advice to avoid space station part count lags?

[lammatt]

ran into a massive lag when trying to add another module onto my station today...

(dunno if it's because i'hv been leaving the computer on for a couple days or if it's because there is too many parts in the station)

my station is currently having ~355parts and

i am having at least one module of each mod i had installed plugged in the station: kethane/ mechjeb/ISA MapSat/Minox Cargo bay/Kerbal Attachment/ Robotic Arms/EVA parachute/Ordin telescope/etc

dont know if it's the mods giving rise to the massive lag either~

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since v0.21 will be coming out soon... and i'll do a clean reinstall and restart

is there any advice how i can reduce the part count of my station so that i can retain my preference of having-every-mod-i-installed-on-the-station design while dodging the lag?

well... here is how my station currently looks like

(i omitted the solar pannels and the probes/command pods and the batteries and the mechjebs on my diagram; each module now has a pair of gigantor solar pannel and a pair of 500unit battery and a mechjeb and some lights)

Edited July 15, 2013 by lammatt

[Aqua667]

Shouldn't this be in the questions section?. Anyways, you don't need 40 RCS thrusters on that station. You should put them on the back of the payload. and decouple them after the module is docked. You also don't need so many gigantors and batteries. Make a single electrical module with 4 solars and 2 or 3 battery disks.

[Johnno]

There's really only one way to combat part count lag... lower your part count.

Figure out the point where you start to lag, figure out the station design you want to have, then match the two.

If you use a tug or delivery stage to get modules into place and docked, have everything necessary on the tug/delivery stage. You don't need power/probecore/batteries/fuel/RCS on every module if you're going to keep them docked. There's also a mod floating around with 'welded' parts, the name eludes me but could check it for docking port adapter pieces.

A fuel stockpile is great to have but less is more, if you can get away with two orange tanks instead of three while having to resupply more often it'd still cut down on parts needed.

Simple is better, at least when it comes to the partcount monsters.

[bsalis]

You just have to use less parts. If you want something simple and functional, then just launch a one-piece station with what matters: 1) fuel storage 2) seats for crew 3) docking ports

For example, this has less than 40 parts...

[Tw1]

With stations you have three options:

1 Be frugal with parts, and have set roles for a station, (Tanker, hanger, science, telescope, ect,), and limit it to only be one or two of those.

2 Make an ever growing crazy station, adding a heap of parts, and enjoy the lag fest.

3 Buy a more powerful computer, and hope 64bit KSP happens someday.

I find it useful to know my computer's limits. At about 500 parts, I get a fair bit of lag. I've avoided going over so far.

[hugix]

I use a special RCS tug around my space station. whenever I place a new module on one of my stations I stationkeep the new module with the station, then I undock the RCS tug from the station. Bring it over to the module dock with it on the back side (the side that I do not want to dock to the station). And bring it in. this saves me to put RCS tansk and thrusters on all modules. And it makes sure all modules have a docking port on the back side so I can always add new modules to the station.

[lammatt]

wow... never thought of having the RCS detachable...

very neat idea~ thank you guys

[John FX]

I use a special RCS tug around my space station. whenever I place a new module on one of my stations I stationkeep the new module with the station, then I undock the RCS tug from the station. Bring it over to the module dock with it on the back side (the side that I do not want to dock to the station). And bring it in. this saves me to put RCS tansk and thrusters on all modules. And it makes sure all modules have a docking port on the back side so I can always add new modules to the station.

This is why I check out even the most mundane questions that have been answered many times already. There is always a little golden nugget of information, or a new way of doing things that improves the way I play.

Off to design an `RCS tug`...

Had to laugh at the `use less parts` answer to `how can I reduce my part count`

[Vanamonde]

If you put your station's orbit above 160,000m, you will see a performance improvement because the game is no longer rendering the ground in as much detail. Also, a station doesn't really need RCS at all. You can rotate it on pod torque, though slowly, and it's not going to be maneuvering anywhere anyway.

[EatVacuum]

It's hard to tell from the picture but there seem to be a lot of struts for something that is essentially stationary and shouldn't undergo much stress. I believe using the docking port sr (the big one) would reduce wobbliness allowing you to remove many struts. Removing the RCS tanks and thrusters is also a good suggestion I count 9 sets so that alone is 45 parts gone. Anything that is duplicated or in higher multiples is a good candidate for cutting back.

[HeadHunter67]

Another suggestion, crazy as it may sound, is: Build More Stations. I don't mean a different one for each purpose (though that works, too) - I mean that each station you design, launch, and assemble will teach you what you really need in a station, and your next station will be more efficient and probably more solid and attractive as well.