Vanamonde

If you get into the game's settings file and change the line CONIC_PATCH_DRAW_MODE = 3 to CONIC_PATCH_DRAW_MODE = 0 you will see your path past the planet displayed near the planet itself. Then it will be easy to place a maneuver node at the halfway point of the transit (most efficient place fuel-wise) and play with that to fine-tune the approach. Be warned, though, that entering the world's SOI while in warp can cause this path to get yanked violently from where you planned it, so be sure to drop to warp x10 or less for the SOI entry.

A station is simply a ship without engines.

Huh? After it smashes into the surface and the dribble of remaining fuel explodes, the only "surplus" left is a small hardpoint or two. You're going to be ejecting stages along the way anyhow; what difference does it make if the last one hits the surface?

I generally eject a stage just before the lander touches down, so that the lander is full for the return leg.

Here's a walkthrough for getting to the moons. Many of the mechanics for getting to other planets are similar. For the rest, try this.

The scale of the parts relative to the demands of a Mun-Kerbin return is such that it's more trouble than it's worth to discard parts on the way home. I mean, you can shave some weight off of something like this, but why bother?

Katateochi has no net access while he's relocating to a new house, so it may be a while before he checks in.

I'm moving this over to mission reports, where I hope you will keep adding to it.

Not that. You will find a certain friend on the forum with the same shipbuilding aesthetic.

Can you post pics of your ship? The game does take into account that the *net* thrust will be zero if an engine's exhaust is hitting another part of the same ship.

700NitroXpress, it's so cute!

The Jool system is unrealistically crowded, with SOIs that are a significant fraction of the distances between the moons. It's not at all unusual to find yourself bouncing around like a pachinko ball there.

Something similar happened to me recently while orbiting Dres, though I've never used the gravity hack. I transitioned to KSC, then back to my orbiting ship, and its orbital velocity was zero.

I am fine (well, that's a lie, I'm sick, but in good spirits). Anyway, I'm going to slide your post over to the Welcome section of the forum, Mdsujaan, where you can greet other newbies and be greeted.

Congratulations on one of the game's major milestones. (And moved to mission reports.)

To post a pic, upload from your screenshot folder to a free service like Imgur.com, then use the BBCode they provide in your post.

The mix of silly and serious is what won me over, too. Welcome to the game, and the forum.

Eeloo doesn't require any special techiques, thought its SOI is a small target to hit in proportion to the distance you have to cross to get there. What sort of trouble are encountering?

I've also observed a lower threshold before lag sets in with .22. Not sure if it's happened to everybody, though.

The full game has bunches more parts, and many more destinations to fly to. You won't regret buying it.

Before they introduced docking parts, we used to fly multi-ship missions. For example, a one-way lander and a non-landing recovery vehicle, so one ship didn't have to be capable of both functions. It's A LOT of work, though, especially getting multiple ships to arrive at around the same time. You're better off learning to dock. You might try practicing with this trainer I made. it's two ships in one launch, so you can practice separating them and bringing them back together, without having to fly a second ship all the way from the Launchpad to orbit.

Yep. Upload the screenshot to Imgur.com and use their BBCode link in your post. (Or one of the similar services.)

Katateochi is in the midst of moving to a new house. It may be a while before he responds. (Two weeks to get a 'net hookup in the UK?!)

There is no in-game log, and I don't believe anything like that is planned. Looks like you'll need to make it yourself. Unless somebody can suggest a mod?

I have been playing for 18 months, and I'm still learning.