Mod Planets installation (and side effects)

[Guest]

So I am going to make a lander for two mod planets and I still haven't downloaded them yet because I encountered some problem, I don't know how to do so.

1. How do you go to previous versions and how does it affect your current saves?

2. How do you download the moon or planet and how do you remove them once done with them

3. Is there possible side effects in downloading mods?

[Zhetaan]

19 hours ago, The Doodling Astronaut said:

So I am going to make a lander for two mod planets and I still haven't downloaded them yet because I encountered some problem, I don't know how to do so.

1. How do you go to previous versions and how does it affect your current saves?

2. How do you download the moon or planet and how do you remove them once done with them

3. Is there possible side effects in downloading mods?

I'll admit to a bit of confusion about what you're asking, but I'll try my best:

1. If you mean previous versions of KSP, you have to have downloaded it.  Usually, SQUAD makes the most recent previous version available at the KSP store; if you're on Steam, you need to find the previous version and move it out of the Steam directory before Steam updates it.  However, current saves are usually not backwards-compatible.
   
   If you mean previous versions of a mod, then the mod-makers usually have older, archived versions at the same place that they offer the current version for download.  It's much easier to get older versions of mods than it is to get older versions of KSP.  However, again, older versions of mods may not work with the current version of KSP and they may be save-breaking in the event that you are currently using the updated version.
   
   If you mean going to previous saves, then you need to have an older save.  The game backs up your last few autosaves (you can find the backup directory in your save directory, wherever you have KSP installed).  Loading the older save has the effect of going back in time, and saving it will overwrite your newer progress.
    
2. You need both a planet pack and a mod that can process planet packs.  The current standard for processor mods is Kopernicus; as for planet packs, you have your choice.  Note that Kopernicus tends to lag a version behind the current release of KSP, so if you want to use it, then you'll need to get the most recent previous version of KSP to go with it.  If none of the available planet packs pique your interest, then you may try your hand at making your own.
   
   So far, the most popular planet packs include Outer Planets Mod, which is exactly what it says; Real Solar System, which again is exactly what it says it is; Galileo's Planet Pack, which completely reconfigures the solar system (and not just in the sense of moving the planets to new orbits; it replaces the stock solar system with a totally different one), and a few others, such as rescale mods (they change the size of the solar system to be closer to what it would be in reality, but without going so far as to replace it with the actual Real Solar System--although there is a Toy Scale mod that actually makes things smaller).
   
   Removal consists of removing the planet pack, but I'll caution you against doing so--if you add a planet pack, then you should probably keep it for the duration of the save.  If you put anything on or in orbit of a mod planet or moon, then removal of that body will cause problems.  Any remaining hardware or Kerbals left there will suddenly consider themselves to be in orbit of something that no longer exists, and I honestly don't know what will happen to experience logs, the science archive, or the contract system for anyone or anything back at Kerbin if they begin looking for references to planets that simply disappeared.  Adding planet packs to an existing save can cause similar havoc (celestial bodies are given numeric identifiers, and when a rocket in low orbit of the Mun suddenly finds itself orbiting inside a rescaled Mun, or in the atmosphere of a completely new planet that reuses the number, hilarity does not usually ensue), with the exception that planet packs that solely add new planets and do not change existing ones are sometimes safe (Outer Planets Mod is mostly designed this way; I don't know what happens should you install it while you have anything at Eeloo, though).
    
3. Yes.  Some mods are not compatible with other mods; this is because they try to change the same aspects of the game in ways that conflict.  A lot of mods are dependent on specific versions of the game; the mod makers do try to keep up with the new releases, but it takes time.  Planet packs and Kopernicus are especially dependent; it turns out that the solar system is a core part of the game and thus things that modify it are often specific to that individual release.  Some mods have bugs that may very well interfere with what you want to do (this is usually the result of a previously-unconsidered edge case or a previously-undiscovered incompatibility; sometimes, it can be addressed, and sometimes not).  Mods are not necessarily optimised completely, and so they may induce lag and slow down the game.  Mods that add a lot of processing or new physics can do this to the point of making the game unplayable, especially if you have a lot of memory-dependent mods installed at the same time.  Mods that change the play style can derail a game in progress (for a simple example, imagine that you were to add a life support mod to a game that has a crewed vessel out near Jool; doing so will probably sentence that crew to die).

I'm certain that there are other things to consider, and I'm equally certain that others will arrive shortly to add those parts.  For now, this is a good beginning.

Edited May 15, 2020 by Zhetaan

[Guest]

I have a few questions:

1. How do you remove previous saves from Steam Directly, and would you recommend deleting previous saves before doing so, or if you don't load them up should everything be fine?

2. How do you install a planet pack just for one save?

3. What's the risk of downloading old mods for previous versions into modern version?

Sorry for how long it was for me to respond to this. I was caught in my Little Lander Challenge and I am trying to get this planet into my game before 1.10 comes out.

[jimmymcgoochie]

6 hours ago, The Doodling Astronaut said:

I have a few questions:

1. How do you remove previous saves from Steam Directly, and would you recommend deleting previous saves before doing so, or if you don't load them up should everything be fine?

2. How do you install a planet pack just for one save?

3. What's the risk of downloading old mods for previous versions into modern version?

Sorry for how long it was for me to respond to this. I was caught in my Little Lander Challenge and I am trying to get this planet into my game before 1.10 comes out.

1) If you’re modding the game you should copy the entire KSP directory out of steam and put it somewhere else so steam can’t interfere with it. You can make as many copies as you like (I have 10 currently- 3 base versions, unmodded; 3 nearly base games that I use for mod testing and bug hunting; 3 career games in different versions with a lot of mods; and one in Steam that will get updates when they are released) and each individual copy can be whatever version of the game, and have whatever mods in it, as you like. You will probably need to use CKAN if you’re running multiple copies/versions of the game as it’s difficult to keep track of mods otherwise.

2) Mods are installed for all saves in that game instance. However, you can copy saves to a different game instance and have separate copies of KSP for each with different mods. I have an old career game running 1.7.3 with OPM, one in 1.8.1 that’s fairly stock and another in 1.8.1 using the JNSQ planet pack and nearly a hundred other mods, and since they’re split up there’s no clashes between them. 
 

3) KSP 1.8 changed the game’s version of Unity so there’s a chance that older mods won’t work, especially those that run code in the game. Kopernicus is version-locked so you can’t use it in any other version and planet packs are best not used in the wrong version either. If you want to use those, you need to stick with 1.8.1 at the latest for now.
Parts mods are more likely to work in another version- I use mods built for 1.9.x in 1.8.1 with (almost) no issues- but crossing that 1.8 barrier could cause problems so use older mods compatible with 1.7.3 or older with care in 1.8.x or 1.9.x.

[Guest]

Well that's disappointing, the planet pack I want to download is in 1.7.3. Well that means probably that I will have to wait for them to update. I am not going to "poke the bears" for them to but I will wait...