How (When?) can I build these things?

[i-make-robots]

I want to build things that have never existed outside of science possible. I couldn't build them in Minecraft. Could I build them in KSP one day?

• I want to be able to build a base on the moon. Not a collection of spaceship parts that do nothing. I'm looking for a mod that will let me recreate kerbal space command center on any other planet.
  
• I want to be able to build a space elevator. Lower a cable from a station in geosynchronous orbit and anchor the cable on the ground. This means being able to build the anchor, too. Now add elevator cars at the bottom and ride up to orbit.
  
• If we can get new buildings on other planets could I make a railgun that fires cargo into orbit? For the people who can't wait for the elevator and need to run up the stairs AND who don't care about g forces.
  
• I want to be able to build a ring around a planet. Even a small one. I'd build the pieces on a planet with really low escape velocity and fire them into orbit, timed so they're evenly spaced. Once they're all up they'd connect with grappling hooks of some kind. Space tape on a rope. I'd put the ring around the equator and spin it the opposite direction of the planet to cancel out variations in the planet's magnetic field. Of course it would be visible from the planet surface after that. A few thousand launches, easy enough for a dedicated team with a shared save file. They'd have to link up within minutes of each other or things would get really interesting. There'd need to be a real-time clock, too, so I could work out at what time to launch so each piece gets in the right "parking space" for the link up. The same cable technology for the space elevator could be used in orbit. (Kerbin Maps will go ape**** over dat realtime feed. So will the Kernspiracy theorists and the KBI. The ring project will pay for itself by selling satellite service and cheap GSM phone service. The Kerbin children will hear "long distance call" and think it means "to Duna". Exploring THAT new world would be interesting.)
  
• Once I've built a ring in orbit, can I add the existing planetary buildings on the ring itself, and then build vehicles of almost arbitrary size? Maybe even a vehicle with the other buildings stuck on it's hull. Then I could send it to another solar system and establish a base. For that I might need a x1000000 fast forward. You know, only for vehicles at least 5*10^11km from Kerbin.
  
• On the subject of mining, when can I mine the asteroids? I'm looking to develop a gated community in high Dres orbit and I need to hollow a chunk of rock about 6km across. I don't want to put down a pump on the surface and suck out minerals - always hated that magical resource generation in RTS games. I want to carve it to look like the Death Star. I may even put engines on it later and move it around.
  
• To make the dough to pay for all this I'll probably need to float collection machines into a gas giant and "mine" it for rare chemicals. There's an acceptable use of a pump.
  
• Other buildings, too, if possible. Pressurized domes would be awesome. I can't even imagine the terraforming machines.
  

I realize that most of this list is either difficult, insane, or asked before. I guess I just wanted to express myself. I'm stupid enough that I'm building robots in real life with a goal of putting them on the moon to build my base, so... yeah.

Thank you!

[falofonos]

Most of these would require a different game engine to implement.

You could probably find or make a 3d model of the deathstar to drive around in with a bit of work.

[Panichio]

A lot of these things you want will come in future updates. Remember, KSP isn't finished yet!

As for things like building pressurized domes, all you can do is hope that someone makes a mod for it.

[etse]

I want to be able to build a base on the moon. Not a collection of spaceship parts that do nothing. I'm looking for a mod that will let me recreate kerbal space command center on any other planet.

Take a look at the "Kethane" addon, I like that one really much. I have currently a space-station in orbit around Minmus used for refueling my interplanetary ships before they leave Kerbins sphere of influence, due to Minmus beeing so far away from Kerbin and the gravity is so low, it is a perfect spot for refueling.

On Minmus I have setup a mining station where I have a couple of mining rovers which will mine Kethane, which is then transferres to my station to extract fuel for it, storing it in large tanks. To finish it all off I have som space-cranes which will lift til full tanks from Minmus and dock them to the space-station and take the empty tanks down to Minmus for refueling.

[Luis]

1. build a base on the moon.

2. a space elevator.

3. a railgun that fires cargo into orbit?

4. a ring around a planet. Even a small one.

5. can I add the existing planetary buildings on the ring itself?

6. when can I mine the asteroids? I want to carve it to look like the Death Star. I may even put engines on it later and move it around.

7. float collection machines into a gas giant and "mine" it for rare chemicals.

8. Pressurized domes would be awesome

1. Proper base building will probably come in a later update, but it is likely to be the kind where you haul components from Kerbin. RTS style base construction on other planets would be for DLC at best, I would think, because it takes the game a long way from its present focus.

2. Not possible due to the 2.5km physics limit. Even if you had something strong enough to support its own weight over hundreds of km, the game would need a new sort of 'on rails' modelling for objects connected to the elevator cable that were further than 2.5km from your current position. Also space elevators, once built, rather trivialise the business of getting into orbit and that's a very big part of the game, so I think it is unlikely to be added.

3. This probably won't be added as stock either, for many of the same reasons. A modded one might well be possible though.

4. Definitely not with the current engine. The scale of even the smallest planetary ring would be far FAR beyond the current physics and part-count limits of the game.

5. I can however imagine a day when Squad might add a stock, hard-code ringworld, possibly with optional base construction facilities. Since nothing has ever been hinted at in this regard, it wouldn't happen for a long time yet though.

6. The current engine doesn't support terraforming and the scale of the game isn't really compatible with what you want to do. Even with Minecraft ease of mining it would take a ridiculous amount of time to shape an asteroid. Flying one is completely impractical. See the Scott Manley video where he talks about this.

7. This will almost certainly be possible as soon as resource mining is implemented. Version 0.21?

8. This could very well be part of a dedicated base building update but it isn't possible right now and nothing has been announced. You could probably build an unpressurised dome from stock parts now though. And since kerbals don't take their helmets off even on Kerbin, and never run out of air, who's going to know?

[Kerbface]

Many of these things aren't just impossible for the engine to run, but arguably impossible or ridiculously impractical in real life, too...

There's a Vsauce video that discusses what would happen if you put a ring around a planet.

[EndlessWaves]

KSP is a game about the current and near future levels of technology. Moving asteroids and other projects that require moving hundreds of thousands of tons or more simply aren't appropriate to this game. Squad are unlikely to make them and modders will struggle to make them work alongside the stock stuff.

The base building and resource mining will be added, and the space elevator is likely to be modded in sooner or later as well as that's on the order of dozens of tons. You only need physics for the climber, so that's not an objection, although you might be limited to one climber at once and manual control, which is probably not a bad thing.

A mass driver is marginal, they're much heavier and much more physics intensive. You probably couldn't send the material in a rocket so you'd have to wait and see what sort of mass extraction rate the resource collection has.

[magnemoe]

As for base building, one way would be an option to recreate spaceport somewhere else, either on an base or in orbit.

This should be possible, system need to keep track of part at base.

One mod, orbital construction does part of this, it enables you to create an dock, you launch raw materials to it and can spawn the constructed ship at it, this will remove raw materials equal to the weight of the ship.

Resources is coming, guess domes to.

for the mega scal project no, engine will not suport it and the scale is much larger than practical in the game.

[i-make-robots]

Wow. So much negativity in this thread.

So why can't we have a new scale for physics? If I put up enough of the right kind of satellites and hit the go button, can they be transformed into some kind of new physics object with it's own special set of rules?

A canon that fires into LEO has been done before - I remember reading Sadam Hussein had one.

"Mining will take a ridiculous amount of time" ... So I shouldn't do it because you're impatient? I'm willing to make 11k+ launches to put up my satellites to build the ring.

As for "appropriate" and "it's a big part of the existing game"... Well! I didn't think I'd run up against such conservative thinking in a forward looking game like space exploration. Launching rockets in the "traditional" style for anything other than building a better way up seems kinda wasteful. Call me crazy but I'd like to reach the next level.

Now that I grok orbital mechanics, travelling further than Mun is a resource management problem. I get enough of that in my day job, thanks.

[Eric S]

Wow. So much negativity in this thread.

Not so much negativity as experience with large scale building in the current game engine. At this time, you can't even come close to making a 1km long craft that doesn't shake itself apart.

So why can't we have a new scale for physics? If I put up enough of the right kind of satellites and hit the go button, can they be transformed into some kind of new physics object with it's own special set of rules?

Theoretically possible, but I'm pretty sure that it would require developer involvement as I don't think that modding can really create new sets of physics rules, just push the existing rules in possibly unnatural directions. Given that developer time is a finite resource, I can think of many other things I'd want before this, not to mention that you'd have to convince them to do it to begin with, since it's probably outside the scope of the game that they have planned out.

A canon that fires into LEO has been done before - I remember reading Sadam Hussein had one.

He didn't, though he was working on one. Whether it would work or not, for what kind of an orbit, how much payload, and what kind of payloads could handle the acceleration would be a separate discussion (and one I'd be interested in, but it would be off topic in this forum).

[Tw1]

There was a mod in progress to make secondary launch centres on other planets. The guy who did it seemed to have almost had it working, now there's no trace of it, after the great forum wipe.

But, maybe he's just on holiday, or has exams, or something, and will reappear someday.

Not a fan of terraforming myself. The planets have their own cool characteristics. We may alter them, but I feel it would be bad to change them completely.

[dronkit]

A canon that fires into LEO has been done before - I remember reading Sadam Hussein had one.

He was on acid! It's impossible

-if you impulse something from one point it will gain an orbit, yeah, but that orbit will contain the original point. Your original point was on the surface so it will return to the surface. You need at least one more burn to achieve orbit.

-Still could be done... on the mun maybe cause on earth/kerbin it would burn instantly.

-OK, no burning cause there are are no atmospherical effects yet. Still the acceleration is monstrous :|