[Ongoing Dev] [0.23.5] Modular Kolonization System v0.16 (RELEASE) [05-10-2014]

[CaptainKipard]

Basically I'd like to know if I can use them in my main game. Will future updates break my colonies and ships?

[Asajev]

Cpt. Kipard, when it comes to mods that is always a chance but since the code is stable for the most part just working out bugs and the models are as close of complete I do not see any game breakers at this time but RoverDude has final code control and the chance of game breaking in updates can always happen. You can always do a backup of your win game and test it for a while until the official release.

[RoverDude]

Let me answer that tomorrow

[Son of Hicks]

Great mod. this is what was really needed to flesh out KSP for me.

Bug report: The MKS Kerbitats from the zip in the first post sink half into a planet and explode if dropped from any height.

[RoverDude]

Great mod. this is what was really needed to flesh out KSP for me.

Bug report: The MKS Kerbitats from the zip in the first post sink half into a planet and explode if dropped from any height.

Let me look at those - I did fix one of the models recently because of that, looks like I have to test that one too. I think it was when it somehow got flipped, there was an issue with one of the colliders.

[Son of Hicks]

I downloaded the zip file from your wiki and the modules still sink in, though no longer explode. Your connector tunnels and cubes work fine, though.

[Tommygun]

I have similar issues with the 4-way part hub and the connectors and docking hatch only work if attach vertically.

[RoverDude]

I downloaded the zip file from your wiki and the modules still sink in, though no longer explode. Your connector tunnels and cubes work fine, though.

That Zip is missing a lot of the latest changes (I've been running through the modules and doing a lot of changes, so I've held off on a zip uodate). These should be fixed in the next major update.

Also - new version of the hub is also in, had the same problem myself with nodes.

- - - Updated - - -

And thanks everyone for posting feedback and bugs, it's making my job a lot easier

[RoverDude]

New teaser pic (this is my working model that I have been using for testing this weekend), and a new zip!'

Three notes:

- The fancy KAS tube I cannot distribute (the long angled on you see in the middle of the pic), and this makes me sad. But I have a cooler idea that I want to play with

- That nifty antenna you see on top of one of the sub-bases is used for proxy logistics of punchcards, and even rotates!

- We will not discuss the number of Kerbals I had to airlock after exploiting them for base construction to get this self sufficient.

[jimmyjack]

This mod is truly a gem, Ive had so much fun since I found it.

[Vim Razz]

I'm really impressed by how far you've taken this project, and the new aesthetic style is fantastic!

I'm looking forward to checking out the new docking hub node. It should make it much easier to build bases for functional compatibility with Connected Living Spaces when it comes time to start thinking about that, too.

Your example builds look great, but also it also seems that they'd be pretty hard to assemble on-site, especially on rough terrain. What method did you use, or did you launch them in one piece?

Anyway, I've been playing around with it for a few days now, and have encountered two problems so far:

1) The Disappearing Ship Issue: It seems that changing the ship category from debris to base hasn't been enough to fix this. Every ship I build using one of the MKS parts as the root component or primary command component disappears from the game after I switch away from it a few times (it's not always the first time I switch away, which makes it even more confusing.). This happens on two different computers

As a work-around, I've found that using another command pod or probe body as the root part for construction prevents the ships from vanishing so I've been able to finally start testing the mod more fully (my first few colony projects disappeared completely), but I haven't been able to isolate the specific cause yet. I'll let you know if I find anything useful.

2) Docking Compatibility: This was much easier to isolate and resolve. The Kerbtrail docking ports are currently configured using the 2.5 meter ModuleDockingNode setting ("nodeType = size2") rather than the 1.25 meter part setting ("nodeType = size1"). That is: they currently dock with Clamp-o-Tron Sr ports but not standard Clamp-o-Trons. I haven't installed the new 0.14.1 update yet, but I found that the "size2" definition is still in there.

And so, with those two issues either resolved or worked-around, I've finally been able to get a test facility started on Minmus! Even with the current mock-up textures, these parts look great!

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[RoverDude]

Awesome, and thanks for reporting the issues!

The base thing has me perplexed. Normally I launch with a command hub at the core and haven't lost one yet, but then I am also on the most current build, and I had a typo at one point that was making stuff debris. Let me know if it persists, I'm curious on that one. Also let me know which root part you're using.

Launch wise, I've done a combination of in-orbit assembly (I use a lot of KAS pylons with wheels, etc. tied to them to move bits around, or RCS blocks), or sky cranes to drop/leverage the pieces in. I'll fix the node size on the docking clamp - on a side note, the new config (not on GitHub yet but soon) dramatically increases the clamping power... here's the config I would use:

MODULE
{
	name = ModuleDockingNode
	nodeType = size1
	referenceAttachNode = dockingNode
	nodeTransformName = DOCKING
    undockEjectionForce = 0.25
	minDistanceToReEngage = 2.25
    acquireForce = 3.5
    acquireTorque = 3.5
    acquireRange = 3.0
    captureRange = 1.5	
}

The latest demo shots I just hyperedit in place - you have no idea how many launches I do per day to tweek things. But once sorted, I always do a real launch and assemble, since it helps me find a completely different set of issues.

Thanks again!

[Vim Razz]

Those docking port settings are pretty aggressive. I may need to tone things back down a bit when it's time to move or re-arrange base components.

And HyperEdit makes sense. Trying to move and position all that stuff manually would take a ton of time.

As for the disappearing ship issue, I certainly haven't ruled out a mod conflict yet. Sorting out that possibility will take a while, though, so I'll look at it... later... -.-;; (I'm still a bit burned out sifting through mod conflicts after the 0.23.5 update...)

Currently I'm using probe cores as the root parts in my verified-as-fully-stable builds. Examples:

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The distant-object markers for ships containing MKS parts still show up as grey rather than pink, though, (as can be seen in this image from my earlier post) and that's really odd. /boggle

[RoverDude]

If you tone those down let me know what you end up going with, still balancing that part out. Will also do some experimentation on the parts and see if I can sort the probe issue. tbh, I'm considering just removing the probe component and keeping the colony command pod in it's two-crew config. Especially with efficiency in place, totally crewless colonies are horribly inefficient, and I usually just use a probe tied to a sky crane to drop the modules in. Still, disappearing is bad

[Green Skull]

First I must say great mod! I'm trying to make some time to play and haven't used the parts yet but they look great! A decent base building mod has been needed for ages and I think this may be it for me.

With regard to the stuff disappearing and debris issues have you tried setting the parts as vesselType = Lander?

[RoverDude]

First I must say great mod! I'm trying to make some time to play and haven't used the parts yet but they look great! A decent base building mod has been needed for ages and I think this may be it for me.

With regard to the stuff disappearing and debris issues have you tried setting the parts as vesselType = Lander?

hmm.. let me try that. Are you thinking it may be a bug with that vesselType of base?

[Green Skull]

Possibly. I had an issue not that long ago in 0.23 when I last got around to playing. I was using EPL to try and build a Mun base. I remember having problems with vessel types then and stuff disappearing. I rage blamed this on EPL un-installed and haven't tried it since but this is making me think it's a KSP problem not MKS problem.

[JonnyMonroe]

I don't know if this is something you've left in on purpose in the pre-release, but you might want to consider disabling the context menu in the VAB for your modules. Being able to load a storage unit up with 5k water+substrate before I even launch it kinda defeats the point of finding those resources when looking for a base location.

Other than that great mod so far though, really looking forward to seeing how it goes in version 1 and beyond.

[RoverDude]

I don't know if this is something you've left in on purpose in the pre-release, but you might want to consider disabling the context menu in the VAB for your modules. Being able to load a storage unit up with 5k water+substrate before I even launch it kinda defeats the point of finding those resources when looking for a base location.

Other than that great mod so far though, really looking forward to seeing how it goes in version 1 and beyond.

Actually, that's enabled by design. The rub of course is just how much substrate weighs... you can easily add 20T to a single MKS module to make it fully operational, but that's a valid option (one example being that folks will likely haul their own water in because of it's scarcity, or haul EnrichedSoil in if it's easier to ship it in instead of re-launch from a planet).

[CaptainKipard]

Let me answer that tomorrow

Hey RoverDude How's it going?

[JonnyMonroe]

Actually, that's enabled by design. The rub of course is just how much substrate weighs... you can easily add 20T to a single MKS module to make it fully operational, but that's a valid option (one example being that folks will likely haul their own water in because of it's scarcity, or haul EnrichedSoil in if it's easier to ship it in instead of re-launch from a planet).

Fair enough, although after setting up my first colony it feels like it'd be way easier to take the secondary materials up myself (Construction parts, enriched soil, etc). Also is it intended that the composter module in the kerbitat drains all my power instantly when activated? I have 12 large solar arrays and a few smaller panels around my colony and 140k power storage and it all goes nearly instantly on the composter.

[TheGatesofLogic]

is there any possibility that you might make a kolonization module that produces the RocketParts Resource for a link into EPL, that would honestly be awesome.

[RoverDude]

is there any possibility that you might make a kolonization module that produces the RocketParts Resource for a link into EPL, that would honestly be awesome.

Yes. I want to do EPL compatibility.

[ArcaneZedric]

Yeah I had that same problem, so I just replaced it (this is now on Github not in the ZIP yet) with a fully symmetrical part kinda like the stock station hub, that way you can rotate it however and get it to fit the way you want (with the same peculiarities you see in the station hub). You can grab just this part if you'd like from Github.

And glad folks are enjoying it, makes it worth all of the long nights

I've found this node problem in a bunch of different places now. It turns out that the order the nodes are read in by the game affects which ones can attach in the editor.

If you want to fix it in both the old version (which I personally prefer aesthetically) and the new symmetrical one, put the node_stack_top and node_stack_bottom definitions after the rest of them.

[zephrylia]

Hey Rover, I feel like I must be overlooking something basic, but I am having trouble detecting resources. In the VAB, the Kethane survey units say they can detect everything (kethane, minerals, ore, substrate, water). However, once I get them in orbit and activate them, they detect kethane just fine, but nothing else. I.e., looking at the planet, with "kethane" selected, I can see the usual white / green hexes showing what areas have been scanned. But when I flip through the kethane menu to display minerals, ore, etc., the grid is completely blank, and nothing is displayed. When I mouse over a hex, it displays something like "Kethane: 534.24, Minerals: (no data), Ore: (no data), Substrate: (no data), Water: (no data)." And it does not seem to just be that there are no resources in these cells - because some hexes display "Kethane: (none), Minerals: (no data), Ore: (no data), Substrate: (no data), Water: (no data)."

If it's relevant, I am playing in career mode (I have unlocked the advanced sci tech node with all the MKS modules), and I hyperedited the scanners into orbit to make sure they detected MKS resources before an actual launch. I tested them around Kerbin, Minmus, and Duna. What am I missing? Thanks!

Edited May 1, 2014 by zephrylia