ASAS significantly less effective in .20?

[Kosmic Debris]

I've just finally had time this week to dive into .20, and it seems that the "flywheel" in the ASAS is significantly less effective. I used to be able to fairly easily - if slowly - turn my smaller craft with just the ASAS...but that is not the case now. Is it just me?

Edited June 6, 2013 by Kosmic Debris

[Neotician]

Uhm, ASAS doesn't add torque to your turning, it helps stabilize the craft using available control surfaces and RCS thrusters.

If it helped you turn faster, that in itself was a bug

[Kosmic Debris]

I'm aware - or thought I was - regarding what ASAS done; I'm just reporting what I'm seeing.

The only other change to the craft is the MechJeb pod - I'll check that out.

[vexx32]

The command modules, RCS and any control surfaces (in atmosphere only) are the only things that actually contribute torque. Changing any of those will alter how easily the rocket turns

[Kosmic Debris]

Just so folks know...it ain't just me

http://forum.kerbalspaceprogram.com/showthread.php/33227-Suddenly-no-torque/page3

[Superfish57]

Maybe they just lowered the the torque of the command pod you are using, ASAS will have no affect here.

[Rickenbacker]

The command modules, RCS and any control surfaces (in atmosphere only) are the only things that actually contribute torque. Changing any of those will alter how easily the rocket turns

...and SAS modules, those provide torque the same way command modules do. Not ASAS, though.

To the OP: Have you switched from a manned control pod (lots of torque) to a probe control pod (almost no torque), by any chance? If so, you might need to add RCS and/or control surfaces. I haven't noticed any difference in the ASAS at all.

Edited June 6, 2013 by Rickenbacker

[willow]

Check this thread. for a description of the same problem and a fix you can implement.. http://forum.kerbalspaceprogram.com/showthread.php/31536-Improve-the-rotational-power-of-the-larger-probe-stacks

[AlexanderB]

...and SAS modules, those provide torque the same way command modules do.

No they don't. SAS modules only add "anti torque", a sort of dampening force for holding the rocket steady in the direction its already pointed, but not torque for turning the rocket to a new direction.

Command pods are the only parts that do add steering torque, and the amount is "5" for almost all pods, but thats multiplied by the weight of the pod. And thats why probe bodies have so little torque, because they're lightweight, and the actual pod torque is based off the pod weight.

Edited June 6, 2013 by AlexanderB

[Vanamonde]

As a change of pace, I've been making some very small rockets lately, and it is driving me nuts. Some time in the last few revisions, probe torque seems to have been seriously nerfed, because I CAN NOT get these stupid little things to hold a heading under thrust, even when they are balanced so well that there is no visible displacement of the COM marker from the centerline. I've got these little 3 ton probes with gimbaled engines, ASAS, SAS, and two probe cores, and as soon as I hit the gas, they start lolling around anyway, always in the same direction so that it's obviously a balance issue.

[Lillegre]

Maybe they just lowered the the torque of the command pod you are using, ASAS will have no affect here.

Having read the cfg files, if I am reading them correctly, all unmanned probes have between 1/15th and 1/45th the rotational power of manned pods. I am assuming this is to simulate "ground control" lag.

[maltesh]

No, it's just to make them less good at turning things than manned pods. KSP probes react locally. If your space probe can't make its own decisiosn to do things based on the information it's receiving locally, you'd be crazy to send it interplanetary, much less attempt to land it somewhere.

[Anglave]

...and SAS modules, those provide torque the same way command modules do. Not ASAS, though.

This was true in previous versions. It's no longer true. SAS cannot be used to steer, it's a stabilization system only.

As a change of pace, I've been making some very small rockets lately, and it is driving me nuts. Some time in the last few revisions, probe torque seems to have been seriously nerfed, because I CAN NOT get these stupid little things to hold a heading under thrust, even when they are balanced so well that there is no visible displacement of the COM marker from the centerline. I've got these little 3 ton probes with gimbaled engines, ASAS, SAS, and two probe cores, and as soon as I hit the gas, they start lolling around anyway, always in the same direction so that it's obviously a balance issue.

Double check your fuel feed. If your tanks become unbalanced, it will dramatically affect steering.

Even if the fuel lines LOOK right, check the fuel levels in flight. There's a known fuel feed bug with some 2-1-2 fuel patterns that will cause non-symmetric fuel draw.

[Procyon]

Will SAS and ASAS in combination be effective?

[Jack]

Will SAS and ASAS in combination be effective?

If you have an exceptionally large ship, using ASAS to manage control systems and SAS to stop wobbling would be a good way to use them both effectively.

[SciMan]

Possibly, in that the SAS will work to counter the tendency of the ASAS to constantly over-correct or "wiggle" around the direction you actually want it to keep the ship pointed in.

However, this depends a lot on how well the ship steers in the first place. If the phrase "turns on a dime" accurately describes how the ship handles, ASAS alone might be enough. However, if "like trying to steer an oil tanker" is a better fit, I would recommend adding a few regular SAS modules.

As has always been the case, you only ever need one ASAS on a ship. Matter of fact, that's one of the reasons for space stations to start shaking and/or spinning out of control when more than one ship is docked. The ASAS units on the different ships are effectively trying to point the same station in two different directions at the same time, and physics doesn't take kindly to that.

[Vanamonde]

Double check your fuel feed. If your tanks become unbalanced

I'm making very small ships right now and they only have one tank, so there's no fuel flow to become unbalanced.