EvelynThe Dragon

One thing I am finding is supremely annoying is that when you set up a maneuver node to do a transfer from one planet to another you can sort of set something up that looks right but when you cross the SOI boundary of the body you are leaving from, it completely messes it up and your orbit isn't what you thought it was going to be. This makes mission planning a real mess.

I am uncertain what you mean by this. Can you explain further? Which engines? On which part of the craft?

Confirmed, this is EXTREMELY bad, it should return to the previous zoom setting it was at when switching and in map view return to the SAME focused object and zoom, not switch focus back to my craft if I have it focused somewhere else. Though using the UI buttons doesn't make a difference for me.

They are very different. And I don't like it. The sudden "hey, you are docked" nonsense bugs me, especially when it does so quite forcefully. I want something that is much more realistic. so I can dock with a gentle kiss... And the undocking is rude. It's very forceful, it almost always throws the undocked craft into some sort of tumbling motion. While we are at it, the fact that everything gets renamed and SAS settings are overridden on docking and undocking is also pretty rude.

KSP1 allows you to change the relative start time of the burn for every maneuver node if you wish, and I took that as what you meant while also mentioning the KSP 1 default mechanism. This is completely missing functionality for KSP2.

That's an instantaneous or impulse approximation of delta V. It's how KSP1 works by default. It is best when you have a high TWR (acceleration capability) that makes the error from that assumption smaller. Long burns present a problem in both estimating final trajectory as well as maneuver steering during the burn. It's a tough nut to crack. But a time offset setting for the start of burn is a compromise that should be an adjustable parameter.

I miss MechJeb 2 a lot. I had a custom target info window that gave me all the info I need for manual docking. Distance to target in all axes, speed relative to the target in all axes, and relative orbit information regarding the target. It was magnificent. I am really dissatisfied with KSP2 docking. It's a pain in the but, and the force of docking is ridiculous. In real space operations, docking is a gentle kiss, not bumper cars like it is in KSP2, I could get a realistic docking in KSP1, not in KSP 2.

The Maneuver Node Controller mod over on Spacedock makes it a lot easier to manipulate nodes. You can adjust all velocity vectors and maneuver time, it will snap to various orbital features (Ap, Pe, etc.) and it allows you to move the start time to future orbits as well. It also displays the adjusted orbital parameters at the completion of the burn. It is pretty good, give it a try. But, it still needs some work. I would love if it allowed typing entries into it instead of having to use buttons to adjust things. To be honest, this should be built into the game IMO. I am very much a keyboard warrior with KSP1 and I wish KSP2 worked the same. I am still trying to figure out the intercept markers, and I wish they showed the distance BY DEFAULT.

In KSP1, hitting Escape brings up a menu and pauses the game, in KSP2, it brings up a menu, but doesn't pause it. I find this kind of unintuitive. I looked at the key mappings in KSP2... there is no way to map pausing the game to any key. I want that functionality, clicking a button on the UI with the mouse is not the best idea. I should be able to do so at a keystroke. Now it doesn't have to be tied to Escape like it was in KSP1, though I think that makes sense. But, my keyboards all have a Pause key... it kind of makes sense for it to be used.

Yeah, they are not good. There needs to be stronger ones with more thrust, and nose cones with integrated solid rockets for separation would be a very nice addition to the parts catalog.

The default keymapping for resetting time warp is the '/' key. it's the fastest way to get there, but unfortunately, it is still slow enough that it can mess you up. I really don't get why there is a delay there, but it is real. I hope this helps, even a little. But it's at best a work around and not a solution.

Too many things are uncontrollable by the keyboard. Relying solely on mouse clicks often breaks the "flow" of what I am doing. Being able to tab to dialog buttons and use standard UI actions with them would be a big improvement IMO. It would require playing with window focus to keep from performing actions mapped to the spacebar, etc.

Excellent post, I agree on all points. And the trip planner is really useless., for one-way trips, it's OK, but still not great. For two-way trips it just mirrors the outbound steps with incorrect dV values. The needed dV to return from Minmus or Mun is far less than needed for getting to LKO in the first place. And there's no way to incorporate something like aerobraking. I get that it's a simple tool, but right now, it is a broken one for all but the simplest mission plans for many of the reasons others stated above.

So by limiting RCS to just translations, it has smoothed things out a lot. Good idea there. This makes it a lot less fussy when I just want to adjust pointing (pitch, yaw. roll) and not have to deal with turning RCS on and off. Being able to tune PID values would be fantastic. I think MechJeb lets you do that a bit. Yeah, wobbly rockets is one of my huge complaints. OK, hmm, I was unaware of fine control, I will go play with it... OK, that was interesting. When I have RCS enabled and fine control on, the RCS thrusters won't even fire.

I have not done it by launching and doing an orbital rendezvous. I was really looking to just practice docking and build a big station for the fun of it. So, no I have not done it without the mod.

Max Q exceeded... comes the Kraken...

Why is the vessel naming so messed up in KSP2? What was wrong with the system in KSP1? Why does it completely rename everything when docking and undocking? This is another thing that needs serious attention.

My knees hate me (I'm old), my cats just want to step on my keyboard and beg treats, and I can't sing...

Totally agreed. The stock KSP1 resource scanner is ridiculous. I want things to do, and setting up probes with various scanners then putting them in a proper orbit to scan is part of what I want. Exploration should be a part of getting ready to build colonies. That exploratory data being used to harvest resources, etc. is something I want as part of making colonies interesting and interactive.

Yeah, I am pretty familiar with how real feedback mechanisms work and how to control damping and other unwanted responses. It's part of what I do for a living.

It still happens with just reaction wheels, it should have much better damping IMO Yes, I UNDERSTAND IT IS EARLY ACCESS. But unless people identify these issues, they won't get fixed. Your comment is really pointless.

Unless I am missing something, it looks like the KSP1 camera control mechanism where you could right-click a part, even on another craft, and focus the camera on it is not part of KSP2. This is a very bad omission. We really need that functionality in the game, it was essential for me in KSP1, it allowed me to select a docking port as a target on another ship for one thing, making it easier to do a docking maneuver using the Nav-ball markers. PLEASE bring this back.

In KSP1, you could toggle between sliders and numeric entry on part menus. You could then enter a precise value in the field. This is really needed functionality. The current part manager interface is AWFUL. It's really unfriendly and makes tasks like selecting a docking port on a craft as a target you want to dock with very difficult.

I concur with this request. It makes no sense for it to not have one.

I am using this mod to do orbit rendezvous so I can practice docking without the niceties I had in KSP1 with MechJeb. I have found that when I do that, and attempt to approach the craft I want to dock to, it will suddenly jump away from my craft, sometimes buy a large amount. This makes it very difficult to do what I am attempting to do. Sometimes I can get there, other times I can't. It is kind of annoying to be honest.