Devnote Tuesday: User Interfaces and Workspaces

[Virtualgenius]

How long do we have to endure this terrible format, please go back to the old format it was easier to read

[Sim1]

I see what Kasper did... after all we are all serial killers... of kerbals

[Superfluous J]

How long do we have to endure this terrible format, please go back to the old format it was easier to read

We must endure this hardship for as long as hyperbole allows. Chin up, though, it's actually not as bad as all that.

[John FX]

Talking about map mode, there are a lot of improvements that are really needed:

- Map mode is for navigation and maps usually are readable. But how are you supposed to navigate, when dark sides of planets and moons are as black as in the 'real' game? Please add some ambient light to map view of planets so that i actually know where KSC is at when it's on the dark side.

- All flight controls should be without alteration also available in map view! Why? Simply because a lot of flying takes place in map mode to have better control of the outcome of burns. So i need to be able to see everything that i also see in 'normal' mode.

- Quit blocking input controls in map mode when navball is hidden. Thats so superfluous and r-worded!!! Best is quit hiding navball. Everytime when i launch something or switch to something i need to get that stupid navball up. Geezus!

Lots of this. It is supposed to be MAP mode, not `view from some form of camera stuck in orbit that cannot overlay landmasses on the night side of a planet` mode.

Although this does imply that the full map should only be available if you have visited/mapped a body...

I totally agree that if map mode is supposed to be where you get info like Pe Ap etc then you should have full control of your craft there to utilise that information correctly.

I already run the `navball up by default` mod as an essential mod in my games. This should be a stock option.

[Alewx]

Nice to see some interesting news.

Looks like the new format is here to stay.

although everyone disliked it after the last week.... but that was for sure.

[HafCoJoe]

Drat! So you're saying I missed TWO Squad employees while I was at PAX?! It would have been my honor to meet you guys. Still I did win a Schmitar mouse for winning the Rocket League tourney/booth with my friend! I think I would trade it for a handshake and chat with you guys if I had the chance though.

Good Devnotes this week. Take care guys.

Edited September 2, 2015 by Avera9eJoe

[Majorjim!]

FIRST! Love you guys. My question is whether you've been able to identify the source of the Kraken during your rebuild, or how it can be tamed. Many Kerbals died to bring us the information of its existence..

The Kraken has many faces. It is doubtful we will ever see the end of his reign. Simply because you cannot eliminate all game bugs. We just have to learn how not to .... him off!

[peachoftree]

This would only work for planets with oceans, but what if the continents were outlined on the dark side of a planet but remained dark, for a cool neon effect that is still somewhat useful.

Edited September 2, 2015 by peachoftree
typo

[Esme]

Wow... my mind's boggling at the thought of trying to get one's head around all that 2D/3D splining and rendering and assorted jiggery-pokery! I honestly don't know how you chaps do it, but I'm, so glad that you do! Me, I'm sticking with nice simple subjects like astrophysics (well, those bits of it which I understand, anyway (about five cubic centimetres in the bottom left-hand corner just right of Alcor...) ) 8-} Keep up the good work, SQUAD!

[Wallygator]

After a few weeks now of this new format, I concur with others in that I do not like it.

It seems to me to create a sense of even further distance and disconnection with the core team - which up to now had been a core element of nurturing the community and dialogue.

Regarding the report itself - thank you, it is still appreciated.

[grawl]

I like the new format. I do not ADORE it, but I still like it.

It feels like reading a reporter's article reporting on the past week at Squad's.

The old one was more straightforward and logical I give you, but the new way is much more redacted and pleasing to read.

It can still be improved though. Maybe add more citations from the devs, heard at the coffee machine

[John FX]

I feel in the minority as someone who doesn`t really have much of an opinion either way about the devnotes. As long as the game is being developed and we are told about what is going on them I`m happy.

I`ve noticed it seems in vogue to have extreme opinions on (to me) minor topics but I`m not sure it is the best way to go forward. I`ve always thought it a sensible idea to pick battles, a person who fights everything fights nothing.

If Squad get criticised for everything they do then they will just learn to ignore ALL criticism which would not be good when it matters that they should pay attention.

Just my thoughts, also not aimed at anyone in particular.

[Capt Snuggler]

I feel in the minority as someone who doesn`t really have much of an opinion either way about the devnotes. As long as the game is being developed and we are told about what is going on them I`m happy.

I`ve noticed it seems in vogue to have extreme opinions on (to me) minor topics but I`m not sure it is the best way to go forward. I`ve always thought it a sensible idea to pick battles, a person who fights everything fights nothing.

If Squad get criticised for everything they do then they will just learn to ignore ALL criticism which would not be good when it matters that they should pay attention.

Just my thoughts, also not aimed at anyone in particular.

sound level headed opinion there.

new dev notes seem fine to me too.

If I had to complain about something it would be not getting enough pictures of up coming artwork. concept art, sketches, diagrams etc. it can be hard to understand what you are talking about in dev notes some times. visual aids would be appreciated.

[ArmchairGravy]

What I find interesting about the dev notes during this upgrade to Unity 5 is how many times I've seen "original code was a mess that has now been fixed". I have my fingers crossed that there will be a significant performance increase will all of these code rebuilds.

[richfiles]

On the staging interface, would it be possible to switch the numbering of the stages so they don't go in reverse counting down to 0? It's always seemed very counter-intuitive in the way its currently set up and would make learning things easier for new players if stage 1 was the first stage that fired, rather than stage 3 or whatever.

Starting at Stage "3"... Try Stage 27!

- - - Updated - - -

This used to drive me so crazy. I still hate it for other planets and moons, but now one of the first things I do is walk outside to the flagpole and plant a flag so I can see KSC from space at night. Well, I used too. Some mod that added city lights made this not so important.

This isn't so straightforward. I don't know how many times I've hit the damn engines and screwed up an orbit when all I wanted to do was tab to a new planet view. I don't have a good answer for this, but it's bricked a few missions when I was right on the line between having enough fuel/RCS or not.

Configuration setting. Simple. You both get your way.

[Nobody_1707]

On the staging interface, would it be possible to switch the numbering of the stages so they don't go in reverse counting down to 0? It's always seemed very counter-intuitive in the way its currently set up and would make learning things easier for new players if stage 1 was the first stage that fired, rather than stage 3 or whatever.

If this doesn't happen then I should make a mod that fixes the stage numbers. Because the first stage of the rocket is the stage that fires first, darn it! It can't be that hard to fix right? Right?

- - - Updated - - -

We must endure this hardship for as long as hyperbole allows. Chin up, though, it's actually not as bad as all that.

Quite right, ol' chap.

[eddiew]

Very excited about the progress on 1.1, sounds like it should run smoother, faster, and allow for larger vessels with less lag - how can anyone not want that?

Are we looking at a stable 64 bit windows version with this one? Would love to have the memory space so's I can have the better performance of DirectX mode in addition to the code cleanup ^^

[Terwin]

I was hoping that maybe with all of the backend work and rewriting, they'd find something fundamental related to the issues..

All Hail the Mighty Kraken!!

I would expect that many existing and older bugs will likely be fixed in the re-write, but other(and possibly similar) bugs will take their place.

Such is the nature of software.

[panzer1b]

I would expect that many existing and older bugs will likely be fixed in the re-write, but other(and possibly similar) bugs will take their place.

Such is the nature of software.

Im hoping for fixes.....

I REALLY hope they fix:

The resonance kraken that makes ships start to wobble until they explode for no logical reason (most annoying bug ever, seems to hit any vessel that has alot of ibeams for its frame attached to structural panels).

Klaws in general (there are so many issues with those, worst of them being the whole instant crash if you dock to a claw instead of docking a claw to something). Klaws are imo the best universal solution to docking near anything, but suffer from too many bugs for me to actually start implementing them for anything other then the quick refueling job (if you save often and disconnect as soon as you are done refueling theyy are unlikely to break anything). That and it seems that enabling pivoting end will cause your craft to randomly explode in the future (even if youve undocked afterward using it).

Drag BS such as intakes having way less drag the nosecones (and less mass), and overall inconsistencies with the drag model such as placing some parts radially and then hiding them behind something else (while 100% occlusion based drag might be too much CPU, it can still be made way better then it is atm, and less exploity too).

Aside from that, im really hoping a performance boost to large part counts, im not asking to be able to run 2000 parts without lag, but why cant i be able to go above ~500 before i start to get a slowdown, ~1000 parts until the lag begins is in my opinion reasonable with a decent multi-core CPU.

[Ted]

There are a fair few people saying they feel distanced from the development team from the new dev notes. I can't speak for the rest of the development team, but personally I'm often available in #kspofficial on espernet and will usually be up for a chat if you're interested. Similarly, I'm very reachable on Twitter and of course over the forum's PM system.

The dev notes are a great way to keep you all updated on the game's development and ins and outs, but if what you're missing is the informal communication between us, there's plenty of other places you can easily achieve that.

Edited September 3, 2015 by Ted

[CaptainKipard]

Bring back the old Devnotes format. This wall of text is really horrible to read.

[p1t1o]

...unless they’re meeting up for drinks as students often do.

What?! Preposterous! Students don't drink!

[Vim Razz]

While on the subject of maps, we still need a map icon for airplanes. Trying to decide whether to mark them as rovers, landers, or capsules always makes me sad.

Generally, great work all around. I've recently poked my nose into the game again, and the improvements over the last year or so have been amazing.