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[1.8.x] Monthly Budgets 5.0.1 (22/12/2019) - UP FOR ADOPTION


severedsolo

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On 11/09/2016 at 11:03 AM, Azamorn said:

Awesome! Can't wait to try it out! :)
Going to modify the default configuration as I think I'm getting a bit too much cash per month for my reputation.

That will get easier with 1.2 as Squad have given us a "Mod Settings" GUI so I'm going to take advantage of that.

Quick question for anyone using this mod - due to the above, I've changed the way settings are loaded for the 1.2 pre-release. At the moment is isn't backwards compatible (ie, what I think will happen, is it will just apply defaults and run a budget cycle straight away when you upgrade to 1.2 with an existing save - you can then change the settings in the persistence or the UI).

Is this a problem for anyone? Or would you like me to write in some backwards compatibility stuff (I'd rather not do it, cause it's a PITA for a one time thing, but if people really want it I'll do it).

Short version is: If nobody complains, I'm going to reset all of your settings when 1.2 comes out.

Edited by severedsolo
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Alright, I think we are just about there with 1.2 and I have a pre-release ready for testing:

https://github.com/severedsolo/MonthlyBudgets/releases/tag/2.0b1

Changelog:

  • Recompiled against KSP 1.2 build 1486
  • Rewrote settings loader (existing saves will have their settings reset to default).
  • Settings can now be specified in the "Difficulty Options" in game.
  • Added "emergency loan" function.
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I really like this - great idea. The reputation based funding really adds a lot of realism for me!  I like how it adjusts the contracts. 

Edit:  it seems that you can't "save money" - you get the set budget each time.  Is there a way to make it add saved funds?  Currently it's "use it or lose it" and I'm not sure if that's as realistic.

My other issue is that when the MonthlyBudgets window is up (that shows Next Budget Due:, etc.) and I exit to the main menu, the Monthly Budgets window remains (unlike other windows, that will just go away.)

 

Thanks again, hope you keep this project going!

Edited by Saybur Stuff
Did more testing, realized the funds reset every month
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5 hours ago, Saybur Stuff said:

Edit:  it seems that you can't "save money" - you get the set budget each time.  Is there a way to make it add saved funds?  Currently it's "use it or lose it" and I'm not sure if that's as realistic.

It's deliberate, one of the things I dislike about other budget mods was that they just pile money on top of what you already have. The idea was to make the player think about what they are spending every month.

Having said that, 1.2 will make it trivial to make this a toggleable option, so I'll consider it.

5 hours ago, Saybur Stuff said:

My other issue is that when the MonthlyBudgets window is up (that shows Next Budget Due:, etc.) and I exit to the main menu, the Monthly Budgets window remains (unlike other windows, that will just go away.)

I'm aware, but not sure how to make it go away right now. It's something I'm looking into. Edit: Nevermind. I fixed it.

3 hours ago, JeffreyCor said:

How does this effect strategies which raise or lower the contract funds values? Does it function normally and the net funds amount for the contract reflected in the budget?

Well, I just gave it a test, because I didn't know. According to the log, strategies are applied before I intercept the contract and fiddle with the payouts, so it should be adjusted for the net payout. It's difficult to tell though to be frank,

Edited by severedsolo
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The main problem I see with this system of monthly budgets is that, basically, it gives you free funds forever. You can do contracts, do nothing or just build whatever you want and you won't run out of money (as long as you don't spend more than your budget of course). It feels cheaty and it kind of kills the motivation to take contracts in the late game. Why do it when you already have more than you can spend?

So I think, how about making an option of reputation decay? E.g., every payable period you have 10% of your reputation go away, so you need to actually accomplish something to stay afloat.

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23 minutes ago, garwel said:

So I think, how about making an option of reputation decay? E.g., every payable period you have 10% of your reputation go away, so you need to actually accomplish something to stay afloat.

Not that I'm opposed to adding something like this, but have you tried turning on hard mode? That was kind of the point. If you don't do contracts to keep your rep up (or milestones) it will take away a portion of your budget, based on how much you have left.

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Maybe I got it wrong, but I thought hard mode meant that you get less money if you haven't spent your budget. It is sort of like many real government-subsidized agencies work (unfortunately), but it makes you spend more, not necessarily achieve more. E.g., I could make a lot of big, expensive, but pretty useless rockets or I could make them cheaper and more multi-purpose and accomplish more at less the cost.

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2 minutes ago, garwel said:

Maybe I got it wrong, but I thought hard mode meant that you get less money if you haven't spent your budget.

Yes and no: the basic calculation is that for every 10k you haven't spent it takes away 1 reputation point. (note to self: make this configurable).

A happy side effect is that (AFAIK) pretty much the only way to get rep (outside strategies) is to complete contracts, or do milestones. So, if you aren't doing contracts, your funding is going to naturally decrease each month.

If you end up in a position where you have more than you can spend, your funding is going to naturally decrease (unless you are offsetting it with contracts).

All that aside, I like your idea: but I'm dubious about taking it away at budget time (I feel this unwittingly punishes the player for getting their rep up quickly in one month), it will also play havoc with the "estimated budget" in the Gui

I've got three possible solutions:

1) defer the reputation loss. So, at budget time we keep a record of how much rep the player has, at the NEXT budget, take 10% of that away (so bumping your rep gives you a nice bonus, but it's only temporary) - we can also give the player an actual figure of how much they are going to lose in the Gui.

2) keep track of the "average" number of contracts a player completes each month, if the player completes less than average in one month, apply a penalty.

3) implement something like "punish the lazy", where if a player sits on their laurels, rep gradually decays over time.

 

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Yep, I'm talking about a situation where a player would just burn all the money on "useless" (career-wise) projects as opposed to doing something "useful" (i.e. fulfilling contracts). They would then have little or no reputation penalty, even in hard mode. It may not necessarily be a bad thing: say, you've completed all your interesting contracts and are now just building stations or exploring stuff for fun, but it's against the point of career mode as I understand it.

As for not showing the correct amount in GUI, it's quite easy to solve. Just reduce the reputation after giving the money. Then you will have the correct predictions and all.

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3 hours ago, garwel said:

As for not showing the correct amount in GUI, it's quite easy to solve. Just reduce the reputation after giving the money. Then you will have the correct predictions and all.

Which is option 1, (but less complicated). OK you convinced me, it will be in the 1.2 update as a toggleable option (probably off by default)

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Alright quite alot has changed so I've put another Pre-release up:

  • Fixed loans not being persistent
  • Fixed EVA kerbals being charged vessel maintenance costs.
  • Fixed toolbar button not destroying itself.
  • Added "Rep Decay" option (disabled by default)

https://github.com/severedsolo/MonthlyBudgets/releases/tag/2.0b2

@garwel (or anyone else really) would appreciate some balance testing of the Rep Decay function.

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2 minutes ago, Saybur Stuff said:

Think upgrading an existing save will be safe?

I'm assuming your talking about going from 1.1.3 to 1.2:

I wouldn't recommend it TBH. I THINK all that will happen is default settings will get applied and it will run a budget cycle immediately. I honestly don't know though, as I haven't tested it and I'm working under the assumption it's a game breaking update.

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7 hours ago, severedsolo said:

I'm assuming your talking about going from 1.1.3 to 1.2:

I wouldn't recommend it TBH. I THINK all that will happen is default settings will get applied and it will run a budget cycle immediately. I honestly don't know though, as I haven't tested it and I'm working under the assumption it's a game breaking update.

Sorry no, I meant updating an existing save from the previous version of Monthly Budgets to this one.

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6 hours ago, Saybur Stuff said:

Sorry no, I meant updating an existing save from the previous version of Monthly Budgets to this one.

I'm not sure what you mean by "this one".

Version 1.2 is fine if you are upgrading to that. If you are planning to upgrade to the 2.0 pre-release then that's not compatible with 1.1.3, only 1.2. If you are upgrading from the first 2.0 pre-release then that's fine.

Actually, I'll link to a FAQ I wrote explaining how my versioning works, will be easier: https://github.com/severedsolo/KerbinSpaceStation/wiki/FAQ

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On 9/28/2016 at 0:35 AM, severedsolo said:

I'm not sure what you mean by "this one".

Version 1.2 is fine if you are upgrading to that. If you are planning to upgrade to the 2.0 pre-release then that's not compatible with 1.1.3, only 1.2. If you are upgrading from the first 2.0 pre-release then that's fine.

Actually, I'll link to a FAQ I wrote explaining how my versioning works, will be easier: https://github.com/severedsolo/KerbinSpaceStation/wiki/FAQ

Sorry if my questions weren't clear/annoying.

That's too bad that your 2.0 beta 2 won't work with KSP 113, I wasn't planning on upgrading to KSP 1.2 for a while.  If you can make Monthly Budgets compatible with 113 somehow that would be great, I understand if that's too much work though.

Thanks!

 

 

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1 hour ago, Saybur Stuff said:

Sorry if my questions weren't clear/annoying.

That's too bad that your 2.0 beta 2 won't work with KSP 113, I wasn't planning on upgrading to KSP 1.2 for a while.  If you can make Monthly Budgets compatible with 113 somehow that would be great, I understand if that's too much work though.

Not annoying, just wasn't sure what versions you were talking about :)

Your request is just not possible I'm afraid. There are fundamental changes in the way the mod loads data that 1.1.3 just cannot support.

Of course Version 1.2 of my mod is not going anywhere and is still available for download, and that does work with 1.1.3,

Edited by severedsolo
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:cool:

Nice one!  i love it!

 

the one smal bitter pill is that this mod feels a little awkward alongside Strategia. I'm not quite comfortable to ask for it, since i cant come up with any good ideas myself, but maybe sometime in the future you (and nightingale), or some other talented player comes up with a compatibility patch.

 

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