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Do people still use mechjeb?


notfruit

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Nobody NEEDS it, but I know many people WANT it, and I'm one of those people.

I personally use it when I'm tired of the same old launch sequence, and would rather have a computer do it for me than have to sit through and guide it, at least after the 257th time.

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I just started using it recently. It was only after a bunch of launches, maneuver nodes, etc became so routine as to get frustrating at times (feeling repetitive, etc), that I decided to install it. I don't use it for everything. But I love letting it execute my maneuver nodes for me, at least.

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I'm fairly certain I've never even so much as looked at MechJeb's page on SpacePort, let alone ever downloaded it. Half the fun of this game comes from what can go wrong, and if you've got an autopilot flying for you, you won't see any of it happen. Besides, it's far more impressive to pull off awesome feats of maneuvering in space on your own instead. Brings out the inner Jeb in us all, it does!

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When I don't use mechjeb.

Testing and refining any design.

When I want to do anything I know I could do more efficiently than Mechjeb and can give KSP my undivided attention "I'm a single dad with a 6 year old so I have to step away from the PC often."

Intercepts and Docking, love to bring to craft together :)

When I use Mechjeb.

Launching tested and trusted craft on their many dozens of trips to space.

Long burns to far off places.

Occasional landings when i'm feeling lazy.

Mechjeb is a great tool, and one that can be used by anyone as they see fit. Some need it to really gain the real fruit that KSP offers as they may just be poor pilots because lets face it not everyone has an aptitude for it. Still, others use it as a way to automate repetitive tasks of grander projects. If Mechjeb helps more people enjoy this game and I am fairly certain it has then by all means make use of it.

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Things such as pinpoint landings and maneuver node editing are things mechjeb offer that no person can pull off. Yes you can land very very close, but mechjeb will do it perfectly, exactly and consistently. Node editing is just a pain, instead of tweaking with nodes (till the nice scroll node editing comes next update) mechjeb allows you to edit the maneuver much more accurately.

I agree with most, no one needs mechjeb. They just need to learn, lots of people want to use mechjeb for one reason or another and i have no problem with that. I moved away from mechjeb once i figured out docking, now i use kerbal engineer for my needed flight data.

Edited by AmpsterMan
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I sue it for routine maneuvers, like Hohmann transfers and Rendezvousing. I also use it on ascent so that I don't have to worry about orbital inclination. It also has lots of useful orbit and surface things, as well as a spaceplane ILS type system.

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Well, I use MJ all of the time. Does it make me a bad pilot? No. Frankly I can manage missions to Laythe with Jool Aerobraking by hand, and without any data readouts. MJ is a tool that I use to make my game more fun for me, and I treat it as such. I don't see why this ever gets mentioned. All it turns into is people bashing other people based on whether or not the use MJ, as seen here:

Anyway, I am personally of the opinion thatin a game, if you like it and find it fun, do it, no matter what others think of you.

Edited by AmpsterMan
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Having more flight time in real aircraft then many people have flying KSP, I can tell you that in the real world there are 2 types of hazardous pilots when it comes to using auto-pilot:

1. Newbies. New pilots tend to dangerously rely on auto-pilot; while not understanding exactly what the autopilot is doing or why it is doing it. The thing here is that the auto-pilot isn't actually a "pilot", it is only doing what it is told to do. Case in point: Newbies need to learn the complexities involved with their aircraft, flight principles, and computer automation before using autopilot while flying. Fortunately, in KSP this is not a deadly mistake.

2. Macho's: Some pilots who consider themselves "Decent" enough tend to think that they are better then everything and everybody. This is also a dangerous attitude that is proven to lead to aviation accidents. An Auto-pilot is a tool, and a truly good pilot can recognize a tool, understand it, and use it to their advantage to increase flight efficiency and flight safety; all the while maintaining situational awareness and complete control over their situation.

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I only recently started using MJ. I honestly prefer KER for the information display. But MJ is pretty decent at it and is easier to manage the windows. Other than the Ascent guidance which I used on the 12 or so launches to rebuild my satellite network for Remote Tech 2 and the RSS Earth mod. I haven't really used any of the other features other than to see they don't work for 90% of the stuff I do.

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I use MechJeb all the time, mostly for the information screens, maneuver planner, maneuver node editor, and warp helper. I feel those features should be part of the stock game, because they let you concentrate on the interesting stuff without having to grind with the basics all the time. There are probably all kinds of autopilots, landing helpers and whatever other features in MechJeb, but I've never used them, because I'm too lazy to learn them without a real reason.

Today I completed an early-to-middle career mode mission to Gilly. MechJeb only had the information screens available, so there was a lot of tedious fighting against the bad maneuver node UI in the stock game. I don't have enough masochistic tendencies in me to enjoy that, after I've seen better alternatives.

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I use it for maneuvers that are so simple and routine to me they're boring, maneuvers that are very time/fuel sensitive, and maneuvers that are simply beyond my personal skill to execute myself. I don't consider it a crutch, since without it, some parts of the game would be so frustrating I wouldn't want to play it. And as MechJeb does it's thing, I watch it and learn, and over time begin to figure out the more complex actions and can do them myself.

Ultimately, I remember that KSP is not just a flight sim. I planned the mission, built the ship, decided where to go and what to do there, not a mod I installed. If I relied purely on my own piloting skills, it would all fail and be a huge waste of time.

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With the new SAS and other control improvements, do people still need mechjeb? I stopped using it a long time ago.

I used it during 0.21 while waiting for the SAS to get itself un-dumb, but once 0.22 rolled around I dropped it. I much prefer flying manual, as the devs intended.

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I tried it. I didn't care much for it. For me, not very many maneuvers are simple and routine because I am constantly trying to build new styles and designs. It's hard to get a feel for how they perform if I'm not actually controlling the stick.

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Just stopping by to remind everyone here. Please stick to the discussing of the utility of MechJeb; discussion of people who do or do not use it is not polite or civilized conduct :P

Personally I learned a lot from it when I installed it about a year and a half ago xD. For the longest time i used it to test my rockets and such. Now however I don't really install it anymore because I enjoy the whole "flying by the seat of my pants" feel of just using the keyboard. I've even been considering getting a joystick to really get the full feeling!

Edited by AmpsterMan
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Having more flight time in real aircraft then many people have flying KSP, I can tell you that in the real world there are 2 types of hazardous pilots when it comes to using auto-pilot:

1. Newbies. New pilots tend to dangerously rely on auto-pilot; while not understanding exactly what the autopilot is doing or why it is doing it. The thing here is that the auto-pilot isn't actually a "pilot", it is only doing what it is told to do. Case in point: Newbies need to learn the complexities involved with their aircraft, flight principles, and computer automation before using autopilot while flying. Fortunately, in KSP this is not a deadly mistake.

2. Macho's: Some pilots who consider themselves "Decent" enough tend to think that they are better then everything and everybody. This is also a dangerous attitude that is proven to lead to aviation accidents. An Auto-pilot is a tool, and a truly good pilot can recognize a tool, understand it, and use it to their advantage to increase flight efficiency and flight safety; all the while maintaining situational awareness and complete control over their situation.

I'm a pilot too and I know these sayings, but they are not about the auto-pilots.

Airplanes with complex enough auto-pilots are not flown by newbies. What do you mean? A newbie that doesn't know how land properly will fly an Airbus A380 and rely on the autopilot to land?

And "macho"? They think they are better than the auto-pilot so they don't use it? xD (I hope you realize how stupid this is, without me explaining it more)

In real life autopilots are used so you don't have to fly straight for 5 hours and things like that, not for 2 minutes tasks (like launching in KSP).

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i use it for pretty much everything that i do. be it just for information, or for the tedious tasks or because i am being lazy.

the fact that the devs intend us to repeatedly doing the tedious stuff is sketchy regex. i for one prefer to let autopilot handle the long burns or the tedium of repeated dockings. the fact I can set mechjeb to DOCK onto a specific port lets me do other things like swapping crew around while it docks. efficiency at its finest.

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