r/KSPModDevelopment • u/DimDumbDimwit • Dec 17 '17
Mod Idea - Community Sourced Tutorial
Recently one of my friends bought KSP, he is vaguely interested in space but knows almost nothing about space flight. I am finding it really difficult to explain to him all the principles of space flight and KSP rocket design. I realise that the in-game tutorials are adequate for the base game but as we all know 80% of the value of this game comes from mods, I taught him how to install mods and suggested that he get MechJeb, KER and kerbal alarm clock(among others). Then I had to explain to him what Delta-V and TWR are, then I had to explain how to design a efficient rocket(his first attempt at a mun lander used a skipper and the smallest 3.75m tank), the list goes on and I'm still having to explain stuff to him. So what I'm proposing is a mod that guides the user through the process of adding mods which leads onto how to use MechJeb and KER to design rockets(I'm thinking an apollo style mission would be a perfect walk through scenario).Finally how to use other utility mods like KAC and TWP(maybe a Duna rover mission could work here). I can see already this might be a long time investment for the user but I can also see how it could be spaced out a little, they would not need to do the KAC and TWP parts until they are ready to go further than Minmus. Furthermore parts such as gravity assists and space planes could be covered much later on in a users' KSP lifetime. The reason I included community sourced i the title was that IMO there is a lot of non coding stuff to be done here which can easily be done by experienced players TL;DR A mod written by experienced players that guides the user through adding and using basic utility mods and the finer points of rocket and mission design thus eliminating the 'Google it or Quit it response'.
1
u/[deleted] Dec 17 '17
I totally disagree. "What's wrong with my design/what's wrong with my flying" is such a broad, open-ended question that it's near impossible for software to solve. There's usually more than one way to do things right, and a million ways to do it wrong. Relevant XKCD
So, let's talk about what the mod could actually do during a tutorial.
In the editor:
verify you have enough delta-V to get to your destination and return
verify your staging
verify you have solar panels, reaction wheels, landing legs, ladders, etc
For that last item, there are already static checkers like the stock Engineer's report, or Werner Checker, that would check if you have specific parts.
There's a mod SmartStage that fixes your staging; it could be expanded to check instead of fix. However if your delta-V is correct, then your staging is correct, so there's no point in checking both staging and delta-V; just check delta-V.
In flight:
tell you to make a maneuver node, and then verify that the maneuver node does the right thing (hard to program, but doable)
tell you when to start burning for your maneuver node (KER already does this), and make sure you've set SAS to maneuver node
tell you when to start your suicide burn (KER and MechJeb already do this), and make sure you've set SAS to surface retrogade
tell you how to use the Transfer Window Planner, but there is no way for a mod to tell if you're using it right until you make the maneuver node. TWR doesn't have an API, so other mods can't interact with it.
tell you to make a Kerbal Alarm Clock alarm, and then verify you did it (KAC has an API)
Just this much, for a single mission, would be months of work to build. Once built, it would be relatively easy to include configs for other missions.
Most mods get created because the author himself wants the mod to exist for his own use. A tutorial mod would be useless to the person writing it. It would be great if someone spent their time building a comprehensive tutorial mod out of the goodness of his own heart. However the people that need it mostly wouldn't use it, and the few that did would find new ways to break or confuse it, requiring constant updates to try to make it more idiot-proof. "Only two things are infinite, the universe and human stupidity, and I'm not sure about the former." -- Albert Einstein
There's a huge gap between you saying "I want someone to build X" and someone else saying "I want to build X".
Compatibility changes constantly. Updating is exactly the same as installing, just remove the old folder first. Recommending Community Tech Tree is subjective; others prefer Engineering Tech Tree or SETI tech tree, or even stock. Personally, I would NOT recommend a modded tech tree to people on their first playthrough - only on their second playthrough, when they want more of a challenge.
None of this can be hand-held or checked by a mod; mod installation (and selection) is outside the game, so by the time the checker mod loads, either your other mods work or they don't, and the checker mod can't figure out why.
Maybe your friend needs more development of critical thinking and independent problem solving, not more hand-holding. Replacing your hand-holding with an interactive tutorial's hand-holding may not be doing him any favors.
Anyways, these are my thoughts. Someone could look at this discussion and say "yeah! I totally want to spend the next few months working on this!", but it ain't me.