User Interface Improvements

[Guest]

I have a background as a Commercial Pilot, and I think I might be able to make a few suggestions on improving the user interface. After all, a computer game's U.I. is a good analog for an airplane's instrument panel.

1. Display the Radar Altimeter readout on the main screen.

Why do I have to switch to IVA, pan the camera, and zoom in on a small instrument to use this function?

When I'm 100 meters up, trying to kill my velocity, and eyeball the landing site, the last thing I need to do is wrestle with the game U.I.

The use of the IVA mode should be an option, not a necessity.

The easiest way to control when the Radar Altimeter is shown is to add a few conditions to it's display parameters.

For example:

NavBall is in surface mode, Periapsis is below sea level, the craft is currently descending, and height above the terrain is less than 3000 meters.

2. Delta-V stats and Thrust-to-Weight information should be displayed in the Engineer's Report section in the SPH and VAB because that's what an engineer's report is for.

Look at any modern Pilot's Operating Handbook, written by the engineers, and you can find all of that useful information, because the first rule of safety is to eliminate guesswork.

This could also be tied into the building upgrade function in career mode so when you upgrade the SPH and VAB, first Thrust-to-Weight, then Delta-V stats are made available to the player.

3. Docking Port Alignment should be displayed on the Navball, or on a separate interface, when the controls are in Docking Mode and a Docking Port is targeted. That will give players a good reason to actually use the Docking Mode, instead of simply ignoring it's very existence.

Whether you take these suggestions seriously, or dismiss them as nitpicking, these are a few changes that would make the game more user friendly, and perhaps more accessible to new players. Not everyone who plays this game is a steely-eyed rocket jock, tearing across the cosmos, hunting for heaven. Most of us just want to fly some rockets into space without a whole lot of hassle.

I don't want to make any unfair accusations, but I think the developers have been hamstrung by the long existence of mods that address these issues, and their own long experience playing and developing the game is detrimental to looking at things through the eyes of a new first time player.

Regards,

Chris Maillet

Edited March 29, 2019 by Guest
Photobucket apocalypse.

[Hcube]

I totally agree with this. The radar altimeter in main view and the TWR/DeltaV stats are looooong debates already. The deltaV has been confirmed for a future update though. It was supposed to be in 1.0 , but oddly, (cough*release got rushed out **cough**) it didnt make it in the game.

Since we are making suggestions about all this, i'm gonna add this :

can we get a tool that displays planetary angles ? Because right now, after i've used a calculator to know when is the window for, say, a Duna launch, i still can't eyeball the angles quite correctly ! To have the correct planetary alignment and ejection burn, i have to timewarp in the tracking station because map view wont let me 100000x in LKO, guesstimate it, go out of map view by selecting"fly ship" , planning a manoeuver, seeing that i cant get a good encounter yet, switch to KSC, then tracking station, re-guesstimate , etc etc etc

This is annoying as hell

[arkie87]

I totally agree with this. The radar altimeter in main view and the TWR/DeltaV stats are looooong debates already. The deltaV has been confirmed for a future update though. It was supposed to be in 1.0 , but oddly, (cough*release got rushed out **cough**) it didnt make it in the game.

Since we are making suggestions about all this, i'm gonna add this :

can we get a tool that displays planetary angles ? Because right now, after i've used a calculator to know when is the window for, say, a Duna launch, i still can't eyeball the angles quite correctly ! To have the correct planetary alignment and ejection burn, i have to timewarp in the tracking station because map view wont let me 100000x in LKO, guesstimate it, go out of map view by selecting"fly ship" , planning a manoeuver, seeing that i cant get a good encounter yet, switch to KSC, then tracking station, re-guesstimate , etc etc etc

This is annoying as hell

or better yet, show in the map mode the transfer location, and a button to warp to when you select the body as a target

[Windspren]

Even better yet, incorporate KAC and change the warp to maneuver button to the KAC one. It looks WAY nicer and doesn't get in the way. Also show transfer windows like KAC and give an ejection angle.

[Guest]

With all the developer's discussion about redoing the game's User Interface for the new Unity5 release, I thought I might give my thread a bump.

I do believe my suggestions listed within are perfectly reasonable, and would be a sound addition to the KSP U.I.

I can only hope the developers take notice. If you're going to make a flight sim, why not consult real pilots on how to lay out your U.I.?

If I am in violation of some forum rule I don't remember, mods, feel free to lock this up.

[Wjolcz]

Mach number and IAS would be cool too.