[WIP] MSI's Infernal Robotics - Model Rework (v02 Pre-Release Beta)

[ZodiusInfuser]

It is not possible to magnetically grasp to the same craft, you first need to undock the arm. Watch Das's video: https://www.twitch.tv/dasvaldez/v/29085765

As for your issues with the Docking Port Jr, I am not sure what the weakness could be caused by.

[V8jester]

Actually.... just had a thought. If you built an arm like this.

Station, dockingport, probe core and then all IR components with built in batteries / power on the arm.

And at the opposite end (grabbing end) of the arm a KIS magnet of sorts. You could disconnect the arm from the station, immediately grabbing the station with the magnet. The arm would now be controlled as a seperat craft attached to the station only by the KIS magnet (dependent on built in power on arm). Position the "base" docking port to another port on the station. Dock to said port and release KIS magnet. Flow of electricity would never be reversed through all the IR components..... this might actually work

[ZodiusInfuser]

4 minutes ago, V8jester said:

Actually.... just had a thought. If you built an arm like this.

Station, dockingport, probe core and then all IR components with built in batteries / power on the arm.

And at the opposite end (grabbing end) of the arm a KIS magnet of sorts. You could disconnect the arm from the station, immediately grabbing the station with the magnet. The arm would now be controlled as a seperat craft attached to the station only by the KIS magnet (dependent on built in power on arm). Position the "base" docking port to another port on the station. Dock to said port and release KIS magnet. Flow of electricity would never be reversed through all the IR components..... this might actually work

That's exactly what Das's video I linked to demonstrates, so it does indeed work

[V8jester]

Just now, ZodiusInfuser said:

That's exactly what Das's video I linked to demonstrates, so it does indeed work

Sorry, it's kinda loud where I am right now  I could kinda see but I gave up since I couldn't hear it. So yeah...... there it is.

Thanks Zodius.

[ZodiusInfuser]

On 05/10/2016 at 3:28 AM, V8jester said:

Sorry, it's kinda loud where I am right now  I could kinda see but I gave up since I couldn't hear it. So yeah...... there it is.

Thanks Zodius.

You shouldn't be checking the KSP forum in a nightclub then  (j/k)

On an unrelated note, had time to finish off the models and UVs for the three electric propeller parts I started so very long ago. Here's how they look in-game:

Still need to figure out how to get them working. I would like the to have an instant throttle response, like rocket engines, but not have the blades just stop spinning when at zero throttle. I aim thinking have throttle tied to blade pitch, and thrust being a result of whatever RPM the engine it at and the pitch. Hopefully there are things in Firespitter that will allow me to do this. Any suggestions on this would be greatly appreciated!

[kcs123]

Already replied in firespitter thread. I think your first stop should be KAX mod. My recall on this topic is slightly blured it was a long time ago when I spot it, but IIRC what KAX mod does to parts is that you have one kind of mesh on stoped engines with proper blades and everything like in your pictutre above. Propelers in this mode still rotates/move but they don't provide any thrust.

What happens when you turn on engines is that propeler part of mesh is transformed to different mesh and texture type. Blured disk type of mesh, with different collider, texture and probably some other stuff too.

While in transformed "blured" disk mod, electrical engines are highly responsive to throttle input, making it ideal choice for small drones and similar crafts. You could probably be able to use most of config values from KAX engines and modify it slightly, but you would probably need to include mentioned mesh transform from regular propeler to blured propeler too, somehow.

I hope it will help you to get on right track with it.

[LionGuy]

Hello i have a question i cant find the wheels.I remember after reading a comment that they were taken out because they use kerbal foundries .If this is right could some one just post a separate link for the wheels (I have kerbal foundries).

[ZodiusInfuser]

11 hours ago, LionGuy said:

Hello i have a question i cant find the wheels.I remember after reading a comment that they were taken out because they use kerbal foundries .If this is right could some one just post a separate link for the wheels (I have kerbal foundries).

You are mistaken, the wheels do not use Kerbal Foundries (the mecanums do though). The reason the wheels are missing from the downloads is because they were made before KSP 1.1's new wheel physics was introduced, and as such do not work. At the time I was in the final months of my PhD thesis so did not have time to update them. Now with 1.2 on the horizon, it seems better for me to wait until after the release before revisiting them. This is why I am currently exploring unfinished parts.

[LionGuy]

Ok thanks good luck on your thesis.

 

[Voodoo8648]

13 hours ago, ZodiusInfuser said:

You are mistaken, the wheels do not use Kerbal Foundries (the mecanums do though). The reason the wheels are missing from the downloads is because they were made before KSP 1.1's new wheel physics was introduced, and as such do not work. At the time I was in the final months of my PhD thesis so did not have time to update them. Now with 1.2 on the horizon, it seems better for me to wait until after the release before revisiting them. This is why I am currently exploring unfinished parts.

Is there any chance of updating the robot wheels to work with 1.1.3 as some of us won't be upgrading to 1.2?

 

Either way, thanks for what you do

[ZodiusInfuser]

26 minutes ago, Voodoo8648 said:

Is there any chance of updating the robot wheels to work with 1.1.3 as some of us won't be upgrading to 1.2?

Unless the update process is identical for both versions of the game, then it would be unlikely.

[ZodiusInfuser]

One down, two to go:

Changed the colouring a bit since the last image, as the blades didn't contrast enough with the housing. The craft you see uses MechJeb's Translatron to maintain height, with rotatrons being used to vector the thrust for forward / backward motion. I will hopefully get the other two engines done tomorrow, then play about with balancing.

Edit: If anyone knows of good places to get quadcopter / helicopter / general engine sounds from, please let me know.

Edited October 8, 2016 by ZodiusInfuser

[kcs123]

For sounds try to look at KRX thread. They were recently searching/editing sounds for helicopters and other propelers. @Eskandare, might get you more info about it.
I'm just a messanger here.

[V8jester]

Looking good Zodius!

[ZodiusInfuser]

46 minutes ago, V8jester said:

Looking good Zodius!

Thanks! I've got all three propellers in game now. Considering I have never made engines for the game before, would anyone be interested in helping me balance them? If so, send me a PM and I'll link you to the parts.

Btw, here's how the small and large props look in game:

Edited October 8, 2016 by ZodiusInfuser

[Mekan1k]

7 hours ago, ZodiusInfuser said:

Thanks! I've got all three propellers in game now. Considering I have never made engines for the game before, would anyone be interested in helping me balance them? If so, send me a PM and I'll link you to the parts.

Btw, here's how the small and large props look in game:

I would be interested... I also just want to use the parts.  I love tiny props. Especially ones that can be used to build tiny drones. Like that one^

[Pigzippa47]

Thanks Zodius and V8 for the tip! I watched the compete video.

Since I was testing it landed (with Kerbin gravity), i didn't consider dedocking it before trying the magnet. With gravity hacked, the arm seems to operate as DasValdez demonstrated. 

Kerbin gravity interfered with the magnet's ability to grab for some reason and pulls the arm down and off the station regardless of magnetic power. 

So what I'd like to know is why gravity affects the magnet, and apparently the docking ports so profoundly. Example: the docking port node to the station cannot support the extended arm's weight under kerbin gravity. Very odd.

Edited October 10, 2016 by Pigzippa47

[V8jester]

7 hours ago, Pigzippa47 said:

Thanks Zodius and V8 for the tip! I watched the compete video.

Since I was testing it landed (with Kerbin gravity), i didn't consider dedocking it before trying the magnet. With gravity hacked, the arm seems to operate as DasValdez demonstrated. 

Kerbin gravity interfered with the magnet's ability to grab for some reason and pulls the arm down and off the station regardless of magnetic power. 

So what I'd like to know is why gravity affects the magnet, and apparently the docking ports so profoundly. Example: the docking port node to the station cannot support the extended arm's weight under kerbin gravity. Very odd.

I have been successful in undocking / grabbing with a magnet. (I modified an RKE LEE to have a KAS magnet module) basically the same thing as the Rework magnet Zodius made. The trick is to clip the magnet just enough into the part you wish to attach to before the arm is undocked. Also make sure there is enough electric power or else the magnet will just turn off. The issue with zero gravity is if you clip too much before undocking the oposite end. It will catipult the arm into space.

[Mekan1k]

Since I am testing, Here are some pics! This is the Ducted Flier, a test vehicle with 4 ducted fans, all powered by a reactor. It's rather heavy, but comfortably flies at 25 18 kilometers. (warning: may break the sound barrier if glared at)

Takeoff configuration:

Taking off is smooth and slow:

The cruising configuration:

No airbrakes- because this thing is slow enough already. To land, just turn off the engines and glide down... Or hover down. I can't do that, but someone might be able to.

Note for Zodius: I don't think ducted fans are supposed to be able to push something past the sound barrier. You may want to set a steep thrust dropoff as the craft approaches 300 m/s- since this thing can reach 800 m/s, it's a bit overpowered still.

 

 

Edited October 10, 2016 by Mekan1k

[V8jester]

17 minutes ago, Mekan1k said:

....

Note for Zodius: I don't think ducted fans are supposed to be able to push something past the sound barrier. You may want to set a steep thrust dropoff as the craft approaches 300 m/s- since this thing can reach 800 m/s, it's a bit overpowered still.

I think it's due to the atmosphere curves more than anything. He and I were discussing that but neither of us had had any issues yet. What was the functional  ceiling you found with the engines thus far?

[Mekan1k]

6 minutes ago, V8jester said:

I think it's due to the atmosphere curves more than anything. He and I were discussing that but neither of us had had any issues yet. What was the functional  ceiling you found with the engines thus far?

38.7 km. At 1.35 km/s.

Edited October 10, 2016 by Mekan1k

[ZodiusInfuser]

1 hour ago, Mekan1k said:

Note for Zodius: I don't think ducted fans are supposed to be able to push something past the sound barrier. You may want to set a steep thrust dropoff as the craft approaches 300 m/s- since this thing can reach 800 m/s, it's a bit overpowered still.

Was thinking about that since our last PM. Will change it so they remain at max at lower speeds (sub 100?) then drop off to zero at 300. That would help distinguish these from propellers in other mods, which are intended more for flying than hovering.

[ZodiusInfuser]

Been as though Mekan1k has posted pictures of his craft, it's only fair that I join in

These both fly without infinite fuel / ec (as was used in my earlier images), but the fuel tanks aren't full. As you may be able to tell, each ducted fan pretty much requires a large fuel cell each to power them.

[V8jester]

Jumping on the band wagon with all the cool kids

This one needed Infinite fuel turned on as it was built super small and has a fair amount of IR components for working doors, folding rotors and a retractible rescue winch.

[kcs123]

15 hours ago, Mekan1k said:

38.7 km. At 1.35 km/s.

That is way too high and too fast for those engines. I think that both curves should be nerfed, for atmosphere/thrust loss and speed/thrust loss (sound barier).

After all, propelers need some more dense air to be able to provide any thrust. At 38.7 km air is so thin that at low rotation those propeler could get as much as thrust as like craft is in vacuum.

Try to nerf down velocity/thrust drop first than fine tune engines with atmosphere curve. I don't think it should be possible to reach much more than 10-12 km and 0.8 mach in very best occasion.

I'm sorry that I don't have much time for testing in latest days to help you further with this.