Kerbal Weather Project
Kerbal Weather Project (KWP) is a groundbreaking weather and climate mod for KSP. In KWP, weather and climate data from a global circulation model (MPAS) were incorporated into KSP gameplay through a C# plugin. More information about the mod, available on CKAN, SpaceDock, and GitHub, is provided on the KSP forum release page.
Motivation
The ultimate goal in developing and releasing this mod is to provide a potential tool for players and educators to learn about atmospheric science in an interactive sandbox environment. With weather and climate data incorporated into the game, players can learn about concepts such as the layers of the atmosphere, the jet stream, diurnal temperature variations, sea breezes, etc.
To facilitate the use of this mod as a tool for exploration and education an API has been included in the C# plugin so fellow modders can utilize weather and climate data from Kerbin MPAS simulations. With this data available to the community, KSP players may soon be able to emulate real-world science by launching weather balloons, rocketsondes, or polar-orbiting climate-monitoring satellites.
Compatibility
KWP works with stock KSP and is the first mod to implement stock wind. KWP should work with the vast majority of KSP mods. KWP has been tested, without issue, in a KSP 1.10 playthrough with 220 other popular KSP mods. That said, KWP may conflict with mods like real heat or deadly reentry that modify the stock game's aerodynamic or thermodynamic system. KWP can still be used with these mods as KWP's override of the stock thermodynamic system can be disabled in the settings menu. With this setting applied, only wind would affect flight in KSP; pressure and temperature from KWP would have no effect on flight dynamics.
KWP is compatible with the aerodynamics overhaul: Ferram Aerospace Research (FAR). Note that since FAR overrides KSP's thermodynamic system, pressure and temperature data from KWP will not affect flight dynamics when FAR is installed.
Settings
On the settings page, KWP parameters and defaults can be adjusted. Under weather settings, the default data source can be selected as either climatology or point weather data. The MPAS climatology ensures weather conditions will vary spatially and diurnally. In contrast, point weather data will allow weather to change in time and height, at selected launch sites. Users can select whether KWP will affect KSP's aerodynamic or thermodynamic models under weather settings. This is useful if using other mods that influence these models.
Under wind settings, KWP includes options for the source of wind data. By default, wind data will be provided by MPAS. As an alternative, a constant wind profile can be selected and tweaked to the player's preferred direction and speed. An additional option, for disabling wind within 50-m of the ground, is provided for players who find landing/takeoff in the presence of wind too challenging.
Since KSP is a game enjoyed around the world, KWP incorporates unit settings that allow players to select their preferred units for meteorological parameters. The units default to S.I. units.
API Documentation
As of version 1.02, KWP includes an API that allows fellow creators to incorporate weather and climate data into their mods. API Documentation is available here.