How to work out which way the rover is going

[Pinchy]

Hi - so I am driving a Rover I have landed around the Mun - and obviously I have worked out now which way I need to drive to get to where I need to go to go and perform some temperature scans from trial and error and driving in a direction for a few hundred metres to get my bearings - but is there a way to identify if I am driving South/North/East or West from the Navball before I even set off (i.e - which way is my heading) The same question applies when I am landed and want to take off - how do I know which way I am pointing and therefore which direction I need to set-off to get the best exit trajectory from the planet?

[Melfice]

See those numbers on the navball?

North = 0/360

East = 90

South = 180

West = 270

[Broda]

It might not be the most efficient way but if you're already up there - what I usually do is use the sun and Kerbin to get my bearings on the Mun, then use landmarks I can see on the map for more accurate waypoints. Especially for taking off, I warp until I see Kerbin come up just above the horizon(meaning that's East), and launch towards it.

Otherwise, the navball depends on the orientation of the controlling part. So if your controlling part is pointing upwards(which for most Mun lander designs it will), your Navball will not be particularly useful. Alternatively, you can slap on a docking port on the front of your rover and control it from there(right-click the part and select "control from here"). You should get the correct heading then. You can, and probably should, test it on the launch pad during the assembly.

[Pinchy]

Yes Melfice - I understand the directions on the navball as you state - the issue is that there is no way as far as I can tell which way you are facing relative to the Navball directions - ie you want to go 90degrees East but you don't know if you need to push WASD keys to get there....

[Umcookies]

Yes Melfice - I understand the directions on the navball as you state - the issue is that there is no way as far as I can tell which way you are facing relative to the Navball directions - ie you want to go 90degrees East but you don't know if you need to push WASD keys to get there....

There sure is, you've never noticed that reticle that's always in the middle of the navball? You can always orient yourself like this.

If the numbers are slightly hard to read you can use that slightly orange line as that's north. Easy peasy.

[Pinchy]

Broda - that's an idea I hadn't thought of - equally I could stick a docking port on the front of a rover to get the same heading as I guess the probadyne of the lander is equally "oriented up"

[Dilli]

See http://wiki.kerbalspaceprogram.com/wiki/Navball

The level indicator indicates which way you are pointing. For example the on the wiki page the craft is orientated East-north-east.

In a rover, if the pod / core is placed inline W is forward, A left, S right and W back (they may be I,J,K,L). W will take you in the direction the level indicator is pointed.

For a rocket WASD always represent down, left, right and up (relative to the level indicator). Say you wish to take off east you would look at the level indicator and use WASD to move the level indicator onto 90.

Edited June 23, 2015 by Dilli

[Pinchy]

umcookies - so I may be confused - but how do you know which direction you are facing from your example. From the landing Pad at KSC I always press D to go East - yet in your example D will take you North?

- - - Updated - - -

Ahh - thanks Dilli - so even if my navball is straight down vertical with the dot on the centre the line indicates which way I am facing

[tutike2000]

Yes, you are always pointing at the center of the navball.

Also, a screenshot or two would be helpful.

[Dilli]

"umcookies - so I may be confused - but how do you know which direction you are facing from your example. From the landing Pad at KSC I always press D to go East - yet in your example D will take you North?"

Yes - you are correct. I think you are after the rotation of the craft, the direction is straight up. The craft is rotated so that North is on the right, Soth Left, East is Up and West down.

"Ahh - thanks Dilli - so even if my navball is straight down vertical with the dot on the centre the line indicates which way I am facing"

Your command pod (and probably rocket) would be pointed at the center of the body it is on / around.

The level indicator is however rotated according the rotation of the part you are controlling from; that why it can change when you use the "control from here" toggle as other parts my be rotated differently (by default they will all be rotated the same if placed in line and not flipped or rotated when being placed IIRC).

For ease of reference lets just say its one command pod (or they all in the same rotation) ->

If pointing straight down WASD will still move the rocket down, left, right and up (relative to the level indicator) By moving the level indicator onto the North line until level with the horizon (on the nav ball) your craft will be pointed north, likewise with moving it onto 90 -E, 180 - S or 270 - W.

You can use the V on the level indicator to find your rotation.

Edited June 23, 2015 by Dilli

[Umcookies]

umcookies - so I may be confused - but how do you know which direction you are facing from your example. From the landing Pad at KSC I always press D to go East - yet in your example D will take you North?

Pretty much nailed it, the navball rotates as your craft does. So, if you were sitting at KSC and slowly lifted off of the launch pad but rotated your craft 180 degrees pressing D will now take you West rather than East.

Likewise if you rotated exactly 90 degrees pressing D will now lean your craft to the North.

Rotating -90 degrees then pressing D will lean your craft South

EDIT: as Dilli said, the orientation of the part you're "control from here" will effect the navball as well.

It's considerably easier to pay attention to the navball exclusively, you can entirely ignore your craft as the camera's orientation will change your perception of what the controls do.

To keep with using the D key as an example, pressing it will always rotate the navball (and thus your craft) to the right of the navball.

In the above pictures I've rotated my lander (poorly) 90 degrees but pressing D will always rotate the navball (thus your craft) to the right.

Edited June 23, 2015 by Umcookies

[Snark]

By the way: I find that this gets a lot easier if I design my rovers "axially".

That is, design the rover the same way you'd design a rocket, as a central stack of parts that has some radial attachments. The wheels would be one of the more important radial attachments in this case.

This also makes it easy to have a "self-landing" rover: the back of the rover has a small fuel tank with inline small engine (like a Spark). You can fly the rover just like you'd fly a rocket. Landing is simple, you just back down on your tail, just like you'd land a rocket.

When you drive, your command pod is lined up just as you'd expect (with the top of the pod pointing forward, not up), so your navball has an accurate horizon indicator and you can easily and intuitively see which direction you're pointing.

(Yes, you can also have the upward-pointing pod and put a docking port on the front to "control from here". But this way just seems to make the design simpler.)

It also makes it easier to fit the rover in an aero shell (like a fairing), since the long, skinny axis of the rover is along the axis of the launching rocket rather than perpendicular to it. The only awkward sticky-out pieces are the wheels themselves.