Launch Site Test Contract issues - How do I efficiently find broken MOD?

[MrDude]

Original issue SOLVED - But only by erasing all MODS. See #6 entry for latest issue. It seems Location Based Contracts are not triggering. So far I've noticed Launch Site Engine Tests with NO Green Checks, and a Tourist Minmas Flyby that didnt trigger after 3 Sphere of influence penetrations.

Using 1.0.2 and the terrier engine test at launch site that I saved so I would have access to EXPERIMENTAL engine is not allowing me to complete the test.

It says Test the engine at the launch site. I did so on the launch pad (or do I have to fly to the inland launch facility?) Used staging as requested and there are no other parameters. Tried probe, and crewed.

Help? Simple contracts should not defeat me.

Edited May 25, 2015 by MrDude
Solution found but need help MOD Glitch Hunting

[Murph]

Read the contract again, and triple-check all the parameters. You shouldn't even need fuel for an engine test on the pad. A simple 2 part craft of the Stayputnik or starter pod on top of the engine should be sufficient. Once on the pad, check the contracts mini panel thing, to see what is ticked and what is not ticked. And, make sure you've not run out of battery for probe cores.

The island is irrelevant.

Other than that, you'll need to give us the exact criteria from the contract.

Do you have any mods installed? Which ones, and their versions?

[RocketPropelledGiraffe]

In Beta some test would be run by staging and others by using the part menu entry "test engine".

I did not take a lot of test contracts since 1.0, so I am not sure if that difference still exists. But maybe it is something to check for if your staging approach does not work.

[MrDude]

The contract window registers nothing for that contract. NOT on Kerbin!? NOT at Launch Site.

It says use Staging which I have tried.

It has power etc. All systems are go. But it doesn't even recognize the planet I am on. Is the launch site a different Biome than the pad and its surroundings?

I have a variety of mods - relevant ones would be Contracts Window.

Seems like a lot of bother when I could just cancel it but I wanted to do every Contract that was presented to me for the challenge... didn't think this one was the challenge.

I just tried landing right next to the pad (within the road rings by the water towers) with a manually activated engine and deactivating it before staging it (has worked for test contracts before) but no Joy. Is anyone more familiar with the Biome names around the KSC than I am?

[Murph]

The contract window registers nothing for that contract. NOT on Kerbin!? NOT at Launch Site.

It says use Staging which I have tried.

It has power etc. All systems are go. But it doesn't even recognize the planet I am on. Is the launch site a different Biome than the pad and its surroundings?

I have a variety of mods - relevant ones would be Contracts Window.

Seems like a lot of bother when I could just cancel it but I wanted to do every Contract that was presented to me for the challenge... didn't think this one was the challenge.

I just tried landing right next to the pad (within the road rings by the water towers) with a manually activated engine and deactivating it before staging it (has worked for test contracts before) but no Joy. Is anyone more familiar with the Biome names around the KSC than I am?

If the mini-panel for the contract is not showing a green tick against Kerbin, and not showing one against "Launch Site" when you're on the pad, that's a bug. I strongly suspect it could be caused by one of your mods, but can't be sure of that, it just seems likely. I've had loads of contracts just like that, no problems with them at all.

It has nothing to do with biomes, I know all the biome names around KSC, and that is not one of them. "Launch Site" is the main pad at KSC. For "landed at the pad" contracts, no flight is necessary, you just put together whatever you need in the VAB, launch it onto the pad, then do the test (typically hit staging, but could theoretically be "Run Test" on the part's menu). That isn't a biome name, it's just the name the contracts system uses.

Can you try it without mods? (N.B. I don't know what impact that could have on your save file, so backup first.)

[MrDude]

Tried it with a purified Game Data folder and it worked. Now I wonder about the Minmus Tourist Flyby failure I had a week ago. I assumed I didn't know the full definition of flyby (Ie a certain minimum range vs sphere of influence).

I burned almost all my fuel trying twice more before using the Mun to get me to an atmospheric burn. After all that I just hacked the save file.

HOW DO I TRACK THIS GLITCH TO THE OFFENDING MOD?

I have a bunch - would it have to be a mod that deals with contracts? or Biomes (since they all seem to be linked with contracts that need a certain place)? It would take a long time to turn off each mod in turn, load the save, and test. What rules can I use to find the biggest culprits.

Ones that look red flagged to me:

Cacteyes orbital telescopes (because it is not technically compatible with 1.0.2)

ContractsWindow - Deals with contracts

Final Frontier - Awards based on biomes and activities

Any other catagories of mods to prioritize? (ie I assume parts mods are ok, etc)

[SAI Peregrinus]

The fastest way to find offending mods often ends up being a binary search.

List all your (remaining) mods.

Delete half. If the problem disappears, the offending mod was in that half. If not, it's in the remaining half.

(If needed, swap halves, ie if you deleted the problem mod delete the existing mods and reinstall the half you just deleted.)

Go to step 1 until only 1 mod remains. This is the problem mod.

This is reasonably fast, even for large numbers of mods. EG I have 102 mods currently installed, so this would take only 7 steps repetitions to find a problem mod.

[FancyMouse]

I remember using some mods that have't been updated for 1.0 is going to screw up something - also part test, asking for orbit 80km~90km or something, I first got orbit, then orbit ok; but when I get 80km, orbit unchecked... something like that.

Better remove anything that is not marked 1.0 compatible first.

[MrDude]

Found the offending culprit by removing each one in turn based on how much it interacted with Contracts or Biomes... Then went on to most complex mods...

Turned out to be DMagic Orbital Science... and looked for an update and found this issue listed in the change log as being fixed by the new update! Yeah!