[PART, 1.0.2] Anatid Robotics / MuMech - MechJeb - Autopilot - Historical thread

[Ikkinomi]

Hi! I have a problem with Mechjeb. For example when I circularize the orbit, the point of the node on the navball not stop moving and mechjeb unable to "catch" it.

But the most annoying is that the "rendezvous" module does not work. But it worked there some days. I tried the official version 2.0.9 of mechjeb and the dll sarbian but nothing changes.

Could there be conflicts with other mods?

And someone else encounter the same issue?

see you later

Here is a short video of the problem, my English is pathetic, I'll be sure to be partly understood with this video.

And by the way, sorry about that!

http://youtu.be/Sp3L_EY7Uv8

[viperwolf]

Hi! I have a problem with Mechjeb. For example when I circularize the orbit, the point of the node on the navball not stop moving and mechjeb unable to "catch" it.

But the most annoying is that the "rendezvous" module does not work. But it worked there some days. I tried the official version 2.0.9 of mechjeb and the dll sarbian but nothing changes.

Could there be conflicts with other mods?

And someone else encounter the same issue?

see you later

Here is a short video of the problem, my English is pathetic, I'll be sure to be partly understood with this video.

And by the way, sorry about that!

http://youtu.be/Sp3L_EY7Uv8

This is a typical problem everyone has faced i believe. To get MJ from chasing the ball, go to maneuver and allow more tolerance. I set mine to .5 or .8 and it seems to be better. someone else will have to help with the other. my way of doing it will be wrong im sure.

[Starwaster]

why is sarbian's version preferred over 2.0.9? just curious of its benefits

Because it fixes the problem MJ2 has with simple maneuvers. Probably because of poor PID implementation You can mitigate it somewhat by playing with PID values, especially for D but in general, MJ can't do something as simple as a 180 degree rotation without a lot of unnecessary control input which manifests itself in a lot of unnecessary RCS usage.

Try doing something like ordering SmartASS to do a 180 degree rotation. Watch the control inputs and watch the RCS. You'll see it fire and counterfire opposing pairs NONSTOP.

That's not how it should be done. Or at least it's not how *I* would do it and I suspect now how you or a lot of other people would either. You'd probably start your ship rotating with a quick RCS burst to start it yawing or pitching... then wait then counterfire to kill your rotation. If you were in a hurry, worst case is you hold down the control so that RCS fires non-stop until up to halfway through, then fire in the opposite direction for exactly as how long as you were firing the first thruster.

But you wouldn't sit there alternating keys rapidly nonstop... it's a wonder MJ2 can even do something as simple as orienting the ship.

Sarbian has gone a long way towards eliminating that behavior. It still does it a lot during docking, not sure why... maybe because RCS translations are handled differently.

[ASW122]

Hi guys, I'm pretty new to KSP. Started playing last month, tinkered a bit but I'm only just starting to use addons. I've installed 2.0.9 (and also tried 1.9.8 prior to that) but it doesn't seem to be behaving properly. I turn on auto pilot for ascent and the ship just turns over and starts spinning. I try to circularize orbit and it doesn't do anything, just coasts around its orbit and some of the command windows (Smart A.S.S, Orbital Info, Rendezvous Module, Orbital Operations) don't appear. In fact Orbital Info blanks out all the other MechJeb windows as well as the normal KSP stuff like surface velocity, heading and time. Some create a little box in the centre as though they're trying to open, some do nothing. This goes for both versions.

Does anyone have an idea what might be the cause? Running KSP 0.21.1.276

[Toyotawolf]

Sarbian has gone a long way towards eliminating that behavior. It still does it a lot during docking, not sure why... maybe because RCS translations are handled differently.

That and the RCS usage changed in .21.1 and unfortunately MJ2 never received any TLC in this department so, yeah my solution now has been to take over manually rcs thrust towards a docking port and once im really close to the docking port and slap on the auto pilot and then it will correct a bunch and finally dock saving tons of RCS. Needless to say since .21.1 you end up babysitting MJ2 more these days

[Ikkinomi]

This is a typical problem everyone has faced i believe. To get MJ from chasing the ball, go to maneuver and allow more tolerance. I set mine to .5 or .8 and it seems to be better. someone else will have to help with the other. my way of doing it will be wrong im sure.

Hi, thank for the tip!! i'll try it later

[sojourner]

I'm curious how many people will be put off the game if Mechjeb truly breaks in the future. I'd start a poll thread but know it would just get trolled by the "don't use it" crowd. I think it's a real mistake that Squad will "never add an autopilot". If they could get an honest estimation of the number of people using mechjeb they might reconsider. Heck, the popularity of this thread and the number of downloads on spaceport should give them some clue.

[Toyotawolf]

I'm curious how many people will be put off the game if Mechjeb truly breaks in the future. I'd start a poll thread but know it would just get trolled by the "don't use it" crowd. I think it's a real mistake that Squad will "never add an autopilot". If they could get an honest estimation of the number of people using mechjeb they might reconsider. Heck, the popularity of this thread and the number of downloads on spaceport should give them some clue.

That would require common sense and Common sense these days is so rare its like a super power.

Squad need to realize we are modding and building crafts that are far more advanced than their game ever will be at this rate, that's why i use MJ2.

[Starwaster]

I'm curious how many people will be put off the game if Mechjeb truly breaks in the future. I'd start a poll thread but know it would just get trolled by the "don't use it" crowd. I think it's a real mistake that Squad will "never add an autopilot". If they could get an honest estimation of the number of people using mechjeb they might reconsider. Heck, the popularity of this thread and the number of downloads on spaceport should give them some clue.

It would definitely put a crimp in my play. Honestly, I can't think of a single aspect that I have NOT done manually (i.e. just stock tools) and MJ2 isn't so infallible that I don't have to take over from it periodically but if I had to do without it entirely then I'd start finding things pretty tedious after awhile.

[Fox62]

The one aspect I've had to take over from Mechjeb on more times than I'd like to count recently is docking. It just can't do it right. Either it swings about wildly, never correcting until it has swung almost 90 degrees off course, or lining up perfectly but never using the translation controls.

[Toyotawolf]

It would definitely put a crimp in my play. Honestly, I can't think of a single aspect that I have NOT done manually (i.e. just stock tools) and MJ2 isn't so infallible that I don't have to take over from it periodically but if I had to do without it entirely then I'd start finding things pretty tedious after awhile.

Agreed, that's why i use it a lot is due to repetitive tasks, especially when you are testing a design, you want a result set that you can keep doing over and over to see what is working and what isn't

The one aspect I've had to take over from Mechjeb on more times than I'd like to count recently is docking. It just can't do it right. Either it swings about wildly, never correcting until it has swung almost 90 degrees off course, or lining up perfectly but never using the translation controls.

Yeah i usually take over fly directly towards my docking port at whatever angle i am at and then when in 10m i flip on docking autopilot, let it orient and then force the forward translation, works every time flawlessly, it ain't really autopilot but meh i'll live.

[GraviTykillz]

I'm curious how many people will be put off the game if Mechjeb truly breaks in the future. I'd start a poll thread but know it would just get trolled by the "don't use it" crowd. I think it's a real mistake that Squad will "never add an autopilot". If they could get an honest estimation of the number of people using mechjeb they might reconsider. Heck, the popularity of this thread and the number of downloads on spaceport should give them some clue.

you are quite right. speaking for me only KSP is more about design then flight. and i miss how well MechJ used to work.

[viperwolf]

you are quite right. speaking for me only KSP is more about design then flight. and i miss how well MechJ used to work.

I agree, when i first started playing all i wanted was to watch the SRBs separate of the rocket and fall to Kerban, then i wanted to get a rocket into orbit, then the mun. Now i spend so much time building craft than flying them. I like MJ(old) when it worked really good. It is a good teacher. But its really good to have when testing craft. You dont have to babysit the thing all the time.

[Toyotawolf]

I agree, when i first started playing all i wanted was to watch the SRBs separate of the rocket and fall to Kerban, then i wanted to get a rocket into orbit, then the mun. Now i spend so much time building craft than flying them. I like MJ(old) when it worked really good. It is a good teacher. But its really good to have when testing craft. You dont have to babysit the thing all the time.

Yeah, I just wish someone could either redux it or get an answer from r4m0n

[AndreyATGB]

Squad won't add autopilot but they said something about having trained kerbals. Maybe that means they would be capable of executing nodes for example, we'll have to wait and see. I for one wouldn't stop playing because I didn't have MJ, but it would definitely limit my designs to keep them in an acceptable FPS range.

[Geschosskopf]

Hi guys, I'm pretty new to KSP. Started playing last month, tinkered a bit but I'm only just starting to use addons. I've installed 2.0.9 (and also tried 1.9.8 prior to that) but it doesn't seem to be behaving properly. I turn on auto pilot for ascent and the ship just turns over and starts spinning. I try to circularize orbit and it doesn't do anything, just coasts around its orbit and some of the command windows (Smart A.S.S, Orbital Info, Rendezvous Module, Orbital Operations) don't appear. In fact Orbital Info blanks out all the other MechJeb windows as well as the normal KSP stuff like surface velocity, heading and time. Some create a little box in the centre as though they're trying to open, some do nothing. This goes for both versions.

On the spinning during ascent, the usual cause is a conflict between the orientation of the rocket as a whole (correct end pointed to space) and the orientation of whichever part is being used as "control from here". MJ bases all its control decisions on the "control from here" part, so if this part thinks "up" is towards the horizon, MJ will drive towards the horizon instead of really up.

There are 2 main causes of this issue, the 1st being MJ itself, which always makes itself the "control from here" part. If you attach the MJ part on the side of the rocket so the antenna points toward the front of the rocket, then it will work OK. But if you attach the MJ part so the antenna points in any other direction, you'll never make it to space. The other possible cause is having multiple command pods or probe brains on the rocket (say for a lander and a rover), these aren't all oriented in the same direction, and for whatever reason one of those facing the wrong way is the "control from here" part.

So, to avoid this problem, take a look at the navball when your rocket 1st spawns on the Launchpad. It should be all blue. If it's not, then before you light the fires, right click on a properly oriented command pod or probe core and select "control from here". Also consider moving the MJ part so it's pointed in the right direction and on the proper side of the rocket. This is because even if MJ has its antenna pointed up, if it's not on the side of the rocket facing you by default in the VAB, the navball will be rotated 90-270^ off true north. This doesn't make any difference to MJ's ability to fly in the right direction, but it's confusing to you looking at it.

As for the rocket going dead before you can circularize, this is probably because you ran out of electricity, not an MJ problem. In 0.21, every vehicle needs some source of electricity to power the reaction wheels which now come by default in the command pods and probe cores. So slap an RTG or 2 on your rocket and see if that solves the problem.

Does anyone have an idea what might be the cause? Running KSP 0.21.1.276

[ASW122]

On the spinning during ascent, the usual cause is a conflict between the orientation of the rocket as a whole (correct end pointed to space) and the orientation of whichever part is being used as "control from here". MJ bases all its control decisions on the "control from here" part, so if this part thinks "up" is towards the horizon, MJ will drive towards the horizon instead of really up.

There are 2 main causes of this issue, the 1st being MJ itself, which always makes itself the "control from here" part. If you attach the MJ part on the side of the rocket so the antenna points toward the front of the rocket, then it will work OK. But if you attach the MJ part so the antenna points in any other direction, you'll never make it to space. The other possible cause is having multiple command pods or probe brains on the rocket (say for a lander and a rover), these aren't all oriented in the same direction, and for whatever reason one of those facing the wrong way is the "control from here" part.

So, to avoid this problem, take a look at the navball when your rocket 1st spawns on the Launchpad. It should be all blue. If it's not, then before you light the fires, right click on a properly oriented command pod or probe core and select "control from here". Also consider moving the MJ part so it's pointed in the right direction and on the proper side of the rocket. This is because even if MJ has its antenna pointed up, if it's not on the side of the rocket facing you by default in the VAB, the navball will be rotated 90-270^ off true north. This doesn't make any difference to MJ's ability to fly in the right direction, but it's confusing to you looking at it.

As for the rocket going dead before you can circularize, this is probably because you ran out of electricity, not an MJ problem. In 0.21, every vehicle needs some source of electricity to power the reaction wheels which now come by default in the command pods and probe cores. So slap an RTG or 2 on your rocket and see if that solves the problem.

Does anyone have an idea what might be the cause? Running KSP 0.21.1.276

[ASW122]

Ok, tried it, still ended up with it starting to drift at about 500m. Control is set to the MechJeb module, orientation is straight up (solid blue navball). When I launch, I'm 10 degrees off vertical by 700m and by 5km I'm horizontal, at which point it cranks the throttles to max until the engines explode. Plenty of electric, stabilisers, control surfaces.

Manually, I can get it into orbit easily, just can't figure out why the MJ can't.

[Toyotawolf]

Squad won't add autopilot but they said something about having trained kerbals. Maybe that means they would be capable of executing nodes for example, we'll have to wait and see. I for one wouldn't stop playing because I didn't have MJ, but it would definitely limit my designs to keep them in an acceptable FPS range.

Yeah i mean i would still play too, my designs would just become very......lack luster(no not lack luster labs)and very modular too as you would have to launch smaller more stable rockets(or at least i would)

[Keome]

Ok, tried it, still ended up with it starting to drift at about 500m. Control is set to the MechJeb module, orientation is straight up (solid blue navball). When I launch, I'm 10 degrees off vertical by 700m and by 5km I'm horizontal, at which point it cranks the throttles to max until the engines explode. Plenty of electric, stabilisers, control surfaces.

Manually, I can get it into orbit easily, just can't figure out why the MJ can't.

I had this problem using the Sarbian's dll file. When I reverted back to the one that comes with the 2.0.9 package, it worked fine again.

[ASW122]

I had this problem using the Sarbian's dll file. When I reverted back to the one that comes with the 2.0.9 package, it worked fine again.

Haven't got Sarbian's dll (or indeed heard of it), just using standard MJ 2.0.9 with stock parts.

[GraviTykillz]

Squad won't add autopilot but they said something about having trained kerbals.

Well. if this is true, they are going to lose a lot of sales in the end. I mean if they truly want to get this game out to as many pplz as possible. I would think for the Hardcore player they could just not use the autopilot option. seems simple

[sojourner]

Ok, tried it, still ended up with it starting to drift at about 500m. Control is set to the MechJeb module, orientation is straight up (solid blue navball). When I launch, I'm 10 degrees off vertical by 700m and by 5km I'm horizontal, at which point it cranks the throttles to max until the engines explode. Plenty of electric, stabilisers, control surfaces.

Manually, I can get it into orbit easily, just can't figure out why the MJ can't.

This sounds like you have fuel imbalance causing your ship to go sideways. before it crashes check and make sure the tanks are draining uniformly and not causing the center of gravity to shift in flight.

[dlrk]

Can someone explain the attitude adjustment functionality?

[Toyotawolf]

Well. if this is true, they are going to lose a lot of sales in the end. I mean if they truly want to get this game out to as many pplz as possible. I would think for the Hardcore player they could just not use the autopilot option. seems simple

Lol so simple it is almost common sense, oh well