[1.1.2] Kerbal Attachment System (KAS) 0.5.8

[Aegrim]

Do the placeable struts work like normal struts?

 

I remember a few ksp versions ago using them on a big ship i'd built in orbit and they didn't seem to actually do anything so the radial engines wobbled all over and spoilt my craft

[ExplorerKlatt]

9 minutes ago, Aegrim said:

Do the placeable struts work like normal struts?

 

I remember a few ksp versions ago using them on a big ship i'd built in orbit and they didn't seem to actually do anything so the radial engines wobbled all over and spoilt my craft

I've used them numerous times and they worked normally. 

[Qwarkk]

Apologies if this has been asked before - Im using KAS mainly to add parts (usually ladders / lights) radially to my space station, however i can never get them to align to the station properly. They are always rotated slightly and don't fit parallel. Ive tried using the WASDQE keys but the rotation these apply is too big to solve the issue.

So 2 questions really:

1. Is this a common issue when radially attaching parts or am i missing something?
2. Is there a way to edit the mod files so that WASDQE keys apply less rotation to the item?

Thank you for any help!

[ExplorerKlatt]

20 minutes ago, Qwarkk said:

Apologies if this has been asked before - Im using KAS mainly to add parts (usually ladders / lights) radially to my space station, however i can never get them to align to the station properly. They are always rotated slightly and don't fit parallel. Ive tried using the WASDQE keys but the rotation these apply is too big to solve the issue.

So 2 questions really:

1. Is this a common issue when radially attaching parts or am i missing something?
2. Is there a way to edit the mod files so that WASDQE keys apply less rotation to the item?

Thank you for any help!

1. I've never noticed it but then I'm not very picky about it either  

 

2. Hold Shift to switch the rotation to 1 degree  increments. 

 

The pdf guide is a good way to learn how to do things. 

KIS user guide

This is also available in-game. 

Edited December 11, 2015 by ExplorerKlatt

[Qwarkk]

6 minutes ago, ExplorerKlatt said:

2. Hold Shift to switch the rotation to 1 degree  increments. 

This did the job perfectly. Many Thanks!

[ejtttje]

I'm sometimes having problems when I grab an item and put it in the inventory, I get stuck in the "attachment" mode, and I can no longer control the Kerbal.  It puts up the menu for srfAttach when I mouse over the ship, but clicking does nothing and I can't break out of it even with esc.  Eventually it breaks out of this mode, although I'm not sure if it is due to the kerbal drifting away or if my various attempts to toggle the tool/inventory/esc eventually have some effect.  Has anyone else seen this?  

Edited December 14, 2015 by ejtttje

[IgorZ]

On 12/3/2015, 6:46:43, CajunInABox said:

So, is the only real way to attach heavy things in space multiple kerbals? I wanted to upgrade my space station to use 3.75m crew tubes and docking clamps, but I have a feeling it's going to be impossible to keep 8 kerbals in position because of the stupid ladder sliding bug.

Attach external command seats in range of the operation, and assign the required number of kerbals.

Though, I'd not say it's perfect. From physics point of view in order to move a heavy object on orbit you need spending RCS fuel and not bringing more kerbals. Btw, that's one of the improvement ideas I'm working on.

[IgorZ]

On 12/13/2015, 6:46:37, ejtttje said:

I get stuck in the "attachment" mode, and I can no longer control the Kerbal.

Do you know what was FPS when the problem happen? I've noticed strange behavior of the interface when FPS drops below 10 (a usual situation on my PC for a big station).

[taniwha]

Something everybody complaining about the 1t/kerbal limit is forgetting: it doesn't matter where you are, 1t is 1t wherever you are, and has the inertia of 1t. At work today, I had to shift a cart loaded with somewhere between 1t and 2t of parts. It was very rough going by myself, but another guy came along and helped push and pull it into position: much easier, and this was all on level ground and thus effectively 0g (neglecting the drag in the wheels). Real 0g would have made it prohibitively dangerous if not impossible as there would be no rolling friction in the wheels and no traction for my feet.

tl;dr: do not underestimate mass. Weight is the least of your worries.

[pellinor]

3 hours ago, taniwha said:

Something everybody complaining about the 1t/kerbal limit is forgetting: it doesn't matter where you are, 1t is 1t wherever you are, and has the inertia of 1t. At work today, I had to shift a cart loaded with somewhere between 1t and 2t of parts. It was very rough going by myself, but another guy came along and helped push and pull it into position: much easier, and this was all on level ground and thus effectively 0g (neglecting the drag in the wheels). Real 0g would have made it prohibitively dangerous if not impossible as there would be no rolling friction in the wheels and no traction for my feet.

tl;dr: do not underestimate mass. Weight is the least of your worries.

I think this is more a question of game design rather than realism. The 1t/kerbal setting leads to a valid and interesting game. Raising the value adds new ways of playing, while breaking some of the old ones. It is really a question what sort of game you choose to play.

In my own game I treat high range and mass limits as an abstraction. So I give orders and get the result, without simulating all the details in between. Just like crew transfer, which I consider interesting the first few times but boring once it becomes routine work.

Edited December 18, 2015 by pellinor

[IgorZ]

On 12/18/2015 at 5:45 AM, taniwha said:

Something everybody complaining about the 1t/kerbal limit is forgetting: it doesn't matter where you are, 1t is 1t wherever you are, and has the inertia of 1t. At work today, I had to shift a cart loaded with somewhere between 1t and 2t of parts. It was very rough going by myself, but another guy came along and helped push and pull it into position: much easier, and this was all on level ground and thus effectively 0g (neglecting the drag in the wheels). Real 0g would have made it prohibitively dangerous if not impossible as there would be no rolling friction in the wheels and no traction for my feet.

tl;dr: do not underestimate mass. Weight is the least of your worries.

Situations on the surface and on the orbit are very different. In your case there were wheels on the cart but a regular 1t object in KSP doesn't have wheels attached. When you are on surface first thing to fight with is gravity - you need to lift the part off to be able moving it (i.e. weight is your main enemy). So, I'd say realistic limit should be ~70kg at 1g. Once the objetc is lifted off moving in the horizontal plane is only a question of the kerbals stamina. You can use jetpack to increase the weight limit, though.

On the orbit situation changes. There is no weight over there so, you don't need to lift off the object. Though, you need to apply a force to accelerate the object in the right direction, and then apply the same force in the opposite direction to stop it. When distance is only 1m it can be done from a fixed mount point (like a ladder) and use muscular power, but if you move an object at, say, 5m distance you just cannot do it the same way as on the surface. More logic approach would be using jetpack to accelerate/decelerate the parts. And with this approach the distance and number of kerbals doesn't really matter, only the mass does - there should be enough impulse in the jetpack top start/stop the movement.

My rough idea for the physics in the addon is the following:

1. On surface:
   • Distance limit: None.
   • Weight per kerbal limit: 70kg at 1g.
   • Jetpack can be used to increase the weight limit at a cost of RCS fuel. Atmosphere does affect jetpack's ISP. Exact cost for 1kg of the mass is yet to be determined (it should be reasonable).
2. On orbit:
   1. When on ladder:
      • Distance limit: 2m (radius from the kerbal).
      • Mass limit: 300kg per kerbal in range.
      • RCS cost: None.
   2. When EVA:
      • Distance limit: None.
      • Mass limit: None.
      • RCS cost: proportional to DeltaV=1m/s. Multiple kerbals can be used to increase the fuel reserve (thus, increasing mass limit).

Edited December 19, 2015 by IgorZ

[kinsai-chan]

tried to see if it had already been asked but couldn't find it anywhere.... so here goes...

is it possible to enable the grabbing of a kerbal who has run out of mono prop?

useful in the instance that you don't have any spare monoprop tanks to bring to said kerbal.

also hypothetically you could drag this kerbal to an airlock door...

i understand the ramifications of this are probably a lot more complicated than one would expect and its probably not hugely important to a lot of people...

but i thought i would just throw it out there...

kas is amazing and i love using winches as tethers!

thanks for your time *flee*

[IgorZ]

13 hours ago, kinsai-chan said:

tried to see if it had already been asked but couldn't find it anywhere.... so here goes...

is it possible to enable the grabbing of a kerbal who has run out of mono prop?

useful in the instance that you don't have any spare monoprop tanks to bring to said kerbal.

also hypothetically you could drag this kerbal to an airlock door...

i understand the ramifications of this are probably a lot more complicated than one would expect and its probably not hugely important to a lot of people...

but i thought i would just throw it out there...

kas is amazing and i love using winches as tethers!

thanks for your time *flee*

From technical perspective it's kind of challenging. Every part in the game has at least one attachment node but kerbonaut has none. In the latest official KIS version (1.2.3) you can grab a kerbal but dropping him will likely result in a disaster (depends on either you're on orbit or on surface). In version which I'm being developing (1.2.3-alpha) grabbing of the kerbonauts is explicitly restricted. And, to be honest, I don't think KIS/KAS should implement this feature. If you're an engineer capable to attach a thermometer on surface of anorbital station it doesn't mean you can play a rescuer role "Martian"-style  

[LostOblivion]

Hi,

I made a robotic arm for my space shuttle, much like the Canadarm on the real shuttle; which worked perfectly using Infernal Robotics.

However, now I want to make a separate boom much like the Orbiter Boom Sensor System that the robotic arm can attach to in order to extend it. However, this requires it to be attached to the orbiter, and I've thought of a docking port, but cannot seem to find a docking port small enough. I thought the Connector Port F in KAS might do the trick, but it seems they don't work this way as when I connected two of them together and clicked Unplug, a message popped up saying there was nothing to unplug.

1. Is there a part in KAS that better suits this type of use?
2. If not, recommendations for other mods with really small docking ports? Like 0.15625 m ones.

[V8jester]

2 hours ago, LostOblivion said:

Hi,

I made a robotic arm for my space shuttle, much like the Canadarm on the real shuttle; which worked perfectly using Infernal Robotics.

However, now I want to make a separate boom much like the Orbiter Boom Sensor System that the robotic arm can attach to in order to extend it. However, this requires it to be attached to the orbiter, and I've thought of a docking port, but cannot seem to find a docking port small enough. I thought the Connector Port F in KAS might do the trick, but it seems they don't work this way as when I connected two of them together and clicked Unplug, a message popped up saying there was nothing to unplug.

1. Is there a part in KAS that better suits this type of use?
2. If not, recommendations for other mods with really small docking ports? Like 0.15625 m ones.

Hey I used RKE Kanadarm in all my shuttle arm builds. Works great and has a super small docking port end effector.

Here's a video showing how it works

 

[Atlas2342]

Problem here, when I load a craft, it says " sound file missing, texture file missing, etc." and when I try to extend the winch with an electromagnet, the electromagnet just drops to the ground....

[PenguingInc]

Problem for CC-R2 part. My kerbal has not unlink button to unlink to pipe. If I want to cancel the linking.

KAS version is 0.5.5

 

Edited December 26, 2015 by PenguingInc

[MaxPeck]

Simple question that I haven't been able to find an answer to - what is the difference between the wrench and the screwdriver?  Is it purely aesthetics or do they have a different role?

The reason I'm asking is that the last time I played, I had installed KAS after I already had enough tech to have the screwdriver, so that's all I've ever used.  I started over with 1.0.5 and now I've gotten to the point where all I have is the wrench and I can't seem to be able to attach anything to anything else.  I'm trying to build the buffalo rover from Pathfinder on the surface of Mun, and I can't get anything to attach to anything else.  No surface attachments, no stack node attachment, nothing.  And yes, I'm holding X and/or H when I try to connect pieces.

Thanks!

Edited December 27, 2015 by JJE64
typo

[goldenpsp]

14 hours ago, JJE64 said:

Simple question that I haven't been able to find an answer to - what is the difference between the wrench and the screwdriver?  Is it purely aesthetics or do they have a different role?

The reason I'm asking is that the last time I played, I had installed KAS after I already had enough tech to have the screwdriver, so that's all I've ever used.  I started over with 1.0.5 and now I've gotten to the point where all I have is the wrench and I can't seem to be able to attach anything to anything else.  I'm trying to build the buffalo rover from Pathfinder on the surface of Mun, and I can't get anything to attach to anything else.  No surface attachments, no stack node attachment, nothing.  And yes, I'm holding X and/or H when I try to connect pieces.

Thanks!

A couple things.  First your question should be in the KIS thread, as it is the mod that handles all of the attaching/detaching.  KAS these days is just a parts pack.

As for KIS I would recommend reading the excellent manual Kospy made

https://github.com/KospY/KIS/wiki

Namely page 9 "Wrenches can't attach part using node snapping"

 

 

 

[V8jester]

On ‎11‎/‎16‎/‎2015 at 11:48 AM, V8jester said:

Kospy, I wanted to suggest a part. I've built several scale looking planes to attempt a mid air refuel. I've successfully hit a scoop the size of a Kerbal's head, towed by a KAS winch. With a part the size of a large antenna. The issue I run into is I use mechjeb to pilot the tanker as well as the chase plane. Using heading and altitude hold thus allowing me to make very tiny course and speed adjustments to hit such a small target. But using a "docking port" (It's a scaled down / modified version). It merges the two ships into one, confusing the heck out of mechjeb, and once the smoke clears no more planes.

Now at the end of my very long story. What I'm asking is. Would it be possible to make a part that functions just like a docking port. Magnet / connection, but doesn't actually "dock" the two ships together? Basically like the trailer hitch Lo-fi was working on. Having two ships held together by a solid connection but leave the two vessels separated? And in turn possibly make use of Dmagic1's EVA Transfer to actually refuel the chase plane.

Ok, I found that Mechjeb was working just fine and was not the culprit it was the connection and method I needed to improve (needed undocked mode on the winch). I managed to dock two planes together using a different method and they flew for about 20-30 stable seconds before spontaneously exploding.... Think there is still something not right about docking in atmosphere at 150m/s and KSP losses it's mind. Also working on a better way to dock with a small scoop at the end of a KAS winch. As long as you have the scoop attached to the winch in undocked mode it works great! Provides independent control of the two planes while tethered. That will be the next video.... Hopefully. Still I think that a magnetic "docking" port with the ability to "dock" in "undocked mode" would be extremely useful. (well it would make this a lot easier anyway )

 

Edited December 28, 2015 by V8jester

[kcs123]

Nice video and great piloting skills. KOS controled aircraft might be handy in that atmosphere docking procedure, offers more possibilities than MJ. Downside of KOS is that it somehow steep learning curve, not everyone enjoy programming with KOS.

[V8jester]

9 minutes ago, kcs123 said:

Nice video and great piloting skills. KOS controled aircraft might be handy in that atmosphere docking procedure, offers more possibilities than MJ. Downside of KOS is that it somehow steep learning curve, not everyone enjoy programming with KOS.

Thanks! And yeah, unfortunately KOS is beyond my abilities and skills at the moment. But you are absolutely right. Be really cool if someone could improve on my idea and code a docking sequence using KOS. I have an X-47B that would love a brain upgrade.... hint hint to all those KOS geniuses out there

[V8jester]

Kospy, may we please have resource transfer on "Undocked" winch lines? Pretty please?

[MaxPeck]

On December 28, 2015 at 7:00 AM, goldenpsp said:

A couple things.  First your question should be in the KIS thread, as it is the mod that handles all of the attaching/detaching.  KAS these days is just a parts pack.

As for KIS I would recommend reading the excellent manual Kospy made

https://github.com/KospY/KIS/wiki

Namely page 9 "Wrenches can't attach part using node snapping"

 

 

 

Okay... thanks for that.  I didn't realize KAS was just parts and KIS was doing the heavy lifting.  Same, thanks for pointing me to the answer.

[Khazar]

Hi,

I have recently updated my KSP version to 1.05 (form 1.02), and all installed mods as well.
After loading save from 1.02, I got message "part kas.pipe1 is missing" (or something like that), and my most of my ships are deleted. (also most of ma crew perishes and most of my designs). I believe that with KAS update, parts got changed ( I think that what was 1 pipe in older version, now is split in two new parts). What can I do to prevent this from happening ?