[WIP][PLUGIN + PARTS]Project HLLV: Nuclear Propulsion parts

[nebuchadnezzar]

Looking good! Can't wait for that shuttle.

[Mekan1k]

Detonation needs to be closer to the pusher plate methinks.

[landeTLS]

Detonation needs to be closer to the pusher plate methinks.

How much closer? The detonation point transform used now is a placeholder but i kindof just put it where it the blast particle emitter would not intersect with the model. Since that would not look good. I just ported the test plugin to ksp but im getting some nullrefs when i try to create the payload gameobject. Will look more into it tomorrow.

Wanna get the orion plugin to a somewhat working state before putting the finishing touches on the models.

Will update when i make some more progress.

Im glad you guys are excited for the parts. Im aware the shuttle is popular so rest assured its high on my list of things to do.

[R3QUIT3D]

Looking Good!!!! I am not sure but I would assume there would be a peak distance for max shockwave force. I am guessing you might be able to get an idea from your source material. Having said that looks is probably more important in this case. I feel like Cartman waiting for the new console in Southpark!!!

Edited September 8, 2014 by R3QUIT3D

[Kerbal01]

Can't you just use notkes Orion mods plugin, it should still work.

[landeTLS]

@Darthvader

I believe thats nyranth orion mod your refering to. Nothke hasnt released any orion mod afaik.

Nonetheless i cant use much from it as it has a completly different structure with the nonstandard magazine resource and all. As well as its hardcoded values++ mine will be meant to be much less complex both in execution and cfg setup. Comparable to stock modules. Time between bomb launches is also multiplied by the thrust and cfg configurable rather than hardcoded.

Actually the only thing that would have been the same is the force application function but i decided to make that follow a floatcurve and apply the force over several frames instead of just one (emulating the gee dampening effect from the pusher plate) so that ended up looking completly different too.

Right now i am testing inside ksp and its working nicely. Animation triggering functions are also setup i just havent created made animations on the placeholder model yet(just something ugly i mashed together in unity)

The only thing im a bit confused about atm is the isp calculations both for editor output and external dv calculation so if anyone has any input on that then id be happy to take a look at it. Im gonna release all plugin stuff opensource btw. If there is sufficient interest ill perhaps put it up on github.

[landeTLS]

New update. iwe finally got most of the modulepulsepropulsion code done. i used a long time trying to figure out the best way to create custom particles. including the time it took to figure out that using the new shuriken particlesystem from unity is a no go as long as ksp cant import prefabs with unity particles or unity expose it more to scripting. still got some stuff to add but most of the resource logic and the animation controller is done:

a short gif displaying the wip effects+animations(gifs make the effects look more crappy than they are, also the pusher animation isnt this jerky, im not good at recording stuff:P)

as you can see the gees dont go much above 4gees. even tho im applying 3000kn of thrust per cycle to a light(3t) object. still have another small rewrite of the force damping function to go to make it even smoother. from my research realistic accel levels for manned craft should not exceed 4g peak.

Im using 4 different legacy particlesystems stacked to create the effects. Im thinking of modulating the settings/textures between atmosphere and vacume creating a more "airburst" effect in atmosphere and a more expanding plasma effect in vac (similar to the one in the gif) im also adding some "shock recoil" effects to the pusher. krackensbane is screwing up the effects when the velocity gets high enough. Need to sort that out too

Edited September 15, 2014 by landeTLS

[Airlock]

New update. iwe finally got most of the modulepulsepropulsion code done. i used a long time trying to figure out the best way to create custom particles. including the time it took to figure out that using the new shuriken particlesystem from unity is a no go as long as ksp cant import prefabs with unity particles or unity expose it more to scripting. still got some stuff to add but most of the resource logic and the animation controller is done:

a short gif displaying the wip effects+animations(gifs make the effects look more crappy than they are, also the pusher animation isnt this jerky, im not good at recording stuff:P)

[snip]

as you can see the gees dont go much above 4gees. even tho im applying 3000kn of thrust per cycle to a light(3t) object. still have another small rewrite of the force damping function to go to make it even smoother. from my research realistic accel levels for manned craft should not exceed 4g peak.

Im using 4 different legacy particlesystems stacked to create the effects. Im thinking of modulating the settings/textures between atmosphere and vacume creating a more "airburst" effect in atmosphere and a more expanding plasma effect in vac (similar to the one in the gif) im also adding some "shock recoil" effects to the pusher. krackensbane is screwing up the effects when the velocity gets high enough. Need to sort that out too

Woah, that looks spectacular! Great to hear you're looking at varying the blast effects for atmosphere/vacuum. Also good to know the g-forces will be manageable, especially with Deadly Reentry's g-force deaths. Now, if the .25 rumors about destructible buildings are true...

[SessoSaidSo]

Status?! Please !?

[landeTLS]

Hey. Still working on it. I added some more bits to the orionmodule tho im still a bit stuck on the particles under krakensbane effect. Im probably missing something basic. im about halfway finished with the ntr reactor and engine addon module tho.

Flow will be as follows

Reactor module consumes a small amount of enrichednuclearfuel*

Outputs:

1)a small amount of depletednuclearfuel*

2)an amount of thermaloutput (not a ksp resource. Its only tracked in the plugin) a percentage (50-70%) of it is usable by child engine parts and all of it is converted to heat. Thinking of ways to make it a more delayed effect. Radiators or flying fast inside the atmosphere can be used to radiate heat away faster. The amount of energy produced is dependent on reactor setting (0-100%)

3) a small amount of electriccharge(a tiny fraction of total thermal output) intended to provide power for probecores reaction wheels etc.

Then the available effect is divided between attached engines.

The ntr module is a seperate module that controls a stock moduleenginesfx isp based on available thermaloutput (up to a set amount of thermaloutput)

The parent enginemodulesfx is intended to consume liquidfuel only (emulating the reactionmass used by a real ntr)

Still working on the flow but this is the current status of it. Its intended to be some kind of cross between kspi and nearfuture reactor/engine flow.

The flow is intended to nerf "nexus style lifting ntrs" in vacume(atmosphere will cool the reactor but radiators wont be effective enough and isp will drop as a result) while allowing the use of less powerful and less power hungry vacume rated ntrs in vacume.

Im also thinking of a mode switch(regular readers of projectrho will reconice this as an infeasable feature in a real ntr but if it could be cool for gameplay reasons it does make sence) or internal module variable that causes the engine to become an open-cycle ntr(meaning it will consume some of the reactors enrichednuclearfuel in addition to liquidfuel but increase thermal efficiency)

* i will use only "kerbal" resource names. I may provide a mm patch to make the fuels nearfuture compatible.

Im open to ideas about flow and functionality. Im a complete beginner in programming for gaming So please write what you think and im sure to take it under concideration. Im currently Taking a short break from programming to hopefully get some modelling done.

[Helix935]

Hmm love nuclear propulsion and i hope that the shuttle will be as awesome as KSO!

[jfull]

I wonder how this will work with the destructible space center buildings coming in .25...

This sort of thing might cause a lot of damage, though I know that some people have made kerbtown launch sites specifically for craft using pulsed-nuclear propulsion

[landeTLS]

Destructible buildings will be cool. The area of effect destruction part of the plugin isnt finished yet but its currently only polling the list for vessels plus kerbals (as they are treated as vessels by the game.) Unsure how this will work with the destructible buildings(only that they wont be effected without the code to detect them). But i assume its a small line of code required to find the buildings inside the area of effect. Im aiming for a post 0.25 release of the wip download so it might make it in. I will need to take a look at the changes to the api first after 0.25 is released.

Also excited to see the new explosion effects squad is putting in for 0.25. Hopefully its not just a new unity fx prefab and there will be some new fx import functionality.

Edited September 30, 2014 by landeTLS

[landeTLS]

been quiet lately so here is a wip animation i made on the newest orion model. still a highpoly model. but most of the geometry there is lowpoly ready. i beefed up the top cylinder and added some heat grilles. the modelling developement is finally starting to gather a bit more speed again.

i know the barrel uncovering and recoil animation is quite overkill:sticktongue: its not final. Maybe ill simplify it a bit

ill be posting more renders soonish(i wanted to put the lander models in the next set but they are still a bit too rough). as the orion is nearing wip release status i will be looking more at the shuttle next.

Edited October 5, 2014 by landeTLS

[Helix935]

been quiet lately so here is a wip animation i made on the newest orion model. still a highpoly model. but most of the geometry there is lowpoly ready. i beefed up the top cylinder and added some heat grilles. the modelling developement is finally starting to gather a bit more speed again.

http://cdn.makeagif.com/media/10-04-2014/35FGme.gif

i know the barrel uncovering and recoil animation is quite overkill:sticktongue: its not final. Maybe ill simplify it a bit

ill be posting more renders soonish(i wanted to put the lander models in the next set but they are still a bit too rough). as the orion is nearing wip release status i will be looking more at the shuttle next.

ohh shiny great animation and i hope that we can get this by .25!

[Mecripp]

@landeTLS have you seen this one it still works might help you out ? http://forum.kerbalspaceprogram.com/threads/28428-Orion-aka-Ol-Boom-boom

[landeTLS]

ohh shiny great animation and i hope that we can get this by .25!

Thanks. Glad you like it. In the end i decided the barrel mechanism was a bit too complex (that part of the animation lasts for only a fraction of realtime seconds and i need something that can move faster without looking so silly, the alternative would have been to slow the entire thing down and fire off a payload every 1.5sec or every 2 sec) ill still make it look realistic with hinges etc. tho.

@landeTLS have you seen this one it still works might help you out ? http://forum.kerbalspaceprogram.com/threads/28428-Orion-aka-Ol-Boom-boom

Yes i know of it and it still works well. I took some ques from it but the part im a bit stuck on now is not done in nyranths mod. He uses the squad explosion prefab and no custom effects. It looks like he commented out a bunch of lines where he was testing out a custom plume system but im unsure what his results where.

I have a sneeking suspicion that the issues im facing with krakensbane is rooted in the fact that im using "simulate in worldspace" to true. It appears to detach the particles from the root gameobject. And as im only emitting once, the particles always stay at the origin point under krakensbane and behave normally at <750ms. Im thinking in the next revision ill turn worldspace sim off and instead give the fx rigidbody the relative velocity of the payload object(i assume this is correct since the payload object is actually still technically travelling forward with the ship even tho its shot out the back. Atleast at speeds of more than 25ms(the payload objects local velocity). Please correct me if im wrong)

Edited October 5, 2014 by landeTLS

[SkyHook]

I need that nuclear shuttle!

[landeTLS]

I need that nuclear shuttle!

And youll get it:)

I just promised myself id finish the wip release of the orion first. But after that its shuttle time. I also wanna finish the ntr plugin for it first. When im feeling the release date coming closer im thinking ill update the op with helldiver inspired "phases" phase 1 being the bare metal orion parts (only the propulsion module + rad and payload containers) and maybe also lander parts. Phase 2 will be shuttle parts

[dreadicon]

I'm looking forward to all these parts, but most of all I want that Orion propulsion drive.....you know, the estimated fallout from a launch at the south pole of a full scale Orion lifter was estimated at a level that would result in 1-2 deaths total. Probably would also have a small but noticeable environmental impact as well, but this was with the like 30% efficiency nuclear blast devices of the 50s/60s. Modern nuclear weapons have WAY less fallout, so a few launches today would be completely safe, long as we don't do too many in a given 30-60 year span. But, you know, "NUCLEAR IS BAD AND DANGEROUS AND EVIL!"

(Note: south pole part is important due to the fallout being spread evenly over a small unpopulated area. detonations outside the poles would spread and cause much more substantial fallout)

Oh! cool idea; make launching an Orion powered ship cause a hit to reputation! That'd help balance the fact that Orion drives are strictly superior to chemical propulsion

[Mekan1k]

I'm looking forward to all these parts, but most of all I want that Orion propulsion drive.....you know, the estimated fallout from a launch at the south pole of a full scale Orion lifter was estimated at a level that would result in 1-2 deaths total. Probably would also have a small but noticeable environmental impact as well, but this was with the like 30% efficiency nuclear blast devices of the 50s/60s. Modern nuclear weapons have WAY less fallout, so a few launches today would be completely safe, long as we don't do too many in a given 30-60 year span. But, you know, "NUCLEAR IS BAD AND DANGEROUS AND EVIL!"

(Note: south pole part is important due to the fallout being spread evenly over a small unpopulated area. detonations outside the poles would spread and cause much more substantial fallout)

Oh! cool idea; make launching an Orion powered ship cause a hit to reputation! That'd help balance the fact that Orion drives are strictly superior to chemical propulsion

Well.. If you wanted to be more environmentally conscious, you could always strap BHB (Big Honking Boosters) to the spaceship, and get it into orbit before activating the Orion Drive.

[landeTLS]

Well.. If you wanted to be more environmentally conscious, you could always strap BHB (Big Honking Boosters) to the spaceship, and get it into orbit before activating the Orion Drive.

Yes. This is the primary goal for balancing atm. Trust me: ground launching this thing by default just is not fun at all. Even at 50% isp at sea level its just too damn easy. And ive already reduced the isp to ksp'ish levels. Im absolutely open to more suggestion for balancing. Reputation hit per launch/ per activation or per blast in atmosphere is on the table(already wrote some of the code for the last one)

A modular lifting system is also planned. Think nuclear nexus. It will not be primarily for launching the orion but i will include an orion class adapter for it to take the orion into atleast the high atmosphere. (This system is the reason for the name HLLV and will probably be the most heavy featured)

In other news i solved the krakensbane issue i was having with the custom explosion fx. Worldspace to false fixed it.

Edited October 7, 2014 by landeTLS

[Airlock]

A Nexus style lofter/lifter sounds awesome. Any plans to make it "reusable?"

[landeTLS]

A Nexus style lofter/lifter sounds awesome. Any plans to make it "reusable?"

Yup. Its meant to be a fully reusable vtovl(softlanded)

[landeTLS]

Thought id do my weekly'ish update on the status of the plugin. I didnt have too much time to do much modelling or programming. What i got time for was mostly experimenting with some features for the plugins. Namely: a more advanced animation controller(was necessary to get some cool effects with triggering the pusher animation before the pusher is fully reset, implimented rigidbody physx + raycasting for the payload/bomb code. It now detects stuff in the way and detonates at that location(only done once per firing). Finally Getting a bit more comfortable with unity.

Also Doing some more experimenting on art direction for the models. More blocky and structural stuff. Ill save the renders for a more comprehensive preview later. Hoping to be able to release the wip sometime soon but there seems to always be something that looks off.