Custom Asteroids  1.9
A mod for Kerbal Space Program that lets users control where asteroids appear
Version History

Custom Asteroids conforms to version 2.0.0 of the Semantic Versioning specification. All version numbers are to be interpreted as described therein. In addition to the actual public API, the format of asteroid population files and the information stored in KSP save files will be considered part of the API for the purpose of versioning.

Version 1.9.0

New Features

  • Asteroid groups can now create comets that behave according to stock rules (e.g., orbit-dependent science classes).

Changes

  • The CaCometActive part and cometSample experiment are now deprecated; use PotatoComet instead. They will be removed in version 2.0.0.
  • Stockalike.cfg now emulates the four stock comet classes. Comets have been removed from Basic Asteroids.cfg and Trans-Jool.cfg.
  • Added a "Main Belt Comet" comet class.
  • Nerfed spawn rates of Drestroids and Jool Trojans.
  • Modernized Kuper belt objects and made them more realistic.
  • Restricted Kuper belt detections to large objects.

Bug Fixes

  • New asteroids/comets now trigger the corresponding game events.
  • Scene changes no longer cause duplicate asteroids.

Version 1.8.0

New Features

  • Asteroid groups can now have custom size distributions. They are still limited to the asteroid sizes provided by the stock game.

Bug Fixes

  • Loading a KSP game in which many years have passed no longer causes Custom Asteroids to "churn" through redundant asteroids.
  • Resource drills now work when Custom Asteroids is installed but Community Resource Pack is not.
  • Asteroid configs consisting entirely of limited-number or conditionally-spawned asteroids no longer emit error messages.
  • Asteroid configs consisting entirely of limited-number or conditionally-spawned asteroids no longer cause the spawner to get stuck in a zero-asteroid state.

Version 1.7.0

New Features

  • Asteroid groups can now have limits on the number of asteroids that spawn at once.

Bug Fixes

  • Solar day (<planet>.psol in configs) is now correctly calculated for bodies other than Kerbin.

Version 1.6.0

New Features

  • Custom Asteroids is fully localizable.
  • Asteroid group titles can now use the string "<<1>>" to say where the asteroid ID should go. Names without this string will continue to use the old behavior (where the title is a prefix for the asteroid ID).

Bug Fixes

  • Intercept orbits that enter the target planet's SOI at very low speeds are now handled correctly.
  • Identical asteroids are much less likely to appear in the same game.
  • Asteroids renamed through the right-click menu will no longer be deleted.

Version 1.5.0

Changes

  • Support for KSP 1.3.
  • Silicates, Hydrates, Gypsum, ExoticMinerals, and RareMetals added to asteroid configs. Stony and carbonaceous asteroids now have Hydrates instead of Water.
  • Options format and file location have changed to let mods force options (e.g., asteroid lifetime) using ModuleManager. Old options files will be migrated automatically.
  • All stock configs now explicitly say which probability distributions they are using. This change is purely for self-documentation; the defaults for each orbital element are still the same.

Version 1.4.1

Bug Fixes

  • Exception messages are more specific about which config node is responsible for failures.

Version 1.4.0

Changes

  • Support for KSP 1.2.
  • Asteroid spawn rates have been roughly halved, so that there should be 10-15 asteroids if running for a long time without tracking.

Bug Fixes

  • EL compatibility patch no longer processes non-asteroid parts

Version 1.3.1

Changes

  • Cleaner handling of PotatoRoid resources. Requires ModuleManager 2.6.23 or later.
  • Adjusted resource amounts to make asteroid types more distinct. Completely reworked Substrate and Karborundum resources based on better understanding.

Bug Fixes

  • CustomAsteroidPlanes blocks now work the same in all save games.
  • Asteroids will now spawn if Custom Barn Kit is installed.
  • The MetalOre resource is now properly handled.

Version 1.3.0

New Features

  • Support for KSP 1.1.
  • Limited support for custom asteroid types.
  • Can now customize asteroids on intercept trajectories.
  • Asteroids can now appear only under certain conditions.
  • Asteroid population blocks now support the log-normal, (rescaled) beta, and gamma distributions.
  • Asteroid .value syntax now supports several characteristic periods and speeds.
  • Asteroid orbits can now be given relative to an inclined plane. Useful for mods like RSS and Harder Solar System.

Changes

  • DEFAULT config blocks are now deprecated. They will be removed in version 2.0.0.
  • Stockalike asteroids have been split off into their own config file.
  • Some tweaks to asteroid spawn rates.

Bug Fixes

  • Invalid populations will no longer stop other populations from loading.
  • Near-Kerbin asteroids will no longer appear on unbound orbits, and are much less likely to appear in the main belt.
  • A large number of asteroids will no longer appear when the tracking station is upgraded while using the fixed-rate spawner.
  • Mean anomaly and mean longitude of celestial bodies are now calculated properly.

Version 1.2.0

New Features

  • Support for KSP 1.0.
  • A prominent warning will now be displayed in-game if CustomAsteroids is installed without any asteroid configs.

Changes

  • Configs updated to reflect KSP 1.0 and popular solar system mods.
  • Logs now follow the standard convention (prefixed by "[CustomAsteroids]").
  • More consistent feedback for bad population definitions.
  • The setting "UseCustomSpawner" has been replaced by a more flexible setting, "Spawner". Old settings files are supported and will be migrated automatically.
  • The "Stock" value of "Spawner" will no longer use the KSP spawner, but an internal emulation. This change will make future improvements to the mod much easier to implement.
  • The previous public API has been marked as deprecated (though it is unlikely that anyone was using it, as it was never finished). It will be removed in version 2.0.0.

Bug Fixes

  • Asteroids will now be properly removed at very high (larger than 100,000×) time warps. Players may see substantial lag as the despawner works, however.
  • Asteroid groups using orbitPhase {epoch = GameStart} will now work correctly in RealSolarSystem.
  • Asteroids will now be randomized between different save games.
  • More graceful handling of invalid options files.

Version 1.1.0

New Features

  • Support for KSP 0.25.
  • Failed asteroid spawns will now print a brief error message to the screen. This feature is intended for troubleshooting custom asteroid configs or mod compatibility issues, and may be disabled in the settings file.

Version 1.0.0

New Features

  • Some asteroids will now stay on the stock KSP trajectory, which intercepts Kerbin's sphere of influence. The number of such asteroids may be changed by modifying or removing the DEFAULT clause in Basic Asteroids.cfg.
  • Asteroids can now be labeled by the group they belong to. This option is on by default, but may be disabled in the settings file.
  • Asteroid orbital elements can now be expressed in terms of the properties of planets or moons. This reduces the amount of math the config-writer has to do, and makes config files more compatible with other solar system mods.
  • Support for version checkers using Tyrope and cybutek's .version file format.
  • Support for using Module Manager to customize downloaded configs.

Changes

  • Asteroid groups now have a unique name field and a human-readable title field, consistent with the format of most other KSP configs. THIS BREAKS COMPATIBILITY with the version 0.2 format.
  • The position of an orbit's periapsis can now be set by constraining either the argument of periapsis or longitude of periapsis.
  • Added support for Gaussian, isotropic, and exponential distributions.

Version 0.2.1

Bug Fixes

  • Neither asteroids nor vessels will be corrupted when undocking from an asteroid.

Version 0.2.0

New Features

  • Custom Asteroids will now scan the KSP install for asteroid configuration files. This should make it easier to personalize asteroid sets without conflicting with the mod install.
  • Completely new configuration file format. The new format makes much smarter use of default settings, and the distributions assumed for each orbital element are no longer hardcoded.
  • Custom Asteroids can now control all six orbital elements.
  • Orbit size can be set by constraining semimajor axis, periapsis, or apoapsis. Orbit phase can be set by constraining mean anomaly or mean longitude. These two options give configuration-writers more control over where asteroids will and won't appear.

Changes

  • Stock configs now have many more minor planet groups
  • Added units to config file documentation
  • Reorganized code to support asteroid modifications other than orbits in future releases.

Version 0.1.0

  • Initial Release