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Fun Stuff => CLIKC => Topic started by: TheCollyWolly on 18 Mar 2013, 07:37

Title: Kerbal Space Program? Anyone?
Post by: TheCollyWolly on 18 Mar 2013, 07:37
My brother found this game a few months back somewhere, and god damn. It's extremely difficult, but it's probably the most rewarding thing I've ever played. I spent literally 24 straight hours the other weekend putting a space station into orbit.

If you really like space and physics and orbital mechanics, you should at least check out the demo. It's still in alpha, but the full version is easily worth the cover charge.

https://kerbalspaceprogram.com/
Title: Re: Kerbal Space Program? Anyone?
Post by: KingOfIreland on 18 Mar 2013, 11:54
Played this since july last year now. It's the absolute fucking best.

Story from just now. I was testing out a rover on kerbin and ran out of power. Because there was a FUCKING SOLAR ECLIPSE! :D
I only realised when I right clicked on my solar panels and it said 'blocked by mun'
Title: Re: Kerbal Space Program? Anyone?
Post by: cesium133 on 19 Mar 2013, 11:52
Just downloaded the demo. It looks like a lot of fun, although so far all I've managed to do is kill a couple crew members. I think I'm probably going to end up buying the full version.
Title: Re: Kerbal Space Program? Anyone?
Post by: Pilchard123 on 19 Mar 2013, 13:53
As did I. I think poor old Jebediah has been hit by the moon about a dozen times now.
Title: Re: Kerbal Space Program? Anyone?
Post by: cesium133 on 19 Mar 2013, 14:07
As did I. I think poor old Jebediah has been hit by the moon about a dozen times now.
So far I haven't gotten out of the Kerbal version of Florida... well, I landed in the ocean a couple times at least.
Title: Re: Kerbal Space Program? Anyone?
Post by: Pilchard123 on 19 Mar 2013, 14:13
There are a couple of pre-set scenarios in the demo, though I'm not too sure if it actually tells you when you've won... I know I eventually managed to rescue a ship on a crash-course for the moon, but I landed in the sea and didn't get a flight log.
Title: Re: Kerbal Space Program? Anyone?
Post by: cesium133 on 19 Mar 2013, 14:26
I haven't tried any of the preset scenarios, instead I basically just started by building a rocket and trying it out. Still haven't left Florida yet, but I finally figured out how to launch the parachute, so poor Jebidiah gets to live another day.
Title: Re: Kerbal Space Program? Anyone?
Post by: Pilchard123 on 19 Mar 2013, 14:39
I believe my parachute deployment procedure is "keep pressing space until it goes woomph". I thought the tutorials told you how to do staging, anyway?
Title: Re: Kerbal Space Program? Anyone?
Post by: cesium133 on 19 Mar 2013, 14:42
I believe my parachute deployment procedure is "keep pressing space until it goes woomph". I thought the tutorials told you how to do staging, anyway?
Yeah, I didn't watch the tutorial videos.
Title: Re: Kerbal Space Program? Anyone?
Post by: Pilchard123 on 19 Mar 2013, 14:59
Ah, that would explain it. What tutorial videos did you not watch (apart from the obvious answer "all of them" :P)? The tutorial levels in-game teach you how to take off, but not how to land...
Title: Re: Kerbal Space Program? Anyone?
Post by: de_la_Nae on 19 Mar 2013, 18:57
Landing safely is for wusses anyway!
Title: Re: Kerbal Space Program? Anyone?
Post by: ackblom12 on 19 Mar 2013, 18:58
Landing safely? This sounds horribly Elvish.
Title: Re: Kerbal Space Program? Anyone?
Post by: cesium133 on 19 Mar 2013, 20:00
I almost got into orbit, but then my liquid fuel rocket overheated and I crashed. Then the game ran out of memory and it crashed. I think I need more RAM.  :psyduck:

The game would be a lot easier if I watched the tutorial videos, but what's the fun in that?
Title: Re: Kerbal Space Program? Anyone?
Post by: snalin on 20 Mar 2013, 01:30
When in doubt: add more rocket.
Title: Re: Kerbal Space Program? Anyone?
Post by: ackblom12 on 20 Mar 2013, 01:34
The real question is, can I make a magma powered rocket?
Title: Re: Kerbal Space Program? Anyone?
Post by: cesium133 on 20 Mar 2013, 07:02
Last night I finally managed to get into orbit, though I screwed up the orbit a bit such that the orbit entered the atmosphere, so I was only able to orbit a couple of times. Then on reentry, I ended up reentering too fast and ripping off the parachute. Poor Jebediah died again...

edit - I successfully got into a stable orbit today... but I ran out of fuel before I could reenter, so poor Jebediah ended up stranded in orbit.
Title: Re: Kerbal Space Program? Anyone?
Post by: LTK on 21 Mar 2013, 06:01
Is that his full name? "Poor Jebediah"?
Title: Re: Kerbal Space Program? Anyone?
Post by: cesium133 on 21 Mar 2013, 06:39
No, it's "Jebediah Kerman", but the poor sap keeps getting volunteered for suicide missions.
Title: Re: Kerbal Space Program? Anyone?
Post by: cesium133 on 23 Mar 2013, 21:23
I landed on the moon!  :-D
Title: Re: Kerbal Space Program? Anyone?
Post by: ackblom12 on 23 Mar 2013, 21:26
It makes me so happy that "Incredibly deep and overly complicated sim" is a full blown genre now.
Title: Re: Kerbal Space Program? Anyone?
Post by: cesium133 on 23 Mar 2013, 21:28
"Incredibly deep and overly complicated sim" is truly the highest form of computer game.

edit -- my attempts to improve my launcher have led to disastrous, but AWESOME results:
(http://i.imgur.com/L6wDy7w.jpg)

...don't worry, I used a Stayputnik, so no kerbonauts died in the creation of this screenshot.
Title: Re: Kerbal Space Program? Anyone?
Post by: de_la_Nae on 24 Mar 2013, 01:06
I suspect that one of the reasons the overly-complicated sim and its cousin the fuck-up-more-than-once-or-twice-and-you're-dead game have garnered such a following as they have is a response to the mainstream success of many games that have went the other way, simplifying complicated actions rather strongly. Like the Batman: Arkham games, which are still challenging, but really easy to be visually and cinematically satisfying.

Of course that particular trend appears to have developed partially because of how frikkin' hard and complicated and sometimes disastrously-complicated games previous (see many Japanese RPGs, several of the 2nd edition Dungeons and Dragons property games, etc.).

I wonder how the pendulum will swing next? As many barriers still exist, it does seem like there are a lot more markets to exploit and resources for game production. Might be that instead of the big companies swinging back towards complexity (a la Dwarf Fortress), they'll continue making streamlined games (a la Call of Duty) and leave the self-disastrously fun games to the smaller outfits. Like they've sort of been doing I guess.
Title: Re: Kerbal Space Program? Anyone?
Post by: ackblom12 on 24 Mar 2013, 03:25
To be honest, a lot of the difficulty of the older games was largely in what I think we can call, in hindsight, piss poor game mechanics due to just how early in the medium's life it was. On the other hand, the rest of it I feel like was a total disinterest in anything resembling game balance. This part I don't actually think is a terrible thing. It leads to a lot of interesting design choices and allows for a lot of throwing things at the wall to see what sticks, which can lead to some really fun stuff.

I mean, really think about "difficult" games from the 90's. Let's say the Baldur's Gate series for example. What made those games hard was a bunch of really bullshit game mechanics like character gibbing and save vs. death effects. It didn't really have a lot to do with character skill really. Or something like Ninja Gaiden, with extremely cheap enemy placement that required more memorization of the level layout than actual player skill. Now if you look at some of the difficult games of today, such as Demon's Souls, Dark Souls, Dwarf Fortress, higher difficulty Batman: Arkham Asylum and Arkham City and the like, if you die or fail your objective it's probably because you fucked up. This is a difficulty path that I'm a-ok with continuing in some fashion.
Title: Re: Kerbal Space Program? Anyone?
Post by: snalin on 24 Mar 2013, 06:09
Baldurs Gate also is a great example on how much such poorly thought through game mechanics can lead to the game easily being broken the other way around - too easy - if you just do the right things. Build up some money in BG1 and get some storm or fire-giant strength potions, and hard bosses fall like leaves. If you know your builds, some of the Final Fantasies are also crazily broken. "Old school" game design were weird at times.

About game companies making that complex games; Dwarf Fortress being an amazing game is all thanks to Toady One, it being any popular at all is exclusively the work of his fan base creating tools, graphic packs and guides to make it accessible enough to be playable. I don't think Dwarf Fortress, Stone Soup, Kerbal or any of the other crazily complex games would be anywhere without a strong fan base pushing them forward. Big Companies can't really risk their success on the fan base bothering to make toolsets and tutorials to make their games accessible. With kickstarter we will be seeing more games that are more complex than any publisher would dare to release, but the DFs will be few and far between.
Title: Re: Kerbal Space Program? Anyone?
Post by: ackblom12 on 24 Mar 2013, 06:36
All I'm saying is I'm kind of cautiously eager for the new industry collapse. I don't think it's going to have of an affect on my gaming or the main developers I really follow.
Title: Re: Kerbal Space Program? Anyone?
Post by: snalin on 24 Mar 2013, 10:30
Collapse due to spiraling production costs and lack of innovation? Remember that as more and more of the world is getting enough money to get computers, and gaming keeps seeping into the mainstream, the market is going to be growing - fast. The amount of people in Brazil that's potential customers once the silly pricing model down there (twice the price of the same game in the US with a lot lower purchasing power) goes away is in the millions.
Title: Re: Kerbal Space Program? Anyone?
Post by: LTK on 24 Mar 2013, 10:54
Nuuvem.com.br is already well on its way to fixing that. Bioshock Infinite, 90 Brazilian Real, or $45, digital distribution. Go nuts.
Title: Re: Kerbal Space Program? Anyone?
Post by: cesium133 on 25 Mar 2013, 09:37
The wiki for the game lists some interesting glitches. One of them occurs if you attempt to land on Jool, the game's version of Jupiter. (http://wiki.kerbalspaceprogram.com/wiki/Jool) If you land an astronaut on the surface of Jool, the atmosphere of Kerbin (the game's version of Earth) disappears.
Title: Re: Kerbal Space Program? Anyone?
Post by: ackblom12 on 25 Mar 2013, 11:17
Just as a quick little note while talking about older games, I'm way more excited than I should be for the Ducktales HD remake.
Title: Re: Kerbal Space Program? Anyone?
Post by: snalin on 25 Mar 2013, 19:26
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G_80PQ543rM
Title: Re: Kerbal Space Program? Anyone?
Post by: Thomas Edison on 05 Apr 2013, 12:41
I've killed about 30 astronauts without even leaving the atmosphere yet.

SCIENCE
Title: Re: Kerbal Space Program? Anyone?
Post by: cesium133 on 05 Apr 2013, 12:53
Yeah, I started to feel bad about killing so many astronauts, so I used Stayputnik capsules on my rockets until I figured out how to handle the controls well enough to not kill anyone. I've currently got Jebediah Kerman orbiting the Moon. He'll take one small step for a Kerbal when I have some time to play the game this weekend.
Title: Re: Kerbal Space Program? Anyone?
Post by: cesium133 on 06 Apr 2013, 14:04
This is one small step for a Kerbal, one giant leap for Kerbalkind.

(http://i.imgur.com/BWIhJI1.png)
Title: Re: Kerbal Space Program? Anyone?
Post by: Pilchard123 on 06 Apr 2013, 14:08
Do you have the resources for the return trip?
Title: Re: Kerbal Space Program? Anyone?
Post by: cesium133 on 06 Apr 2013, 14:09
Maybe... I've got a full RCS tank and a 3/4-full liquid fuel tank. That was more than enough to get my Stayputnik back, but the manned capsule is heavier.

edit -- looks like I'll be fine on fuel. I'm back into moon orbit, and I'm preparing to do a free return trajectory to save on fuel, so my liquid fuel tank should be enough to get me back.

edit2 -- successfully splashed down in the ocean east of Kerbal Space Center.
Title: Re: Kerbal Space Program? Anyone?
Post by: de_la_Nae on 06 Apr 2013, 22:04
Yaaay!

Poor Jeremiah survived. :D
Title: Re: Kerbal Space Program? Anyone?
Post by: KingOfIreland on 07 Apr 2013, 06:52
Yeah, you need hilariously little fuel to get back to kerbin from the mun or minmus. You just burn retrograde to the mun's orbit till you hit escape velocity, then aerobrake around kerbin, or lithobrake, I suppose.
Title: Re: Kerbal Space Program? Anyone?
Post by: TheCollyWolly on 08 Apr 2013, 09:34
So it turns out two-part Apollo-style Mun landers are really fucking difficult.
Title: Re: Kerbal Space Program? Anyone?
Post by: cesium133 on 08 Apr 2013, 10:57
Yeah, my Mun lander was a one-parter. Last night I tried doing a replica of Gemini 7/6A (i.e. figuring out how to dock two spacecraft in orbit) and it was really difficult to get right.
Title: Re: Kerbal Space Program? Anyone?
Post by: TheCollyWolly on 10 Apr 2013, 19:33
Say what you want about the MechJeb mod/plugin, but docking two craft in orbit without it would take me about half a day. Seriously, go download it if you have the full version. It's incredibly useful even if you are "the hardcores" and don't use the autopilot. Docking without accurate data on your speed, distance, and approach times is an exercise in pure rage.
Title: Re: Kerbal Space Program? Anyone?
Post by: cesium133 on 10 Apr 2013, 19:39
I might have to give that a try. If it makes docking easier, that would be really nice. I've been thinking of trying to build a space station, though I think my next mission will be to try to land a probe on either Eve or Duna.
Title: Re: Kerbal Space Program? Anyone?
Post by: Sorflakne on 12 Apr 2013, 08:20
The real question is, can I make a magma powered rocket?
I'd go for one powered by nuclear explosions.

(yes, they really did explore this option back in the space program's early days, and incredibly, tests (with conventional explosives) showed that it would actually be more efficient to get into space than using chemical rockets)
Title: Re: Kerbal Space Program? Anyone?
Post by: cesium133 on 12 Apr 2013, 09:53
Yup. It's powered by atomic bombs exploding behind a shield. Turns out not to be very popular with environmentalists for some reason.  :psyduck:
Title: Re: Kerbal Space Program? Anyone?
Post by: KingOfIreland on 12 Apr 2013, 10:37
Eh, what's a little more radiation in space?
Title: Re: Kerbal Space Program? Anyone?
Post by: cesium133 on 12 Apr 2013, 10:47
True, but the same people complained about the small amount of radioactive material in the New Horizons probe...
Title: Re: Kerbal Space Program? Anyone?
Post by: Sorflakne on 12 Apr 2013, 22:15
True, but the same people complained about the small amount of radioactive material in the New Horizons probe...
Some people are...less knowledgeable than we'd like them to be.
Title: Re: Kerbal Space Program? Anyone?
Post by: cesium133 on 13 Apr 2013, 16:28
I landed a probe on Duna, but I screwed up at the last second by forgetting to turn off the thruster on landing and it tipped over. So instead I decided to try to learn how to fly a plane in KSP.

(click to show/hide)

(click to show/hide)

(click to show/hide)
Title: Re: Kerbal Space Program? Anyone?
Post by: cesium133 on 14 Apr 2013, 20:36
Okay, it turns out that shooting the sun is a bad idea...
(click to show/hide)
Title: Re: Kerbal Space Program? Anyone?
Post by: Pilchard123 on 15 Apr 2013, 10:06
Did the Spacekraken get you?
Title: Re: Kerbal Space Program? Anyone?
Post by: cesium133 on 15 Apr 2013, 13:20
I think so. I put the probe on a suborbital trajectory with the sun, and increased the warp to get closer to the sun (I was still about 20 days away), and the game freaked out as soon as I increased the warp. It displayed what is shown in the screenshot and stopped responding to the keyboard. I had to use Print Screen instead of F1 to get the screenshot. When I Alt-Tabbed out of the game, it crashed.

And I'm currently considering what to do next in the game:
a) Try another Duna landing and remember to turn off the thrusters on landing,
b) Build a space station, or
c) Build a space shuttle
Title: Re: Kerbal Space Program? Anyone?
Post by: Masterpiece on 15 Apr 2013, 14:10
you forgot
d) all of the above.
Title: Re: Kerbal Space Program? Anyone?
Post by: cesium133 on 15 Apr 2013, 14:13
Of course, I'll probably end up doing all of them. I'm just trying to decide what order to do them in.  :-D
Title: Re: Kerbal Space Program? Anyone?
Post by: Pilchard123 on 15 Apr 2013, 14:18
How about

Build a space shuttle.
Use the shuttle to transport parts for the station.
Use the station as a staging point for the Duna mission?
Title: Re: Kerbal Space Program? Anyone?
Post by: Masterpiece on 15 Apr 2013, 14:21
Pilchard123
stop stealing my thoughts
these brainwaves belong to me
Title: Re: Kerbal Space Program? Anyone?
Post by: cesium133 on 15 Apr 2013, 15:12
That sounds like a good idea.
Title: Re: Kerbal Space Program? Anyone?
Post by: TheCollyWolly on 15 Apr 2013, 20:02
shuttles are haaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaard
Title: Re: Kerbal Space Program? Anyone?
Post by: cesium133 on 20 Apr 2013, 18:49
So I decided to try starting a Minimus base. I've got a design that should work, but when I landed the first module, I found that now I can't go back to the space center for some reason. Tried googling for a solution, but haven't found one...

(click to show/hide)

Even if I do find a workaround for that bug, I need to modify my launcher design to be able to lift heavier modules, because I just barely made it to Minimus (note the low fuel in the liquid fuel tank, and also I'm out of RCS fuel).

edit -- it apparently thought the RCS thrusters were on even though they were off and out of fuel... turned RCS on and off and it allowed me to go back to the space center. Then I went to the tracking station and deleted a different mission and it deleted both that mission and the one I just flew...  :-(
Title: Re: Kerbal Space Program? Anyone?
Post by: Masterpiece on 20 Apr 2013, 21:03
that's why the game is still in alpha <3
Title: Re: Kerbal Space Program? Anyone?
Post by: cesium133 on 20 Apr 2013, 22:35
Okay, turns out the workaround for the problem is to land on landing gear, rather than directly on the wheels, since apparently the game doesn't count the wheels touching the ground as the probe being on the ground.  :psyduck:

edit -- my rover is roving on Minimus. Driving on Minimus is like driving on ice, because of the low gravity, so I can't accelerate, decelerate, or turn quickly.

(click to show/hide)

edit2 -- and this is what happens when I tried to turn sharply on Minimus:

(click to show/hide)
Title: Re: Kerbal Space Program? Anyone?
Post by: cesium133 on 21 Apr 2013, 22:05
Note to self: turn the engines on the Minimus base OFF in case you accidentally hit the Shift button.  :psyduck:
Title: Re: Kerbal Space Program? Anyone?
Post by: de_la_Nae on 24 Apr 2013, 11:43
Just think of when you send poor Jebediah! Or is it Jeremiah. Whatever.
Title: Re: Kerbal Space Program? Anyone?
Post by: cesium133 on 24 Apr 2013, 12:04
Yeah, the next task is to send Jebediah to the Minimus base. Currently I've got three fuel modules at the base (with engines disabled, to avoid another launch into the side of a mountain).

(click to show/hide)
Title: Re: Kerbal Space Program? Anyone?
Post by: cesium133 on 27 Apr 2013, 21:06
The newly-renamed Jebediah Kerman Memorial Station, named for the first Kerbal to die on Minmus, now has a population of 6, in 2 living modules and 3 fuel modules.

(click to show/hide)

Edit - Make that 5. RIP, Nielbree Kerman, who died from jetpacking off a mountain.
Title: Re: Kerbal Space Program? Anyone?
Post by: cesium133 on 03 May 2013, 12:09
Got annoyed with the modifications to my launcher causing it to explode, so I went down a different route last night...

(click to show/hide)
Title: Re: Kerbal Space Program? Anyone?
Post by: cesium133 on 06 May 2013, 20:51
(http://i.imgur.com/tF2egVa.gif)
Hey wait, come back!
Title: Re: Kerbal Space Program? Anyone?
Post by: TheCollyWolly on 10 May 2013, 08:31
I spent all day yesterday trying to get a fueling module up and onto my space station, only to crash a moon lander into it during a stopover this morning :/
Title: Re: Kerbal Space Program? Anyone?
Post by: bhtooefr on 13 May 2013, 05:47
Goddamn, space-capable spaceplanes are hard.

(Ones that stay in the atmosphere are easy enough, though.)
Title: Re: Kerbal Space Program? Anyone?
Post by: Pilchard123 on 13 May 2013, 10:58
I would argue that it isn't a spaceplane if it's not spaceworthy. The name kinda gives it away.
Title: Re: Kerbal Space Program? Anyone?
Post by: bhtooefr on 13 May 2013, 11:01
Then again, I'm trying to do it the most efficient way - use jets to get in the air, and then hit the rockets once up to where the jets aren't useful. This strategy obviously adds weight.

I'm finding that a design that's completely stable unladen breaks apart on the runway once a rocket is strapped to the top.

(The other thing I'm thinking is maybe strap the rocket to the BOTTOM. More weight that way, but...)
Title: Re: Kerbal Space Program? Anyone?
Post by: cesium133 on 13 May 2013, 11:43
I've never had much luck with planes in KSP. I usually can only land them by crashing them.
Title: Re: Kerbal Space Program? Anyone?
Post by: bhtooefr on 13 May 2013, 13:54
I need to get the weight and lift distribution right, but I've got a fairly stable glider with rocket-assisted takeoff.

Takes a bit of control input to keep it nose up (hence the comment about the weight and lift distribution), but otherwise, gentle and slow. I think it doesn't actually want to land until 50 m/s, ground effect can be a pain.
Title: Re: Kerbal Space Program? Anyone?
Post by: bhtooefr on 13 May 2013, 14:26
I appear to have made myself an ASAS-propelled ornithopter.

(Flexy wings, even with added support, and it actually self-destructs under rocket power... unless the ASAS flaps it into the air. And, I can climb while accelerating, purely on ASAS.)
Title: Re: Kerbal Space Program? Anyone?
Post by: cesium133 on 25 May 2013, 19:28
Version 0.20 has been released. New features include ability to plant flags, a bunch of new parts including exterior seats for Kerbals, and the ability to delete command modules in the vehicle assembly interface.
Title: Re: Kerbal Space Program? Anyone?
Post by: bryntheskits on 25 May 2013, 23:10
the ability to delete command modules in the vehicle assembly interface.
Thank god, I was sick of having to start anew if I wanted a different main command module .
Title: Re: Kerbal Space Program? Anyone?
Post by: cesium133 on 26 May 2013, 07:52
There was a workaround where you could open the craft file in Notepad and remove the command module, but the ability to do it without such trickery is very welcome.
Title: Re: Kerbal Space Program? Anyone?
Post by: bhtooefr on 26 May 2013, 08:06
Grr, it's not seeing the update. Which means I have to screw with things a lot more than I'd like (and OS X doesn't seem to get the concept of merging directories, rather than replacing them).
Title: Re: Kerbal Space Program? Anyone?
Post by: cesium133 on 26 May 2013, 08:10
I had the same problem. I ended up having to download the new version from the website. I copied over the saves/default directory and it worked fine.
Title: Re: Kerbal Space Program? Anyone?
Post by: bhtooefr on 26 May 2013, 10:19
I'll probably hold off on updating until MechJeb is confirmed to work well with it.
Title: Re: Kerbal Space Program? Anyone?
Post by: KingOfIreland on 26 May 2013, 12:11
The mechjeb pods work fine with it, but the radial mechjeb is borked
Title: Re: Kerbal Space Program? Anyone?
Post by: KingOfIreland on 30 May 2013, 17:03
Mechjeb 2.0.8 Works fine with .20

As proof I assembled an interplanetary ship today fully automated. I never had to touch the flight controls.

Main lifting mule, the Asparagus Deluxe. 3600 d/V once in space as standard. Anywhere up to 2500 with a big payload. Seen here carrying my two landers up to the main ship. Also carried all the other components. This is the third launch.
(http://i.imgur.com/Tr398BU.png)

Automated docking:

(http://i.imgur.com/JAKvNkO.jpg)

(http://i.imgur.com/fQtGvuG.jpg)

Rinse, repeat, refuel the station and leave!

(http://i.imgur.com/9QlseQR.png)

Tomorrow I'll add another two large fuel tanks and maybe some more crew or a rover. We'll see.
Title: Re: Kerbal Space Program? Anyone?
Post by: bhtooefr on 30 May 2013, 18:56
So, I should probably say where I got in KSP so far (haven't played in a couple days, though)...

I've got a station with four kerbals inside, two T800s for fuel storage, a crapton of RCS, and the ability to dock one ship (the interplanetary ship in this case) on the end, and a resupply ship I've designed on the side. I am planning on launching another fuel storage section sometime, but holy crap that was a scary stage to get into orbit, it BARELY made it up to rendezvous, it was a huge pain to control, and... yeah. I might try burning on the pad to jettison some weight, and use resupply ships (which are a stable design) solely to supply fuel, but it'll still be ugly.

All of my ships lately are actually based on a Mun ship I designed, and it turns out that with application-specific tweaks (the top stack changed and some fuel added for interplanetary, things slapped on top of the capsule for placing station parts into orbit, and a bunch more fuel and RCS thrusters added for resupply ships), it works amazingly well.

I've done an attempted Duna mission, and actually landed on Duna, but due to a ship design issue, a staging issue, and insufficient fuel, I've got a Kerbal stuck on Duna. (Surprised the Kerbal survived the crash landing (parachutes don't work well on Duna) after the failed attempt at launching from Duna.) I've got an upgraded ship design for a somewhat Apollo-like 2-stage ship, to drastically reduce fuel demands for deorbiting and landing (fuel demands for takeoff will be the same, but the key here is to have the fuel to begin with).
Title: Re: Kerbal Space Program? Anyone?
Post by: de_la_Nae on 30 May 2013, 20:59
!!!

Rescue mission? :(
Title: Re: Kerbal Space Program? Anyone?
Post by: bhtooefr on 31 May 2013, 03:07
The trick is, my ship designs tend to only have one docking connector, and I hate dealing with Rockomax parts, so a successful rescue mission will be... hard logistically.

I guess I could keep a capsule onboard the orbiting ship, and send the lander down unmanned.

Actually, wait. Why do I need to send another Kerbal to Duna at all? Send the whole thing unmanned, set it down next to the stranded Kerbal, and have him board the ship.
Title: Re: Kerbal Space Program? Anyone?
Post by: CrazyWelshy on 05 Jun 2013, 10:25
I've gotten back into this game and I bought the full version over a year ago, its improved so much since then.  I'm trying to create a satellite network, having trouble GETTING said satellite into orbit.  Mun is going to be a long way away for me.

Here is my facebook link to the 'blog' of said satellite launches.  I keep failing to create a xenon space engine for space corrections.
https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10200796940599642.1073741826.1646975558&type=1&l=78c553d455
Title: Re: Kerbal Space Program? Anyone?
Post by: cesium133 on 05 Jun 2013, 20:32
Got some KSP playing in while I was on a plane the other day, and I finally managed to successfully land on Duna.

(click to show/hide)
Title: Re: Kerbal Space Program? Anyone?
Post by: Jimor on 06 Jun 2013, 18:05
Picked this up a few days ago. I have a couple of fairly reliable small lifters, and I'm currently working on docking techniques (found a good YouTube tutorial for that).

EDIT: accomplished a docking, but I had run out of RCS fuel during closing maneuvers, so had to complete it the hard way with main engines.  :psyduck:
Title: Re: Kerbal Space Program? Anyone?
Post by: Pilchard123 on 07 Jun 2013, 04:38
I didn't realise that you could use Paysafecards to buy this and just used up most of my credit on 3 months of some other Internet spaceships. -_-
Title: Re: Kerbal Space Program? Anyone?
Post by: bryntheskits on 07 Jun 2013, 11:24
tried to land on eve, overshot and realised i was now orbiting the sun and would take a year to come back around

It was then I decided that I wouldn't drunk KSP
Title: Re: Kerbal Space Program? Anyone?
Post by: cesium133 on 07 Jun 2013, 13:29
Drunk KSP is what Quicksaves are for.  :-D
Title: Re: Kerbal Space Program? Anyone?
Post by: Jimor on 12 Jun 2013, 00:46
I've finally built a ship capable of getting a FULL tank of the largest orange ones to my 300k orbit space station (18 available docks on that frame!). Also here's a train to Jool to get another space station frame into high orbit there (I figure I'll get one in orbit above all the moons, and one below to accommodate future missions. And just by saying train I just realized that I should put a puller nuclear tug at the front of this monstrosity to help avoid oscillation damage in transit.

Incidentally, I now have a lot of practice at docking large objects. Though while orbital matching is now a piece of cake, I'm still far too slow and inefficient at the actual maneuvers involved.

(http://i826.photobucket.com/albums/zz186/JimorB/Kerbal/4324f2e9-e2cb-4aec-ac73-9894e32a7cf6_zps33e1f1da.jpg) (http://s826.photobucket.com/user/JimorB/media/Kerbal/4324f2e9-e2cb-4aec-ac73-9894e32a7cf6_zps33e1f1da.jpg.html)
(http://i826.photobucket.com/albums/zz186/JimorB/Kerbal/dd19d1c7-d9fa-482d-aba4-eefaba1481b3_zpsc45b6896.jpg) (http://s826.photobucket.com/user/JimorB/media/Kerbal/dd19d1c7-d9fa-482d-aba4-eefaba1481b3_zpsc45b6896.jpg.html)
Title: Re: Kerbal Space Program? Anyone?
Post by: Method of Madness on 14 Jun 2013, 05:31
Downloaded this last night, gonna give it a try after work.
Title: Re: Kerbal Space Program? Anyone?
Post by: Jimor on 19 Jun 2013, 13:34
I'm finally putting into action the plan for my station in high Jool orbit. Here's the first train with the station frame, 2 large fuel tanks for the trip (and hopefully some left over), the altered nuclear tug to move it all, and 2 small tugs on the head and tail to shift everything around once it arrives.
(http://i826.photobucket.com/albums/zz186/JimorB/Kerbal/85a10466-e70f-4505-b9fd-0f9d90205743_zps9684963c.jpg)

It's in its trajectory towards Jool now, and just about to reach Minmus orbit. But instead of warping to rendezvous right away, I'm now building and launching the support fleet to follow it to complete the station and fuel it up. That way I'm not having to wait for proper Jool opposition for each flight.

Here's the Kerbin orbit station to show it when it's "complete". 4 orange tanks and an RCS stack (with multi-dock extension) on the bottom for permanent fuel storage, 4 small tugs, a heavy orange tug, and a nuclear tug all docked to it.
(http://i826.photobucket.com/albums/zz186/JimorB/Kerbal/2fe0d298-60b7-4eab-b7ff-4fa981721252_zps1d4089c3.jpg)
Title: Re: Kerbal Space Program? Anyone?
Post by: Method of Madness on 19 Jun 2013, 15:41
I remember trying it, selecting a prebuilt thing, and then hitting launch and nothing happening. What was I doing wrong?
Title: Re: Kerbal Space Program? Anyone?
Post by: cesium133 on 19 Jun 2013, 15:45
Did you remember to throttle up before pressing launch? (hold the shift button to throttle up, and then hit spacebar to launch)
Title: Re: Kerbal Space Program? Anyone?
Post by: Method of Madness on 19 Jun 2013, 15:53
No, I did not. Thanks.
Title: Re: Kerbal Space Program? Anyone?
Post by: cesium133 on 19 Jun 2013, 16:00
This page has a useful list of the keyboard commands. (http://wiki.kerbalspaceprogram.com/wiki/Key_Bindings) A couple that you might need aside from Shift and Spacebar are: Ctrl reduces the throttle, X kills the throttle, T toggles the stability assistance system (if your rocket has it, IIRC some of the prebuilt rockets don't), A and D tilt the rocket left/right on the navigation ball, S and W tilt it up/down on the navigation ball, and Q and E spin the rocket.
Title: Re: Kerbal Space Program? Anyone?
Post by: Method of Madness on 19 Jun 2013, 16:03
Hahaha, the first time I forgot to release the things holding it down. The second time I did...and the ship fell off the platform and fell apart. Oops :psyduck:
Title: Re: Kerbal Space Program? Anyone?
Post by: cesium133 on 19 Jun 2013, 16:19
Yeah, you usually want to start firing the engines just before you release the clamps, otherwise your rocket will just fall over. Don't worry, destroying rockets is all part of the game.  :-D
Title: Re: Kerbal Space Program? Anyone?
Post by: Method of Madness on 19 Jun 2013, 16:21
Haha, I did that next time, but I still can't more than a few kilometers in the air before changing direction and crashing :(
Title: Re: Kerbal Space Program? Anyone?
Post by: cesium133 on 19 Jun 2013, 16:28
Do you have an SAS on your rocket? If so, turn it on with the T key just before you launch and it should keep it from changing direction. If not, you'll have to try to control your ship manually using the A, S, D, and W keys.
Title: Re: Kerbal Space Program? Anyone?
Post by: Method of Madness on 19 Jun 2013, 16:30
Ah, I didn't try SAS, but I got it up 130km before activating the stages. I'm plunging to Earth right now. Still 100km or so up.
Title: Re: Kerbal Space Program? Anyone?
Post by: Method of Madness on 19 Jun 2013, 16:34
So I landed in the ocean and...I'm still in the ocean. Now what?
Title: Re: Kerbal Space Program? Anyone?
Post by: cesium133 on 19 Jun 2013, 16:42
It looks like you're getting pretty far out. If you want to get into orbit, what you'll need to do is when you get to about 20 km, turn off SAS (or toggle it off temporarily with the F key) and slowly tilt your rocket so you point along the 90 degree line (east) on the navigation ball, starting about 20 degrees from the pole and gradually moving toward the horizon. If you press the M key, it'll give you a map that shows you what your path will be. When you're at the apogee, you'll want to fire horizontally until it shows your perigee above 70 km. To make it easier, you can set up a maneuver node by clicking on your path and then dragging the controls until you get the orbit you want. If you press M again to get out of map mode, it'll tell you how long you have to burn for, how long until your node arrives, and there will be a blue marker on the navigation ball to tell you what direction to burn in.

Warning - while you were typing a capsule has splashed down. You may wish to press Escape, hit "End Flight", and launch again.
Title: Re: Kerbal Space Program? Anyone?
Post by: Method of Madness on 19 Jun 2013, 16:44
Oh. What happens if I just keep heading straight up? Will it keep going indefinitely?
Title: Re: Kerbal Space Program? Anyone?
Post by: cesium133 on 19 Jun 2013, 17:00
If you have enough fuel, you'll get onto an escape trajectory from the planet and start orbiting the sun. If you keep going, you'll eventually escape the sun, and then go off indefinitely.
Title: Re: Kerbal Space Program? Anyone?
Post by: Jimor on 19 Jun 2013, 19:10
And if you start to get discouraged, here's a real astronaut failing to get into orbit in KSP.  :-P
(To be fair, there's a fair amount of game experience we take for granted, like a natural use of WASD for example.)
Title: Re: Kerbal Space Program? Anyone?
Post by: Jimor on 20 Jun 2013, 14:05
Building up my support fleet for the Jool station.

Train with the 3 extra fuel tanks, RCS lower extention, and 2 tugs being pulled by a 4-nuke-engine tug. This will be enough to "complete" the station, but most of the orange tanks will be empty by then. When it was full, it weighed in at 184 tonnes.
(http://i826.photobucket.com/albums/zz186/JimorB/Kerbal/870182f7-1ba8-483e-aa63-58dc5a973179_zpsc7fadce3.jpg)

So here's 1 of the resupply tanks I'll send with the fleet. No idea yet how many I'll need to top off the station, though it's looking like it will get there with maybe half the fuel left, so perhaps 6 will do.
(http://i826.photobucket.com/albums/zz186/JimorB/Kerbal/a4a1fc5b-6b66-4f23-822e-ee21bded8775_zpsdc4fd1f3.jpg)

The main station has left Kerbin influence, but with the nuclear engines, it takes several passes to get enough delta-V for the full trip, so here's the current orbits of the parts train, and 2 fuel tanks (the 3 highly eccentric orbits). That represents about 1/3 of the total delta-V to get to Jool, the rest of which I'll supply on a long burn at Periapsis for each of them. I'll probably have time to get a couple more fuel tanks in orbit while waiting.
(http://i826.photobucket.com/albums/zz186/JimorB/Kerbal/03ec0feb-4cf8-4f5a-96b0-2975a6db71ca_zpsd992ed9b.jpg)
Title: Re: Kerbal Space Program? Anyone?
Post by: cesium133 on 20 Jun 2013, 14:15
Last night I sent my new design to Duna. Made it into orbit successfully with plenty of fuel left. Then I realized I forgot to put a control pod on the orbiting module, so it became debris as soon as I separated the landing module. Then I stupidly clicked "End Flight" instead of "Space Center." At that point I decided it was time to quit playing for the night.
Title: Re: Kerbal Space Program? Anyone?
Post by: Jimor on 20 Jun 2013, 22:15
I learned the hard way that even if it isn't space junk, wait a bit before ending the mission of a ship you've just undocked. I undocked a refueling drone, switched to it, hit end mission, and my whole station disappeared (fortunately not anything as involved as the ones I've been showing).
Title: Re: Kerbal Space Program? Anyone?
Post by: cesium133 on 24 Jun 2013, 20:15
I just succeeded at a robotic round-trip to Duna. Next step, some lucky Kerbals will take one small step and Kerbalkind will take one giant leap on Duna.
Title: Re: Kerbal Space Program? Anyone?
Post by: Jimor on 02 Jul 2013, 01:43
New space station, and lots more docking practice. Though it's funny, I've gotten so used to slugging around massive objects, that when I went to dock the "escape" pods on the docking tree pointing off the side, I had trouble with how twitchy they were even with fine controls on.
(http://i826.photobucket.com/albums/zz186/JimorB/Kerbal/69b7fbe9-3121-4f15-9bb6-01508e482789_zps3365d691.jpg)
(http://i826.photobucket.com/albums/zz186/JimorB/Kerbal/d402943d-2f0b-4fd7-b04a-2cae50a8a553_zps75e3d93f.jpg)
(http://i826.photobucket.com/albums/zz186/JimorB/Kerbal/77fe5a0d-bed5-4440-a685-b7c619c3cb8a_zpsf06e343c.jpg)
I have an idea for a video let's play that I think will be pretty unique, but I'll need to install another hard drive to have room for the files.
Title: Re: Kerbal Space Program? Anyone?
Post by: cesium133 on 04 Jul 2013, 14:26
Landed a manned mission on Duna for the first time, and it's mostly intact. The bad news is that the part it lost is the docking port it needs to connect to the service module in orbit for the fuel to return to Kerbin. Oh, and its parachutes, too.

(click to show/hide)
Title: Re: Kerbal Space Program? Anyone?
Post by: Jimor on 04 Jul 2013, 15:20
Rescue mission time!
Title: Re: Kerbal Space Program? Anyone?
Post by: cesium133 on 04 Jul 2013, 16:18
Yeah, I have to decide how to do it. I have at least enough fuel to get into orbit, and possibly enough to get into an encounter with Kerbin. One thing I'm considering is to get into an encounter with Kerbin, and while in the encounter, launch the rescue mission, where I'd try to get close enough to transfer the crew by EVA (can't dock, of course). The issue there would be I almost certainly wouldn't have enough fuel to get into a stable orbit around Kerbin, so to match speeds, I'd have to accelerate the rescue ship to escape velocity, then once the crew is transferred slow it down again (hopefully before it leave the sphere of influence). There would be little tolerance for error on that.

I suppose the easier option would be simply to get into Duna orbit, then send the rescue mission all the way to Duna orbit and transfer the crew there.
Title: Re: Kerbal Space Program? Anyone?
Post by: Jimor on 04 Jul 2013, 17:14
Getting an intersect on a hyperbolic trajectory would be epic!

Hmmm, thinking about it, if you could get the ship to be rescued to hit an encounter with Minmus or Mun when they're on the approach side to Kerbin, you could park your rescue ship in orbit there, adjust orbit for an intersect, burn like crazy to catch up, transfer crew, then you'd have time to slow down before nearing Kerbin. It would actually be a really good scenario to suggest to one of the YouTubers like Scott Manley.
Title: Re: Kerbal Space Program? Anyone?
Post by: de_la_Nae on 04 Jul 2013, 22:25
While I have little interest in playing, I did want to say that I've been eagerly following the chronicles and escapades in this thread.
Title: Re: Kerbal Space Program? Anyone?
Post by: Eternal_Newbie on 23 Jul 2013, 13:53
Yes! I finally got Space Station Alpha in orbit. Almost totally by accident, but it still counts. Those brave Kerbalnauts Bill, Jeb and Bob (and some other guys) died in my previous attempts as a result of a combination of insufficient thrust overall, and  too much thrust and insufficient bracing. Ended up in a ridiculously eccentric orbit (400km apoapsis and 75 Km periapsis) and no rocket fuel left to round it off. Luckily I stuck a honking great RCS tank on the station core, because I burned half of it getting a decent orbit between 241 and 245 Km (all that time watching Let's Plays tuned out to useful, after all) .

(https://www.dropbox.com/s/omfct7fpeiknswz/orbitspacestationalpha01.jpg?raw=1)

 
Title: Re: Kerbal Space Program? Anyone?
Post by: Jimor on 24 Jul 2013, 17:11
Very nice!

Version 0.21 is out now. Be aware it breaks saves, so install into new folder or follow this Steam guide for keeping the older version (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LRoKhjhu08Q).

Also: Kerbalnaut "training" video.  :laugh:
Title: Re: Kerbal Space Program? Anyone?
Post by: cesium133 on 24 Jul 2013, 17:53
Breaks saves as in you can't use an old save on the new version, or as in a save in the new version is incompatible with the old version (e.g. if you decide to revert to the old version)?
Title: Re: Kerbal Space Program? Anyone?
Post by: Jimor on 24 Jul 2013, 21:39
Both directions. The .craft files themselves can be physically transferred to the new install's VAB or SPH folder so you can load in any old spacecraft you've designed, but since ASAS, SAS, and Pod mechanics are different, you might have to dump those parts and re-attach the new versions to get them to work correctly, or in some cases tweak this aspect to get fully functional spacecraft.

Essentially, some pods and control items now have stabilization wheels with a certain amount of torque (listed in description), so you might have to add more to get enough control. They also use electricity when turning the ship, so make sure you have enough power being stored or generated to do this. From the forums, it seems that some old designs don't have enough torque to hold position. On the other hand, you can now leave SAS on and still perform maneuvers, so you'd be able to turn with it on, and when you let go of the control, it will then lock on pretty much where you stopped your input.

In short, some craft will be more stable because of these changes, and some less (or even unflyable) until you overhaul the control system, so be aware when using your old designs. I'm only just now playing with it, so haven't run into any particular issues I've heard described, however.

While I've been waiting, I've been designing some of the ships and station parts I want to use for the Let's Play I'm planning, so now I should be able to start recording the play sessions. The idea calls for a lot of post-production, however, so it will be a while before episodes start getting uploaded, but I may use you guys as guinea kerbals for some test footage.
Title: Re: Kerbal Space Program? Anyone?
Post by: cesium133 on 25 Jul 2013, 07:42
Ah, okay. In that case, I think I'll stick with the old version until I get around to returning my lander from Duna.
Title: Re: Kerbal Space Program? Anyone?
Post by: KingOfIreland on 25 Jul 2013, 08:38
Oh man, the performance increase! I love the new control/sas system, it's awesome!
Title: Re: Kerbal Space Program? Anyone?
Post by: Eternal_Newbie on 25 Jul 2013, 12:07
Hmm, the save breaking is annoying. I guess I'll start a new game and get the station up right this time (and unmanned - for some reason I kept on getting a crew in the station even though I put a remote control on). Wouldn't be surprised if someone already has a save game converter underway, though.

EDIT: I just can't get used to the changed SAS/ASAs myself, I'm actually giving in and seeing if mechjeb has updated :(
Title: Re: Kerbal Space Program? Anyone?
Post by: Jimor on 27 Jul 2013, 11:28
Did you get the 0.21.1 patch? Fixed a lot of the SAS issues people were having, as well as adding lots of torque to the large ASAS (in 0.21 it was only a controller for other reaction wheels, RCS, and aero surfaces, but didn't have any torque itself).
Title: Re: Kerbal Space Program? Anyone?
Post by: Eternal_Newbie on 28 Jul 2013, 09:52
Hadn't realised that was the case, I just thought I was getting more used to things. I'm on 21.1 now and also have MechJeb now. Lost a few rockets figuring Mechjeb out (just one crew).

Orbited the new station core without MechJeb and docked a crew module with MechJeb (I love the rendezvous and docking autopilots).  Now to Mun and beyond!
Title: Re: Kerbal Space Program? Anyone?
Post by: cesium133 on 28 Jul 2013, 10:58
Just managed to get my stranded Duna mission into Kerbin orbit, and I've transferred the crew into a rescue ship. Now to get them safely back to Kerbin.
Title: Re: Kerbal Space Program? Anyone?
Post by: de_la_Nae on 28 Jul 2013, 19:40
Yay!
Title: Re: Kerbal Space Program? Anyone?
Post by: cesium133 on 28 Jul 2013, 20:17
And now they're safely back on Kerbin. They landed on the ice cap at the North Pole.

(click to show/hide)
Title: Re: Kerbal Space Program? Anyone?
Post by: de_la_Nae on 28 Jul 2013, 20:46
:D :D :D :D :D

Thank goodness you had a rescue/recovery team waiting there to pick them up so that they wouldn't freeze or starve to death.
Title: Re: Kerbal Space Program? Anyone?
Post by: celticgeek on 29 Jul 2013, 07:59
NASA take on this. (http://xkcd.com/1244/)
Title: Re: Kerbal Space Program? Anyone?
Post by: cesium133 on 10 Aug 2013, 14:59
I started building a space station. Currently it only has a core module and a hab module with space for 11 kerbals. There are currently 4 kerbals on board: one in the core module and three in the hab module. Next things to build will be an RCS tanker to refuel the station's tanks, and a capsule to shuttle kerbals to and from the station.

(click to show/hide)

edit -- got annoyed trying to dock a refueling tanker, and installed MechJeb. I feel dirty now.  :roll:

edit2 -- Shelry is not enjoying his stay on the Interkerbinal Space Station:

(click to show/hide)
Title: Re: Kerbal Space Program? Anyone?
Post by: Jimor on 22 Aug 2013, 15:22
Nice start to the station! I haven't had time to play much myself, lately. But I think I'm close to being able to start recording my video series.

In the meantime, Nassault has released another incredible cinematic video, this time featuring Bill. Do check out his other clips, particularly his Jeb video.
Title: Re: Kerbal Space Program? Anyone?
Post by: cesium133 on 28 Aug 2013, 22:36
So I decided to send a rover to Eve. It was going perfectly, until...

(click to show/hide)
Title: Re: Kerbal Space Program? Anyone?
Post by: bryntheskits on 29 Aug 2013, 03:45
Yeah Eve is a cow to get to, even harder than Duna IMO. I landed but I have 0 fuel to get back home. Whelp.\

(click to show/hide)
Title: Re: Kerbal Space Program? Anyone?
Post by: cesium133 on 30 Aug 2013, 06:48
I sent another rover and managed to land on dry land this time. The spacecraft I use to send these rovers actually deploys four of them, but since I can only control one at a time, and a craft that you don't control won't deploy its parachutes, I can only actually land one, and the rest crash into the surface.

(click to show/hide)
Title: Re: Kerbal Space Program? Anyone?
Post by: bryntheskits on 30 Aug 2013, 09:05
I sent another rover and managed to land on dry land this time. The spacecraft I use to send these rovers actually deploys four of them, but since I can only control one at a time, and a craft that you don't control won't deploy its parachutes, I can only actually land one, and the rest crash into the surface.

(click to show/hide)
Very interested in this, are you able to post the craft file? I've been playing for ages but need inspiration for different successful rockets and their stages.
Title: Re: Kerbal Space Program? Anyone?
Post by: cesium133 on 30 Aug 2013, 09:58
Sure, this is the craft file including the launcher (http://cesiumcomics.com/Stuff/KSP/Duna%20or%20Bust,%20with%20Rovers.craft), and this is the craft file for just the rover (http://cesiumcomics.com/Stuff/KSP/Duna%20Rover.craft). The lower stages of the launcher are based on a design I found on the KSP forum. The way I deploy the rovers is I get the craft into a collision course with Eve, then I trigger the decouplers to separate the rovers, and then I fire the engine to get the main body of the craft out of the collision course. I land one of the rovers (the others crash into the surface) and then I switch to the main craft and fire its engine to get it into a stable orbit.

edit -- oh, and I should warn you, there's a bug in the staging for that rocket that causes the middle stage to separate at the same time the rovers separate. It's not a killer problem (the rocket has lots of excess delta-V), but if you want to try it out, you'll likely want to change that part of the staging.
Title: Re: Kerbal Space Program? Anyone?
Post by: KingOfIreland on 30 Aug 2013, 10:01
I sent another rover and managed to land on dry land this time. The spacecraft I use to send these rovers actually deploys four of them, but since I can only control one at a time, and a craft that you don't control won't deploy its parachutes, I can only actually land one, and the rest crash into the surface.

(click to show/hide)
Easy, once the chute has opened, hit the next vessel key!
Title: Re: Kerbal Space Program? Anyone?
Post by: cesium133 on 30 Aug 2013, 10:05
I tried that but couldn't get it to work. When I looked at the map screen the other rovers had already disappeared.
Title: Re: Kerbal Space Program? Anyone?
Post by: bryntheskits on 30 Aug 2013, 12:01
Sure, this is the craft file including the launcher (http://cesiumcomics.com/Stuff/KSP/Duna%20or%20Bust,%20with%20Rovers.craft), and this is the craft file for just the rover (http://cesiumcomics.com/Stuff/KSP/Duna%20Rover.craft).
Thanks, will take a look at them now. I already make a rover loosely based on your design and it is really stable and even upon losing a wheel it's still quite speedy, still haven't gotten it anywhere though because I'm having problems getting the rovers to redock wince they are too heavy for the attraction force of the small docks to pull upwards (I really want them to be able to re-dock with the landing craft, and I would be able to using RCS on Mun but I would rather not have to rely on that).

(click to show/hide)
Title: Re: Kerbal Space Program? Anyone?
Post by: bryntheskits on 31 Aug 2013, 02:02
So kinda gave up troubleshooting, slapped the things I think it needed on and shot it to the Mun. After a successful landing (and after realising I forgot to add boosters to last stage, RCS saved me) I deplyed the rovers and all seems well, it even docks (thanks low gravity). Placement of some of the solar panels etc on the base is iffy but then again I only got the thing to Mun to test out the rovers. Also imgur went wonky when I cropped it so its small but you get the jist.

(http://i.imgur.com/Hi6V5qV.jpg)
Title: Re: Kerbal Space Program? Anyone?
Post by: cesium133 on 31 Aug 2013, 09:08
Looks awesome! And it's neat that you can redock them. I never really considered that on mine since I don't have a way to get them back from Eve.
Title: Re: Kerbal Space Program? Anyone?
Post by: bryntheskits on 31 Aug 2013, 09:33
Yeah, docking isn't really needed in practice (right now), but I thought it would be an awesome little feature and felt the need to do it. Though in my current design I have RCS tanks on the lander so the rovers can refuel, which makes docking necessary, I'm also thinking of other things I could add to the lander to make the rovers more portable.

EDIT: Suddenly got bored of complex rovers and space missions, so decided to build some really simple planes instead. Got a single engine plane to 1708m/s, with a nice arc covering quite a distance.

(click to show/hide)

Made a larger one but it's 7am so I should stop and sleep maybe.
Title: Re: Kerbal Space Program? Anyone?
Post by: cesium133 on 03 Sep 2013, 14:10
I landed the rovers' deployment ship on Gilly. It was a bit tricky to find a flat enough spot that the ship wouldn't fall over.

(click to show/hide)

I've also designed a spaceplane-based launcher for my rover, for potential use on Laythe. It's still got some bugs to work out, though, and trying to work out its bugs revealed why I can only land one of my four rovers on Eve: if you have more than one ship in atmosphere (but not landed), and they're more than 2.5 km apart, the game will forget about any non-active vessels. I accidentally killed one of my pilots that way while testing my spaceplane-based launcher. So, to keep the plane from getting more than 2.5 km away from the rover, I added a parachute to kill its speed... and the parachute kills the plane instead.

(click to show/hide)
Title: Re: Kerbal Space Program? Anyone?
Post by: bryntheskits on 03 Sep 2013, 16:19
Gonna have to chuck a couple 'shoots on it, parts break easily under heavy acceleration change.

Just finished my last assignment due this week, going to try getting my rovers to other planets, as well as a couple satellites to relay information home.
Title: Re: Kerbal Space Program? Anyone?
Post by: cesium133 on 14 Sep 2013, 14:51
Saw this posted on another forum... I'm guessing they're using the torque from the command pod to do that.

(http://i.imgur.com/MMQYR0x.gif)
Title: Re: Kerbal Space Program? Anyone?
Post by: bryntheskits on 15 Sep 2013, 10:08
Probably some mod, The raising looks like it wouldn't be possible with stock parts.
Title: Re: Kerbal Space Program? Anyone?
Post by: TheCollyWolly on 16 Sep 2013, 20:23
First of all, Nassault posted another amazing machinima: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h9_M9oszXw8&feature=c4-overview&list=UUqo1euqkWqrOT9r6fU6hKNQ

 Second, where the hell can I find the mod for that jeep?! I swear I've seen it before but the link on the video is broken and a solid three hours of scouring Spaceport and the forums has yielded nothing. Any leads?
Title: Re: Kerbal Space Program? Anyone?
Post by: Jimor on 17 Sep 2013, 02:30
Yeah, that was amazing. Going by comments, the vehicle is a Russian UAZ, so maybe a search on that will yield results? It has to be a current mod because of course, it's being used in 21.1 for this film.

I also watched his cinematic "Stigler" (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vv-tpc7gliI) based on War Thunder and a true story from WWII. Some of the scenes looked better than what we saw in Red Tails (Hollywood CGI consistently gets aircraft and their flight characteristics really really wrong no matter what the budget thrown at it may be).

Edit: OH! and the line: "Don't worry. Jeb taught me this." Priceless.
Title: Re: Kerbal Space Program? Anyone?
Post by: TheCollyWolly on 17 Sep 2013, 06:51
Jimor, that was it. It's included in the CleverBobcat plugin, which hasn't been updated for the new version. We'll see how it works, I guess!
Title: Re: Kerbal Space Program? Anyone?
Post by: Jimor on 25 Sep 2013, 11:41
Nassault has done it again.
Title: Re: Kerbal Space Program? Anyone?
Post by: cesium133 on 19 Oct 2013, 20:47
Oh crap, this isn't Laythe...
(click to show/hide)

...and the festival of errors continues. A little problem in my spaceplane design (aside from the gitched-out struts).

(click to show/hide)

So I downloaded 0.22 and started a new Career Mode game. In one of my missions, I accidentally killed Jebediah when I told him to jump out of a perfectly usable spacecraft and he fell to the ground. In this version of the game, once you kill a kerbonaut, they're supposed to stay dead. Except right after I completed a successful Moon landing using Bill Kerman, I noticed Jebediah just came back onto the Available list. He's been resurrected, apparently.
Title: Re: Kerbal Space Program? Anyone?
Post by: Jimor on 24 Oct 2013, 23:03
Yeah, the original 3 always have a chance of coming back. And it's also possible for one of the other randomly generated names to come up again, though it would technically be a different Kerbal (probably with different stats).

Fortunately, if you want EVA science points for the "flying over [X]" portion of each biome, you can do it from the ladder of a landed craft rather than trying to hang on while actually flying.

I've been making an "easy" run through the science tree. Not trying to Scott Manley it by building an amazing machine that can tour the entire Kerbal system on the 2nd flight for over 6000 science points. For example, for my first mission, I just put a plain capsule on the landing pad and got 29.9 Science from it. First flight was just capsule/tank/engine, and got a bunch more, etc. Even my interplanetary probes were a far cry from the multi-orange-tanked monsters I've been using to huck my space station parts into orbit.

And because I've been taking copious notes on how the system works, I think I'm going to try my hand at a video tutorial/guide on the subject. I've seen a lot of good info from my usual round of KSP YouTubers, but nothing that quite puts it all together in a way the average player could use to successfully climb the tech tree without ridiculously heroic efforts. In particular, there are several aspects of it that if you don't understand, can get you bottlenecked pretty quickly, making it all more frustrating than it needs to be.
Title: Re: Kerbal Space Program? Anyone?
Post by: cesium133 on 27 Oct 2013, 21:45
Crap... I ran out of fuel getting Jeb out of a Mun landing, so I loaded a quicksave. But I had forgotten to make a quicksave on that mission, so it went back to the last time I had, several missions and a couple thousand research points earlier.  :psyduck:

edit -- I haven't tried it, but there's someone trying to make a mod that would allow multiplayer games in KSP. (http://sesau.ca/ksp/KMP.html)
Title: Re: Kerbal Space Program? Anyone?
Post by: cesium133 on 01 Nov 2013, 12:10
Nice landing, Jeb.

(click to show/hide)
Title: Re: Kerbal Space Program? Anyone?
Post by: Method of Madness on 01 Nov 2013, 20:19
YOU HAD ONE JEB, JOB!
Title: Re: Kerbal Space Program? Anyone?
Post by: Schmee on 16 Nov 2013, 04:12
So I just bought the game, and I've gone through the tutorials and started a career-mode game, and... I'm stuck. I've managed to go suborbital with a few of my designs, but I'm not getting enough science off each flight (normally only 0.1 science), and I can't build anything capable of going into orbit. I can't afford any of the tech upgrades (apart from the very first one you buy), which would help me a lot. Am I missing something, or should I just slowly grind my way up to another tech upgrade?

EDIT: I've managed to get Jebediah up into orbit, but I'm out of fuel so I can't get him back down. HALP

EDITEDIT: Even more disasters have forced me to make a new savegame, but I've still got the same problems; nothing I do seems to get me any science points at all. I've tried putting the Science addons on my rockets (currently consisting of a canister of goo and a tiny aerial), but to no avail.
Title: Re: Kerbal Space Program? Anyone?
Post by: cesium133 on 16 Nov 2013, 08:05
Have you tried doing each of the science experiments at different altitudes? You can get more points from doing the experiments from the upper atmosphere. Also, have you tried doing any EVAs? If you send Jeb out on an EVA and then right click him, you can do EVA Report, which is worth some science (usually more than you would get from the addons). And if he's EVA'd on the surface of a planet (including Kerbin) you can have him collect a surface sample, which is often worth a lot of science.

If you're still stuck on Kerbin, it may be worth trying to land Jeb in different locations on Kerbin, because you can get more science points by going to different biomes (for example, you can get science points both for collecting a surface sample from the ocean and another from the grasslands west of KSC). There are several biomes close to KSC which makes this a bit easier. Once you have the spaceplane tech, you can build a spaceplane which will make it easier to hit the far-away biomes, such as the desert and the icecaps.
Title: Re: Kerbal Space Program? Anyone?
Post by: LTK on 16 Nov 2013, 13:38
I'm picturing a Kerbalnaut in full space gear emerging from his spacecraft and carefully taking a surface sample from a public park on Kerbin while bemused locals watch and take pictures. :lol:

I actually never played this, I'm just an avid reader. :P
Title: Re: Kerbal Space Program? Anyone?
Post by: cesium133 on 16 Nov 2013, 13:47
If you do an EVA report on Kerbin, he tells you "The spacesuit wasn't really necessary, was it?"  :-D
Title: Re: Kerbal Space Program? Anyone?
Post by: Jimor on 16 Nov 2013, 14:35
Here's my quick guide to getting 29.9 Science from the very first mission using only a capsule.
(click to show/hide)
Title: Re: Kerbal Space Program? Anyone?
Post by: Schmee on 16 Nov 2013, 19:26
Now I get it - I hadn't been doing any EVAs or reports or anything, I wasn't even using the science addons. -_-
Got into orbit on my second flight, did a few experiments and tried an EVA in space ... goodbye Jebediah (again)...
Still though, I got some science out of it.

Side note: Why does the jetpack do nothing? How do I control it?
Title: Re: Kerbal Space Program? Anyone?
Post by: cesium133 on 16 Nov 2013, 19:28
Did you remember to turn on the jetpack by pressing R?
Title: Re: Kerbal Space Program? Anyone?
Post by: Schmee on 16 Nov 2013, 21:30
AGGHHH
WHY IS THAT NOT WRITTEN DOWN ANYWHERE?
Title: Re: Kerbal Space Program? Anyone?
Post by: de_la_Nae on 18 Nov 2013, 05:51
Because Losing is Fun, presumably.
Title: Re: Kerbal Space Program? Anyone?
Post by: Schmee on 19 Nov 2013, 18:53
Things are looking better: I've managed all the 45-science upgrades (SAS is a wonderful thing). I had a probe in orbit and another about to decelerate  into an orbit around the Mun, when I realised that solar panels are a thing, and (more accurately) that solar panels are a thing that I hadn't unlocked. No power. The probe whizzed straight past the Mun, and (after a short interlude of wailing and gnashing of teeth) I reverted to the launch. Oh well.
Title: Re: Kerbal Space Program? Anyone?
Post by: Edguy on 21 Nov 2013, 17:40
Quote
If you really like space and physics and orbital mechanics

You had me a space and I was sold at physics! Downloading asap.
Title: Re: Kerbal Space Program? Anyone?
Post by: cesium133 on 28 Nov 2013, 18:45
Note to self: it is a bad idea to attempt to do a 20 km/s maneuver with an ion engine.  :mrgreen:
Title: Re: Kerbal Space Program? Anyone?
Post by: Schmee on 28 Nov 2013, 19:14
Why, what happens? Not enough fuel? Never used ion engines...
Title: Re: Kerbal Space Program? Anyone?
Post by: cesium133 on 28 Nov 2013, 19:44
I've got plenty of fuel, but they have so little thrust it takes forever.

edit -- incidentally, the closest you can get to the surface of the sun without your craft vaporizing is 1316 m.
Title: Re: Kerbal Space Program? Anyone?
Post by: Jimor on 18 Dec 2013, 09:47
I missed the .22 window, but now that .23 is out, I'm finally doing my semi-tutorial series: How To Science! 5 easy starter missions that unlocks 6 tech nodes, with the idea that it doesn't take hugely complicated rockets and missions to stay ahead of the Science curve. I even created a nice custom thumbnail for the video.

Title: Re: Kerbal Space Program? Anyone?
Post by: Jimor on 19 Dec 2013, 11:55
Episode 2 is up. I demonstrate how the new transmission falloff works, and how to eventually get around it, and I get into orbit and show how to get multiple EVA reports via the Kerbin biomes.
Title: Re: Kerbal Space Program? Anyone?
Post by: Jimor on 20 Dec 2013, 10:08
Episode 3 is posted, and 4 is uploaded, but unlisted for now, but since I like you guys...  :-P

In 3 I clean up most of the remainder of Kerbin's science points in near and high orbit, and set the stage to visit Mun and Minmus.

And in 4, I fly past both Mun and Minmus, and collect enough science from orbit to unlock all of the 90 science point nodes on the tech tree.

Next up is a series of landings on Mun to its various biomes to collect science, then to Minmus for the same thing before heading out to the planets.
Title: Re: Kerbal Space Program? Anyone?
Post by: de_la_Nae on 27 Dec 2013, 17:54
Enjoying these, Jimor. Thank you! I've been avoiding the Kerbal Kool-aid, but living vicariously a little through video watching? That I can do.
Title: Re: Kerbal Space Program? Anyone?
Post by: Jimor on 29 Dec 2013, 22:34
Thanks! I'm working on #5 now that the holiday craziness is dying down a bit. It's going longer than I wanted, but oh well. What's crazy is that the views have been steadily accelerating and episode #1 is quickly approaching 1000 views, with the others in the multiple hundreds! I seem to have struck a chord with the idea of showing how to do it with reasonable missions instead of insane contraptions.
Title: Re: Kerbal Space Program? Anyone?
Post by: de_la_Nae on 30 Dec 2013, 13:27
Insane contraptions are fun, but the learning curve is high enough as is for some of us.
Title: Re: Kerbal Space Program? Anyone?
Post by: cesium133 on 07 Feb 2014, 23:26
Landed on Eeloo (the game's version of Pluto) for the first time. Didn't have enough fuel for the return trip, though, so the crew is sitting in orbit waiting for a rescue mission to be sent.

(http://i.imgur.com/1pZaC6j.png)

edit -- I sent a rescue mission to pick them up, and when it got to Eeloo their spacecraft was missing. I checked back at the Space Center, and there they were. They must have bummed a ride from a passing UFO.  :psyduck: The crappy part, though, is I lost a couple thousand science points when I lost that spacecraft.

Note to self: ion engines kinda suck and are not a very useful option for getting back from Jool, especially if the ship only has one usable solar panel.
Title: Re: Kerbal Space Program? Anyone?
Post by: cesium133 on 18 Feb 2014, 19:43
Oh God why. (http://corpsmoderne.itch.io/flappy-space-program)  :psyduck:
Title: Re: Kerbal Space Program? Anyone?
Post by: Schmee on 18 Feb 2014, 21:06
Weird - unlike Flappy Bird itself, this is actually original and kinda good. I managed 7 orbiters at once.
Title: Re: Kerbal Space Program? Anyone?
Post by: de_la_Nae on 19 Feb 2014, 17:30
Every time I think I'll get up to 4, two of mine finally meet the inevitable and collide. ._.
Title: Re: Kerbal Space Program? Anyone?
Post by: CrazyWelshy on 19 Feb 2014, 17:34
Oh God why. (http://corpsmoderne.itch.io/flappy-space-program)  :psyduck:
I hate you. 

My record is eight.
Title: Re: Kerbal Space Program? Anyone?
Post by: cesium133 on 28 Feb 2014, 22:41
I've just started on a scheme to land on and ascend from Eve (the game's analogue of Venus; it has the thick clouds of Venus that make it very difficult to launch from, though luckily it's lacking on the sulfuric acid).

My plan is to send the mission in three parts. The first part (which has just arrived in Eve orbit) contains the descent capsule which will take Jebediah Kerman down to the surface of Eve, and it also contains the lab, which Bill and Bob Kerman will use to reset the science modules so I can get more data out of the mission. The second part is the ascent vehicle. It contains just enough room for a seat for Jeb and nothing else. To get the data back to the capsule, Jeb will have to stuff it into his spacesuit. The third part is a return capsule which will take Jeb, Bill, and Bob back to Kerbin.

Something I missed in my original plan, though, is that my plan to get my landing spot right was to cancel out all my horizontal velocity in orbit and descent vertically... but I forgot to consider Eve isn't some puny moon, and I've got big orbital velocities around it. This will make landing more challenging because I need to land my ascent module somewhere at a high altitude so I can dodge some of the atmosphere. This may be more challenging than I had originally planned for.

Here's a picture of Jeb hanging out on the descent module:
(http://i.imgur.com/BgBKTi8.png)
Title: Re: Kerbal Space Program? Anyone?
Post by: Jimor on 01 Mar 2014, 01:11
I like it! I'm still too chicken to attempt Eve (because I'd want to establish some kind of ridiculously complex ground refueling station).

In other news, I finally uploaded episode 5 of my tutorial series! It runs long, and that's one of the reasons I kept delaying releasing it, but finally decided to just go ahead and put it all up so I can move on. First part includes a failed design and launch, which has its own lessons to learn, then after I fix the vehicle, I run a full Mun landing mission, then follow it up with a 2nd, starting the footage for that one only once in Mun orbit.
Title: Re: Kerbal Space Program? Anyone?
Post by: cesium133 on 01 Mar 2014, 18:29
My idea of adding rover wheels to the ascent module to make it possible to drive it to a higher altitude for launch hasn't gone well.

(http://i.imgur.com/j47MQ9X.png)

I've fixed the rover wheel design (the wheelbase wasn't wide enough), and I just had to post what the ascent rocket looks like when it ejects its wheels and spent parachutes.

(http://i.imgur.com/PcHjqIT.jpg)

edit --
I've launched my ascent rocket into Kerbin orbit. I tried to refuel its launcher rocket for the trip to Eve and had a very close call with the refueling ship while trying to dock.

(http://i.imgur.com/kBvxYNi.png)

Maybe I don't need to refuel after all...

edit2 -- The Mun just fucked me over. I fast forwarded through a Mun encounter and it changed my escape trajectory from Kerbin into a free-return trajectory. Which means I now need another 150 m/s of thrust to avoid crashing into Kerbin.  :psyduck:

edit3 -- oops.

(http://i.imgur.com/XM1Wtm8.png)
Title: Re: Kerbal Space Program? Anyone?
Post by: cesium133 on 14 Mar 2014, 14:48
The Eve mission has been put on the back burner for the moment. Since then my secondary crew has managed to scrape almost all of the science available from Minmus by sending a lander to each of its Biomes. I think that mission did fairly well, though I did have to send a rescue mission when Nieldas crashed in the Midlands. Also, I forgot to clean the Materials experiment and the Goo experiment before landing at the North Pole, so I'm missing that data.
(http://i.imgur.com/u8ffwgq.png)

After that, I decided to send the crew to Moho, the game's analog of Mercury. One slight flaw with my plan, though... Since Moho is so small and close to the sun, it requires a lot of delta-V to get there, and a lot to stop. I probably should have brought a more powerful engine, because I only have an hour in Moho's sphere of influence, and my capture burn is expected to take about an hour.
(http://i.imgur.com/r4qGOeC.png)
Title: Re: Kerbal Space Program? Anyone?
Post by: cesium133 on 01 Apr 2014, 17:52
A new version of KSP was released today (0.23.5, also known as the Asteroid Redirect Mission version). I started a new Career Mode game, and haven't really gotten to any of the new features yet. You've been playing KSP too long if you can immediately figure out what's wrong with this picture:

(http://i.imgur.com/S59BKgM.png)

(click to show/hide)
Title: Re: Kerbal Space Program? Anyone?
Post by: Method of Madness on 16 Apr 2014, 17:25
(http://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/orbital_mechanics.png)
(click to show/hide)
Title: Re: Kerbal Space Program? Anyone?
Post by: cesium133 on 16 Apr 2014, 22:00
Yesterday one of the professors in the physics department noted that his 10-year-old daughter was able to explain how Hohmann transfer orbits worked to him. Though he was disappointed the game can't simulate Lagrange points (since it can only do two-body interactions).

edit -- found this on another forum:
Title: Re: Kerbal Space Program? Anyone?
Post by: Jimor on 07 May 2014, 15:52
Started a new series, this time a regular Let's Play in .23.5 where I'm going to attempt to get asteroids into orbit around all the planets and moons in the solar system in career mode. In an attempt to cut down my running times, I speed up the video (and my voice) by 150%. Very Kerbal. Also, fun times with the automatic captions on YouTube with this!
Title: Re: Kerbal Space Program? Anyone?
Post by: cesium133 on 22 Aug 2014, 10:57
(http://i.imgur.com/s3cIoS3.jpg)
I guess I should be a bit more careful about the weight distributions on my rovers...
Title: Re: Kerbal Space Program? Anyone?
Post by: cesium133 on 28 Apr 2015, 17:01
Version 1.0 has been released and they've changed the aerodynamics pretty significantly, as I found out the hard way on my second mission, when my spacecraft overheated and blew up on reentry.
Title: Re: Kerbal Space Program? Anyone?
Post by: Method of Madness on 28 Apr 2015, 18:26
I have a working computer again, I should check it out.
Title: Re: Kerbal Space Program? Anyone?
Post by: BenRG on 26 Jan 2016, 08:02
Being a long-time space nerd and tech fan, I'm wondering if KSP is the game for me. How would experienced players rate it as something for a relative gaming novice? Is it easy to get started or is it one of those borderline-professional simulators like Orbiter that requires that you sit down and learn orbital dynamics and rocket engineering for real?
Title: Re: Kerbal Space Program? Anyone?
Post by: cesium133 on 26 Jan 2016, 08:11
There's a demo you can try out, which is based on an older version that should give you a feel for the game. It's significantly easier to learn than Orbiter, but you do have to learn a bit of orbital dynamics (in-game tools like maneuver nodes make this easier by showing you what you are doing will affect your orbit).

The newer versions of the game crank up the difficulty, though, which is one of the reasons I haven't really felt like playing the game in a while. I like building a rocket and just going around exploring, not spending hours trying to debug why my rocket explodes on ascent.
Title: Re: Kerbal Space Program? Anyone?
Post by: bhtooefr on 26 Jan 2016, 08:18
Also, at least older versions are rather CPU intensive and poorly threaded, so you want high clock speed and IPC, but more cores don't help. The physics engine will simplify itself if the CPU is overloaded, which is very, very bad - ships will start randomly disintegrating and exploding when steps of the physics simulation are skipped to keep things moving.

A workaround can be slowing the sim down when launching a big rocket though.
Title: Re: Kerbal Space Program? Anyone?
Post by: dexeron on 13 Apr 2016, 06:08
I finally grabbed the game around Christmas and have been playing when I have time over the last few months.

Got to the Mun and Minmus, but still can't get to Duna (well, I got an unmanned probe there which transmitted a bunch of science back, but I can't get there with enough fuel left for a return trip, so no manned missions yet.)

I'm still having all kinds of problems with in-orbit rendezvous.   Sometimes I can do it without any problem.  Then sometimes I just can't make it work and run out of fuel or RCS and I'm stuck.  All the tutorials on the web say that it gets easier with practice, but I can't do it reliably yet.
Title: Re: Kerbal Space Program? Anyone?
Post by: BenRG on 13 Apr 2016, 06:12
I have a problem as a gamer: If a game beats me too thoroughly, I sometimes am kind of scared to beat me again. KSP beat me and now I'm trying to get my courage back. Getting your in-orbit attitude wrong and turning a plane change manoeuvre into an escape burn is a humbling blow for a space geek like me!

With KSP, a lot of it is the size and scale of the control mapping. It could seriously do with being compatible with a 2 x 4-axis control pad at least whilst in mission mode.
Title: Re: Kerbal Space Program? Anyone?
Post by: cesium133 on 20 Apr 2016, 21:01
Downloaded KSP 1.1, and after playing it for a couple hours, I remember why I quit playing KSP...  :psyduck:
Title: Re: Kerbal Space Program? Anyone?
Post by: Jimor on 24 Apr 2016, 04:20
Finally took a stab at trying a Kerbal cinematic music video. I'm really happy with how it came out. :)
Title: Re: Kerbal Space Program? Anyone?
Post by: BenRG on 24 Apr 2016, 05:53
Just how long did it take you to think up those impressive 'fly apart in mid-air' rocket ideas? :wink:
Title: Re: Kerbal Space Program? Anyone?
Post by: Jimor on 24 Apr 2016, 09:59
I did the whole video during a Twitch live stream (https://www.twitch.tv/jimorian/v/62296796) (I've highlighted it so if anybody is curious about specific processes you can click around the video), start to finish was just under 7 hours. The crazy rocket montage was probably about 3 hours of that. It was actually kind of hard to get things to break, so the solution in most cases was to clip in extra tanks attached to decouplers.  :mrgreen: The exception was the spinning rocket, it fell apart by itself WONderfully. :)
Title: Re: Kerbal Space Program? Anyone?
Post by: dexeron on 29 Apr 2016, 11:54
That video was great!
Title: Re: Kerbal Space Program? Anyone?
Post by: cesium133 on 30 Apr 2016, 19:19
I just spent two hours trying and failing to get into orbit, and then KSP crashed in the VAB, erasing whatever I had just failed to accomplish.

I think I'm done with KSP.
Title: Re: Kerbal Space Program? Anyone?
Post by: cesium133 on 06 May 2016, 21:40
Turns out the solution to the crashing is to run the 64-bit version (I had my start menu shortcut set to the 32-bit version). I'm currently playing a game in Science mode with atmospheric heating set to 30% (don't want to bother with contracts, and I'd prefer my spacecraft go exploring rather than blowing up in the atmosphere...).

edit -- spoke too soon about the crashing shit. There goes my Minmus mission.  :x
Title: Re: Kerbal Space Program? Anyone?
Post by: BenRG on 17 May 2016, 07:48
Well, I tried it again and was a lot more successful. The trick is not to panic when turning using the reaction wheels (something that I fully admit to being bad at); damn, the inerta when your wheels are far off the centre of mass is something else! I've also learned that you should probably start the LV-T45 at about 1/3 throttle to avoid spin-outs during air lights. Similarly, wait until you're over about 10k before executing any gravity turns during launch.

Now, if only I can figure out why my LV has this pesky roll... Maybe I should have RCS and SAS enabled during ascent?

I'm sure it will take me some time to get to a reasonable degree of aptitude with the controls but I feel more confident. I'm definitely buying the full version; I've also got my eye on some mods, specifically the expanded science that includes the OCTOKORE science sensor system and the life support/recycling pods.
Title: Re: Kerbal Space Program? Anyone?
Post by: cesium133 on 17 May 2016, 09:29
RCS won't do you much good in Kerbin's atmosphere, but it's a good idea to have SAS on. I think the demo version is from before the changes to atmospheric dynamics, so in that version you want to start your turn after you're above 10k. The current version is more forgiving about that, but a lot less forgiving about other things (in the old versions your parachutes would work regardless of what speed you were coming in at...)
Title: Re: Kerbal Space Program? Anyone?
Post by: dexeron on 18 May 2016, 05:44
I'm thinking about trying out some of those mods, but I need to get better with efficiency.  I can get places, mostly.  It just takes a really, REALLY long time because I'm not brute force unprecise about it, and I think if I had to juggle life support and supplies on top of that, I'd do pretty poorly. ;)

With regards to stable liftoffs, depending on the shape and length of your craft, fins can be helpful to keep you pointing in the right direction, as can holding off on turns until higher (as you already discovered.)  I like to turn on SAS first, then launch straight up, nudge my craft only slightly to the east when I hit around 50-100 m/s, but then don't touch anything until I get to about 10k meters up.  That when I start gradually turning east to build up my lateral velocity (which, I didn't realize at first, is essential to achieving orbit.)  There's a lot of weird trade-offs between engine power, length of the craft, stability of joints.  I sometimes have to add lots of struts just to keep the craft from flexing and pulling itself off course into a spin just from wobbling like that.
Title: Re: Kerbal Space Program? Anyone?
Post by: BenRG on 18 May 2016, 05:56
There is something... I'm guessing a mod... called 'Kerbal Alarm Clock' that gives you a count-down to all the highest-efficiency launch windows for all the objects in the Kerbol System. That's another 'must have' IMO otherwise you're guessing about when best to launch to objects not orbiting Kerbin.
Title: Re: Kerbal Space Program? Anyone?
Post by: Jimor on 29 May 2016, 01:46
Finished the 2nd Cinematic in the series I'm working on.
Title: Re: Kerbal Space Program? Anyone?
Post by: Jimor on 06 Jun 2016, 01:14
And number 3 :)
Title: Re: Kerbal Space Program? Anyone?
Post by: dexeron on 06 Jun 2016, 06:17
Loving these!

(I went back into KSP a couple nights back after having not played for a few months.  Thing crashed all over the place.  Apparently there are discussions on the KSP forums, but I couldn't find a solution.) :(
Title: Re: Kerbal Space Program? Anyone?
Post by: Jimor on 16 Jul 2016, 05:01
#4 is ready. This one took a while, it was a pretty ambitious mission, and even though I only filmed "what I needed" with each flight, still ended up with 380 clips, and 3.5 hours of footage to squeeze down into 4:38 of song!  :-o


In other news, KSP is now available for XBox1 and PS4 now. Haven't seen any direct reactions yet.
Title: Re: Kerbal Space Program? Anyone?
Post by: Jimor on 25 Jul 2016, 20:05
#5 is ready. Flew a rover to Dres and drove through the small deep canyons there.
Title: Re: Kerbal Space Program? Anyone?
Post by: cesium133 on 18 Jan 2017, 20:34
I started a new game over Christmas break, and today I launched a Duna lander mission. Got into low orbit around Duna, detached my lander stage, and then noticed my mistake...

(http://i.imgur.com/5DrQa0Y.png)

(click to show/hide)
Title: Re: Kerbal Space Program? Anyone?
Post by: BenRG on 18 Jan 2017, 23:43
One thing that I feel KSP needs is that the "engineer's report" in the VAP and SPH need to block 'launch' if you have a seriously broken design (no engine, no parachute, a bad staging sequence or the like). You then have to physically confirm to the game that you wish to proceed to the runway or launch pad despite the problem.

Maybe have that as default on 'easy' and have to be disabled in 'options' on 'normal'.
Title: Re: Kerbal Space Program? Anyone?
Post by: BenRG on 20 Aug 2019, 07:30
Kerbal Space Program 2 announced! Expected release date is some time next year!


Expected features:
Kerbal Space Program - Boldly going where no-one was stupid enough to try to go before!
Title: Re: Kerbal Space Program? Anyone?
Post by: Jimor on 22 Aug 2019, 23:34
I didn't cry at all while watching that.

The Developer Story vid is pretty amazing as well, with a few more brief glimpses of actual game assets.

Also interview from GamesCom