Why is this game and its mods so allergic to input boxes?

[archnem]

First, I'd like to say that this thread isn't meant to disparage any mod (or the game) in any way.  I'll be using a specific mod as an example, but that's just because it's what got me thinking about this.  I wouldn't have near as much fun with KSP if it weren't for the hours the mod authors spend making this game better for everyone...so thanks!

Second, this also isn't meant to be a whine thread - I'm genuinely curious.  I've thought about hacking together a mod or two myself over the years and am wondering what the real reason is.

Anyway, yesterday I was messing about with TAC-LS.  I've been finding its resources a bit light in the mass department, so I thought: "Hey, I can adjust consumption right on the difficulty screen now! Sweet!".  I figured I'd make consumption and waste production 3x the default value and go from there.  Well, first it was impossible on most of the sliders to set exactly 3x the value.  Also, when I decided to roll back to the defaults, I couldn't even get the default values back! (Yay floating point maths?)  The sliders won't let me alter things with exact precision, so eventually I just hacked my save file to roll back to defaults.

It's not just mods - I find myself yearning for input boxes with stock tweakables too - like the thrust limiter.  I'll want a specific value, and have to move my mouse ever so slowly to get exactly the right spot.  Back in the days when tweakables were first introduced, I remember fuel amounts being really annoying this way as well.  This was fixed by locking fuel amounts to specific step values, but even now I wish I could just type in the value I want.

Are text/input boxes hard to implement in Unity's UI?  I know MechJeb has some, but I also know its UI is a bit different than most mods.  I rarely see them in any other mod.  Is it a matter of screen real estate?  Is it just convention?  My first thought was console-ization, and while this might explain the stock game a bit, consoles can't run mods afaik.  Is there something I'm missing?

[Superfluous J]

UIs are the worst part of programming, at least in my opinion. The less time I spend on a UI, the better. A slider is (relatively) easy and safe. You don't have to check to make sure the input is valid, lock the input so it doesn't bleed through into the game (Oh you hit space? That's a staging) handle boundary conditions, or anything like that.

[monstah]

2 hours ago, 5thHorseman said:

You don't have to (...) lock the input so it doesn't bleed through into the game 

Well, using KIS can be a pain when you're EVAing, with RCS on, and dragging a part from your inventory to where you want to place it makes your Kerbal rotate around. I know you're talking sliders, but they're mouse+drag too and can suffer the same problem.