Parts & Vessels Engine Thrust Stays Constant When Switching Between Cruise And Afterburning Modes On The Panther Jet Engine, Ignoring Other Requirements

[Anonymous Bug Reporter]

Reported Version: v0.2.1 (latest) | Mods: none | Can replicate without mods? Yes 
OS: win 11 | CPU: ryzen 7700x | GPU: radeon 6750 xt | RAM: 32gb

 

When switching the mode between afterburner and cruise for the panther engine, the thrust is locked in place. you can abuse this behavior by switching the mode constantly to allow the engine to function at full throttle even when you leave the atmosphere completely. This obviously can only be useful for leaving kerbin or laythe. I am not sure whether it uses fuel or not. there may be other engines that have mode switching features that take time and might have this problem too. I believe the RAPIER is fine since it's an instant switch.

suggested fix: when the mode switch animation plays, set thrust to 0, when the animation is finished, reset thrust to the expected level

I recorded a 3 minute video of me sending a plane on escape trajectory out of kerbin and posted it to reddit.

https://www.reddit.com/r/KerbalSpaceProgram/comments/1bnzvlh/how_to_get_to_space_with_just_airbreathing_engines/

 

Edited March 29, 2024 by The Space Peacock
added the video directly into the post for convencience