COM/COT/COL indicators ingame

[Majorjim!]

Would it be possible or at all practical to have the COM/COL/COT indicators when in game? It would really help testing a craft on the pad to see how these change dynamically as fuel drains and such.

 

[katateochi]

I used to think that we should have them but I've changed my mind since. It's not something I care about knowing for rockets/landers, but it is useful to know for spaceplanes and I've found a way around for them.  COL doesn't shift during flight, so I attach a marker part (usually a small antenna) at the COL and also put one on the initial COM.

 

The in game camera always points at the COM, so as COM shifts you just need to zoom in and then you can see how far you've moved from your initial COM marker and most importantly where it is in relation to the COL marker.

But....can we talk about how horrible the current COM marker blob is? It's lost its transparency so it's v hard to tell when you're looking square on to it, and it's just too big.  I'd rather have a small red dot, with axies like the COL marker, but longer and much finer.

 

[Majorjim!]

Hey Kat,

 yeah that's how I have been doing it up to now, zooming in on COM and such. 

 A craft I am making is trickier to balance and for clarity I would like to see the COM move dynamically as fuel drains as I am seeing some odd behaviour. 

  It would just be a 'better' solution to see it happen in real time. 

[katateochi]

yeah for tricky craft I can see the need for it. 
Would also be nice to have a master fuel control in the editors so you could simulate fuel usage.

[Majorjim!]

1 hour ago, katateochi said:

Would also be nice to have a master fuel control in the editors so you could simulate fuel usage.

That would be a great thing to have!

[katateochi]

15 minutes ago, Majorjim said:

That would be a great thing to have!

I'd actually started writing a suggestion for it and then got side-tracked and rebooted. I'll try to remember to finish adding it this evening. 

[Oafman]

Vessel Viewer, which is a great little mod, gives you a view of your craft in a window, and includes a CoM marker.

 

Obviously, that's far from the same as having the SPH markers available to you in flight, but it's the closest thing, and maintains realism. 

[Red Iron Crown]

@katateochi I'm totally stealing that part-to-indicate-CoL trick, great idea.

[Gaarst]

While we're at it, can the CoL indicator in the VAB be changed to reflect the actual aerodynamic centre when in flight ? It seems body lift is not accounted for, and it gets quite annoying when your shuttle wants to flip whenever your AoA is over 15°

Edited April 28, 2016 by Gaarst