Addition of a 'circularise orbit' node icon.

[Daveroski]

I have played KSP for a few thousand hours now and one of the most irritating things in all that time for me was having to plot a circularisation course at ap.

It would be wonderful if I could click on ap or pe and have it show a button which will plot the course for me.

It could be in the tech tree. Available later in the game.

My eye sight is not what it was and my finger has developed an autopress for the mouse button.

When I only have a couple of minutes to make the insertion burn it would be so nice to just click it, course set, point to node, burn for required time.

[Bill Phil]

You mean like a maneuver node? Where you plot a course change on a point in your orbit.

[cicatrix]

LOL. Ever tried MechJeb? This one and some other similar reasons forced me finally to install it. There's nothing immoral of using MechJeb

[Laie]

Yes, MJ it is. "Circularize" is one of my most-used functions, followed by "Create Hohmann Transfer".

But seriously, I don't think KSP would be a worse game if some limited maneuver planning (and execution!) was part of the stock game. Maybe not at first, plotting maneuvers myself was an important part of learning orbital mechanics, but after the 100th time it is getting dull. This could be a skill pilots pick up with their third through fifth star.

[Daveroski]

You launch a craft.

You go to map mode and click your projected course.

An icon appears either on screen or on the node compass. You click the icon and a node for orbital insertion burn or 'circularisation' is plotted at that location on your course.

As it is by far the most common manoeuvre in KSP I just feel that simplifying the process is reasonable.

[Hcube]

Sounds more like a thing that should be done with a mod to me. Not sure we need this in stock... And you actually don't need a manoeuver node for a simple thing such as circularizing. After a few hundreds hours you should be able to point retrograde or prograde...

Why not just install mechjeb if you really don't want to do it ?

[Superfluous J]

Actually, I've started not bothering to use maneuver nodes to circularize. Just warp until you're 10 seconds or so from AP, and then burn until your PE is above the atmosphere. Aim up or down to keep your AP close to you.

[Daveroski]

I can do everything MechJeb can do only better.

I don't even need Mechjeb when I do an IVA only mission.

While I would like such a function, many new players would find it a positive boon. New players tend not to understand why, when manually inserting a node, you have to alter RADIAL as well as prograde and retrograde to properly circularise.

I do like efficiency. Rather than fiddling with prograde, retrograde AND radial to properly circularise it would just be easier to have the option of a node, without making it idiot simple where you need a robot to do the manoeuvre for you.

Accurate and efficient space missions are precise burn at this time in this direction for this long to achieve this objective. Seat-of-the-pants flying may be fine for some but not for others and certainly not for me.

Guessing wastes lives and fuel.

I'd prefer for such a function to be stock as it would be more likely to function in updates.

Kerbonauts are being given abilities as they progress in experience. Such a function would be a good addition to these abilities.

[cicatrix]

I can do everything MechJeb can do only better.

...

I do like efficiency.

...

Accurate and efficient space missions are precise burn at this time in this direction for this long to achieve this objective.

...

Guessing wastes lives and fuel.

...

I'd prefer for such a function to be stock as it would be more likely to function in updates.

THAT! Precision. The current system forces use to eyeball all our maneuvers. Precise Node mod or ManNode Editor from MJ - that's what I really desire to be in stock! Anything really that will allow me to set a precise maneuver node like {Pro +9.23 m/s, Rad -2.44 m/s, Norm +14.25 m/s}.

If we're speaking of precision here then SQUAD, please, give us precise tools plz.

[KrazyKrl]

PreciseNode should be stock in some form, in my opinion. Patching conics modes, and such, might not be needed for stock (I've never really needed to use them.)

A "circularize orbit" plotter for the maneuver node system seems like a needless feature.

A more beneficial feature would be a 0x time warp "pause". Because sometimes, you just gotta get that extra time to plan something. And you don't get a lot of time to plan your orbital burn when your apoapsis is literally 10 seconds ahead of you.

[Capt. Hunt]

I can do everything MechJeb can do only better.

I don't even need Mechjeb when I do an IVA only mission.

While I would like such a function, many new players would find it a positive boon. New players tend not to understand why, when manually inserting a node, you have to alter RADIAL as well as prograde and retrograde to properly circularise.

I do like efficiency. Rather than fiddling with prograde, retrograde AND radial to properly circularise it would just be easier to have the option of a node, without making it idiot simple where you need a robot to do the manoeuvre for you.

Accurate and efficient space missions are precise burn at this time in this direction for this long to achieve this objective. Seat-of-the-pants flying may be fine for some but not for others and certainly not for me.

Guessing wastes lives and fuel.

I'd prefer for such a function to be stock as it would be more likely to function in updates.

Kerbonauts are being given abilities as they progress in experience. Such a function would be a good addition to these abilities.

Why do you have to adjust the radial to circularize? That's got nothing to do with a circularization maneuver, Radial only adjusts your inclination.

What you're asking for is already represented by Mechjeb, I don't think it's necessary in stock, in fact, I'm pretty sure it's on the Do Not Ask list. If you don't want to use the autopilot, remember that you can always perform the maneuver yourself after you use MJ to plot it.

[Daveroski]

Why do you have to adjust the radial to circularize? That's got nothing to do with a circularization maneuver, Radial only adjusts your inclination.

What you're asking for is already represented by Mechjeb, I don't think it's necessary in stock, in fact, I'm pretty sure it's on the Do Not Ask list. If you don't want to use the autopilot, remember that you can always perform the maneuver yourself after you use MJ to plot it.

Actually it's NORMAL that changes your inclination. Radial increases ap while decreasing pe and vice-versa.

There were radiators as mods. Now they are stock. There were cargo bays as mods now they are stock. See the pattern?

MechJeb is a suite of automated manoeuvres and has lots of data but all I want is to save a little time with my most used manoeuvre and maybe give our kerbals something to spend their experience on.

[Laie]

THAT! Precision. The current system forces use to eyeball all our maneuvers. Precise Node mod or ManNode Editor from MJ -

Something along these lines would be most welcome, yes. Though in my opinion, at least 50% of these tools' value stems from letting you edit your node while being zoomed in onto your destination. In principle, one can make very precise adjustments with the stock pull-thingy.

However, I understood the OP to be not only about precision, but convenience as well. "Circularise" is a simple task, yet in order to get it just right you have to twiddle quite a bit. I don't think it would be bad, or degrade gameplay, if the game provided a solution to some of the more straightforward problems (like circularization, plane change, or hohmann transfer).

As I said before, this could conceivably be tied to piloting skill. So at least as a career player, you only get to unlock it after having it done yourself for a while.

[katateochi]

[old guy voice] I remember when we didn't even have nodes and you had to do everything by eye. [/old guy voice]

Now I'm not saying that's how it should be, but in those days I learn't so much about orbits. Nodes are great, but they don't give you the same understanding about how two orbits interact. Having something that adds predefined nodes would be a further step away from teaching people about space flight. So, personally I'd be against having anything that automatically adds a defined node as part of stock. As a mod, then great, that makes it a conscious choice. If the game just gives it to you then why would you bother learning about hohmann transfers and why they are effective or why you need to lower or raise your orbit to make a rendezvous, they just become the thing you do without having to think about it.

[Guest]

PreciseNode should be stock in some form, in my opinion.

I disagree with this opinion (and actually disagree with the OP). PN just has too many controls for my taste. The current node widget could use one additional piece of information (ejection angle) and a better method of fine-tuning (seriously, why would you accelerate the mouse-scrolling?), and that's about it aside from refinement for placing and moving nodes, which get really annoying. More conic patches is easy to set up in the settings file but should really be an in-game option. All the rest... Mods can handle it.

[KrazyKrl]

I disagree with this opinion (and actually disagree with the OP). PN just has too many controls for my taste. The current node widget could use one additional piece of information (ejection angle) and a better method of fine-tuning (seriously, why would you accelerate the mouse-scrolling?), and that's about it aside from refinement for placing and moving nodes, which get really annoying. More conic patches is easy to set up in the settings file but should really be an in-game option. All the rest... Mods can handle it.

That's exactly what I meant. PN has too many niche controls for most people (myself included). The only time I use PN, is to use the editfields to perfectly tweak my nodes anyhow. We need something small, like an editfield window like PN has; for the nodes themselves, literally 3 text boxes that you can edit normal/radial/prograde with.

As for the placement of nodes; I would like to see an expansion of the "rightclick" feature that lets you "wait an orbit". The node in this mode should have an additional prograde and retrograde control to it; which when pulled, would move the node in the direction specified (this should also be editable as per my previous suggestion.) Above the node indicator should be a text overlay of the angle to prograde of the maneuver node itself. This way, the node system has an "edit node" mode, and an "edit node placement" mode.

[Superfluous J]

I tend to use PN for 3 things:

1. Precise tweaking, to nail an interplanetary intercept from LKO
   
2. Going forward and backward orbits, because clicking multiple times on PN doesn't randomly decide I wanted to set my target instead of advance my node an orbit. Also, PN always correctly goes back an orbit when the game insists on going an orbit ahead when there's a SOI change somewhere along the line.
   
3. Editing my node when I've gone forward or backward an orbit, because KSP loves to reset the node to the current orbit.
   

So most of the time, I use PN to overcome the clunky KSP UI. Those should be fixed. I'd still use PN for the first thing (which I agree is fine to keep a mod) but I'd use it a lot less.

[Starwhip]

A more beneficial feature would be a 0x time warp "pause". Because sometimes, you just gotta get that extra time to plan something. And you don't get a lot of time to plan your orbital burn when your apoapsis is literally 10 seconds ahead of you.

Well, 0x warp would be interesting, but IMO kind of cheaty. Sometimes you'll get a mission where you've got hours to spare just gazing at the emptiness of space, other times you're flying the whole way by the seat of your pants. It's a characteristic of KSP that I personally love. Perhaps as a debug panel option? It would be great for screenshots...

As per the topic, I'd love a way to make very small/very large adjustments to maneuvers. ATM it is nearly impossible to make minor adjustments, and it takes way too long to drag a node out to Jool orbit from LKO.

[Daveroski]

Well, that idea went the way of Chinese Whispers, maybe I should have known better.

[stevehead]

For the OP, I think there really is no need for a circularize orbit button or whatever. Unless you have something with very low thrust, its easy enough to just point prograde and circularize without the need for a maneuver node. If you need precision and you're off, usually some radial trimming can easily fix your orbit afterwards.

As for Precise Node, I personally use it, but I do not think stock needs something as feature rich as it. The GUI for stock maneuver nodes does need some desperate work though; it is often too busy where the nodes are placed on the orbits and it is so easy to misclick and screw up all the work you had put in to fiddle with the node. I think a popup window with only sliders to adjust the maneuver along the 3 axes, a button to add or remove one orbital period, and delete the node would suffice (and maybe a display for your ejection angle as regex suggested).

[KrazyKrl]

-Snip-

As for Precise Node, I personally use it, but I do not think stock needs something as feature rich as it. The GUI for stock maneuver nodes does need some desperate work though; it is often too busy where the nodes are placed on the orbits and it is so easy to misclick and screw up all the work you had put in to fiddle with the node. I think a popup window with only sliders to adjust the maneuver along the 3 axes, a button to add or remove one orbital period, and delete the node would suffice (and maybe a display for your ejection angle as regex suggested).

I'm imagining some UI feature that is toggle-able from the options (hopefully with U5, UI work will become much easier.)

What enabling this feature should do; is overlay a small window with the most pertinent information on it only. This window should be translucent until mouseover/clicked in. This window should be anchored just below the maneuver node in the map view.

It should be designed as such:

%DD:HH:MM:SS to Node% %Node Orbit Number Delta% (Reflects the wait an orbit indicator. i.e. +0 for "this orbit" +1 for "next orbit" etc.)  (These fields auto-modify each other.)
%Node Angle to Prograde% (Positioning of the node, same as Ejection angle)
%Node Prograde dV%
%Node Radial dV%
%Node Normal dV%

All fields should be editable in my opinion. This would easily solve the "when, where, and why" that's missing from the current UI. I.e. in W days on orbit X, at location Y degrees; burn Z delta V.

Edited June 28, 2015 by KrazyKrl