Mods included into stock game

[kiwiak]

I heard somewhere that squad included some mods into game.. what are these mods?

[TheCanadianVendingMachine]

KSPX

A mod that looked very stocklike. Still around the forums, look it up. It is worth it

[Vanamonde]

I believe all the airplane parts started off as a mod, but that was before I found the game.

[I_Killed_Jeb]

subassemblies is/was a mod, not sure if they hired the mod-maker or just made their own version

[jfull]

KSPX

This is the only one I know of, the mod creator got hired, and some (but not all) of her parts have been made stock, like the Mk1 Lander Can and the Skipper engine

[tygoo7]

I believe all the airplane parts started off as a mod, but that was before I found the game.

I think this is the original link but I am not sure...

[theflyingfish]

Man that C7 page is a throwback...

The C7 aircraft parts pack was great. After Harvester added some rudimentary code for aerodynamic "winglets", C7 used it to create aircraft in KSP. Harv didn't plan on putting planes in KSP, but the mod was so popular and worked so well that C7 was made a developer and his mod parts integrated in the 0.15 "Spaceplane Update", which also added the SPH and IVA's.

Unfortunately, the winglet code has remained virtually the same ever since it was added (I think around 0.10).

[MalfunctionM1Ke]

Thats the big advantage of letting People feel free to create and implement mods into the Game.

KSP wouldnt have been so popular without it and there wouldnt have been any fresh ideas to it.

[Spatzimaus]

A number of stock parts started out as mod parts before the modders were hired by Squad. Plus, a number of parts are very SIMILAR to ones that had existed as mods previously. For instance, rover wheels existed as a mod several versions before they were added to the stock game; the parts aren't exactly the same, but they're close enough that you can generally substitute one with the other. For upcoming versions, the big one is going to be the resource system. While it won't be identical to the Kethane mod, there are a LOT of similarities, to the point where Kethane-based designs are good practice for the system they'll eventually implement. And that's to say nothing of partless mods, like Subassemblies or the mod that made the VAB larger back before the redesign.

This is part of why it's ridiculous to have a knee-jerk reaction against mods; since the game's still in an alpha state, things like this are constantly getting added. Modders add things they think there's a demand for, and the developers often have the same perspective.

[bsalis]

Fuel Transfer and Docking were also available via mods before becoming built-in features.

[larsmaehlum]

My guess is that Ferram Aerospace Research like aerodynamics will be added in the near future.

[Levelord]

Don't forget EVA Kerbals. If I remember correctly, those started out as unrelated mods.

[kiwiak]

A number of stock parts started out as mod parts before the modders were hired by Squad. Plus, a number of parts are very SIMILAR to ones that had existed as mods previously. For instance, rover wheels existed as a mod several versions before they were added to the stock game; the parts aren't exactly the same, but they're close enough that you can generally substitute one with the other. For upcoming versions, the big one is going to be the resource system. While it won't be identical to the Kethane mod, there are a LOT of similarities, to the point where Kethane-based designs are good practice for the system they'll eventually implement. And that's to say nothing of partless mods, like Subassemblies or the mod that made the VAB larger back before the redesign.

This is part of why it's ridiculous to have a knee-jerk reaction against mods; since the game's still in an alpha state, things like this are constantly getting added. Modders add things they think there's a demand for, and the developers often have the same perspective.

Where did you get info fromm about upcoming resource system?

[vexx32]

There've been several dev blog posts about plans for the resource system over the last update cycle or two -- I think it was mostly in Harv's devlog.

[Spatzimaus]

Where did you get info fromm about upcoming resource system?

Back when 0.19 was coming out, there was a big long thread about it. I think the thread was lost in the Great Forum Collapse, but a copy of the chart they gave us is in this thread. Basically, there'll be eight extracted resources (nine including electricity), which'll then be combined into various fuel types with refineries.

That feature was originally going to go into 0.19 or 0.20, but they decided to hold off on implementing it until Career Mode was done. As far as I know, that resource chart is still the plan for the system they'll eventually add.

[jduchock]

That feature was originally going to go into 0.19 or 0.20, but they decided to hold off on implementing it until Career Mode was done. As far as I know, that resource chart is still the plan for the system they'll eventually add.

and rightfully so !

[Moach]

wait what resources systems are we talking about here?

as far as I can tell. the KSP definition of "resources" was something that got implemented some couple of versions ago, and ever since we have things like electricity, intake air, all kinds of fuel and whatnot...

and those were the things they called "resources"

according to the planned features wiki page, and my own recollection of the last time someone brought this up, there's no reason the term "respurces" should also imply any form of "mining" features in the future, which vastly exceeds the scope of the game. (so far)

The chart posted on the thread linked above is almost certainly not official, and is very unlikely to have been actually made by the "authors" it claims... Unless it was from an old "April's fools" gag. (I think that's what it is, really)

And yes not only the subject of "mining" is posted on the "what-not-to-suggest" guidelines in the dev. board, it is also a breech of rules to impersonate staff members due to reasons just as obvious as they appear. But that's not what I think happened, that chart was probably from last April, or was it the one before?

So that feature was never planned, and was not put back for whatever reasons - "Mining" is just not planned.

And that's what we have Kethane for.

That's what mods in general are for, really - they add stuff like that, and "weapons" and all those things that don't really "fit", but some would find nice to have in their game.

as for the original question - there has been a small number of mod-makers who did get hired, (not necessarily full time) and got their mods, or some aspects of them built into the game.

It's worth noting that modding excellence alone is hardly a thing that will warrant such an event. Hiring a modder only makes sense in very specific and somewhat rare cases, where someone creates something that has a high feature overlap with near-future plans, and there are no licencing issues with 3rd party modders or whatever else... (modders get to use open-source code freely, devs need to check if commercial is ok first, plus a bunch of headache)

In short - It's complicated, but not like rocket science... The latter I find easier.

and I can't really confirm who exactly those hired modders are... not because I'm not allowed to, but simply (and embarrassingly) because I don't really know.

you can easily see it on the ingame credits tho... some names should ring a bell, and most devs have their forum usernames in there too.

cheers

Edited December 2, 2013 by Moach

[AHO]

wait what resources systems are we talking about here?

as far as I can tell. the KSP definition of "resources" was something that got implemented some couple of versions ago, and ever since we have things like electricity, intake air, all kinds of fuel and whatnot...

and those were the things they called "resources"

according to the planned features wiki page, and my own recollection of the last time someone brought this up, there's no reason the term "respurces" should also imply any form of "mining" features in the future, which vastly exceeds the scope of the game. (so far)

The chart posted on the thread linked above is almost certainly not official, and is very unlikely to have been actually made by the "authors" it claims... And yes, this is wrong in many many ways - not only the subject of "mining" is posted on the "what-not-to-suggest" guidelines in the dev. board, it is also a breech of rules to impersonate staff members due to reasons just as obvious as they appear.

That feature was never planned, and was not put back for any reasons or anything that might have been said .

Mining is what we have Kethane for.

That's what mods are for, really - they add stuff like that, and "weapons" and all those things that don't really "fit", but some would find nice to have in their game.

as for the original question - there has been a small number of mod-makers who did get hired, (not necessarily full time) and got their mods, or some aspects of them built into the game. It's worth noting that modding excellence alone is hardly a thing that will warrant such an event. Hiring a modder only makes sense in very specific and somewhat rare cases, where someone creates something that has a high feature overlap with plans, and there are no licencing issues with 3rd party modders or whatever else... (modders get to use freeware open-source, devs need to check if commercial is ok)

in short - it's complicated.

and I can't really confirm who exactly those hired modders are... not because I'm not allowed to, but simply (and embarrassingly) because I don't really know.

you can easily see it on the ingame credits tho... some names should ring a bell, and most devs have their forum usernames in there too.

cheers

...But mining would add in so much to the game. It fits in perfectly with kerbal space program! Just think of all the possibilities of mining resources on another planetary body. Heck, there are even planes of mining on the moon or on asteroids in real life!

[Jarin]

... once again, a note needed that moderators are not official KSP representatives spokespeople. Stock mining in some form may or may not be planned. I've seen devs mention "resources" as an upcoming feature in the past, though, and I started WELL after the 'resources' that Moach talks about were implemented. "That's what we have mods for" could have easily been applied to aircraft, too. That's even further outside the previous scope of the game.

Edited December 2, 2013 by Jarin
Rewording

[Tiberion]

Moach, that chart is legitimate, or at least based on the legitimate one. Those element names on the middle row (Blutonium, Oxium, Hexagen, etc) were definitely on an official flowchart for a system like this.

They were indeed in the planning stages of an extended resource/mining/refining system which would have been integrated into the planets, with the gameplay centering around mining them and processing them as fuels and other materials - an integrated and much extended take on Kethane. There's also some images by Nova of an early model for the mining drill part.

It was pretty wide in scope, and it was sort of derailing the progress of things I think, so they have shelved it. (It was somewhat related to the 'expansion discussion' incident which changed how discussion of development is handled officially now)

So, it's a real thing, and its on the list because it is/was planned and there isn't much else to say about it now.

As far as who has what modders have become devs; quite a lot of them. Chad/C7, Jeff/NovaSilisko, Rob/N3X15 (the server/infrastructure dude), Mike/Mu (I think?), Claira (from KSPX), Jim/Romfarer, and Artyom/bac9 were all hired from the community either as employees or interns, and most of them had mods or other projects released. Several of the past and present community/media guys were from the community as well

[PDCWolf]

"Resources will blow kethane out of the water" -Devs, more than a year ago. Don't try to defend the devs saying they were referring to the resources tab, because they weren't.

Resources when.

And for mods getting added to the game we have the entire "spaceplane" part, subassemblies, KSPX (Which spanned 3 updates to be added to the game and it isn't even completely added yet), and I believe fuel lines were implemented in this way too.

[Fox967]

And yes not only the subject of "mining" is posted on the "what-not-to-suggest" guidelines in the dev. board, it is also a breech of rules to impersonate staff members due to reasons just as obvious as they appear. But that's not what I think happened, that chart was probably from last April, or was it the one before?

So that feature was never planned, and was not put back for whatever reasons - "Mining" is just not planned.

cheers

Sorry, but you're totally wrong on this. In fact Nova was already modelling various mining equipment when it was shelved. They were even getting to the point of adding mineral maps on the planets/moons, ALA Kethane.

(And no, i don't remember how to spoiler things)

Whether mining is still planned is up to squad, but at one point they were determined to have it in game - i don't see why that would change.

[SkyRender]

I refer the doubters of expanded resource plans to this. It was posted during 0.19 development, so many of the newer users have probably never seen it. (It helps nothing that the forum crash swallowed the original devlogs discussing the resource system...) During the time between 0.18.4 and 0.19, there were a number of development shots released as well, including a stock drill part, a shot of resource mapping, and a scanning satellite that ultimately got retooled into the newest Communotron model (the fold-out rectangular one).

[kiwiak]

Back when 0.19 was coming out, there was a big long thread about it. I think the thread was lost in the Great Forum Collapse, but a copy of the chart they gave us is in this thread. Basically, there'll be eight extracted resources (nine including electricity), which'll then be combined into various fuel types with refineries.

That feature was originally going to go into 0.19 or 0.20, but they decided to hold off on implementing it until Career Mode was done. As far as I know, that resource chart is still the plan for the system they'll eventually add.

I really hate career mode now.

By the way what happened to the forum, what was that apocalypse that you are reffering to?

Edited December 2, 2013 by kiwiak

[SkyRender]

I really hate career mode now.

You shouldn't. The resource system was shelved for a very good reason: it was eating up a huge amount of (ahem) resources and was clearly going to take a lot longer than anticipated. It was originally going to be the showcase feature of 0.19, but at some point someone on staff presumably noticed that the last minor version came out almost 3 months ago (the longest any release prior to that had taken was about 41 days, and that was the gap between 0.13.2 and 0.14, arguably the most significant update the game received up to that point). Resources were clearly going to take far too long to finish up, and the long-timers were getting antsy. So resources got shelved, and 0.19 featured less content than was anticipated. Priorities naturally shifted after that, to getting the main Sandbox mode stable and getting the groundwork for Career mode in place.