(KSP 1.10 + 1.12 ) Mission Controller 3.2.0 (Final Version) (Updated 6/25/2021)

[malkuth]

Where do i reset the budget? I'm millions of dollars in the red, so I can never get out of debt. I looked in save game files, such .sfs, etc. No joy.

I'm glad to see this. So, if I put chutes on boosters that are expended and fall back to Kerbin; if they touchdown in one piece, then their values are recycled and added to my bank account? I assume that applies to any other salvaged parts?

Another question: Why is the mission payout considerably less than the contracted amount? For instance, i just completed a satellite mission for $208k. Yet, I was paid about 450k.

Hmmm did you have the numbers backwards? 208K is less than 450K. In your example you got paid way more. But without a little more info I'm not sure why this happened. Its possible I guess that the Contract Company was reset if you Reverted, and the check for the company name was saved after the BACKUP file was saved. I have had this happen a few times in my game.

Also if your in dept as you can tell you don't get all your mission payout.

To reset the budget you can reset it in the settings menu in game. But this also reset your whole .sp file so any missions you have done will be gone.

You can edit the .sp file for your game, but make sure you edit the file while not running KSP.

As for the chutes, you don't even have to have them open up. As long as they are on the part that is falling, and KSP unloads them (usually because they are out of range or destroyed by game) you will get paid. And of course you have parachutes on the parts. Mods that extend the unload distance of other vessel usually totally break the auto recycle because they never unload.

Edited May 19, 2014 by malkuth

[BioHaZarD.PT]

Hey bio are you using the Realchutes newest version?

Things have changed and the code in MCE no longer works in MCE for the newer versions of RC.

Im working on a fix now but take some testing before I get it out.

As for the altitude part there is no limit. The auto recycle in MCE works when KSP auto Destroys the part. Once that happens then the calculations for the auto recycle kick in. I guess its possible that if the part is not being unloaded and destroyed then autorecycle will not kick in.

No, I'm not using RealChutes and that's irrelevant anyway. No chutes on that rocket. I did a few tests and it's weirder than I thought. It's not altitude, it's the fuel tanks! First I tried replicating my previous results with an entirely stock rocket and it didn't work. So I went back to the FASA Gemini Titan and did more experiments. The 2nd stage, and only the 2nd stage, got recycled via "Rocket-powered landing" even if dropped at low altitude. So it wasn't altitude. I then started replacing the parts with stock parts. The engine, then the fuel tank... and it stopped working!

After a ton of tests I've concluded it only works with the silver (reflective) tanks from the Atlas and Titan, and the Centaur fuel tank and tank/engine of the FASA pack. With the other fuel tanks the resource count either detects 0 fuel or doesn't appear at all in the debug. FASA even has a couple of white tanks similar to the silver ones, and they don't work. Except for color the only apparent difference is they have half the weight of the silver ones.

Comparing the .cfg of the white and silver tanks there are two other differences in the crashTolerance and explosionPotential parameters. I guess the next step is to change those parameters on one of them and see what triggers the proper behavior.

[malkuth]

No, I'm not using RealChutes and that's irrelevant anyway. No chutes on that rocket. I did a few tests and it's weirder than I thought. It's not altitude, it's the fuel tanks! First I tried replicating my previous results with an entirely stock rocket and it didn't work. So I went back to the FASA Gemini Titan and did more experiments. The 2nd stage, and only the 2nd stage, got recycled via "Rocket-powered landing" even if dropped at low altitude. So it wasn't altitude. I then started replacing the parts with stock parts. The engine, then the fuel tank... and it stopped working!

After a ton of tests I've concluded it only works with the silver (reflective) tanks from the Atlas and Titan, and the Centaur fuel tank and tank/engine of the FASA pack. With the other fuel tanks the resource count either detects 0 fuel or doesn't appear at all in the debug. FASA even has a couple of white tanks similar to the silver ones, and they don't work. Except for color the only apparent difference is they have half the weight of the silver ones.

Comparing the .cfg of the white and silver tanks there are two other differences in the crashTolerance and explosionPotential parameters. I guess the next step is to change those parameters on one of them and see what triggers the proper behavior.

All right. Trying to understand what it is your trying to do.

Are we talking about auto recycling or just recycling via landing and exiting?

[BioHaZarD.PT]

All right. Trying to understand what it is your trying to do.

Are we talking about auto recycling or just recycling via landing and exiting?

Autorecycling of dropped stages, without parachutes. I'm not sure if this was implemented by you or someone else, but if you drop a rocket stage with enough fuel to give it 1000dv and thrust-to-weight ratio higher than 1 (if I remember correctly) MCE is supposed to assume it can land on it's own and give you recycling value. Call it propulsive landing, rocket powered landing, whatever. It's essentially what SpaceX is trying to do to make it's rockets reusable in the real world. Drop the 1st stage and have it fly back to the launchpad and land.

I tried a few times, but never got this to work before today. Debug showed no fuel was detected, and deltaV calculated as zero. Today I accidentally noticed that it does work with the Titan rocket from FASA pack and I have been trying to understand why it's different. Turns out FASA pack has a few tanks where fuel *is* detected correctly.

[malkuth]

Autorecycling of dropped stages, without parachutes. I'm not sure if this was implemented by you or someone else, but if you drop a rocket stage with enough fuel to give it 1000dv and thrust-to-weight ratio higher than 1 (if I remember correctly) MCE is supposed to assume it can land on it's own and give you recycling value. Call it propulsive landing, rocket powered landing, whatever. It's essentially what SpaceX is trying to do to make it's rockets reusable in the real world. Drop the 1st stage and have it fly back to the launchpad and land.

I tried a few times, but never got this to work before today. Debug showed no fuel was detected, and deltaV calculated as zero. Today I accidentally noticed that it does work with the Titan rocket from FASA pack and I have been trying to understand why it's different. Turns out FASA pack has a few tanks where fuel *is* detected correctly.

Ah ok, I don't remember anyone adding that, but let me check the code to see if I can find it. Might been something nathan added a long time ago to test.

Edit. Ah yes nathan must of snuck this in before he left, its using only moduleengines at this point to test the values, I will have to add the new module engine fx to make it work with new type engines that use ModuleEngineFX.

2nd update your right its not reading the fuel, seems to be picking up only electric charge for somereason, the next question is does KSP actually read other fuel types in parts that are considered uncontrollable? Doesn't seem it does if its only picking up electric charge, which I guess makes a little sense to see if part can still fuction.

Edited May 20, 2014 by malkuth

[Apollo13]

Hmmm did you have the numbers backwards? 208K is less than 450K. In your example you got paid way more. But without a little more info I'm not sure why this happened. Its possible I guess that the Contract Company was reset if you Reverted, and the check for the company name was saved after the BACKUP file was saved. I have had this happen a few times in my game.

Typo: I meant $45k not $450k. LOL

You can edit the .sp file for your game, but make sure you edit the file while not running KSP.

Where is this file located? I looked throughout the directories.

As for the chutes, you don't even have to have them open up. As long as they are on the part that is falling, and KSP unloads them (usually because they are out of range or destroyed by game) you will get paid. And of course you have parachutes on the parts. Mods that extend the unload distance of other vessel usually totally break the auto recycle because they never unload.

Thank you for that info. I feel better now knowing I'm not wasting money on chutes.

Edited May 19, 2014 by Apollo13

[malkuth]

Typo: I meant $45k not $450k. LOL

Where is this file located? I looked throughout the directories.

Thank you for that info. I feel better now knowing I'm not wasting money on chutes.

\Kerbal Space Program\GameData\MissionController\Plugins\PluginData\MissionController

[shaftm]

This mod is fantastic! Is there a sundiving mission yet?

The only thing I dislike about the mod is that in the kerbin SOI mission pack you have to circularize an orbit around kerbin before burning to the mun or minmus, depending on the mission. It was my own fault for not reading the mission more carefully, but I did a single burn to the mun so I didn't reach the stable orbit around kerbin objective for the mission. I'm guessing the missions are like this for historical reasons?

Edited May 20, 2014 by shaftm

[Psawhn]

I want to say I've recently picked up this mod, and I'm quite enjoying it.

Ah ok, I don't remember anyone adding that, but let me check the code to see if I can find it. Might been something nathan added a long time ago to test.

Edit. Ah yes nathan must of snuck this in before he left, its using only moduleengines at this point to test the values, I will have to add the new module engine fx to make it work with new type engines that use ModuleEngineFX.

While you're at it, would it be unreasonable to suggest a check be added for either a probe core or manned command pod for auto-recycling using powered landings? It seemed a little silly that spent return stages would get recycled just because it had an engine and a tiny amount of leftover fuel.

(Or, going further, requiring research to unlock the ability to auto-recycle using powered landings?)

[BioHaZarD.PT]

Ah ok, I don't remember anyone adding that, but let me check the code to see if I can find it. Might been something nathan added a long time ago to test.

Edit. Ah yes nathan must of snuck this in before he left, its using only moduleengines at this point to test the values, I will have to add the new module engine fx to make it work with new type engines that use ModuleEngineFX.

2nd update your right its not reading the fuel, seems to be picking up only electric charge for somereason, the next question is does KSP actually read other fuel types in parts that are considered uncontrollable? Doesn't seem it does if its only picking up electric charge, which I guess makes a little sense to see if part can still fuction.

Yes, it appears to have been Nathan back in version .32. It's described in the change log.

Changes in .32

[...]

4. New recycling options. Nathan has redone the whole Recycling system.. Now you can recycle Planes, space planes for a huge return.. Things are as follows Planes recycle

For a 95% return. Rockets Landed (dry) 85%. And Rockets Landed (wet) 65%. These values can all be edited in the MCconfig file.. Have fun.

This is from nathan on how the new system works.. You can now do missions like the original Shuttle concept (big plane + piggyback orbiter), or Falcon 9's intended recoverable boosters.

Alas I don't detect wings; I assume if you bother to put jets on, you're going to be flying back.

The requirements are as follows, although tweakable in MCSettings.cfg (as is, finally, parachute drag per ton)

For a rocket landing, you need:

> 1000m/s deltaV remaining (calculated from lowest-Isp engine, with Isp at sea level checked)

a TWR of >= 1.5 (which, if you're using a thrust corrector, will still be enough).

For a jet landing, you need:

a jet (obviously)

this much fuel for the jet: total jet thrust (or enough thrust for 1.0TWR, whichever is less) * 0.5, spread among the fuels the jet uses by ratio. Unlike rockets, the highest Isp jet is selected as the baseline.

In both cases, you get fuel unused by the engine back (any fuel used by those engines is considered used, so don't expect to recycle half a tank of jet fuel, sorry. But Kethane, on a LF/OX rocket? Yup.)

For parachutes, we now check twice: do you have enough drag to land the whole stage with fuel? If so, you get the fuel. If not, dump the fuel and try again. This way you can parachute-land full Kethane tanks and recycle them for megabucks.

Assuming someone suggests a cost for Kethane, of course. Again, OPERATION CROWDSOURCE is in need of your help adding costs for mods! See my post here for details.

The mentioned conditions are at the start of MCSettings.cfg. I never understood the fuel conditions for jet landings (and I never tried to do anything with it).

[malkuth]

I want to say I've recently picked up this mod, and I'm quite enjoying it.

While you're at it, would it be unreasonable to suggest a check be added for either a probe core or manned command pod for auto-recycling using powered landings? It seemed a little silly that spent return stages would get recycled just because it had an engine and a tiny amount of leftover fuel.

(Or, going further, requiring research to unlock the ability to auto-recycle using powered landings?)

You would be correct, but I can't even get the code to work without it, and the funny thing is it should.

[BioHaZarD.PT]

You would be correct, but I can't even get the code to work without it, and the funny thing is it should.

Even funnier is the fact that it works with some very specific fuel tanks from the FASA pack, and nothing else (that I tried). And so far I haven't figured out why. I did some experiments with the small silver and white tanks. The silver works, the white doesn't. So I made the small white tank exactly the same as the silver one in every non-cosmetic parameter and... it still didn't work. Then I added the code for the "Reflection shader plugin" and it works! But that can't be it. There's the Centaur tank that also works and has no reflection.

The only thing I see the silver and Centaur tanks having in common, and differing from the stock tanks, is their part.cfg files are more complex and larger. If that's the case, it's probably a very very weird bug in KSP.

[malkuth]

Done multiple test on the code for powered auto landing. The facts are it just does not work and will need to be completely rewrote. Its not reading the Propellants correctly for some reason and does not include the new moduleengineFX so won't work with most new engines anyway.

So at this time, those type of auto landings just don't work sorry.

BIO the code in fact worked at some point. Nathan would not have released it if it did not. I'm thinking some of the FASA parts are still using older code values from earlier KSP versions and might explain why they work. Something in an update broke it for all the new parts, and parts that have been updated.

[BioHaZarD.PT]

You're right. It doesn't seem to work with the new "Kerbodyne" engines introduced in 0.23.5. Only with older engines.

[malkuth]

You're right. It doesn't seem to work with the new "Kerbodyne" engines introduced in 0.23.5. Only with older engines.

thats because those engines use the new ModuleEngineFX and not ModuleEngine

But even with moduleEngine the code still gets stuck on the Propellant part. So I will have to see what is up with that. But to include moduleEngineFX still will require part of the code to be redone to include it.

Edit.. Hmmm I don't have really any time to work on this. But nothing but Electric seems to be kept in the ProtoPartResourceSnapshot if anyone has any idea could use the help, I don't think I can get this to work correctly.

Might have to completely scrub it from the code. Of course this is trying to check a part that is not undercontrol of player and is considered junk. So starting to think its a KSP bug or a feature thats not working.

Edited May 20, 2014 by malkuth

[malkuth]

Never Mind I managed to get Rocket Assisted Auto Landing to work again. Don't ask..

I will have a new version of MCE released soon, after some more testing. Thanks Bio for pointing out something I didn't even know MCE had. LOL.

Current fixes

New Realchutes version 1.1 and above supported

Rocket Assist landings now work again.

Rocket Assist Landing now added to MCE Research Tree and can be unlocked once you research Recycling.

New Info Menu to tell you what each research does in the research tree.

Be out soon.

Edited May 20, 2014 by malkuth

[Scrubbing_Bubbles]

Will MCE work with the Interstellar mod?

[malkuth]

New version .68 released for MCE.

Fixes:

Realchutes version 1.1 above now supported thanks Magico13

Fixed an issue with Assisted Rocket Landings auto recycling (didn't even know it was in game)

Added a new research node to MCE research tree for Assisted Auto Landings.

Added new info screen for descriptions of Research items in MCE tree.

for those wanting to know how the assisted auto landing recycling works. All you need to do is make sure that the stage has at least 1000 DV left in it, and a TWR of 1.5. When the spent stage is removed from game MCE will run a test to see if it passes the requirements. When it does you get credit for landing. You don't have to land it yourself its all automated. Oh and important don't have parachutes on the part you want to auto land.

This does not apply to trying to land a player operated craft! This is for AUTO RECYCLING ONLY!! MCE will not LAND YOUR PLAYER OPERATED VESSELS FOR YOU. oh god why do I see this being an issue later....

Edited May 20, 2014 by malkuth

[malkuth]

Will MCE work with the Interstellar mod?

Yes, I have supported the prices for Interstellar mod. But have not used it for a while, because of some of the high ISP engines in interstellar they tend to be very expensive to launch though. VERY expensive! But the bright side is that the way interstellar works means you usually keep the same vehicles in space anyway and can upgrade them in space (that has no cost from mce).

[Sonny_Jim]

Been having a lot of fun with this. I tried it out a while ago and didn't realise about the "revert to SPH/VAB 1000 credits" thing, so I instantly ran into dept and got very frustrated with it. I'm guessing there has been a lot of balancing done since then.

I'm sorta stuck on one mission though, Kerbolo II. I can't see anyway of doing it for 60k (I've noticed others have pointed out the same problem). Bit of a shame, as the difficulty gradient was not too steep, then all of a sudden *bam*

May I suggest moving that mission to later on as atm, would make more sense.

EDIT: Actually, this mission was way easier than I first thought. After a couple of tips from the guys in the IRC channel I managed to get it completed. An idea would be to have a 'tips' option that cuts back your mission paycheck, but outlines the easiest way to get the job done.

Edited May 21, 2014 by Sonny_Jim

[BioHaZarD.PT]

Yeah... Kerbolo II only requires a probe with 3 antennas and about 10000 deltaV to escape the sun. Keep it simple and lite and it's easy. I just did one costing $26000, including all the small sensors that don't add much weight. If you take the mystery goo and Science Jr. it gets more complicated.

But I will tell you some mission packs do have problems. For example, Kerbal SOI mission pack requires a docking port by the 7th mission. If you're playing in career mode you wont unlock them until much later. The good thing is, you can skip ahead to another mission. And there are other mission packs, and contracts, and custom contracts that allow you to do what you want and get payed for it (too much even).

[BioHaZarD.PT]

Never Mind I managed to get Rocket Assisted Auto Landing to work again. Don't ask..

I'm going to ask. One minute you were considering giving up and then a few hours later it was fixed! What was the problem? Can you find any explanation for why it worked with a few tanks from FASA pack?

I just tested the new version and it seems to be working. ModuleFX engines are still not included, right? It didn't work with the KR-1x2...

[rosenkranz]

I've noticed a lot of missions leave out some steps. If you make a user contract that has all the steps, you can yield a good bit more.

Landing on the Mun (even though a Kerbin orbit is implied, as well as the transfer and orbit of the Mun) it's less valuable by itself than a contract that stipulates those necessary steps.

[Apollo13]

malkuth, I'm having a difficult time understanding what is being tasked in one of the early BSP missions: Under Planet Orbitals, Refueling. It states:

Confirm large stores of liquid fuel or monopropellant fro transfer to station.

-- Liquid Fuel 3,000,000

-- Monopropellent 1,500,000

First, I don't have any kind of station in orbit. So, I assume I must build and launch one? Does it need to have a capacity of 3,000,000? If I need to launch one, that will cost considerably more than the payout for a successful mission.

Second, what does "confirm large stores" mean? What is the specific task? What action need I do to satisfy the mission requirement?

Sidebar: the payouts for missions are too low. Quite often, they don't cover the cost of even the cheapest rockets to accomplish the mission. As a gameplay rule for me, I double the cash payouts (but not the Science payouts). You may wish to revisit the formula for cash payouts.

[malkuth]

I'm going to ask. One minute you were considering giving up and then a few hours later it was fixed! What was the problem? Can you find any explanation for why it worked with a few tanks from FASA pack?

I just tested the new version and it seems to be working. ModuleFX engines are still not included, right? It didn't work with the KR-1x2...

Just released a hotfix below for the ModuleEngineFX.

Edited May 21, 2014 by malkuth