Gameslinx

I kind of feel as if Squad has lost or is losing the connection to the community. From what I see, nobody was asking for part reskins. Shadowzone's video on technical debt, if I recall correctly, mentions that he never asked for that and the community surrounding his channel seemed to agree. So, in a sense, I feel like Squad reskinned the parts for the sake of it. Whether it's because they didn't like the look of them or needed something flashy to get more sales, we'll never know, but this IS Take Two we're taking about, and they are not unknown for caring less about the consumer and more about the sales. So... The main problem is their part reskins are a waste of their time. Sure, they added modding support as someone above said, and that's really good, but they just fell victim to it themselves when Restock came out and nobody really cared about the part reskins anymore. I do think what they're doing here is a step in the right direction but it just isn't anything substantial enough to warrant paying more for this than I paid for the game. I feel like if there was more depth to this, I would be happier about buying the DLC. Perhaps if the terrain was diggable / removable such as terraforming (which is impossible given how the game engine works, and probably too far convoluted to change so far into development), then I'd buy it. But really? There just isn't much new to do. Kopernicus already has a feature which allows players to gather science from these terrain scatters... I don't understand why I'd pay for this DLC if I could just spend a little longer to install the few mods. Maybe it's because I'm unhappy with squad's track record? If Squad was still an indie developer and not governed by a money hungry company such as Take Two... Maybe I'd be willing to support them a bit more, but ever since the performance improvements in 1.1 I haven't really been impressed since... They're so out of touch which the community they're adding things mods already add and not innovating and adding something mods can't add. This is where I mentioned multicore support but didn't mean to imply making it a dlc, it would be a more valuable use of time than the part reskins. Something that mods can't do, or something that the community really wanted. For example I complain about the bad boring planets, yet mods can do that. But as Squad already visited the parts, the planets stand out as unvisited of neglected. If the community asked enough, I'd improve them. If nobody even asked, I wouldn't touch them. Hell, nearly all of us planet modders are requesting changes to the planets, but .. nobody requested the changes for the parts...? So, if I was to make a DLC as the head of Squad, I would add gameplay we haven't yet seen. Maybe a storyline or a narrative? And, if I was going to make a DLC just for the planets, I'd add more than just terrain scatters. Every planet should feel unique, so geysers, volcanoes, ravines, organic structures etc (which I do believe should be in the stock game) would make a much better dlc than a few rocks and infernal robotics.

Although I agree with the majority of your response I want to respond to this - Although it's completely up to the consumer whether they want to pay extra for some extra features, we're not being offered anything new. Arguably, Squad is reinventing things that already exist. Infernal robotics, science mods, KIS, etc. If it's something that already exists, nobody who spends their money wisely will want to pay for it rather than the die-hard fans or unless Squad adds stuff that hasn't been added before. I called it a "paywall" because that's what it is. It's what it feels like. The DLC about volcanoes and tectonics you mentioned sound well thought out, and a good addition to what would otherwise be a completed game. The stock planets are definitely not "completed". And I have grounds to say this because I do not charge for my mods. Nobody on this site does. We mod not only because we enjoy it to bits, but because we see the flaws in the stock game and want to build / improve upon them. What Squad's doing is in essence us charging for our planet mods. But if we did that, nobody would be happy in the slightest, and not many people would buy it despite the quality being slightly better than what was already offered for free. That is exactly the point behind my OP - it's not complete in the first place, hence why the functionality of the DLC should be a DLC, but the objects it applies to should not. Tl;dr - People can spend their money on what they like where they see fit, but because I am an academic with next to no money, no job, etc, I care a lot about the stuff I spend it on. This DLC is nothing more than a timesaver. I might as well install the mods myself for a better experience now.

I never had that problem myself, but yes the DLC should hopefully be more stable and that's always a plus.

Done. Hopefully that's a bit easier to understand, i've updated the OP. Hence why I said it's a complete waste of their development time. Mods have achieved what they're only just now achieving. The only real thing we're paying for is the option to get science from a rock in a different way, which will still just be pressing a button and watching the number go up. I understand fully that they need to make money to fund development, but they are literally re-inventing the wheel in most of the cases here.

Hey all! I want to discuss the DLC and why I don't necessarily think it's a good idea. I have spent the time to record a video and verbally explain the good and the bad about this update, as well as discussing a bit about Squad's update history. I hope you are able to agree with what I'm trying to say in this video. I'm not particularly good at this format since I have never really done it before, so I hope I don't ramble too much. The points I will cover in more detail if you choose to watch the video include the following: Squad's update history and why the part reskins haven't been a good use of their time considering mods do the same and in the case of Restock, a better job (which IS subjective!) Overview of what the DLC aims to add Explanation of the planet surface features and why I don't like the implementation of the DLC the way it has been done. I did forget to cover a few points / not go into enough detail about the points in the video, so I will do here: Firstly I want to stress that i like what Squad is doing, but their execution is what I have a problem with. In short, I don't think the DLC is worth the price from what we've been told about it. Obviously, this is subject to what you as a consumer want to actually pay for the DLC, which is why I explain it a bit better in the video. The Infernal Robotics-esque features are awesome. I like them. I like the thought of them, the implementation to some extent, and the idea behind them and their uses. However, the actual mod "Infernal Robotics" already does exactly this, and although there haven't really been any other screenshots except hinges, I imagine I.R. does more than what Squad intends to add. Each to their own in terms of how detailed you would expect to see something like I.R. be implemented. My main gripe is the planetary surfaces. The stock planets are awful in my opinion. I do have very strong feelings about them because I myself am a planet modder, but I will try not to include my work here because it's not a good idea to include myself when the subject is criticism of someone else's work. What the DLC intends to add are "terrain scatters" - essentially the proper name for what Squad is calling rocks, trees, cacti, crystals, meteorites, etc. These can all be added to the game with a mod, for free, and planet mods such as Galileo's Planet Pack already do this. Stock Visual Terrain, although as far as I'm aware doesn't add these scatters, improves the planets' terrain textures instead. This is all easily achievable for free and without much effort. My main critique in this video is that the entire terrain scatters are part of this DLC. The planets are bare and boring and barren and appear unfinished. This is why I suggested making them part of the stock game rather than locking them behind a DLC. The stock planets aren't even finished, never mind the DLC! With that said, I mentioned that the mechanics that are going to be added to the terrain scatters should stay in the DLC, but the models for them should be in the main game. Basically "You can see them and crash into them, but you can get the DLC and interact with them". I genuinely believe the stock planets, especially their surfaces, need the same attention Squad seems to be putting into their part revamps. Now, that will sound contradictory and in a way it is - saying Squad should stop the part revamps because a mod can do it, then saying they should do the same for the planets? Yes, in a way. Except the parts didn't need the revamp so much. The planets, however, are a key part of the exploration aspect of the game and there's nothing worse than exploring nothing at all. Since Squad has already gone ahead and redone the parts, that's why I'm saying the planets need the attention too - but they're in such a bad state, making the improvements to them a DLC is a joke. Conclusion: I like what Squad's doing, but their execution of it is bad. There was little need for this DLC since 95% of it is done through mods anyway - the only real addition we haven't seen before is the gameplay surrounding the rocks they're planning to add to the planets. Which will be pressing a button and seeing our science rise, give or take a couple of parts to achieve this. Do I think it's worth the price? No. If I don't like it, I won't buy it - that's the motto people chant for these kinds of threads, and that's it really. I won't buy it, because it isn't worth buying imho. It comes down to you whether to support the developers by buying it or not, but since 95% of it can be done through mods, i'll stick to my mods, thank you. Ultimate TL:DR: Squad is re-inventing the wheel by adding things mods already add. They need to focus their time on things mods don't add - such as multi-core support, optimization, making the terrain scatters they so dearly want to charge for use GPU instancing instead of the inefficient way they currently use by loading every single one into RAM. Please let me know if you agree or disagree, as i have quite strong feelings about this DLC and honestly do not think it's worth the $15 tag from what we have been told. Granted it might be better to wait until it's released, but for now I made do with what knowledge we have so far. Thank you for taking the time to read and watch.

Yes. There are a few!

You are complaining for companies giving you more than they otherwise would? Personally I think getting more and having the option to get extra features is much better on the consumer, since the company gets more trust. I like to think that Squad cares more about their community than they do about their business practice, and this is a logical thing they'd do if they did (however the latter is subjective) Backwards logic, but okay.

I kind of agree, although I'm sure these models are subject to change. The model in itself is alright and could be on an ice planet, but the colour is a little too different. I'd expect them to be blue, to match Eeloo.

I provide all that for free. They're models with the colliders on. You can land on those floating islands. I wanna stress this is in no way shape or form advertising my projects, it's literally the only mod aside from I think GPP? to add custom terrain scatters. If Squad is seriously charging for this... I have some bad feelings. Although I do think the functionality of the new surface features belongs in a DLC, the new models alone certainly do not. The stock planets are severely lacking and, artistic preference aside, there's really not much to see wherever you go - that's why the base game so desperately needs these models!

This is exactly my point! Thank you.

No, I said in the line below that the models should be in the stock game and the functionality should be in the DLC, which is actually a good business strategy. Giving people new things, and saying they can do more with them if they pay a little bit on top of the base game. Seems perfectly fair to me! It's a common business practice. Like a data plan! Charge for a base plan, charge a bit more for a little bit on top, and people might be more inclined to buy it if they like the service they were originally receiving. And hey, if Squad wanted to, they could have the collisions disabled on the cool new terrain scatters and put that in the DLC too. I'd be happy with that, but the planets are so incredibly bare and boring in the stock game that they should be included in the base game.

Oh definitely, I can't agree more. I'd love to see the models of the scatters in the stock game, just without the functionality. The functionality, interactions and such should come from the DLC.

Finally a step in the right direction in regards to making planets more interesting. But if we have to pay for this? No. This is desperately needed in the base game because the planets are incredibly bland as they are and need serious attention. Although this is certainly a step in the right direction, these new surface scatters should be in the base game and not the DLC. The functionality of being able to interact with them should be provided in the DLC, but the models for those terrain scatters should not. As a final note, I hope there is some form of mod compatibility with this. In my most recent planet mod I model and distribute my own home grown planetary features such as crystals, rocks, floating islands (and provide them free of charge, by the way!) and would like to be able to implement the new mechanics that surround them in the same way the DLC will. Obviously I do have a strong opinion regarding the condition of the Stock planets as they are, mainly because they've been neglected for so long. Locking desperately needed improvements behind a pay-wall is not the way forward, but the actual improvements are much needed.

It's a scatterer / sigma replacements issue that was supposedly fixed with the most recent scatterer update. I haven't had the bug since. Not currently, mainly because i'm not sure how I would set this up easily

Thank you so much for taking the time to write that! There will be a performance update coming soon but because I have exams I've had to put it off for longer than expected but hopefully over the weekend I'll have some time to release it. I will most definitely enjoy that pizza!

Awesome. I'll see if I can use ModuleManager to get that to work then distribute it in the BH folder. This update will be backwards compatible provided you use the Kopernicus Backport to 1.6.1

I can help with issues, but not so much making them. Should you have a texture, the syntax for EVE is very easy. I'd do scatterer last, since it's more difficult. If you need help with this i'm more than happy to discuss it on the Kopernicus discord, I believe it's linked in the first post here.

Page 10, near the bottom (Yes, it does, you just need Kopernicus 1.7)

Only the required ones in terms of Beyond Home and its visuals. For recording the trailers themselves i used Camera Tools for the cinematic shots. For editing I used Premiere Pro.

You can change the latitude and longitude of the KSC in the RemoteTech config to match Rhode's. I'll try and fix this anyway for the future. Rhode technically is Kerbin (at least, as far as the game is concerned). RemoteTech is not using displayNames then, so again, localisation (such as Kerbin being called Rhode) is impossible. I can't fix this if the mod doesn't use displayNames.

Kopernicus has updated. The mod does work on 1.7, but I will be releasing a proper update with a few new cool features shortly anyway!

They are much too tedious a task to write, so I decided to hold off on them at least for now.

MH causes this. You need to download the Making Less History mod to fix this bug!

Do you have making history installed?

Same with the biome names being "a, b c". KER doesn't use displayName, so localisation is impossible.