You may have noticed that things are quieter around here lately. We have shifted our focus over to SimplePlanes so we can finish the 1.8 update. We hope to finish it next month and then we'll return our focus to SR2 development.
Before jumping over to SimplePlanes, Kevin and I made a lot of progress on the new procedural rocket engines. I'm really excited about them and I can't wait to start working on them again. We're trying to make them as flexible as possible to accommodate as much player feedback as we can. Here are some of the options we currently have:
* Engine Type: Liquid, Solid, Nuclear (thermal), Ion
* Power Cycles (Liquid only): Gas Generator, Staged, Pressure-Fed, Electric
* Fuel Types: Kerolox, Hydrolox, Methalox, Solid, Liquid Hydrogen (nuclear thermal engine), Xenon (ion engine)
There are also several nozzle options available. Most of them are fixed geometry, but there is a procedural cone style and a procedural bell style you can adjust to get the exact nozzle area ratio you want. This will allow you to optimize your engine for sea level, vacuum, or anywhere in between. We will also include an altitude-compensating toroidal aerospike nozzle.
Also, Philip did a lot of work to improve support for building airplanes in SR2, including a new option to specify if you are building a rocket or an airplane. Parts will adjust to a more convenient orientation when added and you can also adjust the direction of travel using this new handy gizmo:
In the same aim of improving support for building airplanes, William has been working on adding resizable landing gear. They are still in the early stages of development, but they already show a lot of potential.
We're hoping to get most of this out next month as well, but that will be a tall order! We will do our best!