Mechjeb or KER?

[Senormeens]

I've been installing a lot of mods lately (preferably ones that use the unlock tree in Career) and i have a couple questions.

First, mechjeb or Kerbal Engineer redux? Ibe installed KER and i like it except i can't see any easy way to find out what the orbital period on my satellites are, which is a little important when making a comms relay for remote tech. I think Mechjab has this functionality in it, but i don't want to tempt myself with being able to autopilot. If anyone has any ideas its appreciated

Second, contract packs, I've tried to install contract packs like 5dim which uses BD armory to create war scenario contracts, but for the life of me (And some kerbals) i can't get them to show up in the contract center, are they supposed to be installed anywhere specific? I do also has Contracts Configurator

Third, what other mods do you suggest i use, again i would like all of them to be compatible with and use the tech tree in career mod.

Thanks!

Edit: I have found the orbital period on KER so that problem is out.

Edited June 19, 2015 by Senormeens

[Vanamonde]

Modding question moved to the modding subforum.

[DuoDex]

1. I know that MJ does orbital periods, and I think that KER does too, you may wish to look around a bit more. However if you use MJ you will be labeled as a filthy cheater by certain members of the community here

2. Google Contract Configurator - that's what those things use to create contracts.

3. 99.5% of mods are intercompatible, don't worry about that.

Also, welcome to the forums! I know it seems like only moderators have responded thus far, but there are lots of active users that would love to give you help? Right, guys? Guys? ... guys? please don't leave me.

[regex]

However if you use MJ you will be labeled as a filthy cheater by certain members of the community here

MechJeb is more realistic unless you're running a '50's USAF space program. But DuoDex is correct, using it makes you a filthy cheater.

MJ and KER share their delta-V solver (or a lot of code therein) and also display pretty much the same information. Both are stylish and eminently configurable.

[MrZayas1]

I like using Mechjeb, simply because lots of monotonous things like getting into orbit and plotting hohmann transfers to moons and planets gets kind of old after a while It's all about your cup of tea, if you've been to orbit 5,000 times then you probably can do it again, just use what you want

[Crzyrndm]

Ibe installed KER and i like except i can't see any easy way to find out what the orbital period on my satellites are

Orbital period should be one of the default readouts in the orbital panel for KER. If it's not there, click the edit button on the orbit panel and select orbital from the preset dropdown, it has period as the second readout from the bottom.

Contract packs require Contract Configurator and can have prerequisite conditions (such as achieving orbit for the first time or having a certain level of prestige)

Edited June 9, 2015 by Crzyrndm

[redsh]

MJ is a great thing and I'm not agree with "autopilot" definition. It's a complex toolkit for measurements, calculation, planning. Also it's made quite professionally.

[AlamoVampire]

MechJeb is more realistic unless you're running a '50's USAF space program. But DuoDex is correct, using it makes you a filthy cheater.

MJ and KER share their delta-V solver (or a lot of code therein) and also display pretty much the same information. Both are stylish and eminently configurable.

Cheating in a game, is defined as providing one's self with an unnatural advantage over other players by a means not supported by the rules or the design of the game in general there in. By this definition, MechJeb is NOT a cheat what so ever. How? Simple. This is a SINGLE PLAYER GAME ONLY and you are not getting ANY advantage over say Scott Manley by using MechJeb. Also, I am aware I am feeding a sarcastic or trolling post <definition defined by ones personal point of view> but, by Mjolnir I cannot sit back and NOT comment. that simple.

MJ is a great thing and I'm not agree with "autopilot" definition. It's a complex toolkit for measurements, calculation, planning. Also it's made quite professionally.

dude, id love to know what YOUR definition of an autopilot is, because having flown multiple simulators, a cessna, and an airports worth of model aircraft, I can clearly tell you, that MJ IS by all definitions an auto-pilot. How? Simple. tell it what you want done, and it does it, automatically, so long as you hit the proper settings. So, yes, it IS an autopilot. period. as well as one heck of a flight computer

[jwenting]

I prefer MJ. Not only does it have a lot more functionality (which you may or may not want/use) but the windows it creates are smaller, which is a bit plus

[redsh]

AlamoVampire: Autopilot means sort of robot that directly controls the craft. MJ includes autopilot features of course but it also has plenty of well-designed non-autopilot features for planning, predicting etc. "tell it what you want done, and it does it" point of view is quite limited.

Edited June 9, 2015 by redsh

[Alshain]

I prefer MJ. Not only does it have a lot more functionality (which you may or may not want/use) but the windows it creates are smaller, which is a bit plus

Not anymore. KER has HUD layouts, making it the new king of compact designs between the two. EDIT: Also notice the Orbital Period, that is the Orbit preset that comes with the mod, but the default and the default preset are two different things, you have to load the preset.

Edited June 9, 2015 by Alshain

[redsh]

I really don't like capsed text in KER GUI. Can it be switched to normal case somehow?

[regex]

Cheating in a game, is defined as providing one's self with an unnatural advantage over other players by a means not supported by the rules or the design of the game in general there in. By this definition, MechJeb is NOT a cheat what so ever. How? Simple. This is a SINGLE PLAYER GAME ONLY and you are not getting ANY advantage over say Scott Manley by using MechJeb.

Who are you to tell me what is and is not cheating in MY game?

[Nothalogh]

'50's USAF space program

'50s USAF was trying to build Project Orion, so I doubt they had an aversion to flight control systems

[regex]

'50s USAF was trying to build Project Orion, so I doubt they had an aversion to flight control systems

Nope, but they always preferred to have a "man in the middle". They're about the closest to the way Kerbals do things.

[Harry Rhodan]

The answer is obviously VOID.

[AlamoVampire]

AlamoVampire: Autopilot means sort of robot that directly controls the craft. MJ includes autopilot features of course but it also has plenty of well-designed non-autopilot features for planning, predicting etc. "tell it what you want done, and it does it" point of view is quite limited.

That by default makes it an autopilot. IRL APs require manual input for hdg, alt, spd, much the same as MJ. Thus it is an autopilot.

Who are you to tell me what is and is not cheating in MY game?

It seems I have struck a nerve. Unintended. Regex i singled no single player out. I supplied a definition. Nothing more. The long and short is this: squad permits us to mod, so no mod is cheating. Simple enough.

[StarStreak2109]

There it is right now! I am a "filthy cheater"! Shame on me! Everybody, come on, let's jump on me and cry out "Filthy Cheater"! I am using MechJeb with most of it's autopiloting functions. For me, the fun in the game is the engineering part. Sometimes, I like to take the throttle myself, but mostly, I let MechJeb handle standard manoeuvers. I reason, that most space craft are using some kind of autopilot most of the time as well, so, why not!

Besides that, I believe, KER and MJ have some right to co-exist, because I like the VAB/SPH functions of KER better than those of MJ.

[Red Iron Crown]

I've used KER and MJ on their own and simultaneously, they are both excellent mods.

Both provide a lot of data, some of which I consider essential to my enjoyment of the game (I'm not really a "from the hip" designer or pilot). There is more info available in MJ as far as I can tell, but I like the way KER presents it better.

The utilities and autopilot in MJ is a personal preference thing. I've been doing most of my own piloting lately so I haven't been using the APs, and I always plan my own maneuvers and make nodes by hand (these are part of the fun for me). Some of the utilities are quite handy, though, and SmartASS so outclasses the stock SAS that it might be worth installing for that feature alone.

As for the whole "cheating" thing, that's old and tired. Play the game how you like to play and don't worry who thinks you're a cheater. Some people think info mods are cheating, some think *all* mods are cheating, some even think doing the math by hand is cheating. If you worry or argue about what is and isn't cheating you are wasting your time, IMO.

[Hotaru]

I think playing Kerbal Space Program is cheating. When I was your age*, I had to actually light stuff on fire and build real rockets to indulge in my space-related fantasies.

On topic, personally I use both KER and MJ. I have less than no patience for playing without autopilot so MJ is a must, but I like KER's HUD functionality slightly better than MJ's windows. As far as I can tell they give you most of the same information.

Regarding the OP's second question which I haven't seen answered yet, contract packs require the Contract Configurator mod. Install that first and you'll have a folder called something like "Contract Packs;" that's where you install the packs. Hope this helps!

*figuratvely speaking

[sarbian]

MJ is a great thing and I'm not agree with "autopilot" definition. It's a complex toolkit for measurements, calculation, planning. Also it's made quite professionally.

Thanks

The answer is obviously VOID.

Clearly. VOID is one of those nice mods that needs more visibility.

I have plans to provide an other part that would provide only the the core elements of MJ by default ( display, SASS, node editor, planner, ...) to provide something void of the AP for those who prefer that. But I am waiting for 1.0.3 to get our first, so I can release a new official release before breaking things again.

[monstah]

Honestly, all I think MJ lacks is a semi-transparent configurable HUD like KER.

I love KER and I'm in no rush to get rid of it, but my laptop limits the ammount of mods I can use. I use both MJ and KER, and if MJ had the pretty unobtrusive HUDs I'd sure get rid of the other (with cheers and many thanks to the author ).

Now, let's please not go near the childish "cheating" subject ever, ever, ever again, in any topic, regarding any mod? Ever?

[smjjames]

I would say both, they complement each other nicely actually.

[heng]

I grew up with electronic games which did not have individual savegames. You had to start from the very beginning to go all the way to the point you stopped last time again and again. There are probably games I still could walk through the first few levels in my sleep, but haven't seen the end more than once or twice.

This is the situation with getting stuff into orbit in stock.

Later, there were savepoints, were either the game actually saved, or you got a code you could write down and type in later. It did mean, that you were able to get there, but could continue venturing out from there.

This is my personal feeling toward using MJ to get stuff into orbit.

I do use KER instead of MJ, but only because I grew up and grew accustomed to the principle of bottom-up (here: start from the beginning each time. i know it's not the correct use of the term. sorry) building. Not because I think one is better or the other is more "pure" or one is cheating or something.

/my 2 cents

Edited June 9, 2015 by heng

[Rocketfeline]

I use mechjeb for mostly ascent and burns. Because I cant trust myself to not flip over during ascent or burning too late. I just found KER being very tacky. Especially during VAB. I dont like it giving me descriptions of everything. (I would like to add that I dont wanna end up like a mechjeb debate on stuff. This thread is too young..)