The 1.3.1 Club

[Manimal]

I'm back after a longer hiatus. Since in the past each new version killed my modded games I have not achieved much in KSP despite investing many hours. So, this time I'm not aiming for the latest version but for a good solid version with good mod support (as without mods the game is not half as interesting).

So, this brought me here, I'm installing a 1.3.1 version in the hope to get good KSP gaming.

However I have my first obstacle, MKS install ledas to a game crash. Ahh, whatever.

Are there any dedicated 1.3.1 pages for support? For mod exchange? Advice on troubleshooting?

[OHara]

The mods that existed during version 1.3.1 probably still have the matching versions of their releases available where their source code is published, most often github.  Then finding the right release is a matter of looking through the release notes for the first one compiled for 1.4.0, then backing up one, or just the last version before March 2018.  The *.version files inside the release remove any doubt.

For questions, I would expect mod authors will not be able to remember when various fixes and improvements were made.  So you will do more reading through forum threads and release notes, but be likely getting the correct answers more quickly.

A lot of people delay upgrades, so your situation is not unusual.  If you  have a new question, where the version might matter, you should probably use past tense: "how did you, in version 1.3.1, ..."

Edited January 5, 2019 by OHara
SpaceDock unfortunately provides version made for 1.4.1, mislabeled as being for 1.3.1, of the particular mode in question MKS

[klgraham1013]

SpaceDock also does a good job of keeping previous versions of mods, and displaying which version of KSP they're for.

[Manimal]

22 hours ago, OHara said:

The mods that existed during version 1.3.1 probably still have the matching versions of their releases available where their source code is published, most often github.  Then finding the right release is a matter of looking through the release notes for the first one compiled for 1.4.0, then backing up one, or just the last version before March 2018.  The *.version files inside the release remove any doubt.

For questions, I would expect mod authors will not be able to remember when various fixes and improvements were made.  So you will do more reading through forum threads and release notes, but be likely getting the correct answers more quickly.

A lot of people delay upgrades, so your situation is not unusual.  If you  have a new question, where the version might matter, you should probably use past tense: "how did you, in version 1.3.1, ..."

Yes, I found out that some of the mods are labeled with a KSP version that is not correct. BTW that was the reason for MKS not working, now I have found a working version. Also, there is a resource page for 1.3 mods, listing it here for information (probably already known):

 

[DDE]

23 hours ago, Manimal said:

I'm back after a longer hiatus. Since in the past each new version killed my modded games I have not achieved much in KSP despite investing many hours. So, this time I'm not aiming for the latest version but for a good solid version with good mod support (as without mods the game is not half as interesting).

Then you're one step ahead of me. The additions to the non-DLC game look too promising (the grey-orange alternative part look is basically the Soyuz) and I'm willing to see if another good version emerges in the post-1.6 era. Plus I have a big backlog of other games.

Edited January 6, 2019 by DDE

[Manimal]

I have a question which may sound dumb, but are there mods that do not follow the KSP version history but are best installed in the latest variant? (regardless of KSP version used)

[klgraham1013]

1 hour ago, Manimal said:

I have a question which may sound dumb, but are there mods that do not follow the KSP version history but are best installed in the latest variant? (regardless of KSP version used)

I tend to stick to the last version of a mod for a specific version of KSP.   The Only concession is part packs that I can reasonably get working.

[Manimal]

19 hours ago, klgraham1013 said:

I tend to stick to the last version of a mod for a specific version of KSP.   The Only concession is part packs that I can reasonably get working.

Yeah, I#m trying to do the same. However some mods ceased updating before 1.3.1 and some just plain out jumped from 1.2 to 1.4

 

[klgraham1013]

2 hours ago, Manimal said:

Yeah, I#m trying to do the same. However some mods ceased updating before 1.3.1 and some just plain out jumped from 1.2 to 1.4

 

You might be out of luck.  Kraken knows I wish Tracking Station Evolved made it onto 1.3.1.

[Numberyellow]

On 12/24/2018 at 2:29 AM, Hotel26 said:

Oh, man.  What a great topic!!  (So...  there are OTHERS out there..!!)

I'm on 1.3.1 and have been saying ever since 1.4 was on the horizon that I would stay on 1.3.1 until the end of 2018.

Then go to 1.4.5.  I've loaded all the mods for 1.4.5 and am ready to go (except for one mod [*]).  Not before I test mining, though...!!

For the life of me, I don't understand why people:

1. rush to the "latest & greatest"
2. start over their worlds anew with every new KSP version

But I know better than to ask.  I'm certain I won't understand the answer.  Two of the fundamental mysteries of the universe.

When I go to 1.4.5, I will take my 1.3.1 world with me.  I'll test it in parallel before committing, too.  From what I've seen, 1.4.5 is OK.

"Always upgrade to the last minor release!"

I'm on 1.3.1 because it's stable.  Because I wasn't interested in the upgrade features, not in Making History, although I bought it to support Squad.  Because both 1.2 and 1.3 broke mining and torpedoed my massive infrastructure investment.

I'm not actually sure I am going to make it to 1.4.5 on schedule...  I'm saying "first half of 2019" now.

* that mod is my own Telemagic, which I can't live without.  I had it 98% ported to 1.4 but Squad changed the rules about icon sizes and changed the ways they're converted.  I guess it's just a matter of resizing it in Gimp, but, honestly, I was so fed up with the gratuitous changes, I walked away.

My main "work" install is based on 1.2.2.

To address one of your questions, i'd want the "latest and greatest" version, because of the performance improvements. My rig is a bit long in the tooth....but i can't afford to upgrade anything. 1.2.2 is a resource hog, and due to some performance issues, and a huge memory leak, the game chokes if i attempt to deploy anything too big. Because of this, i've been away from KSP for like a year and a half..

I once deployed a craft with around 400 parts.. my frames dropped to 6FPS...effing 6! try making meaningful course corrections under those conditions, lol.

I'd LOVE to upgrade to 1.6x, but my testing has revealed that any version after the Unity upgrade in 1.4x, breaks my inventory of aircraft in various interesting ways....I spent WAY too long building these planes, to simply abandon them, and i've done too much in my save, in the way of projects, to simply walk away....and it's not as if i could actually reproduce any of this stuff, so i'd be starting from scratch, and that's just not gonna happen.

If i knew that my 1.2.2 save and crafts (and mods) would work correctly with 1.3.1, i might be willing to give it a go....because honestly, it's either that, or i just walk away from KSP again, until i can afford hardware powerful enough to "brute force" 1.2.2 into behaving itself when i deploy something big..

I miss KSP, and i miss exercising my imagination, and building really cool stuff. If i ever can get a good working "build" going, I intend to start showing off some of my work.....but i'm not gonna be doing that, so long as i'm hobbled by 1.2.2's performance deficiencies.

[Gargamel]

@Manimal

Sorry for the delay, but this might help you find mods for an older version:

 

 

 

 

[dallascwbys9]

Im not exactly sure why i play 1.3.1, but i do, I guess its because like stated above the huge mod list, and it runs pretty good on the craptop with like 100 mods installed 

[Numberyellow]

does anyone happen to know if version 1.4.1 of AOA Technologies works with KSP 1.3.1?

[Dr. Omicron]

Boomers 

 

jk

[Lisias]

Anyone is having problems with the latest TweakScale for KSP 1.3.1 ?

On the next (hopefully) few months, I will backport the current TweakScale to 1.3.1, with all the fixes and I would like to have some beta testing!

[Hotel26]

I loved 1.3.1 and was on it for a very long time.  I think I finally upgraded to 1.6.1 and, a year ago. 1.7.3.  I'll be sitting where I am awhile, until the coast is clear.  I haven't heard anything enticing about 1.8 nor 1.9 as yet.

So the following idea is kind of radical, but in the spirit of The 1.3.1 Club: I'd like to get your thoughts.

I have a lot of sentimental attachment to 1.3.1, but the world moves on.  For example, Breaking Ground is a worthy DLC.  I think the spirit of this is to be Cautious Adopters.  Not Lemmings.

And there will be future "lucky" releases in which that distinctive "snick" will indicate the club head has hit Squad's golf ball perfectly well and made it sail straight down the fairway...

So, if we, as cautious adopters, shared our sentiments about the safety of each new release in a collective-think, perhaps we could follow along -- at a safe distance...?  Hopping cautiously and occasionally from safe release to safe release...

                                                              

Therefore, as heretical, here, as it may seem: if club-members had to choose a limited selection of decent successors to 1.3.1, which would you nominate?  As indicated above, I might nominate 1.6.1 and 1.7.3.  I don't know (yet) of anything so far since then that's worth trying.

Thoughts?

Edited February 18, 2020 by Hotel26

[Guest]

3 minutes ago, Hotel26 said:

I haven't heard anything enticing about 1.8 nor 1.9 as yet.

The garbage collection stutter is gone. Performance is greatly improved. Visuals are greatly improved. Parts look lots better. Enticed yet?

-- More seriously, yes 1.9.0 is flaky and if you have a low tolerance for that kind of thing it's probably better to hold off for a patch version or two.

[Hotel26]

On 2/18/2020 at 8:22 PM, Brikoleur said:

Enticed yet?

That sounds like worth a trial flight, but...  (I did actually download 1.9.0 last night.)  But I have also heard some complaints about changes in the drag model in 1.8.  What do you think?

Regarding 'holding off', I am actually generally quite satisfied to upgrade no more often than once a year.

                                                                                                

Yeah, 1.9.0 went straight to just under 90% of memory on my machine.  That's with NO flights.  (I have 360 flights in progress in my 1.7.3 world and have found recently that Terrain Detail settings can really hog memory, necessitating much more frequent restarts.)

I know full well this is my problem (old motherboard limited to 8GB) and not KSP, but visual effects don't wow me, I'd say.

Edited February 19, 2020 by Hotel26

[Guest]

1 hour ago, Hotel26 said:

But I have also heard some complaints about changes in the drag model in 1.8.  What do you think?

I haven't noticed any dramatic changes.

[swjr-swis]

21 hours ago, Hotel26 said:

I have a lot of sentimental attachment to 1.3.1, but the world moves on.

I have no sentimental attachment to 1.3.1. The 1.3 line really needed a stabilizing patch or two more before I would've willingly moved on from 1.2.2. The marked performance improvement was welcome, and finally being able to run entire evening-long sessions without needing to restart anymore did it for me. I'm still regularly annoyed by issues (re)introduced in 1.3.1 though, and obviously having to miss out on a number of QoL additions of later versions is no fun. I would love to have an objectively better version to get stuck on, with all the QoL toys added since then.

But every single version since then has come with significant issues that just keep me from moving on. Basically every version since has been: Yes feature A and B are nice and bugfix C would be welcome, but I would have to live with new or worsened or reintroduced issues E through H... I'll wait for the stabilizing patches. Except they keep moving on to other big changes before stabilizing a release and so rinse and repeat, with a changing-yet-not-diminishing list of points. To make me move on it's going to need to have less issues than 1.3.1 has, not more. As of 1.8.1 1.9.0, I'm still waiting.

Tl;dr: at this point, new features are unlikely to entice me. I can get new features anytime I want even now: it's called modding. What I *am* waiting for is a new baseline version regarding stability and lack of bugs. I'll jump on that in a blink.

Edited February 19, 2020 by swjr-swis
brain hadn't registered 1.9.0 yet, apparently

[Dafni]

Those are good points @Hotel26, I appreciate the input. Personally I have been dabbling a bit in 1.6.1 (when people played 1.7.3) and now with kopernicus updated even a bit of 1.8.1(because of JNSQ and maybe KSRSS later on). I like both of those versions too, but feel exactly the same as @swjr-swis described above. Always felt like twos steps forward, one step back, with some weird side step motion thrown in. Cant comment on 1.7.3, skipped that one completely.

1.8.1 might be a contender for me as it can run both DLCs and has a respectable mod support by now, but unfortunately it has some annoying bugs... so 1.3.1 is still at the top for me. Lets see what 1.9.X brings   if they really fixed the GC stutter it might seal the deal for me. Fingers crossed. Lets see how many hotfix patches they dump into this before they push out yet another feature rich but bugged major release out the door.

[Zeiss Ikon]

Lately, I've been playing 1.6.1 for my RO install.  I was planning to switch that over the 1.7.3, but then heard RO was working in 1.8.1 -- and can't find an installation page for it or confirmation from the mod devs.  I really, really need to get off 1.6.1, though; the parts bin graphics bug is driving me nuts.

I've also got stock careers running in 1.8.1 on both my laptop and my desktop computers.  I should probably put one of the save files into my Dropbox so I can play the same save on both, like I did on 1.4.1.

Haven't looked at 1.9 yet.

[swjr-swis]

Just in case I was unclear, and because I realize I can come off grumpy about this subject: I like a lot of what has been done and added to the game since 1.3.1. I do test every single release, and do spend (albeit very limited) playtime in the latest version, just to stay up to date on where we stand. I want to make the move and make some of the awesome new stuff part of my general KSP experience.

This game is an amazing concept with this huge potential to be simply awesome on every level, still capable of making me waste so much time playing it, even in pure stock, dealing with odd design decisions and bugs, foregoing new features and sticking to an old version.

I guess the level of issues/annoyances just don't fit with the rest of what I get from this game. It's like getting home and unpacking a bag of amazingly smelling warm food, stomach growling, digging in and ... finding out they forgot the sauce you asked for and added the wrong side-dish instead of the one you like. Yes, I can eat, I can still enjoy what is there and I won't be hungry when I'm done. But it still missed the mark, and I'm gonna mutter and maybe even pout. This meal is not going into the books as my 'reference point'. Maybe next time.

[steve_v]

On 2/19/2020 at 1:22 AM, Brikoleur said:

The garbage collection stutter is gone. Performance is greatly improved. Visuals are greatly improved. Parts look lots better.

Manoeuvre node editor is broken, graphics are borked on GNU/Linux, wheels are as bad as they ever were, kerbals randomly remove their helmets or phase into terrain and die, scatterer/eve/restock/texturereplacer/etc. still beat squad's visual overhauls.

Performance I like, visuals I don't care much about, and enough new bugs and regressions can overshadow any improvement.
 

2 hours ago, swjr-swis said:

It's like getting home and unpacking a bag of amazingly smelling warm food, stomach growling, digging in and ... finding out they forgot the sauce you asked for and added the wrong side-dish instead of the one you like. Yes, I can eat, I can still enjoy what is there and I won't be hungry when I'm done.

1.4-1.7.3 I wasn't going to touch, because a cheeseburger (spaceflight sim) with no cheese (joystick support) is simply not a thing. I went elsewhere instead (X4, DOS2).

1.8.0 got the basics right (joystick support fixed), but added several dead mice  (e.g. fairing occlusion again, various ridiculous new ways to kill kerbals), a clump of hair (extreme message spam), and dyed the whole thing a nasty shade of puce (opengl borked again). Thinking I'd finally got what I ordered, I took one look in the bag... and gave it to my dog. The dog didn't want it either.

1.8.1 removed the hair and the largest of the mice, but kept the colouring. It's edible, and it actually tastes okay... It just looks like vomit and gets a bit crunchy now and then. I'm not hungry any more, but I'm not exactly writing up a rave review either.

1.9.0 added one enormous rat, no extra charge (node editing borkage). Just no. That's one too many vermin in my dinner.

Oh, and through all this wheels are still bung as a bung thing. Did I mention the wheels?

 

21 hours ago, swjr-swis said:

at this point, new features are unlikely to entice me. I can get new features anytime I want even now: it's called modding. What I *am* waiting for is a new baseline version regarding stability and lack of bugs. I'll jump on that in a blink.

My thoughts exactly. I thought 1.8.1 was close, and 1.8.2 might be the one... then they blew it. Again. Just like last time we got close to a properly playable infuriation-free release.

 

 

Edited February 19, 2020 by steve_v

[Lisias]

On 2/19/2020 at 10:24 AM, steve_v said:

My thoughts exactly. I thought 1.8.1 was close, and 1.8.2 might be the one... then they blew it. Again. Just like last time we got close to a properly playable infuriation-free release.

The never ending self feeding cycle of almost getting there, and then blowing up everything is starting to get into my nerves, to a point I'm starting to think this is not an accident, but something purposely perpetrated.