More features and regimes for probe cores

[Psycho_zs]

Features like holding orbital directions, speed vecrors, targets can be compressed into much earlier portion of tech progression of probe cores.

Further down the line probe cores could gain a bit more sophisticated unlockable features, such as:

• a regime for killing horizontal velocity by adjusting pitch/yaw, cases:
  • final stages of powered descent
• a regime for killing vertical velocity by adjusting elevation (pic 2), cases:
  • suborbital to orbital transition, dragging apoapsis along by pitcing up, or limiting it's altitude by pitching down
  • keeping altitude during earlier of middle portions of powered descent from orbit
• adjustable constant elevation (pic 3), cases:
  • atmospheric flight
  • orbital insertion
• docking port alignment
• adjustables for existing hold modes (pic 1)
  • fine-tune attitude without disengaging hold
• autocompensation of CoM/CoT misalignment by trimming engine gimbals and adjusting ship control vector

Mockup usig KSP1 GUI:

Mouse or keyboard controls for trim could be used to adjust.

Edited January 21, 2022 by Psycho_zs

[Vl3d]

Interesting ideas - replying to "more probe features", I would love to see a system of probes progression that would focus on limited information gathered from instruments. As examples:

• starting with ground based telescopes and small probes with only grainy black and white cameras that evolve to space telescopes which discover exoplanets;
• using probes that give science real game play value like using instruments to discover features of planets - ex. building a Delta-V map by using science data, discovering topological and atmospheric features gradually (same for resources), listening to radio signals from deep space etc.
• recoverable and reusable rockets (maybe automated probe avionics that can return the rocket to base while we continue flying to orbit, although I would like to do both);
• the ability to use an instruments deck to remotely control a probe instead of flying it third-person;
• a better way to place probe cores on rockets without affecting control orientation or without making it hard to click on a probe placed inside a tank.

[EnderKid2]

integrating some version of the Throttle Controlled Avionics mod would be great, it provides so many useful probe functions.