Rocket Science News

Hello,
I am still diligently working on v0.24.0 which finally starting to come together.

Read the full post on my blog.

Hello,

It's time to reveal what I was working on since the last update release. Long story short: another important system is coming, that will affect how you assemble your rockets and how you fly them.

You can read the full post on my blog.

What it could be?

Here is a small patch with a bunch of fixed bugs that were found by our community. Since most of them were pretty critical, I've switched from v0.24 development to fix them all.

[h2]v0.24.16 release notes[/h2]

[h3]Features:[/h3]
🔸 added craft validation and cleanup on load, wich will be able to fix and load broken spacecrafts with missing attachments, parts, etc.;
🔸 added "clear" command to console.

[h3]Changes:[/h3]
🔸 changed all pivot position of command modules and probe cores to the bottom socket;
🔸 thermodynamics calculations deltaTime now clamped to 2 days / sec max, otherwise it becomes very unstable and parts start exploding;
🔸 further reduced thermal production coefficient on some engines;
🔸 slightly reduced collision radius for dynamic attachments so small parts like rcs mounting point now can fit rcs engines without problems.

[h3]Fixes:[/h3]
🔸 NaN temperature on crafts where some parts were placed inside the payload fairing after fairings were installed;
🔸 NaN temperature after decoupling part of the craft and then time warping (in case you switch to decoupled craft);
🔸 last time warp button with time warp 1 month / sec sets warp to 7 days /sec;
🔸 missing burn time values for some Hydrolox engines;
🔸 "Rumble" and "Hose" decouplers stay coupled after separation if they were attached using second radial attachment pivot point;
🔸 symmetry stops working when RCS block was mounted longitudinally and other parts attached to it.
🔸 reentry and mach effect suddenly disappears sometimes;
🔸 heat shield stops protecting rocket parts after undocking;
🔸 wrong position of center of thrust and lift if you move craft to the side and then attach engine / wing;
🔸 crash when loading any mod then returning to main menu and then continuing the game;
🔸 improve memory consumption and performance in some cases.

Here is a small patch with a bunch of fixed bugs that were mostly found by the community. It also improves the game stability a bit and brings some QoL features.

I am also moving to v0.24 development which should be the last "system-like" update. After that I will finally start to focus mostly on survival mode and adding content to the game.

[h2]v0.23.8 release notes[/h2]

[h3]Features:[/h3]
🔸 you can configure wheel steering angle and invert steering controls now;
🔸 you can configure decoupler force percent;

[h3]Changes:[/h3]
🔸 you need to hold ctrl to copy part now instead of shift, since shift is used for ignoring fixed attachments;
🔸 reduced heat transfer from combustion chambers for biggest engines in the game, adding approximately 30-40 seconds of burn time for them;

[h3]Fixes:[/h3]
🔸 you can't attach anything to the assembly if you attach existing part to already placed not connected part;
🔸 positions become shifted if you attach existing rocket part group to already placed not connected part;
🔸 some part names contain not assigned parameters like "{0}";
🔸 some parts have missing names when selecting them in the assembly;
🔸 probe core parameters have inconsistent order when selecting part from the list compared to selecting already placed part;
🔸 time parameter is not a valid number error in the console every time you start a flight;
🔸 rcs engines VFX is completely missing;
🔸 spacecraft suddenly rotate on docking;
🔸 warp to maneuver not working when time is paused;
🔸 wrong TWR is calculated on active stage when orbiting any other body than Earth;
🔸 spaceport lose global illumination and camera starts to jitter if double click on any surface object on the map other than space center;
🔸 Structural Adapter Octahedron-Hexagon is missing side dynamic attachments;
🔸 when attaching something to Wing or Inner Wing Type C1, attached part are floating far from wing surface.
🔸 [Mods] surface object mod doesn't detect facilities change after first save;
🔸 [Mods] facility get the wrong type when changing it to runway or parking;
🔸 [Mods] facility marker have an incorrect position;
🔸 corrected tooltip for F action (its changing pivot point now);

Welcome, fellow rocket scientists and pilots, to Update v0.23 “Ascended Assembly”!

This time I brought you:

[h2]Dynamic attachments[/h2]

I've talked about this attachment system rework in depth in my blog post. Long story short: you can finally place rocket parts radially almost whenever you want.



The game will create radial attachments automatically for you. This will unlock the full potential of vessel crafting. Not only that, but there are more advantages to the new system:

Dynamic attachments work great especially for planes, they can finally be properly balanced.



You will be able to attach most engines to the sides of fuel tanks. Some interesting rocket designs are incoming!



Cargo parts will be much more useful, as you'll be able to attach other parts anywhere inside it.



Payload fairings now attach to the side of any cylindrical part of the appropriate radius. It should be much easier to use them now.



This system is a bit different than what you are used to so I strongly recommend finishing a newly added “Dynamic attachments” tutorial in the control center. That helps you understand how this system works and also teaches you some useful hotkeys.

Also, it’s worth noting that a lot of rocket parts were reworked by changing size, shape or other parameters especially from the structure category. Now part radius and number of sockets are much more consistent.

[h2]Transonic / supersonic drag calculations and effects[/h2]

I’ve been asked about this since day one after release. It is better to add it later than never, so here we go.



[h2]Multiple launch sites support[/h2]

Another highly requested feature. Now you can launch spacecrafts from different locations. I’ve added the Baikonur cosmodrome as a feature test case. It consists only of a launchpad now, but I will expand it into a proper launch site in the future. Since the location of Baikonur is a bit superior to the main space center, it will be locked until you complete the “Land on the Moon” contract.

Those players, who are following the development of the game since the begining, may recognize this launchpad

More importantly, you can add launch facilities to the surface mods now. So I am looking forward to mod where I can launch my rocket from Kennedy Space Center…

There are a lot of other changes and improvements in the game. Like now you can control camera in the assembly shop using WASD or recover vessels that landed safely (or not so) on Earth. This update is not as big as the last one in terms of game-changing content, I mostly did the groundwork in preparation for v0.24 which will be huge feature and content wise.

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

[h2]v0.23.4 release notes[/h2]

PREVIOUS SAVES ARE NOT COMPATIBLE WITH THIS VERSION OF THE GAME.
If you want to continue plaing your save or you have problems with this update, please switch to v0.22.x branch.

Spacecrafts in mods are not compatible with this version of the game. You need to remade them and republish your mod.

[h3]Features:[/h3]
🔸 added dynamic attachments for almost all rocket parts;
🔸 implemented radial and linear snapping for dynamic attachments;
🔸 added transonic / supersonic drag calculations;
🔸 added reaching transonic / supersonic speed effects;
🔸 added support for multiple launch sites;
🔸 added rewards and unlocks system;
🔸 added Baikonur launchpad (unlocked after completing Land on Moon contract);
🔸 surface objects mod now support launch facilities;
🔸 added WASD camera movement to the Assembly shop;
🔸 you can recover vessels and debris from the surface of Earth.

[h3]New rocket parts:[/h3]
🔸 "Hose" Longitudinal Decoupler
🔸 FT "Cubatic" О

[h3]New content:[/h3]
🔸 added tutorial explaining dynamic attachments system.

[h3]Part changes:[/h3]
🔸 all part variants with side attachments are gone;
🔸 removed line socket (as it no longer needed);
🔸 F now sets the part pivot point to the next available attachment instead of just flipping the part;
🔸 all cube and hexagon structures were decreased in size;
🔸 payload fairings now can be attached to the side of fuel tank;
🔸 changed longitude sockets on most reaction wheels, making them correspond to its size;
🔸 "Rumble" Decoupler no longer consist from two parts and can be attached directly to the side;
🔸 changed or reworked shape (or size) and basic properties for many parts, mostly in “structures” category.

[h3]Changes:[/h3]
🔸 physics representation of rocket now loads synchronously;
🔸 you can attach up to 65536 parts to another part (previously was 256);
🔸 reduced amount of snapping during rocket assembly;
🔸 improved color outlines highlighting during assembly;
🔸 adjusted all tutorials because of dynamic attachments;
🔸 changed how fuel consumption works: now engines consume fuel evenly relative to total volume between all tanks;
🔸 added additional tutorial steps into basic tutorial.
🔸 reworked how force for payload fairings is calculated, now it only account for total payload fairing mass, not the rocket mass.

[h3]Settings:[/h3]
🔸 [Assembly] hotkey for "select" mode is now E instead of S (because S used for moving camera).

[h3]Fixes:[/h3]
🔸 countless bugs related to part async loading when making quick changes to rocket in assembly;
🔸 planet generation stop working when CPU have only 2 cores;
🔸 symmetry not working on top of rovers;
🔸 crash when switching heat shield type on not attached part;
🔸 [Assembly] sometimes selection switches to another part when you try to rotate current part;
🔸 [Assembly] attachment detection is working worse when the rocket is in the vertical orientation;
🔸 [Assembly] game is broken when detaching engines when symmetry is enabled and then undo this action;
🔸 exception when trying to save modified heightmap first time in the surface mod;
🔸 engine flames sometimes slightly offset relative to combustion chamber;
🔸 removed loud car honking from assembly ambient sounds;
🔸 game loading stuck when mods with unsupported rockets is enabled.

[h3]Known issues:[/h3]
🔸 facilities doesn’t properly save and update when created for the first time;
🔸 facilities offset doesn’t match launch coordinates.