Playing KSP without flyin the ships?

[VFRHawk]

Hi,

I'd like to get back in to playing KSP again, but I'm more interested in planning the missions and building the ships than I am actually flying them.

Is there a mod (or a game mode) available where you plan the mission out then watch it unfold?  So build a rocket, then lay out how it'll launch and turn etc without having to actually do the flying manually?

VFRHawk

[Snark]

37 minutes ago, VFRHawk said:

Is there a mod (or a game mode) available where you plan the mission out then watch it unfold?  So build a rocket, then lay out how it'll launch and turn etc without having to actually do the flying manually?

Well, sorta.  There's an autopilot mod called MechJeb that's very popular-- it won't do everything for you, but it can automate quite a bit (e.g. "fly this ship to orbit" or "dock with that ship").  I've never used it myself, but I gather that it can do quite a bit.  Add-on Discussions might be a good place to look for talk about it.

[jimmymcgoochie]

I second that suggestion- MechJeb can nearly fly your ships for you as long as you tell it what to do and when. There’s also kOS which is an automation scripting system to really make your ships hands-off, but I’ve never tried that and it requires some level of coding knowledge; however you can probably find others’ scripts on the forums to steal borrow.

[Zhetaan]

15 hours ago, VFRHawk said:

Is there a mod (or a game mode) available where you plan the mission out then watch it unfold?  So build a rocket, then lay out how it'll launch and turn etc without having to actually do the flying manually?

There's no specific game mode for that; however, a combination of MechJeb and kOS would work for that.  The combination is not truly necessary:  if you are a sufficiently inventive coder, then kOS on its own can do everything that MechJeb can do.

Since you ask specifically about launch and turning, I believe that there are no truly automated launches; at the least, you are going to need to press space or otherwise tell it to start.  The game requires user input for that (probably because Squad thought the pun was funny--I'm surprised that you don't begin your descent into the atmosphere by pressing enter).  After that, though, there are fully-automated missions.  It's ancient enough to nearly be a fossil, but this is an automated mission to Duna and Ike using kOS.  I offer it for informational purposes only; both the game and the mod have changed enough that this cannot be taken as a tutorial.

However, there are also fully hands-off missions that are not necessarily automated, either.  With the right design, you can have a rocket that, once you ignite it, launches itself to stable orbit without any further input from anything, whether it be you or an autopilot.  There are more resources for that than there are for automated missions (mainly because a rocket that launches itself to orbit using stock parts is more universally applicable than a script to launch your rocket, or any specific rocket, to orbit).

If you have the Making History DLC, then you should know that it includes a Mission Builder that you can use to set requirements and parameters, and while it will not fly those missions for you, it could potentially be a help and a guide for you to lay out your mission plan.  Of course, pencil and paper work for that, too, as they always have.

[Anonymous49]

On 1/14/2021 at 6:23 AM, VFRHawk said:

Hi,

I'd like to get back in to playing KSP again, but I'm more interested in planning the missions and building the ships than I am actually flying them.

Is there a mod (or a game mode) available where you plan the mission out then watch it unfold?  So build a rocket, then lay out how it'll launch and turn etc without having to actually do the flying manually?

VFRHawk

mechjeb is good but most of the time it's wrong

[Caerfinon]

The mod Throttle Controlled Avionics has decent launch to orbit, rendezvous, and landing autopilots functions. I use it for repetitive launches of modular stations for assembly in orbit.   

[Gargamel]

On 1/15/2021 at 12:01 AM, Anonymous49 said:

mechjeb is good but most of the time it's wrong

You are quite mistaken in this. 

[VoidSquid]

On 1/15/2021 at 6:01 AM, Anonymous49 said:

mechjeb is good but most of the time it's wrong

Depends on the input and expected output  

See, I'm playing KSP for a couple of thousands hours, And I'm very happy to not have to steer my rockets manually to orbit anymore but I can offload that task to MJ. For that to work though, I do have to built my rockets properly in the first place, one can't expect MJ to bring a poorly designed one properly into orbit.

Yes, MJ can automate things, but it's no wizard, you as a player need to provide good "input" and reasonable expectations to allow it to work properly.

Now, what _exactly_ is it you expect from MJ to do for you, @Anonymous49

Edited January 16, 2021 by VoidSquid

[vv3k70r]

This topic could be intresting to make minigame about vessel design (and mission profile step by step with) for kind of automatic testing using MechWhatever. It is part of production, delivery, execution chain that exist in reality. People and division that design things have to operate them only with new, narrow technology but later on there are cheaper and more specialised people to do that. It often works better.

Game is so complex that people find diferent, intresting parts of it like design, flying, micromanagin, orbital station, ground base, mining, micromanaging of route planing/refueling, operating vessel on suborbital on diferent bodies, rovers, comunication network. Even every celestial body could be kind of specialisation and be more intresting for some people. Moho and Eeloo is completly diferent when come to power and heat.

Edited January 20, 2021 by vv3k70r