Maneuver Node Controller [0.8.0]

[schlosrat]

Update to MNC 1.1.3

• Converted single-press buttons to repeat buttons for actions that apply small and large steps. This has the effect that if you press one of these buttons a single time and release you get the "normal" behavior, but if you press and hold, then after a brief delay (nominally 1 second) the longer you hold the more times the effect is applied (nominally 10 times/sec). The delay and interval are user-configurable so that you can adjust how sluggish or speedy it is to your taste.
• Fixed issue where, if Auto Shutdown is enabled, you would not be able to raise the UI by pressing the app bar button unless a node is present in the future. Now you should be able to force the UI to appear when you press the app bar button and it will remain up until you've created a node or dismissed it manually. If you create a node, then it will continue to remain up until the node is past and there are no future nodes, or you dismiss it manually.
• Added a user-configurable delay for the application of the Auto Shutdown feature. This is not quite working, but the configurable is there for future use when I sort out how to make it work better. Nominal delay time is 10 seconds.

https://github.com/schlosrat/ManeuverNodeController/releases/tag/1.1.3

https://spacedock.info/mod/3270/Maneuver Node Controller

[Sade]

11 hours ago, schlosrat said:

Update to MNC 1.1.3

Very nice update, this small group of modders is showing this game some true luv. One small remark:

1. The arrow buttons are rather small, if they could be slightly wider that would be nice. They work very well tho.

 

Now, in the light of constructive criticism, do not feel obliged to consider this. But, when I have FP, MNC, K2D2, and ME open, they are fighting a bit for screen space real-estate, so condensing them slightly does help. In that respect I have two propositions:

1. There are twice 3 lines in MNC that can be combined into one with only a modest amount of squeezing, I've mocked-up a little example (see below).  The lines are the Prograde, Normal and Radial values and controls. Putting the current set value (top 3 lines) in the middle of the controls (2nd 3 lines) is kind of natural. You can even make the value editable such that you don't need the Abs button anymore.
   • _{I know I cheated a bit, cause the value currently has the short 0.00 m/s string which does need more space for larger dVs, so the <, << buttons may need a little shrinking.}
2. The bottom information, "Previous Orbit" and "Next Orbit" can be a fold-out panel, such that one can open it when required.

[zande]

Really necessary mod. I can't think of playng without. Just a request. Is possible to make the mod window not click through? when I mess with nodes I always risk to click on something on the map.

[schlosrat]

8 hours ago, Sade said:

Very nice update, this small group of modders is showing this game some true luv. One small remark:

1. The arrow buttons are rather small, if they could be slightly wider that would be nice. They work very well tho.

 

Now, in the light of constructive criticism, do not feel obliged to consider this. But, when I have FP, MNC, K2D2, and ME open, they are fighting a bit for screen space real-estate, so condensing them slightly does help. In that respect I have two propositions:

1. There are twice 3 lines in MNC that can be combined into one with only a modest amount of squeezing, I've mocked-up a little example (see below).  The lines are the Prograde, Normal and Radial values and controls. Putting the current set value (top 3 lines) in the middle of the controls (2nd 3 lines) is kind of natural. You can even make the value editable such that you don't need the Abs button anymore.
   • _{I know I cheated a bit, cause the value currently has the short 0.00 m/s string which does need more space for larger dVs, so the <, << buttons may need a little shrinking.}
2. The bottom information, "Previous Orbit" and "Next Orbit" can be a fold-out panel, such that one can open it when required.

I'm not opposed to these changes, but I do have some concerns and thoughts here.

You've hit on the reason I've not done your first suggestion yet. Yes, those three lines for Prograde, Normal, and Radial can be combined, but doing so will make the display of the value a problem for larger maneuvers, which are not that uncommon even now and will eventually be even more so. Perhaps if the width of the whole UI frame were expanded in conjunction with making the adjustment buttons smaller...

Your other suggestion of ditching the Abs value line (and buttons!) and making the displayed P/N/R burn an editable field may help with this. I like that idea! Doing this would add a little more space to those lines, and might make your suggestion above possible - or at least less problematic.

For the Previous Orbit / Next Orbit, and for the Post-Node Even Lookahead - both of these blocks are configurable (to display them or not) in the mod settings. That's not as convenient as a foldout, but it does mean that when they are not present they are really not present at all.

@munix has kindly offered to take a stab at these (and he's far more of a UI wizard than I'll ever be), so there's definitely hope! In the meantime, you might try switching off the optional parts of the UI if you don't feel like you need them. https://discord.com/channels/1078696971088433153/1089311169937936424/1201272669304266822

3 hours ago, zande said:

Really necessary mod. I can't think of playng without. Just a request. Is possible to make the mod window not click through? when I mess with nodes I always risk to click on something on the map.

Oh, you and me both, friend! This is a chronic problem for which I'm not sure if we have a solution in sight. This problem is far bigger than this one mod, and in fact, affects nearly all mods that have a UI.

Edited January 28 by schlosrat

[schlosrat]

Update for version 1.2.0 - bringing several of your recently requested features and improvements!

• Overhauled UI for a new more compact layout (big thanks to @munix!).
  • Burn vector values are now displayed in editable text boxes co-located with the << < > >> buttons.
  • Abs input and button are now obsolete and so removed.
  • Next Orbit and Post Node Lookahead are now foldouts. These are still controlled (enabled/disabled) by user-configurable mod settings. When enabled, they are now in foldouts so that they can be minimized when not needed.
• Updated << < > >> ^ v buttons for better readability. New graphical elements used for << < > >> and x10 ÷10 used for more intuitive step increase/decrease buttons.
• Added user configurable precision (rounding) on displayed/editable time and burn vector values.
• Added click-through blocking.

When you first start MNC if there are no nodes, you'll still be greeted by this window

If you should use the Add First Node button to make a brand new empty node, then you'll see a new more compact window like this. Here you'll see some excellent work that @munix contributed making the overall layout much more compact and efficient, and greatly improving the look of the buttons. The general layout is similar to what you may already be comfortable with, so not much to adapt to here - just less of your valuable screen real estate gobbled up by a hungry mod! Also, more intuitive buttons to boot!

If you unfold the Orbit details foldout you'll see the info you would expect to find there

One big change, of course, is that the Prograde, Normal, and Radial displays are now between the large and small step application buttons. But now the vector burn values are editable text fields, so there is no need for a separate Absolute value entry or "Abs" button to apply it - just click into the text field and type away. Naturally, if you happen to goof the entry in a way that it would not make sense as a number, the UI will alert you as shown below.

If you have a target object that's in orbit around the same body your vessel is orbiting then of course there will also be ANt and DNt Snap To buttons as shown below

If you have a maneuver node that will give you a new orbit with an encounter, then of course you can get that info too.

And if the encounter might be a problematic one, you'll still be alerted to that as well

If you go into the mod settings, you'll find that there is now a way to set the precision for burn vectors. The default is two decimal places, which gives you cm/s precision on the node - probably plenty for most purposes. If you feel you need more, you can bump that up to as much as 6 or down to 0 if you like.

 

GitHub: https://github.com/schlosrat/ManeuverNodeController/releases/tag/1.2.0

SpaceDock: https://spacedock.info/mod/3270/Maneuver Node Controller

Or better yet - just use CKAN

On 1/28/2024 at 1:04 PM, zande said:

Really necessary mod. I can't think of playng without. Just a request. Is possible to make the mod window not click through? when I mess with nodes I always risk to click on something on the map.

Done! (thanks to @leonardfactory!)

On 1/28/2024 at 7:56 AM, Sade said:

Very nice update, this small group of modders is showing this game some true luv. One small remark:

1. The arrow buttons are rather small, if they could be slightly wider that would be nice. They work very well tho.

Now, in the light of constructive criticism, do not feel obliged to consider this. But, when I have FP, MNC, K2D2, and ME open, they are fighting a bit for screen space real-estate, so condensing them slightly does help. In that respect I have two propositions:

1. There are twice 3 lines in MNC that can be combined into one with only a modest amount of squeezing, I've mocked-up a little example (see below).  The lines are the Prograde, Normal and Radial values and controls. Putting the current set value (top 3 lines) in the middle of the controls (2nd 3 lines) is kind of natural. You can even make the value editable such that you don't need the Abs button anymore.
   • _{I know I cheated a bit, cause the value currently has the short 0.00 m/s string which does need more space for larger dVs, so the <, << buttons may need a little shrinking.}
2. The bottom information, "Previous Orbit" and "Next Orbit" can be a fold-out panel, such that one can open it when required.

 

Done! (thanks to munix!)

[Biggen]

I have to say that I can’t play KSP2 without this mod.  You guys have done a terrific job! Awesome guys!

If I close out the node editor with the orbit details folded out, will the mod remember it was folded out when I open the mod editor the next time or does it have to be manually clicked to fold it out every time I want to see that information?

Edited February 3 by Biggen

[schlosrat]

51 minutes ago, Biggen said:

I have to say that I can’t play KSP2 without this mod.  You guys have done a terrific job! Awesome guys!

If I close out the node editor with the orbit details folded out, will the mod remember it was folded out when I open the mod editor the next time or does it have to be manually clicked to fold it out every time I want to see that information?

Thanks! Glad to hear it.

MNC will remember the last settings for whether these foldouts are open or closed, and it won't matter if you're launching from the app bar or FP. If they were open when you shut MNC down, then they'll be open the next time you launch MNC and vice versa - so long as displaying them makes sense.

https://i.imgur.com/P7QA5jJ.mp4

Edited February 3 by schlosrat
clarity

[Biggen]

Awesome! I’ll update and give this a whirl!

[Sade]

7 hours ago, schlosrat said:

Overhauled UI for a new more compact layout (big thanks to @munix!).

Awesome stuff guys, I can imaging that these "cosmetic" (pun intended) changes can take much more effort than is shown on the surface, and clickthrough blocker, very nice indeed.

[zande]

 

11 hours ago, schlosrat said:

On 1/28/2024 at 7:04 PM, zande said:

Really necessary mod. I can't think of playng without. Just a request. Is possible to make the mod window not click through? when I mess with nodes I always risk to click on something on the map.

Done! (thanks to @leonardfactory!)

Impressive! Many thanks to you and all the ksp2 modding comunity.

[Poppa Wheelie]

Thank you for this mod!  And for the combination of Flight Plan, Maneuver Node Controller, and K2-D2.  I use these all the time.

I've noticed one issue with Flight Plan and/or Maneuver Node Controller:

If I create a node, then load a save previous to this node creation, Flight Plan and Maneuver Node Controller still have a node.

[schlosrat]

9 hours ago, Poppa Wheelie said:

Thank you for this mod!  And for the combination of Flight Plan, Maneuver Node Controller, and K2-D2.  I use these all the time.

I've noticed one issue with Flight Plan and/or Maneuver Node Controller:

If I create a node, then load a save previous to this node creation, Flight Plan and Maneuver Node Controller still have a node.

Yep, that's probably in Node Manager. I'll run that one to ground and get a fix out which should solve this for both FP and MNC.

[schlosrat]

12 hours ago, Poppa Wheelie said:

Thank you for this mod!  And for the combination of Flight Plan, Maneuver Node Controller, and K2-D2.  I use these all the time.

I've noticed one issue with Flight Plan and/or Maneuver Node Controller:

If I create a node, then load a save previous to this node creation, Flight Plan and Maneuver Node Controller still have a node.

Node Manager has been updated to 0.7.3 which should correct the issue of stale node info remaining from a previous session when you load a different save. This does correct the issue for MNC where it would still have the old node info.

https://spacedock.info/mod/3366/Node Manager

https://github.com/schlosrat/NodeManager/releases/tag/0.7.3

[zande]

Hi noticed that you can still click through the UI on the orbit lines and objects in map view. I don't know if is a known limitation of the UI blocker.

[schlosrat]

3 hours ago, zande said:

Hi noticed that you can still click through the UI on the orbit lines and objects in map view. I don't know if is a known limitation of the UI blocker.

Thanks! This is a new feature, so I especially value this feedback. I'll take a look and see if I can replicate it.

[RadioFreeKerbin]

I keep having an issue where the node editor window keeps getting "hidden" out of sync with the rest of the UI, and it doesn't show up unless I press F2 to hide the UI, and then it's the only UI element visible. Is this a known issue? If not I can mess around a bit and see what steps I can take to recreate it, but it does happen rather often. 

[Biggen]

So I've been messing around with trying to get an encounter in orbit between two crafts for the better part of a few hours.  What I'm finding, is that its easy to use the mod to tweak the encounter by advancing the orbit several times and playing with the settings.  However, when I go to hit the "warp to maneuver" button on the screen, the encounter on the map views changes from what I had setup before I hit the "warp to maneuver" button.  So instead of being with a few hundred meters from my target with a close relative velocity that I painstakingly setup, now I'm back to several hundred kilometers away as the map encounter icons read.

 

 I am skipping like 15+ orbits to setup the encounter so I don't know if that has something to do with it or not.

 

Edit: So I just figured it out.  My PE is actually lower than what the orbit details are telling me.  Somehow, my PE is almost 1km lower.  That is the issue and it's throwing off the math.  Looks like orbital decay still exists.

Edited February 6 by Biggen

[schlosrat]

4 hours ago, RadioFreeKerbin said:

I keep having an issue where the node editor window keeps getting "hidden" out of sync with the rest of the UI, and it doesn't show up unless I press F2 to hide the UI, and then it's the only UI element visible. Is this a known issue? If not I can mess around a bit and see what steps I can take to recreate it, but it does happen rather often. 

Thanks for reporting this! It’s is not one I’ve encountered before but I’ll be happy to look into it. Can you elaborate on what triggers it. What circumstances are you in when it reliably behaves like this? I’ll need to be able to reproduce this in order to sort it out

1 hour ago, Biggen said:

So I've been messing around with trying to get an encounter in orbit between two crafts for the better part of a few hours.  What I'm finding, is that its easy to use the mod to tweak the encounter by advancing the orbit several times and playing with the settings.  However, when I go to hit the "warp to maneuver" button on the screen, the encounter on the map views changes from what I had setup before I hit the "warp to maneuver" button.  So instead of being with a few hundred meters from my target with a close relative velocity that I painstakingly setup, now I'm back to several hundred kilometers away as the map encounter icons read.

 

 I am skipping like 15+ orbits to setup the encounter so I don't know if that has something to do with it or not.

 

Edit: So I just figured it out.  My PE is actually lower than what the orbit details are telling me.  Somehow, my PE is almost 1km lower.  That is the issue and it's throwing off the math.  Looks like orbital decay still exists.

15 is a lot of orbits to need to skip. If you’re low enough that orbital decay is a factor then that could certainly add up and may be the cause of it. Have you tried setting the rendezvous up in Flight Plan? If you’re looking to do it more manually then that’s obviously not the solution, but if you just want to get it done reliably then it’s a great option.

[RadioFreeKerbin]

On 2/6/2024 at 4:29 PM, schlosrat said:

Thanks for reporting this! It’s is not one I’ve encountered before but I’ll be happy to look into it. Can you elaborate on what triggers it. What circumstances are you in when it reliably behaves like this? I’ll need to be able to reproduce this in order to sort it out

One thing I've noticed that causes it (and can correct it) is if I'm switching between the Map and regular game with the UI hidden. it appears the game resets the UI state but the mods don't. So I have found I can at least get the manever node window unhidden by hiding the UI again by pressing F2 and then switching to the map. This seems to flip the coin again and gets them back in sync.

[schlosrat]

On 3/6/2024 at 1:06 PM, RadioFreeKerbin said:

One thing I've noticed that causes it (and can correct it) is if I'm switching between the Map and regular game with the UI hidden. it appears the game resets the UI state but the mods don't. So I have found I can at least get the manever node window unhidden by hiding the UI again by pressing F2 and then switching to the map. This seems to flip the coin again and gets them back in sync.

I've confirmed that this state can be entered. One way I've found to enter it is to hide the UI via F2, and then launch MNC via the hotkey (Alt+N). That will quickly get you into a state where toggling the UI's visibility has MNC up when it shouldn't be and not when it should. I'm looking into this, and will also be looking for why switching between Flight View and Map View with the UI hidden has this effect. Hopefully, I can run this down soon and get a new version posted where it doesn't do this.

[schlosrat]

Release 1.2.1

• Added check to prevent the mod UI from being toggleable while the game's UI is hidden (F2). This should help to prevent situations where the mod's UI is inadvertently raised while the game's UI is hidden which can result in the mod's UI only being visible when the game's UI is hidden and vice versa.

Download on SpaceDock

[Spacecat2000]

Great job on this mod, I love it.

And I have a little proposal if you want to save a bit of space: you could entirely eliminate the two 'time steps' in seconds if you combine with m/s, and maybe move the 'time' thing higher than the 'snap to' commands. It makes sense visually that way...   Trust us to know the small step and large step are m/s or seconds.

Here's a mockup of what I'm suggesting:

[LeLeon]

Played KSP 1 for hundreds of hours and now starting to like KSP 2 too. The fiddling with the half hidden nodes in KSP 2 becomes nerve wrecking, so i switch to MNC right now.

Thanks for providing a alternative option to adjust nodes!

[shavera]

Feature request: Scale and Rotation Mode

Use case: using an online transfer calculator may produce a delta-v vector that assumes instantaneous impulse. However, perhaps the engine burn time is so long that the assumption no longer holds (cosine losses, e.g.) It might be helpful to input the vector as (prograde, normal, radial) components, but then be able to scale the magnitude of the vector while keeping the same direction.

Use case: I have more dv than I need for a transfer, and I know that overall I can afford <some overall magnitude>. I would like to be able to set that magnitude, then play around with rotating the vector until it creates the trajectory I want.

Use case: I have a maneuver node with approximately the right vector, but I'd like to fine tune it. However, given the scale, perhaps the prograde component is significantly dominant over the other two components. In order to fine-tune the vector I need to adjust the other components by larger increments (say, on the order of 10s of m/s), but the prograde component by small increments (1 m/s); as the vector rotates, the relative adjustment scales to each component change. Instead, if I have a vector more or less in the right direction, and I can simply use rotations and scaling to fine tune the vector more smoothly.

If I knew C# I'd try to program it and PR it, but it will be a minute til I can figure that out.

[schlosrat]

NOTE: For proper functionality in KSP2 0.2.2 you will need to update Node Manager to version 0.8.1. The current version of Maneuver Node Controller will then work in KSP2 0.2.2. I'll release a new version of MNC which requires this version or later of NM soon so that updating MNC in CKAN will trigger an update to the necessary version of NM.