Is there a mod that allows you to watch your rocket launch from the ground?

[jmosher65]

Id love it if there was a mod out there like this, has anyone heard of a mod that's updated to .22 that does this?

[dc4bs]

Id love it if there was a mod out there like this, has anyone heard of a mod that's updated to .22 that does this?

Just a thought...

Park one or more rovers near the pad at your desired launch view spot(s).

Setup MechJeb to auto-launch/auto-stage the rocket to rendezvous with some orbiting object.

Switch to a rover with "[" and/or "]" just before launch. As long as you are in range, MechJeb will continue running in the rocket and should launch it on schedule. Be careful not to switch back into the rocket once it fires as it won't let you switch back out if the engines are running.

NOTE: I have not tried this but I THINK it should work.

Ugh. Now I have to go try this when I get home tonight...

[Vrana]

Check out Multiversal Mechatronics - Fixed Camera - 1.3 .

It hasnt been updated for .22 but people have made it work in .21 so i guess it should work now too. Look through the thread to see how.

You also might be interested in Athlonic Electronics / LCD - Launch CountDown (Audio&Onscreen) v1.4. It doesnt do what you want but it does enhance the launch experience and is updated for .22.

[goldenpeach]

I have tried something with mechjeb(it involved useless stage(to let me switch vessel) but I found a problem: when you activate mechjeb, it set the throttle to maximum so you can't stage.

I then tried something (really) simple with KOS(a simple code that had a five second delay before staging) but it seem that the code won't use the vessel where the code has been started but the active vessel.

[Bluegobln]

The kerbal camera mod used for filming stuff should allow you to put your camera anywhere you want it while flying a vessel. I have not used it but from what I understand it is plenty versatile enough to accomplish what you want.

Edit: Found the link for you. : http://forum.kerbalspaceprogram.com/threads/24757-0-22-KerbCam-v0-12-%28camera-pathing-tool-for-videos%29?highlight=kerbcam

[dc4bs]

Hmmm....

I know I did something like this in orbit once.

I have become paranoid about starting engines on ships attached to space stations. Lost a couple stations that way when I hit shift instead of alt to move fuel between tanks...

So now every time something docs with a station the very first thing I do is make sure ALL engines are disabled before doing ANYTHING else. As we all know, with Kerbals it's always Safety First!

So I enabled a tugs reverse engines, gave it just a little throttle and quickly un-docked it to watch it slowly back itself away from the station. Once it was clear, I switched to it and took manual control again.

The other interesting thing to do is setup MechJeb to auto rendezvous with a target (station, etc.) and then switch to that target ("[") before the final retro burn. Then you can watch your ship approach and match orbits from your station.

[Motokid600]

It's very easy. You need to install the Lazor plugin which allows you to increase the draw limit to 99km. Then you need a camera that can TRACK the target ( that's key ). There's only one I know of, but the window is too small for some reason. It's the Lazor camera from the same mod.

Put the Lazor camera on a probe then move the probe to a nice view. Load a rocket on the pad, switch to camerabot. Activate camera ( small viewing window pops up ), Target the rocket, hit track target. Switch back to the rocket ( the camera window remains open and will track ) and take off. As you pilot/mechjeb your flight you can watch it in 3rd person. And with max zoom you can watch your rocket go all the way to orbit and set past the horizon. It's a beautiful thing.. Especialy with multiple views.. my camerabot watches my rockets from the island with the second airport and I have one on top of the VAB. And on the beach. REALLY cool stuff.

The only problem is the crappy little window the camera gives you. So does anyone know of a camera that can zoom and TRACK and at the same time giving me a full screen window?

You can really achieved some cool effects with this setup. Because its not just launches. I can watch all my space stations go by from the ground. And I watch all my crafts reentrys from the ground aswell. All the way to touch down. And let's say you did an Apollo mission to the Mun. From the CM orbiter I can look down on the landing site as I pass over and see my kerbals on the ground with their head lights on. AND watching skycranes fly away and crash on Duna is great. Lol its A LOT of fun. Just need a better camera..

Edited December 8, 2013 by Motokid600