Jump to content

Antennas gameplay improvement (relay systems should require 2 direct antennas)


Recommended Posts

Cassini was not a dedicated telecom / relay satellite, it was a probe with 3 antennas: 1 high-gain and 2 low-gain. It was constrained by fixed orientation of antennas on the craft, the power needs.. You're using the most edge-case example possible. See sections 2.5 and 3.4 below.

https://descanso.jpl.nasa.gov/DPSummary/Descanso3--Cassini2.pdf

1 hour ago, kspnerd122 said:

Ok, explain cassini then, just get the signal and retransmit it, you dont need 2 antennas for that

Edited by Vl3d
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...

In screenshots up to this point we have seen craft with at most 2 antennas with opposing orientation.

I found a craft with 4 antennas in the recent gameplay trailer. I'm starting to worry.

Please, please no more antenna spamming!

IMG-20230217-113005.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

7 hours ago, Vl3d said:

In screenshots up to this point we have seen craft with at most 2 antennas with opposing orientation.

I found a craft with 4 antennas in the recent gameplay trailer. I'm starting to worry.

Please, please no more antenna spamming!

IMG-20230217-113005.jpg

Could just be a case of "it looks cool", and yeah, multi-antenna configurations do look cool, as well as being a realistic thing to put on your craft seeing as a real craft would need redundancies for nearly everything.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, Bej Kerman said:

as well as being a realistic thing to put on your craft seeing as a real craft would need redundancies for nearly everything

Then the game should require redundancies. Otherwise there's no need for more than 2 parabolic antennas.

Edited by Vl3d
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Just now, Vl3d said:

Then the game should require redundancies. 

KSP already does this, though. If you only include one antenna, or panel, or anything that can break, what happens if it breaks? Redundancies are already an advantage. You can get away with redundancies, yeah, but it's still a good idea to include them.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

7 minutes ago, Bej Kerman said:

KSP already does this, though. If you only include one antenna, or panel, or anything that can break, what happens if it breaks? Redundancies are already an advantage. You can get away with redundancies, yeah, but it's still a good idea to include them.

always pack some back up antennas and solar panels! Nothing worse than a rover having to retire, because there's no electricity or connection after it tumbled.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 1/31/2023 at 5:41 PM, Nazalassa said:

Said antennas must be correctly pointed, too.

That has some obvious issues, real satellites has on board computers and system to point them the right way all the time, now if SAS is also persistent and you can set directions like an satellite in polar orbit around Minmus pointing its antenna at Kerbin fine,  but also from Duna
Yes that one is a bit more complex but they also has people who job it is to handle the systems, in KSP its just you. 
Communication is an game play element and if you don't have an relay you can not land an probe on the back side of the Mun. 
And I kind of like that an relay should have multiple antennas typical an pointed relay and an unidirectional for com with probe or ship. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

9 hours ago, Vl3d said:

Please, please no more antenna spamming!

Didn’t you want multiple antennas? What I think is that the antennas have a limited arc that they can send and receive signals through, and that arc can be occluded by the craft, necessitating multiple antennas. In real life I’m pretty sure that if your antenna isn’t pointing in precisely the right direction you won’t get enough signal, but this (potential) gameplay mechanic works for me. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, Bej Kerman said:

If you don't have 2 antennas for direct and 4 for relay, then what happens if something breaks?

You can get away with a total of 3 for a 2-antenna relay backup. You can repair antennas. But the point is that 3-4 antennas would be required advised, not spammed just to increase range.

Edited by Vl3d
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Just now, Vl3d said:

You can get away with a total of 3 for a 2-antenna relay backup. You can repair antennas. But the point is that 3-4 antennas would be required, not spammed just to increase range.

They don't need to be required, just advised, else you're pushing into the realm of RNGBS.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

16 minutes ago, modus said:

Was there any mention of antennas in one of the gameplay videos? Haven't seen them all. 

No.. but in settings there was the option to "require signal for probe control".

Link to comment
Share on other sites

×
×
  • Create New...