Boot

Universal RAMP Boot Loader (/boot/boot.ks)

This program is intended to manage any kind of craft without needing to access the archive in real-time. It can update RAMP code on ship's drive, extend antennas to reach Kerbal Space Center and also look for a ship specific mission file. When no connection to KSC is available, it will work off-line without prejudice.

Folder structure

Since kOS v1.0.0 there is support for subfolders. A special subfolder called boot holds the scripts that can be selected during ship building in VAB or SPH. (See https://ksp-kos.github.io/KOS/general/volumes.html#boot for more info). You should copy boot.ks inside that folder, and all other RAMP files into /ramp folder. This let your script folder free for any files you want to use. When it runs, boot.ks will look for a file with the same name of your ship inside /start folder, then copy that file to ship's drive and runs it from there. You can update ship's start script at any time, and the next time kOS computer reboots, it will look for the new version, copy and run it. (As long is possible to communicate with KSC, otherwise will proceed with any copy of the script it have saved locally.) Optionally, RAMP can log its console outputs to a file in /logs folder. See lib_ui.ks file for more details.

Craft start-up script

You should provide a craft start-up script in /start folder. If no such script is found, boot.ks will just copy all RAMP scripts to the vessel's drive and stop. You can use the script util_makestartup.ks to create a sample file for your ship. You'll find it in the /start folder, and the sample code is similar to this:

    IF SHIP:STATUS = "PRELAUNCH" {
        RUN launch_asc(120000). // Launches to 120km
        SET TARGET TO MUN. //We choose go to to the Mun and do the other things!
        RUN transfer.
        // TODO: Do the other things, not because they are easy, but because they are hard!
    }

Fell free to change that to anything that suits your mission!

Disk space usage

RAMP scripts use about 150kb of memory. That seems low, but default kOS hard disk values are very small. In order to be able to load RAMP into ship's memory, is suggested to use a ModuleManager patch, for example:

@PART[kOSMachine1m]
{
	@MODULE[kOSProcessor]
	{
		diskSpace = 524288
	}
}
@PART[KAL9000]
{
	@MODULE[kOSProcessor]
	{
		diskSpace = 262144
	}
}
@PART[KR-2042]
{
	@MODULE[kOSProcessor]
	{
		diskSpace = 16384
	}
}
@PART[kOSMachineRad]
{
	@MODULE[kOSProcessor]
	{
		diskSpace = 131072
	}
}