Contract to get to some specific location question?

[jonpfl]

All,

Just got the game and trying to figure things out (via watching movies and reading forums) and am curious about a contract that says something like "get to some location and take a sample" (not sure if those are the exact words as I am at work but it does mention a specific location.

Anyway, how do I find locations and get there?  I am aware of hitting 'M' but all I see is the main planet.  Do I need to find it via that map function and then time my liftoff to make sure I get to that location.

Thx
jonpfl

[Streetwind]

To find your destination, go to the tracking station and zoom out/rotate Kerbin (or wherever your destination is). You will be able to see waypoint markers that show you where you need to go.

Based on that knowledge, you then decide what kind of vehicle you send - usually either a plane for the closer destinations or a suborbital rocket for the farther ones.

Of course, the type of contract also plays into this. No other contract type has as many subtle variations as survey contracts. There are some which immediately list several destinations. There are some which list one destination, and then once you get there, suddenly another one pops up. There are some which stipulate the same activity at different waypoints, and some which stipulate different activities at different waypoints ("fly over A then collect a surface sample at B"). There are some which require you to land, some which require you to fly over at specific altitudes, some which specify just general overflight without specifically mentioning that yes, this includes being in orbit despite the waypoint being in the atmosphere, there are some that ask you to use a science instrument, and so on. So read it very very carefully and make sure you understand exactly what is asked of you.

Once you have built your craft and head to the launchpad/runway, open the map, find the waypoint, and doubleclick it. It is now targeted and will appear on your navball. This will help you reach it.

With a plane, getting there is straightforward, and you can easily change course at any time - which is why planes continue to be a popular choice despite taking way more time than suborbital hoppers. With a rocket, you only have a certain window while your engine is running for you to aim at where you want to come down. And that can be harder than you think, because the planet rotates while you are in flight. You either use a mod like MechJeb or Trajectories, which can display predicted landing spots, or acquire the skill to get it right through practice.

Another downside to rocket-propelled drop pods is that you usually can't take off again. So that disqualifies them for missions with multiple waypoints... which is most of them. Unless, of course, you're willing and able to chuck a whole bunch of them in that direction.

 

Edited May 11, 2017 by Streetwind

[FancyMouse]

There should be waypoints with corresponding names when (1) you're offered the contract and you go to tracking station, or (2) you accepted the contract and then you're flying your ship - in this case you can left click the waypoint and set target.

If you haven't accept the contract yet, and you're flying a ship, map view doesn't show the waypoints.

[Cpt Kerbalkrunch]

Those are tough contracts for a new player. That money helps in the early going, but it won't be easy to earn it. I'm gonna assume this contract is on Kerbin, since you're just starting out. They usually say "take a crew report" or "take pressure readings" or some such, at whichever location. And, what's probably most important, it'll say to be above or below a certain altitude. This makes it tough for a rocket (though that's the way I did mine, cuz I didn't know any better), but those contracts are designed to encourage you to build airplanes.

However you choose to get there, to find the location, go to the map view as you said, then zoom out a bit so you can see the whole planet, then hold right-click and spin the planet around. Somewhere you'll see a little marker. This is where you need to go. If you click on the marker, you'll get an option to "set navigation". Do so. Now, when you launch a plane or rocket, you'll see a yellow, rectangle-type outline (you'll know it when you see it). You're going to need to fly in that direction. A bit easier said than done, though. The planet will most likely be in the way at first (it's a surface marker remember), so it's going to take some practice.

Check it out when you get home. You can always come back on the forum with more specific questions about reaching the marker after you test it out a bit. These things are all tough at first, but will make perfect sense later. Just stick with it, and you'll get the hang of it. And if it you haven't already, I highly recommend that you run through all of the training missions. They're a huge help.

 

Took me a while to type that out. In the meantime, you got a couple good answers. So, yeah, what they said. 

Edited May 11, 2017 by Cpt Kerbalkrunch

[jonpfl]

4 minutes ago, FancyMouse said:

There should be waypoints with corresponding names when (1) you're offered the contract and you go to tracking station, or (2) you accepted the contract and then you're flying your ship - in this case you can left click the waypoint and set target.

If you haven't accept the contract yet, and you're flying a ship, map view doesn't show the waypoints.

So, in the case of 2), if you left click the waypoint, does that put something on your navball so you can steer towards that spot?

Thx
jonpfl

[jonpfl]

9 minutes ago, Streetwind said:

To find your destination, go to the tracking station and zoom out/rotate Kerbin (or wherever your destination is). You will be able to see waypoint markers that show you where you need to go.

Based on that knowledge, you then decide what kind of vehicle you send - usually either a plane for the closer destinations or a suborbital rocket for the farther ones.

Of course, the type of contract also plays into this. No other contract type has as many subtle variations as survey contracts. There are some which immediately list several destinations. There are some which list one destination, and then once you get there, suddenly another one pops up. There are some which stipulate the same activity at different waypoints, and some which stipulate different activities at different waypoints ("fly over A then collect a surface sample at B"). There are some which require you to land, some which require you to fly over at specific altitudes, some which specify just general overflight without specifically mentioning that yes, this includes being in orbit despite the waypoint being in the atmosphere, there are some that ask you to use a science instrument, and so on. So read it very very carefully and make sure you understand exactly what is asked of you.

Once you have built your craft and head to the launchpad/runway, open the map, find the waypoint, and doubleclick it. It is now targeted and will appear on your navball. This will help you reach it.

With a plane, getting there is straightforward, and you can easily change course at any time - which is why planes continue to be a popular choice despite taking way more time than suborbital hoppers. With a rocket, you only have a certain window while your engine is running for you to aim at where you want to come down. And that can be harder than you think, because the planet rotates while you are in flight. You either use a mod like MechJeb or Trajectories, which can display predicted landing spots, or acquire the skill to get it right through practice.

Another downside to rocket-propelled drop pods is that you usually can't take off again. So that disqualifies them for missions with multiple waypoints... which is most of them. Unless, of course, you're willing and able to chuck a whole bunch of them in that direction.

 

Since I am just starting out, should I go get MechJeb?  I have seen many people swear by it.

Thx
jonpfl

[jonpfl]

3 minutes ago, Cpt Kerbalkrunch said:

Those are tough contracts for a new player. That money helps in the early going, but it won't be easy to earn it. I'm gonna assume this contract is on Kerbin, since you're just starting out. They usually say "take a crew report" or "take pressure readings" or some such, at whichever location. And, what's probably most important, it'll say to be above or below a certain altitude. This makes it tough for a rocket (though that's the way I did mine, cuz I didn't know any better), but those contracts are designed to encourage you to build airplanes.

However you choose to get there, to find the location, go to the map view as you said, then zoom out a bit so you can see the whole planet, then hold right-click and spin the planet around. Somewhere you'll see a little marker. This is where you need to go. If you click on the marker, you'll get an option to "set navigation". Do so. Now, when you launch a plane or rocket, you'll see a yellow, rectangle-type outline (you'll know it when you see it). You're going to need to fly in that direction. A bit easier said than done, though. The planet will most likely be in the way at first (it's a surface marker remember), so it's going to take some practice.

Check it out when you get home. You can always come back on the forum with more specific questions about reaching the marker after you test it out a bit. These things are all tough at first, but will make perfect sense later. Just stick with it, and you'll get the hang of it. And if it you haven't already, I highly recommend that you run through all of the training missions. They're a huge help.

I ran through about half of the training missions but then I read somewhere where people said it wasn't worth running through them early on as they were not relevant to people just starting out.  I can go back and run through them all if you think it will help.

When you launch a rocket for a specific spot in space, do you need to sometimes wait so it is above your launch point?  Is there way to wait for X hours until that location is above your launch point?

Thx
jonpfl

[Streetwind]

1 hour ago, jonpfl said:

Since I am just starting out, should I go get MechJeb?  I have seen many people swear by it.

It's a matter of personal preference. It's a big mod that does many things, and different people use it for different purposes - from simple vessel information all the way to letting their ships fly on autopilot. Some will tell you it's cheating, others will tell you it's essential, and both sides are probably not talking about the same thing. Try and find a mod review video and see if it's something you want.

 

1 hour ago, jonpfl said:

When you launch a rocket for a specific spot in space, do you need to sometimes wait so it is above your launch point?  Is there way to wait for X hours until that location is above your launch point?

1.) Sometimes it is beneficial to do so, but it's nothing you can't also correct for in space with extra fuel. By the way the stock KSP solar system is designed, the cases where it makes a big difference are minimized and never really come to bite you. People with modded solar systems make use of this more often.

2.) No, there's no built-in function. You have to time and/or eyeball it. A mod like Kerbal Alarm Clock can pull you out of timewarp on a predefined date, but you still have to figure out that date and set the alarm yourself.

[Cpt Kerbalkrunch]

2 hours ago, jonpfl said:

I ran through about half of the training missions but then I read somewhere where people said it wasn't worth running through them early on as they were not relevant to people just starting out.  I can go back and run through them all if you think it will help.

When you launch a rocket for a specific spot in space, do you need to sometimes wait so it is above your launch point?  Is there way to wait for X hours until that location is above your launch point?

Thx
jonpfl

Unfortunately, though the spot you need is usually in the air, it's in the air above a certain location. So it's not going to come to you. You have to go to it. What FancyMouse said about double-clicking the marker is the same as clicking and then hitting "set navigation". Either will work. It'll put the yellow rectangle-type marker on your navball.

You can get there using a rocket, but you'll have to time it out so that you're above or below the altitude specified, then perform the action that's called for. It sounds tough, and it is, but you'll get the hang of it with some practice. Remember, if the action they want is a crew report, you'll actually need a crew. Meaning a Kerbal on board. Until you unlock the better probes, I always thought a pilot was better anyway.

As for the training missions, they teach you invaluable skills you'll need in the game. They're a great way to learn, and also get a feel for flying. I did them all the way up to the docking mission. I couldn't figure it out, so I just started playing. Did my first docking in-game like 3 months later. I didn't know about this forum for over a year, unfortunately. That would've really helped.

As far as "the mod that will not be named", that would be a personal choice. I just read @Streetwind's post above. That would pretty much some up the differences in the community's feelings towards it. I don't consider it cheating the game, I just consider it cheating yourself. Doing your own flying (and learning how to do it) is incredibly rewarding, and a lot of fun. You'll have to make your own decision in that regard.

Edited May 11, 2017 by Cpt Kerbalkrunch

[Spricigo]

 

4 hours ago, jonpfl said:

I ran through about half of the training missions but then I read somewhere where people said it wasn't worth running through them early on as they were not relevant to people just starting out.  I can go back and run through them all if you think it will help.

        Is always hard to tell, because different people have different way to learn. And usually people will advise to do what worked for then rather than try to figure out what is better for the people asking (often because what worked for then its the only way they know). But there is different options available,  trial and error, training missions, forum help, youtube tutorials, real word studies about the issue at hand, ... Actually learning is part of the fun and its up to each one to choose what is more fun.

       Now, to commit the Sin I just denounced: what helped me most was 1st:youtube tutorials, 2nd: this forum, 3rd:real world studies (discussions about model rockets and model planes was surprisingly helpful. Also real world analogies need to be taken with a grain of salt, given the inaccuracies in KSP's simulation)

 

Quote

When you launch a rocket for a specific spot in space, do you need to sometimes wait so it is above your launch point?  Is there way to wait for X hours until that location is above your launch point?

Something to notice: everything is moving. So you want to reach a spot at the time your target is there. If both you and your target are in the surface of a planet or moon there is the advantage that both are moving with the planet's(moon's) rotation.

At the space the initial movement of ship and target diverge more, so yes it may be worth to wait for a better moment to launch/maneuver in the direction of your target. But you will not move towards your target, because your target will not be there when you reach the point where the target currentlyis. Instead you need to 'lead your target', that is, go toward a point the target will be when you get there. Also the more efficient way to reach the target is often to make a small adjustment in your trajectory to result a encounter a long time later, instead of a more aggressive maneuver that make you reach the target quickly.

 

4 hours ago, jonpfl said:

 should I go get [insert mod name here]?
 

That is probably the most controversial question about KSP. Also the most irrelevant in the great scheme of thing.

Some people consider it cheating, some consider it essential. Some use then to make the game easier, some to make the game harder.

 

But KSP is a single player game. How you decide to play it don't concern and don't affect me. If you decide to mod until it break fine, if you decide to keep it as is also fine. My only advice in regard mods is: understand what the mod can do, not only its intended purpose but also the possible side effect (e.g. possible bug, update issues and reduced computer performance).
Except that, since I'm a avid mod user, If you are curious about what a particular mod do or if there is a mod with a particular functionality you feel lacking in the stock game, I may try to give you some info so you may decide by yourself.

[FancyMouse]

9 hours ago, jonpfl said:

So, in the case of 2), if you left click the waypoint, does that put something on your navball so you can steer towards that spot?

Yes, the same waypoint icon will be shown on navball. It might be below horizon, though - if it's too far away (e.g. other side of Kerbin)