Prepare 1.5.4.0 release

[jwvanderbeck]

TestFlight Release 1.5.4.0

• [x] Determine proper version number
• [x] Verify good Travis build
• [x] Change log in Markdown
• [x] Github Release Tag
• [x] Forum OP Change Log updated
• [x] Forum OP Title updated
• [x] New reply in Forum thread with Change Log and any important notes

[jwvanderbeck]

1.5.4.0

Highlights

The TestFlight R&D System is finally here! It has been teased forever by the nonfunctional R&D tab seen in the TestFlight window in the KSC screen, but now it is finally implemented.

The R&D system is an optional feature that allows you to spend funds and time to increase part reliability without actually flying them and risking bad things happening. Gaining data through flight will still often be quicker, but not as safe. R&D will be safer but slower and cost funds. The choice is yours. Parts do have maximum R&D limits however, so while engineers can get you to a better reliability before flight testing, they won't get you all the way.

R&D can be assigned to any supported part while in the editor constructing your vessel. Simply right click on the part and click the R&D Window button to toggle the R&D window. Here you can assign one of several teams to begin researching that part. Choose the one that works for you, balancing time and cost.

Every research cycle, which defaults to one day but may be changed by other mods, your part will receive flight data assigned to it by the research team, and funds will be subtracted.

You can stop/pause/resume research at any time either in the editor or as a shortcut by using the R&D tab in the main KSC screen. Research will also auto stop if the part reaches its maximum R&D level.

In addition to the R&D system, I also took this time to redo how TestFlight information is displayed in the editor. The old TF window in the editor is now gone, and is replaced by the new R&D window for assigning research and a new "Info Overlay" window which can give you detailed TestFlight information on any placed part with a simple Middle Click.

Upgrade Notes

Upgrading from 1.5.3.0 release to 1.5.4.0 release should not cause any issues. If you are upgrading from a dev or beta version of 1.5.4.0, it is suggested that you first stop all R&D teams before upgrading.

Changes

• FIX: Fix editor info window not hiding properly
• FIX: Fix editor info window not shrinking in size when changing parts or hiding the window
• NEW: EngineCycle module now displays information on idle decayand thrust modifiers if applicable in the info window
• FIX: Fixed a possible NRE in TestFlightRNDScenario load, as wellas making that code a bit more robust in the case of unexpected data.
• FIX: Apply rndRate and rndCost to display in R&D window. Fixes #136
• FIX: Fixed internal burn time handling on TestFlightReliability_EngineCycle
• FIX: Fixed major bug that was causing time handling to be truncated, causing part updates to happen less and less frequently the longer your save went on
• FIX: Moved TestFlight settings file to PluginData so that it doesn't cause ModuleManager recaching when settings change. Important Note: TestFlight will automatically migrate the settings file for you the first time, but it won't be able to clean up the old file. Once migration happens you can freely delete the old file if desired.
• FIX: Fixed to RND Teams getting reset due to a race condition during RND scenario load.
• FIX: Fixed Editor R&D Window position not being properly read from settings on initial load.
• NEW: Parts no longer can gain data while in the PRELAUNCH situation. This means no more static test firing. The new R&D system should be used instead if you don't want to risk parts on an actual flight.
• NEW: Expanded Info window data for Core and Reliability modules
• FIX: Major bug fix that was preventing pretty much all modules from properly attaching!
• NEW: Placed parts in Editor now have a quick info overlay window that can be accessed by right clicking on the place part. This info window will display TestFlight information on the part.
• NEW-API: TestFlight modules now all have an interface method for GetTestFlightInfo which is used to return data the module desires to be displayed in the Editor Info window
• NEW-API: Interop changes now fire an event on the active Core module allowing for reactions to the change.
• FIX: Fix duplicate R&D Window buttons showing up in editor tweakables.
• NEW: R&D Window in Editor now displays information on how the system works, how much teams cost and how many points they contribute
• NEW: R&D settings can no be configured by other mods using Confignodes. Place all settings in a node named “TFRNDSETTINGS”.updateFrequency is a double indicating how often the R&D teams tick. Value is in seconds and the default is 86400 or 1 day.
• NEW: R&D Teams can be configured by mods using a Config node. For each desired team add a node named “TEAM” under the main “TFRNDSETTINGS” node with the following properties: points indicates the amount of research points (directly mapped to data units) generated by the team per update. Default is 100. costFactor indicates the cost per point of the research team. Defaults to 1. Added ConfigNodeExtensions from @stupid_chris with license information.
• NEW: TestFlight supported parts in the Editor now have a right click menu button R&D Window which allows you to quickly open up a window to control research team allocation for the part.
• NEW: TestFlight now has a new Research and Development feature. This R&D System is optional, but allows you to trade off time and funds for increased part reliability. Rather than risking failures during a mission with low reliability parts, you can instead assign engineering teams to work on the parts over time, slowly increasing the part reliability without risk.
• NEW-CONFIG: New property added to ITestFlightCore to support R&D: rndMaxData defines the maximum amount of flight data that can be obtain by using engineering teams. This is defined in absolute units and if not present, R&D ill cap out at 75% of the part's maximum data
• NEW-CONFIG: New property added to ITestFlightCore to support R&D: rndRate defines the speed at which the part is research by engineering teams. This is a multiplier against the number of points generated by a team each cycle and defaults to 1, IE no modification.
• NEW-CONFIG: New property added to ITestFlightCore to support R&D: rndCost defines the cost at which the part is research by engineering teams. This is a multiplier against the cost of the team each cycle and defaults to 1, IE no modification.
• FIX: The following failures will re-apply themselves on loading a game: EnginePerformanceLoss, LockGimbal, ReducedMaxThrust, ResourceLeak
• NEW: TestFlightReliability_EngineCycle can now optionally modify accumulated burn time based on the actual thrust output of the engine. This is defined as a modifier curve using the FloatCurve thrustModifier
• NEW: TestFlightReliability_EngineCycle can now optionally decaythe used burn time on an engine when the engine is turned off. Can bedefined by using the property idleDecayRate. This value is directlysubtracted from the engine's current burn time each second, so a valueof 1 would be an approximate 1:1 time decay. This can optionally allowengines to have extended usage when shut off during coast periods.Note that this only kicks in if the engine is shut off (not ignited).
• NEW: TestFlightFailure_IgnitionFail can now apply an additional modifier to the chance of ignition based on the number of previous ignitions used. Use the FloatCurve ingitionUseMultiplier. This is a straight multiplier and thus values below 1 will lower the chance of the engine igniting and values above 1 will increase the chances.
• NEW: TestFlightFailure_IgnitionFail can now cause an additionalfailure to occur if the ignition fails. The chance of this occurringcan be set in the property additionalFailChance and is a value 0-1f,with default of 0. If this additional failure triggers then theengine will receive one of the existing random failures assigned to thepart.
• NEW-API: Add new property Failed to ITestFlightFailure interface.
• FIX: Persist the failed state on a part
• NEW: Add EngineModuleWrapper method to set the number of ignitions directly.
• NEW: ShutdownEngine failure now also removes all ignitions from the engine. They are restored is the failure is repaired.
• NEW-API: Add method to EngineModuleWrapper to return the current number of ignitions on an engine. int GetIgnitionCount()
• NEW-API: Added new functions to EngineModuleWrapper to Add and Remove ignitions from compatible engines. void AddIgnitions(int numIgnitions) and void RemoveIgnitions(int numIgnitions) Passing < 0 to RemoveIgnitions will remove all ignitions on the engine.