Novasilisko's planets

[MalfunctionM1Ke]

Harvester, please give us something to explore. I am not asking for a whole new planet but 1-2 Moons would definetly do.

Biomes are not filling that gap :/

By the way.

This Thread has been opened to discuss Novas Planet or if there will be a new one in the future.

Dont even think of getting an answer about Employement-affairs. It is not of hiding something, but of privacy matters.

Edited December 8, 2013 by MalfunctionM1Ke

[KN_Namida]

In my very honest opinion, once someone in KSP has reached and explored every celestial body, has set up bases everywhere or sent probes to all the rocky balls in the system. Or even maxed out the rech-tree, if you're playing campaign... well, what else can you do? You could come up with specific space programs, like doing a reusable one, or sending spaceplanes to Laythe, or gliders to Duna or whatever.

But we all know, the reason why man went into space, the reason why you, as a player, bought KSP and tried again and again, till it worked, to reach the outer moons and planets, is the curiosity and sense of exploration which dwell in our minds. We can be happy with new stock parts to work with, or new science mechanics, but when the space center was redone, along with the island airfield, or when Squad added Eeloo, or Pol, I bet you felt enthusiastic, not just happy, because you knew you were going to explore new places and such, you already now what I'm trying to say here.

I don't ask for much, but the ideas Novasilisko had for the future of KSP, like the second gas planet and its moons, or redoing Tylo and Vall (which I agree, look kinda generic compared to other bodies) were really good, and got me excited. Squad could take inspiration from these ideas and, I don't know, even 2 new bodies per year would be more than enough, just to keep me hooked to the game =)

[Bekiekutmoar]

Nova, gotta say I really dig the 'redone' versions of Ike and Tylo. I'm wondering how Tylo would 'handle' with 4G and 0,5 Atmosphere. Would probably require a grotesque abomination of a lander to even land on the surface of this beast. Also, the update of Ike would also be a very good thing; the contrast between the recently updated Duna and the old 0.17-ish Ike is rather big these days.

[Whirligig Girl]

I'd like to make a series of Alternis Kerbol mods. One with just lighting and texture tweaks, fixes, etc, one as the mod is now, one with milder changes (maybe to make the bodies more realistic - in hindsight the moons of Jool are all too big when you look at the moons of Jupiter, as one instance), and so on. There's a lot of stuff that can be done!

I think ideally there could be three versions... 1. Lite, tweaks to sun and ambient light, and atmosphere colors, 2. Medium, lite content, plus minor tweaks to planets (kerbin and mun given eccentricity/inclination, for instance, other planets moved around to be less similar to our own solar system), and 3. Full, completely re-arranged and replaced solar system, as well as all the content from the previous tiers.

In fact... (getting a bit outside the scope of what I'm thinking of doing, but I'd like to see someone else do it), a version of RealSolarSystem that, instead of making it a replica of the real solar system, instead just scales up the existing kerbal planets to real-world scales (as in, no extra planets, no moving stuff around to become new stuff, just scaled up to real sizes)

I'd love to see geysers on Eeloo.

[Dr. Ivo Robotnik]

Yes ireally agree the thrill of exploring new worlds! just when SQUAD added the new planets! EMEGHURD i was happy! and now that ive been to all places..... it kinda lost it. I lost the fun of exploring NEW worlds. Been to Eloo been to jool been everywhere and its... not fun anymore. Thank god i have my company

[swiftgates24]

But, if you alone were able to create this in a couple of days, I'm really wondering why Squad can't come up with something similar in a couple of months...

Exactly this. Even if they ARE just redone old planets, they are technically brand new, despite having the name of old planets. If he can make, let's see, Laythe, Tylo, Ike, Minmus, and Jool brand new, that makes 5 new planets in less than a month, then why can't Squad make that many in many months?

Yes ireally agree the thrill of exploring new worlds! just when SQUAD added the new planets! EMEGHURD i was happy! and now that ive been to all places..... it kinda lost it. I lost the fun of exploring NEW worlds. Been to Eloo been to jool been everywhere and its... not fun anymore. Thank god i have my company

Agreed, new planets spices up gameplay immensely. Which is why I think randomly generated planets (outside the Kerbol System) should be added as soon as possible. With an infinite amount of places to explore, you could go endlessly deeper into the universe, full of never-ending fun. And in the future, if (when) Squad adds some form of colonization and mining, imagine sending inter-galactic mining missions and colonies. THAT, and only that, would make this truly the best game ever.

Edited December 8, 2013 by swiftgates24

[Gojira]

I so can't wait for the Alternis Kerbol mod. I love the way it looks!

[Bekiekutmoar]

Btw, would be nice to have the updated planets re-arranged like this:

Minmus: relocation to current position of Tylo around Jool

Tylo: relocation to slightly inclinated orbit (120-125 million km) around the sun. Enlargement with steep mountains and atmosphere would spice it up indeed.

Eeloo: somewhat eccentric orbit around Tylo and with very thin amosphere (max 0,05 ATM)

[kiwiak]

Exactly this. Even if they ARE just redone old planets, they are technically brand new, despite having the name of old planets. If he can make, let's see, Laythe, Tylo, Ike, Minmus, and Jool brand new, that makes 5 new planets in less than a month, then why can't Squad make that many in many months?

Agreed, new planets spices up gameplay immensely. Which is why I think randomly generated planets (outside the Kerbol System) should be added as soon as possible. With an infinite amount of places to explore, you could go endlessly deeper into the universe, full of never-ending fun. And in the future, if (when) Squad adds some form of colonization and mining, imagine sending inter-galactic mining missions and colonies. THAT, and only that, would make this truly the best game ever.

We dont even need some complicated worlds with unique surface features.

Just some random rock with 90' inclintation. Some planet completly covered in ocean. Some rock planet without atmo and with 3g gravity. In woudl really add variety to game.

Edited December 8, 2013 by kiwiak

[Spanier]

Since there's currently no way, to add a second indipendent solar system to KSP, I think, but the variety of ideas for planets is so overwhelming large, that I think, that Novas version 3 of his mod could be just the beginning of a new generation of solar systems.

The problem of random planets, swiftgates, would probably be to create a generator, thats capable to create "good looking" planets, that are consistent to the overal design and so on. I don't know how much work it is to create a planet from scratch, but since there are enough talented modders out there, the next step to go is Mappacks.

This mod lets you choose from multiple mappacks (default, Nova's medium pack, Nova's full pack, binary system, etc.) on startup of a new game (just an idea!). This would make easier to bring new ideas for planets to the public.

[swiftgates24]

We dont even need some complicated worlds with unique surface features.

Just some random rock with 90' inclintation. Some planet completly covered in ocean. Some rock planet without atmo and with 3g gravity. In woudl really add variety to game.

Where did it say we needed that? Oh, that's right! Nowhere!

[Liowen]

Since there's currently no way, to add a second indipendent solar system to KSP, I think, but the variety of ideas for planets is so overwhelming large, that I think, that Novas version 3 of his mod could be just the beginning of a new generation of solar systems.

The problem of random planets, swiftgates, would probably be to create a generator, thats capable to create "good looking" planets, that are consistent to the overal design and so on. I don't know how much work it is to create a planet from scratch, but since there are enough talented modders out there, the next step to go is Mappacks.

This mod lets you choose from multiple mappacks (default, Nova's medium pack, Nova's full pack, binary system, etc.) on startup of a new game (just an idea!). This would make easier to bring new ideas for planets to the public.

I was thinking of maybe something in the very distant future, nothing that needs to be done right away. Rather have a game that is polished before adding in more fluff than putting it to make it have more for the sake of having more.

[NovaSilisko]

Just want to point out that the new texture for Jool isn't my creation, it was painted from scratch for me by Winston (of KW). The base game's texture for Jool is about the extent of my digital painting ability, and look how that turned out...

Re: squad not doing planets, it's not a lack of time, or technical ability - the project leaders decide the direction of the game, and right now that direction is career mode.

Re: multiple solar systems per game. I think it could MAYBE be done via mod, to an extent. But the problem would be making saved games not catch on fire when you switch between systems.

Also, the update of Ike would also be a very good thing; the contrast between the recently updated Duna and the old 0.17-ish Ike is rather big these days.

Well, Ike just looks all jagged and random now, all I did was lower the radius so the terrain deformation stood out more. Speaking of Duna, I think that, like laythe, is a body I'll give a total makeover of. I'd like to make it more similar to real mars - butterscotch color, smaller polar caps, lots of jagged cliffs and canyons, and so on.

Edited December 9, 2013 by NovaSilisko

[Firov]

That's some impressive hand painting then. I thought it was just part of an image from Jupiter with altered colors. Very nice.

[NovaSilisko]

That's some impressive hand painting then. I thought it was just part of an image from Jupiter with altered colors. Very nice.

Yeah, when he sent it to me he was all "eh it's alright" and I'm just sitting there, absolutely floored with how fantastic it is.

[Comrade Jenkens]

Nice to see Nova is still active on the forums Though I though he was just on leave? Is Claira on leave or has she left as well? I have no idea who works for Squad anymore. :S

As for that solar system, it looks beautiful! Keep up the good work!

[NovaSilisko]

Though I though he was just on leave?

It's a "leave" that turned into a "gone".

[Whirligig Girl]

Any chance you'll come back to the dev team?

[Liowen]

Re: multiple solar systems per game. I think it could MAYBE be done via mod, to an extent. But the problem would be making saved games not catch on fire when you switch between systems.

Yeah, but there is always wishful thinking. Like I have said before it would be nice, but I would rather the team focus on the core game first and then work on stuff like that. It could always be added in later or a xpac

[Vanamonde]

Please come to this thread to discuss planet creation and art, and not the employment status of the artist. It's really nobody else's business, and is off-topic in this thread. Thank you.

[I.R.L.]

Hey Nova, if you were to put the new solar system in an extremly slow orbit (so that i almost doesn't seem to be moving) of the current one, would that be a solution to the save file problem?

[DisarmingBaton5]

Yeah, when he sent it to me he was all "eh it's alright" and I'm just sitting there, absolutely floored with how fantastic it is.

Agreed.

What happened to Eeloo? If you haven't done anything yet, may I suggest turning it into a Europa-style planteoid with ice and small, shallow bodies of water?

EDIT: 737 posts! I'm a Boeing!

[Astraph]

I hope the system would be expanded in the foreseeable future... I'm dying to see the second gas giant (the one that is to become host planet to Eeloo), or to see addition of volcanism to Laythe... Or addition of some weird bodies, like RL Sedna - with extremaly eccentric orbit, just behind Eeloo at perigee, but 5-6 times as far in apogee.

Also, I guess this question has already been asked - but is there any chance for adding comets to the system?

[NovaSilisko]

Agreed.

What happened to Eeloo? If you haven't done anything yet, may I suggest turning it into a Europa-style planteoid with ice and small, shallow bodies of water?

EDIT: 737 posts! I'm a Boeing!

That's an interesting idea. Can have big jagged cracks in the ice revealing a small amount of water at the bottom. Having a full PQS ocean there, though, would be pretty inefficient for such a small area. I wonder if a simple plane (flat surface, not boeing) could be put at the water's level, as opposed to having a dynamic mesh for it?

Also, I guess this question has already been asked - but is there any chance for adding comets to the system?

I experimented with that earlier this year. It sort of worked, but unity's particles really do not like to exist in scaled space like they're required to for comets. I bet it could be faked with a mesh though. Wouldn't look as good, but...

[dharak1]

I like how similar Jool looks to Polyphemus from Avatar. A big blue planet with a huge storm.