Randomly Generated Events

[HopAlong23]

So basically it would work like this. There would be random events at random places in the system. Things like cryovolcanos erupting, solar flares, earth quakes, storms (you don't have to write an entire atmosphere script onto vanilla or anything, just random storms), flooding caused by gravitational events, and whatever else you could think of. You could receive tips of this happening from the tracking station, and record them appropriately. That is, you would get the tip off if it's under the range of an appropriate scanner satellite. 

You could try to collect data (for science points too) by watching from orbit, or sending a probe/rover down and watching it. Or if a kerbal is EVA out there watching it, you could actually witness it. Let's be honest, we've all dreamed of something like that. And you run the risk of your kerbal or spacecraft getting destroyed by said event. 

Anyone wanna poke holes in this idea? It's probably been suggested before and been shot down but I couldn't find anything.

[TheEpicSquared]

Well Kerbalism provides space weather, so that's something.. But yeah, volcanos would be pretty cool.

[Adelaar]

It's a good idea, but I doubt if the current game engine allows for procedurally generated random events... Especially events like earthquakes and erupting volcanoes leave a permament mark on the planet, I guess that will need extensive script additions that will be beyond the current scope... This is mod material I fear...

[pizzaoverhead]

33 minutes ago, Adelaar said:

It's a good idea, but I doubt if the current game engine allows for procedurally generated random events... Especially events like earthquakes and erupting volcanoes leave a permament mark on the planet, I guess that will need extensive script additions that will be beyond the current scope... This is mod material I fear...

The game engine doesn't allow for planets, rockets, or most of KSP. That was all built by Squad, just as any of these events would be. Some of these, such as cryovolcanoes, were actually discussed by then-devs early in KSP's development.

[ImmaStegosaurus!]

Random quick dust storms on Duna and some earthquakes on planets with volcanoes.

[septemberWaves]

This is an interesting idea. It would mean that there'd be something of a need for extensive probe coverage of celestial bodies you're exploring, particularly if you're setting up a base there. And presumably these events, like dust storms, could cause damage to parts of vessels (like antennae), which would introduce a need for redundancy since you can't guarantee that quickloading to before the storm will mean that none of your important stuff gets broken the next time the storm passes.

[DoctorDavinci]

4 hours ago, ImmaStegosaurus! said:

Random quick dust storms on Duna and some earthquakes on planets with volcanoes.

Storms, earthquakes and volcanoes ... oh my

[pandaman]

I certainly like the idea, though my concerns are that it could end up being in effect just an annoying 'random failure' generator.  If you're not there to witness the storm then it won't be at all spectacular.  It would need careful balancing and the ever desirable on off toggles at least.

[RatchetinSpace]

Weather, Volcanoes, possibly Earthquakes.

They don't need to make permanent changes to the landscape like their real counterparts, they can make temporary ones which dissolve away after the event has ended.

And I keep on saying it, but I think KSP needs this level of depth on its celestial bodies.

47 minutes ago, pandaman said:

I certainly like the idea, though my concerns are that it could end up being in effect just an annoying 'random failure' generator.  If you're not there to witness the storm then it won't be at all spectacular.  It would need careful balancing and the ever desirable on off toggles at least.

I do feel your concerns, and I think it should be toggleable, but events like these could be avoided.
- For instance, volcanic eruptions could be avoided simply by choosing to land away from volcanic activity, at the expense of potentially gaining Science from said volcanism.
- Weather could be avoided by getting into orbit before landing haphazardly on the surface. Then you could wait until a storm passes before dropping your probe in, or alternatively hope that the storm isn't so bad that you can still pull off a landing, maybe implement weather satellites which can monitor wind speed and you can determine how likely your lander is to survive. Once landed, weather would be of little concern until taking off, though there would always be the risk of a particularly unlucky storm. This is true for real space programs as well.

I'm in two minds about having Earthquakes purely because I don't know how they would work in-game and they are rarely a concern in the real world of spaceflight. Most celestial bodies are devoid of any strong tectonic activity.

Overall, I'm all for randomly generated events, as long as they're realistic.

[SDM_119]

7 hours ago, ImmaStegosaurus! said:

Random quick dust storms on Duna and some earthquakes on planets with volcanoes.

Although graphic mods out there would probably add dust storms (but no affect on craft in the vicinity)

[CSE]

3 hours ago, pandaman said:

it could end up being in effect just an annoying 'random failure' generator

That would be my concern too. Stock KSP has very little randomness, success is entirely in the player's hands and the difficulty and failures come about because space is hard, not because the player was unlucky.

[Sereneti]

Sandstorm on Duna: decrease solar-pannel effizienz
 

[pandaman]

13 minutes ago, Sereneti said:

Sandstorm on Duna: decrease solar-pannel effizienz
 

That could be an interesting feature.  It could affect it whist the storm is happening then maybe reduce efficiency, by less, permanently to simulate dust build up.  New engineer skill - 'Polish Solar Panel' could restore it.

 Again though we are getting into the realms of micro-management here, which may or may not be appropriate for 'stock', and would certainly be met with mixed feelings by players, so appropriate toggles and settings need to be in place too.

[Rocket In My Pocket]

When I saw "Randomly generated events" I was picturing something more along the lines of a little box popping up with some text explaining what happened, similar to a lot of other games. Temporary "hiccups" that wouldn't ruin the mission but would add some spice. Of course as others have said this should be a toggle option.

Stuff like:

• Solar Flare: Disables all probe cores for a random amount of time.
• Communications Blackout: Can't transmit data for specified amount of time.
• Space Madness: One of your Kerbals becomes a Tourist for a bit, unable to do anything.
• Space Debris/Meteorite: A small meteor or random part is spawned and sent flying at your ship, you have a somewhat random window of time to maneuver out of the way or take the hit.
• Navigation Malfunction:  SAS stops working for a bit, Ship doesn't show up on map view, can't plot maneuvers until it's over.
• Extra Supplies: After going over the manifest you realize you brought more of X than you thought. (X can be fuel, battery power, monoprop.)
• On The Job Training: One of your Kerbals has learned something valuable, he gains some XP.
• Stellar Event: A random interesting event has occurred and been observed, some Science points are added to the ships total and can be transmitted or recovered as usual.

Just a few quick ideas, as you can see I struggled to come up with any positive ones despite wanting to avoid it being all negatives...the problem is, there just isn't much good that can happen to you in space...Lol.

[Wabbit]

@Rocket In My PocketSince all of these seem to be related to causing random havoc on-mission, I might suggest the mod "Entropy". Basically, it adds a chance of random failures to your vessel, such as fuel leaks, engine malfunctions, etc. While it may not provide space-weather, it's probably a step in the direction you're trying to go.

Edited September 8, 2016 by Wabbit