[Plugin][.24.2] For Science! - Science Automation (Aug 13th, 2014)

[WaveFunctionP]

For Science! is a plugin designed to help improve the science gameplay.

Science can start to be a "grindy/tedious" experience after some time playing KSP. This plugin has goals intended to help improve the experience in various ways.

Current Features:

Automatic data collection from experiments.
Automatic data storage selection.
Automatically runs repeatable experiments when available.

Future Project Goals: (in no particular order)

- Manually select which science container you wish to store the data.
- Reset one time use experiments if desired.
- Science "difficulty" sliders for both transmitted and returned data. Make science as hard or easy as you like without editing config files.
- Disable science diminishing returns if desired
- Enable experiments to return full science value per biome if desired (no need to return to a biome)
- Automatically run experiments when new science is available. (Done. Mostly.)
- Display all available science and locations in an SOI while in flight. (In a much more intelligible format than the RnD facility.)
- A science "completion" meter per SOI.
- Improve the Mobile Science to give it more purpose and fun.
- Hopefully an unobtrusive, but informative user interface.

Pie in the Sky Goals:

- Experiment mini-games. Do them better (accurately/faster), get more science. A more skill based and (hopefully) appropriately thematic gameplay experience to fit with KSP's quirky/goofy/fun mood.
- Improve the IVA experience with science to do inside.
- Overlay biome locations on map view.
- Improve the rover/probe experience to make them more useful and interactive.

Managing Expectations:

I'm not a professional programmer. I've done some scripting in pascal and basic way back when, played with various web languages, and I've taken a course each on C++ and FORTRAN. All many years ago. This project is my way to forcing myself to learn to code c#, navigate around Unity and have some fun. Don't expect that development will be fast or that issues won't arise that I may not be able to fix. I'm just a guy trying to make one of his favorite games more fun. I'm always open to feedback, but don't expect that I am able and willing to do everything requested. I also intend to keep each release stable before adding features. I do a lot of testing for each version. Both for performance and bugs. This may be slower than most developers, as I said I'm learning, but hopefully I will have a dependable product.

I also consider myself to be a gameplay first kind of guy. This project will not likely stick to realism at the expense of the gameplay experience. KSP is goofy and lighthearted with a smidgen of simulation where needed to provide challenge. You can expect a similar bias in my development of this plugin. I do understand that there are players, maybe even a great many, that are really into the simulation and realistic aspects of KSP. This plugin in not likely to meet your criteria for fun, nor do I wish to make it so. I'm not saying that your opinion about fun isn't valid by wanting more realism. I'm just saying that this project is not intended to meet that goal explicitly, nor should you expect it to.

Changes:

https://github.com/WaveFunctionP/ForScience/blob/master/Source/ChangeLog.txt

Known Issues:

- None.

Download: http://kerbal.curseforge.com/ksp-mods/220264-for-science

Repo: https://github.com/WaveFunctionP/ForScience (Source code, for developers.)

License: CC by SA


Acknowledgements:
Special Thanks to stupid_chris, DMagic and xEvilReeperx for helping me navigate my initial issues developing this plugin. Edited August 13, 2014 by WaveFunctionP
v0.24.2-1 update

[syteless]

I was just thinking about how tedious it is to fly to the mun, get some science then either leave 70% of it behind, or bring the whole vessel back to Kerbin. So I decided to see if someone made a mod to store data outside the experiment parts.

Edit: After using it, I find it does exactly what I hoped it would!

Edited April 16, 2014 by syteless
praise

[WaveFunctionP]

I was just thinking about how tedious it is to fly to the mun, get some science then either leave 70% of it behind, or bring the whole vessel back to Kerbin. So I decided to see if someone made a mod to store data outside the experiment parts.

Edit: After using it, I find it does exactly what I hoped it would!

You can collect data from the experiments by eva, this simply removes the need to do it manually or click a bunch of buttons on an addon.

The next version will run experiments automaticly when new science is available. The feature is almost completed, I'm just ironing out some bugs.

[WaveFunctionP]

New Update.

v 0.23.5-2 - Experiment Automation

Experiments will now run automatically when enabled.

For some reason I can't edit the thread title, I see if I figure that out.

edit: I'm a dummy, I figured it out.

Edited May 3, 2014 by WaveFunctionP

[WaveFunctionP]

Added video demonstration to OP.

[Tessai]

Awesome plugin, but without toolbar integration the window is a bit annoying in sandbox mode. ^^

[zcaalock]

it`s not working with mistery goo

[WaveFunctionP]

it`s not working with mistery goo

You have to manually run unresetable experiments. Otherwise, it might waste them right now. With better logic and settings in a future update, it will eventually be able to run them as well.

It does automatically collect the experiments though. Collection will happen automatically when changing situations or when automatic collection is first enabled. So to force data collection, simply toggle automatic collection back off and then back on again.

- - - Updated - - -

Awesome plugin, but without toolbar integration the window is a bit annoying in sandbox mode. ^^

The window is a temporary solution. But, I'll see about removing it in sandbox, since there is no science.

[stryth]

would this work with Dmagic's science parts? he uses his own unique science module in the cfg file.

[Hughesdylan]

WaveFunctionP, i seem to be having a bug with this where the interface will show up, but you can't actually check the box? It doesn't stay toggled on. It clicks, but doesn't actually activate?

[WaveFunctionP]

would this work with Dmagic's science parts? he uses his own unique science module in the cfg file.

If they use sciencemodule to implement the experiment, it should work just fine.

[WaveFunctionP]

WaveFunctionP, i seem to be having a bug with this where the interface will show up, but you can't actually check the box? It doesn't stay toggled on. It clicks, but doesn't actually activate?

Do you have a science container on board. Command pods and the science lab have science containers. Probe cores do not.

[DMagic]

If they use sciencemodule to implement the experiment, it should work just fine.

Some of them will work to some degree, but not properly. If you want to deploy the experiment using the derived ModuleScienceExperiment class you'll need to use something similar to what xEvilReeperx uses for ScienceAlert. And if you want to get an accurate count of stored experiments and transfer them properly you'll need to reference the IScienceDataContainer interface, not ModuleScienceExperiment or ModuleScienceContainer.

[Cooly568]

-ignore this post, read an earlier post that answered my question-

Edited May 17, 2014 by Cooly568

[Sandu]

hey there

i'd love to tryout your plugin. looks awesome. unfortunately it doesnt work for me. where in your video is your plugin toolbar for me is only a crippled one (see screenshot).

where to put the dll? just into the plugins folder. im not sure cause you didnt include a readme .

maybe i got some files missin or stuff.. any ideas? help appreceated.

thanks in advance

[Vilhelm55]

I am having the same issue. Not entirely sure where to plonk the .dll file :L Get the exact same blank/inert window in-game. No options or whatever... Is there anything I can do to get this to work? This mod looks really good : ]

I am running 0.23.5

Cheers,

[MW2366]

Put the .DLL into KSP/Plugins, it should work then.

[WaveFunctionP]

It is installed the same as any plugin. Place the Forscience folder in the gamedata folder.

Edited June 24, 2014 by WaveFunctionP

[Sandu]

It is installed the same as any plugin. Place the Forscience folder in the gamedata folder.

muahaha i got it running

so... in my desperate need to get it running i put the .dll like in every folder i could imagine to be needed to run

i got into log's after reading your post... cause i had it in the folder you said (should have red log files earlier...)

i guess i put it into too many folders and it kept itself from running. in log files it said many times that it did load it.

ksp/gamedata/forscience works as ksp/plugins and a few combinations like ksp/plugins/forscience....

now i deleted every forscience.dll exept one and the window shows up as it should

thx for answer and your plugin. cheers

[WaveFunctionP]

New version for .24.

v 0.24-1 - Experiment Filtering

Experiments without available science will no longer run automatically. (Usually.)

Plugin and window are disabled in sandbox mode.

[clipcomet]

Plugin and window are disabled in sandbox mode.

why ? ill love to still use it in the science sandbox.

[celendis]

It appears that this mod disables the .24 mission notifications when it is active (version dated July 17). Removing the mod returned them to service. Enabling the mod disabled the notifications once again.

... Retesting, it appears that something else is going on. I've just retested this in troubleshooting some other issues and this mod is working fine by itself. I will have to do further testing to figure out what is causing the issue. There must have been a conflict somewhere.

Edited July 26, 2014 by celendis
not reproducible now.

[Mad_Mads]

Is it meant to not work in science mode?

It works in career mode for me but not in the other modes, I can understand it don't in sandbox mode (no need for science after all) but I would have liked it in science mode.

[Guest]

I really hope this gets updated and cared for. It really takes a lot of monotony out of the game.

[Smurfalot]

I really hope this gets updated and cared for. It really takes a lot of monotony out of the game.

Same here.