Altering/repairing existing vessels.

[mattihase]

One thing I'm hoping for is a way to edit/add to vehicles in flight like KSP1's engineer construction mode (DLC?)

Has there been any talk of this making its way into KSP2? Would it be handled by engineers or could some kind of colony building also offer something similar to vessels landed on the colony pads/runways?

[Periple]

I think this would be fun for roleplay purposes even if it had no or negligible impact!

I’d like a hangar for my craft inventory — any recovered craft go there, and you can relaunch them, recycle them (get a partial refund for parts), or move them to the VAB for upgrades or modifications (get a partial refund on any parts you remove, pay for new parts in full).

I think this could add a little twist to colony gameplay where you’d have to think about the best thing to do, reuse an old craft, upgrade it, or recycle and build a new one.

It would make it possible to add more gameplay to the hangar feature, like having limited capacity you can upgrade, but that would need careful design work to make sure it stays fun and challenging/rewarding rather than just frustrating.

Mainly it would be just cool to have craft with a history. It would be even better if the game kept a log of it with the craft! You could even have a “mission badges” decal somewhere that would display little icons for everywhere the craft has been!

I don’t think these things would be hard to do although I’m sure they have more important things to work on right now!

[mattihase]

Yes, all this exactly.  Plus it kinda encourages building crafts that can do multiple things so reusing them is cheaper than "refunding" them and building a new one. (I know funds aren't gonna be a thing but like in terms of resources and stuff)
extra thought: Back in ksp1 I sometimes built a bunch of sph vessels using a "test part" contract part and parked them behind the runway, so after completing the contract I still had some access to the part before unlocking it, and if there's anything like the part tests in mind for missions/new career then it'd be pretty cool to have a way to keep some experimental vehicles around for later use.

[Datau03]

I really like @Periple's hangar idea a lot, at the KSC aswell as a hangar building that would have to be connected to the landing pad and VAB in a colony would be really cool. I really hope for features that promote reusable vehicles and instead of building a new craft everytime, handling your specific crafts each with their own story would be really cool!

[jastrone]

i mean you will be able to build ships in space stations so it wouldnt be out of the question to change existing ships. but it probably will be like the vab and not like ksp 1 where the ship is simulated while you edit it. 

[Pthigrivi]

5 hours ago, jastrone said:

i mean you will be able to build ships in space stations so it wouldnt be out of the question to change existing ships. but it probably will be like the vab and not like ksp 1 where the ship is simulated while you edit it. 

This is what Im thinking, and I'd much prefer it. Trying to get RCS blocks all nice and lined up in the field when you forgot to add them in the VAB is not really a pleasant experience. 

[mattihase]

Yeah. breaking ground style engineering is a nice to have for hastly in-flight repairs or modifications, but "re-fitting" something in a more controlled setting it would be nice to have VAB-like controls.

[Bej Kerman]

15 hours ago, jastrone said:

i mean you will be able to build ships in space stations so it wouldnt be out of the question to change existing ships. but it probably will be like the vab and not like ksp 1 where the ship is simulated while you edit it. 

Keeping the vessel simulated during construction was a less-than-ideal move on Squad's part, and it also probably made development a million times more difficult than it needed to be to have physics running during construction, not to mention being inconvenient for the players who aren't entertained by hours of work blowing up for reasons beyond their control. If KSP 2's devs are taking notes from Squad, the vessel will not fully load for as long as it's being edited.

[mattihase]

speaking of, I wonder how ksp1 construction works with vessls out of full physics range vs vessels within it? Perhaps I could alleviate some of my ksp1 construction problems by making vessels 200m long.

[Superfluous J]

1 hour ago, mattihase said:

speaking of, I wonder how ksp1 construction works with vessls out of full physics range vs vessels within it? Perhaps I could alleviate some of my ksp1 construction problems by making vessels 200m long.

I feel that would have the opposite effect

[cocoscacao]

On 9/19/2023 at 1:49 AM, Bej Kerman said:

If KSP 2's devs are taking notes from Squad, the vessel will not fully load for as long as it's being edited.

Wait, wait, wait... Interesting thought here. We are gonna get the Orbital Assembly Building in this life, or the next. I'm assuming OAB will be "out in the open" so you can slap gargantuan interstellar parts. So what happens if there's a satelite hurling towards your OAB and potentially crashing into the construction...?

[Bej Kerman]

17 minutes ago, cocoscacao said:

So what happens if there's a satelite hurling towards your OAB and potentially crashing into the construction...?

Presumably the same thing that happens when the VAB collapses with you still working inside it. To be specific, the building where time pauses while you're inside it.

[Lyneira]

In KSP2, time doesn't pause while you're in the VAB.

I'd also be curious if in an OAB which is open to space, we'll get to see Kerbin or another planet passing by below us as we orbit it. I hope so, at least.

[mattihase]

I would definitely love the opportunity to have a time pause VAB in singleplayer KSP2, if nothing else than because it's frustrating starting to build something and it turning out to be night-time by the time you're done building it, either that or the VAB needs a "warp to morning" button.

[VlonaldKerman]

This is actually one place where, in my opinion, KSP 1 mods haven't really figured this out. There are a few mods that allow you to store crafts and parts and add in construction time, but I always found them more tedious than interesting. In practice, "refunding" a ship was enough for me.

The main reason I wanted to add in construction time in the first place, actually, was to increase the importance of planning ahead and having rescue plans with my life support mods. That way if Jeb gets stranded on the Mun, I can't just design and build a new rocket to save him instantly. I either need a rescue ship ready, or I have to big-balls it. This sort of connects to discussions elsewhere about finding ways to make "time" a meaningful resource. The other gameplay purposes of storing  crafts are less interesting to me.