[0.22] ISA MapSat 4.0 Dev Build

[Mechrior]

EDIT: Yep, that's why a lot of people are having crashes, RAM spikes nearly a gig when going to the map thanks to mapsat. Even KW Rocketry doesn't put the crunch on the game the way this thing does.

welp that means I cant use it on my modded save, shame though. come on KSP release 64bit compat!!!!

[KOCOUR]

welp that means I cant use it on my modded save, shame though. come on KSP release 64bit compat!!!!

What? KSP isnt 64bit compatible?

[Bloodbunny]

What? KSP isnt 64bit compatible?

No, it's a 32 bit program, which means the RAM use is limited to something like 3.5 gigs. A 64 bit program can use whatever you have.. 16 gigs? Ok, load up everything you want..

I doubt KSP will ever be 64 bit though, as Squad has stated that it would require recoding the entire engine...don't hold your breath... Hopefully the heavy mods like KW and Mapsat will get some optimizations to reduce the footprint.. I know KW is working on it, Mapsat may be a bit more of a challenge though.

[Tommygun]

I'm hitting the memory wall too with version 4.0, I didn't have this issue with 3.3.1 though, at least not with the older KSP versions.

I think I'll try and go back to the older Mapsat version and see how it behaves in 20.2.

I wonder if running my computer in Turbo Boost mode would help any? It's supposed to kill some of the unnecessary programs running in the background and free up some memory.

[Castun]

What I just don't understand is WHY the dev version takes up so much memory. Each map image is only ~2.5MB, and the GUI icons total 1/5 of a MB, but even a fresh install with no planets mapped yet suffers from the same issue. There is literally nothing in this mod that should take up that insane amount of RAM on it's own.

[GavinZac]

On disk, the files are stored as PNG which involves interpolation and compression. In memory, the images are handled pixel by pixel, essentially making them 'bitmap' in memory. Bitmaps are substantially fatter than other image types.

[Frostiken]

welp that means I cant use it on my modded save, shame though. come on KSP release 64bit compat!!!!

Will probably happen as soon as the idiots at Unity actually make their engine 64 bit / multithreaded. Who the hell knows when that will be though.

[Jean Deaux]

Hey, i am having problems with this

I have installed ISA_MapSat Dev 4.0 but i can not see the button on the bottom left corner, and if i click the right place were is should be, the box comes up but without information, help?

The Zip file structure isn't quite correct and I also had this issue. When you unzip the ISA-MapSatX4r1 file, you probably did what I did the first time and that was to copy/move the folder ISA_MapSat X4r1 into the GameData directory. This allowed the parts to load for me, but like you the map interface didn't display correctly. If you instead skip that folder and copy/move the Innswerants Space Agency folder into the GameData directory, then the interface displays correctly, but the dish turns black. So obviously there's some directory structure by the Dev that needs to be addressed. Hope this helps.

[johnnyhandsome]

Hey, all the maps I generated in ISA MapSat 3.3.4 do not appear in the 4.0 developer version. How do I copy them over or some such? I don't have satellites around some of these bodies anymore, does this mean I have to send new satellites to those bodies?

[itsme86]

Hey, all the maps I generated in ISA MapSat 3.3.4 do not appear in the 4.0 developer version. How do I copy them over or some such? I don't have satellites around some of these bodies anymore, does this mean I have to send new satellites to those bodies?

You can't. The new maps are a different, higher resolution format. You'll have to remap everything or get the maps from someone that has already done the mapping for you in the new version.

[Castun]

On disk, the files are stored as PNG which involves interpolation and compression. In memory, the images are handled pixel by pixel, essentially making them 'bitmap' in memory. Bitmaps are substantially fatter than other image types.

And yet the large memory footprint persists even before any bodies are mapped?

[Kimberly]

A small suggestion: could a compatibility patch for the Figaro GPS be created? One that wouldn't tell you your location on the map if you didn't have a functioning GPS network yet. At the moment I just voluntarily avoid using it, but it'd be neater if the two mods didn't interfere in function.

Edit: On a different note, is there a strategy for mapping at 10x time warp without getting black dots all over the map? Even at an ideal orbit, mapping a planet like Kerbin can take many real-time hours.

Edited June 29, 2013 by Kimberly

[davel23]

I'm also having a problem with this plugin, I can mount the parts on my satellite and get it into orbit, but there's no button on the left side to open the interface. I've looked for a solution but can't seem to find anything. Any suggestions?

[Tiff The Great]

Hi, I've installed the latest dev version, but nothing seems to have loaded into the game. I unzipped the zip folder and put the contents in a folder named ISA_mapsat, then put that folder under game data, like every other mod, but it doesn't load anything into the game. Is anyone else having this problem?

[Rocketman1994]

I have the problem of Mapsat as a menu, its kinda of frustrating...

[cardajowol]

dunno, annoying me too I can't send the probes I want out and its already caused me to remove stations I can't get to now because I had the Map Satellite on them etc.

Looks like Innsewerants hasn't been around recently... =/

[GavinZac]

And yet the large memory footprint persists even before any bodies are mapped?

Black pixels require no less memory than green, red or blue pixels.

[cardajowol]

This really needs to be fixed... can't even use the mod atm it just freezes the game... ={

[scottholio]

Yeah, I gave up on using it too. I was seeing up to 1GB increase in RAM usage when going to the launchpad with an ISA dish on my rocket. So I basically can only run it in a Vanilla install.

[MmPMSFmM]

The ISA stuff is appearing as an item under aerodynamics...

But they have no functions whatsoever.

[KevinTMC]

It's working okay for me...just seems to need some optimization. There is lag (the game will repeatedly freeze for an instant or two on a fairly regular cycle, such as once every minute of mission time), and I'm regularly running right at maximum memory use--I don't dare run ISA with more than a handful of other plugins.

Using just the GPS unit doesn't help with these issues; it lags and eats memory the same as the full module.

[ninjakids]

This mod makes no sense! HOW DO YOU EVEN USE IT?

Edited June 30, 2013 by ninjakids

[Kimberly]

This mod makes no sense! HOW DO YOU EVEN USE IT?

Place the special Mapsat satellite dish on your craft. Launch into orbit. In the lower-left corner, next to the vanilla GUI, you should see a button with the symbol of a pair of compasses. Click on it. A new window should pop up, with a black field on the left and a set of buttons on the right. Click the button labeled "SCN". If your batteries aren't drained, then you should now start scanning the planet. Wait a few seconds, and you should see colored lines appear on the black field. You will progressively build up a map of the planet. Depending on your distance from the planet and the time warp you're using, you may have gaps between the lines or holes in the coverage, which means you'll need to scan the same area multiple times for a full map.

An equatorial orbit will only allow you to scan the equator. To scan the whole planet, you need a high orbit, preferably one that is close to polar. (An inclination of more than 80 degrees.) Because the planet rotates while you orbit, you'll pass over a different area with each orbit, allowing you to slowly scan (almost) the whole planet. If your orbit isn't perfectly polar, with an inclination of 90 degrees, you may not be able to scan the north and south poles. A perfectly polar orbit will typically make for slower scans than a near-polar one, though, so you may wish to launch one satellite into near-polar orbit and another one to do the poles. Scanning stops if you switch to another ship! For this reason, you may want to leave scans running overnight if your orbit makes for slow scanning.

Go and try that out, and play with the other buttons a bit, if you like. Still with me? Then check out the this thread for someone's fancy calculations of good and bad orbits for map scanning. The concept is explained on the first page, and the orbits you should use in the latest version of Mapsat are on the second page. Hope I helped.

On a side note, many of the same principles apply to scanning for kethane in the Kethane Pack mod.

[ninjakids]

Ah, there is no compass!

[Kimberly]

Ah, there is no compass!

Sounds like an installation issue, then.