KSP2 part supply limits

[Alpha_star]

I have watched quite a few videos made in the early days of KSP1 and noticed that there was a variable in the part info tab named "amount in stock". As it was removed later in the updates introducing science and career, I started to ponder whether this was an abandoned idea for ksp1 career mode.

Now since I don't live in a parallel world, there's no way for me to know how it would be implemented. But in my head, the general concept looks like this:

Step one: The KSC pay the supplier a research fee

Step two: The supplier completes the research, then build up production lines

Step three: Each production line produces a given amount of parts of the same time

Step four: The KSC buys the parts, but they can't buy more than has been  produced by the production lines

Personally, I am a fan of this Idea, since this IS how production works here on Earth. Besides that, I also believe that it would be great if the KSC has to pay a  fee to let the supplier build up more production lines, or the rate of production could be in the difficulty settings.

Edited August 28, 2023 by Alpha_star
Added a poll so people can see the community's opinion.

[The Aziz]

At Kerbin? Nah, as long as you have the technology to build them. Elsewhere? Well, limited by amount of resources you have on site.

[Alpha_star]

Let me explain. The idea in my mind is, by some measures, close to what we have in mods for KSP1 such as Kerbal Construction Time. Basically, a supplier can only produce a limited amount of parts in a given period of time, thus forcing the KSC to wait or help the supplier build more production lines in order to get more parts in the same amount of time if the KSC has used up all the parts in stock.

Of course, the main idea is to give the space program some history instead of finishing every contract on day1. This is, by some means, an implementation of KCT or some other mods of the same type into the base game. I'd support it, because this whole "amount in stock" idea adds in even more realism into our gameplay.

[The Aziz]

9 minutes ago, Alpha_star said:

forcing the KSC to wait

That's not gameplay, that's just waiting.

And I'd rather deliver the resources I have to a construction yard in outer space, so I don't have to spend 80% of them on building a lifter just to get off Kerbin.

[Alpha_star]

1 hour ago, The Aziz said:

That's not gameplay, that's just waiting.

And I'd rather deliver the resources I have to a construction yard in outer space, so I don't have to spend 80% of them on building a lifter just to get off Kerbin.

OK, your point makes sense, but my whole point is to give the space program history. if you have multiple big contracts to work at once, the supply system would make you stop working on everything and focus on several or one contract to finish. If contracts in KSP2 have their expire dates, then this system makes you think twice before accepting every single one of them provided that you have a top tier mission control. Still, your argument is pretty good, and I don't want to start another fight over KSP2.

 

Edited August 29, 2023 by Alpha_star
Added quote. Sorry for being personal.

[The Aziz]

We know nothing about the contract system (other than there'll be "missions" instead) so I didn't reply to that part.

Though, honestly, building a multi-purpose ship that can check multiple missions in one launch sounds like fun. Because 

15 minutes ago, Alpha_star said:

the supply system would make you stop working on everything and focus on several or one contract to finish.

that's what I'd like to avoid. By the time we reach mid game there will be multiple things going on at the same time.

Don't you worry, your idea ain't bad but I don't think it's going to matter much once you leave Kerbin for a longer period of time.

[PDCWolf]

You might find this thread interesting, as it pertains to the same stuff you're postulating here.

[AtomicTech]

9 hours ago, The Aziz said:

At Kerbin? Nah, as long as you have the technology to build them. Elsewhere? Well, limited by amount of resources you have on site.

It would definitely be fun!

Especially if you can dismantle docked or nearby vessles for assembling new vehicles!

[Periple]

I don’t think the feature makes sense in isolation, but it certainly might as a part of some bigger set of mechanics! I do think the game would benefit from constraints that nudged you to be more efficient about things.

[Alpha_star]

(Wow, this thread has drawn a lot more attention than my expectation!)

Let me explain my thoughts further. Here on Earth, most big space agencies (NASA, CNSA, ESA, ROSCOSMOS etc.) have one or two main flagship mission(s) of upmost importance. They often get more funding and resources than other non-flagship missions, like NASA's Artemis program. In terms of realism, it is (for me) better than doing a lot of grand-scale missions at once.

The way limited part supply affects the space program may look a lot like this. Now, large-scale missions often require large ship(s) and thus needs literally TONS of parts. If only a limited amount of parts can be produced in a given amount of time, it would be much more efficient to let a large-scale project to use a lot of them to produce more science rather than distributing them to multiple smaller missions that can only produce a tiny amount of science each.

In case this isn't clear enough, let me give you an example. Say I can choose between a Jool-5 or several Mun missions. The Jool-5 would let me harvest more than 4000 science points, while each Mun mission can only give me 300 or so (both in KSP1 standards and without biome hops). Normally, a Jool-5 costs around 2 million-ish funds for me and 300k-ish funds for each Mun mission (KSP1 standards, might be different from KSP2). The Jool-5 is better even if we just consider about getting more science with less money/resources, let alone the experience gains.

This post isn't about persuading someone. It's just my own opinion.

Edited August 30, 2023 by Alpha_star
Hopefully fixing my grammar.

[cocoscacao]

56 minutes ago, Alpha_star said:

If only a limited amount of parts can be produced in a given amount of time

I'm gonna quote another forum member on this (source)

Quote

"Time" as a resource in KSP is useless, no matter what concept of "time" you want, and this carries in KSP2. It has zero relevance since it is infinite and we can just fast forward at will.

Quote

Generally speaking, almost everything that only needs "time" to complete is probably a bogus loop, because you can just fast forward and skip the loop entirely.

 

59 minutes ago, Alpha_star said:

it would be much more efficient to let a large-scale project to use a lot of them to produce more science rather than distributing them to multiple smaller missions that can only produce a tiny amount of science each.

As others have pointed out, you can simply fast forward everything, thus making a useless extra step to get on with things.

[jastrone]

40 minutes ago, cocoscacao said:

1 hour ago, Alpha_star said:

 

As others have pointed out, you can simply fast forward everything, thus making a useless extra step to get on with things.

it doesnt have to be that type of time. it could be that you only have a certain amount per rocket. maybe  it increases per milestone somewhat similarly to ksp 1

[Datau03]

I'm not sure how this could best be implemented, but I would love for there to be a very good reason to build reusable crafts. Also, colonies should always be limited by their resources but I think that is obvious

[mattihase]

reusable crafts are good and all but I'd love it if the game had some tools in place to literally reuse past vessels so they can have somewhat of a history to them, instead of just recovering them for parts at the end of each mission and rebuilding them on the pad for the next one.

With colonies it'd be great to be able to land a craft on a runway, load up a satellite into it and launch it again in a way that allows for stuff like struts and fairings to be reconnected and new launch clamps to be built.

[Datau03]

On 9/15/2023 at 1:18 PM, mattihase said:

reusable crafts are good and all but I'd love it if the game had some tools in place to literally reuse past vessels so they can have somewhat of a history to them, instead of just recovering them for parts at the end of each mission and rebuilding them on the pad for the next one.

With colonies it'd be great to be able to land a craft on a runway, load up a satellite into it and launch it again in a way that allows for stuff like struts and fairings to be reconnected and new launch clamps to be built.

This^