Quality of Life improvements list

TothAval · May 1, 2015

Quality of Life improvements for KSP

I played my last sessions of KSP with a texteditor open, where i noted everything that bugged me, frustrated me and angered me

and that i think could be easily fixed. So i decided to start a QoL-list. I remember something like that from another game and it

was really helpful.

I intend to keep the OP updated, so feel free to share your thoughts on how the gaming experience can be enhanced.

Please don't suggest big features, game-changers or stuff alike. The list shall be a quick oversight tool for the devs and the

community as well. Please use a categorisation as i tried to do, to keep it as simple and short as possible. Please suggest

improvements on the list, categorisation etc., if you have them. Keep this thread clean and constructive. Please check the

questions on the end of this post and feel free to answer them.

current QoL-suggestions in categories: Flight, Map, VAB/SPH, KSC, Parts, Career, User Interface, KSP, Modding

End of Post

Flight choose another category

improved inflight information

flight data

height above ground altimeter
heat indicator
stage burn time indicator
fuel/oxidizer/monopropellant/electric charge gauge (IVA) suggested by Barking Sands here
G-meter (IVA) suggested by Barking Sands here

vessel data

[*=1]have an overlay like the ressource overlay on capsules to show kerbals inside by name and profession suggested by

Fishslap here
[*=1]better information(out of charge, chute burned up, more drag on nose, therefor flipping) on failure suggested by Black-Talon here
[*=1]an option to show CoM/CoL in flight suggested by Bomoo here

trajectory

player should be able to set up pre-orbits(like the conrtact ones) and to mark them as target or see them as a line on the navball
toggable map-info in flight view(Orbit, Trajectory, Craft/Body information, apo/periapsis)
toggable trajectory HUD for targeted landing and docking suggested by arkie87 here
toggable info about the 6 primary directions in flight suggested by arkie8 7 here
a docking alignment indicator on the nav ball suggested by CaptRobau here
orbit dircetion indicator suggested by chaos_forge here

game integration

[*=1]mark/highlight contracts as active, regroup them in toolbar accordingly, toggable popup for active contract
[*=1]sort contracts in toolbar(test, survey, rescue, ...)
[*=1]contracts in contracts-list staying open/closed, highlight sub requirements suggested by

Audiopulse here
[*=1]tracking station vehicle list accessible as pop-up in flight
[*=1]access to all KSC buildings
[*=1]make darkness a slider-option or make an option to light nightscenes a little bit up for a better gameplay experience(or improve accessibility to experiments and right-clickable parts otherwise)

improved vessel control choose another category

action groups/staging

[*=1]ability to assign/change action groups in-flight
[*=1]action groups should be stageable
[*=1]default action group for toggling solar panels with its own dedicated key suggested by

Red Iron Crown here
[*=1]there should be a way to fire multiple stages quickly if you need to suggested by macdjord here
[*=1]ability to group container under a user group tag suggested by WinkAllKerb' here
[*=1]ability to target container group suggested by WinkAllKerb' here

flight control

[*=1]allow control over whether SAS can use RCS suggested by

THX1138 here
[*=1]RCS translation controls always on suggested by macdjord here
[*=1]add SAS config panel and allow more fine tuning on SAS suggested by WildLynx here
[*=1]lock vehicle/action-group option, disable keybindings as long as lock is active
[*=1]key to rotate non surfaced, non athmospheric vessel/suit to camera view
[*=1]add an input key to toggle between staging and docking modes suggested by Barking Sands here
[*=1]not changing control point when going into IVA suggested by Spartwo here
[*=1]capslock should activate precision control on EVA also suggested by falloutaddict here
[*=1]add alternative, semi-automatic SAS-mode to change SAS to stability assist once orientation(i.e. prograde, anti-normal,...) is set suggested by neo2001 here

flight management

[*=1]a ship manifest to allow control of every right-clickable item suggested by

arkie87 here
[*=1]allow crew transfer from right-click part menu suggested by sumghai here
[*=1]an option to stop/set power consumption on specific parts suggested by EricT43 here and here
[*=1]easier fuel transfer between craft suggested by THX1138 here
[*=1]more control over fuel transfer, f.e. set percentages, set tresholds, combine ressource transfers(LF+O together)
[*=1]ability to select which science to store/remove from a pod suggested by Sonny_Jim here
[*=1]store a kerbal's active data to the command pod from within the command pod suggested by DavidBowman here
[*=1]Fuel should be drawn from the tanks nearest the engine first (not last) suggested by Barking Sands here
[*=1]Button to temporarily disable certain tanks and have them automatically reactivate when all other resources are spent suggested by Barking Sands here
[*=1]way to view and manage stored science results, see results in a list suggested by macdjord here
[*=1]increase the EVA data collection range on Mystery Goo and Materials Bay suggested by TheMoonRover here
[*=1]add a switch command module button if more than 1 command module or probe core is present on active vessel

Map choose another category

active flight

[*=1]show all relevant orbital data during maneuver node setup(f.e. apoapsis, periapsis, descending&ascendning node)
[*=1]show active craft regardless of hiding craft type
[*=1]toggable orbit visuals for improved maneuver nodes placement suggested by

stevehead here
[*=1]staging in map view
[*=1]reopen collapsed maneuver node by pressing the "o" key suggested by Brotoro here
[*=1]warp-to next maneuver should stop at or shortly before half burn time suggested by Caelib here
[*=1]switch between staging and docking (LIN/ROT) controls while remaining in map view (Allow use of docking linear RCS control to fine-tune orbits in map view) suggested by Barking Sands here
[*=1]add an input key to toggle between staging and docking modes suggested by Barking Sands here
[*=1]add picture-in-picture view appearing and zooming in once an encounter with other target/body is established suggested by cwood here

orbits/patched conics

[*=1]colormark target/hide non-target option
[*=1]warp-to planet position(click on planetary orbit and warp ingame time to when planet is there)
[*=1]some way to determine a proper launch window in-game(f.e. make use of preorbits as suggested above
[*=1]orbit dircetion indicator suggested by

chaos_forge here
[*=1]right-click menu for root part of vessel available in map view
[*=1]pop-up location on right-clicking orbit should be fixed suggested by Brotoro here

map-gui

[*=1]waypoints can be set on the surface of non-athmosperic bodies(planets/moons)
- [*=1]showing distance and time to waypoint depending on current trajectiry, orbit and/or speed

[*=1]navpoints can be set on the surface of athmospheric bodies(planets/moons

[*=1]Ã¢â‚¬â€¹showing distance and time to navpoint depending on current route, athomspheric conditions and speed/acceleration

[*=1]show KSC
[*=1]access to all KSC buildings
[*=1]navball should stay open by default
[*=1]map mode should have enough ambient light that you can see the features of the night side of a planet suggested by

macdjord here
[*=1]assign some of the map controls to other interactions, e.g. right-click, shift-click, and alt-click or let the player customize it suggested by macdjord here
[*=1]add more craft categories or allow custom categories (satellites, probes, spaceplanes,...) suggested by BluetoothThePirate here
[*=1]add a derelict/defunct and a satellite category suggested by macdjord here
[*=1]show more orbit information on mouse-over suggested by akruppa here
[*=1]list orbital reference points beneath each other, instead of showing them above each other suggested by akruppa here
[*=1]allow toggling of visible vessel types when the NavBall is closed (currently it only works when the NavBall is open) suggested by TheMoonRover here
[*=1]improved maneuvers & planetary encounters suggested by cwood here

VAB/SPH choose another category

craft and part management

improved listing of ships, custom folders(saw that suggested by someone here on the forum)
page scrolling like QuickScroll
suggested by
Robotengineer

here
folder system in VAB/SPH for .craft-files
suggested by
Piggius_Max

here
a search bar for part searching
suggested by
FishInferno

here
on activating loader for .craft-files in VAB/SPH typing of characters should lead to the respective craft
suggested by
Brotoro

here
drag and drop subassemblies into different categories
suggested by
wasml

here
count usage of parts in .craft-files and display that number in the editor
suggested by
wasml

here
improved error checking while loading parts so a mis-configured part doesn't freeze the game while loading
suggested by
wasml

here
save crew assignments with vessels
suggested by
macdjord

here
allow placing kerbals in external command seats in VAB/SPH prior to launch
suggested by
TheMoonRover

here

part placement

disable part selection while struts are attached
suggested by
martinborgen
here
hold 'alt' while placing a part should keep a copy in your hand
suggested by
macdjord

here
add the ability to snap struts and fuel pipes so they are exactly straight and perpendicular to their origin
suggested by
macdjord

here
add an option to mirror whatever you're attaching across the parent part as well as duplicating it on the other copies of the parent
suggested by
macdjord

here
option to force-add parts that haven't been unlocked yet, craft could be designed but not launched
suggested by
macdjord

here

staging/action groups

Launch Stability Enhancer in same stage as first stage engines
an opion to modify the order of tanks that are drained for an engine, or group of engines
suggested by
Starwhip

here
player should be able to add actions that are normally triggered by action groups to the staging diagram, or remove actions that are staged by default entirely
suggested by
macdjord

here
the abort action should
be available from the start for manned launches
suggested by
macdjord

here
ability to remove a part from staging and assign it to an action group
suggested by
justinpatrick1011

here
add new stage to separate parachutes from first stage by default even when no decouplers are installed
suggested by
Barking Sands

here
every action that switches between two states should have all 3 action group options: on, off, and toggle
suggested by
macdjord

here
eliminate non-functional actions from the action group screen(f.e. SRBs and "shutdown engine")
suggested by
macdjord

here

checklist

checklist item: is heat-shield exposed?
suggested by
saskwach

here
add a list showing what parts and how many are used per stage, hide the information within the note[+]-functionality in the engineer report

construction data

improved pre-flight/construction information
show dimensions of parts
suggested by
Rockyfelle185

here
show torque vector in VAB/SPH
suggested by
akruppa

here

vab/sph gui

if a craft is placed high up in the VAB and loaded in the SPH, it ends up outside the building and only the shadow is visible, move it down in this case
suggested by
pellinor0

here
parts should not be selectable through staging icons
suggested by
M3Man03

here
an option to empty a specified type of fuel on all tanks simultaneously
suggested by
Veeltch

here
option to set throttle default value for launches
anything that can be set or tweaked in flight should be possible to do in the VAB
suggested by
macdjord

here
chute deployment time should be adjustable
suggested by
macdjord

here
an option to type in an exact value on tweakables even outside the typical range
suggested by
macdjord

here
make LFO tanks tweakable between LF/LFO mode(or add LF versions of all the 1.25m and 2.5 m tanks)
suggested by
macdjord

here
subassembly thumbnails
suggested by
Starwhip

here
better, more effective ways to build stupidly large rockets
suggested by
Nothalogh

here

KSC Ã¢â‚¬â€¹choose another category

allow for vehiclespawn on flag positions within kerbin or ksc suggested by dyson here

astronaut center

more information on kerbals in the astronaut center
suggested by
Rickenbacker

here

administration building

mission control

sort contracts(test, survey, rescue, custom, ...) in mission control
option to activate/deactivate certain types of contracts for certain bodies in mission control
a counter for completed and failed missions in mission control
suggested by
Joonatan1998

here
improved mission control ui showing company contratcs and worlds firsts separate, worlds first should always be visible
suggested by
Streetwind

here

tracking station

folders to sort your flight in tracking station
suggested by
klgraham1013

here
ability to rename/reclassify objects from tracking station
suggested by
macdjord

here

(added to or already in game)
tracking station list customization
suggested by
Bug_

here

vab/sph

launchpad

pay for access to other already existing launchsites on Kerbin to be able to launch from them as well
better placement of launchbutton in the launchpad gui

R&D

double-click or hotkey should research tech tree node in R&D
suggested by
Dreadnaught426

here

gui

access to all KSC buildings from within the KSC buildings(via hotkeys or a menue)

Parts choose another category

add "basecost" value to all part configs(.cfgs) for better and easier balancing of parts suggested by Gfurst here

command

engines

fuel tanks

0.625m fuel tanks in the standard sequence
suggested by
macdjord

here

control

structural

0.625m version of the BZ-52 Radial Attachment Point
suggested by
macdjord

here
3.75m stack separator
suggested by
macdjord

here
low-profile 3.75m-2.5m adapter (like the FL-A5 1.25m-0.625m adapter)
suggested by
macdjord

here
reduce the mass of the not-rockomax micronode to .075 at the least
suggested by
Spartwo

here

utility

add a decoupler to the launch escape tower
suggested by
CaptRobau

here
LES scaled for the one-kerb capsule
suggested by
macdjord

here
add fuel cell toggle
suggested by
Bomoo

here
all landing gear stearable
suggested by
ArcticX9

here
0.625m drogue chutes
suggested by
macdjord

here
shielded Clamp-o-tron Sr. and Jr. docking ports
suggested by
macdjord

here
add option to disarm a parachute which has been armed but not actually deployed
suggested by
macdjord

here

aerodynamic

heat shields should have an integrated decoupler
suggested by
federicoaa

here
add breakingforce and breakingtorque values to Mk3-parts in .cfg where such values are missing
suggested by
billyoak

here

science

Career choose another category

add planetary exploration (orbit, science from orbit, reach surface, science from surface) to the automatic contracts suggested by Patrick Kerbivan here
disable science, disable building upgrades, disable strategies options for career difficulty customization suggested by mdg583 here
KSC biomes should have 0 science value, or they should be done automatically for you as soon as you unlock a new experiment suggested by macdjord here
barometer and atmospheric analysis should be be per-planet, not per-biome, when used on the surface of airless worlds suggested by macdjord here
each asteroid should count as its own biome; doing samples of the same asteroid when its in orbit of different bodies should not give more results suggested by macdjord here
a better way to capture per-biome low-orbit EVA Reports suggested by macdjord here
the biome/condition interaction should be more strictly defined and enforced suggested by macdjord here
show experience trait for stranded kerbals before accepting the rescue contract suggested by TheMoonRover here
allow you to change strategy commitment level without having to cancel it and pay the whole thing again suggested by TheMoonRover here
add a way to view contract orbits or survey locations in mission control building suggested by macdjord here

User Interface choose another category

gui action

more accessibility through keyboard regarding confirmation of checkboxes
inspired by
katateochi

here
the in-flight right-click part menu should not move once opened
suggested by
madadam

here
and
rkman

here
warp-to function added to navball
suggested by
Caelib

here
warp-to function added to maneuver node
suggested by
arkie87

here
allow use of the toolbar (in-flight) and the Kerbal Knowledge Base (section on the right of Map View) when TimeWarpTo is active
suggested by
TheMoonRover

here
add a way to revert navball directions via a button or a right-click-menue option

gui

hide all UI elements(transmitting data,time warp etc.) while F2 option is active
suggested by
CalculusWarrior

here
hide cursor and overheat flashing while F2 option is active
suggested by
SaintWacko

here
add a science experiment menu
suggested by
nholzric

here
better access to info on kerbal profession, an icon to show a kerbals profession and level
suggested by
Kuansenhama
and
sumghai

here
and
here
show science yet to be done somewhere
suggested by
adinfinitum

here
an option to check delta-v and thrust to weight ratio for each stage
suggested by
Sky_walker
here
improved accessibility for colorblind people due to the use of more symbols instead of text or customizable color settings
suggested by
Brotoro

here
commas for altitudes in contracts
suggested by
Murph

here
various user interface improvements
suggested by
MailletC

here
quick buttons for each of the buildings at the top or bottom of the screen, when moused-over highlight the building
suggested by
KrazyKrl
here
resizing toolbar apps (contracts, engineer's report etc) or show/hide details of contracts should be persistent
suggested by
TheMoonRover

here
improved toolbar navigation
suggested by
macdjord

here
improve visibility of the in-game message texts, add a fine black outline to the fond
suggested by
macdjord

here

options

adjustable text size
suggested by
nurbles
here
improved accessibility for colorblind people due to the use of more symbols instead of text or customizable color settings
suggested by
Brotoro

here
resizeable, customizeable navball
more options accessible ingame(f.e. joystick setup)
suggested by
Black-Talon

here
add crew auto select option
suggested by
mega_newblar

here
"do not show again"
option for the "welcome to the VAB, this is where..." messages
suggested by
FishInferno

here
add input options to change keys for staging/docking modes
suggested by
Barking Sands

here
add option to change physiscs range/on rails distance
suggested by
MathewVaughan

here
add colorblind mode
suggested by
Xyphos

here
user configurable default camera view
suggested by
rkman

here

KSP choose another category

saving/loading

improved savegames, several quicksames within a flight

inspired by
katateochi

here
warning if quickload will reset game for more than a day, display of the amount of time going to be resetted
suggested by
Bessy

here
enable quicksave while moving over the surface
suggested by
madadam

here
the quicksave key should have the same press-and-hold safety feature that quickload already does
suggested by
macdjord

here
game should make a separat quicksave when quickloading, player should be able to jump back(forth) to that save if he wants to
suggested by
macdjord

here
an option to change the savegame directory
suggested by
kaluce

here
flags should not count as active flights displayed on load menu
suggested by
DSKY

here
add a feature allowing periodic autosaves with rotating names or something similar
suggested by
Claw

here

timewarp/physics warp

don't limit timewarp in orbit
suggested by
madadam

here
.5x time warp for precision, more values for time warp
suggested by
oversoul
and
thereaverofdarkness

here
and
here
high value timewarp for long distance missions
suggested by
arkie87

here
be able to
override warptime limits by pressing Alt-Period similar to forced physics warp
suggested by
macdjord

here
allow timewarp with ion engines using a simplified physics simulation
suggested by
Grumman

here
warp-to should use higher timewarps, once they become available
suggested by
pellinor

here

flight persistence/revert flight

allow "magic" docking inside cargo bays
suggested by
katateochi

here
preserve the revert option
suggested by
macdjord

here
add option allowing to return to the KSC
without reverting flight, treat
active vessel as if it had left physics range in this case
suggested by
macdjord

here

Modding choose another category

Store Kerbal profession as string value in separate parameter after hash-based generation, so that they can be changed later by savegame editing / add-ons (plus support for custom professions) Suggested by sumghai here, hypothetical implemention described here
Allow add-on authors to specify angle snap for docking ports Originally suggested by Yakky, hypothetical implemention described by sumghai
Allow add-on authors to specify whether ModuleAnimateGeneric is enabled/disabled in the Flight Scene and EVA Suggested by sumghai
add "basecost" value to all part configs(.cfgs) for better and easier balancing of parts suggested by Gfurst here

What do you think? Please share your thoughts, what small changes could improve the gaming experience in your opinion?

Should we do a separat post to discuss this thread?

Thx for reading and have a lovely day

Edited June 1, 2015 by TothAval
list updates

a2soup · May 1, 2015

Not sure the new parts and strategy fit the "quality of life" improvement label. These are suggested additions that, while they might be nice, do not make gameplay any more comfortable and intuitive. IMO, this list would be more focused (and therefore better) without them.

That said, THANK YOU for including action group editing in flight. This the the #1 quality of life improvement for me right now, mainly because I haven't found a mod that does it well yet. I agree with all the others, but most of them already have good mods (not that they shouldn't be stock eventually, they should).

TothAval · May 1, 2015

Thx for the input. Yeah, i wasn't sure about the part and the strategy either. i will take them out and suggest them somewhere else.

klgraham1013 · May 1, 2015

Folders in the tracking station to sort your flights.

CaptRobau · May 1, 2015

A docking alignment indicator on the nav ball a la this mod: [Moderator removed defunct website link]

Add a decoupler to the launch escape tower so that on staging it decouples and add a ActivatesEvenIfDisconnected = true, so that the SRB will fire and carry off the escape tower away from the spacecraft. This will make escape towers easier to set up. The abort action group is then used solely to fire the SRB in a launch abort situation (as almost anyone will already do, since staging your abort sequence is not very useful)

Edited August 28, 2022 by James Kerman
link removed

Patrick Kerbivan · May 1, 2015

I made another thread for this already, but I'd like to toss one in for the career category: Add planetary exploration (orbit, science from orbit, reach surface, science from surface) to the automatic contracts we now have for milestones like speed, altitude, and distance. The current system of those exploration contracts never appearing if you've already reached the destination feels like it penalizes players for being efficient enough to get there earlier than expected; I took a contract for a Mun flyby that appeared before the full exploration contract did, and when I managed to turn that flyby into a landing I deprived myself of the usual exploration contract rewards that really jump-start a budding space program.

chaos_forge · May 1, 2015

Another thing that has been suggested often is an orbit direction indicator.

TothAval · May 1, 2015

Another thing that has been suggested often is an orbit direction indicator.

do you mean in map view like the indicator on the contract-orbits, but for every orbit or an indicator in flight in case the navballs orientation is different due to special position of rootpart etc.?

Robotengineer · May 1, 2015

Page scrolling in the VAB/SPH. Like QuickScroll.

pellinor · May 1, 2015

* Now that the SPH can load VAB-crafts: if a craft is placed high up in the VAB and loaded in the SPH, it ends up outside the building and only the shadow is visible. Please move it down in this case.

TothAval · May 2, 2015

* mark/highlight contracts as active

* pay for access to other already existing launchsites on Kerbin to be able to launch from them as well

list updated

TothAval · May 3, 2015

* option to activate/deactivate certain types of contracts for certain bodies in mission control

integrated ideas from other posts in Suggestions and Development Discussion

madadam · May 3, 2015

Nice! I have a couple of those as well:

Enable quicksave while moving over the surface.
Don't limit timewarp in orbit. Timewarp should only be limited when the current orbit is not stable, which means that it's periapsis is either inside the atmosphere (for bodies with one) or below the altitude of the highest peak of that body (for non-atmospheric bodies).
The in-flight right-click part menu should not move once opened. It's position is now locked to the parts center of mass, but that makes is difficult to use when the part is moving. I would simply open it at the position of the mouse cursor and let it stay there until closed.

martinborgen · May 3, 2015

Just for the record - at least I still get the bug where attatching something to a radially attatched part (2x) makes two of the item on that one part, instead of the part on the opposing side of the craft.

Also selecting parts when you are trying to attatch the second end a strut can happen, which will bork the whole process.

CalculusWarrior · May 4, 2015

Something great I'd like to see is when F2 is pressed, all UI elements go away. No 'transmitting data' or 'time warp 1x' messages. This would make taking screenshots just so much more of a better experience.

TothAval · May 4, 2015

* access to all KSC buildings

* show apo and per on maneuvernote setup

*navball should stay open by default

* right click menue in map view

* staging in map view

list updated

integrated ideas from other posts in Suggestions and Development Discussion

Rickenbacker · May 4, 2015

I'd like to add one thing:

More stat tracking for individual kerbals! Let us see how much flight time they have, how many orbits around what bodies, how much EVA time and so on. Let's make the kerbals in the personnel building clickable, bringing up all the info you could ever want about their exploits.

Piggius_Max · May 4, 2015

Folders Folders Folders, quality of life would be far greater with VAB/SPH craft Folders :')

tater · May 4, 2015

A massive work over of the contracts. As much as I want a total change in career, within the extant career system, quality of life would be improved by checking contracts and making sure they are sensible, and are not harmful to immersion in some cases.

1. Ridiculous part testing contracts. Please, read over them and get rid of the absurd tests or requirements. Not just jets in space, but huge SRBs on the Mun, etc. Dumb.

2. The number of rescue contracts has become absurd. At any moment I have more of those than I have astronauts in flight. If there are other Space programs out there, then I want a Space Race, not just evidence of their failures, which leads to 3...

3. I like the rescues with crafts, but they need to check for player accomplishments better. Send a probe to the Mun, and you start getting rescues even from the munar surface. I haven't landed there yet (I landed a probe that was in orbit with some fuel left to get some science to unlock stuff I wanted for my manned flight). I'm apparently about to send kerbals to the Mun, and the surface and orbit are littered with other kerbals.

4. Survey contracts need to make sense. Not 2-3 readings in 1 area, and ONE as an outlier. Redo them so that they read as a mission to learn about a single region in detail.

5. Fix the base and station contracts so that it is explicit that follow-on missions are to add to existing (contracted) stations.

Sudslv · May 4, 2015

i cannot agree more on the career mode, its completely broken and doesn't make sense ( thats why im sticking only to science mode untill career is fixed).

All these part testing contracts and what not, don't make sense. There was a mod which added some game objectives like dropping a bomb in certain location and getting money for it, so it would add weapons to the game (Which in no way possible could break the game mechanics, only open new possibilities, what the player can do).

So it would make moderate amount of sense if once in a while some army kerbal character would show up and ask you to use your rocketry skills to destroy a certain enemy or something like that. aswell other contracts which would just ask you to go to some location and inspect something (like meteor crater, poisonous lake, wierd hole, ect.)

anyways i hope everyone gets my idea, enough ridiculous part testing contracts and add something real that gives the player impression like he's actually doing something progressive. In my opinion the career mode should have its own story (possibly with cutscenes).

I may make a suggestion thread of my own where i can better elaborate what i want to see in future KSP.

nholzric · May 4, 2015

Just posted on Better Control of Science Experiments thread (link below) about an idea for a Science Experiment menu which I think would address the OP's problem of removing some but not all experiments from a lab and my recent issue with accidentally transmitting a bunch of experiments I wanted to return to Kerbin. I think the new menu gives players the level of control they would expect and therefore is a good inclusion into stock; realistically though, I don't expect to make this on SQUAD's to-do list in the foreseeable future and therefore this qualifies as mod material.

http://forum.kerbalspaceprogram.com/threads/119042-Ability-to-select-which-science-to-store-remove-from-a-pod?p=1898996

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...All these part testing contracts and what not, don't make sense. There was a mod which added some game objectives like dropping a bomb in certain location and getting money for it, so it would add weapons to the game (Which in no way possible could break the game mechanics, only open new possibilities, what the player can do)...

I agree that the contracts should receive scrutiny as they make a huge impression on the play experience.

I am sure contracts can be improved without adding a military aspect. Not that I'm against such things in and of themselves, that's just not what KSP is about and I'm 100% confident SQUAD is not going to go down that road. (The other day I was flying a cool plane I built over the mountains and as my finger kept brushing the trigger on the joystick I though "Man, I wish there was some badies to take out" - so I understand, and I believe there are mods for that, but stock isn't going there)

As for part testing, in my 0.90 career I was loving them - they were a great source of science! Especially after I realized you could complete the crazy "test x at y altitude and z speed" contracts pretty easily with rockets even though it's tempting to try with airplanes. That got nerfed in 1.0.x and although that messes up my lucrative strategy it was a good decision. In my new 1.0.x career I mostly ignore the part testing contracts; they're not a lot of fun and they don't pay much. However, when I got the chance to temporarily unlock a new mini-rocket engine for a Minmus lander to test on the surface of Minmus - win-win! Suddenly my Minmus probe was completing 4 contracts instead of 3!

Testing contracts are awesome when they make sense as in my Minmus lander example. Most of the time they're ridiculous. But I wouldn't know how to code them to make sense more often. Who knows, maybe somebody is going to have a Mainsail landed on the Mun anyway; I look at that contract and say "that's stupid, while I *might* pull it off, there's now way it would be worth it", and I expect 99% of players would agree, but for that one guy that contract is gold!

arkie87 · May 4, 2015

Some really good ideas! These in particular, IMO, are must haves to make the game feel more complete:

height above ground altimeter
Activated/toggled when switching to surface mode Like landing height mod!
toggable map-info in flight view(Orbit, Trajectory, Craft/Body information, apo/periapsis)
I think a toggleable trajectory HUD in flight window would be useful too, especially for targeted landing and docking! HUD would also show all six primary directions which is very useful since you cannot see whats behind the navball (without moving), whereas in flight mode, you can spin your ship aroudn to see all directions to see which directions are behind you...
One prime example of this would be landing-- you want to kill all horizontal velocity, but cannot see when velocity vector approaches vertical since it is out of view on the navball. with a HUD, you would see it just fine!
player should be able to set up pre-orbits(like the conrtact ones) and to mark them as target or see them as a line on the navball
some way to determine a proper launch window in-game(f.e. make use of preorbits as suggested above
waypoints can be set on the surface of non-athmosperic bodies(planets/moons)
Ã¢â‚¬â€¹navpoints can be set on the surface of athmospheric bodies(planets/moons)
Absolutely critical for targeted landings and planning.
sort contracts in toolbar(test, survey, rescue, ...)
mark/highlight contracts as active, regroup them in toolbar accordingly, toggable popup for active contract
Adding a check mark button next to each contract's title called "pop out" to make the contract pop out of the window into its own separate window (similar to what MechJeb and KER do) would be just fine. You would then be able to see the checklists for each contract without having to sort etc...
ability to assign/change action groups in-flight
warp-to planet position(click on planetary orbit and warp ingame time to when planet is there)
navball should stay open by default
staging in map view
YES YES YES
warp-to next maneuver should stop at or shortly before half burn time
warp-to function added to navball
don't limit timewarp in orbit
Time warp should be limited if orbit crosses atmosphere or impacts planet or gets lower than tallest feature (mountain) (Since time warp limits are already different for each planet, this shouldnt be a problem). Otherwise, time warp shouldnt be limited. Also, add a 1,000,000x warp ability, since getting to Jool takes minutes of Earth time!

Edited May 4, 2015 by arkie87

FishInferno · May 4, 2015

I have one for the VAB/SPH: add a search bar to search for a specific part

TothAval · May 5, 2015

* show active craft regardless of hiding craft type

list updated

integrated ideas from other posts in Suggestions and Development Discussion

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things about contracts and career

although i am with you on this, i can't put it in this list, it is to big of a feature, although it could improve the gaming experience

it is not something a dev could do in a short amount of time, therefor i can't add it unfortunately

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about contracts and career

same here as stated above

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QoL stuff and stuff about contracts and career

same here on the contract stuff as stated above

DavidBowman · May 5, 2015

The ability to store a kerbal's active data to the command pod from within the command pod. It doesn't make any sense that you'd have to go on EVA, take the data from outside the pod, the store it. Logic would have it you'd use the instruments INSIDE the pod to store data.

Quality of Life improvements list

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