The Abort Button

[SpacedCowboy]

Iv'e been playing this game for close to a couple of years now , and have never really understood it's use. Yeah, I use it in "action groups" to toggle various options, but what was the initial purpose of the "abort button"?

Edited February 28, 2015 by Claw

[Tank Buddy]

It is a separate action group that you can set up. It is bound to backspace and the button in the UI. It can be used to jettison a capsule and activate a LES.

[Bill Phil]

It is a separate action group that you can set up. It is bound to backspace and the button in the UI. It can be used to jettison a capsule and activate a LES.

Or as a an eleventh action group if you're smart about how you do it...

[Specialist290]

Looks like this one belongs in Gameplay Questions. Moving

And yeah, it's basically an "extra" action group specifically configured to be used in emergencies, because the Backspace key is a bit larger and easier to hit than the others.

[Stargate525]

Looks like this one belongs in Gameplay Questions. Moving

And yeah, it's basically an "extra" action group specifically configured to be used in emergencies, because the Backspace key is a bit larger and easier to hit than the others.

But on the other side of the keyboard from where your hand typically is. This has resulted in frantic mashing of the entire side of the keyboard in an attempt to save my kerbals from imminent doom.

[Slam_Jones]

Plus, it's unlocked before the numbered Action Groups. So there's that.

[WuphonsReach]

Or as a an eleventh action group if you're smart about how you do it...

That's my preferred usage for about 95% of the time. With KCT I can simulate launches as much as I want while designing the vessel, so I rarely have launch failures.

Instead I use "Abort" for "deploy solar panels, antennas" and "Brake" for "retract anything that will break in atmosphere".

[FlyingPete]

It does come in handy in career mode before you've unlocked the other action groups. I use it on my planes to switch between jet and rocket engines. But yeah, the intended use is to control a LES in case of rapid unplanned disassembly, imminent lithobraking etc.

[Skorpychan]

It's something you can set up to stage the capsule and upper stage, shut down engines, jettison any SRBs, and so forth.

I don't get much use out of it; I prefer to just pound through the staging until I get enough TWR to escape the booster.

Or the whole thing explodes too fast to get out.

[Claw]

But on the other side of the keyboard from where your hand typically is. This has resulted in frantic mashing of the entire side of the keyboard in an attempt to save my kerbals from imminent doom.

It must be intentionally placed on the far side of the keyboard to ensure maximum doomage and maximum collateral keyboard smashing. While simultaneously providing the threat of "aborting" while using TAB and Backspace in the Map view....

But yes indeed, it does nothing if it's not programmed.

Cheers,

~Claw

[-Velocity-]

You can implement a self-destruct on it too, for fun. I have a 10,400 ton stock rocket, and I rigged the abort button to fire a bunch of inward-firing sepatrons. The sepatrons cause key root parts to explode, making the rocket disintegrate in a very spectular and satisfying fashion. When I was a little kid, I used to build complicated Lego sets just to throw them off a balcony in my house and see how many parts they would break into... then rebuild them, and do it again. Funny, I'm 30 years old and now with KSP, I still find the same kind of thing satisfying