lo-fi Posted August 20, 2014 Author Share Posted August 20, 2014 Just lighting up KSC with enough lights to rival the sun The APU function is so very cool, lights on battery drain increases apu speeds up, and recharges the battery how cool is that!! so glad you left the sound, it just adds to the coolness, damn fine job that man, carry on!Ah, excellent!! I have to admit, I'm really proud of the auto throttle mode. Running those twin control loops for battery state and usage took some doing, but was so worth all the work I didn't have time to test more than one APU on a vessel, that's something I need to do before releasing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gaalidas Posted August 20, 2014 Share Posted August 20, 2014 I feel like I've missed something here... what the heck is the APU now? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robotengineer Posted August 20, 2014 Share Posted August 20, 2014 I feel like I've missed something here... what the heck is the APU now?Same here. ^^ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
QuantumX Posted August 20, 2014 Share Posted August 20, 2014 Same here. ^^Me too :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gaalidas Posted August 20, 2014 Share Posted August 20, 2014 At least I have company. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lo-fi Posted August 20, 2014 Author Share Posted August 20, 2014 (edited) Haha! Sorry, I'm getting a little ahead of myself. Spanner made the fatal mistake of offering to help, so I challenged him to make an Auxiliary Power Unit. For those of you who don't know, it's a tiny little turbine fitted to aircraft and many other things that supplies electrical power when main engines are off, as well as the power to start them. Basically a self-contained, miniaturised, turbo-electric power plant. Perfect for powering those power hungry repulsors, along with many other things, you might say.... Our version runs off LF+O and a single unit provides enough power to supply four repulsors. I wrote a little plugin to control the throttle independently of the main throttle, so if you've got it in auto mode it spools up and down depending on the draw on the batteries. I'm working on a way to get it to auto switch to using intake air instead of oxidiser when in a suitable atmosphere, but not got there yet. It's very efficient as it is, though. Fuel has a far greater energy density than batteries, so you'll get far more mileage out of one of these than you will a big stack of batteries, and it will automatically adapt if you augment with solar, nuclear or engines with alternators. Target battery charge is 75 percent under automatic control, though this can be over-ridden and the throttles controlled manually.Video shortly, I'll release straight to alpha after a couple more tweaks Here it is, attached to my usual test rig: Edited August 20, 2014 by lo-fi Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gaalidas Posted August 21, 2014 Share Posted August 21, 2014 That sounds awesome. As for the intake-air thing, you might just work around that issue by adding a generator to the config that takes an input of intake-air and outputs oxidizer. I'm sure you'll figure out a better approach however. Actually, if you do figure out how to make it happen without user input, we might finally be able to upgrade those dual-mode engines to actually automatically switch modes in both directions ad advertized, instead of only switching to rocket mode when flaming out due to loosing the atmospheric intake of air. That always bugged me. You might have to package that bit of code as a separate plugin if you manage it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lo-fi Posted August 21, 2014 Author Share Posted August 21, 2014 the APU is in the dev repo at the moment, so grab from GitHub and have a go There are a few that have been made before, but they're either way out of date, not surface mount or don't auto throttle. I think the oxidiser production is the way I'm going to go, though I'm having a bit of trouble calculating how much oxidiser is currently being consumed to be able to set the conversion rate correctly. If it works, I'll gladly make a standalone plugin! I tried using the rapier as a base, but ModuleAlternator latches onto the first engine module it finds, so it does nothing in the other mode, which is frustrating.Interesting poll results. Not masses of votes yet, but rover bodies are currently up top. I have a few ideas for procedural, robust rover bodies designed specifically for the job. Had some good feedback on the fixed messabout parts in dev at the moment, so I think it's worth pursuing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darren9 Posted August 21, 2014 Share Posted August 21, 2014 It seems to burn fuel a bit faster than I expected, is the isp supposed to be 10? Also the 0.1 thrust is enough to move a small floating craft, can it be lower, or not have thrust? I probably thunk too much but a tail pipe that splits the exhaust and fires it in opposing directions could have zero thrust. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lo-fi Posted August 21, 2014 Author Share Posted August 21, 2014 (edited) Yeah, most of that is config tweaks, I'll have a play.Bifurcated nozzles... Might be cool Edit: Updated version up now. Less thrust, mode efficient. You're right, it was fuel hungry. The low ISP is because it develops low thrust, and consumes little fuel anyway. It doesn't take the generator into account, so this is a bit of a fudge. Edited August 21, 2014 by lo-fi Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gaalidas Posted August 21, 2014 Share Posted August 21, 2014 Huh, how did I miss that there was a poll posted? Shows how much I pay attention to details I guess. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lo-fi Posted August 21, 2014 Author Share Posted August 21, 2014 (edited) ^Results are turning out to be interesting!The tracks are in the lead currently, so I took some time to revisit the RBI stuff. The only model I have that isn't dual tracked is the set you could drive upside down on, so that's what I worked on... I'm really pleased to say they worked perfectly first time with my plugin. I just rigged in Unity, configured the .cfg and bang! There it was, working beautifully! Almost ready for release, couple of bits of tidying to do, but I'm tired and sure I missed something. I always found these the most useful out of the RBI set anyway, so I'm not too fussed about not having the smaller models. Edited August 21, 2014 by lo-fi Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Haifi Posted August 21, 2014 Share Posted August 21, 2014 Hey mateI loved the RBI tracks, and im glad you picked them up. As far as i get what you have done with your alpha tracks, you need a lot of colliders. I guess thats why the old RBI models dont work anymore, correct? IF you manage to make some more tracks, id love to have some like the pyramidal ones and the heavy crawler tracks again. Tested your alpha tracks thoroughly, so far they worked pretty good.The only rig i have problems with is this one: The part with the lander can attached is losing its orientation sometimes when i load the craft, the other three quads go forward and all 4 tracks on the front left go backward... Its a bit weird, because its not always this way, next time i load it it can be normal again. Not a big problem, because i can rotate all quads seperately on the craft, but strange nontheless. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AtomicRho Posted August 22, 2014 Share Posted August 22, 2014 So if you're going to follow the polls and start work on rover bodies maybe you should make some for different environments? Like a remake-rovemate that has buoyancy or some kind of deployable ballasts for landing in oceans, Eve being the obvious place for its use. Another idea could be some kind of aerial probe thats streamlined and has some kind of turbine-like intake on the front for air breathing engines. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lo-fi Posted August 22, 2014 Author Share Posted August 22, 2014 Hello!I'll see if I can get in touch with the RBI guys again, maybe I can get some of the other models. I believe the way I set up is similar, basically a collider for each wheel. The RBI code was complex and I could never quite get to the bottom of what got broken - hence the complete rebuild. Not sure what I can do with the heavy crawler, though, I think that may be a step too far. The small ones should be easy if I can get models, and the larger set might be good if set up as single, large track units. I'll see if Spanner would like to build some tracks too, I know he's always up for a fresh challenge!Interesting issue you've got there! Obviously getting confused about the reference transform somehow. Would you be up for a little testing if I add some debugging stuff and got you to send back some logs? Are there many mod dependencies on that contraption, and would you mind sending me the .craft? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lo-fi Posted August 22, 2014 Author Share Posted August 22, 2014 So if you're going to follow the polls and start work on rover bodies maybe you should make some for different environments? Like a remake-rovemate that has buoyancy or some kind of deployable ballasts for landing in oceans, Eve being the obvious place for its use. Another idea could be some kind of aerial probe thats streamlined and has some kind of turbine-like intake on the front for air breathing engines.Just looking to get an idea of what people are after to get a little inspiration.Nice ideas, I'll bear in mind when I'm getting creative with the rover bodies. Eve is next on my list of of planets to visit, and I'm sure it will give me a hundred ideas for interesting roving apparatus Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shad0wCatcher Posted August 22, 2014 Share Posted August 22, 2014 (edited) From what I can see from the low resolution version that's loading for me (yay awful internets \o/) KAS and novapunch. KAS winch toward the back; Novapunch for the tri-lateral adapters. Kerbpaint too maybe for the coloration of the other lateral connections, though I'm not sure if that's necessarily needed. Not sure if the connections to the track apparatus themselves are docking washers from Infernal Robotics or just regular SAS modules from stock; can't tell at the resolution on my end. MMRTGs from KSPX are also attached. Everything else looks stock to me (aside from the tracks of course). Edited August 22, 2014 by Shad0wCatcher Forgot a closing parenthesis Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Haifi Posted August 22, 2014 Share Posted August 22, 2014 (edited) Well since its 64bit time now, i have like 50+ mods installed, besides some picked pieces from here and there... On this one its Novapunch, Infernal Robotics ( so Tweakscale is also involved), RLA electrics (MMRTG's), KAS, some batteries from Near Future and one onepiece pick, thats the part where the tracks are attached at. Sure i can do some debug testing, will have to clean up my debug.log first tho. With 50+ mods KSP is throwing some fits since 0.24, whereas 0.23.5 ran absolutely smooth (0.23.5 on 64bit Linux, so the mod count was pretty much the same there too). Seems not all of the mods are completely 0.24 compatible yet. Ill put the .craft file into my dropbox tomorrow and pm you the link. If you want the extra parts i can make a folder with the parts that dont need a plugin. for Infernal Robotics and Kas youll need the full mod tho. I still have the original RBI tracks here, they just dont work anymore, very little or no torque at all, but if you want the models, i can get them to you aswell. Best regards Edited August 22, 2014 by Haifi lost the train of thought... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AtomicRho Posted August 22, 2014 Share Posted August 22, 2014 It would be very cool to have a rover body for eve that could do a soft landing in the water, then propel itself to the shore and start exploring the land. Very cool indeed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oniontrain Posted August 22, 2014 Share Posted August 22, 2014 Yeah I liked the old small RBI tracks, I used all three types constantly. The big ones, not so much. I'd love to see some more wheels too, I used to use the rollkage ones before I found these. Those seem to be abandoned unfortunately. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gaalidas Posted August 22, 2014 Share Posted August 22, 2014 While we're talking about the RBI stuff, what bummed me out a ton is that all the work stopped on the brand new models they were showing off. I wouldn't mind getting the old ones working again, but some of the stuff they were showing off when the mod was last actually worked on were looking down right amazing.Also, I totally love that you, Haifi, tell us you're having problems with a craft that I must say looks to me like a completely insane rover that I'd be afraid I was going to break every time I sneezed. I'd love to see that thing in action though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lo-fi Posted August 22, 2014 Author Share Posted August 22, 2014 (edited) Well since its 64bit time now, i have like 50+ mods installed, besides some picked pieces from here and there... On this one its Novapunch, Infernal Robotics ( so Tweakscale is also involved), RLA electrics (MMRTG's), KAS, some batteries from Near Future and one onepiece pick, thats the part where the tracks are attached at. Sure i can do some debug testing, will have to clean up my debug.log first tho. With 50+ mods KSP is throwing some fits since 0.24, whereas 0.23.5 ran absolutely smooth (0.23.5 on 64bit Linux, so the mod count was pretty much the same there too). Seems not all of the mods are completely 0.24 compatible yet. Ill put the .craft file into my dropbox tomorrow and pm you the link. If you want the extra parts i can make a folder with the parts that dont need a plugin. for Infernal Robotics and Kas youll need the full mod tho. I still have the original RBI tracks here, they just dont work anymore, very little or no torque at all, but if you want the models, i can get them to you aswell. Best regardsI might pass on trying to set that up in my install! I'll get back to you with some testing bits, though, thanks. I did spot a potential pitfall in the code. Try this version of the plugin: https://www.dropbox.com/s/8sxvuhimwydxoz1/Wheels.dll?dl=0 just over-write the current one.It would be very cool to have a rover body for eve that could do a soft landing in the water, then propel itself to the shore and start exploring the land. Very cool indeed.Yeah, I quite like that idea Yeah I liked the old small RBI tracks, I used all three types constantly. The big ones, not so much. I'd love to see some more wheels too, I used to use the rollkage ones before I found these. Those seem to be abandoned unfortunately.Rollcage were always my favoured wheels before I started with my own. Lovely work.While we're talking about the RBI stuff, what bummed me out a ton is that all the work stopped on the brand new models they were showing off. I wouldn't mind getting the old ones working again, but some of the stuff they were showing off when the mod was last actually worked on were looking down right amazing.Also, I totally love that you, Haifi, tell us you're having problems with a craft that I must say looks to me like a completely insane rover that I'd be afraid I was going to break every time I sneezed. I'd love to see that thing in action though.That RBI crawler thing is a monster! I might get a flash of inspiration one day, but I won't promise anything! TBH, I think it needs and deserves its own dedicated plugin to make it into a proper mobile launch platform.Edit: Just took a peek at the poll results. It shouldn't take me long to get the RBI track unit I'm working released, which should satisfy at least some of the desire for more tracks I have a couple of robust rover bodies already made that I've had good feedback on from the testing team, though, like everything, they need some texture love. I have a really cool idea for some heavy-duty folding wheels too, with a rather novel tread design Edited August 22, 2014 by lo-fi Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
QuantumX Posted August 22, 2014 Share Posted August 22, 2014 lo-fi... Great work, and keep it up, foaming at the mouth for you next release Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lo-fi Posted August 22, 2014 Author Share Posted August 22, 2014 Cheers dude, really enjoying myself mod-making Next release (Alpha 1.5) up 2 mintues ago: minor improvements to a few parts, but the big one is the RBI track unit I've rescued from the junk pile. It has a small issue where the steering gets confused if you try to drive with them mounted upside down, but I'll fix that in a later release. Other than that, they're sweet Next release will be repulsor water plugin and the APU for powering them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Justin Kerbice Posted August 22, 2014 Share Posted August 22, 2014 The APU could be improved a little bit by using two mode like RAPIER engine, as oxydizer have its mass cost where we could take advantage of available oxygen in air.+ exhaust damage may be disabled I think. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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