After 1000+ hours of game time, I finally tried MechJeb.

[Linear]

I like to have a feeling of accomplishment, could you imagine if the first time you got to the Mun and it was done by a 'robot'. I'd feel like I wasted my £15.

The feeling of accomplishment of launching something into LKo is non existant, goingto the mun is non existant accomplishment-wise. We use mechjeb out of necessity, because hyperedit is just too boring.

[RidingTheFlow]

The feeling of accomplishment of launching something into LKo is non existant, goingto the mun is non existant accomplishment-wise

Well, everything is an achievement, but for first couple of times, and this is whole point.

BTW AFAIK current MechJeb gradually unlocks modules during career, so its very unlikely you will have this complete autopilot for your first Mun landings anyway.

[magnemoe]

The feeling of accomplishment of launching something into LKo is non existant, goingto the mun is non existant accomplishment-wise. We use mechjeb out of necessity, because hyperedit is just too boring.

Oversized cargo is challenging, launching another set of 7 kerbals or yet another set of asteroid intercept probes with the standard launcher is not.

The game has two sort of experienced players, the pilots and the builders.

[Josson K.]

I recently used MechJeb to mimic an ATV for my space station. As its name suggests it is completely automated (even docking on the ISS), so I figured this would be an appropriate use of Mechjeb. Everything was automated from launch ascent to docking. It was a fascinating experience and I did enjoy watching it do its thing even though I only gave the commands to engage the next stage of flight. Then I did the crew rotation by Shuttle which I flew manually of course.

[xcorps]

Also, I have yet to figure out how to put down a craft through an atmosphere onto a location picked by me, so I really do require mechjeb there.

Just in case it might help...

Instead of using the landing module, set up your orbit as low as safely possible. Then, with Smart ASS, get your inclination right using normal/rad. Then go to ADV, surface velocity, back. The timing of the burn depends on TWR, but as long as your vertical speed doesn't go higher than about -.5 m/s you will get pretty darn close. I like to keep Surf set to 90 90 for a quick escape.

If you already know this, just hand me a sock.

I just made this landing using that technique, right before I composed this post:

Javascript is disabled. View full album

Edited July 2, 2014 by xcorps

[EdFred]

Everything in the game I have done manually - even a < 100m MSL Eve ascent - I landed 20 modules on the Mun all within 2km for each other manually. I've manually flown to every other planet (except Eeloo - haven't been there in any form yet). And I even landed within 2km of KSC manually. Once I've done it manually, I might turn it over to MJ. There was a time where I let MJ do everything. But it doesn't do everything well.

So now I use KAC to determine all my launch windows, I manually create all my nodes, and let MJ keep the nose pointed at the blue target on the navball. All my rendezvous are done manually, as MJ always seems to mess that up, but I do sometimes incorporate the use of Smart A.S.S. for docking, but still manually do it. I do let MJ handle my ascents, descents, and circularization burns, because I've done those hundreds of times.

The utility I most like on MJ is the ability to limit throttle, especially when fine tuning planetary intercepts, and docking - since I don't use RCS most of the time. Limit the throttle to 1%, and now I can fine tune things from millions of km away. I look at MJ like the database I built for work. Sure I could use a type writer and calculator to generate all my reports, but why?

Though the aerobraking/landing site planner probably gets used most - it's nice to do one aerobraking maneuver and have my apoapsis right where I want it to be rather than come in too deep, or have to make 6 maneuvers.

Edited July 2, 2014 by EdFred

[theend3r]

I'd probably stop playing if someone took MJ away from me. After 100s of launches, rendezvouses, landings... etc. manual piloting is just a waste of time. Docking and landing I still do myself though, since MJ sucks at them and wastes too much fuel. I can dock whole bases with units of monoprop whereas MJ wastes hundreds of it

[Red Iron Crown]

I'd probably stop playing if someone took MJ away from me. After 100s of launches, rendezvouses, landings... etc. manual piloting is just a waste of time. Docking and landing I still do myself though, since MJ sucks at them and wastes too much fuel. I can dock whole bases with units of monoprop whereas MJ wastes hundreds of it

The docking AP has gotten much better about this in the recent dev builds.

[ScopusAurelius]

I admit that I don't use Mechjeb, but if I did I certainly would feel zero need to apologize or otherwise explain why. I am given to wonder how many "anti-autopilot-mod" posters routinely edit their save file to simply put a station in orbit... I have. F5/F9 is not a long walk from a "cheat" (how is something a "cheat" if one has no opponent?) as well.

I see an endless parade of Mechjeb threads (or threads which become a Mechjeb thread), and it reminds me of the arguments between online gamers and the "l33t skillz" players on a PVP server versus the "just want to enjoy the game" players on a PVE server. Pretty childish, really. How one wants to kill a Kerbal is one's own business. I have a newsflash - this is not deciphering Linear B; it is a game.

[ola]

Personally, I think that complaining about MechJeb while not using FAR and Deadly Reentry is...sort of not very well-thought through.

MechJeb has enabled me to play this game for about 1900h now, while still keeping my three young kids and my wife happy.

[shadowsutekh]

FYI we watch threads like this. Don't tell someone else how to play their single player, and follow the forum rules

Both sides have merits, but as soon as this devolves into "He uses mechjeb but I demand everyone play manual flight" argument it's getting closed.

Also ScopiusAurelius, lol at the Linear B.

Edited July 2, 2014 by shadowsutekh

[rabidninjawombat]

Mechjeb is a great little tool and has its uses For the longest time i had trouble doing orbital rendezvous, but after watching mechjeb doing it for me several times i finally got the gist of how it works, and i learned how to do it on my own, (and usually more efficiently than mechjeb ) In short it helped teach me orbital mechanics.

Its also great for those people who enjoy the engineering aspect of the game, and no so much the flight aspect. Its also great when you've done a task million of time and can do it in your sleep (i.e. circularizing a orbit around Kerbin) and just wanna get up and get a cup of coffee while the computer does it for you

[Umlüx]

after 700+ hours playtime, i couldn't imagine playing without SmartA.S.S. or letting mechjeb do a 10min ion-engine burn for me anymore!

[regex]

Personally, I think that complaining about MechJeb while not using FAR and Deadly Reentry is...sort of not very well-thought through.

I agree with this. KSP is easy enough, even with those mods installed, that I don't need to use MechJeb to make it even easier (although I will thank it for making 0.21 bearable).

[NecroBones]

Yeah, I had put several hundred hours into the game before getting MJ as well. I had visited most places in the solar system first, and made sure I had gotten a handle on absolutely everything, before allowing myself to experiment with mods.

Now I love MJ. I just let it handle the more "tedious" stuff that I've done a million times, mainly executing maneuver nodes, fine-tuning rendezvous approaches, and the like. And sometimes it's nice to start a launch, and come back later to find yourself in orbit, while reading a website or something. It just lets me focus more on the mission planning and engineering.

Even though the autopilots work pretty well, I rarely use the landing autopilot, and rarely use the ascent autopilot for anything other than launches from KSC. If the landings/ascents on other worlds are done for me, I've taken part of the fun out of the game, so I usually do those by hand.

Rendezvous and docking autopilots? It just depends on my mood. Sometimes I do them myself, and other times I let MJ do it.

So while I use MJ quite a bit, I also keep my own skills up.

Edited July 2, 2014 by NecroBones

[RocketPilot573]

Meh, I only use Mechjeb for the readouts... The landing guidance for aerobraking and landing on target through an atmosphere (without quickloading 9001 times) is wonderful. I verrrry rarely touch the autopilot.

[Linear]

Oversized cargo is challenging, launching another set of 7 kerbals or yet another set of asteroid intercept probes with the standard launcher is not.

The game has two sort of experienced players, the pilots and the builders.

Anyone who has 100+ hours in this game can probably do anything their computer can handle. It's the truth.

'Hard' things like Jool-5 are actually incredibly easy if you think about things you have overcome in other games.

[Oafman]

I know why everyone is being defensive, because there are usually critics in these threads, but it's worth pointing out that nobody has really criticised MJ use here. There's still time I guess...

MJ does everything that I don't enjoy. And best of all, it does it while I watch the world cup, which it seems to have no interest in watching.

It creates nodes for me, because tweak node-hover over destination-tweak-hover-tweak-hover ad nauseum is no fun. It executes those nodes for me because it is better at it than I am, and because that is a pretty dull task. It does most of my landings, because I just love its ability to suicide burn.

I quite enjoy docking, so I do most of that manually. Exceptions are when I've failed to balance my RCS properly, when my FPS is slow, or when I just can't be arsed.

What I rarely use it for is the RV autopilot. My target is at 80km, and I launch into a circular orbit at 100km on the same plane. Does MJ warp for a few orbits until its in position to Hohmann in? Oh no. MJ insists on some wacky phasing orbit out at somewhere like 200km, burning fuel to get out there, and fuel to get back. I wish there was an option for how long I'm prepared to wait for the RV to take place, so i could set it to do things more slowly but more efficiently.

Having said that, you can say what you want about MJ, but you have to admit, it does plot a pretty mean Hohmann.

[Mr Shifty]

FYI we watch threads like this. Don't tell someone else how to play their single player, and follow the forum rules

Both sides have merits, but as soon as this devolves into "He uses mechjeb but I demand everyone play manual flight" argument it's getting closed.

Also ScopiusAurelius, lol at the Linear B.

It would be great if we could just have a forum rule that prohibits posts containing any arguments for or against MechJeb. In the year I've been on the forums, there haven't been two consecutive days without a new MJ thread. Every possible point has been made over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over again. Please, please just lock as soon as they appear.

[regex]

It would be great if we could just have a forum rule that prohibits posts containing any arguments for or against MechJeb. In the year I've been on the forums, there haven't been two consecutive days without a new MJ thread. Every possible point has been made over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over again. Please, please just lock as soon as they appear.

How dare you challenge the right of every player to brag about how much better they are than other people or make excuses for how they use MechJeb in order to not appear like they're bad players or even just acknowledge how lazy they are. These threads are the great cathartic valve of the forums and should only be locked when they stop acting as such. You, sir, threaten that fine balance and should refrain from posting further.

[Padishar]

Having said that, you can say what you want about MJ, but you have to admit, it does plot a pretty mean Hohmann.

Oh, come on, it's hardly rocket scien... oh... never mind, I'll get my coat...

[Duke23]

I love using MJ for simple things like the Smart A.S.S. on large ships or executing a maneuver node I already planned (long burns -- I hate long burns). I used autoland a few times for a pesky spot on the Mun in my last career save where I kept tipping things over or landing 30km away but as a general rule I don't like making it do all the work or just things I don't feel like learning, kind of cheapens the experience for me. Very useful tool though, and it can be a good teacher at times. I learned how to do more precise non-atmospheric landings and fine tune my interplanetary burns thanks to MJ. Sometimes just seeing it done as opposed to "knowing" how it's done can make a world of difference. Then again I've gotten better in general since then just from practice. I don't think I even knew what MechJeb was until I had already been to Mun/Minmus and Duna.

[Kobymaru]

Instead of using the landing module, set up your orbit as low as safely possible. Then, with Smart ASS, get your inclination right using normal/rad. Then go to ADV, surface velocity, back. The timing of the burn depends on TWR, but as long as your vertical speed doesn't go higher than about -.5 m/s you will get pretty darn close. I like to keep Surf set to 90 90 for a quick escape.

Thanks, but on one hand this also uses mechjeb, and on the other hand I have no problem setting down on an airless body. It's the targeted descent through an atmosphere which seems impossible. I might try finding a mathy-solution but I'm not that good with differential equations, I'm afraid. And if it's not solvable analytically, a numerical solution is pretty much the same as what MechJeb does.

By the by: you can include imgur albums simply by putting the imgur id in imgur tags. Like that, but only with brackets instead of parenthesis: (imgur)xNgVA(/imgur)

[xcorps]

Thanks, but on one hand this also uses mechjeb, and on the other hand I have no problem setting down on an airless body. It's the targeted descent through an atmosphere which seems impossible. I might try finding a mathy-solution but I'm not that good with differential equations, I'm afraid. And if it's not solvable analytically, a numerical solution is pretty much the same as what MechJeb does.

By the by: you can include imgur albums simply by putting the imgur id in imgur tags. Like that, but only with brackets instead of parenthesis: (imgur)xNgVA(/imgur)

huh, it was working earlier.

I have no freaking clue how to land accurately in an atmosphere.

[rabidninjawombat]

I know why everyone is being defensive, because there are usually critics in these threads, but it's worth pointing out that nobody has really criticised MJ use here. There's still time I guess...

MJ does everything that I don't enjoy. And best of all, it does it while I watch the world cup, which it seems to have no interest in watching.

It creates nodes for me, because tweak node-hover over destination-tweak-hover-tweak-hover ad nauseum is no fun. It executes those nodes for me because it is better at it than I am, and because that is a pretty dull task. It does most of my landings, because I just love its ability to suicide burn.

I quite enjoy docking, so I do most of that manually. Exceptions are when I've failed to balance my RCS properly, when my FPS is slow, or when I just can't be arsed.

What I rarely use it for is the RV autopilot. My target is at 80km, and I launch into a circular orbit at 100km on the same plane. Does MJ warp for a few orbits until its in position to Hohmann in? Oh no. MJ insists on some wacky phasing orbit out at somewhere like 200km, burning fuel to get out there, and fuel to get back. I wish there was an option for how long I'm prepared to wait for the RV to take place, so i could set it to do things more slowly but more efficiently.

Having said that, you can say what you want about MJ, but you have to admit, it does plot a pretty mean Hohmann.

Oafman, there actually is a setting to change the number of orbits your willing to wait, under the rendevous autopilot you just change the number of orbits, the autopilot only kicks you into a phasing orbit if its beyond that number.