Killing your Kerbals: does it make you feel bad?

[Boris_T_Roach]

Ever since the induction of EVA , and IVA, and now crew manifest. I've always felt bad about killing the crew.

When the crew were just pictures of happy,sad or scared kerbals it seemed to be so much easier to smash the rocket into the deck as bits fell off when they should'nt

But now I design the ships to have escape systems, or abort modes or small docking ports so the crew can be saved in the event of bad things happening, and I go out of my way to plan

a successful return mission instead of leaving my crew stranded all alone in the night

Anyone else feel this way? or is it just me feeling empathy for a bunch of computer generated people....

Boris

[TheDarkStar]

I try to keep them alive if they are on an actual mission. If not, they are expendable.

[Guest]

I take whatever precautions I can to ensure their little green butts make it home safely. Failures happen, and hopefully they're not catastrophic. Thankfully those are very few and far between.

[The Jedi Master]

I pride myself in not killing any kerbals since 0.20. If they get stranded, though... well, they knew the risks when they signed up!

[NGTOne]

That's why >90% of my missions are automated. Even when I'm conducting colonization OPs, I land the equipment first under computer control, and the colonists later. No stranded colonists, and at worst I lose some gear (which is replaceable).

That's why I spent a good deal of time a few months ago developing a proper colony ship, so I could conduct OPs like that more effectively, especially when other solar systems start being discovered.

[Ferrit]

I'm the same Boris, I'll take precautions, add abort systems and docking ports to prevent mistakes turning in to disasters.

Every Kerballed craft is first tested under probe control (though Jeb keeps trying to sneak in to the capsule on the launch pad, seriously the guy just keeps creeping in) and though this all adds weight and even extra power consumption, it does make every landing a success to celebrate. Of course I'm also using Deadly Re-Entry and FAR (and will be adding the TAC life support mod when it's a little further along) so the extra precautions are vital!

[roosterr]

I used to play that way; serious about Kerbal lives. BUT, now I realize the extra time involved in returning stranded Kerbals home takes a LOT away from craft development and mission time. So unfortunately, I had to give up that aspect of realism. I do love the sim aspect of the game and I do try to keep it real. However with my limited time to play, I cannot afford it. REVERT is a great thing, great idea, no kerbals killed, its a time machine.

One thing I DO do now: Escape systems. I put a nice one on my Saturn V Kerpollo craft and I will be continuing the practice on future missions.

[Guest]

While i don't do it as a hobby, i'm fine with killing them if it saves me my ship, for example one time I had a lander with a broken engine and no docking ports, so i had to use KAS to jury rig one onto the back, while mid deorbit I realized that some of the winches weren't attached due to me overlooking it, i was afraid that the engine would come off in atmosphere so I got a kerbal out to attach the ones forgotten earlier due to my neglect, unfortunately we reentered as he was making his way back to the landercan and got hit by a not so gentle breeze. Needless to say he will be remembered for several weeks as that one guy who saved some expensive lander.

[stringyquark]

I have backup copies of their brains,DNA is on file, we will rebuild them, stronger, faster.

[regex]

Anyone else feel this way?

I don't. It's a video game. That being said, I don't go out of my way to kill them and even try my best to keep them safe.

[Skorpychan]

Mostly. I remember each death on-mission, and memorialise them in flags should anyone survive, and their debris fields.

Deaths in testing, not so much. Bill died testing a spaceplane, and I was laughing too hard to save him.

[Hiddos]

If I'm doing a serious mission I try not to get my Kerbals killed because I might still need them, but I do not mourn for them (son's of ******** shouldn't have died in the first place).

When it comes to screwing around with weird designs and testing crafts I don't really care if they safely land or penetrate the VAB

[Tank Buddy]

I am yet to kill a Kerbal in .21, but I never really felt to bad. I don't usually have casualties unless it is the result of instantaneous rocket disassembly upon launch or shortly there after.

[Seret]

That's why >90% of my missions are automated.

Ditto. I generally only put a kerbal on board if there's a good reason. No point blowing the little guys up for nothing.

[SuperWeegee4000]

I usually survive without having to quickload, but in the event of a CATASTROPHIC FAILURE!, I reload. I haven't killed a single Kerbal in .21.

[Rufus Callahan]

I make sure not to lose Kerbals... the one caveat to this is testing... I do test my ships and then revert back to VAB until I have the final design I want to run... this kills "simulated" Kerbals, but once I launch a mission the danger is real... so far I don't have any Kerbals on the dead list

[Moon Goddess]

Every time....

I havn't lost a man since I started over in .21 though, test and test again before sending a manned mission.

[thescientist]

I love to think that a simulator is a sort of "alternative real life", so I fell so sad if a pilot or an astronaut die during a flight, because I imagine his virtual life as a real one.

Said that, I usually follow the "safety first" rule. Since .20 I started to add escape sequence, to build escape pod,... Now I can say that is quite an interesting challenge make a safe rocket and I like it a lot.

So, HAVE FUN! Are you sad if they lose their virtual byte? Be happy when your rocket is safe! Remember that even NASA has a bad record, but as that big boss of the space flight learn from your mistakes and go where nobody has been before!

Post scriptum: sorry for the horrible American and good flight!

Edited August 16, 2013 by thescientist

[lajoswinkler]

I rarely lose Kerbals, but I've left a number of them stranded on every body in the Kerbol system, except Tylo and, of course, Kerbol. Interesting thing with Kerbol exploration, my ship exploded at ~1300 m while one kerbonaut was on EVA and approaching periapsis, so I quickly started the jetpack. The ship literally blew up couple hundred metres below while I was frantically pushing the guy upwards. Now he orbits Kerbol at a highly elliptical orbit, with periapsis of ~9 km. Like a sungrazing comet, except he's not subliming.

[KrisM]

I haven't lost anyone yet, but I've only been playing since the beginning of August. I had a close call once, but managed to bring the crew home safely after a bone-headed launch where I dropped a stage early and they only got, oh, 1000m+ into the sky with a low velocity before running out of fuel >.> had to make the capsule tip off the empty rocket stack and let the chute deploy and finish dragging it off >.>

that said, these brave kerbals are flying experimental craft. They know the risks. And I'll try to make sure they don't die testing my designs as a matter of pride.

[Beeman]

Sometimes I do things that I know will get them killed and it always makes me feel bad when they die that way...or accidentally. Especially if they have a cool name. I almost never put Bill, Jeb and Bob in danger, though. Not 'till career mode, at least. I'd die if anything happened to them D:

Well, not so much Bill. He's the guy I EVA to try things or do random crap. Not sure why I don't like him so much >_>

[Bigulp]

I got deadly reentry. Other then some bad test crafts its the only reason I have lost kerbals. I generally don't worry about their safety because most of my designs are tried and true at this point.

[SuperWeegee4000]

I love to think that a simulator is a sort of "alternative real life", so I fell so sad if a pilot or an astronaut die during a flight, because I imagine his virtual life as a real one.

Said that, I usually follow the "safety first" rule. Since .20 I started to add escape sequence, to build escape pod,... Now I can say that is quite an interesting challenge make a safe rocket and I like it a lot.

So, HAVE FUN! Are you sad if they lose their virtual byte? Be happy when your rocket is safe! Remember that even NASA has a bad record, but as that big boss of the space flight learn from your mistakes and go where nobody has been before!

Post scriptum: sorry for the horrible American and good flight!

I think you mean horrible English. American is a nationality.

Not even NASA can boast a clean record when it comes to spaceflight - I think their first losses was Apollo 1.

[Guest]

I have only lost three kerbals, and they're still rescue-able. As in, heliocentric orbit. Anyone got any helio-rendevous ships?

[annallia]

I think you mean horrible English. American is a nationality.

Not even NASA can boast a clean record when it comes to spaceflight - I think their first losses was Apollo 1.

Depends on how you define it. If you include things like training flights they had a few before Apollo.

Anyway, on topic. It does make me feel aggravated to a degree, though that is more due to the craft crashing than it is the kerbal being turned into goo.

Though sometimes I am too busy laughing for even that, usually when I make some absurd design and decide to see if it can fly.

Edit- I have to admit some of my contraptions do seem to give off a sense of not caring for my Kerbals.

Things like my kerbalpult, or my rocket sled which is used to crash test rovers... It just wouldn't feel right if it weren't manned.

Edited August 16, 2013 by annallia