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MOARdV edited this page Aug 23, 2020 · 101 revisions

MOARdV's Avionics Systems (MAS)

MAS is a plugin for Kerbal Space Program that greatly enhances the IVA experience in-game. It makes it possible (and hopefully fun) to fly entire missions from the perspective of the Kerbal crew aboard the spacecraft. MAS replaces RasterPropMonitor as the premier IVA experience.

From a player's perspective, MAS has a couple of advantages. First, it feels more responsive. Second, it allows for more immersive IVA gameplay.

For IVA makers, MAS provides a look similar to RPM, since it includes config files for many of the same ASET Props and ASET Avionics models that are used in RPM IVAs. However, the MAS IVA brings a better experience to the player.

For prop creators, MAS provides an extensive selection of functionality and configuration options. And if MAS doesn't have the right functionality for a prop, MAS supports Lua scripting, allowing the prop creator to write functions that can run on the props. MAS ships with configs for many props from the ASET Props and Avionics collections, but it can support any prop that RPM supports, including Near Future Props and others.

Installation

The Installation page should help you through the manual installation process. Once you're ready to fly, the Operations Manual Mk1 will guide you through the basics of going to space.

Requirements

The following mods are required. They are not included in the MAS distribution.

  • ASET Props: Required for most of the prop configs included in MAS. Visit ASET Props on the KSP forum.
  • ASET Avionics: Required for the rest of the prop configs included in MAS. Visit ASET Avionics on the KSP forum.
  • Module Manager: Required to apply MM patches that enable MAS IVAs in existing command pods. Visit Module Manager on the KSP forum.

NOTE: Both ASET mods list RasterPropMonitor as a dependency. If you are using MAS, and not RPM, you do not need to install RasterPropMonitor.

Additional optional mod support is listed on the Installation page.

MAS for Players

If you want to jump into flight, Take a look at the Operations Manual Mk1 for the Mk1 (Mercury-like) command pod.

There are several options available on the MAS Settings page, which is accessible from the Space Center scene. Some of these options may help on lower-performance computers.

There are guides available for some MAS instrumentation. The MFD2 Operations Guide covers one modern MFD. Other instruments are explained on the MOARdVPlus companion mod wiki. This documentation is still work-in-progress.

Where are the IVAs?

MAS is primarily intended to be a toolkit to allow other modders to create enhanced IVA gameplay. It is not a turnkey IVA replacement mod. There are a few example IVAs included in MAS, some of which are fully featured:

  • The stock Mk 1 v2 Command Pod, which demonstrates a retro-NASA style stripped-down IVA suitable for suborbital or short orbital flights. A flight manual is available on the wiki.
  • The original Mk 1 Command Pod IVA is still included, since the original pod and IVA are still available (as of KSP 1.5.0).
  • The stock Mk 1-3 Command Pod, which includes a more complete retro-NASA IVA for the center seat (with stock props still in place on the rest of the panel). This IVA is not complete, and I do not expect to finish it, since the seating arrangement for the three crew is suboptimal.
  • The stock Mk1 Lander Can by snakeru, a conversion of the ASET Mk1 Lander Can. Note that if the ASET mod is installed, the MAS version of the IVA is switched off. You must uninstall the ASET IVA to use the MAS IVA.
  • The MRK DM command pod, part of the Commonwealth Rockets mod. This command pod demonstrates a modern partial-glass cockpit design good for activity around Kerbin and its moons. Since development of this pod appears to have stopped, the included IVA is deprecated, and it may be removed in a future MAS update.

For some additional IVAs, the Flapjack cockpit in the Kerbal Flying Saucer mod shows a glass cockpit design, including HUD. Additionally, the MOARdVPlus mod includes a complete 1960s-style Apollo IVA compatible with the Bluedog Design Bureau mod, as well as a glass Apollo cockpit.

MAS for IVA Makers

MAS IVA creation is not substantially different than RPM IVA creation. The main difference is that you're going to use MAS-enabled props instead of RPM-enabled props. The props included in the MAS distribution all use the prefix "MAS_". However, to get the most out of a MAS IVA, you may want to use some of the MAS-related part modules. Take a look at For IVA Makers to get more details.

MAS for Prop Makers

MAS prop configuration is substantially different than RPM prop configuration. Most importantly, a MAS prop will have one prop module (or probably two for MFDs). The prop module will contain one or more nodes that control functionality - colliders, rotation, translation, animation, text, etc. The individual configurations are more complex, but also more flexible. A more complete discussion can be found in For Prop Makers.

Frequently Asked Questions

The FAQ will (hopefully) answer common questions.

Want to request a feature? Want to report a bug? Please visit the Issues page and create a new issue.

Review the Changelog for updates and a list of known issues. Releases are on the Releases page.

Credits

MOARdV's Avionics Systems coding is primarily the work of MOARdV. Alexustas created the prop models included in the mod, as well as the Mun and Minmus maps used on the MAS MFD. The prop documentation PDF files in the Documents folder are also the work of alexustas. MOARdV thanks alexustas for the high quality props in the ASET mods, as well as for the many feature requests and bug reports that have made MAS much better. snakeru provided the Gael orbital map used by the Globus/IMP instrument when GPP is installed, as well as the Mk1 lander can and Mk2 (Making History Expansion) command pod. MOARdV also thanks DeputyLOL, theonegalen, and dragon01 for feedback and bug reports during this mod's development. And thanks to theonegalen also for helping with the task of making the MAS version of the ASET props library.