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[INDEV]-[1.4.3] - To Boldly Go | An external application designed to procedurally generate an entire galaxy for KSP.


daniel l.

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BTW @Thomas P. I would greatly appreciate it if you could review my code. I know that quickbasic dialects aren't your forte, But you have significantly more experience in programming than i do and you're code is more orderly. I just think that perhaps you might be able to help me clear up some issues.

Edited by daniel l.
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27 minutes ago, Moggiog said:

So how is this procedural, exactly? Is every planet procedural, like space engine? Or is it more like it just shuffles the stock system?

Every star and planet and moon is generated with certain randomized variables: Orbit, Inclination, Radius, Etc... New variables are constantly being added, Eventually i intend for it to be able to generate unique planets through the use of MapDecals, but for now they are currently copies of the stock selection, Considering that terrain apparently never mattered much in KSP anyway, Then the journey still counts, So if you can get a ship to visit and land on an exoplanet than it is still an achievement. :wink:

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Just now, nascarlaser1 said:

srry for asking a lot of question lately, but will this slow down a computer much?

 

depends on you're computer, And how many you generate. 10 stars should be utterly fine for any PC whereas I'd say that 100 is the maximum recommended size for a galaxy (50 makes a good intermediate.) If you choose to generate the galaxy without planets, Then you can generate as much as 500 stars or more.

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4 minutes ago, daniel l. said:

 

depends on you're computer, And how many you generate. 10 stars should be utterly fine for any PC whereas I'd say that 100 is the maximum recommended size for a galaxy (50 makes a good intermediate.) If you choose to generate the galaxy without planets, Then you can generate as much as 500 stars or more.

is it possible to make asteroid fields? or do I need different mod for that?

Just now, nascarlaser1 said:

is it possible to make asteroid fields? or do I need different mod for that?

thxs for your help btw

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2 minutes ago, nascarlaser1 said:

is it possible to make asteroid fields? or do I need different mod for that?

thxs for your help btw

Those are still indev, I will be adding them soon enough though :) But in the meantime, All the exoplanets have gilly clones circling them for you to explore and exploit.

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Just now, minepagan said:

I've been keeping an eye on this ever since it was just an app!

Quick question, does it work with rescales? Not like I'm even close to interstellar travel, but it's nice to dream....

Rescales? Like RSS? No sorry, I'll have to make a special RSS version. But i doubt that will be coming too soon as i am still developing the original.

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1 minute ago, daniel l. said:

Rescales? Like RSS? No sorry, I'll have to make a special RSS version. But i doubt that will be coming too soon as i am still developing the original.

Oh, no. Not RSS. I was thinking something like Sigma Dimensions - I know it works with other kopernicus-based planet packs (like OPM), but was curious if it would work with a procedurally-generated one like this.

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Just now, minepagan said:

Oh, no. Not RSS. I was thinking something like Sigma Dimensions - I know it works with other kopernicus-based planet packs (like OPM), but was curious if it would work with a procedurally-generated one like this.

Well. The procedural generation is just momentary, Afterwards it's like any other planet pack at least until you run the executable again. So i assume Sigma Dimensions would probably work, Though i've never tested it.

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Among the things planned for next release are:

Researchbodies Compatability,

Planetary and Stellar Rings,

More star types,

More advanced procedural descriptions,

More variety to moon templates.

@Spaceception I was wondering if you could help me write the procedural descriptions as i don't have time to do such things on my own, I will be largely busy with the code, So i would greatly appreciate your help. If you can help me please send me a PM, If you cant then perhaps you could direct me to another prominent forum writer.

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On 11/14/2016 at 1:30 PM, Azimech said:

I'm a big sucker for B & O type stars ... as soon as you add those, I'll be very happy and might even decide to return to space. I remember using Elite 2: Frontier, 20 years ago. Using my Puma Clipper travelling hundreds of parsecs and always trying to mine on planets of moons orbiting those ... everything engulfed in blue light.

While this may not be realistic ... it's incredible soothing for the mind.

Yeah but its this kind of thing that immerses a player.  That's what I play for, to escape what I'm doing in RL to literally another universe.

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I note in the video that orbit inclinations are highly variable. I'd suggest making inclination the sin/cosine (however you prefer) of whatever random number is being generated, to bias them towards the plane of the ecliptic.

In the generator, it mentions red stars and dwarf stars - I'm presuming these are red giants and red dwarfs, respectively?

For realism, the stars in a life-bearing cluster will tend to be low-mass. Giant and supergiant stars would probably no longer be part of the same cluster as one that evolved life (they'd be white dwarfs, neutron stars/pulsars or black holes by the time the life forms invent astronomy and rockets!), so perhaps a bias to make the really big stars appear further away might be an option.

The last option to consider is binary systems. That would be well down the development road, I'd imagine!

Edited by colmo
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This would probably not work, but... What if you had a black hole, and the closer to you got to it, the more Relativity kicked you in the butt. So you spend a few short orbits there, then get back and find out 4,000 Kerbin years passed for all the ships you had in orbit elsewhere. Ah, well. Even if the game allowed variable time dilation depending on proximity to a massive body, it would probably fry a top-end computer.

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Man this mod is so awesome! I was slightly disappointed to hear that the planets were all stock textures, but greatly relieved to find that they were only temporary. I would highly recommend that you talk to @JadeOfMaar for texturing your planet pack. He helped make the Galileo planet pack, a gorgeous retexture of the stock system. I'm sure he can find a way to help or give suggestions.

As far as suggestions go, I do actually have one. Notice how the real solar system is specifically tailored for life's requirements, one of them being gas giants in the outer ring (they were apparently the planets that swept up the large majority of mass orbiting the star, allowing the inner planets to be rocky and smaller for bearing life). I think it would be really cool if you had a few systems that contained open air inhabitable atmospheres. These systems would contain a few massive and beautiful gas giants in the outer orbits that would protect the inner planets that might have say two planets or even three in the habitable zone with a certain chance of being habitable. 

Then the really cool part is you could have contracts for the expansion of Kerbal civilization that would pay tens of millions for you to find a new habitable planet and land a large number of Kerbals in it. They would be perfect for late game players and would give an amazing reason for them to go and explore. And also you might have information about the planet and its systems be unlocked upon entering certain SoIs and if say you want to increase the difficulty, scanning the planet or just running a certain science experiment could be a criterion to unlock it. That will add a ton to the game and give exploration a point other than just the sheer awesomeness of going to another star system. Am I totally crazy here? 

But anyway, love this mod, and hope my suggestions are helpful. Definitely will download it when I get the chance.

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5 hours ago, nascarlaser1 said:

Does the new planets have science points capabilities for science mode/career mode?

They do give science. But it's the same science as the template world. I will fix that in the future.

3 hours ago, MerseesreM said:

Hello Daniel I! I feel like this mod is a milestone for ksp and i can't wait until you add those randomised rocky planet textures but, how big will these solar systems get? How many planets could one star have? And will there be binary solar systems?

Binaries will exist. And the size of the system depends on the size of the star.

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4 hours ago, Mycroft said:

the Galileo planet pack, a gorgeous retexture of the stock system. I'm sure he can find a way to help or give suggestions.

-snip-

And also you might have information about the planet and its systems be unlocked upon entering certain SoIs and if say you want to increase the difficulty, scanning the planet or just running a certain science experiment could be a criterion to unlock it. That will add a ton to the game and give exploration a point other than just the sheer awesomeness of going to another star system. Am I totally crazy here? 

Galileo's Planet Pack removes the stock system. There's no addition or alteration to that. :P Thanks for tagging me btw. I needed a spark to get into making planet textures. I've contributed a lot to GPP but planet textures aren't in that lot.

Unlocking planet information by entering its SOI is part of ResearchBodies' functionality.  Only if you have a warp drive and semi-infinite fuel you can afford to blindly fly at a planet and unlock it this way. (I've seen it by merely HyperEditing a manned vessel while testing this mod with GPP and unwittingly starting the ResearchBodies Hype Train).

A more practical or less cheaty means to a similar end would be contracts to do science in space or on its surface with certain instruments, or with a second mod dedicated to locking and unlocking planets or just sciencing them with telescopes. I'm thinking Tarsier Space Technologies from the same maker of ResearchBodies. They integrate.

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I am announcing that any Kopernicus planet creator can if they wish send me one of their creations, If it is unique enough from anything i would be able to make procedurally, Then i will integrate it as a "Rare Planet" featuring custom sciencedefs and a unique backstory, These planets will be placed in random points within the player generated galaxy and there can only be one of each rare planet.

I have many idea's already for what rare planets may be like, And with author permission i would be highly interested in integrating a few worlds from other planet packs as rare planets, This would give the game much more meaning as a rare planet would be an important player goal, And could function as an advertisement for the planet pack which it originally came from.

I hope this idea meet's the approval of the Kopernicus community. (I also hope i'm not alienating people with my overblown narcissistic formalities.)

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