[1.12] Extraplanetary Launchpads v6.99.3

[taniwha]

Yeah, I need to do up some "docs" (even an explanatory vid, though %thHorseman did some nice demonstrations in his series), but first I need to get the next version out :/

[magnemoe]

Any way to turn on progressive builds?

You get a question if progressive builds or not then starting a new game and I must have checked this wrong.

About to start a large construction project and need progresive builds.

[taniwha]

magnemoe: go into your persistence.sfs, find ExSettings and set TimedBuilds to True. Or you can quicksave, edit the quicksave.sfs, and then quickload. Either way, make a backup first in case something goes wrong in the editing (just good practice).

[magnemoe]

magnemoe: go into your persistence.sfs, find ExSettings and set TimedBuilds to True. Or you can quicksave, edit the quicksave.sfs, and then quickload. Either way, make a backup first in case something goes wrong in the editing (just good practice).

Thanks, worked like a charm.

[NicoH]

Just installed the mod and experimented with some things. Just to get this right:

When I have only installed this mod, metall, ore, smelter, drills and ore scanners are completly useless, unless kethane mod is installed, right?

So without kethane mod I can only place a stations into orbit or on the mün and have to supply it with rocket parts from KSC, right?

[Kaa253]

Just installed the mod and experimented with some things. Just to get this right:

When I have only installed this mod, metall, ore, smelter, drills and ore scanners are completly useless, unless kethane mod is installed, right?

So without kethane mod I can only place a stations into orbit or on the mün and have to supply it with rocket parts from KSC, right?

Absolutely correct.

[Snoman314]

Snoman314: ah, one thing you can do is add an internal to the part. It will have issues, but...

(Module Manager)

@PART[exLaunchPad2] {
    INTERNAL {
      name = landerCabinInternals
    }
}

So. Turns out that didn't work. The EVA and IVA buttons appear in the ortrait on the bottom right, but when I went to EVA, it told me that there was no crew hatch. In the end, I figured out how to edit my persistence file to put the Kerbals into a different craft.

[Snoman314]

Absolutely correct.

Not quite. I think ore can still be converted to metal, and metal can definitely still be converted to Rocketparts. Drills and scanners will be useless though.

I find it a lot easier to boost a small (but heavy) container of metal than a very large (for the same mass) container of rocketparts.

[taniwha]

So. Turns out that didn't work. The EVA and IVA buttons appear in the ortrait on the bottom right, but when I went to EVA, it told me that there was no crew hatch. In the end, I figured out how to edit my persistence file to put the Kerbals into a different craft.

Ah, drat, forgot that a hatch is necessary even with the button. I'll see what I can do, but no promises as KSP has some funky bugs wrt hatch placement.

Not quite. I think ore can still be converted to metal, and metal can definitely still be converted to Rocketparts. Drills and scanners will be useless though.

I find it a lot easier to boost a small (but heavy) container of metal than a very large (for the same mass) container of rocketparts.

The only conversion that can be done without Kethane installed is ship to RocketParts and RocketParts to ship. Ore -> Metal and Metal -> RocketParts rely on KethaneConverter.

[Hades]

There's a bug that happens when an ExWorkshop module gets added to a pod with ModuleEngines.. It causes it to fire upon launch. Can be avoided by editing the first line of conditions in EL_MM.cfg file, for example:

@PART[*]:HAS[@MODULE[ModuleCommand],!MODULE[ExWorkshop],!MODULE[ModuleEngines]]

Personally experienced it with HGR SoyJuice pod, which also uses a Landertron module. That may or may not have an effect, though I recall the same thing happening with the Taurus pod, which doesn't use Landertron.

Took me a while to figure out the cause

[mkire]

The pod-workshops can make rocket parts, right?

[taniwha]

No, only the big workshop or the tower thing in command pods. Where are you going to put that machine shop in a pod?

[mkire]

drat. I'm playing alternis kerbol and Bop's got a jucy 8 million ore deposit, but there's no way i can land a 15+ ton object with the tech i have now, and forget about launching the thing.

[Thomas988]

Can anyone help me get this mod working? There aren't any up-to-date tutorials on this mod, so I'm utterly confused on how to get an orbital construction started.

Also, another question. in the picture below, I don't seem to have the part I've outlined in a red box. Where is it in the parts, and is necessary to building spacecraft?

[Starstrider42]

Can anyone help me get this mod working? There aren't any up-to-date tutorials on this mod, so I'm utterly confused on how to get an orbital construction started.

Also, another question. in the picture below, I don't seem to have the part I've outlined in a red box. Where is it in the parts, and is necessary to building spacecraft?

http://i.imgur.com/Sp7sYHH.png

I don't recognize that part, but you don't need it.

To build, you need three things:

• Either the Orbital Dock, one of the two Launchpads, or the Runway (they differ only in theme, any of them can build any ship in any situation). All except the Orbital Dock must be unfolded with the right-click menu.
  
• An on-board supply of RocketParts. You don't need the full supply at once, so you can top it up as construction proceeds.
  
• A crew of reasonably smart kerbals. Kerbals will get the most work done if they're in the blue Workshop part (not the Kerbal Rocket Workshop, that part's obsolete), followed by the science lab, hitchhiker, and any command pods. Put your smart kerbals where they will do the most good (e.g. the workshop) and your stupid kerbals where they will do the least harm (e.g. command pods). You can right-click on any crewed part and see its "efficiency" to see how good your Kerbal placement is. The higher your ship's total efficiency, the faster you build.

To build, right-click on your builder part (e.g. the orbital dock), open the construction window, then pick the desired ship from the VAB, SPH, or subassembly lists. You'll be given the expected resource costs for the ship. Only the RocketParts cost matters at first. Once the ship's hull is finished, the same window will pop up and you can choose to transfer resources such as fuel.

That should be enough to get you started.

If you have Kethane installed, you can also manufacture RocketParts on site. This is a bit more involved:

• The Orbital Mass Detector and Magnetometer can identify ore deposits from orbit. See Kethane for instructions on how to do orbital surveys.
  
• A ship with an Auger can mine ore if it lands on a deposit. This works much like the Kethane drills.
  
• Any of the smelter parts can convert ore (once on board) into metal. Metal is the densest EL resource, so it's the most efficient to transport.
  
• If you don't like mining, you can also fly ships into a recycling bin to convert them into metal. The recycling bin must be activated from the right-click menu, to keep it from voraciously devouring things it shouldn't.
  
• The Workshop can convert metal into RocketParts, which you can use as above.
  

Hope that helps.

Edited June 26, 2014 by Starstrider42
Clarified how to use builders

[Donziboy2]

Can anyone help me get this mod working? There aren't any up-to-date tutorials on this mod, so I'm utterly confused on how to get an orbital construction started.

Also, another question. in the picture below, I don't seem to have the part I've outlined in a red box. Where is it in the parts, and is necessary to building spacecraft?

http://i.imgur.com/Sp7sYHH.png

Its from the Spherical and Toroidal Tank Pack

[taniwha]

Starstrider42: nice writeup. I took the liberty of linking it from the front page.

I'd do a video tutorial (series?), but I'm currently working on something that will hopefully significantly alter EL's current play (an experience system for improving kerbal productivity). I don't see much point in putting the work into videos while working on such changes .

[Probus]

Built a test rocket to see how EL works and now I have Jeb and Bob stuck in the workshop with no crew compartments to transfer to and now way (that I can see) to EVA. HELP. What can I do? Can someone show me what to edit in the persistent file, or is there an easier way?

[Superfluous J]

Built a test rocket to see how EL works and now I have Jeb and Bob stuck in the workshop with no crew compartments to transfer to and now way (that I can see) to EVA. HELP. What can I do? Can someone show me what to edit in the persistent file, or is there an easier way?

The door of the pod has a very small area where you can click it to open the crew contents. Zoom in really close and hover all over and you'll find it.

[Vladthemad]

Greetings all! Can anyone help me with converting a standard docking port sr. into an orbital construction dock? I was able to get it to work, but upon completion of the ship I think it shot down through the entire rig I had on the KSP launch pad for testing. It threw my build rig into the air, the built ship appeared below it, and it all came crashing down.

[taniwha]

Vladthemad: Heh, a modified docking port sr on the truss adaptor was what inspired the current orbital dock design. That's what I used for testing EL's orbital construction before I made the current part.

Just what did you try to build? I've done a lot of testing on the launchpad and the only time I've had trouble in recent versions is when the built vessel had launch clamps.

[Crimor]

Is it supposed to take insanely long to build stuff(at least in orbit)? like 0.001% a second.

[BigD145]

Is it supposed to take insanely long to build stuff(at least in orbit)? like 0.001% a second.

If your Kerbals are stupid, yes. If they are less stupid then also yes but less so.

[Vladthemad]

Vladthemad: Heh, a modified docking port sr on the truss adaptor was what inspired the current orbital dock design. That's what I used for testing EL's orbital construction before I made the current part.

Just what did you try to build? I've done a lot of testing on the launchpad and the only time I've had trouble in recent versions is when the built vessel had launch clamps.

Hey Taniwa, thanks for the quick reply. In an effort to come up with a more stock a like solution for personal use, I waded through the config files for the docking port sr. and original orbital dock provided with your mod, and converted a copy of the docking port sr. into what a best guess told me was correct. Ha! The only real difference I saw was the mounting nodes, some stuff after the model, and the additional module on the orbital dock. At worst I thought whatever I built would appear away from the docking port sr because the part is shorter.

I then took two full rocket part containers stacked on top of eachother, added a large remote guidence unit on top of that, and then added the modifed docking port sr. on top of that. Then I think I just grabbed the mechjeb eyeball pod and saved it as a test. Easiest thing I could quickly think of, as it's pretty much an all inclusive probe...doesn't need anything added, so I wouldn't need to build a whole ship. Went to the launch pad, and when I built the mechjeb pod the entire structure went shooting up and the mechjeb pod appeared below it on it's side. Then everything came crashing back down on top of it.

As near as I can tell, from my extensive kerbal explosion experience, is that the part was pod appeared below or inside the modified docking port. That's my best guess, because it behaved as if a part was cliping through another part on two seperate ships.

[taniwha]

Oh, right, I forgot one thing about the docking port sr: it has no reference node for where to place the vessel (worse, if you've specified one via SpawnTransform, EL won't find it and bad things will happen), so EL uses the part's local orgin... which is inside the sr. Your average ship will spawn clipped into the sr and we all can guess what kind of news that spells .

You need to set SpawnHeightOffset (and not set SpawnTransform) in the ExLaunchPad MODULE node. I don't remember the exact value for a sr, but I think even 0.5 will put the lowest point of the spawned vessel above the sr.

I figured a stockish look was why you were fiddling with a dockotron sr as an orbital dock .