Placeholder for Unavailable Parts

[0something0]

In normal KSP, whenever somebody makes a save file with vessels that require a mod in it, they go *poof*. What if a small placeholder part,  the size of the not-rocketmax cubic node thingy acted as a placeholder part instead being unable to load the vessels in the editor of in the world. This would greatly save annoyance in cases where you load up someone else's ship on your stock save but you don't have KOS/Mechjeb/Burn Together so you can't load in ships thanks to that one tiny modded part.

Edited December 21, 2017 by 0something0

[Ultimate Steve]

I think this would be an excellent idea. I have no idea how easy (or impossible) this would be to add, but I support it! Also, out of likes, so...

[NSEP]

Maybe it still have the warning message, because i still want to be notified.

[ZooNamedGames]

53 minutes ago, NSEP said:

Maybe it still have the warning message, because i still want to be notified.

Source Engine style 'Error' asset would work wonders.

[Corona688]

11 hours ago, 0something0 said:

In normal KSP, whenever somebody makes a save file with vessels that require a mod in it, they go *poof*. What if a small placeholder part,  the size of the not-rocketmax cubic node thingy acted as a placeholder part instead being unable to load the vessels in the editor of in the world.

The craft is equally nonfunctional either way.  If you want to share craft, don't use mods...

[Dunbaratu]

This can't work.  If the information about the part is entirely missing, then you also don't know its dimensions either, or where its node attachment points are.  So let's say you replace a large 4 meter cylinder part part with a placeholder 0.5 meter cube shaped part.  Now all the other parts in the parts tree branch from that part on downward will be in the wrong place because you have effectively shifted them 3.5 meters from where they were.  Engine nozzles embedded inside other parts, struts not going where they were supposed to, fuel lines aimed the wrong way, symmetry gone, etc.  It would ruin the vessel design because all the other parts got moved.

I'd much rather see the stock game have an interface that when you try to load a save and are missing a necessary parts mod, turns the "vessels being deleted as I load and immediately re-save this game" into an OK/Cancel dialog that lets you back out of the attempt to load the game.  Right now, by the time you get the notification and realize what's happening, it is already set in motion without any UI option to cancel it.  The only way to make it cancel the attempt right now is to leave the OK button un-clicked while you alt-tab out and externally hard-kill the KSP game process from the task manager (or unix shell).

[Corona688]

That indeed sounds like a problem.  Stopping the loading process halfway through to display a UI may not be possible, but making an autobackup probably is...

[Dunbaratu]

50 minutes ago, Corona688 said:

That indeed sounds like a problem.  Stopping the loading process halfway through to display a UI may not be possible, but making an autobackup probably is...

The problem is that once you get through the loading that launches the UI notification dialogs, the game is now loaded into memory with missing vessels and all the available ways to then leave the next scene cause a game save of what is now in memory.  If you back out to the menu, that saves the game.  If you enter a building, that saves the game.  There's no way out of that scene (showing the KSC with birds chirping - that scene) that doesn't save the game, other than an external hard kill of the process.  *Within the game's UI*, you're stuck with having to save the broken game that's now in memory.  It should be easy to let you back out because all it has to do is just *throw away* what it's been building in memory without saving it to disk.