[0.21] Hooligan Labs - Airship, Submarines and More

[KhaosCorp]

Well, I certainly cant make an airship hangar mod (or any other mod really lol)

I can, however, confirm that the obliterater mod (from spaceport) can be made to work in 0.20.2.

I was a bit worried to try since turns out its based on MuMechLib.dll, but it seems to work, got it goin last night and no issues yet.

Question about the Cirrus:

Will it cause issues if the envelopes are mounted in such a way they overlap when deployed? I know it wasn't an issue with the Rays.

[Hooligan Labs]

Question about the Cirrus:

Will it cause issues if the envelopes are mounted in such a way they overlap when deployed? I know it wasn't an issue with the Rays.

The shape of the Cirrus was compatible with the sphere and capsule colliders in unity. By parenting them too certain bones in animation armature, I was able to fully animate the shape as it expands. So you will have to worry about overlap.

[Mihara]

So you will have to worry about overlap.

From experiments, two envelopes can safely overlap to around 10% diameter. More than two and you summon the Kraken right there.

[Scrogdog]

From experiments, two envelopes can safely overlap to around 10% diameter. More than two and you summon the Kraken right there.

As I unwittingly verified last evening!

[KhaosCorp]

Good to know. Gonna be sitting down and redesigning my flagships today. Figured my Kerbin ship needs 6 Cirrus and Duna one needs 4. My old Kerbin ship had 30someodd Ray envelopes, but when deployed it actually only looked like it had 3 envelopes, and I never had issues. I'll just have to mind the spacing this time around.

[pwnedbyscope]

is it possible to add the squid to wheels?

[Hooligan Labs]

My old Kerbin ship had 30someodd Ray envelopes, but when deployed it actually only looked like it had 3 envelopes, and I never had issues. I'll just have to mind the spacing this time around.

The Ray's mushroom shape is so odd that normal colliders don't work with it. Mesh colliders cause horrible lag on something animated. Thus it just had a mesh collider on the base.

is it possible to add the squid to wheels?

I haven't had success with that. I think that wheels use a special "wheel collider" which is different than the stuff that everything else is made of. There may be some way to make it work, but I haven't figured it out.

[KhaosCorp]

Ive been doing some testing using SQUID as cargo securing system...have had bad luck with anything and everything involving squid and wheels....they just don't seem to get along at all =P

actually ended up flipping my rover almost 200meters OUT of the cargo bay on the WT-51...ship had nothing to do with it either...was still on the ground lol

[Hooligan Labs]

You've probably looked at it, but have you tried the Kerbal Attachment System (KAS)? It has great winches and stuff, and magnets which work at a distance instead of requiring contact like the SQUID.

[KhaosCorp]

Oh yea, I use KAS for soooooooo much. Just been playing with some new ideas, KAS had my cargo swinging a bit, that's when the squid testing started.....

there was some other squid mishaps pre 0.20.......the 'munar games' was the death of many green dudes lol

[Mihara]

While KAS might double as a cargo securing/load-unload system, I'd use Quantum Struts to do the actual securing, myself, particularly the Strut Gun variety of those. They disconnect automatically when things get undocked. If your cargo has been hanging on a KAS winch, switching it into undocked mode should make them immediately disconnect and then you can winch it safely out.

[Hooligan Labs]

Automatic stability is coming along! The major hurdle may be my own incompetence at object oriented coding.

[KhaosCorp]

While KAS might double as a cargo securing/load-unload system, I'd use Quantum Struts to do the actual securing, myself, particularly the Strut Gun variety of those. They disconnect automatically when things get undocked. If your cargo has been hanging on a KAS winch, switching it into undocked mode should make them immediately disconnect and then you can winch it safely out.

Ive had bad luck with both quantum struts and docking struts. They seem to affect physics oddly sometimes. Lost a space station to docking struts, 3 different ships to quantum due to ships going into self-destruct spins after being docked...ive never had it happen other than the bit of time I tried those 2 mods..

Stability control looks like its coming along nicely and looks awesome

[Hooligan Labs]

Stability control is working! I am going to upgrade it a bit more to make it work best with asymmetrical layouts and to reduce its tendency to "dance" (endlessly wiggles as it tries to find the best balance).

Legacy pitch control will be merged with the new pitch control and changed so it's instead based on true pitch angle.

Action buttons will be implemented.

The new GUI is coming along nicely. So I want to ask: What functionality do you want to see in the right click menu? I can make it so the buoyancy for each envelope can be adjusted independently, or set to -100% to prevent it from deploying at all (as requested).

The main GUI window will still be there, no worries.

[Mihara]

I think that "inflate all to 100%" and "deflate all to 0%" as right click actions would be handy. The first would be useful for the abort button.

[Tripod27]

oh man, autobalance would be so awesome, looking forward to next update:cool:

[KhaosCorp]

Odd question:

Can the runway sections be made to behave like probecores?

Like if I copy the command module with zero crew you think it will have issues? Just figured Id ask before I potentially mess my game up...

[wasmic]

Hey, I heard you wanted to enable us to make floating bases, but that it wasn't possible. I just want to say that I managed to save an airship while it was floating. I simply landed it, clicked "make slow to save", got it off the ground (slowly), and then I was able to save it while floating. Only problem was that it's solar panels broke the next time I loaded a plane in the area.

[ahappydude]

I can confirm squid system still works great! The new balloon is perfect for getting closer to orbit and for safer landing on other planets

cheers

[Sapphire]

Hey, I heard you wanted to enable us to make floating bases, but that it wasn't possible. I just want to say that I managed to save an airship while it was floating. I simply landed it, clicked "make slow to save", got it off the ground (slowly), and then I was able to save it while floating. Only problem was that it's solar panels broke the next time I loaded a plane in the area.

Maybe he's referring to ones in different atmospheres. For example, I had one that I was sending to Laythe but it got stuck in Jool's atmosphere during an aerobrake, and I wanted to leave it so I could launch a rescue mission, but it wouldn't let me leave because it "was in atmosphere", despite not moving at all (0.0m/s).

[rifter]

Hey, I heard you wanted to enable us to make floating bases, but that it wasn't possible. I just want to say that I managed to save an airship while it was floating. I simply landed it, clicked "make slow to save", got it off the ground (slowly), and then I was able to save it while floating. Only problem was that it's solar panels broke the next time I loaded a plane in the area.

The area of the map is around the KSC is the only place I think that works, and only there up to a height of around 1000m vertical.

EDIT: Or maybe I just need to test more or something.

Edited June 9, 2013 by rifter

[KhaosCorp]

Maybe he's referring to ones in different atmospheres. For example, I had one that I was sending to Laythe but it got stuck in Jool's atmosphere during an aerobrake, and I wanted to leave it so I could launch a rescue mission, but it wouldn't let me leave because it "was in atmosphere", despite not moving at all (0.0m/s).

Floating bases n such are easy with KAS. It even has airship anchor. If ya do it just right the anchor even works on Jool....sometimes, Jool is crazy and nothing is 100% there....

Granted this limits altitude of such things to the length of the KAS cable, but that too can be adjust to an extent without issues (typical on my airships I set the main anchoring cable to 150meters max length)

[Hooligan Labs]

I think that "inflate all to 100%" and "deflate all to 0%" as right click actions would be handy. The first would be useful for the abort button.

On the list!

Odd question:

Can the runway sections be made to behave like probecores?

Like if I copy the command module with zero crew you think it will have issues? Just figured Id ask before I potentially mess my game up...

I have not tried. Why not stick a normal core on it?

Hey, I heard you wanted to enable us to make floating bases, but that it wasn't possible. I just want to say that I managed to save an airship while it was floating. I simply landed it, clicked "make slow to save", got it off the ground (slowly), and then I was able to save it while floating. Only problem was that it's solar panels broke the next time I loaded a plane in the area.

I think the others may have answered this, but my attempts to make it save while in mid air resulted in unrecoverable freezes. KAS is the way to go.

I can confirm squid system still works great! The new balloon is perfect for getting closer to orbit and for safer landing on other planets

cheers

I love how you have a smiling lethal riding that monster.

[KhaosCorp]

Each time I stick a normal probe core on the runway bits for this use of em it get destroyed and the runway ends up being 'debris'.

Im starting to build a small town west of the space center, just before the foothills of that little mountain range that's right close. I am trying to use the runway bits to make a road from KSC to my town. If I put probe core on bottom it seems to get destroyed in the deployment process. if I put it on top I end up running it over and killin it lol.

I put the probe module in the runways, and they loaded ingame still, haven't tested em quite yet though

[Hooligan Labs]

..Im starting to build a small town west of the space center, just before the foothills of that little mountain range that's right close. I am trying to use the runway bits to make a road from KSC to my town. If I put probe core on bottom it seems to get destroyed in the deployment process. if I put it on top I end up running it over and killin it lol.

I put the probe module in the runways, and they loaded ingame still, haven't tested em quite yet though

Maybe put on the side? The project sounds really cool! You can edit the texture if you want, just open up the folder where the part is. That may be too many octopuses for anyone.