A button to turn asteroids off

[Rainbowtrout]

I don't know if this has been added (if it has, mods please delete), but I think people who don't want asteroids would find it useful.

[vger]

I'm guessing this is beyond simply 'not tracking them?' You want the map to appear without little question marks dotting it?

Probably not a bad idea. Maybe the button for turning that off can be named "Cut Near Kerbal Object Program From Budget"

[vexx32]

You can simply not track them, and set both Map and Tracking Station screens to not show the Unknown Object type.

[pxi]

I'd actually like to see some sort of control over the rate at which they're spawned, it's not that I dislike the asteroids - rather I've quite got my hands full with missions to them.

[Panzerbeard]

I.. really don't see the need.. an untracked asteroid doesn't interfere with your game at all, and all you need to do is uncheck the unknown object category in the tracking station and you'd never even know they were there, as Vexx said. The asteroids don't even 'exist' until you start tracking them, right? That is, they don't actually have a calculated orbit and you could never get an encounter with one until you've selected it in the tracking menu, unless I'm mistaken. If they don't exist until you track them, and you can hide them in the map view, you already have the ability to "turn them off", I don't understand why you'd want to disable them entirely?

[vexx32]

They do have calculated orbits, but as far as I can see 90% of them will disappear before ever reaching Kerbin SOI if left untracked. I left my sandbox game running for a few years' worth of time, watching the asteroids, tracking a few here and there... and most spawn so far from kerbin it would take between 50 and 100 days to even reach the edge of Kerbin's SOI, but they normally disappear somewhere between 20-40 days from the time they spawn and are left untracked.

[Rainbowtrout]

I enjoy the asteroids, I would just like a way to change the spawn rate, as would other people, like pxi.

[technicalfool]

They do have calculated orbits, but as far as I can see 90% of them will disappear before ever reaching Kerbin SOI if left untracked. I left my sandbox game running for a few years' worth of time, watching the asteroids, tracking a few here and there... and most spawn so far from kerbin it would take between 50 and 100 days to even reach the edge of Kerbin's SOI, but they normally disappear somewhere between 20-40 days from the time they spawn and are left untracked.

What confused me is I've had one asteroid that somehow managed to get itself into a stable, if highly elliptic, orbit around Kerbin. At least I thought it was stable. It went around a few times, and then disappeared. Whut?

[technicalfool]

I enjoy the asteroids, I would just like a way to change the spawn rate, as would other people, like pxi.

I'm pretty sure NASA would love to be able to control the spawn rate of NEOs, too.

Okay, maybe a bit facetious. But, yes, basically you don't have to deal with it as a challenge to visit and redirect every single rock that finds its way around Kerbin.

[Tex]

Don't worry, Rainbowtrout. Simply don't track any you don't want, and click the little "Unknown Objects" and "Space Objects" buttons at the top-left of the Tracking station. The odds of finding one in-game are nearly zip if you aren't tracking them.

[Kasuha]

I think this suggestion could be covered by different, pretty old suggestion: to be able to set up which object types will be visible by default in map view and tracking station.

Why introduce special handling if it can be done in a generic way.

[Amaroq]

^^ +1 Yet another excellent suggestion, Kasuha.

[Ziff]

I'd actually like to see some sort of control over the rate at which they're spawned, it's not that I dislike the asteroids - rather I've quite got my hands full with missions to them.

A simple menu slider for this option would suffice. Extremely rare <--> Normal

[Anton P. Nym]

I think this suggestion could be covered by different, pretty old suggestion: to be able to set up which object types will be visible by default in map view and tracking station.

Why introduce special handling if it can be done in a generic way.

Yep, or even just making selections of what's being displayed in the map view persistent would serve.

-- Steve

[vger]

Don't worry, Rainbowtrout. Simply don't track any you don't want, and click the little "Unknown Objects" and "Space Objects" buttons at the top-left of the Tracking station. The odds of finding one in-game are nearly zip if you aren't tracking them.

I didn't even think they spawned if you didn't track them.