Solar panels toggle Hotkey

[pelican]

Hi Everyone

I would like to have a hotkey for setting all ships solar panels On/Off, like struts or lights have. Sometimes, when i have a big and complex ship near landing in atmosphere, its really annoying to set all panels manualy, because often they are not easy to hit with cursor, if there is lot of other small parts around (i need multiple trials from different angles before context menu appears).

Thanks for reading.

[Starman4308]

Hi Everyone

I would like to have a hotkey for setting all ships solar panels On/Off, like struts or lights have. Sometimes, when i have a big and complex ship near landing in atmosphere, its really annoying to set all panels manualy, because often they are not easy to hit with cursor, if there is lot of other small parts around (i need multiple trials from different angles before context menu appears).

Thanks for reading.

VAB or SPH, go to action groups tab, click on a number you'd like to toggle them to, and then start clicking your panels and set them to be toggled by that action group.

[scy]

But pelican has a good point; this could easily be automated. It doesn't have to be a hotkey either if there were another way to trigger actions (e.g. a key opening some menu... just not that crowded and awkward context menu).

[Alshain]

This suggestion makes a lot of sense. Actions that need to be done quickly* (Landing Gear) or need to be done frequently on many parts (Lights) should have their own dedicated hotkey/action group. In my opinion, solar deployment falls into the latter category and should have it's own action group and hotkey that are independent of the custom groups. I support this idea.

*Except in cases where it would be different for every craft, like switching engines between rockets and air breathers.

Edited November 13, 2014 by Alshain

[Darnok]

There is one problem... cargo bays and payload crafts with solar panels.

[Laie]

VAB or SPH, go to action groups tab, click on a number you'd like to toggle them to, and then start clicking your panels and set them to be toggled by that action group.

Which takes up a whole action group. I find myself re-using other groups (like "brakes"), but ain't too happy with it either.

I found out that kOS lets me issue a "panels on/off" command. On any vessel with a kOS core and a significant number of panels, this has become my preferred approach (also because it sets them ALL to on/off rather than toggling their state). That this is possible through kOS suggests that it shouldn't be too hard to do in stock.

[Alshain]

There is one problem... cargo bays and payload crafts with solar panels.

That's not a problem. Don't hit the button with the doors closed. If you do it's, your fault. Most people that deploy solar panels only do it when it would be safe or practical to open the cargo doors (or discard fairings if using mods), so that isn't an issue at all. EDIT: And actually, the panel would just clip through anyway because it's part of the same craft, so doubly not an issue!

The only real concern with adding this is the limited number of keys on a keyboard, and the fact that not all craft use deployable solar panels. But then again, not all craft use landing gear, abort systems, lights, etc. and I think it is an acceptable loss for using a key.

Edited November 13, 2014 by Alshain

[Justin Kerbice]

There is one problem... cargo bays and payload crafts with solar panels.

No if Squad do smart things, ie don't trigger any actions from so called "payload" (maybe it would need a new vessel type "payload", fully inactive when coupled, tank can't be drained, EC stay in batteries, RW/SAS does nothing, ...)

[Tuareg]

No if Squad do smart things, ie don't trigger any actions from so called "payload" (maybe it would need a new vessel type "payload", fully inactive when coupled, tank can't be drained, EC stay in batteries, RW/SAS does nothing, ...)

this would be great...

[arkie87]

There is one problem... cargo bays and payload crafts with solar panels.

The same problem might happen if payload has landing gear or landing struts. Auto-action groups, like landing gear, can be edited in the action group window to exclude specific items, but the idea is default, a special action group should exist for solar panels.

I agree with OP.

[bv1]

There is one problem... cargo bays and payload crafts with solar panels.

This can happen with payload crafts with landing gear, and nobody is complaining.

I think that it would be wonderful to have a special button just for solar panels. They could even make it into the GUI next to the altimeter, where the lights/brakes/gear buttons are already.

[Laie]

No if Squad do smart things, ie don't trigger any actions from so called "payload" (maybe it would need a new vessel type "payload", fully inactive when coupled, tank can't be drained, EC stay in batteries, RW/SAS does nothing, ...)

Could be too smart. I like to place my own vessel's batteries & stuff inside a cargo bay. I wouldn't like it if everything inside a bay was inert by default.

Right now, my contraption to attach cargo in the bay also includes one structural panel in order to prevent fuel crossfeed. Makes life a lot easier.

[CaptainKipard]

I'm pretty sure animated parts can collide with other parts on a ship, so you could and should be allowed to open up solar panels inside a cargo bay, but at the cost of destroying them,.. which is how it should be. I'm in favour of this.

[Superfluous J]

I support this as well. I have no problem with panels clipping through a ship though, and think destroying them for doing so is unnecessarily mean to the player.

A simple addition to the right-click menu on solar panels, under "Extend" or "Retract" that is "Extend All" or "Retract All" would be fine.

[CaptainKipard]

I have no problem with panels clipping through a ship though, and think destroying them for doing so is unnecessarily mean to the player.

So is crashing, and people seem to love that. I don't see a difference; you'd have to revert either way.

[Laie]

I have no problem with panels clipping through a ship though, and think destroying them for doing so is unnecessarily mean to the player.

So is crashing, and people seem to love that. I don't see a difference; you'd have to revert either way.

Point is that there is no notice. Crashes are immediately obvious, and if the panels clip through the bay and are ripped off because of aerodynamics, you at least have a chance to see it. But leaving the shards in the cargo bay until the player opens the box isn't nice.

[CaptainKipard]

Point is that there is no notice. Crashes are immediately obvious, and if the panels clip through the bay and are ripped off because of aerodynamics, you at least have a chance to see it. But leaving the shards in the cargo bay until the player opens the box isn't nice.

Alright, my comment was a bit offhand, but the solution is to have a ticker with those events. Astronauts have alarms for all sorts of things. Why don't we?