Best way to find updated versions of mods.

[PF45]

Hey guys,

I'm pretty new the forums as well as KSP. I have about 13 mods installed and have an aching suspicion that one of them is either out of date, or installed incorrectly: massive memory leak, when I go above the first layer of atmosphere, shadows and lighting get really buggy. What would be a suggestion from an experienced modder? Any advise would be appreciated.

 

P.S.

My apologies if this is not the correct place to post a topic such as this, as I said, I'm pretty new around here  ...

 

[Red Iron Crown]

Moved over to add on discussions, you'll get better answers there. 

[PF45]

Thank you.

[Rodhern]

You can copy the entire KSP folder to a new folder. Delete some mods in from the new folder, and check if the problem is still there, by running KSP_x64.exe from the new folder. That way you can 'check' say four mods at a time. Once you know which four, do the same thing again, this time removing only two of the four mods. Last time of course just remove one of the two that seems to give a problem.

[DStaal]

Depending on which mods you use, and your preferences, either/both of these may be of interest:

Neither works for everything.  The first lightweight opt-in on the part of the mod developer, and will alert you if one of the covered mods is out of date.  The second is heavyweight semi-opt-in on the mod developer and does mod install and updating for you.  (From what I've seen around here: It works well 95+% of the time.  It's not always obvious when it doesn't work, and you should know how to install mods yourself for those occasions.)

Another good resource is SpaceDock:

https://spacedock.info/kerbal-space-program

It can be told to give you update reminder emails from any mod you download from there.  (Which again covers most but not all mods.)

[StahnAileron]

In addition to @DStaal's post, the other option is to subscribe/bookmark the forum thread for a mod here and check back every so often. This is VERY manual and all on the user, but is perhaps the most thorough method. (Pretty much any KSP mod will have a thread here for announcements and advertisement.)

I have a large bookmark list of mods. Unfortunately, it was created during the 0.90/1.0.x days. Many of the threads are defunct (mod no longer supported or changed ownership with a new thread) or got nuked during that weird forum issue some time last year. Like I said, very manual, but I also rely on any mods that support KSP-AVC to let me know if I need to update. Between the two methods, I can keep up to date on mods. (I don't use CKAN for various reasons.)

[PF45]

On 5/14/2017 at 8:53 AM, StahnAileron said:

In addition to @DStaal's post, the other option is to subscribe/bookmark the forum thread for a mod here and check back every so often. This is VERY manual and all on the user, but is perhaps the most thorough method. (Pretty much any KSP mod will have a thread here for announcements and advertisement.)

I have a large bookmark list of mods. Unfortunately, it was created during the 0.90/1.0.x days. Many of the threads are defunct (mod no longer supported or changed ownership with a new thread) or got nuked during that weird forum issue some time last year. Like I said, very manual, but I also rely on any mods that support KSP-AVC to let me know if I need to update. Between the two methods, I can keep up to date on mods. (I don't use CKAN for various reasons.)

 

On 5/13/2017 at 7:31 PM, DStaal said:

Depending on which mods you use, and your preferences, either/both of these may be of interest:

Neither works for everything.  The first lightweight opt-in on the part of the mod developer, and will alert you if one of the covered mods is out of date.  The second is heavyweight semi-opt-in on the mod developer and does mod install and updating for you.  (From what I've seen around here: It works well 95+% of the time.  It's not always obvious when it doesn't work, and you should know how to install mods yourself for those occasions.)

Another good resource is SpaceDock:

https://spacedock.info/kerbal-space-program

It can be told to give you update reminder emails from any mod you download from there.  (Which again covers most but not all mods.)

 

On 5/13/2017 at 3:03 PM, Rodhern said:

You can copy the entire KSP folder to a new folder. Delete some mods in from the new folder, and check if the problem is still there, by running KSP_x64.exe from the new folder. That way you can 'check' say four mods at a time. Once you know which four, do the same thing again, this time removing only two of the four mods. Last time of course just remove one of the two that seems to give a problem.

 

On 5/13/2017 at 10:45 AM, Red Iron Crown said:

Moved over to add on discussions, you'll get better answers there. 

Thank you all for the amazing feedback and tips, you have streamlined my modding. I've been pretty busy so spare time has be dedicated to playing and personal affairs, so my apology for the late thanks!

[Vorg]

I think the best order to look at these options is:

1) AVC: It checks the download for new updates when you run the game. So if the mod supports AVC, You find out as soon as they put it up. You get a list of mods that have newer versions in game with a drop down box that gives you a link to the download. You can start the downloads for all the mods it found before the game even finishes loading.

But in the case of a new KSP version, sometimes, KSP might crash from an outdated mod before you get the mod update list.

2) Spacedock: a number of mods are put on github before getting to spacedock if they go to spacedock at all. So while you have emails waiting shortly after the new mod is uploaded, Spacedock covers fewer of the mods and won't cover interm dev mods.

3)ckan: The idea of ckan is great. But in reality, it tends to fall on it's face. It is the biggest source of headaches for devs, because any problem with ckan tends to go back to the devs first when the ckan people should be contacted first. It also falls apart when KSP gets an update. Mods that depend on other mods also cause it problems. If you just have a few mods you like, it may be ok if you keep it's weaknesses in mind. But if you have a lot of mods, learn to unpack the zips and update the mods folder (..\Kerbal Space Program\GameData) yourself. You''ll be up and running faster with fewer problems

[PF45]

16 minutes ago, Vorg said:

I think the best order to look at these options is:

1) AVC: It checks the download for new updates when you run the game. So if the mod supports AVC, You find out as soon as they put it up. You get a list of mods that have newer versions in game with a drop down box that gives you a link to the download. You can start the downloads for all the mods it found before the game even finishes loading.

But in the case of a new KSP version, sometimes, KSP might crash from an outdated mod before you get the mod update list.

2) Spacedock: a number of mods are put on github before getting to spacedock if they go to spacedock at all. So while you have emails waiting shortly after the new mod is uploaded, Spacedock covers fewer of the mods and won't cover interm dev mods.

3)ckan: The idea of ckan is great. But in reality, it tends to fall on it's face. It is the biggest source of headaches for devs, because any problem with ckan tends to go back to the devs first when the ckan people should be contacted first. It also falls apart when KSP gets an update. Mods that depend on other mods also cause it problems. If you just have a few mods you like, it may be ok if you keep it's weaknesses in mind. But if you have a lot of mods, learn to unpack the zips and update the mods folder (..\Kerbal Space Program\GameData) yourself. You''ll be up and running faster with fewer problems

AVC has been the saving grace from the headaches, really. I don't typically go to spacedock, or github directly (if the mod doesn't support AVC). Now I just go to add-on releases, find the mod, read the latest posts to see if it's up to date, and prefer the github links because you can see all previous releases with notes on the same page. As for CKAN, from what I've read it has too many in's and out's for my liking. I'd rather do it manually, like you said, so I know everything is where it should be.