Unmanned Rover Won't Move

[FinnBot5000]

So I finally successfully landed a rover on duna, and now I cant make it move. It has full power, with solar and batteries, and the landing legs extend, lights turn on and off,  brakes work as normal, and the thrusters I have will turn on with the z key, and turn off with the x key, but shift and control don't do anything. The main problem is, I have no steering or motion with the wheels. The icon in the top left says partial probe control, and the context menu that shows up when I right click the probe body (rovemate) says partial control. It had a bit of a rough landing but the only part that broke was one of my lights. It also has no connection, when I know it did earlier (still after it has landed though), and my antenna is extended and it is in direct range of my orbiting relay satellite. My rover has woked completely as planned when I have tested on earth, with full control. How can I fix the rover control issues? (and hopefully the connection and thruster issues) I can send screenshots, parts etc if needed.

[jimmymcgoochie]

If you don’t have a signal then you can’t drive the rover.

Check the keybinds in the main menu settings and change the keys for wheel co trolls from the default WASD to the arrow keys instead- this will make them separate to the attitude controls which makes driving a rover so much easier. Once you get a signal, make sure your brakes are off, motors enabled and you’re controlling from a forwards-facing control point; if you have advanced tweakables enabled (and it’s worth doing so) you can play around with friction and traction control settings to try and find the best combination to make that rover, er, rove.

[AHHans]

7 hours ago, FinnBot5000 said:

It has full power, with solar and batteries, and the landing legs extend, lights turn on and off,  brakes work as normal, and the thrusters I have will turn on with the z key, and turn off with the x key, but shift and control don't do anything.

That is what "partial probe control" means. You do not have commnet connection from the rover to the KSP, but to be nice to you the game gives you some control over the craft. (It's actually an option in the difficulty settings.)

So as @jimmymcgoochie already wrote, you need a signal (== commnet connection) to drive the rover. If the rover indeed has connection to the relay satellite then it is possible that the satellite has no connection to the KSP.

[FinnBot5000]

6 hours ago, AHHans said:

If the rover indeed has connection to the relay satellite then it is possible that the satellite has no connection to the KSP.

The rover used to have a connection, for some reason it doesn't anymore. I can see by the green lines that both of my mars satelites have connections to ksp. The rover just wont connect to the satelites. Is there anything I can do to fix this?

[king of nowhere]

9 minutes ago, FinnBot5000 said:

The rover used to have a connection, for some reason it doesn't anymore. I can see by the green lines that both of my mars satelites have connections to ksp. The rover just wont connect to the satelites. Is there anything I can do to fix this?

do those satellites have antennas with enable relay connection? if they don't, then there's nothing you can do short of sending a new satellite with a relay antenna. or changing the game options so that you don't need signal anymore (it's in the difficulty options, "enable communication net" or something similar. disable it, and you can always control your probes, anywhere).

I actually suggest you disable communication net and you test your rover around to see if it works. if it does, you can reload the game and send a new relay. if it doesn't, you saved the time of having to send a new relay.

 

if the problem is not the lack of relay, then i have no idea. in that case, posting pictures may help. Oh, wait. it is also possible that the rover is simply on the other side of the planet respective to your satellites? in which case, you should get control back in a few days

[AHHans]

24 minutes ago, FinnBot5000 said:

The rover used to have a connection, for some reason it doesn't anymore. I can see by the green lines that both of my mars satelites have connections to ksp. The rover just wont connect to the satelites. Is there anything I can do to fix this?

Did you retract or break(!) an antenna on the rover? Is there still line-of-sight between the rover and the satellites? Did the satellites move farther away from the rover?

Edited October 16, 2021 by AHHans

[FinnBot5000]

17 minutes ago, AHHans said:

Did you retract or break(!) an antenna on the rover? Is there still line-of-sight between the rover and the satellites? Did the satellites move farther away from the rover?

I had two antennas. The one on the top of the rover broke, but the one on the side didn't. The satellites are both in line of sight and have not gotten further.

I am going to launch a new rover, this time with better satellite dishes. First I will try changing the communication settings though.

[king of nowhere]

28 minutes ago, FinnBot5000 said:

I had two antennas. The one on the top of the rover broke, but the one on the side didn't. The satellites are both in line of sight and have not gotten further.

I am going to launch a new rover, this time with better satellite dishes. First I will try changing the communication settings though.

did you check if your satellites have relay antennas or not? not all antennas can carry signals from other probes

[AHHans]

3 hours ago, FinnBot5000 said:

I had two antennas. The one on the top of the rover broke, but the one on the side didn't.

What kind of antennas were that?

[FinnBot5000]

3 hours ago, king of nowhere said:

did you check if your satellites have relay antennas or not? not all antennas can carry signals from other probes

I am pretty sure that these are the right ones. The connect to each other with a green line. Maybe I will try another satellite with a different antenna to be sure.

53 minutes ago, AHHans said:

What kind of antennas were that?

The ones on the rover are communotron 16s (the tall thin antennas)

Edited October 16, 2021 by FinnBot5000

[king of nowhere]

then, even if the rover doesn't have an antenna, the satellites should still be able to contact it. it's close, and they must have decent antennas to contact kerbin. perhaps a few pictures would be in order

[FinnBot5000]

Ohhh wait. Never mind. The satellite antennas aren't relay. Well time to launch new satelites...