Why ? Why ? Why , Harvester , why ?

[ASnogarD]

Why did you code in that troll flag planting routine ? It had to be deliberate , how else can it deliberately make the Kerbil turn around at random and plant the flag in the wrong place / facing each time ?

I wanted to plant a flag in the light of my crashed Mun lander, intending to leave the lot there as a monument to this first landing on this build, but I'll be buggered if I can get Bill the plant the sodding flag so it faces the light... he plants it in EVERY way except facing the light, he turns just enough each time to avoid the light.

I have spent 20 minutes turning this Kerbil around, trying different spots just so the stupid thing can plant the flag so the picture side is in the light... I even change my camera angles, types.

I studied how Bill turns so as when he turns it will be in the right spot... then he doesnt turn, so I turn him...then he turns, so I turn him more, then he turns the opposite way, then I compensate for that and he counter compensates...

... that is why I call it a troll routine, it can only be deliberate.

Hardest thing in the game, getting a Kerbil to plant the flag in the right place facing the right way

(Note: Despite the rage / ranty nature of this post, it is actually intended to be humorous and a slight dig at Harvester.)

[The Jedi Master]

I hate it when that happens. Can we get an explanation?

[Tom K.]

Light the torches and sharpen your forks people we're marching to the squad-hq!

[m4v]

ignore the troll, after planting the flag warp until the sun illuminates it.

[The Jedi Master]

ignore the troll, after planting the flag warp until the sun illuminates it.

But it SHOULDN'T BE HAPPENING IN THE FIRST PLACE.

[Themohawkninja]

I wouldn't go so far as to refer to it as a troll, but the lack of predicable flag planting is a bit annoying.

[Anton P. Nym]

I wonder if the sun-seeking routine used by the solar panels could be reused to orient the flag when planting it?... I'm enough of a coder to ask the question, but not enough of a coder to answer, alas.

-- Steve

[RazorWolf19]

I've thought about this too, though I haven't run in to any major problems like you have. Anyway, I don't understand why it was necessary to implement a "turn, then "plant flag" animation" when you could just blend the "idle" (standing) animation with the "plant flag" one. I say this because I know they already use this technique with walking on low-gravity bodies (Gilly, Bop, Pol Etc). If you look at the changelist for 0.17 to EVA, you will see that they "Implemented dynamic walk cycle blending for EVA Kerbals under G levels between 0.17 and 1G" which basically makes their walking loop look smoother and more continuous. (At least to MY knowledge)

Thanks for Reading,

Happy Flying!

[ASnogarD]

ignore the troll, after planting the flag warp until the sun illuminates it.

The point flew over this ones head faster than a kerbil strapped to a command seat on a cluster of mailsails heading towards a celestial body.

Allow me to illuminate my point slightly...

I attempted a small 1 Kerbil lander , nothing big... a 909 engine, 2 FT100 fuel tanks with the 1 man can, some RCS and bits and bobs including a bright spotlight and a ring of single plate solar panels. I got the Kerbil to the Mun but messed up the fuel requirements for the mission, and just as the Lander was about to land...*pop* no gas man, and the lander landed heavily losing legs and engine leaning at a dramatic angle on its base with the single spot light shining on a flat piece of ground in front of the craft... ideal spot for a ironic first landing flag, next to the ruins of the lander illuminated by the one spotlight powered by the solar panels...

... except Bill will not plant the flag facing the light, no matter what I tried... I even noted he plants it in 2 directions but when I move him so one of those directions will be in the light, he does a 180 and plants it the opposite way... out of the light.

[OUScooby]

I get annoyed by this too. I try and guess how he's going to turn when he plants the flag and position him accordingly for that perfect photo-op, but almost every time he turns a different way and the flag doesn't end up facing the way I'd have like. still the flag gets planted and marks the location and sits as proof I've been there, which is the point after all, so I'm not ready to join the angry mod on this one yet.

[Rhyunix]

Why is flag planting so stressful damnit?!

[-RanZ-]

this thread is slightly comical for some reason

[AmpsterMan]

this thread is slightly comical for some reason

I think it's the title

[m4v]

There's no training facility, so Kerbals aren't properly trained in flag planting techniques.

[Guest]

I'm just happy Bill hasn't managed to pin his foot to the ground yet.

[katateochi]

Lols, this is a funny thread. I do agree thou, planting flags is kinda weird.

I guess Squad could see this thread as a really good thing; they've done such a good job on the rest of the game, you-know, the actually rockety bits, that we're now focusing on some pretty small aesthetic details!

[zekes]

hmmm very interesting.. ive noticed this before. i think the animation is random and therefore you cannot expect a routine plant every time.

[Brotoro]

I've been annoyed by this unpredictability as well. But if it's a matter of just wanting to get a good picture with the flag lighted, remember that your kerbals have helmet lights and you might be able to strategically place one of them so that he can illuminate the flag for a photo op.

But normally I spend many tries to get the flag in an acceptable orientation.

[corpsdog]

I wonder if the flag is planting on a North/South line, with flag faces to the East and West, so that each side is respectively lit by the rising and setting sun. If it's always planting in the same direction, it may simply be hard-coded.

[zekes]

I actually dont care what orientation i have it. It looks good anyway. from SOME angle.

example:

[RoboRay]

I don't think it's random. Every flag-planting on the Mun (dozens of attempts) has resulted in the flag pointing directly east/west... meaning it will never, ever, be illuminated by the sun.

[Benie]

I noticed this too of planting a flag to mark the coords of a temp Laythe base. My Kerbal didn't want to put it as I had him faced. He turns around to place it.

This is in 0.20.2. So apparently this "troll bug" has been here for quite awhile.

[ASnogarD]

This is nearly what I was after... as you can see the flag is not really in a ideal location but it seems the routine is locked to a east west line, notice the shadows and the line the flag is pointing in...

... also do note the italic message at the bottom of my original post, I was annoyed but rather than swear and jump up and down I decided to make it a bit funny instead as well as a hint to Harvester.

I am fully aware of the WIP nature of the title, yet even complaints are better than no feedback at all... I know from experience, I coded a game and posted it up and waited for the feedback... 6 months of coding and drawing art assets, not including the time it took to self learn C++ and SDL as well as getting to grips with sprite art... ended up with nearly no replies or views, let alone downloads.

Edited July 30, 2013 by ASnogarD

[astropapi1]

I am fully aware of the WIP nature of the title, yet even complaints are better than no feedback at all... I know from experience, I coded a game and posted it up and waited for the feedback... 6 months of coding and drawing art assets, not including the time it took to self learn C++ and SDL as well as getting to grips with sprite art... ended up with nearly no replies or views, let alone downloads.

What was that game about?

[ASnogarD]

Silly little thing where you kicked sticks of dynamite out of a square field while picking up coins, have a youtube vid of a RC of the title... it wasnt a great game but for my first and only title (so far) I didnt think it was too bad...

(All GFX was drawn by me, and the code was mostly mine with some tutorial code from sites I used to learn from)

... but that off topic.