[1.12] Extraplanetary Launchpads v6.99.3

[RoverDude]

It was a call between changing all of Taniwha's parts via MM configs or hiding them because of the different production change (and a fork would be silly). I felt the former would cause even more confusion than the latter.

Side note... once Taniwha has recipes it should be a matter of configs and such, we shall see

[AlonzoTG]

So It's rover dood'z fault... You just lost a good chunk of your cool points. =| My install had Kethane and Karbonite both (up until I declared kethane dead a few days ago and removed it completely, including several dozen ships...)

Edited March 12, 2015 by Specialist290
Removing excessive rudeness.

[RoverDude]

Then probably best if you do not use any of my mods

[rabidninjawombat]

So It's rover dood'z fault... You just lost a good chunk of your cool points. =| My install had Kethane and Karbonite both (up until I declared kethane dead a few days ago and removed it completely, including several dozen ships...)

Wow.. just wow..if modding has you this worked up, i recommend you play stock from here on out

Edited March 12, 2015 by Specialist290
Editing quote of moderated post

[AlonzoTG]

I just took a good look at my install, I currently have on the order of 73 mods installed (or parts of) give or take a few for bundled directories and things that share the same directory... Thankfully only one of them <snipped ~Mod> went about disabling someone else's parts library... Look, I spend just as much time curating my modpak as you do making mods. I even ran a multiplayer server to let other ppl play my pack if they wanted but I realized that most people's computers aren't as capable as my four and a half year old machine so I haven't published the full pack recently. I do have a 32-bit compatible version of the core of the pack but I haven't run my server in a while now...

Edited March 12, 2015 by Specialist290
Removing excessive rudeness

[Nuker]

Found how to fix things. Almost finished properly tweaking my pack, now if only I could get Near Future Prop's engines to run with higher thrusts, lower electric costs and similar fuel efficiency I would be happy. Well, honestly I'll need a new PC to get the pack I really want, since warp drive is kinda boring without other star systems to visit

[taniwha]

Nuker: You are fighting a losing battle:

F = Me * Ve (thrust (N), exhaust mass per second (fuel consumption: kg/s), exhaust velocity (m/s))

P = 1/2 Me * Ve², or P = 1/2 F * Ve (power (W))

In other words, increasing fuel efficiency increases power requirements significantly. If I remember correctly, the Saturn V first stage engines produced about 115GW (95 Delorians) of thrust. I have no idea what the input chemical power was.

[smjjames]

Hey Taniwha, how come I keep getting this exception on scenechange? I suspect that it may have something to do with the lack of blizzys toolbar.

And it happened again while adjusting a maneuver node.

Edited March 12, 2015 by smjjames

[taniwha]

smjjames: it is indeed due to the lack of blizzy's toolbar. I've pushed fixes for such and I'll release a new version of EL once I get the survey site status (found/not found) issue sorted out.

[smjjames]

smjjames: it is indeed due to the lack of blizzy's toolbar. I've pushed fixes for such and I'll release a new version of EL once I get the survey site status (found/not found) issue sorted out.

Okay cool then.

[smjjames]

Hey Taniwha, I've been getting this odd exception coming out of EPL while running KIS, it seems to happen while I'm moving te containers (or anything that's connected to the containers) around. Do you know what's going on with it?

Edit: Actually, I think symmetry may have something to do with it, no idea.

NullReferenceException
  at (wrapper managed-to-native) UnityEngine.Component:InternalGetGameObject ()

  at UnityEngine.Component.get_gameObject () [0x00000] in <filename unknown>:0 

  at UnityEngine.Component.GetComponentsInChildren[Part] (Boolean includeInactive) [0x00000] in <filename unknown>:0 

  at UnityEngine.Component.GetComponentsInChildren[Part] () [0x00000] in <filename unknown>:0 

  at ExtraplanetaryLaunchpads.ExShipInfo+<WaitAndRebuildList>c__Iterator0.MoveNext () [0x00000] in <filename unknown>:0

Edit: Apparently EPL doesn't like it when a stake is in a kerbals inventory, it fires one of these every time I switch over to the base from the kerbal.

NullReferenceException: Object reference not set to an instance of an object
   at  ExtraplanetaryLaunchpads.ExSurveyTracker+SurveySite+<GetEnumerator>c__Iterator0.MoveNext  () [0x00000] in <filename unknown>:0 

  at ExtraplanetaryLaunchpads.ExSurveyStation.Highlight (Boolean on) [0x00000] in <filename unknown>:0 

  at ExtraplanetaryLaunchpads.ExBuildWindow.UpdateGUIState () [0x00000] in <filename unknown>:0 

   at ExtraplanetaryLaunchpads.ExBuildWindow.Select_Pad  (ExtraplanetaryLaunchpads.ExBuildControl selected_pad) [0x00000] in  <filename unknown>:0 

  at ExtraplanetaryLaunchpads.ExBuildWindow.BuildPadList (.Vessel v) [0x00000] in <filename unknown>:0 

  at ExtraplanetaryLaunchpads.ExBuildWindow.onVesselChange (.Vessel v) [0x00000] in <filename unknown>:0 

  at EventData`1[Vessel].Fire (.Vessel data) [0x00000] in <filename unknown>:0 

  at FlightGlobals.setActiveVessel (.Vessel v, Boolean force) [0x00000] in <filename unknown>:0 

  at FlightGlobals.ForceSetActiveVessel (.Vessel v) [0x00000] in <filename unknown>:0 

  at VesselSwitching.Update () [0x00000] in <filename unknown>:0

Also, EPL REALLY has some issues with KIS, lol.

I got this after I tried dropping the stakes down after I grabbed them using the KIS system. Tried putting one back using the KAS system and still broken, going to try *explosions while typing* Okay, two of them that I left on the ground exploded, I think I'll just grab a fresh set.

What I was trying to do is use EPL to build a small storage structure along with the tools in one of the containers (hopefully that works with EPL) rather than send a supply drone with the tools.

Edit: A KSP restart fixed it, and I had also been hit by the unable-to-return-to-KSC-or-switch-to-distant-vessels bug without realizing it, so it may not have been KIS that broke EPL.

Edited March 14, 2015 by smjjames

[AlonzoTG]

good news this time, the construction of a 40Mx20M consumables tower worked great...

[taniwha]

smjjames: I haven't installed KIS yet (but I very much intend to!). Thanks for the heads-up.

AlonzoTG: excellent

[taniwha]

I have released version 5.1.2 of EL. Links in the first post.

64-bit Windows KSP is NOT supported due to it being an unstable mess.

Nobody will stop you from modifying it to work, but you will get NO support. Anybody distributing a modified version of Extraplanetary Launchpads (for any reason, actually) must make it prominently clear that it is not Extraplanetary Launchpads as released by me. This is actually one of the requirements in the GPL.

Also, by releasing a modified version, you agree to accept all responsibility. This is the reason for the attribution rule in the GPL: so your victims come crying to you rather than to me.

Changes from 5.1.1:

• Add highlighting to the survey station itself.
  
• Add the vessel name to the build window.
  
• Allow builds to be torn down after completion.
  
• Check for valid master before updating VesselProductivity (NRE fix).
  
• Check for null toolbar buttons (NRE fix).
  
• The name of the EL toolbar button in flight mode has changed, so you will need to reconfigure your visible buttons.
  
• Be a little clearer about not finding any sites. I hope.
  

Most of the changes are thanks to 5thHorsman for his feedback. the NRE fixes are thanks to AlonzoTG.

I plan on investigating the issues smjjames reported regarding EL+KIS. I was getting ready to poke at things when I realized it would be best to get this batch of fixes out first.

[UAL002]

First line of your post says version 5.1.1, I think you meant 5.1.2.

[taniwha]

Thanks, fixed. That was fast: I was in the process of adding the link to the front page .

[michaelhester07]

I'd like to request a change.. I don't know if it was intended or not but survey stations seem to use the center of mass for the ship to determine if the survey stakes are in range of the survey station. This puts a hard limit on the diameter of a base at 20 meters (what appears to be the max distance to the stakes).

My request is can the distance to the stakes be measured by the distance to the survey station part itself rather than the center of the ship? The idea is to expand outwards with several survey stations allowing the expansion.

[Superfluous J]

I'd like to request a change.. I don't know if it was intended or not but survey stations seem to use the center of mass for the ship to determine if the survey stakes are in range of the survey station. This puts a hard limit on the diameter of a base at 20 meters (what appears to be the max distance to the stakes).

I believe the max distance is 100 meters. I've personally made a vessel 50 meters away.

have you tried putting one stake X-Y meters away (so it's 20 or less meters from your base) and another stake with the same name X+Y meters away, such that X is the distance you want and Y is the distance you need to get the first stake 20 meters away so it's "valid"? I don't know if this would work but it'd solve the distance problem for up to about a kilometer.

[taniwha]

Only one stake of the site needs to be within 100m of the survey station. Two stakes with the same name and within 200m of each other are considered to be in the same site. With enough stakes, it is theoretically possible to build right on the edge of physics range (2.5km), but I don't recommend trying it as KSP physics might get really weird. I certainly don't recommend trying beyond 2.5km, as KSP's vessel unloading will interfere.

It is probably easiest to use Origin stakes as the extenders and Bounds stakes (X/Z) to lock down the actual location.

In other words, get out there and survey your site .

[smjjames]

Still doing that error spam and broken EPL UI when I return focus to base after picking up stakes using KIS grab. I didn't have that can't-switch-to-KSC-or-distant-vessel glitch this time, so going to KSC and back fixed it.

(I know it's an old pic, but it's the same thing)

[taniwha]

smjjames: I haven't had time to look into EL+KIS yet, sorry.

[michaelhester07]

I can confirm the 100 meter range. I still have to wonder where it bases the origin for the 100 meter range from. I had a base on ike that was larger than 100 meters across (the kraken claimed it eventually though...) where I was unable to get the stakes to work except near the center of the base, which was already full.

On a test last night though I placed 4 of the 6 bounds + the origin and it worked easily. When I tried the chained origin thing the test ship appeared at the first placed origin rather than the average of the two origins. Is the survey station counted in that average?

Placing x+, z+, x-, and z- was the best setup. I definitely confirmed x+ as forward for space plane hangar crafts.

[taniwha]

The distance is from the vessel origin (I don't know if that's the root part or the CoM). The survey station is not counted in the average.

I quite often use two origin stakes when spawning something that is low at its center. I have never tried building far from my base, so I have no idea how well the chaining works, I know only that I designed the survey system such that it should.

[smjjames]

smjjames: I haven't had time to look into EL+KIS yet, sorry.

Okay. Was just also letting you know that I reproduced it without running into that cannot-switch-to-KSC-or-distant-vessels bug.

Also, maybe configure stakes to be stackable in KIS? they barely take up space at all in Kerbal inventory. Though I already configured them to be forced to be stackable in the KIS config.

[Tarheel1999]

Placing x+, z+, x-, and z- was the best setup. I definitely confirmed x+ as forward for space plane hangar crafts.

Weird. That's not my experience in 5.1.1. For me the hangar door in the SPH is North (z+).