KincaidFrankMF

This really needs to be brought into the base game, there's literally no downside!

Aaaaah of course

That's so cool! What did you use for the central disc?

Absolutely. But once you leave the atmosphere, there's no going back.

Actually, to make this one a bit more accessible, let's just say "as much science as possible" following the rules above. But for maximum points, you know what to do...

We all know how hard it is to take off from Eve, so collecting most of its science means multiple ultra optimised, highly expensive landings or else endless driving about in a rover... right? So here's the challenge: without using a rover (or anything like), take off from Kerbin exactly once, enter Eve's atmosphere (deorbit) exactly once, and leave its atmosphere again exactly once... with a manned craft capable of collecting science from every... single... biome... on the entire planet. All in one mission. Some part of that craft (it doesn't have to be an SSTO or anything) has to return to Kerbin with the science and crew. You don't have to bring a scanning arm, given they're designed for rovers, but bonus points if you do. No using mods that would actually help (i.e., visual mods etc. are fine, but nothing cheaty). I'll consider it a success if your vessel is clearly capable of completing the challenge, even if you get bored before actually circumnavigating lol But the most science gathered wins. Yes, it can be done.

That's damn impressive! Especially using the gravity assists that way. I rather assumed we just needed the rover to be able to land & return under its own steam - you might have hit some kind of super-Val-level there...

Apollo 11 to Eeloo. This time going for maximum realism on the Saturn 5 and EEM (Eeloo Excursion Module) modelling. "10, 9, 8..." "Hold, hold. Jeb's not on board. I, er, think he's in the bathroom." <some time later> "10, 9, 8, 7..." "Hold. The struts supporting the command module have vanished." "Vanished? Whaddaya mean they've vanished?" "Into thin air, sir. On the plus side, housekeeping reports we have a new clothes line." <some time later> "5, 4, 3, 2..." "Hold, hold. The staging's completely FUBAR'd." "YOU'RE ALL FIRED." "So, we're definitely on course to the Mun, yes?" "Straight ahead, course laid in. Navcomp says we can't miss." "We missed, didn't we?" "Headed into furthest depths of the Kerbolar System. We might make Eeloo if we're very lucky...." "Stage Three separated, EEM reacquired. Hey, is it me or does this planetoid look like a giant kraken egg that's about to hatch?" "Don't even say that!" "For the last time, Jeb, brussel sprouts are not appropriate snacks on deep space missions. We've been stuck in this tin can for FOUR YEARS." "One small step for Jeb..." "Welcome back, Jeb. Just in time, the telemetry's going wild. We're getting hzzz fluctuations in the zzzzb orbit hssspit inclination completely changed!" "It's like the planet's trying to swallow-" "Hzzzzt baby kraken! Aaaaargh!" "It's... it's full of stars...." <transmission ends>

Hey all, I've been posting for a while but never introduced myself - how rude. I'm a long-time KSP1 player (though not since the beginning - still a noob to some of you ), loving the new version for all the teething problems. Sooo much potential. I missed out on all the challenges first-time around so loving that they've been reintroduced & I get to play this time!

Serious skillz on those landings!

Val level done with an Apollo-style mission to Duna. Shame about the night launch, but here's my Saton 4 rocket (geddit?) lifting off... See, there's four rockets and... never mind. Orbiting Duna. Coming in to land... Aerodynamics? Who needs 'em. Rendezvous & docking... Back around Kerbin, happy to be home! Splashdown. Honestly, even Duna doesn't stretch the dv in a Saturn 5, there's a whole lower stage I didn't bother with. I'm thinking Moho might be doable?

I had a similar problem, resolved when I a) updated graphics driver and b) deleted all my old save games (under C drive->users->[your name]->AppData->LocalLow->Intercept Games->Kerbal Space Program 2). Not sure which of those actually solved it, but suspect it was the second one. Hope that helps!

Literally just did the Jeb level before reading this, naturally no screenshots lol The Val level challenge looks fun!

This patch is soooooooo much better, downright heroic improvement! *Round of applause* Love the new manoeuvre nodes with the long handles - not only much better than before, but also fixes a major niggle from KSP1. Also the manoeuvre line connecting the concentric circle thingies indicating entry/exit from an SOI - that's so useful, now I can see the purpose of the circles beyond just looking pretty!

Great mission report! Re. rover wheels, the problem as I understand it is that lack of gravity = lack of traction. You go slower on the Mun than on Kerbin, and slower still on Minmus, because the wheels won't grip. And if you do manage to get up a decent turn of speed, you hit a bump and take off. So I think that's just how it works, unfortunately

Unobtrusive, you say That's phenomenal, we need a race track!

This. Although it doesn't necessarily need to be user configurable (other than a simple on/off option) - rather, it would be nice if the game dynamically responded to dropping framerates by automatically lowering the graphics settings and then upping them again when the system is under less strain. It's far less jarring to see the odd pixel than having the whole game grind to a jerky halt. You see this kind of thing in e.g. racing games a lot - suddenly a chunk of car panelling is a big mess of pixels, just for a moment or two, but you don't reeeaaaally notice too much because the framerate didn't crash so you're still in full control of your vehicle. One thing KSP2 does really smoothly is altering the graphics settings - you can do it without even pausing, and there's no clunky screen res shift or anything else to draw the eye. It just happens, instantly. So why not make use of that?

Yep, but also a great big nope train lol I made it 10k straight up into the highlands to show it can be done, but I'm calling it there before my brain goes completely to smoosh. PS Love how there's a realistic grating/grinding noise when you bump the engine bells on the ground!

Ooooooh my mistake, I do apologise. Forgot to change the torque mode on my reaction wheels - noob error! That's the trouble when you're expecting bugs, it's easy to see them everywhere Currently driving about the Minmus surface, and happy to report my Ford Kaka behaves... like a rover on Minmus. Much prettier than in KSP1 though - even the flats now have little hills & valleys and ramp-like bits which are a lot more fun to drive around on. Not sure I'll be spending the entire day circumnavigating but still... hearty round of applause to the devs from me

[Edited - I'm an idiot and thought there was a bug preventing me from switching from rocket orientation to driving mode. There wasn't.] Val challenge more-or-less completed

Hmmm! Does it have to be an SSTO? Or you just can't separate the rover from the lander?

"You built it out of what...?" "Steel beams, sir." "Will that fly?" "If we strap enough rockets to it, yes..."

Nice vid! I'd say that's legal - if anything, getting your plane to orbit on its own is overachieving lol

Finished the Val challenge! "Wait, I'm on the runway?" "3, 2, 1..." "Argh!" Hey, it was fine. Apparently. Spaceplane separation over Laythe. On the beach, soakin' up the rays. Er, radiation from the massive gas giant. Whatever. Left the telemetry in because oof you can get some speed out of those whiplashes - AP up to 84k on jets alone! Wings? Who needs 'em. See, the rocket airlaunches *from* the plane. Ahem. The lonely trip home... Touchdown! Safe and sound, er, halfway up this mountainside. Look, it's fine. I got Bill back to Kerbin, he can sort his own taxi fare from there.

Neeaaaarly done the Val-level challenge. If I'm reading it right, you can leave Kerbin anyway you like, but have to land a plane on Laythe, take off, and air launch a rocket capable of returning to Kerbin. Managed most of that... (The wings & landing gear detach to leave a 2-stage rocket) but misread the challenge and brought a docking port to refuel in orbit... which is probably cheating. Still, a bit of optimisation on Version 2 should do it!