[WIP][1.8.x] SSTULabs - Low Part Count Solutions (Orbiters, Landers, Lifters) - Dev Thread [11-18-18]

[Shadowmage]

Well...

Have run across some new bugs in stock that are preventing me from making much progress on the updating;  Anytime the root part has its drag-cube re-rendered, it breaks map-view UI functionality.  Have already reported the problem, and verified that it exists on stock parts (try setting the LV-N as root part, launch, and try using the map...).

This kills pretty much all of my parts as most of them use dynamic drag cubes;  anything with fairings, any modular part, any resizable part... pretty much all of them.  You can't have a command-pod as the root part (as they have fairings)... yah... good times....

Another issue keeping me from updating is that root parts that use IMassModifier are having the GetModuleMass method called on them before they are initialized;  this renders it impossible to use any dynamic part as the root part, as the mass will always be incorrect in flight scene and/or it will crash with a null-ref.  Will be submitting a bug report on this one soon... need a bit more testing and verification.

 

So.. will be waiting until these issue is fixed in stock before releasing a 1.1 version; the mod cannot function with those bugs.  If they are not fixed, there will be no 1.1 version

 

[Jimbodiah]

I knew it was going to be botched up by squad judging by all the problems they had when they did the devnotes. So half a step forward, 15 back. 

Sorry to hear this Mage, seems like they went out of their way to making modding harder.

If there is no SSTU, then I will stop playing KSP all together as the stock game is unbearable. This is a testament to your mod Mage, not an ultimatum. I just don't find KSP worth playing without it. Not even mentioning all the brainwashed groupies that think rubber ... is the norm for flight behavior.

Edited April 2, 2016 by Jimbodiah

[tater]

I'd give it some time, they have made it clear that modding is something they support, and this update sort of breaks everything. 

[Shadowmage]

Not necessarily that they've made anything harder, in fact they fixed quite a few problems that I had to previously hack around ungracefully (highlighting, gimbals, thrust curves, multi-engine-module setups); its just that they introduced a few new bugs that absolutely break my parts.  A few other mods are going to run into issues with them as well eventually (P-fairings, P-parts, P-wings, perhaps tweakscale?).

The drag-cubes issue I believe will be fixed; it effects quite a few stock parts if they are used as root.  Will also effect other mods as listed above.  Already have a bug-report open regarding it (or rather, found an already open one on the issue and added more relevant data and details)... so hopefully they'll get this fixed up in the next day or two.

The IMassModifier issues I might be able to work around in one manner or another; am investigating things now and they -might- not completely break the flight-scene as long as i can cache the most recently calculated mass value (doable; should probably cache it anyway).

[tater]

Have you seen this tool sarbian made:

 

[Shadowmage]

1 minute ago, tater said:

Have you seen this tool sarbian made:

 

I had seen the screenshots of his version from experimentals, but was unaware he had cleaned up and posted a public version.  Good catch, have d/l it.  Will come very much in handy when I'm working out the wheel module stuff (this actually can replace quite a few debug hacks I've had to use in the past... good stuff).

[Shadowmage]

Took a bit of doing, but I got the engine cluster converted to use the new GUI controls.  They are a bit... clunky.. to use for my purposes; but doable with some effort.

Now to convert all the other modules =\

Some won't be too bad... but most will need some extra code like the engine clusters.

 

 

[RedParadize]

Thumbs Up. I will wait patiently. 1.1 is promising but still quite buggy. Its a pre-release after all.

Edit: Bug + better performence = interesting result. I reached the speed of light using phantom force, and it was not even lagging!

Edited April 3, 2016 by RedParadize

[Jimbodiah]

Maybe just release the parts you have updated, kind of start fresh. That way stuff can be tested in the meantime?

[RedParadize]

Hahahaha You can't stand playing stock right ?

I am playing around with mkIV and OPM while waiting. Rocket in stock size are too easy anyway.

[Jimbodiah]

LOL, is it that obvious?

[tater]

I'll play stock 1.1, including a career, unmodded when it comes out so that when I make comments (largely bashing the terrible career system) I am at least speaking from experience with the unmodded game. I can also then give useful feedback on any possible bugs. I have to wait for release as I'm a 2d class, non-steam customer.

Then I will go back to sigma, 365, RSS, or some other rescale mod, the stock size removes so many interesting problems that need solving (staged landers, etc).

Edited April 3, 2016 by tater
clarity

[Jimbodiah]

I liked 365, still able to use stock parts (non-RO) yet still need more energy to get into orbit and longer trips to moons etc.

[JoseEduardo]

9 hours ago, tater said:

I'll play stock 1.1, including a career, unmodded when it comes out so that when I make comments (largely bashing the terrible career system) I am at least speaking from experience with the unmodded game. I can also then give useful feedback on any possible bugs. I have to wait for release as I'm a 2d class, non-steam customer.

Then I will go back to sigma, 365, RSS, or some other rescale mod, the stock size removes so many interesting problems that need solving (staged landers, etc).

plus it feels so wrong to be 100km high and see that the planet is too small... (at least for me)

can't wait for 1.1 kopernicus and sigma dimensions... 10x kerbin ftw

[Shadowmage]

10 hours ago, Jimbodiah said:

Maybe just release the parts you have updated, kind of start fresh. That way stuff can be tested in the meantime?

The problem is that the stock bugs breaks nearly all parts; tanks, engines, decouplers, fairings, petal adapters, and anything with node-fairings (command pods, service modules, icps, hus).

The only parts that are fully functional are the super-simple parts; RCS, science bay; -maybe- the Soyuz OM/DM.

Ask Jose how broken it all is at the moment, he's tested the SSTU-1.1 dev stuff briefly

Patiently awaiting a stock fix on that while I update the rest of the GUI controls for modules and work on general cleanup.  Hoping there is a fix in the next day or two.

[Jimbodiah]

OK!!!  I just reinstalled 1.0.5   I can only take so many little tanks stacked on top of each other.

[tater]

Maybe it's a steam issue... I just checked, and I have 6 copies of KSP 1.05 installed right now. 1 is vanilla, the rest are modded. So if I am testing a mod, I use my test copy, and only install that mod. I have a 365, and a 365 with various parts mods added until it got flaky. I have SSTU in testing now, plus an SSTU with Sigma (6.4X), etc.

I don't have 1.1 because I didn't buy with steam. If steam would require me to have only 1 copy of KSP... I'd not want it anyway.

[Jimbodiah]

I don't know why they just put up a download version like with 1.0.4/5.

[Shadowmage]

I have steam and have multiple copies of KSP installed

It allows you to copy the whole folder out of steam and use it as a stand-alone setup.  So I've got one for 1.05-stock, 1.05-RO, 1.05-dev (sstu,mj,rp,etc), 1.1 stock (steam updates this one), and 1.1 dev.  Until recently I still had my original 0.90 career instance saved, and a few 1.02/1.04 career games.

[Pappystein]

1 hour ago, Shadowmage said:

I have steam and have multiple copies of KSP installed

It allows you to copy the whole folder out of steam and use it as a stand-alone setup.  So I've got one for 1.05-stock, 1.05-RO, 1.05-dev (sstu,mj,rp,etc), 1.1 stock (steam updates this one), and 1.1 dev.  Until recently I still had my original 0.90 career instance saved, and a few 1.02/1.04 career games.

I think on my just lightning struck Desktop (Video cards are the only thing that appear to have fried) I have a .25 install with some mods you can't get anymore since the spaceport was shutdown/transferred to curse.  I understand WHY Squad chose Steam (it allows for constant version updating) to launch their test program.  But steam DOES allow us to do what we want with many games (KSP being one of the many.) 

 

Edited April 3, 2016 by Pappystein
Paitently awaiting a 1.1 release of SSTU :)

[Jimbodiah]

Mage. Seeing as 1.0.5 is halted, would it be an opportune time to make a craft repository? I have a bunch of stuff I'd like to place, as I get a lot of questions about SSTU and sharing some craft files might make things easier. Any way you would prefer it, like seperate topic, only on github etc?

[Shadowmage]

Yes (good time for craft).

Where / how:  whatever works best for you.  If you just want to post a .zip of craft files, I can merge them into the repo for distribution.

Wouldn't mind doing one last 'final' release that had a good selection of craft files.

[Jimbodiah]

I can start a topic, maybe you can link to it in the first post? This way other people can also share craft files there. You can always include a selection in the last build.

So far I have the landers, delta II, delta IV orion, ares I and V, SLS, Soyuz, shuttle, jupiter III and some other stuff. Maybe Jose and Blowfish have some additions of their own, or RO craft?

Edited April 3, 2016 by Jimbodiah

[RedParadize]

7 hours ago, JoseEduardo said:

plus it feels so wrong to be 100km high and see that the planet is too small... (at least for me)

can't wait for 1.1 kopernicus and sigma dimensions... 10x kerbin ftw

100km orbital speed is just 2000ms, mach 6 basicly... You can fly a plane at that speed without leaving atmo.

[JoseEduardo]

5 minutes ago, RedParadize said:

100km orbital speed is just 2000ms, mach 6 basicly... You can fly a plane at that speed without leaving atmo.

SR-71 Blackbird is one of these....

one more reason to scale kerbin up