[1.12.5] Bluedog Design Bureau - Stockalike Saturn, Apollo, and more! (v1.14.0 "металл" 30/Sep/2024)

[slyfox023]

quick question, will the Wiki be updated to accommodate the new update? 

[GoldForest]

42 minutes ago, slyfox023 said:

quick question, will the Wiki be updated to accommodate the new update? 

@Friznit is working on it. It should be released sometime soonTM.

[slyfox023]

5 minutes ago, GoldForest said:

@Friznit is working on it. It should be released sometime soonTM.

alright thanks for the info

[Zorg]

6 hours ago, Mr. Kerbin said:

 

Wait- like Orbiter Vehicle 1 and 10? Like how the space shuttles are OV-100?

That’s actually a typo in the changelog there. It OV1-1 and OV1-10. The series that flew on Atlas was known as OV1 within the broader OV program. OV2 and OV3 series flew on Titan test flights and Scout respectively while OV4 flew on the MOL test flight. The boiler plate MOL mockup in fact was technically OV4-3. 

[Rodger]

SpaceDock update is up now! (that was quicker than expected lol)

As a reminder for people installing 1.14 manually from the SD or GH release, you need to do a clean install when updating from 1.13. As in, delete the previous installation before installing 1.14. If you use CKAN you shouldn't need to worry about this.

Also for manual installs, please double check where you install the optional extra patches. The "BD_Extras (No Warranty)" folder itself doesn't go into GameData, the "Bluedog_DB_Extras" does, with each optional patch folder living inside that. I'd recommend against just installing all the optional patches at once, and just pick the ones you actually want. Some of them are difficulty settings (eg UpperStageThrustBuff, DecayingRTGs), add complication to parts you may not want (eg S1CMountDecouple, TitanLRBNode), old patches that no longer do anything (MethaloxRL10 was depreciated and merged into MethaloxEngines, or the CryoTanks patch which should be stock behavior now), or patches which need some updates still or have compatibility issues (eg BDB_nuclearEngines_systemHeat needs updates, and Fuel Cell has some issues with some IVA mods)

If you are starting a new save file for 1.14 (recommended):

You can safely delete the Bluedog_DB/OldParts folder, which will stop the game loading 158 depreciated parts, which are inaccessible anyway. Though if you wanted to use old craft files, this will prevent them from loading. This will delete in-flight craft if you load a save from BDB 1.13.

If you are continuing a save from 1.13:

Don't remove the Bluedog_DB/OldParts folder, and also check for custom patches that may be auto-deleting parts with "TechHidden = True". These will destroy in-flight craft.

Parts that have been depreciated this update will have "**DEPRECIATED**" added to their in-game name, but should generally still function. If you come across any such parts on in-flight craft and want to update them, you can do so by updating the craft in the VAB replacing any depreciated parts with the new versions, launching the new craft and cheating it to the same location as the old craft, then removing/cheating home and recovering the old craft. You may not want to do this if you have kerbals or science data on board you want to recover legitimately.

Some of the most common depreciated parts (besides the entire Atlas family, and a lot of Titan parts), include most of the RCS blocks (merged into new combo parts with different variants), the 4 older standalone science parts (the Radek-716 Geiger Counter, SWD-CCCP Ion Trap, COS-B3N3T Mass Spec, and P1NG-0WW Micrometeoroid Detector), engines witch previously had separate parts for their variants (including AJ10s, RL10, J-2, H-1C/D, XLR81, RL20, MB60, A7), Delta P/K tanks, some Redstone/Thor extension tanks, and the Saturn SLA adapters. You can check the Bluedog_DB/OldParts folder to see all the depreciated parts, this list isn't exhaustive.

Some parts which have had variants added to them may also change after updating, such as engines that previously had no subtypes but now do. For eg J2 engines may change to being J2A2 variants, as that's the highest priority subtype now, and there wasn't a subtype on the old part at all for the game to keep track of.

New Recommended Mods:

I'd also like to highly recommend getting Nertea's new mod VAB Organizer, which adds size tags to all parts, and subcategories to the part tray in the VAB. BDB 1.14 comes with compatibility patches for it, and it makes looking for the parts you want so much easier!

And as has previously been mentioned, installing Resurfaced (along with the latest Shabby) will enable PBR shaders on Atlas, Atlas V, standalone engines/NTRs, and a good majority of probe parts. PBR makes metal actually look metallic, and allows for a wide range of smoothness to be represented much more accurately. The probe family solar panels look particularly good if I do say so myself! There's some preview images and videos or BDB parts in the Resurfaced forum thread too! (Resurfaced is different from the Deferred mod's auto-converted PBR shaders in that the mod authors have full control over the look of the part. Deferred and Resurfaced can safely be installed together, and if you already use Deferred it's even more strongly suggested to install Resurfaced - the custom PBR shaders will take priority over any auto-converted ones)

Also, RealChute is now recommended - BDB now includes compatibility patches for all it's chutes, and installing it allows the X-15 Ventral fin to work correctly. (the control surface is disabled without RC installed due to base KSP restrictions with the stock parachute module)

As usual, please feel free to tag me if you find any issues, and enjoy!

Edited 23 minutes ago by Rodger