Throttle Controlled Avionics

[qfeys]

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I present to you:

Throttle Controlled Avionics

For all those times you have a lot of engines, but not a lot of control. This plugin solves this issue by throttling some engines down a bit. Or a lot. Or shuts them down. But the amount of torque provided is so much that you can recover from almost any nosedive. It also becomes VERY easy to control a VTOL, as their engines are far apart, and thus providing a lot of torque. Now availible at spaceport.

http://kerbalspaceprogram.com/throttle-controlled-avionics/

This is my first mod I've ever made. Any feedback would be most welcome. I hope you enjoy it.

Qfeys

EDIT: typo

Edited February 21, 2014 by qfeys

[Trueborn]

I suppose it must be obvious to you, but I'm having a hard time telling exactly what your mod is supposed to be doing. Maybe it aids in steering by dynamically controlling individual engine throttles, but maybe not. Also, that screen shot is pretty darn small.

[qfeys]

That's exactly what it does: it changes the trust of the individual engines for increased control. The main thing is that it makes asymmetric build vehicles controllable, also by not letting every engine push with the same force.

[Porkjet]

Excellent! I've allways wished this was possible. Gonna test this.

[123nick]

the new kerbcom avionics. all you need now is dynamic gimbal control

[MaverickSawyer]

Hmmm... You have my interest now. Dl'ed.

[likke_A_boss]

Wow, this is pretty cool. Also, have you checked out Blizzy's toolbar mod? Support in that would be very useful.

[qfeys]

Wow, this is pretty cool. Also, have you checked out Blizzy's toolbar mod? Support in that would be very useful.

I just did. Next time I'm working on it, I'll probably integrate it. Thanks for the suggestion.

[theSpeare]

Wouldn't this make shuttle launch vehicles even better?

[Jasonden]

I present to you:

Throttle Controlled Avionics

AWESOME -- I've wanted this! I use toroidal aerospikes with no thrust vectoring, so this is the answer to my control problems, I hope!

[FellipeC]

So this is like kerbcom?

[qfeys]

So this is like kerbcom?

I didn't know about kerbcon, but it seems like it's been months sins it's last been updated. The effect it seems to achieve is similar, but the underling mechanics are different.

[SkyHook]

I didn't know about kerbcon, but it seems like it's been months sins it's last been updated. The effect it seems to achieve is similar, but the underlying mechanics are different.

You are correct. In fact, thrust-balancing addons have a habit of being updated once or twice, and never being touched again. I am glad to see that there are new people willing to take the problem on

[ri00t]

Subscribed as one of TOP10 desired game changes! I will try it in first occasion.

[rotating_equipment]

I didn't know about kerbcon, but it seems like it's been months sins it's last been updated. The effect it seems to achieve is similar, but the underling mechanics are different.

This is almost, but not quite like it. Kerbcom does (did!) essentially the same thing, if a little more elegantly (but this is amazing already!) This mod does not like when you turn on and off engine groups, and it absolutely HATES the B9 VTOL engines. If the torque vectors recalculated automatically (seems complicated) then it would be the ultimate VTOL controller.

As it is, the mod works (I've made a couple totally useless VTOL craft fly very nicely!) and could probably supplant Kerbcom if developed a little more.

[Boamere]

This could really use toolbar support, it's always on my screen

[DirkLarien]

i guess this would solve most major problem of clasic shuttle design problem.

[Morden96]

A few of additional suggestions:

1. Add something to show if it's on or off (switch to a radio button?). You can't tell it's on until it actually starts adjusting your engines. It can be frustrating when I wanted it OFF.

2. It tends to mess up ships that are already stable (balanced, no turning needed). I've crashed a number of times because it destabilized my ship. If you tell us a little more about the algorithm you use, we can offer some suggestions.

3. Release notes when you update the mod. When the changes aren't obvious, you want the users to know what's changed so they can try it out.

4. Spellcheck: 'Toggle'

5. Save the settings state with each spacecraft. The engine thrust is saved since you used the tweakable, but your actual mod settings are not. Many of us jump between ships often and we can't use the same settings for every ship (incl on/off).

Great work so far!

[NKL]

i guess this would solve most major problem of clasic shuttle design problem.

With rocket engine it's absolutely perfect. And yes, almost every shuttle design work now. Haha SUCH-CONTROL-VERY-SHUTTLE-WOW.

I was looking to put myself into physics books again to make such a mod. And I'm SO GLAD you cut ground under my feet

However I'm still getting trouble with jet Engine, I guess smoothing the acceleration and deceleration rate can be tricky. (or maybe my design is just poor and jebeedized).

Keep up the good work man, congratz.

[AviatorBJP]

Another Suggestion: have the default setting be OFF, instead of on. I only need this for the odd spacecraft. It causes more problems than it solves for well balanced craft.

[Zenka]

First thing: Huge thanks for making this mod. I'm using it intensely to send unbalanced rockets to the stars and making VTOLs.

Second thing: Even bigger thanks for providing the source. For I want to extend the mod to allow for translation as well as stabilization. (think of it as this: this mod now applies SAS to your engines, and I would like to do the same with RCS)

Since I was in the code anyway, I noticed a bug that prevents the mod for accurately detecting engines. You will notice this when you have a big ship with SRBs on it. And it should ignore engines that are deactivated.

		private List<Part> CountEngines()
		{
			vessel = FlightGlobals.ActiveVessel;
			List<Part> engines = new List<Part>();

			foreach (Part p in vessel.Parts)
			{
				if (p.Modules.Contains("ModuleEngines"))
				{
					if(p.State == PartStates.ACTIVE)		//if engine is active
					{ 
						ModuleEngines engine = (ModuleEngines)p.Modules["ModuleEngines"];
						if (!engine.throttleLocked)		// No SRB's
							engines.Add(p);
					}
				}
			}
			return engines;
		}

[Camacha]

With rocket engine it's absolutely perfect. And yes, almost every shuttle design work now. Haha SUCH-CONTROL-VERY-SHUTTLE-WOW.

I was looking to put myself into physics books again to make such a mod. And I'm SO GLAD you cut ground under my feet

Please do not let this mod get in the way of diving into the physics - it is actually a lot of fun to fool around with control theory

However I'm still getting trouble with jet Engine, I guess smoothing the acceleration and deceleration rate can be tricky. (or maybe my design is just poor and jebeedized).

The spin up time is messing up the calculations. I have devised a way to solve this, but I am currently a bit busy and also need one additional component for the solution to be optimal.