Contributing and Known Issues

Contributing and Known Issues

AICS - KSP Chat Bridge is an MIT-licensed hobby project. Bug reports, craft files that confuse the autopilots and pull requests are all welcome at the repository.

Sidry: If you found a bug, it was probably Jeb. [COMMS] Bill (Eng): It was not Jeb. Please include logs.

Reporting a bug

Open an issue with:

• what you typed and what happened (the chat lines),
• the craft (a .craft file helps a lot for autopilot problems),
• logs/bridge.log from the bridge folder and the [KSPChatBridge] lines from KSP.log,
• your AI backend and model,
• KSP, kRPC and MechJeb versions.

Check the logs for anything private before attaching them.

Building it yourself

• Bridge: plain Python 3.12, python -m pip install --user -r requirements.txt. The unit tests run with python -m pip install pytest and then python -m pytest tests (they use fakes, no KSP needed; the few live-flight scripts in tests/ are skipped and meant to be run by hand).
• Plugin: cd KSPChatMod, then dotnet build -c Release (needs the .NET SDK, which pulls in the .NET Framework 4.7.2 reference assemblies). It references KSP's KSP_x64_Data\Managed DLLs, so point it at your KSP folder with -p:KSPDir=... or the KSPDir environment variable. A Release build copies the DLL into GameData; the DLL is locked while KSP is running, so quit KSP first, or add -p:SkipInstall=true.
• Release zip: tools\package_release.ps1 builds into dist\ without touching your game.

HANDOVER.md and docs/AICS_MENU.md in the repo are the detailed developer notes: how every piece works, the design decisions and the gotchas.

Known issues and limits

• Helicopters are experimental. The controller and layouts are in place but still being tested in game. Save before you try.
• Docking is experimental and relies on MechJeb.
• Taxi drives straight lines between waypoints with no obstacle avoidance. Add waypoints around buildings.
• Crew transfer works within one vessel (ships docked together count as one). Moving between separate ships is by EVA.
• Station keeping is a one-shot placement, not continuous trimming; with an inclined orbit the ground track still swings north and south.
• Sun lock points the nose at the sun; it doesn't yet pick the best face for side-mounted panels.
• Launch into a target's plane: MechJeb waits for the window; if your craft doesn't stage at T-0, press Space.
• Planes are flown by the bridge's own controllers. MechJeb's aircraft autopilot is deliberately not used.
• Small local models sometimes describe actions instead of doing them; see Troubleshooting.
• Built and tested on Windows only.

Thanks for flying with us.

[INTERCOM] Bob (Sci): Are we there yet?