The Kerbal Space Program (KSP) Thread

[BrightCandle]

I think the engineer mod is something that should just be in the game from the outset. Simply showing you the delta V of each stage goes an enormous way to allowing you to design a rocket and payload that is likely to make it to the target and do so relatively economically. It in my opinion is one of the few mods I just consider essential.

 

[norseamd]

Remember to conserve fuel in the lower atmosphere. Dont try and go too fast through it by burning your engines 100%. keep it steady and moving, but the rule of thumb I use is not to exceed 120m/s until I hit the thinner stage of atmosphere. Engines burn longer like this. Once I burn the first stage and am through the thicker atmosphere, I begin my turn towards 90 degrees.

so should i do this?

what about solid fuel boosters? i usually use them on the eraly stages of any rocket stack

 

[shortylickens]

It depends a LOT on aerodynamics and mass/density/thrust but the general rule is no faster than 150 m/s while under 10 thousand meters. I suspect if you had some of those engineering mods you could better see when you were wasting fuel.

I know one thing, if you are seeing those white contrails you are DEFINITELY going too fast for the atmosphere.

 

[norseamd]

what i want in mods i will use

electromagnetic propulsion
resource gathering (mining and harvesting)
space outposts and colonization

 

[norseamd]

have any of you guys tried the kethane or intersteller mods

 

[norseamd]

what 90 science technology should i research

 

[_Rick_]

what 90 science technology should i research

Try to unlock as many science modules as possible first, then focus on being able to get mass into orbit (Rockomax parts) or making landers/rovers, depending on whether you want to start with minmus/mun lander missions, or extra-Kerbin planetary orbit missions.

 

[BrightCandle]

I played with the kethane mod and the one thing that annoyed me about it was you needed to watch the scanner. Rather than just stick an astroid on a polar orbit and leave it a few days to show methane you had to be attached to the astroid and watch it. A low orbit is thus not a good idea. But other than that it seemed to work. Did successfully do a landing and refuel on the mun using it but didn't go any further with it and uninstalled with the last update.

 

[JamesV]

It depends a LOT on aerodynamics and mass/density/thrust but the general rule is no faster than 150 m/s while under 10 thousand meters. I suspect if you had some of those engineering mods you could better see when you were wasting fuel.

I know one thing, if you are seeing those white contrails you are DEFINITELY going too fast for the atmosphere.

I try to limit myself to under 200 before my first turn, but the better thing to watch out for is a steady climb instead of max speed.

You want your speed increasing as you climb, so I try to keep mine at around a 1 meter per second climb. If I'm already at or over 200 mps, most likely due to solid boosters, I still keep my craft climbing at 1 mps.

If I'm launching something massive (8+ mainsails), I actually want it into space as fast as possible, and don't care at all how quickly I'm accelerating. By far, the largest thrust you will have on a massive ship is the thrust to leave Kerbin's atmosphere, and if you don't get it out with those main engines, you will have a hell of a time trying to get an orbit with lesser engines/thrust.

 

[TallBill]

Meh

 

[BrightCandle]

The solid boosters are less efficient for weight in terms of total push you get, but what they give you is more thrust to weight ratio compared to the liquid rockets. So you only need solid booster rockets when your lower stage can't achieve enough push to get you off the ground and to 200 m/s at 10k and still have enough push at the beginning of the gravity turn. So you will want to avoid solid boosters unless you have the problem of having too little thrust to get off the ground.

 

[pontifex]

I got Kerbal since it was 40% off. However I'm a bit confused. Seems that a lot stuff I remember from the demo I played awhile back is missing or changed.

Seems like a lot parts are not even there to use? Or do you have to unlock them through the career mode?

The next question is about career mode. I start it and it just puts me in the overview of all the buildings. It doesn't tell me what I need to do or where to go... I figured career mode would have a sort of story or at least series of missions to do???

I see some parts that look like you can build a jet, but the wing parts are small or don't make sense to use with the other parts. whats going on there?

Also it seems like a lot of people use mods. I usually watch Robbaz's videos and he has a ton of parts to choose from.

 

[BrightCandle]

The career mode is half finished. You can get research to get the parts but there isn't a useful tutorial or anything yet to guide you into the game. I wouldn't personally start playing like that, instead just open the sandbox game and start playing there to learn the concepts and the game.

 

[JamesV]

I got Kerbal since it was 40% off. However I'm a bit confused. Seems that a lot stuff I remember from the demo I played awhile back is missing or changed.

Seems like a lot parts are not even there to use? Or do you have to unlock them through the career mode?

The next question is about career mode. I start it and it just puts me in the overview of all the buildings. It doesn't tell me what I need to do or where to go... I figured career mode would have a sort of story or at least series of missions to do???

I see some parts that look like you can build a jet, but the wing parts are small or don't make sense to use with the other parts. whats going on there?

Also it seems like a lot of people use mods. I usually watch Robbaz's videos and he has a ton of parts to choose from.

I'm not sure if the demo still uses SAS/ASAS, but if it does, then yes a lot has changed.

As for career, go into the VAB (rocket assembly building), and you'll only see a very limited selection of parts. Using those, you get science points which allow you to unlock other parts tree-style. The science tree is in another building.

At first, just put a pod on the launch pad, and right click the pod to get a crew report (science), then you can EVA and get a ground sample for more science. The Launchpad, grounds around it, and the runway all count as different biomes, as do mountains, deserts, shorelines, etc.

As you unlock more of the tree, try to focus a bit on the bottom that opens up new science parts.

 

[JamesV]

Squad (the devs) went full retard.

There isn't going to be a new Spaceport to download mods... they are transferring everything to Curse believe it or not.

Why they won't give the majority of their users (Steam users) a Workshop is really starting to irritate me. They want a central place to download mods, but any mod could easily be uploaded to Curse for those without Steam.

I am just pulling this info out of the air, but I'm betting at least 80% of the players are on Steam. Curse; no thank you.

 

[Revolution 11]

The game is on sale (40% off) for about $16.50 today. Get it on Steam if you are interested.

 

[shortylickens]

Finally got my astronauts back from Dres.
took 4 and a half years. And I ignored them for about 2 months while working on small, orbital projects.

When they got back the little green peckers didnt have much science for some reason. I guess I must have transmitted it all during the trip.

Fun Fact:
My space program is now 20 years old, and I've had at least one satellite in orbit for 12.

UP NEXT....... MUNBASE!


:awe:

 

[Ruptga]

I got this a couple weeks ago. So far I have everything researched and have been to mun, minmus, duna, ike, eeloo, and I have a ship landed on Moho. Moho was the hardest by far, with its small sphere of influence and tilted eccentric orbit.

Still, even weird orbits like that are easier than building and driving rovers of any real size. Any place with an atmosphere will also have enough gravity that it's not too bad, but try building a rover around a science lab and its experiments, then try driving it from biome to biome on mun. It's awful, even with careful use of SAS and RCS you're either going to be traveling everywhere at less than 10m/s or you're going to be loading quicksaves constantly. For biome hopping you're better off building a small, basic science lander with 48-7S, LV-N, or aerospike engines and docking it with a science lab/tanker in low orbit.

 

[shortylickens]

Yeah I found that out the hard way. Science over multiple biomes is a pain. Also, that science module doesnt give you a hundred percent, so either way you are making multiple trips.

I actually found it easier to make a multi-lander trip and hope to god each of them can get back home safely with just a little bit of fuel.

 

[shortylickens]

This was something I just made up now. I couldnt find my original.
Basically you wanna grab as many soil samples as possible, because thats the most difficult task. You can not get full value for transmitting soil data, even with a science module. And you can only hold so much soil per astronaut, per command module. Everything else is either unmanned, or can be transmitted at 100%.

I like to make sure I get as much data as possible from a single trip. So I've got 4 materials bays, and 12 of every other item.
4 comm arrays arent needed, I just do it for redundancy and weight balance. As ungainly as that thing looks, it will fly straight. Obviously the engines would go below. I didn't bother with that cuz it varies for each mission. Eve and Duna require a hell of a lot more fuel than Mun and Minmus, of course. I'd probably use little radial engines on each fuel tank, for landing, and moving to other biomes. The hard part would be conserving fuel so I could take off again and make it back home. But if something goes wrong I'd transmit as much data as possible before destroying the ship from the tracking center.

Solar power and batteries should generally be excessive. I find the added weight it usually worth it. RCS on the other hand is something that cannot be replenished and lately I've been ignoring that in favor of SAS modules, which are unlimited if you have batteries and solar panels.

That particular vessel could also do with some little colored lights. Theres tons of mod packs for such things and I highly recommend them.
Oh, and I guess a few big lights pointed straight down so I can land on the dark side of planets and muns.

I guess I could replace the cupola module in the middle with a satellite probe core instead.

 

[Ruptga]

Kerbals in EVA can collect data from any part and can deposit data in any command module or science lab, and science labs can hold multiple copies of the same experiment type. I never transmit anything but crew reports, but I always bring a lab so I can at least do science in orbit, store it, and do science again on the ground. Leaving a lab/tanker in orbital makes for a lot of docking, but mechjeb makes it tolerable. Rcs does add extra weight, but it helps when trying to hit a flat spot on landing, and docking isn't possible without it. Otherwise, sas is definitely the way to go.

If your next project is a munbase you should look at KAS. It adds parts that let you (in eva) dock ships regardless of their orientation or height. It's extremely handy and much easier than getting docking ports to line up.

 

[BurnItDwn]

So, I've been following this game for a couple years now, I picked up the demo when I 1st heard about it here on AT. Then I ordered it like the very next day when it was version .7 or .8. They put the game on steam last year, I played around it with it some more ... I sort of put it on the back burner, for a while, and have started playing KSP again, this time trying out the Career mode. WOW it's certainly matured quite a bit. I can actually build ships with like 400 parts and the game is decently playable on my machine (same machine on earlier alphas could usually only handle about 200-300 parts.) The struts and such that hold everything together seem much stronger. Everything seems more fluid. I am really loving how many of the mods have matured. This is really turning out to be a fvcking awesome awesome package. I've been building ships and sending them to Duna and Jool and some have even made it back to Kerbin (though I haven't landed anything on Duna and Jool, just got orbiters out there) ... built my first station (just a fuel depot / lab with one 3x1 adaptor type docking bay ... I've installed KAS, but haven't really tinkered with it yet ...

Overall, I was impressed with the demo when I tried it. I was impressed with the progress the last couple times I tried it. And, lately, with .23, I am even more impressed. Squad has really done incredible work, and the community as a whole has really contributed a lot with the mods. Tis awesome.

 

[JamesV]

This was something I just made up now. I couldnt find my original.
Basically you wanna grab as many soil samples as possible, because thats the most difficult task. You can not get full value for transmitting soil data, even with a science module. And you can only hold so much soil per astronaut, per command module. Everything else is either unmanned, or can be transmitted at 100%.

I like to make sure I get as much data as possible from a single trip. So I've got 4 materials bays, and 12 of every other item.
4 comm arrays arent needed, I just do it for redundancy and weight balance. As ungainly as that thing looks, it will fly straight. Obviously the engines would go below. I didn't bother with that cuz it varies for each mission. Eve and Duna require a hell of a lot more fuel than Mun and Minmus, of course. I'd probably use little radial engines on each fuel tank, for landing, and moving to other biomes. The hard part would be conserving fuel so I could take off again and make it back home. But if something goes wrong I'd transmit as much data as possible before destroying the ship from the tracking center.

Solar power and batteries should generally be excessive. I find the added weight it usually worth it. RCS on the other hand is something that cannot be replenished and lately I've been ignoring that in favor of SAS modules, which are unlimited if you have batteries and solar panels.

That particular vessel could also do with some little colored lights. Theres tons of mod packs for such things and I highly recommend them.
Oh, and I guess a few big lights pointed straight down so I can land on the dark side of planets and muns.

I guess I could replace the cupola module in the middle with a satellite probe core instead.

My last big mission was like that. Went to Eve and it's moons, grabbed samples from three moons, along with EVA reports everywhere, and mat and goo from each moon (except Gilly - try landing on it lol). Landed a probe on Eve that transmitted - not ready to try and land Kerbals on Eve, hit all moons, and then return... that is going to be one huge mission.

Launch - yea, it's big



EVA to Gilly - took me almost two hours to do this and rendezvous back with the ship .



Landed on Kerbin.



Fuel was pretty good, but I totally overdid the Eve lander; barely touched the fuel on it. Back on Kerbin with 4x mat, 4x goo, 3x different moon samples, high/low/landed EVA reports for all, 4x temp/other gauges. Payday with the Eve transmission was like 4.5k science.

Can't wait for the next update, it's been a long time.

 

[Ruptga]

version .24 is out, lots of changes.
http://forum.kerbalspaceprogram.com/content/296-KSP-First-Contract-(v0-24-0)-Complete-Changelog

Good timing on the new content, I was starting to get bored with this.

 

[shortylickens]

Been playing it for a couple hours. Pretty tough. A simple vessel to orbit Mun and come back costs about 17 thousand. They only give you 20 thousand to start.

Luckily I had a ship in orbit already. I did the mission and came back and got a crapload for returning the vessel as well as the mission reward.