Regarding Long Burns and the Tracking Centre

[Wallygator]

I am posting this here as it might just be a gameplay issue rather than a unplanned feature / bug - however, feel free to relocate this if it should be characterised differently.

Maybe others have noticed this and I have only just seen it. If its already registered as known, then please close the thread.

Note ----> I scanned the entire tracker at bugs.kerbalspaceprogram.com and did not see this behaviour explicitly mentioned - so I may be incorrectly assuming this is not a bug.

1) Start a burn with orbiting vessel normally. Leave engine running with orbit ap steadily increasing, hit escape and go to space centre.

2) Choose Tracking Centre. See Vessel in static orbit. Orbit ap and pe not changing.

3) Select vessel, time warp a bit, watch vessel move about the orbit path. Blah blah blah...

4) Select Fly. Camera view changes to orbital, and... Your engines are still on. Regardless that you have warped halfway through your orbit.

Nothings breaking here. Just odd to see such behaviour. Has anyone seen any comments from the Devs or Mods regarding this behaviour (assuming is an unwanted feature or oversight)?

Or is there a hidden setting which affects this?

Regards,

W.

[John FX]

I would say that was a bug. I don't want to come back to a craft and find the engines on although I make sure I turn mine off before changing screens as I am just used to doing that.

[Laie]

Must have been a slow cooker. Normally you can't leave when the vessel is under acceleration.

(You can save, though, and on loading the engines will be running with SAS off.)

[Wallygator]

These were a pair of Nukes BTW. So yes a slow burn. But regardless I would expect the switch to tracking centre to be blocked if the ship is under any acceleration.

Unless there is a known threshold?

EDIT> SAS remains on also.

- - - Updated - - -

I've narrowed this down a bit. Need to get some pics uploaded ad you can see what I'm seeing. It's repeatable and only relevant to long slow burns.

Wait for it...

- - - Updated - - -

Here is a similar burn in progress which allows a switch to the Tracking Centre while engines on...

And here is the limit at which a switch to the Tracking Centre is blocked...

It was just one tap on the up throttle.

Notice the small thrust and TWR rating on both and the acceleration which is slightly over/under 1.0ms, but still you get my point, there is a very very low limit which allows a switch back and forth to the tracking centre while the engine throttle is NOT off.

I think the threshold is near 1.0 m/s acceleration. Needs to be tested i guess. maybe later.

Hope that helps.

- - - Updated - - -

And for the record Jeb LOVES hyperedit for these purposes ;-)

Edited February 17, 2015 by Wallygator
new info

[Laie]

When a vessel is wobbling badly, you may be unable to leave because it is "under acceleration" (1), so yes, I presume there is some mechanism that determines when you are under acceleration or not. And as every vessel is constantly perturbed by something, there must be a threshold when the game assumes that you're not really accelerating. Still, checking for non-zero throttle or currently running engines should be part of the check but apparently isn't.

(1) this also prevents timewarp, so you can't easily steady that shaking vessel.

Edited February 17, 2015 by Laie

[Wallygator]

When a vessel is wobbling badly, you may be unable to leave because it is "under acceleration" (1), so yes, I presume there is some mechanism that determines when you are under acceleration or not. And as every vessel is constantly perturbed by something, there must be a threshold when the game assumes that you're not really accelerating. Still, checking for non-zero throttle or currently running engines should be part of the check but apparently isn't.

(1) this also prevents timewarp, so you can't easily steady that shaking vessel.

Yes - I get that. Have felt with it many time is various versions of KSP ;-)

I have successfully diagnosed the situation and parameters - here goes:

1) Your ship must be accelerating at .98 m/s or less (from what I have observed - I could only get .96, .98 and 1.0 even with throttle adjustment set to .75 max on the tweakable)

2) SAS remains in whatever state it is in.

3) The throttle position remains as you have set it.

4) Fuel is NOT burned while you are in the tracking centre.

This was quite disconcerting to see straight after selecting "Fly" with a very large craft with 2 LVNs burning at FULL thrust (even with acceleration being .96 m/s)

Would be nice to see if someone else can replicate this before I set the thread to answered.