CactEye Orbital Telescope

[AetherGoddess]

Really this works in 0.25? For me, KSP 0.25 with Cacteye ALWAYS CRASH EVEN WHEN BOOTING KSP IS NOT FINISHED, and REMOBING Cacteye WORKS THIS NASTY CRASHDOWNS.

Are you SURE you run 0.25 while Cacteye installed?

there is a post immediately above you where the poster PUT A VIDEO of it working in .25. there is literally nothing else that can be shown to prove it works. video of it working is probably the highest form of proof available that it works.

[Woodstar]

I'm waiting for an update, I like the Snapshots and being able to actually see the planets .

[Angelo Kerman]

I'm waiting for an update, I like the Snapshots and being able to actually see the planets .

My understanding is that the author is no longer supporting CactEye. I like the mod a lot so I might do some maintenance on it when I'm done with my other projects. For one, I want a camera that lets me target and photograph other vessels.

[Woodstar]

My understanding is that the author is no longer supporting CactEye. I like the mod a lot so I might do some maintenance on it when I'm done with my other projects. For one, I want a camera that lets me target and photograph other vessels.

Thats good as long as it is still the Cacteye telescope Im good with what ever it does.

[rottielover]

I'm waiting for an update, I like the Snapshots and being able to actually see the planets .

This worked for me in .24.2 are you saying this stopped working with .25? I have a screenshots folder full of planet pics.

[diomedea]

Unfortunately, CactEye add-on is tied to an issue with asteroids no longer being spawned (tested on KSP 0.25 (build 00642), Win 32, without any other add-on).

In a stock unmodded KSP, VesselSpawner routine periodically checks for the possibility to generate a new object:

- if successful, a "[VesselSpawner]: New object found!" line is logged (and the object shows in game);

- if unsuccessful, a "[VesselSpawner]: No new object this time. (Odds are 1:2)" line is logged instead.

But, with just CactEye added to the stock KSP 0.25, that routine always returns: "[VesselSpawner]: No new objects this time. (Odds are 1:101)"

So, CactEye in some way changes the odds for VesselSpawner. The reported 1:101 does not seem to be 1/101 (= 0.00990099), as VesselSpawner is never successful.

I'd like to investigate what could be done to correct this issue, will certainly welcome if anybody wants to help.

[Las-pen]

Yeah, if the "Telescope exploding when pointing at the sun" -thingy would be optional, that'd be great.

It is tedious to revert and launch every time you accidentally point it at sun.

Inb4: "install maintenance shaft and have Kerbal come out of it every time to repair it"

[Crater]

Unfortunately, CactEye add-on is tied to an issue with asteroids no longer being spawned (tested on KSP 0.25 (build 00642), Win 32, without any other add-on).

In a stock unmodded KSP, VesselSpawner routine periodically checks for the possibility to generate a new object:

- if successful, a "[VesselSpawner]: New object found!" line is logged (and the object shows in game);

- if unsuccessful, a "[VesselSpawner]: No new object this time. (Odds are 1:2)" line is logged instead.

But, with just CactEye added to the stock KSP 0.25, that routine always returns: "[VesselSpawner]: No new objects this time. (Odds are 1:101)"

So, CactEye in some way changes the odds for VesselSpawner. The reported 1:101 does not seem to be 1/101 (= 0.00990099), as VesselSpawner is never successful.

I'd like to investigate what could be done to correct this issue, will certainly welcome if anybody wants to help.

As far as I can see, this is not a bug, but an intended feature. The asteroid cameras (mk1-3) are required for discovery with the mod installed. The code for it is in https://github.com/duckytopia/CactEye/blob/master/Source/AsteroidSpawnTweak.cs and basically does a vessel-by-vessel scan, checking for the best processor on each, sums those that are far enough apart (100km), and uses the total combined rate to calculate the discovery odds.

Which would mean that the "fix" is to launch a (or several) telescope(s) with asteroid cameras to search for them.

[Rebelgamer]

Ok, I've got an issue that is driving me crazy. As long as I use the camera within Kerbal's SOI, it works fine. When I pushed it outside Kerbals SOI, it just drains all my power(over 3k EC) instantly, even with 24 1x6 solar panels. I was wanting to push it into a low Kerbol orbit to get some good shots of Moho and Eve.

[diomedea]

As far as I can see, this is not a bug, but an intended feature. The asteroid cameras (mk1-3) are required for discovery with the mod installed. The code for it is in https://github.com/duckytopia/CactEye/blob/master/Source/AsteroidSpawnTweak.cs and basically does a vessel-by-vessel scan, checking for the best processor on each, sums those that are far enough apart (100km), and uses the total combined rate to calculate the discovery odds.

Which would mean that the "fix" is to launch a (or several) telescope(s) with asteroid cameras to search for them.

Good find, really. If only that "feature" was better documented, not just a generic "Orbital telescopes also now become fundamental to discovering asteroids." that tells nothing about why they aren't spawned.

All the while (but that is a KSP issue actually) asteroids should exist even if not visible, instead of being forbidden from existing because there are no tools to see them beyond some distance. If the feature (in KSP) existed so to be used properly, discovery odds should increase the closer an asteroid is (that could mean, a few asteroids may have acceptable odds to be spawned at closer range, instead of no chance at all when spawned at a greater distance). That also means, the moment a telescope is put in orbit, it can discover already existing asteroids, instead of just raising odds for new ones to be spawned. But who knows, somebody may come with a better implementation of that feature that actually allows the above.

Thanks for checking this, very helpful .

[AmethystZhou]

Awesome mod! Too bad it's not compatible with the Flare option in Distant Object Enhancements...:<

[Raven.]

My understanding is that the author is no longer supporting CactEye. I like the mod a lot so I might do some maintenance on it when I'm done with my other projects. For one, I want a camera that lets me target and photograph other vessels.

I just forked the code on GitHub today to see what I can do to help maintain it. I might release a 0.25 compiled dll (although it may not be needed) and I'm wanting to re-factor the code a bit. We can probably add that functionality quite easily, as the code looks fairly simple.

EDIT: Here's an updated CatEye.dll file. It goes in GameData\CatEye\Plugins. The only change that has been made is that it has been compiled using the KSP 0.25 libraries. This carries the same license as the original mod in the OP. This is provided for testing purposes to help verify the functionality of CatEye on KSP 0.25. Meaning please let me know if this causes problems.

Later on I will most likely re-factor the existing code base and add some functionality that will help debugging and maintenance. After that's done, I will probably be moving on to other features.

Edited October 25, 2014 by Raven.

[AetherGoddess]

I just forked the code on GitHub today to see what I can do to help maintain it. I might release a 0.25 compiled dll (although it may not be needed) and I'm wanting to re-factor the code a bit. We can probably add that functionality quite easily, as the code looks fairly simple.

EDIT: Here's an updated CatEye.dll file. It goes in GameData\CatEye\Plugins. The only change that has been made is that it has been compiled using the KSP 0.25 libraries. This carries the same license as the original mod in the OP. This is provided for testing purposes to help verify the functionality of CatEye on KSP 0.25. Meaning please let me know if this causes problems.

Later on I will most likely re-factor the existing code base and add some functionality that will help debugging and maintenance. After that's done, I will probably be moving on to other features.

i had started to do the exact same thing, but never got much further then forking.

[Raven.]

i had started to do the exact same thing, but never got much further then forking.

Well, would you like to tackle this as a team?

[shibdib]

Does the asteroid one actually auto detect them? I haven't seen any "unknown objects" since the beginning of the game. Also doesn't seem to be "active" when I return to the ship.

[Raven.]

Does the asteroid one actually auto detect them? I haven't seen any "unknown objects" since the beginning of the game. Also doesn't seem to be "active" when I return to the ship.

Post your KSP.log file here on the forums, and I'll take a look at what's going on.

Really this works in 0.25? For me, KSP 0.25 with Cacteye ALWAYS CRASH EVEN WHEN BOOTING KSP IS NOT FINISHED, and REMOBING Cacteye WORKS THIS NASTY CRASHDOWNS.

Are you SURE you run 0.25 while Cacteye installed?

Pectus, would you by any chance still have a KSP.log file from the times that your game crashed?

Edited October 29, 2014 by Raven.

[Riverey]

What will happen if I not disable flares when I use this mod with DOE?)

[Crater]

What will happen if I not disable flares when I use this mod with DOE?)

The flare on the planet is magnified in the telescope view, so instead of a closeup of the planet, you just see FLARE.

[Raven.]

Here is a very early version of a redesigned UI. It still needs a lot of work; not everything is working or implemented yet, and there are some bugs involved with it. Plus I think the camera object itself needs some work, because I'm not yet happy with the image quality. But I wanted to try a different UI, particularly a larger gui. Let me know what everyone thinks.

Edited November 1, 2014 by Raven.
Fixed link to image

[Ralathon]

Looks good, though the window stretches the image. Pretty sure the mun is round, not oval.

I don't mind the image quality. It's meant to be a quick preview of the actual screenshot after all. Once you take the screenshot its in all its high definition glory.

[JeffreyCor]

I may have missed it if already answered, but is the update you're working on going to fix it so it doesn't always save a picture to the hard drive when using the telescope to get science?

[Raven.]

Looks good, though the window stretches the image. Pretty sure the mun is round, not oval.

I don't mind the image quality. It's meant to be a quick preview of the actual screenshot after all. Once you take the screenshot its in all its high definition glory.

The oval shaped planets was solved in a bug smashing binge earlier this afternoon, along with several other bugs that were, quite frankly, giving me hell. But, it's coming along.

I may have missed it if already answered, but is the update you're working on going to fix it so it doesn't always save a picture to the hard drive when using the telescope to get science?

The way I'm going to do this, is that it will only save screenshots to the hard drive if you explicitly hit the "save" button. I'm also looking at coding an additional window of where you can view saved CactEye screenshots from within the game.

Edited November 2, 2014 by Raven.

[nukeboyt]

Here is a very early version of a redesigned UI. It still needs a lot of work; not everything is working or implemented yet, and there are some bugs involved with it. Plus I think the camera object itself needs some work, because I'm not yet happy with the image quality. But I wanted to try a different UI, particularly a larger gui. Let me know what everyone thinks.

http://i.imgur.com/KL5VENW.png

Question (probably stupid). Why does the background space around the subject planet / moon appear grey and not black in this and other "zoom in" mods?

[Ralathon]

Question (probably stupid). Why does the background space around the subject planet / moon appear grey and not black in this and other "zoom in" mods?

It's because the skybox is just a large image instead of something more refined. The stars and galaxy are just pixels instead of points. Also, the galaxy on the skybox has the same inclination as all the planets. So whenever you try to take a snapshot of a planet there's always a giant grey pixel in the background.

A simple solution is to use Texture replacer to get a different skybox (One with more black). A more elegant solution (on the side of the mod) would be to use the code from Distant Object Enhancement that blacks out the skybox and use that to hide the skybox when zooming the telescope. But that means extra work for Raven.

[JeffreyCor]

You're my hero!! I am very much looking forward to you release!