RCS no longer "unlocked" after update

[Mort]

Greetings,

After starting KSP up for the first time in a while to play some contracts I've found all my RCS parts are locked and say I need to unlock them from R&D. Looking at the tech tree though shows they are already unlocked.

I've started the game with no mods loaded at all but they still don't show as available. Is there a config file I need to fix somewhere to get them to show again? It won't let me fly any of my ships now because of the missing RCS.

Also seem to be missing the FL-R25 tanks as well which are in the same fuel systems group. Parts like the fuel duct are still available though(?!?)

Edited August 30, 2014 by Mort

[Kasuha]

There's a great stickied thread about all kinds of bugs and problems you may face in the current release:

http://forum.kerbalspaceprogram.com/threads/86845-6-Aug-0-24-2-Issues-and-Fixes

One of issues it covers is converting old 'Career' save into current 'Science' save. Details can be found here:

http://forum.kerbalspaceprogram.com/threads/86622-How-to-import-a-0-23-5-Career-save-into-0-24-Science-Mode

[Master Tao]

This is actually specific to the RCS parts, which were moved to different nodes in the tech tree. This issue not covered in either thread Kasuha linked to. The only way to fix it is to edit your save file. It's located at KSP/GameData/[your save name]/persistence.sfs.

• Make a backup copy of your persistence.sfs
  
• Open it with a plaintext editor (Notepad on Windows)
  
• Find Tech{} entries with the parts:
  

        Tech
        {
            id = fuelSystems
            state = Available
            part = liquidEngineMini
           [B] part = RCSFuelTank
            part = radialRCSTank
            part = RCSBlock
            [/B]part = fuelLine
        }
...
        Tech
        {
            id = specializedControl
            state = Available
            part = Mark1-2Pod
            part = asasmodule1-2
            part = landerCabinSmall
            [B]part = rcsTankRadialLong
            part = linearRcs[/B]
            part = parachuteLarge
        }
...
        Tech
        {
            id = largeControl
            state = Available
            part = LaunchEscapeSystem
            part = cupola
            part = mk2LanderCabin
            [B]part = RCSTank1-2[/B]
        }
...
       Tech
        {
            id = precisionEngineering
            state = Available
            part = microEngine
            part = radialEngineMini
            part = smallRadialEngine
            [B]part = rcsTankMini[/B]
            part = miniFuelTank
            part = toroidalFuelTank
            part = stackDecouplerMini
        }

Delete the bold lines. Save your persistence.sfs and load the game. You should be able to research them in the R&D Facility.

[Claw]

As a note, this only affects old save games that you carry forward to 0.24.X

[Mort]

This is actually specific to the RCS parts, which were moved to different nodes in the tech tree. This issue not covered in either thread Kasuha linked to. The only way to fix it is to edit your save file. It's located at KSP/GameData/[your save name]/persistence.sfs.

... You should be able to research them in the R&D Facility.

Thanks, that did the trick.

I looked through the tech tree before making the change and noticed what you mentioned... the RCS appeared in multiple nodes and the ones in the new node were showing as needing research among other components that must have been available when I originally unlocked that node.

It turns out they are easy to spot because there is a number appearing on each node that has locked items in it, so I just went through them and researched all the other bits and pieces that had the same problem.

I do have a new problem now, which is that I don't have enough money to actually afford to "buy" the ships I've built, but I guess that's just something I'll have to work towards now, or maybe look at that other thread about converting to a Science mode... or perhaps time to start from scratch and meet the new challenges with the basic parts and my much improved rocketry skills

[Master Tao]

I don't have enough money to actually afford to "buy" the ships I've built

There's a little-documented cheat in the debug menu:

• Go to the Space Center view
  
• Open the debug menu (Alt+F12)
  
• Hold Alt for 5 seconds
  

You can now add or subtract Funds, Science, or Rep as you see fit for the work you've already done in your save.

[Mort]

Thanks for the tip.

I actually lost a lot of my asteroid hunting ships that were in orbit at some point while I was trying to work out the missing parts issue. I'm starting to get some points now doing the easy Kerbin contracts, but my asteroid ships are pretty expensive so I might just treat myself to funds to cover buying one or two of them back again.

[Mort]

Should this issue be raised as a bug (if not already) or is it considered a side-effect of upgrading through "beta" versions?

[Claw]

It's not going to be carried as a bug because it's not something that would be fixed with a new release. Likely, the next release will also cause some unwanted side effect to save games.

The best thing we have to combat this right now is to note it and figure out fixes so people can update their saves if required. Some people start fresh, some people carry over. But it's not something that will be fixed in a future version, because it's likely that the future version will break something else anyway.

Sometimes I like to be wordy. Hopefully that makes some sense.

Cheers,

~Claw

[Mort]

yup, makes sense, and pretty much what I was thinking anyway. Just thought I'd check before changing the status to solved.