Config Setting and Key Binding Files

[XLjedi]

Well, once again my install of KSP corrupted... 

The physics are whacked again and all craft pull to the right for no reason.  A fresh install solved the problem (again) and it continues to work fine after putting my mods back (again).   But now I've gotta redo all my game bindings and various settings.  I have multiple installs of the game and was wondering which file(s) I might be able to copy across to the new install to bring back all of my graphics, game, joystick, and key binding settings?

Anyone know which file(s) I would need to copy across?

[Mark Kerbin]

Well given that your older installs got corrupted I would suggest not copying anything over. If you want to play with fire (I mean this is rocket science) you can try copying the settings config over from the main KSP folder.

[XLjedi]

15 hours ago, Mark Kerbin said:

Well given that your older installs got corrupted I would suggest not copying anything over. If you want to play with fire (I mean this is rocket science) you can try copying the settings config over from the main KSP folder.

Already tried that one,  and the joystick/throttle settings (for instance) are not contained in that config file...  or at least, they didn't change from default when copied over.

I don't really consider it "playing with fire" but I would like to know which file(s) holds the joystick (and other) settings.

One thing I have learned is that copying over all the files in the root KSP folder (the exe files) seems to fix the physics bug issue.  So I can repair it pretty quickly, I just trash my config settings.  I s'pose it's possible that it's actually the config file itself that causes the issue.

Edited June 11, 2018 by XLjedi

[Mark Kerbin]

Yeah I think you have a time bomb somewhere in one of your configs. If you have access to an output log we can look for errors

 

(the playing with fire thing was meant as a silly joke, no harm intended)

Edited June 11, 2018 by Mark Kerbin

[XLjedi]

@Mark Kerbin  If I can isolate the file that corrupts the game physics...  Which I'm starting to narrow down.  I'll post back, or maybe add it to the bug tracker.  I know it's related to one of the files in the KSP root folder.

So far, every time it's happened (maybe 5-7 times?) a clean install just fixes it.  In which case, every time I had to start with a fresh config file and redo all the settings.  Also wondering if it might be getting hosed by Steam updates somehow?  Doesn't necessarily coincide with official updates managed by Steam.

 

[Mark Kerbin]

Are you moving anything over after the install? Also what do you call a “clean install” with steam? Are you hitting uninstall then reinstalling or are you deleting everything KSP related in steams folder before the reinstall?

[XLjedi]

14 minutes ago, Mark Kerbin said:

Are you moving anything over after the install? Also what do you call a “clean install” with steam? Are you hitting uninstall then reinstalling or are you deleting everything KSP related in steams folder before the reinstall?

I rename the Steam KSP folder (of which I have several)...   Steam then loses it's connection to the game.  I uninstall on Steam (which does nothing to the renamed folder) and then re-install a completely new and clean unmodded KSP version.   The only thing I typically move between installs would be my craft files and mods to the gamedata folder.  When this physics issue crops up, I typically just move one craft and test, then copy over rest of craft and mods, and test again.  At this point it all seems fine and I'd then have to go in and redo all my config settings again.

18 hours ago, Mark Kerbin said:

Well given that your older installs got corrupted I would suggest not copying anything over. If you want to play with fire (I mean this is rocket science) you can try copying the settings config over from the main KSP folder.

BTW, the older installs that I have saved... are uncorrupted versions.

Edited June 11, 2018 by XLjedi

[Mark Kerbin]

I think I have figured out what is going on here.

First thought;

When you drag over your mods do you copy them out of the gamedata folder directly? Are you copying the squad and squad expansion folders when you do that? If so... don’t do that! 

Second thought;

Do any of your mods have any functionality that relates to the physics? I think one of them might be changing/breaking something important when you start an new save. Try playing pure stock for as long as it usually take to break after saving and reloading a few times. 

 

 

Oh and you may want to uninstall first then copy that folder to your documents or something. Steam only kills the exe file, but does keep track of where the other stuff goes so it may be copy and pasting too. (Not sure on that last bit)

Having some continuity issues here, sorry about that. As I said above, it might not matter. Oh and are those old files the same version, stupid question Ik.

[XLjedi]

@Mark Kerbin  Nah... I'm kinda beyond troubleshooting it...

Really prefer to stay on point, and just try to figure out which specific file(s) hold the config settings. 

Particularly, if there is a settings file I can copy between two clean installs of the same version that will carry across the joystick/throttle settings.  I can just answer this myself by trial and error, if I need to.  Just figured maybe someone knew (there were a couple files?) and could save me a bit of time. 

Edited June 11, 2018 by XLjedi

[Mark Kerbin]

Come on man... now I want to know. 

 

As far as I know the only place keybindings and other settings are stored is in the settings config here

ProgramFiles(x86)>Steam>SteamApps>Common>Kerbal Space Program>Settings

Other than that... idk man. 

[XLjedi]

@Mark Kerbin  I'll post back here when I figure it out...  just stay subscribed to the thread.

[XLjedi]

@Mark Kerbin  upon further examination...  and a little testing...  the settings.cfg file located here:

ProgramFiles(x86)>Steam>SteamApps>Common>Kerbal Space Program>Settings

Did in fact (exactly as you stated) contain the Throttle and Joystick settings and it worked fine when copied across.  So I'm good now.  I must've been copying across a version of it without my settings saved previously.  So will have to chalk this one up to user error.

The next time the physics go whack, I am gonna try to isolate which file in the root directory *specifically* is causing it. 

Edited June 16, 2018 by XLjedi

[Mark Kerbin]

@XLjedi gonna take a wild guess and say its the Physics.cfg found in the same directory

=P

 

[XLjedi]

2 hours ago, Mark Kerbin said:

@XLjedi gonna take a wild guess and say its the Physics.cfg found in the same directory

=P

 

Yeah, good point, that'll be the first one I copy over the next time it happens.

[XLjedi]

@Mark Kerbin  Ya know it happened again!  However, this time, I finally figured out the problem.  ...and of course, it was utterly stupid.

I use a Saitek X52 Flight Control System, and have the joystick and throttle settings all configured.  

Unity, the underlying game engine, is notoriously bad for not playing well (at all) with the Saitek FCS drivers.  For whatever reason, the joystick lags on the control input by almost a full second making it extremely annoying to use.  The throttle however, the lag is not as noticeable.  So I continue to use the throttle and programmable buttons but basically have the joystick off to the side (ignored) and I use the keyboard to fly.

Well what happens is...  for whatever reason...  the game or joystick gets out of sync and loses it's definition of "center" for pitch, roll, or yaw.  Most frequently it's roll and it tends to roll right, but lately it's been yawing right really bad.  The solution (without having to reinstall anything) is to grab the dormant joystick and run it thru its full range of motion for pitch/roll and then same for the twisty-stick yaw and then the game/joystick remembers what the proper center is and problem solved in about 5 seconds.  

Curious that reinstalling anything actually fixed this previously, but now glad I solved the mystery. 

 

 

Edited June 18, 2018 by XLjedi

[Mark Kerbin]

Weird.