just doing like a one-year expedition to say, Duna, or Laythe, then I use inflatables.

I think pathfinder-like parts would be great for B2, but I think that's out of the scope for the mod considering the end of 2022 due date. Btw, is the end of 2022 a hard date or will you be willing t go over it to put the finishing touches on something you are close to finishing?

[planeticegaming]

50 minutes ago, Rutabaga22 said:

I think pathfinder-like parts would be great for B2, but I think that's out of the scope for the mod considering the end of 2022 due date. Btw, is the end of 2022 a hard date or will you be willing t go over it to put the finishing touches on something you are close to finishing?

even extendable parts on the rover that expand when your rover stops for the night or at a suitable site, like the original wagon part in B1, but more and not just storage or an passenger module, like greenhouses, a multipurpose room or even a module with tons of rooms for kerbals to sleep in.

also considering the magic rotating seats and other parts the iva should be able to change, instead of just the part changing and the IVA staying the same.

or an extendable docking port, like feline rover's one! (idk if B2 has one?)

Edited October 21, 2022 by planeticegaming

[Angelo Kerman]

1 hour ago, TheSaint said:

So, thinking out loud again: I get that you don't have time to update Pathfinder, because it's a pretty complex mod with all of the resource chains and whatnot. But what would be the odds of us getting just some simple KIS/stock construction compatible inflatable surface buildings in Buffalo? No resources, no ISRU, no workshops, no EPL. Just some habs, maybe a lab, an airlock, and some support hardware that Kerbals can throw in a container and bring to another planet to set up a quick temporary base. Because, TBH, that's mostly what I use Pathfinder for. If I'm building a permanent base, I use hard-shell buildings. But when they're just doing like a one-year expedition to say, Duna, or Laythe, then I use inflatables.

As cool as that sounds, I'm highly unlikely to have time for that, unfortunately. There is still a lot more work to do, and at the rate I'm going, I'll be hard pressed to finish everything. As it is, I've cancelled Phase 4 (the Puddle Jumper parts), but today I built a consolation prize. See below. I'm debating scaling back or eliminating Phase 3- the submarine parts- but I might have time to squeeze them in next month.

56 minutes ago, Rutabaga22 said:

I think pathfinder-like parts would be great for B2, but I think that's out of the scope for the mod considering the end of 2022 due date. Btw, is the end of 2022 a hard date or will you be willing t go over it to put the finishing touches on something you are close to finishing?

End of 2022 is a hard deadline. I really don't want to be modding KSP 1 past the end of the year. Buffalo 2 has taken far too long as it is; it was supposed to be done in March, then June, then September, and those deadlines came and went.

7 minutes ago, planeticegaming said:

even extendable parts on the rover that expand when your rover stops for the night or at a suitable site, like the original wagon part in B1, but more and not just storage or an passenger module, like greenhouses, a multipurpose room or even a module with tons of rooms for kerbals to sleep in.

also considering the magic rotating seats and other parts the iva should be able to change, instead of just the part changing and the IVA staying the same.

or an extendable docking port, like feline rover's one! (idk if B2 has one?)

Sadly, I don't think I'll have time for these either. I spent a lot of bandwidth making various habitable parts for the rover- much more than a simple cabin- so that they could be used for rovers, stations, bases, and of course submarines. But like I mentioned above, I'm just running out of time. I'd really like to sit back and enjoy my mods before KSP 2 is released.

To that end, today I built two new parts. First up is the B2 Passenger Module:

The Passenger Module seats 2 in relative comfort, but doesn't offer the same views as the observation module. It has variants for rover, station, and superstructure. Next up is the Beta 2 Gravitic Engine:

Since I won't be making the Puddle Jumper parts due to lack of time, the Beta 2 Gravitic Engine is the consolation prize. It combines the GND-00 "Beta" gravitic engine from Kerbal Flying Saucers with the Buffalo 2 form factor. Some context (this should look familiar):

These two parts kick of the final release for Phase 2, 1.4: Loose Ends. I should have a release tomorrow after I work through a couple bugs with the gravitic engine.

[Caerfinon]

1 minute ago, Angel-125 said:

I'd really like to sit back and enjoy my mods before KSP 2 is released

And you should do just that.  You have contributed much to the enjoyment of the game for all of us. You should get time to enjoy it for your self as well. 

[Ooglak Kerman]

39 minutes ago, Caerfinon said:

And you should do just that.  You have contributed much to the enjoyment of the game for all of us. You should get time to enjoy it for your self as well. 

I second that!

[Rutabaga22]

6 hours ago, Caerfinon said:

And you should do just that.  You have contributed much to the enjoyment of the game for all of us. You should get time to enjoy it for your self as well. 

I third that!

[panarchist]

8 hours ago, Caerfinon said:

And you should do just that.  You have contributed much to the enjoyment of the game for all of us. You should get time to enjoy it for your self as well. 

Exactly. Not just your own mods, but also adopting and enhancing Snacks, contributing to the community, answering people's questions, telling stories (Mission reports), etc. Your... consumers? Players? Fan base? are always going to want more - most will be respectful, but if you've set a hard stop, keep the hard stop and enjoy the fruits of your labors. The rest of us will understand, and those who don't, well, maybe they'll learn how to create their own mods and get a full understanding of how demanding and thankless it can be. (and hopefully how rewarding and empowering it can be)

[Stone Blue]

On 10/18/2022 at 5:01 PM, Rutabaga22 said:

Sunkworks in ksp2 would be amazing. The existence of planets like Gurdamma and Lapat with a the real chance of water and sunkworks would put the game on a whole other level.

and while terrain visuals llok pretty good in KSP2 vids so far...
Something like Parallax added to under-seas, would just.... well...

[Caerfinon]

6 minutes ago, Stone Blue said:

added to under-seas, would just.... well...

these are the things my dreams are made of

 

[Ooglak Kerman]

Well... KSP2 on Feb 24 for early access. 

[Angelo Kerman]

12 hours ago, Stone Blue said:

and while terrain visuals llok pretty good in KSP2 vids so far...
Something like Parallax added to under-seas, would just.... well...

 

11 hours ago, Ooglak Kerman said:

Well... KSP2 on Feb 24 for early access. 

We currently have no information about modding KSP 2 other than that it is supported. There's no information on how it's done, what the art standards are, or anything of the sort. I fully expect to start completely over in regards to the 3D models, and the plugins. Based on what I've seen in the trailer video, it's also unlikely that Buffalo 2 will need to be ported over. I've known for awhile that DSEV, MOLE, and Pathfinder wouldn't be needed. And that's fine! There are a lot of good things on the horizon for the new game that remove the need for many mods.

For me personally, I don't want to make more than 1-3 mods since I spent far more time modding the game than playing it. I know I want to make submarine parts (SunkWorks, but just the submarine stuff) and have underwater exploration, I'd like to make a version of Kerbal Flying Saucers, and maybe one more, but that's it. But none of that will happen for many months. For now, my focus is to finish up Phase 2, and keep what I do on Phase 3 to a minimum.

Meanwhile, the first pre-release of Buffalo 2 v1.4: Loose Ends is now available. You'll need the 1.0 release of Kerbal Flying Saucers to make use of the new Beta Gravitic Engine.

[Ooglak Kerman]

1 hour ago, Angel-125 said:

 

We currently have no information about modding KSP 2 other than that it is supported. There's no information on how it's done, what the art standards are, or anything of the sort. I fully expect to start completely over in regards to the 3D models, and the plugins. Based on what I've seen in the trailer video, it's also unlikely that Buffalo 2 will need to be ported over. I've known for awhile that DSEV, MOLE, and Pathfinder wouldn't be needed. And that's fine! There are a lot of good things on the horizon for the new game that remove the need for many mods.

For me personally, I don't want to make more than 1-3 mods since I spent far more time modding the game than playing it. I know I want to make submarine parts (SunkWorks, but just the submarine stuff) and have underwater exploration, I'd like to make a version of Kerbal Flying Saucers, and maybe one more, but that's it. But none of that will happen for many months. For now, my focus is to finish up Phase 2, and keep what I do on Phase 3 to a minimum.

Meanwhile, the first pre-release of Buffalo 2 v1.4: Loose Ends is now available. You'll need the 1.0 release of Kerbal Flying Saucers to make use of the new Beta Gravitic Engine.

That Chris Adderley (Nertea) is on the KSP2 team hopefully speaks to the likelihood that modding will be embraced and facilitated.  His comments in the release announcement video were significant I thought, and seemed to reinforce that likelihood.  I love his comment about in the interview when they asked for his forum handle.  I've been laughing all day about that.  Or at least my own peculiar translation.

"Who you is?"
"Me Nertea"
"We gives offer letter.  Plz come fer workz "

Personally, if I had to vote on just 2 WildBlue mods to be ported to KSP2, I would ask for Blueshift and KFS.  I think those are sort of the 2 big picture mods.  They get you where you want to go so you can then use the others.

Take some time.  Play with your mods and post pix.  I really want to see your take on doing stuff n things.  How will Angelo tackle intractable problems?

Edited October 22, 2022 by Ooglak Kerman

[Angelo Kerman]

32 minutes ago, Ooglak Kerman said:

That Chris Adderley (Nertea) is on the KSP2 team hopefully speaks to the likelihood that modding will be embraced and facilitated.  His comments in the release announcement video were significant I thought, and seemed to reinforce that likelihood.  I love his comment about in the interview when they asked for his forum handle.  I've been laughing all day about that.  Or at least my own peculiar translation.

"Who you is?"
"Me Nertea"
"We gives offer letter.  Plz come fer workz "

Personally, if I had to vote on just 2 WildBlue mods to be ported to KSP2, I would ask for Blueshift and KFS.  I think those are sort of the 2 big picture mods.  They get you where you want to go so you can then use the others.

Take some time.  Play with your mods and post pix.  I really want to see your take on doing stuff n things.  How will Angelo tackle intractable problems?

Once Buffalo 2 is done, I plan to take that downtime. Meanwhile, you can see some of what I've been up to in my current game, if you'd like.

In chronological order:

To the Mun!

Shuttle Launch System

Commercial Space Ventures (ongoing)

 

[Ooglak Kerman]

Commercial Space Ventures is Fun!!  Nice.

[planeticegaming]

18 hours ago, Rutabaga22 said:

I third that!

I fourth that!

Edited October 22, 2022 by planeticegaming

[TheSaint]

On 10/20/2022 at 8:42 PM, Caerfinon said:

And you should do just that.  You have contributed much to the enjoyment of the game for all of us. You should get time to enjoy it for your self as well. 

11 hours ago, Ooglak Kerman said:

Commercial Space Ventures is Fun!!  Nice.

[Blufor878]

13 hours ago, Ooglak Kerman said:

That Chris Adderley (Nertea) is on the KSP2 team hopefully speaks to the likelihood that modding will be embraced and facilitated.  His comments in the release announcement video were significant I thought, and seemed to reinforce that likelihood.  I love his comment about in the interview when they asked for his forum handle.  I've been laughing all day about that.  Or at least my own peculiar translation.

"Who you is?"
"Me Nertea"
"We gives offer letter.  Plz come fer workz "

Personally, if I had to vote on just 2 WildBlue mods to be ported to KSP2, I would ask for Blueshift and KFS.  I think those are sort of the 2 big picture mods.  They get you where you want to go so you can then use the others.

Take some time.  Play with your mods and post pix.  I really want to see your take on doing stuff n things.  How will Angelo tackle intractable problems?

Honestly I had a sneaking suspicion he was involved somehow. A lot of the stuff in the gameplay footage looked oddly familiar...

In any case I agree with the sentiment: You've done good, boss. Do what you want!

[Angelo Kerman]

Today I built the new B2 Flatbed Hinge. This came about after experimenting with how to deliver mini jumpgates via Buffalo flatbed, and the DLC hinges just didn't fit right. Anyway, here's a look:

The next part was originally scheduled for Making Connections but I cancelled it. It turns out there's a use for it... Anyway, this is the new B2 Body Docking Port:

Finally, I added a couple of variants to the Trailer Frame to give a nice uniform look in some situations. Here's some context:

Anyway, these new additions are available in the pre-release.

[Ooglak Kerman]

Small details.  Big impact.  Nice!

[Angelo Kerman]

The original Buffalo Command Pod had integrated lights, but they're not practical for Buffalo 2. So, today I built the roof-mounted Buffalight. It is a wide-beam light that can pitch up and down and change color if needed. It can even blink like standard lights. Here's a look:

The other part that I built is the B2 Grappler Arm. It's an update to the original. It has Left Handed, Right Handed, and Center variants. Here's a look:

These parts are available in the latest pre-release.

[Ooglak Kerman]

Light bar!  Oh dang.  I can see putting them all around the top, adding a KAL controller and sync'ing them to some thumpin' tunes.  Hah... sync the arms with it too for some B2 kung-fu.  If only I had the mad skillz.  Alas.  I am to building cool ships as to what a dull axe is to carpentry.

Edited October 26, 2022 by Ooglak Kerman

[Ooglak Kerman]

2 hours ago, Angel-125 said:

 

These parts are available in the latest pre-release.

Come to me, my little asteroid.  I will... nom nom nom....  <burp>

[JadeOfMaar]

inb4 someone deploys four-armed Buffalo nicknamed "General Grievous"