Official v0.18 Upcoming thread

[Stoup]

Already in the game, look for it in IVA mode.

If you take it in the context of some of his other suggestions you would realize why he neglected to mention this. I agree with his statement that the current IVA views are not great for landings, and using the radar altimeter while trying to land in IVA isn't very practical at current

[Apocalyptica602]

Since docking and other planets are being saved for future updates other than 0.18. I'd have to say only one major thing:

Re-entry heat / G-force effects, as a bonus maybe a more realistic drag model.

As much as I love slamming into Eve's atmosphere at like 6000 m/s with my lander... I think everyone would enjoy a little more realism in that department, without getting in the way of fun.

[cardgame]

It's rather difficult to read a rapidly changing analog gauge. Unless I'm looking at the wrong thing and still haven't found it.

[RoboRay]

It's way easier to read a rapidly changing analog gauge than a rapidly changing digital gauge, actually.

[Pleborian]

Just a small suggestion, may even be planned but,

IVA mode is amazing as it is however there is no real "force feeback" when you are landing/burning/crashing. If there were small vibrations and a subtle rattling sound in the cockpit view when you fire the engines, a lurching effect when you land or crash and a "sinking into your seat" effect for high G's, it would make IVA's very immersive.

these are the best ideas I have seen so far, and seein as docking isnt getting in just yet I would like to see stuff like this. while we are all suggesting stuff a module with an internal space to move around would be nice like the DYJ crew tank with all this said I probably wont notice 0.18 because I wont have covered everything 0.17!!! honestly since its been out all I have done is go to duna, havent even attempted the others yet

[NolanSyKinsley]

I hope that .18 will have a few things.

First is camera shaking while in IVA depending on g load/stress on the craft.

Sound barrier.

More clickable buttons/visual panels in IVA (like orbit) I think we should be able to complete a full interplanetary mision in IVA (that would be pimp and will most likely be foreseeable in the future, if not in .18).

An option to see your orbital line in regular view.

Did anyone say ejector seats? yea, ejector seats and parachutes for space plane pilots/cockpits!!

Larger launchpad.

Much Much Much longer/wider runway, probably doubled at least. Maybe just adjustable =P Or at least get rid of that little hill just past the end of the runway.

Long gripe about the SAS/ASAS follows:

I would really like to see major changes in the way SAS/ASAS works, to be more like real life. When you have reaction wheels controlling the attitude of a ship, you can override it in a single direction by just telling the system to let go of that reaction wheel. It takes I think 3 or 4 reaction wheels to keep control in all directions, but saying you have to turn of all of them just to change one of the directions is strange. Computer control systems should be there to help us constantly, not all or nothing. Like the F-117 Nighthawk, if it did not have a computer assisted flight system, no pilot in the world could keep it in the air(although it does not use reaction wheels). I understand this may make the game "too easy" but maybe they could make a power system that regenerates, so you can only make a limited correction in a set period of time, or it is significantly heavier because of the "computer" or hydraulic system required, or just have it take a crapton of research in career mode. When flying a spaceplane in kerbal's atmosphere the SAS locks onto a celestial point, so the farther I fly, the more it pitches up, it needs to lock onto an angle relative to the current horizon and keep the angle. Oh, and PLEASE tone down the ASAS. The control surfaces are either 100% or 0% with it. It needs to be a little more, well, gentle. Maybe even let the ASAS individually throttle each engine for more control(I know that would take some major coding)

[9911MU51C]

I think Bases would be a nice touch, launching big ships from Mun would be a lot easier than Kerbel

[Frostiken]

For me is mostly the docking (a tons of possibilities) and stable, simple electricity system. There's a lot of these done by modders, but the more electricity mods are created, the more compatibility issues are born.

This. Given how every version of KSP breaks 80% of plugin mods, this puts the onus on the modders to keep active and continue digging through whatever Squad changed to make it work again. An electrical solar / battery system is pretty critical for spaceflight, and I don't think it's fair to expect modders - who aren't getting a dime of the profits from KSP - to build core features and continue having to support them. So what happens when Kruezeg loses interest or gets hit by a bus or something? What if he goes crazy like that one guy and deletes all his ****, or pulls a Nova (sorry Nova but...) and declares it all garbage and says he's not supporting it anymore? No more EEP?

Given game communities don't give a **** about "The Man's" copyright and will post 09 F9 everywhere, but will freak out and have a meltdown the second you even THINK about infringing on the copyright of some ridiculous little mod, yes, that would be the case I suppose.

I hope eventually we can get to the stage where KSP updates stop fiddling with the core engine architecture, but until that happens, this means every version, every modder has to scramble to fix their broken crap. Even right now, probably less than half the broken 0.16 plugins are working with 0.17.

Another problem I have is that pain-in-the-ass process of getting all your parts and fixing your plugins whenever a new version comes out, and finding out what's broken, how to remove it without ruining all your stuff, and where to get the update and when it's released. Some sort of official mod download / update / compatibility checker program would work for this, but unless it's created by Squad, you get the problem of not everyone wanting to use it.

Something like Torchlight's mod downloader / installer - which actively browses the forums to find downloads for you - would be best.

Edited September 25, 2012 by Frostiken

[Tigrou]

Track records !!!

[Blinkin]

Maybe it's time to change the 'kind' of development again just like when 0.16 was being planned. It gave the game a total new aspect.

So... what about a budget system, deployable bases for moons and planets?

[Person012345]

My wishlist would be the career mode and docking, plus maybe some extra parts (maybe an official low-thrust rechargeable type engine and also some cosmetic parts).

Orbital/off world construction would be nice, that is to say sending rockets up with partially constructed bits of moon base or extra-large starship and fitting them together in orbit/on another world. Perhaps as a stop-gap that could be integrated with a docking mechanism, since both features would result in connecting parts to other parts in space - the docking clamps being as strong as any other built part connection would have the effect of allowing limited orbital construction (provided the engines and such would also synch in docking). Though this latter paragraph is just musing.

[Dusty926]

Part of my wishlist is the ability to make a base on any planet/moon (and being able to launch from it) and more cheats for us cheaters who feel like cheating when we don't feel like doing a bunch of (minimal) rocket science.

[zpox357]

deployable bases for moons and planets?

Ooohh! now thats an idea I like the sound of. With eva's and Iva's now in place, inflatable habitation modules could add a very interesting touch to the game like... That mod "whos name I cant recall" in orbiter.

These bases may require other things to be implemented first such as docking or full ship iva's. Maybe it could be part of a space station update? Its a nice idea anyway and I dont mind at all what is implemented in 0.18

[Piggius_Max]

I think internal Kerbal based activities should be looked into more; having numerous kerbals in a single 'part' (shaped like a fuel tank, but for storing approximately 4 kerbals with a door of course) would be nice for later updates, when EVA is much more compulsory to repair, build, destroy or mine things that may or may not come in future updates. Also multi capsules are a must have.

Food for thought

[zekes]

We need better SAS and more iva views

[Guest themakut]

*If you can't be civil, don't post.* -DR

Edited September 26, 2012 by Damion Rayne

[Tim_Barrett]

Lol, docking won't be implemented in 0.18.

I remember back after the release of 0.15 with the space planes, everyone had one thought in their head: docking for 0.16. This was it, docking was finally coming!

Then Squad announced that they would instead be wasting their time on EVA's, which nobody really wanted or needed just yet.

Then after that, it was a sure fire bet that docking would be on the to-do list for 0.17. "LOL NOPE" said Squad as they dashed our hopes once more.

This time will be the same.

To be honest, what is really left except for docking? If it's not next then I'm curious to see what could possibly come before it.

[Lesarthois]

I would like to have inhabited capsules, for putting satellites, or even dropping probes and rovers on moons and planets.

Probes wouldn't be very useful, but it's less silly than letting a ship on a planet (that is, if the ship can still take off). Rovers would allow us to explore; maybe they could be made with a limited power supply or any kind of durability.

Rovers would stop working after a time, forcing us to launch another one, so exploring a celestial body wouldn't be "too easy". Probes could vanish from the radar and so, become relics? Maybe that one could be harder to made, and would be pointless as I don't think they would have any purpose than land markers on next updates anyway.

[EleSigma]

To be honest, what is really left except for docking? If it's not next then I'm curious to see what could possibly come before it.

Re-entry heat/damage and re-entry effects. Though I doubt docking will come along until they've killed the ghost of the Kraken or whatever those kids are calling it these days. It wouldn't be of much use to dock with another ship if the ship will just rip into pieces when you time warp.

[Exitaph]

One thing that I would like to see is being able to save smaller part assemblies for future use in other rockets. I know there is the ability to save an entire craft. But what I'm talking about is being able to for example, save out a lander assembly into another tab in the VAB. And then being able to drag that into the viewport just like you would a single part. This could be used to save launch vehicles, spacecraft, or anything else that you don't want to have to keep rebuilding. This has probably already been said, but that's what I would like.

Also:

docking

electricity

rovers

How about a camera mode that stays locked to the ship? I can never seem to get the different camera modes to behave predictably.

[Guest themakut]

To be honest, what is really left except for docking? If it's not next then I'm curious to see what could possibly come before it.

I have a feeling they may start to implement campaign mode for 0.18, as well as re-entry heat and whatnot.

But docking? Nope.png

Squad is too lazy for that.

[vexx32]

Until you yourself have begun to construct a game as complex as KSP, or anything coming anywhere near as close, please don't call them "lazy". It might seem simple to you, but only because you have very little understanding of what goes on behind the scenes in KSP. You can't just tell the computer "here's a docking port, they're used for connecting ships. Use it." It does not work like that. You have to define what "docking" is, what a "port" is, how they function, any animations that go on, you have to model them, you have to code for collisions, as well as being able to account for the millions of possible errors or mishaps that may occur (e.g., ships not correctly aligned; do we realign them automatically, or does the docking fail, and with exactly what circumstances). The amount of math and coding involved in KSP already is enormous. To add docking would be to add an almost ridiculous amount more.

Let them lay the foundations so that when they add the feature, it'll be of some use, and not just a feature that only the most elite of players can utilise. I believe Nova's already said docking is not coming in 0.18 (I think it was not far back on this very same thread, in fact; have a look), so calm down and be patient... and don't be silly. If docking isn't coming in 0.18, it's because they're still working out how they can do it. Sure, there are docking mods, but if Squad want a real solution (and I'm sure they do) to make docking work properly, with as close to zero glitches as possible, they'll have to design their own solution from the ground up... and they probably already are. You can't merely snap your fingers and get what you want with computers... programming is like teaching a baby exactly how to walk, with it incapable of learning from its mistakes -- you have to learn from its mistakes and give it more precise instructions so it won't make those mistakes again.

Okay?

I get a little annoyed when people call hard-working developers "lazy", so that probably sounds a bit rant-y. Ah well

[trollmylove]

I have a feeling they may start to implement campaign mode for 0.18, as well as re-entry heat and whatnot.

But docking? Nope.png

Squad is too lazy for that.

they outright said that they WILL at some point implement docking and that it is defiantly happening.

[borzwazie]

I have a feeling they may start to implement campaign mode for 0.18, as well as re-entry heat and whatnot.

But docking? Nope.png

Squad is too lazy for that.

Perhaps you'd care to show us how it should be done? I await your wisdom with bated breath.

[Evenger14]

If the devs don't put docking in .18, well excuse my bluntness but then they would be pretty stupid. All you see if a bunch of people begging for docking. It would revolutionize the gameplay! Does anybody know of any decent docking mods to tide me over until the devs implement it?