How to change your view of a ship?

[Silverwood]

Hi

Ok I have an issue - how do you change your view or focus your view on a different part of your ship? This is the issue - I have a new ship in orbit en route to the Mun, with a storage compartment, science junior and mobile lab. Attached to two fuel tanks and a capsule at the top plus comms. Now if I try to open the storage compartment to click an experiment it is impossible to focus on the compartment enough to click the experiment.

Is there any way to focus on another part of the ship? All I get at the moment is the middle.

Keith

 

[Geonovast]

You can right click on the part, and click on "Aim Camera"

Although I believe advanced tweakables needs to be on for this.

[Guest]

There are also different camera modes. V will switch you to free camera and allow you to point it where you like, most of the time this is enough.

[Snark]

The "Aim Camera" button is what you're looking for, as @Geonovast points out.

If you happen to be lucky enough to have a 3D mouse, you can also use that-- KSP is enabled for it, and it gives you complete freedom to move the camera around in 3D space.  It's super cool. 

[Rocket In My Pocket]

8 minutes ago, Snark said:

If you happen to be lucky enough to have a 3D mouse, you can also use that-- KSP is enabled for it, and it gives you complete freedom to move the camera around in 3D space.  It's super cool. 

Wait, so if you have a 3D mouse you can disconnect yourself from the craft in flight and fly the camera around it freely?

Any way to do that sans the mouse? Perhaps a mod? Would be nice for taking screenshots, but I have no use for a 3D mouse really.

[Snark]

24 minutes ago, Rocket In My Pocket said:

Wait, so if you have a 3D mouse you can disconnect yourself from the craft in flight and fly the camera around it freely?

Yes, exactly.  The moment you start to work the 3D mouse, it disconnects itself from the craft and you can fly the camera around in 3D, completely freely.  It stays in that "disconnected" mode until the moment you touch one of the "traditional" controls (i.e. mouse or keyboard) to rotate the camera, at which time it instantly snaps back to the "connected" mode you're used to, and stays that way until the next time you touch the 3D mouse.

It's handy for setting up screenshots.  It also works in the VAB, which I find especially handy for maneuvering the camera into tight spaces between other parts when I need to be able to attach something to a part without some other part obstructing it and getting in the way.  And it lets you zoom closer than the mouse-and-keyboard controls will allow, which is sometimes handy.

(It also lets you fly freely around the KSC scene as if you were in a helicopter, which is kind of fun to do, once... and completely pointless/useless for anything practical.) 

I originally got my 3D mouse because I wanted to do some (rudimentary) modeling in Blender, and I found the Blender keyboard controls for moving the camera to be incredibly difficult and unintuitive.  Finding out that it works in KSP, too, was a pleasant discovery.

What I find especially appealing about the 3D mouse is not just what it can do, but the fact that it's completely and instantly intuitive.  It "just works", there's no need to train your brain to develop specialized muscle memory.  Basically, it's just a spring-loaded knob mounted to a stationary heavy base.  You grasp the knob, and however you push it (translation) or twist it (rotation) is what the camera does.  Push/twist harder, and the camera moves/rotates faster.

That intuitive action is especially fun in Google Earth.  It gives a feeling of instant, godlike power-- I can swoop and move around completely effortlessly, without even having to think about it, and the camera just goes immediately where and how I want it to go without any conscious effort on my part.  My hand just knows what to do.  I can swoop in 3D from high orbit to looking at my house in one swift continuous motion.  It's amazing.

 

24 minutes ago, Rocket In My Pocket said:

Any way to do that sans the mouse? Perhaps a mod? Would be nice for taking screenshots, but I have no use for a 3D mouse really.

I assume it would be possible to do with a mod.  I wouldn't be surprised if there's already a mod (or mods) out there for doing that sort of thing-- in fact, I'd guess there probably is.  What that might be, I have no idea, since I've never needed it myself and have never had occasion to go looking.  But a quick Google search on "ksp camera mod" turns up a few promising leads.

 

[Silverwood]

Ok - the free mode does not allow sufficient control to see right in, as to aim camera, does not work in my current game. I started this one about 6 months ago, so can't remember what options I choose!

 

[Rocket In My Pocket]

5 minutes ago, Snark said:

I assume it would be possible to do with a mod.  I wouldn't be surprised if there's already a mod (or mods) out there for doing that sort of thing-- in fact, I'd guess there probably is.  What that might be, I have no idea, since I've never needed it myself and have never had occasion to go looking.  But a quick Google search on "ksp camera mod" turns up a few promising leads.

Yeah, I've used and/or checked out most of the camera mods; none of them offer a truly free 3D camera afaik though. They all tend to have pretty complicated UI's though and it's possible I missed a setting or mode somewhere.

What I'm looking for is basically WASD camera editor but in flight.

Appreciate the response though, I may have to look into getting a 3D mouse at some point!

2 minutes ago, Silverwood said:

Ok - the free mode does not allow sufficient control to see right in, as to aim camera, does not work in my current game. I started this one about 6 months ago, so can't remember what options I choose!

 

I can't remember if Aim Camera is an advanced tweakable option, it might be.

Go into your game settings, in difficulty options there is a box for "advanced tweakables" try enabling it.

[Silverwood]

Ok thanks.

It has worked now. Didnt know about that option, so would be interested to know more from anyone?

[Rocket In My Pocket]

39 minutes ago, Silverwood said:

Ok thanks.

It has worked now. Didnt know about that option, so would be interested to know more from anyone?

More about advanced tweakables?

It adds lots of extra little slider bars and settings in the right click action menus; both in flight and in the editor.

I don't actually know of any wiki or list, or place to point you to that has an exhaustive list of everything it enables. You'll have to poke around a bit and see for yourself. It's all good stuff though!

Edited January 10, 2018 by Rocket In My Pocket

[Jas0n]

You can also use the middle mouse button (the scroll wheel on some mice) to move the point the camera is pointing at.

[Silverwood]

OK thanks. Looks like I need to do some playing around here!