MechJeb is there but not there???

[maddog59]

I had MJ2 installed and all was well. Then I installed Janitor's Closet and the next time I launched KSP the MJ2 drop down was all the way over the left, overlaying the clock and warp widgets. JC didn't appear to work (I tried both manual and CKAN installations), so I removed JC and although the MJ button appears at the bottom of the buttons on the right, the drop-down doesn't appear anywhere. I've tried uninstalling and re-installing MJ2 both manually and with CKAN and there's no change. 

Any suggestions would be appreciated - just remember I'm an idiot when it comes to versions and dependencies, so please be a) patient and b) specific with any instructions.

"Explain it ... as you would to a child."  - General Roth'h'ar Sarris

[jimmymcgoochie]

By any chance, did you put your mods into the Steam-controlled copy of KSP? That’s a frequent cause of mod misbehaviour and should be avoided at all costs.

 Does the MJ button appear on the toolbar (on the right in flight and the bottom in Space Centre/editors)? If it does then the drop-down might just be hiding somewhere; if not then something’s definitely wrong with your install. Can you provide the logs, a mod list and your KSP version? These will probably make it a lot easier to see what’s going on.

[maddog59]

11 hours ago, jimmymcgoochie said:

By any chance, did you put your mods into the Steam-controlled copy of KSP? That’s a frequent cause of mod misbehaviour and should be avoided at all costs.

Yes, I believe they are ... I've always played from there, and until I installed the JC mod the MJ2 mod and others have appeared and functioned pretty much as expected. I'm on version 1.12, and have been using the recently released version of MJ2 that's supposed to be compatible.

Yes, the MJ button is on the toolbar ... I've run my cursor all around the edge of the screen trying to find any trace and nothing appears anywhere, so I'm stumped as to how to get it back on screen. 

Embarrassing to admit, but I'm not sure which log(s) you're asking for that may be helpful, or how to make them available to you. I searched the KSP directory for 'log*' and several came up as having been updated as of yesterday (when I last started the game). 

And what's the best way to provide a list of installed mods? I don't see a function in CKAN to print the list with version # ... I suppose I could manually type them all out. 

Thanks, I appreciate your willing to look at this for me. 

 

[jimmymcgoochie]

Try this: 

KSP.log and Player.log are the main log files for KSP, KSP.log is easier to find (it’s in the KSP root folder) but Player.log is more detailed.

CKAN can produce mod lists very easily- click File then “save installed mod list” which will save the mod list as a plain text file.

I think the best course of action is to start afresh with a new copy of KSP outside of Steam’s control:

1. Copy your save games (KSP/saves, copy the entire folder(s) out of there for all the save games you want to keep) and put them on your desktop;
2. Save your installed mods as a CKAN mod pack, also on the desktop (File > export mod pack);
3. In Steam, disable cloud sync for KSP (Right click KSP in Steam library > Properties, I think it’s under local files);
4. Delete everything except the Squad (and SquadExpansion if you have either/both DLCs) from KSP/ GameData (right click KSP in Steam library > browse local files, it might be under Local Files in the Properties window);
5. Delete the existing instance from CKAN;
6. Uninstall and reinstall KSP, then verify the game files to make sure it installed correctly;
7. Run KSP through Steam to make sure it works;
8. If it works, copy KSP in its entirety out of the Steam folders (copy Kerbal Space Program from steamapps/common) and paste that on the desktop;
9. Add the new copy to CKAN, reinstall mods using the mod pack you made in step 2 and add the save files you saved in step 1.
10. The problem should now be completely resolved!

This is pretty much the nuclear option for a dodgy modded KSP install, but it’s almost always effective at fixing the issue plus you’ll never have to worry about Steam breaking stuff again, can download different versions of the game whenever you want and make multiple copies of KSP, on different versions, with different mods in each, and CKAN will take care of them all.

[maddog59]

Thanks for taking the time to put all of that together for me. I'm afraid I've run into some problems: 

Step 5: delete the instance from CKAN ... I couldn't find a way to delete the game instance. Best I could do was rename it.

Step 9: add the new copy to CKAN ... I thought I was able to get the new instance added, but when I selected it and let it refresh, it showed all of the mods had been added, even though I hadn't re-loaded them from the pack.  I've not gone any further than that, although I've tried run KSP from the folder I created in Step 8 and it appeared to start up normally (no patches loaded, etc.).

<update>

I've moved the KSP directory to my D:\ drive (I ran into trouble with it being on the desktop and getting grief from OneDrive), but in the process of figuring that out I ended up deleting CKAN and will be reinstalling it so I can try to focus it on the new instance and re-install the mods. 

<update #2>

So it looks like CKAN didn't capture all of the mods I'd installed, so I've just finished finding and reinstalling all of the one's that CKAN couldn't install and was it looks like I've gotten everything back into place and working, and even my saved games are available, so that's cool. 

The only thing I can't figure out is how to move the MJ drop-down: it's tucked into the upper left corner, right over the MET clock so that both of them drop down whenever I want the MJ menu . I've not been able to find anything online that seems to work to move it. Any suggestions?

Edited September 28, 2021 by maddog59