Documentation Table of Contents

Kerbalism

Welcome to Kerbalism

Hundreds of Kerbals were killed in the making of this mod.

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INTRODUCTION

Go beyond the routine of orbital mechanics and experience the full set of engineering challenges that space has to offer. This mod extends KSP by simulating the crew, components, resources and environment in a more complex way. All mechanics can be configured to some degree, or even disabled if you don’t like some of them. A big part of the mod is fully data-driven, so that you can create your own customized game play with only a text editor and a minimal amount of espresso. Or simply use the set of rules already included, or the ones shared by other users. What follows is a summary description of the capabilities of the mod, and for a more detailed documentation the user is invited to read the docs.

ARCHITECTURE

Contrary to popular belief, the observable universe is not a sphere of a 3km radius centered around the active vessel. All mechanics are simulated for loaded and unloaded vessels alike, without exception. Acceptable performance was obtained by a mix of smart approximations and common sense. The computational complexity is by and large independent from the number of vessels.

RESOURCES

This isn’t your classic post-facto resource simulation. Consumption and production work for all vessels, all the time, and is coherent irregardless of warp speed or storage capacity. Complex chains of transformations just work. Enjoy designing missions without the luxury of stopping the flow of time. No suspension of disbelief required.

ENVIRONMENT

The environment of space is modeled in a simple yet effective way. Temperature is calculated using the direct solar flux, the indirect solar flux bouncing off from celestial bodies, and the radiative infrared cooling of their surfaces. The simulation of the latter is especially interesting, and contrary to popular models it is able to reproduce satisfactory results for both atmospheric and atmospheric-less worlds. Radiation is implemented using an overlapping hierarchy of 3D zones, modeled and rendered using signed distance fields. These are used to simulate inner and outer belts, magnetosphere and even the heliopause. Solar weather is represented by Coronal Mass Ejection events, that happen sporadically, increase radiation and cause communication blackouts.

HABITAT

The habitats of vessels are modeled in terms of internal volume, external surface, and a set of dedicated pseudo resources. These elements are then used to calculate such things as: living space per-capita, the pressure, CO2 and humidity levels of the internal atmosphere, and radiation shielding. Individual habitats can be enabled or disabled, in the editor and in flight, to reconfigure the internal space and everything associated with it during the mission. Inflatable habitats are driven directly by the part pressure.

BIOLOGICAL NEEDS

Your crew need a constant intake of Food, Water and Oxygen. Failure to provide for these needs will result in unceremonious death. Configurable supply containers are provided.

PSYCHOLOGICAL NEEDS

The era of tin can interplanetary travel is over. Your crew need some living space, however minimal. Failure to provide enough living space will result in unforeseen events in the vessel, the kind that happen when operators lose concentration. While not fatal directly, they often lead to fatal consequences later on. Some basic comforts can be provided to delay the inevitable mental breakdown. Nothing fancy, just things like windows to look out, antennas to call back home, or gravity rings to generate artificial gravity. Finally, recent research points out that living in a pressurized environment is vastly superior to living in a suit. So bring some Nitrogen to compensate for leaks and keep the internal atmosphere at an acceptable pressure.

ENVIRONMENTAL HAZARDS

Your crew evolved in particular conditions of temperature, and at a very low level of radiation. You should reproduce these conditions wherever your crew go, no matter the external temperature or radiation at that point. Or else death ensues. The vessel habitat can be climatized at the expense of ElectricCharge. Environment radiation can be shielded by applying material layers to the hull, with obvious longevity vs mass trade off.

ECLSS

A set of ECLSS components is available for installation in any pod. The scrubber for example, that must be used to keep the level of CO2 in the internal atmosphere below a threshold. Or the pressure control system, that can be used to maintain a comfortable atmospheric pressure inside the vessel. In general, if you ever heard of some kind of apparatus used by space agencies to keep the crew alive, you will find it in this mod.

GREENHOUSE

No life-support like mod would be complete without a greenhouse of some kind. The one included in this mod has a relatively complete set of input resources and by-products, in addition to some more unique characteristics like a lamp that adapts consumption to natural lighting, emergency harvesting, pressure requirements and radiation tolerance.

ISRU

The stock ISRU converters can host a set of reality-inspired chemical processes. The emerging chains provide a flexible and at the same time challenging system to keep your crew alive. The stock ISRU harvesters functionality has been replaced with an equivalent one that is easier to plan against, as it is now vital for long-term manned missions. The means to harvest from atmospheres and oceans is also present, given the importance of atmospheric resources in this regard. A planetary resource distribution that mimics the real solar system completes the package.

RELIABILITY

Components don’t last forever in the real world. This is modeled by a simple system that can trigger failures on arbitrary modules. Manufacturing quality can be chosen in the editor, per-component, and improve the MTBF but also requires extra cost and mass. The crew can inspect and repair malfunctioned components. Redundancy now becomes a key aspect of the design phase.

SIGNAL

Transmission rates are realistic, and scale with distance to the point that it may take a long time to transmit data from the outer solar system. Data transmission happens transparently in loaded and unloaded vessels. The resulting communication system is simple, yet it also results in more realistic vessel and mission designs.

SCIENCE

Data is collected and stored in the vessel solid state drives, instead of the stock science containers. Moving data around the vessel doesn’t require extra vehicular activities. Some data can be transmitted back directly, while other data needs to be analyzed in a lab first. Analyzing takes a long time, happens transparently to loaded and unloaded vessels alike, and can’t be cheated to create science out of thin air. An interesting method is used to bridge existing stock and third-party experiments to the new science system, that works for most experiments without requiring ad-hoc support.

AUTOMATION

Components can be automated using a minimalist scripting system, with a graphical editor. Scripts are triggered manually or by environmental conditions. You can create a script to turn on all the lights as soon as the Sun is not visible anymore, or retract all solar panels as soon as you enter an atmosphere etc.

USER INTERFACE

The UI provided by this mod took more than 5 minutes to write. A planner UI is available in the editor, to help the user design around all the new mechanics introduced. The planner analysis include resource estimates, habitat informations, redundancy analysis, connectivity simulation, multi-environment radiation details and more. To monitor the status of vessels, the monitor UI is also provided. This looks like a simple list of vessels at first, but just click on it to discover an ingenuous little organizer that allow to watch vessel telemetry, control components, create scripts, manage your science data including transmission and analysis, and configure the alerts per-vessel.

MODULES EMULATION

Most stock modules and some third-party ones are emulated for what concerns the mechanics introduced by the mod. The level of support depends on the specific module, and may include: simulation of resource consumption and production in unloaded vessels, fixing of timewarp issues in loaded vessels, the ability to disable the module after malfunctions, and also the means to start and stop the module in an automation script.

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Introduction

Kerbalism is a gameplay mod for Kerbal Space Program that tries to represent some of the problems a real space program must overcome. Anything will happen coherently to loaded and unloaded vessels alike, without exceptions. All mechanics can be enabled, disabled and utterly configured.

These are the mechanics that are simulated

Environment

  • temperature, radiation, space weather

Habitat

  • living space, comforts, pressure, CO2 levels, humidity

Reliability

  • malfunctions, critical failures, manufacturing quality

Signal

  • telemetry, relaying, signal strength, data rate attenuation

Science

  • data storage, collection, analysis and transmission

Resources

  • consumption and production in background

Kerbals

  • biological and psychological needs, environmental hazards

So, you’re about to go to Mun?

Kerbalism adds about six new ways to get your crew killed. If this is your first attempt at Mun with Kerbalism, read this tutorial or bring some body bags. You have been warned.

Before you go…

Let’s assume you’ve just started a new career game and are about to do your first missions to Mun. You didn’t expand your VAB or launch pad, so you’re limited to vessels with a maximum of 30 parts and 18 tons. A crewed mission to Mun isn’t trivial under these circumstances, and with Kerbalism it’s going to be a new challenge, even if you’ve done many missions to Mun in earlier games.

In order to survive with Kerbalism, Kerbals need enough food, water and oxygen for the duration of the entire mission. Command pods contain enough of these to last for 5 days, which is just enough for a quick trip to Mun, like a flyby or a touch and go landing. Anything beyond that will require additional supplies, so stick to Mun - and Mun only. Do not stay for more than a few hours. And don’t even think about Minmus, not yet. Any deviation from that will get your crew killed for a number of reasons, starvation just being one of them.

The most important resource on any crewed vessel, after oxygen, is electricity. Without electricity, your crew will suffocate, freeze or burn to death, whichever kills them first. Not having any food left won’t be your number one problem when climatization fails and you’re about to burn up in the sun. So, let’s take care of that first.

Minimum requirements

You need a reliable method to generate electricity. If you haven’t researched solar panels or fuel cell generators yet, go ahead and do that first. You won’t survive a trip to Mun without a way to generate electricity.

If at all possible, don’t rely on solar panels only, bring a fuel cell. As a general rule, fuel cells will keep your Kerbals alive, so get into the habit of using them early. The thing about solar panels is that they need to see the sun, and all of your missions will spend a lot of time in shadow.

Ship construction

If you’re going with fuel cells (recommended), attach a H2+O2 (Hydrogen+Oxygen) fuel cell generator to your ship. Also attach a small pressurized tank that contains Hydrogen (by default, pressurized tanks contain oxygen, so make sure to configure it in the VAB), and if you can an extra tank for Oxygen. The fuel cell will consume hydrogen and oxygen while it runs, which might leave your kerbals with no O2 left to breahte. Solar panels will reduce the consumption of H2 and O2.

While a H2+O2 fuel cell is running, it also produces some water. Kerbalism won’t run any process if the output of that process cannot be stored or dumped, so set your fuel cell to dump the water that cannot be stored. You can do that in flight, so don’t panic if you forgot to do that in the VAB. Excess water won’t be a problem later since your crew will be drinking it.

Other than that, you can build your vessel just like you did without Kerbalism. However, do not add any shielding to your command pod. You won’t need it for Mun as the trip there is very short, and a fully shielded pod has its own issues. For instance, it won’t float on water.

Launch window

If you don’t have a fuel cell, don’t launch unless you’re certain that Mun will not pass through Kerbins shadow while you’re up there. At the beginning of a new game, Mun is just about to pass behind Kerbin - so wait a couple of days before you launch. Otherwise your crew will freeze in the shadow.

Just before launch

If you have a fuel cell, you probably don’t want it to be running all the time. Kerbalism comes with an on board device manager that can turn on your fuel cell when your batteries are empty, and turn it back off when your batteries are charged. Doing that will save you a lot of Hydrogen and Oxygen, especially when you also have solar panels that recharge your batteries.

What’s next?

Launch! Fingers crossed, you’ll make it back from Mun before you run out of oxygen, food, water, electricity or hydrogen.

Notice how humidity in your command pod rises throughout your trip. Remember all the water your crew is drinking? It’s dripping from your instrument panels now. Not an ideal situation, but for a short trip not a reason of concern. However, for longer missions you will need extra ECLSS units with humidity controllers.

Your next steps will be towards Minmus, which takes considerably longer. Make sure to bring provisions for about 20 days, and bring a humidity controller this time. You will need it.

How to recycle O2 and Water

You can recycle O2 and water using Kerbalisms life support systems and chemical processors. Follow this guideline to extend your mission durations indefinitely and save literally tons of mass you don’t have to bring on your journeys.

  1. Add a small tank for waste water.
  2. Have a water recycler in one of your life support units, set it to dump excessive CO2 and Ammonia.
  3. Add a small tank for hydrogen and a small tank for CO2. They can be empty, but I’d fill up the hydrogen.
  4. Have a chemical plant running a Sabatier process. Set that to dump any excessive liquid fuel.
  5. Have a chemical plant running Water Electrolysis.

While this method is highly effective in reducing the mass of your vessel, it also is very risky. You now have 3 components that can break down, and if any one of them cannot be repaired, your crew will use up what little O2 is stored in the tanks and then die. So think about redundancy when using this method!

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You can do more…

There are many processes available in Kerbalism, and you can do any number of things with them. This chart will help you navigate the various processes and resources.

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Environment

Temperature

Temperatures in space range from ridiculously low to extremely high. The temperature model in Kerbalism considers

The temperature is then obtained according to the Stefan-Boltzmann law assuming the vessel is a perfect black body. Inside an atmosphere, the stock atmospheric temperature model is used instead.

Radiation

Celestial bodies interact in complex ways with radiation. Some have a magnetopause that shields radiation. Others have regions populated by extremely charged particles. The magnetopause is simply a sphere, possibly deformed along the body->star vector to define a magnetotail.

This is modeled with radiation fields, regions of space around a celestial body that have an associated radiation level. The overall radiation level for a vessel is determined by evaluating all the fields overlapping at the vessel position.

These fields are rendered in map view or the tracking station. They can be toggled by pressing Keypad 0/1/2/3, or by using the Body Info window.

_images/radiation-fields-0.png _images/radiation-fields-1.png _images/radiation-fields-2.png _images/radiation-fields-3.png _images/radiation-fields-4.png

Radiation Models can be modified, see the Modding Kerbalism’s Radiation Models section for more details.

Space weather

Coronal Mass Ejection events are generated in a stars corona, and move toward either a planetary system or a star-orbiting vessel. A warning will be issued as soon as the CME is ejected towards a body of interest. When the CME hits a planetary system or a star-orbiting vessel, all vessels outside of a magnetopause and in direct line of sight of a Star will receive extra radiation. Vessels inside of a magnetopause will suffer a communications blackout. The effects last for some time until the situation returns to normality.

Habitat

The internal habitat of a vessel is modeled as a set of individual parts flagged as habitats. Each part has an internal volume and an external surface, deduced automatically from their bounding box or specified by the part author.

From these basic properties, more complex ones are deduced and made available as modifiers to the rule framework.

Pseudo-resources

Some pseudo-resources are added to each habitat. Each one is used to simulate the individual properties of a vessels internal habitat volume and surface area. Their flow state is synchronized automatically from the habitat enabled/disabled state.

RESOURCE CAPACITY USE DENSITY (per-unit)
Atmosphere Set by volume Pressure 1 m³ of Nitrogen at STP
WasteAtmosphere Set by volume CO2 level 1 m³ of CarbonDioxide at STP
MoistAtmosphere Set by volume Humidity level 1 m³ of Saturated water vapor at STP
Shielding Set by surface Radiation shielding 1 m² of a 20mm Lead (Pb) layer

Atmospheric control

Atmospheric conditions inside a vessel are regulated by Life Support Systems (LSS) fitted into manned parts or by the External Life Support Unit (ECLSS). Each vessel has a number of configurable LSS slots that can be configured into an assortment of different LSS processes. The number of slots is upgradeable by purchasing the Slot Upgrade in the Electronics section of the Tech Tree. Also as you progress through the Tech Tree more options become available for the LSS slots.

The internal atmospheric pressure is regulated by the Pressure Controller, this unit is used to overcome the losses from leaks and for pressurizing inflatable habitats.

The CO2 level is regulated by the Scrubber, this unit is used to scrub from the atmosphere the CO2 that the Kerbal’s exhale. The greenhouse can also be used to remove CO2 from the atmosphere.

The humidity level is regulated by the Humidity Controller, this unit removes the excess moisture in the atmosphere and recycles the moisture into clean water.

Radiation shielding

The user can choose the level of Shielding for each individual habitat part in the editor. The overall Shielding level on all enabled habitat parts is then used to reduce the environment radiation. It is possible to influence the level after launch by producing the Shielding resource.

Enable/disable habitats

The user can enable and disable habitat parts individually, both in flight and in the editor. This is used to configure and reconfigure the vessels internal volume, to influence its properties as the need arise.

Equalization and venting

When a habitat transitions from the enabled to the disabled state or vise versa, special care is used to avoid abrupt changes to the overall pressure of the whole vessels internal habitat. This is accomplished by two temporary states, in addition to enabled and disabled. These are equalizing that first matches the part pressure with the rest of the vessel and then switches to enabled and the other being venting that depressurizes the part completely by dumping the removed atmosphere either into the rest of the vessel, if there is room, or outside.

Inflatable habitats

If a habitat is inflatable, its inflate/deflate animation will be driven by the actual pressure of the part. Note that pressurizing a large habitat with a small pressure controller can take a long time. For example the mk1 pods pressure control will take approx 12 days (3 Earth days) to inflate the Gravity Ring. So remember to add enough pressure controllers for the job. And by the way, you also should bring enough nitrogen. You wouldn’t want to blow up a bouncy castle with your mouth :/

To inflate an inflatable habitat on a celestial body surface with breathable atmosphere the “Air pump” should be used. Every crewable habitat got an air pump, including the non-inflatable ones. The more air pumps are enabled, the faster the inflation proceeds. Inflating the Gravity Ring with the air pump of the mk1 pod will take approx 3.5 hours. (Of course you will not bring the gravity ring to a planet’s surface, or will you? This was just a comparision…)

Comforts

Comforts are provided by some vessel conditions, and parts implementing the Comfort module.

COMFORT CONDITION PART
firm-ground vessel is landed Gravity Ring
not-alone more than 1 crew member in the vessel  
call-home vessel can communicate with DSN via an antennas science rate  
exercise Kerbal’s can ride a bike or use a treadmill etc Hitchhiker
panorama Kerbal’s can look out of a big window Cupola

Reliability

MTBF

The Mean Time Between Failures is specified per-component and indicates how often it will experience a failure on average.

Failures

Failures comes in two variants: malfunctions and critical failures. The former can be repaired, the latter can’t but are less frequent. Both types of failure disable the associated module: that is, the module will stop working.

Every time a component fails on an unmanned vessel, there is a chance that it will be fixed remotely by mission control engineers.

Quality

Manufacturing quality can be specified per-component in the VAB. A high quality will increase the MTBF, but also requires more money and mass. Thus there is a trade off between high reliability and cost/mass of components. Extra cost and mass are expressed in proportion to part cost and mass.

Inspection and Repair

All Kerbals can inspect components to reveal some vague information about the time left until the next failure.

Kerbals can also repair malfunctioned components, provided that they have the necessary specialization and experience level required.

Redundancy

The only way to plan around component failures is redundancy. To incentive this behavior, each component is assigned to a redundancy group and the planner will analyze redundancies on the vessel using this information. Optionally, when a component fails all others in the same redundancy group will be less likely to fail.

Supported modules

The system can trigger failures on arbitrary modules in a part, using the Reliability module. This module is added automatically for most stock components.

COMPONENT MTBF std MTBF high REPAIR REDUNDANCY EXTRA COST EXTRA MASS
Solar Panel (standalone) 4 years 16 years Anyone Power Generation 2.5 1.0
Solar Panel (embedded) 4 years 16 years Anyone Power Generation 0.25 0.1
Solar Panel (manned) 4 years 16 years Anyone Power Generation 0.125 0.05
Reaction Wheel (standalone) 4 years 16 years Anyone Attitude Control 2.0 1.0
Reaction Wheel (embedded) 4 years 16 years Anyone Attitude Control 0.25 0.15
Reaction Wheel (manned) 4 years 16 years Anyone Attitude Control 0.2 0.05
RCS (standalone) 8 years 32 years Engineer Attitude Control 2.0 1.0
RCS (embedded) 8 years 32 years Engineer Attitude Control 0.2 0.1
RCS (manned) 8 years 32 years Engineer Attitude Control 0.1 0.05
Light (standalone) 4 years 16 years Anyone   5.0 1.0
Light (embedded) 4 years 16 years Anyone   0.1 0.05
Light (manned) 4 years 16 years Anyone   0.05 0.01
Parachute 8 years 32 years Anyone Landing 2.5 0.5
Engine 8 years 32 years Engineer Propulsion 1.0 0.1
Radiator* (standalone) 8 years 32 years Engineer   1.0 0.25
Radiator* (embedded) 8 years 32 years Engineer   0.2 0.1
Radiator* (manned) 8 years 32 years Engineer   0.1 0.05
Resource Converter 8 years 32 years Engineer   1.0 0.2
Resource Harvester 8 years 32 years Engineer   1.0 0.2
Experiment (standalone) 8 years 32 years Engineer   0.5 0.1
Experiment (embedded) 8 years 32 years Engineer   0.05 0.01
Experiment (manned) 8 years 32 years Engineer   0.025 0.005
Antenna (standalone) 8 years 32 years Engineer Comms 1.0 0.1
Antenna (embedded) 8 years 32 years Engineer Comms 0.5 0.01
Antenna (manned) 8 years 32 years Engineer Comms 0.05 0.001
Treadmill (in Hitchhiker) 4 years 16 years Engineer   0.1 0.05
ECLSS (standalone) 8 years 32 years Anyone Life Support 2.5 0.1
LSS (manned) 8 years 32 years Anyone Life Support 0.625 0.025
Fuel Cell 8 years 32 years Engineer Power Generation 1.0 0.5
Chemical Plant 8 years 32 years Engineer   1.0 0.2
Crustal Harvester 8 years 32 years Engineer   1.0 0.2
Atmospheric Harvester 8 years 32 years Engineer   1.0 0.5

*This is valid for the “Radiator motor” and the “Radiator panel”

The above MTBF values are estimated average values and are mostly similar for standalone parts. For modules which are embedded into bigger parts, like for example the built in reaction wheels in manned pods, the MTBF values can vary much more. The MTBF depends on the mass of the part, or in the case of an embedded module a defined fraction of the part’s mass. Also if a part has a crew capacity it is taken into account. To avoid weird numbers, the lowest possible MTBF is 4 years and the highest possible MTBF is 64 years. As a rule of thumb we can say that heavier parts have a shorter MTBF than lighter parts.

The EXTRA COST and EXTRA MASS values define a multiplier of the part’s original values. So 0.1 means +10% and 2.5 means +250%.

Signal

Connections

To transmit data, vessels need a valid communications link with the Deep Space Network (DSN) on the surface of your home planet. For unmanned vessels, this communication link is also required for remote control. Celestial bodies occlude the signal, and other vessels can act as relays. Science data transmission speed is attenuated by signal strength and distance.

Antennas

Antennas comes in two types: Internal and External.

  • Internal antennas as the name implies are fitted internally to probes and manned pods and can be used for short-range telemetry communications with the DSN and other vessels, they allow for operation of vessels via a control signal, these antennas also require constant power to operate.
  • External antennas are the externally fitted antennas, these allow for longer distance communications and boost the telemetry and control signals, they are also used for transmitting science data or relaying data in the case of relay antennas. These antennas are also required for the Comfort bonus call home.

Range and Rate

When transmitting science, the data rate of that transmission depends on the type of antenna and on the distance. Data rates will be very low for very long distances, and reasonably high over short distances. Keep this in mind when planning missions into deep space.

Combining antennae will increase the communications range, but only to a very limited extend will it increase the data rate. When using multiple antennae at the same time, their combined data range will be the geometric mean of their individual rates.

What this means in practice is this: if you combine 2 or more antennae of the same type, you will increase the total communication range of the vessel and at the same time decrease the loss of data rate with distance. When you compare a vessel with one antenna with another vessel that has two antennae, they will both be able to transmit (almost) equally fast over short distances. But at long range, the vessel with 2 antennae will have an advantage.

This also means that you will want to combine antennae of same or similar capabilities only. If you combine one very fast antenna with one that is very weak, you will sacrifice almost all of the speed benefits you get from the fast antenna for the added range benefit of the weak antenna.

Transmission cost

Transmitting data consumes ElectricCharge. The cost is fixed and doesn’t change with distance or signal strength.

Transmitters will use more EC during transmission, since they have to power their signal amplifier for sending. While passive (not sending), EC consumption will be a fraction of the transmission cost.

Extending antennas

Deployable Antennas need to be extended to work. This can be used by the player to configure what antennas are used for transmission, at any time. Extending and retracting antennas is possible even when the vessel is not controllable.

Control loss

Kerbalism will use the stock CommNet system if it is enabled allowing for 3 different models for control loss in vessels without a connection, the none model, causes complete loss of control on unlinked vessels. The limited model instead permits partial control of the vessel, the full model causes no loss of control, so that signal loss only affects the science data transmission. If CommNet is not enabled then connections will always be available unless you run out of Electric Charge or antennas break.

Science

The science system in Kerbalism is very different from how you know it in KSP. Science isn’t generated at the click of one button any more, most experiments will take time to complete. Some will just take minutes, others will need years. The good news is that experiments will keep running in the background on unloaded vessels while you’re busy with other missions, and they will generate a constant stream of scientific value while they’re running.

While this doesn’t sound like a big thing, it will change the way you build vessels, it will change the way you plan your missions and it will force you to make tough decisions. You will have to choose which experiments to run, because you won’t be able to run them all at the same time. Sometimes you will have to delete valuable data to be able to collect new science. And you will have to come up with engineering solutions for problems you never had before. Or when was the last time you had to sustain a base with crew for months, submerged at least 100m deep on the ocean floor?

Transmission

Science results can be flagged for transmission home and they will be sent to DSN at the first opportunity. The transmission happens over time, even when the vessels are unloaded. Transmission times can range from mere seconds to years, depending on the size of the file transmitted and the transmission rate of the connection.

Samples

Some experiment results are not transmissible, these are considered samples and need to be recovered or analyzed in a lab. Samples are stored in slots that can be flagged for analysis, and then will be analyzed over time in a laboratory. As the analysis proceeds the sample will be slowly converted into transmissible data.

Samples have mass. Some Experiments like the Goo Container contain just a few grams of sampling material (mystery goo) that is used up while the goo observation takes place. Once the sampling material is used up, the experiment cannot be rerun. Other experiments will collect samples from the atmosphere or the surface. A surface sample for example will collect 25kg of mass that should be accounted for when it needs to be hauled off the surface.

Supported experiments

The Science system supports stock experiments and other experiments that use the Science Dialog. Stock experiments get some tweaks, the data is transmissible completely or not at all, situation and biome combinations have been altered, the need to repeat the same experiment in a situation multiple times has been removed and the science credits returned have been rebalanced.

Tips

  • Slow Down As science takes time to collect it can be advisable to set your parachutes to open at the maximum altitude to allow enough time to complete science collection as you float slowly down.
  • Early Power Experiments need electric charge. Your early pods don’t have a lot of power so you need to invest early in other sources. Fuel cells are a great way of resolving your power issues until solar panels. Make them a priority.
  • Explore It’s not all about getting to space! At least not in your first few launches. Shores, Water and Grasslands are all within easy reach!
  • All The Science With power in short supply you may have to pick and choose your experiments carefully. Don’t expect to be able to put all science experiments on a single vessel.
  • Repeat, Repeat Science takes time to complete, but it doesn’t need to finish to get some science. If the experiment doesn’t finish you can run it again next mission to pick up the science left behind.
  • Gonna Need a Bigger HDD Different experiments produce different amounts of data and hard drives can fill up quickly. Make sure you’re transmitting that data home! Antennas can be automated to respond to a full hard drive.
  • Transmitting… Experiments produce data at different rates so ensure you have enough bandwidth to transmit it as quickly as you gather it or your hard drive will fill up fast. Choose the number and type of antennas wisely.
  • Unlimited Power! You don’t have it. Make sure you switch on your experiments (including those in the capsule) in the VAB and check the Kerbalism planner to see how much electrical power your vessel uses.
  • How Much? Generally the longer it takes and the more electrical charge it uses the more science reward you’ll get. Those difficult experiments are worth doing.
  • Automate Just like everything else in Kerbalism those science experiments can be set to turn on and off depending on situation. Check the auto tab of the Kerbalism panel in flight.
  • Polar Orbits You can run biome dependent experiments on a probe in polar orbit. That way your experiment will fly over all the biomes and collect data for all of them.

Resources

Containers

The containers are configurable in the VAB. The inline supply containers can store.

  • Food and Water (Supplies)
  • Food
  • Water
  • Waste and WasteWater (Sewage)
  • Waste
  • WasteWater

The radial pressurized containers can store.

  • Oxygen gas
  • Nitrogen gas
  • Hydrogen gas
  • Ammonia gas
  • CarbonDioxide gas
  • Xenon gas

ISRU

Configurable ISRU’s can execute a set of available chemical processes that can be configured in the VAB. Processes will stop running if they don’t have the available resources or if there is no capacity for the output resources to go into. Excess resources can be dumped overboard by using the Dump function in order to enable a process to keep running if output capacity is not available.

LiquidFuel, Oxidizer and MonoPropellant chemical components regarding the processes are.

  • LiquidFuel = Methane CH4
  • Oxidizer = HydrogenPeroxide H2O2
  • MonoPropellant = Hydrazine N2H4
CHEMICAL PROCESS INPUT RESOURCES OUTPUT RESOURCES TECH REQUIRED
Water electrolysis EC, Water Hydrogen, Oxygen  
Sabatier process EC, CO2, Hydrogen Water, LiquidFuel  
Haber process EC, Nitrogen, Hydrogen Ammonia  
Waste incinerator Waste, Oxygen CO2, Water, EC Precision Engineering
Waste compressor EC, Waste Shielding Precision Engineering
Anthraquinone process Hydrogen, Oxygen Oxidizer Advanced Science
Hydrazine production EC, Ammonia, Oxidizer Water, O2, Monoprop Advanced Science
Hydrazine production N2 inj EC, Ammonia, Oxidizer, Nitrogen O2, Monoprop Experimental Science
Solid oxide electrolysis EC, CO2 Oxygen, Shielding Experimental Science
Molten regolith electrolysis EC, Ore [Regolith] Oxygen, CO2, Shielding Experimental Science
Selective catalytic oxidation EC, Ammonia, Oxygen Nitrogen, Water Experimental Science

Harvesters

Crustal, Oceanic and Atmospheric harvesters can be configured to extract one among a set of resources.

HARVESTER RESOURCE
Crustal Water
Crustal Ore
Crustal Nitrogen
Oceanic Water
Oceanic Nitrogen
Oceanic Ammonia
Atmospheric CarbonDioxide
Atmospheric Oxygen
Atmospheric Nitrogen
Atmospheric Ammonia

Fuel cells

Fuel cells can be configured to use a number of resources to produce ElectricCharge. They operate under the same conditions as the chemical processes on the ISRU’s

CELL TYPE INPUT RESOURCE EXTRA OUTPUT
H2+O2 Hydrogen and Oxygen Water
Monoprop+O2 MonoPropellant and Oxygen Water and Nitrogen

Kerbals

Biological needs

Kerbals need a constant supply of basic resources, Food, Water and Oxygen otherwise they will eventually perish.

RULE CONSUME PRODUCE MASS PER-DAY (Kg) UNITS PER-DAY
Eating Food Waste 0.07375 0.27
Drinking Water WasteWater 0.14 0.14
Breathing Oxygen WasteAtmosphere 0.05287 37.5

Individual consumption may vary.

Psychological needs

Kerbals will suffer mental breakdown after some time, it can be increased by providing.

  • More habitat volume per-capita.
  • A pressurized habitat.
  • Basic comforts.

Environmental hazards

Kerbals will die if environmental conditions get out of hand, such as.

  • CO2 poisoning from being exposed to high CO2 levels (above 2%) in the internal atmosphere for too long. CO2 levels are maintained by using Scrubbers and/or Greenhouses.
  • Exposed to extreme levels of humidity (above 95%) in the internal atmosphere for too long. Humidity is maintained at a constant 60% by using the Humidity controllers.
  • Exposed to temperatures outside of the survivable range. The internal temperature in a vessel is maintained constantly within the survivable range if there is enough ElectricCharge present. The climatization system uses ElectricCharge in proportion to the volume of the habitat to climatize and the difference between the external temperature and the survivable range.
  • Exposed to extreme levels of radiation. Radiation belts have extremely high levels, and solar storms will dramatically increase the radiation for all vessels in a region temporarily. Shielding can be specified per-part in the VAB to reduce the environmental radiation reaching the internal habitat.

LSS

Each pod or the External LSS Unit (ECLSS) can be configured with Life Support System setups from among the following.

ECLSS SETUP DESCRIPTION TECH REQUIRED
Scrubber Sequester CO2 from the internal atmosphere  
Pressure control Consume Nitrogen to keep the internal pressure at an acceptable level Engineering 101
Humidity controller Extract potable water from the internal atmosphere and maintain humidity at 60% Survivability
Water recycler Extract potable water, ammonia and CO2 out of waste water Space Exploration
Waste processor Extract ammonia out of organic waste Advanced Exploration
Monoprop fuel cell Burn monoprop and O2, producing EC with by-products of water and nitrogen Advanced Electrics

Greenhouse

The Greenhouse is based on design targets from the Prototype Lunar Greenhouse which is designed primarily to support the oxygen needs of one person rather than food needs. Thus one Greenhouse supports one kerbal with 100% of his/her O2 needs and half of its food needs per crop, a full crop can be harvested every 200 days, or you can use the emergency harvest function to harvest whatever amount of food has grown earlier.

The greenhouse growth is configured to.

  • consume Water and Ammonia.
  • consume CO2 from waste atmosphere and/or pressurized tanks.
  • consume ElectricCharge for the artificial lighting lamps, when their use is required.
  • require an internal pressure of at least 10kPA.
  • require radiation levels not in excess of 0.03 rad/h.
  • produce Oxygen and Food.

Graphics User Interface (GUI)

Planner

A planner is provided in the editors to help design around the mechanics introduced in Kerbalism.

The calculations are done relative to a target body and situation, whether a star is visible or occluded and considering the number of crew currently assigned to the vessel (keep ALT pressed to consider the whole vessel crew capacity instead).

Target body, situation and whether in shadow or not can be changed by clicking on the relative icon in the planner title bar.

Hover the mouse over an entry to show related tooltips with explanations and additional information.

_images/planner.png

Monitor

The vessel monitor is available in the space center, the tracking station and in flight. It shows the state of your vessels and the Kerbals inside them.

_images/monitor.png

The monitor will show a list of vessels, and a summary of its state represented with indicator icons.

From left to right:

  • vessel name
  • body name
  • problem icons
  • battery level
  • supplies level
  • reliability status
  • signal status

Clicking on a vessel in the list will select it. The monitor will then show a panel about the vessel. Right-clicking anywhere in the monitor will de-select the vessel and return back to the vessel list view.

In the vessel details view, select what panel to display by left-clicking on the bottom menu entries. Middle-click on the menu entries instead to popout the panel as a window.

Groups and Filtering

The last bottom menu button in vessel details allows you to see and change the group a vessel is assigned to. When at least one of the vessels is assigned to a group, the filter bar will appear at the bottom of the monitor. Click on it and type a group to hide all vessels except the members of that group.

_images/monitor-filter.gif

Problem icons

sun-black Vessel is not in direct sunlight
storm-yellow Solar storm inbound
storm-red Solar storm in progress
radiation-yellow Exposed to intense radiation
radiation-red Exposed to extreme radiation
health-yellow Kerbal doesn’t feel well
health-red Kerbal is about to die
brain-yellow Kerbal is stressed
brain-red Kerbal is breaking down
recycle-yellow CO2 level is above warning level
recycle-red CO2 level is above danger level
plant-yellow Greenhouse is not growing

Battery icon

battery-white ElectricCharge above warning threshold
battery-yellow ElectricCharge below warning threshold
battery-red ElectricCharge is depleted

Supply icon

box-white Supply resources above warning threshold
box-yellow Supply resources below warning threshold
box-red Supply resources are depleted

Reliability icon

wrench-white No failures
wrench-yellow One or more malfunctions
wrench-red One or more critical failures

Signal icon

signal-white Transmission rate above 5Kbps
signal-yellow Transmission rate below 5Kbps
signal-red No signal / Blackout

Telemetry

This panel shows readings from the vessel, including crew vitals, resource supply levels, habitat and environmental information.

_images/telemetry.png

File manager

This panel allows you to visualize files stored in the vessels hard drive, flag them for transmission or analysis, or delete them. Hovering over a file will display a tooltip with additional information.

_images/file-manager.png

Device manager

This panel will show the control status of all components in a vessel, it is also used as the editor for the automation scripts.

_images/dev-manager.png

Configuration manager

This panel allows you to set what messages will be shown for the vessel.

_images/config-man.png

Body info

When in the tracking station or map view, press B to open the body info window. Here some information is shown about the body atmosphere and radiation environment, also the rendering of the radiation fields can be controlled here.

_images/body-info.png

Kerbalism’s Parts

Containers

_images/containers.png

A set of supply resource containers.





Greenhouse

_images/greenhouse.png

A greenhouse.





Gravity Ring

_images/gravity-ring.png

A rotating ring inflatable habitat.





Active Shield

_images/active-shield.png

A late-game active radiation shield.





Geiger Counter

_images/geiger-counter.png

An environment radiation sensor.





ECLSS Unit

_images/eclss.png

An External Life Support System (ECLSS).





Chemical Plant

_images/chemical-plant.png

A very small ISRU plant.





Short Antenna

_images/short-antenna.png

A small antenna.

Automation

Components in a vessel can be turned on and off automatically by environmental conditions. The set of component changes is stored in scripts, and a simple editor UI is provided. When a specified change in conditions is detected, the relative script is executed on a vessel. This works transparently for loaded and unloaded vessels.

Scripts

A script represents a list of state changes for all vessel components. Each component can be set in one of three states: don’t care, on or off.

Editor

There is a simple graphical editor for the scripts conditions. It can be opened by clicking on the auto icon in the Monitor UI. Click on the arrows in the panel title to select one of the scripts. Then click on the components to change their state. Components states can be manually controlled by using the direct control page.

Direct control

The Script editor UI can also serve as a simple way to change the state of single components without clicking on the part first. This works even for unloaded vessels. The state of each component is also reported. This is not that informative usually, but can act as a sort of summary of the overall vessel status.

Conditions

Scripts are triggered by the following conditions.

CONDITION TRIGGER
landed vessel state switched to landed
atmo entering the atmosphere
space reaching space
sunlight star returns to visible
shadow star gets occluded
power_high EC level goes above 80%
power_low EC level goes below 20%
rad_low radiation goes below 0.02 rad/h
rad_high radiation goes above 0.05 rad/h
linked signal is regained
unlinked signal is lost
eva_out going out on Eva
eva_in coming back from Eva
drive_full drives are at 90% capacity
drive_empty drives are below 10% capacity
action[0-5] press [0-5], on the active vessel

Supported modules

Only these modules are supported by the automation system.

MODULE ACTION
Antenna Extend/Retract
Experiment Enable/Disable
Emitter Enable/Disable
Gravity Ring Enable/Disable
Greenhouse Enable/Disable
Harvester Start/Stop
Laboratory Start/Stop
Process Controller Start/Stop
ModuleDeployableSolarPanel Extend/Retract
ModuleGenerator Start/Stop
ModuleLight (and some derivatives) Turn on/off
ModuleResourceConverter (and some derivatives) Start/Stop
ModuleResourceHarvester Start/Stop
SCANsat Start/Stop scanning

Background Simulation

Resources

Modules that consume and produce resources are simulated for unloaded vessels.

MODULE
Greenhouse
GravityRing
Emitter
Experiment
Harvester
Laboratory
ModuleCommand
ModuleDeployableSolarPanel
ModuleGenerator
ModuleResourceConverter (and some variants)
ModuleResourceHarvester
ModuleAsteroidDrill
ModuleScienceConverter
ModuleLight (and some variants)
SCANsat
ModuleSCANresourceScanner
ModuleCurvedSolarPanel
FissionGenerator
ModuleRadioisotopeGenerator

Solar panels

Solar panel output is simulated. Fixed panel orientation is taken into account, and tracking panels are simulated around the pivot. A portion of the flux is blocked by the atmosphere depending on density and path length.

Algorithm details

Dependency information is preserved in recipes, all the recipes are executed using an iterative algorithm that is order-less, works at arbitrary time steps and is not limited by storage capacity.

Settings

The settings for Kerbalism are stored in the GameData/Kerbalism folder and are in the Settings.cfg file.

These settings can be used to select a profile, enable/disable features, fine-tune the environment etc, and customize the UI.

SETTING DESCRIPTION DEFAULT
Profile name of profile to use, if any default
Reliability enable/disable component malfunctions and critical failures true
Deploy enable/disable the addition of EC cost to ExtendRetract modules true
Science enable/disable science data storage, transmission and analysis true
SpaceWeather enable/disable coronal mass ejections true
Automation enable/disable controlling vessel components using scripts true
SurvivalTemperature ideal living temperature in K 295
SurvivalRange sweet spot around survival temperature 5.0
IdealLivingSpace ideal living space per-capita in m^3 40.0
ComfortFirmGround firm-ground comfort factor 0.4
ComfortExercise exercise comfort factor 0.2
ComfortNotAlone not-alone comfort factor 0.1
ComfortCallHome call-home comfort factor 0.1
ComfortPanorama panorama comfort factor 0.1
PressureFactor pressurized modifier value for vessels below the threshold 10.0
PressureThreshold level of atmosphere resource that determine pressurized modifier status 0.9
PoisoningFactor poisoning modifier value for vessels below threshold 0.0
PoisoningThreshold level of waste atmosphere resource that determine poisoning modifier status 0.02
HumidityFactor humidity modifier value for vessels below the threshold 1.0
HumidityThreshold level of atmosphere resource that determine humidity modifier status 0.95
ShieldingEfficiency proportion of radiation blocked by shielding (at max amount) 0.9
StormRadiation radiation during a solar storm, in rad/h 5.0
ExternRadiation radiation outside the heliopause, in rad/h 0.04
StormMinTime minimum interval between storms over a system, in seconds 2160000
StormMaxTime maximum interval between storms over a system, in seconds 8640000
StormDuration how long a storm last once it hit, in seconds 21600
StormEjectionSpeed CME speed in m/s 1000000
ScienceDialog keep the stock science results dialog around true
QualityScale scale applied to MTBF for high-quality components 4.0
CriticalChance proportion of malfunctions that lead to critical failures 0.25
SafeModeChance proportion of malfunctions fixed remotely for unmanned vessels 0.5
IncentiveRedundancy if true, each malfunction will increase the MTBF of components in the same redundancy group false
EnforceCoherency detect and avoid issues at high timewarp in external modules true
TrackingPivot simulate tracking solar panel around the pivot true
HeadLampsCost EC/s cost if Eva headlamps are on 0.002
DeathReputation reputation to remove in case of death 100
BreakdownReputation reputation to remove in case of breakdown 10
StockMessages use the stock messages instead of our own message box false
MessageLength duration of messages on screen in seconds 4
LowQualityRendering use less particles to render the magnetic fields false
UIScale scale UI elements by this factor, relative to KSP scaling settings 1.0
UIPanelWidthScale scale UI Panel Width by this factor, relative to KSP scaling settings 1.0

Modding Kerbalism

This section is for those who wish to modify Kerbalism, it contains information regarding changing its default behavior.

Modding Kerbalism’s Profiles

Profiles

A profile is a named set of rules, supplies and processes. Multiple profiles can coexist in the same install and can be defined anywhere inside the GameData folder. At any time only the one specified in the Profile parameter in Settings is used.

Supply

Supply details about a resource are described by a Supply definition. These resources are shown in the Planner and Monitor UI. They are used to determine.

  • amount added to all manned pods, in proportion of crew capacity
  • capacity added to EVA Kerbals, that will then take the resources when going out on EVA
  • amount gifted to rescue contract victims
  • warning and danger levels for the resource, and messages to show
PROPERTY DESCRIPTION DEFAULT
resource name of resource  
on_pod how much resource to add to manned parts, per-kerbal 0.0
on_eva how much resource to take on Eva, if any 0.0
on_rescue how much resource to gift to rescue missions 0.0
empty set initial amount to zero false
low_threshold at what level the resource is considered low 0.15
low_message messages shown when level goes below low threshold, you can use message macros here  
empty_message messages shown when level reach zero, you can use message macros here  
refill_message messages shown when level goes back above low threshold, you can use message macros here  

Rule

A rule describes a mechanic that increments an accumulator per-kerbal based on the environment and the availability of resources. When the accumulator reaches the fatal threshold the rule can be configured to kill the kerbal, or to trigger an unplanned event instead.

PROPERTY DESCRIPTION DEFAULT
name unique name for the rule  
input resource consumed, if any  
output resource produced, if any  
interval if 0 the rule is executed continuously, else it is executed every ‘interval’ seconds 0.0
rate amount of input resource to consume at each execution 0.0
ratio ratio of output resource in relation to input consumed, deduced automatically from input and output density ratio if not specified 0.0
degeneration amount to add to the property at each execution, when we must degenerate 0.0
variance variance for degeneration, unique per-kerbal and in range [1.0 +/- variance] 0.0
individuality variance for rate, unique per-kerbal and in range [1.0 +/- variance] 0.0
modifiers comma-separated list of modifiers influencing the rule  
breakdown trigger a unplanned event in the vessel, instead of killing the kerbal false
lifetime value will not be reset when recovering the kerbal on kerbin. used for things that cannot be cured, like radiation. false
warning_threshold threshold of degeneration used to show warning messages and yellow status color 0.33
danger_threshold threshold of degeneration used to show danger messages and red status color 0.66
fatal_threshold threshold of degeneration used to show fatal messages and kill/breakdown the kerbal 1.0
warning_message messages shown when degeneration goes above warning threshold, you can use message macros here  
danger_message messages shown when degeneration goes above danger threshold, you can use message macros here  
fatal_message messages shown when degeneration goes above fatal threshold, you can use message macros here  
relax_message messages shown when degeneration goes back below warning threshold, you can use message macros here  

Process

Processes are ‘vessel-wide’ resource producers/consumers, with rates that can be influenced by the environment, habitat conditions, and level of resources.

PROPERTY DESCRIPTION DEFAULT
name unique name for the process  
modifiers comma-separated list of modifiers  
input zero or more input resource names and rates, in the format input = resource@rate  
output zero or more output resource names and rates, in the format output = resource@rate  
dump comma-separated list of resources to dump excess output of overboard false

Modifiers

Rule and Process rates can be influenced by the environment, habitat conditions and resource levels. This is accomplished by multiplying the rates with a set of modifiers, that can be specified as a comma-separated list.

MODIFIER RATES ARE MULTIPLIED BY
breathable zero inside an atmosphere containing oxygen and above 25kPA of atmospheric pressure, 1.0 otherwise
temperature absolute difference between the external temperature, and the survival range that is specifiable in settings
radiation incoming radiation at the vessel position, in rad/s
shielding shielding factor, computed from the level of Shielding resource
volume volume in m³ of all enabled habitats in the vessel
surface surface in m² of all enabled habitats in the vessel
living_space the volume per-capita, normalized against an ideal living space
comfort the comfort factor, computed from the Comfort providers in the vessel
pressure the pressure factor, or 1.0 if Atmosphere level is above threshold (both specified in settings)
poisoning the poisoning_factor, or 1.0 if WasteAtmosphere level is above threshold (both specified in settings)
humidity the humidity_factor, or 1.0 if MoistAtmosphere level is above threshold (both specified in settings)
per_capita the inverse of number of crew members, the effect on rates is a division by number of crew members
zerog 1 if the ship is above the atmosphere of a body, 0 if in atmospheric flight or landed
landed 1 if the ship is on the ground or in water, 0 otherwise
resource name the level of resource specified

Message macros

The messages specified in a Rule or a Supply can contain macros.

MACRO REPLACED BY
$NEWLINE The new line character
$VESSEL The vessel name
$KERBAL The Kerbal name. Empty for the resource level messages
$ON_VESSEL Replaced by ‘On $VESSEL, ‘ if the vessel is not the active one, or an empty string otherwise
$HIS_HER Replaced by ‘his’ or ‘her’ based on Kerbal gender

Unplanned events

If breakdown is set to true in a Rule then one of these events will trigger at random when it reaches its fatal threshold.

TYPE DESCRIPTION EFFECT
Mumbling A Kerbal has been in space for too long none
Fat Finger The wrong button was pressed on the control panel Loss of science data
Wrong Valve The wrong valve was opened for lack of concentration Loss of supply resources
Rage A component was the victim of your Kerbal’s rage A component fail

Modding Kerbalism’s Radiation Models

_images/radiation-fields-01.png

Radiation Model

A RadiationModel defines the signed distance function parameters that determine the shapes of the inner belt, outer belt and magnetopause. The model can be assigned to one or more celestial bodies using RadiationBody.

The inner belt is a torus. The a radius defines the distance from the section center to the origin. The b radius defines the radius of the section.

The outer belt is the boolean subtraction of a torus with another torus. The second torus is equal to the first, except for the fact that the b radius is reduced by a border factor. This in turn is not constant everywhere but fades from the outer_border_start at the origin to the outer_border_end at the domain boundary.

The magnetopause is simply a sphere, possibly deformed along the body->star vector to define a magnetotail.

All values are in body radii.

PROPERTY DESCRIPTION DEFAULT
name Unique name for the radiation model  
has_inner True if the model has an inner radiation belt false
inner_dist Inner belt torus a radius  
inner_radius Inner belt torus b radius  
inner_compression Deform space along the body->star vector, in direction of the star 1.0
inner_extension Deform space along the body->star vector, in opposite direction of the star 1.0
inner_quality Quality of border for rendering purposes, only influence pre-computation time 30.0
inner_deform Deform the surface using a sum of sine waves 0.0
has_outer True if the model has an outer radiation belt false
outer_dist Outer belt torus a radius  
outer_radius Outer belt torus b radius  
outer_compression Deform space along the body->star vector, in direction of the star 1.0
outer_extension Deform space along the body->star vector, in opposite direction of the star 1.0
outer_border_start Outer belt border extension at the origin 0.1
outer_border_end Outer belt border extension at the domain boundary 1.0
outer_deform Deform the surface using a sum of sine waves 0.0
outer_quality Quality of border for rendering purposes, only influence pre-computation time 40.0
has_pause True if the model has a magnetopause false
pause_radius Magnetopause radius  
pause_compression Deform space along the body->star vector, in direction of the star 1.0
pause_extension Deform space along the body->star vector, in opposite direction of the star 1.0
pause_height_scale Deform space along the magnetic axis vector 1.0
pause_deform Deform the surface using a sum of sine waves 0.0
pause_quality Quality of border for rendering purposes, only influence pre-computation time 20.0

Radiation Body

The RadiationBody associates a RadiationModel to a celestial body and defines the radiation contribution inside the zones delimited by the signed distance function. Radiation values in a zone can be negative, that is usually the case for a magnetopause’s contribution.

PROPERTY DESCRIPTION DEFAULT
name Name of the celestial body  
model Name of the RadiationModel associated  
radiation_inner Radiation contribution inside the inner belt, in rad/h  
radiation_outer Radiation contribution inside the outer belt, in rad/h  
radiation_pause Radiation contribution inside the magnetopause, in rad/h  
reference Index of the body used to determine radiation fields orientation 0

Radiation is computed at a point by walking the body chain and summing all contributions for that point from all the fields overlapping with that point. When the top of the chain is reached the radiation value parameter ExternRadiation from the Settings file is added.

Kerbalism’s Part Modules

Comfort

The part provides comforts for the crew.

PROPERTY DESCRIPTION
bonus the comfort bonus provided
desc short description shown in part tooltip

see Comforts for a list of allowed bonus’s

Configure

The part allows for different setups of modules and resources that can be selected by the user in-game.

PROPERTY DESCRIPTION DEFAULT
title short string to show on part UI  
slots number of setups that can be selected concurrently 1
reconfigure string in the format trait@level, specifying that the part can be reconfigured in flight by the crew  
symmetric if true enforces same configuration on all parts in the symmetry group (useful for tanks) false
SETUP one or more sub-nodes that describe a setup  

A SETUP sub-node has the following properties.

PROPERTY DESCRIPTION
name short string describing the setup
desc longer description of the setup
tech id of technology required to unlock the setup
cost extra cost, in space-bucks
mass extra mass, in tons. (1 = 1000Kg)
MODULE zero or more sub-nodes associating a module with the setup
RESOURCE zero or more sub-nodes defining a resource included in the setup

A MODULE sub-node, inside a SETUP node, associates a specific module (that is already defined in the part) to that particular setup. The module will then be disabled (effectively acting like it wasn’t there) unless the user selects the setup. A module can be associated to only a setup. Not all modules in the part need to be associated to a setup, and those that aren’t will behave as usual.

PROPERTY DESCRIPTION
type module name
id_field/id_value the name of a field in the module definition and its value respectively, used to identify a module in particular if multiple ones of the same type exist in the part
id_index the zero-based index, selecting a specific module of type among all the ones present in the part

A RESOURCE sub-node, inside a SETUP node, adds a specific resource amount and/or capacity to the setup. The resource definition is the same as the stock one you are familiar with. The resource doesn’t need to be defined in the part directly but only in the setup. When the setup is selected, the resource will be added to the part. If the part already contain the same resource, the amount and/or capacity will simply increase when the setup is selected.

Emitter

The part emits radiation. Use a negative radiation value for absorption.

PROPERTY DESCRIPTION DEFAULT
radiation radiation in rad/s, can be negative  
ec_rate EC consumption rate per-second (optional)  
toggle true if the effect can be toggled on/off false
active name of animation to play when enabling/disabling  

Experiment

Hooks experiments into the Kerbalism science system.

PROPERTY DESCRIPTION DEFAULT
experiment_id The ID of the experiment (which must be defined elsewhere)  
experiment_desc A nice description of the experiment.  
data_rate sampling rate in Mb/s 0.01
ec_rate EC consumption rate per second while recording 0.01
allow_shrouded Allow the experiment to run while it’s part is shrouded true
sample_mass If not 0, this is a sample and cannot be transmitted 0.0
sample_reservoir Amount of sampling material stored on the part = sample_mass
sample_collecting If set to true, the experiment will produce mass. false
science_cap A factor for the max. attainable science value 1.0
requires Additional requirements that must be met for recording. See below.  
resources Resources consumed while the experiment is running. Will stop if one of the resources is depleted. Rate is per sec. Malformed definitions or unknown resources will be ignored. Example: resources = Water@0.01,Food@0.02  
crew_operate Requirements for crew on vessel for recording. If this is not set, the experiment can run on unmanned probes.  
crew_reset Requirements for crew to reset the experiment. If this is set, the experiment will only record data from within the situation where recording was started, until it is reset (either by a kerbal that has to match the requirement, or by a lab.  
crew_prepare If set, a kerbal has to prepare the experiment before it can record data. Once prepared, the experiment will only record data while it remains in the situation it was prepared for. The kerbal doing the preparation has to match the requiremens  
hide_when_unavailable Don’t show the UI when the experiment is unavailable.  
anim_deploy Name of the part animation to trigger when recording starts.  

Crew specifications (used in crew_operate, crew_reset or crew_prepare as well as in some other Kerbalism mods) have to be given according to true|trait|[trait]@level

Examples:

  • “true”: any kerbal will do.
  • “Scientist”: you need a Scientist, doesn’t matter how experienced. Other traits are “Pilot” and “Engineer”. We’re not assuming that you’ll want to use “Tourist”…
  • If the value is “@3” any Kerbal with 3 or more stars will do
  • If the value is “Scientist@2” you need a Scientist with 2 or more stars.
  • Empty values usually turn the feature off.

Requirements of the experiments work as additional filters, and work ON TOP OF what the underlying experiment uses. If you create a Kerbalism Experiment for `seismicScan`it won’t work in orbit. The underlying experiment restrictions are checked first, then the additional requirements are checked.

The restrictions are case sensitive and comma-separated, and must ALL be met for recording. restriction = Shadow,Space,Body:Kerbin will only record data while in space near Kerbin AND in shadow. restriction = AltitudeMin:250000,Surface will never record anything for plainly obvious reasons.

Here is a list of currently supported requirements:

  • OrbitMinInclination, OrbitMaxInclination: min./max. inclination of the orbit (f.i. OrbitMinInclination:30)
  • OrbitMinEccentricity, OrbitMaxEccentricity: min./max. eccentricity of the orbit (f.i. OrbitMaxEccentricity:0.1)
  • OrbitMinArgOfPeriapsis, OrbitMaxArgOfPeriapsis: min./max. argument of periapsis
  • TemperatureMin, TemperatureMax: min./max. Temperature in Kelvin
  • AltitudeMin, AltitudeMax: min./max. Altitude in Meters
  • RadiationMin, RadiationMax: min./max. radiation in rad/h
  • Microgravity: not on a surface, not in atmosphere.
  • Body: body on which the experiment can run. More than one name can be given (separate with semicolon), to exclude a body prefix it with ! (f.i. Body:Eve;Duna;!Kerbin)
  • Shadow: vessel must not be exposed to sunlight
  • Sunlight: vessel must be in the presence of a supreme being that radiates warmth and light upon it
  • Surface: vessel must be on a surface
  • Atmosphere: vessel must be within an atmosphere
  • AtmosphereBody: vessel must be within the SOI of a body with atmosphere
  • AtmosphereAltMin / AtmosphereAltMax: Altitude of vessel as a multiplier of atmosphere thickness. On Kerbin, AtmosphereAltMin:1 equals 70km.
  • Vacuum: the opposite of Atmosphere
  • BodyWithAtmosphere, BodyWithoutAtmosphere: does what it says on the tin.
  • Ocean: vessel must be submerged
  • PlanetarySpace: in planetary space, i.e. not around the sun
  • AbsoluteZero: temperature < 30 K
  • InnerBelt: vessel must be in a inner Van Allen Belt
  • OuterBelt: vessel must be in a outer Van Allen Belt
  • MagneticBelt: vessel must be in any Van Allen Belt
  • Magnetosphere: vessel must be inside a magnetosphere
  • Thermosphere: vessel must be inside a thermosphere
  • Exosphere: vessel must be inside an exosphere
  • InterPlanetary: vessel must be in interplanetary space, i.e. in the SOI of the Sun
  • InterStellar: vessel must be outside the sun magnetopause
  • Greenhouse: there must be one greenhouse on the vessel.
  • CrewMin, CrewMax: min./max. amount of crew on vessel
  • CrewCapacityMin, CrewCapacityMax: min./max. crew capacity
  • VolumePerCrewMin, VolumePerCrewMax: min./max. habitat volume per crew member
  • Facility building levels: MissionControlLevelMin, MissionControlLevelMax, AdministrationLevelMin, AdministrationLevelMax, TrackingStationLevelMin, TrackingStationLevelMax, AstronautComplexLevelMin, AstronautComplexLevelMax
  • MaxAsteroidDistance: max. distance to the nearest asteroid. For unloaded vessels this only works if the asteroid is set as the target.
  • Part: name (or any of multiple names, separated by comma) of a part that has to be anywhere on the vessel
  • Module: name of a module that is required anywhere on the vessel
  • SunAngleMin, SunAngleMax: min./max. angle of sunlight on the surface of the body

The following might or might not work for unloaded vessels, please udpate this list when you find out:

  • SurfaceSpeedMin,SurfaceSpeedMax: Speed above surface
  • VerticalSpeedMin,VerticalSpeedMax: Vertical speed
  • SpeedMin,SpeedMax: speed
  • DynamicPressureMin,DynamicPressureMax: current dynamic pressure
  • StaticPressureMin,StaticPressureMax: current static pressure
  • AtmDensityMin,AtmDensityMax: current atmospheric density
  • AltAboveGroundMin,AltAboveGroundMax: Altitude above ground. Note that this value can change rapidly as KSP loads/unloads the terrain of a body

GravityRing

Used by the Gravity Ring part.

PROPERTY DESCRIPTION
ec_rate EC consumed per-second when deployed
deploy a deploy animation can be specified
rotate a rotate loop animation can be specified

Greenhouse

The part simulates a greenhouse. The crop grows over time, then it is harvested as a resource. Growth has lighting requirements that can be satisfied from the environment and/or the integrated lamps. Additional requirements can be specified, such as input resources, minimal pressure and maximal radiation. By-product resources can be produced.

PROPERTY DESCRIPTION
crop_resource name of resource produced by harvests
crop_size amount of resource produced by harvests
crop_rate growth per-second when all conditions apply
ec_rate EC/s consumed by the lamp at max capacity, set to 0 to disable the lamp
light_tolerance minimum lighting flux required for growth, in W/m^2
pressure_tolerance minimum pressure required for growth, in sea level atmospheres (optional)
radiation_tolerance maximum radiation allowed for growth in rad/s, considered after shielding is applied (optional)
lamps object with emissive texture used to represent intensity graphically
shutters animation to manipulate shutters
plants animation to represent plant growth graphically

Resource requirements and by-products (other than EC for the lamps) are specified using the stock resHandler specification

INPUT_RESOURCE
{
  name = Water
  rate = 0.00023148
}

OUTPUT_RESOURCE
{
  name = Oxygen
  rate = 0.00463
}

Habitat

The part has an internal habitat.

PROPERTY DESCRIPTION DEFAULT
volume habitable volume in m³, deduced from bounding box if not specified  
surface external surface in m², deduced from bounding box if not specified  
inflate inflate animation, if any  
toggle show the enable/disable toggle true

HardDrive

The part has an interface to access the vessel hard drive, where the science data files are stored.

PROPERTY DESCRIPTION DEFAULT
dataCapacity Storage capacity for transmissible data, in Mb (=Mib) 102400
sampleCapacity Capacity for experiment samples, in slots (=Mib). Note that Kerbalism will not display sample sizes in Mb, but uses a virtual size unit instead (slots, bags) (TBD) 100
title Name displayed in file manager  
experiment_id If set, restricts write access to the experiment with that id ON THE SAME PART with the given experiment_id.  

Harvester

The part harvests resources, similar to the stock resource harvester. The differences are that the output doesn’t scale with concentration, instead it has the specified rate when above a threshold and zero below it.

PROPERTY DESCRIPTION DEFAULT
title name to show on UI  
type type of resource, same values accepted by stock harvester 0
resource resource to extract  
min_abundance minimal abundance required, in the range [0.0, 1.0]  
min_pressure minimal pressure required, in kPA  
rate amount of resource to extract per-second, when abundance is above threshold  
ec_rate amount of EC consumed per-second, irregardless of abundance  
drill the drill transform  

Laboratory

The part transforms non-transmissible science samples into transmissible science data over time.

PROPERTY DESCRIPTION
ec_rate EC consumed per-second
analysis_rate analysis speed in Mb/s
researcher required crew for analysis, in the format trait@level

PlannerController

The Part has a toggle to enable/disable simulation in the Planner. The Planner simulates resource consumption and production for many types of modules, and most of the time it is useful to be able to toggle these on and off in the VAB/SPH to simulate different scenarios for the vessel.

Some modules do not offer any way to toggle them on and off in the VAB/SPH and that’s where the PlannerController comes in, once added to a part it will add an editor-only toggle button. The Planner will then consider or ignore all modules in that part depending on the toggle button state.

PROPERTY DESCRIPTION DEFAULT
toggle show the toggle button in the editor true
considered default button state false

ProcessController

The part has resource processing capabilities. This module allows the implementation of a scheme to provide converter-like modules on a vessel, while keeping the computation independent of the number of individual converters.

The trick is by using a Process which uses a hidden pseudo-resource created ad-hoc e.g. _WaterRecycler_.

This module then adds that resource to its part automatically, and provides a way to start/stop the process by a part UI button. Under the hood, starting and stopping the process is implemented by merely setting the resource flow to true and false respectively.

PROPERTY DESCRIPTION DEFAULT
resource pseudo-resource to control  
title name to show on UI  
desc description to show on tooltip  
capacity amount of pseudo-resource to add 1.0
toggle show the enable/disable toggle true
running start the process by default false

Reliability

The part has the capability of module failure. This module disables other modules when a failure happens.

PROPERTY DESCRIPTION DEFAULT
string component module name  
mtbf mean time between failures, in seconds 21600000.0
repair trait and experience required for repair, in the form trait@experience  
title short description of component  
redundancy redundancy group  
extra_cost extra cost for high-quality, in proportion of part cost 0.0
extra_mass extra mass for high-quality, in proportion of part mass 0.0

Sensor

The part has sensor capabilities that adds environmental readings to a parts UI and to the telemetry panel on the Monitor UI.

PROPERTY DESCRIPTION
type type of sensor
pin pin animation driven by telemetry value

The types of sensors available are.

TYPE READINGS
temperature external vessel temperature in K
radiation environment radiation at vessel position, in rad/s (before shielding is applied)
pressure environment pressure in kPA
gravioli number of negative gravioli particles detected

Patch injection

Enabled features are specified by the user in the Settings file and are detected automatically from the modifiers used in the current profile. They are then used to inject MM patches on-the-fly at loading time, so that it is possible to do conditional MM patching depending on the features enabled by using :NEEDS[FeatureXXX]. Likewise it is possible to use :NEEDS[ProfileXXX] to do conditional MM patching depending on the current profile.

FEATURE HOW IT IS DEFINED WHAT DOES IT ENABLE
Reliability user-specified in Settings file component malfunctions and critical failures
Deploy user-specified in Settings file the deployment system
Science user-specified in Settings file the science system
SpaceWeather user-specified in Settings file coronal mass ejections
Automation user-specified in Settings file script UI and automatic execution
Radiation detected from modifiers used simulation and rendering of radiation
Shielding detected from modifiers used shielding resource added to habitats
LivingSpace detected from modifiers used volume is calculated for habitats
Comfort detected from modifiers used comfort parts are added
Poisoning detected from modifiers used atmospheric CO2 is simulated in habitats
Pressure detected from modifiers used atmospheric pressure is simulated in habitats
Humidity detected from modifiers used atmospheric humidity is simulated in habitats
Habitat one or more features require it the habitat module is added to parts

Supported Mods

Most mods work together with Kerbalism, others don’t. Such is life. For a complete list of supported mods have a look inside the Support folder. Some of the interactions deserve a special mention though:

SCANsat

  • sensors consume EC in the background and their EC cost is evaluated by the planner
  • sensors are shut down and restarted in background depending on EC availability

RemoteTech

  • antenna EC cost is evaluated by the planner
  • failures will disable the antenna

DeepFreeze

  • all rules are suspended for hibernated Kerbals
  • the vessel info window shows frozen Kerbals with a different color

NearFuture

  • curved solar panels, reactors, fission generators and RTGs produce EC in background and are evaluated by the planner

PlanetaryBaseSystem

  • the converters will work in the background and are evaluated by the planner

OrbitalScience

  • experiments data size has been tweaked for background data transmission

OPM/RSS/NewHorizons

  • custom radiation definitions for these planet packs are provided

About Kerbalism

Kerbalism was originally created by ShotgunNinja. It is now under active development by N70 and a number of contributors.

REQUIREMENTS

  • Any KSP version from 1.3.1 to 1.6.x
  • Community Resource Pack (CRP)
  • ModuleManager 4.0.2+

The Kerbalism release zip from v2.0.0 onwards will work for all the stated versions of KSP, basically one zip for all versions, no longer are there separate zips needed for a specific version of KSP.

This mod includes version checking using MiniAVC. If you opt-in, it will use the Internet to check whether there is a new version available. Data is only read from the Internet and no personal information is sent. For a more comprehensive version checking experience, please download the KSP-AVC Plugin.

FAQs

There is a help file on GitHub for those wishing to report bugs or contribute to Kerbalism, see CONTRIBUTING.md.

I think I have found a bug, and I have just a few mods installed

  • Try to reproduce it consistently, then provide us with reproduction steps that demonstrates the issue. You may be asked to supply log files, screen shots and maybe a save game. Post the report on the Kerbalism KSP forums thread, or raise an issue on GitHub Kerbalism Issues.

I want to add support for Kerbalism to my parts

  • Add the appropriate modules to your parts. Check the Kerbalism modules documentation for the module specifications.

I want to interact with Kerbalism in my code

  • Have a look at the System/API.cs source code on GitHub. Raise an issue to request more functions.

CONTRIBUTORS

This project wouldn’t have been possible without the contributions of an awesome community of people, too many to mention individually. Thanks guys.

Also a special thanks goes out to the artists that provided all the parts:

  • mehka: Gravity ring
  • Nazari1382: Geiger counter, small supply container
  • tygoo7: Medium and big supply containers, radial pressurized container
  • zzz: Greenhouse, active shield

LICENSE

This mod is released under the Unlicense. For more information, please refer to unlicense.org