Apoapsis and Pereapsis in both gameplay views

[colonel512]

I am fairly new to KSP and love it so my congrats on a job well done. One thing I find that I constantly do is switch from the game view to map view just to see the Apoapsis and Pereapsis. I tend to miss staging b/c of that plus I really like watching the the ship I built fly. Could those two values be included in the game view as well? Maybe as an toggle option in the settings to display it on screen or near the navigation ball? I know there are mods that will display that information but all of the ones I have found either support old versions or they display a lot more information than I currently want. Since the values are already in game it seems like it could be a relatively easy change to make.

[Zeggpold]

If you're willing to add plugins, the VOID plugin provides Pe and Ap information (along with a lot of other useful information) in the HUD (heads up display).

[Kasuha]

I'm flying most of my missions in map mode already because it provides all the vital information (not just Pe/Ap, but more importantly the shape of the orbit, nearest approaches, intercepts, gravity slingshots, ship position relative to next SOI change during time warp, etc etc. There's only time to appreciate the "normal" view when the ship is not burning (or is in the middle of a substantial burn) or time warping.

And yes, both ascent and landing are a problem and require more or less frequent switching between the two modes. It would probably help if some information and tools were added to the main view supporting these two maneuvers so one does not have to switch the mode so often.

[regex]

Apoapsis and periapsis information are crucial for enjoyable launches; I'd rather be watching my lifter than paging back and forth from map mode, makes for a much smoother launch. Same for landing, we really need a "radar altimeter" that isn't purely in the IVA. Quite frankly the information presentation in the game needs an update.

[LethalDose]

Regex is right, there's critical information that isn't present in the unmodded flight view.

I'm extremely happy with the VOID add-in that Zeggpold mentioned. It's really changed how I play the game (that is, when I have time to play the game).

[Kasuha]

To be honest, for enjoyable launches I'd prefer a PiP approach with map as resizable inset on normal view. That'd allow me to see not just Ap but the shape of the trajectory, its inclination and where I'm going to land if I don't go orbital. Camera control in either might come from where the mouse cursor is at the moment.

[Overfloater]

I absolutely agree!!! I've been really wanting a little display, that shows just the apoapsis, so I can do an entire accent on normal view. Especially when making a video, I don't want to make a video of a boring map view, dang it! Right now I'm just doing guess work when accending - "let's see, 2300+m/s probably means apoapsis is above atmo...". ridiculous! xD

And neither do I want some HUGE MechJeb(or something) window in all of its glory blocking half the screen... xD

Please, SQUAD, implement this!!! All we need is a tiny rectangle showing the Ap. (or both Ap & Pe...)

To be honest, for enjoyable launches I'd prefer a PiP approach with map as resizable inset on normal view. That'd allow me to see not just Ap but the shape of the trajectory, its inclination and where I'm going to land if I don't go orbital. Camera control in either might come from where the mouse cursor is at the moment.

You mean a mini map? I wouldn't mind having that as well!

Edited April 23, 2014 by Overfloater

[regex]

To be honest, for enjoyable launches I'd prefer a PiP approach with map as resizable inset on normal view. That'd allow me to see not just Ap but the shape of the trajectory, its inclination and where I'm going to land if I don't go orbital. Camera control in either might come from where the mouse cursor is at the moment.

I know you don't use mods but you should try out RPM at some point, you might really like it, has something similar to what you're suggesting in the IVA.

For me, in stock, just the numbers would be fine. I suppose time to AP, PE, and the altitudes themselves would be plenty, but an inset would work well too.

[Red Iron Crown]

I'm finding the lack of information in stock KSP to be more and more difficult to justify. If the point is to avoid overloading new players with info they don't understand, make it available further up the tech tree. Eventually, every player that advances beyond beginner finds the lack of more information to be inconvenient at best, requiring mods or external tools to do the calculations.