(Why) Do you start a new save when a new KSP version comes out?

[Hotel26]

I want to thank everyone who has responded to this topic (so far) and/or used the poll.

I'm glad I posted this because the numbers show that a majority of players do not abandon their progress in order to upgrade.

This is the point where we insert the obligatory "KSP is a rich pursuit admitting all kinds of modes of operation" and "people are very diverse in their objectives and taste" and therefore we can state that "there is no right or wrong way to approach KSP". 

It's good for people to compare notes, though, and I've found this exercise valuable.  Here's a summary of some of the reasons people might start a new 'world' [save] with a new version of KSP:

1. KSP is addictive and new features are attractive: this is understandably hard to defer
2. natural human optimism doesn't dwell on the unknown risks and soon suppresses previously-experienced pain even when a pattern forms
3. mods take quite a while to update after KSP and this often prevents current 'worlds' that depend on a core set of mods from immediately upgrading
4. many players may operate directly from Steam and, if this doesn't actually pre-emptively upgrade KSP (auto-upgrade can be turned off, though), it may mean that these players don't have the tools to run different versions of KSP side-by-side.  Therefore, trying the new KSP version may be an all-or-nothing venture for some.
5. Software is complex and KSP is no exception.  Relying on any software (these days) to upgrade 100% smoothly is a Quest for a Grail that may be just not a pay-off for time/effort expended.  Breaking changes might, in the worst case, "maroon" hold-out players on old versions such that they may never catch up and thus become.isolated from the community.
6. Frequent upgrade may suit players who run short, highly-specific missions.

I do get this and thank you everyone for participating in this fact-finding mission. 

 

In other news, I have branched my 1.3.1 Orbit world and am now running it in parallel in KSP 1.4.5.  (The last mod I needed for 1.4.5) dropped into place a few days ago.)

I'll keep a log and try new things from a checklist by simply copying the 1.3 save over to KSP 1.4 and performing the operation there.  1.3 will remain my 'master' version until I am satisfied that everything I rely on (e.g. mining) works well with my current equipment; then I'll mothball the 1.3 Orbit and declare myself upgraded! 

As a result, I got to fly my new Esprit out to Woomerang and saw that site live for the first time!  I want to try the personal parachutes next.  I'm very excited. 

Cheers.

Edited January 5, 2019 by Hotel26

[RealKerbal3x]

@Hotel26

I reckon if you can get your mods to work on 1.4.5 they’ll work on 1.5 and 1.6 too. Plus, 1.6 is super stable and has even more awesome features!

[Hotel26]

53 minutes ago, RealKerbal3x said:

1.6 is super stable

OK!  I just took it for a spin...  So far so good, except I feel naked without my small number of must-have mods. 

I've also just turned off the AutoUpdateBehavior in Steam (not fun).

Good suggestion to kick the tires on 1.6 because if it can do the job, it will save me an interim upgrade!

[RealKerbal3x]

3 minutes ago, Hotel26 said:

I feel naked without my small number of must-have mods. 

What mods in particular? The 1.5 and 1.6 updates only broke a minority of mods, and I think most mods for 1.4.x will still do just fine in 1.6.

[Hotel26]

16 minutes ago, RealKerbal3x said:

What mods in particular?

1. Atmosphere Autopilot *
2. Better Burn Time
3. Bon Voyage
4. Craft Manager
5. Draggable Navball
6. Haystack Continued *
7. Kerbal Alarm Clock *
8. Kerbal Engineer Redux *
9. NavBallDockingAlignment
10. Telemagic
11. WorldStabilizer

(Marked * are essential.)

I'm a very simple guy.

 

[RealKerbal3x]

1 minute ago, Hotel26 said:

1. Atmosphere Autopilot *
2. Better Burn Time
3. Bon Voyage
4. Craft Manager
5. Draggable Navball
6. Haystack Continued *
7. Kerbal Alarm Clock *
8. Kerbal Engineer Redux *
9. NavBallDockingAlignment
10. Telemagic
11. WorldStabilizer

(Marked * are essential.)

I'm a very simple guy.

 

KER definitely works in 1.6, and so does KAC and NavballDockingAlignment. Not sure about the others because I don't use them, but I'd wager that they'll still work fine

[Hotel26]

17 minutes ago, RealKerbal3x said:

Haystack Continued *

Good to go except for this one.  I have 300 flights in progress...

(I had kicked the tires on 1.5 and it was a non-starter simply due to craft slip-sliding all over the runway (as reported also by Brikoleur...))

Edited January 5, 2019 by Hotel26

[linuxgurugamer]

57 minutes ago, Hotel26 said:

Good to go except for this one.  I have 300 flights in progress...

(I had kicked the tires on 1.5 and it was a non-starter simply due to craft slip-sliding all over the runway (as reported also by Brikoleur...))

Ummm, is there a problem with Haystack?  Please let me know ASAP

1 hour ago, Hotel26 said:

2 hours ago, RealKerbal3x said:

1.6 is super stable

OK!  I just took it for a spin...  So far so good, except I feel naked without my small number of must-have mods

Did you know that most mods which are 1.5 compatible also work in 1.6?  

[Hotel26]

10 minutes ago, linuxgurugamer said:

Ummm, is there a problem with Haystack?

Yeah, the context of this discussion is KSP 1.6 (not 1.5) and, to the best of my understanding, Haystack is not advertised ready for 1.6, yet.  (Correct?  And I downloaded Haystack 1.5.1+ and KSP 1.6 wouldn't start with it, expectedly.)

And that's OK, too; I'm not in a mad rush to upgrade.

Edited January 5, 2019 by Hotel26

[linuxgurugamer]

All my mods have had the online ,version file updated to 1.6

Given the stability I've seen so far, I'm not doing any active updates unless there is a reported bug

 

[Hotel26]

3 minutes ago, linuxgurugamer said:

Given the stability I've seen so far

OK, I'll rebuild KSP 1.6 from scratch and re-install.  Be advised, I am running on Linux...

I'll let you know shortly.

[Hotel26]

I'm downloading a version from Spacedock that is likely stale:

{
  "NAME": "Haystack ReContinued",
  "URL": "http://ksp.spacetux.net/avc/HaystackContinued",
  "DOWNLOAD": "https://github.com/linuxgurugamer/HaystackContinued/releases",
  "GITHUB": {
    "USERNAME": "linuxgurugamer",
    "REPOSITORY": "HaystackContinued"
  },
  "VERSION": {
    "MAJOR": 0,
    "MINOR": 5,
    "PATCH": 4,
    "BUILD": 4
  },
  "KSP_VERSION": {
    "MAJOR": 1,
    "MINOR": 5,
    "PATCH": 1
  },
  "KSP_VERSION_MIN": {
    "MAJOR": 1,
    "MINOR": 5,
    "PATCH": 1
  },
  "KSP_VERSION_MAX": {
    "MAJOR": 1,
    "MINOR": 5,
    "PATCH": 99
  }
}

because I just don't know where to get this mod.  It's not in CKAN (for Linux), so I'm lost.

Edited January 5, 2019 by Hotel26

[linuxgurugamer]

1 minute ago, Hotel26 said:

I'm downloading a version from Spacedock that is likely stale:

{
  "NAME": "Haystack ReContinued",
  "URL": "http://ksp.spacetux.net/avc/HaystackContinued",
  "DOWNLOAD": "https://github.com/linuxgurugamer/HaystackContinued/releases",
  "GITHUB": {
    "USERNAME": "linuxgurugamer",
    "REPOSITORY": "HaystackContinued"
  },
  "VERSION": {
    "MAJOR": 0,
    "MINOR": 5,
    "PATCH": 4,
    "BUILD": 4
  },
  "KSP_VERSION": {
    "MAJOR": 1,
    "MINOR": 5,
    "PATCH": 1
  },
  "KSP_VERSION_MIN": {
    "MAJOR": 1,
    "MINOR": 5,
    "PATCH": 1
  },
  "KSP_VERSION_MAX": {
    "MAJOR": 1,
    "MINOR": 5,
    "PATCH": 99
  }
}

because I just don't know where to get this mod.  It's not in CKAN (for Linux), so I'm lost.

That is the latest.

In CKAN, change the compatible setting to allow 1.5 mods to be seen as compatible.

 

[Hotel26]

8 minutes ago, linuxgurugamer said:

In CKAN, change the compatible setting to allow 1.5 mods to be seen as compatible.

All good, thank you.  This also made Bon Voyage, NavyFish (DPAI) and WorldStabilizer appear.

[Hotel26]

On 12/28/2018 at 10:35 AM, razark said:

why do some people feel that they have to keep the same save going, rather than restarting every so often?  It's just a couple of different playstyles that are possible in KSP.

It's an excellent question.  For me, KSP is not a puzzle game: "solve all the puzzles and you are done".  (I actually detest puzzles because they're hard work and because they're what I do at work.)

KSP for me is about exploration and colonization.  My objective is to set up a plausible system-wide transportation network.  So that Kerbal 'K' can travel from 'A' to 'Z'.  It could take years (or the rest of my life).

Obviously, there is no 'reset' here.

On 1/5/2019 at 5:49 PM, RealKerbal3x said:

Plus, 1.6 is super stable and has even more awesome features!

Thank you for the suggestion re 1.6!  I've been kicking its tires.

The only squawk I have so far is that "flags disappear".  I've just had my second disappear.    It's not fatal but I think this is the re-presentation of an old bug and that's irritating.  (If it happens again, I'll remove WorldStabilizer...)

But 1.6 does look like a good release.  (I haven't tested mining yet.)

Edited January 13, 2019 by Hotel26

[SiriusRocketry]

Incidentally, does anyone have any visual mods for 1.6.1? Considering jumping from 1.3.1 to a new version for the first time in a year. 

[RealKerbal3x]

9 minutes ago, SiriusRocketry said:

Incidentally, does anyone have any visual mods for 1.6.1? Considering jumping from 1.3.1 to a new version for the first time in a year. 

I believe most of the visual mods are at least compatible with 1.4.x, and since 1.5 and 1.6 only broke a tiny fraction of mods, they should be good to go