[1.4.3] Kerbal Academy Contract Pack [v1.2.x]

[Gordon Dry]

1 hour ago, Mark Kerbin said:

Minor Bug Fix For Version File Errors. 

Nothing Gameplay Related

This is a lie.

1. you added GameData\ContractPacks\KerbalAcademy\Agent\KerbalAcademy.png - which is a .jpeg file with the file extension .png
   (and it's the old one)
2. the GameData\ContractPacks\KerbalAcademy\Agent\KerbalAcademy_scaled.png is also the old style one, and also a .jpeg with the file extension .png
3. you added GameData\ContractPacks\KerbalAcademy\Agent\KerbalAcademyAgency.cfg which obviously was missing before
4. you added GameData\ContractPacks\KerbalAcademy\Flags\Kerbal Academy.png
5. you added GameData\ContractPacks\KerbalAcademy\Ships\TrainingDrillMk2.craft

[Mark Kerbin]

7 minutes ago, Gordon Dry said:

This is a lie.

1. you added GameData\ContractPacks\KerbalAcademy\Agent\KerbalAcademy.png - which is a .jpeg file with the file extension .png
   (and it's the old one)
2. the GameData\ContractPacks\KerbalAcademy\Agent\KerbalAcademy_scaled.png is also the old style one, and also a .jpeg with the file extension .png
3. you added GameData\ContractPacks\KerbalAcademy\Agent\KerbalAcademyAgency.cfg which obviously was missing before
4. you added GameData\ContractPacks\KerbalAcademy\Flags\Kerbal Academy.png
5. you added GameData\ContractPacks\KerbalAcademy\Ships\TrainingDrillMk2.craft

Crud.

Ok.... Clearly I Should Not Be Doing Updates This Late Should I

[Edit]

Actually those files are coming up as PNGs for me. You sure?

And all that was added in 1.2.0 

1.2.1 was just a edit to the version file.

Edited May 13, 2018 by Mark Kerbin

[Gordon Dry]

@Mark Kerbin Well, it's only the 2nd case of finding .png files that are .jpeg files in a mod for the last 30 days ... I just press F3 in Total Commander to view a file and get the notification about the mismatch, easy like that.

[Mark Kerbin]

5 minutes ago, Gordon Dry said:

@Mark Kerbin Well, it's only the 2nd case of finding .png files that are .jpeg files in a mod for the last 30 days ... I just press F3 in Total Commander to view a file and get the notification about the mismatch, easy like that.

I think thats a personal problem gordon

[Gordon Dry]

@Mark Kerbin

When I open the JPEG file and show it as text, then the header says:

ÿØÿà JFIF      ÿí „Photoshop 3.0 8BIM

etc. pp.

Should look like

‰PNG        IHDR

etc. pp.

Edit:

and yes, you also asked me if I'm sure - ask the dev of Total Commander ...

Edited May 13, 2018 by Gordon Dry

[Mark Kerbin]

Will continue investigating.

Its possible Paint 3D is screwing with my files.

[4x4cheesecake]

Hey there

Just installed this contract pack (v.1.2.0) for my new career game and got offered this contract:

Spoiler

I'm a bit confused because

1) the description says, a failure would refund a third of the costs but the "Rewards" tab says someting different (also, why are there two "-"?).

2) Since this contract requires a new recruit (at least for me because Val und Jeb are already Level 1), I have to pay for the contract AND the Kerbal? That would sum up to ~150k funds. I'm actually curious about the "cheap way" provided by this contract pack to recruit new Kerbals, how does it work?

[Mark Kerbin]

@4x4cheesecake. Good point. I think there’s a way to make contracts create a new kerbal, so perhaps I will do that and fix the costs a bit. No sure how I missed that in the release.

Quote

(also, why are there two "-"?).

Its a negative(-) negative (-). Think of it like this;

-|-

which means the negatives cancel out and turn into a positive. It looks like that because of the way the price is calculated. In any event, you get those funds back. Should be about 3/4s of the entry cost, because we have to assume kerbal academy lost some money setting that up for ya.

[Edit]

Plans for 1.3 or possibly 1.2.x

I am going to completely rebuild advanced piloting, engineering and science contracts to  provide a better experience.

Boot camp will also get some rejiggering and will create a new kerbal (level 0) when contract is created. It will also trigger more often and not wait until you are short in a certain field before offering a contract. I will re-balance the pricing for it in such a way that it can be a reasonable alternative to mid game rescue contracts, and of course the kerbal will still be boosted to level 1 on completion.

(If you guys could pm me your cost per kerbal rescued that would be great. Please specify  if it was a trivial or significant  and how much the vehicle cost.)

 

Edited May 13, 2018 by Mark Kerbin

[4x4cheesecake]

@Mark Kerbin Well, I guess I have to reactivate the stock rescue missions until you found a way for this contract pack

2 hours ago, Mark Kerbin said:

Should be about 3/4s of the entry cost, because we have to assume kerbal academy lost some money setting that up for ya.

Sounds reasonable but the offered contract shows a 100% refund ^^

 

[Mark Kerbin]

#WhenYouSpendAllDayBugfixingAndYetStillMissSomethingThatObvious

You know how to reactivate those right? Settings menu > Difficulty settings > Contract Config

Thanks to the report, Ill investigate. 

[4x4cheesecake]

10 minutes ago, Mark Kerbin said:

You know how to reactivate those right? Settings menu > Difficulty settings > Contract Config

Thanks, thats easier then restarting the career^^

[Mark Kerbin]

Version 1.3 Or 1.2.2-3  Info;

As I plan to be completely rebuilding several contracts, this will likely take a bit of time.

If you feel like helping, pay attention the the github repo and test out any new uploads. Thanks!

 

A highly unfinished Kerbonaut Boot Camp contract will be uploaded to github shortly. (Unplayable) Check for new branches. It is intended as a replacement to the current Boot Camp but will have very similar mission profiles.

Edited May 14, 2018 by Mark Kerbin

[Kwebib]

There is a bit of an exploit possible on the boot camp contracts, but I'm not sure how you'd fix it.

If you hire a Kerbonaut BEFORE you accept the boot camp contract, the NextKerbalHireCost() goes up, so you get more money back.

[Mark Kerbin]

15 minutes ago, Kwebib said:

There is a bit of an exploit possible on the boot camp contracts, but I'm not sure how you'd fix it.

If you hire a Kerbonaut BEFORE you accept the boot camp contract, the NextKerbalHireCost() goes up, so you get more money back.

That had not occurred to me. Thanks for letting me know.

Boot camp is getting a complete rebuild and will be spawning the kerbal as part of the contract, so exploit while you can! 

And when I say spawn, I mean I suggest you get good at landing at the island runway.

[Mark Kerbin]

Sorry for the sudden inactivity. Im back from my mini "vacation" otherwise known as end of the year exams. Work on contracts will start again later today. 

 

Minor update, Still working on new stuff, but my exams got shifted forward somehow. Ie. Have to study. Again. So much for that break. 

Edited May 20, 2018 by Mark Kerbin

[LatiMacciato]

I haz a question!

Is there any chance to add some features/contracts for improving stupidity/courage like making a Kerbal less stupid/more couragued?
I think since an academy is also something where people (and Kerbals are virtual cute people, little green men!) can actually improve social skills for not just learn a profession, but also decrease stupidity and might just be couragued more in the profession.

Thanks!

[severedsolo]

9 hours ago, LatiMacciato said:

Is there any chance to add some features/contracts for improving stupidity/courage like making a Kerbal less stupid/more couragued?

That isn't supported by CC directly and would need a plugin, but I can't see it gaining much traction as courage and stupidity don't actually do anything.

(this is just my personal opinion, I'm nothing to do with development of this pack any longer)

[Mark Kerbin]

9 hours ago, LatiMacciato said:

I haz a question!

I haz answer!  (Maybe)

9 hours ago, LatiMacciato said:

Is there any chance to add some features/contracts for improving stupidity/courage like making a Kerbal less stupid/more couragued?

Thanks!

Hmm. That’s an interesting idea.

As far as I know/can google from my phone, those values could probably be modified. What I don’t know is if Contract Configurator has the functionality. I’ll check but I doubt it. 

[Edit:] @severedsolo says it’s not supported, so yes I would need to build a plugin or ask nightingale to spend some time adding it.  [:Edit]

What would it be useful for though?  Kerbal Health uses it for calculating the chances of accidents or panic attacks last I checked, but that’s all I can really think of besides shear cosmetic value.

Lost story short, I’ll investigate after I finish 1.3, which given my current school/exam situation may be a bit. If you  have some reason courage and stupidity should be modified and/or how to do it, let me know and I’ll investigate for 1.4 or 1.3 if it’s simple enough.

Thanks for the suggestion! 

This was super long winded because I’m currently super bored. Not sorry. 

 

Edited May 22, 2018 by Mark Kerbin

[LatiMacciato]

Well stupidity and courage are factors in MKS too, also EL. I'd love to see and use such upcoming feature, looking forward to it since it is legal cheating instead of editing the savefile !

[Mark Kerbin]

Sorry for the radio silence recently folks. T - 20 days to the end of the school year so things have gotten busy.

1.3 is still in dev but I am not going to release anything until it’s mostly finished and tested. 

Also @LatiMacciato, while such a feature would be awesome, it is likely a long ways off. 

[LatiMacciato]

4 minutes ago, Mark Kerbin said:

Sorry for the radio silence recently folks. T - 20 days to the end of the school year so things have gotten busy.

1.3 is still in dev but I am not going to release anything until it’s mostly finished and tested. 

Also @LatiMacciato, while such a feature would be awesome, it is likely a long ways off. 

Totally ok to me, real life always priors! If there is something I can help I can try my best too.

Edited May 29, 2018 by LatiMacciato

[Sokol_323]

I can't understand why, but the latest version is missing contracts for pilots and scientists. Engineers consistently get stars first, for the repair of the landing legs, then the wheels of the Rovers, and so on.

But where are the tasks for pilots and scientists? Until the latest version of the mod, there were contracts for pilots of the type to fly the route or more complex maneuvers associated with orbiting or at another celestial body. For scientists, it was proposed to perform experiments in some biomes on Kerbin or again moon or Minus. And now for a long time, no such contract.

What to do? Back to the old version?

[Mark Kerbin]

@Sokol_323 Yes back to 1.10.0 

I somehow managed to break 1.2.0 somewhere in testing, not to worry 1.3 will replace it sometime next month.  

[Mark Kerbin]

Hey Everyone! Thought I should give you a quick long and extensive update on 1.3. I am very busy with life right now as school finishes, so development is currently paused. Once summer break comes into effect next week I will have time to continue work.

Anyway, Here’s the list of planned features for 1.3, subject to change if things don’t work out. (When I say stars I mean contract prestige.)

-All contracts are being rebuilt from the ground up to allow for easier development in the future.

-Bootcamp will be spawning kerbals/new recruits over on the island airfield. Said recruits will also have a profession specific craft spawned with them for training purposes. (More on this later) Bootcamp will still progress kerbals to level 1.

- Each profession will have 3 different contracts, trivial, significant, and whatever the other one is. These will overlap with applicants level so levels 3-4 can use 2 star training courses and 3star courses will be for levels 4-5. 1 Star courses will be for level 1-2, Bootcamp courses will be similar to these.

-All craft spawned by missions will be removed after, so avoid keeping kerbals inside.

-Most missions will require a safe return.

-Kerbals applicable for missions will be selected from the available roster, but kerbals currently on missions will also be selected on occasion, allowing for training to be scheduled ahead of time.

-Pricing will be worked on and is planned to be generated based on next kerbal cost for Bootcamp and level/level gain and contract prestige for other missions.

-Missions will now need payment both on acceptance and completion. Entry fee is a downpayment of sorts and doesn’t get refunded if you fail.

-Pilots will have 3 mission types.

 -Atmospheric, (1 Star) with various waypoints, altitudes, climb speed and g force parameters. Landing back on the runway required.

 -Orbital, (2 Stars) Pilots will be tasked with reaching orbit and executing maneuvers to meet various requirements. Then land. In one piece.

 -Orbit and Transfer, (3 Stars) Similar to Orbital excepting that the pilot will be asked to transfer to and orbit either the mun or minmus, then meet certain orbital parameters (including rendezvous maneuvers if applicable) and then return to kerbin. This mission will require a skilled player in both piloting and craft design.

- Engineers will also get 3 mission types.

 -Damage Repair, (1 Star) a “disabled” craft will be placed somewhere on kerbin (within reasonable distance from KSC) and the engineer will be asked to get there and fix it up. This will likely require a decent aircraft that may be water capable though I will try to avoid crafts being place on water

 - Orbital Maintenance, (2 Stars) This mission will require an active station or satellite in orbit of kerbin. Similar to the first mission without a new craft being spawned. Trainee must have return alive and in 1 piece. 

- Practice Mission, (3 Stars) Engineers are tasked with spending a set amount of days aboard and active station or orbital  ship. This is to give them a taste of longer mission times and because there are only so many things I can think of for this. Returning to kerbin required.

-Scientists will get 3 mission profiles too. Yay!

 - Atmospheric Studies, (1 Star) Pretty straight forward, scientists are tasked with doing 3-5 experiments on or above kerbin. Will work to avoid Eva in atmosphere experiments.

 -Orbital Science, (2 Stars) Scientists will, wait for it, do science in orbit! This should consist of 2-4 various experiments in orbit of kerbin. May require a station but that’s tbd. Will also have to return to kerbin. 

 -Extraplanetary Exploration, (3 Stars) Guess who gets to land on or orbit around the mun or minmus while doing science? Again, 1-3 experiments and then a return to kerbin.

 

-I have put some thought into “group missions” with multiple trainees and an instructor. Idea is that it’s more cost effective but provides less experience.

 

Please keep in mind that this is a very early planned change log. This is subject to change, and I will try to avoid pulling a No Mans Sky scenario.

 

Oh yes about those crafts. I’m actually not that great at making reliable aircraft and such so if any of you guys have something that fits what I need PM me.

Im looking for a stock 2-4 seater light aircraft with a flight ceiling of 6-10km and 120-250 m/s top speed. Needs to be stable without sas and easy enough to fly. 

 

I am also looking for a few basic lander type probes for the engineer repair missions. No need to damage them, and please keep it stock, no MH.

 

Anyone who submits any crafts will be credited in someway within the context of ksp and KA. Will probably involve either craft names or flags. 

Thanks for the support everyone! Happy launchings.

 

(Typed on phone so enjoy the autocorrect and format fails!)

Edited June 4, 2018 by Mark Kerbin

[4x4cheesecake]

4 hours ago, Mark Kerbin said:

Im looking for a stock 2-4 seater light aircraft with a flight ceiling of 6-10km and 120-250 m/s top speed. Needs to be stable without sas and easy enough to fly. 

I've modified one of my planes for you to match your requirements. 4 seats, top speed is ~190m/s (with less fuel), ceiling ~7500m and it is pretty stable without SAS (with full fuel tanks, you need to accelerate up to ~90m/s to stabilize, with nearly no fuel you need ~140m/s). I didn't remove the oxidizer on purpose, the plane is more stable with some more weight

If you like it, feel free to use it

https://www.dropbox.com/s/z2nm8y61jj6hsse/Easy Plane.craft?dl=0

Screen:

Spoiler

edit: Just fixed a minor visual thingy which caused the plane to become unstable but fixed that aswell The plane likes to pitch up slightly without any user input, if, you want to change this, you can reduce the authority limiter of the elevon to 5. This will allow the plane to keep the altitude nearly constant.

Edited June 4, 2018 by 4x4cheesecake