parts [1.12.x] USI Exploration Pack - Small parts, big adventure! [v 0.6.0]

[RoverDude]

First one is a known issue - second one is caused by using two of these on the same ship.

[JadedStoner]

RoverDude, I love the work you do man, some great fun stuff! I've been playing around with the Ratpack for a couple of days and I've been having a couple of funny issues...

First, it looks liked the two chassis don't meet up in the same horizontal point, the back one sits down a bit. Second, once I've decoupled the frame during the build phase and start adding the chairs or other pieces I get a funky oscillation in the z-axis. Must be hitting a resonance cause the amplitude gets to the point where parts start exploding, how very Kerbal BTW... Moving the rover and setting the brake on/off seems to stop it, but once more parts are added it starts again.

I've been doing all of this on or near the launchpad with Bill at lvl 2 w/ the powertool and node attachment. I saw an old video where the Ratpack was put together via 'storing' the piece into each other, did that change with KAS/KIS updates?

Oh, and I totally put a winch on the front and have done some testing around the shores, so later today I'm sending Val, Bill and Bob for a three man rover expedition to Minmus!

JS

[Junn_Sorran]

It is still possible to build the rover on field on ksp 1.0.2 with kis? It don't work like the video anymore, I don't have the option to store the chassis into the front end and now you can't remove the ground pilon if there is someting attached to it.

[goldenpsp]

RoverDude, I love the work you do man, some great fun stuff! I've been playing around with the Ratpack for a couple of days and I've been having a couple of funny issues...

First, it looks liked the two chassis don't meet up in the same horizontal point, the back one sits down a bit. Second, once I've decoupled the frame during the build phase and start adding the chairs or other pieces I get a funky oscillation in the z-axis. Must be hitting a resonance cause the amplitude gets to the point where parts start exploding, how very Kerbal BTW... Moving the rover and setting the brake on/off seems to stop it, but once more parts are added it starts again.

I've been doing all of this on or near the launchpad with Bill at lvl 2 w/ the powertool and node attachment. I saw an old video where the Ratpack was put together via 'storing' the piece into each other, did that change with KAS/KIS updates?

Oh, and I totally put a winch on the front and have done some testing around the shores, so later today I'm sending Val, Bill and Bob for a three man rover expedition to Minmus!

JS

Make sure you have the orientation correct. It is more tedious and easy to mistake with KIS. I have found it to be perfectly stable when built correctly.

It is still possible to build the rover on field on ksp 1.0.2 with kis? It don't work like the video anymore, I don't have the option to store the chassis into the front end and now you can't remove the ground pilon if there is someting attached to it.

Yes there is a good video posted on this thread back some pages. It works pretty much perfectly. I have assembled two this way so far.

[Junn_Sorran]

Yes there is a good video posted on this thread back some pages. It works pretty much perfectly. I have assembled two this way so far.

I found it thanks, unfortunatelly I'm on the mun and I havent brink any structural parts or decouplers, so I gues it's back to home time...

[MarcAFK]

Taking the idea of miniaturization just a little bit further, I've shrunk the microfan into a 1/5 powered Nanofan and a 1/10th powered Pictofan.

Why? Because Airbikes.

The tweakscale reduced 1/3 size Fuel cell wasn't quite able to keep up with the energy use as we can see from the battery being half drained, and the 5 minute flight used only .18 fuel. It handles very well with or without Throttle Controlled Avionics, however it's so much safer with it

The 2 main rotors are tilted slightly inwards which increases forward speed without affecting lift too much.

The bike has a major flaw which is the landing legs get bogged down in the ground a good burst of lift is needed to jolt the craft out, carelessness can cause the craft to come apart.

Crunching some numbers it seems this thing is 3 times more fuel efficient as a jet engine, I'll need to adjust some numbers, either increase the fuel cells fuel requirements, or increase the energy requirement of the engines.

Edited June 10, 2015 by MarcAFK

[autumnalequinox]

Anybody else had a problem with the packrat seat not being draggable with KIS? It's odd there's no thumbnail visible in the VAB selection screen but I can still plop it down normally, just no drag-into-inventory. Not sure if this is a prob with KIS or packrat. Every other part from the mod can be placed.

Edit: It can be moved and placed in, it's just invisible in the KIS inventory, soooo nevermind it's more a glitch likely with KIS.

Edited June 13, 2015 by autumnalequinox

[goldenpsp]

Anybody else had a problem with the packrat seat not being draggable with KIS? It's odd there's no thumbnail visible in the VAB selection screen but I can still plop it down normally, just no drag-into-inventory. Not sure if this is a prob with KIS or packrat. Every other part from the mod can be placed.

Edit: It can be moved and placed in, it's just invisible in the KIS inventory, soooo nevermind it's more a glitch likely with KIS.

Actually a problem with KSP

https://github.com/KospY/KIS/issues/41

[autumnalequinox]

Yeah I just read Kospy's post.. sad kitty here. Dang. So no way to construct the packrat from parts right now..

Edit: Soo it can be used but requires some fun filled guessing with invisible icons! WEEEE

Edited June 13, 2015 by autumnalequinox

[MarcAFK]

Yeah I just read Kospy's post.. sad kitty here. Dang. So no way to construct the packrat from parts right now..

Edit: Soo it can be used but requires some fun filled guessing with invisible icons! WEEEE

Yeah, I was hoping that the part icon resizer mod would fix it, but it doesn't seem to.

[autumnalequinox]

My lander is going to be coming down with a packrat seat bolted onto the right fuel tank. Duct tape and spot welds. Whatever works, right?!? When all else fails, KERBALIZE IT!

[MaverickSawyer]

Okay, not sure if this is from your end, or KIS, buuuut...

Yeah... it's still just as strong as if it were VAB assembled, but it just looks WEIRD. Any idea what could cause this?

[MarcAFK]

Maybe this is a crazy suggestion but, have yiu tried reattaching it slightly better? :s

[MaverickSawyer]

No, I reverted that flight. It was more of a "let's see if I can figure out how to build it BEFORE committing to a launch with this onboard" test.

Honestly, I'm going to try it on Minmus next, so we'll see how it does there. If the problem disappears, it's a gravity issue. If not... Welp.

[Entropius]

Does anyone have a source on how to assemble the PackRat rover with KIS? The PackRat parts only seem to want to attach via nodes, and then that prevents me from attaching some other important part to that node later.

[MaverickSawyer]

Does anyone have a source on how to assemble the PackRat rover with KIS? The PackRat parts only seem to want to attach via nodes, and then that prevents me from attaching some other important part to that node later.

How so? I've had no issues assembling it as designed:

[Entropius]

For example, I put down a ground pylon. Then I attach the chassis to it. I can build 90% of the rover from that, but ultimately I still end up with a pylon I can't remove via grabbing nor scrapping, and no way to install the final piece on that node.

EDIT: Nevermind, I found a solution. I ultimately had to use a decoupler (and probe core) on the ground-anchor. But if there's a way to do this without decouplers, I'd love to hear it.

Edited June 21, 2015 by Entropius

[MaverickSawyer]

For example, I put down a ground pylon. Then I attach the chassis to it. I can build 90% of the rover from that, but ultimately I still end up with a pylon I can't remove via grabbing nor scrapping, and no way to install the final piece on that node.

EDIT: Nevermind, I found a solution. I ultimately had to use a decoupler (and probe core) on the ground-anchor. But if there's a way to do this without decouplers, I'd love to hear it.

Nope. RoverDude himself said to use a DC in the stack. :/ It's okay, though: Stick it back in the storage crate and ship it home for recycling.

[Mister_GinGin]

Hi, I can not unfortunately find Rover parts . I installed KIS / KAS . Can someone help me?

Please explain it to me easy , am still fresh in the scene

[MaverickSawyer]

The rover parts are NOT part of KIS/KAS. They are part of this mod. However, if you've installed this mod, they should be in the "Utility" tab of the editor. The only reason they might not show up is if you haven't unlocked them yet in Career or Science modes.

[SciMan]

I don't use the ground pylon + decoupler method when I assemble a PakRat (the entire one time I have, so far).

Instead, I assembled it while on top of a 3.75m fuel tank I was using for my Minmus fuel base. (NOT attached in any way shape or form, just sitting on top)

Also, I didn't have problems with the off-set attachment between the two chassis pieces.

I did have to make sure I connected the two chassis halves by the CORRECT NODE. One of the chassis pieces has two nodes right on top of each other.

The correct node is used to connect the two chassis halves to each other, and should be roughly in line with the "driveshaft" of both chassis halves.

The other node is located at the center middle of the assembled chassis, and is an upwards facing node on the finished rover intended for connecting to seats, science equipment, fuel tanks, etc.

When in KIS attach mode, press R to switch the node that the grabbed part will use to attach to the other part. The pop-up below the altimeter will tell you what node you are using, and the correct node should be core01 or core02. If it says Attach(01-09) it's the wrong node, and it should be fairly obvious that it's not quite right. No further rotation should be needed on any nodes when you're assembling the PakRat rover via KIS, so if it ends up rotated oddly, it probably is.

Here's a rough run-down of what I did to get a working rover from parts shipped in a KIS container:

1. PLACE front chassis half on flat top of large diameter fuel tank or other flat surface made from parts. (prevents part from exploding when it lands flat-side down on the surface)

2. Connect rear chassis half to front half with KIS electric screwdriver's Node Attach function

3. Attach front and rear to chassis

4. Add rover wheels

5. Nudge rover off of tank, making sure it lands on its wheels.

6. Add seat, roll-cage, science package, probe core, reaction wheels.

7. Adjust rotation of probe core because MechJeb can't drive with an upward-facing control orientation.

8. Rover is now operational and can be used whenever wanted/needed.

Hope that helps!

I've got plans in my head for adding RCS to my PakRat rover for increased safety and speed. Being able to return to the ground in a controlled manner is very safe, and being able to leave the ground and maintain full control eliminates the speed and handling limits imposed by wheels. Also, RCS on a rover should enable it to land on Gilly unassisted, and STAY on Gilly without doing endless wheelies whenever I try to move it with the wheel motors.

Edited June 21, 2015 by SciMan

[Mister_GinGin]

Yes they are not part of the HIS / KAS I know . but they are also not in the sandbox mode . And the Science Tree they are not well . I now have 3 times scho installed it new ...

[MaverickSawyer]

I've got plans in my head for adding RCS to my PakRat rover for increased safety and speed. Being able to return to the ground in a controlled manner is very safe, and being able to leave the ground and maintain full control eliminates the speed and handling limits imposed by wheels. Also, RCS on a rover should enable it to land on Gilly unassisted, and STAY on Gilly without doing endless wheelies whenever I try to move it with the wheel motors.

That... is a brilliant idea. I will have to add a cargo crate to my missions to low-grav worlds to accomodate this idea...

[goldenpsp]

Yes they are not part of the HIS / KAS I know . but they are also not in the sandbox mode . And the Science Tree they are not well . I now have 3 times scho installed it new ...

Then something isn't getting installed properly is the likely solution. Screenshot of your gamedate and umbraspaceindustries folders?

[GLiTCHMoDuLe]

Hello, I love your parts. USI is my choice supplier for planetside and orbital kolony systems. However, I keep running into a crash when I attempt to use the command pods included in this pack. My exception detector throws that there is some exception with ClearIVA? I don't know, everything ele works fine, but the small pods for planetary exploration keep causing everything to disappear, and leaves my camera somewhere deep in space, after a few hundred exceptions thrown. Any ideas on how I can fix this? Thank you very much in advance, and keep up thegreat work!