Finding a flat spot to land on Mun.

[Kurld]

I'm not seeing how to zoom in any further on the scan-sat big map. The zoom window is rather small, and does not appear to be zoomed much at all, really.

[tater]

Having to use a probe, or other data you actually have to work for is a good thing, IMO. The game should scatter even smaller craters around to make this even more important in fact.

It's exactly the kind of real exploration the game lacks otherwise.

[Starhawk]

I'm not seeing how to zoom in any further on the scan-sat big map. The zoom window is rather small, and does not appear to be zoomed much at all, really.

Just keep right-clicking (I think it's right-click) on the zoom window. There is a small readout that shows how much you are zoomed in.

[Superfluous J]

Having to use a probe, or other data you actually have to work for is a good thing, IMO. The game should scatter even smaller craters around to make this even more important in fact.

It's exactly the kind of real exploration the game lacks otherwise.

Very much this. I call them Prospector Probes (Or P.R.O.S.P.E.C.T.O.R when I'm feeling cool. I've never defined the acronym). Give them a probe core and enough dV to take off and land 5-10 times in a vast area (like, say, a crater). Then just keep hopping them around until you find a spot to put your base. Then just land next to 'em and start building.

[Mister Dilsby]

Having to use a probe, or other data you actually have to work for is a good thing, IMO.

Yes, I love having to do the prep work--any reason to do a mission other than farming science points for tech! Another good one is to send probes down to scout out Eve for a good landing spot. Since I usually play Career mode with Astronomer's Visual Pack installed, I can't see the surface at all from orbit so it was really useful as well as exciting to 'pierce the veil' with a couple of robot rovers.

[peachoftree]

try kerbalmaps.com

Edit: after reading the O.P more carefully, I realised you wanted to build a base.

I recommend using kerbalmaps to pick out a general site, landing a rover there to find a perfect spot, then use

excellent guide by scott manley to precisely land on the rover Edited March 18, 2015 by peachoftree

[Mad Rocket Scientist]

Trajectories corrects for planetary rotation: http://forum.kerbalspaceprogram.com/threads/104694

[Kurld]

I still can't get SCAN-sat to zoom in any further. I'll ask on the mod release thread. I did a few passes with my lander and used the slope readout to make note of likely places and found a nice wide open area for my base that way.

[eddiew]

Well, I could be wrong here, but I think what it's doing is pointing against your direction of motion relative to the local surface. At least it seemed to work that way to me when I was landing on slopes...will research!

Hehe, yep, you've already worked this out, but direction of motion relative to the planetary surface doesn't actually mean anything with regard to the inclination of that surface, just the fixed point directly below your craft

I wonder if it would be practical to have a 'terrain' mode on the navball though... something that would read a negative vertical speed in a circular orbit, when you're heading over a large mountain - i.e. the ground was coming up to meet you...

- - - Updated - - -

I recommend using kerbalmaps to pick out a general site, landing a rover there to find a perfect spot, then use

excellent guide by scott manley to precisely land on the rover

Rover scouts are good advice, really

[Kurld]

I did look at kerbal maps. Also very helpful. I kind of expected that scan-sat might reveal that level of detail. Perhaps it does but I just can't figure it out.

[helaeon]

Finding flat spots is nice but due to our crazy SAS, torque will let you land some crazy places.

SAS module sitting low on the craft will let you land on some crazy slopes. Trick is to land like you would if you were landing somewhere flat, then let it down gently as the ship rotates for the other legs to touch. Orientation is also important when landing on slopes. If on a tripod design make sure one leg is pointed directly downslope. If you point two legs down slope you'll flip. 4 legs land in a pattern so one leg is directly downslope and one is upslope. These are the same tricks photographers use when setting up tripods on a hill (though it's possible to adjust the leg length on your tripod).

Also pack enough fuel so you can do like Neil Armstrong, if you don't like your landing site learn how to move to a new one a little ways away! Sometimes the difference between horrible hill and pretty flat is but a few hundred meters or less.

NavBall HUD is great too because you can see your velocity indicator on the screen. So then you can see what direction you are going and you'll learn how gravity pulls you and you can more easily fly to the spot you want. I love that mod, makes landing aircraft on the runway WAY easier too (put the velocity indicator on the runway and that's where you touch down. Still need to be conscious of your sink rate but it works great to make sure you touch down on the near side of the runway for maximum braking time).

[InterCity]

Aim for the center of craters. That always works.

[Kurld]

It would be an interesting exercise to try and create a mod that features auto-leveling "gear" for craft. I used to kind of fake that with one of the robotics mods when I was playing heavily back around version 21.