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[1.0.x] Protractor Continued - Rendezvous Plugin v2.5.1 (May 15th, 2015)


Addle

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Hey Addle. Speakiing of which, I bring this question here once again, just out of curiosity: With stock toolbar implementation, do you still intend to make Protractor accessible from the KSC scene (instead of having to load a vessel to do that)? Thanks. :)

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Not without code, which is the next thing I plan to implement. So you can expect that to happen in the not too distant future. I figure it's better to fall back to that if Toolbar isn't there than that custom icon I currently have.

Thanks for the input!

That's great news! Thanks for making an awesome mod.

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Hey Addle. Speakiing of which, I bring this question here once again, just out of curiosity: With stock toolbar implementation, do you still intend to make Protractor accessible from the KSC scene (instead of having to load a vessel to do that)? Thanks. :)

It'll need some modification, of course, since it doesn't have a ship for the calculations. So you'd mostly just get the phase angle/time to phase angle of 0. Really, I think it needs some serious refactoring to accommodate that sort of change. It really needs it. Definitely something I'm keeping in mind, though. No worries, I have definitely not forgotten. :)

I'll also add a pointer to Malah's nice mod that allows it to work without the part, later today. It sort of solves that problem rather nicely. How great is module manager? heh

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Thanks again, it's great to hear from people who enjoy the mod. Makes keeping it alive worthwhile. I'm planning some refactoring of the code soon, which should enable me to do some of the things I've been meaning to do with it.

Until then, there was a change in the way the API reported engines I need to take into account for burn time calculations. That meant it was considering all engines on the ship and not just currently enabled and/or staged ones. Burn times were obviously wonky. I've corrected that and it should be giving its usual roughly accurate burn times once again. (I also need to get that fix in for NavHud. heh)

So here's version 2.5.1, with burn time fix. As usual, available here: https://github.com/RealGrep/protractor/releases

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Some major surgery has been done on Protractor, tonight. It will need some serious testing before I trust it, but I refactored the code quite a bit, splitting stuff out from the main file and isolating the logic and math and the data from the display code. The upside of this is I can now update the data at regular intervals instead of whenever there's a redraw. The data refresh interval is configurable in the settings. This should seriously reduce the computations done, and hopefully minimize any impact Protractor has on your game speed.

I've also added AppLauncher support to replace the old venerable icon. Toolbar is still used if you have it.

Things seem to work quite well so far! Anyway, just thought you'd all like to know what's coming. This will make further changes much easier. For example, I would really love RPM support so we can do transfers in IVA.

Changes are in Github, but I will need to test it before I actually release this version. ETA depends on whether I find any bugs, and how much testing time I can find.

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Hello, i like the idea of this plugin. If i understand correctly, when i want to go to a planet i have to wait until the two angles are at 0, and then burn prograde until i get an encounter?

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Can this lick MechJeb's navs? And will it take into account gravity slingshot maneuvers if I want it to?

Not sure what you mean by the first question, but the second one, basically, yes. Protractor understands slingshots like moon->reference body->planet. For example, it will take into account the Oberth effect on a Mun->Kerbin->Duna slingshot. Click on the "?" button for instructions.

Thank you once more, Addle! Although I keep repeating myself, I must say "you rock!", once again! :)

It's ok, I love to hear it. XD Thanks :)

Hello, i like the idea of this plugin. If i understand correctly, when i want to go to a planet i have to wait until the two angles are at 0, and then burn prograde until i get an encounter?

That's exactly right. You can also get times instead of angles by clicking on the relevant column titles. The ejection angle (psi) can be adjusted for your burn time with the "Adjust Ψ" button. Basically, wait until the right time, and burn prograde until the closest approach is as close as you can make it. I generally then wait until the next ascending or descending node and do a plane change onto the plane of the target. Gets me there every time.

Small tip: It's far more important to burn at the right ejection angle (psi) than the right phase angle. You have a fair amount of time during the transfer window to make the transfer, but you need to eject accurately.

I like the "burn prograde" thing. It's more efficient than slavishly burning a node, and won't slam you into the planet for long burns.

Progress report: Refactoring is doing very well. Tested it quite a lot last night, and will do so a bit more before I release. Probably should get some people to test it out for me as well. All checked into github.

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Not sure what you mean by the first question, but the second one, basically, yes ....

What I think he means is if it would be possible to 'export' the data of a window/transfer from Protractor to MechJeb.

I know back in .25 MJ would create transfers earlier than Protractor would advise them. For me knowing roughly when to start a transfer is enough though.

Oh and last but not least, keep up the good work! Love this mod :)

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What I think he means is if it would be possible to 'export' the data of a window/transfer from Protractor to MechJeb.

I know back in .25 MJ would create transfers earlier than Protractor would advise them. For me knowing roughly when to start a transfer is enough though.

Oh and last but not least, keep up the good work! Love this mod :)

Thanks!

And Tontow, there's no export at the moment. One thing that should be possible is make a button to create a manoeuver node. MJ and the rest of the game would then see that. If so, I might also put in a checkbox to disable that from showing, in case it bothers someone. I shall see. For now, I'd like to do more refactoring of the code. I only split things up better, but it needs general cleanup. But I'll keep that in mind as I work. Exporting a KAC alarm wouldn't be a terrible idea, either.

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  • 5 weeks later...

Hi, sorry to bug you but I'm getting some serious slowdown on my vessel while it is stopped on the runway.

Log looks like this

[LOG 19:47:18.151] -------------Saved Protractor Settings-------------

[LOG 19:47:18.156] -------------Saved Protractor Settings-------------

[LOG 19:47:18.161] -------------Saved Protractor Settings-------------

[LOG 19:47:18.165] -------------Saved Protractor Settings-------------

[LOG 19:47:18.463] -------------Saved Protractor Settings-------------

[LOG 19:47:18.467] -------------Saved Protractor Settings-------------

[LOG 19:47:18.472] -------------Saved Protractor Settings-------------

[LOG 19:47:18.477] -------------Saved Protractor Settings-------------

[LOG 19:47:18.521] -------------Saved Protractor Settings-------------

[LOG 19:47:18.526] -------------Saved Protractor Settings-------------

[LOG 19:47:18.531] -------------Saved Protractor Settings-------------

But a hell of a lot more. Thousands and thousands of them. Starts as soon as I switch to the vessel and doesn't stop.

I've tried save-exit-reload-switch back to vessel and Protractor is off again with the saving...

Any ideas?

Does it save to \GameData\Protractor\Plugins\PluginData\protractor\config.xml ?

Because it is there, and writeable, looks fine. Also doesn't look like it has been modified recently so I guess that isn't where it is writing.

EDIT:

Using V2.5.1, got it from CKAN. With KSP1.0.2 on Windoze7/64 (Can't believe I forgot that)

Here is a screenshot...

http://themoose.co.uk/ksp/screenshot12.png [2.1MB]

Let me know if I can help.

Edited by Z-Key Aerospace
Added version, screenshot
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Hi, sorry to bug you but I'm getting some serious slowdown on my vessel while it is stopped on the runway.

Log looks like this

[LOG 19:47:18.151] -------------Saved Protractor Settings-------------

[LOG 19:47:18.156] -------------Saved Protractor Settings-------------

[LOG 19:47:18.161] -------------Saved Protractor Settings-------------

[LOG 19:47:18.165] -------------Saved Protractor Settings-------------

[LOG 19:47:18.463] -------------Saved Protractor Settings-------------

[LOG 19:47:18.467] -------------Saved Protractor Settings-------------

[LOG 19:47:18.472] -------------Saved Protractor Settings-------------

[LOG 19:47:18.477] -------------Saved Protractor Settings-------------

[LOG 19:47:18.521] -------------Saved Protractor Settings-------------

[LOG 19:47:18.526] -------------Saved Protractor Settings-------------

[LOG 19:47:18.531] -------------Saved Protractor Settings-------------

But a hell of a lot more. Thousands and thousands of them. Starts as soon as I switch to the vessel and doesn't stop.

I've tried save-exit-reload-switch back to vessel and Protractor is off again with the saving...

Any ideas?

Does it save to \GameData\Protractor\Plugins\PluginData\protractor\config.xml ?

Because it is there, and writeable, looks fine. Also doesn't look like it has been modified recently so I guess that isn't where it is writing.

EDIT:

Using V2.5.1, got it from CKAN. With KSP1.0.2 on Windoze7/64 (Can't believe I forgot that)

Here is a screenshot...

http://themoose.co.uk/ksp/screenshot12.png [2.1MB]

Let me know if I can help.

I've got the same thing going. Not sure if it's causing my issue, since I'm also getting a bunch of "input is null" errors, but it probably doesn't help.

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Hi, sorry to bug you but I'm getting some serious slowdown on my vessel while it is stopped on the runway.

Log looks like this

[LOG 19:47:18.151] -------------Saved Protractor Settings-------------

--- STUFF SNIPPED OUT HERE FOR BREVITY ---

But a hell of a lot more. Thousands and thousands of them. Starts as soon as I switch to the vessel and doesn't stop.

I've tried save-exit-reload-switch back to vessel and Protractor is off again with the saving...

Any ideas?

Does it save to \GameData\Protractor\Plugins\PluginData\protractor\config.xml ?

Because it is there, and writeable, looks fine. Also doesn't look like it has been modified recently so I guess that isn't where it is writing.

EDIT:

Using V2.5.1, got it from CKAN. With KSP1.0.2 on Windoze7/64 (Can't believe I forgot that)

Here is a screenshot...

http://themoose.co.uk/ksp/screenshot12.png [2.1MB]

Let me know if I can help.

Wow, that's rather interesting. The only time I ever save the settings is when KSP tells me to by calling my OnSave method. So KSP seems to be sending a ton of save messages. Not sure what I can do about that. :/

Yes, that's where it saves its settings, so it's interesting if it hasn't been modified recently. Not sure if it'll actually write the new data if nothing has changed, though. I'd have to test that. Still, even moving the window around would be enough. Wonder if it's trying repeatedly to save, but can't, for some reason. That part of Protractor is mostly unchanged from way back, so surprising to see an issue there.

Are there other ships in physics range at that time? I've seen some strange behaviour in that department before. Might help me replicate it, though, if so.

I've got the same thing going. Not sure if it's causing my issue, since I'm also getting a bunch of "input is null" errors, but it probably doesn't help.

woot, any clues as to what is giving "input on null" errors? Relevant log entries and such? That I might be able to do something about, if it's related to Protractor.

Anyway, sorry for the slow response. On a bit of a KSP break. But I'll keep an eye out on the logs and see if I can replicate that.

I'd guess something's wonky with KSP, there, though. Like I said, I just save them when KSP calls my OnSave method. The rest is up to KSP. But if I can replicate that, perhaps I can either pinpoint the issue or at least file a bug report on that behaviour. Or perhaps it'll fix itself with the new version (which I rather need to put more work into). It's now partless and that stuff might improve.

And, of course, if there's any other relevant info you find that can help track down the issue, let me know. Thanks for the bug reports, folks. :)

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  • 2 months later...
  • 1 month later...

Hello Addle

Thanks for this great tool.

Any progress on making this partless? I'd love to have this on all my vessels, but I hate having to have a part aboard to have it active (despite the absolutely perfect part model). Thanks.

With the current limitations on part count, this idea above would be a great enhancement I think. Please consider this...

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Hello Addle

Thanks for this great tool.

With the current limitations on part count, this idea above would be a great enhancement I think. Please consider this...

The answer is on the ...

[spoiler=OP ;)]

If you wish to use Protractor without requiring the part on your ships, I highly suggest you try malah's StockPlugins: http://forum.kerbalspaceprogram.com/threads/99869
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The answer is on the ...

Hello Malah and thanks for the reply.

If I understand (the copied-below bit) correctly, your plugin changes how my game behaves globally for all similar mods.

StockPlugins is several ModuleManager config files which adds the possibility to use a plugin without the additional parts.

StockPlugins support DeadlyReentry, Graphotron, KerbalEngineer, KerbalGPS, kOS, MechJeb, Protractor and Telemachus.

You don't need all these plugins for the use of StockPlugins.

If you want that it supports an other mod, you can just make a request here :wink:

To clarify, I wanted only Protractor to be always-available without adding a part to the spacecraft but wanted to keep KER & MechJeb and others WITH part-requirement.

I feel like KER & MJ are full fledged computers capable of calculating a very wide range of 'things' [and thus require a 'computer' to be added in] whereas Protractor is a focused small(er) bring-along utility (in Kerbanouts pocket if you like).

Thanks anyway I will go think what to do on this.

Edited by csx23
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The answer is on the ...

Thanks, I switched to your mod.

And a heads up for any other newbies that might want to go that route;

1. you might want to remove parts from your gamedata\[mod]\Parts section

2. edit your craft files (using a text editor) and remove each part.

3. edit your last quicksave using this utility and remove each part (or game will refuse to load 'vessels' which contain parts which you just made invalid by removing from the game) =>

http://forum.kerbalspaceprogram.com/threads/133817-Java-Depart-Remove-parts-from-spacecraft-in-from-KSP-save-files

Took me 20 mins altogether but I will not need to attach any parts for any of the mods [Protractor,MechJeb,KER] to any ships. It helps with the part count a lot especially on mothership+multiLanders setup.

Edited by csx23
fix typo. add clarification.
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If you do NOT want any of those mods to be partless, just delete, or remove the corresponding .cfg in the StockPlugins folder, and keep the ones you DO want to be partless...

On a WAY off the side-note, for those who WANT to keep the part requirement, but dont like the individual, existing parts of certain mods, due to aesthetics, size, etc...I recommend taking a look at the Modular Computer Package:

http://forum.kerbalspaceprogram.com/threads/88116

I just made cards for Kerbal GPS and Protractor Continued mods....Its quite easy to do, and can probably be done for almost any mod that is a plugin with a single (or even a few) part requirement...

I'm not too keen on the part model for the core component, but I like having all those odd, single parts here in one place as cards...

Edited by Stone Blue
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  • 2 months later...
  • 3 months later...
11 hours ago, Kowgan said:

Hey @Addle! Do you still have intentions of continuing this mod? It's a must have for us! :) Thanks.

I do, yes. Sorry, haven't really had the time to do much yet, although I do have some changes waiting to be released. I'll start porting it to 1.1 fairly soon, I hope. But yes, I don't intend to let it die. :)

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