[Min KSP: 1.12.2] Pathfinder - Space Camping & Geoscience

[Boy1880 Kerman]

How do you install it, its different than normal

[NISSKEPCSIM]

@Angel-125, I remember there used to be a menu in which you could turn on and off the requirements for resources to inflate modules. Is this still a thing, or is it gone?

[Angelo Kerman]

5 hours ago, NISSKEPCSIM said:

@Angel-125, I remember there used to be a menu in which you could turn on and off the requirements for resources to inflate modules. Is this still a thing, or is it gone?

Yup! Press Escape, go to Settings, press Difficulty, go to the Wild Blue tab. You can change it there.

On 2/23/2017 at 6:31 PM, Boy1880 Kerman said:

How do you install it, its different than normal

Unzip the install file, copy the contents of GameSate into your game's GameData folder.

[NISSKEPCSIM]

Thanks.

[Boy1880 Kerman]

On 25/02/2017 at 8:39 AM, Angel-125 said:

Yup! Press Escape, go to Settings, press Difficulty, go to the Wild Blue tab. You can change it there.

Unzip the install file, copy the contents of GameSate into your game's GameData folder.

Well, I needed to put into the WildBlue Industries Folder, but now I cant inflate the Modules, The Lab etc

Rocket Parts dont even exist in the game

HELP!!!!

Edited February 27, 2017 by Boy1880 Kerman

[Angelo Kerman]

On 2/26/2017 at 2:15 PM, Boy1880 Kerman said:

Well, I needed to put into the WildBlue Industries Folder, but now I cant inflate the Modules, The Lab etc

Rocket Parts dont even exist in the game

HELP!!!!

Can you show me an image with your install folder? Sounds like a botched install.

[Brent Kerman]

Really cool, you should make a hab like in The Martian, we have a great Hermes mod but no hab one.

[Angelo Kerman]

7 hours ago, Brent Kerman said:

Really cool, you should make a hab like in The Martian, we have a great Hermes mod but no hab one.

Although I don't have plans for a hab like in The Martian, I am doing some planning for Project Sandcastle. Basically, I want to 3D print bases using local materials, like NASA wants to do. It's something I've had on the books since I first started Pathfinder...

[drhay53]

Can someone (not necessarily Angel-125 who I know is busy updating all of his awesome mods) explain the entire process of using pathfinder? What I mean by this is that I don't really understand the process of selecting a base site, using the TERRAIN scanner, refining estimates of the resource abundance, etc. I'm sure I can figure out the process of refining materials but I'm just a bit paralyzed at the moment with getting started.

 

The Wiki doesn't explain the new gold rush stuff (which is I think explained in a post by Angel somewhere in this thread), and it also doesn't really explain the process of site selection; it basically assumes you already know where you want the base to be. So while I know what resources to look for, and have instructions on how to build a base, I'm not sure exactly what to do before that to take full advantage of the parts that come with pathfinder.

 

So to summarize, when you decide to build a base on a new planetary body using pathfinder, what steps do you go through starting from scanning for resources? 

[Boy1880 Kerman]

On 28/02/2017 at 1:53 PM, Angel-125 said:

Can you show me an image with your install folder? Sounds like a botched install.

It has 000WildBlueTools, Buffalo and Pathfinder

[WissyWassy]

On 2/7/2017 at 3:56 AM, Bombaatu said:

I see what I did - I didn't click the "participate" radio button. Running into a different issue where the Ponderosa's right-click menu is unresponsive, but I think that's just a glitch - going to restart & see if that resolves it.

Hey Bombaatu, I seem to have the same issue with an unresponsive right click menu on the Ponderosa. Restarting unfortunately didn't solve it.

Did you perhaps do anything else to get this menu working again?

 

Thanks!

[rasta013]

4 hours ago, drhay53 said:

So to summarize, when you decide to build a base on a new planetary body using pathfinder, what steps do you go through starting from scanning for resources? 

I'll give you a run down of what I've done for a while and it's still working pretty good even though I'm about 8 months out of date on the new additions...

 

1) Get a biome and height map scan done.  You can use KerbNet if you want but that will make it far more difficult so I prefer to use SCANsat along side this mod.  That height map scan, especially if you can get a SAR scan will be your best friend for finding a sweet spot.

 

2) Once you've got at least the basic SCANsat RADAR scan done you can see some good areas so you can choose where you want to be.  Then, make some preliminary landings with basic craft to find a nice level area.  I typically will do this using a lander designed for scanning at the ground level using the WBT provided RADAR which gets bonuses for scanning when landed and carried on a craft that also is going to be deploying my TERRAIN scanner.  That will let me get a full body scan of resources and get me some preliminary details on landing sites.  I will usually drop the included lander AFTER the TERRAIN scanner has finished the majority of its work.  IF you've got the tech opened up all the way to SAR scanners from SCANsat then you will have complete scans of the whole body before you ever go there including resources, biomes, slopes and altitudes.  This is invaluable if you want the base to be 100% perfect from the start but Pathfinder isn't about that hence the reason I go at it like this...

 

3) Once I have done these things I've got a basic idea of what terrain looks good, where the resources can be found and at least solid details on one or maybe two locations with the small lander I carried along.  Then I launch my initial lander that is going to include my basic base and if possible, a Buffalo to carry it all in case I don't like the area I'm in once I get there.  I use an automated lander and DO NOT send crew at this stage.  If the Buffalo is automated and what I see once I get there with it is not to my liking after all, I can change locations until I do.  EDIT: Just as a note, this can be done in multiple stages and often I send the Buffalo separate from some Conestogas on wheels but I make a real effort to just simply pack it all in the Buffalo.  That's the easiest way.

 

4) After finding that place and parking the Buffalo I carry a crew and start doing the normal Pathfinder thing from here.  If you know the resource chain, once you've got a location scouted out for a base all you have to do is go there and set it up.  This is the easy part. 

 

Hope this helps and I'll clarify or answer any questions I can.

Edited March 3, 2017 by rasta013

[drhay53]

1 minute ago, rasta013 said:

< great info snip >

 

2) Once you've got at least the basic SCANsat RADAR scan done you can see some good areas so you can choose where you want to be.  Then, make some preliminary landings with basic craft to find a nice level area.  I typically will do this using a lander designed for scanning at the ground level using the WBT provided RADAR which gets bonuses for scanning when landed and carried on a craft that also is going to be deploying my TERRAIN scanner.  That will let me get a full body scan of resources and get me some preliminary details on landing sites.  I will usually drop the included lander AFTER the TERRAIN scanner has finished the majority of its work.  IF you've got the tech opened up all the way to SAR scanners from SCANsat then you will have complete scans of the whole body before you ever go there including resources, biomes, slopes and altitudes.  This is invaluable if you want the base to be 100% perfect from the start but Pathfinder isn't about that hence the reason I go at it like this...

 

< more great info snip >

 

Thanks alot! Can you explain the bolded part a little more? I'm a little confused on the TERRAIN scanner because I started a geosurvey and then went to do other stuff.... I came back and I was out of researchkits but the percentage in the right click menu still said only 0.3% or something. Does the geosurvey just refine the estimate of the resource abundance? I will have to check the percentage issue when I get home from work tonight.

 

Also with SCANsat installed, do you get more information than intended in a scan by pathfinder? i.e. does scansat give you the 'correct' abundances when you do a resource scan anyway, instead of a ballpark figure that needs refined by landing?

 

Lastly, I think I have some WBT 'extras' installed from one of the releases; the MCM has something about an uplink to TERRAIN. Do you know what that is? Is that available on other parts and is that how I update the abundance from a landed craft?

[rasta013]

1 hour ago, drhay53 said:

Thanks alot! Can you explain the bolded part a little more? I'm a little confused on the TERRAIN scanner because I started a geosurvey and then went to do other stuff.... I came back and I was out of researchkits but the percentage in the right click menu still said only 0.3% or something. Does the geosurvey just refine the estimate of the resource abundance?

The TERRAIN scanner does 2 different things.  

The first is a polar orbit general resource scan.  It is unspecific and general but gives you an idea of what resource concentrations exist below.  This is a 60s process and can fail.  If it fails, the TERRAIN scanner must be repaired by an Engineer and Rocket Parts.  Once repaired it can make another attempt at a scan.  The caveat is the polar orbit and being between 25 and 150km (smaller bodies may be different).

 

The second thing it does is generate science by consuming Research Kits and EC.  This is the Geo-Survey and is a little bonus for the scope. Yes, it eats RKs like crazy so I'd carry a decent supply if you want to generate any significant science out of it.  It is slow but it will do it.  This survey activity cannot happen if the scope broke during the general resource scan I mentioned above.

 

1 hour ago, drhay53 said:

Also with SCANsat installed, do you get more information than intended in a scan by pathfinder? i.e. does scansat give you the 'correct' abundances when you do a resource scan anyway, instead of a ballpark figure that needs refined by landing?

 

Unless something has changed that I'm unaware of, no it does not.  SCANsat will give you additional tools to be able to scan planets for additional information.  It has modules that can improve your scanning abilities and resources concentration details can be improved with some of the modules.  That said, the only scanners available to you from SCANsat at the same tech level as the TERRAIN scanner are the RADAR scanner for rough altitude scans and the Multispectral Biome scanner.  The resource scanners don't come until the next tier.  These three parts combined together on a single craft however will give you the best early look at any body you can get...provided the TERRAIN scanner doesn't break.

 

1 hour ago, drhay53 said:

Lastly, I think I have some WBT 'extras' installed from one of the releases; the MCM has something about an uplink to TERRAIN. Do you know what that is? Is that available on other parts and is that how I update the abundance from a landed craft?

 

The MCM extras is something I'm still coming up to speed on myself.  Angel made dramatic changes to it since I last used that piece (didn't exist last time actually) so I'm not sure what it might have for linking to the TERRAIN scanner but now you've got my interest piqued and I'm going to go find out... 

Edited March 3, 2017 by rasta013

[drhay53]

20 minutes ago, rasta013 said:

Unless something has changed that I'm unaware of, no it does not.  SCANsat will give you additional tools to be able to scan planets for additional information.  It has modules that can improve your scanning abilities and resources concentration details can be improved with some of the modules.  That said, the only scanners available to you from SCANsat at the same tech level as the TERRAIN scanner are the RADAR scanner for rough altitude scans and the Multispectral Biome scanner.  The resource scanners don't come until the next tier.  These three parts combined together on a single craft however will give you the best early look at any body you can get...provided the TERRAIN scanner doesn't break.

 

I think part of the issue is that I've played with SCANsat for a long time, combined with MKS/OKS, and I've always turned off the part where you need to land to refine your measurements. So now I've left SCANsat at default settings, and switched from MKS to pathfinder, and I'm really confused about what the flowchart for starting a base looks like. 

 

So when you land a craft to refine the resource estimate, does that change the SCANsat numbers at all? Or are you just literally looking at the numbers in the right-click menu for the landed craft to see if the abundances are good?

[Angelo Kerman]

1 hour ago, drhay53 said:

 

I think part of the issue is that I've played with SCANsat for a long time, combined with MKS/OKS, and I've always turned off the part where you need to land to refine your measurements. So now I've left SCANsat at default settings, and switched from MKS to pathfinder, and I'm really confused about what the flowchart for starting a base looks like. 

 

So when you land a craft to refine the resource estimate, does that change the SCANsat numbers at all? Or are you just literally looking at the numbers in the right-click menu for the landed craft to see if the abundances are good?

The TERRAIN is equivalent to the stock M-700 planetary scanner. Unlock the planet's resources by sending your TERRAIN into polar orbit and running the scan. The Pathfinder Geology Lab is equivalent to the stock surface scanner. Use it to unlock the local biome's resources. To find a good spot, SCANSat can help you out.

[drhay53]

21 minutes ago, Angel-125 said:

The TERRAIN is equivalent to the stock M-700 planetary scanner. Unlock the planet's resources by sending your TERRAIN into polar orbit and running the scan. The Pathfinder Geology Lab is equivalent to the stock surface scanner. Use it to unlock the local biome's resources. To find a good spot, SCANSat can help you out.

 

Thanks. I'm wondering if I accidentally made things easier with the settings in scansat or something. I seem to have pretty high resolution resource maps but I don't think I've done the geology lab scans to get the local biome resources. I think I understand how everything is supposed to be going now though.

[Sudragon]

Two part question;

1) I use TAC life support and this collection of mods. Is there a way to stop a Watney Rainmaker setup from burning through all the water (and killing the crew) when it's making LHyd+Oxidiser?

2) Which mod uses 'supplies'?

[rasta013]

10 hours ago, Sudragon said:

Two part question;

1) I use TAC life support and this collection of mods. Is there a way to stop a Watney Rainmaker setup from burning through all the water (and killing the crew) when it's making LHyd+Oxidiser?

2) Which mod uses 'supplies'?

#1 Not sure...Angel?

#2 USI-Life Support

[Bombaatu]

23 hours ago, WissyWassy said:

Hey Bombaatu, I seem to have the same issue with an unresponsive right click menu on the Ponderosa. Restarting unfortunately didn't solve it.

Did you perhaps do anything else to get this menu working again?

 

Thanks!

I'd restarted that career save so haven't had a chance to retest it; sorry.

[DavidHunter]

Howdy.

I'm looking at installing this mod and have a few quick questions:

1. Is MCM still needed for orbital dry-docks, etc.? The MCM thread suggests that it has been retired... has MCM been completely incorporated into Pathfinder, or can I install MCM as well? (I understand it's not compulsory, but I would like to have orbital stuff as well if it's still possible).
   1. EDIT: I downloaded Pathfinder and see MCM is included in the Extras folder. That answers that.
2. I currently have Kerbalism installed. Is Pathfinder compatible with Kerbalism's life support, supplies, and part failure systems?
   1. EDIT: I downloaded Pathfinder, and see that it is.
3. Do the tubes that connect craft together (which are similar to the KIS/KAS tubes) obey Connected Living Spaces rules regarding crew moving through the parts? e.g. if a tube is connected to a fuel tank, a Kerbal shouldn't be able to walk through it...).
   1. EDIT: I downloaded Pathfinder, and see that they do.
4. Are there any known compatibility issues or other suggestions I should know before installing this?

Thanks in advance.

Edited March 5, 2017 by DavidHunter
I just went ahead and downloaded it rather than waiting... :P

[Angelo Kerman]

On 3/5/2017 at 4:59 AM, DavidHunter said:

Howdy.

I'm looking at installing this mod and have a few quick questions:

1. Is MCM still needed for orbital dry-docks, etc.? The MCM thread suggests that it has been retired... has MCM been completely incorporated into Pathfinder, or can I install MCM as well? (I understand it's not compulsory, but I would like to have orbital stuff as well if it's still possible).
   1. EDIT: I downloaded Pathfinder and see MCM is included in the Extras folder. That answers that.
2. I currently have Kerbalism installed. Is Pathfinder compatible with Kerbalism's life support, supplies, and part failure systems?
   1. EDIT: I downloaded Pathfinder, and see that it is.
3. Do the tubes that connect craft together (which are similar to the KIS/KAS tubes) obey Connected Living Spaces rules regarding crew moving through the parts? e.g. if a tube is connected to a fuel tank, a Kerbal shouldn't be able to walk through it...).
   1. EDIT: I downloaded Pathfinder, and see that they do.
4. Are there any known compatibility issues or other suggestions I should know before installing this?

Thanks in advance.

Looks like you've got your questions answered. To answer your last one, Pathfinder isn't compatible with MKS (next release will drop support for it, it changes too often to keep the config files up to date), its USI-LS support is out of date, and is only marginally compatible with Kerbalism. Kerbalism dramatically changes how converters work and there's no way I'm going to change Pathfinder's converters to suit.

[DStaal]

Because I recently released a first beta, and the question did come up, and I would want people to know about this here in case they ask questions:

I and a few others have been working on a KPBS/MKS integration pack.  Pathfinder had KPBS integration.  In working on the pack, we realized that making a KPBS/MKS/Pathfinder pack was going to be horrible.    So, as a known compatibility issue:

The KPBStoMKS integration pack intentionally disables (most) Pathfinder/KPBS integration.

This only affects people who run all three of: KPBS, MKS, and Pathfinder.  If you run those three mods together, you now have two options for the behavior of the KPBS parts: You can install the KPBStoMKS pack and get MKS behavior, or you can leave it off and keep Pathfinder behavior.  This is intended to promote user choice: As the KPBStoMKS pack is a separate mod, it can be downloaded and installed separately from any of the other mods, allowing the user to choose to use it or Pathfinder depending on which they install.

[Angelo Kerman]

Pathfinder 1.7.0 is now available

1.7.0: Spring Cleaning

Pathfinder Geology Lab
- Geology Lab experiments can now be completed as part of a contract.
- Gold Strike prospecting ability removed from the Pathfinder Geology Lab; you can continue to use the Buffalo's Crew Cab and the Gold Digger drill.

Iron Works
- Removed RocketParts->Equipment converter; this was in place during the transition from RocketParts to Equipment (necessary because, at the time, I thought RocketParts was a 1-liter resource).

IMPORTANT NOTE: Extralplanetary Launchpads is still fully supported; you can smelt Metal, recycle ScrapMetal, and make new RocketParts in the Iron Works when EL is installed. The Spyglass still serves as a survey station, and all inhabited Pathfinder parts provide some production ability.

Watney
- Removed Rainmaker (LFO) converter; it's redundant with the Fuel Cell converter, which also uses LiquidFuel and Oxidizer to generate ElectricCharge and Water.
- Increased LiquidFuel and Oxidizer inputs on the Fuel Cell, and doubled its ElectricCharge and Water output.
- The Watney can now burn Ore to produce ElectricCharge, just like Buckboards converted to generators.

Bug Fixes & Enhancements
- Repairing broken parts now requires Equipment.
- The OPAL correctly outputs Water instead of using it as input.
- Increased ElectricCharge output of the Nukeworks' nuclear reactor.
- Buckboard generators are now using the correct engineering skills for enhanced efficiency and repairs.

Mod Support
- WBT Update
- Updated the Snacks converters to the latest standards.
- Dropped support for MKS; the mod changes too much to keep Pathfinder's MM patch up to date. If you'd like to see it updated, send me a pull request.
- Removed WBIGreenhouse from the TAC-LS Prairie; now it uses the same ModuleResourceConverter as the TAC-LS C.R.A.P.
- Removed WBIGreenhouse from the TAC-LS Cropworks; now it uses the same ModuleResourceConverter as the TAC-LS C.R.A.P. (with higher production rates).
- Removed WBIGreenhouse from the USI-LS Prairie; now it uses the same ModuleResourceConverter as the TAC-LS C.R.A.P.
- Removed WBIGreenhouse from the USI-LS Cropworks; now it uses the same ModuleResourceConverter as the TAC-LS C.R.A.P. (with higher production rates).

NOTE: The C.R.A.P. greenhouse remains in place for now, but be sure to convert your greenhouses over as it will be removed in a future update.

NOTE: USI-LS is out of date. Since it changes too often, I'm not inclined to update Pathfinder's MM_USILS patch. If you want an up to date version, send me a pull request.

 

[Merkov]

56 minutes ago, Angel-125 said:

NOTE: USI-LS is out of date. Since it changes too often, I'm not inclined to update Pathfinder's MM_USILS patch. If you want an up to date version, send me a pull request.

That sounds like a challenge.