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EVA Repairs


Angelo Kerman

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Latest Release

CKAN? YES

Wiki

Source Code (GPL-V3)

All artwork is All Rights Reserved

Special thanks to @Rocketology for helping me test this mod. Be sure to check out his stream!

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Valentina switched on the Acapello's fuel cell. Nothing happened- except for a dull thump. The battery levels kept dropping. She used the tried and true method to troubleshoot the issue by slamming her hand against the instrument panel. That still didn't help. Not good. Without a working fuel cell, the mission was doomed. "Time to suit up," she said. "Jandolin, grab your repair kit, go outside, and see what's wrong with the fuel cell."

Jandolin gulped. "Me?"

Valentina barely heard her response. "You're the engineer," she retorted...

The stock KSP game now has EVA Repair Kits that are used to fix things like solar panels, wheels, and landing legs. But why not use them to fix engines, drills, and ISRU converters? With EVA Repairs, now you can!

This mini-mod introduces part wear and tear, but only to a select few parts like the aforementioned engines, drills, and ISRU converters. These parts all have a Mean Time Between Failure (MTBF) rating, and when that rating reaches zero, the part is disabled until a kerbal or a repair bot goes outside and fixes it with one or more EVA Repair Kits. Once fixed, the part is re-enabled.

There are a few configuration options to choose from depending upon how difficult you want your game. To change them:

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What the Options Do

Parts require maintenance: Enabled by default, this option gives you the ability to temporarily turn off EVA Repairs' functionality.

Parts can fail when activated: When enabled, whenever an engine, drill, generator, or converter starts, there is a possibility that it will fail. Parts fresh out of the VAB/SPH are highly unlikely to fail, but vessels that have been out there for awhile are more likely to fail.

Parts can wear out: When enabled, each time you repair a part it loses some Mean Time Between Failure (MTBF). If you have no more MTBF, then the part fails and can no longer be repaired. You must enable Parts can fail when activated in order to enable this option.

Flight experience improves future Reliability: When enabled, Reliability becomes a factor when determining if a part will fail when activated. You must enable Parts can fail when activated in order to enable this option. Reliability represents the flight experience that's gained when using the part, similar to the knowledge gained during the Firefly test flight. When you start the engine, drill, generator, or converter, you gain flight experience that applies to the next flight (but the part on the current flight's Reliability remains unchanged). If the activation check fails, then you also gain Reliability, more than you do when the check succeeds. AND you gain a bit of Science!

Starting Reliability: This slider lets you set the Reliability rating that all parts start with. For a more challenging experience, you can lower the starting Reliability, or raise it for an easier time. You must enable Flight experience improves future Reliability in order to adjust this setting.

Starting MTBF: This slider lets you set the Mean Time Between Failures rating that all parts start with. The default is 600 hours, but you can adjust the slider all the way up to 6000 hours if desired. If a vessel in flight has less than the starting MTBF then it will be updated to the new starting MTBF.

Tech Level Affects Reliability: When enabled, the starting and maximum Reliability improves as technology improves. At the R&D building's starting Level 1, the maximum possible Reliability that a part can attain is 90%. At Level 2, the maximum improves to 95%. If parts previously reached the 90% maximum Reliability cap, then further testing can bring them up to 95%. And at Level 3, the maximum caps at 99%. Again, parts can be further tested to 99% Reliability. Similarly, starting with General Rocketry, as you unlock the various rocketry tech tree nodes (General Rocketry, Advanced Rocketry, Heavy Rocketry, Heavier Rocketry, Very Heavy Rocketry), the starting Reliability of a part with no flight experience improves by 1 to 10%, potentially allowing parts with no flight experience to start at the maximum possible Reliability. Example: your starting Reliability is 50%, and you unlock General Rocketry. The game rolls up a 5% starting Reliability bonus for General Rocketry. You start testing the LV-T30 "Reliant," which has never flown before. Instead of starting with 50% Reliability, it starts with 55% Reliability. Since your R&D building is currently at Level 1, the maximum Reliability that the LV-T30 can attain is 90%.

Engines, drills, converters, and generators all automatically gain the ability to fail. But the following parts are completely optional:

Reaction wheels can fail: When enabled, reaction wheels are subjected to MTBF, can optionally fail during activation checks, and can optionally have Reliability ratings. Reaction wheels don't lose MTBF when SAS is off, but when you turn SAS on or off, there's a possibility that they can fail.

Probe cores can fail: When enabled, probe cores are subjected to MTBF, can optionally fail during activation checks, and optionally have Reliability ratings. Probe cores don't lose MTBF when they're hibernating, and they can fail when they go into or out of hibernation.

Deployable landing gear and legs can fail: When enabled, landing gear and legs that deploy can fail during activation checks, and optionally have Reliability ratings. The activation check will happen when you extend or retract the landing gear or leg, and they'll constantly lose MTBF.

Enable Debug Mode: This is a simple toggle for debugging purposes, You can use it to manually break and repair parts.

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Useful Information

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FAQ

Q: CKAN?
A: Yup!

Q: Robonaut?
A: What's with all the one-word questions?

Q: Does this replace Building A Rocket Isn't Simple (BARIS)?
A: Yes. BARIS will be retired, and its thread locked, by end of 2021. EVA Repairs is its successor.

Q: Can you make flight control surfaces/transmitters/parachutes/part X fail?
A: Out of the box? No. EVA Repairs is supposed to be lightweight. But the mod supports Module Manager patches that add ModuleEVARepairs to other parts. Check out the wiki for details.

Q: Why aren't all the options enabled when you install the mod?
A: As with BARIS, different people have different preferences. With no other options enabled, EVA Repairs gives reason for kerbals to step outside and perform maintenance. When parts can fail upon activation, older vessels will tend to break down. With the parts wear out option, the mod encourages replacement of aging space stations and vessels. When Reliability becomes a factor, parts might fail during launch. And with the Reliability slider, you can make it harder to grind out part Reliability- or easier depending upon your preferences.

Q: In the real-world, engines have a 99.9% reliability. Why does EVA Repairs max out at 99% reliability?
A: Because KSP is a game, and EVA Repairs is designed to make parts fail. Seriously, if you feel that parts shouldn't fail, then disable the Flight experience improves Reliability option, and/or disable Parts can fail when activated. There's a reason that those options are off by default.

 

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Just now, Daniel Prates said:

Oh, interesting. I am a fan of failures mods. Up until now dangit is my favorite, but this one has the merit of integrating the stock eva repairs mechanic, which is alwaya preferable. I will check this out

Tell me something @Angel-125, how do engineers relate to the mod? Same as with stock eva repairs?

With stock KSP, engineers are required to repair tires, broken solar panels, and broken antennas. With EVA Repairs, they can now fix broken engines, drills, generators, and converters. Like they would with a flat tire, the engineer steps outside, grabs a repair kit (or several), right-clicks on the part and presses the Repair button. If the engineer is skilled enough and has enough repair kits, then the part's functionality is restored.

The repair bot that I'm working on does the same thing: it separates from the vessel, right-clicks on the broken part, and uses the repair kits in its inventory to repair the part. The repair bot is a kerbalized version of this:

Robonaut+poster.jpg

I'm hoping that the repair bot will also be able to fix flat tires, antenna, and solar panels, just like an engineer can, but I have to figure out how to do that.

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The Exkursion mission, a probe with the goal of gathering scientific data from Jool as well as it's moon's of Tylo and Laythe, failed yesterday as the engine on the final stage failed to ignite, leaving the probe in an eccentric orbit of Jool.  Kerbal Space Center's Gene Kerman had this to say.

"We all knew thing's like this happen from time to time, this just turned out to be that time." 

"With calculations over it's next five orbits showing a potential collision with Vall, there is little hope that the mission can be recovered." KSC Co-founder Werner Von Kerman told the press. "Our only hope is for the probe to miss Vall and receive a gravity assist out of system where it can continue sending us data on what it encounters."

In other news, KSC Co-Founder, veteran and daredevil Ace pilot Jebediah Kerman...…..

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On 9/21/2021 at 6:25 PM, Angel-125 said:

With stock KSP, engineers are required to repair tires, broken solar panels, and broken antennas. With EVA Repairs, they can now fix broken engines, drills, generators, and converters. Like they would with a flat tire, the engineer steps outside, grabs a repair kit (or several), right-clicks on the part and presses the Repair button. If the engineer is skilled enough and has enough repair kits, then the part's functionality is restored.

The repair bot that I'm working on does the same thing: it separates from the vessel, right-clicks on the broken part, and uses the repair kits in its inventory to repair the part. The repair bot is a kerbalized version of this:

Robonaut+poster.jpg

I'm hoping that the repair bot will also be able to fix flat tires, antenna, and solar panels, just like an engineer can, but I have to figure out how to do that.

Any chance the robo wotsit can be modelled on a Dalek , yer yer I know my inner child is escaping again , but i'm old enough to remember first seeing them on black an white TV when they first appeared and I dissapeared behind the sofa scared to death of the metal dustbin things .

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On 9/19/2021 at 9:44 PM, Angel-125 said:

Q: Does this replace Building A Rocket Isn't Simple (BARIS)?
A: Yes. BARIS will be retired, and its thread locked, by end of 2021. EVA Repairs is its successor.

Sooooo...
... no more "high bay integration", "random events" and such??? just the "risk to part fail" and "repair on the field"????
I kind like the idea to put in production each rockets (putting then importance to schedule it, also) rather than throwing craft after craft out...

The idea of have to put effort in a production schedule+repairs (and those random events that could screw you over randomly) is actually the only thing that made me pick BARIS as a single mod that have everything together, rather than have to mix different mods to have similar functions

Me sad

----

:P Ok... stupid "fake rant" aside: there will be a way to, at least, keep as "optional integration" BARIS, for the "production schedule" mechanics, but use everything else from the advanced options "EVA repairs", at least???

 

Edited by Araym
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7 hours ago, Puggonaut said:

Any chance the robo wotsit can be modelled on a Dalek , yer yer I know my inner child is escaping again , but i'm old enough to remember first seeing them on black an white TV when they first appeared and I dissapeared behind the sofa scared to death of the metal dustbin things .

More like (WIP)...

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5 hours ago, Araym said:

Sooooo...
... no more "high bay integration", "random events" and such??? just the "risk to part fail" and "repair on the field"????
I kind like the idea to put in production each rockets (putting then importance to schedule it, also) rather than throwing craft after craft out...

The idea of have to put effort in a production schedule+repairs (and those random events that could screw you over randomly) is actually the only thing that made me pick BARIS as a single mod that have everything together, rather than have to mix different mods to have similar functions

Me sad

----

:P Ok... stupid "fake rant" aside: there will be a way to, at least, keep as "optional integration" BARIS, for the "production schedule" mechanics, but use everything else from the advanced options "EVA repairs", at least???

 

The problem with BARIS is that it is too complicated for players to use. High-bay integration, hiring/firing workers, vessels breaking even when they're not the active vessel, numerous customization options, and random events proved to be too much. That, and the complaining that a part failure mod is causing parts to fail was a bit much. So, BARIS will shutter its doors in 2022.

EVA Repairs is a lot simpler. I don't need any "Breakable" versions of part modules because I found a better way to disable part modules. That also means that EVA Repairs won't brick your save when you uninstall it. Plus, mods like Kerbal Construction Time do a better job of making vessels take time to assemble, so EVA Repairs doesn't need to do that.

I might port random events over to EVA Repairs, but not at first. I want to finish up the baseline functionality first, and iron out any bugs before introducing something else.

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4 hours ago, Angel-125 said:

That, and the complaining that a part failure mod is causing parts to fail was a bit much. 

I might port random events over to EVA Repairs,

Wait.... people were complaining that a failures mod was causing  part failures? Great.

The main reason for a mod like this is to keep a player on his/her toes and force some preventive planning. I see why you would devote only secondary effort for this but, believe me, if you get the time, do add random failures at some point, even if it is something one can turn off at setup (or better, it starts off and one has to turn on).  Without that, your mod has reached a GIGANTIC MERIT of integrating the stock eva kits (something that dangit didn't do, for instance), but uses it for a rather unidimensional mod that only disables an engine after some time - an underuse of a great mod, if you ask me!

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Cumulative update reflecting feedback while watching @Rocketology' Twitch stream:

- Fixed issue where part reliabilities weren't updating to the minimum starting reliability when the minimum is increased.
- Fixed issue where players gain Science even when the activation check succeeds.
- You now gain 2 Reliability when a part succeeds its activation check, but 7 Reliability when the check fails, reflecting that you gain more by learning from mistakes.
- If parts fail their activation check, then they'll fail 1 to 10 seconds after activation.
- Engines that can't be shut down will explode if they fail their activation check.
- Fixed issue where parts weren't gaining flight experience.

Thanks for the feedback, Rocket! :)

2 hours ago, Daniel Prates said:

Wait.... people were complaining that a failures mod was causing  part failures? Great.

The main reason for a mod like this is to keep a player on his/her toes and force some preventive planning. I see why you would devote only secondary effort for this but, believe me, if you get the time, do add random failures at some point, even if it is something one can turn off at setup (or better, it starts off and one has to turn on).  Without that, your mod has reached a GIGANTIC MERIT of integrating the stock eva kits (something that dangit didn't do, for instance), but uses it for a rather unidimensional mod that only disables an engine after some time - an underuse of a great mod, if you ask me!

If I add it, it will definitely be off by default, and something that players will need to turn on.

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9 hours ago, Angel-125 said:

If I add it, it will definitely be off by default, and something that players will need to turn on.

If you do, there will definitely be a +1 user. 

I've been reading the previous post. Some interesting design choices there; engines can explode if they fail? Won't that sit kinda badly with the people who want a "lite" failures mod?

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5 hours ago, Daniel Prates said:

If you do, there will definitely be a +1 user. 

I've been reading the previous post. Some interesting design choices there; engines can explode if they fail? Won't that sit kinda badly with the people who want a "lite" failures mod?

That applies to engines that can't be shut off, like SRBs. If the engine can be shut off then it won't explode.

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23 hours ago, Daniel Prates said:

Wait.... people were complaining that a failures mod was causing  part failures? Great.

Yes, and they were also complaining BARIS wasn't "realistic" - this is why @Angel-125 added the quote in the BARIS OP about realism and little green men. It's also why BARIS was pulled for a week or two and grudgingly restored, with much less publicity and fanfare. (Thanks Angel-125 for restoring it - I've been a happy user of BARIS since the start - it's still my favorite part failure mod) So this one has a lot less baggage, and the benefit of experience. I'm looking forward to seeing how it develops.

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1 hour ago, panarchist said:

Yes, and they were also complaining BARIS wasn't "realistic" - this is why @Angel-125 added the quote in the BARIS OP about realism and little green men. It's also why BARIS was pulled for a week or two and grudgingly restored, with much less publicity and fanfare. (Thanks Angel-125 for restoring it - I've been a happy user of BARIS since the start - it's still my favorite part failure mod) So this one has a lot less baggage, and the benefit of experience. I'm looking forward to seeing how it develops.

Just to be clear, since I find this hard to beleive: people were finding BARIS "unrealistic" due to a random failures feature? I guess they weren't paying attention to the last freaking 70 years of spaceflight then! 

Sorry for seeming surprised, I've always been a DangIt guy myself and I never dwelved whitin BARIS too much. I am now finding out about it and it fascinated me that angel125 managed to be the first guy to successfuly integrate the stock repair gizmo into a failures mod (which is a great achievement really), only to use such great potential into a "lite", mostly-harmless mod aimed at not really inconveniencing rage-quitters too much! If I got it more or less right anyway. 

At the same time, I also understood that angel125 is taking it easy and EVA repairs may, nay, WILL bloom little by little into something more complex. It sure deserves to. I'll be watching it very carefully!

:D

Edited by Daniel Prates
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EVA Repairs 1.0.7 is now available:

- Fixed issue where repeatedly starting/stopping engines wasn't performing the activation check.
- Fixed issue where repeatedly starting/stopping converters wasn't performing the activation check.
- Parts with reaction wheels can now fail, but you'll need to enable the option in the EVA Repairs difficulty settings (it's off by default).
- If a reaction wheel fails, it will either lose one of its torque axis or fail entirely.
- When a part fails its activation check, it can gain between 1% and 10% Reliability instead of a fixed 7% gain.

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EVA Repairs 1.1.0 is now available:

Changes

This update introduces the last type of part that can fail: the Probe core. Together with reaction wheels, engines, drills, generators, and converters, EVA Repairs now has a wide variety of parts that can fail out of the box. You can still make other types of parts fail if desired by adding a Module Manager patch to the part. This update also introduces the ability to account for how technological progress improves part reliability- and reduces the Reliability grind later in the game.

- New option: Probe cores can fail. When enabled, probe cores are subjected to MTBF, can optionally fail during activation checks, and optionally have Reliability ratings. Probe cores don't lose MTBF when they're hibernating, and they can fail when they go into or out of hibernation.

- New option: Tech level affects Reliability. When enabled, the starting and maximum Reliability improves as technology improves. At the R&D building's starting Level 1, the maximum possible Reliability that a part can attain is 90%. At Level 2, the maximum improves to 95%. If parts previously reached the 90% maximum Reliability cap, then further testing can bring them up to 95%. And at Level 3, the maximum caps at 99%. Again, parts can be further tested to 99% Reliability.

Similarly, starting with General Rocketry, as you unlock the various rocketry tech tree nodes (General Rocketry, Advanced Rocketry, Heavy Rocketry, Heavier Rocketry, Very Heavy Rocketry), the starting Reliability of a part with no flight experience improves by 1 to 10%, potentially allowing parts with no flight experience to start at the maximum possible Reliability. Example: your starting Reliability is 50%, and you unlock General Rocketry. The game rolls up a 5% starting Reliability bonus for General Rocketry. You start testing the LV-T30 "Reliant," which has never flown before. Instead of starting with 50% Reliability, it starts with 55% Reliability. Since your R&D building is currently at Level 1, the maximum Reliability that the LV-T30 can attain is 90%.

- Fixed issue where converter states weren't being recorded properly.
- Fixed NRE that happened when ships were loaded into the editor.

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