Definitive help requested...

[ZuluDoggy]

I'd like some help.  I'm considering creating a few parts/mods, mostly for myself at least initially.  If I can get them to work, decide I like them, and the process doesn't take more time than I can devote to it, then perhaps I would even consider attempting to make them available to others.

Here's my problem.  I've been scouring the boards for tutorials, suggestions, help, etc. and can't seem to find agreement on even the most basic of items.  One person says you must use Unity 4.2.2, another says 4.2.x is preferred, while still another claims 5.x.x is currently in use for KSP and is the version that should be used.  Some say you need to use PartTools 0.23, others say no, use PartOverhauls.  Some have even said you have to use one version of Blender instead of another, or one version of Gimp instead of another, etc.  TBH, I'm already getting frustrated trying to figure out what's the correct way of doing things and I'm not even past the concept stage yet!  (And I'm really getting tired of watching You Tube videos that disagree with each other too!)

Let's begin with the basics:

1) Is there a preferred version of Unity, and if so, which one and why?

2) Does it make a difference which version of Blender is used, and if so, why?

3) Visual Studio for C# files...necessary or not?  And again, why?

4) I saw Gimp recommended frequently and d/l'd it also.  I already have Photoshop.  Photoshop seems more intuitive to me (probably because I'm used to it) and I am wondering if Gimp is really needed.

Ok, I think that's a good start.  Thanks in advance for the help, and I also wanted to add that I appreciate the effort a lot of you modders have put forth by making tutorials for folks like myself.  Even though there seems to be disagreement here and there, I probably wouldn't be as far as I am without you!

ZD

[SpannerMonkey(smce)]

Hi.  Unity first.  KSP is running on unity 5.4 BUT it is perfectly acceptable to make mods for it in any Unity version from  to the best of my knowledge 4.22 to 5.4

Why use different versions, an easy example is the emissive color animations , the latest, from unity 5 onwards stopped support for emissive animation,  emissive being the glow from engine heat or light units ,  There is a tool in the latest Part tools that can animate emissives but it's nowhere near as effective or easy to use, especially with complex hierarchy parts as good old  unity 4.22. 

Don't use blender but the difference between versions is just features,  and ANY literally any modelling program that exports in a unity compatible format will work for KSP.   So don't think it makes the blindest difference which version of Blender

Visual studio, do you want to make plugins, that is compiled DLLS that interact with game code to affect the game environment?  If you don't then you don't need it. You do not use any user created code in making part only mods so no need for C# (that's not to say it's not handy, saves a lot of hassle if if you pick it up and start working out what is what, as imo all the best things are driven by plugins) I make a lot of parts that use  other mod makers code in order to function, such as Infernal robotics.  and there are times when you need to find out something, such as what a particular transform needs to be called in order for the code to work and the only way to find that is to look in the code, Fair enough you may never need to , but I do frequently

Gimp is just another paint brush, and  doesn't matter which one you use , pretty much everyone uses what they prefer as unity can deal with most things

Part of the trouble with the varying opinions is that a lot, and awful lot of outdated info is out there, and it's a lot easier to find than the correct stuff.  But trust me , there of plenty of kats in KSP that can only be skinned one way

Good look with your modding adventures

Edited May 8, 2017 by SpannerMonkey(smce)

[ZuluDoggy]

Thanks!  I kind of suspected that Visual Studio (for C#) is a 'nice to have, but not necessary if you are making parts' program.  I d/l'd it and will probably look at it - some other time!  I will probably stick with Photoshop versus Gimp as well, since I know the former.  Now to check to see which version of Unity I downloaded...

And I tend to agree with your comment on outdated stuff out there.  I've watched a ton of videos only to realize halfway through that they are referencing KSP v0.90 or v0.23, or somewhere in between.  Ah well, off to do some work, and thanks again!

ZD

[InsaneDruid]

Definitely stick with PS over Gimp, especially if you are fluent in PS. Unity can read .psd files directly so its really easy and perfectly integrated in the workflow with unity. I work on psd file the whole time and let unity convert it during exporting to .mbm (as it created mipmaps that way) and manually export to tga and convert the tga to dds externally when doing the final export. Gives me the most control over the quality.

Regarding Blender, as said even a very very old one would work, but so does the latest beta. Unity can read .blend files just fine, too, though I stick with exporting to fbx as this allows for having multiple versions of one .blend file and also having a metric crapton of parts in one blend file that can be exported individually but can be modelled together for a perfect fit. I never had trouble migrating to a never version of blender even during a project. Biggest difference was the layout of the fbx exporter changed slightly somewhat in the last two years.

I learned emissive animation with the newer unity, so i cant say if it was easier in 4.22. Maybe. I find the new way intuitive, maybe its the re-learing that cought some guys. I changed Unity during a project once and all went well and nothing broke.

[SpannerMonkey(smce)]

3 hours ago, InsaneDruid said:

I learned emissive animation with the newer unity, so i cant say if it was easier in 4.22. Maybe. I find the new way intuitive, maybe its the re-learing that cought some guys. I changed Unity during a project once and all went well and nothing broke.

It's OK in the new version it just  doesn't seem as versatile, and if the hierarchy between the parent and the color animations parent( the light or whatever) is a few layers down in the hierarchy it's a little annoying  .

Admittedly for the former I'm terrible at color and I found the animation curve, animating the emissive form black to whatever color you wanted, a lot easier to get a pleasing effect from, and the latter could be improved by making the ColorAnmation tools window resizable.  

It's not by any means fiendishly difficult to use and it does work, and the side benefit of being able to compile different animations into one working animation more than compensates