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

[JMBuilder]

This mod is epic, but it glitched out pretty bad when I tried it. I followed the installation instructions, but it went haywire when I opened the SPH. The building was completely transparent, and after about two minutes of building, the game crashed.

[Donziboy2]

Hi again Fractal_UK: Ok - so I decided to chase my hunch about memory hogging being the reason 64-bit was aborting on load, and it turns out I was right, specifically - texture sizes - I launched it in 64-bit mode while monitoring ram usage - it skyrocketed and then aborted as the system ran out. I then did another test, launched KSP in 32-bit mode again, went into the settings and adjusted them rather massively downwards - specifically I adjusted the texture res down to the lowest level (1/8th), exited and relaunched 64-bit:cool: and suddenly - it loaded just fine.

I suspect that means this is not a bug in your code at all - it just means that if you are running KSP on a 64-bit linux like I am you really should invest in more than 4Gb of RAM before running interstellar

That said - if anybody else runs into the same issue - the solution is to scale down texture resolution. No other mod I've used has required this but I'm tempted to put that down to interstellar just being a rather large mod with lots of parts.

Interstellar is nothing compared to B9 and KW Rocketry when it comes to ram usage.... I actually had to uninstall KW because even with the Active Memory Reduction mod I would run out of ram....

This mod is epic, but it glitched out pretty bad when I tried it. I followed the installation instructions, but it went haywire when I opened the SPH. The building was completely transparent, and after about two minutes of building, the game crashed.

If you have alot of mods installed you probably hit your ram limit for the game.

[Eadrom]

I actually had to uninstall KW because even with the Active Memory Reduction mod I would run out of ram....

I have found that many of the engines are either duplicates of stock engines or I just find unneeded. I usually delete all the fairings parts (I use procedural fairings) and two-thirds of the engines, especially the SRB's. I run with quite a few mods, (they are mostly mechanics mods and not parts mods like B9 and KW) and I usually am running at around 1.1gigs to 1.3gigs depending on what I'm doing in game, how long KSP has been open, and the exact mods I'm using. I play at low texture quality and use the texture memory compression mod. I'll also delete stock parts and parts I never use from other mods (RSS diameter heat shields for example). If you are hurting for memory, try pruning parts that you never use.

[Fractal_UK]

Hi again Fractal_UK: Ok - so I decided to chase my hunch about memory hogging being the reason 64-bit was aborting on load, and it turns out I was right, specifically - texture sizes - I launched it in 64-bit mode while monitoring ram usage - it skyrocketed and then aborted as the system ran out. I then did another test, launched KSP in 32-bit mode again, went into the settings and adjusted them rather massively downwards - specifically I adjusted the texture res down to the lowest level (1/8th), exited and relaunched 64-bit:cool: and suddenly - it loaded just fine.

I suspect that means this is not a bug in your code at all - it just means that if you are running KSP on a 64-bit linux like I am you really should invest in more than 4Gb of RAM before running interstellar

That said - if anybody else runs into the same issue - the solution is to scale down texture resolution. No other mod I've used has required this but I'm tempted to put that down to interstellar just being a rather large mod with lots of parts.

Yeah, unfortunately it's impossible to test myself with all the possible combinations of hardware people might have. I do have a linux copy of KSP on my laptop but that has 8GB of RAM so it's tough to say whether my lack of problems there is significant in your case.

Hi, I may have found a bug with tritium generation. It works on focused ship on 10x timewarp just fine, but not when you switch the ship out of focus.

Here, day 35, reactors working and producing 6.75 tritium per day, tritium level = 3.25

Then I switch to another ship for faster timewarping and after about three days come back.

Result: reactors burn at 30%, generating actinides, but no tritium.

I may also be doing something wrong, but I'm not sure what...

I think the initial rate might not be getting set properly when the part loads, I will investigate.

[BigD145]

4GB should be plenty with Interstellar. I only get leaks when mods go wrong, otherwise they work well under that limit.

[Shad0wCatcher]

Fractal, just ran into a mis-coded error on my end. Running a Fusion Reactor on Helium-3 with Real Fuels (and a config edit to your Argon to ArgonGas). The Fusion Reactor is showing that it has deprived itself of helium just after launching. The reactor's internal tank still shows it's full though. (It very very quickly runs out of power)

Replication is consistent: Build a very basic 1.25 meter rocket with a fuel tank filled with argon gas, probe core, battery (to start fusion), 1.25 meter upgraded direct-conversion generator, 1.25 meter upgraded fusion reactor, and 1.25 meter un-upgraded Plasma thruster. 2x Small thermal fins wherever they look good to you. Launch. Use fuel balancer to fill the He3 tank to 50 units of 50. Switch reactor to Helium 3 from Deuterium / Tritium. Stage to activate motor. Increase thrust to full. Note TWR of 1.4-1.7:1. Smile happily at giving physics the finger. Watch in horror as rocket very quickly runs out of power and TWR. Look perplexed at your monitor as you right-click your fusion reactor and it shows Helium-3 deprived when really it should be power / MJ deprived.

Low-order error but one that had me scratching my head for a minute before I looked to see my power was sucked up faster than a hoover versus a dust bunny.

Completely different note but should Argon be Argon or ArgonGas? I'm not sure how it reacts to many many kPA or PSI of pressure; been more than 10 years since I last had any experience with it in either a classroom setting or practical setting.

[Eadrom]

Fractal, just ran into a mis-coded error on my end. Running a Fusion Reactor on Helium-3 with Real Fuels (and a config edit to your Argon to ArgonGas). The Fusion Reactor is showing that it has deprived itself of helium just after launching. The reactor's internal tank still shows it's full though. (It very very quickly runs out of power)

Replication is consistent: Build a very basic 1.25 meter rocket with a fuel tank filled with argon gas, probe core, battery (to start fusion), 1.25 meter upgraded direct-conversion generator, 1.25 meter upgraded fusion reactor, and 1.25 meter un-upgraded Plasma thruster. 2x Small thermal fins wherever they look good to you. Launch. Use fuel balancer to fill the He3 tank to 50 units of 50. Switch reactor to Helium 3 from Deuterium / Tritium. Stage to activate motor. Increase thrust to full. Note TWR of 1.4-1.7:1. Smile happily at giving physics the finger. Watch in horror as rocket very quickly runs out of power and TWR. Look perplexed at your monitor as you right-click your fusion reactor and it shows Helium-3 deprived when really it should be power / MJ deprived.

Low-order error but one that had me scratching my head for a minute before I looked to see my power was sucked up faster than a hoover versus a dust bunny.

Completely different note but should Argon be Argon or ArgonGas? I'm not sure how it reacts to many many kPA or PSI of pressure; been more than 10 years since I last had any experience with it in either a classroom setting or practical setting.

I believe the issue is that the fusion reactor might not be getting priority on power production to keep the laser running. The error message showing that the reactor is He-3 deprived is probably because of a default "this isn't working anymore" message as opposed to a message providing individual "this is why this isn't working anymore" message.

As to your question of Argon vs Argon Gas, I would say that though technically the element is being used as a gas, you probably won't find yourself using Argon in any phase except gaseous. Therefore, you can probably just simply define the resource as Argon. You can even extend this out to different phases of the same element. It would be redundant in my opinion to have a mod that defines an ice and a water and steam resources. If you require the resource to exist in a specific phase, you can probably just sim the process to include the energy needed to phase shift the base resource to whatever phase is needed.

The exception to this would be different phases being used for very different applications. An example of this would be TACLS oxygen for breathing and oxidizer in KSPI which is generally considered to be liquid oxygen (if I remember correctly).

[TheTom]

What mods does that integrate with?

May sound like a funny question but I just started a career game with Kethane mod installed and am surprised to see that I can use Kethane as fuel for the Thermal Rocket Nozzle (which I unlocked yesterday).

So, I start to wonder whether the KSP Interstellar Tech Tree sensibly integrates with other mods, too, so I can install them. I am very interested about:

* KAS (Attachment System)

* Any rocket part pack. The 3.75m reactor makes me think some additional part packs may be "valid".

* RemoteTech

* Kos

Definitely do not want to loose the KSP Interstellar experience by adding overpoweed mods or stuff that adds "wrong" items to the wrong nodes.

If possible I would suggest making this a FAQ / Wiki page item - can be interested for those that would like to try that out.

[Donziboy2]

What mods does that integrate with?

May sound like a funny question but I just started a career game with Kethane mod installed and am surprised to see that I can use Kethane as fuel for the Thermal Rocket Nozzle (which I unlocked yesterday).

So, I start to wonder whether the KSP Interstellar Tech Tree sensibly integrates with other mods, too, so I can install them. I am very interested about:

* KAS (Attachment System)

* Any rocket part pack. The 3.75m reactor makes me think some additional part packs may be "valid".

* RemoteTech

* Kos

Definitely do not want to loose the KSP Interstellar experience by adding overpoweed mods or stuff that adds "wrong" items to the wrong nodes.

If possible I would suggest making this a FAQ / Wiki page item - can be interested for those that would like to try that out.

Your definition of sensible and mine is probably different, you can change the location of parts in the tech tree if you so desire. In the end it comes down to how you use something not how powerful or not it is.

KAS does not have any resources and works just fine with KSPI.

B9 is manly aircraft parts,I know for a fact you can use B9 Sabre Inkate and B9 Sabre Precoolers on craft. KW has alot of engines that are better then stock, but it has alot of helpful fuel tanks. Both work with KSPI

I have had issues with RemoteTech in the past so I personally steer clear of it.

I have not used Kos.

Most of the mods use the stock techtree, KSPI uses the stock tech tree with a few extra nodes.

In the past I have used NFPP to shore up some of the missing engine areas until my KSPI parts are unlocked at later stages.

[TheTom]

My definition of sensibly is simply does not break. This is a game - I want neither overpowered (like TOTALLY overpowered) things in there. It makes no sense to have to fight for a warp drive and then install another mod having one and - I do not want to get problems down the road. Things not registering in the tech tree and making a mod unusable for example would be such problems.

I was not aware that the KSP tech tree is the original one (plus things). When I saw the changes done to things like solar panels (heat management integration), I (possibly wrongly) got the impression things are - ah - more modified

B9 btw., may be only rocket parts, it "recomments" to also uses KW Rocketry and Taverio’s Pizza and Aerospace.

I am now in the post minimus land area and a little stuck - next step will be establishing a base on Mun (for mining) and sending a ship for doing a lot of research on minimusm or doing a Duna mission, and that is where the selection of stock parts turns a little - shallow

But ok - so the KSPI tree is the normal stock tree, so anything that sensibly integrates in there (i.e. not just dumps on the first node) will work as intended by the mod designer NICE Thanks.

[Calin]

My waste heat is going out of control, I made a craft with 24 huge radiators and it still won't go away. I used the 2.5 reactor and it stops after a while since it over heats. Am I missing something, or is this a bug?

[RabidMonkey]

My waste heat is going out of control, I made a craft with 24 huge radiators and it still won't go away. I used the 2.5 reactor and it stops after a while since it over heats. Am I missing something, or is this a bug?

Is it overheating in space or in atmo? What kind of radiators are you using - radial, in-line, or the ones that unfold?

[TheTom]

Just a question - what can one really do with the first reactors? Not complaining - I know they get better with research. Just asking whether there is an initial use case. Higher ISP than the nerva nuclear rocket? Yes, but is that efficient with the weight and cooling requirements? Power - well, without the lab and higher stuff - I am quite happy with solar panels.

If the answer is "no" that is totally ok - really not complaining, just wondering whether I overlooked something before I am shipping a 2.5 meter reactor as the power core for a kethane mining operation on mun...

[Calin]

Is it overheating in space or in atmo? What kind of radiators are you using - radial, in-line, or the ones that unfold?

Ok, so there's one 2.5 reactor with the 2.5 generator, two docking ports, two 2.5 in-line radiators and 36 huge heat radiators. As it's ok in atmosphere, but in orbit it just grows till the reactor has to be shut down. the radiators are unfolded and and work, at least they should.

[BigD145]

Is the reactor shutting itself down or do you THINK it needs to be shut down? 0.9.2 waste heat is different from a month ago.

[Donziboy2]

Just a question - what can one really do with the first reactors? Not complaining - I know they get better with research. Just asking whether there is an initial use case. Higher ISP than the nerva nuclear rocket? Yes, but is that efficient with the weight and cooling requirements? Power - well, without the lab and higher stuff - I am quite happy with solar panels.

If the answer is "no" that is totally ok - really not complaining, just wondering whether I overlooked something before I am shipping a 2.5 meter reactor as the power core for a kethane mining operation on mun...

You can build aircraft with them. You can breed tritium that will later turn into He3. You need them to run the science lab.. Im sure others have ideas, those are 2 things I have done so far.

Can I ask why your using such a large reactor just to power a kethane craft?

[pasty2k2]

Just a question - what can one really do with the first reactors? Not complaining - I know they get better with research. Just asking whether there is an initial use case. Higher ISP than the nerva nuclear rocket? Yes, but is that efficient with the weight and cooling requirements? Power - well, without the lab and higher stuff - I am quite happy with solar panels.

If the answer is "no" that is totally ok - really not complaining, just wondering whether I overlooked something before I am shipping a 2.5 meter reactor as the power core for a kethane mining operation on mun...

Personally I have found that for Kethane mining rigs, if that's the only power draw on the ship, a 0.625m reactor and generator set is enough to power about 4 small drills, probably a couple big ones. If you want a KSPI science lab as well, go for a 1.25m set. Those are about the only things I've found you can do with the un-upgraded stuff. I've read and seen that you can get a working spaceplane with the thermal turbojets but it has to be pretty minimal until you get the upgrades, personally I haven't had much luck with that but I'm useless at planes anyway!

The bigger 2.5m and 3.75m stuff, I've found it's only worth putting up a 2.5m set for a large space station (2 ISRU refineries, KSPI science lab, large and small Kethane converters, stock science lab & loads of comms), as that provides around 90MW, which allows for everything going full whack and a bit to spare. 3.75m I've only used a lot of em for beaming power out of Kerbin via the microwave transceivers, but by that point you are pretty close to getting the upgrades anyway.

Those are my experiences, though I am sure others have found much more use for them - a lot to play with, experiment!

Further experiences:

The big reactors are mondo heavy (rightly so), I tend to launch them and the rads separately (disabling reactor before launch, love tweakables!) then dock together and switch on with an EVA Kerbal. That way you can have just 2 of the massive foldout rads and that should cover you for WasteHeat, lowering part count and making launches easier. Also, Microwave Transceivers skyrocket your WasteHeat, so if you plan to add that later, make provisions for about 4/5 massive rads per 3.75m reactor/generator/transceiver combo, in my experience. That may have changed since WasteHeat now finds it's own balance while dissipating, but I think Fractal has sorted it so its about the same amount of rads you used to need. I haven't changed designs and nothing has overheated yet.

Also if you plan to deliver UF4/THF4 resupplies to the reactor for really long-term use, don't bother sticking the tanks to the side of your ship: you can't transfer UF4/THF4 fuel between tanks with right click, only between a reactor and tank using an EVA Kerbal, after manually shutting down the reactor and waiting for it's DecayHeat to drop to 0%. I use a separate UF4 tank with it's own probe core and docking port to swap fuel, then de-orbit that when empty/filled with DepletedFuel from a Refinery. For Tritium production, make sure to put a Deuterium/Tritium tank on the ship with the reactor, it doesn't seem to be able to generate Tritium without it on the same vessel (docking doesn't count), same thing that happens with Kethane converters I believe and the way it has to handle Resources. Took me a few attempts to get all that right but my SpaceStation and mining monstrosity work excellently with these methods!

Final ProTip: If you have RemoteTech2, put batteries on nuke ships you plan to use high time-warp with, whether you bother with solar panels or not. I've found that at high warps (10,000x +) my ElectricCharge goes crazy if I don't have extra battery buffers to allow for the large but brief drops, and RT2 (I think its RT2 that does it?) will kill warp due to low power. I think this would occur in stock as well, but there isn't anything that uses loads of power in stock, so unless you build something with like 20 probe cores/loads of comms you wouldn't see it.

This mod is tons of fun, it adds some slightly-more-serious-but-still-Kerbal contraptions based off real science, and gives you a lot more to do in the mid-end game. Thanks again Fractal I am loving Interstellar more and more every time I use it!

[Donziboy2]

Fractal_UK it seems tritium does not breed unless the craft is active...

I time warped to make sure this craft worked then switched to another craft for over a day, it still has the same amount it did when I switched ships....

There is 3x 2.5m reactors there, each one is good for 0.62Kg/d.

[metalpoetza]

I've begun to work on writing a custom mission pack for KSPStoryMissions built around KSP Interstellar - well, I say "begun" what I've actually done is started a new career save and played it with KSPStoryMissions (along the way writing two smaller mission packs of my own to get the hang of it one for building a mobile science lab space station 0.23 style around minmus and one to put SCANSat satelites around a few bodies for science points) - now I've reached the points where the first few parts from interstellar are about to be unlocked (beyond the basic radiators) - nuclear reactors and the magnetometer are all in the part of the tree I'm currently working on - so it's time to write the first missions - but first I need some idea what to actually *do* with these parts.

So I'm asking for a bit of help - what would be a good introductory thing you can do with these parts - which I could script as a mission (I'm hoping to ultimately have the mission pack take you all the way to a mission to build and use the warp drive) - which should be done in such a way that other players can also use it as a guide. But since I'm completely new to the interstellar pack myself I have no real idea how to start with these parts ? What do you do with them ? Where do you get fuel for the reactors ? If they breed tritium - how would you get this to a later fusion reactor ? Through docking transfers ? What about the magnetometer ? Would it make sense to have a mission to go scan Kerbin's poles for antimatter with a probe ? What would you do with this information ? What next ?

Is there a bit of a beginners guide to getting started with the parts I could work from ? And what does it say about me that at 2am on New Years day I'm playing KSP and posting on the forum ?

[BigD145]

If you don't know Interstellar intimately you're going to have a hard time coming up with good missions.

And yes, RT2 has all sorts of weird issues if you change speed, change SOI, use the map in Kerbin Command, and generally just play KSP.

[metalpoetza]

I'm sure you're right - which is why I asked for help. The idea is to basically write them as I go - documenting what I learn about the process, then refining it - and publishing the results to help others in turn. I'm under no delusions about the scale of what I've taken on - I just need some pointers, what would one do with the early parts (and hopefully earn some science in the process).

[db48x]

I've begun to work on writing a custom mission pack for KSPStoryMissions built around KSP Interstellar - well, I say "begun" what I've actually done is started a new career save and played it with KSPStoryMissions (along the way writing two smaller mission packs of my own to get the hang of it one for building a mobile science lab space station 0.23 style around minmus and one to put SCANSat satelites around a few bodies for science points) - now I've reached the points where the first few parts from interstellar are about to be unlocked (beyond the basic radiators) - nuclear reactors and the magnetometer are all in the part of the tree I'm currently working on - so it's time to write the first missions - but first I need some idea what to actually *do* with these parts.

So I'm asking for a bit of help - what would be a good introductory thing you can do with these parts - which I could script as a mission (I'm hoping to ultimately have the mission pack take you all the way to a mission to build and use the warp drive) - which should be done in such a way that other players can also use it as a guide. But since I'm completely new to the interstellar pack myself I have no real idea how to start with these parts ? What do you do with them ? Where do you get fuel for the reactors ? If they breed tritium - how would you get this to a later fusion reactor ? Through docking transfers ? What about the magnetometer ? Would it make sense to have a mission to go scan Kerbin's poles for antimatter with a probe ? What would you do with this information ? What next ?

This sounds really cool; I'll have to give this mod a try.

In order to run a warp drive you'll definitely want to have a supply of antimatter, and in order to harvest antimatter you need to know where the antimatter is. This is where the magnetometer comes in. Give the player a mission to map the magnetic field and antimatter flux around Kerbin and Jool, hunting for the best orbits. The magnetic fields are all quite symmetrical and simplified, and the best orbits are all (correctly) equatorial. The best mapping mission then is to get into a highly eccentric orbit so that you can measure the flux at every altitude, or a good range of them. (At the poles the magnetic fields all point down into the atmosphere, so any antiprotons there get lost.)

The fission reactors are fueled with Uranium or Thorium, and come fully fueled. Additional fuel can be mined from many bodies around the system; you'll want to send a probe out with a gamma-ray spectrometer. A high orbit is best, because the spectrometer can pick up active deposits across the entire visible area of a planet at once.

Just getting the ISRU refinery out to another body is a bit of a challenge. You can mine uranium and thorium from practically anywhere; the gamma-ray spectrometer shows you the places with the highest concentrations.

Tritium you get by breeding it from lithium in either a fission or a fusion reactor. You could just have the player set up a factory near the launch pad, or you could have them manufacture it on some other mission. And yes, you can transfer it while docked.

Completing a mission involving the DT Inertial-Confinement Fusion engine can be challenging, if you require hat they not kill anyone in the process.

Is there a bit of a beginners guide to getting started with the parts I could work from ? And what does it say about me that at 2am on New Years day I'm playing KSP and posting on the forum ?

That you're perfectly normal, just like the rest of us.

[Donziboy2]

I've begun to work on writing a custom mission pack for KSPStoryMissions built around KSP Interstellar - well, I say "begun" what I've actually done is started a new career save and played it with KSPStoryMissions (along the way writing two smaller mission packs of my own to get the hang of it one for building a mobile science lab space station 0.23 style around minmus and one to put SCANSat satelites around a few bodies for science points) - now I've reached the points where the first few parts from interstellar are about to be unlocked (beyond the basic radiators) - nuclear reactors and the magnetometer are all in the part of the tree I'm currently working on - so it's time to write the first missions - but first I need some idea what to actually *do* with these parts.

Its no small task, others have tried and been overwhelmed with the number of features in this mod. Fractal_UK puts alot into the mod, the only thing it does not have is a good guide lol.

So I'm asking for a bit of help - what would be a good introductory thing you can do with these parts - which I could script as a mission (I'm hoping to ultimately have the mission pack take you all the way to a mission to build and use the warp drive) - which should be done in such a way that other players can also use it as a guide. But since I'm completely new to the interstellar pack myself I have no real idea how to start with these parts ? What do you do with them ? Where do you get fuel for the reactors ? If they breed tritium - how would you get this to a later fusion reactor ? Through docking transfers ? What about the magnetometer ? Would it make sense to have a mission to go scan Kerbin's poles for antimatter with a probe ? What would you do with this information ? What next ?

The reactors all start off with fuel in them, there are containers so you can add more later, you also have to removed/reprocess the actinides from the reactors. Tritium would go into a container and you would have to move it to your target craft, tritium also has a half life of 12 game years and turns into He3 for Fusion reactors. How you move it is your decision.

The magnetometer will help you find that sweet spot in orbit to place Antimatter Collectors to get the best collection rate.

The highest concentrations are on the Equator, maybe they can find the best altitude;)

The mod has lots of parts and plenty to do, the Wiki has some information, its not perfect. If you look at the bottom of the wiki under guides you can see a list of a few of the possible guides someone thought would be helpful.

Edit...

They really need to add more sounds to this game, I was reading and typing and heard an explosion.....

Bob Kerman was Killed.

Somebody forgot to deploy his chute:sealed:

Edit 2

Give this a read it may help, I did it a while back.

Its a little dated but mostly correct. I will look at updating it if I get time in the next few days.

Edited January 1, 2014 by Donziboy2

[metalpoetza]

Thanks - that gives me a good idea of where to start at least, I'll stick the first mission set (using the magnetometer as BD48x has suggested) on my github when it's basically done (probably sometime tomorrow) and share a link. If anybody wants to help expand or get involved - I'd welcome pull requests.

[Shad0wCatcher]

I believe the issue is that the fusion reactor might not be getting priority on power production to keep the laser running. The error message showing that the reactor is He-3 deprived is probably because of a default "this isn't working anymore" message as opposed to a message providing individual "this is why this isn't working anymore" message.

As to your question of Argon vs Argon Gas, I would say that though technically the element is being used as a gas, you probably won't find yourself using Argon in any phase except gaseous. Therefore, you can probably just simply define the resource as Argon. You can even extend this out to different phases of the same element. It would be redundant in my opinion to have a mod that defines an ice and a water and steam resources. If you require the resource to exist in a specific phase, you can probably just sim the process to include the energy needed to phase shift the base resource to whatever phase is needed.

The exception to this would be different phases being used for very different applications. An example of this would be TACLS oxygen for breathing and oxidizer in KSPI which is generally considered to be liquid oxygen (if I remember correctly).

Biggest issue I have with that is the guideline thread for resource naming conventions. I'd like to keep my install fairly close with regards to that. On top of which when using say Near Future and KSPI both are using different definitions of Argon and won't play well together (already changed my install so that they would. Along those lines; running Real Fuels on top of everything you get into different storage mediums and could feasibly store different fuel-types in different phases for energy density for example.