[WIP] THSS - Tri-Hexagonal Structural Strut

[Semni]

After being wiped out in the Great Forum Disaster of 2013 the THSS is back! This is a funny little mod inspired by the many science fiction spaceships of old comprised of many girders beams and pipes as well as contemporary ones it seeks to emulate a different look and feel from most standard parts and it's great for making your spaceship look and feel like more than just a bomb with a rocket motor strapped to one end ( which it really is ). These parts also work nicely on space stations, deep space exploration vehicles, non-atmospheric landers and so forth. While many parts have already been made many are still in the process of being put together as this continuously evolving library of parts grows.

DOWNLOAD HERE

Update: (04-06-2013) Once again it's updated, with some new parts, lots of fixes and nothing too crazy this time around. Just a much needed update.

Update: (26-05-2013) Depreciated parts can be found here.

Update: (25-05-2013) JARFR industries is proud to announce a partnership deal with Goblin Enterprises which has introduced a number of new parts to our lineup. Additionally we have fixed a couple of issues with parts and updated it for .20 compatability. I'm aware of some graphical issues with some of the parts, that is being worked on and should not affect the performance of the parts.

Update: (06-05-2013) Another update released adding in a couple of new parts.

Update: (19-04-2013) Now that the forums are back and the thread was wiped out I've put it back as well as uploaded a new version of the mod, have fun with the new parts!

First off introducing the basic tristruts.

Some come in smaller and larger sizes.

As well as a variety of adaptors.

There's even an integrated engine.

And the all new octostrut format that is also being introduced.

Planned Parts ( mainly for my own reference ):

- Engines:

* Radial Engine

* Nuclear Engine

- Fueltanks:

* 1/3 size fueltank

* Octostrut scale fueltank - Concepting

- Structural:

* User Modifiable Panel parts

- Other:

* Solar Panels - Modeling/Implementing Problematic NEED HELP

* Seperate Mechjeb unit

* Stirling RTG - Concepting/Modeling

* Tristrut Compatible pods

* Lawnchair

* Guiding Fin Docking Ports - Prototyped/Released

Edited June 4, 2013 by Semni

[Hell_Neko]

Nice mod so far having trouble getting the Hub/Splitter so far where it will only connect on 2 of the sides and for some reason the dockingport is not working for me but other then that i am loving this so far.

Edited April 19, 2013 by Hell_Neko

[Semni]

The hub is a bit finicky, that is an issue all hub type parts have, it will only connect to other things on the 'top' or 'bottom' nodes. This is something hardcoded into KSP as far as I know and not something I can do anything about at the moment. The docking ports are unidirectional. The 'top' is the part that connects. I need to make that more obvious somehow.

Also, yay for all posts having to be moderator approved yet again. Yaay, I don't!

Edit: BTW, thanks for catching the spaceport link!

Edited April 19, 2013 by Semni

[Hell_Neko]

K and to help tell which side is the top on the docking port you can have a arrow inside the ring pointing in the direction/side that the docking port is facing/on

Edit: No problem will help people get back on your post and help you

Edited April 19, 2013 by Hell_Neko

[BFGfreak]

Well isn't there a way to make the little green bubbles bigger on one side? You could use that to designate the top node from the bottom nodes

[Andrezado]

Hey Semni, could you do an adaptor for 3 side 1m truss to 4 side 1m truss, a shielded and a normal 4 side truss pieces?

[Semni]

Hell/BFG: Good points, I'll look into that.

Andrezado: Those are in the pipeline soo ... in the epic bin of coming soon!

[Tallinu]

Semni, good to see this back on the forums again. I'll have to go download the current version now. These docking ports must be new! Are they not shown in the images, or am I misinterpreting one of them?

Also:

Andrezado, which of Scott's videos is that quote in your sig from?

[Semni]

They are not shown for ... no particular reason because I am a derp. The docking ports are very new and still fairly experimental. There's also a decoupler so we have that!

[czokletmuss]

Are you going to make some nuclear engine for this pack?

[TheCardinal]

I don't see the mechjeb part among the pictures. Did you discontinue it?

I would like to request a part half the height of the mechjeb part with a comparable inside. It would be really nice if one could modify the texture of the inside.

[Semni]

Hey Cardinal, good to see you around, the probe body ( the non-panel based one ) has mechjeb integrated in it if you install Mechjeb2. I'm not sure what you mean by comparable inside though.

Czok: I'm working on a design, I've had a couple of abortive attempts, I'll just have to see what comes out looking good.

[aquilux]

He's probably thinking of mechjeb's "brain" that sits behind the panels that open on the old mechjeb inline parts, along with the partacle effects. I agree that it would be interesting to see a mechjeb "brain" mounted, unshielded, to the inside of your struts (maybe even make that an unmanned pod?).

(Example)

Actually, on the topic of pods... Now that it's possible to see inside the pod (correct me if I'm wrong), would you consider making a pod or two to go with your trusses that's just a seat/seats inside a frame/roll cage? Multiple sizes of both flight(rockets behind pilot) and lander(rockets below pilot) oriented pods sound quite useful, the first to make something like a space tug (or jury rigged interplanetary craft), and the second for open cab landers.

(Example)

The landers would be made even better with a short fuel tank, maybe the size of the rcs tank, and short landing engines (maybe radial engines made for 3x symmetry to lign up with your trusses), though they aren't priorities. (You can see what your existing parts look like in the mechjeb shots)

Edited April 20, 2013 by aquilux

[hoojiwana]

Actually, on the topic of pods... Now that it's possible to see inside the pod (correct me if I'm wrong), would you consider making a pod or two to go with your trusses that's just a seat/seats inside a frame/roll cage? Multiple sizes of both flight(rockets behind pilot) and lander(rockets below pilot) oriented pods sound quite useful, the first to make something like a space tug (or jury rigged interplanetary craft), and the second for open cab landers.

Those URLs aren't working quite right as hyperlinks.

I think you're referring to people using the plugin that is a part of sfr Command Pod, which isn't part of the base game, at least not yet. I believe the devs are working on an official Kerbal seat of some kind.

[aquilux]

Ah, yes, that's what I saw. If Semni doesn't feel up to it then no big deal. I think it'd be cool, but I guess it's better to wait for root implementation, and not base it off of a plugin. Actually, I had an idea a few minutes ago, and I just realised you'd be the perfect one to sugest it to considering your MMRTG 0.2. Considering you made the step down from stock RTG, I suggest you make the step up, the SRG.

[hoojiwana]

The ASRG is on my to-do list already. But that's for another thread.

[TheCardinal]

Hey Cardinal, good to see you around, the probe body ( the non-panel based one ) has mechjeb integrated in it if you install Mechjeb2. I'm not sure what you mean by comparable inside though.

...

Hi Semni, i'm glad we can use the forum again.

About the part: take the probe body and reduce the height bij half. Keep the shape inside of the trusses/struts as it is now. No need for animations, just a simple part. If the user is able to create the texture of the inside by himself, you have a magical part which can be used for several purposes.

There are several useful mods which require a 'specialised' part, f.e. battery, reactor, RTG, instrumentpackage, SAS, ASAS etc..

Offcourse everybody can ask you to create a new part for every specialised function. It requires (a lot of) time and work. The endresult will be a large number of parts which will need support and maintenance. My reasoning was: Create a small part which every user can modify to his liking by changing the (inside) texture and the part.cfg. It will make the Tri-Hexagonal Structural Strut concept much more flexible. Take f.e. The BFT mod. All shapes are the same, the texture is slightly different (the color of a stripe), only the part.cfg's are different.

[Tallinu]

They are not shown for ... no particular reason because I am a derp. The docking ports are very new and still fairly experimental. There's also a decoupler so we have that!

I downloaded it just after posting, and couldn't find the docking ports - were they included? If so, what category?

I did find the decouplers, those should be quite handy!

Also, I was just now trying to build something using the THSS-033-H 6-way connector piece, and realized that the choice of "top" and "bottom" nodes makes it impossible to use it the way I wanted to - as four THSS arms extending out to all sides from a central round rocket, so that the narrow parts of all of the struts face the same direction (up, in this case, with surface-mounted engines on the bottom).

Would it be possible to provide a second version of the part, rotated 90 degrees with the top and bottom attachment nodes reassigned to the round connectors, to make this possible? I'm not sure if this can be done just with a part.cfg edit...

Edited April 21, 2013 by Tallinu

[Hell_Neko]

Tallinu the docking port is in Utility and it looks like a ring with a smaller ring in side the name of it is THSS-3D and as for the hud/splittler the way i over cam that was to change the back/front to top/bottom and top/bottom to back/front in the part cfg and it worked so just do that and your set

[aquilux]

"If the user is able to create the texture of the inside by himself, you have a magical part which can be used for several purposes."

"Create a small part which every user can modify to his liking by changing the (inside) texture and the part.cfg."

This sounds like a great idea. Is this possible in KSP? Would we be able to insert the relative path for another part in the .cfg and have it appear incorporated into the strut? This'd be much better than clipping the part in but I have a feeling it's not something that's really feasable, but if it wasn't...

How about making a part with an internal mounting frame and including the project file in the mod so that people can modify a copy of it with their own mod part? They'd distribute it themselves and have a part that visually matches with your struts. Sort of a mod modder's resource.

[TheCardinal]

This sounds like a great idea. Is this possible in KSP? Would we be able to insert the relative path for another part in the .cfg and have it appear incorporated into the strut? ...

I think you've misunderstood me. I was only talking about the possibility of changing the texture, not changing the model itself.

[aquilux]

Ah, oops. It'd be cool, but probably not possible. The texture though would be nice.

[mastercluff]

i love the parts but something i found that i find annoying is that the 6-way connector is on the side so that i cannot use it on my base for epic landing gears =P

[Tallinu]

Tallinu the docking port is in Utility and it looks like a ring with a smaller ring in side the name of it is THSS-3D and as for the hud/splittler the way i over cam that was to change the back/front to top/bottom and top/bottom to back/front in the part cfg and it worked so just do that and your set

I tried switching top and bottom with both back/front and left/right, neither way worked. I still couldn't connect the round sides of the THSS-033-H to existing parts of the rocket, only the triangular sides.

[Andrezado]

Semni, good to see this back on the forums again. I'll have to go download the current version now. These docking ports must be new! Are they not shown in the images, or am I misinterpreting one of them?

Also:

Andrezado, which of Scott's videos is that quote in your sig from?

Sorry for not answering, and it wasn't on any of his videos, it was a comment someone posted and I figured out I could use that as a sig, it's a really old video tho.