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

[Ariellus]

There was a few month (or was it already a year?) ago a mkIV modpack from TT, could it be that you named your cargobay the same as he does and in one of the FAR files are already the parameters for that part ?

Edited November 4, 2014 by Ariellus

[CptRichardson]

There was a few month (or was it already a year?) ago a mkIV modpack from TT, could it be that you named your cargobay the same as he does and in one of the FAR files are already the parameters for that part ?

Don't use FAR. It does seem to have a similar failure mode to what I get from FAR aircraft, though, now that I think about it...

[Nertea]

I've been really busy recently, and playing too much Civ:BE, but I'm still working on this...

Playing with it, it's horrifically unstable. I think the CoM is off-center from the aircraft, but I need to do some investigating. Also, could it be possible to have some alternate variants of the cockpit based off of the current formfactor? There is a metric butt-ton of space beneath the flight deck you could play with, and I can think of several variants that could be put into practice.

The C of M looks fine to me. Suggest you look at your design, I found that I need to change things around from my usual methods due to how much lift the body pieces create (that might need some work).

I plan on a nice two-deck arrangement for the interior. We'll see after that.

I made a thing:

http://imgur.com/a/MLJqu

Excuse the GUI being too much to the right, it seems KSP doesn't like too small a resolution on fullscreen. But the pics and GUIs go from left to right, pretty simple.

Cargo bays and adapters can now hold a variety of fuels, with various weights of initial tanks and stuff and things.. available setups are Structural, LF, LFO and MP. You'll need Firespitter and this patch won't fire if you don't have it. It's probably a little unbalanced, but I got the numbers from both stock and Nerts initial amounts, with a bit of fiddling. Feel free to change the amounts/cost/weights as you see fit, it's probably a bit unbalanced.. I've no idea, I'm a little drunk. Was debating about using FStextureSwitch for the fuselage but it seemed like too much work for just one less part in the part list.. Though, I have to hand it to Snjo, FS is very well documented, no wonder it's so widely used. ANYWAY!

Was contemplating putting it on more parts, but those already have other uses/functions and I didn't want to encroach on Nerts already marvellous models (like the MP slice - that's why the MP setup has only slightly more MP despite the much larger size)

Anyway, yeah, go have fun! Gonna build a Shuttle with this now, brb.

Pretty sure you can't use TextureSwitch for that last one, as both share the same textures (just moved UVs). ModelSwitch would work. Anyways, nice work. Possibly a MM patch that could be included.

KAS containers, anyone?

http://cloud-4.steampowered.com/ugc/49864638507958902/72958322797CBB4D5768C037A21384A15AC289FE/

I always like these.

[Starbuckminsterfullerton]

Nertea, awhile ago when Karbonite was just starting out, you posted on the dev thread an image of your replica of the stock fuel tank endcaps for everyone to use. It's been invaluable to my texturing efforts, so I was wondering if you might have a rendition of the 2.5m endcap (like on the mainsail and size 2 stack splitters) that you'd be willing to share.

[jonrd463]

Hi Nert,

Any new developments? I really like what I'm seeing so far. I haven't yet taken the plunge, but I plan on starting a new contracts career soon, and space planes will figure heavily. This looks like it'll be right up my alley.

[Nertea]

Nertea, awhile ago when Karbonite was just starting out, you posted on the dev thread an image of your replica of the stock fuel tank endcaps for everyone to use. It's been invaluable to my texturing efforts, so I was wondering if you might have a rendition of the 2.5m endcap (like on the mainsail and size 2 stack splitters) that you'd be willing to share.

I do... but not one that I'm very happy with. If you look through the NFT parts they're quite varied; if you see one you like I'll see about providing the psd for it.

Hi Nert,

Any new developments? I really like what I'm seeing so far. I haven't yet taken the plunge, but I plan on starting a new contracts career soon, and space planes will figure heavily. This looks like it'll be right up my alley.

I sadly am lacking in time these days. I have remodeled the aft cargo bay, remodeled the end caps for the fuel tanks (they sucked) and started on the few remaining basic parts. There's nothing worth showing quite yet though.

[Nertea]

Drone core/reaction wheel (shamelessly duplicated off of the Mk2 one), crew cabin.

I think I finally have a tail cargo bay that I like too.

Unwrapped the two last adapters, have to texture them, then I'll unwrap the tailbay and then new release!

[Neutrinovore]

Drone core/reaction wheel (shamelessly duplicated off of the Mk2 one), crew cabin.

http://nertea.the3rdage.net/ksp/mk4drone.png

http://nertea.the3rdage.net/ksp/mk4crew.png

I think I finally have a tail cargo bay that I like too.

http://nertea.the3rdage.net/ksp/tailbay.png

Unwrapped the two last adapters, have to texture them, then I'll unwrap the tailbay and then new release!

Excellent, perfect! These are really the only three parts I find the current build to be lacking, honestly. Well, no, I take that back. I'd like to see half-length versions of the fuel sections, sometimes you don't want to put that much weight slash that long of a component in that particular place on the vehicle, that's all. But, if you don't feel like making such parts, that's cool, I should be able to scale the length myself in a cloned config file.

Again, great looking parts, looking forward to future developments! Keep up the great work, Nertea!

Oops, I just thought of something else! How about a version of the tail cargo ramp section that still has the 1.25 m engine mounts on either side of the door? For those of us that like that option, anyway.

Edited November 12, 2014 by Neutrinovore

[Starbuckminsterfullerton]

Drone core/reaction wheel (shamelessly duplicated off of the Mk2 one), crew cabin.

Hey, continuity is always a good thing. I would say it could do with a crew passthrough, but it's definitely not worth a remodel.

Forget the mk3 art pass, Squad ought to just dump the old parts and add these alongside SP+. Your parts serve all the functions required of the next tier of spaceplane fuselages anyway.

[starkline]

I can finally make a Koeing 747 with these parts! I wonder who'll try to make a 524 Kerbal airliner first...I know I'll try.

Great stuff, Nertea!

[jfull]

Koeing 747

Minor gripe here, but it does kinda bother me when people "kerbalize" a name by just adding a K to the beginning. Sometimes it works but other times it doesn't sound very good.

There are lots ways to make craft sound like a Kerbal creation, like calling a Hubble look-alike the Bubble Space Telescope (instead of the Kubble).

Doing some clever wordplay and adding a silly element makes things way more Kerbal than adding a K does.

[Nertea]

Glad ya like.

Excellent, perfect! These are really the only three parts I find the current build to be lacking, honestly. Well, no, I take that back. I'd like to see half-length versions of the fuel sections, sometimes you don't want to put that much weight slash that long of a component in that particular place on the vehicle, that's all. But, if you don't feel like making such parts, that's cool, I should be able to scale the length myself in a cloned config file.

Again, great looking parts, looking forward to future developments! Keep up the great work, Nertea!

Oops, I just thought of something else! How about a version of the tail cargo ramp section that still has the 1.25 m engine mounts on either side of the door? For those of us that like that option, anyway.

I've never seen half length suggested... it's actually easier to do than double-length (and I have enough space on the fuselage texture to do it without any increase in texture size), so maybe. But not until after double-length. That version of the tail bay would be tough to do, there's not enough clearance for 1.25m nodes on the sides, so it would have to be completely redone.

Hey, continuity is always a good thing. I would say it could do with a crew passthrough, but it's definitely not worth a remodel.

Forget the mk3 art pass, Squad ought to just dump the old parts and add these alongside SP+. Your parts serve all the functions required of the next tier of spaceplane fuselages anyway.

Eh... I'm sure Porkjet will have something great. I feel saddened by this somewhat, because I suspect that the parts will be obsolete soon after I've released them, but hey, I had fun.

[Milkshakefiend]

Eh... I'm sure Porkjet will have something great. I feel saddened by this somewhat, because I suspect that the parts will be obsolete soon after I've released them, but hey, I had fun.

If Porkjet is keeping Mk3 parts of a similar profile to what we were shown a while back, but just tarted up, then your fuselage system will most definitely have a good lifespan. Some payloads are just really difficult to design around a cylindrical cargo bay. Besides, your parts look cooler than a penguins package.

[madlemur]

Two things: I love the rounded, almost chubby husky look to the parts. And I immediately had flashbacks to Martin Landau, Barbara Bain, Barry Morse and bell bottoms, and I really, really want a Space: 1999 parts pack...

[technerd89]

If I may venture a personal suggestion, your drone/reaction slice does seem to have quite a bit of spare room in the framework. Perhaps you could work in an integrated EC battery or two?

[jonrd463]

If I may venture a personal suggestion, your drone/reaction slice does seem to have quite a bit of spare room in the framework. Perhaps you could work in an integrated EC battery or two?

I second this. Turn it more into a service module with the misc bits and bobs to support general operation.

Also looking forward to the double-length parts. I never seem to be able to make a big enough cargo bay without drooping.

[sharpspoonful]

I second this. Turn it more into a service module with the misc bits and bobs to support general operation.

Also looking forward to the double-length parts. I never seem to be able to make a big enough cargo bay without drooping.

The same is true of the smaller B9 and Porkjet's parts though. You can structurally "stitch" the cargobays with struts and still keep it clean and asthetically pleasing. Nodes will never fully support large and awkward payloads. Struts allow us as players add additional nodes for stability to builds.

To add to that, I'd rather keep overall part counts as low as possible per mod. Duplicate parts just eats into memory.

[Nertea]

If I may venture a personal suggestion, your drone/reaction slice does seem to have quite a bit of spare room in the framework. Perhaps you could work in an integrated EC battery or two?

Isn't that what the service compartment is for? Stuff as many batteries as you like in? This will have some charge storage (~50) but I don't really intend to model batteries and put them in... unless there is an overwhelming outcry.

The same is true of the smaller B9 and Porkjet's parts though. You can structurally "stitch" the cargobays with struts and still keep it clean and asthetically pleasing. Nodes will never fully support large and awkward payloads. Struts allow us as players add additional nodes for stability to builds.

To add to that, I'd rather keep overall part counts as low as possible per mod. Duplicate parts just eats into memory.

Yeah, that's true, particularly as doubled cargo and fuel sections will probably add at least two (and possibly up to four) 2048x2048 textures. I will do it eventually, but not for first release.

[shael6636]

Nert,

Any plans to make a cargo bay with a bottom opening cargo hatch as well? Or modify the existing cargo bay so you can have both top and bottom opening hatches.

Would love to fly somewhere land vertically and then drop out a rover aka TB2

[Neutrinovore]

Nert,

Any plans to make a cargo bay with a bottom opening cargo hatch as well? Or modify the existing cargo bay so you can have both top and bottom opening hatches.

Would love to fly somewhere land vertically and then drop out a rover aka TB2

As a slight modification of this idea, I'd like to see (in addition to the above features) a drop ramp like the one from Aliens on the dropships. The ramp drops down on four hydraulic rams, but the rear ones don't extend as much as the front ones, giving an angled ramp to drive on and off of. Just an idea.

[Nertea]

Nert,

Any plans to make a cargo bay with a bottom opening cargo hatch as well? Or modify the existing cargo bay so you can have both top and bottom opening hatches.

Would love to fly somewhere land vertically and then drop out a rover aka TB2

Yes

Anyways, it's late so there's probably a bug or two. But I'll release this anyways, I'll be too busy to work on it for a few days so might as well let you all play around with it:

Prerelease 3

• Can no longer attach parts to cargo bay doors
  
• Some minor tweaking of part masses
  
• Textured Mk4 blunt nose (now called the Mk4 "Iguana" Adapter)
  
• Remodeled and textured Mk4 Tail Cargo Bay
  
• New part: Mk4 "Armadillo" Adapter (sharp nose cone)
  
• New part: Mk4 Crew Cabin (note: hatches untested, EVA at own risk)
  
• New part: Mk4 Drone Core/Reaction Wheel
  

That actually concludes my first planned list. Time to tackle the cockpit internals...

Edited November 14, 2014 by Nertea

[mrmcp1]

Thanks for the new prerelease, I have just tried out the tail piece and its a great improvement over the last one, its now much easier to get rovers in and out and all the new parts that you have added are good additions. Thanks again

[Voculus]

Anyone having any luck getting FAR to behave correctly with the cargo bays?

Awesome new cargo ramp, by the way, Nert!

[blowfish]

Anyone having any luck getting FAR to behave correctly with the cargo bays?

Awesome new cargo ramp, by the way, Nert!

I think the FAR cfg might be not quite correct in this version. You could try replacing it with this:

@PART[mk4nose]:NEEDS[FerramAerospaceResearch|NEAR]:Final
{
@maximum_drag = 0
@minimum_drag = 0
@angularDrag = 0
}
@PART[mk4cargo-1]:NEEDS[FerramAerospaceResearch|NEAR]:Final
{
@maximum_drag = 0
@minimum_drag = 0
@angularDrag = 0
!MODULE[ModuleLiftingSurface] {}
}
@PART[mk4cargo-tail-1]:NEEDS[FerramAerospaceResearch|NEAR]:Final
{
@maximum_drag = 0
@minimum_drag = 0
@angularDrag = 0
}
@PART[mk4cockpit]:NEEDS[FerramAerospaceResearch|NEAR]:Final
{
@maximum_drag = 0
@minimum_drag = 0
@angularDrag = 0
!MODULE[ModuleLiftingSurface] {}
}
@PART[mk4crew-1]:NEEDS[FerramAerospaceResearch|NEAR]:Final
{
@maximum_drag = 0
@minimum_drag = 0
@angularDrag = 0
}
@PART[mk4drone-1]:NEEDS[FerramAerospaceResearch|NEAR]:Final
{
@maximum_drag = 0
@minimum_drag = 0
@angularDrag = 0
}
@PART[mk4adapter-1]:NEEDS[FerramAerospaceResearch|NEAR]:Final
{
@maximum_drag = 0
@minimum_drag = 0
@angularDrag = 0
!MODULE[ModuleLiftingSurface] {}
}
@PART[mk4adapter-2]:NEEDS[FerramAerospaceResearch|NEAR]:Final
{
@maximum_drag = 0
@minimum_drag = 0
@angularDrag = 0
!MODULE[ModuleLiftingSurface] {}
}
@PART[mk4fuselage-1]:NEEDS[FerramAerospaceResearch|NEAR]:Final
{
@maximum_drag = 0
@minimum_drag = 0
@angularDrag = 0
!MODULE[ModuleLiftingSurface] {}
}
@PART[mk4fuselage-lfo-1]:NEEDS[FerramAerospaceResearch|NEAR]:Final
{
@maximum_drag = 0
@minimum_drag = 0
@angularDrag = 0
!MODULE[ModuleLiftingSurface] {}
}
@PART[mk4mono-1]:NEEDS[FerramAerospaceResearch|NEAR]:Final
{
@maximum_drag = 0
@minimum_drag = 0
@angularDrag = 0
!MODULE[ModuleLiftingSurface] {}
}
@PART[mk4tail-1]:NEEDS[FerramAerospaceResearch|NEAR]:Final
{
@maximum_drag = 0
@minimum_drag = 0
@angularDrag = 0
!MODULE[ModuleLiftingSurface] {}
}
@PART[mk4nose-docking]:NEEDS[FerramAerospaceResearch|NEAR]:Final
{
@maximum_drag = 0
@minimum_drag = 0
@angularDrag = 0
}

[Nertea]

Anyone having any luck getting FAR to behave correctly with the cargo bays?

Awesome new cargo ramp, by the way, Nert!

Someone mentioned that opening and closing the bays should fix the drag.