Avoiding maneuver nodes on the purple orbit?

[EndOfTheEarth]

I'm an intermediate KSP player, but I'm always looking for things to make my gameplay more efficient.

One of the things I've been struggling with is setting maneuver nodes after my ship is on an interplanetary intercept course, namely because the current orbit (blue) and the next orbit (purple) are so close together, and the game at times refuses to let me select a node for the blue orbit. Are there any tricks with the screen/controls for the sake of guaranteeing a node on the blue orbit?

[SofusRud]

try shifting the mapview focus point to other planetary bodies by using the Tab key. That might help you manipulate the camera into a better position.

[maltesh]

If the game prevents me from putting a node on the conic patch I want to (because the future conic patch is in the way), I typically use Mechjeb's Maneuver Node Editor to push the node back through time far enough that it winds up on the patch I want it to. The Precise Maneuver Node mod can allow you to do the same thing, but I find it easier to push a node back 112 days 11 hours 13 minutes with Mechjeb than to edit it by 9717180 seconds in Precise Maneuver Node.

[Claw]

After shifting around the view and/or zooming in, I find that sometimes I still can't add a node where I want. But it will let me add a node further down on blue line (near the transition). In which case I can add the node there, grab the white circle, and slide it back where I want.

[Superfluous J]

If you have PreciseNode installed, you can dial down the conic patch limit so the purple line disappears, then add your maneuver node, then dial up the limit again to your preference.

[problemecium]

Personally I find Maneuver Nodes slightly borked, what with the central ring being too small and making me accidentally nudge the wrong vectors, and the node deselecting itself if I let go of the mouse too far from the middle (making me have to zoom way in to reselect it again, and then way back out), and this thing with clicking the orbit and ending up with nodes 39732398 days away on the wrong conic patch.

So, I try to find ways of not having to stack more than maybe two nodes on an orbit projection. In fact I tried adding a bunch once for the lulz and found that more than about three, especially with capture burns, result in very inaccurate patches that are basically useless.

[Claw]

Personally I find Maneuver Nodes slightly borked, what with the central ring being too small and making me accidentally nudge the wrong vectors, and the node deselecting itself if I let go of the mouse too far from the middle (making me have to zoom way in to reselect it again, and then way back out), and this thing with clicking the orbit and ending up with nodes 39732398 days away on the wrong conic patch.

So, I try to find ways of not having to stack more than maybe two nodes on an orbit projection. In fact I tried adding a bunch once for the lulz and found that more than about three, especially with capture burns, result in very inaccurate patches that are basically useless.

Very true, but I like it better than being limited to one node and one conic patch. I'm sure it'll get better as development progresses. Right now I'm hoping they add a delta V readout to more nodes than just the next one.

[korvanos]

This is an old post, but I'm still having the same problem in .90

[Superfluous J]

This is an old post, but I'm still having the same problem in .90

The same tricks fix it, too

Additionally, you can just place the node, right click it, and click the "-" key in the bottom left to go back 1 orbit. You can even drag it around and it'll stay on the correct line.

[ghpstage]

I wish I knew about that before.

Previously I was relying on experience of how accelerations along the different vectors would move the encounter. But, oh well, its become useful to know how an orbital encounter will behave now that manoeuvre nodes aren't available at the start!