[1.3.x] SETI, Unmanned before Manned [Patreon]

[SSGFouts31]

Earlier you mentioned the 2 kerbal pod not updates for 1.04. That is the K2 two man pod. The Corvus pod works fine and is in my opinion a better more fully realized mod anyway.

[Landwalker]

Hm, I did not touch those boosters as far as I remember.

About the 2 kerbal pod:

Yep, HGR has lots of them, but I was rather looking for a small mod offering a single 2 kerbal pod.

Ah, that makes sense. I suspected as much, but figured I'd throw it out there anyway.

The Mk3-9 is from NearFuture Spacecraft (or so). It is actually a bit too advanced and by default comes after the 3 kerbal pod (it has an advanced flight computer). But I moved it to this earlier node, for those who do not install other 2 kerbal pods. Also it is pretty heavy compared to other 2 kerbal pods anyway.

Ah-hah. Thanks for enlightening me. I didn't realize the Mk3-9 had any special fancy-pants features, either.

Hm, I did not touch them. Maybe some other contract pack? Or the career is not advanced enough.

Entirely possibleâ€â€my "pre-game" runs haven't made it very far, but for some reason I was expecting to see the rescue missions. It might just be that I haven't done whatever needs to be done to unlock them. I'll have to dig into the SQUAD contract files and see what the critical step is. Good to know in advance that it isn't anything on this end.

---------Edit---------

What I suspect happened is that when I reached the point where it was time for me to start putting kerbals into orbit, I was running KCT simulations when it happened... and then tinkering with a bunch of mods and starting the whole thing over again before I made it much further than that. Will conduct further experiments to confirm.

Edited July 14, 2015 by Landwalker

[nobodyhasthis]

Earlier you mentioned the 2 kerbal pod not updates for 1.04. That is the K2 two man pod. The Corvus pod works fine and is in my opinion a better more fully realized mod anyway.

Totally agree with this. The Corvus is the way to go and already sits in well with the current tech tree. It gives a basic 2 man pod for much of the early game. Then expands into a lovely LKO workhorse by unlocking it's RCS package. It is also a great docking trainer. It is fully supported in 1.0.4 and can be installed via CKAN.

On a side note for those going for a natural progression path. As part of my game I use it to fly all the Gemini missions using the a new beta release of Nehemiah Engineering - Orbital Material Science (Nehemiah is currently very busy so Micha has updated this to 1.0.4). Although it possible to do Kemini experiments with a mk1 pod. There something magical about using a Corvus as a Gemini stand in. The experiments are based on real experiments from the Gemini Program.

• D5 Star Occultation Navigation Gemini 7 Experiment
  
• D7 Space Object Radiometry Gemini 7 Experiment
  
• D8 Spacecraft Radiation Level Gemini 4 Experiment
  
• MSC-3 Tri-Axis Magnetometer Gemini 7 Experiment
  
• D10 Ion-sensing Attitude Control Gemini 10 Experiment
  

They make a great addition to the SETT progression but you might need to turn down science rewards back down below 70% again. **WARNING** This is an experimental build (no pun intended) http://forum.kerbalspaceprogram.com/threads/118716

[Yemo]

Earlier you mentioned the 2 kerbal pod not updates for 1.04. That is the K2 two man pod. The Corvus pod works fine and is in my opinion a better more fully realized mod anyway.

I thought the heat shield of the Corvus is not yet up to date?

Unfortunately the Corvus pack is pretty large for those few parts.

Ah, that makes sense. I suspected as much, but figured I'd throw it out there anyway.

Ah-hah. Thanks for enlightening me. I didn't realize the Mk3-9 had any special fancy-pants features, either.

Entirely possibleâ€â€my "pre-game" runs haven't made it very far, but for some reason I was expecting to see the rescue missions. It might just be that I haven't done whatever needs to be done to unlock them. I'll have to dig into the SQUAD contract files and see what the critical step is. Good to know in advance that it isn't anything on this end.

---------Edit---------

What I suspect happened is that when I reached the point where it was time for me to start putting kerbals into orbit, I was running KCT simulations when it happened... and then tinkering with a bunch of mods and starting the whole thing over again before I made it much further than that. Will conduct further experiments to confirm.

Oh yes, with KCT simulations you sometimes forget, that you are still in the simulation.

Totally agree with this. The Corvus is the way to go and already sits in well with the current tech tree. It gives a basic 2 man pod for much of the early game. Then expands into a lovely LKO workhorse by unlocking it's RCS package. It is also a great docking trainer. It is fully supported in 1.0.4 and can be installed via CKAN.

On a side note for those going for a natural progression path. As part of my game I use it to fly all the Gemini missions using the a new beta release of Nehemiah Engineering - Orbital Material Science (Nehemiah is currently very busy so Micha has updated this to 1.0.4). Although it possible to do Kemini experiments with a mk1 pod. There something magical about using a Corvus as a Gemini stand in. The experiments are based on real experiments from the Gemini Program.

• D5 Star Occultation Navigation Gemini 7 Experiment
  
• D7 Space Object Radiometry Gemini 7 Experiment
  
• D8 Spacecraft Radiation Level Gemini 4 Experiment
  
• MSC-3 Tri-Axis Magnetometer Gemini 7 Experiment
  
• D10 Ion-sensing Attitude Control Gemini 10 Experiment
  

They make a great addition to the SETT progression but you might need to turn down science rewards back down below 70% again. **WARNING** This is an experimental build (no pun intended) http://forum.kerbalspaceprogram.com/threads/118716

I really like the Corvus as well. Though I left it out of the new Basic Mod pack for now.

Ah, I remember them, wanted to do configs for them for the BalanceMod, but didnt quite get around to it before 1.0.x hit. Will set them on my list.

And just finished the small mod pack. Mostly info/comfort mods:

Download: SETI ModPack 1 Basic v0.9.1 (for KSP 1.0.4)

All the info/comfort mods, but only VenStockRevamp and Adj.LandingGear part mods.

Edited July 14, 2015 by Yemo

[nobodyhasthis]

Yemo have you tried the SETI Modpack link yet?

Has a lovely malware threat on it when downloaded. It is scamming people into dialing a high priced "virus help" call center. It is however just a java pop up that uses your mod pack as bait.

[goldenpsp]

Yemo have you tried the SETI Modpack link yet?

Has a lovely malware threat on it when downloaded. It is scamming people into dialing a high priced "virus help" call center. It is however just a java pop up that uses your mod pack as bait.

Yay mediafire!

[Yemo]

Yemo have you tried the SETI Modpack link yet?

Has a lovely malware threat on it when downloaded. It is scamming people into dialing a high priced "virus help" call center. It is however just a java pop up that uses your mod pack as bait.

Yay mediafire!

Hm, I just tried without ABP and I only see the usual on-site ads and one of the usual pop-up windows.

[goldenpsp]

Hm, I just tried without ABP and I only see the usual on-site ads and one of the usual pop-up windows.

It's likely just a mis-click. The whole design of sites like mediafire is to try and get you to click their links to install their junk. Why not use something like Kerbalstuff, which is free and not full of adware link crap?

[nobodyhasthis]

It's likely just a mis-click. The whole design of sites like mediafire is to try and get you to click their links to install their junk. Why not use something like Kerbalstuff, which is free and not full of adware link crap?

Yes that is right but this is not a mis-click. It is an invisible java button overlay. Mousing over the download button reveals the origin in the status bar of chrome. It is actually supposed to be a side bar but is offset and blended into the download button. Killing the advert and mousing over the same download button shows the SETI origin. Clear case of deception malware.

[Yemo]

It's likely just a mis-click. The whole design of sites like mediafire is to try and get you to click their links to install their junk. Why not use something like Kerbalstuff, which is free and not full of adware link crap?

The .ckan file is technically not a mod, so I m not sure it would fit on kerbalstuff.

Yes that is right but this is not a mis-click. It is an invisible java button overlay. Mousing over the download button reveals the origin in the status bar of chrome. It is actually supposed to be a side bar but is offset and blended into the download button. Killing the advert and mousing over the same download button shows the SETI origin. Clear case of deception malware.

Sounds a bit like a (chrome?) glitch. I use firefox and do not experience this. Maybe I have different settings. Using ABP, the download site and link look totally fine&clean for me .

So while the .ckan would probably not fit on kerbalstuff, I wonder if I should just use github...

After all, it is a simple txt format and it would actually provide an immediate benefit for the first step towards github.

But looking at the file, I wonder why it saves the version number of the mods. What happens when a mod is updated?

[Yemo]

SETI CommunityTechTree v0.9.1.2 (for KSP 1.0.4)

NEW: SETI-ModPack for CKAN available from the forum thread

• All mod packs include the info/comfort/contract mods/packs
  
• SETI-ModPack-1-Basic: VenStockRevamp and Adj.LandingGear part mods
  
• More mod packs are planned
  

SETI-CTT Mod Support

• Added HGR to the 0.9.1 changelog (forgot that one as well)
  
• Corvus Command Pod config updated
  
• NearFuture Construction
  
• NearFuture Electrics
  
• Procedural Fairings
  

Fixes

• Radial MaterialBay attachment offset fixed
  

[Landwalker]

Out of curiosity, what are the "info" and "comfort" mods/packs that are part of the SETI-ModPack Basic version? (Not that I'm going to use it, just curious.)

[kingoftheinternet]

picture

I can tolerate having to re-buy a bunch of locked parts, but is there any way to not shoot holes in an in-progress tech tree between updates?

Edit: Also, researched but locked parts aren't showing up in the default categories (though are still searchable and in my custom categories). Was this intentional, or unintentional and maybe related to a change on your end, or probably just some other mod or some setting I haven't figured out?

Double edit: I should say, researched but locked parts don't appear in the function or manufacturer categories, but they do appear in cross-section, module, resource, and tech level categories.

Edited July 15, 2015 by kingoftheinternet

[Yemo]

Out of curiosity, what are the "info" and "comfort" mods/packs that are part of the SETI-ModPack Basic version? (Not that I'm going to use it, just curious.)

That is a whole array of mods I do not play without (there are some more, but they either do not work at the moment or are not on ckan).

Stuff like KerbalAlarmClock, CapCom (mission control functionality without entering mission control, ie on the fly), LightsOut (you can switch off the VAB lights to simulate vessel lights in darkness), QuickScroll and QuickSearch (use mouse wheel to scroll VAB entries, part search field in VAB), ShipManifest for so many things that I do not know where to start, and so on.

Together with the ContractPacks, it is quite a list (40-50 entries or so), but only 2 part mods so far (VenStockRevamp and AdjustableLandingGear). I recommend just making a separate, clean KSP install for CKAN, and loading the list for the detailed overview, there are quite some hidden gems in there.

It is a bit like KerbalEngineer/KerbalAlarmClock, after using them, you can not really go back to vanilla.

picture

I can tolerate having to re-buy a bunch of locked parts, but is there any way to not shoot holes in an in-progress tech tree between updates?

Edit: Also, researched but locked parts aren't showing up in the default categories (though are still searchable and in my custom categories). Was this intentional, or unintentional and maybe related to a change on your end, or probably just some other mod or some setting I haven't figured out?

That seems to be a ̶b̶̶u̶̶g̶ "feature" of 1.0.x tech tree modding. I just learned of that "new feature" a few pages back, as I m pretty sure 0.90 tech tree modding left the parts unlocked.

Sorry for the inconvenience, unfortunately I do not know a way around it. Funnily, the parts are still shown as "researched" in their previous locations, so the tech tree is more confusing...

The "hole shooting" is a side effect of adding new nodes in the middle of the tech tree. It is pretty rare that I do so, in fact I do not remember doing such an extensive rework/expansion of the tech tree before.

Also note, that the hole is much smaller than it appears. If you research the basicFuelSystems node, the 2 later ones will turn green again. It is just a visual b̶̶u̶̶g̶ "feature" of 1.0.x tech tree modding.

I did throw the stock parachutes out of the overcrowded utilities tab, if real chutes is installed (which adds them to their own parachute category). Other than that, I did not touch categories.

Does this hold for specific parts, or all researched but locked parts?

[kingoftheinternet]

Also note, that the hole is much smaller than it appears. If you research the basicFuelSystems node, the 2 later ones will turn green again. It is just a visual b̶̶u̶̶g̶ "feature" of 1.0.x tech tree modding.

I did throw the stock parachutes out of the overcrowded utilities tab, if real chutes is installed (which adds them to their own parachute category). Other than that, I did not touch categories.

Does this hold for specific parts, or all researched but locked parts?

Indeed, thanks!

It appears to be every researched but locked part, except, notably, the parts in the special functional category that KIS adds for its parts. (i.e., all the default functional categories only show unlocked parts. Fortunately I don't really look at those anymore since they're so cluttered ).

[Landwalker]

That is a whole array of mods I do not play without (there are some more, but they either do not work at the moment or are not on ckan).

Stuff like KerbalAlarmClock, CapCom (mission control functionality without entering mission control, ie on the fly), LightsOut (you can switch off the VAB lights to simulate vessel lights in darkness), QuickScroll and QuickSearch (use mouse wheel to scroll VAB entries, part search field in VAB), ShipManifest for so many things that I do not know where to start, and so on.

Together with the ContractPacks, it is quite a list (40-50 entries or so), but only 2 part mods so far (VenStockRevamp and AdjustableLandingGear). I recommend just making a separate, clean KSP install for CKAN, and loading the list for the detailed overview, there are quite some hidden gems in there.

It is a bit like KerbalEngineer/KerbalAlarmClock, after using them, you can not really go back to vanilla.

Ah, great! I ran the .ckan to see what all was in there, and managed to pick up a few that I didn't have yet (CapCom, KAC, DPAI, Stage Recovery, and the Space Station Contracts).

Okay, seriously though, now I'm going to stop adding new mods to my game. This is it. For real this time.

[Theysen]

Error from CKAN for Engineer Redux when you have the newest version installed (.18) , do you need to update it everytime manually when there are mods updated? Or can't you use the recommended mods function by CKAN?

[Yemo]

Indeed, thanks!

It appears to be every researched but locked part, except, notably, the parts in the special functional category that KIS adds for its parts. (i.e., all the default functional categories only show unlocked parts. Fortunately I don't really look at those anymore since they're so cluttered ).

Hm, will try to investigate.

Yeah, the clutter is annoying, I really miss the old BalanceMod.

But if I start to sort the VAB categories, the SETIctt fully turns into an early version of the BalanceMod, it already is much more than a simple tech tree with all the science changes.

Ah, great! I ran the .ckan to see what all was in there, and managed to pick up a few that I didn't have yet (CapCom, KAC, DPAI, Stage Recovery, and the Space Station Contracts).

Okay, seriously though, now I'm going to stop adding new mods to my game. This is it. For real this time.

Do you have the awsome Trajectories mod yet?

It never ends, but most of it works when added on the fly.

Error from CKAN for Engineer Redux when you have the newest version installed (.18) , do you need to update it everytime manually when there are mods updated? Or can't you use the recommended mods function by CKAN?

I uploaded a new version of the ModPack, this time without any mod version definitions. That might help, though I had to do it manually, which is prone to mistakes and pretty tiresome...

Download: SETI ModPack 1 Basic v0.9.2 (for KSP 1.0.4)

* Removed mod version definitions

[Landwalker]

I don't have Trajectories (yet), but I'll definitely take a look at it.

I'm trying to finalize my mods for a Mission Report career, and just have a couple of lingering "maybes". Yemo, I'm curious, do you recommend FAR with something like this? I've looked at it, but it seems a bit over-technical for me. I'm wondering if I'd be better off keeping the game's physics (if nothing else) simpler, or if it's really worth adding and getting used to.

(I ultimately opted against Procedural Parts, but I'm still on the fence about B9 Procedural Aero Parts, too. The idea has appeal but it runs into the same problem I have with FAR, namely "I think I'm doing it wrong and it might be better not to bother").

----------Edit----------

On further review, I think I'm going to commit to "No FAR", too. Mostly because after giving it another go it still just seems like more trouble than it would really add to the experience (particularly on the reader's side). And also when writing it just this moment, it struck me that it has the same initials as what is widely regarded as the most unpleasant section of the CPA exam, so there's no need for me to bring those memories back if I don't have to.

Just accidentally glitch-killed Bob in my preliminary test career (I think it's an issue with TakeCommand, or at least an issue with running into something on a rover so hard that the kerbal falls out of the EAS-1 Command Seat and gets treated as Debris instead of as a Kerbal), so it might be time to finally start this thing. Will do some work and hopefully get it started later tonight.

Edited July 15, 2015 by Landwalker

[Yemo]

I don't have Trajectories (yet), but I'll definitely take a look at it.

I'm trying to finalize my mods for a Mission Report career, and just have a couple of lingering "maybes". Yemo, I'm curious, do you recommend FAR with something like this? I've looked at it, but it seems a bit over-technical for me. I'm wondering if I'd be better off keeping the game's physics (if nothing else) simpler, or if it's really worth adding and getting used to.

(I ultimately opted against Procedural Parts, but I'm still on the fence about B9 Procedural Aero Parts, too. The idea has appeal but it runs into the same problem I have with FAR, namely "I think I'm doing it wrong and it might be better not to bother").

----------Edit----------

On further review, I think I'm going to commit to "No FAR", too. Mostly because after giving it another go it still just seems like more trouble than it would really add to the experience (particularly on the reader's side). And also when writing it just this moment, it struck me that it has the same initials as what is widely regarded as the most unpleasant section of the CPA exam, so there's no need for me to bring those memories back if I don't have to.

Just accidentally glitch-killed Bob in my preliminary test career (I think it's an issue with TakeCommand, or at least an issue with running into something on a rover so hard that the kerbal falls out of the EAS-1 Command Seat and gets treated as Debris instead of as a Kerbal), so it might be time to finally start this thing. Will do some work and hopefully get it started later tonight.

I always played with FAR, so I m really used to that. I found that it is really simple once you unlearn your bad habits from playing stock, like not tweaking control surfaces and landing planes without airbrakes and so on. Though at the moment there seem to be some bugs, so currently I use stock for myself.

Sorry to hear about Procedural Parts, I guess it is a matter of preference. For me it is a question of scope and gameplay preference.

I mostly like the design and planning phase of a mission. Eg something like: How to build a Mun lander with 30 parts max and less than 9tons, using only 45 science nodes. Or something like that.

For such games I install PP, B9P, TAC, RemoteTech and everything.

Then I have another install which focuses more on the exploration part and less on planning and vessel design. When I just want to fly a mission.

For that I prefer USI LifeSupport and eg AntennaRange. It contains PP and B9P as well, but often it is just simpler to tweakscale the premade swept wing or so, than to fiddle with B9P. I just sometimes just want a wing does not have to be perfect. Same goes for tanks and PP.

Which is one of the reasons why special winglets and wings (swept wing) are not in the clutter node.

Apropos swept wing, I feel that for most designs, the CoL of the swept wings is too far back...

I want the old swept wing back. Simple, useful, versatile. Damnit...

[Landwalker]

FAR is one of those things I really want to get used to using... but right now I just don't have the patience.

I really see the appealing factors of PP and B9P, and I can certainly understand the preference for them. I was pretty on the fence myself, but I think it comes down to two things: First, while I'm certainly paying attention to mission and vessel planning/design, my main focus for this mission log is on the explorationâ€â€both for "storytelling" purposes and because I, as a player, have never made it very far down that road in the past, and want to try to force myself down it this time. Second, like you said regarding your "exploration install," I can pretty much get "close enough" with TweakScale, and it seems to work very well. (A third, lesser element is that I like being able to communicate in the clearest terms what my ship designs consist of, and it's easier to communicate to most people that I'm using, for example, AV-08 Winglets than some particular configuration of B9P).

I'm glad to hear I'm not the only one who thinks the CoL of the swept wings seems... displaced. Fortunately, I think I'm finally getting used to it.

---

In other news, I have started my mission log! Scowl in disgust at it here. I'm working on the first "opening scenes" post now, and will hopefully have the first mission (Suicide Probe Into Upper Atmosphere) later tonight.

[Yemo]

FAR is one of those things I really want to get used to using... but right now I just don't have the patience.

I really see the appealing factors of PP and B9P, and I can certainly understand the preference for them. I was pretty on the fence myself, but I think it comes down to two things: First, while I'm certainly paying attention to mission and vessel planning/design, my main focus for this mission log is on the explorationâ€â€both for "storytelling" purposes and because I, as a player, have never made it very far down that road in the past, and want to try to force myself down it this time. Second, like you said regarding your "exploration install," I can pretty much get "close enough" with TweakScale, and it seems to work very well. (A third, lesser element is that I like being able to communicate in the clearest terms what my ship designs consist of, and it's easier to communicate to most people that I'm using, for example, AV-08 Winglets than some particular configuration of B9P).

I'm glad to hear I'm not the only one who thinks the CoL of the swept wings seems... displaced. Fortunately, I think I'm finally getting used to it.

---

In other news, I have started my mission log! Scowl in disgust at it here. I'm working on the first "opening scenes" post now, and will hopefully have the first mission (Suicide Probe Into Upper Atmosphere) later tonight.

Looking forward to it!

About PP, it also makes starting probes much less hideous, effectively allowing for an HRB visual replica of a V2 due to the procedural probe core. But I certainly understand your reason for not using them, more like a lego modular principle (though thinking back about lego, I often wished for some special parts).

- - - Updated - - -

For your mod lists, I found a CKAN screenshot to be invaluable (and time efficient), even if it does not cover every mod.

[kcs123]

There is also new export function in CKAN. So you can share the same mods you are using for yourself or export to text file, even with BB code that makes nice list of installed mods.

Ready to copy-paste for fast usage on forum. Also good thing is that each version of mod is included too

[Landwalker]

Unfortunately (for the Mission Log's purposes, at least), I don't actually use CKAN, so I can't screenshot it or export the list.

I will update the Mission Log's original post with, to the best of my ability, a complete list of mods in play as soon as I finish writing up the first actual mission (which was as resounding a success as an 18km-altitude suicide probe can be!)

[Olsson]

I usually get help here so I thought i'd try.

In my Windows 64-bit install using a number of mods my game freezes regularly when I go inbetween scenes.

For example, I will launch a vessel, revert to VA and relaunch it but instead of getting control the game freezes with a weird screen shown here: http://i.imgur.com/6sO48uH.png

Checking the output_log this is what fills the bottom of it:

Distant Object Enhancement v1.5.7 -- BodyFlare (null bodyflare?) Destroy

Here's my output_log: https://www.dropbox.com/s/5iht89g3khmjw91/output_log.txt?dl=0