[1.12.x] Alcubierre Warp Drive (Stand-alone)

[RoverDude]

This is a stupid question. but how far are you along with the next update?

It should be in the beehive zip if anyone wants to test it - it is VERY VERY DIFFERENT so you need to use a new drive, it is not backwards compatible, and I am only testing it on the 2.5m drive (which, if beehive is current, would appear under fuel tanks not engines since I still need to fix that).

Really just a matter of wrapping up other testing across other mods before doing a large release.

I'm having a problem with the .625 meter version exploding whenever i try to use it. I don't have any parts sticking out of the warp-bubble guide, but each time i throttle up more than enough to see the bubble start to form the entire thing explodes.

It is okay to have karbonium/karbonite in the bubble, right?

craft file: https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B171LYBBLzekdU1VUWN1WGI5cjg/view?usp=sharing

using Box sat, karbonite, K+, tweakscale, near future electricity,

pictures of craft in VAB

http://i96.photobucket.com/albums/l180/mkire/screenshot0.png

http://i96.photobucket.com/albums/l180/mkire/screenshot1.png

If you run out of exotic matter or EC, you will explode as the bubble collapses.

[Kielm]

I'm encountering a small problem with this mod; The warp engine on any ship I launch is automatically activated whenever I switch back to the vessel with the warp drive on board.

This can be particularly problematic if I launch a warp ship from a station, go back to kerbin, and then try to fly the warp vessel again. Warp drive is automatically activated (even if it was shutdown on last focus), destroying the station and anything else within the destructo-range.

Is it just me, or do others experience this same problem?

[RoverDude]

Log a github issue please

[cjones]

Has anyone had problems with parts of the ship shaking violently under warp? If I move the throttle over 50%, the shaking becomes very strong and the ship usually gets destroyed.

[helaeon]

Has anyone had problems with parts of the ship shaking violently under warp? If I move the throttle over 50%, the shaking becomes very strong and the ship usually gets destroyed.

Yes, that's kind of part of the deal. KJR helps. But you really do need to think about how things are attached and strut as necessary. Sometimes flying without SAS helps. I have a spaceplane with some severe clipping going on that flies at 1.6c like a rock... but it took several tries to get it strutted properly so it didn't shake and blow itself apart. Also make sure you're not making exotic matter at the same time as running the drive. Most ships won't have enough power to do both at once so you may be getting damage from an unstable bubble (I had this happen too).

Current release version (not sure about beehive) uses vessel.setposition which can invite the kraken when the magnitude of the offset is large (like when going fast). I am not figuring out how to get it to work using krakensbane instead but I'm a supernoob at C#. However, it's been stated this thing should be scary and dangerous so some instability is possibly by design and it does work well and predictably if you build a solid ship.

Kielm. Happens to me too. I'll log an issue if you haven't already.

[cjones]

So just to verify, this is intended behaviour:

This is not really usable and certainly not fun. I had to limp over to the Urania system at 1/3 throttle and it took ages and was very boring. Also, I had to stop multiple times because the fidgeting causes phantom forces on the ship which throws it off course, so I have to continually throttle down to zero, re-orient, and start again.

[RoverDude]

See notes above re a new update in the works.

[Kielm]

@cjones

If you check the F3 report when that happens you can pinpoint which part is separating first and move/strut that part, but generally strutting things together and/or using KJR can help. I get some phantom rotation and steering forces, and more often than not my initial design will tear itself apart once I throttle up to a good speed (over 1/3rd). Steer clear of anything that is not very rigid like docking port connections, and try putting the thinner components (life support, batteries) further away from the drive so that the other parts can act as a buffer. As a rule, if it wobbles on take-off, it probably won't survive warp.

But yep, you're not alone, that's what happens to my ships too.

[cjones]

Thanks guys, I only wanted to make sure we were talking about the same thing. Everyone's definition of 'unplayable' is different, so I thought a video would be worth several thousand words.

RoverDude: I will try the new experimental version, I only need the files in the WarpDrive folder?

Kielm: I believe it is the Advanced SAS modules (there is one on either side of the warp drive as that ship is tough the handle, and I disable all the SAS units at the front to prevent wet noodle syndrome). They are very weak parts and tend to be the first to get destroyed in a lot of my ships.

[MrJacobean]

What tech node does this become available at for career mode?

[iFlyAllTheTime]

This was first released on Nov 21st; before 0.90

Can I safely assume that there's an older version of this mod that still works on 0.25?

If so, can someone please confirm it would be 0.0.6?

[Serino]

This may be a stupid question but where do I get the beehive/experimental version. All I can seem to find are the release versions.

Edit: Nvm I could just use my eyes a bit more and I would have seen it.

[Kielm]

cjones: I've had similar problems with those too. It's usually either battery stacks or SAS modules that go first for me.

Using 8x symmetry strutting between the SAS and adjacent parts can help. In fact, strutting all the adjacent parts together has become standard procedure for all the warp ships I make now, and that's still not 100% effective.

I've never seen a radial part fly off first, so swapping stackable batteries, rcs fuel, and anything else for radial items can help.

iFlyAllTheTime: I'm pretty sure 0.0.6 was the last 0.25 compatible version.

Available at RD's Warpdrive releases - https://github.com/BobPalmer/WarpDrive/releases

[Sufficient Anonymity]

IXS Enterprise using RoverDude's plugin

Now to work out why there's that odd looking square (and to turn the whole thing into a ModuleManager config).

EDIT: Scrap that, probably easier to release an alternative config file.

EDIT2: Fixed the square. Can't get the bubble guide to toggle properly though. Oh well, at a 40m bubble size, if you can build it in the VAB or the SPH, it'll fit inside.

Edited January 23, 2015 by SufficientAnonymity

[iFlyAllTheTime]

iFlyAllTheTime: I'm pretty sure 0.0.6 was the last 0.25 compatible version.

Available at RD's Warpdrive releases - https://github.com/BobPalmer/WarpDrive/releases

Thanks.

@roverdude:

Huge fan of your work!

could you please confirm if 0.0.6 was 0.25 compatible?

[goldenpsp]

Thanks.

@roverdude:

Huge fan of your work!

could you please confirm if 0.0.6 was 0.25 compatible?

you could just go look. The GitHub releases are pretty obvious.

[iFlyAllTheTime]

you could just go look. The GitHub releases are pretty obvious.

I'll be travelling for the next few days. Just couldn't wait to go back and try it out myself.

ill check it out and be sure to report back when I get back to my pc.

[NikoKun]

Soo.. um maybe a dumb question.. I'm interested to try this one out, but should I wait for the next update? Is there some issue?

Also, does anyone have a good suggestion for a relatively simple stand-alone way/mod to power this?

[helaeon]

Soo.. um maybe a dumb question.. I'm interested to try this one out, but should I wait for the next update? Is there some issue?

Also, does anyone have a good suggestion for a relatively simple stand-alone way/mod to power this?

The current one works fine. From a very limited amount of testing I think Rover found a better way programming wise to create the effect (I haven't seen the source yet, I don't think anyway).

Whatever ship you make you should make it so you can easily swap the drive part out when you upgrade (you'll need to remove the part from your current craft and grab a new one and place it in. You'll know it worked when you can toggle the warp bubble guide in the VAB again).

RoverDude's Honeybadger reactors work well to power it. You can also use the MKS and OKS PDUs or Neartea's NearFuture Electrical reactors (though those aren't fully .90 ready but it mostly works).

You don't need a ton of power to run it, the power just allows you to make exotic matter faster. If you try and make exotic matter while operating the drive you will explode as you probably can't supply 10K ec/sec. 1500 though is more than enough. Probably less will serve just fine.

[daawgees]

The current one works fine. From a very limited amount of testing I think Rover found a better way programming wise to create the effect (I haven't seen the source yet, I don't think anyway).

Whatever ship you make you should make it so you can easily swap the drive part out when you upgrade (you'll need to remove the part from your current craft and grab a new one and place it in. You'll know it worked when you can toggle the warp bubble guide in the VAB again).

RoverDude's Honeybadger reactors work well to power it. You can also use the MKS and OKS PDUs or Neartea's NearFuture Electrical reactors (though those aren't fully .90 ready but it mostly works).

You don't need a ton of power to run it, the power just allows you to make exotic matter faster. If you try and make exotic matter while operating the drive you will explode as you probably can't supply 10K ec/sec. 1500 though is more than enough. Probably less will serve just fine.

I'm confused or I did something wrong. I just installed this to both a .25 and a .90 x86 install of KSP. Using Nertea's Near Future reactor (the largest) I can slowly collect exotic matter. However, when I shutdown the collector and then try to run the drive it shuts itself down saying I don't have enough power. Ideas?

Edit: I'm a moron. I was engaging the drive too close to a planet.

Edited January 26, 2015 by daawgees
I'm an idiot.

[NikoKun]

I really like the smaller-rocket version, although I haven't been able to get it (either) working just yet.. heh the expanding animations tho, it seems like it just suddenly pops out? might be a glitch on my end.

Edit: nvm, the animations seem to be working perfectly again. Must have been a glitch.

Also, finally got things working perfectly! Wasn't as hard as I was worried it'd be.

Edited January 27, 2015 by NikoKun

[Gkirmathal]

Hey odd place to make my first post but. Just out of curiosity installed this (along with NearFuture I have been using) to see what it's about and liking what I have seen thus far. One, huge, snag though.

I constantly run into a nasty kraken bug problem on quickload and focus changes: every ship build with it, encounters the kraken/disintegrates in orbit, moments after the drives 'load animation' for absence of a better term.

Other ships (build in sandbox for testing) in the 70t range do not suffer this.

Can anyone advice me what this might cause and or if it is fixable?

I use Kerbal Joint Reinforcement, which came to mind, but I have too little experience with KSP modding to know if it could be a culprit.

Edit: it would have been logical to check all my mods, seemed there was a new KJR version released, it fixed the issue.

Edited January 27, 2015 by Gkirmathal

[NikoKun]

Is there anything I can do to make the smaller-version fly straighter? Whether I have SAS/RCS on or off seems to make no difference, either way it curves uncontrollably after a couple seconds at warp. Not sure what I'm doing wrong.. My only guess is that I might try adding a second reaction wheel to strengthen SAS, but I thought it was a bad idea to fly with that on.. :/

Anyone have any advice?

[DaniDE]

Is there anything I can do to make the smaller-version fly straighter? Whether I have SAS/RCS on or off seems to make no difference, either way it curves uncontrollably after a couple seconds at warp. Not sure what I'm doing wrong.. My only guess is that I might try adding a second reaction wheel to strengthen SAS, but I thought it was a bad idea to fly with that on.. :/

Anyone have any advice?

Are you sure you are talking about the warp drive? Just asking because it makes no sense what you describe, since the alcubierre drive is using translation, it moves space around the ship, not accelerating the ships mass in any direction.

Maybe you have another engine running at the same time ? Try to set up two action groups, one to shutdown the warpdrive and activate the conventional engines and another one to activate warp drive and shutdown conventional engines, use those to make sure you are not having both engine types active at the same time.

[daawgees]

Are you sure you are talking about the warp drive? Just asking because it makes no sense what you describe, since the alcubierre drive is using translation, it moves space around the ship, not accelerating the ships mass in any direction.

Maybe you have another engine running at the same time ? Try to set up two action groups, one to shutdown the warpdrive and activate the conventional engines and another one to activate warp drive and shutdown conventional engines, use those to make sure you are not having both engine types active at the same time.

I was running into a similar issue; was trying to dock a lander to a large warp ship in Kerbin Orbit. As the lander was approaching the warp ship it would suddenly blow up. I later discovered the warp bubble was activated and was destroying both vessels on contact. Gotta make sure that warp drive is shut down. LOL