[1.0.5][Dec 15, 2015] Contract Pack: Giving Aircraft a Purpose (GAP) 0.3: Air Flights, Tours, Coast Guard, STS

[Kevin Kyle]

47 minutes ago, inigma said:

For testing. Contract balances are not in yet. Also that contract is not yet randomized. Slated for 0.3.

Check the GAP Assets folder to see if you have the ssi assets. Check the flag location in Agencies.cfg.if mismatch or missing asset, download missing asset from github. Might have been a corrupted download.  KSC Airlines will get a flag in 0.3. For now it uses SSI.

I figured it out. The GAP folder was named GAP- Master and it was looking for them in GAP. When I renamed the folder, it fixed that issue. Made me wonder if I had downloaded the correct zip file or somehow not installed it correctly. I did just copy that folder from the zip file into the contracts pack folder.

I just attempted the Island runway contract. I was to climb to the top of the tower and to look for a pod in the hangar. I didnt complete either. Apparently I didnt do what I needed to do but I climbed to the top of the tower. I went and stood right where the marker was. I also went into the hangar where that marker was as well, seen 3 parts laying on the floor. Dont give away the answer if I just need to look around some more or something like that, would rather figure it out myself. Just tell me to keep looking if thats what I need to do. Made the flight at night, it was an interesting landing accomplished from the IVA but went well. FIrst landing there and first at night so it wasnt a total loss. lol

[nightingale]

50 minutes ago, Kevin Kyle said:

I figured it out. The GAP folder was named GAP- Master and it was looking for them in GAP. When I renamed the folder, it fixed that issue. Made me wonder if I had downloaded the correct zip file or somehow not installed it correctly. I did just copy that folder from the zip file into the contracts pack folder.

I just attempted the Island runway contract. I was to climb to the top of the tower and to look for a pod in the hangar. I didnt complete either. Apparently I didnt do what I needed to do but I climbed to the top of the tower. I went and stood right where the marker was. I also went into the hangar where that marker was as well, seen 3 parts laying on the floor. Dont give away the answer if I just need to look around some more or something like that, would rather figure it out myself. Just tell me to keep looking if thats what I need to do. Made the flight at night, it was an interesting landing accomplished from the IVA but went well. FIrst landing there and first at night so it wasnt a total loss. lol

That sounds like an Anomaly Surveyor contract (unless GAP has one that is extremely similar).  Do you have Kopernicus?  There's a known issue where the waypoints seem to wander a bit under Kopernicus.  I'll try and get it raised up over there.

[Kevin Kyle]

Yes I do and I think you are correct. I guess I should go over there and post that in the proper thread. Thanks for the heads up on that, I will check that when I get back home from the shop just to make sure, I had to come in and finish a job for delivery on Monday. Will be a couple hours or so before I can verify but that sounds correct to me.

[inigma]

Dev update:

Bug Test Weekend for sure. Lots of CC stuff, hardly got to working on advancing development of GAP this weekend, although what little time I did have to work on GAP, my 8 year old son insisted I create an STS contract. Yes, an STS contract. Accept the STS-1 contract, and you get an immediate copy of my awesome space shuttle (see my sig link) copied directly to your VAB for immediate use on the STS-1 mission. A hefty starting cost for sure, but I make it worth your while, assuming you can lift the 42 ton STS-Fuel Pod depot into 100km orbit or higher, and return to KSC runway without dying.

this will serve as a teaser for GAP 3.0 - whenever that far future version is rolled out.

...more to come!

Edited December 14, 2015 by inigma

[kcs123]

Not bad idea for STS contract, but it should be limited to stock aero. Or have different craft that will work with FAR.
Unfortunately, ferram improve FAR almost on day basis, so such craft might be quickly become obsolete.

Maybe to create contract that will demand from player to lift heavy payload to orbit instead ?
Contract could be available when player unlock mid tier tech tree, when it is possible to accomplish mission trough available parts.

B9 mod is released recently, so I'm eager to try if I can still create some big SSTO planes in KSP 1.0.5, like it was feasible in 0.90

[inigma]

42 minutes ago, kcs123 said:

Not bad idea for STS contract, but it should be limited to stock aero. Or have different craft that will work with FAR.
Unfortunately, ferram improve FAR almost on day basis, so such craft might be quickly become obsolete.

Maybe to create contract that will demand from player to lift heavy payload to orbit instead ?
Contract could be available when player unlock mid tier tech tree, when it is possible to accomplish mission trough available parts.

B9 mod is released recently, so I'm eager to try if I can still create some big SSTO planes in KSP 1.0.5, like it was feasible in 0.90

Easiliy done. There's a lot of directions that can be had with this.

I will most likely require a VAB launch, with aerodynamic wing parts, require at least 3 mainsails or 3 vectors, solid rocket boosters that must detach, and lifting a payload to orbit, and require landing at KSC runway to ensure a player's craft is a space shuttle.  For now, it was simpler to provide mine.

I have the STS missions posted in my DEVOTES: https://github.com/inigmatus/GAP/blob/master/DEVNOTES.txt

[kcs123]

Yep, I thought that was faster/easier to just provide whole craft. But, when I looked how much is Mk1 cockpit changed between KSP 0.90 and KSP 1.0.5, it might not be good idea to use whole craft for contract on the long run.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not against your craft, it looks pretty, plenty of effort was put in it trough design and it is visible on screenshots. But I'm concerned that it might not perform well enough in FAR and even SQUAD might change stock parts in future, making your craft obsolete. It might consume too much of your free time further down road when you need to maintain this mod.

Your other idea sounds much better, to create craft only with certain parts, launch in specific ways and land on certain target.
You might create even SSTO style contracts, to create plane that launch from runway, deploy something in space and return on runway. Don't know if some kind of contract even exist from SQUAD or other contract pack available trough various mods, could be sort of "chalange" missions from forum trough contract.

If you stick with provided craft as whole, you should at least alow player to alter craft to some degree, otherwise it will be fun to accomplish mission only one or two times.
More than half of fun in KSP is to build your own craft, not just use pre made ones.

Anyway, I throwed just few suggestion/thoughts about it, I'm sure that you will choose best available option for final release.

[inigma]

 

Contract Pack: Giving Aircraft a Purpose 0.3 - Released!

Requires Contract Configurator 1.9.1 from https://github.com/jrossignol/ContractConfigurator/releases

Total Career Contracts Available: 18

• added KSC Airlines: Charter Flight 10 - Crew Rotation: 2
• added KSC Airlines logo, all assets for GAP 1.0 are complete.
• added Space Transportation System: STS-1 Space Shuttle Intrepid (for testing)
• added KSC Island Tours: Aerial Tour: Flight 2 - Tourists: 2-6
• added SSI: Test Flight of Mk1 Crew Cabin to 5000m
• added Wright Aeronautical: Barnstorm the R&D Center
• added disableOnStateChange status check in multiple contracts to prevent cheating
• added Pegusus I Mobility Enhancer to SSI-Start parts
• updated all contract filenames, titles, and dependencies to match DEVNOTES.txt which will be used as the master plan going forward
• updated all relevant contracts to use NewKerbal() and iterators.
• commented all waypoints with PQS values for later conversion
• reduced KSC Airlines to yield only 1 science and 1 rep point.
• removed new craft requirement from Wright Aeronautical: Build and fly your first airplane!
• removed deadline requirement for Visit with SSI Aerospace
• removed solid rocket motor requirement from all contracts except FirstFlight
• removed RecoverVessel requirement in all contracts due to unfixable bug where KSC view recovery will not recognize recovered vessels and complete contracts. Recovery of kerbals for passenger contracts will remain the primary method of completing contracts. Solo missions will complete once you land at the correct destination in sequence, and safely (without destroying your craft or killing anyone).
• requires Contract Configurator 1.9.1

 

Thanks again to nightingale for squishing a ton of bugs, and working hard on making this possible. 

 

Edited December 16, 2015 by inigma

[inigma]

maculator has giving me his blessing to take over Kerbal Aircraft Builders (KAB) from him and merge it into GAP.  I've slated this merge for inclusion in GAP 2.0.

[War Eagle 1]

I want that Carrier!!!

[inigma]

On 12/12/2015, 7:35:51, Kevin Kyle said:

 

[Kevin Kyle]

My issue was resolved and I posted that in the Anomoly Surveyor thread as well.

[inigma]

On 12/12/2015, 7:35:51, Kevin Kyle said:

1 hour ago, Kevin Kyle said:

 

I

Bugged forum. Argh. Why can't I get rid of these quote boxes? Every reply to this thread from my phone is infected with this quoted reply. Sorry kevin.

Finally!

[Black-Talon]

I keep failing the initial contracts but am not sure why. What entails "Landy safely?"

Based on my performance I have to guess hitting the runway is a requirement? Interesting.

I believe the first time I failed a contract I landed at the island runway (I was in the process of also completing the "Investigative Island Airbase" from Anomaly Surveyor which was a perfect match for "fly your first airplane"). Without looking back at it closely I would either guess that Island Runway was not an allowed landing place OR I broke something when landing and that didn't count as safe.

Just now I flew "Fly an aiplane to 2000m" (after originally failing it by not completing in time while awaiting for Kerbal Construction Time to build the aircraft for the mission). After reaching 2000m I was flying around to collect some science and suddenly the mission was noted as failed. No idea on this...crossing 2000m multiple times perhaps?

Fortunately I had quick saved and was back in the seat flying it again. No messing around this time, up to 2000m and back to land. Landed just prior to the runway and rolled up onto it without any damage...noticed at that point that the mission was marked failed. Must not touch down unless on the KSC Runway?

Loaded the quick save again to narrow this down, hitting the runway and nothing else, completed my Safely Land requirement. Recovery went as expected. Mission success. Phew!

Curious if I've identified my issue? Any idea on what would cause the contract to fail while just flying about collecting science? Great stuff so far!

[inigma]

1 minute ago, Black-Talon said:

I keep failing the initial contracts but am not sure why. What entails "Landy safely?"

Based on my performance I have to guess hitting the runway is a requirement? Interesting.

I believe the first time I failed a contract I landed at the island runway (I was in the process of also completing the "Investigative Island Airbase" from Anomaly Surveyor which was a perfect match for "fly your first airplane"). Without looking back at it closely I would either guess that Island Runway was not an allowed landing place OR I broke something when landing and that didn't count as safe.

Just now I flew "Fly an aiplane to 2000m" (after originally failing it by not completing in time while awaiting for Kerbal Construction Time to build the aircraft for the mission). After reaching 2000m I was flying around to collect some science and suddenly the mission was noted as failed. No idea on this...crossing 2000m multiple times perhaps?

Fortunately I had quick saved and was back in the seat flying it again. No messing around this time, up to 2000m and back to land. Landed just prior to the runway and rolled up onto it without any damage...noticed at that point that the mission was marked failed. Must not touch down unless on the KSC Runway?

Loaded the quick save again to narrow this down, hitting the runway and nothing else, completed my Safely Land requirement. Recovery went as expected. Mission success. Phew!

Curious if I've identified my issue? Any idea on what would cause the contract to fail while just flying about collecting science? Great stuff so far!

 

Very interesting. I'll test it out.  Landing for GAP purposes means to have landed at the target, with nearly 0 m/s motion (less than 0.5 m/s).

[inigma]

2 hours ago, inigma said:

 

Very interesting. I'll test it out.  Landing for GAP purposes means to have landed at the target, with nearly 0 m/s motion (less than 0.5 m/s).

The instruction is to fly up to 2000m and land at KSC runway exactly.

 

The first flight contract though you can land anywhere including the island. You must have broken something on landing to fail the safety check.  

I can't duplicate a failed contract with multiple dips at the 2000m mark. Let me know if you can replicate any issue.

[inigma]

685 lines of code and hours of testing later, I'm done! *whew*:

 

[Black-Talon]

15 hours ago, inigma said:

I can't duplicate a failed contract with multiple dips at the 2000m mark. Let me know if you can replicate any issue.

Will do. I'm certainly curious and really like the concepts in this contract pack.

Speaking of, I'm generally impressed with your usage of tight-ish contract deadlines. But if I'm reading it correctly, I have a day after I accept the "SSI-Start - SSI Aerospace: Join SSI Aerospace!" contract to complete it. Since accepting the contract grants me access to the parts I will need I cannot build a craft until after I've accepted. As a user of Kerbal Construction Time, this creates a problem for me. And I haven't come up with a solution I like. Curious for your thoughts on this.

Context of why this is relevant: By using Kerbal Construction Time I feel that time (and things like Contract Deadlines) actually has a purpose. Unfortunately, if the contract deadlines are loosened to support KCT, then they will be less relevant in a normal game. So a config modified by the presence of KCT would be needed. This is certainly possible though a bit of extra work (if I make one for myself I'll share it). I'm slightly more concerned by the variable nature of Construction time. It would be tough to balance situations like this particular contract where time between part unlock and success should be fairly tight. But I suppose it's a rare situation and build time for KCT users would need to be a consideration when designing the vehicle. It's just impossible to know prior to accepting if you'll be able to complete it on time. I'll take a look and see if I can create a ModuleManager config which extends contracts that may be too tight when a vehicle needs to be built first (particularly specialized vehicles).

Edit: Added better context

Edited December 21, 2015 by Black-Talon

[inigma]

26 minutes ago, Black-Talon said:

Will do. I'm certainly curious and really like the concepts in this contract pack.

Speaking of, I'm generally impressed with your usage of tight-ish contract deadlines. But if I'm reading it correctly, I have a day after I accept the "SSI-Start - SSI Aerospace: Join SSI Aerospace!" contract to complete it. Since accepting the contract grants me access to the parts I will need I cannot build a craft until after I've accepted. As a user of Kerbal Construction Time, this creates a problem for me. And I haven't come up with a solution I like. Curious for your thoughts on this.

Context of why this is relevant: By using Kerbal Construction Time I feel that time (and things like Contract Deadlines) actually has a purpose. Unfortunately, if the contract deadlines are loosened to support KCT, then they will be less relevant in a normal game. So a config modified by the presence of KCT would be needed. This is certainly possible though a bit of extra work (if I make one for myself I'll share it). I'm slightly more concerned by the variable nature of Construction time. It would be tough to balance situations like this particular contract where time between part unlock and success should be fairly tight. But I suppose it's a rare situation and build time for KCT users would need to be a consideration when designing the vehicle. It's just impossible to know prior to accepting if you'll be able to complete it on time. I'll take a look and see if I can create a ModuleManager config which extends contracts that may be too tight when a vehicle needs to be built first (particularly specialized vehicles).

Edit: Added better context

In 0.3 or 0.4 I removed the time requirement. Coast Guard rescue contracts have a time limit though so one will need a rescue craft on standby before accepting them.

[kcs123]

Well, I have created some nice SeaPlane while waiting for you to finish mod. I will try to create some buoys and small ships, although, never tried any of those before.

 

 

[inigma]

6 minutes ago, kcs123 said:

Well, I have created some nice SeaPlane while waiting for you to finish mod. I will try to create some buoys and small ships, although, never tried any of those before.

 

 

I have finished 0.4, but won't be releasing it since Contract Configurator 1.9.1 contains a few bugs that break GAP. So I've moved on to working on 0.5 as well. I hope to release 0.5 after CC 1.9.2 comes out. 0.6 will have seaplanes! See the current GAP milestone progresses here: https://github.com/inigmatus/GAP/milestones

Edited December 22, 2015 by inigma

[kcs123]

No worries inigma, take your time as much as you need. I still don't have enough free time for KSP, so I could possibly create some buoys and ships by then.
I already seen your milestone progress, keep it up, it will be neat when GAP hit version 1.0.

What I have already seen so far, it will be great if that contract pack is included in stock game. Wondering why it is not already

Anyway, best wishes on overall progress with GAP.

[Black-Talon]

On 12/21/2015 at 11:01 AM, inigma said:

In 0.3 or 0.4 I removed the time requirement. Coast Guard rescue contracts have a time limit though so one will need a rescue craft on standby before accepting them.

Cool - I'll do the same on my copy then. It must've been in 0.4 since I'm playing 0.3 and still have it in my game. Or I'm just reading it wrong!

Congrats on the progress!

[inigma]

I added this Monday night:

[inigma]

Rescuing K2 mountain climbers added last night, and...

I added the Carrier Landing contract too (still testing and tweaking it though)!! Woot!

GAP is nearly done. In the home stretch now. While waiting for bugfixes I've already started on 0.6 contravts. At this rate we'll probably have GAP 0.6 or even 0.7 when CC 1.9.2 releases. 

Edited December 24, 2015 by inigma