[1.0.4] Arkas 0.2.1 - A Thick Atmosphere on a Desert World - 17 Unique Biomes - Cloud Support Added!

[CoriW]

Alright, I've got all of the moons to work so far. Kras even has clouds! However, Kras' atmosphere is bright blue instead of deep red.

@Kopernicus:AFTER[Kopernicus]
{
    Body
    {
        name = Kras
        flightGlobalsIndex = 1762
        cacheFile = Arkas/ArkasMoons/Cache/Kras.bin

        Template
        {
            name = Laythe
            removeOcean = true
            removePQSMods = PQSLandControl, PQSMod_VertexHeightNoise, PQSMod_VertexSimplexHeightMap, PQSMod_QuadEnhanceCoast, PQSMod_VertexHeightNoiseVertHeight, PQSMod_VertexHeightMap
        }

        Orbit
        {
            referenceBody = Arkas
            inclination = 4.215
            eccentricity = 0.225
            semiMajorAxis = 2353000
            longitudeOfAscendingNode = 24
            argumentOfPeriapsis = 20
            meanAnomalyAtEpoch = 0
            epoch = 0
            color = 0.6117647058823529,0.3254901960784314,0.1686274509803922,1
        }

        Properties
        {
            description = This moon closely resembles it's parent Arkas. Proper description still being made.
            radius = 215000
            geeASL = 0.508
            rotationPeriod = 60000
            rotates = true
            tidallyLocked = false
            initialRotation = 0
            isHomeWorld = false
            timewarpAltitudeLimits = 0 40000 40000 60000 80000 140000 200000 300000

            ScienceValues
            {
                splashedDataValue = 2
                landedDataValue = 4
                flyingLowDataValue = 6
                flyingHighDataValue = 6.5
                inSpaceLowDataValue = 5
                inSpaceHighDataValue = 4.5
                recoveryValue = 6
                flyingAltitudeThreshold = 25000
                spaceAltitudeThreshold = 220000
            }

            biomeMap = Arkas/ArkasMoons/Textures/Kras_Biome.png

            Biomes
            {
                Biome
                {
                    name = Mountains
                    value = 1.0
                    color = 1,0,0,1
                }

                Biome
                {
                    name = Northern dunes
                    value = 1.0
                    color = 0,1,1,1
                }

                Biome
                {
                    name = Major sandy plains
                    value = 1.0
                    color = 1,0,1,1
                }

                Biome
                {
                    name = Minor sandy plains
                    value = 1.0
                    color = 0,0,1,1
                }
                Biome
                {
                    name = Anomaly
                    value = 1.0
                    color = 0,1,0,1
                }
                Biome
                {
                    name = South pole
                    value = 1.0
                    color = 0,0,0,1
                }
                Biome
                {
                    name = Deserts
                    value = 1.0
                    color = 1,1,1,1
                }
            }
        }

        Atmosphere
        {
            ambientColor = 0.612,0.325,0.169,1
            lightColor = 0.612,0.325,0.169,1 // shader.invWaveLength = Color( 1 / r^4, 1 / g^4, 1 / b^4, 0.5);

            albedo = 0.52

            enabled = true
            oxygen = false

            altitude = 80000.0
            pressureCurve
            {
                key = 0            303.975            -4.06308E-02        -4.06308E-02
                key = 4000        141.4518        -2.865E-02            -2.865E-02
                key = 8000        74.775            -1.25981775E-02        -1.25981775E-02
                key = 12000        40.66638        -6.593355E-03        -6.593355E-03
                key = 16000        22.02816        -3.422445E-03        -3.422445E-03
                key = 20000        13.28682        -1.8002925E-03        -1.8002925E-03
                key = 24000        7.62582            -1.166055E-03        -1.166055E-03
                key = 28000        3.95838            -7.23015E-04        -7.23015E-04
                key = 32000        1.8417            -3.9063E-04            -3.9063E-04
                key = 36000        0.83334            -1.688625E-04        -1.688625E-04
                key = 40000        0.4908            -6.04875E-05        -6.04875E-05
                key = 44000        0.34944            -3.16575E-05        -3.16575E-05
                key = 48000        0.23754            -2.469E-05            -2.469E-05
                key = 52000        0.15192            -1.85325E-05        -1.85325E-05
                key = 56000        0.08928            -1.31925E-05        -1.31925E-05
                key = 60000        0.04638            -8.6775E-06            -8.6775E-06
                key = 64000        0.01986            -4.9725E-06            -4.9725E-06
                key = 68000        0.0066            -2.1E-06            -2.1E-06
                key = 72000        0.00306            -6.825E-07            -6.825E-07
                key = 76000        0.00114            -3.825E-07            -3.825E-07
                key = 80000        0                -2.85E-07            -2.85E-07
            }
            pressureCurveIsNormalized = false

            temperatureSeaLevel = 395
            temperatureCurve
            {
                key = 0            450                -0.00802083375        -0.00802083375
                key = 9600        331.8011257        -0.0011360735        -0.0011325715
                key = 16800        331.8011257        0.0011325715        0.0011325715
                key = 24800        416.2288931        0.000619018            0.000619018
                key = 44800        416.2288931        -0.000853660375        -0.000853660375
                key = 64000        287.2846666        -0.0011360735        -0.0011360735
                key = 72000        287.2846666        0.000592218125        0.000592218125
                key = 80000        353.2918301        0.000868255125        0.000868255125
                key = 120000    0                -0.000562011375        -0.000562011375
            }
            temperatureCurveIsNormalized = false
            temperatureLapseRate = 0.001
            temperatureSunMultCurve
            {
                key = 0                1        0            0
                key = 6153.846154    0.5        -0.000075    -0.000128306125
                key = 6780.941539    0        0            0
                key = 12346.44923    0        0            0
                key = 29138.03077    0.2        0            0
                key = 44184.71385    0.2        0            0
                key = 56178.21535    0        0            0
                key = 80000            0.4        0            0
            }

            adiabaticIndex = 1.20016284302591
            gasMassLapseRate = 2.04291043733601
            atmosphereMolarMass = 0.035982203485
        }

        ScaledVersion
        {
            type = Atmospheric
            fadeStart = 110000
            fadeEnd = 140000

            Material
            {
                texture = Arkas/ArkasMoons/Textures/Kras_Color
                normals = Arkas/ArkasMoons/Textures/Kras_Normal

                shininess = 0
                specular = 0,0,0,0

                // Atmosphere settings
                rimPower = 2.06
                rimBlend = 0.3

                // Atmosphere color ramp texture
                Gradient
                {
                    0.0 = 0.7607,0.6980,0.4313,1
                    0.4 = 0.7607,0.6980,0.4901,1
                    0.6 = 0.7607,0.6980,0.5490,1
                    0.8 = 0.0588,0.0588,0.1568,1
                    1.0 = 0.0196,0.0196,0.0196,1
                }
            }
        }

        PQS
        {
            maxQuadLengthsPerFrame = 0.03
            minLevel = 2
            maxLevel = 12
            minDetailDistance = 8

            pqsFadeStart = 130000
            pqsFadeEnd = 170000

            materialType = AtmosphericOptimized
            Material
            {
                saturation = 1
                contrast = 1.4
                tintColor = 1.000,1.000,1.000,0.000

                powerNear = 0.6
                powerFar = 0.3

                groundTexStart = 0
                groundTexEnd = 5000

                steepPower = 2
                steepTexStart = 0
                steepTexEnd = 50000
                steepTex = BUILTIN/terrain_rock00
                steepBumpMap = BUILTIN/RockyGround2
                steepNearTiling = 8000
                steepTiling = 500

                lowTex = BUILTIN/SandyGround
                lowBumpMap = BUILTIN/quiet
                lowNearTiling = 4000
                lowMultiFactor = 100
                lowBumpNearTiling = 4000
                lowBumpFarTiling = 4000

                midTex = BUILTIN/terrain_sand00
                midBumpMap = BUILTIN/SandyGround
                midNearTiling = 4000
                midMultiFactor = 100
                midBumpNearTiling = 4000
                midBumpFarTiling = 4000

                highTex = BUILTIN/SandyGround
                highBumpMap = BUILTIN/quiet
                highNearTiling = 4000
                highMultiFactor = 100
                highBumpNearTiling = 4000
                highBumpFarTiling = 4000

                lowStart = 0
                lowEnd = 0.3
                highStart = 0.7
                highEnd = 1

                globalDensity = 0
                fogColorRamp = BUILTIN/desert_atmogradient
            }

            Mods
            {
                VertexColorMap
                {
                    map = Arkas/ArkasMoons/Textures/Kras_Color.dds
                    enabled = true
                    order = 500
                }

                VertexHeightMap
                {
                    map = Arkas/ArkasMoons/Textures/Kras_Height.dds
                    offset = 0
                    deformity = 4500
                    scaleDeformityByRadius = false
                    enabled = true
                    order = 20
                }

                @AltitudeAlpha
                {
                    atmosphereDepth = 10000
                    invert = false
                    enabled = true
                    order = 999999999
                }

                VertexSimplexHeight
                {
                    seed = 94237927
                    deformity = 1200
                    octaves = 16
                    persistence = 0.4
                    frequency = 6
                    enabled = true
                    order = 21
                }

                VertexSimplexHeightAbsolute
                {
                    seed = 43186434
                    deformity = 700
                    octaves = 8
                    persistence = 0.8
                    frequency = 12
                    enabled = true
                    order = 30
                }

                VertexHeightNoiseVertHeightCurve2
                {
                    noiseType = RiggedMultifractal
                    deformity = 1350
                    ridgedAddSeed = 92347927
                    ridgedAddFrequency = 22
                    ridgedAddLacunarity = 2
                    ridgedAddOctaves = 8
                    ridgedSubSeed = 34349823
                    ridgedSubFrequency = 12
                    ridgedSubLacunarity = 2
                    ridgedSubOctaves = 6
                    ridgedMode = Low
                    simplexHeightStart = 0
                    simplexHeightEnd = 1600
                    simplexSeed = 64327467
                    simplexOctaves = 6
                    simplexPersistence = 0.60000002384185791
                    simplexFrequency = 12
                    enabled = true
                    order = 12
                }

                VertexSimplexNoiseColor
                {
                    seed = 82937498
                    blend = 0.4
                    colorStart = 0.76078,0.69803,0.50196,1
                    colorEnd = 0,0,0,1
                    octaves = 6
                    persistence = 0.60000002384185791
                    frequency = 12
                    enabled = true
                    order = 200
                }
            }
        }
    }
}

Here's the script. Based it off Arkas' script because Arkas' script is so nicely organized. Does anyone have an idea why the atmosphere is blue instead of red?

I had a really hard time with lightColor, you have to do the calculations 1 / R^4, 1 / G^4, 1 / B^4 and the results of those calculations is what the lightColor ends up being in RGB value. It's really unintuitive and took a lot of guesswork for me to get Arkas lightColor to work properly.

Here's how Arkas lightColor works...

(Just to clarify I've highlighted the numbers you put into lightColor in the .cfg in the below calculations red.)

1 / 0.48549^4 = 18.000

1 / 0.49245^4 = 17.004

1 / 0.53720^4 = 12.007

So RGB (0-255) = 18,17,12

Which if you put into this color picker, you will see results in a shade of yellow. Believe me when I say that was really tricky and difficult and unintuitive to figure out, as I basically just had to continuously tweak the number I was putting in and calculate the new RGB then put it into a color picker to see what color I ended up with. I found the best way to do it was to figure out what color I wanted in RGB (0-255) first, and then using some guesswork and tweaking figure out what RGB (0-1) in the above calculations would equate to the corresponding RGB (0-255) that I was looking to achieve.

[The White Guardian]

I had a really hard time with lightColor, you have to do the calculations 1 / R^4, 1 / G^4, 1 / B^4 and the results of those calculations is what the lightColor ends up being in RGB value. It's really unintuitive and took a lot of guesswork for me to get Arkas lightColor to work properly.

Here's how Arkas lightColor works...

(Just to clarify I've highlighted the numbers you put into lightColor in the .cfg in the below calculations red.)

1 / 0.48549^4 = 18.000

1 / 0.49245^4 = 17.004

1 / 0.53720^4 = 12.007

So RGB (0-255) = 18,17,12

Which if you put into this color picker, you will see results in a shade of yellow. Believe me when I say that was really tricky and difficult and unintuitive to figure out, as I basically just had to continuously tweak the number I was putting in and calculate the new RGB then put it into a color picker to see what color I ended up with. I found the best way to do it was to figure out what color I wanted in RGB (0-255) first, and then using some guesswork and tweaking figure out what RGB (0-1) in the above calculations would equate to the corresponding RGB (0-255) that I was looking to achieve.

From 0-255 to 0-1 is easy: value in 0-255 divided by 255 = value in 0-1, because 255/255 = 1 and 0/255 = 0.

Then the RGB colors in 0-1: 1 divided by (color)^4, you say? Piece of cake. Thank you so much for your help! I hope I can upload at least two stable moons before the end of this week.

Edited October 14, 2015 by The White Guardian

[The White Guardian]

Big update! Unlike the other updates, however, this update includes Arkas too.

Cloud update:

Arkas: clouds have been updated. They are now less cover-ish, so it is possible to see the sunset or the moons, even with full cover. Beware, though, that this is only possible when there are clouds above you with a low density, otherwise you can't see a thing.

Kras: clouds have been added. They currently use an unused texture (remember the first cloud screenshot I posted, the one with those orange clouds? That texture), but they will use custom textures in the future. Kras also has sandstorms.

Vin: Given a good orbit and has been landed on (sort of. I kinda... screwed up with the landing, but don't tell anyone). Vin also has terrain scatter in the form of boulders. Vin can easily be seen from the surface of Arkas despite it's size since it orbits somewhat close to the desert planet, but not too close. Vin provides some of the most awesome views of Arkas possible.

Larr: Moved outward. Still not final orbit. Larr may become a 'bonus moon' that isn't included at first.

Kras: Atmosphere is now red (thanks to CoriW and ibuckshot5), though Kras' atmosphere is very roughly colored: it suddenly 'cuts off' instead of fading and it's barely visible, even when on the surface. Does anyone know what could be causing this? (Yes, I will soon show a few screenshots)

In the next update the texture 'Lightning' from Astronomer's Visual Pack will be included. Why? TO ADD LIGHTNING! Indeed, the upper cloud layers of Arkas and Kras now often have thunderstorms that actually light up. For those of you who can't wait: download Astronomer's Visual Pack Interstellar V2 and place the texture 'lightning.png' in GameData/BoulderCo/Clouds/Textures.

Next, make a copy of Arkas' cloud config and open this config. Replace it's contents with:

CLOUDS_SETTINGS
{
    GUI_KEYCODE = N
}
CLOUD_LAYER_PACK
{
    CLOUD_LAYER
    {
        SAVED
        {
            body = Arkas
            altitude = 15000
            volume = False
            color
            {
                r = 15
                g = 15
                b = 25
                a = 10
            }
            main_texture
            {
                file = BoulderCo/Clouds/Textures/lightning
                scale = 1
                offset
                {
                    x = 0.3052678
                    y = 0
                }
                speed
                {
                    x = -2.5E-05
                    y = 0
                }
            }
            detail_texture
            {
                file = BoulderCo/Clouds/Textures/lightning
                scale = 0.1
                offset
                {
                    x = 0.3052678
                    y = 0
                }
                speed
                {
                    x = 0.1333333
                    y = 0.2
                }
            }
            scaled_shader_floats
            {
                falloffPower = 4
                falloffScale = 3.5
                detailDistance = 0
                minimumLight = -0.4
                fadeDistance = 5
                rimDistance = 1
            }
            shader_floats
            {
                falloffPower = 4
                falloffScale = 3.5
                detailDistance = 0
                minimumLight = -0.4
                fadeDistance = 5
                rimDistance = 0.0001
            }
        }
    }
    CLOUD_LAYER
    {
        SAVED
        {
            body = Arkas
            altitude = 15000
            volume = False
            color
            {
                r = 15
                g = 15
                b = 25
                a = 10
            }
            main_texture
            {
                file = BoulderCo/Clouds/Textures/lightning
                scale = 1
                offset
                {
                    x = 0.3052678
                    y = 0
                }
                speed
                {
                    x = -2.5E-05
                    y = 0
                }
            }
            detail_texture
            {
                file = BoulderCo/Clouds/Textures/lightning
                scale = 0.1
                offset
                {
                    x = 0.3052678
                    y = 0
                }
                speed
                {
                    x = 0.1333333
                    y = 0.2
                }
            }
            scaled_shader_floats
            {
                falloffPower = 4
                falloffScale = 3.5
                detailDistance = 0
                minimumLight = -0.4
                fadeDistance = 5
                rimDistance = 1
            }
            shader_floats
            {
                falloffPower = 4
                falloffScale = 3.5
                detailDistance = 0
                minimumLight = -0.4
                fadeDistance = 5
                rimDistance = 0.0001
            }
        }
    }
}

It might just work. I'm not saying that it does work, I'm saying it might work. Has to do with the KSP forums not supporting some keys.

[FungusForge]

Cloud update:

Kras: clouds have been added. They currently use an unused texture (remember the first cloud screenshot I posted, the one with those orange clouds? That texture), but they will use custom textures in the future. Kras also has sandstorms.

Kras: Atmosphere is now red (thanks to CoriW and ibuckshot5), though Kras' atmosphere is very roughly colored: it suddenly 'cuts off' instead of fading and it's barely visible, even when on the surface. Does anyone know what could be causing this? (Yes, I will soon show a few screenshots)

I think one of these is a typo. Or the same moon got 2 separate bits.

Can't wait to see screenshots of the moons. Also when the Arkas cloud update comes along I might just switch to full cover because that just seems like it'll make even the most trivial things seem kinda cinematic.

[The White Guardian]

I think one of these is a typo. Or the same moon got 2 separate bits.

Can't wait to see screenshots of the moons. Also when the Arkas cloud update comes along I might just switch to full cover because that just seems like it'll make even the most trivial things seem kinda cinematic.

No, it's not a typo. Clouds have been added for Kras and it's atmosphere is now the right color, though still glitchy. I gave it two separate bits for a good reason: one is about the clouds, the other about the atmosphere; otherwise the subject would change too all of a sudden.

[FungusForge]

That makes sense looking back at it. It just looks odd to me I guess.

[sDaZe]

No, it's not a typo. Clouds have been added for Kras and it's atmosphere is now the right color, though still glitchy. I gave it two separate bits for a good reason: one is about the clouds, the other about the atmosphere; otherwise the subject would change too all of a sudden.

Pics or didnt happen

[The White Guardian]

Pics or didnt happen

Sure thing! It's quite late here though, so I'll upload a few screens tomorrow.

[CoriW]

Sure thing! It's quite late here though, so I'll upload a few screens tomorrow.

Hey The White Guardian, so what I'm thinking is maybe what we should do once your moons are ready is that you can host separate downloads for them and I'll put the download links into the OP. That way if you need to do any updates to the moons I don't have to worry about changing anything and you can just do it directly yourself, which will make it much easier for both of us. Also let me know when you have a download link for Arkas updated clouds so that I can update the main download to include the most recent ones.

[The White Guardian]

Hey The White Guardian, so what I'm thinking is maybe what we should do once your moons are ready is that you can host separate downloads for them and I'll put the download links into the OP. That way if you need to do any updates to the moons I don't have to worry about changing anything and you can just do it directly yourself, which will make it much easier for both of us. Also let me know when you have a download link for Arkas updated clouds so that I can update the main download to include the most recent ones.

I thought of something similar: Include the moons Vin and Kras in the Arkas download link, the other moons being hosted separately.

The other moons are 'bonus moons', you see. I'm still having trouble with Kras' atmosphere though: Arkas' atmosphere fades nicely, it's even visible in the image in your signature. Kras' atmosphere doesn't fade at all. Plus, Kras' atmosphere's red color starts quite low, while I want it to start a bit higher. I'll post a screenshot showing what I mean this afternoon.

[sidfu]

would be nice to have cfig files for it to work with other planet packs

[The White Guardian]

would be nice to have cfig files for it to work with other planet packs

So far Arkas works nicely with most other planet packs, such as Outer Planets Mod, KerbolPlus, Asclepius, Kronkus and soon Galactic Neighborhood too.

In fact, have you come across a planet pack that it does not work nicely with?

[linuxgurugamer]

Hey The White Guardian, so what I'm thinking is maybe what we should do once your moons are ready is that you can host separate downloads for them and I'll put the download links into the OP. That way if you need to do any updates to the moons I don't have to worry about changing anything and you can just do it directly yourself, which will make it much easier for both of us. Also let me know when you have a download link for Arkas updated clouds so that I can update the main download to include the most recent ones.

This would make it difficult to have CKAN work with both. Probably what would need to happen is that there would be a new .netkan for the moons which depend on Arkas.

Actually, I just noticed that it isn't in CKAN at all. Would you be interested in my doing that for you? I did one for sido, and it is being looked at by the ckan people (trying to get all the planet packs working properly in ckan)

Edited October 15, 2015 by linuxgurugamer

[CoriW]

This would make it difficult to have CKAN work with both. Probably what would need to happen is that there would be a new .netkan for the moons which depend on Arkas.

Actually, I just noticed that it isn't in CKAN at all. Would you be interested in my doing that for you? I did one for sido, and it is being looked at by the ckan people (trying to get all the planet packs working properly in ckan)

Well to be honest I don't use CKAN because I don't trust CKAN... Given I haven't given it much chance to prove itself, but I've heard of some people having issues with CKAN and thus I don't use it nor have I looked into supporting it. However I suppose that a lot of people do use CKAN and I suppose it may be beneficial to have it on CKAN, so since your offering to put it on CKAN I wouldn't be opposed to the idea.

On the note of getting it to work with CKAN... Like I said above I don't use CKAN so I don't really know how it all works, but currently Arkas comes packaged with optional clouds for if you have a visual pack installed as well as 3 different configs which you have to only pick one of... So that being said I'm curious as to whether or not that will cause any problems with putting it on CKAN? On the note of the moons we can't put them all in the main download because there are simply too many moons in total which would result in way too much clutter. Which is why there are only going to be 2 packaged moons and the rest be optional.

EDIT: Also one other question how does CKAN actually work anyways? I mean does it use the file that's on KerbalStuff or?

Edited October 15, 2015 by CoriW

[The White Guardian]

Okay, does anyone know how to fix this:

The screenshot shows Kras' atmosphere. The problem is that it doesn't fade nicely, and the color starts very, very low. Does anyone know what's causing this?

- - - Updated - - -

And to give y'all an idea of what Kras will look like when it's finished:

Edited October 15, 2015 by The White Guardian

[ibuckshot5]

lightcolor, again. The value is too low, and lower numbers mean thicker atmospheres. Try a higher number for each value.

[officialmugi]

Please add 64k support.

[The White Guardian]

lightcolor, again. The value is too low, and lower numbers mean thicker atmospheres. Try a higher number for each value.

I actually needed the colored part of the atmosphere to start much higher and the atmosphere to fade nicely, but thanks for your help anyway.

[linuxgurugamer]

Well to be honest I don't use CKAN because I don't trust CKAN... Given I haven't given it much chance to prove itself, but I've heard of some people having issues with CKAN and thus I don't use it nor have I looked into supporting it. However I suppose that a lot of people do use CKAN and I suppose it may be beneficial to have it on CKAN, so since your offering to put it on CKAN I wouldn't be opposed to the idea.

On the note of getting it to work with CKAN... Like I said above I don't use CKAN so I don't really know how it all works, but currently Arkas comes packaged with optional clouds for if you have a visual pack installed as well as 3 different configs which you have to only pick one of... So that being said I'm curious as to whether or not that will cause any problems with putting it on CKAN? On the note of the moons we can't put them all in the main download because there are simply too many moons in total which would result in way too much clutter. Which is why there are only going to be 2 packaged moons and the rest be optional.

EDIT: Also one other question how does CKAN actually work anyways? I mean does it use the file that's on KerbalStuff or?

CKAN will use whatever it's told to. It has good integration with KerbalStuff.

CKAN is patterned after CPAN, which is used by Perl developers worldwide for many years.

Here is the config file I made for the Sidos Urania System, I'l explain it below:

{
        "identifier"    : "sidosUraniaSystem",
        "$kref"         : "#/ckan/kerbalstuff/1185",
        "spec_version"  : "v1.4",
        "license"       : "MIT",
        "comment"       : "PlanetPack",
        "resources" :
        {
                "homepage"      : "http://forum.kerbalspaceprogram.com/threads/6                                6882"
        },


        "depends" :
        [
                { "name"        : "Kopernicus", "min version": "0.4" },
                { "name"        : "EnvironmentalVisualEnhancements" }
        ],
        "install" :
        [
                {
                        "find"          : "Sido_Urania_System",
                        "install_to"    : "GameData"
                }
        ],
        "suggests" :
        [
                { "name" : "EnvironmentalVisualEnhancements-LR" },
                { "name" : "EnvironmentalVisualEnhancements-HR" },
                { "name" : "SentarExpansion" }
        ]
}

So, the "$kref" line tells CKAN where the mod is on kerbalstuff.com

The "depends" section tells it that it needs Kopernicus and EnvironmentalVisualEnhancements, which will be automatically installed if they aren't installed.

The "suggest" section are only suggestions presented to the user.

I may be a bit biased, but most mod authors who have trouble with CKAN don't understand it. I've very rarely heard of problems with end-users. There are a very few number of mods which require special attention from the CKAN people

[The White Guardian]

CKAN will use whatever it's told to. It has good integration with KerbalStuff.

CKAN is patterned after CPAN, which is used by Perl developers worldwide for many years.

Here is the config file I made for the Sidos Urania System, I'l explain it below:

{
        "identifier"    : "sidosUraniaSystem",
        "$kref"         : "#/ckan/kerbalstuff/1185",
        "spec_version"  : "v1.4",
        "license"       : "MIT",
        "comment"       : "PlanetPack",
        "resources" :
        {
                "homepage"      : "http://forum.kerbalspaceprogram.com/threads/6                                6882"
        },


        "depends" :
        [
                { "name"        : "Kopernicus", "min version": "0.4" },
                { "name"        : "EnvironmentalVisualEnhancements" }
        ],
        "install" :
        [
                {
                        "find"          : "Sido_Urania_System",
                        "install_to"    : "GameData"
                }
        ],
        "suggests" :
        [
                { "name" : "EnvironmentalVisualEnhancements-LR" },
                { "name" : "EnvironmentalVisualEnhancements-HR" },
                { "name" : "SentarExpansion" }
        ]
}

So, the "$kref" line tells CKAN where the mod is on kerbalstuff.com

The "depends" section tells it that it needs Kopernicus and EnvironmentalVisualEnhancements, which will be automatically installed if they aren't installed.

The "suggest" section are only suggestions presented to the user.

I may be a bit biased, but most mod authors who have trouble with CKAN don't understand it. I've very rarely heard of problems with end-users. There are a very few number of mods which require special attention from the CKAN people

Hmm... that doesn't look too complicated. What are the lines

        "install" :
        [
                {
                        "find"          : "Sido_Urania_System",
                        "install_to"    : "GameData"
                }
        ],

for? The 'install_to' is easy, but what does 'find' mean?

[CoriW]

CKAN will use whatever it's told to. It has good integration with KerbalStuff.

CKAN is patterned after CPAN, which is used by Perl developers worldwide for many years.

Here is the config file I made for the Sidos Urania System, I'l explain it below:

{
        "identifier"    : "sidosUraniaSystem",
        "$kref"         : "#/ckan/kerbalstuff/1185",
        "spec_version"  : "v1.4",
        "license"       : "MIT",
        "comment"       : "PlanetPack",
        "resources" :
        {
                "homepage"      : "http://forum.kerbalspaceprogram.com/threads/6                                6882"
        },


        "depends" :
        [
                { "name"        : "Kopernicus", "min version": "0.4" },
                { "name"        : "EnvironmentalVisualEnhancements" }
        ],
        "install" :
        [
                {
                        "find"          : "Sido_Urania_System",
                        "install_to"    : "GameData"
                }
        ],
        "suggests" :
        [
                { "name" : "EnvironmentalVisualEnhancements-LR" },
                { "name" : "EnvironmentalVisualEnhancements-HR" },
                { "name" : "SentarExpansion" }
        ]
}

So, the "$kref" line tells CKAN where the mod is on kerbalstuff.com

The "depends" section tells it that it needs Kopernicus and EnvironmentalVisualEnhancements, which will be automatically installed if they aren't installed.

The "suggest" section are only suggestions presented to the user.

I may be a bit biased, but most mod authors who have trouble with CKAN don't understand it. I've very rarely heard of problems with end-users. There are a very few number of mods which require special attention from the CKAN people

Hmm interesting... One other thing I had heard about with CKAN is that sometimes people will put "unofficial" mods on it, as in put another copy of a mod onto it that already exists on CKAN without the mod authors permissions... Thus resulting in confusion for the end user when they search for the mod only to discover 2 of the same mod in the listings. Now I don't know how often or little this happens, all I know is I've heard of at least 1 incident with this and it was enough to make me weary of CKAN in general, actually part of the reason I still install everything manually and as I said in my last post on the subject "don't trust it".

EDIT: Oh and also, looking at that config I'm still slightly unsure about how it would go about letting the use choose whether or not to install the clouds that are packaged in the download...? And if they do how would it go about having them pick only one of the 3 available configs in the download...?

Edited October 17, 2015 by CoriW

[linuxgurugamer]

Hmm... that doesn't look too complicated. What are the lines

        "install" :
        [
                {
                        "find"          : "Sido_Urania_System",
                        "install_to"    : "GameData"
                }
        ],

for? The 'install_to' is easy, but what does 'find' mean?

oh sorry.

Find says to find this directory inside the zip file and then the install_to says where to install it.

- - - Updated - - -

Hmm interesting... One other thing I had heard about with CKAN is that sometimes people will put "unofficial" mods on it, as in put another copy of a mod onto it that already exists on CKAN without the mod authors permissions... Thus resulting in confusion for the end user when they search for the mod only to discover 2 of the same mod in the listings. Now I don't know how often or little this happens, all I know is I've heard of at least 1 incident with this and it was enough to make me weary of CKAN in general, actually part of the reason I still install everything manually and as I said in my last post on the subject "don't trust it".

EDIT: Oh and also, looking at that config I'm still slightly unsure about how it would go about letting the use choose whether or not to install the clouds that are packaged in the download...? And if they do how would it go about having them pick only one of the 3 available configs in the download...?

That's actually a question I will post to the CKAN group, because I'm not sure. I know that the EVE mod actually has the configs in different mods, and then they can choose which one (and it will only allow one) to install.

Going this route, I would say that you would have the following:

Arkas main mod

Arkas clouds (optional install)

Arkas cfg 1

Arkas cfg 2

Arkas cfg 3

[linuxgurugamer]

Hmm interesting... One other thing I had heard about with CKAN is that sometimes people will put "unofficial" mods on it, as in put another copy of a mod onto it that already exists on CKAN without the mod authors permissions... Thus resulting in confusion for the end user when they search for the mod only to discover 2 of the same mod in the listings. Now I don't know how often or little this happens, all I know is I've heard of at least 1 incident with this and it was enough to make me weary of CKAN in general, actually part of the reason I still install everything manually and as I said in my last post on the subject "don't trust it".

EDIT: Oh and also, looking at that config I'm still slightly unsure about how it would go about letting the use choose whether or not to install the clouds that are packaged in the download...? And if they do how would it go about having them pick only one of the 3 available configs in the download...?

That's actually a question I will post to the CKAN group, because I'm not sure. I know that the EVE mod actually has the configs in different mods, and then they can choose which one (and it will only allow one) to install.

Going this route, I would say that you would have the following:

Arkas main mod

Arkas clouds (optional install)

Arkas cfg 1

Arkas cfg 2

Arkas cfg 3

There is a better way, which would only need a single downloadable file.

The directory layout in the file should be something like this:

GameData/Arkus
Cloud Support/
cfg1/
cfg2/
cfg3/

And then, there would need to be 5 netkans, one for each.

The main netkan would be for Arkus, the others would each reference one of the others, with the "install_to" pointing to GameData/Arkus. The cfg netkans would each list the other two as conflicts, which would allow the user to only install one of the cfgs, the Clouds would be listed as either a Recommends or a Suggests.

I just looked at the download, and am not sure which 3 configs you are referring to. I see 3 cfg files, are these three mutually exclusive:

Arkas_DistantObjectEnhancement.cfg
Arkas_PlanetShine.cfg
Arkas_ScienceDefs.cfg

The netkan for the Arkus would list the Kopornkis as a depends as well as any other mods this depens on

I'd be happy to help if you like. Feel free to contact me via PM or on this thread.

Edited October 17, 2015 by linuxgurugamer

[The White Guardian]

Uuh... I think there's something you all need to know. Once Kras is finished it will come with a cloud config. How would that work with CKAN?

[linuxgurugamer]

Uuh... I think there's something you all need to know. Once Kras is finished it will come with a cloud config. How would that work with CKAN?

that depends.

Is it optional?

Will it be a separate download/install?

It really comes down to whether it will be bundled with the Arkus download or not.

If not bundled, then it would be separate download and separate .netkan, which would require Arkus to be installed.

If bundled, then it could be done the same as I mentioned earlier: put it in a separate directory, and just have a separate .net which references it