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Welcome to the AntennaRange wiki!

AntennaRange is a mod for Kerbal Space Program (KSP) that "enforces and encourages antenna diversity". In a nutshell, AntennaRange limits the range of antenna parts in KSP, requiring you to pick the right one for the right job, instead of allowing you to get away with the smallest, lightest, lowest-power antenna for every circumstance.

In AntennaRange, each antenna is part of a two-way link: antenna-to-antenna or antenna-to-base (currently Kerbin is the only base). For each different antenna part, a "nominal range" is specified; when antennas are at their nominal range with respect to their link partner, they behave exactly as Squad's antennas behave. When a link distance is shorter than its nominal range, transmitting antennas get a boost to data rate -- speeding up your game in real time. When a link distance is larger than its nominal range, transmitting antennas take a penalty to transmission power -- using up more of your precision ElectricCharge. If you get too far away, you can even lose your connection entirely.

AntennaRange follows the inverse-square law for bonuses and penalties in antenna links (similar to real life).

AntennaRange also features automated relay connections -- if your vessel is hidden from Kerbin by some large object (planets and moons only at this point) or just too far away, your transmitters will search for visible, "nearby" vessels to use as relays to get connections even from the toughest of spots.

To help you visualize your communications network, AntennaRange includes detailed information in the action ("right-click") menus of your antenna parts in flight, and "pretty lines" in the map view indicating your vessel's best target, and the status of your best link to it.

AntennaRange also comes with a number of optional features to let you customize your play experience (and perception of difficulty). Briefly, those options are:

• Require Connection for Probe Control Difficulty Option
  When selected, AntennaRange will require a viable connection in order for you to control your unmanned vessels.
• Require Line of Sight Realism Option, Difficulty Option
  When selected, AntennaRange will require unobstructed line of sight between your transmitters and their targets. This option also enables the "fudge factor" slider, which lets you pretend that planets and moons are some percentage smaller than they really are to make things a bit easier.
• Fixed Power Cost Realism Option
  When selected, AntennaRange will penalize your data rate for links that are beyond their nominal range, instead of penalizing the power cost.
• Update Delay Performance Option
  This slider lets you speed up or slow down AntennaRange's network resolution "heartbeat", which may help with performance impacts for very large networks or rather slow systems.
• (Don't) Use Additive Ranges Legacy Option
  While "Use Additive Ranges" is selected by default, de-selecting this option will cause AntennaRange to use fixed, asymmetric ranges for each transmitter part, instead of varying the nominal and maximum ranges of links based on both antennas in the pair. While less realistic than the symmetric link system, this maintains legacy (pre-1.10) behavior for users who prefer it.
• (Don't) Draw Pretty Lines Performance Option
  Also selected by default, the "pretty lines" system may be disabled in case you don't like it, or it's just too much for your system.

You can read more about AntennaRange in the forum thread at the Official KSP Forums, and eventually at this wiki.

IF you're interested in making parts or compatibility patches for AntennaRange, great! The best place to get started is currently the README.