New modder

[Nich]

So I have decided I want to write a mod but I have a couple questions

I read most of the following post. http://forum.kerbalspaceprogram.com/index.php?/topic/85372-mod-development-links-compilation-some-links-do-not-work-formatting-broken/ and it looked very informitave however it appeard quite old.  I was wondering how current/accurate is the info?

What is the difference between a Mod/Plugin/Addon?

Is there a standard UI?  I like the UI for KER do I need permission to use their UI? Has the KSP community implemented a standard stock alike UI?

Can I use vb.net instead of C# as I am quite familure with this language already and visual studio is what I have most of my programing in already?

 

Edited March 19, 2016 by Nich

[MrHappyFace]

The thread you linked is mostly up to date, but it's mostly for part modellers though. The KSP Plugin Tutorial series near the bottom was extremely helpful for me, and AFAIK, is still entirely relevant to KSP 1.0.x.

Mod and add-on are general terms for modifications or additions to the game. A plugin is specifically .NET code that is added to the game in the form of a DLL file.

There is a standard UI framework, which you can read about here: http://docs.unity3d.com/Manual/GUIScriptingGuide.html. you can use the GUISkin Highlogic.Skin if you want your UI to appear stockalike. I recommend reading the code from other mods that add UI to learn more, such as VOID or Kerbal Alarm Clock.

You can try to use VB.NET, but it's not officially supported by unity or squad. Because they're both .NET languages, C# is mostly the same as VB.NET except for some syntax changes. If you can program in VB, you'll be able to program in C# after a few tutorials and some practice.

[Diazo]

One caution is that in KSP 1.1, they are redoing the entire UI from scratch with Unity's new system (can't remember the name) and moving away from the GUI system.

It's 99% sure the GUI system will continue to work mind you, just be aware if you do anything with the stock GUI, it's going to break in a few weeks when KSP 1.1 comes out.

D.

[Padishar]

27 minutes ago, Diazo said:

It's 99% sure the GUI system will continue to work mind you

Actually. it's 100% sure...

[FreeThinker]

2 hours ago, Padishar said:

Actually. it's 100% sure...

Intresting. Any proof to back this claim up?

[Padishar]

All the Unity 5 documentation on the Unity site lists all the old UI classes as supported.