[1.12.x] Targetron Adopted

[linuxgurugamer]

Originally written by @Jarcikon, original thread is here:https://forum.kerbalspaceprogram.com/index.php?/topic/43297-023-targetron-target-or-command-vessel-from-a-list-of-active-flights/

Maintained by @jinks and @agises for a while, thread is here: https://forum.kerbalspaceprogram.com/index.php?/topic/105730-18x-targetron-continued-bis-wathever-163-20191023/

 

I've adopted this and made a number of fixes, see complete list below

This plugin displays a window listing all vessels in flight (including debris) in a convenient list, and allows you to target or take control of any vessel quickly. The list can be sorted by distance or vessel name and filtered by search text or vessel type. You can also right click a listed vessel to rename or, if close enough, target available docking ports.

The title bar displays the current target followed by an icon to change the sort mode (right click to cycle through sort modes in reverse). On the far right the green icon will minimize the window to a small placeholder when you are not using Targetron. Click the green icon again to restore the window.

Below the title bar is the target list. This list shows all available flights based on the search/filter critera. Each vessel name is listed followed by the distance from your current location. Your current target is listed in orange. Vessels which are controllable are listed in green. Debris is listed in gray. The target icon will set the listed vessel as your current target. The rocket icon will switch control to the listed vessel.

The bottom bar contains a search box. Only vessel names containing the search text will be listed. To the right of the search box is a series of icons to filter by vessel type. Only vessel types with icons activated (disabled icons are grayed out) will be displayed.

Pro Tip: Right click a vessel type icon, then left click another icon and it will enable/disable all vessel types between the two.

Right click any vessel (or left click when inside your ship) to open a context menu. Here you can rename the selected vessel as long as you are close enough (within a few km). You will also see available docking ports, which can be targeted when you are within ~200m. To help identify each docking port, the actual part will highlight red as you hover over it's listing.

You can resize the window by clicking and dragging the bottom-left or bottom-right corners.  When you hover the mouse over the corners, the mouse pointer will change when resizing is available.  Unlike some other mods, there is no visual identifier of resizing location.

Availability

• Source: https://github.com/linuxgurugamer/Targetron
• Download: https://spacedock.info/mod/3095/Targetron Adopted
• License:  GPLv3

Now available via CKAN 

Dependencies

• Click Through Blocker
• ToolbarController
• SpaceTuxLibrary

Changes

• Changes related to my build environment
  • Added VS files
  • Added AssemblyVersion.tt
  • Added InstallChecker
  • Added local deploy scripts
  • Added jenkins control file
• Changes related to improvement using my normal support mods
  • Added .version file
  • Added support for ToolbarController
  • Removed ToolbarWrapper (not used)
  • Added support for ClickThroughBlocker
• Changes related to possible bugs, optimizations and some general cleanup
  • Changed the OnDraw to be the OnGui (saves an unnecessary call from the old OnGUI)
  • Changed hard-coded version info to get info from AssemblyVersion (now generated by AssemblyVersion.tt)
  • Replaced all uses of the deprecated WWW class to load textures from files with ToolbarControl.LoadImageFromFile
  • Removed unnecessary reassignment of GUI.skin at end of method
  • Moved all  initialization of textures into RegisterToolbar
  • Removed the DontDestroyOnLoad from Awake() to avoid unnecessary calling in scenes not used
  • Moved Target and Filter classes into their own files
  • Capitalized  first letter of all methods
• Updated README
  • Merged changes from royyi's repo
  • filter icon behavior act like stock map
  • limit list number to improve performance
  • Add filter for DeployedScienceController, DeployedSciencePart
  • Drop out LegacyInputModules
  • Limit vessel list to 50 to improve performance
  • New Icons
• Merged in new icons from github user @hashashin for toolbar buttons (reduced size)
   

Edited August 28, 2022 by linuxgurugamer

[Astra Infinitum]

Wow! One of the most annoying annoyances of KSP instantly cured with a mod! This is great!

 

THANKS

Edited August 27, 2022 by Astra Infinitum

[Mechanic]

Oh happy days! Just tried the mod and if there is an award for best mod of the year this one gets my vote. No more cycling through all my base components and Kerbals to get to what I want. Two thumbs up linuxgurugamer!

[Hotel26]

My thanks also.  Just installed and instantly warming to it.

Haystack has always been in my top-3 "goto" mods but its interface has screamed skyward for improvement and, when on screen, it can really bog down camera manipulation.

Spoiler

It seems also like it might be a better base for some wish-list items:

1. in addition to the space dimension (ascending distance), a time dimension (most recently-used)
2. bookmarked (or "pending") -- I currently put a timer on in KAC and let it quickly expire, so that these are available at the top of the list for things for later attention, or sometimes just set a reminder timer, but clunky).
3. by project maybe a (more sophisticated, hierarchical) form of bookmarking: e.g. Moho operations; maybe a single bookmark on a key vessel and then proximity would accomplish this with the above?

I've cloned; if I can build, maybe I can help...

So, thank you!

Edited September 10, 2022 by Hotel26

[Hotel26]

I had in mind to post a review of Targetron from the perspective of a HaystackContinued user, for the benefit of those who might like to consider switching.

In addition, that review would list some of the few shortfalls in Targetron with the idea that plugging those ought to make Targetron a proper superset of Haystack.

This as a prelude to perhaps offering some help in the execution of any of those changes that seem palatable to the maintainer (LGG).

And before doing that, an attempt to build Targetron to see if I can manage it.  Alas, I am on a Linux machine (e.g. no texttransform.exe) and the build fails.  I would guess it might simply be a matter of making a Linux build configuration within monodevelop, stripped down...

Any advice before I proceed?

Edited September 30, 2022 by Hotel26

[Hotel26]

Reporting my experience, as a long-time devotee of Haystack Continued, to my switch to Targetron...

I rated Haystack in the top 3 mods for indispensability.  Like anything really good and/or indispensable, the few minor things wrong get magnified subjectively; they are still only minor things.

In the case of Haystack, I found the UI clumsy (too many clicks to do one thing); the sort-by-distance did not seem to work accurately; moving the camera angle (while Haystack is active) was painfully slow.

In addition, I always wondered whether Most Recently Used, Bookmarked, Body categories et alia might be worthwhile.

In any case, here's my initial 'gap analysis' of Targetron (which I have found instantly appealing).

Spoiler

1. cannot rename own vessel; or any vessel without flight control (e.g. debris)
2. cannot target bodies; e.g. Jool
3. not in Game View (KSC)
4. cancel button for search string?
5. minimized banner at bottom should stay there
6. (On Linux), only the left lower corner of the display box is draggable for resize (document)

In general, I find the selection by Category that Haystack, Targetron and KSP itself use (Probe, Ship, Flag...) a clunky way to discriminate and have used a systematic craft-naming scheme that encodes body and category.  It's all just a name search then to find what one is looking for.

Nevertheless, naming vessels however one likes is really valuable.  For example, as debris falls to Kerbin, one of my last actions is to augment its name with an 'SOS' ornament and its probable resting coordinates for the benefit of ASR.  Haystack allows you to rename ANY vessel, including one's own.

#3.  I sometimes use Haystack in the KSC 'Game'(?) View to go instantly to a particular ship; this is analagous to using KAC to go to the first ship in the alarm list.

#4 is the kind of micro-UX annoyance that bothers me after a while: click in the box, Ctrl-A, Delete, to restore unfiltered craft display in the main, proximity window.  A small button would be fine.

#5 is trivial.  I don't really see the point anyway of minimizing the Targetron display, since it's a single button-push in the Toolbar to restore it.  I'd you have Targetron placed at the bottom of the screen and minimize it, the minimized title bar will be positioned where the top of the Targetron display was, rather than where it is remembered you'd moved it.  Thus, you cannot move it once, also to the very bottom of the screen, in a convenient location to re-maximize.

#6.  Documentation is really quite good.  This one appears simply to not be quite the same on Linux.  Not worth fixing.  Just a document note.

I have converted to Targetron whole-heartedly.  It's very satisfying.  I have kept Haystack installed due mainly to issue #1 cited.  When/if some of these issues are resolved, I will uninstall Haystack.  (Note that Haystack has the ability to Destroy vessels in the same manner that the Tracking Station view has.  It's more convenient for cleaning up large numbers of debris items.  But I wouldn't miss it and I make no suggestion it be added.)

At the moment, I'm preparing to be able to build Targetron (for Linux) with the hope to be able to contribute some code changes to submit for LGG's appraisal.

I thought it was worthwhile/right to make this public so anyone can comment.  I am particularly interested in other people's views, especially those of the longer-term users of Targetron, and of the maintainer.

Edited October 1, 2022 by Hotel26

[linuxgurugamer]

New release, 1.7.0.1

• Fixed path for loading files (broken by new launcher)

[Vas]

Odd, I don't see this on CKAN. I have the previous version installed thats stuck at 1.8, but I wanted to switch over to this one and can't find it on CKAN.