totm may 2024 [1.12.x] - Modular Kolonization System (MKS)

[Shiftend]

9 minutes ago, sh1pman said:

You can start with the awesome MKS wiki: https://github.com/UmbraSpaceIndustries/MKS/wiki

Also check the KSPedia section for MKS, it has a lot of useful information and simple base examples.

Sweet, thanks

[Shiftend]

I tried reading the tutorial, but I'm looking for a run-of-the-mill explanation for setting up a starter colony using MKS. What parts will I need to sustain a colony and to start one? Thanks

[IgnatiusKerman]

On 3/3/2018 at 9:48 AM, IgnatiusKerman said:

I've been struggling with the flexotubes.  I put my Duna parts base on Minimus in my career game and tried to connect them and realized I couldn't get the flexotubes to attach.  Simply put, the right click menu only showed camera controls and disassemble part. 

So to rule  out some of the complexity, I went into sandbox and created the setup in the attached photo.  Basically, it is two Pioneers sitting across from one another.  They are deployed.  I've got Flexotubes attached to their ports with the door facing out (not the text side that says face to ship).  Good old Bill has his electric screwdriver equipped and is next to one of the tubes.  When I right click, I just get Aim Camera, Reset Camera, and Disassemble Part.  No Link option like I usually get for KAS items.  Any ideas what I'm doing wrong?

Finally figured this out.  It was not MKS related.  I had KAS-1.0 (BETA) installed instead of "the real" KAS (0.6.3).  Installing "the real" KAS alongside didn't fix the problem.  I had to completely uninstall the BETA fork.  I also had to replace all the KAS.JS1 on the ships I had deployed with KAS.CPort1 in the save file.

[Gilph]

I know tomorrow is release day and everyone will be busy, but I logged an issue on the Constellation site that the 3/11 Constellation is not working for 1.3.1. I thought the issues went away, but they keep coming back and I can't make it work cleanly. I attached the logs from a clean 1.3.1 install with only the Constellation release, and MKS won't even run. At the KSC view, only GC icon is visible.

Thanks

 

[goldenpsp]

16 minutes ago, Gilph said:

I know tomorrow is release day and everyone will be busy, but I logged an issue on the Constellation site that the 3/11 Constellation is not working for 1.3.1. I thought the issues went away, but they keep coming back and I can't make it work cleanly. I attached the logs from a clean 1.3.1 install with only the Constellation release, and MKS won't even run. At the KSC view, only GC icon is visible.

Thanks

 

Did you try updating USI tools after the constellation?

[Gilph]

1 hour ago, goldenpsp said:

Did you try updating USI tools after the constellation?

No, it looks like there is an already updated one in that release. This is the version updated yesterday.

 

Edit1: You are correct. 11.1 on the USITOOLS page and 11.0 in the constellation release. Thanks very much

Edit2: It did not fix the issue. Same scenario as before.

Edited March 13, 2018 by Gilph

[RoverDude]

Unfortunately I am not going to have a lot of time (not to mention the logistical difficulties) of messing with 1.3.1 - so for those it's probably going to be a case of rolling back to the older MKS/USI Tools given 1.4.1 support is rolling out today and I'll need to focus on that version.

[Alex7890]

Hello everyone! I play in KSP version 1.4.0 with USI mods. Recently noticed that is not working D. I. Y container. How to solve this problem?

[Blazing Sun]

I seem to have run into an issue regarding the 1.4 update for MKS, and I'm not sure if it's just me or not. Basically, the 500 series Pulse Drills and the Strip Miners don't show up anywhere in-game, though I checked, and confirmed that their CFG files are still in the MKS folder. The 100 series drills still show up, however.

[RoverDude]

Just now, Blazing Sun said:

I seem to have run into an issue regarding the 1.4 update for MKS, and I'm not sure if it's just me or not. Basically, the 500 series Pulse Drills and the Strip Miners don't show up anywhere in-game, though I checked, and confirmed that their CFG files are still in the MKS folder. The 100 series drills still show up, however.

I'll take a look at that and make sure it's sorted in the next update (which will be dropping with the DLC)

[Gilph]

3 hours ago, RoverDude said:

Unfortunately I am not going to have a lot of time (not to mention the logistical difficulties) of messing with 1.3.1 - so for those it's probably going to be a case of rolling back to the older MKS/USI Tools given 1.4.1 support is rolling out today and I'll need to focus on that version.

Not a problem. I haven't used MKS in 1.31 in my GPP save and just wanted to try it out. I'll try some older versions prior to OL and start a new 1.41 save when it's ready.

You may wish to get rid of that 3/11 release on Github, just in case other 1.31 users want to newly install USI, and the 3/6 version is questionable.

Good luck with the release.

[DirpleKerbal19]

My game version is 1.3 but when i try to load the game after extracting the files into the 'Squad' folder in the root directory but when i load the game i don't get any parts except for a few drills what am i doing wrong ?? The version of mod I downloaded was 0.53.1.0

[tsaven]

On 3/12/2018 at 2:45 PM, Shiftend said:

I tried reading the tutorial, but I'm looking for a run-of-the-mill explanation for setting up a starter colony using MKS. What parts will I need to sustain a colony and to start one? Thanks

If you want to know where to start, look for the "Pioneer" modules in their different sizes.  They're intended to be the starting centerpiece of a first colony, you'll need some other parts around it as well (Something for power, supplies, etc) but it will get you going.

I really don't mean to sound like a jerk, because I've been in your situation before and totally empathize with how incredibly overwhelming this mod is to start off in.  It's incredibly complicated.

But if you're looking for the formula to quickly make a colony, and this entire mod is about exactly the opposite of that.  This mod requires multiple (often dozens) of launches in order to create a fully self sustaining colony even just on the Mun.  It is incredibly hard, there are hundreds of different ways to do it and they're all almost catastrophically expensive if you're playing in career.  I had to start returning containers full of valuable resources like "Rare Metals" and "Exotic Minerals" to try and keep my budgets afloat, I'm trying to put together a permanent settlement on Laythe and it's cost me over 10 Million Specos so far.  And it's not even halfway done!

 

[Terwin]

On 3/12/2018 at 12:14 PM, Shiftend said:

Having trouble even getting started. I'm in career mode, and I just unlocked the landing module and command pod. What should I put on my spacecraft to begin a (temporary) colony?

EDIT

I don't know how to start off, and I am looking for a quick rundown of what to do to create a temporary colony. What modules / parts will I need?

I have KAS/KIS installed with Modular Kolonization and USI-LS

 

In my 1.3 game, I started with just some 'squatters' to build up some planetary stores and get the colonization percentage up.

These consisted of:

Pioneer module, 3-4 hitchhiker cans, RT 5000 recycling(the 2.5m one), lots of rt 500 recyclers(the surface-attach one), 2(?) nom-o-matic 25000, a couple of stock ore drills, 1-2 small drills for gypsum*, 1.25m MPU* (gypsum->fertilizer and LFO), containers for resources being harvested, Lots of solar panels, and whatever additional habitation bits I needed to get 1-2 years of habitation.  (I only visited these 'squatters' during the day as I did not have reactors at that point)

I would fill these with 12 colonists and an engineer(a pilot too if they had a logistics module).  Visiting every now and again to check on them and collect colonization bonuses.  These are not for long-term habitation, but help you get started and stock up on fertilizer and supplies on-world.

*) for earlier versions I used the small ISRU to convert ore to fertilizer instead, adding a logistics module if available

Later on, when I had most of the MKS gear researched I would deploy 'seed' bases from a DIY kit which would then use OSE Workshop to build additional components.

Seed base:

Largest OSE Workshop storage container (3.75m? 5m?) as that is the only one that can (barely) hold a 3.75m MKS component; 3.75m refinery set to metal/polymers/chemicals; drills for metal ore, substrate, minerals, and whatever else is locally available**; 3.75m workshop set to material kits, specialized parts,  and machinery, 1.25m Nuclear power with 10% fuel, logistics/pioneer, recyclers, Nom-o-matics, solar panels, heat sinks, and lots of inflatable storage.

These would be set up by 3 launches: DIY Kit launcher;  Container of Material Kits large enough to build the base + deploy the inflatable workshop(filled to the brim so I could use the extra to start building more components); and the assembly vessel with an inflatable workshop, 2 engineers,  any short-term habitation, and a small stock of specialized parts.

Once the inflatable workshop was deployed, I could usually disassemble most of the DIY kit vessel for more material kits before I started building the kit.(the rest of the DIY kit vessel would eventually follow, and once the seed-base was built, the MK storage and any useful parts from the assembly vessel(habitation, inflatable workshop, recyclers, etc) would all be transferred to the seed base with the extra bits(engines, empty fuel tanks, landing struts, etc) all turned into material kits.

The first things I would build with OSE Workshop generally included: nuclear refinery, additional power plant, Refinery for specialized parts resources

After those, I could just build whatever I felt I needed(such as habitation so I could transfer all the colonists I had cooped up in 'Squatters' for the last few years, and lots of recycling/supplies production to support them), usually adding a number of 3.75m nuclear plants as I started running low on power.  (my Mun base now has 7-8 3.75m power plants and half a dozen habitation rings to support the 3 dozen squatter colonists I transferred to it for example)

**) As all of the required resources are generally not available in one spot, I would put the base in the best option, but only after deploying an automated miner to a location that would start collecting the missing resources months or years before I started building my base.  Miner consists of: drills, MPU, Nuclear power, containers, cooling, and would generally land, deploy drills, and just start harvesting(plus refilling it's fuel tanks in case there should ever be a need to move) 

 

7 hours ago, DirpleKerbal19 said:

My game version is 1.3 but when i try to load the game after extracting the files into the 'Squad' folder in the root directory but when i load the game i don't get any parts except for a few drills what am i doing wrong ?? The version of mod I downloaded was 0.53.1.0

in the zip file you downloaded, there is a GameData folder, copy the contents of the GameData folder from the .zip file into the GameData folder in your KSP install.

[Gilph]

In addition to @Terwin excellent description, this was my very first self sustaining colony, back in 1.2. I've cut maybe 2 vessels from this over time, but it gives you an idea how much kit is needed and how things get balanced. I'll find my starter base and post a pic when I find it.

In short, a small vessel with power, greenhouse, drill and converter for fertilizer, and a decent inflatable hab will make a very nice temp base. To make Supplies is the easiest. To make MK and SP will need 2-3 vessels. To make Machinery and Organics can take 2-3 vessels. How well you can mix and match will optimize that overall number, and that is the fun and challenging part. I've probably made 6-7 different styles of bases and self sustaining colonies.

 

 

[sstabeler]

Example Craft Files - this is a page on the wiki that includes a craft file for a dropship designed for starting a colony. Slightly outdated- it's from 0.50.14 IIRC- but at a minimum it gives some idea of what's nessecary for starting a colony.

 

However, if you're new to MKS, it might be better to start by building an orbital station- say a science station- so you're not grappling with hab/home timers in addition to the logistical challenges a self-sustaining base brings. (since for a couple fo reasons you do have to periodically check up on even the most self-sustaining base- if nothing else to double-check problems aren't developing, since if they are, the catch-up mechanics would exacerbate it. 

[dlrk]

@Roverdude


The ATLAS harvester, in the Constellation version at least, is in the Start node? Was this intended? Seems like it should be in Resource Exploitation

[sstabeler]

I doubt it, since it only costs 100 (while the Tundra Kerbitat- which is smaller- costs 13k)- I'm guessing that since it's only in the Constellation, either the ATLAS harvester's not actually finished yet, or Roverdude accidentally included the development configs, not the final ones. 

I should make it clear I'm not criticising Roverdude- he works for Squad, IIRC, so has probably been busy with the release of Making History- as such, it's easy to overlook fairly minor mistakes in what is, after all, something he does for free. (I say it's a minor mistake since the part is functional AFAIK, just available too early and at too low a price)

[RoverDude]

38 minutes ago, dlrk said:

@Roverdude


The ATLAS harvester, in the Constellation version at least, is in the Start node? Was this intended? Seems like it should be in Resource Exploitation

Bug   Ignore that test part...

[sstabeler]

thought so- the part's not finished.

[dlrk]

I'll delete it from setup, lol.

BTW, would you be open to some suggestions about the CTT ordering? I was thinking some of the parts could/should be moved from Short Term Habitation to Long Term Habitation and Kolonization.

[RoverDude]

2 minutes ago, dlrk said:

I'll delete it from setup, lol.

BTW, would you be open to some suggestions about the CTT ordering? I was thinking some of the parts could/should be moved from Short Term Habitation to Long Term Habitation and Kolonization.

Always open to suggestions

[Shiftend]

17 hours ago, tsaven said:

If you want to know where to start, look for the "Pioneer" modules in their different sizes.  They're intended to be the starting centerpiece of a first colony, you'll need some other parts around it as well (Something for power, supplies, etc) but it will get you going.

I really don't mean to sound like a jerk, because I've been in your situation before and totally empathize with how incredibly overwhelming this mod is to start off in.  It's incredibly complicated.

But if you're looking for the formula to quickly make a colony, and this entire mod is about exactly the opposite of that.  This mod requires multiple (often dozens) of launches in order to create a fully self sustaining colony even just on the Mun.  It is incredibly hard, there are hundreds of different ways to do it and they're all almost catastrophically expensive if you're playing in career.  I had to start returning containers full of valuable resources like "Rare Metals" and "Exotic Minerals" to try and keep my budgets afloat, I'm trying to put together a permanent settlement on Laythe and it's cost me over 10 Million Specos so far.  And it's not even halfway done!

 

I gotcha, thanks for the information. With practice, I'm sure I will soon be able to let alone think up the idea of a Laythe colony. Thank you

10 hours ago, Terwin said:

In my 1.3 game, I started with just some 'squatters' to build up some planetary stores and get the colonization percentage up.

These consisted of:

Pioneer module, 3-4 hitchhiker cans, RT 5000 recycling(the 2.5m one), lots of rt 500 recyclers(the surface-attach one), 2(?) nom-o-matic 25000, a couple of stock ore drills, 1-2 small drills for gypsum*, 1.25m MPU* (gypsum->fertilizer and LFO), containers for resources being harvested, Lots of solar panels, and whatever additional habitation bits I needed to get 1-2 years of habitation.  (I only visited these 'squatters' during the day as I did not have reactors at that point)

I would fill these with 12 colonists and an engineer(a pilot too if they had a logistics module).  Visiting every now and again to check on them and collect colonization bonuses.  These are not for long-term habitation, but help you get started and stock up on fertilizer and supplies on-world.

*) for earlier versions I used the small ISRU to convert ore to fertilizer instead, adding a logistics module if available

Later on, when I had most of the MKS gear researched I would deploy 'seed' bases from a DIY kit which would then use OSE Workshop to build additional components.

Seed base:

Largest OSE Workshop storage container (3.75m? 5m?) as that is the only one that can (barely) hold a 3.75m MKS component; 3.75m refinery set to metal/polymers/chemicals; drills for metal ore, substrate, minerals, and whatever else is locally available**; 3.75m workshop set to material kits, specialized parts,  and machinery, 1.25m Nuclear power with 10% fuel, logistics/pioneer, recyclers, Nom-o-matics, solar panels, heat sinks, and lots of inflatable storage.

These would be set up by 3 launches: DIY Kit launcher;  Container of Material Kits large enough to build the base + deploy the inflatable workshop(filled to the brim so I could use the extra to start building more components); and the assembly vessel with an inflatable workshop, 2 engineers,  any short-term habitation, and a small stock of specialized parts.

Once the inflatable workshop was deployed, I could usually disassemble most of the DIY kit vessel for more material kits before I started building the kit.(the rest of the DIY kit vessel would eventually follow, and once the seed-base was built, the MK storage and any useful parts from the assembly vessel(habitation, inflatable workshop, recyclers, etc) would all be transferred to the seed base with the extra bits(engines, empty fuel tanks, landing struts, etc) all turned into material kits.

The first things I would build with OSE Workshop generally included: nuclear refinery, additional power plant, Refinery for specialized parts resources

After those, I could just build whatever I felt I needed(such as habitation so I could transfer all the colonists I had cooped up in 'Squatters' for the last few years, and lots of recycling/supplies production to support them), usually adding a number of 3.75m nuclear plants as I started running low on power.  (my Mun base now has 7-8 3.75m power plants and half a dozen habitation rings to support the 3 dozen squatter colonists I transferred to it for example)

**) As all of the required resources are generally not available in one spot, I would put the base in the best option, but only after deploying an automated miner to a location that would start collecting the missing resources months or years before I started building my base.  Miner consists of: drills, MPU, Nuclear power, containers, cooling, and would generally land, deploy drills, and just start harvesting(plus refilling it's fuel tanks in case there should ever be a need to move) 

 

in the zip file you downloaded, there is a GameData folder, copy the contents of the GameData folder from the .zip file into the GameData folder in your KSP install.

Thanks for the detail in your reply, this will prove very helpful. Thank you

[Bionic bulldog]

Simple question... im told that installing a mod and removing parts which you would never use would save loading time and ram (ie. Only keeping the stakes in EL when used with this mod). Could this also apply to the usi mods. There are Lot of parts in this mod which i neve use. two examlles examples would be.

I Dont use the life support function anymore only the manufactruing and mining side, so could i delete all the agriculture stuff etc.related to that side of production.

Only ever use the construction ports from the konstruction mod.

Or would this break the mod and cause problems.

[sstabeler]

Only in the sense that if you only use the manufacturing and mining parts, you're probably missing out on quite a bit of the mod.