Argument of periapsis

[Dimmi]

Hi, I know it has been asked before but I still can't get my head around it. 

One ofthe mission requers Argument of periapsis: 10.7 degrees . I've read what this is mean but where I see this info in the game and how can I create maneuver to achive it? 

Thank you ! 

[Starhawk]

Hello Dimmi and welcome to the forums!

If you match the location of your orbit's periapsis and the target orbit's periapsis in map view, you will have the correct argument of periapsis.  Don't worry about the number.

I don't even know why they bother to show it on the contracts.  It just causes confusion.

Happy landings!

[Gaarst]

1 minute ago, Starhawk said:

I don't even know why they bother to show it on the contracts.  It just causes confusion.

It wouldn't cause confusion if there was a way to actually see it in the game!

It is used in the contracts, it's a fixed value that doesn't depend on the craft or funky fuel routings; so Squad has no excuse to not add it, as well as other basic orbital information. (Hell just give us the option to see our apoapsis and periapsis in vessel view)

[Starhawk]

1 minute ago, Gaarst said:

It wouldn't cause confusion if there was a way to actually see it in the game!

Well, that's the thing.  There is a way to see it in the game, just not in numerical form.  In map mode you see it visually by looking at the periapsis marker.  Giving a number is confusing, because what you actually do is use map mode to match the orbits visually rather than using any numerical orbit parameters.

Happy landings!

[Gaarst]

1 hour ago, Starhawk said:

Well, that's the thing.  There is a way to see it in the game, just not in numerical form.  In map mode you see it visually by looking at the periapsis marker.  Giving a number is confusing, because what you actually do is use map mode to match the orbits visually rather than using any numerical orbit parameters.

Happy landings!

It's just a matter of gameplay preference. I like to have a lot of information, and I use numerical information a lot when playing.

Eyeballing everything works for basic gameplay, but if you want to push "realism" (in between quotes because I'm only considering stock) a bit further you need these numbers. Even the understanding of the orbital mechanics require a few numbers at some point: for you to be able to easily forget these when gaining experience you have to know what you are actually doing.

Anyway, at that point, I can only consider the lack of information in the game as a development choice. Anything else would boil down to: "Squad don't know what they are doing", but I'll stay positive on that one.

[bewing]

If you really want it, then submit it as a feature request. The Ap and Pe info (and maybe velocity) will probably get added to the vessel info "knowledgebase" tab soon. But information overload is also a thing, and listing thousands of numbers that most people can't use just clutters up the available real estate.

 

And to answer part of the OP's question: the Argument of Periapsis is a rotation of your orbital ellipse. You rotate the ellipse by thrusting. It works best if you keep your starting ellipse either fully outside the target ellipse or fully inside. But if your starting ellipse crosses the target ellipse, then you use radial in or radial out burns at the crossing points. If you are fully inside, then you thrust prograde to do it. If you are fully outside, then you thrust retrograde.

Edited November 4, 2016 by bewing