Flight of Nova guide, how to intercept orbital stations

[@eikopoppy29]

This guide also works for MISSIONS to higher-altitude orbital stations with the following modifications: 1. You must manually travel to a location within a fraction of a degree of the equator to launch from. 2. You don't get an atmospheric waymark, you must manually ascend with an FPA of 50 degrees. In practice this is very similar to holding your pitch angle (AoE) at about 51 degrees or so. 3. You don't get the green bars, you must check the cockpit instruments for AP and inclination. Raise AP to near the station orbital altitude and keep Inclination at 0. This only works for actual missions that the game gives you. For a general-purpose guide for intercepting stations without having a mission, please see: kzbin.info/www/bejne/Z4GWZYmagZtniMk

[@Levicivita-o3u]

I just came here to thank you for your tutorial. I had tried this mission for 3 days and failed. Just right before I gave up, I found this video. The part on 9:18 was the missing part I needed to know. I just did prograde burn right after FPA graph turns green. Then the station become too far away to catch in time. So I had used main thruster rather than RCS and as you know, it just made everything worse. After following your tutorial, I instantly succeeded not only to rendezvous the station properly but also to dock at the designated port. While I had made several successful rendezvous orbit on KSP, doing everything same while cramped inside the cockpit rather than in the mission control really made it harder for me. Thank you for your help. It literally helped me to move to next tutorial

[@eikopoppy29]

Thanks for your comment! I'm glad the video helped, and congrats on making it to the station. With that you'll be ready for the Rogue Mode update that's coming out in a couple of days.

[@stiLLa2000]

i didnt expect such a detailed and in depth tutorial!

[@WarHawkAU24]

Well I was lost with the "tutorial" but now I have an idea of what to do! Thank you!

[@imbariegh]

thank you for taking the time and updating your previous excellent guide with this new technique. This excellent game needs some learning material.

[@EyeDentify]

Thanks a bunch for this video. Made some things much more clear for me. i have stumbled on this training mission for a while. 😀

[@DarqIce]

Oh, this is so much like Orbiter Space Sim, only better, smoother, prettier! Need to get this. What you explained is no news to me, but well done! Good to see the author managed to squash the learning curve to a few key indicators vs the geek MFD heaven that is Orbiter. Still, basic knowledge of orbital dynamics is well revommended.

[@DarqIce]

Yeah, I'm gonna update my opinion here. While it's nicer and all that, it gives you a lot less info. It's mostly based on trial and error. Like reentry. Initially, I used the same approach as in Orbiter - deorbit burn, deceleration through atmosphere and got killed a lot of times... And even if I made it through, I was never even near the target base.... It's quite obvious by how the game sets up the reentry though: letting you undock when the target is like a few thousand km away instead of being almost on the other side of the planet - which you'd need for a realistic reentry, so your approach of reverse powered drop and simply "stopping" in mid air then flying towards your target does seem the best.. If the game had a more dedicated reentry MFD that would at least tell you more accurately than that small orbital diagram, where your trajectory would enter atmosphere and where (how far) down the path you will land that'd be helpful in planning and hitting the vicinity of your surface target. But I guess if the dev has enough time on his hands, he'll add all this down the line...

[@eikopoppy29]

@@DarqIce It's currently trial and error, yeah. But really you only need to do one test and then subtract or add however many km you were off by. For me I know I begin my deorbit at 400km from the target if I'm in a 140km orbit, and 600km if I'm in a 180km orbit. That's just what works for me and the way I like to do a mostly powered re-entry that still has a few km/s when hitting the atmosphere. When the game is finished I'd hope we'll have at least a readout of the projected lat/long of the impact point, and also some way to target a ground location that would help you remember what its coordinates are rather than needing to memorize them or write them down earlier.

[@DarqIce]

@@eikopoppy29 Yup. (Thanks for your replies btw, not used to getting much feedback in YT comments). It's really subjective though - some people like experimenting, some like it nerdy in MFSs, but I like it half-way - some sort of rectangular guides to show you your projected drop-path (think ILS in MSFS), where you simply pick a target and it calculates and displays it for you... Hopefully, the dev can get around to it, coz it probably is a PiA to code that :) Also, are there any autopilots on the horizen? I don't have a controller/HOTAS, so I'm basically landing with numerical keyboard. Which is fine for land bases, but becomes REALLY difficult with the flying freighters (I remember one even has the landing pad sandwiched between decks)... Some kind of autohover, where you'd adjust the altitude with up/down keys and lateral movement with yaw/pitch keys would make life not only easier, but also more realistic within the game world. I mean, if you have such powerful engines, you can deorbit by simply stopping, surely you must have autopilots for almost anything, right :)

[@eikopoppy29]

@@DarqIce ILS-like guidance would be neat. I'd like to see something like that too. But yeah I imagine it isn't high on the dev's priority list. The lack of automation/assists is, I'm pretty sure, an intentional decision. And my guess is there will be some story explanation of it eventually (post-AI-war civ or something). But a few months ago in the discord there was a conversation about VTOL specifically and whether F35-style computer-assisted hovering could ever be an option. The dev mentioned it was something he'd consider adding as a toggle in the options, but didn't commit to doing it or say how long it would take.

[@DarqIce]

@@eikopoppy29 Maybe at some point he might decide to allow for mod development. It's done wonders for the Orbiter Sim community - extra ships, stations, MFDs, sounds, liveries, you name it.

[@jawshbawx1483]

This was the one that finally enabled me to figure this out. Thank you 😂

[@eikopoppy29]

I'm glad to hear that!

[@matthewharris3131]

Excellent video. But just to be clear for anyone else watching and confused, the yellow "Local" icon isn't "were you are going" as such (in the video, you are in fact moving in the opposite direction to the Local icon when it's initially pointing at the space station), it's the direction you are going in RELATIVE to the local object (i.e. the space station).

[@eikopoppy29]

Yes, it's an important distinction but I just didn't want to be overly confusing in the video since it's already long and has a lot of information. :)

[@eikopoppy29]

To be even more specific, the blue prograde vector shows your relative motion to the planet you're in the SoI of. The yellow one shows it vs the station you're targeting. You also have one relative to the sun which isn't displayed unless you move at least 7.5 million km away from NVA, and IRL you'd also have a different one relative to the galaxy center, etc.

[@alaintremblay7215]

thank you,very best guide

[@matthewwagner47]

Looks fun. Not a game for a casual gamer. This looks it gets very challenging. Would like to see more videos

[@iamflartebartfarst]

Hey Eiko, thanks for this video, it is an excellent guide and has helped me a lot :)

[@PaulodeMelo]

Kerbal Space Program 3 is looking pretty sweet

[@dons3006]

From playing Reentry An Orbital Simulator Gemini missions where you rendezvous with the Agena, you want to be in a lower orbit to out pace the docking vehicle that’s in a higher orbit. If you in this case were lower and ahead of the station it seems counter intuitive that the station would be catching you. It seems like you should’ve been running away from the station unless I’m missing something.

[@eikopoppy29]

I briefly mentioned that in the video but it's because my orbit wasn't circular at the time. Technically I was still suborbital so that's why it seemed weird.

[@cmdrefstathiusplacidus9003]

just bought this last week, I am excited the dev team is controlling scope creep. Going to see if you reentry vids. There doesnt seem to be much on that.

[@eikopoppy29]

Thanks for your comment, I agree about scope creep. You can find my video on reentry and a couple others here: kzbin.info/aero/PL6GTeYfmkb5sMaFcm2-OSk2byJ2k-Rm5q

[@Newnski]

I tried to do this last night, nearly lost my mind

[@eikopoppy29]

If you're still having trouble with it I'd be happy to answer any questions. Or feel free to come chat in the discord, people are pretty helpful.

[@krekyification]

can you move camera around in cockpit

[@eikopoppy29]

If you mean look up/down/left/right: Yes, if you're using a controller it defaults to right stick like you'd probably expect. If you use keyboard or a HOTAS setup you might have to bind it manually. Also if you have a head tracker you can use that. If you mean change your pilot position: Not unless you have a head tracker, for now. Hopefully keybinds will be added in the future for this.

[@stiLLa2000]

thanks mate!

[@Chris.Davies]

What I notice in the videos is that scale is poorly handled in this game. The ship has little to indicate scale, and the windows appear to make the craft look a lot smaller than it is. Judging altitude by eye looks to be almost impossible, as the structures and terrain show nothing to indicate scale either. But at least it doesn't feel like Turrets-In-Space which is what a lot of space flying/fighting games feel like.

[@eikopoppy29]

When near the ground, I agree with this. The ship and buildings are much larger than they seem (to me, intuitively). Some of the skyscrapers are multiple kilometers tall. However, in practice it really doesn't matter because you get used to flying visually regardless of what the absolute scale is.

[@matthewwagner47]

Turn your lights on , see their is other craft drifting around.

[@JennerNuwen32]

I've tried getting to orbit like 5 times and can't seem to pull it off. Ug. I seem to recall not having this much trouble when I played a year ago, but I'm out of practice I guess. I can do the tutorial intercept, but when I'm doing it in Rogue Mode I always mess up. Wind up in orbit with the station like 1.3 thousand km out and receding.

[@eikopoppy29]

Hmm, it's hard to know what's going wrong without being able to see it or more information (there's so many ways it can happen). If it's working in the tutorial, but not in rogue mode, maybe you have an advanced launch window turned on? Check in the game settings and turn it off (if it's on) and then it will work the same in rogue mode as it does in the training mission. -- If that's not it, we might be able to help in the discord. You can post some screenshots or a recording of what you're doing and get advice about it.

[@JennerNuwen32]

​So I did have advanced mode turned on. Not sure if that's what was up, but I was able to dock after trying again. As it seemed like I was always arriving at my target orbit and circularizing too late, I launched about a minute before the launch window manager thought I should. After launching early I was able to rendevouz with Hayden station. Thank you for replying and offeringto help! @eikopoppy29

[@JennerNuwen32]

I tried again a few more times and I do believe you were right about the advanced mode. Once that was off it was working much better for me. Thanks again!@@eikopoppy29

[@76Sulaco]

I wish you could have those four bars that need to be kept green outside the training as well. I’m really struggling.

[@eikopoppy29]

All the information is available, just in different places. Altitude and FPA are on the right of the HUD. Speed is on the left. Apoapsis and inclination are on the main display when it's in the right mode. And they're all on the 3rd-person HUD as well. You just need to remember the right numbers to keep them at.

[@Cyberrante2]

do you think i can actually put this in my resume if i ever apply for NASA? mastering this game's mechanics kinda means you know about legit aereospacial stuff 😅😅

[@tsmspace]

There's enough fuel to do it "wrong" once you know what sort of thing to do.

[@vincentmajerowicz9507]

In alpha maps, now it says to find the lost objects located at east and southeast of base 85. I am having trouble finding the objects. Any idea? Thanks!

[@eikopoppy29]

Basically you just fly in the direction it says, and after not too long you'll start hearing some beeping. The beeping gets faster the closer you are to the object, so you have to just search around until you find it using the beeping as a guide. Make sure you have your sound turned on for the game, because other than the audio there's no other way to tell when you're close.

[@371E]

Very helpfull, thank you!

[@zephirdreadnout6295]

good and all, except that if you launch the way the author of this video does, you stall out and die or go "too off course". Did you mod your game or smt?

[@eikopoppy29]

(Edit: Talking in discord about this -- looks like it might be a bug with kb/m controls...)

[@motorheadrocker6504]

If i understand correct, you need some joystick or gamepad to play this game?

[@eikopoppy29]

It's technically possible to play with only a keyboard, or keyboard/mouse. However the game developer recommends using either a controller or HOTAS, and I agree it's best played with one. I don't have a HOTAS myself, I play with an Xbox elite 2 controller.

[@motorheadrocker6504]

@@eikopoppy29 Thank you for t he quick answer! So you find, that Xbox elite 2 controller had enough axis and buttons to provide normal control for this game?

[@eikopoppy29]

@@motorheadrocker6504 Yes, I'd recommend it as a good controller. The only issue is that you won't have an axis for yaw.* But I haven't found that to be a major problem. *I guess you could theoretically use the right stick, but I don't recommend that.

[@motorheadrocker6504]

@@eikopoppy29 May i ask you some about this game? It looks very interesting for me. I try demo, and now i think about buying full version of this game. Is there any possibility to turn on light in the cockpit? Also, is there clickable cockpit in full version?

[@eikopoppy29]

@@motorheadrocker6504 The lights are always on and there's only one display that you can interact with (the FMS, you can zoom in on it and use it to select missions and navigation). You can control some of the other MFDs with physical buttons, but not by clicking on them in-game. I don't know if more systems management or clickable cockpit buttons will be added or not. The next update looks like it will focus on improving the terrain generator and textures. (FWIW, I think the game is great and definitely worth the price for the full version, although it's a long way from finished).

[@UnitSe7en]

TVV. Total Velocity Vector.

[@shayminthedoctor9663]

I made it to the station and got killed by space debris :/

[@eikopoppy29]

Ouch D: Well at least that means you got within a few km of the station, which is like 95% of the way to success. That space debris is something I didn't really mention directly in this video; but that's one reason why you want to be like 50 m/s at most within 3 km of the station. Come in facing toward the station using reverse RCS to slow down, so you can see those bits of debris far enough in advance to dodge them if one ends up in your path. IMO Greenhouse is the most dangerous station in that regard, with a bunch of debris right between the main station and the asteroid.

[@shayminthedoctor9663]

@@eikopoppy29 yeah I was doing a slowdown burn but I misjudged how much room I had. Figured I'd just overshoot a bit and correct from there but Lol no

[@Matthew.1994]

i hope moons will be a thing

[@eikopoppy29]

Me too, and other planets.

[@Matthew.1994]

@@eikopoppy29 but maybe first some mote orbital mechanics and Hud displays :D like time to Ap or Pe and radial in / out stuff

[@eikopoppy29]

@@Matthew.1994 This sort of information will be very important if we ever get stations with inclined/eccentric orbits, or missions to intercept other ships. Currently, the only orbits you'll be interested in going to are circular and equatorial, but I hope that will change eventually!

[@Matthew.1994]

@@eikopoppy29 ye but time to Ap and Pe is important, in my opinion, for good circular orbits^^ so you know when to burn exactly

[@eikopoppy29]

You can use FPA (it will be 0), or TA (it will be 0 or 180), for that. But agreed! More information is always better.