AlphaMensae's Modular Launch Pads

AlphaMensae's Modular Launch Pads v2.6

Tired of wimpy launch clamps? Feel your KSP launch experience is lacking something? Well, then make any rocket launch an event by making a complete launch facility with launch base, towers and other accessories.  Board your crew,  start the countdown, then go for ignition sequence start!

Modular Launch Pads is a collection of parts, including various launch clamp-type bases, towers, crew elevators, hold-downs and other accessories. You start by either attaching a base to a bottom center node on a rocket; this can be either the bottom node of an engine, or an attach node added by one of the included path files that add an extra node to various mod rocket tanks, stages or engine mounts. Towers attach to the four nodes on the sides of the base. Swing arms and drop umbilicals attach to nodes on the towers; other parts can be attached to the tower tops. Holdd-downs are surface-attached to the deck, frame top or support pad on the base.

IMPORTANT: Use of the offset gizmo is required to customize the layout of the bases and towers. It is also necessary to hold left-shift wheb dragging the gizmo's arrow handles to get 20m of offset range, otherwise you won't be able to move a part very far.

INSTALLATION INSTRUCTIONS

Modular Launch Pads v2.6 is only for KSP versions 1.8.1 and higher, older KSP versions are no longer supported.

Delete any existing Modular Launch Pads folder. Always do this when updating, as file names can change, and simply copying a new version over the older one can cause problems.

In the download .zip file, there is a GameData folder. Copy the folders ModularLaunchPads, B9PartSwitch, CommunityCategoryKit and StagedAnimation from there into your KSP GameData folder. DO NOT put the GameData folder from the .zip into your KSP GameData folder, there can be only one GameData.

If you already have the latest versions of the dependencies, then you do not need to copy them over. Otherwise copy over the ones you need from the .zip into your KSP GameData folder.

B9PartSwitch is required for all mesh and texture switching, as well as transform moving, node moving and the UI Groups, and must be present in your KSP GameData.

CommunityCategoryKit is required, as the parts are hidden from the stock categories by default, and the custom CCK category is needed to find them. The included stock custom category (located in the Advanced mode of the part picker) can also be used, and includes subcategories.

Staged Animation is required and replaces Animated Decouplers, but it also has ModuleAnimateGenericExtra, which gives deploy limit sliders custom titles. Staged Animation does the same animation staging function but without any need for a decoupler action (still gives a decouple icon in the staging stack)

Craft files go into your KSP/saves/xxxx/Ships/VAB folder.

Subassemblies go into your KSP/saves/xxxx/Subassemblies folder

The Extras Folder has the older freestanding versions of the Saturn and Shuttle Launch Bases. Copy the .cfg and .mu files into the ModularLaunchPads/Saturn_Shuttle folder to use them.

v2.0 Screenshots by Zorg and AlphaMensae

Launch Stands

General Launch Bases and Small Test Stand

Soyuz Launch Base

Shuttle Launch Platform

Saturn Mobile Launcher

Assembly Guide: Saturn V Mobile Launcher

Assembly Guide: Space Shuttle Launch Plarform