#update 1.8

Hello everyone!

New gadgets are coming from the Research and Development facility, the kind that will get Kerbals screaming: MOAR BOOSTERS!!! A brand new update is here and with it comes better performance, fresh new features, improved visuals, and new parts being added to our players’ creative repertoire!   

Kerbal Space Program 1.8: Moar Boosters!!! is an update focused on making the game perform and look better, all while introducing more quality of life features that will improve the overall player experience. We’re also bringing some new solid rocket boosters to the VAB, as well as introducing some exclusive treats for owners of the Breaking Ground Expansion.

Let’s go through some of the update’s highlights below:

Unity Upgrade

Moar Boosters!!! brings an upgrade to the underlying engine of the game to Unity 2019.2, which helped us implement performance and graphics improvements, as well as better rendering performance and a reduction of frame rate stutters. With the new tools that this upgrade provides, we’ll be able to continue refining the game in upcoming updates.

Celestial Body Visual Improvements  

Mun, Minmus, Duna, Ike, Eve and Gilly have new high-quality texture maps & graphic shaders, and now look sharper and more realistic! You will also be able to select the celestial bodies’ shader quality in the settings and set them to low (legacy), medium or high, with improvements being visible across the board. These are just part of the first batch of celestial bodies being overhauled, slowly but surely we will continue this endeavor.

Map Mode improvements

Map mode received some adjustments too! Now you can use docking mode and stage your craft whilst in map mode. The stage display button (formerly stage mode) now serves as a toggle to show and hide the stage stack, whether you’re in flight or map view, and selected map labels will now persist when going back and forth between map and flight mode. 

New SRBs!

A range of new solid rocket boosters have been added to the game. From the tiny .625m stack size Mite to the titanic 2.5m wide, 144ton Clydesdale, these new boosters will offer a range of versatile solid-fuel options. Making History owners get an extra bonus here too with the “Pollux” and a 1.875m nose cone to fit on top of it.

Breaking Ground Exclusives

Kerbal Space Program 1.8: Moar Boosters!!!  also includes some exclusive content for owners of the Breaking Ground Expansion. A new set of fan blades and shrouds will continue to push the creativity of KSP players even further. Use them to create drones, ducted fan jets, or anything you can imagine. 

Improvements to the helicopter blades and the robotic part resource consumption have also been included. The latter will now have better info on consumption and improved options for power-out situations.

And more!

To learn more you can read the full Changelog here:

=============================v1.8.0=========================== 1.8.0 Changelog - BaseGame ONLY (see below for MH and BG changelog)

+++ Improvements

* Upgrade KSP to Unity 2019.2.2f1 version. * Standalone Windows build now uses DX11 Graphics API. Many visual improvements to shaders and FX. * Implement Unity Incremental Garbage Collection. * Implement new celestial body shaders and textures for Mun, Minmus, Duna, Ike, Eve, Gilly. * Update Main Menu Mun terrain shader. * Add Terrain Shader Quality graphics setting. * Improve the TrackingStation load time. * Implement ability to edit Action Groups in flight. * Performance improvements to the VAB/SPH scenes. * Performance improvements in the flight scene. * Performance improvements in the Tracking Station scene. * Add ability to edit resource values in PAWs using the key input. * Add Warp to node button on dV readout in NavBall display. * Add enable/disable wheel motor Actions to all wheels. * Add ability to limit the maximum size of PAWs via settings.cfg. * Improve the Action Groups/Sets UI. * Add PAW_PREFERRED_HEIGHT to settings.cfg for players to set a prefered max height. * Made staging and docking UI available in map view * Pinned labels in map view now persist pinned even when leaving and re-entering map view * "Delete All" functionality for messages app has been implemented. * Improve the KSC grass and asphalt texture and shader to reduce tilling. * Improve textures for the VAB building on level one. * Model revamp for the level one and level two Research and Development nissen huts. * Increased precision for eccentricity in advanced orbit info display. * Upgrade VPP and improve wheel and landing leg function. * Expose global kerbal EVA Physics material via setting. * Add do not show again option to re-runnable science experiments. * Add actions for same vessel interactions functionality. * Implement per-frame damage threshold on destructible buildings. * Add vessel name title to flag PAWs. * Add a confirm dialog with the option of “Don’t display again” when a kerbal removes a science experiment data. * Disable Pixelperfect on UI Canvases to improve performance - available to configure via settings.cfg. * Increase precision for numerical editing of maneuver nodes. * Kerbal position on ladders and command pods improved. * Add ability for users to add their own loading screen pictures to the game. Folder is KSP/UserLoadingScreens

+++ Localization

* Fix incorrect naming of The Sun. * Fix Action Sets text in VAB/SPH for some languages. * Fix Text in dV KSPedia pages in Japanese. * Fix Chinese Localizations. * Fix dV readout for Chinese language.

+++ Parts

New Parts: * S2-33 “Clydesdale” Solid Fuel Booster. * S2-17 “Thoroughbred” Solid Fuel Booster. * F3S0 “Shrimp” Solid Fuel Booster. * FM1 “Mite” Solid Fuel Booster. * Protective Rocket Nosecone Mk5A (“Black and White” and “Gray and Orange”). * Add rock/dirt debris FX to the Drill-O-Matic and Drill-O-Matic Junior.

Updated Parts (reskinned): * Service Bay (1.25m). * Service Bay (2.5m).

Color Variants: * Protective Rocket Nose Cone Mk7 (New “Orange” color variant) * Protective Rocket Nose Cone Mk12 (New “Orange” color variant)

+++ Bugfixes

* #bringbackthesandcastle - Fix the Mun sandcastle easter egg from not appearing. * Fix Maneuver editor so that the mouse wheel adjusts the node now in the contrary direction (same behavior as dragging down/up). * Fix a null reference error when player threw away a vessel with fuel flow overlay turned on in the editor. * Fix an input lock when switching between Editing the vessel and the Action groups menu. * Fix user created vessels disappearing from the vessel spawn dialog. * Fix the random selection of Mun vs Orbit scene when returning to Main Menu. * Fix input field rounding on Maneuver Node editor fields. * Fix a Null reference in the Editor when selecting a part and opening the Action Part Menu. * Fix pressing Enter key confirms the game quick save dialog. * Fix PAWs will now scale downwards from the header keeping more consistency on the fields.  * Fix an input lock issue where some PAW buttons disappeared when editing a numeric slider field. * Fix Menu Navigation was missing in the quicksave dialog. * Fix Mini Settings had some items that would be skipped when navigating with the arrow keys. * Fix for remove from symmetry causing NRE in flight scene. * Fix the FL-A10 collider no longer mismatching its geometry. * Fix Control Surface and Aero Toggle Deploy Action not working in all situations. * Joysticks and gamepads on Linux are again recognized and usable. * Fix Action Groups UI and Color issues. * Fix the LV-T30 Reliant Liquid Fuel Engine ́s bottom attach node. * Fix a texture seam on the Probodobodyne Stayputnik. * Fix a z-fighting issue on the destroyed VAB at level 3. * Fix the Z-4K Rechargeable Battery Bank ́s bottom attach node. * Fix the concrete tiling texture of the SPH at level 3. * Fix a grass texture seam in front of the VAB at level 3. * Fix missing texture and animation on the level one  Administration Building flag. * Smoothened Kerbal IVA expression transitions to avoid strange twitching. * Make the LV-TX87 Bobcat exhaust FX more appropriate. * Fix kerbal portraits when launching vessel with multiple kerbals in external command chairs. * Fix drills operating when not in contact with the ground. * Fix thrust center on the Mainsale engine. * Add bulkhead profile to LV-T91 Cheetah, LV-TX87 Bobcat, RK-7 Kodiak and RE-I12 Skiff. * Fix re-rooting of surface attach nodes. * Fix kerbal IVA expression animations transitions. * Fix shadows at KSC and in flight. * Fix “sinker” warning during game load. * Fix lengthy Map Transition when lots of vessels in the save. * Fix overlap in vessel type information window. * Fix a Null Reference when copying parts with alternative colours. * Fix an error where the custom crafts were not loaded in the Load Craft dialog after navigating the tabs. * Fix a null reference when clicking the Remove Symmetry button on some parts. * Motorized wheels no longer keep generating torque even when the motor is set to ‘Disabled’ * Re-centered an off center scrollbar in the mini settings dialog. * Rebalance decoupler, MK1-3, MK1 lander can, MK2 lander can, separators costs, crash tolerances, weight.

+++ Mods

* Target framework now .NET 4.x. * DXT3 DDS formatted textures are not supported by Unity or KSP any more. You must convert to DXT5. * Added UIPartActionWindow.UpdateWindowHeight to allow mods to dynamically set the PAW max height * MapviewCanvasUtil.GetNodeCanvasContainer created as more performant method than MapViewCanvasUtil.ResetNodeCanvasContainer. Use the rest one only when you need to force a scale reset * ModuleResourceAutoShiftState added that can be used for startup/restart of parts based on resource availability. * VesselValues are now cached per frame. Can use ResetValueCache() to reset the cache.

1.8.0 Changelog - Making History DLC ONLY

+++ Improvements

* User can now click and drag and release to connect two nodes in the mission builder.

+++ Parts

New Parts: * THK “Pollux” Solid Fuel Booster

Updated Parts (reskinned): * Kerbodyne S3-14400 Tank * Kerbodyne S3-7200 Tank * Kerbodyne S3-3600 Tank

+++ Bugfixes

* Craft Thumbnails are not shown/generated for stock missions. * Fix Kerbals spawning on EVA in missions spawning on their sides (very briefly). * Fix Intermediate and Advanced Tutorial becoming stuck. * Fix Typos in some part descriptions. * Fix vessel width and height restrictions on Woomerang and Dessert in career games. * Fix camera becoming stuck if in IVA mode when a vessel spawns in a mission set to change focus to that vessel. * Fix hatch entry colliders on the M.E.M. lander can.

+++ Missions

+++Miscellaneous

+++ Mods

1.8.0 Changelog - Breaking Ground DLC ONLY

+++ Improvements

* Add renaming of Deployed Science Stations. * Add alternators (producing electric charge) on LiquidFuel Robotic Rotors. * Add propeller blade AoA, lift and airspeed readouts to their PAWs. * Add Reset to built position button in PAWs of Robotic parts which causes them to reset their Angle, RPM or Extension. * Add shutdown/restart function to robotics parts based on resource availability. * Add preset curves functionality to the KAL controller. * Add part highlighting on mouseover in KAL. * Improve Robotic Part Resource usage info in editor. * Add interact button to open PAW for Deployable Science parts. * Added new KSPedia slides for Grip Pads, Propellers and Track Editor. * Improve Robotics Parts Resource usage to use less resources when moving slower. * The PAW button “Reset to Launch Position” for robotic parts now reads as, “Reset to build:” + Angle, RPM or Extension depending on the robotic part to avoid confusion.

+++ Localization

* Fix description text on R7000 Turboshaft Engine in English. * Fix localization of resource name in robotic part PAWs. * Fix KAL help texts.

+++ Parts

New Parts with Variants: * S-062 Fan Shroud * S-12 Fan Shroud * S-25 Fan Shroud * R-062 Ducted Fan Blade * R-12 Ducted Fan Blade * R-25 Ducted Fan Blade * Readjusted the liftCurve, liftMachCurve and dragCurve values on the propellers and helicopter blades.

Rebalanced Robotic Resource Consumption values: * G-00 Hinge * G-L01 Alligator Hinge * G-11 Hinge * G-L12 Alligator Hinge * G-W32 Hinge * Rotation Servo M-06 * Rotation Servo M-12 * Rotation Servo M-25 * Rotation Servo F-12 * EM-16 Light Duty Rotor * EM-32 Standard Rotor * EM-64 Heavy Rotor * EM-16S Light Duty * Rotor, EM-32S Standard Rotor * EM-64S Heavy Rotor * 1P4 Telescoping Hydraulic Cylinder * 3P6 Hydraulic Cylinder * 3PT Telescoping Hydraulic Cylinder * R121 Turboshaft Engine  * R7000 Turboshaft Engine 

+++ Bugfixes

* Fix Deployed Science Log and Message system spam. * Fix Deployed Science parts sometimes exploding when coming off rails if in contact with another part (kerbal, etc). * Fix Deployed science parts being visible during the astronaut complex when opening that scene from the Editor. * Fix Robotic Parts using EC when moving to initially set position on launch. * Fix slider numeric values in some PAW fields could go out of range. * Fix autostrut processing for some use cases regarding root part being robotic part. * Fix autostrut delay when vessel comes off rails for vessel with robotic parts. * Fix Actions at the end of KAL track not firing in Play Once mode. * Fix separation of the blades when attached to an active rotor. * Fix rotation of cargo parts in extended tooltips. * Fix cargo part icons appearing in Astronaut Complex when pinned. * Fix drag on pistons. * Fix cargo parts now rotate at the same speed as in the Editor on the inventory grid during Flight. * Fix mirroring of hinges and rotation servos. * Fix KAL Window not closing when vessel goes outta range. * Fix incorrect naming of the Sun in science experiments. * Fix mirrored attaching to rotor side nodes.

+++ Miscellaneous

+++ Modding

Kerbal Space Program 1.8: Moar Boosters!!! is now available on Steam and will soon be available on GOG and other third-party resellers. You will also be able to download it from the KSP Store if you already own the game.

Click here to enter the Grand Discussion Thread for this release.

Happy launchings!

By the way, you can download the new wallpapers of the Moar Boosters!!! art here:

1080x1920p (Most Phones)

1080x2048p (Galaxy S9)

1440x2560p (iPhone X)

Desktop 1920x1080p

Desktop 2048x1080p

Cassette Beasts Version 1.8: the "Sunshine Update" Announced

Cassette Beasts Version 1.8: the "Sunshine Update" is arriving on April 7th!

What can be expected from the "Sunshine Update":

Recruit Sunny as a partner character

New story quest with Sunny and the Landkeepers

3 new monsters

Recordable wing patterns for character customisation

Restaurants and Shop Counters are coming to Planet Zoo in Update 1.8!

On December 14th Frontier will be releasing the new free update for Planet Zoo and have revealed that we’ll be getting both restaurants and shop counters!

Restaurants can be linked with up to 20 tables to provide seating for guests, both indoors and out. Read the whole post here.

I’m also really excited about the addition of shop counters, which are an alternative to placing a whole ‘box’ down for a shop, meaning we can create a lot more custom designs. Post from Frontier here. 

Hi Kerbonauts!

It’s been a while, but we think it’s time for a new KSP challenge! Given how creative this community is, we’re confident the results will be amazing.

The KSP community has always played a crucial role in the development of the Kerbal Universe, and with the KSP franchise growing, there is an important mission you Kerbonauts can help us with. 

It’s about time to update the game’s loading screens and we came to the conclusion that we should let you, the community, submit your illustrations, screenshots, pictures and/or any form of fanart you’d like to see in KSP’s loading screens! A set of finalists will be included in Update 1.8. Cool right?

This is your chance to leave your mark on the original KSP and contribute with some amazing loading screen artwork to reflect what the game and our community has grown to! We are incredibly excited to see what you come up with!

Requirements:

Needs to be KSP inspired.

Submissions need to be self-made

References to other games or IPs are not allowed

All submissions must have a frame aspect ratio of 16:9

Resolution:

For screenshots - a minimum of 1920x1080, the higher the better. 

Illustrations and pictures should be sized at a minimum of 1920x1080.

Submission Deadline: Oct 2nd by 11:59pm EST.

You have until October 2nd  to submit your loading screens to this forum thread. By October 7th, we will select and announce the winners! For the official rules refer to the contest’s forum thread.

Abbreviated Rules