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[1.12.x] [Planet Pack] Minor Planets Expansion


Exo's Lab

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MPELogoAlt.png

THE MINOR PLANETS EXPANSION - 1.0.7
This One's for the Little Guys!

I have worked on this mod for a few months now. It all started after I failed to find a mod that added analogues to various minor planets that was on par with something like OPM, or at the very least compatible, and the few mods I did find were all outdated. I took it upon myself to make a mod myself that would fill in these missing niches in the Stock+OPM system. Particularly, asteroids, comets, centaurs, and dwarf planets. I wrote down a list of nine objects, and now, four months later, I have now created my first planet pack!
All of these new worlds were made from hand-drawn maps, with very little reliance on stealing from real world objects to ensure a stock-alike feel. This mod is made to be used along side OPM, think of it as an unofficial, fan-made expansion pack for OPM.

The analogue list:
Edas - Eros
Vant - Vesta
Zore - Psyche
Lint/Mikey - 67P
Crokslev - Chariklo
Geito - Halley's Comet
Havous - Haumea
  Kal - Namaka
  Ki'KI - Hi'iaka

Mracksis - Makemake
  Flake - MK2 (not really, but it's a moon around a Makemake analogue)

Ervo - Eris
  Archae - Dysnomia
Soden - Sedna
  Lon - No Real-World Analogue

Images:

Spoiler

Edas
NearEdas.png

Vant
DawnVant.png

Zore
PsycheZore.png

Lint/Mikey
Rosetta68P.png

Geito
GiottoGeito.png

Crokslev
CamillaCrokslev.png

Havous
ProbeHavous.png

Mracksis (background)
ProbeMracksis.png

Ervo
ExplorerErvo.png

Soden
SummitSoden.png

5



SpaceDock Link: https://spacedock.info/mod/2383/Minor Planets Expansion?ga=<Game+3102+'Kerbal+Space+Program'>
This mod can also be acquired through CKAN!
License - MIT


(No new objects will be added, those will come in the eventual sequel)

MPE 1.0.8 "Scientifically Accurate Enhancements"

  • Havous rotation speed adjusted to better reflect shape, thank you to WarriorSabe!
  • Edas surface terracing mitigated
  • Stock magnetometer definitions added
  • Atmospheric analysis definitions for Ervo added


If you have a bug? Report it!

GitHub Coming Soon

Edited by Exo's Lab
1.0.8 Update
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5 hours ago, mabdi36 said:

This is awesome! Does it have all the biomes and science defs. etc. etc.? Cause if it does then that is way more awesome!

They do indeed! Biomes maps and science definitions are pretty much done!
Mystery Goo reports were a bit lazy, I will admit, but I simply didn't like writing them as they're more comedic than they are actual science tools. More mystery goo reports may come in a future update, but as of now there are at least two goo report per object.
However most everything has a full set of fun, lore-building reports for anything crew related! EVA reports, surface samples, and crew reports are where all the best ones are!

Edited by Exo's Lab
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6 hours ago, Mlgisawsome02 said:

Once kopernicus 1.9.1 comes out will you update this to that version?

It depends. This version of the mod does work on Kopernicus 1.8.1 as far as I'm aware, however ring-shaders are very broken, making all rings appear very dark for both OPM and MPE. If this visual glitch is fixed in Kop 1.9.1, I will be more than happy to update the mod!

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I'm confused as what to do with the Optional and Temp folders. They seem to hold the same thing. Looking at the folder names in the config file (I get you need to rename it to activate it) it seems you need to use the files to replace the config in /KopConfig and add the textures to /MPE-Textures/PluginData - and only do this if not using KSP v1.8.x. Correct? Is Temp not supposed to be there and just a dupe?

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1 hour ago, Drew Kerman said:

I'm confused as what to do with the Optional and Temp folders. They seem to hold the same thing. Looking at the folder names in the config file (I get you need to rename it to activate it) it seems you need to use the files to replace the config in /KopConfig and add the textures to /MPE-Textures/PluginData - and only do this if not using KSP v1.8.x. Correct? Is Temp not supposed to be there and just a dupe?

Yes, temp is a dupe. The textures simply need to be moved into the MPE>MPE_Textures>PluginData folder within the mod, and the Config into the KopConfigs folder. It uses Kopernicus Expansion regional PQS to give Ervo better, more realistic craters, it was more of an experiment a friend demonstrated to me rather than a proper intentional piece of the final product. That config may have some outdated features, I can't remember when I removed KopEx requirements from the base mod, but it may have been even before I added biome maps, so I wouldn't recommend it.

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To be fair, after some consideration with some other people who are also confused about the optional Ervo features, I might just remove the option entirely. It's no where near a major feature and doesn't add much at all.

However on the topic of features... this mod has had a much better launch thus far than I expected. I put together a list of 7 potential candidate minor planet systems (14 objects when including moons/binary companions) to considering adding in subsequent updates to the mod due to this positive reception. Can't confirm if I'll do anything like that at this point, since I am quite eager to do a system replacer in the near-ish future. However, that list does exist at this point and I may go ahead with adding those new objects sooner rather than later since this passion project is getting better traction than I anticipated.

1999TC36-Trujillo-HST.png

Edited by Exo's Lab
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A small bodies pack add-on like this should a great and easy-to-add extra for most systems.

I would advise caution on adding more bodies however, more stuff tends to make it harder to achieve compatibility with all the other stuff out there. I'd recommend quality over quantity.

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1 minute ago, Morphisor said:

A small bodies pack add-on like this should a great and easy-to-add extra for most systems.

I would advise caution on adding more bodies however, more stuff tends to make it harder to achieve compatibility with all the other stuff out there. I'd recommend quality over quantity.

Of course! Quality over quantity is a very important thing that I feel some planet modders overlook. Even if I were to add in more objects they would be one or two at a time and would be added along side a lot of polishing to the already featured bodies.

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3 hours ago, mabdi36 said:

i am currently running 1.8.1 and kopernicus 1.8.1-1 and I am happy to say that the ring shaders for the planets are indeed not broken and function as expected (in ScaledSpace anyway)

Same here

Te3hwBh.png

(I hope this would serve as a hint for guys and gals in BDB thread... Can you guess the spacecraft? It is modeled after a real proposal to this particular body!)

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23 hours ago, biohazard15 said:

Same here

Te3hwBh.png

(I hope this would serve as a hint for guys and gals in BDB thread... Can you guess the spacecraft? It is modeled after a real proposal to this particular body!)

I know that one! I used a low-effort replica of that particular spacecraft in my screenshot of the object! I can't remember the name, but it would be unfair to spoil it anyways :P

On 4/3/2020 at 8:47 AM, mabdi36 said:

@Exo's Lab

i am currently running 1.8.1 and kopernicus 1.8.1-1 and I am happy to say that the ring shaders for the planets are indeed not broken and function as expected (in ScaledSpace anyway)

That is fantastic news!

I'll be sure to update the SpaceDock page promptly! Thank you so much!

Edited by Exo's Lab
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This looks fantastic, and really fills in a niche that should've been covered a long time ago.  Any pointers on how to get a transfer when the SOIs are small, orbits are eccentric, and also fairly inclined?

I spent two hours trying to get to 433 Edas, and MJ and Astrogator didn't give much in the way of positive feedback.  I think they make an honest attempt, but, yikes - SO many correction burns....

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Just now, KSPrynk said:

This looks fantastic, and really fills in a niche that should've been covered a long time ago.  Any pointers on how to get a transfer when the SOIs are small, orbits are eccentric, and also fairly inclined?

I spent two hours trying to get to 433 Edas, and MJ and Astrogator didn't give much in the way of positive feedback.  I think they make an honest attempt, but, yikes - SO many correction burns....

My advice would be to do a mid course correction burn to change inclination while on the way assuming a transfer window.
However you might want to try changing inclination with an assist off Eve, Mun, or Duna before moving to intercept Edas. These small bodies can require out-of-the-box thinking!

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10 hours ago, KSPrynk said:

I spent two hours trying to get to 433 Edas, and MJ and Astrogator didn't give much in the way of positive feedback.  I think they make an honest attempt, but, yikes - SO many correction burns....

Think of it as of asteroid rendezvous, not interplanetary transfer. What you want to do here is to match inclination and approach it as slowly as possible, thus minimizing dV required for orbital insertion. Here's NEAR Shoemaker's flight path:

Animation_of_NEAR_Shoemaker_trajectory.g

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