[0.25]KSP Interstellar (Magnetic Nozzles, ISRU Revamp) Version 0.13

[Rabada]

I know little about interstellar, and I've been wary of getting it because I don't feel confident enough with maintaining a whole power network. Is a power network necessary for all of the engines or are there some that rely of a network and others that work independently (provided they have the correct fuel)?

The power network is not necessary for any of the engines I believe. You can attach reactors directly to thermal rocket engines, and you can attach reactors with generators to run plasma engines. Power networks are not required, but the work put into setting one up definitely pays off. Reactors can get very heavy and having a power network up allows you to use their power without any of their weight.

Edit: Might I suggest watching the excellent Power Network tutorial video made by WaveFunctionP which can be found in this thread?

Edited April 21, 2014 by Rabada

[BigD145]

I know little about interstellar, and I've been wary of getting it because I don't feel confident enough with maintaining a whole power network. Is a power network necessary for all of the engines or are there some that rely of a network and others that work independently (provided they have the correct fuel)?

A power network is a good idea as you leave behind a lot of reactor and/or generator weight.

[DrNuke]

Well since you're asking, yeah, different sets would help. Would make it easier to understand where the various celestial bodies sit in relation to each other. But hey, I didn't see that chart that clearly shows the flux relative to all planets until you posted it. My suggestions were just to make it easier to read off-the-cuff. Once you take a close look at the units being used it's actually not all that difficult to tell what's what.

And I'd go with WaveFunction's suggestion of mg/hour, mainly because in KSP the "day" has just become an unknown, because we don't know (and can't know) which day is being referred to, the 24hr or 6hr one. Better to stick to the units that stay the same.

Righto, I'll see about getting out a new set of graphs with mg/hour. I'll also upload them to the wiki, since they've gotten lost in the past 600 pages of this thread.

[epicsockzebra]

Can anyone direct me to how to post ksp.log files? I have an error with my deuterium/tritium fuels where it just says Nan and I would love some assistance. Thanks.

[Rabada]

Righto, I'll see about getting out a new set of graphs with mg/hour. I'll also upload them to the wiki, since they've gotten lost in the past 600 pages of this thread.

Might I suggest using a logarithmic scale for the X axis of your map?

[ctbram]

Sorry I don't know they answer to your question but I do know the answer to your problem. Its really simple, attach solar panels to your probe. You have to have some solar panels unlocked because they are in the tech that activated the seismic experiment. If your really worried about not having enough power, attach a .625m reactor to it, and you'll have more than enough.

Also what's "Silly" is using just batteries for your probe. That and I find your attitude silly too. This is an amazing mod with a lot of hard work put into it provided completely for free.

Edit: I believe that the amount of electrical power you need will vary and is dependant on the biome's science mutliplier, just like all the rest of the science experiments.

I never said I just intended to use batteries. That is why I asked not only "how much energy" but also "what rate of energy production" is required to transmit the data. With no one willing (including the author) to share any information on the amount of power needed to transmit the seismic data (WHICH IS SILLY) there is no way to calculate what you need! Including batteries, generators, solar panels, reactors, microwaves, rubbing balloons in your hair, etc..

To be more blunt, what is really silly is telling people the solution is to just stick lots of reactors, generators, solar panels and whatever else on your probe and prey you have enough power. I am sure that is how NASA builds things. They simply build a ship that is a gigantic power generation factory because they don't know how much power their experiments require and hey what does it matter if the thing weighs a billion tons and needs a 5m rocket to get if off the launch pad weight and size don't matter right? LOL

EDIT: I am not intending to be insulting and answering an condescending response with another one is bad but seriously this data should be made available! I also asked for any variables that affect the power requirements to transmit the seismic experiments data! In short I think we deserve to know the equation so we can build a proper probe.

The author of the mod should really be the one answering this question if no one else knows and if he is not willy to share the data then I would expect an explanation for why he feels that it should be a SECRET. Really no credible engineer would EVER EVER and I say it again EVER design an experiment where he had no clue how much power it would need. Oh and one more time N E V E R!

Edited April 21, 2014 by ctbram

[Fractal_UK]

The author of the mod should really be the one answering this question if no one else knows and if he is not willy to share the data then I would expect an explanation for why he feels that it should be a SECRET. Really no credible engineer would EVER EVER and I say it again EVER design an experiment where he had no clue how much power it would need. Oh and one more time N E V E R!

I think you're asking this question of the wrong person, none of the science experiments in the stock game tell you anything about the energy requirements of transmission so I don't really understand why you seem so dissatisfied that Interstellar doesn't either, it's not like I'm giving you less information. You only have the information on the stock experiments because other people have discovered that information and recorded it somewhere, e.g. on a wiki.

If you want that information to be available, you're welcome to discover it and publish it on the wiki but changing all science experiments to add information about energy requirements isn't really a priority for me.

[WaveFunctionP]

I never said I just intended to use batteries. That is why I asked not only "how much energy" but also "what rate of energy production" is required to transmit the data. With no one willing (including the author) to share any information on the amount of power needed to transmit the seismic data (WHICH IS SILLY) there is no way to calculate what you need! Including batteries, generators, solar panels, reactors, microwaves, rubbing balloons in your hair, etc..

To be more blunt, what is really silly is telling people the solution is to just stick lots of reactors, generators, solar panels and whatever else on your probe and prey you have enough power. I am sure that is how NASA builds things. They simply build a ship that is a gigantic power generation factory because they don't know how much power their experiments require and hey what does it matter if the thing weighs a billion tons and needs a 5m rocket to get if off the launch pad weight and size don't matter right? LOL

EDIT: I am not intending to be insulting and answering an condescending response with another one is bad but seriously this data should be made available! I also asked for any variables that affect the power requirements to transmit the seismic experiments data! In short I think we deserve to know the equation so we can build a proper probe.

The author of the mod should really be the one answering this question if no one else knows and if he is not willy to share the data then I would expect an explanation for why he feels that it should be a SECRET. Really no credible engineer would EVER EVER and I say it again EVER design an experiment where he had no clue how much power it would need. Oh and one more time N E V E R!

First, the the author provides the mod as is. He doesn't get paid to make this software.

Secondly, no one here has the unfortunately job to wait on your every question.

And lastly, just like all other science data, the results windows will how you how much data it contains. And the transmitter tells you how much and how fast it will send data and as a result how fast it will drain electric charge.

[Rabada]

I never said I just intended to use batteries. That is why I asked not only "how much energy" but also "what rate of energy production" is required to transmit the data. With no one willing (including the author) to share any information on the amount of power needed to transmit the seismic data (WHICH IS SILLY) there is no way to calculate what you need! Including batteries, generators, solar panels, reactors, microwaves, rubbing balloons in your hair, etc..

To be more blunt, what is really silly is telling people the solution is to just stick lots of reactors, generators, solar panels and whatever else on your probe and prey you have enough power. I am sure that is how NASA builds things. They simply build a ship that is a gigantic power generation factory because they don't know how much power their experiments require and hey what does it matter if the thing weighs a billion tons and needs a 5m rocket to get if off the launch pad weight and size don't matter right? LOL

EDIT: I am not intending to be insulting and answering an condescending response with another one is bad but seriously this data should be made available! I also asked for any variables that affect the power requirements to transmit the seismic experiments data! In short I think we deserve to know the equation so we can build a proper probe.

The author of the mod should really be the one answering this question if no one else knows and if he is not willy to share the data then I would expect an explanation for why he feels that it should be a SECRET. Really no credible engineer would EVER EVER and I say it again EVER design an experiment where he had no clue how much power it would need. Oh and one more time N E V E R!

I haven't done this experiment yet myself, so perhaps there is another issue I am unaware of. The solution seems obvious to me, if you run out of power while transmitting and you have solar panels, just time warp until the transmission is finished. However, I can practically guarantee that one tiny .625m nuke reactor will power your science transmissions. I believe those reactors generate much more power per second than an antenna uses.

[ctbram]

I think you're asking this question of the wrong person, none of the science experiments in the stock game tell you anything about the energy requirements of transmission so I don't really understand why you seem so dissatisfied that Interstellar doesn't either, it's not like I'm giving you less information. You only have the information on the stock experiments because other people have discovered that information and recorded it somewhere, e.g. on a wiki.

If you want that information to be available, you're welcome to discover it and publish it on the wiki but changing all science experiments to add information about energy requirements isn't really a priority for me.

Not one of the stock experiments needs more the 500ec to xmit 100 percent of the data. YOUR modified seismic impact exp requires many times that and varies from body to body and biome to biome. So there is no way to find the data and "publish it in the wiki" without sending a ship to every planet moon and biome and physically determining it which is ridiculous! That is why I think we should have a fricking clue what the formula is. It's not like it would take any more energy then it took you to send your last insulting response! After all the formula is in the code and I presume you wrote it!

Edited April 22, 2014 by ctbram

[Rabada]

I am about to unlock fusion power in my career mode game. I would like to use the fusion reactors, but I can't really think of a good use for them. What do you guys generally use them for? Pictures of crafts that use them would be awesome! Id love to see what people do with the fusion engine too.

[ctbram]

I haven't done this experiment yet myself, so perhaps there is another issue I am unaware of. The solution seems obvious to me, if you run out of power while transmitting and you have solar panels, just time warp until the transmission is finished. However, I can practically guarantee that one tiny .625m nuke reactor will power your science transmissions. I believe those reactors generate much more power per second than an antenna uses.

Once you run out of power and the transmission is broken you lose all remaining science! So you have to have a 100 percent transmission to get all the science!!!! And the author thinks that he is just ified in not sharing the formula because the power to transmit the stock experiments is not published. But all you need to transmit any of the stock experiments is not more then 500ec. His modified experiment draw a ridiculous amount of power to transmit so you can't just simply slap on a couple batteries you really need to know the total number of packets that will be sent so you can determine the fixed power rate of power generation needed to transmit 100 percent of the data. I am not asking for anything unreasonable!

[WaveFunctionP]

Not one of the stock experiments needs more the 500ec to xmit 100 percent of the data. YOUR modified seismic impact exp requires many times that and varies from body to body and biome to biome. So there is no way to find the data and "publish it in the wiki" without sending a ship to every planet moon and biome and physically determining it which is ridiculous! That is why I think we should have a fricking clue what the formula is. It's not like it would take any more energy then it tool you to send your last insulting response! After all the formula is in the code and I presume you wrote it!

The code is publicly available, you can find out for yourself if you wish. A good engineer should know the code he is using.

[WaveFunctionP]

I am about to unlock fusion power in my career mode game. I would like to use the fusion reactors, but I can't really think of a good use for them. What do you guys generally use them for? Pictures of crafts that use them would be awesome! Id love to see what people do with the fusion engine too.

Fusion is my primary means of both propulsion and power generation after I unlock them.

[Specialist290]

Friendly reminder from the moderation staff: Let's keep this civil. Hostile or condescending remarks aren't going to help the case for either side of the argument.

[undercoveryankee]

Once you run out of power and the transmission is broken you lose all remaining science! So you have to have a 100 percent transmission to get all the science!!!! And the author thinks that he is just ified in not sharing the formula because the power to transmit the stock experiments is not published. But all you need to transmit any of the stock experiments is not more then 500ec. His modified experiment draw a ridiculous amount of power to transmit so you can't just simply slap on a couple batteries you really need to know the total number of packets that will be sent so you can determine the fixed power rate of power generation needed to transmit 100 percent of the data. I am not asking for anything unreasonable!

The code is publicly available, you can find out for yourself if you wish. A good engineer should know the code he is using.

From my reading of the code, the data size is 2.5 Mits per point of science. Added to the wiki.

[DivisionByZero]

I love this mod, Fractal. As a token of my appreciation, you get ... bug reports / suggestions!

2. Quite a few parts need their nodes resized to take full advantage of the 0.23.5 joint improvements. List in spoiler.

spoiler=Node Resizes

This list is fantastic. Could you provide a detail as to how to edit a part file (or other file) to implement these changes? I had just made my first ship in the sandbox and I noticed it couldn't handle the thrust without getting all wobbly, forcing me to thrust limit a 3.75m thermal rocket nozzle to 0.3 or so. This might be the reason since it was getting wobbly near the 3.75 alcubierre drive.

Oh wait, I think this page tells me everything.

Thanks.

Edited April 22, 2014 by DivisionByZero
checked the wiki!

[undercoveryankee]

This list is fantastic. Could you provide a detail as to how to edit a part file (or other file) to implement these changes? I had just made my first ship in the sandbox and I noticed it couldn't handle the thrust without getting all wobbly, forcing me to thrust limit a 3.75m thermal rocket nozzle to 0.3 or so. This might be the reason since it was getting wobbly near the 3.75 alcubierre drive.

Oh wait, I think this page tells me everything.

Thanks.

There's an MM file with corrected node sizes a few pages back: http://forum.kerbalspaceprogram.com/threads/43839-0-23-5-KSP-Interstellar-%28Toolbar-Integration-New-Models-New-Tech%29-Version-0-11?p=1093576&viewfull=1#post1093576

[Doktor_Zhivago]

OK I read the wiki and I followed the instructions to shutdown the reactor and wait until it cooled to 0%. Now I can't get my reactor to swap fuels from UF4 to TF4. I have 2 totally empty uranium tanks ready to take the leftovers from the current reaction, and 2 full thorium tanks docked on the end of the space station. Is the issue thatthe fuel tanks are mounted to a modular girder XL segment? Or too far from the reactor? Or do i just have to wait a while? I click swap fuels and nothing happens and the reactor still says "EVA Maintenance Required"

Edited April 22, 2014 by Doktor_Zhivago

[ArcFurnace]

There's an MM file with corrected node sizes a few pages back: http://forum.kerbalspaceprogram.com/threads/43839-0-23-5-KSP-Interstellar-%28Toolbar-Integration-New-Models-New-Tech%29-Version-0-11?p=1093576&viewfull=1#post1093576

Man, how'd I miss that? Props to Der_Failer for the .cfg, and thanks for the catch.

EDIT: Just installed it and checked all the node sizes. It fixes everything except for the ISRU Refinery. That one doesn't have a top node anyway, so you can't stack giant heavy things on top of it.

Edited April 22, 2014 by ArcFurnace

[BlackBird1696]

For some reason i seem to be experiencing a problem with interstellar. When i try installing it with sido's urania system add-on for Krag's planet factory i get a memory error or something and the game crashes. Does anyone else have this problem or know what might be causing it?

[DivisionByZero]

There's an MM file with corrected node sizes a few pages back: http://forum.kerbalspaceprogram.com/threads/43839-0-23-5-KSP-Interstellar-%28Toolbar-Integration-New-Models-New-Tech%29-Version-0-11?p=1093576&viewfull=1#post1093576

Doh. I missed it before. Thanks.

[Hremsfeld]

How much power does it take to transmit seismic packages?

The amount of power it takes varies, as you've seen. As undercoveryankee pointed out,

the data size is 2.5 Mits per point of science.

Given that each impact experiment can yield very large amounts of science, it also means it has a very large transmission size. This isn't particularly realistic, especially as it means the next impact under otherwise identical circumstances will only provide half the data, but it's how things are now. However, there is a bug in how transmissions work, where timewarping does not speed them up - it does, however, speed up how quickly you recover electric charge. My Eve seismic probes had a single RTG for power generation, and no batteries to speak of, but at either 100 or 50x time warp, I was making more ec than I was using. Yes, it's not ideal to rely on a bug, but even the smallest fission reactor on an unupgraded reactor provides far more than enough electricity to transmit the entire thing. I can understand not wanting to slap a reactor on a probe for the purpose of transmitting a few reports, but the reason no one can give you a definite answer for how much power a given impact result will take to transmit is because no one can predict offhand how much data a given impact will generate. Each planet has a different pool, and both the number and the placement of your recorders will determine together how scientifically useful the impacts are.

Fractal: Are there plans to set the seismic transmissions to a set size? It does seem rather odd that one experiment would contain half the data of an identical experiment simply because the one came before the other.

OK I read the wiki and I followed the instructions to shutdown the reactor and wait until it cooled to 0%. Now I can't get my reactor to swap fuels from UF4 to TF4. I have 2 totally empty uranium tanks ready to take the leftovers from the current reaction, and 2 full thorium tanks docked on the end of the space station. Is the issue thatthe fuel tanks are mounted to a modular girder XL segment? Or too far from the reactor? Or do i just have to wait a while? I click swap fuels and nothing happens and the reactor still says "EVA Maintenance Required"

Once you've swapped fuels, you still need to restart the reactor. Quicksave, EVA another kerbal over to the reactor, and then hit restart. If you've tried hitting Swap Fuels a few times, it's possible you filled it back up with Uranium - If this is the case, quickload, swap fuels one more time, and then restart your reactor.

For some reason i seem to be experiencing a problem with interstellar. When i try installing it with sido's urania system add-on for Krag's planet factory i get a memory error or something and the game crashes. Does anyone else have this problem or know what might be causing it?

Due to limitations in the version of Unity that KSP is built on, you can only use approximately 3.7 Gb of RAM with KSP. A single bit more and the game crashes hard with an access violation error, and both Planet Factory and KSPI are big mods. Some mods come with optional texture reduction packs, and sometimes third parties release reduced texture packs for popular mods. Find and use those. If you already are, check out the Active Memory Reduction mod. I don't use it personally, but I've heard good things about it. It'll take a long time to load up the first time, but it'll cut your memory footprint down dramatically.

Edited for typos and clarity.

Edited April 22, 2014 by Hremsfeld

[Doktor_Zhivago]

Once you've swapped fuels, you still need to restart the reactor. Quicksave, EVA another kerbal over to the reactor, and then hit restart. If you've tried hitting Swap Fuels a few times, it's possible you filled it back up with Uranium - If this is the case, quickload, swap fuels one more time, and then restart your reactor.

That seems entirely too obvious.... >_>

Also explains why it was still UF4 once I finally got around to trying restart. I guess i was hoping for a dramatic fuel swap message.

Many thanks!

[Atrius129]

Once you run out of power and the transmission is broken you lose all remaining science! So you have to have a 100 percent transmission to get all the science!!!!

This is NOT true. With sending interstellar seismic data, it will continue sending packets once it has enough charge to send more packets. As long as you have A solar panel or the smallest trickle of charge you should be able to send all of the science...eventually.

*SPOILERS*

Here is one of my seismic data probes:

My first impact data collection on the Mun yielded about 850 science. My probe has about 1200 EC total which was burned through before the science was even 30% of the way sent. After that it was just a matter of time warping and letting the solar panels take care of the rest. It took me about 30 minutes total (real time with in game time accell) to upload about 8 impacts or about 3000 science worth total.

And the author thinks that he is just ified in not sharing the formula

The author IS justified in not sharing the formula, if they choose to do so. We should only be grateful for these gifts that they have given us and try to help support them however we can.

Also, here is the Interstellar Wiki stating that, "you will need a lot of electricity - maybe several thousand) or land the probe back on Kerbin and recover it to receive the science."

https://github.com/FractalUK/KSPInterstellar/wiki/Double-C-Seismic-Accelerometer

Edited April 22, 2014 by Atrius129