Guidance computer - GCL
While the guidance computer is not something you would want to mess with unless you're very well educated in the field, it is still possible - and since you are the owner obviously you should have full control.
I wrote about the guidance computer in an earlier post, and while the functionality still holds true, it has now been updated and expanded.
This is a brief intro to the actual computer.
- The guidance computer. Available whenever a rocket has been transferred to a launchpad.
The guidance computer is always preprogrammed with mission data based on the trajectory solution purchased. But for test flights it wont be. Here it is up to you do program it based on the parameters you want to test thus gaining experience.
It is always possible to change parameters in the guidance computer - even if preprogrammed - to optimize the ascent (or completely destroy it - rockets can be fragile)
Everything can be adjusted through the sliders, that control
- Launch azimuth - our actual heading. This is key to be able to enter the orbit we're aiming for.
- Gravity turn - How we get to the orbit. This is the fragile part, any small change may drastically increase the dynamic pressure potentially exceeding limits and...gone.
- Roll program - Some rocket types need a roll program as explained in my earlier post
These are the "human friendly" parameters, but if you want to dive deeper, you can also use the terminal.
- Guidance computer terminal - GCL (Guidance command language)
Guidance Command Language
The terminal offers more control over the guidance computer using the guidance command language.
Here you can communicate directly with the computer and give it instructions. Some are low level and essentially does what the human friendly sliders do, but you can take it one step further and start diving into changing normally locked parameters.
For instance our gravity turn start altitude (when we initiate our gravity turn) can be set using
- SET
or
- SET +/-
This will effectively change the values. But since the start altitude has a range of 100m to 5km you cannot set an altitude higher or lower than this - unless you program it to accept other values.
If you want to test out something new you can override these limits using:
- OVERRIDE MAX|MIN
Doing so will change the built in limitations, and now you can obtain full control.
- You can type --help to get a list of commands the GCL accepts (Perhaps it accepts more than this...)
And now, the guidance computer went from being a simple slider interface to an actual computer. Most actions in the game can be performed through GCL - so if you like full on nerd mode, I got your back.