Atmospheric Flight Bug

[TheGrandSophia]

Hi, all

I've been having this problem for a little while now, and I seem to be the only one experiencing this on an unmodded version of the game, to which their response was almost universally concerned with the mod: while flying in atmosphere, my aircraft (and less frequently my rockets) will fly off into the distance. I suppose it would be more accurate to say that the camera falls off of the craft. I have noticed that it is preceeded by about half a second by a very slight, almost imperceptible lag. The camera falls to the ground (or into the ocean). Coincident to that is a loss of stability in the aircraft. I can pilot the craft in cockpit mode, but even with SAS active, I cannot recover and maintain stable flight. I get a nearly constant High-G indicator (My cockpit is a Mk. 2 for aircraft), and my vertical speed bounces between off-scale high ascent and descent, making a safe landing impossible where it was once only difficult. I have attempted switching vessels with the bracket keys, no good. I have tried toggling between the map and camera, no good. Camera and cockpit, no good. I have adjusted the FX settings, no good. I have adjusted the anti-aliasing rate, no good. The last thing I have tried is parking a second craft off to the side of the runway and switching between those two, but you can't switch craft when you're in the atmosphere. Any suggestions?

[Claw]

Hey TheGrandSophia,

What would be really awesome is if you could supply us with some more information. You did a good job of describing what happened, but if you can help us figure out why it's happening that would be even better. You are right, this is fairly rare in the stock game.

Please check out this thread: http://forum.kerbalspaceprogram.com/threads/92230-Stock-Support-Bug-Reporting-Guide

It will tell you where and how to collect information that will help us figure out what's going on. Pictures and craft files would be awesome, as well as what KSP you are using (mac, windows, linux) and maybe the log files.

Thanks, and welcome to the forums!

~Claw

[Mesons]

This sounds similar to bugs that are caused by some problems with the claw--I'd love to see your craft file and check it out. Is it just flying in general causing this? Reaching a certain distance from KSC?

In case you don't know yet (you are new after all--welcome!), you can post your .craft file to an image hosting site like DropBox and then post a link here.

Also just in case you don't know, your .craft file is located in KSP/saves/YourSave/Ships/SPH/ (I assume you built your plane in the hangar).

[TheGrandSophia]

Hey TheGrandSophia,

What would be really awesome is if you could supply us with some more information. You did a good job of describing what happened, but if you can help us figure out why it's happening that would be even better. You are right, this is fairly rare in the stock game.

Please check out this thread: http://forum.kerbalspaceprogram.com/threads/92230-Stock-Support-Bug-Reporting-Guide

It will tell you where and how to collect information that will help us figure out what's going on. Pictures and craft files would be awesome, as well as what KSP you are using (mac, windows, linux) and maybe the log files.

Thanks, and welcome to the forums!

~Claw

Claw,

Sure, and sorry for not catching the "this is how you actually report a bug" thread. I'm using Windows (8.1, if it matters), KSP version 0.24.2 via Steam, although I don't actually play the game through the Steam client all that often (again, I don't know if that matters, so I'll just dump all of my info on you and you can choose what's helpful and what's not). According to my task manager, I'm playing the 32-bit version.

Some amplifying information: Originally, I thought the error might be in my design, so I modified it in a couple of ways and tried to work around it that way. The problem remains. The craft are very simple, and aptly named Problem Child Mark 1 and Mark 2. In order to re-create the incident after the first time, I followed a rigid flight plan based on my original intent. Procedures as follows: From start position on runway, activate brakes, activate SAS, check stage sequencing. Release brakes, activate engine, 1/3 throttle on Mk. 1, 1/2 on Mk. 2. Take off as soon as airspeed allows, ~80 knots for Mk. 1, ~118 for Mk. 2. Proceed to shore on heading 090. Once over water, immediately bank 45 degrees right, come to heading 135 true and proceed until the Old Airfield is at bearing 300 relative. Bank left 45 degrees and throttle back two notches, come to bearing 090. Once on course, lower landing gear. Once over land and on satisfactory approach, cut engine to idle (X key) and land with a rate of descent no faster than 5 m/s. Apply brake and come to a stop.

The error occurs shortly after settling into the long leg of the plan (bearing 135 outbound to the old airfield), ~6.7 km from the end of the runway where the craft starts, and well over the sea. Also, I discovered that the instability settles down somewhat if you're in "straight and level" flight after the loss of stability, however it goes bonkers again if you attempt even the smallest maneuver and there is only a narrow band of stable flight. If you pitch above or below that band, the aircraft will twist, spin, stall, and dive. I have attached to this message a folder containing the output log, my Dx diagnostic readout, persistent save file, craft files for both mk. 1 and mk. 2, and 16 screenshots. The cockpit view screenshots are only from Problem Child Mk. 2.

https://www.dropbox.com/sh/z3mwi4o2pmsidgc/AACSPupeQDhay86A2R0LC9OUa?dl=0

Hope this helps!

Soph

[Claw]

Hmm, up front I would say that most of your instability is actually caused by a bug with the flight control surfaces. There's something called "infinigliding" that happens with control surfaces (because they are currently broken). That would likely explain your instability.

I'm not sure what's causing the camera problems though, unless the craft is destroying itself and that's where the camera is left behind.

~Claw

[TheGrandSophia]

Good to know about the infinigliding. As to the camera, the craft isn't destroying itself until I try to land and the vertical speed indicator drops to -100. I can fly it (sort of) after the camera drops off, but again, only in cockpit view. Which makes a visual approach quite difficult as the cockpits weren't designed for that kind of thing.

[Vectura]

I sometimes get the infinigliding bug with SAS turned on, say the craft start to pitch down a tiny bit so SAS makes it go up, then corrects it to go down again, then up again, and so on. In the end the craft goes at ludicrous speed, vibrates like heck, then disintegrates.

[Claw]

Yeah, craft built only with control surfaces nearly always end up experiencing infiniglide.

~Claw

[TheGrandSophia]

Okay, I'm smelling what you're stepping in there...

thanks!