Rune's Slightly Used Vehicles

[slaintemaith]

I used to play Orbitersim and have done -all- of these things manually at one point or another. Orbiter's manual controls make sense, though, and are joystick based. Kerbal's are ... Well. Kerballed. (An adjective we use in this house to describe something that should otherwise be fun, but is either broken beyond redemption or frustrating to the point of distraction.)

Kerbal has been less Kerballed in the past year or so, but the default keyboard configuration is silly at best.

But I digress...

I have a decent understanding of how all these things are -supposed- to work both in sim and in the real world. So following a flight profile with or without automated assistance--be it pressing 'w' repeatedly, programming mechjeb to hold a certain attitude, or simply hitting 't' for the SAS shouldn't be too different with regards to getting better or worse at the game--and seem to be a fault of the game itself rather than your designs. (Or Mechjeb, but that's got its own dev schedule--and is recuperating from all the changes made by the Kerbal devs since 1.0 and 1.0.2.) I'm living in fear of new updates, since every 'tweak' to the atmosphere of planets seems to mean a complete redesign of every ship ever made. This is why my only mod nowadays is Mechjeb. I'm too afraid of all the minor changes and instabilities breaking the game.

The Space Shuttle's docking system and instrumentation are about as esoteric and precise as one can be--incorporating an axis shift all the while, where the Apollo version was anything but. Looking forward to trying Navyfish's system. You're not the only one who has sung its praises.

Re: 381m/s. Nope! Not nothing at all, but I wanted better margins, as my refueling station is parked at 100x100. It wasn't -quite- enough for the "Dock or bust" trip I'd planned. I did manage to get the same Spatha in orbit with closer to 700m/s last night, and docked with my Kerbin station, refuelled, took off to Minmus Station (my intent was to fill the cargo with rocks and drag them back to Kerbin after refuelling at Minmus) and back again--thus supplying my Kerbin station with ore. (seems more efficient to haul rocks from Minmus to Kerbin than design an SSTO that can do kerbin to orbit in one hop while full of ore)

...but then the Minmus Station Docking Incident occurred.

Then I deleted that save due to frustration. =)

Edited June 4, 2015 by slaintemaith

[Rune]

Ouch, that must have hurt. Sorry! It seems that you carry some issues from having played similar games with different control schemes. Me, the last game with similar degrees of freedom was Descent, so it got very intuitive very fast. I usually dock with the left hand in WASD and the right one in IJKL (forget the docking mode, never got it), and that works pretty fine with me... and actually, if I had two joysticks that would look very much like the RL deal.

Rune. Doubly sad, because you seem to like this game, deep down.

[SHiftER2O]

We need to import those couplers... garnn

[SHiftER2O]

Partnership has been canceled.

Edited June 13, 2015 by SHiftER2O

[Kagame]

Hey Rune, you gonna update your modular base system with the new IRSU stuff? Of course, I completely understand if you're too busy making us all feel woefully underqualified at SSTO-building. XD

[Rune]

Hey Rune, you gonna update your modular base system with the new IRSU stuff? Of course, I completely understand if you're too busy making us all feel woefully underqualified at SSTO-building. XD

Sure! I'm waiting on someone helping me test the whole thing (new deployment system to go with the old ones!), but just to whet your appetite a bit more, here you go:

Javascript is disabled. View full album

That's the WiP album, you can see how I'm doing and that it's basically lacking someone certifying that it actually works. Though the electrical system might need another pass, those drills and converter are hungry.

http://i.imgur.com/xNQ7yEx.png

Blackbird Aviation is now applying for a partnership with this company.

Yeah... I kind of have a policy of no partnerships, because I never understood them. I mean, if we are actually collaborating in some project, yeah, I'm always open to that on a project-by-project basis. But just listing each other's threads to get more publicity? ...I hate publicity

Rune. No offence intended, of course! I'm quite sure your builder page will get very popular as time goes by

[SHiftER2O]

Sure! I'm waiting on someone helping me test the whole thing (new deployment system to go with the old ones!), but just to whet your appetite a bit more, here you go:

http://imgur.com/a/tRNQf

That's the WiP album, you can see how I'm doing and that it's basically lacking someone certifying that it actually works. Though the electrical system might need another pass, those drills and converter are hungry.

Ah yes, testing Sadly, time is against most of us dang it.

Yeah... I kind of have a policy of no partnerships, because I never understood them. I mean, if we are actually collaborating in some project, yeah, I'm always open to that on a project-by-project basis. But just listing each other's threads to get more publicity? ...I hate publicity

Rune. No offence intended, of course! I'm quite sure your builder page will get very popular as time goes by

Well, not quite in publicity, I'm more on looking for a functioning partnership rather than some thing that's just for the sake of filling the OP. It's way more fun to collaborate on stuff, that's what the community is for Although from your previous mention, seems that I don't need a special relation in order to have some doings with your stuff, right?

Basics, I want to be safe, I'm just gonna include your White Dart in Project Raven, Plans are that the Project would be a repository for easy-fly SSTOs, for the benefit of newcomers and maybe future crafts even if ever I think calling it a partnership is just giving names to things that don't need names, so I guess a partnership wouldn't be too-too necessary in this case

[Rune]

I've got questions for you guys! especially to the ones that have this page bookmarked and have been following my forum adventures for some time. Thanks for doing so, BTW!

Here's the deal, a coworker has been fairly insistent this morning, and has gotten me thinking: My internet connection is going to be pretty decent for some months at least... why not making a few Youtubes? And here I am, testing the waters to see what you guys think about it. Would you like to see me flying and building stuff? Come to think of it, what would you prefer, seeing me build or fly? I'm always giving suggestions and advice on the forums, so I was thinking I could do a (hopefully) weekly video where I put together one ship and use it as an excuse to teach you guys something I judge worth knowing.

So... suggestions? Software you guys recommend to capture the video and editing it? Would you guys even like the idea? After all, there are already a ton of youtubers out there, the most I would bring to the bunch are my building skills, and the quality of the videos, editing-wise, would probably be pretty crappy at fist. After all, I don't even own a webcam and would buy something really cheap to record myself talking!

Rune. Then again, just to be able to point people to tutorials instead of repeating explanations I have already written gazillions of times, it could be worth it.

Edited June 17, 2015 by Rune

[SHiftER2O]

Here's the deal, a coworker has been fairly insistent this morning, and has gotten me thinking: My internet connection is going to be pretty decent for some months at least... why not making a few Youtubes? And here I am, testing the waters to see what you guys think about it. Would you like to see me flying and building stuff? Come to think of it, what would you prefer, seeing me build or fly? I'm always giving suggestions and advice on the forums, so I was thinking I could do a (hopefully) weekly video where I put together one ship and use it as an excuse to teach you guys something I judge worth knowing.

So... suggestions? Software you guys recommend to capture the video and editing it? Would you guys even like the idea? After all, there are already a ton of youtubers out there, the most I would bring to the bunch are my building skills, and the quality of the videos, editing-wise, would probably be pretty crappy at fist. After all, I don't even own a webcam and would buy something really cheap to record myself talking!

Rune. Then again, just to be able to point people to tutorials instead of repeating explanations I have already written gazillions of times, it could be worth it.

It's a wonderful idea I would most no-doubt say that most would want you to build AND fly It's going to be quite the utility in the forums, especially for someone who nows his stuff well and would be willing to share it on the community base Weekly vidoes, quite You can try with basics, then advanced, then aesthetics, then mix and match, then blast off from there

Capturing software, yes. I find a switch in FRAPS with Dxtory, quite effective and less FPS crunching than FRAPS, plus you get a handful of other options that could optimise and adapt to your PC. There is no reason to quite compete, just post a link of your video in the forums instead of typing out a thorough barrage of, slightly-used words, I'm sure many of us at the SSTO page, or any other pages, would find the media useful to the bone

Note to SHiftER; If you wouldn't have been so lazy, you could have done these things...

[Raptor9]

So... suggestions? Software you guys recommend to capture the video and editing it? Would you guys even like the idea? After all, there are already a ton of youtubers out there, the most I would bring to the bunch are my building skills, and the quality of the videos, editing-wise, would probably be pretty crappy at fist. After all, I don't even own a webcam and would buy something really cheap to record myself talking!

Personally, I use Open Broadcasting Software for recording. It's really handy, free, and can also be used to broadcast a twitch stream. For video editing I use Nero 2015. It's not free, but for someone that puts the occasional cinematic video together, it's reasonably priced and easy to figure out.

I've never done a tutorial video, but I was considering doing one after I finally cracked the Shuttle solution. It would be what steps to take, considerations in design, how to test, how to tweak, etc. That kind of stuff would be useful depending on what your talking about (SSTOs, base-building, etc).

[SHiftER2O]

Personally, I use Open Broadcasting Software for recording. It's really handy, free, and can also be used to broadcast a twitch stream. For video editing I use Nero 2015. It's not free, but for someone that puts the occasional cinematic video together, it's reasonably priced and easy to figure out.

I've never done a tutorial video, but I was considering doing one after I finally cracked the Shuttle solution. It would be what steps to take, considerations in design, how to test, how to tweak, etc. That kind of stuff would be useful depending on what your talking about (SSTOs, base-building, etc).

Quite so! Open Broadcasting Software is also the way to go, plus its free is the big factor.

You finally are making concepts for a shuttle? That's exciting to hear Would be pending for your designs, yes

[Raptor9]

You finally are making concepts for a shuttle? That's exciting to hear Would be pending for your designs, yes

Well, you can see it launching at 0:21 into the "KSP - The TV Show" video in my sig, and sitting in the background in my title post of Raptor Aerospace. I haven't really included it in the designs list on that page for two reasons:

1) Still trying to narrow down the max payload weight the Shuttle can lift off with and make a certain altitude (ie 100x100km orbit for a heavy payload vs 200x200km with a light payload). I designed it as a station-builder, but alternatively, how much weight can it safely glide and land with if it needed to bring something down? It launches no problem, and it glides wonderfully during testing (but the cargo bay was empty after jettisoning a test payload in orbit). So not quite ready for roll-out.

2) My designs list in Raptor Aerospace reference air-breathing aircraft that primarily operate in the atmosphere for aero-testing, science surveys, or service missions (like moving a rover to an island for example). SSTO spaceplanes are sort of an exception to that, but they use the same facilities as the atmo-only aircraft, so in my mind, they're just aircraft that can operate for extended periods at REALLY high altitude. Whenever I tweak the shuttle design, I'll see about posting it and where (separate thread?, etc)

On the subject of spaceplanes (specifically the one I posted about on page 3), I tweaked it a little, and tweaked some more, and I got a working prototype of the passenger variant in orbit with enough fuel for rendezvous and reentry; barely I think

EDIT: Whoops, mixed up my threads, it was in Rune's White Dart thread, not this one (facepalm).

Edited June 17, 2015 by Raptor9

[Rune]

Ok, thanks for the encouragement and suggestions! I'll be sure to check out that software, and in my own time, see what I can come up with. I warn you all first and foremost, I am quite the lazy guy, and I won't hold myself to any kind of schedule: that's the best way of guaranteeing that I won't break it.

I'm thinking the first one should be, obviously, a class in SSTO building. That's what I'm known for, right? Besides, 1.02 atmo has a lot of people very confused.

Rune. We could start by improving on the White Dart!

[Alewx]

Heya master of the cool creations

Have a little question, I tried to make a medusa clone, but after I dock about 3 modules in orbit my fps are so low, that playing is almost impossible.

So what pc specs do you have, that you can make medusa fly around?

Edited June 18, 2015 by Alewx

[Yukon0009]

Rune, what visual packs add the awesome auroras?

[Rune]

Heya master of the cool creations

Have a little question, I tried to make a medusa clone, but after I dock about 3 modules in orbit my fps are so low, that playing is almost impossible.

So what pc specs do you have, that you can make medusa fly around?

Hi! Well, my machine is nothing to write home about, actually. An i5-3570k, basically one with a high clock speed (3.4Ghz) , 8 gigs of fast dual-channel RAM, a Nvidia GT9800 that is more than showing its age, all run form a decent SSD for quick loading times. All in all, pretty average (though highly compatible with KSP's requirements!), and yes, I also played with the Medusas with the clock firmly in the yellow, at least at half speed. Mind you, the principal design requirement was minimal part count: my original file has very, very few parts in the core, including minimizing struts, lightning, and the like.

Still, all those tanks with docking ports everywhere, and the independent drive pods mean that a fully assembled Medusa will always be laggy. Light versions with less tankage should be noticeable better, of course. Just the nature of the beast, and from what I've heard about high part counts in 1.02, things may be even worse than before.

Rune. Try not to add fluff, it's more difficult to make things look cool, but when you do, there's an elegance in simplicity.

- - - Updated - - -

Rune, what visual packs add the awesome auroras?

That would be EVE, in one its packs. Must be one of astronomer's, probably Edge of Oblivion? I honestly just lifted the folder from my 0.90 install, and in fact it's back out because it threw some errors and made my game significantly less stable. Here's hoping a true 1.0 stable update comes along soon.

[Alewx]

Hi! Well, my machine is nothing to write home about, actually. An i5-3570k, basically one with a high clock speed (3.4Ghz) , 8 gigs of fast dual-channel RAM, a Nvidia GT9800 that is more than showing its age, all run form a decent SSD for quick loading times. All in all, pretty average (though highly compatible with KSP's requirements!), and yes, I also played with the Medusas with the clock firmly in the yellow, at least at half speed. Mind you, the principal design requirement was minimal part count: my original file has very, very few parts in the core, including minimizing struts, lightning, and the like.

Still, all those tanks with docking ports everywhere, and the independent drive pods mean that a fully assembled Medusa will always be laggy. Light versions with less tankage should be noticeable better, of course. Just the nature of the beast, and from what I've heard about high part counts in 1.02, things may be even worse than before.

Thanks for the info I was close to panic that my system was no getting into stress with the project.

I7-2600k

SLI980GTX

16GB RAM

but lacking your SSD

Hmm with 0.9 I had 1000parts and then got about 10fps not with 1.0.2 I'm down to almost 300 parts, but it really helped me to get to know that you had also problems with fully packed Medusa.

[Hobbes Novakoff]

Personally, for me my laptop i7 @ 3 Ghz (Turbo Boost to 3.5 Ghz) plus a dinky Intel Iris 6100 Integrated graphics card, 16GB of RAM, and flash storage, I can run up to 400-500 parts (10 46-part fighters that I was doing a battle scenario with) at a pretty good framerate (though the clock is slow), but it is more or less unplayable with anything over 600.

[Rune]

Up to 1.0, I could run 500 part ships... barely. Clock firmly in the red, 1:3 to 1:4 in gametime:realtime ratio. It made for easy dockings of gargantuan stuff, though. Which is why I steer veeery clear of those part counts now, so I don't know how many I can handle in 1.0. 200 is very comfortable, which is the reason my crafts now shoot for <100 parts on orbit, and 50 is best... I love docking and assembling ships!

It's funny how KSP only cares about CPU clock speed. My graphics card is ancient, and it still maxes out even the mod FX pack without breaking a sweat... and you know, 32bits means any RAM over 4 gigs is wasted. BTW, I misremembered my processor number, it's an i5-3450. The 3570 wasn't out when I bought it I think. Still, the highest clock speed I could afford (3.10Ghz). MUCH more important than the number of cores for gaming (especially KSP gaming) these days.

Rune. By now, my PC is pretty much custom-built for KSP... it's the reason I chose that processor, and didn't upgrade my trusty 9800GT.

[Tangle]

Welp, now its 1.0.3

Supposedly, drag and jet engine changes. Exciting......................

[zekes]

Rune's still here! Yay!

[Rune]

Welp, now its 1.0.3

Supposedly, drag and jet engine changes. Exciting......................

Yay! They decreased both thrust and transonic drag... meaning my low TWR designs just got some Squad validation! It was weird that SSTOs needed to be able to work like rockets (TWR>1 ASL) in order to be easy to fly as planes.

I don't expect the new SSTOs to be broken by the update though... I'll give them a test and perhaps an update, but they should work fine fi the changes went the way I think they did.

Rune's still here! Yay!

Of course I am! Still a long way of KSPing to go. I am kind of slow posting stuff these days, but now that my career save is maxing out the science tree and I can use the designs I built for you guys (yesterday I tweaked the Spatha and Longsword a bit to fit there), that should change soon hopefully. In fact, I'm considering making some videos this summer!

Rune. All of it, Soonâ„¢. Sorry!

[Rune]

Update! I added the Phoebus to the thread, because no one brought any issues with it. Then again, not many people commented on it on its thread, so we'll see. In any case, I also took the liberty of editing out the last of the old stuff, so the OP now only shows 1.0 stuff. I'll probably update the SSTOs a bit, but in a stealth manner, since they actually work better in 1.04 just like they are. The main thing is to increase the liquid fuel load even if it's at the cost of some oxidizer, since they get much better atmospheric speed now. Just fly them a bit shallower!

Rune. I'm still thinking about the videos... early planning stage.

[Kagame]

Nice job on the Saturn V replica!

[inigma]

Flew the Phoebus twice. Could not for the life of me figure out how to decouple the LEM from the S-IVb. It was just stuck in there. That and the fairing would not eject. Twice. Argh.