how to move kerbal space program installation to an external SSD drive (steam)

[tonimark]

how to move my KSP installation (including mods) to an outside SSD drive , i am using the steam and steam library is too large for the ssd so i want to move only KSP

Edited April 29, 2020 by tonimark

[jimmymcgoochie]

Step 1- right-click KSP in Steam, then Manage > browse local files. This will open the KSP directory.

Step 2- Go up one level and copy the Kerbal Space Program directory.

Step 3- Paste the KSP directory into your external drive.

Step 4- Congratulations, you now have a copy of KSP that is completely outside of Steam's control, so won't break mod compatibility with each update! You can now safely delete all the mods out of the Steam version, download previous versions of the game (right-click KSP in Steam > properties > Betas tab > pick the version) and keep multiple copies of the game at different game versions with different sets of mods installed. Steam's habit of updating the game when an update is available will regularly break modded installs so it's always a good idea to copy it somewhere Steam can't meddle.

You can have as many copies of the game as you like- I currently have 9 on my external SSD: unmodded copies of 1.7.3, 1.8.1 and 1.9.1; lightly modded versions of those that I use for mod testing and/or bug checking; a 1.7.3 game containing my first career; 1.8.1 with a 'stock plus' career that was meant to be just stock plus cosmetic stuff but ended up with a substantial number of parts mods too ; and my current focus, a 1.8.1 JNSQ career. Whenever Kopernicus gets updated to work in KSP 1.9 I might try and upgrade that JNSQ version to 1.9.1 by cloning the 1.9.1 stock version then adding all the mods from the 1.8.1 JNSQ version, both using CKAN, then copying the save game over; I already did that to bump it up from 1.7.3.

If you're going to have multiple copies of the game with different sets of mods or on different game versions, I highly recommend using CKAN as it does most of the hard work to make sure you get the right mod versions for your version of KSP; it can also clone an existing instance, which is why I keep copies of the base game, and can copy the mods from one instance to another even if they're on different game versions, although it will often complain loudly about incompatible mods and you'll have to force it to install them despite its protests; it's also worth remembering that not all mods are on CKAN for a variety of reasons and there are some hidden gems in the mods section of the forums or on spacedock/curseforge for you to discover as well.

[tonimark]

6 minutes ago, jimmymcgoochie said:

Step 1- right-click KSP in Steam, then Manage > browse local files. This will open the KSP directory.

Step 2- Go up one level and copy the Kerbal Space Program directory.

Step 3- Paste the KSP directory into your external drive.

Step 4- Congratulations, you now have a copy of KSP that is completely outside of Steam's control, so won't break mod compatibility with each update! You can now safely delete all the mods out of the Steam version, download previous versions of the game (right-click KSP in Steam > properties > Betas tab > pick the version) and keep multiple copies of the game at different game versions with different sets of mods installed. Steam's habit of updating the game when an update is available will regularly break modded installs so it's always a good idea to copy it somewhere Steam can't meddle.

You can have as many copies of the game as you like- I currently have 9 on my external SSD: unmodded copies of 1.7.3, 1.8.1 and 1.9.1; lightly modded versions of those that I use for mod testing and/or bug checking; a 1.7.3 game containing my first career; 1.8.1 with a 'stock plus' career that was meant to be just stock plus cosmetic stuff but ended up with a substantial number of parts mods too ; and my current focus, a 1.8.1 JNSQ career. Whenever Kopernicus gets updated to work in KSP 1.9 I might try and upgrade that JNSQ version to 1.9.1 by cloning the 1.9.1 stock version then adding all the mods from the 1.8.1 JNSQ version, both using CKAN, then copying the save game over; I already did that to bump it up from 1.7.3.

If you're going to have multiple copies of the game with different sets of mods or on different game versions, I highly recommend using CKAN as it does most of the hard work to make sure you get the right mod versions for your version of KSP; it can also clone an existing instance, which is why I keep copies of the base game, and can copy the mods from one instance to another even if they're on different game versions, although it will often complain loudly about incompatible mods and you'll have to force it to install them despite its protests; it's also worth remembering that not all mods are on CKAN for a variety of reasons and there are some hidden gems in the mods section of the forums or on spacedock/curseforge for you to discover as well.

are you sure that the KSP.exe doesn't have a copy protection that checks for steam before booting ?? many steam games have this , also how do i apply fufure updates (ex ksp 1.9.3)

[jimmymcgoochie]

15 hours ago, tonimark said:

are you sure that the KSP.exe doesn't have a copy protection that checks for steam before booting ?? many steam games have this

Yes. It is entirely possible to do it, it’s a common suggestion on the forums, I’ve done it myself several times and the only thing that doesn’t work is upload/download crafts to steam when using the game outside of Steam’s control.

 

15 hours ago, tonimark said:

also how do i apply fufure updates (ex ksp 1.9.3)

You’ll need to download the update in Steam then copy the game files to the SSD and then copy your save game files over to the new version (they’re in the saves folder). If you aren’t using mods, that’s all you need to do; since you’re posting in the “unmodded  installs” section I’ll assume you don’t use mods, but if you do or start in future there’s a bit more to it than that- feel free to ask that question then and someone will help you.

[Harry Rhodan]

If you still want Steam to update and launch the game you can also just follow these general instructions:

https://www.howtogeek.com/269515/how-to-move-a-steam-game-to-another-drive-without-re-downloading-it/

[archiebald]

Best case is to recommend any new user to avoid Steam entirely - it seems to cause so many headaches.  It is not required at all for KSP.

[Anth]

I have 10+ versions of KSP, I bought KSP+DLCs from steam, and bought a separate copy of KSP from GOG. they are all copyable to whereever I need

I have most official versions for testing bugs if I want to look up where the bug started

[tonimark]

19 hours ago, Harry Rhodan said:

If you still want Steam to update and launch the game you can also just follow these general instructions:

https://www.howtogeek.com/269515/how-to-move-a-steam-game-to-another-drive-without-re-downloading-it/

thanks