How to Install KSP 1.3?

[KSPMom]

It's been over six months since my son played KSP. I've forgotten how to find official versions you need to pay for of KSP that are older than the current version. My son would like to buy, download and install KSP 1.3.0. Your guidance is appreciated! Thank you!

[Geonovast]

You can't buy specific versions.

I think the only way to possibly get 1.3 is to buy the game on Steam, then download 1.3 through the betas system in Steam.

Just curious, why does he specifically want 1.3?

[klgraham1013]

1 minute ago, Geonovast said:

 

Just curious, why does he specifically want 1.3?

Because 1.3 was the bomb.  1.7 is turning into a worthy contender though.

[RizzoTheRat]

If you bought it from the KSP website rather than Steam then you can download older versions. 

Click the download link and it gives you the option of 1.7.2 or 1.61, but there's a link below them legacy versions where you can download 1.5.1, 1.4.5, 1.3.1, 1.2.2, 1.1.3 or 1.0.5

[KSPMom]

Thanks RizzoTheRat. I remember that now. I'm seeing links to download 1.4, 1.5.1, 1.6.1 and 1.7.1. Have they archived earlier versions?

Geonovast, my son wants to try out a mod, UnManned Before Manned, that is only available in 1.3. Would appreciate some instructions on how to find Beta version in STEAM. Thank you!

[Geonovast]

That mod appears to have a successor.  Would he be interested in that? 

 

[Superfluous J]

45 minutes ago, KSPMom said:

 Would appreciate some instructions on how to find Beta version in STEAM. Thank you!

To answer this question,

But I agree with @Geonovast the better option is the newer mod.

Edited July 10, 2019 by 5thHorseman

[KSPMom]

Thanks Genovast. He wants to try 1.7.0 with the Probes Before Crew mod. I'm reading the post. I see the download instructions with a link to Spacedock. Spacedock says it won't work with 1.7.1. I don't see a link for 1.7.0 in the KSP store. I can get 1.6.1 from the KSP store. Do you recommend going with 1.6.1?

He's Pokemon-ing now. I'll get him to read the entire post to be sure this is what he wants to do.

Thanks 5thHorseman. I'm going to learn how to get older versions from STEAM now and flag this post when the questions about older versions come up again!

[Geonovast]

@KSPMom with very, very, very few exceptions (I can only think of one), if a mod is listed as working with 1.7.0, it will work with 1.7.1, 1.7.2, 1.7.3 and so on.  If you see a mod you want that doesn't have the OP listed as working with the version you want, the first thing to do is check the last page or so of posts and see if anyone's reporting it working and/or not working.  But you can also just try it.  Worst case, you'll just need to remove the mod.  I'm using at least one mod in 1.7.2 that was last reported working with 1.3, a few 1.5.x, and quite a but 1.6.x, but they all work fine.  The only mod I know of that is super-version-specific is Kopernicus, and that's because it's version locked on purpose.

If you're unsure, I would be happy to try that mod in a fresh 1.7.2 install and make sure it works for you.

[KSPMom]

Thanks Geonovast. We'll give 1.7.1 a try before asking for more help. May take us several days. Will definitely keep this thread handy.

[Snark]

18 hours ago, KSPMom said:

Spacedock says it won't work with 1.7.1.

Just to elaborate on what @Geonovast pointed out above:

The overwhelming majority of mods work just fine after KSP updates; these days, it's fairly rare for a KSP update to break any given mods.  (My own mods, for example, have generally worked just fine as-is for the last several KSP versions.)

When SpaceDock says that a mod is for a particular version, that means "This mod works on this version of KSP".  It means that the mod author has personally verified that that specific version of the mod happens to work on that specific version of KSP.  That's all.

It does not say anything about whether the mod works with other versions of KSP-- that's an unknown.  For example, if a mod says "1.7.0" on it, then that doesn't necessarily mean that it doesn't work on 1.7.1.  It just means that the author hasn't marked it as such.  Which is pretty common, because mod authors have busy lives and often don't get around to updating compatibility information.

Also, minor KSP version releases almost never break things these days, since those are minimal bugfix-type updates, usually.  e.g. going from 1.7.0 to 1.7.1 is even less likely to break things than going from 1.6 to 1.7, for example.

 

[KSPMom]

Great Snark. Very helpful. I think we will try it out this afternoon.

[KSPMom]

5thHorseman, my version of STEAM is asking me for a BETA access code. How to I acquire that? Thank you!

[_Zee]

Welcome to the Forum @KSPMom! As others have already pointed out, many mods continue to work through minor version updates. As for my mod PBC specifically, none of my subscriber base has reported any game-breaking bugs as a result of my failure to get the mod updated. Life gets in the way, as I'm sure you know. But I intend to get it updated as soon as I have time. I still monitor things on the forums though. If you choose to install the most recent version of the game, things should work just fine (but perhaps not perfectly). 

Edited July 12, 2019 by _Zee

[Harry Rhodan]

7 hours ago, KSPMom said:

5thHorseman, my version of STEAM is asking me for a BETA access code. How to I acquire that? Thank you!

By ignoring that field and just clicking on the drop down menu above it.