About ISRU

[Periple]

In KSP1, ISRU opened up the Kerbolar system to me. It would naturally fall under Resources which is after Colonies, but on the other hand colonies would have to let you refuel anyway.

I think it would be really cool to get ISRU more or less as it was in KSP1 already before colonies, either with science or as an update between the two. It would make campaigns much more engaging and would feel like a natural stepping stone to colonies even if none of the other resources were in and you could only refine methane, hydrogen, oxygen, and monoprop.

 What does everybody else think?

[regex]

I'd like to see something like a Kuck Mosquito: fly up to an asteroid, bag it, add a heater and pump, get the juice.

Anyway, so long as I don't have to do ISRU mining with the drills in order to advance my space program, I'm good. I know people enjoy mining but it's not really my thing.

[Guest]

I hope is well integrated with the base and colony system instead of being integrated in the craft themselves like in KSP1.

Refuelling should be something you build a base for, not just chucking a couple of microwave-sized parts on your SSTE plane.

[theJesuit]

6 hours ago, Master39 said:

I hope is well integrated with the base and colony system instead of being integrated in the craft themselves like in KSP1.

Refuelling should be something you build a base for, not just chucking a couple of microwave-sized parts on your SSTE plane.

Agreed - Science is going to be a heavier mass load from its parts, and ISRU should be too, with a higher EC requirement.

SSTE wouldn't be an option probably if the ISRU and drills massed twice as much as the fully fueled plane! 

[Sea_Kerman]

I think it should be possible on big craft for specific things, an electrolysis cell to turn water or ice into hydrolox isn’t a big stretch.

[Periple]

Maybe I’m just impatient!

[dansiegel30]

ISRU will be completely unnecessary as long as there is no money requirement or advanced resource requirements to build the biggest rockets.  I only did ISRU in Kerbalism because it was CHEAPER money-wise in the long run to make fuel on the Mun or especially Minmus, rather than launching refueling barges up all the time.  This avoided me from having to farm for money in contracts.   I'm pretty certain the engines and various parts for 0.4 interstellar travel will REQUIRE colonies, mining, and ISRU which all comes in 0.3.  But until we have a need, why do it?

 

However, I will indeed plan to role play in 0.2, creating unnecessary space stations and bases on the celestial bodies to simulate 0.3 colonies.

[magnemoe]

On 10/25/2023 at 12:57 PM, Master39 said:

I hope is well integrated with the base and colony system instead of being integrated in the craft themselves like in KSP1.

Refuelling should be something you build a base for, not just chucking a couple of microwave-sized parts on your SSTE plane.

I would like both. But make it more realistic, for one you need an power source to make fuel. Exception is fossil fuel on an planet with an oxygen atmosphere.
If its natural gas on Laythe you can burn part of the gas to create liquid methane. 
Don't say this will work as I assume Laythe biosphere is young and not very rich, I might be wrong here. But even if its plenty of methane it just make flying planes to orbit easier. 
In practice you need solar cells or reactors. 

As Regex says have an small ship to an probe scrapping up ice to create hydrogen and oxygen makes sense. But I guess you need to drill as ice would mostly be covered with other stuff even outside the frost belt. 

[magnemoe]

10 hours ago, dansiegel30 said:

ISRU will be completely unnecessary as long as there is no money requirement or advanced resource requirements to build the biggest rockets.  I only did ISRU in Kerbalism because it was CHEAPER money-wise in the long run to make fuel on the Mun or especially Minmus, rather than launching refueling barges up all the time.  This avoided me from having to farm for money in contracts.   I'm pretty certain the engines and various parts for 0.4 interstellar travel will REQUIRE colonies, mining, and ISRU which all comes in 0.3.  But until we have a need, why do it?

However, I will indeed plan to role play in 0.2, creating unnecessary space stations and bases on the celestial bodies to simulate 0.3 colonies.

Refueling from Kerbin is works for going to Minmus. For Duna or worse the Jool system and you have an logistic nightmare. 
But as you say you can fight this throwing stuff at target but its not an satisfying solution, on the other hand before colonies I will probably just explore so an large tanker would go an long way. 

[Guest]

1 hour ago, magnemoe said:

I would like both. But make it more realistic, for one you need an power source to make fuel. Exception is fossil fuel on an planet with an oxygen atmosphere.
If its natural gas on Laythe you can burn part of the gas to create liquid methane. 
Don't say this will work as I assume Laythe biosphere is young and not very rich, I might be wrong here. But even if its plenty of methane it just make flying planes to orbit easier. 
In practice you need solar cells or reactors. 

As Regex says have an small ship to an probe scrapping up ice to create hydrogen and oxygen makes sense. But I guess you need to drill as ice would mostly be covered with other stuff even outside the frost belt. 

On the realism side, IRSU as a concept IRL is a single craft only project as of now. So I can see people wanting to replicate something as simple as The Martian and have the MAV generate fuel.
On the other hand when I say that I don't want to see it as in KSP1 I'm thinking about the gameplay aspect of it. Your The Martian replica is not going to need an IRSU unless you want to use one, KSP has cheap Delta V costs, and a Vehicle side IRSU and refinery are only really useful for SSTE builds.

Obviously, methane is now methane, and I doubt they will go again with an universal "ore" you can turn into methane, limiting where you can refuel could probably be enough of a limit, but still I see the gameplay value of having it exclusive to very heavy machinery more easily integrated with bases than it is in planes cargo bays. 

It could be as simple as making the smallest module bigger than an MK3 fuselage, or having it require tons of energy and cooling capacity, requiring lots of additional hardware and design considerations.

[Periple]

I almost never integrated it into craft so my stories would actually fit into the colonization framework pretty well. It’s just that I also want to be able to make simple refueling bases, not full-blown habitable colonies. 

[Scarecrow71]

I have never used ISRU.  I can see the benefit to doing it, provided the drills and tanks aren't god-awful heavy again like they were in KSP1 (which is why I never used it - too big of a drain on a ship's resources to carry that stuff around).

[Periple]

I would use ISRU to set up refueling bases either on the surface or in orbit, in which case I would have a mining vehicle that would bring up ore. Once set up I would rarely move them. It felt very satisfying to be able to operate freely in the Jool system without having to ship fuel from Kerbin, for example!

[LoSBoL]

Honestly I really miss ISRU, I'm kinda lousy at orbital mechanics and efficiency isn't something I'm any good at. I usually have these kind of contraptions around the kerbolair system just to keep me fueled.

 

[magnemoe]

2 hours ago, Scarecrow71 said:

I have never used ISRU.  I can see the benefit to doing it, provided the drills and tanks aren't god-awful heavy again like they were in KSP1 (which is why I never used it - too big of a drain on a ship's resources to carry that stuff around).

Heavy how? This is was an standard class base, overall layout was the same, crew quarter for 6, an advanced science lab, an greenhouse. ISRU and small part production, so yes it could launch satellite even rockets to send stranded kerbals home.
Standard class was kind of an this design works and a not to the US standard class battleships.  Had an heavy version with 3x3.75 M stacks who was used on Gilly and Pol, and was more capable. 
It was 60 ton dry, yes its not light and the part production was very OP, but just for fuel and oxidizer production I say its very lightweight. 
Crew was 4-5, 3 scientists for the lab, pilot and 1-2 engines worked greenhouse unless other duties.  

[Wheehaw Kerman]

On 10/28/2023 at 5:02 AM, dansiegel30 said:

ISRU will be completely unnecessary as long as there is no money requirement or advanced resource requirements to build the biggest rockets.  I only did ISRU in Kerbalism because it was CHEAPER money-wise in the long run to make fuel on the Mun or especially Minmus, rather than launching refueling barges up all the time.  This avoided me from having to farm for money in contracts.   I'm pretty certain the engines and various parts for 0.4 interstellar travel will REQUIRE colonies, mining, and ISRU which all comes in 0.3.  But until we have a need, why do it?

 

However, I will indeed plan to role play in 0.2, creating unnecessary space stations and bases on the celestial bodies to simulate 0.3 colonies.

Unless certain resources are available only on certain bodies, forcing you to set up colonies to extract them.  There have been hints at this from IG.

[mattihase]

I do think it'd be interesting to have a split of ISRU you can do on craft and ISRU you need a base for?

 

Maybe limit ISRU on vessels to electrolizing water/ice, creating a situation where you can refuel some engines mid mission (essentially just NERVs) but for other/more processed resources, you need to bring out a tanker or build a base. sorta creates a lifeline for grand tours being still possible but without trivialising resource gathering otherwise.