Flight simulator

[Ricotta]

It would be really nice to have a flight simulator feature to be able to test landers and whatnot on various planets without actually having to launch a multi-year mission just to find out that your lander or probe isn't suitable for the task at hand or has some kind of critical flaw that wasn't discovered until you were already there.

[el_coyoto]

I agree, it would be a nice stock feature...
In the meantime, if you don't mind using mods, you can check Hyperedit, it lets you (among other things) change the orbit of your ship in one click.

Also, welcome to the forums @Ricotta! (mmmh this nickname is making me hungry... )
Cheers!

Edited February 1, 2016 by el_coyoto

[soulsource]

There's also the Kerbal Construction Time mod, which includes a simulator mode.

This one has the added challenge that you need to have visited a celestial body at least once before you can start simulations on it or in its orbit.

[chrisb2e9]

What would you like to test? Mechjeb will tell you Thrust to weight ratio for every body. Other than that, you can just test it on the launch pad. sure there is atmosphere and set gravity. but if you just want to test to make sure that you have everything that you need, it should work just fine.

[Majorjim!]

Yup, hyper edit is my 'simulator'.

[A35K]

I just use a different sandbox save with hyperedit as a simulator...

[Arugela]

That could be nice. But I think you should have to explore and get data on the planet first. Then you have a reason to send probes and scan stuff. Maybe even a satelite for real time stuff or something. Gives something to do as you expand outwards in the solar system.

Although There is no reason not to scan once and use it. Maybe you need to collect all the data to use it in sims. It could even be an unlock. And until you scan the entire planet and collect all data on biomes and gravity you don't have the full sim. (At which case maybe a partial sim would do since you may only need so much for a specific mission.) It could be like getting data on the moon before the human moon mission. (Does Moon with two O's look funny to anyone now after playing KSP so long?)

At that point the should make the scanners work so they only pic up stuff beneath them and maybe a certain depth. MAybe if sats scan high you can get low res images and data but high res or more detailed info requires longer lower scans or something. There is so much they could do with that concept to add stuff to the game. If you had to wait for overhead coverage to communicate and stuff too it would add more depth and realism.

Edited February 1, 2016 by Arugela

[Buster Charlie]

Man if you're going full flight simulator, then everything has to be like a green monochrome wire frame like battlezone...

[Matuchkin]

On 01/02/2016 at 7:21 AM, el_coyoto said:

I agree, it would be a nice stock feature...
In the meantime, if you don't mind using mods, you can check Hyperedit, it lets you (among other things) change the orbit of your ship in one click.

Also, welcome to the forums @Ricotta! (mmmh this nickname is making me hungry... )
Cheers!

I don't use hyperedit as my simulator. It completely removes the satisfaction of visiting another planet, as the player already knows he's been there and seen everything. I'd want something that removes any visuals, merely displaying what's happening to the craft with a bunch of tweakable settings.

[Wjolcz]

Yes. Also full scale wind tunnels.

[el_coyoto]

On 3/2/2016 at 0:53 AM, Matuchkin said:

I don't use hyperedit as my simulator. It completely removes the satisfaction of visiting another planet, as the player already knows he's been there and seen everything. I'd want something that removes any visuals, merely displaying what's happening to the craft with a bunch of tweakable settings.

Wow, that would be a really cool idea for a real simulation mode : some kind of Tron-like visuals, with solid colors and wireframe...

But yeah, Hypereditng to places you've never been kinda ruins the joy of discovery, so I usually set myself a rule where I must do a unmanned flyby of a given body in career before running "simulations" around it.

Edited February 6, 2016 by el_coyoto

[Wjolcz]

Actually, after a somewhat intense thought process, I think we should have a scenario creator in the game. You choose what kind of scenario you want to load, take a vessel you've built and try to perform a succesful manouver (more sandbox than sanbox?):

1. You choose a type of scenario (where on the orbit? vertical speed? horizontal speed? how high? AoA? rotation? oxygen present? time of the day?)
2. Take the vessel you want to test, or build a new one
3. Enjoy crashtesting without losing money/rep/your precious crew! (no quicksaving/limited in some other way?)

So basically: Tutorials + Hyperedit.