Squadcast Summary (Updated 2014-12-13 - the 0.90 features video edition!)

[BudgetHedgehog]

Squadcast. A very nice idea, but unfortunately, there's a few things that I see as problems - the fact it's an hour long, it's only available at one place and one time and there's no summary of it. This means that some people are unable to watch it (mobile viewers, awkward times, commitments elsewhere or they just don't have an hour to spare) and miss out on some really neat stuff.

This is where you I come in - this thread is where I write an overview of what happened in the latest Squadcast (omitting all the trivial stuff that takes up a majority of the time) in a hopefully quick to digest and read format. I've done this mainly because I'm fed up of official news and info about updates being mentioned on Squadcast and nowhere else and I know other people feel the same. These are all typed as Max speaks, sorry if things jump around or are very brief. The dates are based on GMT (Squadcast is at 00.30 on a Saturday) and I will do my best to catch every one, but with my hours at work, I can't promise it.

If I think there's some important or interesting news, I make the text this colour. This should allow you to get a TL;DR of the TL;DW.

KSP IS IN DEVELOPMENT AND THIS INFORMATION IS SUBJECT TO CHANGE OR REMOVAL WITHOUT NOTICE

Please remember that Squadcasts are not revised-and-edited press conferences, they are improvised podcasts. As such, some details may be misunderstood, unclear or confusing.

Summary for 2014-12-13 - Watch it here (Twitch)

-Pretty slow one, Max is just finishing off his mission to Ike. I won't bore you with those details, that's not why you watch Squadcast However, the big news was the first showing of the features video

Previous takes of the video ended up at like 22 minutes long which is great, but pretty boring. In other words, they're best left to the media team. The official features video was played to great reception - however, a couple UI elements have changed in the actual update compared to the video, just FYI. Most of the features I covered in last weeks write up. I don't want to write a review of features video as you can watch it for yourself.

-Biome maps are available to view ingame, but only available in the debug menu. They're open to feedback on this though - if a large majority of players want that as an unlockable feature, it's doable.

-Update is coming, and I quote, "soon ;^)"

-Squad is doing their best to make saves compatible, but understandably they don't want to promise anything. AFATK though, no incompatibilities exist with old saves when upgrading. That said, the game has changed a lot so to get the full benefit from it, you should start over.

-IVAs will be coming in beta, not in this update - they're great to have, but are a lot of work to make. A lot more work than making a whole new awesome part, for instance. But they're coming, don't worry. But for now, no new Mk3 IVA (I personally suggest using B9s HL IVA until then).

-Cool stuff with some merch happening soon as well, will be very good and unique to every KSP players. More info later.

Yeah, that's basically it.. as I said, pretty slow one, not much new, you should probably just watch the features video. All important info is there anyway. See you guys next week!

Previous summaries

Watch it here!

Biomes

I missed the biome discussion, sorry (late night at work). But for the record, there's about 106 biomes in total now, scattered across all planets and moons. These were drawn out by KSP-TVer tanuki_chau. As a result of this, the Science Archives interface has been retooled. Also, there are contracts to go to them.

KXP - Updated

This went through a lot of revision based on player feedback and play testing. After many new ides, they settled on the current one. Basically, every kerbal starts at level 0 and there are 5 levels. They know what they want to be good at, but they aren't actually good at it yet. For example, Jeb knows he's a pilot so that's what you train him up for. They get XP based on achievements and what they do - a trip to Mun awards X amount of XP, a trip to Eeloo awards way way more. As they level up, they gain new abilities and perks. Scientists will increase science output by a certain % which grows with each level the kerbal gets ("I don't believe they stack, but I could be wrong" says Max). This is the closest to the original idea for them. As for engineers, they fix things and repair stuff. Level 0 engineers can't do anything (as with all lvl 0 kerbals), but as they level up, they can learn to repack chutes, fix solar panels and wheels (also maaaaaybe in the future, they'll be able to build stuff but hush hush, I didn't say that..). Also, SAS doesn't really exist as a thing any more - it's only available if you have Pilots (or sufficient probe core) in the ship. RW and pods provide torque. If no pilots are present (just engineers or scientist), you have to hold everything manually and will be very hard. Probe wise - the higher tiers act similar to higher level pilots so you could use a very expensive probe core and not have a Pilot onboard. Max doesn't recommend using probes over pilots, however (I don't know why, he didn't say). Levelling up pilots, they learn to control SAS. Higher level pilots can point at a direction and hold that so you can say 'point prograde' and they will until you tell them to stop, the highest level can hold direction at a manoeuvre node.

Mk3 parts

A whole beautiful set of parts from PorkJet. Profile looks more similar to the NASA SLS parts rather than the old Mk3 parts, but that's necessary due to the required size (2.5m cargo). Cargo bays are confirmed to be in thanks to the diligence of the fantastic PorkJet (thanks man!). Landing gear however, are complex, and PJ is working on it, but it's impossible to say if they'll will be in. If they aren't, they'll be the first thing to come in the update after this.

FinePrint

They wanted more contracts and realised it's already done by Arsonide here so they worked with him to integrate it. Base and station building, surveys, satellite contracts, capture asteroid.. Already in the FP mod now, but 0.90 one are improved (more info here). Things like asteroid redirection are only available once the KSC is upgraded enough (not as they currently are now by unlocking the Klaw). Talking of which....

KSC upgrade

Start with small and simple, meant to represent poor company. Barn models are reconsidered (won't be in 0.90, for sure). Lower levels hamper things. In Sandbox, everything is unlocked. Career.. you have to upgrade everything, and I mean everything.

First VAB and SPH

can only build ships that have up to 50 parts.

Engineers will tell you if you go over 50 parts.

Launchpad and runway

-

first runways only allows roughly 10 tons at the moment

, they must be upgraded to handle more. Impossible to launch heavier vessels. At max level, as many parts and weight as you want.

Mission control

- higher level means more contracts.

Lowest level mission control means no manoeuvre nodes available.

Pretty mean, yeah, but career mode is supposed to be hard.

Admin building

- more active strategies with higher level. Commitment level is based on upgrade - l

owest level admin building cannot have 100% commitment to one strategy.

R&D

-

lowest level means limit to science you can spend. Even if you get 1000 science in a mission, until you upgrade it, you won't be able to spend that science in one go

(access to nodes is therefore limited by upgrades). Upgrading buildings happen immediately (originally was going to take time, but given that you can control time..)

Astronaut complex

- higher levels means more available slots for astronauts.

If you don't upgrade it though, you can't train them which means no EVA.

Tracking Station

-

lowest level means no orbit indicator.

If you press M in space, you will just see your craft, no orbit lines. Upgrade it, you see orbit lines. Upgrade again, you see the patched conics. But getting the orbit lines is a very cheap upgrade - before you launch your first thing, you already have enough money to unlock orbit lines. This is the same across the board - the most vital upgrades (orbit lines, nodes etc) are the first upgrade available and are pretty cheap. All these can be changed in the difficulty options though.

Editor overhaul

Best left to the feature videos due to difficulty in explaining in words. New building interface, revisited how attachment works, is less buggy. Part clipping is now allowed (not attaching multiple parts to same attach node, but things like if a part is overlapping another part by one pixel or 100, the game doesn't care, it's valid). Flat out recoded struts and fuel lines and made them from the bottom up to make them make sense. ATM, they're very simple and old but they will now work exactly as they should and are perfect.

Optimisation

Editors are now one scene (just with different backgrounds) so you don't need to load both. As they're the same thing, hit R and you switch between mirror (SPH) and radial (VAB) symmetry. This means the game is less grumpy as it doesn't load two functionally identical things, yay!

Release date

Well, we're in Experimentals now and the release date can be guessed at based on previous updates Experimentals phase. Take this with a grain of salt though, and no-one at Squad will confirm or deny your guesses

For the future

Considering having a launch window calender, like 'aim at Duna now for easy transfer' thing but this is just a thought at the moment. KAC would be nice for the finished game, but more like adding a button to the maneuver node where you can press it and the ship will warp to the node and drop to 1x speed. Very much in development and even thinking about how to actually do it (this is, then, what they WANT to do, not what they ARE doing).

Miscellaneous

Unity 4.6.1 is available, but isn't much better and won't be until Unity 5 comes out. However, 0.90.0 will most likely still be released built with 4.5.5 on all platforms. Upgrading is planned for later, though.

Resource transfer logic reworked - can now transfer evenly from multiple sources into target one at the same time.

Update title will be KSP 0.90.0 - Beta Than Ever

Edited December 13, 2014 by ObsessedWithKSP
Updated

[Bill Phil]

Wow. I'm glad I held off at playing hard mode just yet. Looks like Kareer is getting a pretty hefty update... Not to mention that SAS is all pilots/probes now...

And buildings! And FP! And mk3! I have to do something like a series...

I literally can't wait!

EDIT:

Oh, and, thanks for writing this stuff down!

[r4pt0r]

At first I was really confused by the date, then I read obsessedwithksp's location

THANK YOU FOR MAKING THIS! I made a suggestion thread a while back about someone making squadcast summaries. This is just too good.

[razark]

KXP

Levelling up pilots, they learn to control SAS and point pro/retrograde. Higher level pilots can hold radial and normal, the highest level can hold direction at a manoeuvre node.

I still find this utterly silly. A pilot can hold the ship at prograde or retrograde, but can't figure out how to point the nose normal or radial? It's just turning the Kerbal into a different kind of computer, not individual pilots. Piloting ability should affect how well a Kerbal can hold a craft on target, not if they can find a marker on the nav ball.

[Robotengineer]

Thanks for this! Very good info! A launch window calendar would be cool.

[BudgetHedgehog]

At first I was really confused by the date, then I read obsessedwithksp's location

THANK YOU FOR MAKING THIS! I made a suggestion thread a while back about someone making squadcast summaries. This is just too good.

You're very welcome, I feel the same way you do. Hearing someone say 'oh, that was mentioned on the last Squadcast' and I'm like '¬_¬'.. I just want people to never feel like they're missing out on important stuff (like the new resource transfer logic).

I don't kow if this will become a regular thing, it depends on my hours at work.. I'll try and do the best I can, it'll probably be replies to this thread rather than a whole new one.. But yeah, I thought some people would appreciate this stuff written down somewhere.

I'll change the date to ISO 8601

[dryer_lint]

Thank you so much for writing this! I'm way too lazy to watch Squadcast err... my audio is broken. Yeah.

This update is going to be so awesome. I just love the idea of a nerdy scientist attempting to hold the craft's attitude because Jeb is on vacation

Building upgrades sound great, although "no orbit lines" is scaring me.

[Kerano]

Excellent, thanks for the summary. While Squadcast is great for the people who want to spend the time to watch it, some of us prefer not to watch an hour or more of talking just to discover a few snippets of new information. Having a written summary which you can digest in just a few minutes is therefore much appreciated.

[Starman4308]

Thanks for the summary!

A lot of the changes look to be bad, artificial difficulty though. In a game about orbits, where career mode is the best way to introduce new players, they are deliberately withholding basic orbital information, ability to plan maneuvers, and keep craft steady. It'll make the learning curve even steeper, and will make it far more annoying for experienced players, because they are now lacking basic flight information and flight assistance.

It seems strongly like they are trying to shoehorn in their Kerbal experience and upgradeable buildings features, no matter what it does to basic gameplay. I'll keep playing. If the changes go through, I'll just use MechJeb and other mods to compensate. It still doesn't make these ideas good.

How I would do it:

Keep SAS for all craft. It's just silly otherwise. Limitations on being able to hold different vectors (particularly maneuver nodes) are okay, but otherwise it's just frustrating trying to correct a million little twitches.

Keep maneuver nodes, orbital tracks, and patched conics. This is how players can learn what different maneuvers do to your orbits. Not having them is silly.

Astronaut complex could be used for training Kerbals in different skills. When a Kerbal gets enough experience, you might train him in holding prograde/retrograde vectors, how to EVA, how to take surface samples, or how to manually deploy solar panels. More advanced astronaut complex means more advanced training allowed.

Tracking station might be used to determine how many probe cores you can have going at once, and how far they can get from Kerbin before they shut down.

Edited December 6, 2014 by Starman4308

[Steambirds]

I really don't like the changes to SAS though, I fly a boatload of unmanned probes, which will only hamper my ability to play

[CaptRobau]

All these new additions seem to finally make career mode interesting. Every part of the game seems to be about progession, not just the tech tree anymore. This will do wonders for balancing efforts too, because things can be gated much more differently than before. More importantly this is unlocking a potential treasure trove of interactivity for mods that was previously unattainable.

Also this little gem:

Resource transfer logic reworked - can now transfer evenly from multiple sources into target one at the same time.

Thank goodness. Tac Fuel Balancer was too nebulous, but its usefullness was still pretty big. This little tweak should bring the best of both worlds.

Very excited for this update. Btw, thanks for summarizing it all Obsessed.

[dryer_lint]

I really don't like the changes to SAS though, I fly a boatload of unmanned probes, which will only hamper my ability to play

If I understood it correctly, probes will still have SAS. You lose SAS functionality if there's no pilots in the vessel (ex: only scientists)

[BudgetHedgehog]

More importantly this is unlocking a potential treasure trove of interactivity for mods that was previously unattainable.

Max said the upgradable system is moddable, but I wasn't sure what he specifically referred to (models, tiers, limits etc), so I left it out. Agreed without in the resource transfer - something tiny but still awesome. That's exactly why I wrote this summary - because it's likely the first time you'll hear about it is either in the release notes (so.. spoilers, I guess) or someone offhandedly mentioning it was in Squadcast.

And you're welcome. I think I'll go to bed now - I have to be up in 5 hours time for a 12 hour shift tomorrow.. Sigh..

Edited December 6, 2014 by ObsessedWithKSP

[RocketPilot573]

If I understood it correctly, probes will still have SAS. You lose SAS functionality if there's no pilots in the vessel (ex: only scientists)

You literally canceled out what you said, in other words you said Probes have SAS but they don't.

I believe he said that higher level Probes will be able to preform functions that Kerbals can do (SAS).

EDIT: Err, or was it higher level R&D?

[BudgetHedgehog]

I believe he said that higher level Probes will be able to preform functions that Kerbals can do (SAS).

Higher tier probes in the tech tree. Like Stayputnik is the Get What You Pay For bargain probe, RGU-L01 is the bee knees with full SAS control.

EDIT:

A lot of the changes look to be bad, artificial difficulty though.

I see where you're coming from, but as mentioned, the critical upgrades are the first ones to come and are very cheap (as in, cheaper than your first vessel). You can literally start the game and go straight to upgrading the tracking station because that upgrade is so cheap. As for increasing difficulty, Max did say 'yeah, it's a mean thing to do.. but career mode is supposed to be hard'. Make of that what you will

Really going now, guys...

Edited December 6, 2014 by ObsessedWithKSP

[Steambirds]

I just hope these SAS changes can be reverted in the difficulty screen.

[Starman4308]

I see where you're coming from, but as mentioned, the critical upgrades are the first ones to come and are very cheap (as in, cheaper than your first vessel). You can literally start the game and go straight to upgrading the tracking station because that upgrade is so cheap. As for increasing difficulty, Max did say 'yeah, it's a mean thing to do.. but career mode is supposed to be hard'. Make of that what you will

Then make career mode difficult by changing funds/rep/science pressures, instead of just manufacturing artificial difficulty that half the players will solve by just giving themselves enough starting cash to buy the stupid, should-never-have-been-separate upgrades.

The launchpad thing is a good example: it forces you to shell out funds if you want big, spectacular missions. Removing SAS is a bad example: it becomes a game of "balance your twitches" instead of trying to focus on your ascent. Same with the orbit lines, maneuver nodes, and patched conics: it's removing basic flight information that literally no astronaut or mission control ever would be without. It makes the game frustrating, instead of making career difficult.

[Troubletcat]

Lots of interesting stuff in here I didn't know, cool to get some details about what exactly the building upgrades and kerbal skills (other than pilot, already knew about that) will be like. My hype continues to intensify.

Also, thanks lots for making this! I don't squadcast, so this is really appreciated.

[xub313]

Wow! These Features are exiting! Congrats to Squad and their helpers (Porkjet, Arsonide, and Tanuki Chau). I think some people might complain that the starting upgrades can be bought so early but I think it's a good idea.

[WuphonsReach]

I see where you're coming from, but as mentioned, the critical upgrades are the first ones to come and are very cheap (as in, cheaper than your first vessel). You can literally start the game and go straight to upgrading the tracking station because that upgrade is so cheap. As for increasing difficulty, Max did say 'yeah, it's a mean thing to do.. but career mode is supposed to be hard'. Make of that what you will

Really going now, guys...

When doing game design - critical upgrades that are cheaply unlocked right at the start raise the question of - why the heck are you locking them in the first place?

Alternate methods for doing Tracking Center:

- At low levels, your orbits are only accurate to +/- 10% along with the conics, Ap/Pe, orbital period, etc. Make it so that the API reports consistently inaccurate information to all addons (i.e. for this ship, the error is 5% Y, -5% X, and -7% Z, etc.). The next launch would have different error bars.

So you can still put things into orbit, you still see the Ap/Pe numbers, but they're inaccurate. The orbit line is a fuzzy circle instead of a tight line.

Then, maybe you get a contract to launch a GPS sat network (6 sats?) which improves your accuracy to down to 1%. And upgrading the tracking station also increases your accuracy of information.

[RobotsAndSpaceships]

The thing is, pointing in direction manually has no difficulty until Squad introduces a fix for rotation stopping when you time warp.

[klgraham1013]

I feel like Squad need to hire an experienced tychoon game developer. What's the point of taking away a feature if "it's so cheap, you can just buy it right away!" Contracts were horrible from the get go. The tech tree is in dire need of an upgrade. Pardon me while I go play in my Sandbox.

[LABHOUSE]

I wish we wouldn't be able to part clip... way too ocd.

[Starman4308]

I wish we wouldn't be able to part clip... way too ocd.

Thinking about that... it might be good if potential part clipping came up in orange. I've been frequently frustrated by 0.25 refusing to add a symmetrical set of fuel tanks because one of them magically clips into another part. A highlight would let me take a look and see "Is this really clipping, or is KSP just being silly again?".

[Superfluous J]

If career mode is supposed to be hard, why is the tech tree designed as a tutorial for new players?

Edit: And ObsessedWithKSP, thanks so much for this. You saved me about 58 minutes, as it took about 2 to read your summary and would have taken 60 to watch the episode.

Edited December 6, 2014 by 5thHorseman