[0.90] LazTek SpaceX Launch, Exploration, Colonial Transporter & Historic mods (1/25/14)

[Cerebrate]

If you're suffering from the incompatibility between KSP Interstellar and this mod, in which the Dragon trunk keeps decoupling over and over as soon as you get it to the launch pad, I have found the piece of code in Interstellar that causes this incompatibility, and have hacked together a quick workaround - basically, a replacement WarpPlugin.dll. It works for me and doesn't *appear* to break any of the rest of Interstellar.

...but it's just a quick hack I knocked up in five minutes, so I don't want to put it up for general download yet until it's a bit more tested. If you want it and don't mind taking a chance on said hack, message me with where, and I'll send you a copy.

-c

[LazarusLuan]

Thanks, everyone for all the help in getting the bugs worked out of the latest releases. I've been incorporating fixes as I find them and plan to have the next release of the three mod packs, including more older SpaceX parts for the Historical Archive and the low res versions, right after KSP .24 gets released. In the meantime, I have an experimental engine pack that I will post up here shortly. Here's a preview of my Advanced VTOL SuperDracos at work:

[Prowler_x1]

Thanks, everyone for all the help in getting the bugs worked out of the latest releases. I've been incorporating fixes as I find them and plan to have the next release of the three mod packs, including more older SpaceX parts for the Historical Archive and the low res versions, right after KSP .24 gets released. In the meantime, I have an experimental engine pack that I will post up here shortly. Here's a preview of my Advanced VTOL SuperDracos at work:

http://electrictomatoes.com/ksp/screenshot139a.png

http://electrictomatoes.com/ksp/screenshot140a.png

Awesome news. Looking forward to the Low Res packs. Not that your work isn't exquisite in HD or regular size but 32 bit KSP is a pain and until we move over to 64 bit KSP, I have to live with minimal setups to enjoy the wide variety of fantastic mods available. Or at least until 32 bit optimized. As usual awesome work. You are at the top of my list.

Regards,

[wasmic]

Awesome news. Looking forward to the Low Res packs. Not that your work isn't exquisite in HD or regular size but 32 bit KSP is a pain and until we move over to 64 bit KSP, I have to live with minimal setups to enjoy the wide variety of fantastic mods available. Or at least until 32 bit optimized. As usual awesome work. You are at the top of my list.

Regards,

You know, 64 bit KSP for windows is coming in 0.24. And 64 bit for linux is already available.

[LazarusLuan]

As promised, here is the new Experimental Engine Set 1.0, including several spaceplane .craft files:

************

Included with this package:

Advanced VTOL Engine - Monopropellant-burning, advanced hybrid engine contained in a 1m cowling, switchable between air-breathing and closed system modes for single stage to orbit spacecraft. Has vector thrust that can be switched between vertical and forward modes.

NERVA II Nuclear Vacuum Engine - NASA NERVA II Nuclear vacuum engine, mount and protective cowling designed to be attached to 2.5m upper tank of long-range space vehicles.

400 Monopropellant Tank - Attachable monopropellant tank for extended use of Draco-engine spacecraft.

200 Monopropellant Tank - Small, attachable monopropellant tank for extended use of Draco-engine spacecraft.

SPACEPLANES -

SPARROW - Single-person spaceplane with twin Advanced VTOL SuperDraco engines, combining air-breathing and conventional closed-system rocket tech. Designed to provide easy, reusable access to and return from space stations using vertical and short-runway takeoff and landing capability. KEYS: 1-Switch engine modes 2-Toggle thrust between horizontal and vertical

TALON - 3-person spaceplane with twin Advanced VTOL SuperDraco engines, combining air-breathing and conventional closed-system rocket tech. Designed to provide easy, reusable access to and return from space stations using vertical and short-runway takeoff and landing capability. KEYS: 1-Switch engine modes 2-Toggle thrust between horizontal and vertical

EAGLE - 4-person spaceplane with twin Advanced VTOL SuperDraco engines, combining air-breathing and conventional closed-system rocket tech. Designed to provide easy, reusable access to and return from space stations using vertical and short-runway takeoff and landing capability. KEYS: 1-Switch engine modes 2-Toggle thrust between horizontal and vertical

RAPTOR - 6-person spaceplane with four Advanced VTOL SuperDraco engines, combining air-breathing and conventional closed-system rocket tech. Designed to provide easy, reusable access to and return from space stations using vertical and short-runway takeoff and landing capability. KEYS: 1-Switch engine modes 2-Toggle thrust between horizontal and vertical

OSPREY - 11-person spaceplane with four Advanced VTOL SuperDraco engines, combining air-breathing and conventional closed-system rocket tech. Designed to provide easy, reusable access to and return from space stations using vertical and short-runway takeoff and landing capability. KEYS: 1-Switch engine modes 2-Toggle thrust between horizontal and vertical

ATHENA - Single-person cargo freighter spaceplane with twin Advanced VTOL SuperDraco engines, combining air-breathing and conventional closed-system rocket tech. Designed to provide easy, reusable access to and return from space stations using vertical and short-runway takeoff and landing capability. KEYS: 1-Switch engine modes 2-Toggle thrust between horizontal and vertical. Uses ballast tanks in front and back to rebalance ship between loaded and unloaded flight.

All spaceplanes use monopropellant exclusively as fuel and have full RCS control with a docking port for refueling and space station connection.

SHIPS -

LIBERTY 1 - Nuclear-powered, dockable "sled" designed to launch to orbit for use by a spaceplane for travel between planetary bodies, with living quarters for long journeys.

**************************

FLIGHT INSTRUCTIONS

TAKEOFF CHECKLIST:

1. Engage SAS

2. Throttle up to 50%

3. At 80m/s press "2", ship will begin rising

4. Press "G" to raise landing gear

5. Press "2" again after reaching 200m

6. Throttle up to 75%

7. Pull nose up to 30 degrees

8. Throttle up to 100%

9. Cut throttle at 35000 meters

10. Press "1" key to switch engines to closed cycle mode

11. Apply full throttle at apoapsis until circularized into a stable orbit

ATMOSPHERIC LANDING CHECKLIST:

1. Engage SAS

2. Press "2" to move thrusters to vertical position

3. Rotate ship 90 degrees from prograde (forward motion)

4. Throttle up until orbit decays into upper atmosphere

5. Cut throttle

6. Descend to 35000m with ship maintained in a vertical position

7. Press "1" key to switch engines to air-breathing mode

8. Throttle up until orbital speed is reduced to 600m/s

9. Cut throttle

10. Press "2" to return thrust to horizontal mode

11. Descend to 10000 meters

12. Apply throttle as needed to fly to destination

13. Upon reaching destination, cut throttle 14. Switch thrusters to vertical mode

15. Apply low throttle as needed while approaching landing area

16. Pull back on the nose while cutting throttle to land smoothly

VACUUM LANDING CHECKLIST:

1. Engage SAS

2. Press "2" to move thrusters to vertical position

3. Rotate 90 degrees from prograde

4. Throttle up until orbit decays onto desired landing location

5. Cut throttle

6. Switch control to alternate control pod on bottom of ship by right-clicking on it and selecting Control from Here

7. Descend to 500m, keeping ship pointed vertically

8. Apply throttle until surface speed drops near zero

9. Rotate ship forward 90 degrees which will point thrusters down toward the ground

10. Press "G" to lower landing gear

11. Slow descent to around 10m/s or less with intermittant throttle until ship has landed

[techstepman]

now that we got a windows 64 bit version I will at last enjoy Laztek stuff in hd! waiting patiently for the 0.24 release .

[DrBackjack]

Hey Laz, I havn't played in a long time but I was excited to play lately because of the Dragon v2 unveiling. Anyways, if I remember correctly last time I played the SuperDraco nacelle's could be attached radially to the capsule but it could also be attached to "nodes" because attaching them radially would cause "phantom torque." It can be visualized by using RCS Build Aid and when the engines are firing the capsules will start spinning. But the latest version doesn't have nodes on the Dragon v1 or v2 so the engines can only be attached radially. Is there a technique that I don't know about to attaching engines radially? Would you consider adding nodes to the radially mounted engines and v1 and v2 capsules?

Edited July 19, 2014 by DrBackjack

[Virtualgenius]

Loaded this up in 64bit version has a small issue or two the rcs jets are constantly on and it goes to warp speed upon launch with in 15 secs its at 20km and accelerating its the most efficient rocket but somewhat impractical

[SilentGunner13]

are we getting a 0.24 release soon? For cost?

[Kerbal01]

It should still function as a plain parts pack in 0.24, as it's not dependent on plugins.

[elfindreams]

FYI, the following parts:

LazTek\Parts\LazTekDragonPanelCover\part.cfg

LazTek\Parts\LazTekDragonRetractableNose\part.cfg

LazTek\Parts\LazTekDragonRetractablePanelCover\part.cfg

LazTek\Parts\LazTekDragonV2Nosecone\part.cfg

LazTek\Parts\LazTekFalconExpandedFairing\part.cfg

Need to have "Cost = " replaced with "cost = " or the career mode in 0.24 won't let you use any of them an launch (the cost of the vehicle is listed as NaN).

Edit: actually that isn't the cause of the NaN (not sure what is, might have to rebuild the craft files) but if you don't change it the parts do have a 0 cost.

Edited July 21, 2014 by elfindreams

[JedTech]

Really excited to install this on my 0.24 install. Should I just download what is currently available and try to add the costs in myself?

[Midanthrope]

It works as is, and has costs associated with each part. I do not know why the craft files are giving a NaN. If you build the rockets yourself however, I've not run into a problem with the budget not showing up.

[Ghostshark27]

Hey Lazarus, I've been playing around with your experimental engines, and they are really fun to fly! They seem a bit overpowered, though, but I guess I could always back down the thrust limiter if I want to make it harder to get to orbit. Also, your Liberty sled is giving me a missing part error. Do you require the Dragon parts to run it? I don't have them in my game right now, I'm picking and choosing what I install to keep the game from getting bloated.

[matute030]

will you upgrade to .24?

[Kerbal01]

will you upgrade to .24?

as said in the previous posts above, all laztek mods will function in .24, they just will not have balanced costs.

[Sabotage69]

An easy fix for price showing nan. Download notepad ++, open each craft file with it. Hit ctr+f in open craft file and hit the replace tab. Find what: Amount = nan , Replace with: Amount = 0. Hit replace all and then save. The crafts should now display proper cost.

[mecki]

Does this work with RealChutes?

[DrBackjack]

Does this work with RealChutes?

No. I've tried making it use the realchute system but it was a complete failure on my part. You might try posting in the realchute thread.

[koksny]

If you're suffering from the incompatibility between KSP Interstellar and this mod, in which the Dragon trunk keeps decoupling over and over as soon as you get it to the launch pad, I have found the piece of code in Interstellar that causes this incompatibility, and have hacked together a quick workaround - basically, a replacement WarpPlugin.dll. It works for me and doesn't *appear* to break any of the rest of Interstellar.

...but it's just a quick hack I knocked up in five minutes, so I don't want to put it up for general download yet until it's a bit more tested. If you want it and don't mind taking a chance on said hack, message me with where, and I'll send you a copy.

-c

I'm having now exact problem to the point of not using the trunk anymore - could you share changed code? Or just describe what's happening there?

[LazarusLuan]

I've finished the updates to the SpaceX mods for KSP.24. After this, I am updating the Historical Archive with the Falcon 1, Falcon 9 Block 1 and Merlin 1C engines and adding the new SpaceX Planetary Colonization mod with Falcon X, Falcon XX and Mars Colonial Transporter spacecraft.

In addition to the following changes, are there any other issues I need to address for this update?

>>>>CHANGES IN LAZTEK SPACEX LAUNCH PACK v3.1:

- Updated all models to Unity 4.5 except those with emissives, which are staying at 4.2.2 due to incompatibilities

- Changed all prices for research and part purchase to reflect prices established by .24 career mode

- Moved Falcon Heat Shield to SpaceX Historical Archives mod as it is no longer necessary by using aero retrobraking

- Dragon V2 Parachute - Changed attachment point to accommodate changes in Unity physics

- Dragon V2 Trunk - Reduced size of cargo to allow space to attach docking port at top

- Changed engine control keys for Merlin 1D clusters to a configuration that allows more control

>>>>CHANGES TO SPACEX EXPLORATION EXPANSION KIT 2.1:

- Updated models and prices for KSP .24 career mode

- Replaced MonoPropellant Tank with 200 and 400 MonoPropellant tanks with more accurate tank sizes

- New Explorer Heat Shield V2 with same design as new Dragon V2

- Moved Nerva II and Advanced VTOL engines from Experimental Engine set along with several spaceplane .craft files

- Added Aft Dock to Dragon V2 Explorer craft to allow rear docking with V2 trunk attached to orbiter

- Moved Docking Trunk to SpaceX Historical Archive mod

>>>>>>> CHANGES TO SPACEX HISTORIC ARCHIVE 1.1:

- Moved Falcon Heat Shield from SpaceX Launch Pack

- Moved Explorer Heat Shield and Dragon Docking Trunk from SpaceX Explorer Expansion

- Changed launch keys for .craft files

Edited August 13, 2014 by LazarusLuan

[Woopert]

Wow, that sounds awesome! I love how you're adding all these SpaceX concepts and it's amazing how quickly you make the parts.

[Midanthrope]

Hey Laz,

Modifying the Dragon V2 cargo trunk to allow for surface attachments on the interior of the trunk on the white framework just like the dragon cargo trunk would be helpful. Are you also considering making the Dragon V1 cargo pod? I know there is an older model out there, but would love to see you make one that matches the specularity and textures of your models, in order to complete the "set" if you will. Appreciate and love the work.

[LazarusLuan]

Hey Laz,

Modifying the Dragon V2 cargo trunk to allow for surface attachments on the interior of the trunk on the white framework just like the dragon cargo trunk would be helpful. Are you also considering making the Dragon V1 cargo pod? I know there is an older model out there, but would love to see you make one that matches the specularity and textures of your models, in order to complete the "set" if you will. Appreciate and love the work.

I'll check to see why things aren't attaching to the inside of the V2 trunk and I forgot to mention the Dragon Cargo is also included in the updated Historical Archive. I've made it hollow with interior sides that allow attachment of equipment in the case of KSP adding some sort of cargo scenarios to the career mode. The top hatch/cap attaches separately and opens and closes on the Dragon Cargo to allow access into items within.

[koksny]

Are you going to make Dragon v2 compatible with Deadly Reentry any time soon? Right now it's possible to include heat shield module by config editing, but parts attached to the top of Dragon v2 (so docking port and nosecone) explode on reentry because (most likely) of issue with model collision convex-mesh.

If i understand correctly it's also reason for your Dragon V2 sinking underground if not landed properly, so it would also kind of help non-DRE users.