RoverDude

It will work in a way similar to how RemoteTech works RE linking. I had some other ideas RE orbit, etc. (there would have to be costs involved as well as delay) but that would be a later phase - - - Updated - - - Yep, that's definitely something I'd want to do, so when that hits and TAC gets down to their final numbers, I'll adjust all of mine to fit in and do a rebalancing run.

Interestingly enough, the pics I find of the NASA Mars DRM almost always show non-connected modules with Rovers around them (it's part of what inspired the idea, since the newer models are very DRM like). Same with their concepts for a moon base... So maybe not so far fetched

MKS Mechanic: Logistics. Because of how MKS works and the sheer number of launches, etc. KAS pipes can get just a little bit buggy (with too many random explosions). So I've been playing with the design concept of logistics - basically, the auto-transfer of resources between MKS modules without direct connections. The main rub has been that this can feel too much like 'magic'. so I would like to put forth a design proposal for early feedback that I think mitigates this. In the real world, interconnection of modules for a colony should not be required to transfer stuff. Folks would either hand carry, or more likely, use rovers to shuttle resources around. thus, a new part will be created (along with a subassembly) that is basically a cargo rover body. These would be parked in between modules to build and extend logistics chains. Working numbers are 50m from a Rover to the Colony Hub or an MKS module, 100m between Rovers. There has to be a chain from the MKS module to the Colony Hub for this to work, but with enough Rovers, players could build very large supply chains. Obligatory image below: Visually, you would see ant trails of Rovers between far flung modules, thus helping in the suspension of disbelief.

No debate I'll be doing more wiki work while I work on the next version. On a side note, for 0.14, I am putting the bits in an experimentals folder with alternate part names while testing continues, that way folks can choose to play with the new parts separately from the legacy ones. Just be aware that once this goes to the initial release, all of the old parts will be deprecated and everything will get it's final name, etc.

Ok - 0.13.1 is up, some new containers and the old one is back.

Sure, I'll plug back in the legacy one plus there are new ones.

To add on - Computers are one of the bits you need for ColonySupplies - it's the longset chain in the series, as you can see by the illustration below Orange = something you can harvest. Blue = non-harvested resources/output. Grey = an MKS module. Green is the resource you're trying to produce. Orange lines = a resource is consumed. Green lines = a resource is produced.

Yep, a computer factory makes computers. It's very possible you have a bad build - there was a point where those modules did not work right, so you may want to grab the ZIP again and retry

For Construction Parts: You either ship in or create construction parts with the construction hub - these are non-consumed resources, so basically once you have your 250 you're set for life. Think of it as buying a building that's just a shell, then all of the work in kitting it out with plumbing, furniture, wiring, etc. (that'a what construction parts represent). So you can have durable structures but not deal with the launch cost. hrm.. your Colony hub should work (that error you see is basically it saying it's not attached to anything). See if clicking the generator helps.. if not, it may be a breaking change with the different caps. The config for all caps tells what kind it is, you need one that has 'Command' on it - i.e. this in the config file: MODULE { name=KolonyWorkshop PartCategory = Command }

So after a lot of fiddling around, I think I'm going to focus on keeping the look/feel consistent with the NASA parts for the mars mission. They even have greenhouses and ISRU's. so other than the new resource containers I just tossed on github (smaller, inline versions) I'm going to hold off on updates for a week or two so people can focus on gameplay, and so that I can sort through the models (I will post art here, etc. for review). The plus side is that the parts will be, in my opinion, a nice mesh of Kerbal and NASA parts (kinda like the mini shuttle project). The downside is they will not blend as well as stock parts, but then I have no aversion to adding a different model pack down the road if there's enough interest.

Max graphic settings with compressed textures I have a very high end PC, but also a TON of addons

FYI - fun with blender today. Some of the model's original inspiration was the NASA mars mission, so the upcoming models are a bit more true to that:

Also on the radar are tall/thin caps for Kerbitat and Control tower.

I am adding textures to some I just got from another modder this weekend The idea of the 'pancake' bins is that they have a huge volume, but are also very stable on the ground - so there will be, in the end, the ground based modules and the inline ones. So next update will include all three bin types - Rover-friendly resource bins, pancake ground bins, and the new inline/narrow bins FYI - here's what I ended up doing to launch these things...

Not quite biome based, but I am considering (in a future phase once the rest of gameplay is done) setting up some intelligent defaults for the resource fields using Kethane, so you'd get the same effect (I.e. some spots where resources always are, like water on the Duna poles), and the rest being randomized

One thing I'd suggest is looking at what other mods already have - i.e. when doing my mod, I looked at BioMass, TAC, EL, etc. with an eye to making sure I played nice, and found some really good consistency with the exception of TAC (which I believe will be addressed in a later release due to the changes in calculation of time). Side note - there is also this thread specifically on unified resource guidelines: http://forum.kerbalspaceprogram.com/threads/61296-Unified-Resource-Guidelines-and-Catalog-for-Modders

I think one bit that makes this a little easier is the focus is more on the harvesting (though it is still a lot of launches), the modules themselves are pretty light - they just get unweildy when you fill them with stuff. FYI - no issues with 23.5 so far. I'm playtesting a new base and also working on the wiki as well as some new illustrations and guides.

Starting some WIKI work - let me know if these charts are too confusing: https://github.com/BobPalmer/MKS/wiki/Life-Support

True - especially since Ike and Duna have the same science multiplier. Super long term I may have to consider ways to incentivize having colonies on other places - possibly tying into the contract system, where there's an appropriate monetary reward for establishing that Duna colony.

KSP Interstellar - one of the bits is that it lets you create labs on planets and in orbit that, among other things, generate science. It's actually the reason I ended up building all of MKS - - - Updated - - - Whoops - fixed!

New version is up - ping me with any issues. This is a breaking change - specifically, the old storage hut is deprecated (new ones are available) and some of the caps have changed.

An excellent question! WIKI article covering this at https://github.com/BobPalmer/MKS/wiki/Manufacturing Bear in mind Colony Supplies are like the end-game of MKS - they are the end of the entire logistics chain. One balance thing I am looking at is making sure that it's more effective to ship out Colony Supplies than it is to ship out food, etc. This is (currently) not the case, simce, to support 10 Kerbals for 500 days, I either need 12.7 tons of Life Support supplies, or 20.8 tons of Colony Supplies. So building the colony is a long game - i.e. if your mission is a single trip and back, even at several years, just haul LS supplies. But if you want a permanent residence that can even generate spare food for return trips, etc. (say, a colonization of Laythe and exploration of Jool) then MKS makes sense. (FYI, I've chopped the Colony Supply requirement in my dev build by a factor of 10 to make it more inline with TAC for all MKS modules, otherwise it was just too much of a swing - over 10:1)

Ok - you can get the planning spreadsheet here: https://github.com/BobPalmer/MKS/blob/master/MKS_Worksheet.xlsx

30 input / 30 output for Colony Supply I actually have an Excel spreadsheet I used during design - it includes a nifty calculator for setting up colonies. I'll clean it up and add it to the GitHub repo

Hmm... Can't seem to replicate this (I buit the same ship, no issues). Can you PM me a craft file?