Help needed for a mod. All Volunteers WELCOME

[Raptor kerman]

Hey all, I have an idea for a mod, but I don't how to code, let alone how I should make the mod. It would be a mod that adds no parts, just a bit more realism :). I'm keeping what it actually does secret because I'm pretty sure it hasn't been done before and I don't want people stealing ideas.

So if anyone here knows how to code and is willing to help me out, please make yourself known and send me a PM and we'll work from there. I would preferably like it if you speak English and live in GMT or CET time zones. I don't want to be on Skype at ridiculous hours just for a mod on a game. I'm also on holiday and won't be able to Skype for the next week from the 12 to the 17th June. 

 

THANKS THANKS THANKS THANK THANKS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Edited June 11, 2017 by Raptor kerman

[TheRagingIrishman]

@Raptor kerman some mods are very simple, some are super complex. Take a look at the 4 that I work on that are linked in my signature. Very few people are willing to sign up to work blindly on a mod they have no idea how much work will be needed.

Also, this is a very good community and I've never seen people steal others mod ideas. If you were able to give just a very basic description of what you intend to do, people will be much more willing to consider helping you. Having said all that, feel free to PM me (no promises though).

[Streetwind]

So... you want a mod made, but you don't want to tell us what, to make sure that nobody makes it? That's not how it works, you know...

Modders work for free because they feel inspired and motivated. If you want any hope of your idea coming to life, you should try to convince as many people as possible that your idea is awesome and needs to be implemented. An idea that's kept secret will inspire no one at all, and thus no one at all will step forward to show interest.

[Raptor kerman]

@Streetwind, @TheRagingIrishmanI just didn't know what to expect  when asking for this. This mod would add audio warnings only like 50, 40, 30, retard, retard, stall warnings, terrain warnings... 

Say you select a target or a flag, for this example lets say you've placed a flag on the runway, when you are 50 metres away, you start getting that famous message this would also work when docking. For the stall warning, you enter the stall speed of your aircraft, when you reach this speed you get the stall warning with the alarm and eveything. If ANY part falls of your craft you get an alarm and a master alarm comes on if your engines fall of. For terrain warnings, you select the altitude at which the warnings come on and when you're at that altitude compared to the ground you get 'caution, terrain, caution terrain, pull up!' Of course you could modify which warnings you like or even completey turn them of. This would be accessible through a menu like hyper edit. As in the side, under the resources. Or through a shortcut like alt + A or something. Since stall speed is determined by a complicated equation, instead you enter the stall speed, there would be a few small notes explaining how to determine the stall speed. This is the basic idea, It would still need to be elaborated to be more flexible, user friendly and to make it more unique to set it apart.

This mod would be aimed for beginner players wanting easy to understand indications on their status of flight or for more experienced players wanting a bit more realism or again for normal players like you and I who wanting a bit of variety in their game.

Edited June 12, 2017 by Raptor kerman

[linuxgurugamer]

Would be best to write up complete details first.  Then post and see who offers to help

Be as detailed as you can

[artwhaley]

I was playing with this idea  the other day actually, but instead of making a totally new mod, I was doing it with KRPC and pyttsx.   I just implemented altitude callouts - but it was fun and useful for landings! 

I don't really have time to get into coding all of this with you, but it sounds like a great idea for a mod and it sounds very approachable, if you break it into chunks!   I'd encourage you to download visual studio, follow the tutorials here on the forum and give it a shot yourself!  We're all here when you run into trouble.  I taught myself c# to be able to contribute to KSP mods.   ((Okay full disclosure - patient people on this forum taught me c# when I nagged them with dozens of questions.))  Just jump into it.  It's actually NOT that hard.  

Or look into KRPC - you could do all of what you want to do in Python or Lua if C# and waiting for KSP to reload 43,000 times is not sounding appealing.

[Kyle Worden]

The best place to start would be to come up with an algorithm, create a flowchart that shows what parameters the code would look for and what it does in each scenario. This would greatly help your quest of finding a coder, because then they can see what you want done, how you want it done, and what steps are needed to accomplish it.

 

for instance for your decent rate alarm, when do you want it to start? lets say 50 meters. Ok so at 50 meters, sound alarm 1, at 40 meters sound alarm 2, is the decent rate too high? if yes, sound retard alarm, if no, wait until altitude is 30. you get the idea.

 

[artwhaley]

That, exactly, @shadoxfilms.   If you have a full description of the program that will get either you or another coder started.  Figure out the interface - I'd assume there'd be a window with buttons to toggle the different types of callouts it could offer?  Then you implement the simplest and go from there.   Just do it in plain english - for example a way simplified version  might be - 

 

I want a dragable window like mechjeb, hidden and shown with the stock button bar.

Window should have three buttons to toggle the following modes - 

altitude callouts - In this mode calls out altitude when in atmosphere.  Calls out by 5000's above 10,000.  Calls out by thousands until 150m.   Calls out by tens under 150.

speed callouts - calculates current TWR of engine configuration.  Warn 10 seconds before vertical velocity and altitude are such that full power burn is required to recover.

docking callouts - get x,y and z separation in plane of docking port.  Warn any time x or y is greater than 5 degrees off path.  warn when z crosses 20m, 10m, 5m 2m, 1m.  Callout capture on successful dock.

From that description you could break it into tasks you can look up.   

1 - how do I make a window?   (look at the simplest mod you can find with a window!)

2 - how do I add an icon to the button bar?   (again, look for a simple mod that does this!)

3 - how do I play a sound file?  (Unity tutorials for generals, 'chatterer' code for KSP specifics if you run into problems?)

4 - how do I get vessel altitude?  (mechjeb code!)

5 -how do I calculate current max acceleration (TWR, essentially)?   how do I get vertical velocity?  (mechjeb code!) 

6 - how do I calculate x,y and z separation on docking?  How do I detect a successful docking?  (mechjeb code!  or DPAI code!)

 

Edited June 13, 2017 by artwhaley