Suggestions for expanding the utility of manoeuvre nodes and accessibility

[Cailean_556]

(This was also posted in response to a MN bug report, but as I got carried away, went on a tangent and provided a suggestion - I will also place it as it's own suggestion here)

I'm not a physicist, astrophysicist, scientist, rocket scientist, astronaut, a rocket surgeon or even a space shuttle door gunner.

My understanding of orbital mechanics stems completely from KSP (and lately also Juno: New Origins...which does some things I like - like auto burn even though I sometimes prefer to do it myself), and I'm not even very good at understanding most of that. So when you all talk about Delta V in the second half of the burn being easier due to less mass, or the efficiencies of burning prograde and not pointing to target or pointing to target and using SAS hold, I'll just smile and nod. I understand the concept of what you're saying, but not the math involved.

I know how to get to the Mun without using manoeuvre nodes, how to get into an orbit (in transit) if my periapsis is too low and how to circularise an orbit without them too. Getting an orbital encounter I can do in KSP1 - with nodes, not without...not so great in KSP2 in part because of the node system and it's "intuitiveness". But that's not the point - the point is the manoeuvre node is supposed to correctly and accurately calculate these things for me way better than I ever could.

I like the fact that the nodes now tell me when to burn, and grab my attention in some way just prior to the burn however, as it stands, every burn I make "trusting the node" is wrong and I have to fix it manually using what little I know of orbital mechanics. Even getting a circular orbit in KSP2 - starting the node from apoapsis, or even before it - is difficult. I have to make significant correction burns if my intent is for a circular orbit - otherwise I generally just burn out of orbit from whatever kind of orbit I'm in to get where I'm going. "Brute force it", so to speak.

What I would like is if the node was "intuitive" enough to figure out I'm trying to burn for Mun (or any planet) periapsis, or get into/circularise an orbit, or intercept/encounter a target and apply some sort formula to compensate when calculating the burn based on the parameters I've set when planning my node - so I don't need to figure out how many seconds three minutes and 49 seconds), what half of that is and then subsequently realise I've missed the start of the burn because I was too slow with my calculations and there's nothing grabbing my attention to start said burn (in KSP1) - and in what direction to burn in order to make the burn I planned work as I intended.

What I would also like to see is, potentially in the right click radial menu of the node, a button for calculating an orbital circularisation burn based on the current/intended apoapsis (as we all do this A LOT, so this will save us a lot of time) and a button for calculating an intercept of the target (something else we'll be doing a lot of, I imagine) be that a ship or a celestial body - and if it can't get us a perfect intercept/encounter, it gets us close enough to whatever we're trying to get close to so we can do a mid-course correction burn to get us even closer, rinse repeat until intercept/encounter).

I would also like to see a way to manually input our desired apo/peri either in our current or desired orbit (at the desired target) and have the manoeuvre node calculate a burn to accommodate that for us.

In "campaign mode", these options would be later-game but in EA sandbox (i.e. what we have currently) they could be implemented and fine-tuned so that come v1.0 release we're all singing off the same sheet of music. It doesn't have to be perfect (or perhaps, 'perfect' course plots can be another upgrade) it just needs to get us in the ballpark so we can course correct or establish an elliptical orbit or whatever our plan is for where ever we're intending to go.

In KSP2, I feel that automation of the more common navigational manoeuvres should have "quick access" (circularise, intercept - as this would also cover interplanetary insertion burns) buttons in the manoeuvre node. I also feel that automation of the more repetitive tasks (such as getting a ship into orbit, and/or circularising an orbit, and docking) could (or perhaps as a selectable option, should) be a thing the devs prioritise - especially to make the game more accessible and especially when we have colonies and resource gathering to worry about.

Example 1: You've been manually launching rockets for 20 hours - but since you've upgraded to the Level 3 Tracking Station, here's a series of buttons to help you automatically launch your craft, circularise its orbit and, if need be, calculate an intercept of a designated orbital target.

Example 2: You've been building ships module by module in orbit with varying degrees of success (if you can get the nodes to work for you) for the last 50 hours - but since you've upgraded to the Level 4 Tracking Station, here's a button that will 'auto-dock' you - right way up, every time - to your target, provided you're within 1000m and your velocity relative to target is 0 m/s. No more twisted, misaligned modules from now on.

Example 3: You've gone to Debdeb and back, six times, and docked landers to your orbiting ships 9,700 times in your 120 hours of KSP2 - but since you've upgraded to the Level 5 Tracking Station here's a button that calculates the intercept of a celestial body and more accurately calculates orbital intercepts from the ground - and also plots the trajectory of an interstellar burn. Good job, you've earned it!

Does that make it "too easy"? In Sandbox, yeah maybe. But if you wanted the challenge, you'd be playing a career mode. And if you're playing career mode, after doing the same thing a billion times (like you do in career mode), a more efficient way of doing it would be appreciated. You'd obviously have to "do the hard yards" to earn (and therefore deserve) them by the time you've reached the late game.

Plus, these are/could be optional, with the unchecking of a box in the Settings menu you can still do these things manually either as good as, or perhaps even better than, the nodes can. But they're there to help players and reduce the micromanagement and monotony of constant launches, orbits and trans-planetary insertion burns and whatever else.

But for any of that, we need this manoeuvre node thing looked at because as it stands right now, I'd much rather "do things manually" (yes, I'm aware MechJeb is a thing) in KSP1 than deal with whatever the hell is going on with KSP2.

Edited February 27, 2023 by Cailean_556