Change RCS control directions

[ianr15]

Hello,

I have built this very small cargo carrier to carry cargo around my space station (so my Kerbals don't have to do it). It looks like this:

The problem is: If I test t on the ground in docking mode, the RCS doesn't behave like I want it to behave. Shift and Control don't make it move up and down, but forward and backward. And the other way around. I know it has to do with the position of the probodobodyne, but how can I change these control directions without modifying the vehicle?

Any help is appreciated.

Edited February 22, 2014 by ianr15

[lumpman2]

I'm not really sure, but I think that rotating the RCS ports around with Q and E. Try playing around with that until Shift/Control go up and down respectively. Personally, I think docking mode is useless because you can't rotate at all - IJKLHN work fine for translation, while at the same time you can still rotate whenever necessary.

[EuSouONumero345]

you can press H to go forward, N to go backward, I to go up, and K do go down, this is translation mode, as Lumpman2 says.

[ianr15]

Thank you, lumpman2 and daniel345, very much for your response. Indeed, rotation mode works fine, but I don't need to rotate this ship when I use it, so I just hoped that I could use docking mode so I can control it like an EVA. Q and E don't seem to work, unfortunately. If anyone still has any suggestions, they would be appreciated, and else I will just use translation mode.

[Claw]

Thank you, lumpman2 and daniel345, very much for your response. Indeed, rotation mode works fine, but I don't need to rotate this ship when I use it, so I just hoped that I could use docking mode so I can control it like an EVA. Q and E don't seem to work, unfortunately. If anyone still has any suggestions, they would be appreciated, and else I will just use translation mode.

Your statement here is slightly confusing to me. If you just want to move in and out, use H & N.

Shift and Control run the throttle. RCS doesn't have a throttle. You use it in bursts. Check your settings to see for sure what your docking thrusters are set to, but the default keys are as previously described.

IJKL for translation, H & N for in/out translation. Also, if you have a docking port (which it looks like) you can right click on it and select "Control From Here." That will change your navball orientation and might be more useful for docking operations.

My suggestion is to not use docking mode, but the "normal" staging mode. Then rotation and translations will all work as we've been describing.

EDIT2: And now I am thinking you want your ship to auto rotate with the camera like a kerbal does. Ships do not have that behavior like an EVA. You must manually rotate them around and sometimes your "up/down" won't be aligned with the up/down view of your camera. In that case, you have to rotate the ship or rotate the camera to match and be less confusing. Or follow the navball. (There is no "Space Bar" equivalent for a docking ship like there is for EVA.)

Edited February 22, 2014 by Claw

[Claw]

The problem is: If I test t on the ground in docking mode, the RCS doesn't behave like I want it to behave. Shift and Control don't make it move up and down, but forward and backward. And the other way around. I know it has to do with the position of the probodobodyne, but how can I change these control directions without modifying the vehicle?

Any help is appreciated.

AHhhhhhhhhhhhhh, wait. I see now you said "If I test it on the ground...."

If you want to test RCS on the ground, then get your craft out onto the pad. Then press F-12. The debug window will pop up. On this debug window, select the big button that says "Hack Gravity." Now you can test your RCS without having to launch into space.

Just make sure you don't have other craft sitting on the ground nearby. Hopefully that answers one of your questions.

EDIT: Also, all that other stuff still applies. You might have to go to your settings page and see what the docking keys are bound to. They may be set up differently than your EVA keys.

Edited February 22, 2014 by Claw

[RSwordsman]

Has anyone recommended clicking a part of a different orientation from the root and choosing "control from here"? It changes what is considered the front, back, etc. of the ship and switches the RCS controls accordingly. The docking port on the bottom should work very well.

As stated above I also use IJKL/HN for RCS translation; worth checking out.

Edited February 22, 2014 by RSwordsman

[ianr15]

Thank you, RSwordsman, very much for your response. I know about these tricks, but I just hoped that there was a simple option in KSP to change the control directions of a command module.

It is clear to me that translation mode would be the best option for my issue, so thank you all for the responses, it is much appreciated.