Kerbal Space Program

[Hellraiser]

Bros, it seems romfarer and/or bac9 did their magic and improved IVA vastly with new gizmos:

I think one of those is the IVA docking cam Romfarer wanted to do, either way it's coming in 0.23.

 

[The Vanished One]

I sure love a glass cockpit. Haven't I seen those LCD displays before?

http://forum.kerbalspaceprogram.com/threads/54925

 

[Hellraiser]

I sure love a glass cockpit. Haven't I seen those LCD displays before?

http://forum.kerbalspaceprogram.com/threads/54925

Fuck, it is a mod, my bad. Retarded morning posting.

But here, this is definitely in 0.23:

RAPIER (the KSP SABRE ripoff), you can set it to autotoggle so that it switches to rocket mode when your intake air runs too low to work in jet mode. The thrust limiter value is a tweakable on engines in the VAB. You can for example do a T shaped rocket with it that flies stable by limiting the thrust on the third odd engine enough to shift the center of thrust towards the center of mass. So launching something like the space shuttle is easier now.

Landing gear tweakables in VAB/SPH. Landing gear can now steer like rover wheels making taxing better. You can tweak other stuff as well like engine gimbal range, landing legs default deployment state etc.

Science archive screen in the R&D building, it will be in the game sans the ugly mustache streamer of course. Lets you track the experiments you did and the science you got.

Also minmus is getting biomes, not sure about other planets/moons. It would be a bit silly if just Minmus is getting them now. They should at least try to fit Duna and Ike biomes into the next update as well.

EDIT: Some more news on the focus of development after 0.23.

They want to make the game "scope-complete" in 2014. So basically add every necessary remaining feature at least at a basic level. Resource mining will probably not happen at all at least before any kind of expansion, lead dev said the system was too much of endgame content requiring mastery of the game, making the game top-heavy and thus "unfun". Major

However they changed their mind on multiplayer, kept it secret for some time, they would have kept the plans for it a secret longer as one mod already did it. Both for career mode and sandbox mode, after they finish the latter. It will work around timewarp by syncing timelines, possibly allowing you to share vessels and having your bros control other kerbals, have them EVA, drive rovers and do shit while you keep control of the ship. Would still prefer resource mining though.

Contracts for missions, cash, costs and reputation are coming in 0.24. Kerbonauts are supposed to get experience for missions in one of the future updates(tm) allowing them to level up skills.

Repairing your ships out in deep space is supposed to be possible in the future somehow.

Missions will be randomly generated based on your progress as tracked by the progress tracker they added in 0.21. Missions will have deadlines and it will be possible to fail them and pay fines. As an incentive to take them most of them will give cash up front.

If you run out of cash to pay for launches you will be able to trade prestige/reputation or science for it.

 

[Yaar Podshipnik]

A bit unrelated but what the hell... I just watched Gravity, and I can't belive somebody would call that science fiction. Millions of dollars of budget and orbital physics worse than KSP. Retarded at some points, to be exact.

 

[Ashery]

It's live, baby.

 

[Yaar Podshipnik]

And kerbalspaceprogram.com is down

No problems getting patch from steam. A full changelog would be nice, though I can see the new engine and the new big science lab that requires 2 kerbals to operate.

I'm a bit disappointed about tweakables - I was hoping that it would be possible to start with shielded docking port and inline docking port open, but they don't have anything to tweak

 

[Hellraiser]

And kerbalspaceprogram.com is down

No problems getting patch from steam. A full changelog would be nice, though I can see the new engine and the new big science lab that requires 2 kerbals to operate.

I'm a bit disappointed about tweakables - I was hoping that it would be possible to start with shielded docking port and inline docking port open, but they don't have anything to tweak

==================================== v0.23.0 =========================================================

New:

* The Science Archives:
- Browse through all the science you've done in your Career games in this new section of the R&D Facility.

* Tweakables:
- Several parts can now be tweaked individually by right-clicking them during construction.
- Landing Gear can be set to start out deployed or retracted, and can also be made steerable.
- Engines can have a thrust limiter set on them, so you can balance out asymmetrical thruster configurations (or use differential thrust for taxiing).
- Wheels can be tweaked to have their engines toggled, steering locked, all before launch (and after, of course).
- Control Surfaces can be tweaked to toggle response to pitch, roll and yaw input individually.

* Science Revisited:
- Transmitting scientific data no longer allows you to max out the value of a subject just by repeating the transmission multiple time.
- Removing the experiment data from some experiment modules (for transmission or by EVA) will render them inoperable.
- Resetting an experiment can still be done freely as long as the data is not removed from the module.

* Solar System:
- Added a new Biome Map for Minmus.
- Cleaned up the Biome Maps for Kerbin and the Mun, to remove areas where Biomes would be detected incorrectly.

* The Lab Module:
- Added a new part called a Laboratory Module, which allows experiment data and samples to be processed before transmission, increasing their science value.
- The Lab Module requires 2 crews inside to operate and a whole lot of power as well.
- Added a new button to the experiment review dialog to process collected data on the Lab if one is available (and operational) on your vessel.

* EVA Data Transport:
- Kerbals on EVA can now collect the data from experiment modules and store them on crew-carrying modules.
- Kerbals can also collect data from other data container modules, including other Kerbals.
- EVAs can also store samples collected from other experiments on the Lab.

* Part Tooltips Overhaul:
- The tooltips that pop up when mousing over a part on the editors have been completely redesigned.
- The tooltips show essential info only at first, but can be expanded to show more info with RMB.
- Once expanded, you can right-click again to collapse, or to pin other tooltips if you hover over other parts.
- Re-organized the part information to group stats for each module and resource container on a part.
- Added a larger icon for the part on the tooltip itself, featuring a scale to give an idea of size before picking.

* All-around Optimizations:
- We've gone over all our code to make sure it runs as efficiently as possible.
- Upgraded to Unity version 4.2.2 to make full use of its own bugfixes and tweaks.
- Texture loading has been sped up, loading times are noticeably reduced.

* [Windows-Only] 6-DOF Device Support:
- 6-DOF input devices such as the Space Navigator are now supported both as camera and flight controllers.
- Scroll Lock will toggle the device mode in flight.
- Due to driver limitations this is a Windows-only feature for now. We're ready to implement support in OSX and Linux as soon as those drivers become available.


Bug Fixes and Tweaks:

* Parts:
- The logic for all-vessel resource flow (such as Electric Charge and MonoPropellant) has been re-done.
- Fixed those resource containers not being able to drain fully or store an amount larger than their current available space.

* Docking:
- Fixed an issue that caused docking ports to resume their states incorrectly after docking, making it impossible to undock afterwards.
- Fixed a big issue with docking operations through physicsless parts in the hierarchy between the port and the original vessel root.

* EVAs:
- EVAs now use actual resources for their jetpack propellant, instead of their own fuel system.
- Fixed an issue with collision resolution that caused EVAs to sometimes fall over and become uncontrollable.
- Kerbals other than you will now pick themselves up from ragdoll state if they are involved in any 'accidents' or are flat out being used as Kerbowling pins.
- Parts that land onto splashed-down parts are now considered to be landed. This allows EVAs to walk on floating platforms.

* Other Fixes:
- The Return key will no longer reset the staging sequence in the Editors, or return you to the Main Menu at KSC.
- The Main Menu now remembers the 'page' you were at when you left it, so if you return from a loaded game, you'll find it still at the "Start Game" screen.
- Fixed several issues with joystick axis mapping and indexing.
- Updated the Input settings screen to expose a few new control options that weren't accessible before.
- Fixed an issue that could lead to loss of GUI responsiveness after leaving flight during reentry or supersonic flight.

The only new biomes are on minmus, bah. I am very butthurt about this fact. Don't they have unpaid slaves interns in mexico to do biome painting on Duna, Eve or Laythe?

Also vanilla patcher server is broke for me, this is what I get to sticking the non GabeN version with no DRM and backdoor NSA tracking.

 

[dbx]

What are the best modes out there for the career mode?
Currently i only have mechjeb installed, but mostly for sandbox mode.

 

[Ashery]

Depends what you're looking for.

FAR, Kerbal Joint Reinforcement, Engineer Redux, Kerbal Alarm Clock, PreciseNode, Procedural Fairings (If you elect to use FAR), Action Group Manager, TAC Fuel Balancer, and Protractor would round out a decent list of one's that don't heavily change the feel of the base game (Outside of FAR, but the base game's aerodynamic model is shit).

 

[dbx]

Well, i'd like more stuff to do science-wise. Right now, once you reach your destination there isn't much to do: take samples, log data and that's it. It makes building probes (or space stations) useless.

 

[Ashery]

Well, i'd like more stuff to do science-wise. Right now, once you reach your destination there isn't much to do: take samples, log data and that's it. It makes building probes (or space stations) useless.

Then you're pretty much shit outta luck. Remote Tech forces you to build communication networks to communicate with probes, but that's just more work to squeeze out what's left from the science that already exists. If I'm recalling correctly, some of the mapping mods (forget their names) give a steady stream of science as planets get mapped. Interstellar adds one or two new science components, but they're in the same vein as what's already in the stock game.

I've never really dug into modded science parts, though, so others might be able to give better/more info.

 

[Ulminati]

What are the best modes out there for the career mode?
Currently i only have mechjeb installed, but mostly for sandbox mode.

Bunch of decent mods depending on what you're after.

TAC Life Support, Deadly Reentry, Ferram Aerospace Research and Remotetech 2 are good starting points if you want to up the difficulty/realism. Remotetech can get a bit tedious at times, since you'll be making dozens of launches to extend your satellite network. But at the same time, it's also the most challenging addition for experience rocketeers.

Mission controller extended is a decent stopgap solution until SQUAD adds contracts in .24 or .25. It has a set of campaign files where you pick missions to launch vessels containing specific parts to various orbit,s heights, planets etc. The mod tracks the cost of all your launches and awards your money on contract completion.

If you want additional parts to build your ship from, B9 aerospace has some nice cockpits and cargo bays. Cargo bays and fairings (KW Rocketry or procedural fairings) is more or less mandatory if you're running Ferram Aerospace as the new drag model loves making your rockets flip the fuck out.

If you want your parts to do more than just look pretty, I recommend Kerbal Attachment System and Infernal Robotics. KAS allows you to attach parts to ships already launched during EVA, and allows you to add fuel lines and crane cables to vessels. I recently used KAS fuel lines to hook up a nuclear powerplant to my munbase, since docking vessels on a planet surface can be a pain in the ass. It also allows you to add struts to vessels in EVA, so you can struttify docked vessels if you're assembling big ships in orbit.

Infernal robotics gives you rotatable joints if you want to go crazy with mechs. It's also handy if you're running Ferram and non-procedural fairings, since you will be able to fold your payload together using rotatable joints to fit inside stock fairings.

For nice utilities, there's Kerbal Alarm Clock to help you track multiple launches. Kerbal Engineer as a lightweight alternative to MechJeb if you just want the stats while building. And the improved docking alignment indicators to make docking require less camera repositioning.

For added gameplay, the two big mods to shoot for is probably Kethane and KSP interstellar. Kethane adds a minable resource, allowing you to do a bunch of new mission profiles to scan, extract, transport and refine kethane for fuel. KSP Interstellar adds a bunch of new types of propulsion, most of which have a host of their own requirements. It gives you some lategame SCIENCE goals to shoot for once you've finished the stock tech tree.

 

[Hellraiser]

Where the fuck have you been Ulminati? Duna and back?

 

[Ulminati]

I have a nice winter retreat on Laythe. It's cozy.

I'm actually pretty tempted to do a fuckton-of-mods Kerbal Let's Play to showcase some of them.

[Edit]

'k, the Let's Play is up if Polant wants to stare in awe at our scientific findings.

 

[Hellraiser]

So it's pretty much confirmed we're getting missions, space kash budgets and contracts next. Also there's some other feature that's supposed to go into 0.24. Not sure what it is but since they have a new guy working on just the netcode for multiplayer, we could get some minor internet using feature before full-blown multiplayer like round-robin play on one save file. Or craft sharing ingame.

We'll probably get to know what it is by the next week since the plan for 0.24 is supposed to be posted then.

 

[Ulminati]

I tried the kmp multiplayer mod a while back for a reddit challenge. We wanted to accomplish a bunch of tasks, with people showing up in chat and volunteering for satellites in specific orbits, building parts of our my base etc. the mod was (very) unstable at the time, but a good time was had by all. Controlling your Kerbal and watching someone else attempt to land was quite amusing.

 

[potatojohn]

Bros, it seems romfarer and/or bac9 did their magic and improved IVA vastly with new gizmos:

I think one of those is the IVA docking cam Romfarer wanted to do, either way it's coming in 0.23.

Those displays look awesome. What mod is this?

 

[Ulminati]

Bros, it seems romfarer and/or bac9 did their magic and improved IVA vastly with new gizmos:



I think one of those is the IVA docking cam Romfarer wanted to do, either way it's coming in 0.23.

Those displays look awesome. What mod is this?

--> http://forum.kerbalspaceprogram.com...-make-your-IVA-a-glass-cockpit-(v0-14)-24-Jan <--

 

[Hellraiser]

Guys, in case you missed the news of the NASA mission pack and the next update:

- unity devs did something right and rockets will be less wobbly as parts will have more joint nodes between two connected parts.
- randomly generated missions (from various Kerbal organizations like Rockomax to Kerbin's First Accountant Association) and budgets.
- stock kerbalized NASA SLS parts which will be even larger than good old Rockomax jumbos. I think the unity upgrade helped with this.
- randomly generated small space rocks.

Though granted the NASA pack is not going to be completely done when the next update comes.

 

[Hoaxmetal]

- randomly generated small space rocks.

Uh-oh.

 

[potatojohn]

was it always possible to SSTO into orbit like this or have they made the game easier?

 

[Hellraiser]

potatojohn I'm assuming it always was but I could swear that rocket looks too massive for 1,6 TWR. The math checks out though.

 

[Ulminati]

370 ISP is only for no atmo. Atmo ISP would be 320.

Thrust, weight, TWR checks out for kerbins gravitational field.
ISP, thrust matches LV-T30. Those haven't changed since 2012.
The DeltaV seems about 'k.

With the lower atmospheric ISP, the DeltaV is only ~4250. You need ~4500 to make orbit.

That said, you need to get into the upper atmosphere fast to improve your ISP, and your fuel margins are so close you'll need a pretty much perfect gravity turn. Your margins for error are going to be tiny. And you're not going to get much higher than 80-85km, with no fuel whatsoever left.

 

[Hellraiser]

Well I just got barely into orbit in one stage with 8 tanks, that thing has 10 at least judging by the image. Ascent was by no means optimal.

 

[EG]

Well, this is enough to get you on an escape velocity.