NGTOne

I'm having some issues with the Mallet/Survey Stakes. First, I tried equipping the mallet and dropping the stakes, but I couldn't attach them to the ground (pressing [x] when I had the mallet equipped). Then I equipped both the mallet and the stakes, and I can't figure out how to actually use them. So, what am I supposed to do/what am I doing wrong?

Part 6: Giants of the Skies T-172 days to Jool departure Jebediah Kerman's office, KSC Administration Building Jeb looked at the folder on his desk with incredulity. 30 years in the Program, and he still couldn't believe it. Couldn't believe the blueprints and briefing docs in front of him, or the enormous vehicle being rolled out onto the launchpad outside his window. Even from his desk, he could see the swarms of news helicopters hovering around it, despite the media having moved on from the Initiative days ago. Even though everything was still on schedule, he couldn't help but worry - the last launch had caused significant damage to the pad, requiring days of repairs and reinforcement work. T-171 days to Jool departure Launch Control Room, KSC administration building "This is KWM Bright Future, reporting in. We are T minutes ten minutes to launch," came the voice over the radio as Jeb took his seat in front of the console, "Everyone's strapped in and waiting up here." Jeb had never liked evening launches, and this one made him especially nervous. There were almost 70,000 tons of metal, plastic, and rocket fuel sitting on the pad, waiting for something to go wrong. And, if something did, the rapidly fading light would make any emergency operations even more difficult. But then, if we don't launch, KerbinWide will pull all their funding and we'll really be screwed, he thought to himself. But as the clock ticked down, he banished his errant thoughts and focused on the task at hand. "10... 9... 8... We have engine ignition... 6... 5... Thrust curve is nominal... 2..." As the countdown completed and the massive craft began climbing skyward, Jeb heard a loud crash outside Launch Control. Across the room, he could see the Emergency Coordinator fielding requests for medical help all over the KSC. He turned back to his console and found that the telemetry was coming through in spurts. Keying up one of the Tracking Station cameras, he could see that two of the huge dishes were jammed and unable to track the slowly-rising spacecraft. "Looks like the sound overpressure from the engines caused some damage to the KSC and tracking station. Bright Future's status is still nominal, and we're proceeding with the launch as planned. Keep your eyes open - this one's gonna be hairy," announced the launch director. A few minutes later KWM Bright Future bridge Even this far from the lifter, Frovin could still feel the massive explosive bolts firing and shedding another stage. "Launch Control, what's our status? Over," he said into the microphone. "...systems... ational... amage... omin... over..." the headset crackled back. "LC, I'm not reading you. What's going on?" "mitter... amaged... oon..." Not like we can turn this thing around anyways, Frovin mused as another stage dropped away. "Launch Control here. Bright Future, do you read? Over," came over the radio. "Good to hear your voice. What's going on down there?" "We took some damage down here when you lifted off. We've got comms back, but telemetry's still a little iffy. Looks like everything's nominal, though," said the voice, "prepare for final lifter stage separation and radiator deployment." "Copy that, Control. Ready for final stage separation," he replied just as the final stage thrusters cut off. But even as the Bright Future's own thrusters began firing, Frovin could feel that something was very wrong as the ship began to vibrate. "Bright Future, we're reading a failure to separate the final stage. Can you trigger it manually on your end?" "Affirmative. Triggering now," replied Frovin, pressing the button on his console. He was rewarded with a decrease in vibration and the massive, satisfying KA-CHUNK of the stage separator firing. His radar screen showed the blip that was the upper stage slowly falling away, back towards Kerbin. Meanwhile Launch Control Room, KSC administration building Jebediah breathed a sigh of relief as the telemetry came back on and revealed the massive ship to be safely in orbit, 200km over the equator. He walked out of the launch control room and took a couple of extra laps around the building to calm down before returning to his office and cuing up a link to Scott's office in orbit. "So how'd it go?" his old friend asked nonchalantly. "Well, it looks like every single window at the KSC is now a hole in the wall, so at least it's not wintertime," Jeb joked weakly, "You know this bunch is going to be a handful, right? KWM spent over 90 million roots on that thing, but they cheaped out on training costs. You've got a shipload of greenhorns up there just waiting for something bad to happen." "You want me to shuttle over there? Maybe I can help whip them into shape before we ship out?" Scott asked. "Not a bad idea, but I need you where you are. We're not even 10% of the way into the launch schedule, and I'm worried that we're going to start hitting delays soon. I'll send someone up who can keep an eye on things," Jeb replied. "Alright. Just let me know if there's anything I can do," Scott said before closing the link. Jeb leaned back in his chair, rubbing his eyes and wondering when the last time he'd gotten any sleep had been. 20 minutes later KWM Bright Future bridge, 200km equatorial orbit over Kerbin "Parking orbit achieved. Launch control, signing off." Frovin breathed a sigh of relief. It had been a hair-raising ride to orbit, but there was still one last task remaining. He unstrapped himself and pushed off towards the airlock at the back of the bridge. "Help me suit up, will you?" he asked one of the other pilots. "Sure thing, hang on a sec," was the reply. A few minutes later, he was standing in the airlock as the air pressure gauge slowly dropped to 0 and the door opened. He sighed, activated his MMU, and puffed forward on a jet of gas. Never seemed this big in training, he thought to himself as he drifted around the hull performing his inspection, or space this empty. I guess we'll all have to get used to that. Inspection complete, he took one more circuit around the ship, pausing briefly on the Kerbin-facing side to admire his homeworld. Then, with that, he activated his thrusters again and jetted back towards the bridge airlock. After a few attempts, he finally made it back inside and got some help removing the suit before settling back into his chair to stand his first watch in orbit.

I'd do 4a, personally - leave a cool bit of debris on the Mun as a memory of a mission (almost) gone wrong.

Spent stages hit the launchpad hard.

Part 5: Impatient Partners T-179 days to Jool departure Scott Kerman's Office, Jool Science Station Alpha "Another private launch? Great. As if the guys working for us weren't enough trouble," Scott complained to Jeb over the video link. "I know, I know. But they're the ones who are paying for most of this, so we have to give them priority launch slots when they ask. Besides, these guys will be performing a necessary service for the Laythe colony - since most of Laythe is covered in water, we need some way to extract resources from the ocean floor. And KIMK people say they've developed something that'll let us do that," Jeb answered, "I know these corporate types can be a bit cagey about their tech - even I don't know all the specifics of what they're sending up - but we all need to co-operate right now to keep things running smoothly." Man, he looks tired, Scott thought to himself as Jeb signed off, Maybe he needs a vacation?. But he knew the boss would never take one - the whole Initiative was his baby, and he would run himself into the ground before taking a break. "Hey Newcas! Get in here!" he yelled into the hallway, before slumping over as much as he could in the station's microgravity. It was definitely going to be a long day. A few hours later Kerbin Interplanetary Mining Konsortium corporate headquarters, Kerbin City "Yes, Mr. Kerbsson, I completely understand your frustration. We had to make some repairs to the launchpad after the last liftoff, and it's delayed our schedule by a few hours. Your vehicle should be ready to go any minute now, though," Bob apologized to the executive standing next to him. "Well, it bloody well better be," Kerbsson growled back at him, "We've sunk a good 16 million roots into building this thing, and easily four times that in R&D." Bob was saved from having to apologize any further by the screens flickering to life in front of them. The biggest one presented a view of the KSC launchpad, half a continent away, with what was probably the most ungainly rocket Bob had ever seen perched on top of it. Nestled in the middle of a mass of fuel tanks and structural girders was a large vehicle, supposedly designed to be able to operate at the bottoms of Laythe's deepest oceans. Even from the minimum-safe-distance camera, he could see the massive drilling units along its flank. "We're patched into the launch control audio loop now," came a voice from somewhere in front as the launch countdown spilled out of the speakers in the cramped control room. Bob could only imagine what the roar of the rockets felt like, and watched wordlessly as the ungainly craft began lumbering skyward. A few minutes later, he saw the first-stage boosters come crashing down around the launch pad as the screen shifted to a simulated view of the next phase of flight. "Well, I think I've seen enough. I've got a company to run." And with that, Kerbsson walked out of the room, leaving Bob to find his own way out of the building. A few minutes later Crew quarters, KIMK Mobile Overpressure Acquirer of Resources Burvin Kerman had done the zero-gee training, as had everyone aboard the MOAR, but it still hadn't really prepared him for the feeling of drifting out of his seat once the engines cut out, or floating around the cabin. Nearby, he could hear a couple of the less-well-constituted members of the crew of scientists and engineers filling their flight helmets with the remains of their breakfasts while the pilots snickered. He maneuvered himself over to where Endock was struggling to remove the now-unbearable helmet and helped him undo the last few latches. He could see that the normally dark green Kerb's skin had turned a pale white. He patted his struggling friend on the shoulder, and drifted over to the cockpit. "How are we doing?" he asked Jefton, who was relaxing after the launch. "Just one more short burn to pull us into a proper orbit," replied the pilot, "You'd better tell the guys to strap back in, because it'll be in a few minutes." Burvin obediently moved himself back to the passenger compartments, and helped some of the others to get back into their seats for the last burn. Meanwhile Scott Kerman's Office, Jool Science Station Alpha Scott pushed himself back into his chair as he read the report about the most recent private launch. Everything was going so smoothly, and he couldn't help but think that something was bound to go wrong. With this much hardware still stacked up and waiting to go to orbit, he figured it was only a matter of time. But, for the moment, he could relax, as things in orbit finally quieted down a little and settled into a dull routine.

I have, on a couple of occasions, encountered a bug in the game (which I eventually wrote a short Perl script to help banish), and it got me to thinking: what other tools outside of the game (game addons don't count) does the community use to make the game better/fix the consequences of bugs when they appear? It might even be useful to create a catalogue of stuff like this for other players to use in the future. I'm especially interested in tools that the community has created, because they might not be well-known. GUIDELINES FOR SUGGESTING TOOLS Shouldn't be on the list already. If it is, feel free to suggest a new use that others haven't thought of. Provide a link (forum post, open-source project page, whatever) and a short description of what it can be used for. Custom Tools: fix_craft.pl - a Perl script to detect errors in .craft files (works using vanilla Perl on *nix and Strawberry Perl on Windows). Jebretary - automatic versioning of craft and savefiles, as well as sync features between saves. Can be used from a Web browser on your local machine or any other device on your network. Uses git behind the scenes (see below). Pre-Existing Tools: git - source control system, useful for versioning your savefiles (.craft and .persistent) and rolling back when something goes wrong.

Fixed this problem using a Perl script I wrote (available below) and some manual editing with Notepad++. https://gist.github.com/NGTOne/9d8148b4de0a2e52170f Output from the script when run against the posted craft file: The issue was a pair of "link=..." entries for struts that didn't actually exist.

So I've run into this issue before, and I've read that it's got something to do with messed up struts/fuel lines. Problem is, this ship is a massive, complex beastie and I really, really, really don't want to have to delete all the struts/fuel lines and re-place them, because it'll take forever and probably end up making the ship (and my computer) go ker-boom in the process For the curious, here's the error in the VAB: ArgumentOutOfRangeException: Argument is out of range. Parameter name: index at System.Collections.Generic.List`1[Part].get_Item (Int32 index) [0x00000] in <filename unknown>:0 at ShipConstruct.get_Item (Int32 index) [0x00000] in <filename unknown>:0 at plugintutorial1.VABScaleDetector.OnStart (StartState state) [0x00000] in <filename unknown>:0 at Part.ModulesOnStart () [0x00000] in <filename unknown>:0 at Part+.MoveNext () [0x00000] in <filename unknown>:0 Basically, the craft file has become corrupt, and just complains about index-out-of-bounds in the VAB (and NullReferenceExceptions when I try to launch it). EDIT: Wrote a perl script to find surface-attached that don't actually exist (which was the problem; see below).

No, not dead. Just working on something big between numerous interruptions.

Part 4: Partners T-180 days to Jool departure Cockpit, EPSS Farthest Reaches "Ready boys?" "Ummmmmmm... Is it too late to get out?" was the response to Ribfield's question. They had been sitting on the pad for two hours already, but with only a minute to go, it was definitely too late to get out. "58... 57... Engine preignition checks look good... 55... 54..." the voice from Mission Control came through the radio, reminding the dozen Kerbs aboard Farthest Reaches of what was about to happen. As if any of them could forget. "Definitely shouldn't have had any of that mint ice cream for lunch," Newsby continued. "You'll have time to complain later! Let's light this candle!" "10... 9... 8... Engine ignition is go... 6... 5... 4... 3... 2... 1... We have liftoff! Good luck out there, Reaches!" shouted Mission Control, almost as if they didn't believe the privately built ship would fly. But fly it did, sailing away from the expectant crowd gathered in the VAB and upwards into the atmosphere on the clear day. Before long, Ribfield felt the deep thud of the first stage separating, followed a few minutes later by the second stage. Suddenly he felt significantly less heavy as the acceleration lessened. "...ssion... here... gett... emetry... rrors... Can you confirm?" crackled the radio. "Farthest Reaches here, Control. Can you repeat that?" asked Ribfield, clearly confused. "I repeat, we're receiving some telemetry errors. Can you confirm?" "Board's green up here, CapCom. You sure you got the antenna pointed at us?" Just like Ribfield to joke while we're sitting on top of a 4-million-root firework, Newsby thought sardonically, trying to keep his mind off his churning stomach. With his luck, he'd have to spend the next few hours scrubbing his lunch off every surface with a toothbrush. "Can the sarcasm, Reaches, and keep us advised. CapCom out," replied Control curtly, clearly none too pleased with Ribfield's rejoinder. "Hey Newsby, I'm seeing some power spikes in the attitude control system. Keep an eye on it, will you?" Newsby dutifully studied his console, but didn't see anything. "Maybe it's a faulty sensor?" he suggested. "Not like we could fix it until we're on orbit anyways." "Eh, you're probably right. Just tell me if anything else seems weird, OK?" "Stand by for MECO," came the voice from Control, "3... 2... 1... Main engine shutdown confirmed. Stand by for circularization in approximately 9 minutes. CapCom out." And, with that, Newsby realized just how isolated he and his fellow explorers were. Launched into a polar orbit of Kerbin to scan for new deposits of kethane and ore, they wouldn't even have the other members of the convoy to talk to on the airwaves. It was just him, Ribfield, and the ten eggheads who would be running the scanning equipment and probes. And it was going to be a very long six months. As he and Ribfield prepared for circularization, the scientists and engineers were frantically working to prepare the scanners for their first deployment. Everything had been ground-tested extensively, of course, but nobody knew how well everything would work once it was exposed to the vacuum of space. In a few minutes, they would all find out. A few minutes later Compared to the ascent, circularization hadn't even been that bad, Newsby mused. A few-second burp from the upper stage, followed by the ship rocking violently as the retro-rockets did their work. "Do you want to do the honours?" he asked Ribfield. "Go for it," the pilot replied with a grin. So Newsby flipped the switch that would open the ship's big bay doors for the first time, and kick off their mission here over Kerbin. Outside the ship, the doors swung open effortlessly, exposing the folded ore scanner to vacuum for the first time. Newsby pushed himself back into the chair using his console, and switched to the external camera view. He could see the scanner, now moved to the raised position but not yet deployed. Then, without a sound, the cable began to extend and the antenna started unfolding, preparing for the months of work that were to come. Meanwhile Mission Control, KSC "Circularization complete. Mission control, signing off," said Jeb into the microphone before closing the channel with a sigh of relief. With all the assembled press here to watch the first private launch of the Initiative, he had stepped into the Capsule Communicator's chair to direct the flight personally. It had partly been about ensuring that everything went smoothly, but it was mostly because Bob wanted a good photo-op for the media, who weren't normally allowed inside. And with good reason, Jeb thought to himself, It's always crowded enough in here without these guys and their cameras. One of the reporters, seeing him edging his way out of the room, broke off from the crowd and tried to engage him. "Mr. Jebediah, the Initiative has 9 spacecraft waiting in orbit to leave for Jool, and we've received reports that you've sent your second-in-command to personally direct operations up there. What's next for the Initiative?" inquired the newshound, clearly eager for a big scoop. Jeb forced a smile and answered, "Well, there's still a lot of work to be done. We have several more craft being prepared for launch, and we're working with a number of private partners to provide services that the Jool colony will need during the flight and upon arrival in the Jool system. Negotiations are ongoing, so unfortunately I cannot give specifics at this time. Please direct all of your further questions to Bob, who's somewhere over... ah, there." The journalist seemed satisfied with that, and wandered off to rejoin the rest of the pack while Jeb made a quick exit before he was cornered again.

Part 3: On Target T-182 days to Jool departure Cafeteria, KSC personnel building More forms, Scott thought, as he sat in a quiet corner of the cafeteria eating his dinner, Always more forms. He had spent the few days since the project kickoff working practically nonstop, wading through piles of paperwork taller than he was. Even the addition of a massive staff of interns hadn't helped - there was just so much to do before the Jool window opened, and seemingly never enough time to do it. He was just praying that everything would keep running smoothly - a schedule slip was the last thing the Initiative needed. Just as he was finishing his soup, he felt his phone vibrate in his pocket. Scott, can you come to my office for a few minutes? There's something important we need to discuss, was all the message from Jeb said. Scott groaned - he was already behind for the next launch. Resigning himself to the inevitable, he began the long walk over to the administration building. A few minutes later Jebediah Kerman's office, KSC administration building Scott walked into Jeb's office, closing the door behind him. "Listen boss, I've gotta make this quick. I'm swamped, and if I don't get everything filled out, we won't be able to..." he stopped as Jeb cut him off. "That's actually what I wanted to talk about," said Jeb cryptically, the weariness apparent in his eyes. "We've been hiring like crazy to fill out the rosters for the Initiative, but none of these guys have any flight time, let alone experience in deep space. We need the greenhorns, but we also need someone to keep an eye on them." Scott blinked for a moment as he processed what Jeb had said, and allowed him to continue. "I know you've been grounded even longer than I have, but I also know that it was you who kept the Duna Expedition from ending in a blown airlock and four frozen bodies. And I need a point man up there even more than I need one down here." Scott paused as his mind went back almost two decades, to the very nearly ill-fated Duna Expedition, to the thought of Bartdard straining against the airlock's wheel. To the rogue crewman trying to vent their air supply into space only a few weeks from home. And to Scott frantically trying to talk him down while Melman and Gerfrey searched frantically for something to restrain him with. He shuddered instinctively at the memory. There had been a massive coverup, of course. The media darling of one of the most ambitious space missions in Kerbal history couldn't be seen as a raving lunatic by the general public. So Bartdard was quietly retired and placed in care, far from prying eyes, and the rest of the crew was grounded indefinitely. Now he was an urban legend, something the old hands occasionally discussed and the new guys rarely heard of. "With all due respect boss, are you sure you want me up there? I haven't been to space in twenty years, and I've got enough trouble keeping these interns in line filing papers. Isn't there anyone else who can go?" He asked of the boss, but already knowing the answer. "Almost everyone else is already committed, either to the Initiative or other projects, or they're on R&R and won't be available until near the departure date. We're less than a dozen launches in, and it's already getting harder and harder to keep order and traffic patterns going up there. I've heard stories of airlocks being used as garbage disposals, near-collisions between stations, and of one of the outposts nearly tearing itself apart when someone turned on the rotation motors while they were still locked down. I need you up there yesterday, way more than I need you down here filing paperwork," Jeb pronouned with great finality. "You're going up on the next launch, on the first science station." "Just my luck," Scott replied with a wry grin, "An untested lifter carrying a brand-new station design. What could possibly go wrong?" T-181 days to Jool departure Launch Control Room, KSC administration building Jeb stood in Mission Control, studying the big screen. There, between a map of the vehicles already stacked up in orbit, ground-camera and helicopter views of the science station on the pad, and a large ascent info diagram, was the smiling face of his friend. After two decades of being grounded, Scott was grinning like a madman from the thrill of being in a spacecraft again. "3... 2... 1..." intoned the launch director, "We have engine ignition. We have liftoff." As the massive spacecraft lurched skyward, someone announced, "We have some wobble in the upper structure. Appears to be within acceptable flight parameters." Jeb silently wished his friend luck as the rocket continued skyward and started its turn to the east. A minute later, it was out of sight, and the smoke plume was starting to dissipate. Then, without anyone noticing he was gone, he left the control room. 9 minutes later Jool Science Station 1, suborbital trajectory over Kerbin "Prepare for transfer stage ignition in 20... 19... 18..." crackled the voice from KSC, now half a world away. But Scott barely heard it, trusting that the other 59 members of the station's crew would act on the instructions being relayed to them. For now, he felt alive again, felt his body drift in microgravity, felt the tiny vibrations of the station around him. For now, he enjoyed space like it was his first flight again. A few hours later Kerbin City Mental Health Institute Sigmund relaxed in his chair, just waiting for the day to be over. All this beautiful sunshine, and he was stuck inside looking after the ones who never improved. Most of his patients had been in for years, it not decades, and would likely never leave. Not what he had expected when he had taken the "prestigious" job at the Institute. His final visit of the day was with Bartdard, not that it ever did any good. Bartdard never spoke, never misbehaved, never showed any indication of what was wrong with him, and was forbidden from being discharged by someone very high up in the government. "'afternoon, Bartdard," he greeted the forlorn-looking Kerbal as he walked in. Bartdard inclined his head slightly in response, but said nothing. The TV was tuned to KNN as he walked in, but he paid it no mind. "Care to tell me what's in your mind? Maybe today's the day." Bartdard was as silent as usual as the KNN theme played in the background and Wolf Kerman started rattling off the nightly news, starting off with something about that big project at the KSC. "Like the news? Maybe that's something. What do you think of Kustin Kerman's latest DUI?" he asked. He never got the chance to hear the answer, because the next thing he saw was a group of orderlies standing over him as he woke up. As he examined his broken nose and black eye in the mirror, he asked the orderlies where Bartdard was, and one of them responded that he hadn't been seen in hours. "Well then, call the police and tell them to find him! He can't have gone too far," he instructed the staff, sinking into his chair. He suddenly felt very tired, and the sunshine outside suddenly didn't look so appealing anymore.

Part 2: A Frantic Schedule T-184 days to Jool departure KSC Administration Building, Jebediah Kerman's office "Well boss, you finally went and did it. You managed to sell this project of yours to the higher-ups, and I'm pretty sure you're the only one who's crazy enough to pull it off." Jeb frowned at Scott's comment. Sure, he was excited to finally have the Jool Kolonization Initiative get off the ground, but it wasn't just him responsible for it, and Scott was forgetting that. The thousands of colonists, tens of thousands of ground personnel, and numerous private contractors and agencies involved in the project had a long few years ahead of them, and it was about to get heated very quickly. To meet the lofty goals of the Initiative was going to take an incredible amount of work, perserverance, and luck, especially over the next six months. He was just glad that the first launch had gone off without a hitch, and the first 88 colonists were in orbit awaiting the still-distant transfer window. "Scott, what's the schedule looking like for the next three days?" he inquired of his second-in-command. "Well boss, we've got a bunch more outpost station launches in the pipe - that was the only bit that was ready before we got the go-ahead, so it's first off the block. Besides that, the R&D boys finally have the science station ready, so that's got its first flight in a couple days. Plus EPSS is almost finished delivering their survey ship and wants a priority slot for the Kerbin mapping mission." The last item on the list lightened Jeb's frown a bit. "I thought they weren't going to be ready for another three weeks," he inquired of Scott. "They managed to step up their development a bit with some... ahem, encouragement from yours truly," replied Scott with a smile, "I don't need to tell you how important the orbital resource survey was to getting us the greenlight on this whole operation, after all." Jeb nodded silently in agreement. The KSC management had been stonewalling the colonization proposal for years, and had only very grudgingly agreed to it, with the condition that the majority of the cost burden be shouldered by private partners, and that one of those partners had to send up a resource survey ship and map Kerbin before the departure date. ExtraPlanetary Survey Services had stepped up to the plate, designing and building a long-range survey/probe carrier ship in record time, and had been one of the driving factors in making the bureaucrats listen. Now Jeb's desk was piled high with requisition orders, design documents, contracts, and what seemed like a never-ending series of forms. As Scott started going on about snack procurement for the upcoming launches, Jeb allowed his mind to wander a little, thinking back to his own visit to Jool so many years ago. He had marvelled at the oceans of Laythe, made a high-speed pass over the craggy terrain of Tylo, skimmed the Joolian cloud-tops, even gotten to glimpse the rock stacks of Pol. Crammed into the tiny little ship with just Bill and Bob for company, they had gone further than any Kerbal had ever gone before and lived to tell about it. And it was that mission that had inspired the Initiative in the first place. "...and that's about it. You OK there, boss? You look a little glazed over," finished Scott, looking up from the tablet and forcing Jeb out of his reverie. "I'm fine," Jeb replied unconvincingly, "Just not looking forward to all this paperwork. You think anyone would notice if I went for a walk around the VAB for a couple hours?" "I'll make sure they don't, boss," replied Scott with a chuckle. A few hours later Launchpad Observation Point, atop the VAB "Who the hell let all these civilians in here?" Jeb felt distinctly out of his element looking at the crowd of reporters vying for a position near the observation window to watch the launch. He saw crews from KNN, FKX News, KBC, and a couple of dozen other networks, and it seemed like nine-tenths of the assembled crowd had press passes. "I did. The Initiative needs publicity, or else this whole thing will never get off the ground - pun completely intended," remarked Bob, emerging from the crowd. "I know this thing is your dream, but we have to keep the public interested, or our partners will dry up and take our funding with them." Bob might never have been completely at home in space, but here on the ground, he was adjusting to his new role as chief of operations for the Initiative extremely well. Not that Jeb saw much of him anymore - Bob was constantly on the go, courting some private agency or the media or the KSC's own administration. A crackle interrupted them, as the observation room's speakers came on and the final countdown began. "We are T minus 20 seconds to outpost station launch. All systems are go; repeat, all systems are go. Good luck up there." All the reporters rushed to their positions, so they could be standing with the rocket behind them as it rose into the sky. Bob and Jeb moved off to one side, listening and watching as the last few seconds ticked off the countdown. "3... 2... 1... We have ignition... We have liftoff!" Well, they're certainly less dramatic than in our day, thought Jeb sarcastically, as the reporters chattered into their cameras and microphones and everyone's gaze followed the trail of smoke skyward. There would be another launch in a few hours, and a few hours after that, but for now he could rest. Scott was taking care of some of the paperwork, and the VAB was working flat out to keep everything running on schedule. He quietly exited the room, while Bob waded back into the throng of journalists for another round of interviews.

Part 1: The Reveal T-185 days to Jool departure KNN logo shows and intro theme plays Wolf Kerman: "Welcome to Kerbal News Network's evening news. I'm Wolf Kerman, and this is today's top news: Earlier today, representatives from the Kerbal Space Program announced a grand colonization effort of the Jool system, in collaboration with a multitude of private-industry partners. While nobody outside the KSC has yet revealed the scope of this undertaking, it is widely known that the Program has massively stepped up recruitment in recent months, and speculation about what was going on behind the doors of the Vehicle Assembly Building has run rampant. To go with the announcement, the KSC released this series of images, which appears to show a space station of some type being launched into orbit. It is as yet unknown what the function of this mystery station will be, but it appears to be quite sizable and seems to be designed to produce artificial gravity through rotation." T-190 days to Jool departure Internal KSC briefing document PREAMBLE The Outpost Station design is intended to provide for long-term habitation by 88 crew members, to observe the long-term impact of space habitation in an unfamiliar setting. These stations will also serve as stopover points for crewed surface-orbit flights at a variety of inclinations. DESIGN OVERVIEW The Outpost Station is designed as a pair of contra-rotating rings, joined by a despun utility/docking core. Each ring houses 44 Kerbals, and is capable of completely independent operation from the other (though unwanted motion may result if one ring is removed, due to conservation of angular momentum). At each end of the station are a set of docking ports, to allow orbital and surface-orbit vessels to attach to the station and exchange crew and supplies. The station itself lacks propulsive capabilities, but is expected to be used primarily as a static installation. It carries no scientific apparatus, as its primary purpose does not include specific scientific investigation. TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS Crew: 88 Launch Mass: 5936 tons Orbit Mass: ~1191 tons Station Mass: 216 tons Unit Cost: √4,618,105 MISSION CONTEXT As one of the KSC-supplied elements of the Jool Kolonization Initiative, it is intended for the Outpost Station infrastructure to be available to all private partners to use as necessary to support their own colonization and commercial endeavours in the Jool system. To this end, numerous Outpost Stations are being outfitted and launched, with the ultimate goal of placing at least one each in orbit of Vall, Bop, and Pol, and a network of them over Laythe and Tylo. Prospective distribution profiles for Laythe and Tylo are still being studied, but the (currently) most promising options are a set of stations located in low circular orbits at inclination intervals of 30 degrees, or, with sufficient private partner buy-in, every 15 degrees. The net result of this is that a minimum of 15 such stations must be launched and brought to the Jool system, with a total population of some 1320 Kerbals.

So here's the error I'm getting (from the in-game debugger): This happens when I'm trying to load a large ship (only about 900 parts, but with really large fuel tanks and a high cost) in the VAB. Issue is, I'm still not seeing what about it would be causing an out-of-range error. The ship's price is only 44 million, the fuel supply is only a few million units, and nothing else even comes close. The in-game result of this weirdness is the following: All of the parts on the left-side parts list disappear. The ship's parts become unselectable (and therefore immovable), though I can still right-click on them. The one decoupler on the ship loops its "firing" animation (complete with smoke effects) in the VAB. The "Action Groups" and "Crew" tabs become inaccessible. I don't believe this to be mod-related, because I didn't add any new mods between when the ship worked in the editor and when it broke - I just kept building it. Issue is, I'm unsure of how to reproduce it without falling afoul of some other known (though obscure in the community) Unity bugs. KSP Version I'm running 32-bit 0.90 on Win7 x64. MOD LIST: Hoooo, boy. In no particular order, Near Future Electrical 0.3.1 Freight Transport Tech 0.3.1 SmartParts 1.5.1 Kerbal Alarm Clock 3.2.4.0 Kronal Vessel Viewer 0.0.4.0.90 Editor Extensions 2.5.1 Strip Symmetry 1.5 Final Frontier 0.6.4-689 Hangar Extender 3 RCS Build Aid 0.6.1 Kerbal Enginner 1.0.15.2 Active Texture Management Basic Stanford Torus 6.1 Lack Luster Labs 13.1 B9 Aerospace Release 5.2.8 Part Icon Fixer 1.2 Kerbal Foundries Wheels and Repulsors 1.8 KAS 0.4.10 MechJeb 2.4.2.0 Kethane 0.9.2 ModuleManager 2.5.10 Bahamuto EPL Parts 1.2 ExtraPlanetary Launchpads 5.1.2 TweakScale 1.52.1 Infernal Robotics 0.19.3 output.log (fair warning, it's huge) https://gist.githubusercontent.com/NGTOne/dd4f4cf31e9ebbf8e814/raw/KSP%20output.log

So, before the big 1.0, I've decided to follow through on one of my longest-standing goals in KSP, and build a big colony in the Jool system. I haven't got all the details worked out yet, but I know I want stations around and outposts on every body, and major colonies on Laythe and Tylo. ISRU using Kethane and EPL is also a must, and the ultimate goal of all of this is to have a total Jool system population (TJSP) of several thousand Kerbals. TABLE OF CONTENTS: Part 1: The Reveal Part 2: A Frantic Schedule Part 3: On Target Part 4: Partners Part 5: Impatient Partners Part 6: Giants of the Skies NOW, ON WITH THE SHOW!