[WIP] Skylab - released

[Virtualgenius]

Where are you going to upload this would you help support the community site and upload it there [Defunct link removed by a moderator] it has a couple of cool features like versioning so you can have alpha beta rc1 release 1 and they will all be listed excellent search function as well

Edited August 28, 2022 by James Kerman
link removed

[DasBananenbrot]

Wow, very fast progress Amazing, here take my +REP

[raidernick]

You can download the alpha release here: http://forum.kerbalspaceprogram.com/threads/86243-23-5-Skylab-%28Compatible-with-OLDD-FASA-LOVAD%29-ALPHA-RELEASE-v0-1?p=1272382#post1272382

[SpannerMonkey(smce)]

Hi i'm assuming(mother of all ^£%£ ups) that you'll be wanting an interior as was fitted to the RL craft, would you want it to be a basic IVA style meaning all you get to do is see the kerbs sit in it and do a few flight ops OR something more interactive such as internal accessible spaces you could explore with the crew?

I'm no rocket spotter so details of the interior are unfamiliar, apart from crusty old movies of skylab from when I was a kid

[raidernick]

Hi i'm assuming(mother of all ^£%£ ups) that you'll be wanting an interior as was fitted to the RL craft, would you want it to be a basic IVA style meaning all you get to do is see the kerbs sit in it and do a few flight ops OR something more interactive such as internal accessible spaces you could explore with the crew?

I'm no rocket spotter so details of the interior are unfamiliar, apart from crusty old movies of skylab from when I was a kid

I don't want anything too complex or that will be dependent on another mod or plugin. I'm trying to keep this as low mem as possible. I do want a complete realistic interior though.

I'm currently using the unikarmony interior from fustek because it is the only interior large enough to seat six, as skylab could have and feels like it is the correct size for the station. This is not a substitute for the real thing though.

Edited July 16, 2014 by raidernick

[raidernick]

Been working on the TRS boost module for Skylab. I have a prototype done and will be putting it up sometime soon. Here are some pics.

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[sirkut]

Splendid work!

[Virtualgenius]

Your TRS makes a very nice probe lander as well throw some landing legs on it and a probe core its awesome

Edited July 26, 2014 by Virtualgenius

[raidernick]

I didn't know the engines were powerful enough to lift its own weight, good catch.

[raidernick]

Going to start posting my progress here instead of the release thread. Here is my retexturing progress. So far I have the realistic version of skylab. Working on the unbroken version next.

Every single texture here was replaced with new high res versions with proper coloring, not false color like before.

Edited December 27, 2014 by raidernick

[Virtualgenius]

Man that looks excellent you do great work

[Galane]

Page 42 of this document shows the exact dimensions used for the isogrid panels for the floors and walls in Skylab.

[raidernick]

Page 42 of this document shows the exact dimensions used for the isogrid panels for the floors and walls in Skylab.

umm ok.......?

[Camacha]

Every single texture here was replaced with new high res versions with proper coloring, not false color like before.

How was it false colour before?

Page 42 of this document shows the exact dimensions used for the isogrid panels for the floors and walls in Skylab.

That is what I love about the internet - you can dig up stuff like this.

Edited December 28, 2014 by Camacha

[raidernick]

How was is false colour before?

The solar panels were purple instead of blue. I took the screenshots from pictures taken in orbit. Either the cameras weren't calibrated correctly or there was some overexposure or reflecting going on. If you look at museum pictures of Skylab-B you can see the panels are actually blue.

[Camacha]

The solar panels were purple instead of blue. I took the screenshots from pictures taken in orbit. Either the cameras weren't calibrated correctly or there was some overexposure or reflecting going on. If you look at museum pictures of Skylab-B you can see the panels are actually blue.

Ah, gotcha. I must admit the panels look very nice in the picture, just like the rest. The only thing that slightly detracts from simulation like images is the tarp, but those wrinkly type textures are rather hard to do right in a game engine. I am not too sure there is an ideal solution for that.

[raidernick]

Ah, gotcha. I must admit the panels look very nice in the picture, just like the rest. The only thing that slightly detracts from simulation like images is the tarp, but those wrinkly type textures are rather hard to do right in a game engine. I am not too sure there is an ideal solution for that.

I have since replaced the parasol texture with a new one taken from a better reference picture. This is about as good as it's going to get in terms of quality.

[Camacha]

It is hard to judge exactly in Blender, but it seems to be a lot less blotchy and much more tarp-y

[raidernick]

OK the update to the realistic version of Skylab is done. Next I will work on the unbroken version. Unfortunately it doesn't look like I will be able to get rid of the zfighting on the meteorite shields. They need to be thin and really close to the main body to look correct, however this causes zfighting so I have no idea what to do about this.

- - - Updated - - -

Here is the unbroken version. I may have figured out a "not so elegant" way of solving the z-fighting on the fairings. Basically I am going to scale down the middle section until you deploy the solar panels, when it will scale back up to its real size. This will prevent z-fighting on the fairings during launch.

Edited January 8, 2015 by raidernick

[Sampa]

hmmm...not sure what to tell you...not a modder myself...just a mod user...

[raidernick]

OK so the mod is now done and in a releasable state. I will be holding off as I am waiting on DECQ's saturn v to be updated making it compatible with this. A lot of things have changed since the previous version which I am going to try and go over below.

1) The stations are now scaled "properly" to the kerbal universe and in scale with the rest of my part packs. I am no longer going to release multiple versions to support the part packs that are too small making this station look comical in size relative to other parts. For instance, with the old scaling support this station was the same size as my salyut stations, which is ludicrous, it should be more than double the size. I will still support the other part/rocket packs with module manager configs but the base version of the mod will be released specifically to support DECQ's properly sized Saturn V. The station will still need FASA for the docking ports and apollo command module plus saturn IB launcher.

2) The stations now share parts, like the size solar panels and fairings, this will reduce memory usage. Also the left solar panel will have a decoupler on it. You can decouple this panel during flight to simulate the real life breaking of the panel, or leave it on to simulate the "intended" version of the station. The right solar panel has no decoupler as in either case it does not come off the station.

3) To fix the z-fighting with the micrometeorite shields I had to make the make "gold" part of the skylab shrink when the solar panels are undeployed. It looks a little weird but it fixes the horrible z-fighting glitches. Once you deploy the solar panels it will scale back to the correct size as part of the animation.

4) All of the textures have been replaced with new, high-res versions. The solar panel colors have been changed to the actual color blue rather than the false color purple portrayed in a lot of images caused by glare and overexposure.

Here is what the skylab will look like in proper scale with DECQ's saturn v once his update is released fixing some issues with it along with improper scaling.

[sp1989]

OK so the mod is now done and in a releasable state. I will be holding off as I am waiting on DECQ's saturn v to be updated making it compatible with this. A lot of things have changed since the previous version which I am going to try and go over below.

1) The stations are now scaled "properly" to the kerbal universe and in scale with the rest of my part packs. I am no longer going to release multiple versions to support the part packs that are too small making this station look comical in size relative to other parts. For instance, with the old scaling support this station was the same size as my salyut stations, which is ludicrous, it should be more than double the size. I will still support the other part/rocket packs with module manager configs but the base version of the mod will be released specifically to support DECQ's properly sized Saturn V. The station will still need FASA for the docking ports and apollo command module plus saturn IB launcher.

2) The stations now share parts, like the size solar panels and fairings, this will reduce memory usage. Also the left solar panel will have a decoupler on it. You can decouple this panel during flight to simulate the real life breaking of the panel, or leave it on to simulate the "intended" version of the station. The right solar panel has no decoupler as in either case it does not come off the station.

3) To fix the z-fighting with the micrometeorite shields I had to make the make "gold" part of the skylab shrink when the solar panels are undeployed. It looks a little weird but it fixes the horrible z-fighting glitches. Once you deploy the solar panels it will scale back to the correct size as part of the animation.

4) All of the textures have been replaced with new, high-res versions. The solar panel colors have been changed to the actual color blue rather than the false color purple portrayed in a lot of images caused by glare and overexposure.

Here is what the skylab will look like in proper scale with DECQ's saturn v once his update is released fixing some issues with it along with improper scaling.

http://i.imgur.com/IFp1tyB.png

So we need to dowload Decqs Saturn and fasa and it only works with Decqs?

[Sampa]

will this still be compatible with OLDD Saturn V?

[raidernick]

So we need to dowload Decqs Saturn and fasa and it only works with Decqs?

Somebody didn't read the first part "I will still support the other part/rocket packs with module manager configs". You need the fasa pack only with the DECQ pack as his pack is the one with the apollo CSM and saturn IB, unless you want to use the station with some random spacecraft, in which case you can just use the former. You can use either DECQ, FASA or OLDD by themselves if you really want to.

@Sampa: I will still support OLDD, although I won't like it. It's one thing to purposely create a kerbalized smaller(smaller than stock kerbal scale) version of parts like fasa, but OLDD is not properly balanced for its size. It can barely lift 20 tonnes and the third stage interstage fairing is too small. I think it was done this way to fit fasa scale. Most of the OLDD rocket is in 64% scale and fasa is 57% scale, the oldd rocket makes itself "compatible" with fasa by having its upper stages be smaller than the lower ones. This makes it look weird and lowers its payload capacity significantly. Infact there are NO advantages to using the OLDD rocket over FASA. Even though the fasa saturn v is 1/3 smaller it can lift 10 tonnes more than the oldd (I've actually measured this). So for now I will still support it but TBH if you want a smaller more kerbal saturn v use fasa, if not use DECQ as the level of detail is on par with oldd but the parts are in the correct scale with a proper payload capacity.

EDIT: Infact I may not support either FASA or OLDD directly anymore. I have been considering writing a mm config for each to properly scale (just the saturn v parts) the parts. The entire OLDD saturn V needs to be scaled properly and the 2nd stage interstage fairing needs to be replaced entirely as the bottom and top openings are not in the same scale as each other. Also the OLDD will need to have its engines balanced to lift a realistic sized load for its size. I don't like supporting multiple sizes of my parts for modders who can't decide on one scale among each other and just stick with it. My parts are all the same scale and are in scale with the ISS parts, bobcat parts and yoguis lionhead parts. Everyone else needs to get with the program and stop using arbitrary scales.

Edited January 9, 2015 by raidernick

[sp1989]

Somebody didn't read the first part "I will still support the other part/rocket packs with module manager configs". You need the fasa pack only with the DECQ pack as his pack is the one with the apollo CSM and saturn IB, unless you want to use the station with some random spacecraft, in which case you can just use the former. You can use either DECQ, FASA or OLDD by themselves if you really want to.

@Sampa: I will still support OLDD, although I won't like it. It's one thing to purposely create a kerbalized smaller(smaller than stock kerbal scale) version of parts like fasa, but OLDD is not properly balanced for its size. It can barely lift 20 tonnes and the third stage interstage fairing is too small. I think it was done this way to fit fasa scale. Most of the OLDD rocket is in 64% scale and fasa is 57% scale, the oldd rocket makes itself "compatible" with fasa by having its upper stages be smaller than the lower ones. This makes it look weird and lowers its payload capacity significantly. Infact there are NO advantages to using the OLDD rocket over FASA. Even though the fasa saturn v is 1/3 smaller it can lift 10 tonnes more than the oldd (I've actually measured this). So for now I will still support it but TBH if you want a smaller more kerbal saturn v use fasa, if not use DECQ as the level of detail is on par with oldd but the parts are in the correct scale with a proper payload capacity.

EDIT: Infact I may not support either FASA or OLDD directly anymore. I have been considering writing a mm config for each to properly scale (just the saturn v parts) the parts. The entire OLDD saturn V needs to be scaled properly and the 2nd stage interstage fairing needs to be replaced entirely as the bottom and top openings are not in the same scale as each other. Also the OLDD will need to have its engines balanced to lift a realistic sized load for its size. I don't like supporting multiple sizes of my parts for modders who can't decide on one scale among each other and just stick with it. My parts are all the same scale and are in scale with the ISS parts, bobcat parts and yoguis lionhead parts. Everyone else needs to get with the program and stop using arbitrary scales.

Thats up to you. I just feel you are gonna lose a lot of people if you don't support at least the FASA parts. OLDD I understand, Lovad I understand but going all in on a MOD that people might not want is a big gamble. Unless I don't understand what you mean by not supporting it "directly anymore".