Apollo Mission Pack Development (Beta version released!)

[Razorcane]

I don't know if you've been asked this before.... But do you plan on making little floaties for the Apollo capsule when it lands in the water

Not sure yet. The more detail we add, the more polygons it needs, and thus the overall framerate of your game decreases. I'll talk to aphazael about it. I want to add those, but at the moment I can't spare the polygons.

[Whirligig Girl]

Mechjeb can NOT fly the LM Ascent stage, it wobbles like a drunkard. Also, the RCS on both craft are usleless, I know it's more accurate to have lower fuel, but additionally, the capsules have HUGE rotPowers, which is probably why the LM cannot be flown by MechJeb.

[Whirligig Girl]

You could get the guy who made FASA Mercury and Gemini to help with the textures...

[Whirligig Girl]

I suppose I'll just share my progress here. I redid the service module, but used the same dimensions(well, as close as I can get) and just used the same config since I still don't know how to set those up. But I remodeled and retextured it. However, it's still not done. I'm going to add a tiny bit more detail on the inside, like on the real service module. I wish we could use normals and specular maps...

Anyway, I'm going to finish this up, and have a go at the command module next. I dread doing the command module because of how complicated the real one is. I'm afraid my OCD will kick in.

Can you make the Service and Command Module shiny, like how FASA made the Gemini launcher shiny? Also, the top of the Service module has visibly, the tops of the fuel tanks. (According to my Revell Rocket Hero model Kit.)

[Razorcane]

Can you make the Service and Command Module shiny, like how FASA made the Gemini launcher shiny? Also, the top of the Service module has visibly, the tops of the fuel tanks. (According to my Revell Rocket Hero model Kit.)

I'm not handling unity conversion. The model I used for the service module wasn't built for unity, so I couldn't use any of the shaders that unity offers. However, the parts that I do will most likely have a specular channel.

[Ph34rb0t]

Razorcane:

Are you going to map and texture the models?

[Razorcane]

Razorcane:

Are you going to map and texture the models?

Yes, I've finished the service module and the docking ring so far. I'm currently working on the command pod, and am going to start the LES next.

[iamaphazael]

Can you make the Service and Command Module shiny...

You mean like this?

Yeah, we can do that.

[Razorcane]

Ok, so the command pod is looking really good, even for my standards. It's still not done, I have to paint in the RCS ports on it, and it's rather tricky, but it will look even better once it's finished.

Until then, here are some screenshots to appease everyone. I also imported the docking ring part for better reference.

[Razorcane]

Can you make the Service and Command Module shiny, like how FASA made the Gemini launcher shiny? Also, the top of the Service module has visibly, the tops of the fuel tanks. (According to my Revell Rocket Hero model Kit.)

I think your model kit is wrong. On the real one, the inside of the service module(where the command module sits) only has one visible spherical tank, which can be seen here.

[Lindy]

Great stuff! I think you have a winner here! There are a couple of things you may wish to take into consideration though... The LM RCS and ASAS are way over powered. So far I've only played around with the RCS, and have found that setting the power from 1 to .125 makes the LM a lot more civilized. At 6 tons the LM isn't going to need much ASAS I'll let you know some numbers when I've had a chance to play with it. Keep up the good work, I'm loving what I see so far.

[Ph34rb0t]

Yes, I've finished the service module and the docking ring so far. I'm currently working on the command pod, and am going to start the LES next.

Good. More time for me to do something else then (Far Cry 3 or so).

[Razorcane]

Great stuff! I think you have a winner here! There are a couple of things you may wish to take into consideration though... The LM RCS and ASAS are way over powered. So far I've only played around with the RCS, and have found that setting the power from 1 to .125 makes the LM a lot more civilized. At 6 tons the LM isn't going to need much ASAS I'll let you know some numbers when I've had a chance to play with it. Keep up the good work, I'm loving what I see so far.

I actually hadn't thought of that. To be honest, I don't use RCS unless I'm thrusting forwards or backwards, but it is very overpowered. I've already started editing the config files a bit, but only for the Saturn V, not the Apollo Spacecraft. I'm trying to recreate the Saturn V as close as possible. If you want to watch, I posted a video on youtube which demonstrates these mechanics.

[iamaphazael]

Great stuff! I think you have a winner here! There are a couple of things you may wish to take into consideration though... The LM RCS and ASAS are way over powered. So far I've only played around with the RCS, and have found that setting the power from 1 to .125 makes the LM a lot more civilized. At 6 tons the LM isn't going to need much ASAS I'll let you know some numbers when I've had a chance to play with it. Keep up the good work, I'm loving what I see so far.

Thanks for the compliment! Yeah, we're definitely going to turn down both the rcs and the pod torque on the LM. We'll probably try to release a new version once all the CSM models are done, and that new update will also have a bunch of cfg tweaks.

[bang_coi]

Do you think that the Isp is too high?

The S-IVB - LM fairings are meant to be seperated away from the rocket, though.

Edited June 6, 2013 by bang_coi

[Razorcane]

Do you think that the Isp is too high?

The S-IVB - LM fairings are meant to be seperated away from the rocket, though.

The S-IVB fairings? You mean the Lunar Module Adapter? Yes, we know that they're supposed to separate, and we're working on it.

[TwiggyShip]

Hey Razorcane, any progress pics of the CM? Those models looked beautiful

[iamaphazael]

Hey Razorcane, any progress pics of the CM? Those models looked beautiful

I wasn't going to put anything up yet, because I'm not finished importing Razorcane's models into the game yet (as you can see, I need to tweak the shader on the parachute cap to make it match the rest of the CM, and there are some other issues too that I need to deal with), but here's a little preview:

[TwiggyShip]

Oh those are just wonderful, brilliant work, both of you!

Can't wait to get the chance to try these out myself, big fan of this mod, had a lot of fun with it so far

[Razorcane]

Yea, don't forget to send me those when you're done. I haven't been able to use any of those parts you fixed up!

Edit: Didn't I include a specular on the base of the docking ring? The copper bits shouldn't be that reflective. They're supposed to be rugged. Also, is the command pod white? o_O What did KSP do! Or is that also the specular? Man, it's killing the looks.

Edited June 7, 2013 by Razorcane

[iamaphazael]

Yea, don't forget to send me those when you're done. I haven't been able to use any of those parts you fixed up!

Edit: Didn't I include a specular on the base of the docking ring? The copper bits shouldn't be that reflective. They're supposed to be rugged. Also, is the command pod white? o_O What did KSP do! Or is that also the specular? Man, it's killing the looks.

I'm pretty sure I put a diffuse shader on the docking ring base. I'll recheck next time I have Unity open. As far as the pod goes, I've probably got the reflectivity turned up too high on the command pod. Also, Unity allows you to pick what color the shininess is. For the command pod, I picked the light grey from the texture. On the docking ring cap, I left it at the default, which is why the cap looks darker in the image. Looks like I'll just stick to the default. It seems to look better that way.

[Razorcane]

I'm pretty sure I put a diffuse shader on the docking ring base. I'll recheck next time I have Unity open. As far as the pod goes, I've probably got the reflectivity turned up too high on the command pod. Also, Unity allows you to pick what color the shininess is. For the command pod, I picked the light grey from the texture. On the docking ring cap, I left it at the default, which is why the cap looks darker in the image. Looks like I'll just stick to the default. It seems to look better that way.

I really need to get this tool. Is it just the thing on the download page on the Unity site? Do I need a specific version or can I just use the latest(4.1.4)?

Edited June 7, 2013 by Razorcane

[iamaphazael]

Yeah, all you need is the free version of the Unity editor from their website (http://unity3d.com/unity/download/). Any version in the 4.x.x series should be fine. You'll also need a copy of the KSP part tools scripts to export parts from Unity into the .mu files for the game to use. The version I've been using is here (http://kerbalspaceprogram.com/files/ksp-parttools-18.zip). There is a new version for 0.20, but it looks like people are having some trouble with it, so I haven't switched over our parts to it yet. Unless they stop working with the game (which I don't expect them to anytime soon), I'll hold off on converting them over until I've had a chance to play around with the new parttools.

If you want to get Unity for yourself, there are a couple of tutorials on the forums that show the full process to import a model in, then export a part back out. I can try to write up a set of concise instructions for you too. The Unity editor itself is not particularly intuitive, so it's nice to have something to work from. I'll try to write something up this weekend.

[Razorcane]

What do you mean? The parts work with the 0.20 file structure.

[Netris]

What do you mean? The parts work with the 0.20 file structure.

He meant the part tool for Unity. They released the .20 part tool which is specifically done for .20. But the .18 still works as well.