[1.3.0] Kerbal Engineer Redux 1.1.3.0 (2017-05-28)

[manatee321]

hello, i have been using KER for quite a long time in version .6, but every time I go and open UP the KER info in the game it only shows setting options not actually info.

It works fine in the VAB and SPH though

[Tortoise]

When will the bug be fixed where it doesn't calculate above the root part?

[mhoram]

I pointed Arrowstar to this document on KSP physics from the Tutorials forum which includes Lat/Lon calculation and his response was

Ah! So that document actually doesn't compute the longitude correctly because it assumes that inertial X is aligned with body X at t = 0. That's not the case for most KSP planets and moons. If that's what SCANSat and the others are using, then it would appear there is a flaw in their code.

If you ever happen to stumble upon inconsistencies in the PDF again, I would appreciate a short message, because I would like to get the document as correct as possible.

[jofwu]

cybutek,

Just opened KSP after a few months of being busy, and I LOVE what you did with 1.0. Beautiful.

Any chance you'll add a "Longitude of the ascending node" readout? I assume it's possible because all of the planets/moons in the wiki seem to have one listed, but I'm not sure if it's accurate. Also no idea how the reference direction is defined. But it would be nice.

[cybutek]

Any chance you'll add a "Longitude of the ascending node" readout?

It's already implemented as "Longitude of AN" under Orbital, or are you talking about the lack of that readout for targeted vessels in Rendezvous?

[INSULINt]

Tried searching around, even in the changes file on github, and was just wondering if there will ever be a closest approach distance and time listing in the rendezvous section?

[cybutek]

Tried searching around, even in the changes file on github, and was just wondering if there will ever be a closest approach distance and time listing in the rendezvous section?

Possibly... It is something that's been asked for many times. Just that it's not a simple readout to implement, but I'll try to get it in at some point.

[dzikakulka]

It's all dark magic to me, but I think RealGreps (continued) Protractor plugin can read closest approach: Source, getclosestapproach(CelestialBody target) method.

GNU GPL \o/

[INSULINt]

Possibly... It is something that's been asked for many times. Just that it's not a simple readout to implement, but I'll try to get it in at some point.

It's all good I wish I knew more about modding ksp, but it surprises me that it's not a value you can get right out of ksp itself considering it's listed in the map view.......

It's all dark magic to me, but I think RealGreps (continued) Protractor plugin can read closest approach: Source, getclosestapproach(CelestialBody target) method.

GNU GPL \o/

I'm talking about craft targets, which I assume is different than what protractor is doing. It would save a lot of map screen mouse positioning especially when I get within marker distance. Or even launch to rendezvous when needing to stage parts of the rocket.

[Monthar]

Yesterday I was looking at the Flight Engineer's available choices when editing what's displayed in the Rendezvous window and couldn't find a choice for closest approach distance. If it's there I'll look some more to see if I can find it, but if it's not there please add it.

[cybutek]

Closest approach for celestial bodies shouldn't be too hard. That's just a matter of cycling through the available patched conics until it finds an encounter with the same body as the target. You can then just display the periapsis of this conic, which will be the closest approach.

As for other vessels, this is a bit trickier as there isn't anything within KSP that gives you this number. So the way of doing this will be to iterate over the orbit in time fragments to get the point at which both vessels are closest.

[Padishar]

When will the bug be fixed where it doesn't calculate above the root part?

<Pedantic>Strictly speaking, this is a shortcoming in the specification rather than a bug as the code is working as intended.</Pedantic>

However, I do intend to rectify this but it is a very complex problem once you start to look into all the possibilities and will require a substantial refactoring and extension of the simulation code to make it capable of simulating the multiple vessels that can result from activating a stage as well as UI to give the user some control over the mission profile (e.g. when to activate stages) and some way of storing the mission profile with the vessel so it can be set up in the VAB and used during flight. When the vessel splits, each part needs to be given a link to the mission profile and some indication of which sub-vessel in the mission profile it is.

I have started work on this but have been very busy with other things recently (both KSP and real life) so I haven't made very much progress as yet.

tl;dr I am working on it but it's a complex problem and I don't like bodges or half fixes so, don't hold your breath...

[dzikakulka]

Closest approach for celestial bodies shouldn't be too hard. That's just a matter of cycling through the available patched conics until it finds an encounter with the same body as the target. You can then just display the periapsis of this conic, which will be the closest approach.

As for other vessels, this is a bit trickier as there isn't anything within KSP that gives you this number. So the way of doing this will be to iterate over the orbit in time fragments to get the point at which both vessels are closest.

Isn't it only when I already have encounter set up? And wouldn't then my periapsis read actually switch to it?

Not like I insist on such feature but I think it would be more relevant to have it when you are trying to get an encounter and not have to mouse over checking if you are getting closer

Or you did mean something else and you could do it that way.

[cybutek]

Isn't it only when I already have encounter set up? And wouldn't then my periapsis read actually switch to it?

Not like I insist on such feature but I think it would be more relevant to have it when you are trying to get an encounter and not have to mouse over checking if you are getting closer

Or you did mean something else and you could do it that way.

The periapsis readout only works for your current orbit, not successive ones. Which is where looking into the future patch conics is required for getting a closest approach for a celestial body. This of course only works when you have an encounter already, so is not a great solution. It could use the same system that a vessel closest approach would require, but I am hesitant to even contemplate this work until I can put a fair amount of time into it. As the process of iterating over an orbit in time fragments could prove very costly with large orbits. Requiring many thousands of iterations every frame if done without optimisations. An optimisation which does come to mind would be segmenting the orbit and working towards ever smaller segments, much like how a binary search algorithm works. This may sound simple to implement, but nothing is as simple as it seems and will more than likely require a fair amount of time to get working and then balance. That is if such an optimisation would even work, as there's a chance that it'll fall flat on its head given highly eccentric orbits.

[dzikakulka]

Well, I believe it wouldn't be worth the time spent if you say so

As for veeery simple stuff that would be mildly applicable here, once I've wondered if I can somehow get some readings from these already diplayed in KSP, or maybe intercept them as they are initiated or something (yeah I know that sounds dumb) so I could draw a damn window open all the time and put e.g. closest approach there as I like to have stuff in one place. But that's a little bit off-topic, probably discussed somewhere around here.

[Grunf911]

As of 1.0.9.1 I no longer see Vessel Panel, only Resource in the VAB. What am I doing wrong ?

[INSULINt]

:/ does ksp give you access to values for the current intersect time(s)/distance(s)? Even just displaying that would be helpful, even in map view (LOL). Would there be a way to estimate how this distance would change based on this distance and the different orbit times/circumference?

Just throwing ideas out, because if it is really damn complex or resource intensive it's probably not worth it

[cybutek]

:/ does ksp give you access to values for the current intersect time(s)/distance(s)? Even just displaying that would be helpful, even in map view (LOL). Would there be a way to estimate how this distance would change based on this distance and the different orbit times/circumference?

Just throwing ideas out, because if it is really damn complex or resource intensive it's probably not worth it

The problem we have been discussing is purely because KSP does not give access to these values. They will have to be calculated from scratch with only the basic orbital parameters and a method for finding a position at a specific time at hand. If it did, the readout could be implemented in a matter of minutes, and it would be a complete non-issue

[INSULINt]

Heh....... it kinda surprises me that it doesn't :/ oh well, I guess I'll have to use my mouse in map mode

[dzikakulka]

Oh, I thought basic stuff like Pe, Ap etc. is read from KSP as there is still a lot of (incredibly useful) parameters in KER that aren't anywhere in stock game.

Even more respect for your work then and I guess I'll have to use some 3rd party program to find that marker and mouse over it automatically to help with my OCD

[INSULINt]

Not to get too much more into this, but I guess half my problem is using a controller (because why not) and the other half is mechjeb being WAY more than what I need/want. I think it looks way into the future for an eventual closest approach instead of just when the next intersect or 2 is, and what your separation will be at those points. Right now I can correct relative inclination in flight mode really easy: warp to an/dn point at the right purple triangle, burn, watch number go down, profit. The same could be done with intersects except you would burn pro/retrograde.

Here's a sample of how I tend to ui in ksp right now:

(was testing out some mechjeb's sass kill rot mode vs ksp stock sas, which was....... interesting)

Quick edit: like I said, don't put a ton of work into this especially when ksp doesn't pass those values

Edited September 28, 2014 by INSULINt

[Red Iron Crown]

Suggestion: Total Lift Value and Lift Value/Ton in the Build Engineer. I know it's complicated to calculate the force of lift because it involves several variable factors, but knowing the sum of the lift values gives a decent first-order approximation.

Edit: Perhaps limit it to when atmospheric stats are displayed, to reduce clutter.

Edited September 29, 2014 by Red Iron Crown

[RobotsAndSpaceships]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but is there is no actual point in installing the tapes/chip on your vessel?

[BudgetHedgehog]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but is there is no actual point in installing the tapes/chip on your vessel?

If you run KER in non-partless mode and you have old crafts that include them that you still want to load up, then yes, there's a point in them. A very blunt point, sure, but it's a point nonetheless. However, if you're starting fresh with new crafts or settings, then no, no point (unless you really like that tape drive, I guess).

[RobotsAndSpaceships]

-snip-

Thanks, I really do love that tape deck. I'll be keeping it on.