The Kerbal Space Program (KSP) Thread

[QuantumPion]

The contracts for testing experimental parts are kind of dumb. They don't pay much and the conditions required to complete them are so restrictive you pretty much have to make a dedicated launch just for the test.

 

[Harrod]

The contracts for testing experimental parts are kind of dumb. They don't pay much and the conditions required to complete them are so restrictive you pretty much have to make a dedicated launch just for the test.

I kindof wish that they would highlight the parts that you have active contracts on in the shuttle assembly hangers.

 

[Ruptga]

A lot of the procedurally generated missions are that way, like "test a parachute at 10-15km between 150-650m/s" but we don't have to accept every mission that's given. I think. I'm pretty sure we only get a penalty if we take a mission and don't comlete it in time. I started a new save and have had no budget problems at all, but then again I haven't tried to leave LKO yet either.

 

[shortylickens]

I kindof wish that they would highlight the parts that you have active contracts on in the shuttle assembly hangers.

Button on the lower right corner.

 

[Harrod]

Button on the lower right corner.

Thanks, just found it.

 

[SammySu1234]

Would you say this game is worth the money? Is it very time consuming?

 

[Ruptga]

It's thirty bucks, which is worth five hours of minimum wage labor. If you've ever enjoyed Legos or Minecraft, you're going to get way more than five hours out of KSP.

 

[bguile]

The contracts for testing experimental parts are kind of dumb. They don't pay much and the conditions required to complete them are so restrictive you pretty much have to make a dedicated launch just for the test.

I've found some are pretty dumb, and a few are pretty fun.

Testing the rockomax booster while splashed down was fun.

I still haven't figured out though how to fufill contracts like test a certain engine at a certain speeds at certain heights. Even if I get all the criteria met, and activate it the part, pretty soon I fall out of the range of one the requirements and don't fill the contract.

 

[Harrod]

The game is worth the money, probably the only early access game I've ever bought that was glad I purchased.

 

[Ruptga]

I've found some are pretty dumb, and a few are pretty fun.

Testing the rockomax booster while splashed down was fun.

I still haven't figured out though how to fufill contracts like test a certain engine at a certain speeds at certain heights. Even if I get all the criteria met, and activate it the part, pretty soon I fall out of the range of one the requirements and don't fill the contract.

It has to be activated via the staging sequence, throttling up doesn't count. That can be a real pain in the ass, but you can make it work for the current engine by adding a blank stage below your current one, then you just hit space to advance the stage normally. No parts fall off your ship, but it meets the requirements of the mission.

 

[shortylickens]

Or right click on the engine. I set up an orbit within the required range (79k to 93k) and did it at my leisure.

 

[Ruptga]

Ooh, if the engine (or whatever) only has to be activated then you can also do it through a hotkey, just set it to toggle or activate whatever it is.

 

[Ruptga]

I didn't have enough tech to go biome hopping on Mun, so I made a flying lab for biome hopping on Kerbin.

It doesn't quite fly as well as it looks, but it works.
Though, of course, Bob is not impressed.

I have ladders running to the nose, wings, and engines, so I can collect data and repack chutes. TWR is good so it only needs a short takeoff run, especially if there's a low hill to launch off of. Landing is even easier, if a bit sketchy. I just hit a hotkey that disables the engines and pops four parachutes. It lands at about 10m/s, a bit fast, but I'm not going to mess with adding more chutes since it's so hard to balance them properly.

 

[veri745]

I didn't have enough tech to go biome hopping on Mun, so I made a flying lab for biome hopping on Kerbin.

<snip>

I have ladders running to the nose, wings, and engines, so I can collect data and repack chutes. TWR is good so it only needs a short takeoff run, especially if there's a low hill to launch off of. Landing is even easier, if a bit sketchy. I just hit a hotkey that disables the engines and pops four parachutes. It lands at about 10m/s, a bit fast, but I'm not going to mess with adding more chutes since it's so hard to balance them properly.

Nice. I approve

 

[shortylickens]

OK, I think the missions might be too easy now.

I already had one probe each around several planets and moons. Now all I have to do it select one of the Data From Orbit missions and make an easy 100k in about 2 minutes. As many as there are, I can just keep cycling those over and over.

Was worried I wouldn't have enough cash on hand for massive rockets, now I see that isnt a concern.

 

[Ruptga]

Kerb rescue missions are also very easy, even if you're on a new save and don't have probes everywhere. Between all that and this handy mod, which allows the easy recovery of launch stages (and other stuff), money isn't much of a consideration. But they just introduced this new economy, and the game is still in alpha, so all that's really to be expected.

Oh and I also found this parachute calculator, which is great for landers or that stage recovery mod.

 

[JamesV]

Fast forward time to get new contracts; I got one that is 'test the landing gear bay on Kerbin'. Slapped a landing gear bay on a probe pod.... launched, and did the test as my two piece rocket toppled over.

72 science.

Some are really hard, some stupidly easy. I'd rather do any of these than gather all science from each Kerbin biome for the grand payoff of 20 something science though.

Like the direction, but for an update that took four months (?), I expected more. The contract text is amateurish at best for example. Random text splices in four months? That is what it amounts to isn't it?

 

[Ruptga]

I think they spent most of their time working on mechanics and under-the-hood stuff, I'd expect refinements to come in the next patch. At least, that's how I'd go about it; I suppose nobody actually knows what they're up to.

Development does seem stupidly slow though, especially since they already have money coming in from this product.

 

[shortylickens]

Finally making the long trip to Jool.

Will land on two moons, then settle on the planet. Going to net me about 1 million credits or so. And some good science.


But even with the web based calculators I have a heck of a time intersecting distant planets. Would Mechjeb help me at all?

 

[Ruptga]

Mechjeb does have a "transfer to planet" computer. As long as your orbit's eccentricity is below .2 and your orbit is within 20 degrees of being on-plane, mechjeb will take you anywhere.

 

[shortylickens]

God damn, how the hell did I go this long without Mechjeb??
Manually flying is for suckers!



Oh, and I didnt land on Jool but instead set up a nice orbit. One day I'll need to take astronauts over there and plant a flag or something. Or maybe it was just the moons that need flags. But its gotta happen eventually.

 

[Ruptga]

About the only things Mechjeb won't do is gravity assists, and multiple maneuvers at once. You can queue maneuver nodes, but I haven't found a way to make it change the periapsis and inclination in one burn, for example.

Jool is a gas giant though, anything that reaches its "surface" either gets destroyed by the game's physics breaking down, or it just glitches out and corrupts your save.

 

[JamesV]

I've officially found the hardest thing to do in the game (I don't use Mechjeb).

Lander on Duna without enough fuel (or even room for fuel) to get back into orbit (full of science) - has a docking port on the bottom.

Sent a rescue ship with a docking port on top; the idea is to 'hop' the stranded vessel on top, to get it into orbit so that it can dock with the transport vehicle.

OMFG is that hard; might be impossible. Spent an hour trying to get on top of the rescue vessel, but always too fast or too much shimmy for the docking ports to connect.

 

[shortylickens]

it finally happened.

I stranded my boys.
On Laythe of all places. Gonna need to rescue them. Must build a better, bigger craft with room for 3 lonely survivors. And it has to come back this time.

 

[_Rick_]

The contracts for testing experimental parts are kind of dumb. They don't pay much and the conditions required to complete them are so restrictive you pretty much have to make a dedicated launch just for the test.

If I can't integrate a number of such tests into a single mission that also returns some science, I'm less likely to accept them.
Even if that means I have to do some crazy staging, like lighting up some solid boosters at 10km height.
Anything that can be feasibly done on the way to orbit (or on the way to a biome I have yet to visit) needs to be stuck into that one mission, then you can get a small gain from it.
I think that's the main challenge of these test missions, since otherwise they'll be a net loss, even with stage recovery.