Regarding any Mod that adds new parts

[CoriW]

Hello,

So today I installed the Hullcam VDS mod because strapping camera's to rockets seems like a great idea, but then after I started building some landers and stations with cameras mounted on them it got me thinking... What if I ever decide to remove the mod, either because I don't want to use it anymore or other various possibilities. Now I don't usually use part mods (not that I have anything against them), but I'm assuming if you have a craft with modded parts on it and then proceed to remove the mod the craft probably is removed and unloadable, correct? With that being said, that is probably the only reason I generally avoid part mods and tend to stick to using mostly plugins. (for example I have 42 plugins installed and only 3 mods)

The reason I made this thread is because I'm wondering how many others share this concern when considering using part mods? I mean I can't be the only person that's concerned about this, right?

[hoojiwana]

I'm assuming if you have a craft with modded parts on it and then proceed to remove the mod the craft probably is removed and unloadable, correct?

Yes. Loading a savefile with any active craft present that use any parts the game can't find (due to the mod being uninstalled), those craft are removed. Generally if you want to uninstall a mod you make sure you don't have any currently in use craft with that part, so recovery etc. And it absolutely is a concern, you need to be wary when removing mods in general from an active save for compatibility reasons.

[Mad Rocket Scientist]

Yes, I feel exactly this way. I never make anything serious with mods, because I'm worried that I'll uninstall them.

[AxleMC131]

Loading a savefile with any active craft present that use any parts the game can't find (due to the mod being uninstalled), those craft are removed.

This is news to me: do the craft actually get removed from the game? In my experience, the craft is still listed in the SPH or VAB, but it has an orange warning text under it saying "contains invalid or locked parts". Trying to load the craft will result in an error message, saying it is unable to load because of missing parts, followed by a list OF the missing parts. I also believe that you can re-enable the craft simply be reinstalling the mod(s) that add the missing part(s).

Not sure if this is just something that happens for me, or something that everyone's game does. Either way, hope this was helpful!

- AxleMC131

[hab136]

If you try out a mod but then later want to remove it, you can just remove the modded parts from your ship. There's several ways to do that, in order of dangerousness:

1. KIS (which would also let you replace the mod part with something else)

2. Kaboom!

3. Knock the part off by hitting it with another ship (or the ground)

4. Alt+F12 and use "Whack-a-Kerbal" to shoot that part

If you can't remove/replace the modded parts from the ship, then you'll have to recover the ship before removing the mod, or be okay with the ship being deleted.

[Streetwind]

Yes, I feel exactly this way. I never make anything serious with mods, because I'm worried that I'll uninstall them.

There isn't really any reason or pressure to uninstall things if you keep a dedicated instance for modded content. Just take your entire KSP folder, make a copy of it, and install mods into that. Then you have both a working stock instance with only stock parts, and a working modded instance with all the extra parts. And you can make as many copies as you like. Some of my game instances exist solely to run one single savegame and nothing else; if I want to start a new save, I make a new copy and customize my mod selection for that.

[p1t1o]

From a heavy mod user - by neglecting parts mods you are withholding a great deal of content from yourself. From the innovative and unique structural parts to brand new methods of propulsion, then there are things like Karbonite and SCANSAT which add new mechanics, and there are many other examples in between, some experimental, some are mature and reliable.

The main drawback is that parts packs are probably the most RAM heavy mods available, that is, there is a limit to the volume of new parts you can install, so the problem becomes which parts to choose, but that is another matter.

By avoiding parts packs you deny yourself an extra large helping of Kerbals, your choice!

[Randazzo]

As an avid consumer and minor producer of mods, I must agree that you are potentially denying yourself a vastly expanded game experience with your modpartabyssophobia. It is true that if you delete a mod, any vessels in your game containing parts from that mod will not load. However, how often do you actually expect to suddenly go on a mod-removing rampage in the midst of a career save? Not very often, I'd wager.

With KSP, and it's extensively user friendly (I said it!) existence, it's easy enough to just copy the game over to another folder location. This is what I do when I want to use vastly different mod sets for different games, and I know others use this method as well.

There is a bit of an issue with the above since 1.0.4, however. Running the game from a shortcut could break things as it looks for the physics.cfg file in the wrong place, and failing to find it, creates a broken one. Hopefully that will be fixed in 1.1, but if not, running the game directly from the executable inside the copied folder will avoid this.

[allmhuran]

This is news to me: do the craft actually get removed from the game? In my experience, the craft is still listed in the SPH or VAB, but it has an orange warning text under it saying "contains invalid or locked parts".

Both are true but refer to different things.

If you have craft files in your save gane's SPH or VAB directories that reference missing parts, then go into the construction building and bring up the list of vessels, you will see the orange warning in the panel.

If your save file has any vessels launched into the world that reference missing parts, then those vessels will be deleted from the world when the save is loaded, and a dialog is displayed to inform you of this.

[monstah]

If you try out a mod but then later want to remove it, you can just remove the modded parts from your ship. There's several ways to do that, in order of dangerousness:

1. KIS (which would also let you replace the mod part with something else)

2. Kaboom!

3. Knock the part off by hitting it with another ship (or the ground)

4. Alt+F12 and use "Whack-a-Kerbal" to shoot that part

If you can't remove/replace the modded parts from the ship, then you'll have to recover the ship before removing the mod, or be okay with the ship being deleted.

So that's what Whack a Kerbal is?

I go with the KIS route. You even get to do a useful EVA mission!

Chatterer also suggested. Heavy breathing sounds during EVA add so much tension. Quote Homer Simpson, "Steeeady... steeeeeady..."

[AxleMC131]

If your save file has any vessels launched into the world that reference missing parts, then those vessels will be deleted from the world when the save is loaded, and a dialog is displayed to inform you of this.

Ah, my apologies then; I misunderstood the question. Thanks for catching that out.

[p1t1o]

Just in case its new knowledge to anyone:

If you uninstall a mod and get the dialogue box that says craft have been removed from the world due to missing parts, there is no need to panic - Alt-F4 straightaway (do not pass go, do not collect £200). This preserves your save, you can now re-install the mod and come back and the craft will still exist.

[JetJaguar]

Another thing is that you don't necessarily have to remove the entire parts pack all at once, you can often delete individual parts from the pack and keep just what you use. For example, I use only the lights from the B9 Aerospace pack - I've deleted everything else.

[tater]

Simple solution for you, though it is just a form of "revert."

Career game with core mods you won't remove as a starting point. You decide to add some new part mods. You can either make a new savegame, right before installing the mod that is descriptively named, say "Career, pre SpaceY." or you can duplicate the savegame in "saves" and play on the duplicate (giving that whole career a new name, like "Career with SpaceY."). You can switch between them, just don't use the modded parts in the original career.

[CoriW]

There is a bit of an issue with the above since 1.0.4, however. Running the game from a shortcut could break things as it looks for the physics.cfg file in the wrong place, and failing to find it, creates a broken one. Hopefully that will be fixed in 1.1, but if not, running the game directly from the executable inside the copied folder will avoid this.

Whoa whoa whoa, hang on a second... I've always been running my game through a shortcut on my desktop... Could you please explain in more detail what this issue is that you mentioned? Like, what are the implications of the "broken" physics.cfg file that it creates...? I mean I haven't noticed any issues, but now I'm concerned there may be issues that I'm unaware of?

From a heavy mod user - by neglecting parts mods you are withholding a great deal of content from yourself. From the innovative and unique structural parts to brand new methods of propulsion, then there are things like Karbonite and SCANSAT which add new mechanics, and there are many other examples in between, some experimental, some are mature and reliable.

The main drawback is that parts packs are probably the most RAM heavy mods available, that is, there is a limit to the volume of new parts you can install, so the problem becomes which parts to choose, but that is another matter.

By avoiding parts packs you deny yourself an extra large helping of Kerbals, your choice!

You know what? Even though as I said in the OP I avoid Part mods, you are absolutely right and I would agree that I'm withholding a lot of content from myself. In fact the only mod I use that adds parts is SCANSat -- The reason I'm comfortable having that one is because I know for a fact I'll never remove it as I consider it one of my "core" mods. That being said SCANSat adds a lot of functionality of a plugin, and isn't strictly a "part pack". After some thought I've come to realize that there are 3 key points that make me avoid part packs.

• The possibility of wanting to remove a mod without losing ships from my game
  
• The possibility of the parts being unbalanced in some way that makes Stock parts obsolete or inferior
  
• I use a lot of visual mods, even with OpenGL I run at 2.0 - 3.0GB of RAM, without OpenGL I crash on load -- Parts packs, as you said are RAM heavy
  

Oh also please don't take that list as me justifying why I don't use part packs, it's just me listing the concerns I've had that caused me to avoid them... I still do agree that I'm missing out on extra content by not using a lot of part packs.

Edited August 29, 2015 by CoriW