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[0.24] Spaceplane Plus 1.3

Porkjet

By Porkjet
in KSP1 Mod Releases

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jfull

jfull

Posted
Posted
Feels a lot like a B9 competitor. In the current release, this doesn't seem to offer much B9 doesn't other than Mk2 cargo bays and inline docking ports; can I recommend trying to find some sort of really convenient niche for spaceplanes that B9 doesn't fill and working on that?

I think that what sets this apart from B9 is that its much smaller and cleaner.

B9 has a lot of great stuff for planes, but it's waaaay too big

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Tristavius

Tristavius

Posted
Posted
B9 hasn't "stopped being updated". There's an update in the works in fact.

On that's good to here, I loved B9 but stopped using a fair while ago. I tend to play long-running games (2 in the 15 months I've been playing) and I'm always very cautious when using modded parts, and even more cautious when a mod falls behind on the updates (even if it still technically works). Just having the author release a new minor patch just saying 'confirmed compatibility with new KSP patch' quickly after the release makes you feel confident that it is supported and will continue to be so. I stopped even tracking B9 after there was a few months of it still reading as the previous patch version but would welcome it's return whole heartedly.

Mind you, a few more parts in this pack and I may not need it any more!

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RidingTheFlow

RidingTheFlow

Posted
Posted (edited)

B9 is good pack, but it just too big, and it has many many redundant part which has same functionality gamewise, just different look. I would keep it, but, 3GB 32bit memory limit, grr... Hence it helps to choose from sveral small packs I like, than using one humongous pack which tries to have everything in it.

This pack is much nicer, since it adapts "add only mk2 parts which necessary in addition to stock" philosophy (though I am not sure why there so many slightly different wings... - personally I'd just use procedural wing for everything)

Also I like it more than B9 in functionality - all parts have body lift (I dont use FAR), and all adapters carry fuel, so not just wasted weight for aesthetics. Cargo bays also a lot better structured than B9's mk2s

Edited by RidingTheFlow
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CaptRobau

CaptRobau

Posted
Posted (edited)

I've been using this mod a lot since all those new wing parts were added. The stock wings are so limited and ugly. I have a few part suggestions though. Do with them what you will:

Air brakes - Air brakes are some very important control surfaces for a lot of real and planned airplane/spaceplane designs. Stock lacks them and other mod ones (like B9) don't fit the stock style. Ideally there'd be an inline one (example) and a radial one (example, example).

Half-width Elevon 1 - You can't fit an elevon on a Wing Strake, as they are too wide. A half-width version of the Elevon 1 would fix that and make Wing Strakes more useful.

Smaller Wing Connectors - Smaller versions of the various wing connector parts would work great as non-movable canards, tail booms and other small wing types.

Better Tailplanes/Foreplanes/Winglets - The various moving and non-moving tails/canards in stock look awful and are not designed to fit together.

Edited by CaptRobau
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CaptainBlue

CaptainBlue

Posted
Posted
I really like this mod. Here's a few shots of my first creation. Super happy with it.

*snip*

Wow, if you angle the wings a little, it will really look like the Normandy SR1!

( lol, I'm going to steal your design :P )

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Porkjet

Porkjet

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About B9 and SP+:

I'm not trying to make a B9 "competitor". This is just my personal vision of a spaceplane parts pack. After over 800 hours of KSP and mostly building spaceplanes and once the decision was made, I got a quite clear idea of where i wanted to go with this pack. Being a spaceplane addon, Its only natural that there are overlaps with B9. I often look at B9 parts for inspiration, they are very cool and there's much to learn from them. When I'm not sure how to depict something, I look at how B9 does it and then try to do it my way. Style wise SP+ goes more by the Space Shuttle looks, just like the few stock plane parts do, which is a fortunate situation for me, I make the parts I want and with just a few tweaks they happen to be somewhat stockalike.

About proc wings:

Not everyones cup of tea. They have some drawbacks like massive texture stretching and minor bugginess and can sometimes be a bit difficult to work with. Procedural Dynamics gets around the texture stretching by using simple mostly flat colored textures where the stretching is less obvious. I decided to try with ordinary modular wings, and it seems to work pretty well, at least for delta wing type of planes. They are also nice if you want to cover fuselages and such. However, it's currently difficult to make good looking boeing-like wings and such, so its a bit ristrictive.

Also it adds a lot more parts of course, which in this case is OK i think since the aerodynamics folder in KSP is quite empty, also all the wings use the same texture so they are RAM efficient.

So, proc wings and modular wings, both have strength and weaknesses. I've been playing with the thought of making proc wings for Sp+ for a while and might do it so people can choose which they prefer (provided I'll figure out how)

I've been using this mod a lot since all those new wing parts were added. The stock wings are so limited and ugly. I have a few part suggestions though. Do with them what you will:

Air brakes - Air brakes are some very important control surfaces for a lot of real and planned airplane/spaceplane designs. Stock lacks them and other mod ones (like B9) don't fit the stock style. Ideally there'd be an inline one (example) and a radial one (example, example).

Half-width Elevon 1 - You can't fit an elevon on a Wing Strake, as they are too wide. A half-width version of the Elevon 1 would fix that and make Wing Strakes more useful.

Smaller Wing Connectors - Smaller versions of the various wing connector parts would work great as non-movable canards, tail booms and other small wing types.

Better Tailplanes/Foreplanes/Winglets - The various moving and non-moving tails/canards in stock look awful and are not designed to fit together.

Good suggestions. Air brakes - yes, had them in mind for a while now. Since we're already using Firespitter Plugin it will be easy to make them.

Half-width Elevon - I know what you mean there, usually i've just sqeezed the normal elevon into other parts but that's not optimal.

Smaller Wing Connectors - There is one that's quite small, not small enough?

Better Canard things - I'm thinking a space shuttle type rudder would be cool and maybe some others, but also the small delta wings plus an elevon work good as canards right now.

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CaptRobau

CaptRobau

Posted
Posted
Smaller Wing Connectors - There is one that's quite small, not small enough?

The smallest rectangular wings are just about the size of this planes main wings, which for some things is pretty big. Something smaller, i.e. the size of the tailboom at the back of that plane is something what I'd like to see. The wings are designed for spaceplanes I know, but because they look so good I also use them for a lot of normal aircraft.

800px-Vampire_t11_wz507_g-vtii_cotswoldairshow_2010_arp.jpg

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Porkjet

Porkjet

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Ah ok I see what you mean now. And yea, this mod is for spaceplanes specifically, and we have great mods for airplanes like Firespitter and KAX, so I'm not too worried if you can't build propeller planes with SP+, however there or allways overlaps, like the plane you posted there, I could totally see those wings on a spaceplane, just look at the Orion. (Also those intakes are dope!)

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TheSaint

TheSaint

Posted
Posted (edited)
Wow, if you angle the wings a little, it will really look like the Normandy SR1!

( lol, I'm going to steal your design :P )

Steal away. Here's the craft file. It uses some parts from B9, so you'll need that installed as well.

Had to google the ship you were talking about, don't play Mass Effect. When I designed it I was thinking more of a mashup of Dynasoar and an SR71 with a passenger cabin. I originally had stub wings between the fuselage and the engine nacelles, but that had too much flex. This works much better.

Edited by TheSaint
Changed download link
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Immabed

Immabed

Posted
Posted

It was asked before, but is there deadly reentry support, or planned support? I know that for me it makes all the difference in whether I use it or not.

As for the mod, I have been considering installing b9 because many of the stock plane/spaceplane parts aren't very good, and because I like cargo bays, but these parts do most of what I'd want with a fantastic stockalike (but much better) style. If it has DR support I'll be installing right away, and no matter what I'll be watching this to see how it progresses, because this is a part mod I am honestly excited about.

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DevL

DevL

Posted
Posted

If you like me prefer the non-wing parts to not have lift and don't use FAR, use this config with ModuleManager.

@PART[mk2Cockpit_Standard]:Final

{

@module = Part

!dragCoeff

!deflectionLiftCoeff

}

@PART[mk2Cockpit_Inline]:Final

{

@module = Part

!dragCoeff

!deflectionLiftCoeff

}

@PART[mk2CrewCabin]:Final

{

@module = Part

!dragCoeff

!deflectionLiftCoeff

}

@PART[mk2_1m_Adapter]:Final

{

@module = Part

!dragCoeff

!deflectionLiftCoeff

}

@PART[mk2_1m_AdapterLong]:Final

{

@module = Part

!dragCoeff

!deflectionLiftCoeff

}

@PART[mk2_1m_Bicoupler]:Final

{

@module = Part

!dragCoeff

!deflectionLiftCoeff

}

@PART[mk2CargoBayS]:Final

{

@module = Part

!dragCoeff

!deflectionLiftCoeff

}

@PART[mk2CargoBayL]:Final

{

@module = Part

!dragCoeff

!deflectionLiftCoeff

}

@PART[mk2Fuselage_L]:Final

{

@module = Part

!dragCoeff

!deflectionLiftCoeff

}

@PART[mk2Fuselage_LFO]:Final

{

@module = Part

!dragCoeff

!deflectionLiftCoeff

}

@PART[mk2Fuselage_Short_L]:Final

{

@module = Part

!dragCoeff

!deflectionLiftCoeff

}

@PART[mk2Fuselage_Short_LFO]:Final

{

@module = Part

!dragCoeff

!deflectionLiftCoeff

}

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Woodstar

Woodstar

Posted
Posted
Can we have installation instructions for both the mod and the firespitter plugin, The wings don't generate any lift for me? :(

WOW does NO ONE read? If you do not use FAR, you have to remove the FAR ModuleManager cfg from the Spaceplane Plus folder. That's why you have no lift.

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BudgetHedgehog

BudgetHedgehog

Posted
Posted

Hooray! After a lot of testing and a lot fo help and advice, I made my first possibly usable plane, thanks to SP+! I'm so happy and excited to try it out! Although this was an empty test flight, it seemed stable enough to be able to cope with with a little bit of cargo. Now I just need to put a ladder on it so I can get in it :P

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