KSP Plugin Loader

This is a KSP mod that allows KSPAssemblyDependency attributes to be used to depend on other KSP mods that do not have a KSPAssembly attribute.

If you are not a mod author then you don't need to worry about what this mod does. Just install it as a dependency when requested.

How to Use

1. Add a dependency on KSPPluginLoader.

   [assembly: KSPAssemblyDependency("KSPPluginLoader", 1, 0)]

   Dependencies on mods without a KSPAssembly attribute will not be resolved unless your mod DLL has this dependency.
2. Add KSPAssemblyDependency attributes for any other mods that you want to depend on. See the next section to pick the right version.

Figuring out the version to use

1. Open up KSP.log in your KSP directory.
2. Look up the AssemblyLoader log messages for your mod. They should look something like this:

   AssemblyLoader: Loading assembly at C:\KSP\GameData\ModuleManager.4.2.3.dll
   AssemblyLoader: KSPAssembly 'ModuleManager' V2.5.0
   

3. If there is a KSPAssembly message, then that's the version you should be using. If all your dependencies have a KSPAssembly message, then you don't actually need KSPPluginLoader (unless you're making use of the advanced use cases section below).
4. Otherwise, scroll on down to the section that starts with

   Mod DLLs found:
   

5. Find the entry for the mod you want to depend on. It should look something like this:

   KSPBurst v1.5.5.2
   Kopernicus v1.0.0.0 / v1.12.227.0
   ContractConfigurator v1.0.0.0 / v2.11.2.0 KSP-RO / v2.11.2.0
   

6. The version number you want is the last version number after the mod name, since that is the version that KSPPluginLoader will use. You only need to care about the version number so you can ignore any text after the + in the version.

As an example, here's what the dependencies would look like for latest versions of the three mods in step 5.

[assembly: KSPAssemblyDependency("KSPBurst", 1, 5, 5)]
[assembly: KSPAssemblyDependency("Kopernicus", 1, 12, 227)]
[assembly: KSPAssemblyDependency("ContractConfigurator", 2, 11, 2)]

Advanced Use Cases

To support more advanced use cases, KSPPluginLoader also has some extra assembly attributes you can use.

To use these you will need to actually depend on KSPPluginLoader.dll. They also will not be checked unless your mod DLL has a KSPAssemblyDependency on KSPPluginLoader.

Maximum dependency version constraint

You might want to only load your mod if some other mod's version is within a certain range. KSPAssemblyDependency only lets you set a lower bound, so this mod introduces a KSPAssemblyDependencyMax which allows you to set an upper bound.

Declaring it works pretty much the same as KSPAssemblyDependency. This would only allow your mod to be loaded if SomeMod's version is < 1.0.0.

[assembly: KSPAssemblyDependencyMax("SomeMod", 1, 0, 0)]

As an example, the following two attributes would ensure your mod is only loaded if a version of PersistentThrust in the range v1.7.5 <= v < v1.8.0 is present:

using KSPPluginLoader;

[assembly: KSPAssemblyDependency("PersistentThrust", 1, 7, 5)]
[assembly: KSPAssemblyDependencyMax("PersistentThrust", 1, 8, 0)]

In order for this attribute to make sure to:

• Add a KSPAssemblyDependency on KSPPluginLoader. Extra attributes like this are only checked if the DLL depends on KSPPluginLoader.
• Also add a KSPAssemblyDependency on the same mod as your KSPAssemblyDependencyMax. If you don't do this then then your DLL will never be loaded.

Assembly Multiversioning

You can use assembly dependency constraints to load different mod DLLs depending on a dependency version. The plugin loader will ensure only one copy of any mod with a given name is loaded at a time, but you can use dependency constraints to select which ones are considered.

The main use case for this is having multiple different implementations for different KSP versions.

For example, here's what you would need to add in order for your mod DLL to only be loaded for KSP v1.8:

[assembly: KSPAssemblyDependency("KSP", 1, 8)]
[assembly: KSPAssemblyDependencyMax("KSP", 1, 9)]
[assembly: KSPAssemblyDependency("KSPPluginLoader", 1, 0)]

Examples

Depending on CryoTanks

CryoTanks contains DLL called SimpleBoiloff.dll but that DLL does not have a KSPAssembly attribute. With this mod, however, you can ignore that by adding the following to your AssemblyInfo.cs:

[assembly: KSPAssemblyDependency("SimpleBoiloff", 0, 2, 1)]
[assembly: KSPAssemblyDependency("KSPPluginLoader", 1, 0)]