[0.25] TinkerTech - The contraption Techtree (2.4.3., 15.10. - 0.25 compatibility)

[SirJodelstein]

Are you tired of building and flying all these sleek, elegant, aerodynamic rockets?

Looking for a balanced progression through the tech tree that challenges your engineering skill?

Have you already completed BTSM and/or want to try something else?

Look no further, this might just be for you!

TinkerTech

Because normal rockets are boring

Released under MIT license. Source is on GitHub

Features

• Balanced progression at about 1 mission per tech unlock with meaningful tech choices.
  
• Custom Biome map with a drastic reduction of biomes for Kerbin and the Mun.
  
• Start out with model rocketry, work your way up to SRBs and finally controllable rockets.
  
• Unfitting, clunky and unefficient parts wherever you look. Poodle on LFT-Tanks connected with micro-decouplers? Check. Explosive decoupling using overheating? Check. First manned pod? The cupola!
  
• Unmanned exploration before sending Kerbals
  
• Energy consumption as a central element. With no solar panels until Tier 7, battery capacity and data transmission volumes actually matters.
  
• Part count limitation. 200 parts max, slightly more via late-game tech. You don't need a top-notch computer to reach your goals, and it creates an interesting additional restriction.
  
• Uses NEAR. Goodbye souposphere! Uses KIDS to scale back engine efficiency to keep things challenging.
  
• Deadly Reentry! Feel the burn!
  
• Integrates even more excellent mods! TAC lifesupport, ScanSat and VDS Hullcam
  
• "No KSC science" - You cannot get science from the Runway, Launchpad and KSC and its immediate surroundings
  
• Nerfed reaction wheels. Early probes have neither SAS nor reaction wheels. Early SAS comes as an extra part.
  
• Unfinished endgame! (oh, wait....)
  

Some words of warning

• Unfinished endgame! The tree is currently laid out up to and including Tier 6, which should provide enough tech to explore Kerbin, the Mun, Minmus and Eve/Duna. I have some ideas for the rest of the tree, but balancing and part assignment is not done yet.
  
• This is a work-in progress. Balancing might be slightly off depending on which techs you choose first. I don't think its possible to get stuck, but I have not yet tested every path. Think before you choose!
  
• This is balanced for the "Sandbox Science" mode. You might be able to do it with contracts and funds, but have not tested that yet. If you do, be sure to report your findings. I guess that the part-testing contracts and additional science gains will throw everything off balance.
  
• Actually, you CAN get receive from the launchpad etc. The experiments will work. However, the gained science is immediately nullified afterwards. The science experiments should have a description indicating this behaviour.
  

• Get a clean KSP install other than Win x64. I won't support Win x64, and some of the used plugins don't support it.
  
• Download and install the Toolbar plugin from blizzy78
  
• Download and install NathanKells Deadly Reentry Continued
  
• Download and install Trueborns CustomBiomes plugin
  
• Download and install ferram4's NEAR
  
• Download and install ferram4's Kerbal ISP difficulty scaler
  
• Download and install AlbertVDS's Hullcam VDS plugin
  
• Download and install TaranisElsus TAC Lifesupport
  
• Download and installScanSat 8.0
  
• Download and install my Alternative Tree Configurator plugin
  
• Finally! download TinkerTech from Kerbalstuff, extract it and overwrite content and config files for KIDS and CustomBiomes.
  
• Start KSP, start a new "Sandbox Science" game.
  
• In the Space center view, open the "KIDS" panel and select the "TinkerTech" preset.
  
• In your first flight scene, open the "Custom Biomes" dialog (CB), go to the "Biome sets" tab and load the Tinkertech set. Go to the "Default sets" tab and set Tinkertech as default for your savegame.
  
• Go build stuff!
  

Recommended additional plugins

• Kerbal Alarm Clock
  
• Kerbal Engineer Redux
  
• EditorExtensions
  
• PreciseNode
  
• Research them all
  
• your favourite combination of visual enhancers
  
• If you like additional challenge, leave KER out, get ProbeControlRoom instead and fly your unmanned mission based on MFDs and cameras.
  
• No other plugins, especially no Part plugins, Tweakscale, RSS etc. The progression is balanced, and other stuff will interfere with that
  

Hints and notes

• Read the techtree descriptions!
  
• Kerbin has only 8 biomes; KSC (no value), "Somewhat further away" (grasslands outside the light green grass), "Landscape" (starting about halfway to the mountains), "Oceans", "Great Desert", "Crater", "Mountains" (only the really high ones), and "Poles"
  
• Aerobraking is dangerous. Returning from Mun or Minmus usually requires a double-pass, even with a heatshield. Interplanetary aerocapturing is extremely dangerous. You will probably burn up and not slow down enough at the same time if you fly stock-like strategies. Bring some fuel. You have been warned
  
• You do not have to complete one tier before going to the next one.
  
• This mod includes version checking using MiniAVC. If you opt-in, it will use the internet to check whether there is a new version available. Data is only read from the internet and no personal information is sent. For a more comprehensive version checking experience, please download the KSP-AVC Plugin.
  
• This is actually version "2" of TinkerTech, as I have experimented with a similar tech tree when science was first introduced. This one is much more streamlined and less grindy thanks to the Custom Biome mod.
  

Changelog

- 2.0.1 initial release

- 2.0.2 fix: add VSD camera parts in start node

- 2.1.2 extend KSC biome into nearby oceans to prevent easy science

- 2.2 balancing and small fixes up to tier 5 - detailed changelog here

- 2.3 T5 balancing - changelog

- 2.4 Finished T5 balancing, ScanSat integration and Tier 6

- - 2.4.1 water "landed" fix, biome reduction for Eve and Duna, T7 node layout (empty)

- - 2.4.2 probe hibernation and minor tweaks. full Changelog

- - 2.4.3 .25 compatibility (part and code updates)

Let me know what you think. Is it too easy? too hard? too grindy? What can you achieve on tier 4 or tier 5? How much weight can you lift into orbit?

Edited October 15, 2014 by SirJodelstein
2.4.3 update

[Arron Rift]

Very interesting! Should provide a nice change of pace for those who have played the Campaign several times through. And congrats on release

[SirJodelstein]

Minor update 2.1.2 : I extended the KSC biome into the nearby oceans to prevent some easy science by just driving a crewed rover into it. Oceans are still a nice target, it now just requires a little more effort to get there.

Happy exploring!

Well, the pilot survived, so i guess this counts as a success, right?

[SirJodelstein]

Update 2.2 is out, which is the result of another balancing test playthrough. Lots of minor updates and fixes:

• nerfed cupola reactionwheels
  
• updated AdvSAS part description to match its new function as the first available SAS module without reaction wheels
  
• updated Kerbin biome map (to prevent "ice cap" detection at Oceans->Desert border, also improved mountain biome KSW West positioning precision)
  
• removed solidBooster lower stack-attach node (actually a fix, the previous MM-config did not work)
  
• fixed battery weight of z400
  
• gave surface sample experiment an extremely high datascale to discourage transmission
  

[SirJodelstein]

Here we go, T5 balancing and finetuning is done. Next up: T6

Biggest change is the launch part count limiter. Launches are limited to max 200 parts. Eventually, a late game technology will raise this limit. Without this limit, launches with massive innefficient vessels way beyong Kerbins SOI are possible as soon as you get some T5 techs. Too easy, not fun.

patchnotes 2.3

fix: made rcs thrusters physics relevant to prevent reentry heatshield exploits
fix: made ScienceCamera physics relevant (removed the "physicsSignificance = 1 flag)

T5 balancing
Launch Limiter: Launches are limited to max 200 parts. 
tweaked 1.25 heatshield to allow Mun returns (with a double-pass)
increased landed-value of Mun to 4x
fixed materialslab experiment - no additional value after first return
added flat rockomax-tank to fuelSystems to make it a viable alternative
increased weight of M-Beam, reduced crashtolerance - radial attachment points should not come basically weightless
added radial decoupler to T5 heavier rocketry to make it more attractive

Just out of curiosity: Is anyone actually playing with this tree? With this update, the missions up to a Manned Mun landing at T5 should provide quite some hours of building and mission execution gameplay.

Edited September 26, 2014 by SirJodelstein

[Valerian]

I just installed Kerbal again after more than one year without playing, and the first thing I did was to try BTSM: I loved it!

Now I just found your mod, and I'm glad to see that new mods are still made.

I was actually looking for a mod similar to BTSM that would include FAR or NEAR, and apparently I just found it

I also like the reduction of biomes, there were really too many.

Regarding contracts you might be able to do something by relying on mods such as http://forum.kerbalspaceprogram.com/threads/43645-Mission-Controller-2-(Version-1-01)-(KSP-24-2)-(More-Config-Options) and http://forum.kerbalspaceprogram.com/threads/88445-0-24-2-Fine-Print-v0-58b-Resource-Harvest-Contracts-Configuration-(August-31) . I think one of them can force the contracts to only use parts you currently have access to.

I will try playing your mod today, and give you feedback.

[SirJodelstein]

V2.4 is out. Finished Tier 5 finetuning and added Tier 6 nodes. Also, TinkerTech now integrates ScanSat!

SCANsat integration. Biome and Lowres-scanners available early (but the power-requirements and amount of available science limits their usefulness)
fix: physics relevance for batterypack_large and comm-dish
Minmus Biome update: Merged Lowlands and Slopes into "Midlands" biome
Tier 6 nodes and node content (preliminary, finetuning will happen over the next few updates)

A typical Tier 5 satellite. Yep, no solar panels available yet.

[disembodied]

Are the oceans not supposed to give science?

I get the tinkertech invalid biome/situation notice for "landed in ocean".

[SirJodelstein]

Are the oceans not supposed to give science?

I get the tinkertech invalid biome/situation notice for "landed in ocean".

Yes, the oceans should give science - but only if you are in the "splashed down" situation, not in the "landed" situaiton. "Landed in Ocean" is invalid (as would be "splashed down in the mountains"). Since I am not quite sure how KSP determines splashed vs landed, I dont want to give duplicate science results for the same situation. I think you get the splashdown situation if you actually land in the water (as apposed to "roll into the water with a rover from the shores").

[undercoveryankee]

Yes, the oceans should give science - but only if you are in the "splashed down" situation, not in the "landed" situaiton. "Landed in Ocean" is invalid (as would be "splashed down in the mountains"). Since I am not quite sure how KSP determines splashed vs landed, I dont want to give duplicate science results for the same situation. I think you get the splashdown situation if you actually land in the water (as apposed to "roll into the water with a rover from the shores").

"Splashed" applies if you're actually subject to water physics; "landed" if you're on the ground but the biome map says "water." So "Landed in Ocean" happens if you're close to the edge of the water or on a small island that isn't reflected in the biome map (most notably the island airfield). "Splashed" on a land biome can happen if you manage to find a river or pond that's too small to be shown on the biome map.

[disembodied]

Well, I'd understand if it was with a rover, but... clicky for image.

Highlighted debris is where I landed. The debris about 60km to the west is the first attempt. KSC is another 20-30 km away from that one.

[SirJodelstein]

Well, I'd understand if it was with a rover, but... clicky for image.

Highlighted debris is where I landed. The debris about 60km to the west is the first attempt. KSC is another 20-30 km away from that one.

Ok, this should definitely be a splashed situation. Strange, but i can not reproduce a "Landed" situation in the oceans biome. Anyway, i have just pushed a minor update which should take care of that problem: I have added a fix so that the situation of a "landed" vessel with parts having water contact is automatically changed to the correct "splashed" situation. It should even work for active flights (as soon as you switch to them).

@disembodied: Could you please check if the new patch 2.4.1 resolves this issue (quit KSP, get patch, restart, switch to your craft, check if you can do splashdown science, and check if the situaiton of the vessel (seen in the tracking station) is now "splashed" and not "landed"?

[disembodied]

@disembodied: Could you please check if the new patch 2.4.1 resolves this issue

It works now, "splashed down".

I took a surface sample, but it doesn't let me do an EVA report while the kerbal is in the water. Context menu option is missing (it still thinks I'm in the "oceans, landed" biome if I try it while on top of the craft. EVA/Surface sample reports show up fine there).

[SirJodelstein]

It works now, "splashed down".

I took a surface sample, but it doesn't let me do an EVA report while the kerbal is in the water. Context menu option is missing (it still thinks I'm in the "oceans, landed" biome if I try it while on top of the craft. EVA/Surface sample reports show up fine there).

Ok, thanks! No EVA in water is intentional (EVA report is only available landed and spacelow, and is only biome-sensitive while landed). No need to make your crew hop out over each biome in orbit anymore The crew report (in a capsule) is now biome sensitive in low orbit.

[SirJodelstein]

Allright, minor update 2.4.2 just before I'm off into the holidays:

* added "Hibernation Switch" - probe cores on a vessel can now hibernate for a drastically reduced energy consumption. Warning: Without a control source (Kerbal/other active core) onboard, you won't be able to reactivate them! A later tech will add a "timed hibernation" feature for automatic wakeup.
* reduced octo-probe electricity consumption to its advertised rate
* tweaked docking port masses
* moved Gravioli-Detector from Electronics to AdvLanding

[SirJodelstein]

Update: Version 2.4.3 is out, making this compatible with 0.25. Balanced for "normal" difficulty. You might have to enable "indestructible facilities" if your launchpad collapses on physics initialization (as long as no launch clamps are available).

[Toxiccameron]

Are you planning on updating this for .90? The thread seems a bit dead so i was just wondering