[1.1.3] MKS Lite - A lighter, friendlier colonization mod from USI [0.4.4]

[RoverDude]

Were there Kerbals inside of the ag and hab modules?  It's only going to transfer supplies to a habitated module.  Again, mixing lots of things here in your report above.  

 

Life support is pulled on-demad and only to habitated modules.

Anything else is only pulled on demand to an active converter.

[hieywiey]

I love the happy Duna character. Could you release it as a separate asset, I would like to use it to do something like this for one of my Duna missions for the purpose of, to help the younger Kerbals relate to the mission (roleplay of course).

[RoverDude]

Not sure if I have it lying around as a separate asset, but feel free to lift it from the title image, license is CC 4.0 BY-SA-NC

[Jimbodiah]

I'm still hesitant to build anything of a surface as all my bases keep being destroyed by KSP physics when I am there or while I am away. Put too much time into making bases, landing stuff, aligning, only to discover the entire base blew up for some unknown reason. This is not a USI thing, just a KSP physics thing.

[goldenpsp]

48 minutes ago, Jimbodiah said:

I'm still hesitant to build anything of a surface as all my bases keep being destroyed by KSP physics when I am there or while I am away. Put too much time into making bases, landing stuff, aligning, only to discover the entire base blew up for some unknown reason. This is not a USI thing, just a KSP physics thing.

You could bite the bullet and move to the full MKS and make use of its excellent disconnected logistics.  

It is tedious but my standard method once I build any bases is that before I load the base, I will hop to something in orbit (I almost always have a satellite in orbit) make a quicksave, then hop down to the base.  I have had pretty good success even when a kraken strikes in getting around it by reloading my quicksave a few times until one time when the base doesn't bounce.

[Jimbodiah]

Haha, and less chance of them all being destroyed?

I had a large Mun base once... after a few days of game play I went to check in on their mining on to find a few pieces of wreckage left. So savegames will not help there. Apparently parts get stuck under the surface and then just disappear or jump up and exploded when you switch view to them. I tend to keep bases in orbit and just have a few landers on the surface, haven't lost any so far so seems to work better. Only drawback is that drill just stop working right after I leave sometimes, so I come back 2-3 days later with 0.11 resources in the container. KSP could be so much fun if not for all the bugs with the standard program.

[edit] Maybe Rover can mod KSP into his own, working, version: Umbra Space Program.

Edited December 5, 2015 by Jimbodiah

[RoverDude]

Actually - disconnected bases work in MKS-Lite too   It makes all of them a lot less kraken-baity

[Jimbodiah]

Just installed Lite, will see how that works out

[goldenpsp]

Well snap, this is what happens when I reply about a mod I haven't actually used (I only use MKS, not lite).

That being said, I've never had anything get destroyed when out of focus.  My understanding is that it just sits there idle (no physics or anything) until you focus on it or something that makes it end up within physics range.  This is why I always quicksave before changing focus.  Even if it gets hit by the kraken, I have found that reloading sometimes saves the base.

[Badsector]

1 hour ago, Jimbodiah said:

Haha, and less chance of them all being destroyed?

I had a large Mun base once... after a few days of game play I went to check in on their mining on to find a few pieces of wreckage left. So savegames will not help there. Apparently parts get stuck under the surface and then just disappear or jump up and exploded when you switch view to them. I tend to keep bases in orbit and just have a few landers on the surface, haven't lost any so far so seems to work better. Only drawback is that drill just stop working right after I leave sometimes, so I come back 2-3 days later with 0.11 resources in the container. KSP could be so much fun if not for all the bugs with the standard program.

[edit] Maybe Rover can mod KSP into his own, working, version: Umbra Space Program.

The problem is with connecting nodes and inflatables colliders try this.

MKSL_jump_FIX.cfg

@PART[MKSL_Lander] {
@node_stack_pod01 = .85,-.14,0, 1,0,0,2
@node_stack_pod02 = -.85,-.14,0, -1,0,0,2
@node_stack_pod03 = 0,-.14,.85, 0,0,1,2
@node_stack_pod04 = 0,-.14,-.85, 0,0,-1,2
}

@PART[MKSL_AnchorHub] {
@node_stack_pod01 = .85,-.09,0, 1,0,0,2
@node_stack_pod02 = -.85,-.09,0, -1,0,0,2
@node_stack_pod03 = 0,-.09,.85, 0,0,1,2
@node_stack_pod04 = 0,-.09,-.85, 0,0,-1,2

@node_stack_bottom = 0,-1.15,0,0,-1,0,2
}

To me fix all the problems with jumping bases

Is an old pull request but is not yet merged

[Jimbodiah]

I've had it with numerous other parts outside of USI mods, so it's a structural problem in KSP I think. Will keep your nodes in mind.

[RoverDude]

I also tend to have very snug colliders

[Jimbodiah]

What are colliders? I see the term often and go "yeah, okay, sure", but don't get how it works.

[Norpo]

4 hours ago, Jimbodiah said:

What are colliders? I see the term often and go "yeah, okay, sure", but don't get how it works.

@Jimbodiah, Colliders are how the game knows how a given *thing* (In KSP, usually a part, or building) should collide; it doesn't magically know how the part or model is shaped, it needs an extra collider to calculate collisions, using a collider if two parts bump into another the game knows how they're shaped, so they don't just pass through each-other, or hit each-other before the actual models hit. It can get a little more complicated than that, but those are the basics.

Now you know! (and knowing is half the battle!)

[Jimbodiah]

OK, gotcha; the physical shape and not just the texture. But how does that rhyme with the shape of the colider not being handled properly by KSP?

[RoverDude]

Floating point math, lots of things moving around, and ending up with something stuck slightly inside of a planet's collider.  The larger your base, the greater odds of something going pear shaped.   hence why UKS and MKS Lite encourage disconnected bases.

[Bandus]

Greetings! I recently installed USI, took a look at the massive amount of parts it added, said "Nope!" and then installed this to learn before I move onto the big stuff.

However, I am having an issue that I suspect is mostly a problem on my end with regard to lack of imagination. My problem is this: I'm not really sure how to actually land parts on an intended moon. That isn't to say I can't land, I've landed several manned missions, etc.

Specifically, I find it difficult to imagine imagine what to build to descent and land a base part on the Mun or Minmus for example. Even then, if I descend it successfully, I don't understand how when I descend the next part I connect them together short of landing them basically next to one another.

Does anyone have any advice or perhaps know of a video of some type that may shed some light on this for me? Really eager to use this mod, just not sure how!

Edited December 10, 2015 by Bandus

[goldenpsp]

5 minutes ago, Bandus said:

Greetings! I recently installed USI, took a look at the massive amount of parts it added, said "Nope!" and then installed this to learn before I move onto the big stuff.

However, I am having an issue that I suspect is mostly a problem on my end with regard to lack of imagination. My problem is this: I'm not really sure how to actually land parts on an intended moon. That isn't to say I can't land, I've landed several manned missions, etc. I am specifically unable to imagine what to build to descent and land a base part on the Mun or Minmus for example. Most screenshots folks post are of bases already down on the ground. 

Does anyone have any advice or perhaps know of a video of some type that may shed some light on this for me? Really eager to use this mod, just not sure how!

Put everything in the USI KIS Kontainers, drop on the surface, assemble via KIS.

[Bandus]

9 minutes ago, goldenpsp said:

Put everything in the USI KIS Kontainers, drop on the surface, assemble via KIS.

Thank you for the reply! So, I see a bunch of different KIS Kontainers (different sizes and types) on the tab just below Kolonization Lite. I try to place one of the Kontainers in the VAB (both attached to a command module and not attached) that does not appear to hold resources, however it doesn't open and I don't see how I can actually place, for example, the Scout Colony Hub inside of it for transport. I'm clearly missing something...+

Edited December 10, 2015 by Bandus

[goldenpsp]

2 minutes ago, Bandus said:

Thank you for the reply! So, I see a bunch of different KIS Kontainers (different sizes and types) on the tab just below Kolonization Lite. I try to place one of the Kontainers in the VAB (both attached to a command module and not attached) that does not appear to hold resources, however it doesn't open and I don't see how I can actually place, for example, the Scout Colony Hub inside of it for transport. I'm clearly missing something...+

I assume you actually have KIS installed?

[Bandus]

I..don't. Awkward. Let me get that installed; I must have missed that it was needed. Thank you!

[Bandus]

Installing KIS seem to have done the trick with regard to the ability to add MKS Lite items into the containers. Definitely starting to make a lot more sense now. With that said, I'm still a bit unclear regarding descent vehicles that would be reasonable for the containers. Would the same type of configuration used for landing manned missions be appropriate? Does anyone have any examples (screenshots perhaps?) of descent vehicles you use with these containers one might draw inspiration from?

[goldenpsp]

2 hours ago, Bandus said:

Installing KIS seem to have done the trick with regard to the ability to add MKS Lite items into the containers. Definitely starting to make a lot more sense now. With that said, I'm still a bit unclear regarding descent vehicles that would be reasonable for the containers. Would the same type of configuration used for landing manned missions be appropriate? Does anyone have any examples (screenshots perhaps?) of descent vehicles you use with these containers one might draw inspiration from?

Pretty much whatever you want.  The Kontainers are designed to take a beating.  Here is a lander for getting some supplies down from orbit.

 

[Bandus]

Awesome. This absolutely gives me some direction/ideas. I never considered using tri/bi coupler as part of a de-orbit stage before. Thank you again!

[RoverDude]

Yep I do lots of very creative air drops with the Kontainers