Problems with orbital transfers

[Spheniscine]

My orbit seems to change seemingly completely randomly whenever I transfer from one sphere of influence to another, and not matching the projected trajectory at all. This is especially annoying when it happens multiple times, switching between one SOI and the other... am I doing something wrong, perhaps not avoiding the would-be Lagrange point enough, entering at too shallow an angle, something?

Also yeah to add to the whole n-body physics debate... perhaps add a "buffer zone" outside each body's SOI, where n-body physics would be calculated and time warp restricted. Of course the downside is that placing a satellite in the resulting Lagrange point means you're locked out of high time warp forever... but I just want these sudden unpredictable SOI flips to stop x.x

Edited October 19, 2014 by Spheniscine

[tsotha]

If you're going through an SOI change at high time compression this will happen. It has something to do with the way the engine does fewer calculations per distance traveled. When you get near the transition, cut your time compression to 1x.

[Jimbimbibble]

Yeah, that will work. Even at 5-10x any deviations would be very small.

[HorusKol]

Spheniscine - get the Kerbal Alarm Clock mod - you can set up alarms which kill timewarp so many Kerbal seconds (or minutes, or hours) before an SoI, or Ap/Pe, or maneuvre node - give yourself a couple or more minutes buffer on high-speed ships (e.g., escaping Kerbin) and you're set

[Spheniscine]

I probably should have mentioned that I was getting time down to 1x - and also have used that mod to help (really useful mod) - but as soon as the SOI changes the trajectory is still widely off. Also another problem occurs when I'm on the edge of, say, the transfer orbit back to Kerbin, but suddenly got caught by the Mun's SOI again without any warning whatsoever. No way I'm slowing time down to 1x all that way...

Edited October 15, 2014 by Spheniscine

[HorusKol]

hmm... i've experienced an odd thing when getting close to the SoI and the projected trajectory looks like its gone to hell, but when I wait it out and actually cross over into the Sun's SoI, the original trajectory from my last manouvre is back and all is well.

interference from the Mun is a pain - not sure what to do there

[Leszek]

I am going to recommend you take a before SOI screenshot and an After SOI screenshot and post here.

When you change SOI, the way the orbit is drawn is different but the path actually flown is the same. It is just a case of what the path is relative to.

[psyper]

before SOI change your orbit will show it in relation to the planet your orbiting (say you're going from kerbin to mun this will be kerbin). When your SOI switches to the mun your obital path will switch in to relation to mun too - so it will seem like it flips 90 degrees to the right but there is no change to where your orbit is going to end up.

[Spheniscine]

before SOI change your orbit will show it in relation to the planet your orbiting (say you're going from kerbin to mun this will be kerbin). When your SOI switches to the mun your obital path will switch in to relation to mun too - so it will seem like it flips 90 degrees to the right but there is no change to where your orbit is going to end up.

Oh so that's how it works. I really thought I was doing a hairpin turns on hundreds of meters per second, and really hated how unrealistic and unintuitive that felt Unannounced SOI flips are still annoying though, but I guess I'll just deal with it since it usually puts me back on an escape trajectory, and maybe I should plan my maneuvers so that it doesn't put me near the would-be-Lagrange point.

Edited October 15, 2014 by Spheniscine

[Red Iron Crown]

hmm... i've experienced an odd thing when getting close to the SoI and the projected trajectory looks like its gone to hell, but when I wait it out and actually cross over into the Sun's SoI, the original trajectory from my last manouvre is back and all is well.

I see this a lot, too. SoI change makes the orbit go all wonky, wait a minute or so and it settles back into the original planned trajectory.