S1gmoid

I'd say the "core mechanics" are the VAB/SPH, launching vehicles, and the whole physics simulation thing. But ymmv.

I don't quite understand all the hate Squad is getting... You need to set a release milestone, do a feature freeze, do stabilization and QA, otherwise you never release. Anyway... Huh. Sandbox mode IS the core game mechanics. So if we interpret it like this, "Sandbox features" can be summed up as "As a player I want a button to play the core game engine with no further restrictions or gameplay mechanics beyond basic simulation, so I can have fun my own way." Any and all game rules are abusable. Anyway, there could be some kind of incentive to keep working and not spend hours watching maximum warp... Say, like a slowly decreasing reputation in case you don't do launches, which would keep you launching successful missions with reasonable frequency.

I think it would require a new, ongoing contract mechanic. Like instead of "get huge amount of money for putting a station on the Mun", you'd "get a small amount of money every week for HAVING a station on the Mun". Same for comsats, etc. As for rewriting and GPL... If ALL the contributors agree, as the sole holders of the mod's copyright, they can grant Squad a non-GPL license. Also, as far as I know, GPL doesn't expressly prohibit having GPLed code bundled with proprietary software, though there are restrictions on linking, and the GPL component would have to be kept under GPL, available and open-source.

You are being caustic with no good reason. Squad are doing a great job. The very reason that mods exist is that KSP exists. I'm sure some of the modders here, like Ferram for example, could have come up with a full space simulator, but in the end, it was the Squad guys who did that, built the whole thing, made it stable, and released it. There is no reason to treat them with such venom. As for the navball, Squad did NOT include "Enhanced Navball", they developed a similar functionality on their own. As modders are also free to create their own version of some functionality that already exists, Squad is free to do the same. Also, if a mod is changed when it is included, I think it's needlessly venomous to talk about "dumbing down". As someone who has worked on several large-scale software projects, and participated in a few game development efforts (tabletop role playing games), I fully understand the need to keep a consistent vision, and streamline any included ideas to that vision. It's what makes a product. If you do not like that vision, KSP is a trendsetter in the freedom it gives you to change the flavor in the game down to the physics engine. So stop it.

I can definitely relate to that. Anyway, I'll have a look at the source, and if it seems feasible, I'll try to implement some of the vision you've described. What's your policy for source code contributions? By the way... I'm not fully familiar with the internals of KSP yet, and I'm wondering if it might be possible to have am active physics simulation in the background (a separate thread with its own active vessel), like a probe "waking up" on autopilot at a predetermined time to make course corrections.

Hey guys... What's up with vectors now? I've seen some mentions about breaking changes to the positioning system in the changelog... Anyway, are there any plans (planned or finished) to introduce a "cooked" positioning system instead of just exposing the internals of KSP with regards to coordinates, as explained here? It really doesn't sound like the sort of calculation you'd want in a scriptfile, for performance and readability reasons. Of course, changing the way coordinates work would break old scripts, but it could be made switchable. I'm actually tempted to fiddle around the source and see if I can do something in this regard if it hasn't been done by someone else. Stuff I think would be nice: * Both velocity and position vectors relative to the vessel / controlling part. * Directions always fixed to 0 longitude (as opposed to KSP internal XYZ), regardless of vessel height. EDIT: Or possibly to current vessel heading, or a fixed stellar navigational sphere as used in real life space travel, based on constellations (ie. "the firmament"). * UP to mean "direction of the normal vector of the SOI planet's surface at the longitude and latitude of the vessel, with the topside of the vessel pointing West". * NORTH and EAST defined similarly as directions on the horizon. Maybe DOWN, WEST and SOUTH too.

Actually, some changes in orbit is somewhat realistic. A full n-body physics, if it ever gets completed, would definitely mess up orbits over time. A sattelite needs some sort of orbital correction mechanism, RCS or something similar. As for driving it, I guess some kind of autopilot like kOS could be used.

I'm still learning about the ins and out of unity, but ropes generally ceased being a problem in 3d games around the time the Voodoo 2 card came out... Or is it the physics modeling you're worried about?

Pods don't carry a whole lot of monopropellant, so in case of bad piloting, those situations would arise nonetheless.

I think it would make sense to add small, built-in RCS thrusters to all pods by default, if this were implemented.

I prefer a XX. century look and feel. What I'd enjoy seeing more of is "what could have been" sort of tech that might have been researched on Earth, but never used (for lack of courage and stupidity). Looking at how Kerbals have those in abundance, stuff like fission engines are totally not pushing it.

Exactly what I'm looking for! Is it being maintained?

Jeb's soulmate...

http://forum.kerbalspaceprogram.com/threads/85990 http://forum.kerbalspaceprogram.com/threads/67821-Timewarp-Rotation-Fix I am tempted to look into them as an exercise in learning the KSP mod API.

Thanks! I haven't found that before you mentioned it. That looks a lot like what I was thinking of. Maybe I'll look into tweaking stuff, and releasing something derivative with the creators' consent if it works out well. Anyway, I feel that some kind of add-ons registry would help us a lot. The forum search feature doesn't give itself to finding mods. At all. KerbalStuff could be that, but there's a 60% chance that a specific mod isn't there. (And a 75% chance that it's not on Curse, which I guess has usability problems and historical grudges at its roots.)

Yep, StageRecovery is real nice. You can, for example, launch a space vehicle from under a manned jet, and the jet (and its pilot) will be safely recovered as he just flew it back to KSC. I don't know if DebRefund does that.

This is motivational poster material for a coding shop wall.

I guess that means the functionality could be added to pods via ModuleManager?

He just really likes space, is all.

Hey Quick question... is it possible to use the RT2 Flight Computer on manned vessels, controlled by the crew (ie. without command delays and downlink requirement)?

The Realism Overhaul mod and the projects it aggregates are absolutely awesome, and it's obvious the devs are putting in some invaluable time and work. That said, it's as the name suggests, a complete overhaul of the game. I've been wondering if anyone would be interested in a middle ground. Stuff like making the engines behave more realistically, with limited throttle and a finite number of re-ignites, steady fuel flow and increasing thrust under lower atmospheric pressure... Offset centers of mass in pods and other parts where it's warranted... An optional rescaling of the Kerbol system to make Kerbin Earth-sized, and Kerbals human-sized... etc. Basically, the sort of part and world tweaks that would enhance the simulation aspect of the game without turning it into a completely different game altogether, breaking carreer mode, etc.

Exactly. The Linux x64 version is said to be stable. If one gets to the point of not wanting to play at all, I'd consider installing a Linux partition. EDIT: Oh. My. God... Do you guys know what this means?! ...YOU HAVE TO DUAL BOOT FROM WINDOWS INTO LINUX. ...TO PLAY A GAME! Linux, you've come a long way.

By the way, how (un)stable is this at this time? Also, any good community resources on using it? The documentation is often quite terse. ("These coordinates are difficult to explain" lol.) Other stuff. Back at the start of the thread there was talk about waiting on multiple events. I think that event-driven operation out of the box would be a little unstylish. However, adding the ability to wire up interrupts would be something else entirely! Some of the kids out there might actually learn something about how computers work, besides all the rocket science.

It might depend on the specific cargo bay part (mod). Generally speaking, the answer is "no" in the current stock game version, as drag is calculated by a very simplistic model. The anser is generally "yes" if you have the Ferram Aerospace mod installed.

What happens if the vehicle on rails enters an extra-kerbinal atmosphere?