# Usage
## Flying the Ship
The left lever on the center console controls backwards thrust (braking) and the right lever controls forward thrust.
| Interface | Function |
|---|---|
| `ForwardThrust` | Current forward thrust, maximum of 10,000 units |
| `Cruise` | Activates cruise control, forward thrust will not reset to zero unless turned down. |
| `Turtle`, `TurtleRate` | Activates turtle mode which sets forward thrust to a maximum limit of `TurtleRate` (percent) of full thrust. |
| `Sloth`, `Sensitivity` | Activates sloth mode which sets yaw and pitch thrust to a maximum limit of `Sensitivity` (percent) of full thrust. |
| `Aim` | Reduces the response time of key presses for pitch and yaw. |
| `ID` | Toggle for the transponder. |
| `Distance` & `Range` | Distance for rangefinder. `Range` toggles the rangefinders.|
| `Scan`, `Material`, & `Credits` | Material scanning controls. See [Scanning Asteroids](#scanning-asteroids). |
| `Approach`, `Beam`, `Load`, `Unload`, `Load Position`, Cargo `Load` & `Toggle` | Cargo loading controls. See [Loading Asteroids](#loading-asteroids). |
| `StrengthFactor` | Current strength of ship. May fluctuate as ore crates are filled. Anything below 1.0 means ship is damaged. |
| `DurabilityErrors` | Number of durability errors on the ship. If the asteroids are not position correctly it may cause errors |
| `Timer` | See [Timer](#timer). |
## Managing Power and Fuel
| Interface | Function |
|---|---|
| `Propellant` | Total propellant remaining in propellant tanks, maximum of 10,000,000 units. |
| `Battery` | Shows current battery charge of the batteries, maximum of 10,000 units. |
| `Generator` | Current generator rate, maximum of 100%. |
| `Min Generator Rate` & `Min Gen` | Toggle and sets minimum generator rate. See [Managing Power](#managing-power). |
| `HeatTransferRate` | Current heat transfer rate of the heat sinks, maximum of 100%. |
| `StoredHeat` | Current stored heat in the heat sinks, maximum of 15,000 units. |
| `Fuel Rod 1`, `Fuel Rod 2`, `Fuel Rod 3`, `Fuel Rod 4` | Total fuel remaining on fuel rods, maximum of 300,000 units each. |
| `Shutdown` | Will turn off all fuel chambers thus shutting down generators. |
### Managing Power
By default the generator will only run and ramp up when the batteries need charging so there is minimum management needed. But you can set a minimum generate rate by setting the `Min Generator Rate` value using the switch for the minimum rate and turning on `Min Gen`.
## Scanning Asteroids
`Scan` turns on the material scanner. The beam has a range of 100m.
Point the beam at an asteroid and `Material` will show the materials in the asteroid along with the volume of each in stacks.
`Credits` will show the _estimated_ amount of credits you will get for the asteroid if you drop it off at Origin stations.
The calculation is 158.8% (worked out this with testing) of the cost of ore of the vendor price. **This only has data for safe zone materials.** The total volume of the asteroid in Mv is also shown.
## Loading Asteroids
Approach an asteroid by pointing the center rangefinder at an asteroid and activating `Approach`. This will guide the ship to around 10m of the asteroid.
To load asteroids, activate `Beam` to activate tractor beam and point the beam at an asteroid. Once the beam has locked on, use `Load` to use beam to load to a compartment.
The back compartment should be loaded first followed by the left and right back and finally the the front compartments.
**The loading of the a compartment will not activate if cargo lock beam of the compartments in front of it is activated**.
Once the asteroid is in place the cargo lock beam should activate itself and the tractor beam will reset. If it does not activate for any reason, you can use `Toggle` to active the cargo lock beam manually and it will also reset the tractor beam.
All these can be done the automated `Load` function. Point the center rangefinder at the asteroid you wish to load and activate `Load`. This is activate `Approach`, `Scan` and `Beam` as well as smartly activating the `Load` of the right compartment. So you can just use `Load` each time and it will load the asteroids to the right compartment in the right order.
As of version 1.0.2, asteroids can also be loaded faster from the sides, by setting the `Load Position` to the left or right. Loading from the right can only load to the back and right back compartments and loading from the left can only load the left back compartment.
For safety, loading from the sides can only be activated if the cargo compartments on its respective sides are empty.
Also the ship will not spin to the side when using `Approach` automatically, so this has to be done manually. `Load` can be used once the beam has locked on.
`Unload` will turn of all cargo lock beams.
## Other Stuff
### Timer
On the pilot center console there is a `Timer` panel which acts as a timer. It will run when the ship is active and show total time in years, weeks, days, hours, minutes and seconds. To reset the timer, use your universal tool (`U` key) and clear the value of the `Timer` field.