KSP updates, mods, and save games

[Minwaabi]

I see some buzz on the modding release threads about the upcoming KSP 1.0.3. Apparently SQUAD is upgrading to the new Unity 5 and that's going to cause armageddon for mods, I guess? I've finally got all my mods installed and updated, a little time on my hands, and I'm ready to play a serious career, but now I'm afraid everything is going to go kabloie in a week or two. Should that be an actual concern? I know when I updated from .22 to .23 my KSS spontaneously exploded. Will I be able to wait for everything to update and then continue playing or will I need a new save for every update? If we can continue to use our saves after an update, will the following plan work so I can continue playing while waiting for mods to update?

1. Make a copy of my KSP folder and put it somewhere away from Steam. Play from there.

2. Continue to update the KSP folder in steam and update all mods etc.

3. When everything is updated, make a copy of my save folder and move it over to the updated KSP (in steam) and continue playing?

It seems like that should work, and even if it doesn't, I can continue playing the non steam version as long as I like. Is that true? Anyone ever tried this? Does it work?

[raidernick]

You are misinformed, 1.0.3 will not have unity 5 update. Expect 1.0.3 very soon, expect the unity 5 update within the next couple of months. 1.0.3 likely won't break anything, unity 5 will likely only break plugins and part mods with wheels.

I'll also tell you what I tell everyone who complains the updates break their save files. I've had the same save file since 0.18 and it still works fine, so the myth that any of the updates definitely break save files is unfounded.

[Minwaabi]

I'll also tell you what I tell everyone who complains the updates break their save files. I've had the same save file since 0.18 and it still works fine, so the myth that any of the updates definitely break save files is unfounded.

That is good to know. I think my station blew up because I didn't know Steam had automatically updated my KSP. So, I was using KSP .23 without knowing it and all my mods were still for .22. There was a conflict and wham! No more station. Hopefully AVC should at least prevent that from happening again.

Have you had any problems with save games where a mod wasn't ever updated again or you had to remove a mod because of a conflict between a new version and an old mod? I would imagine that could cause a serious issue. But maybe I'm wrong.

[raidernick]

It's not a serious issue, at the most you'll lose some in progress flights

[basic.syntax]

@minwaabi: Your steps 1-3 are the insurance that will protect against major changes.

I now have separate & independent copies of .25, .90, and will make yet another copy of the Steam-maintained "1.0.x" installation, when Squad announces that "1.1" is very close to release. KSP doesn't care what folders you run it from, I have run these separate copies / versions side-by-side, with no problem.

Old saves in new game versions: I don't have any problem loading up .90 saved craft in 1.0.2, except for air changes making some of them difficult to fly However, the big tech tree overhaul affected career games. Parts that were researched before, might be locked after. This can be worked around. Also, sometimes squad will change a part, causing weirdness. For example, in .25, the “Inline Reaction Wheel†was shrunk, and renamed to "Small Inline Reaction Wheel," and made less powerful than the Advanced Inline Stabilizer. This picture shows a craft created in v.24, and loaded into v1.0.2. It goes from VAB to launchpad, and flies looking just like that

Echoing raidernick - 1.0.3 is expected to be a minor update, mainly small changes to how parts and craft behave in air. I'm not worried. But nothing prevents us from making a copy of 1.0.2 right now, to be absolutely safe

v1.1 will be a major update. I expect saved game problems, for good reasons. Already they have told us in this week's devnotes, that wheels will be different, and in last week's devnote, that asteroids will be different. I would prepare for any craft attached to asteroids after the v1.1 update to look different, at the very least. Asteroids might be the same general sizes, but because they are generated with random surface contours, I don't expect the shapes to be the same; some parts or craft may be buried under the surface, or floating over it (Something like the reaction wheels picture, linked above.)

[sarbian]

Or you know, deactivate steam automatic update of KSP ? It's like 3 mouse click.

[Minwaabi]

I didn't know they fixed that. It used to be that that option only meant that Steam waited for you to launch the game before updating. You had to set no automatic updates *and* remember to always start KSP in offline mode. So I just checked. It still works that way but at least they say so now. The options are basically "always update", "update when you launch the game", and "update first (before other games)". Or am I perhaps looking in the wrong place?