Geodetic Base / Outpost Conversion

[QPDO]

Kudos to all the skilled modders and creators of the marvelous, funny or just practical add ons to this great game. My request has to do with the problem that occurs while building bigger permanent structurs in orbit or on celestial bodies. You sooner or later awake the kraken or sstart to lag like hell as the components, their rendering and physical interaction (including the calculation) starts to tear the CPU apart.

What I would like to request is a mod the works more or less like this:

1. Player transports a Geodetic Conversion Kit next to the base.

2. Player activates the conversion and selects the Ship / Outpost / Base etc. to be converted in to a geodetic sphere or dome.

3. The Kit creates a placeholder for the externals and physical elements of the converted entity.

4. The mechanics (Kerbals inside, labs, solar panes etc.) are transfered to be (data)parts of the placeholder entity.

5. The old entities are deleted, while the (relatively) low poly placesholder appears as a dome or sphere that has enough volume to incorporate the assimilated entities.

6. The dome has one or two (one on the top) docking port or a new docking port may be added by KAS where ships or new modules may be attached. It would be even possible to connect one sphere with another with colony tubes or some other link.

If this works, it should be possible to convert overly complex contrapments to save CPU load and propably even some memory load.

What`s your opinion? Does it sound possible?

As an additional idea: The access to the various functions of the assimilated entities would also either require a tree button layout in the usual right-click UI or an individual management UI.

Edited October 1, 2015 by QPDO

[RoverDude]

honestly, already solved this with MKS by allowing disconnected bases including automated resource transfer and power transmission - works a treat.

[hab136]

So you want UbiZor Welding, except in-flight? Yes, people have been asking for that for a while.

Replacing all the models with just an ugly cube (or whatever) would actually make it workable, come to think of it. You'd have to replace the whole ship at once.

One other idea: have a part (ugly cube, geodesic dome, whatever) with a KIS inventory. Then have a button on the module that will "consume" the part(s) in the inventory, which will transfer the resources and mass to the ugly cube. Wouldn't work with multiple solar panels or docking ports, but would work with batteries, command modules, fuel tanks, generators, etc (basically same restrictions as UbiZor).

[QPDO]

Yeah UbizorWeld more or less does the trick. But the size and load of the construction remains. That's why it should be the domes or placeholders. Even more as building a dome is quite common in colonization scifi and science. I guess for starters it would suffice to make ubizors code transfer the properties to the dome and then remove the old entities.

Thank you for replying RoverDude! I was already playing with your great MKS system. but at some point the physical load of all the single entities of a bigger colony is to much for the system (my system at least). From the technical side I'd say that you got the best insight in if its actually possible to scram multiple module code together into a (relatively) low - poly single physical entity. All I'd bet is that it would allow to create even bigger colonies even on weaker systems.

P.S. And it would look very scifi-ish with interconnected domes on the surface of the moon.

[QPDO]

Really--- I don't understand the lacking interest. KSP quickly burns all resources of a PC as soon you stick some craft together on site. I thought it was a quite easy approach to circumnavigate this problem and come out with something elegant.

[wasml]

I saw your idea and thought it was an interesting approach - just didn't have anything to add so moved on (with the occasional check back to see if anyone did have anything interesting to say).

[QPDO]

I saw your idea and thought it was an interesting approach - just didn't have anything to add so moved on (with the occasional check back to see if anyone did have anything interesting to say).

Yeah .. well it seems I have to wait till I can upgrade my computer to deal with things like outposts or spacestations with 3+ modules...