[1.9-1.10] Throttle Controlled Avionics

[allista]

14 hours ago, eldemarco said:

I'm using version 1.3, and I can't get TCA to work. No icon on the normal toolbar, no option for it on Blizzy, and Y does nothing. The modules show up in the parts list, but I can't for the life of me find out how to get the actual menu open. Any pointers? I'm posting my output log below.

 

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0BwNilc2T52e4cGN1WUlPNmR1RGs/view?usp=sharing

 

Edit: I tested this on a fresh install of KSP version 1.3, and it still doesn't work, with or without Blizzy's toolbar. I even tried the 000_At_Utils folder from MKS just in case. There is simply no toolbar. The modules are showing up in game, but I'm seriously confused as they are listed as a part, yet can't attach to anything.

1. you're trying to use an old version of TCA.

2. and that's the real cause of the problem, you're trying to use an even older version of AT_Utils which is incompatible with KSP-1.3 and with the version of TCA you use.

You should install the latest version TCA from the SpaceDock archive: https://spacedock.info/mod/198/Throttle Controlled Avionics/download/3.4.2 

Corresponding version of AT_Utils is included.

[eldemarco]

12 hours ago, allista said:

1. you're trying to use an old version of TCA.

2. and that's the real cause of the problem, you're trying to use an even older version of AT_Utils which is incompatible with KSP-1.3 and with the version of TCA you use.

You should install the latest version TCA from the SpaceDock archive: https://spacedock.info/mod/198/Throttle Controlled Avionics/download/3.4.2 

Corresponding version of AT_Utils is included.

I downloaded from Spacedock the first time, so I went onto the github and got the newest version of the Utils, and that fixed it. Thanks for the response.

[mikemcdonald83]

On 6/28/2017 at 0:06 PM, eldemarco said:

I downloaded from Spacedock the first time, so I went onto the github and got the newest version of the Utils, and that fixed it. Thanks for the response.

I did the opposite, and got the latest version on github. 3.4.0.0. It didn't work for me. Got the 3.4.2 version you linked and it's fine.

[gomker]

On 6/26/2017 at 1:26 AM, allista said:

Currently, there's no automatic way to detect if a vessel is actually a landing target (or just sits on the way). So to land, you will need to go to Advanced Tab and disable CPS (using corresponding button). Don't forget to re-enable it afterwards, though

Thanks , I will try that. Maybe a way to automatically detect would be by part tag, All the landing targets are going to be certain Helicopter decks or "H" decals - we could tag them with something like "TCALandingTarget"

 

[allista]

2 hours ago, gomker said:

Thanks , I will try that. Maybe a way to automatically detect would be by part tag, All the landing targets are going to be certain Helicopter decks or "H" decals - we could tag them with something like "TCALandingTarget"

Using tags is a great idea, thanks!

I thought I make a dedicated PartModule with which TCA could communicate, or even a small part that would tag a vessel as a landing site... but a part tag may indeed be enough 

[Beetlecat]

On 7/4/2017 at 0:28 PM, allista said:

Using tags is a great idea, thanks!

I thought I make a dedicated PartModule with which TCA could communicate, or even a small part that would tag a vessel as a landing site... but a part tag may indeed be enough 

This notion is super-cool. Especially for creating ad-hoc landing spots for VTOLs on Kerbin, or even landing spots on planetary bases for landers/hoppers. Much thrilling!

Creatable with Ground Construction, obviously...

Edited July 5, 2017 by Beetlecat

[gilflo]

Hello

I have built this VTOL aircraft with 4 VTOL pairs of engine, at the front, at the back and on each wing. A jet engine at the back  gives  thrust for non VTOL phase of flight.

The aircraft is quite balanced, but i need TCA assistance for take off

What i can't manage to do is to use TCA with VTOL engines for take off while using the back engine for horizontal speed...

How exactly must i design each engine in TCA: Thrust and maneuver for VTOL, what for the back jet engine?

what function may i use to manage this VTOl take off with horizontal speed increase?

I use KSP 1.2.2 with the right TCA 

Thank you

 

Edited July 6, 2017 by gilflo

[XOC2008]

Here's a question: I have a helicopter with a winch.. hovering over water at about 20-30m. Anchor keeps me relatively in place. Once the object attached to the winch hits the water, TCA starts giving the helo forward momentum putting strain on the cable and thinking it(the helo itself) is touching the ground. Is there any way to prevent this? I'd like to perform rescues and such but if a basket touches the water and TCA makes the helo leave the target it's hard to rescue those poor Kerbals.

[allista]

2 hours ago, gilflo said:

Hello

I have built this VTOL aircraft with 4 VTOL pairs of engine, at the front, at the back and on each wing. A jet engine at the back  gives  thrust for non VTOL phase of flight.

The aircraft is quite balanced, but i need TCA assistance for take off

What i can't manage to do is to use TCA with VTOL engines for take off while using the back engine for horizontal speed...

How exactly must i design each engine in TCA: Thrust and maneuver for VTOL, what for the back jet engine?

what function may i use to manage this VTOl take off with horizontal speed increase?

I use KSP 1.2.2 with the right TCA 

Thank you

 

This question was recently asked, so I made a video tutorial on the matter:

In short: VTOLs to thrust & maneuver, the rear to manual, and then you need to configure action groups as described in the video.

Cheers!

1 hour ago, XOC2008 said:

Here's a question: I have a helicopter with a winch.. hovering over water at about 20-30m. Anchor keeps me relatively in place. Once the object attached to the winch hits the water, TCA starts giving the helo forward momentum putting strain on the cable and thinking it(the helo itself) is touching the ground. Is there any way to prevent this? I'd like to perform rescues and such but if a basket touches the water and TCA makes the helo leave the target it's hard to rescue those poor Kerbals.

Good question! Unfortunately, nothing could be done about it right now. Winch is a part of the vessel, it splashes and the whole vessel is declared splashed by KSP. TCA just reads the flag.

To have this correctly TCA needs to know the difference between the winch and other parts. This could get awfully complicated...

[XOC2008]

5 minutes ago, allista said:

Good question! Unfortunately, nothing could be done about it right now. Winch is a part of the vessel, it splashes and the whole vessel is declared splashed by KSP. TCA just reads the flag.

To have this correctly TCA needs to know the difference between the winch and other parts. This could get awfully complicated...

@allista Understandable. That's sort of what several of us figured was going on. (I only noticed this is what was happening as I left Vessel Mover on and it kept flickering between "You need to land to use this" and giving me the buttons for move/load) Perhaps it will be something that can be addressed in the future. So right now TCA detects everything on a vessel. Instead of having it know the difference, would there be an easier way to create some kind of 'exclusion list' for parts you want TCA to ignore?

[allista]

9 minutes ago, XOC2008 said:

@allista Understandable. That's sort of what several of us figured was going on. (I only noticed this is what was happening as I left Vessel Mover on and it kept flickering between "You need to land to use this" and giving me the buttons for move/load) Perhaps it will be something that can be addressed in the future. So right now TCA detects everything on a vessel. Instead of having it know the difference, would there be an easier way to create some kind of 'exclusion list' for parts you want TCA to ignore?

Technically that's possible. Even half dynamically, using part tags. But I have a gut feeling that if I just recalculate the landed state, things will go the wrong way. For instance, I will have to recalculate effective vessel weight to exclude landed parts; and ship bounds to get a meaningful vessel height; and I'm sure there are things i haven't thought of yet.

[DStaal]

2 hours ago, XOC2008 said:

Here's a question: I have a helicopter with a winch.. hovering over water at about 20-30m. Anchor keeps me relatively in place. Once the object attached to the winch hits the water, TCA starts giving the helo forward momentum putting strain on the cable and thinking it(the helo itself) is touching the ground. Is there any way to prevent this? I'd like to perform rescues and such but if a basket touches the water and TCA makes the helo leave the target it's hard to rescue those poor Kerbals.

This actually is sounds like the type of situation that AirPark was designed to handle:

 

[XOC2008]

4 minutes ago, DStaal said:

This actually is sounds like the type of situation that AirPark was designed to handle:

 

@DStaal I have airpark and I thought of that but TCA lets me plot waypoints and get to the height I want to be at with relative ease, and I like the option of hovering in place and then continuing without having to turn off something else. With how much would go into creating excluded parts, it might be my only viable option though. It is what it is. Thanks @allista for answering my questions so promptly!

[gomker]

On 6/26/2017 at 1:26 AM, allista said:

Waypoints do account for the water (and are always set above it)

I disabled CPS and no luck. What is odd is that the way point seem to be not accounting for surface. It's hard to see, but In the vid the targets all have negative altitudes (-200+)

I do have scatterer and EVE - would that have an effect on the water detection?

 

[shdwlrd]

Hi, I'm getting a NRE when I try to land at a target. I'm using the most current versions on CKAN. The error is below.

Spoiler

(Filename: C:/buildslave/unity/build/artifacts/generated/common/runtime/UnityEngineDebugBindings.gen.cpp Line: 42)

ArithmeticException: NAN
  at System.Math.Sign (Double value) [0x00000] in <filename unknown>:0
  at ThrottleControlledAvionics.DeorbitAutopilot.PlaneCorrection (ThrottleControlledAvionics.TargetedTrajectoryBase old) [0x00000] in <filename unknown>:0
  at ThrottleControlledAvionics.DeorbitAutopilot.fixed_Ecc_orbit (ThrottleControlledAvionics.LandingTrajectory old, ThrottleControlledAvionics.LandingTrajectory best, .Vector3d& NodeDeltaV, Double ecc) [0x00000] in <filename unknown>:0
  at ThrottleControlledAvionics.DeorbitAutopilot+<>c__DisplayClass13_0.<compute_landing_trajectory>b__0 (ThrottleControlledAvionics.LandingTrajectory o, ThrottleControlledAvionics.LandingTrajectory b) [0x00000] in <filename unknown>:0
  at ThrottleControlledAvionics.TrajectoryCalculator`1+<compute_trajectory>d__7[ThrottleControlledAvionics.LandingTrajectory].MoveNext () [0x00000] in <filename unknown>:0
  at ThrottleControlledAvionics.TrajectoryCalculator`1[T].trajectory_computed () [0x00000] in <filename unknown>:0
  at ThrottleControlledAvionics.DeorbitAutopilot.Update () [0x00000] in <filename unknown>:0
  at ThrottleControlledAvionics.TCAModule.OnFixedUpdate () [0x00000] in <filename unknown>:0
  at ThrottleControlledAvionics.ModuleTCA+<>c.<FixedUpdate>b__82_0 (ThrottleControlledAvionics.TCAModule m) [0x00000] in <filename unknown>:0
  at System.Collections.Generic.List`1[ThrottleControlledAvionics.TCAModule].ForEach (System.Action`1 action) [0x00000] in <filename unknown>:0
  at ThrottleControlledAvionics.ModuleTCA.FixedUpdate () [0x00000] in <filename unknown>:0
 
(Filename:  Line: -1)

 

[FungusForge]

Is the a way to globally disable the extra functions? I only want the thrust balancing, and don't want to deal with disabling everything every time I build a new craft.

[allista]

36 minutes ago, FungusForge said:

Is the a way to globally disable the extra functions? I only want the thrust balancing, and don't want to deal with disabling everything every time I build a new craft.

So far there isn't. But I'll do it:

https://github.com/allista/ThrottleControlledAvionics/issues/43

[XOC2008]

@allistaAs an update, I found that TCA doesn't actually care about the winch cable at all. When the end touches the water, it ignores it completely. But if something is on the end of the winch it thinks the whole vessel is below the surface and starts to compensate, such as a dipping sonar attached to the end of a cable.

[Toontoonizer]

Hi there @allista - this is a really interesting mod but i am having a lot of trouble getting it to work - so i have one main question:

1. Is this compatible with RO and FAR?

The reason i ask is that i am trying to use this with RO and FAR (installed this mod through CKAN and running 1.2.2 of kerbal - i am not sure what version CKAN installed but will check when i get home) but it simply cannot hover a craft in a stable fashion. Using the video you created above, i set up a simple MK2 drone with VTOL engines and a main engine. If i set it to hover between 0-80m above ground it can get there fine. trying to set it to hover at anything above that and crazy stuff starts to happen:

1. the front of the craft fires upwards suddenly and the craft flips over on its self, crashes and explodes
2. if i increment the hover height very slowly, it will get there without flipping but then will start destabilising and what happens after that is anyone's guess because anything could happen. 
3. If i do get it to a stable(ish) hover above 100m then at some point, completely randomly one engine, or a group of engines will be set to unbalanced thrust and the craft will crash and explode. This will happen without warning and for no apparent reason.

I have tried many different combinations of craft but the result is always the same. Obviously if this isnt compatible with FAR and RO (and 1.2.2) then that would explain things.

Thank you in advance!

Edited July 20, 2017 by Toontoonizer

[gietek]

I absolutely love the mod. Unlike Davon it doesn't screw my engines and does exactly what I need. 

Any chance I could change the default colours green/yellow (or whatever they are) to something else? I have colour vision deficiency and am having hard time with those two.

[Tivec]

I may be totally stupid or something, but.. I'm trying to use TCA to launch a rocket. So, I have a rocket that I know flies and can reach orbit perfectly fine. I've trimmed down the TCA modules to these:

 

If I now go to launch and select "To Orbit" in the TCA window, enable TCA and hit "Launch", it immediately stages *all* stages... As you can see in this video: https://streamable.com/j8iha

I'm very confused as to how I would configure my engines and get this to behave even remotely close to what I'd like...

 

[allista]

On 7/25/2017 at 11:52 AM, gietek said:

I absolutely love the mod. Unlike Davon it doesn't screw my engines and does exactly what I need. 

Any chance I could change the default colours green/yellow (or whatever they are) to something else? I have colour vision deficiency and am having hard time with those two.

There's a way to do it, but some text file editing is required, as there's still no GUI for it, sorry 

Here's a part that describes what needs to be done:

 

[allista]

On 20.07.2017 at 2:01 PM, Toontoonizer said:

Hi there @allista - this is a really interesting mod but i am having a lot of trouble getting it to work - so i have one main question:

1. Is this compatible with RO and FAR?

The reason i ask is that i am trying to use this with RO and FAR (installed this mod through CKAN and running 1.2.2 of kerbal - i am not sure what version CKAN installed but will check when i get home) but it simply cannot hover a craft in a stable fashion. Using the video you created above, i set up a simple MK2 drone with VTOL engines and a main engine. If i set it to hover between 0-80m above ground it can get there fine. trying to set it to hover at anything above that and crazy stuff starts to happen:

1. the front of the craft fires upwards suddenly and the craft flips over on its self, crashes and explodes
2. if i increment the hover height very slowly, it will get there without flipping but then will start destabilising and what happens after that is anyone's guess because anything could happen. 
3. If i do get it to a stable(ish) hover above 100m then at some point, completely randomly one engine, or a group of engines will be set to unbalanced thrust and the craft will crash and explode. This will happen without warning and for no apparent reason.

I have tried many different combinations of craft but the result is always the same. Obviously if this isnt compatible with FAR and RO (and 1.2.2) then that would explain things.

Thank you in advance!

Neither FAR, nor RO are explicitly supported in that no tuning has been specifically made for them. In the past they worked together with TCA fine, but that was in ksp-0.90. What you describe seems to be the result of overtuning of TCA's attitude control, which I'm currently reimplementing completely. So there's a chance the problem will go away with the update.

4 hours ago, Tivec said:

I may be totally stupid or something, but.. I'm trying to use TCA to launch a rocket. So, I have a rocket that I know flies and can reach orbit perfectly fine. I've trimmed down the TCA modules to these:

 

If I now go to launch and select "To Orbit" in the TCA window, enable TCA and hit "Launch", it immediately stages *all* stages... As you can see in this video: https://streamable.com/j8iha

I'm very confused as to how I would configure my engines and get this to behave even remotely close to what I'd like...

 

This does look like a bug to me. I'll only see the video as soon as I'm home, though. Then I'll be able to tell more.

Edit: looks rather strange. First of all, I don't see any of the engines to fire up, as if there was no fuel. Prior to separation, boosters should have been ignited and fly off by themselves. Also, main throttle goes up after first stages were activated; but even then the remaining engine does not work (at least I don't see it does).

Which version of TCA do you use? And can you share the .craft file of this rocket so that I could test it?

Edited July 29, 2017 by allista

[gomker]

On 7/7/2017 at 10:15 PM, gomker said:

the targets all have negative altitudes (-200+)

@allista Did you catch that the vid shows that the waypoint is  *not* detecting water surface?

[allista]

2 hours ago, gomker said:

@allista Did you catch that the vid shows that the waypoint is  *not* detecting water surface?

Yep. Thanks for the video!

Will be fixed in the next update.