Open Source Construction Techniques for Craft Aesthetics

[Captain Sierra]

I limit myself to KW fairing sizes and I try not to mount 3.75s on a 2.5m stack. That said, I still do launch absurd things. Daishi, at least consider using expanded fairings. They still look good and boost capacity.

[Daishi]

Well it does inspire me to try and make my payloads more shapely if I can, but I don't plan on getting any faring mods...

Righteous beauty of a service module though.

I limit myself to KW fairing sizes and I try not to mount 3.75s on a 2.5m stack. That said, I still do launch absurd things. Daishi, at least consider using expanded fairings. They still look good and boost capacity.

I'm thinking of playing around with those procedural fairings one day when they disable the legacy parts folder (where my current ones live, because I don't have a clue how to convert them into a folder-based gamedata mod), so one day

I do have a larger set of fairings to fit things 50 tons+ (size of an orange tank, smaller tanks around it, and a large monoprop on top), so I'm not toooo limited

[Malsheck]

I know I made this a while ago but thought some of the ideas in this video might fall in line with the thread. I didn't like having radial chutes on the side of my command module and the chute that uses a node would take away my ability to have a docking port. This was my work-around to fix that. Hope you enjoy.

Now a days I either use the LES from KSPX or the one from Bobcat's Soviet pack. But this was just a demo on how to use just stock.

[GusTurbo]

Oh wow, I've never had a thread be stickied before. Thanks to everyone for really making this thread the great resource that it is.

[Simon Ross]

A bit cheesy, but my take on a 2001 type space station :-)

[GusTurbo]

Not cheesy at all. How did you create the round sections?

[Halsfury]

congrats on getting this as a sticky thread Gus!

[Simon Ross]

@Gus

Round sections actually came as part of a mod pack from here http://kerbalspaceprogram.com/wayland-corp-space-station-o-ring-truss-pack/

Saved an awful lot of construction time :-)

[GusTurbo]

Hey everyone, I've updated the first post to have a listing of everyone's contributions. That way it should be easier to find things you might have seen and don't remember exactly which page they were on.

@Simon Ross

I like your enthusiasm. This thread is for stock parts only though.

[Blue]

Well well, GusTurbo is moving up in the world. Or at least his thread is.

I'd better make sure I keep my posts clear and to the point with my innovations, lest we begin requiring a specific assembly syntax on top of all our existing part and gameplay jargon.

[GusTurbo]

Hopefully I haven't left anybody/anything out. If you have a better name for your creations, just let me know -- I was just giving a descriptive name to each if they didn't have a specific name.

Also, it's not my thread. It's all of ours.

[Nephf]

Craft: Falcon Heavy Mun

Special feature: splitting 3.75 m fairings in only 2 halves by structural pylons

Download: here

[GusTurbo]

Your stock fairings are great. Is there a certain technique you use to build them?

[Giggleplex777]

Has anyone notice how buggy launch clamps are in 0.22?

[GusTurbo]

I have noticed that, actually. They seem to shift a bit.

[Giggleplex777]

It's really annoying. Some off my rockets get ripped apart after separation.

[Captain Sierra]

@Simon Ross

I like your enthusiasm. This thread is for stock parts only though.

Oh no it's not . I see multiple mod dependent techniques in here but still, it is a technique thread. And I am working on developing a new one. It just isn't working as planned at the moment.

[Guest]

A technique - attaching really really large side boosters - at a distance from the core - using more than one detach point per booster. As we all know, you can only attach something at more than one node via the strut. I came up with a couple ways to accomplish multiple detach per booster when I was working on "Probe 14":

Two identical assemblies, attached via struts at the tanks:

Here is one long tank, attached at the top clamp normally, and at the bottom clamp via two struts. Contrary to appearance, the only way the bottom clamp is attached to the tank is through the two struts. This second method was what i ended up using. This structure I made here is for this thread - it works form much larger boosters. I did end up using some cross struts to further stabilize wobble

The reason I wanted the boosters away from the core, was to make it ease to modify the core, and have freedom of design on the core. Here is a launch video:

http://youtu.be/hunici1z2Mw

[GusTurbo]

Wow, that's something I didn't know about. So do the booster stay strutted together even after they separate? I was under the impression that strut connections detached upon staging events.

[Supernovy]

Struts across decouplers will detach, but intra-stage ones do not. (since 0.18 IIRC)

[GusTurbo]

I had no idea. That will be very useful for my designs.

[Rune]

This got stickied? Awesome! Totally worth of the sticky, this thread is a gold mine of construction techniques. I'll keep on posting if I have something worth (which is difficult, since the best builders on the forum are contributing already).

Rune. And anyone that says stock is limited, can come here and have their mind blown.

[Guest]

have a look if you want - I did not use the method in the first picture above. http://kerbalspaceprogram.com/final-space-cowboys-probe-14-final-stock21-1/

[Captain Sierra]

Gus, can you add my engine clipping trick on page 7 to the main page?

[GusTurbo]

Which one?