KSP Interstellar Extended Continued Development Thread

[FreeThinker]

Are you saying that now the Interstellar Radiator will pump away also stock heating?

No, I simply added WasteHeat radiator capacity to stock radiators, and allowed them to interact. For example, the foldable radiators only radiate waste heat when extracted.

[PalverZ]

No, I simply added WasteHeat radiator capacity to stock radiators, and allowed them to interact. For example, the foldable radiators only radiate waste heat when extracted.

Kind of funny I was working on a Config to to do just this with what seemed like a fair balance, hopped on to see if there is a way to make a FNRadiator Module not need/ignore an upgradability and it looks like somone already did this, nice work and cheers to you FreeThinker and of course the afore mentioned blackice504. But for my future reference can I just not include the upgrade lines and will it work fine?

[FreeThinker]

Kind of funny I was working on a Config to to do just this with what seemed like a fair balance, hopped on to see if there is a way to make a FNRadiator Module not need/ignore an upgradability and it looks like somone already did this, nice work and cheers to you FreeThinker and of course the afore mentioned blackice504. But for my future reference can I just not include the upgrade lines and will it work fine?

Just make sure the upgraded version is the same as the un-upgraded, and it it should work as intended

[Nansuchao]

It's equally a great improvement. Less part count and less mind-burn to find the right spot to put radiators. Wonderful!

[keys72]

Does anyone know what I have to do to upgrade my thermal generators from the Brayton Cycle Turbines to the KTEC Solid State Generator? A fantastic mod, btw, one of my favorites!

[Cosmonauth]

Does anyone know what I have to do to upgrade my thermal generators from the Brayton Cycle Turbines to the KTEC Solid State Generator? A fantastic mod, btw, one of my favorites!

upgradedName = KTEC Solid State Generator

originalName = Brayton Cycle Gas Turbine

upgradeTechReq = highTechElectricalSystems

[includao]

Version 1.2.3 for Kerbal Space Program 1.0.4

Released on 2015-06-30

• Added ability to disable/enable reactor in VAB
  
• Added Interstellar Radiator support for Stock Radiators (thanks to blackice504)
  

Thank you!

[Bishop149]

Further too my work to try and recreate the resource diagram I have come across the following refinery related issues:

1) I think the Anthraquinone Process is broken. AFAIK it requires H2 and O2 to make H2O2. . . . when I provide it with a half full tank of each the process will start but will not run due to "insufficient Storage". I have played around with various tank configurations with no joy.

2) I can not get the Sabatier Process to run at all, again AFAIK it requires CO2 and H2 to make H2O and CH4; I provide with with all it should need and it doesn't come up as an option to run.

3) I will have to confirm this with a further test but I think the peroxide process is incorrect. I have it down as NH3 + H2 producing H2O and monopropellent (hydrazine)

From what I read about the real chemistry it should be NH3 + H2O2 producing monopropellent (hydrazine) + H2O. A balanced equation (excluding all the catalysts and intermediates) would be 2NH3 + H2O2 --> N2H4 + 2H2O.

Additionally the process in game produces monopropellant (which it calls "monopropellent (hydrazine)") might I suggest that if you wish to keep interstellar / stock fuels separated the process be also rejigged to produce hydrazine? Personally I'd be in favor of Interstellar just replacing monopropellant with hydrazine throughout but this is obviously more work!

Also the second smallest stackable (16?) interstellar fuel tank behaves strangely, it appears as 2.5m but as soon as you click it becomes 1.25m. Also when set to Hydrogen peroxide it doesn't seem to contain any.

Hope that's helpful

[GrafZahl]

Hi

I want to use this plugin with some other plugins that also use the Toolbar.dll.

Since the other plugins uses a different version of the Toolbar.dll I expect to get conflicts (C# does not allow to access a different *.dll version then the DLL that has been used for compilation).

So I tried to recompile this mod to use the same Toolbar.dll version like the other mods.

However I cannot find the latest version on github. It seems, that the master-branch is the branch with the latest commit (last commit 28.6.2015). However on this branch there is only version 1.2.1 available ( https://github.com/sswelm/KSPInterstellar/blob/master/GameData/WarpPlugin/Plugins/KSP-Interstellar-Extended.version ). Wenn I download the latest compiled version from KerbalStuff it is at 1.2.3

So I guess the author is either using a differnt github project or is just working on his own local copy without committing latest changes to the repository.

Does anyone know where to get the 1.2.3 Sources?

Thanks and best regards,

GrafZahl

[PalverZ]

Just make sure the upgraded version is the same as the un-upgraded, and it it should work as intended

Ok Thank you kindly.

[FreeThinker]

Further too my work to try and recreate the resource diagram I have come across the following refinery related issues:

1) I think the Anthraquinone Process is broken. AFAIK it requires H2 and O2 to make H2O2. . . . when I provide it with a half full tank of each the process will start but will not run due to "insufficient Storage". I have played around with various tank configurations with no joy.

2) I can not get the Sabatier Process to run at all, again AFAIK it requires CO2 and H2 to make H2O and CH4; I provide with with all it should need and it doesn't come up as an option to run.

3) I will have to confirm this with a further test but I think the peroxide process is incorrect. I have it down as NH3 + H2 producing H2O and monopropellent (hydrazine)

From what I read about the real chemistry it should be NH3 + H2O2 producing monopropellent (hydrazine) + H2O. A balanced equation (excluding all the catalysts and intermediates) would be 2NH3 + H2O2 --> N2H4 + 2H2O.

Additionally the process in game produces monopropellant (which it calls "monopropellent (hydrazine)") might I suggest that if you wish to keep interstellar / stock fuels separated the process be also rejigged to produce hydrazine? Personally I'd be in favor of Interstellar just replacing monopropellant with hydrazine throughout but this is obviously more work!

Also the second smallest stackable (16?) interstellar fuel tank behaves strangely, it appears as 2.5m but as soon as you click it becomes 1.25m. Also when set to Hydrogen peroxide it doesn't seem to contain any.

Hope that's helpful

Good finds, I'm on it

- - - Updated - - -

Hi

I want to use this plugin with some other plugins that also use the Toolbar.dll.

Since the other plugins uses a different version of the Toolbar.dll I expect to get conflicts (C# does not allow to access a different *.dll version then the DLL that has been used for compilation).

So I tried to recompile this mod to use the same Toolbar.dll version like the other mods.

However I cannot find the latest version on github. It seems, that the master-branch is the branch with the latest commit (last commit 28.6.2015). However on this branch there is only version 1.2.1 available ( https://github.com/sswelm/KSPInterstellar/blob/master/GameData/WarpPlugin/Plugins/KSP-Interstellar-Extended.version ). Wenn I download the latest compiled version from KerbalStuff it is at 1.2.3

So I guess the author is either using a differnt github project or is just working on his own local copy without committing latest changes to the repository.

Does anyone know where to get the 1.2.3 Sources?

Thanks and best regards,

GrafZahl

I will recompile Toolbar myself ad include in in the next patch

[FreeThinker]

[h=2]Version 1.2.4 for Kerbal Space Program 1.0.4[/h] Released on 2015-07-01

• Compiled toolbar against KSP 1.0.4
  
• Fixed and Improved Anthraquinone Process
  
• Fixed some minor issues with Interstellar Fuel Tanks
  

[FreeThinker]

2) I can not get the Sabatier Process to run at all, again AFAIK it requires CO2 and H2 to make H2O and CH4; I provide with with all it should need and it doesn't come up as an option to run.

LOL. The reason it doesn't work is because it requires to be in a atmosphere with a high concentration of CO2. That probably because when this was made, CO2 didn't even exist as a resource. I will fix it tomorrow

[GrafZahl]

I will recompile Toolbar myself ad include in in the next patch

Hi

Thanks for recompiling it.

However the latest version still uses another Toolbar.dll then the other mods on my GameData folder. After starting the game I get with that your version an Exception when KSP tries to load the "InterstellarToolbar" class.

Nevertheless you also pushed the recent changes to the repository, so I was able to download the source and compile it against the Toolbar.dll that is used by my other mods. Now everything is fine.

By the way, I saw two things in the code that looks suspicious to me:

1.) You use in almost all files "extern alias ORSvKSPIE" to put the OpenResourceSystem.dll symbols into another Namespace.

Normally this is done to prevent Namespace collisions (when a local file uses the same namespace like an external library). However this seems not to be the case here. So I wonder, if there is a special reason for that? Unfortunately this seems not to be supported by MonoDevelop.

2.) The project has 107(!!) Compile Warnings. In software development there is no reason for not fixing them, since normally they are very good indications for coding errors.

Don't get me wrong: I appreciate the effort you spend for that Mod and since everything works now for me, I really looking forward to play KSP with your Mod during my vacation Thanks a lot!

Edit: Another hint: I think the WarpPlugin/UITextures directory is missing on the repository.

Edited July 1, 2015 by GrafZahl

[Txzeenath]

doublepost

Edited July 2, 2015 by Txzeenath

[Txzeenath]

Could you possibly resize puff.dds and puff.tga to 256x256? The odd sizing of it crashes on Linux. Easy to fix when doing an update but a bit of an annoyance.

[FreeThinker]

Thanks for recompiling it.

However the latest version still uses another Toolbar.dll then the other mods on my GameData folder. After starting the game I get with that your version an Exception when KSP tries to load the "InterstellarToolbar" class.

Damn, I was not aware this could cause issues. Is anyone else having this problem? Should I revert back to the old version?

- - - Updated - - -

1.) You use in almost all files "extern alias ORSvKSPIE" to put the OpenResourceSystem.dll symbols into another Namespace.

Normally this is done to prevent Namespace collisions (when a local file uses the same namespace like an external library). However this seems not to be the case here. So I wonder, if there is a special reason for that? Unfortunately this seems not to be supported by MonoDevelop.

Well there used to be a good reason for this as there were multiple versions of ORS. I"m not sure if it's still in use, but I'm 99% sure no one uses it any more so the alias could be removed I think.

- - - Updated - - -

2.) The project has 107(!!) Compile Warnings. In software development there is no reason for not fixing them, since normally they are very good indications for coding errors.

Well if you look closely, you will notice most of those warning are false positives which complain about properties never beeing initialised. They are initialised by by KSP attribute reflection, but Visual Studio cannot detect this resulting in lot's of wanings. Perhaps I can add some additional attributes to force VS to ignore these properties.

[Nansuchao]

Snip

Sincerely, never had any issue with the Toolbar...

[FreeThinker]

Don't get me wrong: I appreciate the effort you spend for that Mod and since everything works now for me, I really looking forward to play KSP with your Mod during my vacation Thanks a lot!

You are welcome! KSPI is a huge mod (code wise) an despite most of it working as it should, there are still lot's of small little issues that escape my attention. That's why this mod is still in BETA and I can't release untill I'm satified everything is working. It would also realy help if some other Moddels with C# coding skills could help me improve KSPI further.

Edited July 2, 2015 by FreeThinker

[GrafZahl]

Hi

Damn, I was not aware this could cause issues. Is anyone else having this problem? Should I revert back to the old version?

Hmm I don't know. Basically I wonder why not more people have these issues with the Toolbar Mod and different versions of it.

Maybe it would make sense to ask the Toolbar Developer for advices how to prevent inter-mod compatibility issues due to different Toolbar-Versions?

I saw that some other mods use the ToolbarWrapper.cs file instead of linking against the Toolbar.dll. Maybe this is a way to workaround Version issues?

At least for me you don't need another compiled version, since I already compiled my own version.

Well there used to be a good reason for this as there were multiple versions of ORS. I"m not sure if it's still in use, but I'm 99% sure no one uses it any more so the alias could be removed I think.

I see. I think these namespace collisions are not present anymore. Since MonoDevelop does not support those reference aliases, I simply removed the "using alias" statements and was able to compile without errors.

Maybe this is some kind of refactoring work

Well if you look closely, you will notice most of those warning are false positives which complain about properties never beeing initialised. They are initialised by by KSP attribute reflection, but Visual Studio cannot detect this resulting in lot's of wanings. Perhaps I can add some additional attributes to force VS to ignore these properties.

Yes you are right. Most of them are warnings like that. I would suggest to hide the warnings you cannot prevent due to the nature how KSP Mods are working. Because then you are aware of new warnings, that might be real issues.

However it is your mod And so far as I can see everything works fine

You are welcome! KSPI is a huge mod (code wise) an despite most of it working as it should, there are still lot's of small little issues that escape my attention. That's why this mod is still in BETA and I can't release untill I'm satified everything is working. It would also realy help if some other Moddels with C# coding skills could help me improve KSPI further.

The code base of your mod is very impressive! I compiled several mods in the last days but yours is one of the biggest. Some years ago I was also developer of a quite popular mod of "Civ4: Colonization" thus I know how much work is behind.

Writing the dll-code is the easiest part, but maintaining this mod over several Game versions is really hard. And then you have so many dependencies... and people are complaining about errors you cannot reproduce, since you are using a completely different computer setup. Having a co-developer that helps here is really priceless.

[ManuxKerb]

Hi

After install Int. Ex sometimes KSP crashes when i try to recover a vesel.

In the log:

[LOG 15:52:56.638] [KSP Interstellar]: MicrowaveSources initialized

[EXC 15:52:56.650] NullReferenceException: Object reference not set to an instance of an object

Clouds.Clouds.Update ()

Thanks for looking into it.

[FreeThinker]

Hi

After install Int. Ex sometimes KSP crashes when i try to recover a vesel.

In the log:

Thanks for looking into it.

Seems the bug could be any mod which add/modifies clouds, which excludes KSPI

[Nansuchao]

If I remember things correctly, this clouds update null reference it's something normal for EVE and mods that add clouds, just cause they try to apply the clouds in a scene where clouds cannot be rendered like a loading screen.

The recovering crash is usually caused by overloading Ram. Probably, if you look in your error.log, you'll find a reference to Mono.dll.

In that case, it's a Ram over the limit charge, not a mod issue.

[Cosmonauth]

Hi

After install Int. Ex sometimes KSP crashes when i try to recover a vesel.

Thanks for looking into it.

It looks like RAM problem, I have same behavior of KSP when trying to run too many mods.

You should try to run KSP in OpenGL mode, which significantly decrease RAM usage.

http://forum.kerbalspaceprogram.com/threads/84203-Less-memory-usage-by-using-OpenGL - here is a topic which explains all benefits of this trick, and how to do it =)

[Bishop149]

I have decided to take the bull by the horns myself and try and work it all out myself and hopefully redo that resource diagram.

Well I said I'd do it, below is the first draft:

NOTES

- The Peroxide process shown is not that currently in the game but instead represents what this process should be! The version currently in the game uses H2 and NH3 to make H2O and monopropellant. This is chemically incorrect and mixes the stock an interstellar resources. . . . and not in a useful way! I hope Freethinker will correct this in a future version.

- The Sabatier process does not work unless the CO2 is atmospheric.

- The following processes have not been tested (by me) so I can't voucher for their working / accuracy.

Reprocess Nuclear Fuel

Uranium Tetrafluoride Ammonolysis

Aluminum Electrolysis (I'm not even sure this one is still in the mod or at all useful if it is!)

I plan to improve the chart in the future as follows:

- Add the power requirements of each process

- Colour code the resources based upon where they can be found

But haven't yet done enough in game testing to be sure on the details of these bits.

Edited July 3, 2015 by Bishop149