Kerbal Space Program

[TheGodBen]

Yeah, they really need to fix the aerodynamic model. It was an okay stand-in when there was only a handful of parts, but now its faults are too silly to ignore. They're probably not going to fix it until they add clouds and possible other weather conditions, which they're experimenting on now, but now that KSP is becoming more of a game and less of a tech-demo the placeholder physics are becoming more annoying.

[Asbo Zaprudder]

Discovered HydroJeb, which takes the tedium out of docking and has some nifty (though garishly coloured) docking cameras and targets. Seems to work very well, and the camera view is nice. Purists would argue that one ought to do such things manually (or is that, Kerbally?) but I'm more interested in designing my craft and assembling them quickly in orbit than in farting about for hours on end. It's just a game, after all... Those with excellent hand-eye coordination can do it the hard way.

[sojourner]

ORDA has fully automated docking. Get within 2 kilometers. click "dock", "automated", "engage" and then sit back and watch.

There's the hardway, and then there's real life - let the computer do it.

[Asbo Zaprudder]

Indeed. Although I haven't tried ORDA, HydroJeb appears to work well. In particular, the docking camera view is a thing of beauty.

[B.J.]

I have a question: I haven't played the game myself, but do any of these systems (including the automated docking mod) have the potential for failure, like in real life? It would be interesting if your docking program suddenly went haywire when you're closing in on a station!

[Asbo Zaprudder]

B.J. wrote:

---

I have a question: I haven't played the game myself, but do any of these systems (including the automated docking mod) have the potential for failure, like in real life? It would be interesting if your docking program suddenly went haywire when you're closing in on a station!

In theory, no. However, the other day my RCS thrusters started misfiring for some reason and I had to take quick action to prevent a tumbling module from colliding with a solar panel array on my space station. I suspect that there might be a bug lurking in the docking code - or let's blame the deep space Kraken.

http://kspwiki.nexisonline.net/wiki/Deep_Space_Kraken

[TheGodBen]

Snowjourner wrote:

---

There's the hardway, and then there's real life - let the computer do it.

But real life spaceflight isn't as fun as you'd hope. You have to endure punishing g-forces, you have to pee into a sucky hose, you can't bathe properly, you have to exercise constantly, and you can't even leave Low Earth Orbit. Other than the floating and the magnificent view, real-world spaceflight isn't all that appealing.

I don't have a problem with people using mods if that's what they find fun, but I find manual flight much more rewarding. I sometimes feel like an auto-pilot would be nice for experimental things, like when I was testing my station's lifeboat module to see if it would survive re-entry, but if I'm heading out to another planet, I want to be the one that pilots the ship, and I want to be the one that lands it. If I screw up, that's on me, but then I get to plan a rescue mission.

[sojourner]

Eh, there's enough things in the game to screw up without worrying whether I have the right angle, power, and length of burn for a maneuver.

B.J. wrote:

---

I have a question: I haven't played the game myself, but do any of these systems (including the automated docking mod) have the potential for failure, like in real life? It would be interesting if your docking program suddenly went haywire when you're closing in on a station!

Potential failure? Oh yes. all the time. The kicker is that the potential is not intentional. Remember, these are mods written by amateurs (talented though they may be) for a game that is still only in .18 release.

[Asbo Zaprudder]

The control systems in the *Jeb mods appear to suffer from underdamping and so overshoot their target setting quite a lot - possibly because reliable information about moment of inertia is not available.

[sojourner]

I never had any issues with underdamping. Of course I haven't tried it since 1.0.3 came out.

[Asbo Zaprudder]

I might have a go at hacking a fix as it shouldn't require much advanced knowledge of C#, just a little research on SharpDevelop. It's not high on my to-do list though.

[TheGodBen]

Bah, I'm halfway through my project of landing probes on all the worlds in the game when they release an update with a new one. Damn them for adding content!

By the way, Saturn0660, if you haven't bought the game yet it is on sale for 25% off until Christmas. It's probably the cheapest it will be for a long while.

[sojourner]

Asbo Zaprudder wrote:

---

I might have a go at hacking a fix as it shouldn't require much advanced knowledge of C#, just a little research on SharpDevelop. It's not high on my to-do list though.

Seems there was a pretty big nerf to RCS in the .18.2 release of Kerbal yesterday. The problem may not be with mechjeb.

[Saturn0660]

Nope i didn't buy it.. Now i need to.

[Asbo Zaprudder]

sojourner wrote:

---

Seems there was a pretty big nerf to RCS in the .18.2 release of Kerbal yesterday. The problem may not be with mechjeb.

I read that previously there was a bug in the physics engine that allowed you to attain orbit on RCS power alone - just by placing the thrusters far enough away from the centre of mass. Wacky...