blizzy78

Why not launch a small probe (instead of live Kerbals) and try it out for yourself? That's just part of the fun

For now they're just placeholders.

Atmospheric Landing Chart: Pinpoint landings on Duna, Eve, Kerbin, Laythe!

You could use Quantum Struts around the docking port. Four of them in a ring around one of the docking ports works wonders. Also, are you on KSP 0.21 yet? SAS has been getting some serious rework and shouldn't break stations apart anymore. Or at least that's the theory

There's no need to be. This forum is here to help, so start asking questions!

I think the keyword here is terminal velocity.

Is this question about docking or rather about setting up a rendezvous course?

Why have two sets of wings when you can go with one?

Also, you should put active control surfaces at the bottom of the rocket. The center of lift should be behind the center of mass.

Great plugin, thanks for making it!

Honestly, I can't answer that because I don't pay any attention to this detail. I simply change my orbit so that it intersects with the target's orbit, move the maneuver node through time so that I get a close encounter, and then just burn towards the retrograde marker (in "Target" navball mode) when at closest distance. Thinking about it, the point is not if your target is ahead of you or vice versa, but whose orbit is higher. If your orbit is higher than your target's, you need to come a bit below its orbit to get an intersect. This means that you will be going slightly faster at closest distance. You will want to arrive slightly behind your target so that you can catch up using your higher velocity. On the other hand, if your orbit is lower than your target's, it the complete opposite way.

That's the SAS doing it. For small degrees of rotation, it will tend to swing back. As for deactivating it, I deliberately chose to activate it all the time in the tutorial, because I find it incredibly helpful, even more so with the changes in 0.21.

Yes, it has. Actually I've pulled it from the archive, because as a regular craft file it is not the same while in the tutorial scenario. The reason is that when you load up the tutorial, the plugin will modify the mass of some of the parts for easier maneuverability. I found that the original side pods were much too light. Not sure if and when the craft file returns.

Let me know if I can be of help

Docking Tutorial 1.1.0 is now available for download. Please see the OP for a list of changes.

Hmm, that's odd. I just rotate the camera so that I see everything from the side, then just use up/down to line up with the docking port's axis. Then repeat the same with a top down view and moving just left/right. Another quick check from both viewing angles again if both directions are aligned property, and the only thing left is moving forward.

Which is exactly why I'm favoring the "chase" camera mode. In this mode, up is always up, left is always left and so on. (Assuming the camera is behind the craft - you can still rotate the camera in "chase" mode.) In EVA mode the camera works almost exactly like the "chase" camera, so I feel KOCOUR is pretty much right.

Haha, congratulations nonetheless Good plan, I'll see about implementing that. As for repetition, I kind of want a feature in the tutorial that lets you reset the entire scenario to a certain point. Such as, "click this button and I'll reset everything for you so you can try it again." Not sure if that's possible, though.

Your mileage may vary I find both docking and rendezvous easy. Not everyone is the same.

Is there a demo video somewhere? I'd really be interested in seeing that (and possibly stick it into the OP.)

Just to be clear: This tutorial plugin is only about the docking part, not about rendezvous (coming from great distance) or approach (from 5 km down to let's say 100 m.) Just getting to dock when you're already at a distance of about 50 m to 100 m. As I understand it (for example from MoonGoddess's comment) there are some people that are still having trouble while at this short distance. The plugin is intended to cover this. I'm pretty sure the instructions presented can be improved upon, I just need to figure out exactly how.

The hard part is imagining what you are doing. Perhaps you could try and shoot a video? That would help ALOT. No problem, I'm trying to understand where players are having a hard time with docking. My plugin is in no way a complete tutorial yet, it's just the first public version Whoa, we'll see about that. I liked doing the plugin so far, and for now I will continue to expand it. These are very helpful tips. Let's see what I can do to implement these into the plugin. Please keep the suggestions coming. I appreciate them very much!

Relax. They will be revived after some time.

Yet another maneuver node editor. Plus. Regex wrote this plugin to fulfill a singular request he had since he started seriously playing this game: the ability to see the ejection angle of a maneuver node. When we have wonderful tools like alexmun's Launch Window Planner allowing us to plan our trips and take advantage of sub-optimal launch windows, it is literally a crime in his eyes to not have this simple capability. Mod showcase/documentation by Geneborg/D.Fontana: Download Precise Node 1.2.4 Source code: https://github.com/blizzy78/ksp-precisenode (Precise Node is licensed under the BSD 2-clause license.) Of course he also added some controls that one would expect from a tool used to edit maneuver nodes such as prograde, normal, and radial controls, plus conics draw mode and conics draw limit controls. You can edit the time of the node by typing in the desired UT, by using the normal increment controls, or by activating the coarse time controls through options. PreciseNode allows you to customize the node editor window for use as a simple node widget replacement or a full-blown interplanetary maneuver assistant. It also features a separate clock window as well as conics display controls, with or without a maneuver node present. Keyboard Controls You are able to control the node editor through the keyboard if desired. When the PreciseNode window is open you can click the "K" button in the upper right to open the keymapping GUI. Click the "set" button next to a control to change the control. The first key pressed within five seconds will be assigned to that action, so be sure you're in a mellow situation before setting your keys. Default Controls Prograde +/-: Keypad 8/Keypad 5 Normal +/-: Keypad 9/Keypad 7 Radial +/-: Keypad 6/Keypad 4 Time +/-: Keypad 3/Keypad 1 Increment +/-: Keypad 0/(alt/option) + <Increment +> Change Conics: Keypad Enter Hide Node Editor Window: P Open Node: O Change Log This mod includes version checking using MiniAVC. If you opt-in, it will use the Internet to check whether there is a new version available. Data is only read from the Internet and no personal information is sent. For a more comprehensive version checking experience, please download the KSP-AVC Plugin. 1.2.4, 2016-10-15 - Updated for KSP 1.2.0. - Please note that the 32-bit version of KSP will no longer be supported. 1.2.3, 2016-05-02 - Updated for KSP 1.1.2. - Now uses KSP-AVC for version checking. If KSP-AVC is not installed, the bundled MiniAVC will be used. 1.2.2, 2016-04-21 - Updated for KSP 1.1.0. 1.2.1, 2015-11-14 - Fixed a bug with loading/saving the intuitive maneuver node handles option. - Fixed a bug that occurred when patched conics were not yet available in career mode. 1.2.0, 2015-11-10 - Updated for KSP 1.0.5. - Added intuitive behavior for maneuver node handles (code by TechnocratiK.) This can be enabled in the options window. The intuitive behavior is most useful for normal/anti-normal burns (ie. inclination changes.) - Orbit information now also shows the inclination. - Fixed a bug in the Kerbin/Earth time conversion. - Disabled KSP compatibility check for the time being. 1.1.3, 2015-05-02 - Fixed NullReferenceException in map mode. - Updated for KSP 1.0.2. 1.1.2, 2014-12-16 - Updated for KSP 0.90.0. 1.1.1, 2014-10-09 - Fixed a bug in the KSP compatibility check. 1.1.0, 2014-08-02 - The +/- buttons have been combined into one button. Left-clicking now acts as plus, whereas right-clicking acts as minus. - Fixed some bugs in the calculations of ejection angle and ejection inclination. - If activated in the options, the conics window is now always displayed regardless of the visibility of the main window. 1.0.0, 2014-07-27 - In addition to the automatic update check, the plugin now also gets KSP versions from the update check server. In case the currently running KSP version is one of those versions, the plugin will not complain about being incompatible with this KSP version. This saves both players' and the plugin author's time. - Updated for KSP 0.24.2. 0.14, 2014-07-25 - Updated for KSP 0.24.1. 0.13, 2014-07-18 - Updated for KSP 0.24.0. - The RP-9f Craft Locator part is now gone. 0.12, 2014-06-10 - Added new buttons "MS" and "MR" to memorize and recall the current maneuver node's settings, respectively. - DN/AN buttons should no longer flicker if the relative/equatorial inclination is almost zero. 0.11, 2014-04-09 - The button "Focus Vessel" should now work as intended. - Time and duration displays should now honor the Earth time/Kerbin time setting. - Added a button to delete the current maneuver node. 0.10, 2014-04-02 - Added a new option to show/hide conics controls in the main window. - In addition to the ejection angle, the ejection inclination will be displayed. - The RP-9f Craft Locator (the part that saves maneuver nodes into the save file) has been removed. KSP itself can save maneuver nodes now. Note: For the time being, your existing craft should be fine. You simply cannot select the part in the editor any longer. Be advised to replace existing craft using this part because it will be removed permanently at some future point. You should be able to remove it from craft files in the editor. - The buttons to modify a maneuver node's time will be disabled now if they are not applicable with respect to the node's current time. PreciseNode 0.9 - Added a PartModule to save and load Maneuver Nodes: ModuleNodeSaver. - No additional parameters are needed, there are no right-click options. - Talisar provided a part for ModuleNodeSaver. - The RP-9f Craft Locator is available under the Control parts section. - In career mode it is under Advanced Flight Control for 8000 unlock, 1200 price. - a.g. provided code to fix an issue with Unity on Linux where hotkeys were being activated even while a text field had focus. - Added Majiir's compatibility checker for KSP version checking. - This will not disable any functions, it is purely used for warning the user. - Added the ability to merge a node with a previous node on the Trip Info screen. - Replaced the +/-10K time buttons with AN/DN snap buttons. - If you have a target the buttons will snap to AN/DN of the target, otherwise they will snap to the equatorial AN/DN. PreciseNode 0.8.1 - Fixed node update during burn issue (editing a node without using the gizmo first). - Changed the options and keymapper buttons to toggle-like functionality. PreciseNode 0.8 - Fixed null reference exception spam. PreciseNode 0.7.5 - Fixed erratic textbox behaviour. PreciseNode 0.7 - Next Encounter now be calculated from the currently selected node. - This should fix the issue where the orbit AP/PE was never shown if an encounter existed at all. - Added textboxes for prograde, normal, and radial controls. - Added a button to focus on the next encounter target. - Added a button to focus on the active vessel. - Removed some forgotten debugging symbols. - Fixed some repaint bugs that may have been causing unexpected CTDs. - Fixed some null reference bugs through a better node updating scheme. PreciseNode 0.6 - Added the time to next node in the Clock window if a node is present. - Added a Trip Info window. - Shows the delta-V and time until for the nodes on your route. - Totals delta-V for the route. - Added snap to current orbit peri- and apoapsis buttons for additional UT Controls. - Now calculating next encounter from the current node forward. - The "Editing Node" label at the top is now a button that focuses the map view on that particular node. - The Clock window will no longer stay visible when you clear the GUI via F2. PreciseNode 0.5 - Added ability to open selected maneuver node gizmo via hotkey (default O). - Added ability to open/hide window via hotkey (default P). - Added ability to step down increment via alt/option + increment hotkey. - Added ability to alter the conics patch draw limit. - Added additional increments for UT manipulation. - Added an options window for greater user control over plugin: - You can show/hide the maneuver node pager. - You can show/hide the additional UT controls. - You can show/hide the ejection angle. - You can show/hide the additional orbit information. - Added an optional window for conics controls. - If enabled the window will show whenever the map view is open. - If enabled the window will hide automatically when the main window is open. - Added an optional clock window to show the current UT and human readable time. - If enabled the clock window will always show. PreciseNode 0.4 - 0.22 compile. - Added display for node apoapsis and periapsis, or the next encounter periapsis. PreciseNode 0.3 - Created an options GUI for keymapping. - PreciseNode will now save the window positions between program executions. - Changed saving of config file to OnDisable, which happens when you switch flights. - Changed the time display to add +1 year in order to correct to Space Center time. PreciseNode 0.2 - Changed the "multiplier" label to "increment". - Changed increment/decrement button colors away from the terrible cyan and magenta. - XMLDoc'd all of the functions. - Added conics mode selectors. - Added keyboard controls. - Added saving and loading from config file. To Do If time-warping, show actual time to node in clock as well as UT time. Add ability to lock magnitude (final delta-V) while editing. Add support for blizzy's toolbar. (Does not appear to be very useful to Precise Node right now.) Add an option to use that horrible abomination of a stock GUI style. Add an option to remove old nodes if their magnitude (delta-V) is less than a certain threshold. Trip planning Temporarily save nodes if you want to see the trip without them.

It runs within the in-game tutorial system. To run, select Start Game > Training > Docking and follow instructions. I used the default installation guide provided by Spaceport. Here's hoping they update it for 0.21 :-/