[1.4.x] Stock Antenna Balance - July-29-2018

[WuphonsReach]

3 hours ago, linuxgurugamer said:

Very nice.

What about antennas in mods?  If this can't change those, can you offer guidelines on what to change?

Which mods in particular?

For regular KSP systems, I went with the following power factors for direct-connect antennas:

• 5000 for built-in pod antennas
• 500k for the Comm-16S surface mount
• 2M for the Comm-16 red and white stick
• 100M for the DTS-M1
• 500M for the HG-55
• 5G for the Comm 88-88

Those values have been pretty constant across the various rebalancing passes.

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1yj08CJX458ZbHOsLgVckEtqvHUj5KkP1En-R1kLIYyw/edit?usp=sharing

For the relay antennas, this is the heart of the balance and it depends on what solar system you are using:

Relay Antennas

Antenna	Strength	Power (EC/s)	Mass (t)	Cost
HG-5R	5G	0.40	0.20	4500
RA-2	50G	2.5	0.45	18,000
RA-15	500G	10	1.10	48,000
RA-100	3T	30	1.85	96,000

So for something like OPM, a single RA-100 at Kerbin talking to a single RA-15 at Plock would have a minimum signal strength of 41% max-distance.  But for regular KSP, the RA-100 is a bit overkill as a result (but lets you get away with an RA-2 at Eeloo max distance).

2 minutes ago, linuxgurugamer said:

Would it be ok if I added this to CKAN?

I wouldn't mind adding a CKAN configuration file, but had not gotten around to it yet.  If you want to submit a PR, feel free. 

[linuxgurugamer]

CKAN file is independent of your mod, I'll take care of that

Re. the antennas, I maintain a few mods with antennas, I want to make patch for them which will make those antennas compatible with this mod.

[WuphonsReach]

This mod doesn't have a DLL, so it might be tricky (can't do FOR[] or AFTER[] syntax if the target does not have a DLL?).  

I also tend to put multiple RA-## antennas on my home world sats.  Putting four on the sat gives me 2x the range.  But I did the balance around a single relay antenna at both ends.

6 minutes ago, linuxgurugamer said:

CKAN file is independent of your mod, I'll take care of that

Go for it.

[linuxgurugamer]

Just now, WuphonsReach said:

This mod doesn't have a DLL, so it might be tricky (can't do FOR[] or AFTER[] syntax if the target does not have a DLL?).  

I also tend to put multiple RA-## antennas on my home world sats.  Putting four on the sat gives me 2x the range.  But I did the balance around a single relay antenna at both ends.

Go for it.

Done, will get accepted in the next day or so.

Thanks.

The FOR and AFTER also work on directory names

I'll be in touch regarding the patches for the antennas in the mods I'm supporting.

[WuphonsReach]

Thanks.  I run on Linux and do not use the CKAN installer.

[linuxgurugamer]

I used to run on Linux, but the development tools are better for this on Windows.

 

[WuphonsReach]

v1.2.2.7 - Jan 24 2017

- Loosen up maxAcceleration parameter (from 0.1 to 0.2)
- Loosen up stationary orbit deviation window
- Increase rewards and make them randomized
- Rebalance some contract parameters
- Boost number of simultaneous contracts for the entire group up to 6

[jon chef]

Looking forward to plugging in for my next addon looks good thanks @WuphonsReach

[canisin]

Hello,

As far as I can tell, this mod does not cover DMagic antennas, does it?

Can anyone suggest values for the DMagic antennas? A patch? Any suggestions?

[WuphonsReach]

 

3 hours ago, canisin said:

Hello,

As far as I can tell, this mod does not cover DMagic antennas, does it?

Can anyone suggest values for the DMagic antennas? A patch? Any suggestions?

Which DMagic mod?

[TheRagingIrishman]

3 hours ago, WuphonsReach said:

 

Which DMagic mod?

http://forum.kerbalspaceprogram.com/index.php?/topic/59009-12x-dmagic-orbital-science-new-science-parts-v138-152017

[WuphonsReach]

Ah, I'm guessing the undersized and oversized signal intelligence dishes?  Oh, and the Soil Moisture sensor.  Looking at the values in the config file, they all start as DIRECT antenna types and then upgrade to RELAY types (with 2x power) later.

• Soil Moisture - 100G direct / 200G relay
• Undersized SIGINT (mass 1t) - 1T direct / 2T relay
• Oversized SIGINT (mass 4t) - 10T direct / 20T relay

Of those, the only one that I think is very unbalanced is the Soil Moisture antenna because it's low mass and has a high power (100G for a direct antenna is a lot, it should probably be in the 0.5G to 2.5G range).  As a relay, it could then be a 5G relay.

The SIGINT antennas are better because they are really heavy so I'm okay with their values.  As relays I'm fine with the 2T / 20T values, but I would add a constant power drain to the relay versions to bring them inline (20 EC/s and 60 EC/s). 

 

 

[canisin]

Yep! Those are the ones

Are you going to provide a module manager patch for these changes? I have lately looked at many mm patches trying to figure them out, but I think I am not there yet, as in, not yet able to create my own patches. Any help would be appreciated.

[WuphonsReach]

1 hour ago, canisin said:

Yep! Those are the ones

Are you going to provide a module manager patch for these changes? I have lately looked at many mm patches trying to figure them out, but I think I am not there yet, as in, not yet able to create my own patches. Any help would be appreciated.

I'm working on them now (since I do use those parts in my game).  I forget that the SM sensor has an antenna.  I sort of remembered the SIGINT, but they're so heavy and bulky it's rare that I use them.

I just have to figure out how the UPGRADE{} stuff works with MM...

[canisin]

49 minutes ago, WuphonsReach said:

I'm working on them now (since I do use those parts in my game).  I forget that the SM sensor has an antenna.  I sort of remembered the SIGINT, but they're so heavy and bulky it's rare that I use them.

I just have to figure out how the UPGRADE{} stuff works with MM...

Great! I am glad to hear that!

Awaiting your update then  

[WuphonsReach]

v1.2.2.8 - Jan 27 2017

Adds ModuleManager patches for DMagic Orbital Science and SXT antennas.

- Reorganized, make sure you delete the old install folder before upgrading
- MM patches for DMagic Orbital Science antennas (Soil Moisture & SIGINT)
- DMagic Soil Mosture was 100G direct (200G relay) now 4M & 6M
- DMagic Univeral Storage SM sensor was 50G direct (100G relay), now 2M & 3M
- SIGINT (undersized/oversized) constant power drain of 30/90 EC/s for balance
- DMagic upgraded SIGINT (under/oversized) are now only 1.5T and 12T relays
- SXT Kommunotronski 16 made slightly more powerful (500k -> 800k)
- SXT DTS-M4 made less powerful (2G -> 40M, below adjusted DTS-M1)

[canisin]

May I suggest that maybe you wanna put your changes, license and readme files in the mod folder?

[nertberkerperk]

The first contract isn't working for me. It says I need 4G of combined relay antenna power. I have the HG-5R relay on the craft. Adding any number of any relay antennas on the craft in the VAB doesnt check the box on the contract either. What am I missing?

[WuphonsReach]

1 hour ago, nertberkerperk said:

The first contract isn't working for me. It says I need 4G of combined relay antenna power. I have the HG-5R relay on the craft. Adding any number of any relay antennas on the craft in the VAB doesnt check the box on the contract either. What am I missing?

The HG-5R will not count until it is extended.  At least I think that's your issue (it's catching me out in my current career save as a "hmm, did I forget something" moment on each launch).

@canisin I'll have to add a packaging script at the root of the repo to help me not forget that when I build the distribution zip file.

[nertberkerperk]

No, it's definitely extended. How do you calculate 4G of power? I still have the T1 tracking station, which I think might be limiting it. I'm new to CommNet so I'm not sure how the calculations work.

[WuphonsReach]

25 minutes ago, nertberkerperk said:

No, it's definitely extended. How do you calculate 4G of power? I still have the T1 tracking station, which I think might be limiting it. I'm new to CommNet so I'm not sure how the calculations work.

It's calculated based on the antennas on the craft (DSN level shouldn't matter).  

A) There is a log file at GameData/ContractConfigurator/log/StockAntennaBalance named after the contract.  In there, you will see a section called AntennaRelayPower with a parameter called minAntennaPower

Spoiler

AntennaRelayPower
type = HasAntenna, deterministic = True
name = AntennaRelayPower, deterministic = True
targetBody = Kerbin (CelestialBody), deterministic = True
rewardFunds = 0, deterministic = True
rewardReputation = 0, deterministic = True
rewardScience = 0, deterministic = True
failureFunds = 0, deterministic = True
failureReputation = 0, deterministic = True
optional = False, deterministic = True
disableOnStateChange = null, deterministic = True
completeInSequence = False, deterministic = True
hidden = False, deterministic = True
hideChildren = False, deterministic = True
title = Have at least 4 G (combined) relay antenna power, deterministic = True
notes = null, deterministic = True
completedMessage = null, deterministic = True
minAntennaPower = 4000000000, deterministic = True
maxAntennaPower = 1.79769313486232E+308, deterministic = True
antennaType = RELAY, deterministic = True

 

That minAntennaPower value should read out as 4 billion (4 thousand million) or what I call "4G".

B) The other piece of the puzzle would be to look in the VAB and make sure that it shows the correct Antenna type and rating in the VAB/SPH:

Spoiler

If either of those things don't check out, then there's possibly a mod conflict and I'd need a KSP.log file.  Maybe something else is playing with the antenna values.

Edited January 28, 2017 by WuphonsReach

[dlrk]

Are the contracts supposed to require massive amounts of EC storage? For example, the Tier 4 Satellite contract requires 40000

[WuphonsReach]

Just now, dlrk said:

Are the contracts supposed to require massive amounts of EC storage? For example, the Tier 4 Satellite contract requires 40000

The tier 4 stationary relay contract around the homeworld assumes 30 EC/s of power draw and an altitude of 3000 km.  At that altitude there is 1217 seconds of "dark" period where the solar panels do not work.  So 1217 * 30 = 36510 of EC storage.  Add a bit for reserve capacity, and I'm at 40,000.

It's the downside of making those RA-100 have 30 EC/s of power draw where I can't assume the player has nuclear reactors or RTGs.  But hopefully the payout is handsome enough to make up for the difficulty.

I will make it in the next release that you can still take Tier 3 contracts even if the Tier 4 antenna is unlocked.  Plus I'll recalculate the polar contracts to assume only a 450 second dark period.

[dlrk]

Okay, that makes sense. What coding the contract to detect RTGs or reactors?

[WuphonsReach]

On 1/28/2017 at 5:27 PM, dlrk said:

Okay, that makes sense. What about coding in the contract to detect RTGs or reactors?

I've been noodling on that for a few days and haven't come up with a good solution.  AFAIK, there's no way to check whether the craft has generator modules that produce positive EC or what amount they produce.  I could go with a parts whitelist I guess, but that feels messy.

On the version front, I've been playing around with contract rewards based on the ratio (actually cubed-root of the ratio) between the home world's SMA (semi-major axis) value and the target world's SMA.  This results in an Eeloo contract for an RA-2 antenna that rewards 5.4M and a Jool contract for RA-2 relay with a 3.7M reward.  Duna was about 1.7M.

That reward amount is supposed to reflect the amount of time that you're going to wait for the contract to complete (2-4 years of travel time).  Not sure if it's too much or not, but it feels about right to be worth it to meet the demands (it takes 30-300 days to get the orbit right at the target around Eeloo / Jool).  I should probably make sure that the up-front amount is based on the expected cost of the vessel though, and not scale that value with the SMA ratio.

Edited February 5, 2017 by WuphonsReach