[Plugin, 0.19.1] AdvAeronautics - fancyfying PartModules for your engines

[JDP]

[Plugin, 0.19.1] AdvAeronautics - fancyfying PartModules for your engines

Download:

.dll and source here.

(you are free to use and modify this plugin as long as the original aouthor is credited.

Derivatives of this plugin and content using this plugin must be hosted on Kerbalspaceport.com in case of public release except with the explicite dispensation from the original author)

While developing the AeroProbe for RemoteTech I made a couple of PartModules to make the engines look cooler. I've decided to release an updated version of these PartModules as a small standalone plugin in case some of you would like the same features on your engines.

This plugin contains two PartModules:

• ModuleAaEngineAnimator. manages a looped animation and adjusts animation speed according to engine throttle. I used this to make an animated intake with a fan that spins faster as the engine revs faster.
  
• ModuleAaGimbal. Works just like the stock ModuleGimbal we all know and love, except it animates the gimbal objects along their own pivots in a much more complex way that you'd get if you just parented them to the gimbalTransform
  

If you want to see these PartModules in action, take a look at the wing part that comes with the RemoteTech AeroProbe, it uses them both, albeit under different names within the RemoteTech NameSpace.

How to implement the modules

ModuleAaEngineAnimator

Here are all the variables you can set in the cfg file, and their default value:

MODULE
{
	name = ModuleAaEngineAnimator

        //Name of the looped animation clip the module should play
	Animation = 

        //speed of the clip when throttle is 0
        Speed0 = 1

        //speed of the clip when throttle is 1
	Speed1 = 1

        //if there are other animation clips used in the part, set this to true. It will then reorder any animation clips into different layers making it possible to play and stop one without affecting the others.
        fixAnimLayers = false
}

It's important to note that this module only manages an animation, you'll need a ModuleEngines on the part as well.

ModuleAaGimbal

This PartModule should replace ModuleGimbal. It is a subclass of ModuleGimbal and hence inherits its variables. There are however a couple of variables unique to ModuleAaGimbal. Here they are:

MODULE
{
	name = ModuleAaGimbal

        //these are the names of the transforms used in the calculation
	FinPivotName = 
	FinTipName = 
	FinAnchorName = 
}

In short, what the PartModule does is rotate the FinPivot so that the FinTip has a constant distance to the FinAnchor. The FinAnchor is just an empty transform and should be a child of the thrustTransform so it moves when the module rotates the thrustTransform. Here is a tutorial on how to set everything up:

In my engine I used the RemoteTech equivalent of ModuleAaGimbal to animate 3 simple fins, but this PartModule could potentially be used to animate many interlocking fins, creating much more complex and awesome gimballing animations looking much like real-world thrust vectoring jet engines.

I hope you find use for these PartModules. Especially if that use is creating pure awesome

Cheers

-JDP

[ahappydude]

This looks sick... "to animate many interlocking fins, creating much more complex and awesome gimballing animations looking much like real-world thrust vectoring jet engines." A must try cheers!

[Space ghöst]

Thank you, JDP. This does look badass. I'll definitely use this to upgrade my micro-jet engine.

[Devo]

Thanks Mate, just what I was after!

[hoojiwana]

Ooooh that engine animator would go well on my Radial Jet!

[ghost010]

this is really nice!