[WIP] Nert's Dev Thread - Current: various updates

[Pockrtplanesairways]

Why is it that whenever i talk it goes dead silent?!?

[Nertea]

I"m very busy, that's why.

[MaverickSawyer]

6 way hub I understand, but what would a 3-way be? A t-shape?

Unless he means the symmetry about the axis. So, a total of 5 nodes (1 top, one bottom, 3 sides) for the three-way, and 8 for the six-way.

[Pockrtplanesairways]

Never argue with idiots, internet trolls, drunks, or conspiracy nuts. They'll just drag you down to their level, then beat you with experience.

Your signature is true. You could consider me a conspiracy nut. And i would beat you with experience. And obviousness.

[Nertea]

So, I have a large amount of stuff I'd like to do with NFP, now that the primary mission is complete (barring a couple more parts in some areas and some fixes to existing parts). To that end, I added a poll to the thread - feel free to vote. I want to do *all* of these, the poll would only reflect priority really. Multiple choice was enabled, so let me know what *your* priorities are.

Here's a detailed description of the poll options.

NTRs: this is pretty dependent on finding some art designs I like, but sometimes I get these PMs and I'm slowly warming to the idea. I think it would be a set of several engines in various size categories using my nuclear resources. Some would be bimodal, some unimodal... some mechanics with radiators would be included for bimodal power generation, these would set them apart from Kommitz's FtMns. There could be some liquid core and some solid core (and maybe gas core? but there's like no way to balance those in KSP, they're too awesome).

Structural Trusses: Well, I made some trusses that people like. Why not make more? This would include a 0.625m truss set to fit with cubic octagonal struts, maybe a few more bits to fill out the stock 1.25m trusses, maybe some more additions to my octagonal set.

Deep Space Ship Parts: This comes out of that landing CSM that I've done. I like the CM, and wouldn't mind making some more parts that are oriented towards a nearly futuristic deep space ship. One thing that might fall into here is deployable ring solar panels (cool, they would be). And more things.

Station Parts: Because Connected Living Space is pretty cool, I'm interested in making some base parts like the mockup earlier in this thread. This would probably take the form of structural and crew-containing tubes, with a couple of crewed hub-type pieces in a stockalike style. This also might include some landing legs that look more 'permanent' than the stock ones.

ORS Integration: This is a big one. I've been trying to work out other uses for all the electrical stuff other than engines, and the only options tend to be science and ISRU. Additionally, some time ago I promised Fractal some mining parts (and a magnetic nozzle, whose model I still hate) for KSPI, and I'm considering moving those potentially as a download for the ORS system. A number of variously-sized drills, scanners and processors that could be used by people who want ORS implementations would be the thing here. A set of these with specific properties would become part of Near Future for extracting HydrogenGas, XenonGas, ArgonGas and EnrichedUranium. I call this the "most useful to the community" option.

Tech Tree: A new set of endgame nodes for Near Future! This would allow a decent amount more balancing leeway with the various engines.

Compatibility Integration: The most boring option. Spending some time providing an alternate set of cfgs for various compatibility, for mods like RealFuels, RSS and KSPI. I'm willing to farm this off to anyone else .

Keep Making SEP/NEP Parts: Ok, ok, I'll get back to what I was doing .

So, feel free to comment, or add ideas to these categories, or such things. I'm interested to see what people would be excited about.

Edited March 13, 2014 by Nertea

[I.O.M.]

I wish I there was an 'all of the above' option, but I don't want to add too much to your workload.

I would really like to see more station parts. I think there's still an unfilled niche for parts designed for planetary base-building.

[jfull]

Deep space ship parts and station/base parts seem pretty tied at the moment, perhaps you could divide your effort between those?

I actually voted for new tech tree nodes, though it might be best to work on those after this pack contains a greater variation of parts.

[Nertea]

Deep space ship parts and station/base parts seem pretty tied at the moment, perhaps you could divide your effort between those?

I actually voted for new tech tree nodes, though it might be best to work on those after this pack contains a greater variation of parts.

As I understand it, new tech nodes wouldn't be too long to do. Waiting is indeed a good option, but luckily most of the options in the poll would fall into tech nodes covered by the current NFP parts, with the exception of possibly a few new structural nodes and some NTR nodes. Therefore I could implement a tech tree and then spend time filling it out.

I wish I there was an 'all of the above' option, but I don't want to add too much to your workload.

I would really like to see more station parts. I think there's still an unfilled niche for parts designed for planetary base-building.

Luckily for you, I do want to do everything! I just can't decide what to start with .

I'm glad nobody is voting for the two boring options yet! Hehe.

[Milkshakefiend]

I'm glad nobody is voting for the two boring options yet! Hehe.

Sorry, had to ruin the streak! I love NFP and I also love RealFuels - alas - my knowledge of how RealFuels works is not yet enough to actually do the donkey work and make it compatible. When I get back to reality and have some more modding time I had planned to make some of my own parts RF compatible and if I manage that I'd be more than happy to help knock together some RF configs for NFP.

[GabrielG.A.B.Fonseca]

The Deep Space Ship and the Surface Base go hand-to-hand, in my opinion. Those are the ones I want the most, followed by the further development of the Near Future Pack.

[TerLoki]

Honestly what I'd love from an additional truss pack is some 1.25m trusses that are actually 1.25m throughout, rather than the "smaller than 1.25m but with an adapter piece" ones that are stock. I just want something I can join a standard sized Clamp-O-Tron to without it looking weird or needing an adapter truss.

[Fraz86]

Some thoughts:

NTRs: NTRs synergize very well with the existing NFP pack. However, attractive stock-alike NTR models are already available in Kommit's pack, and it's easy enough to configure them to use NFP's resources (see my ModuleManager config in your other thread), so I would only rate this as a moderate priority.

Structural Trusses: I already use "TurboNisu aesthetic parts pack" for additional small and mid-sized stock-alike truss pieces/adapters, which I feel provides a reasonably complete set. However, I would love to see just a few more variations on your large octagonal truss set. For example, a version with a crew-containing tube down the middle (for integration with Connected Living Space) and a "truss bay" with opening doors (similar to Porkjet's).

Deep Space Ship Parts: I think I like this idea, but I'd like to hear more about specifically what you have in mind.

Station Parts: I definitely like this idea, and there is particularly a deficit of good stock-alike modules intended for use on planetary surfaces.

ORS Integration: I've actually already done a bit of this using ORS, BahamutoD's Drills, and a ModuleManager file. However, I would advise caution, as I believe many people (myself included) prefer NFP over KSPI largely because NFP does not dramatically alter the "feel" of vanilla gameplay. If you go for ORS integration, I recommend two things: (1) keep it simple, (2) limit it such that ISRU is only useful/practical in a select few situations.

Tech Tree: Well it's not a bad idea, but I use my own custom tech tree, so I can't say I'm particularly interested.

Compatibility Integration: Meh.

Keep Making SEP/NEP Parts: Sure, why not. In particular, I'd love to get a couple more large hydrogen tanks.

A couple additional ideas:

Microwave Power Transmitters/Receivers: Months ago I believe you

indicated an interest in creating such parts. Given how exceptional your solar panel models are, I'm sure you could make some wonderful transmitters & receivers. I also believe the gameplay mechanics involved would synergize very well with the rest of the NFP pack.

In Regard to Station Modules, Surface Base Parts, & Connected Living Space: I appreciate that this may be well outside the scope of what you're interested in taking on yourself, but I would love it if someone would give us a reason to care about having sufficient living space for crew, and, moreover, a reason to have a crew of >1 Kerbal in the first place. In my opinion this is the single biggest "unfilled niche" in the KSP mod community.

Edited March 13, 2014 by Fraz86

[Nertea]

Honestly what I'd love from an additional truss pack is some 1.25m trusses that are actually 1.25m throughout, rather than the "smaller than 1.25m but with an adapter piece" ones that are stock. I just want something I can join a standard sized Clamp-O-Tron to without it looking weird or needing an adapter truss.

It's not the most interesting part set, but it might happen . Maybe I can find a way to make it exciting.

Some thoughts:

Some thoughts on your thoughts :

NTRs: NTRs synergize very well with the existing NFP pack. However, attractive stock-alike NTR models are already available in Kommit's pack, and it's easy enough to configure them to use NFP's resources (see my ModuleManager config in your other thread), so I would only rate this as a moderate priority.

Yes... this is pretty contingent on me finding some way to make any NFP NTRs different both graphically and mechanically than Kommitz's and even KSPI's. Don't want to step on any toes .

Structural Trusses: I already use "TurboNisu aesthetic parts pack" for additional small and mid-sized stock-alike truss pieces/adapters, which I feel provides a reasonably complete set. However, I would love to see just a few more variations on your large octagonal truss set. For example, a version with a crew-containing tube down the middle (for integration with Connected Living Space) and a "truss bay" with opening doors (similar to Porkjet's).

That version with a crew tube is something I've already mocked up, actually. I'd also consider a half or quarter-sized octagonals.

Deep Space Ship Parts: I think I like this idea, but I'd like to hear more about specifically what you have in mind.

It's hard to say, but ring-type solar panels, for one. More crew-type modules specifically designed for space rather than atmosphere use would also be in the cards, say a larger observational module than the cupola, and an inline command pod styled as a control center. The limit is that everything cool that I can think of needs IVAs, which take forever to do. Probably what I'll do is try to build a few deep space ships in stock and see what I'm missing . Definitely some overlap with crew tubes planned for station base sets.

ORS Integration: I've actually already done a bit of this using ORS, BahamutoD's Drills, and a ModuleManager file. However, I would advise caution, as I believe many people (myself included) prefer NFP over KSPI largely because NFP does not dramatically alter the "feel" of vanilla gameplay. If you go for ORS integration, I recommend two things: (1) keep it simple, (2) limit it such that ISRU is only useful/practical in a select few situations.

Yes, that would be the goal - keep it very simple, with essentially a single part designed to extract a single resource, and it would be strictly additional, so you would not need to do any mining to get the stuff, just as an advanced option. Nothing more complicated than Kethane.

Keep Making SEP/NEP Parts: Sure, why not. In particular, I'd love to get a couple more large hydrogen tanks.

That and a few more 2.5m engines are basically what's on my todo list. Plus a remodel of the VASIMRs sometime.

Microwave Power Transmitters/Receivers: Months ago I believe you

indicated an interest in creating such parts. Given how exceptional your solar panel models are, I'm sure you could make some wonderful transmitters & receivers. I also believe the gameplay mechanics involved would synergize very well with the rest of the NFP pack.

Always in the back of my mind, but haven't hashed out exactly how I want it to work. It's also a lot of programming :S. I don't mind the art, but the programming is no fun!

In Regard to Station Modules, Surface Base Parts, & Connected Living Space: I appreciate that this may be well outside the scope of what you're interested in taking on yourself, but I would love it if someone would give us a reason to care about having sufficient living space for crew, and, moreover, a reason to have a crew of >1 Kerbal in the first place. In my opinion this is the single biggest "unfilled niche" in the KSP mod community.

It is indeed outside of my scope, but with CLS and a few other mods I saw in development, that might not be on your wishlist for long. There's that crew fitness one, and a sanity thing I saw in development that might fill what you need.

[Fraz86]

That version with a crew tube is something I've already mocked up, actually. I'd also consider a half or quarter-sized octagonals.

Awesome.

It's hard to say, but ring-type solar panels, for one. More crew-type modules specifically designed for space rather than atmosphere use would also be in the cards, say a larger observational module than the cupola, and an inline command pod styled as a control center. The limit is that everything cool that I can think of needs IVAs, which take forever to do. Probably what I'll do is try to build a few deep space ships in stock and see what I'm missing . Definitely some overlap with crew tubes planned for station base sets.

I don't quite understand the idea behind a ring-shaped solar panel (wouldn't that just result in most of the surface of the panel receiving suboptimal sunlight?), but the craft in that picture looks really cool, so I'm all for anything that allows me to build something that looks like that. An observation module and "control center" style command pod would also be great, but as you point out, IVAs would be critical for these modules.

Yes, that would be the goal - keep it very simple, with essentially a single part designed to extract a single resource, and it would be strictly additional, so you would not need to do any mining to get the stuff, just as an advanced option. Nothing more complicated than Kethane.

Excellent.

That and a few more 2.5m engines are basically what's on my todo list. Plus a remodel of the VASIMRs sometime.

Perfect.

Always in the back of my mind, but haven't hashed out exactly how I want it to work. It's also a lot of programming :S. I don't mind the art, but the programming is no fun!

Yeah, that's certainly understandable.

It is indeed outside of my scope, but with CLS and a few other mods I saw in development, that might not be on your wishlist for long. There's that crew fitness one, and a sanity thing I saw in development that might fill what you need.

I hope so, however, I have my doubts regarding the sanity/fitness mods currently in development. KeepFit is the only one with an actual release (I've seen little evidence that the others have progressed beyond the "concept"/early development phase), and unfortunately I'm rather disappointed with several aspects of Timmer's mod. It considers only the spaciousness of the module in which the Kerbal is located rather than the craft as a whole, it uses fixed qualitative rather than quantitative variables to define spaciousness, and there is no consideration of the number of Kerbals sharing a given space. The other mods (seemingly stalled in early development) appear to be plagued by overly complicated ideas and un-fun gameplay mechanics. Anyway, for the time being, I've crafted a hacked up version of TAC Life Support that serves my purposes (a resource named "CrewHealth" is consumed and converted to "CabinFever", which can be recycled to CrewHealth with sufficient "Living Space" modules, which I have added to Porkjet's inflatable habs). I certainly understand that you'd rather not dabble too much in the coding side of things, and I don't blame you, but I hope that one of these days someone with good gameplay instincts decides to tackle the issue.

[helaeon]

So, after building a lander last night using your parts I have some thoughts (Yes I know they're not for that, but Kerbal, point is doing stuff outside of what its for. Used four nukes, 4 XL PITs, 2 dual hall thrusters and a bunch of Argon. ~7 km/s deltaV. first version using 2 nukes and 3 PITs worked but wasn't fun to fly. Btw these should do every airless planet and moon except Tylo as lacking thrust to weight ratio):

I wanted to use xenon rather than argon because the transfer ship uses a VASIMIR and it drinks from the lander in a kind of annoying way and turning off crossfeed at the docking node doesn't stop it. But Xenon was a no-go because I couldn't generate a sane amount of thrust with any of those engines, or I couldn't bolt enough of them on even though I had the power for them. Seemed to me everything runs on argon.

Reason I used the reactors rather than a pile of capacitors is I couldn't figure out a good way to trigger a large stack of successive capacitors without using up all of my action groups. Some sort of auto triggering like dtobi has for fuel tanks would be cool. Once battery hits 10% it triggers the next cap in line.

Was really, really wanting for a VASIMIR model that wasn't huge. Being able to vary the thrust-ISP balance would make the lander idea a lot more interesting and maybe put Tylo on the table because you could crank up the thrust then dial it down as soon as you had enough altitude. Especially with that link variable thrust engines option you have already implemented I think it would be fly-able. I may try a different design with the existing small ones but I don't think their top-end thrust is good enough as it's just like the PIT. One that started about 8 KN and stopped at 50-75 KN would be really cool, though no idea what the power requirements would have to be in order to be balanced. All the power from a MX-4 would be fine... and convenient.

[Streetwind]

I voted in the poll, but I'd like to add an additional opinion of mine:

When I am downloading a mod called "Near Future Propulsion", I am neither expecting nor wanting space station/ship parts, a resource system, a tech tree revamp or anything of the sort. This is not to say that I don't want these parts at all from you (you've shown exceptional artistic ability in making your parts IMHO), but rather that I simply think they have nothing to do with 'propulsion' and as such should be in a different mod. Part bloat is something that personally annoys me a lot. There are several popular mods out there that I have never downloaded simply because they are a completely unfocused mess of "throw in whatever part I just came up with".

What I'd like to see: instead of one mod, have a mod suite. Call the mod suite "Near Future" for its theming, and then have various submods named "Propulsion", "Electric Power", "Space Station", "Rocket Construction", "Tech Tree" and so on. Each submod would be downloadable individually and work stand-alone - if someone wants to have your power-guzzling electric engines without the appropriate power generation parts, why not? Maybe they have other means to provide lots of power already. Or maybe someone is coming by looking just for space station/planetary base parts, while being content with the engines they have.

You could also have a "full suite" download that is simply a zip file which includes all submods.

A good example of an existing mod doing this kind of content segmentation is RLA.

I think this would be a tremendous advantage to players running many different mods, where redundant parts are not just a cosmetic issue but actively gobble RAM that could be better put to use loading other parts. It would also greatly streamline the process of trying to craft a coherent modded gameplay experience. Ostensibly nothing would keep a player from downloading a heavily part-bloated mod and simply trimming out or manually adjusting most of its parts; but do that with five to ten different ones, and merely trying to update one mod becomes a nightmare.

I hope that makes sense

Edited March 14, 2014 by Streetwind

[Nertea]

I think this would be a tremendous advantage to players running many different mods, where redundant parts are not just a cosmetic issue but actively gobble RAM that could be better put to use loading other parts. It would also greatly streamline the process of trying to craft a coherent modded gameplay experience. Ostensibly nothing would keep a player from downloading a heavily part-bloated mod and simply trimming out or manually adjusting most of its parts; but do that with five to ten different ones, and merely trying to update one mod becomes a nightmare.

This process has already begun - if you've had a chance to look at the folder structure for version 0.41 or 0.42 of NFP, you'll note that there are a number of subfolders like Nuclear, SolarPanels, Truss, etc. That's how the unfinished CSM stuff snuck in by accident. So the splitting has already begun! It's just not ready for separate downloads yet, possibly by the time I get to version 0.5 or thereabouts.

So, after building a lander last night using your parts I have some thoughts (Yes I know they're not for that, but Kerbal, point is doing stuff outside of what its for. Used four nukes, 4 XL PITs, 2 dual hall thrusters and a bunch of Argon. ~7 km/s deltaV. first version using 2 nukes and 3 PITs worked but wasn't fun to fly. Btw these should do every airless planet and moon except Tylo as lacking thrust to weight ratio):

I wanted to use xenon rather than argon because the transfer ship uses a VASIMIR and it drinks from the lander in a kind of annoying way and turning off crossfeed at the docking node doesn't stop it. But Xenon was a no-go because I couldn't generate a sane amount of thrust with any of those engines, or I couldn't bolt enough of them on even though I had the power for them. Seemed to me everything runs on argon.

Reason I used the reactors rather than a pile of capacitors is I couldn't figure out a good way to trigger a large stack of successive capacitors without using up all of my action groups. Some sort of auto triggering like dtobi has for fuel tanks would be cool. Once battery hits 10% it triggers the next cap in line.

Was really, really wanting for a VASIMIR model that wasn't huge. Being able to vary the thrust-ISP balance would make the lander idea a lot more interesting and maybe put Tylo on the table because you could crank up the thrust then dial it down as soon as you had enough altitude. Especially with that link variable thrust engines option you have already implemented I think it would be fly-able. I may try a different design with the existing small ones but I don't think their top-end thrust is good enough as it's just like the PIT. One that started about 8 KN and stopped at 50-75 KN would be really cool, though no idea what the power requirements would have to be in order to be balanced. All the power from a MX-4 would be fine... and convenient.

I'm always torn with posts like this... see, I don't really like the idea of building landers with ion engines, it's so horribly wrong that it offends my sensibilities, just a personal peeve that's the result of KSP's handling of them. Not that I care really what you do with them, but posts worrying about landing capabilities (especially on Tylo!) always make me go meh .

That being said, a redo of the VASIMR models is in the cards, and the result would probably end up being more compact than the current ones.

I hope so, however, I have my doubts regarding the sanity/fitness mods currently in development. KeepFit is the only one with an actual release (I've seen little evidence that the others have progressed beyond the "concept"/early development phase), and unfortunately I'm rather disappointed with several aspects of Timmer's mod. It considers only the spaciousness of the module in which the Kerbal is located rather than the craft as a whole, it uses fixed qualitative rather than quantitative variables to define spaciousness, and there is no consideration of the number of Kerbals sharing a given space. The other mods (seemingly stalled in early development) appear to be plagued by overly complicated ideas and un-fun gameplay mechanics. Anyway, for the time being, I've crafted a hacked up version of TAC Life Support that serves my purposes (a resource named "CrewHealth" is consumed and converted to "CabinFever", which can be recycled to CrewHealth with sufficient "Living Space" modules, which I have added to Porkjet's inflatable habs). I certainly understand that you'd rather not dabble too much in the coding side of things, and I don't blame you, but I hope that one of these days someone with good gameplay instincts decides to tackle the issue.

Could be an option for development at some point. There's a number of issues with any system designed to tackle this that are not easy to work with, such as UI space, logical monitoring, player transparency... creating a system that's both intuitive and has the depth you want would be quite a challenge.

On the poll note, looks like Deep Space and Station/Surface Base parts are winning pretty handily, so I'll probably start trying to get some of my ideas sketched on paper.

Edited March 14, 2014 by Nertea

[Streetwind]

This process has already begun - if you've had a chance to look at the folder structure for version 0.41 or 0.42 of NFP, you'll note that there are a number of subfolders like Nuclear, SolarPanels, Truss, etc. That's how the unfinished CSM stuff snuck in by accident. So the splitting has already begun! It's just not ready for separate downloads yet, possibly by the time I get to version 0.5 or thereabouts.

That's awesome!

[Hurry- Starfish!]

I wanted to use xenon rather than argon because the transfer ship uses a VASIMIR and it drinks from the lander in a kind of annoying way and turning off crossfeed at the docking node doesn't stop it.

Can't you just rightclick and disable the resources in these tanks?

[helaeon]

Can't you just rightclick and disable the resources in these tanks?

Yes, but there are quite a few of the smaller tanks spread around the lander to fit the form and size. So that was a bit tedious. Ended up using Module Manager to add Goodspeed to tanks with an Argon resources then set the pump order so the drop tanks drain first, then the main ship, and bonus is it re-fuels the lander as soon as it docks.

I'm always torn with posts like this... see, I don't really like the idea of building landers with ion engines, it's so horribly wrong that it offends my sensibilities, just a personal peeve that's the result of KSP's handling of them. Not that I care really what you do with them, but posts worrying about landing capabilities (especially on Tylo!) always make me go meh .

That being said, a redo of the VASIMR models is in the cards, and the result would probably end up being more compact than the current ones

I didn't mean to offend. Your parts are awesome and fit well with the rest of the game. Landers are my favorite things to build and I agree a lander using those engines is pretty wrong... but that's why I attempted it just to see if it could be done at all.

It wasn't really about landing capabilities but more the big gap between the standard VASIMR and the big one. Seems like a VASIMR that uses between 500-2000 ec/s with whatever thrust range seems balanced might be appropriate to fill a slot between the two.

Edited March 15, 2014 by helaeon

[Sean Mirrsen]

Here's my thoughts:

NTRs: There are quite enough NTR designs out there already, I think. Unless you count a fusion torch as an NTR, I think these would be low priority for NFP.

Structural Trusses: More trusses is good, but ultimately they don't do much, and there's a limit to how many you can do. Not the most interesting prospect.

Deep Space Ship Parts: This is neat, and could possibly be quite interesting, but I think that for Near Future Propulsion, what we already have in regards to Deep Space functioning is quite enough. As a separate project, with perhaps some new science options thrown in, this would be nice.

Station Parts: This links with the next option, and I think that it'll make a good replacement for the Deep Space parts for NFP proper. Being able to make large stations both in orbit and on the ground will expand the mod's functionality even further. I suggest adding KAS integration to this, because it's one of the best things for any base-side operations.

ORS Integration: ORS is what powers Kethane, so of course it'd be a great addition. Many of my designs' worth was measured by how large of a mining rig they could fly, and where they could land it. It's a must for any station parts packs as well.

Tech Tree: As much as I like playing Career, I think it's still too early to start working on this. Things will change, there will be economics and missions, and balancing will have to be changed as well. It's just too early to put work into, especially with such high-tech gear as NFP introduces - finding a proper balance against lower-end parts will be hard.

Compatibility Integration: Boring option indeed.

Keep Making SEP/NEP Parts: There are barely any more things I would like to see here, but one. I'd still like to see your take on advanced Ionocraft, for atmospheric probes and other such things. I think it's the only really original electric engine you have left to add here.

[Guest]

I have a couple of part suggestions.

1. A truss dockport. Currently, making a truss for space-based assembly is awkward.

2. Truss fuel tanks. Would be nice to have LFO and Monoprop tanks in octotruss format.

3. Electric RCS. I suggest using ion and perhaps MPD thrusters in advanced RCS blocks. They would be pretty large, but efficient, not to mention they'd be able to share fuel with your main engines, which is the most important reason I want them.

[KAO]

I have a couple of part suggestions.

3. Electric RCS. I suggest using ion and perhaps MPD thrusters in advanced RCS blocks. They would be pretty large, but efficient, not to mention they'd be able to share fuel with your main engines, which is the most important reason I want them.

you can just take one of the six way hubs and make one with the help of action groups.

also, I think this was suggested before and shot down.

[Guest]

Dunno. It'd certainly require new code.

Also, could we have a solar panel similar to 4x2 high efficiency solar panel, but about 2x larger? It looks like solar panels on Zarya and MIR modules, but it's too small to actually be used for them. BobCat only modeled panels for the MIR code.

Indeed, this and the radiator (the big universal one could use KAS compatibility, and slight resizing, but is otherwise perfect for ISS) would be amazing additions to Community ISS pack. Would you consider making a contribution?

[BFGfreak]

You perked my interest when you mentioned an inline command pod for interstellar vehicles. IMO there's a distinct lack of them and I'm kind of interested to see what you had in mind.