Vehrmark_Kristoff

I've posted once a while ago and am essentially quite new to the KSP modding community and process despite having had watched some video tutorials over the summer and trying to create some GUIs. I've also had experience in grade 11 and 12 computer science courses whereby my only 'crime' was over-complicating my 'program architecture' and being overly ambitious. From what I know, as generic add-ons concentrate on the addition of new parts with new behaviours, models and characteristics to the game alongside auxiliary GUIs, plugins more so concentrate on making changes to the internal game mechanics and as per my case, the plugin I wish to begin developing aims to find ways to bypass the standard vessel 'rail assignment and junk management' mechanics to allow for management of multiple flights which when unfocused undergo physical approximation. I basically have been wanting to develop a mod called "Kerbal Civilizations" which allows me to perform highly physics, administration, resources and logistics oriented simulation of a functioning Kerbal civilization. Questions: To start off, does there exist much information out there on how one would set up code to interact with the game API and in ways 'hijack' control over the physics of a flying vessel? For example I'd imagine that in the development of FAR, a lot of work would have had to be done to be able to robustly apply alternative forces on vessel parts using separate or auxiliary physics processing code. Furthermore, what pointers could one give me towards exploring API interactions that would allow me to stop the stock game mechanics from deleting a vessel as debris or transferring it to rails when out of focus and far away? As in I want to be able to have dynamic code that allows multiple programmed autopilots (individual agents within the entire civilization automaton; to me most of this code logic can be implemented independent of the more confusing API interactions which are what I am having trouble with) to act upon the control surfaces of a physical vessel approximation flying on rails but not undergoing internal stresses. As in if I wanted to set up within my mod the ability to organize multiple land, sea and air logistics flights, the plugin would be able to manage approximated forces and constraints acting on the craft as it traverses the world whereby at any time you can resume focus on any one logistic vehicle and dynamically introduce any other approximations that fly close within the vicinity of the focused craft. Managing the success rates of 'approximated' landings would be the next step in this project. So to conclude, this would in ways be the programming of the dynamic switching between vector point approximations of existing vessels and safe introduction into and suspension from 'focused' full physics game world processing. It would be as though I were implementing my own solution to switching between vessels while moving within the atmosphere. As per autopilots, I have yet to figure out how to program an agent to act upon vessel control surfaces unless this were as simple as scanning through and logging all parts in a vessel structure that I want to access, else I can look into using kOS to have ways to control crafts in focus with full physics simulation and out of focus on 'modded rails.' (As I'd imagine that normally, the game 'listens' to control inputs from the kOS program, my mod would probably transfer listening and try to best approximate the expected control feedback upon the vessel while on rails. Accurately approximated point masses with angle of attacks.) How this may interfere with 'Kraken's Bane' for dynamic focus assignment may also be an issue.

Well, I guess this shall be my first post on the forum out of a number of posts working towards a long term project for modelling a dynamic economy and resource dependent 'Kerbal civilization.' (Yes, a long one but I'm not very good at compressing my ideas or concerns.) Intro: Firstly to some extent I would agree with Prepper-Jack's idea of adding a hard mode as for the most part for me it has seemed that each Kethane and the current stock resource mechanics which actually for a bit excited me each cater to certain ideals I would want in my own experience of KSP resources but sadly each lacks in the other. I guess to quickly state, when I first found out about the mod, I liked the idea of Kethane allowing you to scan the surface with proper polar configured satellites and with the addition of RemoteTech2, such gave a purpose to the construction of satellite missions for me. (I personally have been playing KSP since grade 9 and after a good three years have never really got into career mode or any long term meaningful missions either due to concentration on other things or having some other ideals for additional gameplay mechanics.) Number one, the thought of ever being able to go far enough with a Kerbal civilization as to have completely depleted all remaining Kethane resources intrigued me and gave me the same 'literary fascination effect' when I first read about that Eternal War thread where someone managed to run a Civ 2 game for more than 10 years. I'd guess that some people wouldn't like having to always move around so much, but maybe if each reservoir took a similar amount of time as it would take to exhaust a real world oil reserve. My ideals on resource systems: Apart from that, the main concerns that made me look towards resource implementing mods on KSP was my endeavors on developing a large set of rules through which to manage the economy and resource extraction projects of a full fledged Kerbal Civilization. Basically one thing I felt that was hindering my creativity or drive in the production of KSP rocket designs was the lack of a meaningful purpose for myself. As in as always for the most part independent of actual rocket launches and the time spent during missions people don't really tend to seem to care so much about where the time goes for a 'virtual rocket design team' to produce plans. As in yes the emphasis is on immediate satisfaction for your Kerbal execution needs but what about that small niche of folks looking deeper into realism? So parts of my ideas were finding my own ways independent of me having to program my own mods (more due to laziness because I have indeed taken grade 11 and 12 computer science for Java) to implement things like the training of design personnel, enlistment of ground geologists and performances of ground surveys for securing logistical resource pathways necessary prior to even being able to launch your first satellite. As in what if aside from the desire to enjoy the harder parts of resource extraction were mixed with a set of game mechanics that didn't limit resource extraction to MKS TAC-LS survival and mere interplanetary refueling but also gave in the added challenge of actually having to spend all the money and Kerbal labour for mining/refining enough metal and going through all the stages to produce just one rocket? Limitations on implementing it myself: So pretty much what I see in the present game and mod ideals is mostly the notion of a pure space program that operates under a government and after that all things that happen behind the scenes like management of resource transportation routes and organization of various materials processing and manufacturing companies is 'intentionally' ignored for the sake of the more common niche and we merely slap onto these rockets fixed product costs excluding the ridiculous quantities of logistics operations that would actually be required under realistic circumstances. Of course I am aware of the whole notion of far fetched realism demands and the computational complexity of things like actually simulating cities as both abstract and physical models in KSP but this comes as introduction to my concerns associated with an idea whose realization as a 'separate full fledged mod' would otherwise be delayed as long as I continue postponing securing some better resources on KSP modding to give me the same degrees of freedom and design complexity I can happily achieve with Java. How I was planning to do it ('very condensed'): Sooo, despite that little rant I merely used it to eventually introduce the basis for this whole idea of a gameplay I'm trying to achieve where basically using stock mechanics and mods like MKS plus Kethane, RemoteTech2, TAC-LS, KAS and Ferram I would start off by setting up a colony of Kerbal individuals with extra stats and traits I will record and 'process' either on paper or on a separate Java application of my own implementation. And in this colony you would begin by setting up a self sustaining MKS ground base near KSC, some administration mediated by the Kerbal Civilizations gameplay rule set I am developing as well as a Kethane or mined fuel based currency system where you literally 'spend' money or conduct resource transactions limiting the construction of your next launch at a financial land-situated 'burning facility'. We use free fuel to mine 'not so free' fuel, but what if in some alternative mode fuel was never free? Hence some of the stages a player wanting to experience a 'hard mode' for would have to go to is starting off running a surface colony and establishing funds to commence the first land solar powered resource surveys. Then after finding some close by but not so abundant resources using logistic chains they could fund fuel for faster spaceplane surveying that could eventually lead to have the resources for your first rocket launch. Imagine what pride a KSP masochist could muster up in having had had to have gone through all that abstracted administration, resource harvesting and logistics operations just to launch their civilization's first orbital survey satellite? So some extent as per my game mechanics ideals economy, resource logistics, administration and infrastructure should verily precede the launching of any space vessel. Land surveys and then satellite surveys for the sake of cartography or large scale geological resource survey. But I bet man was able to locate an oil well a good time before we were even able to hit the air. What Kethane and stock resources both sacrifice: Pretty much as per that, my first attempt at testing some of these Kerbal Civilizations gameplay features involved flying for long periods of time a spaceplane equipped with a Kethane scanner hoping to find at least one deposit on the local continent. This is where I hit the first limitations of Kethanes on my 'niche gameplay' as it is: discreet and perhaps mostly randomized resource deposits. Or when the prospect of long term land surveying expeditions start becoming more irksome. From this I liked the idea of Karbonite or stock mechanics allowing you to mine virtually anywhere but with limited efficiency and concentration as if different areas all have the resource but in ways possessing varying difficulty and magnitude of extraction. But despite Karbonite and stock resource system for the most part giving me the resource mechanics I would have really hoped for, it basically ended up removing the features I wanted to keep from Kethane (this could be negated if an only if I were to find a way to use SCANsat appropriately for my 'realistic scanning' needs and if from what I've heard surface scanners for people who just want to be useful geologists didn't depend on filling the space requirement.). But indeed two niches and the still yet uncatered meld between the two. Yeah just as we don't necessarily want a 'Kerbal Boat Program' (despite my past prospects of 'glorious' sailing across Kerbin oceans on long 'economic' Kethane freighter voyages) or a 'Kerbal Economy Program/Civilization Tycoon' or 'Kerbal Oil Company Simulator,' these were just niche ideas I've lately been trying to satisfy for myself. So that's that and I look forward to hearing what you guy have to say.