[UNOFFICIAL/FANMADE] 0.18 Discussion thread

[kacperrutka26]

Hello everyone!

This is like another one of these I made because people seriously are off-topic. So let's do the same with 0.18! No not really let's stay on topic.

So discuss 0.18 here and you could predict what they can do like we did with 0.17 discussion thread 1 and hopefully Nova will post some screenshots for us again!

So everything the same as last time and no off-topics please guys you have been warned and still...

I want 0.18 to be a civilization update or a realistic update. Where they add weather and cities to kerbin and maybe, maybe aliens? Something like that. So the prediction/discussion thread has begun here!

[kevinlacht]

There's allready a topic for 0.18 made by cpt stunky .

Jeah I'm first of a 0.18 tread .

Edited September 30, 2012 by kevinlacht

[kacperrutka26]

There's allready a topic for 0.18 made by cpt stunky .

It's locked

[kevinlacht]

O yeah, I see.

Well on topic: I'm really excited for 0.18 already. I hope they will make some stuff so the game will be better, so no new features, just better planet textures, more landscape in planets, new parts special for interplanetry flight.

[Richy teh space man]

I think I read that 0.18 will not introduce:

Docking (mods covering this)

More planets (plenty to explore atm anyways)

I'm guessing some tweaking of the patched conics and fine tuning of planets etc will be in this one

[Felsmak]

With so many, new places to go to, I'm hoping for a light, deployable Apollo-style rover to make manned surface exploration feasible.

[Tauge]

Considering we aren't getting docking or more planets, then it might be time for a nice quality of life update. More tutorials, more tools (mission planner? please?), more polish where polish is needed, more balancing if the dev team determines any is needed, prep work for docking (I know there's a lot of this, and it may take a few more updated to do even this).

Basically, an update that doesn't give us a thousand things, an update that improves the feel of the game, while prepping for future toys.

[Exclipse]

Careermode.

[kacperrutka26]

Careermode.

To be honest that won't come in 0.18 I don't think

[Lesarthois]

With so many, new places to go to, I'm hoping for a light, deployable Apollo-style rover to make manned surface exploration feasible.

I totally agree. Being able to launch unmanned capsules to land probes and rovers would be awesome.

Maybe satellites, too, but I think I'll stick with probes and rovers.

Why both? Probes could be very light, allowing small rockets to send them on planets. This advantage is greatly reduced by the fact that once they landed, they're immobile.

Rovers would need a large rocket, making them harder to send on other planets/muns. Maybe they could even need to have the rocket to land in order to make it an hard goal to reach, unlike probes, which would only need to rocket to "spit" them out and a parachute, maybe RCS-like thrusters, would be enouh to land them on any place.

[Dusty926]

I know one of the things I want, MOAR CHEATS! Because, be honest, sometimes you just wanna turn off your brain, go hrrnngh, teleport into orbit, and scare Jeb ****less from your 1337 teleportation skittles.

[Exclipse]

Well the devs said they want to steer in the direction of making the game feature complete, and not adding new content.

So this means polishing what has been started. And well... they did add the career mode button, so I am hopefull.

[Shadownailshot]

I am hoping for some polish on existing features (like planets, i currently get a glitch where Kerbin has a Duna texture which twitches to Jool's texture when I have large launch vehicles). Also, maybe just a couple more parts, like automated rovers/probes. The rovers would allow you to pick out a landing site and aim for it, the probe would allow you to go somewhere you haven't yet been with a very light launch vehicle and see if there's anything worth visiting there.

[AmpsterMan]

I would like to see a continuation of the accessibility theme; more scenarios, and training modules. A VAB that gives you information on your ships and it's different stages . An ASAS that does more than just hold your heading (ie give you some of the info MechJeb already gives you.) Etc

[VincentLaw]

making the game feature complete, and not adding new content.

That statement is 100% contradictory. "Feature Complete" very obviously includes a working career mode (and associated features), which would be new content. I am personally hoping that base building, refueling, and more types of generic mechanical parts (eg. docking ports, rotating devices, etc.) are also considered prerequisites to feature complete. 0.18 will probably include things in the most logical order to improve or compliment already existing features. Its just up to the devs to decide what that order is, and what those things are.

[EleSigma]

Two features I hope are in 0.18 (and probably won't be ) are the basics for re-entry heat and animation for that, and a working lava texture for Moho. As for existing features maybe some more work on the IVA, planets, and try to eliminate the ghost of the Kraken.

[generalred256]

I know one of the things I want, MOAR CHEATS! Because, be honest, sometimes you just wanna turn off your brain, go hrrnngh, teleport into orbit, and scare Jeb ****less from your 1337 teleportation skittles.

Ever heard of persistent save file editing?

[Luxmaster-CZ]

I hope for redesigned part list, fixed drawig line of predicted flight (as they sometimes dont show you intersecting with planet, when you do(actually very probable)), fixed those strange krakens when launching rocket (at higher speed it starts rolling even whole rocket was build by symmetry).

I will be happy if those will be fixed, as with last update we got soo much things to do we have enough till 0.19 at least .

Anything else is as bonus:)

[Dusty926]

Ever heard of persistent save file editing?

Yes, too much brain required. Pickles.

[Apocalyptica602]

I think they should add new features to enrich the current content instead of rushing to add more planets.

Re-entry heat

G-force effects (Kerbals pass out and you temporarily lose control / die beyond a certain positive and negative G-force)

Expand IVA / EVA activities, get up and walk around interior spaces possibly.

[Gamergull]

As my attempt at predicting the future, I think that they will fix glaring bugs of course (Space Cthulhu, Gilly surface, Jool surface, and rendering issues), add more features to the planets and moons, add new parts, and add new interesting scenarios (I'd like something that would give a taste of Career mode!). Aside from that, I'm really loving how the game is progressing. Awesome stuff, Squad!

[Exclipse]

That statement is 100% contradictory. "Feature Complete" very obviously includes a working career mode (and associated features), which would be new content. I am personally hoping that base building, refueling, and more types of generic mechanical parts (eg. docking ports, rotating devices, etc.) are also considered prerequisites to feature complete. 0.18 will probably include things in the most logical order to improve or compliment already existing features. Its just up to the devs to decide what that order is, and what those things are.

New content as defined as things not on their already published "to do list"

Sorry about the confusion.

[szpw]

I think the primary things I want for this update would be as follows (These are taken from the planned features list)

Mission Control Room : Create flight plans and take on missions and challenges

Docking

Asteroid Belt

Re-Entry Heat and Effects

And another thing I hope they add would be multiple launch sites\space centres to launch from. It would be neat if you could land a part at a certain place, and then that area becomes a launch facility. It would give bases on other bodies a practical use. It would also be neat to manage your space missions from a body and place other than Kerbin and the KSC.

Edited September 26, 2012 by szpw

[Guest themakut]

There will be no docking in 0.18.

Squad doesn't want to put in the work hours for that. Docking won't be implemented until late 2013, or early 2014, at the least.

Although there will be the beginnings of a campaign mode, which will be fun.

So everyone should stop getting their hopes up for docking, because it's not coming any time soon.

[Elmach]

There will be no docking in 0.18.

Squad doesn't want to put in the work hours for that.

All right, statements like this have brought me out of my lurking.

As everyone knows by now, docking, in itself, is easy to implement (Erkle did it in half an hour, or so I've heard).

So why doesn't Squad include docking?

Well, why do you want docking?

You probably want docking for doing Gemini-style missions, or streamlining getting to other places, or rescuing lander vehicles, or landing your ascent stage back on Kerbin.

Here's the thing. Docking without a working IVA means that every time you want to get a Kerman to a docked ship, you have to EVA, then move to the other ship, then enter. If you have a working IVA, then you just walk the Kerman to the docked ship. So Squad needs to finish the IVAs first.

Additionally, you would probably want to launch two spacecraft together, so you don't have to do silly things like launch one spacecraft, move it 500 meters off, launch your launch vehicle, then move your spacecraft onto your launch vehicle and dock with it on the launch pad.

This requires an upgraded staging system and an upgraded VAB, because the VAB determines staging by creating a tree from the command module, and if you have two command modules, you get a mess by this method. So Squad needs to finish the VAB first.

Also, fuel transfer. However, this could probably be done with docking, so I won't talk about how hard or easy it is.