How to kolonize planets and moons 101

[lBoBl]

Hello guys !

So I'm very excited by the idea of building giant colonies in KSP 2 and using them to launch spacecrafts further into the solar system, and I'd like to basically do the same thing right now in KSP 1.

Truth be told, I've been messing around with colonization mods for years now. Some I've loved, some a bit less. But, I've not played KSP in a while now, and I was hoping that perhaps the KSP 2 announcement motivated some of you marvelous mod authors out there to bring some fresh ideas to the colonization scene.

So yes, I already know about the wonderful mods that are MKS, Kerbal Planetary Base Systems, Pathfinder and I'm possibly forgetting a few more that I've tried. I'm not saying that I'm not ready to use them once again, but I'd like to know if there are some alternatives, because here are some of the problems that I sometimes found annoying with these mods in the past.

First, and that is more or less true for all three mods that I mentioned above, part count induced lag is always kind of a problem. I like building big bases and you all know how that goes... Yellow clocking all the time, and once you bring your big freighters close by to get some new materials or just to bring some kerbals home, your framerate drops into the abyss, and although I've got used to it and it doesn't bother me that much anymore, it would be great to have more versatile parts that would allow me to build bases with less parts.

Then, and this is heavily tied to the first issue, there is complexity. MKS especially requires a LOT of different components to make a fully self sustaining base, even more so if you want to use said base to build some new crafts in-situ, which is something I love doing. MKS is a quite complex system, and don't get me wrong, I'm not saying this is a bad thing. You need to actually learn how it works, and I've loved that in previous saves, I have had a lot of fun with it. It's just that I probably won't have 2000 hours to sink into this particular career that I'm starting now, and maybe I don't need to have 40 different types of habitats or greenhouses that all have a slightly different effect on my colony. I'm looking for a bit of simplicity for once.

To recap, here's basically what I'm looking for : a colonization system that is not too complex, that allows you to build rockets and all sorts of things on other planets or moon, and use that capability to progressively reach further and further into the solar system. Are there some new mods that I'm not aware of that could allow that ? 

Edited February 6, 2020 by lBoBl

[Hohmannson]

Hello lBoBl,

KPBS alone provides complatibility and some parts for extraplanetary launchpads, you can build in citu from MetalOre and Ore(for smeltery). If you find the EPL smeltery system too complicated, or you are annoyed by bases w/smeltery overheating on timewarp, take a look at Simple Construction patch for EPL(EPL for stock parts), or make your own, adding "ELWorkshop" and "ModuleResourceConverter" modules to any part you consider to be a construction workshop. I can help you with that.

You surely can use lightweight "station parts explansion"(not redux) instead of KPBS for base building, too.

And about other colonization features - deprecated MoarKerbals mod provides kerbal kloning(for configurable resources cost) and breeding(in more natural way) in citu, and WBI Pathfinder dll(recent) contains a PartModule "WBIClassConverter" that can retrain kerbals in citu, changing their skills(pilot=>engineer, etc.).  MoarKerbals can be recompiled for recent KSP version, but I know little about that licensing and permission thingy, so i avoid posting its recompile, i don`t want to make people here upset. That mod needs a proper revival.

And for simple life support i recommend "Snacks!".
[sorry, if my English is weird, not a native speaker]

[theJesuit]

7 hours ago, Hohmannson said:

And about other colonization features - deprecated MoarKerbals mod provides kerbal kloning(for configurable resources cost) and breeding(in more natural way) in citu, and WBI Pathfinder dll(recent) contains a PartModule "WBIClassConverter" that can retrain kerbals in citu, changing their skills(pilot=>engineer, etc.).  MoarKerbals can be recompiled for recent KSP version, but I know little about that licensing and permission thingy, so i avoid posting its recompile, i don`t want to make people here upset. That mod needs a proper revival.

Do you have a link for Moar Kerbals please? 

[Hohmannson]

Yeah, https://archive.org/details/KKPsMoarKerbals-1.1 source file included.

Edited February 9, 2020 by Hohmannson

[zer0Kerbal]

hmm ... that looks interesting. Goes along with SimpleLife - might see if I can get it recompiled; and maybe *maybe* adopt.

[Hohmannson]

Just now, zer0Kerbal said:

hmm ... that looks interesting. Goes along with SimpleLife - might see if I can get it recompiled; and maybe *maybe* adopt.

It can be recompiled, sure. VisualStudio told me to change some variables from float to double, i wiped the broken sounds, deprecated oks uks parts, mmpatched kloning module it to the MPL and it works. But there are some bugs, sometimes it tells that there is not enough resources to klone - especially when the EC is listed as a kloning resource in cfg. That thing needs some coder`s hand. A humble suggestion - a .cfg switch to require/not require presence of other kerbals on vessel for kloning(it is hardcoded for now, can`t figure how to make it toggleable without deleting that check from code permanently). For some weird sci-fi playthroughs that would be great.

[zer0Kerbal]

 

[zer0Kerbal]

14 hours ago, Hohmannson said:

It can be recompiled, sure. VisualStudio told me to change some variables from float to double, i wiped the broken sounds, deprecated oks uks parts, mmpatched kloning module it to the MPL and it works. But there are some bugs, sometimes it tells that there is not enough resources to klone - especially when the EC is listed as a kloning resource in cfg. That thing needs some coder`s hand. A humble suggestion - a .cfg switch to require/not require presence of other kerbals on vessel for kloning(it is hardcoded for now, can`t figure how to make it toggleable without deleting that check from code permanently). For some weird sci-fi playthroughs that would be great.

Done. I have it working (at least initial tests on the launchpad). 'Kloned' 5 kerbals, 'zapped' 2.

Suggestions noted, and I like. Give me some time. I will not be publicly releasing immediately in order to be respectful of original author; see original thread for explanation.

Edited February 9, 2020 by zer0Kerbal