An open letter from the KSP2 mod development community to KSP1 modders, KSP2 players, and the developers

[schlosrat]

First, we would like to extend heartfelt thanks to the KSP2 developers.

While it's true that official modding support (in the form of an in-game mod loader) is not here yet, from what we've seen there is a lot of latent support for it, and the groundwork you've laid is contributing to our ability to mod the game today. We fully understand that your priorities lie elsewhere at the moment and that although you've certainly supported us in spirit, you've necessarily and wisely focused your energy on making EA a better game day by day, and patch by patch. We would not ask you to divert your focus away from this as it's clearly well-placed and the time will come soon enough when you'll be able to return to the groundwork you've laid for modding support and complete that part of your mission. Thank you! Thank you for your focus on making the game better, and for not diverting from that focus no matter how much your hearts may be with us as we work on modding KSP2 to do our part.

To the KSP1 modding community we would also like to extend heartfelt thanks!

You've inspired us in so many ways, and have done so much to pave the way proving what is possible. We're challenged every day to achieve things like the great contributions you've made to KSP1 before us. That said, we also respect your choice to wait for official support. We do know that we're proceeding at risk in that when that support does arrive we'll have a bit of work transitioning over to that, but we respectfully disagree with this position. We believe there are important contributions and investments to be made now, and that for all the headache that the transition to a future official mod loader may be, there's more to gain by jumping in now than there could ever be by waiting. The choice to jump in is a personal one, of course, and we respect each of your personal decisions just as we respect the enormous contributions you've made to KSP1. If you'll bear with me, I hope to try to sway you on your position - or at least to offer a perspective from someone who is new to modding but not to KSP or this community.

I should note here that I refer to these communities as being distinct only because the previous open letter self-identified as being from "the KSP1 mod developer community" and it seems there are very few (possibly no) active KSP2 modders who are or were KSP1 modders. We wish this weren't the case and there was more of a common KSP Modding Community, but it seems as if this is how things are today. Perhaps we can work together to change this and enjoy an even larger common modding community.

To the KSP2 players, if you've been hesitant to try out KSP2's mods for any reason we want to encourage you to take another look!

KSP2 modding rapidly converged on a single open-source mod loader, and today there are already lots of great mods available for KSP2. We have some really cool parts mods with more on the way. Would you like to play with grid fins? Want some more engines, or maybe nosecones with RCS? Sheck out SORRY, the very first KSP2 parts mod, and an all-around great mod! Want some more rover parts? Try Shadow Inc. Exploration Division! Need more solar panel options? Check out Kesa! Game bugs got you down? Check out Community Fixes! We've had fixes for some annoying in-game bugs in some cases long before the game's devs were able to turn their attention to them. What if you'd like to be able to script your adventures like you could with kOS, give KS2 a try! Maybe you wish you could see all the detailed info you could get with KER, then in that case you need Micro Engineer! Maybe you'd just like to give the 'ol game UI a spiffy new look, then check out I Wish They Made The UI Customizable and HUD! Are game notifications intruding into your screenshots and videos? You need Toggle Notifications! Maybe you'd just like to get where you're going really, really, really quickly? Have you seen Lazy Orbit Boosted? There is literally no quicker way to get to Eeloo or any other destination... and that's just one of the things it can do! Of course, if you're ready to dabble in the dark arts, then perhaps Cheat Menu is the mod for you. Having trouble fine-tuning your maneuver nodes? You need Maneuver Node Controller! Maybe you're just really missing Mech Jeb? Well, if you are, then have I got some good news for you! For all your autopilot needs, let the droid take control and load up K2-D2! On the other hand, if you want more of the semi-automated approach then Flight Plan is the tool for you! But why not use BOTH! They can actually call each other for a truly coordinated approach!

This is by no means a complete list of the mods available, just a few highlights off the top of my head, and one thing is certain -  if I made a list today, it would probably be obsolete tomorrow as we've got new mods coming in all the time!

The point I'm hoping to make here, and this is for both players and OG KSP1 modders, there are lots of good mods out there, and they materially contribute to the fun to be had playing this game! Some fix bugs, some improve the UI/QoL, some add new parts, and some new features and capabilities. Sadly, the E in EA stands for Early, not Easy. That's OK, mods are here today to help make things easier and more fun for you!

If you say "I don't want to use mods because they're not officially supported yet", then I can happily point you to comments IG has made indicating they do support modding even if they don't have an official mod loader yet.

If you say "I don't want to use mods because they make the game too easy - I play at the Val level and not below", well then, my hat's off to you! But, OTOH, even playing a Val-level game wouldn't you kinda like a few bugs fixed or maybe some new parts to play with? I mean there's hard. and then there's just hurting yourself.

If you say "I don't play with mods 'cause installing them is too complicated", then I'll ask you - have you heard of CKAN? 'Cause CKAN's heard of KSP2 mods!

If you say "I don't use mods yet because my poor potato can barely play the game and I don't want to give it even more to do which would make the game slower", then you might want to take a fresh look at that. With patch 0.1.3 the devs have delivered a significant performance boost for lower and mid-range systems. Also, the KSP2 modding society has been working on transitioning mods to use UITK for their GUI which is more performant than IMGUI.

And finally, in closing...

Dear KSP1 modders,

I promised I'd try to sway you, so here's my pitch. There's a lot of value in making mods now, and the field is still wide open for contributions. Players need fixes! Players need new parts! Making mods now helps sustain the energy and keep people playing. Making mods now adds fun to the game and moreover gives you the opportunity to help shape the future of mods and modding in KSP2. Don't you want to be a part of that?

We know things seem uncertain, and your time is very valuable, but I can tell you from personal first-hand experience that the KSP2 modding community is alive and well, and they will welcome you with open arms! There's a ton of good work that goes on in the background, much of it geared toward making libraries and templates that accelerate modding. The KSP2 modding community is a vibrant and positive thing full of people who will happily help you get your feet on the ground while your eyes are focused on the stars above.

Come on in! The water's fine!

If you feel similarly and would like to add your signature to this please post in the comments below and I'll do my best to keep this up to date.

@schlosrat: Flight Plan, Maneuver Node Controller, Lazy Orbit Boosted, Node Manager, Resonant Orbit Calculator

@LuxStice:  SORRY, Lux's OAB Extensions, Textures Utilities eXpanded, [LFO] Lux's Flames and Ornaments

@Falki: Micro Engineer,  I Wish They Made The UI Customizable, ShowKSP2Events

@ShadowDev: Konfig, Kerbal Notebook, Cheats Menu, Kerbal Web Program, Better Parts Manager, Community Fixes, Suicide Burn, Count Down, Shadow Utility Lib, Shadow Inc: Exploration Division

Edited July 9, 2023 by schlosrat
Added signatories

[Falki]

Signed by me !

I fell in love with KSP not so long ago, around 2016 I think. Started doing some very, very light modding much later on for RSS/RO (which I love to this day) and discovered I enjoyed dabbling in modding when free time allows it. KSP2  was a way to have a fresh start and restart from basics to build my skill up. And it's been a fun ride so far! I'd like to add that, coming from KSP1 modding, biggest difference are the load times. When it takes mere seconds to load the game (on average 7-10 seconds for me), then it becomes much more enjoyable to itterate through your design and removes the frustration you have when you forget to do some simple thing and now you have to wait additional 10-15 minutes for the game to load again. That's especially important when doing UI as that's something for which you have to load the game in order to see how it looks. Also, having a WYSIWYG principle when working with UITK in Unity Editor's UI Builder is another enjoyment. And it's only going to get better as more tools for modding are being introduced, from IG and from KSP modders.

It saddens me to see stuff being written as "we, the KSP1 modders" and "we, the KSP2 modders" indicating that those are 2 separate "tribes". I consider KSP a singular entity/universe that will hopefully merge those two communities going forwards. KSP is, after all, known for really good collaboration between modders. As Tim Dodd likes to say: "we're all Team Space!" 

Edited July 7, 2023 by Falki

[schlosrat]

6 hours ago, Falki said:

It saddens me to see stuff being written as "we, the KSP1 modders" and "we, the KSP2 modders" indicating that those are 2 separate "tribes". I consider KSP a singular entity/universe that will hopefully merge those two communities going forwards. KSP is, after all, known for really good collaboration between modders. As Tim Dodd likes to say: "we're all Team Space!" 

That part saddens me, too. I'd much rather there be one common modding community and I still hold hope for exactly that!

In the long run, I believe it's inevitable that we will have a more common modding culture. KSP2 will continue to improve enabling more players and modders to fully enjoy it, and our modding infrastructure will continue to improve lowering the barrier to entry for those who want to try it out or make the jump from KSP1. Even now there are active discussions on the KSP2 Modding Society discord focused specifically on how we can apply lessons learned from KSP1 and how we can minimize the impact of the eventual official mod loader. I want people to know that we're not a bunch of hacking hooligans, but in fact, are quite dedicated to making the game better now and doing things in smart ways to lay the groundwork for more modding. In the nearer term, I would really like to put to rest the goofy notion that modding KSP2 is not a good idea or that KSP2's mods should not be used for some reason.

I think the landscape for modding has changed significantly in positive ways since the KSP1 modders wrote and signed their open letter. For one thing, the KSP1 modders, and @linuxgurugamer in particular, had a powerful and positive influence in helping to get the mod loader issue sorted so that we didn't have competing efforts. That is a significant thing and its impact should not be underestimated. There are numerous ways in which lessons learned from KSP1 modding have been brought to bear on how we do things in KSP2, although there are still very few KSP1 modders who've taken the plunge to develop anything in KSP2. @Halban is one notable exception, and he made one of the most used mods for KSP2 very early on.

[linuxgurugamer]

On 7/7/2023 at 11:24 AM, Falki said:

saddens me to see stuff being written as "we, the KSP1 modders" and "we, the KSP2 modders" indicating that those are 2 separate "tribes". I consider KSP a singular entity/universe that will hopefully merge those two communities going forwards. KSP is, after all, known for really good collaboration between modders. As Tim Dodd likes to say: "we're all Team Space

Keep in mind that the API and the parts are vastly different between the two games. It is impossible to write one mod for both games, and will remain so , it’s the nature of the beast.  This means that there is a learning curve for each game from the modding level, and many KSP 1 modders, including myself, don’t have endless hours to learn a totally new environment.

‘This doesn’t mean that they (and myself) won’t get involved in KSP2 modding;  I (and probably others) are waiting for the game to get more stable, AND to get official modding support . 
I do play  KSP 2, and write the KSP2 Bug Reporter to make it easier to package up all necessary information when reporting bugs.  I also write Less Wobbly, but am not planning  on any more mods for KSP 2 until the official support is there

[schlosrat]

39 minutes ago, linuxgurugamer said:

Keep in mind that the API and the parts are vastly different between the two games. It is impossible to write one mod for both games, and will remain so , it’s the nature of the beast.  This means that there is a learning curve for each game from the modding level, and many KSP 1 modders, including myself, don’t have endless hours to learn a totally new environment.

This is an excellent point, and I couldn't agree more.

My main mod, Flight Plan, is a fractional port of MechJeb2 to KSP2. I'm thrilled that so much of it has ported well, but there are definitely many differences. It's been a very interesting experience working on that project and has illuminated for me some of the ways that the two games are different. In fact, it's actually interesting how much they are alike despite a number of crucial differences directly relevant to a mod like this. I've specifically organized FP's code to facilitate diffing with MJ, so it's not hard at all to compare the two and see some of the differences. Most are superficial, but others are not, and without a doubt, neither would run on the other game straight out of the box.

If anything, I hope my work on FP helps pave the way for others to one day port their own mods to KSP2 if they choose to.

Edited July 9, 2023 by schlosrat
corrected typo

[Falki]

4 hours ago, linuxgurugamer said:

Keep in mind that the API and the parts are vastly different between the two games. It is impossible to write one mod for both games, and will remain so , it’s the nature of the beast.  This means that there is a learning curve for each game from the modding level, and many KSP 1 modders, including myself, don’t have endless hours to learn a totally new environment.

That is totally understandable. It's a huge time investment to learn a new environment. I'm actually not expecting many modders for KSP1 to switch to KSP2, especially the established ones, who know the ins and outs of KSP1, who have a lot to maintain. As KSP1 came out, a decade-or-so ago, we were all much younger. As time goes on, you get new obligations, family expands, kids come... so future KSP2 modders will mostly be some new kids that have a lot of time on their hands.

Main point of my post was to address the "it's hard to mod KSP2" argument, to show a perspective from someone who tried modding both games.

[schlosrat]

The more I think about it, the more the arguments that (a) KSP1 is where the players are, and (b) KSP1 is the game I'm personally playing seem to make a lot of sense (thinking here in the frame of a KSP1 modder). There's no arguing with either of those - facts are facts, whether we like 'em or not. As KPS2 develops, bugs are driven out, and features driven in, well, I think the player base will gradually migrate. I believe this is inevitable.

I see two things from this.

First, even if KSP1 modders are disinclined to jump in now and begin modding KSP2, there's a lot of collected wisdom and perspective in that camp that we (KSP2 modders) need to tap into. Hopefully, even if they're not yet interested in modding KSP2 they may nevertheless be willing to offer some of their hard-earned wisdom and perspective. We would be very wise to listen to them!

Second, we may be able to very slightly hasten this process, or at least give it a boost once the player migration begins to take hold. If we (KSP2 modders) can pave the road with some good mods that help to fill gaps players know they'd miss if they were to leave KSP1, then as the bugs are driven out and features are driven in we may just succeed in helping this migration to take place. I think we're doing exactly that, and from what I've seen I think we're succeeding. Let's not neglect Point One above, but let's press on with Point Two.

A corollary to point two would be we should also be listening to KSP1 modders to help make sure we're paving the road for them as well. Again, I think (or certainly hope) that we are. With a potentially viable Patch Manager in the works and with templates and API docs, etc., I think we'll not only make our own work easier but may also help pave the road for KSP1 modders to have an easier transition themselves once they're inclined to do so. We may not be able to motivate them to come over, but we can listen to them and learn and try to make things easier for everyone down the road.

[VITAS]

The second Album is the hardest.

[GGG-GoodGuyGreg]

3 hours ago, VITAS said:

The second Album is the hardest.

Especially when it’s attempted by a cover band.