[WIP] R.E.L Skylon C2. Alpha Released. FAR config broken. (08 Dec 2014)

[stephm]

hi!

I'm reading à lot (about node and mostly on scale and rescale)

And in this case if you use MODEL node in you're CFG you have to put

scale = 0.8,0.8,0.8

ex :

 MODEL
{
 model = Skylon_nose_test/SkMainGear_FRS
 scale = 0.8,0.8,0.8
}

I have checked the exact position in UNITY and KSP and and now it's the same

reading a lot this post rescaleFactor and the MODEL node

I find the rolling very well and the suspension is now more alive than before !!!

but stay the problem with Stock FxlookAtConstraint, this module don't like parent animation!

Notice the moving torque link, when gear raise or lower !!!

Need to find a way to stop that and you are near to have a concrete gear, not a real gear (done with special module)

but I find it's enough for KSP it's a plane, and the runway is flat so .........

Yeah sometime we have to land on the wrong place ......

@+

[CaptainKipard]

hi!

I'm reading à lot (about node and mostly on scale and rescale)

And in this case if you use MODEL node in you're CFG you have to put

scale = 0.8,0.8,0.8

ex :

 MODEL
{
 model = Skylon_nose_test/SkMainGear_FRS
 scale = 0.8,0.8,0.8
}

I have modeled everything in a 1:1 scale. "scale" and "rescalefactor" should both be 1.

edit

BTW: You don't need to upload every time you change something. If it's a simple cfg edit, then simply make a post saying what needs to be edited.

[stephm]

Next problem is, we need to somehow remove breaking force................ I guess BrakeTorque needs to be lowered?

this is exactly that , but stock module give not enough function !

Would you try to use the firespiter for FRONT , give the ability to do more thing .

On rear gear you have possibility to ADD GEAR light (animated emissive) smoke and sound or motor if you want !!!!!!!

ah one thing if you use Fswheel on front gear you have to use FSpartTurner module to steer the front wheel .

For firespitter :

// The stopping power of the wheelColliders when braking

brakeTorque = 15

// How quickly the brake power is applied. Makes it so that you can tap the brakes quickly without getting full brake power and nose diving.

brakeSpeed = 0.5

(credit Snjo thk to him)!

steph

[CaptainKipard]

I think we should use Firespitter for the moment. If that 747 plugin ever gets made we can think about it later.

Firespitter for both gears.

[stephm]

I have modeled everything in a 1:1 scale. "scale" and "rescalefactor" should both be 1.

yep ! if you don't use the MODEL node in you'r cfg .

But like the part I send to you scale = 0.8,0.8,0.8 is needed !

The default rescaleFactor is NOT 1.0, it's 1.25. So if you do not define it in the config file (like in the example above) then if you use a model node you need to set the scale inside your model{} node to 1/1.25 or 0.8

This is a hold-over from the old KSP scale where parts were 1m and 2m instead of 1.25m and 2.5m. The stock fuel tank in the example is modeled as a 1m fuel tank, which is why the surface attach node is set to half a meter (equal to the radius) - since the default rescaleFactor is 1.25, the part is scaled to the 1.25m standard, and nodes are scaled too. so ingame those node_attach nodes are actually 0.62625m (0.501 X 1.25)

Long Story short: best practice is to model in the proper scale and use rescaleFactor = 1 when possible, and then use the 1/y workaround when needed for scaled parts.

(credit Tiberion)

steph

edit : (about firespitter)

Agree with you, it give all you need for you're GEAR !!

Edited August 16, 2014 by stephm

[CaptainKipard]

What you posted supports what I said. I don't think you understood it.

best practice is to model in the proper scale and use rescaleFactor = 1 when possible

This is exactly what I said. Trust me I always use MODEL and always set scale and rescalefactor to 1 and it works as I intended

[stephm]

yes !

just posted for info if people use the alternate MODEL node solution !! .

For front gear, starting with the blender file you have just to replace the stock module in cfg

by Fswheel , in theory !!

[CaptainKipard]

Announcement

If there are any modders who wouldn't mind eventually testing a closed alpha of this mod, please make yourself known.

Edited August 16, 2014 by Cpt. Kipard

[lo-fi]

I'm game to take a look. Been a little busy to finish my plugin I'm afraid, but it won't take me long once I get round to it. You guys seem to have it nailed with FS anyway.

I have a spare private GitHub repo you're welcome to use if you like? It makes life so much easier for collaboration projects like this.

[CaptainKipard]

The plane wont be ready for several weeks yet.

wrt Github, I have no experience using this kind of system. I tried learning subversion once and i lost patience very quickly.

[lo-fi]

Whenever you're ready. Testing the gear in isolation is not a problem.

Git was created by a someone who was fed up with subversion himself, don't forget. I only started using it when I started modding myself, I've been very impressed.

[Scarsz]

Having seen your request for testers I would be happy to test your mod. I have been following it's development for a while and it's very impressive! Good luck.

[CaptainKipard]

Thankyou. You should put a link to your mod in your signature. I was about to deny you because I thought you're not a modder. I had to go through your profile.

[kenbobo]

I would GLADLY test this mod. Gladly.

[CaptainKipard]

Not sure if "glad"

or just sarcastic.

Anyway. The gear re-do is going well. I've managed to increase the suspension length slightly while keeping the bays the same, so there's less work.

[sirkut]

I'm glad you got the gear going. Can't wait to see the final result.

[CaptainKipard]

I'm almost ready to start rigging and animating everything, but first I need to decide how to divide the animated parts and I need ideas.

The animations will be:

- Cargo bay main doors.

- Two cargo bay side doors for kerbals to walk through. One on each side.

- All landing gears.

- All gear bay doors.

- Control surfaces.

- Intake cone.

Are there any pitfalls I should avoid?

[Robotengineer]

I'll test too If I may that is.

[OrbitusII]

One pitfall you should definitely avoid is too much dependence on other mods. I dislike B9 a lot for this reason: it requires 5 (?) other plugins to work! Don't make Skylon require too many plugins to work right. If you need to use one for the landing gear, fine, but don't require a plugin for the landing gear and then a plugin for the cargo bay and another plugin for the engines. While the stock systems aren't great, they have some useful features that work just as well as the other guy's stuff.

[stephm]

hello !

may be I'm wrong but B9 use only one Module and it's Firespitter, (looking in My KSP 0.23.5).

and everything is good (for 0.23.5 I mean), perhaps in the new recompiled 0.24 version they other plugins ?

(I have not used B9 with 0.24 yet .)

bye !

steph

Edited August 20, 2014 by stephm

[kenbobo]

Not sure if "glad"

or just sarcastic.

Anyway. The gear re-do is going well. I've managed to increase the suspension length slightly while keeping the bays the same, so there's less work.

This is not sarcasm.

[CaptainKipard]

Ok guys and girls what I was mostly asking about is how to divide the parts.

My thoughts so far:

1. The gear should be separate

2. Gear bay doors should be separate. This is because otherwise wobbling of the gear would also move the gear doors.

3. Cargo bay can be all one part, except for the side doors, unless there is a simple way of having multiple animations on a part that I can access with separate buttons in the game.

Discuss those if you disagree ^^^^

I'm still considering these:

1. Whether to keep control surfaces separate from the wings and vertical stabiliser, or whether to have them as single parts. I don't know whether FAR allows that or not and I definitely want this to be FAR-compatible.

2. What to do about the intake cone. AFAIK there's no way to tie the animation to the Sabre engine state.

About the plugins.

Firespitter is indispensable. I might need one other plugin further down the line to deal with the intake problem.

Edited August 21, 2014 by Cpt. Kipard

[lo-fi]

I think having the doors separate from the gear is a great idea to stop any wobble moving the flush fitting doors. I can't think of any other way to stabilise it, unless you make the doors integral to the parts they're mounted in (if this is even possible given other constraints).

I can probably write you a little dedicated plugin for animating the cones. Orbitus' animation code will work perfectly for stepping the cone movment depending on speed and air density with a little tinkering. This is too big a visual element to miss out on, it will look stunning!

My landing gear module isn't far off finished, I only stopped because I got stuck with animation weirdness and couldn't test that part. I have a feeling you're using Firespitter anyway, which will no doubt be more mature.

Agreed on not having too many mod dependencies, that always puts me off. Firespitter is a fair addition though, and common in any case.

[CaptainKipard]

I can probably write you a little dedicated plugin for animating the cones. Orbitus' animation code will work perfectly for stepping the cone movment depending on speed and air density with a little tinkering. This is too big a visual element to miss out on, it will look stunning!

I didn't think of that effect, but I like the idea. Problem is that's another plugin. Just for clarification: I don't intend to redistribute the plugin(s) anyway. It'll be down to the user to download it themselves, mostly because I don't want to have to update my stuff every time the plugins are updated. I did that with all my mods.

[lo-fi]

I was thinking of building a dedicated plugin just for the Skylon. I don't think there's an off-the-shelf plugin that'll do it anyway, so you might as well have a custom module you control and distribute yourself. Much like mine for the Kerbal Foundries stuff, it just gets bundled up in the mod install, does its job and you can forget about it.

I'll bung a little proof of concept together, it should be quite simple.

I was watching an REL video the other day which showed the cone movement and was thinking to myself 'that will look lovely in-game'.