Handful of mod ideas for a bored/interested modder

[dewin]

I didn't want to open a thread for each one of these, so here goes a list of mod ideas I've had

Upgrade tree for buildings in Career mode

Originally posted under Suggestions here, the idea is to split building upgrades into a tech tree of sorts of their own, unlocked using Funds rather than Science. Building upgrades could then be split into smaller pieces, and allow you to upgrade buildings in smaller chunks. ("I don't really need more than 255 parts in my VAB, but action groups would be nice", for instance.)

Hopefully 1.0 makes building upgrades easier to mod (I hear it's not really exposed to modders at all currently.)

I won't repeat the entire post here for brevity's sake, since I think the design there is pretty elaborate already.

Science Research Time

Add a time component to science -- so unlocking a node in the science tree starts a timer before that science is fully developed. I kind of like the idea of still having to design with older tech while the new stuff is in the "Scientists discover X, expect market applications in 3-5 years" stage.

Research for a node dependent on other nodes could be queued, but the timer wouldn't start until those nodes are completed. Nodes that are all at the same level/not dependant on anything could be researched in parallel.

Maybe part-testing contracts could favor parts in the 'in progress' parts of the tree, and reduce the amount of time remaining upon completion.

This would be particularly useful with mods like Kerbal Construction Time and the various mods that make you lose rep for doing nothing -- you might need to launch some probes with old tech while waiting for new tech to finish. NASA can't exactly sit around waiting for the newest thruster technology to make it out of a lab, after all.

Time delays might be omitted for the first couple nodes in the tree, and possible Strategies can alter the time delay.

Futuristic mass-altering drive (Mass Effect-style)

This is an idea I posted long ago (before a long break from KSP). The idea is a end-of-tech-tree device that, while powered and active, reduces the mass of every part of the ship by some fraction. (in Mass Effect, there's a material whose mass is dependant on the strength & polarity of electrical charge it's receiving).

The idea is a technology late in the tech tree that:

* Has a fairly substantial weight

* Drains ElectricCharge extremely quickly while active

* Reduces the ship's mass by a percentage. Possibly this reduction could exclude the device itself (and others sharing the same PartModule), with a maximum of removing a certain amount of mass. (The device could have "max effectiveness %" and "max mass reduction" attributes.)

[Crzyrndm]

Upgrade tree for buildings in Career mode

Science Research Time

1) Can't really be done in 0.90, but if it is more accessible post 1.0 I wouldn't expect to wait long before someone does this (packaged upgrades are stupid, the faster they become granular the better)

2) I think Kerbal Construction Time may already include this, and it's configurable enough you should be able to remove most of it's other functionality

[NathanKell]

Well, #1 would require stuff not be hardcoded >.>

[hab136]

Science Research Time - you mention Kerbal Construction Time, which has this built-in. I believe you can turn on/off all the time options, so if you just want researching nodes to take time, you can.

Futuristic mass-altering drive (Mass Effect-style) - see SLS's somewhat handy list of Alcubierre Drive/Hypothetical/Advanced Propulsion mods which lists a Mass Accelerator