KSP2 EA: Launch tower, umbilicals and pad

[Vl3d]

So we know that there was a launch tower in the original KSP but it was removed because wide craft clipped into it or sometimes collided into it and we're getting destroyed on liftoff.

Nate said that in KSP2 the tower is back and it is automatically placed at an appropriate distance away from the craft so as to not interfere.

1. My request is to also have umbilical arms (could be just visual, not solid) that retract when we initiate the launch sequence.

2. Also having a short ~5 second countdown + animations and sounds for engines igniting / turbines spooling up would be great.

3. Frosting on rocket, ice falling off, venting, sparks, birds flying away, dirt on tower to show it's age?

4. I would love to have the possibility of replaying launches with images seen from multiple camera angles.

5. Modular Launch Pads mod had a lot of cool  designs for launch towers and pads. I would like to see this type of diversity in KSP2.

6. I love launch clamps, they're very useful. Would like to see some diversity in this area also. We have seen the orbital versions, but how about some that retract by rotating, like the umbilicals? Also explosive bolts animations?

7. The smoke from the launch looks good and decelerates true to physics but the puffs could be blended better together.

8. Are we also getting working crawlers and an actual animation of the rocket moving from the VAB to the launch pad?

9. Launch tower custom design? Catch arms? Cranes?

10. Also what other details about the runway (longer and no more hitting the lights at the end of it), VTOL launch pad and launching sea craft?

Please make launching rockets look spectacular!

 

[The Aziz]

30 minutes ago, Vl3d said:

Also having a short ~5 second countdown + animations and sounds for engines igniting / turbines spooling up would be great.

The second I hit GO I want to see movement. 5 seconds wait for every single ingnition would become tedious after 10 seconds. It's not Delta IV that sets itself on fire at T-7s, or Ariane 5 that actually lifts off at T+7s (because it takes that much to ignite the engine and only then the srbs kick in). Falcon 9 yeets off the pad 2 seconds after ignition. 

In a game of waiting I don't want more waiting.

[GoldForest]

1 hour ago, Vl3d said:

So we know that there was a launch tower in the original KSP but it was removed because wide craft clipped into it or sometimes collided into it and we're getting destroyed on liftoff.

Nate said that in KSP2 the tower is back and it is automatically placed at an appropriate distance away from the craft so as to not interfere.

1. My request is to also have umbilical arms (could be just visual, not solid) that retract when we initiate the launch sequence.

2. Also having a short ~5 second countdown + animations and sounds for engines igniting / turbines spooling up would be great.

3. Frosting on rocket, ice falling off, venting, sparks, birds flying away, dirt on tower to show it's age?

4. I would love to have the possibility of replaying launches with images seen from multiple camera angles.

5. Modular Launch Pads mod had a lot of cool  designs for launch towers and pads. I would like to see this type of diversity in KSP2.

6. I love launch clamps, they're very useful. Would like to see some diversity in this area also. We have seen the orbital versions, but how about some that retract by rotating, like the umbilicals? Also explosive bolts animations?

7. The smoke from the launch looks good and decelerates true to physics but the puffs could be blended better together.

8. Are we also getting working crawlers and an actual animation of the rocket moving from the VAB to the launch pad?

9. Launch tower custom design? Catch arms? Cranes?

10. Also what other details about the runway (longer and no more hitting the lights at the end of it), VTOL launch pad and launching sea craft?

Please make launching rockets look spectacular!

 

I doubt we'll see anything this elaborate from Intercept Games. If anything, we'll have to see if @AlphaMensae Will make MPL 2, or someone else to make it. 

[Gargamel]

Moved to ksp2 suggestions.  

[AlphaMensae]

2 hours ago, GoldForest said:

I doubt we'll see anything this elaborate from Intercept Games. If anything, we'll have to see if @AlphaMensae Will make MPL 2, or someone else to make it. 

Someone else will have to do it, as I am not making anything for KSP 2. My skills are suited for the Novasilisko era of KSP, not the high res PBR world of today's games.  

[GoldForest]

15 minutes ago, AlphaMensae said:

Someone else will have to do it, as I am not making anything for KSP 2. My skills are suited for the Novasilisko era of KSP, not the high res PBR world of today's games.  

Don't sell yourself short, I'm sure you'll do fine. 

[AlphaMensae]

43 minutes ago, GoldForest said:

Don't sell yourself short, I'm sure you'll do fine. 

It's more than that, I don't have the desire to do anything for KSP 2, I'll leave that to a new generation of modders. I also don't have the free time anymore to work on a mod, and would rather do other things.

[Vl3d]

2 minutes ago, AlphaMensae said:

49 minutes ago, GoldForest said:

 

It's more than that, I don't have the desire to do anything for KSP 2, I'll leave that to a new generation of modders. I also don't have the free time anymore to work on a mod, and would rather do other things.

I actually understand where you're coming from. People seem to always assume "someone else will make a mod for that" and don't realize the gargantuan amount of unpaid work required. That's why I think we should ask the devs first for features and only if we have no other choice talk to the modders.

[GoldForest]

36 minutes ago, AlphaMensae said:

It's more than that, I don't have the desire to do anything for KSP 2, I'll leave that to a new generation of modders. I also don't have the free time anymore to work on a mod, and would rather do other things.

Understandable. 

31 minutes ago, Vl3d said:

I actually understand where you're coming from. People seem to always assume "someone else will make a mod for that" and don't realize the gargantuan amount of unpaid work required. That's why I think we should ask the devs first for features and only if we have no other choice talk to the modders.

Again, I doubt the devs will do much with modular towers. What we see, is what we might just be getting. I don't see them wasting time or money putting more features into the stock tower, since for one, it's a static prop, and two, MLA exists for KSP 1 and will no doubt be adopted by someone for KSP 2. MLA 2 will have much more user base anyway, since it will include not only custom towers, but historical replicas of other towers, such as the Saturn V.