Devnote Tuesday: QA focus

[DMagic]

46 minutes ago, regex said:

Is there some sort of highlighting mechanic to only show certain paths? That looks like it would be very confusing trying to track down issues in complex craft. Still pretty awesome.

Did you see last week's Twitch stream? They go into more details there.

Basically, you can right click on an engine and activate the fuel flow UI to show all of the tanks delivering fuel to that engine. Or you can click on a fuel tank and it will show all of the fuel tanks in that section, and the engines fed by those tanks.

So if you clicked on a fuel tank in the center stack of that Kerbal X craft in the image it would just show the fuel tanks in the center (with yellow icons) and the center engine (with a green icon). 

If you click on one of the outer tanks it would show the tanks in the outer stack, the tanks in the center stack, and any tanks in between, along with their engines; it won't go backwards through fuel lines.

Edited August 31, 2016 by DMagic

[Firemetal]

56 minutes ago, regex said:

All of this sounds fantastic, thank you!

Is there some sort of highlighting mechanic to only show certain paths? That looks like it would be very confusing trying to track down issues in complex craft. Still pretty awesome.

A very welcome development, thank you. Happy to see the latest Unity update working out for you guys.

There has never been an "early access" option for Steam users, why would there be one now?

I mean like in 1.1, there was a pre-release.

[Skalou]

6 hours ago, SQUAD said:

[...]Nathanael (NathanKell) implemented the ability for some probe cores to have science containers included with them [...]

i hope to see a science container part without the probecore functions, or i will spam a cargo bay with probes!

( a mystery goo with a new texture?)

Edited August 31, 2016 by Skalou

[regex]

9 minutes ago, Firemetal said:

I mean like in 1.1, there was a pre-release.

That wasn't "early access", it was a public beta to stress test an engine update.

[Firemetal]

Just now, regex said:

That wasn't "early access", it was a public beta to stress test an engine update.

Ah... I understand now. Thanks.

[0111narwhalz]

5 hours ago, Moarmau5 said:

Can't wait for the "wheel blocked: yes" bug to be fixed.

Wheel blocking is not a bug. It is an overzealous workaround for a problem soon to be fixed. Therefore, "fixing" wheel blocking is equivalent to setting one line to _FALSE.

[NSEP]

Looks like there is a new font.

[Red Iron Crown]

1 minute ago, NSEP said:

Looks like there is a new font.

That was mentioned in the devnote two weeks ago, they're using vector fonts now so they don't get blurry with UI scaling.

[NSEP]

Just now, Red Iron Crown said:

That was mentioned in the devnote two weeks ago, they're using vector fonts now so they don't get blurry with UI scaling.

This is the first time reading a Devonote Tuesday article, so i might have missed some things. And it is good that they changed it. No more blurry text!

[KerbMav]

4 hours ago, KasperVld said:

Porkjet is still here

 

4 hours ago, KasperVld said:

That's down to bad timing regarding when the devnotes are written

 

That is a rather lame excuse, since you could have just included his stuff in the following dev notes.

Also: I do not think Squad ever recognized these questions for months, so ... has a communication ban been lifted? ?? ??? ???? ???? ?!?!?!?!?!?

[Spartwo]

All you need is autoland and cheats will have effectively outdated Hyperedit. 

[dr.phees]

Why would you cap the transmission amount on the basis of the connection's quality? Simply make the transmission rate vary. That feels "real" as it reflects reality! I know, this is probably meant to be gameplay related, but it just feels wrong.

7 hours ago, SQUAD said:

The result is a buff (but never a penalty) to the maximum allowable transmission amount based on signal strength.  The bonus will land the science return somewhere between where transmission caps are now, but still below the science cap for returns  Bob provided a screenshot of what the restyled science dialog looks like when CommNet is enabled: http://i.imgur.com/U7bwR80.png

 

 

Nice to hear 1.2 is moving along, though!

[Apollo13]

" tweaked the ‘set orbit’ cheat menu  "

Does this cheat mean I no longer need HyperEdit to test vessels in orbit about various bodies?  If so...nice.

EDIT:  And, I see Spartwo was already thinking this :  "All you need is autoland and cheats will have effectively outdated Hyperedit."

Edited August 31, 2016 by Apollo13

[regex]

22 minutes ago, dr.phees said:

I know, this is probably meant to be gameplay related

That's exactly why; time is relatively meaningless in KSP, so having transmissions take extra time does pretty much nothing in terms of gameplay. OTOH, varying science returns provides incentive to build better networks.

[Arsonide]

Just now, regex said:

That's exactly why; time is relatively meaningless in KSP, so having transmissions take extra time does pretty much nothing in terms of gameplay. OTOH, varying science returns provides incentive to build better networks.

Also KerbNet. 

[Alshain]

48 minutes ago, dr.phees said:

Why would you cap the transmission amount on the basis of the connection's quality? Simply make the transmission rate vary. That feels "real" as it reflects reality! I know, this is probably meant to be gameplay related, but it just feels wrong.

Imagine it as packet based communications.  The weaker the signal the more likely packets get lost.  Assume for a moment that the science is in 'chunks' of usable data, if a packet gets lost in one of those chunks, that chunk is no longer usable because it lacks information.  To me that is not an unreasonable suspension of disbelief for the sake of gameplay.

Squad says it's a buff, not a penalty, but I think saying that is that is a mistake.  It is a penalty and should be.  What they were trying to convey is that it won't go below the current minimum for transmission we have now.... and presumably if you choose not to use the system it will not go above the minimum.

Edited August 31, 2016 by Alshain

[Majorjim!]

5 hours ago, WhereAmI said:

What happened to the new rocket parts by Porkjet and Porkjet himself? Does he even work at Squad? I am asking because we haven't heard anything from him for a while, and the last time the developer went missing on the forum C7 left the team.

T H I S.

 Why is this question constantly ignored? What has/is happening to the rocket parts update chaps?

@Arsonide Great news on the wheels mate, I look forward to the improvements! Especially the removal of the horrid wheel/same craft physics interactions! Bring it on!

Edited August 31, 2016 by Majorjim!

[AlphaMensae]

44 minutes ago, Apollo13 said:

" tweaked the ‘set orbit’ cheat menu  "

Does this cheat mean I no longer need HyperEdit to test vessels in orbit about various bodies?  If so...nice.

EDIT:  And, I see Spartwo was already thinking this :  "All you need is autoland and cheats will have effectively outdated Hyperedit."

Yup, it's just like the orbit changer of Hyperedit (what I use most anyway)...but it seems this version also can set up a rendezvous as well.

 

[John FX]

8 hours ago, SQUAD said:

the ability for some probe cores to have science containers included with them, and for science experiments to transfer data to them when on the same vessel without the need for a Kerbal to do the job.

Ooh! Nice!

A reason to return a probe core

Liking the new features like commsnet. Wonder how it will relate to an RSS/RO/RP-0 game?

I`d like a slightly more forgiving comms network for that. In RL we have ground based transmitters that can send a signal to pretty much any craft anywhere in the system, if only to tell it to turn off a high power device and turn on the good antenna.

This happened recently with STEREO-B

Liking the news, also it seems that experimentals are closer too.

[Majorjim!]

Can anyone confirm if using auto strut for any given part will still be enabled if opened by someone who downloads the craft?

[John FX]

1 hour ago, dr.phees said:

Why would you cap the transmission amount on the basis of the connection's quality? Simply make the transmission rate vary. That feels "real" as it reflects reality! I know, this is probably meant to be gameplay related, but it just feels wrong.

Why have a cap at all? In RL you can send any data that can be stored on a computer, and distance just changes the rate you can send that data. The latest probe to Pluto shows exactly that, they spent a very short while gathering data and now it will take months to get it back here but they will get all of it.

Obviously it`s a game mechanic designed to give return missions and a comms network a reason to exist. In RL hardly any missions return to earth and none relay signals. Now I think, in RL only LEO missions are currently manned too...

I like having some reason to return stuff to the home planet, it makes the game better.

[katateochi]

More great sounding progress Squad! 

Quote

Pursuant to Bob’s designs for improving probes Nathanael (NathanKell) implemented the ability for some probe cores to have science containers included with them, and for science experiments to transfer data to them when on the same vessel without the need for a Kerbal to do the job.

Nice, this has been something I've often wanted. 
And that fuel usage overlay looks very nice too. 

[KerbMav]

17 minutes ago, John FX said:

Ooh! Nice!

A reason to return a probe core

There kinda always was one, you get a "returned a vessel from x" world first entry and reward.

9 minutes ago, John FX said:

Why have a cap at all? In RL you can send any data that can be stored on a computer, and distance just changes the rate you can send that data. The latest probe to Pluto shows exactly that, they spent a very short while gathering data and now it will take months to get it back here but they will get all of it.

Obviously it`s a game mechanic designed to give return missions and a comms network a reason to exist. In RL hardly any missions return to earth and none relay signals. Now I think, in RL only LEO missions are currently manned too...

I like having some reason to return stuff to the home planet, it makes the game better.

The reasoning behind this was, that samples could be analyzed better back at home in a full lab - granted, that does not explain any cap ever put on sent back readings from simple instruments or any kind of reports, but is valid for surface samples, science junior and goo.

 

Btw.: When will we get a full ingame menu - to quit the game to main menu or close the game entirely from every scene, and to change the keybindings without leaving an active game first?

[StrandedonEarth]

4 minutes ago, John FX said:

In RL hardly any missions return to earth and none relay signals

The Mars rovers use the orbiting craft to relay science, as did Huygens/Cassini.

As for the PorkJet's part overhaul, at least they confirmed he's still there. They haven't said what he's working on, so presumably he's still plugging away on the Rocket Part Revamp (RPR). Squad certainly doesn't want to announce when the RPR will be ready, or there'll be pitchforks if the schedule slips. They may not be sure if it'll make 1.2, or they know it won't. They may be preparing to wow us with an album full of pics of revamped parts. They may just be highly amused by our wailing for info while they ignore it completely.

[Andem]

Just now, StrandedonEarth said:

The Mars rovers use the orbiting craft to relay science, as did Huygens/Cassini.

As for the PorkJet's part overhaul, at least they confirmed he's still there. They haven't said what he's working on, so presumably he's still plugging away on the Rocket Part Revamp (RPR). Squad certainly doesn't want to announce when the RPR will be ready, or there'll be pitchforks if the schedule slips. They may not be sure if it'll make 1.2, or they know it won't. They may be preparing to wow us with an album full of pics of revamped parts. They may just be highly amused by our wailing for info while they ignore it completely.

Or they are outright lying to us, SQUAD was secretly bought out by EA, and now they make money off of our suffering.