DasSkelett
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Posts posted by DasSkelett
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2 hours ago, Misguided Kerbal said:
Safe? Yes. Easy to use? Sorta, the interface is a bit clunky. But worth it? In my opinion, not really, for only 20-40 mods. Sometimes CKAN pulls the mod from the wrong place, pulls an outdated version, etc.
What wrong places do you mean? CKAN only downloads the mods from the official sources, where mod authors uploaded them to. These are pretty much always SpaceDock or GitHub. The only exception is when a mod or mod version got deleted from its original source, then CKAN tries to fall back to archive.org. Please give us a list of mods you think we pull from "wrong places", so we can take a look.
For which mods does CKAN pull an outdated version? Indexing is automated, so new mod releases should be indexed within 30 minutes. Same as above, if you know mods where CKAN lacks behind, please report them to us (here or even better there), so we can take a look and potentially fix them. But we can't fix what we don't know of.
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15 hours ago, strider3 said:
Does KSP have to be running for the CKAN window to show all installed Mods? I just ran CKAN without KSP running and it shows about 1/3 of my installed mods in the list. I know that all my installed mods are working when in game. This does not lend me confidence. You have to understand that I have been PC gaming for over 25 years, including the infamous MSFS years...I get a bit..."antsy"...when something doesn't agree with my "expectations".
Wait, now after reading your recent comments here and in the Astrogator thread, it sounds like you haven't used CKAN before, and you didn't install your current mods through CKAN?
In this case you won't actually be able to export them as modpack. CKAN can only export mods you installed with it, your first comment sounded like you did.
Your best bet is probably just installing the mods fresh on the new instance, going by the folders in GameData of your old instance.To answer your question, no, KSP doesn't have to be running for CKAN, actually it shouldn't run while installing mods with CKAn, otherwise files might be locked (on Windows), or KSP gets confused and scary things happen.
CKAN can only detect a subset of the mods you have installed manually. They need to have a DLL whose name is similar to the identifier of the mod in CKAN. So mods that are only ModuleManager patches, textures or other config files can't be detected by CKAN. -
30 minutes ago, strider3 said:
"Just place the executable in any folder you like: the client can manage all your KSP installations from anywhere on your disk, so you don't have to worry about its location."
I'm going to guess it needs to be on the same disk as your KSP installation? Mine is on a dedicated KSP HDD is why I mention this. Correct me if my assumption is incorrect, please...but be gentle about it
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Not even that, any disk works. However since your KSP installation is not in the default location, CKAN probably won't be able to detect it automatically, so you'll have to add it yourself. You can put ckan.exe inside your KSP directory, then it will detect it automatically again, but it's not required.
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2 hours ago, The Kerman said:
Does the CKAN install work with stock because iv'e tried 2 different versions and it doesn't work also does other visual mods interfere?
Please ask CKAN questions on the CKAN thread. Only there we can guarantee that someone of the team actually reads them.
That aside, yes, stock textures should work now. Select Parallax, then select "Parallax - Stock Planet Textures". You might have to hit "Refresh" once to get the latest metadata.
A necessary update to Beyond Home's metadata is still pending.Edit: Beyond Home is now also updated. -
3 hours ago, OnlyLightMatters said:
I encountered 3 problems.
- when installing via ckan the textures were not copied to Gamedata
We are working on this. The metadata needs some updates to install the textures too. Unfortunately the textures are too big to fit on our CI's disk right now.
Also please keep in mind to report CKAN problems on CKAN's forum thread, don't bother mod authors with it.
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8 minutes ago, strider3 said:
When you say, "you could export your installed mod list first"...are you meaning with CKAN, installed in KSP 1.7.3? Or, do you mean copying my entire "Game Data" folder, minus the folders that come with KSP ("Squad", etc.)? I'm going the say you meant the first.
Yeah, the first one. CKAN has an option to export your currently installed mods as modpack. It lets you save a .ckan file, which CKAN can install mods from again later.
To export, use "File > Export modpack...", and to import, once you've set up your new instance use "File > Install from .ckan...".
You should export the mods as recommendations (select all, click on "Recommends"), so the installation won't fail on the new instance if one or more mods aren't compatible anymore.13 minutes ago, strider3 said:The problem I have with a Steam upgrade, or any upgrade...what if my "required" mods aren't available in the new KSP version? This is the problem I always run into...and why I am still on KSP 1.7.3. I like knowing that my new version of KSP has all the mods I need and use. So far, the only way I can guarantee that is the tedious process of checking all my mods for updates that will work in a newer version of KSP.
Yeah, unfortunately this is how it is with KSP mods. At least CKAN makes it a bit easier to check whether there are mod releases compatible with a newer version of KSP, with the "Versions" tab on the right.
This still won't tell you everything, sometimes mods still work but authors didn't update the compatibility information. There you'll have to check the forum threads. Maybe you'll even have to try it out yourself, just make sure you start a new save for testing and don't touch your old one until you're confident everything works. It's tedious, but fortunately KSP doesn't update that often. -
2 minutes ago, strider3 said:
I'm curious how CKAN works when updating to a newer version of KSP? Will CKAN update all my installed mods on say KSP 1.7.3 to the correct mod versions for KSP 1.8.1? If so, what does updating my KSP version look like, to allow CKAN to get the correct, newer mods versions? Let me explain how I have updated KSP, over the years:
I will make a copy of my "Saves" and any other files I want to keep to use in the updated KSP version I am moving to.
I have KSP on a dedicated HDD, after making the needed copies, I format the drive (I know...but Microsoft Flight Simulator "taught" me, the hard and painful way, to use this procedure, years ago
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I install the KSP version I am moving to on this clean HDD.
I copy my "Saves", and any other things I want to keep, into the new install of KSP.
I get the feeling this procedure would not work with CKAN?
Any enlightenment on how to update KSP, with CKAN, would be greatly appreciated.
If you want to do it like that, you could export your installed mod list first, and then reinstall all mods on the new instance. Make sure "Save mod versions" is not selected when you export it, then CKAN will install the newest compatible versions on the new instance.
The other, common way is to to upgrade KSP via Steam. After a restart, CKAN will automatically detect when the KSP version changed, and ask you to confirm your selection of compatible KSP version. Afterwards you can upgrade to the newest available mod versions as usual.
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1 hour ago, kerbiloid said:
Is there a possibility to use CKAN to update a mod collection outside of KSP?
I actually use not so many mods at once, but prefer to keep the general mod collection up-to-date.
So, it would be nice just to download "new" archives without installing.
There's the download cache which works well for caching mods and (re-)installing them later without needing to redownload them.
You can see which mods currently have one or more versions of it in the cache if you set the filter to "Cached".
However on its own you can't see which version is cached in the GUI, only if you open the cache directory in a file manager. And to "update" a mod in the cache you would first have to purge the old version from the cache and then re-download it ("Right click > Download contents").But you could combine that with a fake KSP instance (under "File > Manage KSP instances > New KSP instance > Clone or fake new instance"). When you install a mod into that fake instance, it'll also be downloaded into the cache. You can select which version of a mod to install so it's matching the KSP versions of your other, real instances.
You can use CKAN's built-in update mechanism to keep your cached mods up to date.
You will also have to deal with relationships this way though, so dependencies will always be downloaded too, and you can't have conflicting mods installed in the fake instance at the same time. To circumvent the second problem you could remove all mods again after you've installed and cached them once, or you create further fake instances.
Make sure that the cache size is set to unlimited in the settings, otherwise CKAN will delete mods again once it hits the limit. -
I want to point out some changes we just deployed:
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Disappearing thumbnails and header images are finally fixed!
If one of your mods currently has a black thumbnail and the header image disappeared mysteriously, please reupload it one last time, this time it will stay for good.
Yes, even PNGs with alpha channel and other color modes will work for header images now, and the server takes care of converting them to JPEGs for the thumbnails.
Also newly generated thumbnails should have a little higher quality now, more improvements to thumbnails and headers are being discussed and in the works. -
Chrome users will still be able to download mods in the future!
As I wrote above, we fortunately became aware of the download warning, that Google plans to turn into a complete block with today's update, thanks to @ForgiLaGeord reporting the issue. We could fix the cause for those warnings, so downloads will continue to work on Chrome, now without warning. -
Per-version download stats, a download button on the mod thumbnail, several modpack fixes to make them usable again, and a lot more.
We are slowly but surely getting this old codebase into a working and maintainable state.
For a full overview of today's fixes and changes, see this pull request.
Once again, thanks for the patience during the downtime today. Not a single question about what's happening from users that can't read the last comment on a thread, that's a first!
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Disappearing thumbnails and header images are finally fixed!
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On 10/3/2020 at 5:17 AM, ForgiLaGeord said:
Anyone else getting "Can't be downloaded securely" on Chrome for every download from the site? It's easily fixed on the user end by opening the chrome download page and clicking "keep anyway" on the downloads, but it seems to be doing it for every file on the site. And yes, I know someone is going to answer with "use a different browser", and I don't want to hear it
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20 minutes ago, VITAS said:Update:
In order to allow Google Chrome Browser users to access SpaceDock in the future i will deploy some updates tomorrow morning (05:10.2020 8:00 CEST).
Downtime should be in the range of Minutes.We have to thank @ForgiLaGeord for making us aware of that one. Apparently Chrome started to show those warnings in the latest version, but will start blocking downloads altogether in the next one, releasing tomorrow. This would make Chrome users that are updating early unable to download mods at all from SpaceDock.
If someone is interested in the problem, here's the PR explaining the problem more detailed, but in short, we accidentally redirected downloads via HTTP. The downloads themselves were HTTPS and thus encrypted, no worries, but one step in between, after clicking the download button, wasn't. This poses an opportunity for attackers to make you download a different, manipulated file.
Not really a concern for SpaceDock, but Chrome has a solid point in discouraging and preventing such situations.On 10/3/2020 at 8:04 PM, Aazard said:umm slightly off topic area for this question maybe:
how do I take "the optional" part of my mod and make it "attached" to same release on github and then CKAN/spacedock.
I have searched, but I dont want to burn down my repo acting without asking 1st
Just split those optional files out into a separate zip, and upload that separate zip as another mod on SpaceDock (and as additional release asset on GitHub). In the description you mention the need for the base mod to be installed. Make sure that there aren't any files with the same name and path, because CKAN can't overwrite files (and non-CKAN-users might get confused if they have to).
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On 10/2/2020 at 4:10 PM, Delta dart said:
Can access the site but takes me to the "This Site is Unavailable Right Now" page when I try to download a mod.
Edit: fixed
16 hours ago, Aazard said:I'm getting upload errors, I made my mod 30mb smaller in this build update and now I'm told by Spacedock:
"This mod is too big to upload." 5 times over as many hours
I'm slightly concerned, reducing size and getting a "too big" warning...seems "odd"
15 hours ago, HebaruSan said:Oddly, that's how SpaceDock handles a "Bad Gateway" status:
catch SyntaxError # No nice error message from server, let's fill something in if this.status == 502 result = { error: true, reason: "This mod is too big to upload." }
https://www.w3.org/Protocols/rfc2616/rfc2616-sec10.html
Looks like a server issue unrelated to the specifics of your mod. There are other things that aren't working currently (CKAN bot is spamming errors continuously while checking SpaceDock-hosted mods), so hopeully @VITAS will be able to figure out what's happening.
Good news, I finally found some time to investigate, and we got the problem resolved!
Turns out, celery auto-upgraded after the server restart, and the new version only wants its command line arguments IN UPPERCASE, not lowercase. Very delicate, if you ask me.
Uploading mods, downloading mods (also via CKAN), email notifications and everything else should work reliably again. Please let us now if something still doesn't behave the way it should.
Sorry for the inconvenience, thanks for the patience!
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22 minutes ago, Gargamel said:
Apparently malwarebytes updated recently, and today I get a hit on CKAN as being malware. I didn't change anything, their algorithm did. Went to the MB forums to report a false positive, and it looks like somebody beat me to it:
https://forums.malwarebytes.com/topic/264513-false-positive-on-the-64-bit-executable-ckanexe/
Looks like they are adding CKAN to their white list.
Annnddd... since I posted this, they've issued an update, and CKAN is no longer appearing as a threat. \o/
Argh, I hate AV software. Especially those that come with AI detection.
To be fair, CKAN downloads stuff from the Internet and puts it into other programs' folders, which can look kinda shady from the outside.Anyways, thanks for reaching out, and thanks to WoodenPlankGames (couldn't find a matching username on the forums) for reporting the false-positive. I am also positively surprised by the response time of Malwarebytes.
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7 minutes ago, RoverDude said:
This is because I had already done a fix that upped the max version to 1.99.99
But not for the current release. By bumping the version CKAN and AVC no longer consider the remote version file, because the VERSION property doesn't match anymore. So CKAN has gone back to 1.8.9 as max KSP version:
https://github.com/KSP-CKAN/CKAN-meta/commit/ccb01a95538d62c99145af0545fb4e5b19ad73baYou have to either decrease the VERSION again, just like my PR did, or you have to do a new release. Either one, but not keep it as is.
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On 9/24/2020 at 9:46 AM, Aazard said:
What zip compression methods are supported by ckan (I had an error using PPMd zips trying to save users bandwidth lol) out of my standard options:
deflate i know is supported, is deflate64? or others in 7zip like Bzip2, LZMA?
I took a look at the docs of the library we use, and it only supports "deflate" (and "store", which isn't a compression method though). As far as I can tell that's also what most zip utilities are limited to.
On 9/24/2020 at 9:46 AM, Aazard said:oh yea PS: kinda off topic but how the heck do I make "optional" packs with my release version (aka like how some packs have version x.y.z in both "LR" & "HR" versions, sometimes with more than 2 like RSS-textures has)
On CKAN's side we just give optional packs different identifiers, and make the optional pack depend on the base mod. They can have totally different version numbers, although it would make sense to keep them in sync to not confuse everyone.
For something like textures with different resolutions, that aren't really optional because you need one (and only one) of those resolutions installed for the mod to work, we use so-called "virtual modules". We make the base mod depend on some new identifier that all the texture modules provide. During the installation process, the user gets asked to choose one of the available texture modules.
On 9/24/2020 at 9:46 AM, Aazard said:I feel I'm abusing ckan bandwidth with poor packaging methods (and that I basically know "just enough" to hurt myself/my mod)
It's mostly SpaceDock that gets to feel the big zips, but bandwidth isn't really a problem there currently.
As you mentioned above, splitting the optional extras into a separate mod is a good start to reduce the size, so is separate mods for different resolutions. Then you should also make sure that your zip only contains files really needed for the mod to work, plus a README and LICENSE file. So no documentation, or other files that are "by-products" of the modding process. -
51 minutes ago, Nicky21 said:
I get an error i've never seen before while trying to download teh latest Kopernikus mod:
Looks like @R-T-B replaced that version shortly after the upload. Our bot already caught it and updated the metadata, just hit "Refresh" now and try again.
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@Aazard good news, the bot recovered and the release has finally been indexed: https://github.com/KSP-CKAN/CKAN-meta/commit/16e327fa9973cf654b3e50900e43242eab6c165d
If you refresh now, you should be able to see it in CKAN. Thanks again for the quick action, and for the patience!
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3 hours ago, Aazard said:
May I please have a link to "best practices packaging for CKAN" or similar doc?
Unfortunately such documentation from CKAN's side doesn't exist yet. Might make sense to add one, though, you are right.
3 hours ago, Aazard said:avc only supports 3 digits, major/minor/patch ( live version "x.y.z"?)
You can also add a fourth group with "BUILD". You can take a look at the schema for a complete overview of what can go into a version file.
1 hour ago, Aazard said:Ok can you confirm the upload for ckan is good.
I see it on spacedock, not on ckan yet
Yeah, we had a small bug in our netkan code, leading to the disk filling up after repeatedly trying to download the v1.0.5.1 zip. The bug is solved, but the disk is still full, working on it. Please stand by
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15 hours ago, politas said:
A quick heads up, everyone. I'm stepping down as CKAN Mission Director, and the wonderful @DasSkelettwill be taking over. We should have a new forum thread soon for ongoing conversations.
It's been wonderful seeing this team go from strength to strength, and I'm really proud of where the CKAN system has gotten to. I'm sure under @DasSkelett's tenure, we will only see further improvements! I'd especially like to thank @HebaruSan and @techman83 for all the stellar work they've been putting in over the years to keep the CKAN running and improving.
Thank you @politas for safely flying the project through all these years, it's been a pleasure. You pulled CKAN out of a crisis and made it to the widely respected, much used tool it is today.
It is an excellent project to take over, with a great team behind it, and I appreciate the trust and support you all give me.
I will try my best to keep CKAN in a stable orbit, and am looking forward to the future of KSP and whatever may follow it.
Here's the new thread:
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The Comprehensive Kerbal Archive Network (CKAN)
The CKAN is an Open Source, community-driven mod management solution for Kerbal Space Program and Kerbal Space Program 2.
The CKAN client, available for Windows, macOS and Linux, enables easy installation, uninstallation and updates of mods.The client provides strong guarantees on consistency. It will not allow outdated mods to be installed unless you explicitly override the version awareness, nor will it allow a mod to be installed without its dependencies or alongside conflicting mods. It will never leave mods in a half-installed state. It will never overwrite a file owned by another mod, nor a mod that was installed outside of the CKAN.If you've used package managers (apt, winget, choco, pip, CPAN, ...) before, then the CKAN might be familiar for you. Like the App Store or Play Store for your phone, the CKAN knows which version of KSP you're running, which mods are compatible, and how to install, uninstall, and manage them.The CKAN has a GUI which is stable on Windows and Linux. On Windows, simply double-click the ckan.exe file. On macOS and Linux you need Mono installed, then run it with "mono ckan.exe", or look for the CKAN entry in your launcher. Users of macOS 10.15 (Catalina) and higher will launch into the ConsoleUI by default, since the GUI is no longer functional since Apple decided to stop supporting 32-bit applications.
CKAN is powered by a big metadata repository, containing metadata about many mods available for KSP. Each mod release has its own .ckan file containing author, version number, relationships, installation instructions and more. They are automatically generated by template .netkan files by our NetKAN bot. You can find out more about how everything works behind the scenes here.
Download (v1.33.2)
Please take 3 minutes to read the user guide when downloading CKAN for the first time.
Please bring virus detection to the attention of the company that produces your virus scanner. They are false positives and it's in their responsibility to fix them, we can't help you.Picture of the GUI:
Notes:
- If you encounter problems with a mod installed via CKAN and you suspect that they're caused by incorrect installation, please report them to us first, don't bother the mod author.
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We encourage you to report bugs on our issue tracker instead of the forum thread. Bug reports tend to get lost here, and the nature of forum threads make communication for proper investigation complicated.
You should also check whether there's an existing report of the same bug, there might already be a known workaround.
Further resources:- FAQ
- CKAN user guide
- Adding a mod to the CKAN (for authors and users)
- CKAN wiki
- CKAN clean & reinstall process (Solves most CKAN errors)
- CKAN Discord
- Client issues tracker (please report bugs here)
- Metadata issue tracker (report problems with mod availability or incorrect installation here)
- All releases
- Source Code
- Changelog
- CKAN metadata specification
- Old thread
CKAN is licensed under the MIT licence , the source code is available in the GitHub repository.
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2 minutes ago, Aazard said:
I will switch back to zip base encoding, sorry. Will I need to change version number? Give me 1 hour
No hurry! You don't have to give it a new version number, but it keeps things tidy and clear, and signals users that might have already stumbled upon this problem that there's now a new, fixed version. Thanks!
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15 hours ago, Aazard said:
(note I use various compression methods, winzip should be fine to un-zip, 7Zip preferred though for "least chance of file loss")
The compression method you changed to in v1.0.5.1 , PPMd, isn't widely supported. It prevents CKAN's NetKAN bot from indexing the newest version, and might also create troubles for other users that don't use 7z.
QuoteNew inflation error for HumanStuff: https://spacedock.info/mod/2524/HumanStuff/download/v1.0.5.1 is not a valid ZIP file: Error in step EntryHeader for HumanStuff-1.0.5.1/.github/ISSUE_TEMPLATE/humanstuff-bug-report.md: Exception during test - 'Compression method not supported'
Can you switch back to the old one? It would allow our bot to index it again.
If you want to reduce the size of the zip, you could try moving the "BigPack" into a separate mod, since it's an optional package and makes up the biggest part of the zip.
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9 minutes ago, Gargamel said:
Right! @DasSkelett and @Aazard, hope this one is right!
Perfect! Thanks!
Now that that's sorted out...10 hours ago, Aazard said:Also may I repost this information? In the wiki for mod, in area dealing with releasing suits/skins users of the mod make online to the community, via ckan/spacedock (to help them with the same issue I just had)
Sure, more documentation is always good!
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9 minutes ago, Gargamel said:
Use the "report post" button.
Thread moved to Add-on dev sub.
Whoops, my report might have been unclear. @Aazard didn't want the entire thread moved to Add-on Development, just the exchange with me about CKAN and AVC/the version file, and if possible, append those comments to the already existing thread for HumanStuff in Add-on Dev:
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3 minutes ago, Aazard said:
Like it would be checking my mod for KSP version compatibility, and any mods, like Texture Replacer, for being present and the correct "version", as its the mod on which my mod depends to function
If a user has AVC (or MiniAVC) installed, it'll check all mods that contain a .version file whether they are compatible with the used KSP version. TextureReplacer also ships one, so it is checked too. If a mod is incompatible according to the version file (and the remote version file if specified with the URL property), (Mini)AVC prints a warning.
AVC can't check whether a mod's dependencies are installed. However, CKAN does that, it makes sure that both ModuleManager and TextureReplacer get installed alongside HumanStuff, if a user installs HumanStuff via CKAN.
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[1.8.1-1.9.1] Rescale Continued v.1.0.0
in KSP1 Mod Releases
Posted · Edited by DasSkelett
Hey @Profiremu23, it looks like your release zips are not actually ZIPs, but RARs with incorrect file extensions.
So the extension should actually be `.rar` instead of `.zip` here. RAR is a proprietary format not as widely supported, that's why there are a bunch of people in this thread mentioning that they can't open the zip files.
If you stick to the de facto KSP modding standard of true ZIPs, people would have an easier time opening them. Windows 10 has built-in functionality to create zips, so you wouldn't have to use third-party software for that.
Thanks!