Writing Plugins in UnityScript

[Faark]

Hey guys,

someone on the KerbalKon livestream was asking how to write a Plugin in UnityScript. And while not really relevant for most of us, this question is all but crazy. After all, KSP just needs a valid .net assembly that provides for example a class that implements PartModule. And all Unity does with UnityScript source is to compile it into a good old .NET dll called Assembly-UnityScript.dll, just like & next to Assembly-CSharp.dll.

So why should it be possible to write a plugin in VB.NET and C#, but not UnityScript? All we have to do is to find a way that transforms our UnityScript source files into a .net assembly without having an a real unity project associated. I haven't found a proper "unityscript dll" project type, but there is a "console project" that compiles without starting up unity. Yes, we don't want an executable assembly file, but they are basically identical to a library assembly file except also having an entry point. All we have to do is to rename the file!

Create plugin for KSP written in UnityScript in a nutshell:

- Install Unity

- Open MonoDevelop

- Create a new UnityScript Console Application

- Add dependencies just like you do when writing KSP plugins in other languages (UnityEngine.dll, Assembly-CSharp.dll)

- Ignore Main and start writing your code, for example:

class awesomeKspModule extends PartModule {
   public function Update(){
    for (var entry : ModuleEngines in this.part.FindModulesImplementing.<ModuleEngines>()) {
        entry.throttleLocked = true;
        entry.currentThrottle = 1;
        entry.requestedThrottle = 1;
	}
   }
}

- compile it

- rename the .exe file into a .dll file and place it in your mods directory

- start up KSP and enjoy your mod!

There are a few drawbacks, though. Its not just that i am a C# guy and thus do not really benefit from UnityScript. But the language also seems kind of limited... for example i was not able to add an Attribute to a class. As a result, it might not be possible to create a part-less plugin using KSPAddon. Also MonoDevelop did not give me any autocompletion/intelisense for KSP/Unity stuff, just like the assemblies would not have been referenced. But someone more familiar with MonoDevelop might figure it out.

[LaydeeDem]

Why would you use Unity Script? Visual Studio and Monodevelop are both free and much better.

[Faark]

I would not! I am fine with C#. But others might prefer UnityScript or any other language that is capable of compiling into a .net assembly, maybe in case they worked with it in various previous projects. Maybe a personal preference, and those guys don't have to be told it is impossible. I did use Monodevelop to write that UnityScript, btw.

Actually, UnityScript appears to offer some kind of dynamics that i think are not available to us in C#, since we have to target .net 3.5. So that's at least one other example, and i rly don't know lot about UnityScript.