[WIP] Stand-alone (no dependencies) Alcubierre drive

[Gaalidas]

Wow, I delayed looking at this thinking it was just another new model for the KSPI mods and it's various iterations. Stand-alone sounds awesome though. I always hated that the other mods of this type were always so complicated compared to the usual kerbal simplicity that makes KSP so easy to jump into and mess with.

[RoverDude]

Good point - changed the title

[RogueMason]

Well, I may just have to give this a go when it's released...

[1of6Billion]

Errr, wow! Just, wow!!

[armytwin2]

You sir are amazing! I was literally just thinking (2 hours ago) "You know I wish someone would come up with a standalone or alternative warp drive. I like kspi but its just too much to deal with I just want something less complicated."

This literally just made my day. Thank you for all your awesome mods!

[RoverDude]

Good deal

Just a quick update - working on four things:

1. Particle effects for the drive in action

2. If a warp bubble is activated, disrupt nearby ships outside of the bubble

3. disrupt parts of the host ship outside of the bubble

4. Based on speed, raytrace and destroy parts in front of the bubble as the ship decelerates

In short, getting fuel is the least of your concerns

[Gaalidas]

By "disrupting parts of the ship outside the bubble" I do hope you intend on implementing some way that we could expand this bubble to properly cover the entire ship, maybe with an energy requirement per some unit of measurement for sustaining the bubble outside of the intended size. Otherwise, we're limited to the bubble size and shape in which to construct our craft unless we accept the possibility of our ship being torn asunder by the limited bubble size. Now, I would love to see something where it not only causes fluctuations in the space around the bubble, but has the ability to rip away parts of surrounding crafts that get their bits caught in the bubble when the ship uncorks the bottle, so to speak. I also wonder if combining the warp bubbles of several ships moving together (such as with that burning-together mod (or whatever it's called)) to create a shared-bubble of some sort.

Okay, my imagination it going nuts. Just continue as planned and disregard my crazy brain.

[physicsnerd]

Thank you for the effects on parts/other ships. Frankly, warp drives are boring when they just act as "go really fast for no cost".

[NecroBones]

Hey, this looks pretty cool!

Slowly regenerating exotic matter sounds pretty good, especially with translation effects that will still require good DV from another propulsion system. It might need a companion piece with some sort of advanced ion drive with good thrust.

[Angelo Kerman]

Or maybe a karborundrum powered fusion.drive...

[Ryugi]

Can I use your post in my signature? It's great.

Of course. =)

[Ryugi]

Good deal

Just a quick update - working on four things:

1. Particle effects for the drive in action

2. If a warp bubble is activated, disrupt nearby ships outside of the bubble

3. disrupt parts of the host ship outside of the bubble

4. Based on speed, raytrace and destroy parts in front of the bubble as the ship decelerates

In short, getting fuel is the least of your concerns

I would hope all of those things should be easily manageable. For instance, perhaps a warning similar to the kinds of things Interstellar has for radiation. "Warning: Drive Activation will damage a Nearby Vessel." Granted, going to warp directly next to another ship after that warning is your own fault, but something like that to mitigate the destructive power of what you're doing might be nice. Managing the Warp Field should also be relatively simple. Shearing away parts of your own vessel, or other vessels, at warp would be problematic, especially if you don't know how big the Field is that you're generating to encompass your ship.

Of course, having a simple "On and Off" switch to activate and deactivate the Drive Assembly would be good for dealing with the side effects. In effect, you should only run into those problems if you're trying to use the drive for your ship's main source of propulsion and maneuvering, or warping right up to a station or vessel, rather than, say, your own set of Impulse Engines that you may have created with cfg edits for personal use. *shifty eyes*

By doing those things, your drive would be used for interplanetary travel, in mostly straight lines, and should probably be deactivated by the user once you get into a Sphere of Influence of a planet, as you've suggested, and leave standard forms of propulsion for maneuvering inside the gravity well. The option to use it within the well could be there, but at significant risk to other vessels or stations and what-have-you around you when you start warping space time near them.

[White Owl]

I like the notion of combining this mod with that Kerbal Warp Drive that simulates discovering a whole new planetary system. Maybe have an option to Alcubierre drive away and emerge in the new system with an enormous relative velocity, to simulate the difference in the distant star's orbital speed around the galaxy.

[Ryugi]

It seems to me that both that mod and this one could be used in conjunction with one another for the same basic desired effect. Could be interesting. For now, I'm just giddy at the thought of zipping ships between planets and building bases. Maybe even making my own little war between factions or something.

Also, I've been a long-time viewer of your videos, Matt. I'm glad to see you making content again. =)

[RoverDude]

Decoupling...

[RoverDude]

3.75m drive. Based on the fact that I can toss in an FTT freighter, I am going to stick with one warp drive per ship.

[Railgunner2160]

Where are those containers from?? I've seen them in screenshots and it's driving me mad, I really kinda like the whole Industrial look it gives cargo ships....

[RoverDude]

Freight Transport Tech.

Side note - I think I will stick with 2.75 since it fits this:

[Deadpan110]

Freight Transport Tech.

Side note - I think I will stick with 2.75 since it fits this:

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

I have been watching this thread evolve and - once again... Awesome!!

Out of curiosity... how does that look with the FTT toroidal SAS - and.. while thinking about it, OKS Hab ring?

Also, the sphere - is it just for testing or do we get to zoom around in our very own bubble?

Edit: 2.75m or 2.5m typo?

Edited November 18, 2014 by Deadpan110
another question

[RoverDude]

2.75m - there will in fact be a bubble while the drive is on. I'm going to toy with having the bubble's color animating as you adjust the throttle, along with some ambient light. So as your ship increases the warp effect, the color spectrum shifts and things get brighter. As you shift back down to zero, the bubble becomes nearly invisible. In the VAB, it will be there primarily as a planning tool.

OKS rings and the Toroidal SAS will fit in it fine if you're careful, but there are some obvious design considerations, which is a good limiting factor. Though I for one plan on getting VERY creative with alcubierre decoupling

[Warpedone]

when? when?? when??? I'm going slightly mad spending years shipping Karborundum back from the mines of Eeloo and this is going to improve things no end

[RoverDude]

when? when?? when??? I'm going slightly mad spending years shipping Karborundum back from the mines of Eeloo and this is going to improve things no end

By the weekend.

The drive works beautifully, I just have to finish some visual effects and work out the power consumtion/recharging and engine balance.

[Whirligig Girl]

So does this just work as an OP thruster with a decoupling bubble around it? Or does it change your trajectory but keep your velocity (Kinda like KSPI)

[RoverDude]

It translates you in space without acceleration. The only thrust is for maneuvering. So if you leave LKO at 2500 m/s and point at jool, you would drop out of warp at 2500 m/s give or take

[Proot]

May I suggest a texture animation in the "bubble"?

http://forum.kerbalspaceprogram.com/threads/97751-PLUGIN-0-25-Texture-Animation-Util?highlight=texture+animation