[Question] Could game physics Delta Time be Modded??

[SyberSmoke]

So as I understand it, the Delta Time variable in the general settings tab is the time frame where the game calculates physics interactions. For things that are under change, this value is best to be small so more calculation happen and things don't explode as much. But for things at rest and not really doing anything (station in orbit) this value can be larger since physics calculation should not change while the object is at rest.

I am curious to know then if a mod could me made to make Delta Time contextual? So if your ship is in motion the values would be set based on what is happening. While if your ship is at rest, the calculation period relaxes some reducing physics overhead.

Any thoughts on this? Can it be done or is it untouchable?

[DartBoris]

I think TimeControl can change delta time ingame

However you have to do this manually every time

But I'd like the ability to force some object "on rails" without timewarp (I have lot of stuff in KSC , really laggy to take off large rockets untill reaching 2.5 km. Also , station. Force them on rail and enjoy docking in normal time rate , but will need a workaround for docking itself)

Edited November 19, 2014 by DartBoris

[kujuman]

Back in .16 or .17 or something, there was a mod that slowed down time when there were a lot of parts, and this feature became stock. I imagine that since that was possible, what you suggest is possible.

[Xaiier]

So as I understand it, the Delta Time variable in the general settings tab is the time frame where the game calculates physics interactions. For things that are under change, this value is best to be small so more calculation happen and things don't explode as much. But for things at rest and not really doing anything (station in orbit) this value can be larger since physics calculation should not change while the object is at rest.

I am curious to know then if a mod could me made to make Delta Time contextual? So if your ship is in motion the values would be set based on what is happening. While if your ship is at rest, the calculation period relaxes some reducing physics overhead.

Any thoughts on this? Can it be done or is it untouchable?

First off, by "delta time" I presume you mean the max delta time in the settings. And the answer is yes...

I think TimeControl can change delta time ingame

However you have to do this manually every time

But I'd like the ability to force some object "on rails" without timewarp (I have lot of stuff in KSC , really laggy to take off large rockets untill reaching 2.5 km. Also , station. Force them on rail and enjoy docking in normal time rate , but will need a workaround for docking itself)

Yes, my mod Time Control gives you a way to change the max delta time slider from the settings while in game, and also has a somewhat effective "auto" mode which can play with the max delta time as well as the actual time speed to maintain good FPS while maximizing in-game speed.

Your rails idea might potentially work, though as you noticed, handling physics properly for such cases becomes problematic.

Back in .16 or .17 or something, there was a mod that slowed down time when there were a lot of parts, and this feature became stock. I imagine that since that was possible, what you suggest is possible.

That wasn't a mod, that's just naturally how Unity works: http://docs.unity3d.com/ScriptReference/Time.html

It's directly related to the max delta time, a short summary being "if it takes longer than max delta time to perform calculations for the 0.02 long physics step, cut it off and slow everything down to keep FPS up over game speed"

Edited November 20, 2014 by Xaiier