[1.0.2] NovaPunch 2.09. - May 6th - 1.0 Compatibility Update

[Tiberion]

Straight Chillen was right, I turned down breakingForce and Torque from 100000 to 25000 and they quit wobbling

I have a set of numbers I am quite satsified with, which is not something I would have said about .4 or .5 - I think these will work.

Cleaning things up and packing them, 0.6 will come out later this evening - I\'m looking forward to moving on to something a little more fun

[Andras]

I have an idea to consider. Make the small LFR a strong RCS thruster with only one direction of thrust. Then turn the old Yawmaster into a giant RCS tank. With 4 RCS units and a big base thruster it would easily handle Munar maneuvering and Kerbin return. I\'m going to try it out over the weekend.

Also, consider whipping up some 2m/3m x 0.5m plates for large SAS units. 2m and 3m rockets can use some help, and the 1.75m one isn\'t always usable.

[Tiberion]

Alright, 0.6a is almost uploaded. If you skipped the 0.5 experimental release last night, here\'s the changes since 0.4:

NovaPunch v0.6alpha

-v0.5 was never officially released, so be sure to check out the changes below

-reverted engine and tank changes to 0.3 numbers, then did some slight tweaking - things seem pretty balanced now but let me know if you see any issues.

-changed part type on satellite cargo modules to decouplers by request. Just change 'module = Decoupler' to 'module = Strut' if you don\'t like the change.

-re-configured the 2m fairing parts and added a fairing base - they now attach like the fairings in Silisko Edition, in 4x symmetry mode. No Explosive bolts required

-add alternate config file to Yawmaster ASAS module to turn it into a normal SAS - just rename the part.cfg files to swap them around - will not break saved ships.

-tuned down the thrust on the 1.75m SRB because it tends to over-accelerate and break ships in half.

NovaPunch v0.5alpha

-fixed vernier pod effects lag, increased thrust slightly

-added fuelflow = true to all non-decoulpling adapters and RCS tanks that were missing it

-GG-M4 has correct node placement and name, it should once again work with old save files

Removed duplicate part '1m_1.75m_short_adapter' since an identical 'fueltank' version existed.

-added NP_landerleg - the model is the 'old' leg from Nova\'s SE edition

-increased crashTolerance, breakingForce and Torque on tanks, engines, parts that were set too low to tolerate the NP tank mass increase - if you find one thats still snapping on the pad, let me know

-Did a major rebalance pass on tanks and engines - the original metric I used probed problematic, so I started from stock and worked up. This is very much a test version of these numbers, expect issues - use the Alt-config zip on the front page to grab the prevuious versions 'stock' configs if you need them.

There will be a new version of the Alt_Configs zip as well, containing this versions changed configs as well as compatible configs for the original SIDR and SP values and the 0.1 NP values. So many choices

Getting too a pretty good place with the pack, once we nail down any engine tweaks.

Left on the Todo:

-orange 'Ares' skin.. I promise

-skin changes for shrouds and adapters so they match tanks

-tweaks to shrouds\' nodes for usability

-extra engines and auxiliary parts in a separate download

-stuff I am forgetting

Edit: Andras: if you wanna contribute that unit I will certainly add it; and I\'ll work on the SAS plates.

2nd Edit: http://dl.dropbox.com/u/46506740/KSP/NovaPunch0.6alpha.zip

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/46506740/KSP/NP_Alt_Configs0.6alpha.zip

[Andras]

I\'ll work on it over the weekend.

re the 1.75m SRB, I was going to mention something like that. I turned them down to 650 for 90 secs.

Also I recommend moving all the RCS tanks to category=1 (Command and Control) so they are in the same location as the RCS thrusters

[Mini]

Been testing 0.6 and one addition i would make would be to let the Load Fairings join at the sides as well as top and bottom as when you are covering up larger loads they wobble about and don\'t joint at the top, rather unsightly.

Mini

[Spoot Knight]

I\'ll work on it over the weekend.

re the 1.75m SRB, I was going to mention something like that. I turned them down to 650 for 90 secs.

Also I recommend moving all the RCS tanks to category=1 (Command and Control) so they are in the same location as the RCS thrusters

The stock RCS tank is in the Propulsion category like every other tank relating to fuel.

[Tiberion]

Been testing 0.6 and one addition i would make would be to let the Load Fairings join at the sides as well as top and bottom as when you are covering up larger loads they wobble about and don\'t joint at the top, rather unsightly.

Mini

I wish that were possible, the attachment code currently doesn\'t allow that to happen - one part attaches to one node; You can then connect another part to any existing node on that part, but there\'s no way to make the walls or nosecones attach both to the thing below them and the section across from them.

I\'m not sure why these fairings are more wobbly than the others, I\'ll see if I can figure it out. It might be possible to turn on surface attaching and use struts, though that might not look much better.

------

Something to ponder on the RCS tanks. I know K&W put their RCS in Category 2, and it would slightly reduce the clutter in the engine section. Thoughts?

[Thunderbird]

less clutter is good... personally id split fuel tanks and engines in different sections, if we had a tab for that.... sadly,we dont

[MC3craze]

I like the fairing base, because in Wobbly the fairings were a PAIN IN THE ASS to use. Plus I like the four part fairings.

[Tiberion]

Told you I\'d get around to it, got the orange ones done, now for the others to match

[Taverius]

New user, first time poster, just wanted to say thanks to all involved in the mod.

With default parts all I\'ve managed to get into munar orbit, but thanks to NovaPunch I was able to crash land aggressively on the munar surface!

Atmospheric exit is still a 3-frame-per-second wobble-shake panic inducing affair, but when that\'s done using NP I can deliver larger fuel/engine packages into orbit without the delivery system folding into itself halfway up >___>

Now for attempt #2, have just circularized munar orbit ...

[Tiberion]

Welcome to the forums!

[Tiberion]

Mostly done with the new skin - a few of the upper white tanks aren\'t too great so I\'ll be scouring for alternate tank patterns that would go well with the orange - if you have any suggestions post em.

Definitely gonna need to upsize the Shuttle solid booster, and need a different 3m engine for sure.

(for reference, I was basing them off of these rockets - though I was NOT working to make pure replicas.

[Andras]

I have a texture originally for the 1.75m long tank that is supposed to replicate the Titan III booster paint job. Also a texture for the short 1.75m tank that is also based on the Titan paint. Feel free to use or not. The big one is a little fuzzy in the game, so it might need to be cleaned up.

[Tiberion]

That looks good - unfortunately the long tank is one of the orange \'base\' tanks - I could probably re-use it elsewhere.

Though. looking at this: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Titan_Missile_Family.png

There\'s probably enough there to make a 3rd skin, were someone feeling industrious. Would fit, given that the SIDR pod is very Mercury-esque.

Mostly, I am unhappy how the 2 'KSA' white tanks look - even though one fits with the other tank (left pic) to replicate the Jupiter. The long 1m tank is supposed to be the Ares 1-X tank, just need to add some more logos.

Here\'s the whole lineup:

[Guest Flixxbeatz]

cool... now we can kerbalize Earth\'s rockets with a very accurate resemblance to the original

EDIT:

Though. looking at this: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Titan_Missile_Family.png

I\'ve just realized that my Munar Launch Vehicle (Epikon M) has a very close resemblance with Titan IV ???

*minus the first stage boosters.

[Thunderbird]

[Tiberion]

Heh thanks Thunder.

The shuttle SSRB is now 150% more awesome:

This will also lead to a balance pass on the 4 SRB parts re: flight time and thrust scaling. So yay!

[Mini]

Is there also anyway to make the large SAS module more sturdy at the moment i tend to place them throughout my orbital rockets but they tend to just snap at the point of placing them, like a weak link.

Also is there any reason that a balanced rocket with SAS and gimablling engines would sway with YAW left to right and SAS can correct but i cant? Gets worse and worse the higher i go.

Mini

[Spoot Knight]

now 150% more awesome:

Also NovaPunch doesn\'t make their parts out of freaking wood!

I know it\'s supposed to be 400% but still.

[Tiberion]

Is there also anyway to make the large SAS module more sturdy at the moment i tend to place them throughout my orbital rockets but they tend to just snap at the point of placing them, like a weak link.

Also is there any reason that a balanced rocket with SAS and gimablling engines would sway with YAW left to right and SAS can correct but i cant? Gets worse and worse the higher i go.

Mini

I looked at the 1.75m SAS part - I had missed it when I turned up the weight tolerance - its fixed now for the next version - if you need to fix it now just open part.cfg in notepad and add the following:

crashTolerance = 100

breakingForce = 15000

breakingTorque = 15000

(the crashTolerance line will exist, but will be set to 12, just up it to 100)

As far as controlling rockets - if you have trouble on taller ships, you typically need more control devices, or need to place them better - the heavy 'Yawmaster' RCS blocks and control fins should be near the bottom. Add more of these until you can control them (you can also add some to the top end, if they don\'t mess up your upper stages later)

The vernier pods also add more control, as they are additional engines with a high gimbal angle -- if they don\'t cause your computer to lag due to the bug/issue with them, where they report damage to nearby objects at a high rate.

[ultrasquid]

Do you think it might be appropriate to include yellow123\'s Large Solid Booster in this revival/archival/maintenance pack? As an authorized derivative of Sunday Punch\'s 3m fuel tank, it seems it would fit in nicely.

[Taverius]

I looked at the 1.75m SAS part - I had missed it when I turned up the weight tolerance - its fixed now for the next version - if you need to fix it now just open part.cfg in notepad and add the following:

crashTolerance = 100

breakingForce = 15000

breakingTorque = 15000

(the crashTolerance line will exist, but will be set to 12, just up it to 100)

As far as controlling rockets - if you have trouble on taller ships, you typically need more control devices, or need to place them better - the heavy 'Yawmaster' RCS blocks and control fins should be near the bottom. Add more of these until you can control them (you can also add some to the top end, if they don\'t mess up your upper stages later)

The vernier pods also add more control, as they are additional engines with a high gimbal angle -- if they don\'t cause your computer to lag due to the bug/issue with them, where they report damage to nearby objects at a high rate.

1.75m SAS, RCs tanks > 1m, and the conical couplers to 2/3m are the weak points in my rockets. Any time I want to build something heavy I know I need to skip RCS tanks, heavy SAS and diameter changes, or the thing will collapse on the runway I unless I use heavy struts like they\'re going out of fashion.

The problem is the ground wobble - even if that stuff doesn\'t have a lot of stuff above it, if the rocket is quite tall it\'ll get shaken so hard the failure will be @ 0:00:00 in the flight log.

[Tiberion]

is it any particular engine? Also, has this always happened with SIDR/SundayPunch parts, or did it start with a particular NP release?

I seem to have having issues with the bertha engines, they like to pogo on the pad - I\'m at 160crash and 15000 breakingF/T and it still happens.

I just bumped up the forces on the 2 RCS tanks and fixed the SAS earlier, as well as the shrouds.

[Taverius]

I only started playing KSP on friday, so I can\'t speak for pre 0.6 NP.

I can make the conicals/>1m RCS work so long as I top out at a relatively short 2m (max 2 tanks) and side boosters. Anything longer, or a 3m stage that doesn\'t look like a cooking pot sitting on a drinking cup, or adding a 'realistic' 3m below a 2m high-altitude/orbital module, and I have to strap everything together with the local equivalent of duct-tape. Even then on some of my stage testing rockets I have a 50% chance of pad failure.

I don\'t know the engine names well, but given that its all heavy lifting booster-assisted stages, the ones with the most thrust, so yeah berthas of all kinds.