Craft/Mod/Plugin database?

[Moustachauve]

Hey, i had this idea later on this week about making a website where you could upload your craft/mod/plugin/... so they would be better organized. For example, you could search for a ship that is able to go to the moon for 0.16 and that are only stock part, or search for a ship that launch a satellite/space station.

When you would upload one, the creator could add pictures; add a description; indicate the game version; if mods where used, which one were used; etc.

Screenshot

Home page :

Main Database page :

Details page :

Subscription page:

Features

• User system

• Comment system

• Search

• List of mod/plane/rocket/plugin

• Filters

• Advance search with filters

• Rating system

• Tags system

• Update system

• More ...

Search/Navigation filters

General :

• Stock

• version

Plane specific :

o Long-range

o Orbit capable

o Space exploration

o Easy handling

o Easy landing

o RCS

o VTOL

o Fast

o High altitude

o Replica

Rocket specific

o Mun able

o Minmus able

o Return capacities

o Heavy lifter

o RCS

o SSTO

o Replica

o Space Station

o Mun/Minmus base

Plugin specific

o

Mod specific

o Plugin powered

(Feel free to suggest me any other filters or features, I'll add them.)

We need your opinions !

From All Mod/Plugin Developers : See this link : http://kerbalspaceprogram.com/forum/showthread.php/18305-Calling-All-Mod-Plugin-Developers-I-have-a-proposal-I-need-your-support

From every one : How would you prefer to browse plane/craft/mod/plugins? 1) or 2) ?

PS: I would need a logo, as I am not good with artwork, so it would be very nice from you if someone could make us a nice logo.

Edited August 30, 2012 by Moustachauve

[softweir]

Hello and welcome to the forums!

There have been several such databases over the last year, some of them so popular that their owners couldn't keep up with the number of submissions or the bandwidth costs. (In theory the people submitting entries would get every detail right, but in practice there will be a lot of submissions with incorrect tags and descriptions - not to mention unsuitable screenshots - that the database owner needs to sort out manually.)

So yes, we do want such a database - but it's a very big job, and it needs somebody with lots of time on their hands and some way of financing the database.

[Moustachauve]

I already have a web server with "illimited bandwidth" and "illimited storing space", as my host said, so i will probably do a subdomain to it, and have a couple of friend to help me moderate the entries!

[djnekkid]

Hopefully within about a year will i get a 100/100, or even a 400/400 mbit fibre connection at home (i work for a telecom/fibre company). I currently dont live where the "fibre to home" (FTH) have been built, but me and the missus are looking for a new place, and we are specifically looking for places where FTH have been built. And if so, will i most likely get a max line for the price of a "low" (25/25mbit) line. The stock price for a 25/25 line is about 100€/month, where the 400-line is about a tenfold...

Currently i do have a server running at home on my xDSL line, mainly for personal use. But if i still have an interst for KSP when we move, I might just be able to run some kind of server... If the server run out of fuel, i might need moar boosters But luckily we have paypal, and i might be able to fund it that way. It is about a year-and-a-half old i5 processor with 8gb ram, and 2x1TB disks in raid0 (thats the mirror ones, right?)

edit: hopefully within a few months, xmas or so

[Moustachauve]

I don't know much about server's computer, but here is my hosting plan i'm using : http://www.hostpapa.ca/web-hosting-plan/

[softweir]

There is a nasty tendency for webhosting companies to offer "unlimited" bandwidth and storage in order to suck in customers, then change the provisions so customers have to pay per gig, and point to their terms and conditions when customers complain about having racked up a debt.

I notice that yourwebhost provider reserve the right to change "details" of hosting packages whenever they so choose. In particular, I notice that they don't contact customers to inform them when they they change the service plan, they announce it on their home page. If you miss it, you don't get a chance to change hosting company until you have already racked up a large bill for no-longer-unlimited bandwidth and storage capacity.

I suggest you very carefully read every paragraph of the Terms and Conditions. If you do go with them, make sure to set a calender entry to remind you to check every week. That way you will have time to arrange to transfer storage and bandwidth somewhere else before you start getting charged silly amounts - if that happens.

[Moustachauve]

Thank you for the suggestion, I'll check that !

Since im really not a good designer, i picked up some pre-made template that I could modify a little. Which one do you prefere?

1) http://www.openwebdesign.org/viewdesign.phtml?id=5593&referer=%2Fsearch.php%3Fsearchstring%3Dspace%26tab%3Dkeyword

2) http://www.openwebdesign.org/viewdesign.phtml?id=5616&referer=%2Fsearch.php%3Fsearchstring%3Dspace%26tab%3Dkeyword

3) http://www.openwebdesign.org/viewdesign.phtml?id=5579&referer=%2Fsearch.php%3Fsearchstring%3Dspace%26tab%3Dkeyword%26page%3D2

4) http://freehtml5templates.com/downloads/free/retrorocket/

(If you want to contribute or you have better template/suggestion, feel free to tell them !)

[ramses]

Number 2 for me.

[jfx]

A couple points to consider if you realy want to host your own server:

1) People tend to get mad on the interweb. Expect to get plenty of hate if something doesn't work as expected/there's downtime/they don't like the colour of your template.

2) The fact that you thougt raid0 was for redundancy leads me to the conclusion that you're not realy into the matter expect your server to be hacked quickly if you don' know what you're doing and spent a decent amount of time for security updates, etc. Also you need to keep off site backups (eg. nightly mirroring to a remote server). If Billy Bob discovers that his mod "my first solar panel v0.1 ALPHA" was lost because some easstern european entrepreneur decided your server would be a great place to send some "unconsolidated email advertising" from - he will send you a nice little hate mail. Don't expect people to be reasonable.

3) You linked to a plain website template - if you intend to implement all the stuff this project will require (user ratings, mod version history, and 200 other things) expect to spend a lot of time implementing it. OFC this doesn't apply unless you are demigod level in php/ruby on rails/whatever.

4) Don't underestimate the cost of running even a basic server at home. In ze olde Germany running a rig like you described would cost ~ 150€/year for electricity alone (calculated for an idling machine).

Most of these points can be alleviated if you use stuff like wordpress on a hosting company. Bandwith could be kept in check if you would allow developers to share their stuff on their site via their (dropbox, etc.) links on your site. This approauch however would mean tons of policying user content.

That being said a database like this - if done properly - would be great.

There is a nasty tendency for webhosting companies to offer "unlimited" bandwidth and storage in order to suck in customers, then change the provisions so customers have to pay per gig, and point to their terms and conditions when customers complain about having racked up a debt.

I notice that yourwebhost provider reserve the right to change "details" of hosting packages whenever they so choose. In particular, I notice that they don't contact customers to inform them when they they change the service plan, they announce it on their home page. If you miss it, you don't get a chance to change hosting company until you have already racked up a large bill for no-longer-unlimited bandwidth and storage capacity.

I suggest you very carefully read every paragraph of the Terms and Conditions. If you do go with them, make sure to set a calender entry to remind you to check every week. That way you will have time to arrange to transfer storage and bandwidth somewhere else before you start getting charged silly amounts - if that happens.

Where I live they'd need you to inform of the changes. But as you say there might still a "fair use" paragraph buried somewhere that makes you pay through the nose once you hit x amount of used bandwith.

Edited August 19, 2012 by jfx

[Moustachauve]

A couple points to consider if you realy want to host your own server:

...

2) The fact that you thougt raid0 was for redundancy leads me to the conclusion that you're not realy into the matter expect your server to be hacked quickly if you don' know what you're doing and spent a decent amount of time for security updates, etc.

...

4) Don't underestimate the cost of running even a basic server at home. In ze olde Germany running a rig like you described would cost ~ 150€/year for electricity alone (calculated for an idling machine).

I didn't talked about hosting this at home, it was an other player.

I already have a functional base website so I just have to make it fit with the template and to add some functionality. I think i can say that my PHP level is quite decent.

For security concern, I have a friend who is actually a hacker and i think he would love to help me to securise my website.

[jfx]

Ah I see. In that case:

I don't know much about server's computer, but here is my hosting plan i'm using : http://www.hostpapa.ca/web-hosting-plan/

Guillotine paragraph in 6.2 (i) they'll suspend you if you generate more traffic than they like.

generating a daily, weekly or monthly volume of network traffic that is excessive in relation to amount of network traffic typically generated by HostPapa's other clients who have purchased similar hosting services;

[Moustachauve]

Yea, i saw that. Maybe ill put little not annoying google adsence publicity to have enough to have a better host later if there is lots of traffic, because i don't have a high budget, and it's the cheaper i've found.

karolus10: Second post removed (Please use "edit post" option) and merged bellow:

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

EDIT1: Where can i post my WIP project since it's not really an add-on or a plugin?

Edited August 19, 2012 by karolus10

[Tyonar]

I joined Moustachauve, we're coding the first design prototype !

[Moustachauve]

This is what the actual design we're making is looking like, its very basic at the moment, as we are just trying to position the things at the best place. We'd like to have your opinions on it.

Here is the image : (Original size, it's very big)

It isn't the true color, font or anything, except for the background.

And we would need a logo, as neither me or Tyonar are good with artwork, so it would be very nice from you if someone could make us a nice logo, we would put his name in the footer or you could even put your name directly in the logo (not too flashy)

Edited August 22, 2012 by Moustachauve

[Moustachauve]

Hey !

I've made a couple of change, created the list's style and made a search bar !

Still in need of a good logo though

Didn't edited so the post go up

Edit : I'll move this post to Fan-art since, for the moment, it is an "artistic creation about the game"

Edited August 23, 2012 by Moustachauve

[bsalis]

So how will the website work exactly?

Do you have a planned feature list?

What's happening with registration of mod creators and security in general?

[Moustachauve]

So how will the website work exactly?

When going on the website, the home page will be something to determinate for the moment. To check for a mod/plugin/etc, you can either click on "Database" button to see the latest of each categories, or hover your mouse on the database button and select a category. There, at the top, there will be the top 5 polarities for the category, and under it there will be all the thing from this category. You will have the possibility to add filter, which aren't yet determined, to browse it easier. Or you can simply use the search bar at the top to search for a name or the advance search bar to search for something that correspond to your criteria.

Do you have a planned feature list?

No, but I'm doing one just after the template is finish.

What's happening with registration of mod creators

they will be a registration system and a moderation system to be sure everything is fine.

and security in general?

Can you develop your question please?

Sorry if I'm not totally clear or if I do lots of mistake, English is my secondary language.

Edit : this is what the details page would look like :

Edited August 23, 2012 by Moustachauve

[katateochi]

Hey guys, I'm a Ruby on Rails dev. and I've got 2 questions and an idea;

* Is there a standard "package" format for mods/plugins that will ensure that each one comes with at least [version, description, image(s), author].

* Is is possible to build in dynamic dependency management. For example if I download mod/plugin/craft X which has a pre-requisite plugin/mod I want the download to contain everything that X needs or for X to contain a manifest file which enables the game to automatically fetch pre-requisites at the required version. Basically, I want RubyGems for KSP! Is this in anyway possible?

Ok this idea is about hosting (I hear eyes roll and see yawns, stay with me here);

Instead of having any concern/hassle about space needed to host the mod repo, bandwidth, scaling, security and all that PAIN, just have a weeny site which provides a nice font-end but put all the data and load on GitHub!!

GitHub is a social code hosting site. It uses the version control system called "git" to store code projects in "repositories" or "repos". It is corporation grade (some little companies like Microsoft, Facebook Twitter... use it), very secure and completely free if what your hosting is to be publicly available (costs for private). https://github.com/

Each repo can be interacted with via the website or via a command line api. Most repos are "public" and are free to host. public means that anyone can view the code and take a copy (fork) of it. Its a fork, not a copy as it's a split in the version timeline, meaning someone takes a fork, goes away and makes some changes and then can offer those changes back to the original repo. If accepted that forked "branch" is merged back into the main "truck" as a collaboration.

"git" is the system behind GitHub, it is a versioning system which works by tracking the difference between versions("commits") and can perform complex merges of timelines.

Anyone can sign up for free to host publicly available code repositories(repos), so individual mod developers can host their own mods. The website could also have its own account to enable devs who don't want to use git to upload direct to the site and have the site create repos under its own account. All the website really needs to do is provide an index to the repos and guess what, GitHub provide a some slick interface components for use on other sites. It also has a powerful backend API which makes building code to automatically manage repos actually fun!

There are some other bonuses to using GitHub. If each mod/plugin was hosted as a github repository it would have its own specific wiki and bug/issue tracking pages and could also display a nicely formatted readme on its main page (formatted in various markup styles). The main aim of github is Social coding so it makes it very easy for developers to add other devs as collaborators to projects.

But the biggest gain is it takes the burden of maintaining a data-hosting site away from the old-skool "I've got a server" notion and puts you in the happy cloud; git-hub is spread over many servers/countries, has redundancy, does live backups and all that jazz which means that even if the front-end site goes down, it a) (most importantly) does not stop a mod developer from developing/uploading!! does not actually stop users from getting at the mods, they just have to use Google and Github's search to find them instead (boohoo). As more mod devs and more users join it will scale without you having to even think about it.

The website could then be pretty minimal and I'd recommend putting that on a free or very low cost account with Heroku (which sits on the Amazon Elastic Cloud). The idea of "a server" really gets taken out and shot at that point, think; dynamic layers of self maintaining virtual machines and modular functionality. Heroku was just about RubyonRails projects but it now runs pretty much anything. http://www.heroku.com/

Just an idea, don't mind if you shoot it down, but I think its worth looking into.

[Moustachauve]

I didn't know it was possible to do such thing with GitHub, that is a wonderful thing ! thank you for sharing it, I'll check what are the possibilities, I'd love to do something like that !

* Is there a standard "package" format for mods/plugins that will ensure that each one comes with at least [version, description, image(s), author].

Yes, of course I'll establish a standard for that so each mod/plugin/... will be in the same format.

* Is is possible to build in dynamic dependency management. For example if I download mod/plugin/craft X which has a pre-requisite plugin/mod I want the download to contain everything that X needs or for X to contain a manifest file which enables the game to automatically fetch pre-requisites at the required version. Basically, I want RubyGems for KSP! Is this in anyway possible?

On the detail page, if there is any mod required, they will be link to this mod's/plugin's page. I don't know if I could do better than this, but I'll try to make something better. I don't know what is RubyGems :s

Edited August 23, 2012 by Moustachauve

[katateochi]

I didn't know it was possible to do such thing with GitHub, that is a wonderful thing ! thank you for sharing it, I'll check what are the possibilities, I'd love to do something like that !

Awesome, I'd be happy to help!

[Moustachauve]

I sent you a private message

Edited August 23, 2012 by Moustachauve

[Moustachauve]

I've written the Feature list :

• User system

• Comment system

• Search

• List of mod/plane/rocket/plugin

• Filters

• Advance search with filters

• Rating system

• Tags system

• Update system

• More ...

And here is some filters I've tough about for when you are searching or navigating through a list :

General :

• Stock

• version

Plane specific :

o Long-range

o Orbit capable

o Space exploration

o Easy handling

o Easy landing

o RCS

o VTOL

o Fast

o High altitude

o Replica

Rocket specific

o Mun able

o Minmus able

o Return capacities

o Heavy lifter

o RCS

o SSTO

o Replica

o Space Station

o Mun/Minmus base

Plugin specific

o

Mod specific

o Plugin powered

Feel free to suggest me any other filters or features!

Edited April 19, 2013 by Moustachauve

[_Aramchek_]

Just to ask, could anyone point me to the Muon detector as I can't seem to find it when I search?

[Moustachauve]

We need your opinions !

From All Mod/Plugin Developers : See this link : http://kerbalspaceprogram.com/forum/showthread.php/18305-Calling-All-Mod-Plugin-Developers-I-have-a-proposal-I-need-your-support

From every one : How would you prefer to browse plane/craft/mod/plugins? 1) or 2) ?

[Tyonar]

2) Because it's more detailed