[1.9.x] RCS Build Aid Continued - New Dependencies

[Tonka Crash]

I've encountered a bug that I'm guessing is in RCSBuildAid when KIS is installed.  See the discussion over there for background. Basically something is preventing the CoM indicator in the VAB from correctly accounting for items in KIS containers. As items are added into KIS containers their location doesn't seem to be tracked, so the CoM marker isn't correct.

Clean install 1.4.5 with only KIS, RCSBuildAid and their dependencies using CKAN.  Screenshot of GameData directory. output_log.txt

Video of bug showing dragging 3 tons between two KIS containers without the CoM moving. At the end add a part to show the CoM does move, just not for items in KIS containers.

 

[Magnavox]

@linuxgurugamer Suddenly my RCS Build aid has disappeared from the game. Since the disappearance I've installed no new mods, but there was a new version of CKAN just updated. However I uninstalled and reinstalled RCS Build Aid through CKAN and the problem persisted.

My Log https://drive.google.com/open?id=1TCbV-WnUF0jSyRuc7G1ns1osrmEZ44O6

[linuxgurugamer]

4 minutes ago, Magnavox said:

@linuxgurugamer Suddenly my RCS Build aid has disappeared from the game. Since the disappearance I've installed no new mods, but there was a new version of CKAN just updated. However I uninstalled and reinstalled RCS Build Aid through CKAN and the problem persisted.

My Log https://drive.google.com/open?id=1TCbV-WnUF0jSyRuc7G1ns1osrmEZ44O6

Looks like your settings file got corrupted.

Delete it and try again:

GameData/RCSBuildAid/PluginData/settings.cfg

and

GameData/RCSBuildAid/Plugins/PluginData/settings.cfg

 

[Magnavox]

@linuxgurugamer No dice I'm afraid. Still not coming up. I removed the .cfg file you mentioned, then uninstalled the mod via CKAN and DL'd a new copy and manually reinstalled. Still no good. 

The issue seems to be with the toolbar icon. I think I saw for a fraction of a  second as the VAB was loading the RCS icon on the toolbar, then it disappeared. It seems the first error in the log is a ToolBarManager error.

Most recent log. https://drive.google.com/open?id=1aRkqqn1n4k5C0JsDRxdnCMb7ry2XJjNe

[linuxgurugamer]

Found the problem, it was the ToolbarController.

Give CKAN about 15 minutes, I'm also adding it to Spacedock now

 

It's in CKAN and updated

Edited August 5, 2018 by linuxgurugamer

[Magnavox]

1 hour ago, linuxgurugamer said:

Found the problem, it was the ToolbarController.

Give CKAN about 15 minutes, I'm also adding it to Spacedock now

 

It's in CKAN and updated

That's got it. Its working now.

Thanks for the rapid response and the quick fix. And for that matter thanks for keeping all these excellent mods alive. 

[Tonka Crash]

@linuxgurugamer Friday I posted about a bug where RCSBuildAid does not detect mass changes for items in a KIS Inventory, so the CoM indicator is incorrect. I have seen no comments or questions about it since then, while you've fixed an unrelated bug. The stock CoM indicator works fine, but @IgorZ determined that RCSBuildAid completely replaces it when installed, so a bug exists in the mod.

Are you looking at this or ignoring it?

[linuxgurugamer]

2 hours ago, Tonka Crash said:

@linuxgurugamer Friday I posted about a bug where RCSBuildAid does not detect mass changes for items in a KIS Inventory, so the CoM indicator is incorrect. I have seen no comments or questions about it since then, while you've fixed an unrelated bug. The stock CoM indicator works fine, but @IgorZ determined that RCSBuildAid completely replaces it when installed, so a bug exists in the mod.

Are you looking at this or ignoring it?

Neither.  I'm working on various things, and this is not going to be a simple fix.  There are unanswered questions about this which I need to research, and I'll also need to get into KIS to see how it works.

Also, that "bug" I fixed was not with this mod, but was with the ToolbarController

For now, please open an issue on Github about this so it doesn't get lost.

Thanks

Edited August 7, 2018 by linuxgurugamer

[IgorZ]

On 8/6/2018 at 6:07 PM, linuxgurugamer said:

There are unanswered questions about this which I need to research, and I'll also need to get into KIS to see how it works.

KIS is very simple on it. It uses IPartMassModifier to report the current mass of the part with regard to the items inside. It seems the stock game implemnetation honors the CONSTANTLY mode even in the editor. If you mod is event driven, than it would explain why the mass change is not picked up - there is no a vessel change event triggered when a KIS container is updated with the new items.

FYI. Here is the code.

[linuxgurugamer]

Hmmm. I'll have to look at this, I haven't been that deep into this code.  If this is true, then I'll have to figure a way to monitor all KIS containers.  Shouldn't be too difficult.

Any chance to get KIS to trigger an event when stuff is added/removed from a container? That would be the better way to go for several reasons, not the least of which is that I would consider this to be a bug in KIS.  

[linuxgurugamer]

Just did a test.  Not sure why yet, but RCS Build Aid doesn't see any mass inside the KIS container, even if I place another part, or even when I remove a full container and re-emplace it.

[linuxgurugamer]

I think I know what's going on.  KIS gets the mass of a part from :  part.partInfo.partPrefab.mass

which doesn't include KIS containers

Looks like a simple fix, but I need to test it

[linuxgurugamer]

New release, 0.9.7.2:

• Fixed mass calculations for KIS containers

[Tonka Crash]

@linuxgurugamer Many thanks for tracking this down.

[linuxgurugamer]

On 7/25/2018 at 5:51 PM, linuxgurugamer said:

I'm starting to think about seeing if I can get this working in flight

Turns out that this depends on too much of the editor code, so it's more than a bit too much to do, the entire mod would have to be rewritten for flight.

So this is not going to happen.

[Drew Kerman]

1 hour ago, linuxgurugamer said:

Turns out that this depends on too much of the editor code, so it's more than a bit too much to do, the entire mod would have to be rewritten for flight.

So this is not going to happen.

thanks for looking into it tho

[Fraktal]

On 7/22/2018 at 7:47 PM, Fraktal said:

Tried it yesterday, no dice. Icon is still showing up both in the main menu and in the Tracking Station.

Problem disappeared after verifying integrity of game cache in Steam. Don't know what caused it, but it wasn't the mod itself.

[Fraktal]

On 7/22/2018 at 7:47 PM, Fraktal said:

Tried it yesterday, no dice. Icon is still showing up both in the main menu and in the Tracking Station.

Problem disappeared after verifying integrity of game cache in Steam. Don't know what caused it, but it wasn't the mod itself.

[Fraktal]

(doublepost due to network hitch)

Edited September 21, 2018 by Fraktal

[eberkain]

I kind of wish I could pull this up in flight to balance my RCS after dropping off a payload. 

[linuxgurugamer]

2 hours ago, eberkain said:

I kind of wish I could pull this up in flight to balance my RCS after dropping off a payload. 

Read 5 posts above yours

[Jacke]

2 hours ago, eberkain said:

I kind of wish I could pull this up in flight to balance my RCS after dropping off a payload. 

Plan ahead of time while designing the spacecraft.  Plan out the mission.  Balance the RCS in the VAB on the post-deployment configuration.  Figure out when you need well-balanced RCS and make sure the spacecraft has balanced RCS at that time.  I've done things like shifting parts to put the fuel tanks and RCS tanks nearer the Centre of Mass so they stay close to balanced over fuel consumption.  I've even projected what the fuel load would be at the most critical time and made sure balance was good then.  I've even sometimes added RCS engines to dropped parts to extend well-balance RCS over more of the flight.

[DStaal]

27 minutes ago, Jacke said:

Plan ahead of time while designing the spacecraft.  Plan out the mission.  Balance the RCS in the VAB on the post-deployment configuration.  Figure out when you need well-balanced RCS and make sure the spacecraft has balanced RCS at that time.  I've done things like shifting parts to put the fuel tanks and RCS tanks nearer the Centre of Mass so they stay close to balanced over fuel consumption.  I've even projected what the fuel load would be at the most critical time and made sure balance was good then.  I've even sometimes added RCS engines to dropped parts to extend well-balance RCS over more of the flight.

Agreed - with good planning you can do quite a bit.  I've gone as far as having multiple RCS configurations for a vessel, with SmartParts switching between them.

[eberkain]

10 hours ago, Jacke said:

Plan ahead of time while designing the spacecraft.  Plan out the mission.  Balance the RCS in the VAB on the post-deployment configuration.  Figure out when you need well-balanced RCS and make sure the spacecraft has balanced RCS at that time.  I've done things like shifting parts to put the fuel tanks and RCS tanks nearer the Centre of Mass so they stay close to balanced over fuel consumption.  I've even projected what the fuel load would be at the most critical time and made sure balance was good then.  I've even sometimes added RCS engines to dropped parts to extend well-balance RCS over more of the flight.

My current trouble is using a space shuttle and the payloads are anywhere from 2 tons to 15 tons, in different orientations at different stages of the mission.

 

10 hours ago, linuxgurugamer said:

Read 5 posts above yours

You got me.  I generally read all the threads I'm subbed to but I've been slacking on that lately.    

[Jacke]

1 hour ago, eberkain said:

My current trouble is using a space shuttle and the payloads are anywhere from 2 tons to 15 tons, in different orientations at different stages of the mission.

Find a way to secure the cargo with its CoM as close as possible to the empty shuttle's CoM.  That way the cargo-empty to the cargo-max shuttle has balanced RCS.

Edited September 25, 2018 by Jacke