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Devnote Tuesdays: The Aerodynamic Edition

SQUAD

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in KSP1 The Daily Kerbal

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SQUAD

SQUAD

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<p><img src="https://31.media.tumblr.com/0ff9377afa68dc3ad3fe6844aaf1bd38/tumblr_inline_ni549fO2xz1rr2wit.jpg"/></p>

<p><strong>Felipe (HarvesteR)</strong><span><strong>:</strong> It’s been quite a full week, looking back. I’ve been going over many different things here. Beta is proving to be a lot of fun, as there’s no single huge feature to add anymore, there are several things that were left pending as a result of running out of time when they were first being added, and I have to say, it’s very satisfying to finally get a chance to finish those things.</span></p>

<p><span>This week I added the ‘Filter by Cross-Section’ button to the editor parts list, where parts are listed by the attachnode types they have. You can display all parts with 2.5m nodes, or all Mk2 profile parts, or any other, of course. This was a much-requested feature, but alas, it didn’t get done in time for the 0.90 release. </span></p>

<p><span>I’ve also started a large audio pass on the entire game, adding small sounds to just about every button and UI panel. This is still far from complete, but it’s amazing how much having these sounds in improves the feel of the game as a whole.</span></p>

<p><span>I’ve also added a feature I hoped to have ready for 0.90 but also didn’t make it in. Kerbals on EVA are now able to clamber onto ledges (within reach of them). This makes climbing onto vessels and, more importantly, climbing out of ladders much easier. You can also abuse it to scale previously inaccessible places, because a Kerbal’s job wasn’t dangerous enough already, was it?</span></p>

<p><span>There’s been a few bugfixes here and there and we’ve upgraded to the latest version of unity, which also addresses some issues we were seeing (especially in OSX). I’ve rewritten the maths on the lift and control surface modules, as part of the aerodynamics improvements. Speaking of which, aero is quite a long subject to talk about in dev notes however, so I wrote a </span><strong><a href="http://forum.kerbalspaceprogram.com/content/325-Overhauled-Aerodynamics">MASSIVE WALL OF TEXT</a></strong><span> on the upcoming aerodynamics overhaul today. It’s long, but it should hopefully be quite informative as to what we’re going for with that. .</span></p>

<p><span><strong>Alex (aLeXmOrA):</strong> </span><span>Last week was more like a get-back-on-track week. Setting my computer, doing database backups, replying to some support emails (helping Marco), dealing with accounting issues, etc. Also, I’m helping with some other projects from the marketing-side of Squad, doing some web admin stuff.</span></p>

<p><strong>Mike (Mu):</strong><span> Well now that the cat is out of the bag regarding the aero overhaul, I can finally admit to working on specific things! I’ve been working on the new drag model, the inner workings of which are still secret at the moment. More information on this will all be coming soon.<br/></span></p>

<p><strong>Marco (Samssonart):</strong><span> Still working on the demo. Last week was more about planning how the demo will work, what features must be included, which ones have to be out and which ones will make it in, but in a more basic way. I did get started on it, but haven’t actually done much yet. It’s just that the design part absolutely had to be clear in order to start the actual work.</span></p>

<p><strong>Daniel (danRosas)</strong><span><strong>:</strong> still planning out what’s going to happen in the next couple of months. I’ve been working on a couple new animations for the EVA Kerbals, as well as improving the rig for the rendered animations. Created a new production sheet along with Nick, to keep on working on the Space Center assets. </span></p>

<p><strong>Jim (Romfarer)</strong><span><strong>:</strong> As Felipe mentioned in his “Overhauled Aerodynamics†post, we are planning on adding an improved space plane hangar GUI. Naturally this task has been assigned to me and this week I’ve been doing some much needed updates to the app system in preparation for these additions. So it’s fair to say that at least part of this new GUI will come in the form of an app. We are also looking at ways to improve the whole CoM/CoL trick to gauge the stability of airplanes. What it will look like, i really can’t say, because it’s still on the drawing board. Feel free to add your ideas in a reply.</span></p>

<p><span><strong>Max (Maxmaps):</strong> .</span><span>Plans laid, tasks assigned, we ended week one at full steam ahead. Aerodynamics has dominated discussion at the office even throughout its coding and implementation, once all was done, I spent my week setting up business calls and enjoying meetings with partners for cool projects we’re trying to develop. Putting all that aside, I had a ton of stuff to follow up on regarding Mr. Musk’s kindness and his mentions of KSP in that terrific AMA he did.</span></p>

<p><strong>Ted (Ted):</strong><span> It’s been a pretty straight-forward week here, which is a nice change of pace after 0.90! I’ve been deep in the part balancing component of the overall balancing ‘feature’. For the vast number of the changes I’m making, they’re more tentative ones to get all of the parts onto the same page, with further balancing needing to be done once other, more low-level, gameplay changes are made. Additionally, a number of people from the community have been messaging me about balance suggestions and this is greatly appreciated! Obviously the changes made aren’t going to satisfy one single idea of balance that members of the community, or myself, may have, but instead should use as many sources as possible to compile a well-rounded idea of what balance should be. While we have our own ideas for that as a team, community sources are always valued as alternate views are very useful when it comes to changes like this. So! If you have any threads or little write-ups about the balance of a component of the game, feel free to send them over to me via Forum PM or reddit PM and I’ll gladly give them a look over to consider in this.</span></p>

<p><span><strong>Anthony (Rowsdower):</strong> Tuesday is here again and I’ve been going back and forth between the think tank and some very dark corners of YouTube. Question for you all. Who’s your favorite non-KSP YouTuber? Any game. On another note, it’s been a bit since we’ve run a community contest, hasn’t it? I’m fixing on changing that real soon. Also, for those of you in the California bay area, I *might* have something of interest for you in the coming weeks. Fingers crossed and all that.<br/></span></p>

<p><span><strong>Rogelio (Roger): </strong>Finally Back to devnotes after </span><span>some relaxing days. I’m waiting on approval for some proposals for potential Kerbal t-shirt designs that I started last week. I try to tell funny stories in a single image with each one. Also we’re brainstorming ideas for a new animation, so the coming days will be full of crazy ideas and funny stories. </span></p>

<p><strong>Kasper (KasperVld): </strong><span>It’s been a relatively calm week for me, which has given me the time to think through and jot down things that need to get done when we move forum software, it’ll be a great time to get some much needed maintenance in as well. Meanwhile I’ve noticed some passionate development discussions flaring up on the forums, and it’s great to see people so involved in the game! One thing I will say is that it’s imperative to leave room for differing opinions in your threads, and to try to see things from someone else’s perspective instead of dismissing the argument for a number of reasons not related to the core of the discussion. Everyone here deserves to have their opinions heard just as much as the next person, and I’m sure that together we can reach that level of debate!</span></p>

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Superfluous J

Superfluous J

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Can't talk now, gotta read the Aero thread :)

But the "Filter by cross section" sounds awesome. And bleeps and bloops in the UI will be much appreciated. The game is surprisingly quiet when you turn off the music (Nothing wrong with the music, I turn it off to make editing my videos easier. No song sounds good when you skip seconds or minutes of it at random times)

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Kerbas_ad_astra

Kerbas_ad_astra

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Some thoughts on how to show the stability of vehicles: maybe have an option to make a "fuzzy" or "blob" CoL to show where it will go over the vehicle's entire "nominal" AoA range? This could also be useful to show how a vehicle's CoM will move as fuel is burned (kind of like RCS Build Aid can show the dry CoM), and maybe even show how far the CoT can shift if gimballed engines are present. Then, if the blobs overlap, there's some combination of flight conditions where the vehicle will be unstable.

Another idea (not mutually exclusive with the above): a button to "consult Wernher von Kerman", which brings up a popup where he can give advice like: "I'm not sure this vehicle will be stable, even if Jebediah were flying it. Maybe you should add some control surfaces near the tail." Likewise, if the vehicle is overstable, "This vehicle will be very stable, maybe even too much so -- I'm not sure that a pilot could make it turn very quickly. You might consider moving the wings or fins forward, or adding some reaction wheels or RCS thrusters."

Edited by Kerbas_ad_astra
clarified "popup"
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cantab

cantab

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Filter by cross section is neat. But can we also have a sort or filter by GameData folder? This would effectively be by mod, something that came naturally with the old sort order but doesn't really work out now.

I'm not sure clicky buttons everywhere is a good thing to be honest, but we'll see.

Good to hear there'll be a new demo. With .90's major editor improvements it was about time too. As for what goes in it, well I don't think any features per se should be omitted. It would be a bad idea to not have the editor gizmos for example, or the part tweakables, in the demo. Obviously there'll be a limited part set, I expect much the same as the current demo has. The big thing I wonder about is that only one game mode seems reasonable, but which? Sandbox for simplicity, or career to demo that side of the game as well?

As for the aero, reading between the lines I'm suspecting a system where part orientation has a limited effect. That would make it more forgiving by reducing aerodynamic torques that can make a rocket flip out.

I'll also suggest the inclusion of a simple fuel balancer in stock. That will help aircraft keep their centre of mass in the same location when they use multiple tanks; shifting CoM is a major challenge for aircraft design in KSP.

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NoMrBond

NoMrBond

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Would it be possible to have the Kerbals point of reference set to the nearest vessel (within reason) to stop them sliding around on orbiting vessels ladders (or flying off into space when EVA'ing, unless that's a different issue) due the difference in their CoM vs the ships CoM and the slight orbital difference this seems to make

Kind of like applying the Krakensbane fix to Kerbals much like the ships (if that makes sense, or is even possible)

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Bolche

Bolche

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An air tunnel-like thing would be an awesome way to give information about a craft in the new aero.

Click a button and it shows the craft in a tunnel pitching, yawing and rolling. Them you can quickly see how the plane behaves.

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RazorWolf19

RazorWolf19

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Since you guys are doing a TON of tweaking all around, could someone PLEASE spare an afternoon to fix the rotation point (when hovering over the part) of the Mk2 Lander-can in the editor? This has been irking me since I bought the game in 0.18. Also, could we get an ETA on the Mk1 Inline Cockpit re-do? Its the last remaining plane part (I believe) that has not received a face-lift. Thanks!

OH, and great work as always; I love content-filled dev-notes! :D

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Xacktar

Xacktar

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Also, for those of you in the California bay area, I *might* have something of interest for you in the coming weeks. Fingers crossed and all that.

*Perks up*

As for favorite non-kerbalized youtuber... um...

Either GassyMexican or Birgipal.

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CaptainKipard

CaptainKipard

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YT Gamers: Nerdcubed and TotalBiscuit. They're both very intelligent guys, They both like KSP. Totalbiscuit in particular is a very socially responsible reviewer. He always looks out for the consumer. Whether that's good or bad for KSP is something that I can't say with certainty, but he has on numerous occasions said that KSP is one of a very small number of good paid alphas.

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Kamuchi

Kamuchi

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"There’s been a few bugfixes here and there and we’ve upgraded to the latest version of unity"

HOLD ON!!!!

Unity 5??????????????

Please say Unity 5 with hyperthreaded physics !! please !!

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NoMrBond

NoMrBond

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Unity 5??????????????

Please say Unity 5 with hyperthreaded physics !! please !!

Nope, this would likely be 4.6.1 which came out at the end of December.

Unfortunately Unity 5 is still in Beta (beta 19 just came out), Squad will not do a KSP release on a beta release of the Unity engine (answering this specific question during a Squadcast)

Although migrating to Unity 5 was wishlisted (the exact wording Maxmaps used escapes me), so once Unity Technologies delivers, well, fingers crossed.

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NoMrBond

NoMrBond

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so much for latest version, almost got my hopes up for a more stable and much smoother ksp ;.;

It is the latest release version though :P

I imagine the Squadites are as eager to get their hands on Unity 5's improvements as we are, perhaps more so given what it will let them deliver.

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SkyRender

SkyRender

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I have a pretty clever idea for showing aerodynamic stability, and one that's fitting since it's part of how we test aerodynamics in real life: a "Wind Tunnel" mode that lets you adjust a huge fan's speed and direction. The aerodynamic balance or lack thereof can be highlighted on the craft-in-assembly as a glow that goes from green (aerodynamically stable) to red (aerodynamically unstable). It could even be developed as something you can roll out in the current SPH scene, though for maximum compatibility with the VAB it would make sense to develop the Wind Tunnel as a new scene entirely that supports both VAB and SPH craft. There are times when you want to test the aerodynamic properties of rockets too, after all.

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Catman2021

Catman2021

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Kerbals climbing over ledges?! I can start a interplanetary mountain climbing expedition company in game (Jebediah leading expeditions to the highest point on Duna, or Mun, or something). Also yay aero overhaul!

Loving the content-rich devnotes! Hope you guys had a great first week back from break (I know that first week back is pretty rough after some time off, haha).

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