Planetary Rings

[Whirligig Girl]

This thread is about discussing the possibility of rings. We will assume, hypothetically, that they WILL be implemented in some form, and (for the simplicity of not involving the GP2 suggestion), go around Jool. But first, a statement about mod rings. No mod seems to have been able to do rings right. They all look way to dark&solid and are just not pretty. You'd obviously make them much nicer looking!

Approach One: Hologram

This is the dumbest, but easiest to implement approach. You just make the rings a scaledspace object that isn't really there.

Approach Two: Hologram+Asteroids

Just Hologram with some asteroids spawning inside the rings. It wouldn't give enough rocks though.

Approach Three: Physical bits within 2.5km

NO! KSP already struggles with physics, and this would kill your PC!

Approach Four: "Ghost Forces" and on-rails particles/rotating ring texture, and SCIENCE!

This is probably the most practical. When passing through the rings, timewarp is restricted, and you are dragged by phantom forces off course slightly into the orbit of the rings. Parts might also have some damage applied to them that is related to the relative velocity to the rings. If you're in the same orbit as the rings, you witness a beautiful freefall of particles.

Occasionally one or two small asteroids might spawn, but they despawn after 2.5km. You can use the grabber claw to grab these and bring them home. Joolean Ring'roids are different (as far as science, at least) from regular Asteroids, and have higher science multiplier. You can also take a sample when in the rings, or expose goo and material bay to the rings. The phantom forces will (when accounting for the fact that Re-Entry Heating will probably be implemented) almost make rings a sort of very thin orbital velocity atmosphere!

So yeah, what are your thoughts?

[Vaporo]

Maybe time warp could be completely restricted while in the rings? (According to Wikipedia, Saturns rings are estimated to be 1 km thick at most, so waiting for hours to exit the rings is not likely to be an issue).

What I would like is this:

From a distance, rings are represented by a simple hologram (of course). When get close to/enter the rings, you will see a variety of particle effects (could be just simple points, could be small rocks) moving at orbital velocity in the rings. If you enter at a relative speed of less than say... 50 m/s, you will most likely be fine. If you enter faster than that, you will engage a system based off the reentry heat system (when we get one) that will cause you ship to be damaged. Shields, of some sort, (maybe just a large wall of structural panels) will mitigate this damage. It will also apply a slowing effect that will attempt to draw your ship into the a closer orbit to the rings.

I would also like it if the "no random failures" rule was bent a bit for the rings. Occasionally, when you're in the rings, a small "meteorite" will randomly impact your ship at a high relative velocity, damaging and maybe even destroying the part that it hits. (They would be modeled as a straight line running towards your ship, so that don't they destroy something that is completely shrouded by other parts)

Numerous small, untrackable asteroids will randomly spawn in the rings (Not too many, though. Don't want to kill the physics engine. An average of five or six in a 2.5 km radius would make me happy), alongside a smattering of regular asteroids (which are also untrackable at below say, C-class). Large D and E class asteroids are extremely rare in the rings, and you may be given a contract to visit them because of their rarity.

Maybe it's a bit too complicated, but it would still be incredible.

[Whirligig Girl]

Maybe time warp could be completely restricted while in the rings? (According to Wikipedia, Saturns rings are estimated to be 1 km thick at most, so waiting for hours to exit the rings is not likely to be an issue).

You forget how small a kilometer really is. If you simply burn upwards a bit you can get out of it, and with KSP's smallified world you could probably get away with a thickness of half that.

[Vaporo]

You forget how small a kilometer really is. If you simply burn upwards a bit you can get out of it, and with KSP's smallified world you could probably get away with a thickness of half that.

Yes. That's exactly my point. The rings are not thick, so completely disabling time warp while in the rings would not be a problem, as you could leave them without difficulty.

[Whirligig Girl]

AH, yeah, I misread.

[Tex_NL]

How can a ring system be done? EVE!

From a distance it's just a texture or as you put it, a hologram. Up close a particle system kicks in to give it some volume. Throw in some random terrain scatter, give it its own biome for science and you're pretty much done.

[moogoob]

Eve would be a very interesting planet to give a ring. Not sure though if rings would be stable that close to the sun - wouldn't solar winds destabilize the particles rather quickly? Though, this is KSP we're talking about - a system in which a small moon made of (presumably) mint ice cream doesn't melt at 1au from the sun.

[Megalodon 720]

I really want rings. They would make for some absolutely brilliant views.

[Raven.]

This thread is about discussing the possibility of rings. We will assume, hypothetically, that they WILL be implemented in some form, and (for the simplicity of not involving the GP2 suggestion), go around Jool. But first, a statement about mod rings. No mod seems to have been able to do rings right. They all look way to dark&solid and are just not pretty. You'd obviously make them much nicer looking!

Approach One: Hologram

This is the dumbest, but easiest to implement approach. You just make the rings a scaledspace object that isn't really there.

Approach Two: Hologram+Asteroids

Just Hologram with some asteroids spawning inside the rings. It wouldn't give enough rocks though.

Approach Three: Physical bits within 2.5km

NO! KSP already struggles with physics, and this would kill your PC!

Approach Four: "Ghost Forces" and on-rails particles/rotating ring texture, and SCIENCE!

This is probably the most practical. When passing through the rings, timewarp is restricted, and you are dragged by phantom forces off course slightly into the orbit of the rings. Parts might also have some damage applied to them that is related to the relative velocity to the rings. If you're in the same orbit as the rings, you witness a beautiful freefall of particles.

Occasionally one or two small asteroids might spawn, but they despawn after 2.5km. You can use the grabber claw to grab these and bring them home. Joolean Ring'roids are different (as far as science, at least) from regular Asteroids, and have higher science multiplier. You can also take a sample when in the rings, or expose goo and material bay to the rings. The phantom forces will (when accounting for the fact that Re-Entry Heating will probably be implemented) almost make rings a sort of very thin orbital velocity atmosphere!

So yeah, what are your thoughts?

I would love to have rings, but I also think that Jool is not the planet to receive them. Me personally, I think Squad needs to introduce Gas Giant 2, of which would have the ring system along with an asteroid system. That way we can have an analog to Saturn. In fact, a good implementation would be to implement Gas Giant 2 with rings, with asteroids, on a 90 degree tilt like Uranus, and then have Eeloo as either the only moon, or the larger of two moons. It gives players a new planet to play with, and it keeps the CPU load down.

Eve would be a very interesting planet to give a ring. Not sure though if rings would be stable that close to the sun - wouldn't solar winds destabilize the particles rather quickly? Though, this is KSP we're talking about - a system in which a small moon made of (presumably) mint ice cream doesn't melt at 1au from the sun.

The solar wind, at that distance, would blow the rings out into deep space. It makes more sense around a gas giant that is way out there.

I really want rings. They would make for some absolutely brilliant views.

Yes it would .

[Tex_NL]

Eve would be a very interesting planet to give a ring. ...

That was not what I meant. I was not talking about the planet Eve but the mod EVE, Environmental Visual Enhancements . The mod that adds clouds to Kerbin and other atmospheric planets.

[Megalodon 720]

I would love to have rings, but I also think that Jool is not the planet to receive them. Me personally, I think Squad needs to introduce Gas Giant 2, of which would have the ring system along with an asteroid system. That way we can have an analog to Saturn. In fact, a good implementation would be to implement Gas Giant 2 with rings, with asteroids, on a 90 degree tilt like Uranus, and then have Eeloo as either the only moon, or the larger of two moons. It gives players a new planet to play with, and it keeps the CPU load down.

All of the gas giants in the Solar System have a ring system, but Saturn's is the most visible. I love the idea of the tilted rings though, as Uranus is my favourite planet.