# 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. |
| `Distance` & `Range` | Distance for rangefinder. `Range` toggles the rangefinders.|
| `Scan`, `Material`, & `Credits` | Material scanning controls. See [Scanning Asteroids](#scanning-asteroids). |
| `Approach`, `Beam`, `Unload`, `Load`, 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`, `Fuel Rod 5`, `Fuel Rod 6`, `Fuel Rod 7`, `Fuel Rod 8` | Total fuel remaining on fuel rods, maximum of 300,000 units each. |
| `Shutdown` | Will turn off all fuel chambers thus shutting down generators. |
| `ID` | Toggle for the transponder. |
### 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` of either side 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.
`Unload` will turn of all cargo lock beams on either side.
## 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.