Speeding Mullet

Ah right my bad. Seeing as CommNet isn't fully implemented in KSP2 and there's no published wiki for KSP2 parts, I thought we might be able to use our artistic license a little but them's the rules it seems. I've got little appetite to repeat the mission with 1 replaced part, so I'll go do something else for a while. SM

Ah yes, the classic year and a half on orbit before departure to Duna! Very nice craft design, the Klass-1 is a well-proportioned launch vehicle. I'm looking forward to more complex mission reports coming out of the woodwork post patch 1, so I'll be following this one. Keep it up! SM

This was a popular thread in KSP1 discussion long ago, created just after the great forum crash. It ran to over 100 pages and spanned 4 years before suddenly it stopped being posted to in 2017. I can only imagine you all just stopped building rockets that failed, so I doubt this thread will pick up any steam. Oh, who am I kidding. I'll kick things off then: I call this "Back so soon?" SM

KSP Version - 0.1.1.0 Operating System and version - Windows 11 CPU and GPU models - Intel core i5 12600KF / NVIDIA GeFroce RTX 3080 Description of the bug. Expected Behaviour - crafts remain in orbit around Duna, and individual craft can be switched between without issue. Observed Behaviour - when switching between "active" craft in mission, mission parts spontaneously leave Duna orbit at 15km/s Steps to Replicate - Rocket upper stage with 4 decoupled relay stats. Decouple 1 craft, switch between vessels focuses on empty space and rest of vessel leaves Duna at 15km/s Fixes / Workarounds (if known..) reload and try again A list of ALL mods - None Other Notes: Please see screenshots in spoiler. Possibly related to physicless engine fairing ejecting backwards through the craft on decouple? SM

Replicated in v0.1.1.0, however, was not quick enough to get a screenshot. Report as follows: KSP Version - 0.1.1.0 Operating System and version - Windows 11 CPU and GPU models - Intel core i5 12600KF / NVIDIA GeFroce RTX 3080 Description of the bug. Expected Behaviour - fairings decouple and drift apart Observed Behaviour - fairings eject forward through payload, then rapidly descend straight down to Kerbin Steps to Replicate - Rockket with fairing, eject fairing. Fixes / Workarounds (if known..) unknown A list of ALL mods - None Other Notes: None SM

3. Transmitting Live From Duna (Version 0.1.1.0) I knew the patch was coming and it would improve things so waited a couple of days to press on with the missions. Glad I waited as apart from 1 episode of my ship suddenly leaving Duna at 14,841m/s (solved by reload), it was basically a smooth (framerate and bug free) experience. Here's the full missions report. Dinkelstein Kerman did listen to the controller's feedback about the solar panel size, but refused to compromise more than one size, citing "big raspberries" and muttering something scientific under his breath. Thanks to Mullet Dyne we now have the right network support and mapping capability at Duna to pick a site for the next mission, where the team will attempt to land a probe on the surface of the dusty world. Here's a postcard from the mission, if anyone knows how to hide the last bit of graphics (F2 used to clear the whole UI out) let me know: Dinkelstein Kerman's rocket was a massive success and set the scene for larger and larger solar panels. No wait, no, we told you already, cut it out Dinkelstein! SM

I never had any doubts even with the major bugs on release but it's night and day, it really is. What a wonderful effort over the last 3 weeks by the team. Your continued love and confidence in the title you have developed is something you should be very proud of, and it justifies my excitement in the future of KSP2 which I've displayed pretty openly over the last few weeks. Long weekend well-earned I'd say! SM

Having attempted an Elcano Minmus yesterday (also tested rover on Kerbin), I definitely think wheels need some attention. I remember doing a Minmus Elcano in KSP1 (similar design powered by 20 ruggedized rover wheels) and not finding it as "floaty". I tested the KSP2 rover of a very similar design on Kerbin with the ruggedized rover wheels and it wouldn't even move. Even with the larger ones it barely got up some pretty modest hills on Kerbin, so torque could definitely be tweaked. You still have to design around the limitations of low gravity with downforce engines etc so in my opinion the compromise to realism in the interest of playability would be wholly justified. Edit - Top speed is also way too low. Let me decide how fast to impact terrain! SM

Cheers! Ah you are probably right there. I remember doing a Minmus Elcano in KSP1 (similar design powered by 20 ruggedized rover wheels) and not finding it as "floaty" though so there might have been some changes along the way. I tested the rover on Kerbin with the smaller rover wheels and it wouldn't move, and even with the larger ones it barely gets up the most modest hills on Kerbin so torque could definitely be tweaked in the interests of playability, I think. You still have to then design around low gravity with downforce engines etc. but at least assuming you design for the gravity conditions of the planet or moon you are on you aren't immediately thwarted by a slight rise. SM - I'll have another shot at the Elcano a few patches distant!

Me too! I can't even beat my first try any more, must have been beginner's luck! SM

Over the course of yesterday and today I had an honest crack at the Jeb level challenge (Minmus Elcano and return). I knew it was going to be tricky - My first visit to Minmus in KSP, my first rover in KSP2, and my first Elcano attempt in KSP2. Unfortunately, after getting an appreciable distance under my belt the rover randomly evaporated, and despite restarting and driving about 1/10th the way round Minmus a further 2 times it happened again and again. On top of that reloading was corrupt so each time I had to start from the beginning as this was the only save that would load, so I settled for the primary mission goal and beat a hasty retreat back to Kerbin. Its a real shame as the rover absolutely would have been capable of doing it. I found the rover wheels to be very lacklustre in terms of power, but the suspension travel was excellent. There's definitely some work to do on rover wheels in KSP2 as rocket engines were definitely required to help build up speed. Here's the full mission report of the (failed) Elcano, but successful round trip to Minmus. Couple of postcards below: Skycrane manufactured on Kerbin by Experimental Engineering Group. They recently rounded their logo to present a softer image to the public Seans Cannery sure do make an itchy space suit Periapsis rocket supplies did the grunt work in building the rover and it shows - Hardly anything fell apart on the way to Minmus After the third genuine attempt was foiled, there was nothing to do but return home to face the music of failure. Interesting plants we have on Kerbin. Must have been a good summer So how would I describe this mission? Frustrating but fun. In essence the whole thing worked as intended in terms of my design being sound, fuel margins, TWR etc. but the mission was unfortunately borked by bugs that in the end I just couldn't work around. I'll definitely be back to Minmus post a couple of patches to make another Elcano attempt. Once you get off the glass, the mountainous terrain is interesting, and a real challenge compared to KSP1. SM

It's this bug: Should be fixed in the first patch according to this post: At least you don't have to go far to return to KSC SM

Here's a post on KSP2 performance that might fill in some gaps Two identified areas are terrain optimisation, and fuel flow/resource optimisation. I'm pretty sure there's a heap more on the list of things they need to/want to optimise. Here's another post with information about optimisation: I wouldn't call the graphics primitive in the slightest but I suppose that is a relative benchmark, much in the same way the dollar value of the game is depending on who you poll. SM

Which is similar to the expression Ludlan gave me when he realised it was a one way trip to Duna: The animations of the Kerbals in KSP2 are great, but there's a bit to do in terms of their movement/knockdown-ability etc. I don't want to see them ragdoll as badly as KSP1, but they do need to advance things a little in this area in the future I think! SM

Minmus Elcano is still one of my favourite ever KSP missions. Look forward to visiting Minmus for the first time in KSP2 and crashing as much as I did in the first one! Good luck over the next week with Patch#1 and I can't wait to see what you all have been working so hard on. With that in mind, remember to take time out for family and to relax. Thanks for all the communication and very interesting dev blog! SM