Modular Base Concept

[Parkaboy]

Hello, fellow kerbanauts!

I'm Parkaboy, and this is the first time I've posted on this forum, although I've lurked for a couple of months, ever since I started played KSP. I decided to break the silence today to share the concept for a space base I designed and of which I'm very proud, since I feel it looks great, but also to ask for advice on how to fix a few issues with it.

Let's take a look at it:

Here's the modular base "landed" at the Kerbal Space Center (where I was testing it). The basic idea is that the modules are going to land on their own power separately, and then will be joined together by the Lerner MkI rover (seen on the foreground).

I have seen a few videos of self-assembling bases (most notably Scott Manley's Reusable Space Program), where spaceplane landing gear and RCS are used to move the modules. I choose to have the rover do the pushing around, since it's better maneauvering.

The modules start coming together nicely:

Finally, the whole base is assembled. It has a command/communications center, three habitation modules, a docking hub for two rovers, and a refueling station for a plane/rover hybrid inspired on brotoro's BirdDog.

The next and more delicate step is to raise the landing gear, so the base will rest on the ground. Below you see the result, now with the vehicles docked.

Again, remember: this is just a test, done in KSC's backyard. I was planning to test it at Kerbin's North Pole, but it appears the rover can't move properly on ice. I'm glad I did the test before launching, though, since I hit a few issues.

Some of them were expected. There's a framerate drop around the base, but nothing so bad. Also, every time you dock a new part, the whole thing jerks, and it's adisable to do a quick save before each docking.

But one thing I didn't anticipated: while resting on the ground (landing gear raised), if the base is loaded, the whole thing hops when the physics kick in, causing something to explode half of the times. The base already split in two while I was approaching it with the plane, although you can't see it from the pictures.

If someone has experienced something similar and know a way around the issue, I'd really appreciate some advice. I'm thinking the problem is the raised landing gear clipping the ground, but I'm not sure. Maybe I should add some small structural parts to support the modules and prevent the gear from touching the ground while raised?

[DMagic]

I like the way this looks (those ramps are a great idea).

Usually when you get weird kicks or explosions when the physics starts it means that something is not aligned right. I think usually something is getting forced into the ground so it tends to get bounced out. You have to be very careful to get everything lined up right or this can happen. It might also have to do with the way that everything is resting on the ground. I've never done it this way, I always have everything on legs. Maybe find a way to extend those ramps a little and just leave the landing gear extended.

I put up this lesson about testing these things a while ago, it might help a little.

http://forum.kerbalspaceprogram.com/showthread.php/27668-Tricks-hints-and-important-lessons?p=340578#post340578

[zzz]

Really like how it looks and some of designs.

[Sorcie]

I like this. Approx. how many parts is that bottom screenshot?

[DMagic]

Another thing to keep in mind, is that these kinds of physics freak-outs tend to get worse as you add more parts. Try to be as stingy as possible with total part count. Not just to keep performance from dropping too much, but also to avoid some of these weird things.

[The Jedi Master]

Now put it on the Mun!

[Zephram Kerman]

Well that's purdy! It's going to be a lot of trips. But it's very prudent to have the whole thing simulated on the ground first.

I like the little control tower thingy, and the light towers above each of the hab modules. How does it look at night?

[Parkaboy]

Thanks for the responses! I think I've managed to fix the issue with the base jumbing when loading, by adding a few small docking ports under each module. It prevents the gears from clipping with the ground, which seems to be causing the problem. I'll post new pics to show the results later!

[Promii]

I'm doing something similar but I like your radial/angled hubs, I hadn't thought of that. I've found that my test base on Kerbin tend to have the solar arrays fall off when I switch to it if they are extended, which might be related to your exploding problem. Seems to be fine on airless worlds. It's like the game thinks the base is moving at high velocity momentarily.

[Tommygun]

How did you ever get that tower out there without it tipping over?

[OrbitusII]

I'm doing something similar but I like your radial/angled hubs, I hadn't thought of that. I've found that my test base on Kerbin tend to have the solar arrays fall off when I switch to it if they are extended, which might be related to your exploding problem. Seems to be fine on airless worlds. It's like the game thinks the base is moving at high velocity momentarily.

That is indeed the issue, but I'm not sure if the Devs plan on fixing that soon.

I really like the design and effectiveness of the modules! Craft files please?

[Parkaboy]

Hey, everyone! Sorry for the lack of responses, but as a new user I'm still on "probation" and my posts must be approved before showing up, so it's hard to keep up with everyone. So:

@Sorcie: The last screenshot has something between 250 and 300 parts, I believe. Is there a way to see the part count of an object?

@DMagic: Yeah, I'm trying to streamline the design of the modules, and thinking about smaller "rings".

@The Jedi Master: I'm working on it! Half of the modules are already there, but landing them has been tricky.

@Zephram Kerman: At night it looks very, very bright, because of the lights on the landing gear. I'm planning to leave them off and turn on the rest manually, or else it's almost blinding.

@Promii: I also had trouble with solar panels breaking off at first, then decided to use only the smaller ones. They seem to survive the jerks fine. Maybe I'll try with larger panels now that I managed to reduce the loading "jumps".

Below is a second test for the base, now with docking ports under each structure helping support them and avoid the clipping "jumps". I also cut the "rover hub" and decided to add a docking port for rovers on each habitation module. Seems smarter this way. You can see on the second pic how the rover looks from the module's window.

[M5000]

Parkaboy...

Did you ever play SPORE, and if so, are you the same one?

If not, ignore those last two statements.

Regardless:

That's an awesome looking concept for a base. Even if you're not the same Parkaboy, you share the same talent of playing a game right.

[RawChicken]

Awesome! Wait till I send my base to the mun!

Also, that jumping when physic start is normal, I have had this issue several times. I think there is no cure for it on our hands

[Brofessional]

The biggest issue is that it's tricky to find flat ground outside of KSC.

You could just use KAS and build a crane to move the sections around.

Also you should use the spaceplane fuselage sections for the links instead of those heavy fuel tanks.

[Parkaboy]

Parkaboy...

Did you ever play SPORE, and if so, are you the same one?

If not, ignore those last two statements.

Regardless:

That's an awesome looking concept for a base. Even if you're not the same Parkaboy, you share the same talent of playing a game right.

Well, thank you very much. I do happen to be the same Parkaboy from Spore!

I've been trying to put a version of the base on the Mun, and by the Kerbal deity, it is hard. The tall modules have a tendency to tip after landing, so I'm thinking maybe they need extra gear on the sides to keep them up. I had to use rockets to straight up the comm tower four(!) times, and it's just sheer luck that nothing broke.

Here are the pics. The sunlit side looks great, and the base is small enough that there's almost no jump when the physics load.

[Nimaci]

Ensure that the complex is completely settled before putting it in a save state, as the game will initiate physics when reloading and docking with all of the docking port connections at 0 degrees deflection, on a plane that seems to be the mean of all of the segments saved deflection angles. This becomes especially problematic when the complex is constructed on an uneven surface, which usually means some or all of your docking ports are stressed, as it will have a tendency to draw in with a section clipping through the terrain.

So try to construct complexes on perfectly flat terrain, which can be found on a body at any point that has an altitude of 0 meters.

[katateochi]

That's a very nice base you got going. The prototype at KSC kinda looks like a fortified town.

What's the lag like with that part count? btw mechjeb will give you a count of connected parts.

[Zanis]

That is really cool. I would of never of thought of something this neat for my bases.

Keep up the great work!

[M5000]

Ahh so it is the real Parkaboy. Anyhow. The only thing that kinda bothers me about the base is the slightly unnecessary part count added by those small fuel tanks that connect between the modules. I mean, unless you need them.

[Scoundrel]

Great job, and welcome to the forums Parkaboy! It's always nice to see new and innovative base designs. I would recommend sharing your craft files to further, uh, science and stuff.

rapidshare, ryushare, and a couple other services are good for that. Also if you zip the files before uploading then people won't have problems installing the craft files.

And remember: every time someone builds a cool ship and doesn't share a craft file, HarvesteR kills a kerbal.

[Parkaboy]

And remember: every time someone builds a cool ship and doesn't share a craft file, HarvesteR kills a kerbal.

Lol, I'll try to share the files as soon as I've streamlined the design and recovered my rapidshare account.

[Prime flux]

I am building my own version of module Base.

Atm I have a Habitation unit for 8 Kerbals and a Com tower module.

But also 2 base building vehicles.

One low vehicles for slipping underneath the base module and attach there.

The other utility vehicle is used in pairs and attaches to the side of the modules.

Both this vehicles are build with the awesome TouhouTorpedo Omniwheel

[Superluminaut]

Yo Parkaboy, you single-handedly made Spore playable for me. Your creations always lead to the best collections and replaced the hordes of penis monsters with cool looking plausible creatures.

The best bet for non exploding bases upon loading is to only let wheels and legs make contact with the ground. I tested this on Mun with a simple recharging platform for a rover, poor thing low on juice would return to it only to have it blow up. Even those ramps will cause trouble, and technically rovers cant use them anyway. For whatever reason command parts don't get raised by ramps, so you can only go up as high as your suspension can compress.

[Rampage9112]

These look really good, I've been working on something similar but I'm having trouble keeping everything at the same height.

Also, are you the same Parkaboy who made all of those adventures and stuff on spore?