Here’s an updated README/description reflecting the 1.0.1 system rather than the old G-force/altitude implementation.

Wingtip Vortex

A lightweight Kerbal Space Program mod that adds dynamic, physics-inspired wingtip vortices and atmospheric contrails based on aircraft lift, circulation, and the actual atmospheric conditions of the celestial body you're flying on.

Wingtip Vortex uses a hybrid rendering system with procedural vortex meshes and trails instead of traditional particle effects.

Overview

Wingtip Vortex generates visual vortices that respond dynamically to the aerodynamic state of the aircraft.

Rather than using fixed G-force and altitude thresholds, the mod models vortex strength around circulation:

Γ ≈ L / (ρ · V · b)

where lift, atmospheric density, airspeed, and wingspan determine the strength of the resulting vortex.

Lift is read directly from KSP's ModuleLiftingSurface.liftForce, allowing the effect to respond to what the wings are actually doing rather than relying on the aircraft's felt G-force.

Contrail formation is also atmosphere-driven. Instead of using a fixed altitude band, Wingtip Vortex samples each celestial body's ambient temperature and atmospheric density to determine where persistent contrails can form.

The result is a system that naturally adapts to Kerbin, Eve, Duna, Kopernicus planets, rescaled systems, and different aircraft without requiring per-body altitude tuning.

Features

• Circulation-based vortex strength
• Uses actual lift from individual lifting surfaces
• Accounts for airspeed and atmospheric density
• Allows strong vortices during low-speed, high-lift conditions such as landing approaches

• No arbitrary minimum G-force requirement

• Atmosphere-driven contrails

• Based on ambient temperature rather than altitude
• Uses each celestial body's own atmospheric temperature curve
• Air density controls formation and fade behavior

• Automatically adapts to different planets and atmospheric configurations

• Procedural main vortex meshes

• Main wingtip vortices are rendered as curved procedural tubes
• Vortex pairs curve inward under mutual induction
• Secondary lifting surfaces use trails where appropriate

• No particle systems

• Automatic lifting-surface detection

• Finds the most relevant lifting surfaces on the aircraft
• Handles multi-part wings without creating duplicate main vortices
• Supports canards and canted lifting surfaces

• Can recognize an outboard canard as the effective wingtip

• Dynamic flight behavior

• Vortices strengthen and fade smoothly with aerodynamic load
• Stable during aggressive pitch and roll maneuvers
• No vortices while parked or during the takeoff roll when the wings are not supporting the aircraft

• Smooth transitions between atmospheric conditions

• Planet-aware illumination

• Contrail lighting responds to day/night conditions

• Illumination is normalized for different celestial bodies

• Modded-install support

• Compatible with visual setups using Scatterer, EVE, Deferred, and similar mods
• Protected against oversized visual-effect mesh bounds corrupting aircraft measurements

• Designed to work naturally with Kopernicus and rescaled systems

• Low overhead

• No traditional particle systems
• Effects are generated only where required
• Automatic cleanup on vessel and scene changes

How It Works

Wingtip Vortex scans the aircraft's aerodynamic surfaces and determines which surfaces form the primary and secondary vortex system.

For each relevant lifting surface, the mod reads KSP's actual aerodynamic lift and evaluates vortex strength using the relationship between:

• Lift
• Air density
• Airspeed
• Wingspan

This means vortex behavior changes naturally with flight conditions.

A slow aircraft generating large amounts of lift can produce strong vortices even at 1 G, while a fast aircraft generating relatively little lift may produce a much weaker effect.

The primary wingtip pair is rendered using a procedural mesh that curves inward behind the aircraft. Secondary surfaces, such as canards, retain trail-style rendering because their vortices interact differently with the main wing system.

Contrails are evaluated separately using the atmosphere surrounding the aircraft. Ambient temperature determines the potential contrail region, while atmospheric density controls whether the resulting effect is strong enough to remain visible.

Nothing is hardcoded to a particular altitude.

Behavior

Vortices appear automatically whenever the aircraft is generating sufficient aerodynamic circulation.

You may see strong vortices during:

• Hard turns and high-G maneuvers
• Landing approaches
• High-angle-of-attack flight
• Low-speed, high-lift conditions
• Other situations where the wings are carrying substantial aerodynamic load

Vortices fade naturally as circulation decreases.

Persistent contrails appear when atmospheric temperature and density are suitable rather than at a predetermined altitude.

Because the system reads the atmosphere directly, the altitude at which contrails appear can vary significantly between celestial bodies.

Installation

1. Delete any previous WingtipVortex installation.
2. Extract the release into your Kerbal Space Program root directory.
3. Verify that the mod is located at:

GameData/WingtipVortex/

alongside:

GameData/Squad/

Do not leave multiple versions installed. Two copies of the plugin can run simultaneously and produce duplicate vortices.

Usage

Fully automatic — no controls or configuration are required.

Install the mod and fly normally.

Wingtip Vortex automatically detects the aircraft's lifting surfaces, evaluates the current aerodynamic and atmospheric conditions, and renders the appropriate effects.

Debugging

If vortex placement or behavior looks incorrect, search KSP.log for:

[VORTEX]

The mod logs detailed diagnostic information including:

• Detected aircraft parts
• Lifting-surface candidates
• Candidate lateral reach
• Selected vortex slots
• Measured aircraft dimensions
• Atmospheric conditions
• Contrail temperature band for the current celestial body

Please include the relevant [VORTEX] output when submitting bug reports.

Known Limitations

• FAR is not currently supported. FAR replaces KSP's stock ModuleLiftingSurface, which Wingtip Vortex uses to obtain aerodynamic lift.
• Vortex behavior is visual and does not modify the aircraft's aerodynamics.
• Placement is based on detected lifting surfaces rather than CFD simulation.
• Highly canted or unconventional wing configurations may produce minor placement offsets.
• Some modded lifting surfaces may not expose valid stock aerodynamic modules.
• Extremely large or unusual aircraft may expose edge cases in placement or scaling.

Compatibility

• Kerbal Space Program 1.12.x
• Built and tested against KSP 1.12.x build 03190
• No dependencies
• Stock aircraft and stock aerodynamics
• Kopernicus planets
• Rescaled systems
• Scatterer
• EVE
• Deferred and other visual-heavy installs

Not currently supported

• FAR / Ferram Aerospace Research

License

MIT License

Author

PogKai