Solar Flares

[PlutoISaPlanet]

Wouldn't they be a great game mechanic!

[jastrone]

seems like they would just be annoying and not have any function

[wpetula]

I think solar flares and CMEs would be more frustrating than fun.  Early game missions could be ruined by an event the player cannot predict with their current technology. Also, the solar flares might happen too far apart in time to be worthwhile to implement.

HOWEVER

If solar flares were isolated to space near the Sun, the player would have a reason to be cautious when exploring the Sun and/or nearby planets. Eruptions could pose the risk of frying their ship, and CMEs could fry all their electronics. Kerbin (and maybe Eve) distances would be safe, but any closer....

Edited March 17, 2021 by wpetula
grammar

[PlutoISaPlanet]

2 hours ago, wpetula said:

I think solar flares and CMEs would be more frustrating than fun.  Early game missions could be ruined by an event the player cannot predict with their current technology. Also, the solar flares might happen too far apart in time to be worthwhile to implement.

HOWEVER

If solar flares were isolated to space near the Sun, the player would have a reason to be cautious when exploring the Sun and/or nearby planets. Eruptions could pose the risk of frying their ship, and CMEs could fry all their electronics. Kerbin (and maybe Eve) distances would be safe, but any closer....

I agree, it could be a interesting game mechanic!

[Starhelperdude]

that would be perfect for a sort of kerbalism 2.0, but for stock, it's not fitting IMO

[Lewie]

17 minutes ago, Starhelperdude said:

that would be perfect for a sort of kerbalism 2.0, but for stock, it's not fitting IMO

Kerbalism has coronal mass ejections, actually. 

This will be modded in at some point (probably) but it’s really too niche to have the time/money spent integrating it into stock.

[PlutoISaPlanet]

45 minutes ago, Lewie said:

Kerbalism has coronal mass ejections, actually. 

This will be modded in at some point (probably) but it’s really too niche to have the time/money spent integrating it into stock.

Probably

[Gargamel]

I like the idea, but as a toggleable option.   Could introduce a new class of satellites, solar observatories.   Science returns and all.  And with enough coverage of observatories, you could track the path of any eruption, and figure out if you have to make course adjustments on various vessels. 

[Dientus]

For me it would work as an option as well.

[adsii1970]

22 hours ago, wpetula said:

I think solar flares and CMEs would be more frustrating than fun.  Early game missions could be ruined by an event the player cannot predict with their current technology. Also, the solar flares might happen too far apart in time to be worthwhile to implement.

HOWEVER

If solar flares were isolated to space near the Sun, the player would have a reason to be cautious when exploring the Sun and/or nearby planets. Eruptions could pose the risk of frying their ship, and CMEs could fry all their electronics. Kerbin (and maybe Eve) distances would be safe, but any closer....

Actually, I think it would add to the reality of the game. Space is a cold-hearted and unforgiving place, much like a few people I know. Often, we forget the hard lessons actually learned about space exploration and spaceflight. I've added a few mods, like @Angel-125's Building A Rocket Isn't Simple (BARIS) mod. It adds some *ahem* unique challenges to the game. I think the more natural space phenomenon that can be added to the stock KSP2, the better the game will be.

Even now, sure, we have plasma-induced communications blackouts, direct communications requirements, etc. But to add radioactivity and electromagnetic disruption from solar flares to the game would be some problem to really require some unique planning. It would also open an entire area of mod-creation to come up with EMP-resistant parts, such as probe cores with some sort of "fail safe" mode. 

15 minutes ago, Gargamel said:

I like the idea, but as a toggleable option.   Could introduce a new class of satellites, solar observatories.   Science returns and all.  And with enough coverage of observatories, you could track the path of any eruption, and figure out if you have to make course adjustments on various vessels. 

Not only a toggle-able option, but one with an intensity slider, too.

I'm one of those nuts who have increased the amount of reentry heat in the game because it adds to the difficulty level. I imagine, once I became accustomed to a "default" setting for solar flares and corneal mass ejections, I'd be nuts enough to crank it up a bit.

The possibilities of interference to satellites, orbiting stations, and craft are just part of the new mechanics it could introduce. I imagine we'd have mod makers who would include effects of such things into their hydroponic farms, such as crop damage/destruction, solar panel damage, or even loss of science if a probe is exposed to an electromagnetic pulse.

Bring it on!

[wpetula]

9 minutes ago, adsii1970 said:

Actually, I think it would add to the reality of the game. Space is a cold-hearted and unforgiving place

KSP is a lighthearted game. Sure, it's a simulator, but it's meant to be fun as opposed to cruel. Solar flares might make the game a little too realistic in difficulty.

12 minutes ago, adsii1970 said:

Not only a toggle-able option, but one with an intensity slider, too.

This would be an effective solution to prevent solar flares from becoming too frustrating. New players could get comfortable with the normal challenges of the game, then activate the solar flares for a new twist.

[adsii1970]

1 minute ago, wpetula said:

KSP is a lighthearted game. Sure, it's a simulator, but it's meant to be fun as opposed to cruel. Solar flares might make the game a little too realistic in difficulty.

Yes, I agree. But I have multiple saves (with multiple versions), and when I want to be really challenged, I crank up all the settings...

To be honest, one of the appeals of what will become Kerbal Space Program (1) is the wide range of game play styles it accommodates.

[PlutoISaPlanet]

2 hours ago, adsii1970 said:

Yes, I agree. But I have multiple saves (with multiple versions), and when I want to be really challenged, I crank up all the settings...

To be honest, one of the appeals of what will become Kerbal Space Program (1) is the wide range of game play styles it accommodates.

I agree. I think more enviornmental challenges would be great in KSP 2. We have already seen that Kerbals on ships with nuclear engines will need radiation protection. Wont they need protection from the suns radiation?

[Angelo Kerman]

Funny enough, solar storms was one of the things I considered when I made Snacks' event system. It could technically be done in an abstracted way. Some random number generator rolls up a storm, vessels in flight could get a warning, and you'd have some time to move kerbals to a storm shelter. Those that aren't moved when the storm hits (a separate event) take on a lot more Stress.

[Kerbal_thrower]

 

18 minutes ago, Angel-125 said:

Funny enough, solar storms was one of the things I considered when I made Snacks' event system. It could technically be done in an abstracted way. Some random number generator rolls up a storm, vessels in flight could get a warning, and you'd have some time to move kerbals to a storm shelter. Those that aren't moved when the storm hits (a separate event) take on a lot more Stress.

I think that sounds like a good Idea!

[PlutoISaPlanet]

17 minutes ago, Angel-125 said:

Funny enough, solar storms was one of the things I considered when I made Snacks' event system. It could technically be done in an abstracted way. Some random number generator rolls up a storm, vessels in flight could get a warning, and you'd have some time to move kerbals to a storm shelter. Those that aren't moved when the storm hits (a separate event) take on a lot more Stress.

 I am starting to become shocked by the amount of people who share a interest in the solar storm mechanic like I do. I have a question, how easy would it be to develop (like time wise).

[Angelo Kerman]

1 minute ago, PlutoISaPlanet said:

 I am starting to become shocked by the amount of people who share a interest in the solar storm mechanic like I do. I have a question, how easy would it be to develop (like time wise).

It depends upon the feature. If it had a graphical representation of a solar storm in the map view, that would take longer than some type of plugin that just randomly generates some numbers and text. It also depends upon whether it uses an existing system like Snacks's events, or is standalone.

[Dientus]

1 hour ago, Angel-125 said:

It depends upon the feature. If it had a graphical representation of a solar storm in the map view, that would take longer than some type of plugin that just randomly generates some numbers and text. It also depends upon whether it uses an existing system like Snacks's events, or is standalone.

If I may suggest to use Snacks, it would be, in my opinion, easier to implement the various penalties without just outright killing kerbals. That's if you want to keep it in a more light-hearted frame that the game is in.

 

Graphics would be great, but I do see it being time consuming.