[1.2.2] Real Solar System Visual Enhancements v1.2.2-RC4 [2017-09-03] (2024)

About

Real Solar System Visual Enhancements (RSSVE) is an add-on for the Environmental Visual Enhancements (EVE), providing clouds and other visual improvements for the Real Solar System (RSS) mod.

I was inspired both by the Real Visual Enhancements (RVE) and the Stock Size Real Solar System (SSRSS) mods. Unfortunately, neither of these mods worked correctly for RSS out-of-the-box: RVE was outdated, requiring updating to work and the smaller scale of the SSRSS bodies meant that it was not possible to use it’s assets as-is. So, RSSVE was born.

RSSVE is compatible with Kerbal Space Program version 1.2.2. Older or newer versions are not supported. The use of the 32 bit (x86) binaries is also not supported due to RAM limitations.

Note the other EVE or Scatterer planet packs are not currently compatible with RSSVE. Scatterer sun flare packs however are.

I would like to thank the following members of the community for making RSSVE possible:

@NathanKell for his amazing work on Real Solar System.
@Galileo, @pingopete and @sDaZe for inspiring, motivating and helping me to make RSSVE (although my work is nowhere near as good as their excellent RVE and SSRSS mods).
@rbray89 and @Waz for creating and supporting Environmental Visual Enhancements.
@blackrack for redefining the KSP visual standards with Scatterer.

Installation

I. CKAN installation

Installation of RSSVE via CKAN is not currently supported.

II. Manual installation

1. Assuming that you already have installed Real Solar System; download and install the latest stable versions of the following required mods according to the mod version list:

Module Manager
Environmental Visual Enhancements (only the “AnyCPU-EVE-Release.zip” file is required)
Scatterer

Note: Depending on the KSP version installed, the following versions of the required mods must be used:

Spoiler

KSP Version	RSSVE Version	EVE Version	Kopernicus Version	Module Manager Version	Scatterer Version
1.1.3	N/A (use the RC4 release) (note 1)	1.1-3	1.1.3-1	2.6.25	0.0255
1.2.2	1.2.2-RC1 / 1.2.2-RC4	1.2.2-1	1.2.2-11	2.7.6	0.0300
1.3.0	N/A (use the RC4 release) (note 2)	1.2.2-1	1.3.0-6	2.8.1	0.0320b
1.3.1	N/A (use the RC4 release) (note 3)	1.2.2-1	1.3.1-3	3.0.1	0.0320b

NOTES:

Note 1: ~~Download and use the KSP 1.1.3 RSSVE assembly linked (replace the existing one)~~
Note 2: ~~Download and use the KSP 1.3.0 RSSVE assembly linked (replace the existing one)~~
Note 3: Use the KSP 1.3.1 development branch.

Optional (but recommended) mods for RSSVE include:

Distant Object Enhancement
PlanetShine
TextureReplacer

2. Download the latest stable version of ~~Real Solar System Visual Enhancements~~ for your respective KSP version (as described in the above table) and uncompress the zip file. Then, copy or move the resulting "RSSVE" folder inside your GameData folder. The final installation tree should look like this:

GameData/
- ModuleManager.X.Y.Z.dll
- EnvironmentalVisualEnhancements
- Kopernicus
- ModularFlightIntegrator
- RealSolarSystem
- RSS-Textures
- RSSVE
- Scatterer
- Squad

If you are upgrading then it is necessary to completely remove any previous versions of RSSVE that you have installed.

3. Congratulations, you have installed RSSVE! Launch KSP and enjoy your new visuals.

A note for the DirectX 11 and OpenGL users: if you are affected by the "featureless sphere" problem then you will also need to enable the alternate Scatterer renderer settings. These can be enabled by:

Opening the "RSSVE_Scatterer_PlanetFix_Config.cfg" file (located under the GameData/RSSVE path)
Changing the "rendererFixEnabled" option from "False" to "True"
Saving the changes and (re)starting KSP

Credits

Distant Object Enhancement by @Rubber Ducky and @MOARdV
Environmental Visual Enhancements by @rbray89 and @Waz
PlanetShine by @Valerian
Real Solar System by @NathanKell
RVE by @pingopete
Scatterer by @blackrack
TextureReplacer by @shaw and @RangeMachine

Contributors

Francois W. Nel (Alpha version testing and QA)
Lukas "@Theysen" Theisen (Scatterer configs)

License

RSSVE is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike license (CC-BY-NC-SA 4.0 or later).

Support

Check the official support guidelines for an up-to-date guide of how to get support:

For more information, troubleshooting and questions please consult the official RSSVE wiki.

Bug reports that do not follow the specified guidelines will be ignored.

CKAN is not currently supported due to various issues with the pre-release installation procedures.

Change Log

Spoiler

RSSVE v1.2.2-RC4 for KSP 1.2.2 (2017-09-03):

Compatibility update for the Scatterer v0.0320 release.
Enabled the Scatterer cloud integration and ring shadow features.
Rebuilt all Scatterer profiles from scratch (courtesy of RSSVE collaborator Lukas "Theysen" Theisen).
Added detail surface textures to Earth and Triton.
Updated the aurora texture map for Earth.
Decreased the opacity of the Titan cloud texture map.
Updated the cloud texture maps for Jupiter, Saturn and Uranus.
Added a custom Saturn ring texture for the new ring shadow feature.
Fixed the altitude of the gas giants cloud layers (still wrong by a factor of ten though).
Fixed the altitude of the Venus cloud layer.
Improved the appearance and overall performance impact of the volumetric clouds.
Improved the appearance of the city day and night detail texture maps.
Added some missing volumetric clouds to Saturn, Uranus and Neptune.
Tweaked the apparent brightness and movement of the Earth auroras.
Reduced the apparent brightness of the Earth surface from orbit.
Tweaked the apparent light levels on the surface of Venus.

RSSVE v1.2.2-RC3 for KSP 1.2.2 (2017-02-26):

Compatibility update for the Scatterer v0.300 release.
Many small tweaks to the atmospheric scatter effects of all bodies.
Increased the apparent brightness of the Moon (might still need some tweaking).
Titan will now appear less bright and saturated than before.
Remade and simplified the Earth aurora main and detail textures.
The Earth aurora is now less visible in the daylight.
Removed an old and unused Earth cloud main texture.
Removed the Earth PQS texture (was a performance hog and did not look good anyway).
Re-factored the file and folder structure to ease management and development.
New binary assemblies for KSP 1.1.3 users (for use withEVE 1.1-3and Scatterer v0.0255). Download and replace the one included with this package (dated: 2017-02-03).