[1.2] ExperimentTracker

[Derrey]

ExperimentTracker

Made by Derrey

This mod lists all experiments and helps to deploy them fast and easy.

 

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How do I use the ExperimentTracker?

This mod adds a button to the flight scene. When active, a GUI is shown which lists all science experiments that can be deployed.

You can deploy an experiment by simply clicking on it.

Finished experiments can also be reviewed (left click) and resetted (right click).

When inactive, the GUI is not shown and the button indicates whether there are experiments (yellow) or not (red).

A click on "Info" toggles a GUI which shows some informations about the current biome, etc.

 

Mod compatibility

This mod should be compatible with every science mod that uses the standard ModuleScienceExperiment interface or DMModuleScienceAnimate from DMagic.

Tested compatibility:

• Universal Storage
• Orbital Science

 

Where can I download the mod?

You can download the mod here and follow the 'How to install' guide or let CKAN install it.

The source code is available on GitHub. The mod is made available under the Apache License - 2.0.

For KSP 1.1.3 download the mod here.

 

How to install:

1. Download the .zip file.
2. Unpack the .zip file.
3. Copy the /ExperimentTracker/ folder to your KSP installations GameData/ folder.

 

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Changelog:

Spoiler

• v1.1.3
  • Rebuild for KSP 1.2
• v1.3
  • "Deploy all" button.
  • Support for Universal Storage and Orbital Science modules.
• v1.2
  • Various bugfixes for career mode and GUI.
  • Finished experiments are now also listed in the GUI.
• v1.1
  • New Info-GUI.

Edited October 12, 2016 by Derrey
New release

[Bombaatu]

This already has a review from Kottabos:

 

If you're taking suggestions, a good feature would be a "Review Data" button to see experiments that have data but haven't been transmitted for whatever reason.

Edited September 2, 2016 by Bombaatu

[linuxgurugamer]

Ckan?

[Derrey]

@Bombaatu Thank you for the link! Can't believe he already made a video. He also suggested a way to reset and review experiments that have been deployed. I think that's a great idea.
 

I will see to get it into Ckan asap!

[Torih]

Thanks for this, looks very good.

Would it be possible to have an option to only show the experiments that still have data in them, so that it hides the ones which have already been collected in that biome?

[Bombaatu]

Found an issue. I started a new Career game & this mod allowed a Kerbal on EVA to collect surface samples without upgrading the R&D center.

EDIT: Also, it doesn't work with non-stock science - at least, it doesn't work with Universal Storage versions of Science Jr or Mystery Goo.

Edited September 3, 2016 by Bombaatu

[Derrey]

I just released version 1.2.

Finished experiments are now also listed in the GUI and the collected data can be reviewed and resetted.

@Bombaatu Thank you for the bug report. This should also be fixed in version 1.2

 

Edited September 3, 2016 by Derrey

[ansaman]

I was unable to view the User Interface since the x,y values in the .cfg file were outside my screen values (1280x1024).
Recommend that initial values be more centered since the UI can be dragged where ever it is needed once visible.

[Derrey]

@ansaman Sorry, that was my fault. I forgot to reset the window positions in which case they would have been set in relation to the screen size on the first startup. Thanks for reminding me on that. I will keep an eye on that in future releases.

[DracoSilverpath]

Nice mod! If you can get this to be all inclusive in regards to modded in science experiments, might be a descent replacer for ScienceAlert I think.

Edited September 5, 2016 by DracoSilverpath

[jefrbunn]

Have you thought to try and add compatibility to other science pack additions. DMagic Obrital Science is one that would great for this. As well as the universal storage mod. 

 

Dmagic: 

Universal Storage

Great Mod! Keep up the great work!

 

[Derrey]

@jefrbunn I am currently trying to integrate SCANsat and it looks promising for now. After that I'll see what I can do with DMagic and Universal Storage. I want my mod to be compatible with as many science packs as possible.

Edited September 5, 2016 by Derrey

[DStaal]

As a quick note: Being compatible with DMagic should cover Universal Storage as well - US is one of several mods that use the DMagic science library for their experiments.  (Another being the Surface Experiment Pack, I believe.)  So I'd focus on DMagic when you get done looking at SCANsat. 

[DracoSilverpath]

Just as a note on additional science mods...it might be a good idea to set it up in such a way that the compatibility additions are added via seperate configs, istead of in the main one.  This would make it easier to update an individual mods' details and not have to mess witht he rest of the mod itself. Mods such as UKS, Contract Packs, etc do similar things to this, and it makes it very versatile and easy to edit  

[Superfluous J]

Very cool idea. One thought, could you add an "all" button? Most of the time you enter a new biome and most if not all of the experiments become available anew.

[Derrey]

5 hours ago, DracoSilverpath said:

Just as a note on additional science mods...it might be a good idea to set it up in such a way that the compatibility additions are added via seperate configs, istead of in the main one.  This would make it easier to update an individual mods' details and not have to mess witht he rest of the mod itself. Mods such as UKS, Contract Packs, etc do similar things to this, and it makes it very versatile and easy to edit  

The code got kind of messy when I tried to integrate SCANsat. It's working but I have to refactor it for sure. I'm plotting it out atm.

 

4 hours ago, 5thHorseman said:

Very cool idea. One thought, could you add an "all" button? Most of the time you enter a new biome and most if not all of the experiments become available anew.

Yeah, sure. I can add a "deploy all" button in the next release

[Olympic1]

This mod is now available in CKAN

[Stone Blue]

9 hours ago, DracoSilverpath said:

Just as a note on additional science mods...it might be a good idea to set it up in such a way that the compatibility additions are added via seperate configs, istead of in the main one.  This would make it easier to update an individual mods' details and not have to mess witht he rest of the mod itself. Mods such as UKS, Contract Packs, etc do similar things to this, and it makes it very versatile and easy to edit  

Yeah, I agree... Doing it by .cfg or MM patches, allows other mod devs to provide support for YOUR mod, in THEIR mod; or even allows just other users to provide the patches, so it can take a lot of the workload off YOU to get as many mods supported as possible...
And as DStaal mentioned, yeah, many mods use the DMagicAnimate library, which can actually be installed WITHOUT having to install the full DMagic science mod...

[DMagic]

9 hours ago, Stone Blue said:

Yeah, I agree... Doing it by .cfg or MM patches, allows other mod devs to provide support for YOUR mod, in THEIR mod

Why would I want to do more work to make my mod work with this mod? It's generally the other way around. And this isn't really the kind of thing that you can do with .cfg files anyway.

In any event there is already an interface for other mods to access Orbital Science or DMagicScienceAnimate. Automated Science Sampler and, I think, [X] Science both implement it if you want to look into it.

[Stone Blue]

On 9/6/2016 at 7:42 PM, DMagic said:

Why would I want to do more work to make my mod work with this mod? It's generally the other way around. And this isn't really the kind of thing that you can do with .cfg files anyway.

In any event there is already an interface for other mods to access Orbital Science or DMagicScienceAnimate. Automated Science Sampler and, I think, [X] Science both implement it if you want to look into it.

no no no... I didnt mean YOUR mod specifically, DMagic... lol

I meant, for exmple, if I had a mod that had science parts, and "I" wanted MY mod to use/interface/support Experiment Tracker, if it is setup so I could make MY parts work with it, just by cfg or MM patches, "I" could include the patches in MY mod, or I could offer them up to Derrey to include in Exp.Tracker....

Just sayin that NOT hard-coding the ability to have someone else's parts work with your (as in general mod, NOT any specific one), opens up being able to have someone else do the legwork to get two mods to "interface" or support each other... And the files could be included in EITHER mod...

On 9/6/2016 at 7:42 PM, DMagic said:

In any event there is already an interface for other mods to access Orbital Science or DMagicScienceAnimate. Automated Science Sampler and, I think, [X] Science both implement it if you want to look into it.

Ok... I didnt know specifics on how DM-SA works... I just knew there are a few mods that bundle it... Yeah, if interaction between mods need to be done with plugins, then yeah, thats quite a bit more involved as far as getting some kind of support/interaction going between them...

I guess I was trying to make the uneducated point that if you can interface with another mod's parts, I would imagine if you can accomplish it with .cfg/MM patches instead of coding, then you open up collaboration or workload to a wider range of people, rather than just those who can code plugins...
Plus, if requests come in to Derrey for ET support for many other mods, and every part/experiment that ET can work with is hardcoded in, then yeah, I would imagine its ALL pretty much up to Derrey to do the work... Especially if ET is under a restrictive license... Whereas .cfg/MM patches could be distributed seperately, without license restrictions... And Derrey would be happier, since he wouldnt have to provide support, (or do the work in the first place), and the users of ET would be happy becuase THEIR favorite mod could work with ET...

Edited November 21, 2016 by Stone Blue

[eightiesboi]

Well done and thank you! I've missed Science Alert, and I've been using a combination of [X}Science and Biomatic in the meantime, but this is much more elegant!

[Shadriss]

Watching closely for Dmagic/US support. SCANSat is great, but I can take care of that one transmission manually with little difficulty. It's landers and the like with a ton of science experiments on board where this will become truly useful.

[ishtar]

First thing I have to say is "THANK YOU" for your effort on creating this mod! Was looking forward to a mod similiar to ScienceAlert working in KSP 1.1.3...have been missing those features for a while now...

Secondly, I have to admit that I dug a little bit into your code and managed to implement working compatibility to DMagic Orbital Sciences. (Also, I added a little "Stop Time Warp when Science available" feature).
It was a little bit work to figure out how DM structured his mod, but I am now certain I have it working flawless... (Ok, code may be impovable on my side, but oh well, there's everytime sth. to do..)

If you like, I can share my work with you. I'm really new to this github / KSP mod thing (though using modded KSP since pratically forever), so I apologize beforehand if this is not the correct way to share my experience

 

[Derrey]

@ishtar Do you know how to create pull requests? Here are some informations about it. I already know how to implement DMagic Orbital Science compatibility, but sadly I'm lacking the time at the moment. If you did a great job, I can merge your code into the master and list you as a contributor.

[ishtar]

@Derrey Thank you for this helpful information! I will read through it and (hopefully) do a proper pull request. Great to hear you already know how to implement DM stuff...And yeah, sometimes spare time is a rare good (as I know best by me myself having an interesting but time consuming dayjob). Also, I realized you pushed out a new version a couple of days ago (V 1.2). Didn't catch this really, so I will have to adjust my code to the new version...Could take some days, but we aren't in a hurry, are we?

In the meantime, here's a small glance at what my local modified version of your mod looks ingame:

Spoiler

Chucked all the DM Parts on the craft I could find..The temperature gauge btw is double as there are two thermometers on the craft (someone did't turn off symmetry)...
Also, there is a temporary button to disable and enable the time warp stop feature (Looks for biome changes InSpaceLow, else only looks for Situation changes atm).