Navigating To A Site With A Rover?

[The Flying Kerbal]

I've managed to collect a bucket load of contracts to be completed in a single mission to Minmus.  One of them is to conduct seismic surveys at a number of sites in a loacation "Near Newdous' Crag".  So I thought I would build myself my first ever rover.

The idea is simple enough, it'll trundle around picking up the readings with its accelerometer, along with other science with its barometer and thermometer.  The problem is it doesn't seem to want to register when it's at the sites I need to survey?  Although I can activate the navigation on the map, the icon doesn't appear on the navball, and I've actually driven right through the entire location without being able to fulfil the contract.

What am I missing here?  Is the Probodobodyne Rovemate not able to perform this for me?  I have Bob down on the surface, if I sent him along would that help?

Here's a couple of images of the rover in question on Minmus, it's very simple but a fun little buggy to drive around, but it's a shame if it won't do what it was designed for.

Testing on Kerbin.

On Minmus

Parked up for the night! 

I wonder what I've done wrong with this little vehicle, is this part of the mission not going to work with what I've sent up there?

Any and all advice will be really appreciated.

[Plusck]

Navigating and driving a rover is hard (and driving sometimes impossible, depending on how the game interprets wheel movements) if you don't have a forward-facing control point. Simplest solution is to add a junior docking port.

The location of a site with a waypoint is actually very slightly under the point at the bottom of the indicator.

With a forward-facing control point, the waypoint should be clearly marked on the horizon on the navball when navigation is activated. When you are at the site, the waypoint should be at the navball zenith (or nadir).

 

I reckon you need to sort this in two stages. First: does navigation ever work (icon on navball, able to aim for and reach a waypoint) and second: what is the difference when you try for this contract.

To save yourself from having to send up a new rover (since clearly you can drive this one around), try just creating a waypoint near that "parking place" (ideally in the direction your lander pod is facing) using commnet and see if you can get it to show on your navball.

Edited November 24, 2017 by Plusck

[Geschosskopf]

7 hours ago, The Flying Kerbal said:

What am I missing here?  Is the Probodobodyne Rovemate not able to perform this for me?  I have Bob down on the surface, if I sent him along would that help?

As @Plusck says, you need something facing forward for "command from here".  A docking port, a probe core, or a Kerbal in a command seat.  Then the navball will be oriented horizontally and the waypoints should appear on the line between brown and blue.

If you don't have a forward-facing "control from here" thing, only an upwards-facing one, then you have a couple of options to see the waypoints.  Both involve rotating the rover enough that the horizon is visible on the navball.

• Minmus has very low gravity.  If you have sufficient torque, you can pitch the rover down so it stands on its nose, thus making the navball horizontal.  Then you can use roll to rotate the rover around while it's standing on its nose until you see the waypoint marker.  Then remember what direction it is, pitch the rover back onto its wheels, and drive in the desired direction.
• If you lack the torque for the above, find a steep hill that slopes in the general direction of the waypoint.  Drive onto this slope and turn the rover to face downhill.  As you do so, you should see part of the navball horizon and the waypoint marker along the bottom of the navball.

When you get to the target area, yellow text will appear for a few seconds on the screen just below the altimeter.  It will say "Now entering (location name)".  When you see that, stop and take your readings.  If you don't stop, after a while you'll see "Now leaving (location name)".  When you take readings at that location, its waypoint will disappear from the map and navball, so then you have to turn towards the next one.

[Rocket In My Pocket]

As both posters above me pointed out your control points are both facing straight up, notice in the one screenshot your Navball is entirely blue?

You are basically staring at the sky, so you'll never see the waypoint.

You "should" have got a message you arrived in the area though at least?

[Gordon Fecyk]

If you can't figure out what these folks are talking about, here's an example.

The RoveMate is more useful in 1.3 than it was in previous editions because of its 100% anomaly detection rate, but if you prefer you can still use an alternate probe core and then build a rover body around it. The OKTO2 and QBE may prove useful for this role.

Edited November 26, 2017 by Gordon Fecyk

[Daniel Prates]

Also there is a mod called bonvoyage:

https://spacedock.info/mod/950/BonVoyage

I know it is only tangentially related to your actual question,  but you might find it worth investigating. It allows hands-off autopiloting of rovers,  and since it works on the background,  you can go and do other things as it steers your rover by itself. Good for those 1000km trips that would normally require you to quit your real life job.

Edited November 26, 2017 by Daniel Prates

[The Flying Kerbal]

Thanks for all the advice guys, I'd never have figured out it needed a forward facing probe core.  And Gordon Fecyk has once again reminded me I really must upgrade my KSP to 1.3.

Anyway time to add that forward facing probe core!

[Rocket In My Pocket]

8 minutes ago, The Flying Kerbal said:

Thanks for all the advice guys, I'd never have figured out it needed a forward facing probe core.  And Gordon Fecyk has once again reminded me I really must upgrade my KSP to 1.3.

Anyway time to add that forward facing probe core!

A docking port works as well if it's cheaper or more convenient for you.

Just right click it and "control from here."

[Plusck]

9 hours ago, The Flying Kerbal said:

Thanks for all the advice guys, I'd never have figured out it needed a forward facing probe core.  And Gordon Fecyk has once again reminded me I really must upgrade my KSP to 1.3.

Anyway time to add that forward facing probe core!

Just FYI: if you add a junior docking port, it should sort-of look like a smiley face when it's the right way round. With the standard docking port, the black rectangle is "up".

All of the probe cores have their model number stamped on the "back/top of the head" location. So if you imagine that your rover or ship is Superman, you want eyes forward (the top of the probe core when you place it in the VAB, or the side facing the door in the SPH) and the "back/top of the head" (where the part number is stamped) facing the sky.

And yes, I do sometimes use the Superman mental picture to sort out what is facing where, especially when landing on airless bodies (he usually comes in feet first, belly to the sky, and rotates forward as he lands).

[Rocket In My Pocket]

1 hour ago, Plusck said:

Just FYI: if you add a junior docking port, it should sort-of look like a smiley face when it's the right way round. With the standard docking port, the black rectangle is "up".

All of the probe cores have their model number stamped on the "back/top of the head" location. So if you imagine that your rover or ship is Superman, you want eyes forward (the top of the probe core when you place it in the VAB, or the side facing the door in the SPH) and the "back/top of the head" (where the part number is stamped) facing the sky.

And yes, I do sometimes use the Superman mental picture to sort out what is facing where, especially when landing on airless bodies (he usually comes in feet first, belly to the sky, and rotates forward as he lands).

Lol, I use Jr.'s for pretty much all my probes/rovers for a cheap/easy forward control point.

I've really grown fond of that little smiley face.

o__o

[TheFlyingKerman]

19 hours ago, The Flying Kerbal said:

Thanks for all the advice guys, I'd never have figured out it needed a forward facing probe core.  And Gordon Fecyk has once again reminded me I really must upgrade my KSP to 1.3.

Anyway time to add that forward facing probe core!

While you build an improved rover, also replace the wheels with the medium ones. The small wheels are far too slow to be useful.

Also the use of that 100% anomaly detection rate of the Rovermate is marginal at best. To scan any reasonable area you have to send the core to a high polar orbit, and then follow the satellite for a long time as it goes over all places.