Jump to content

Have your mind ever gone empty when building a Ship?


Pedro_daher

Recommended Posts

So basically today I woke up and was like: "Today I'm going to build a huge station with so much cr@p and it will be awesome and so much wow", then you open the VAB and blank, you have no Idea on where to start or how it will fuction, sometimes you build something but you think it looks like crap and don't even know how you will lift it or how far it can get... Am I the only one that ever feel that every fricking time? I have a huge problem on building huge ships or permanent stations...:(

Link to comment
Share on other sites

[super obvious answer that everyone thought about but didn't dare to say]

Add MOAR boosters !!

[/super obvious answer that everyone thought about but didn't dare to say]

More seriously, I also struggle designing bases because I worry too much about how I'm going to send them up there, so I often end not building a base at all, kind of frustrating. Stations are OK for me because you dont have to land them, and you can assemble them easily in orbit.

For rockets on the other hand, I never get bored creating them :D

Edited by Gaarst
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Yes i get the same kinda 50/50 these days like.

One day I will build some megaship like the above, possibly to go elsewhere in the universe with, or most probably just crash it into a planet... or crash the computer.

I imagine the builder of the likes of the above will have had that in its entirety (1000+ parts???) in the VAB.

I always intend to build the entire thing in the VAB, but never do. Those time i did manage to make a start on "big" lunar land bases I ended up making the segments individually. The most I ever did was attach my ship to one other piece to match heights of landing legs/docking nodes and whatnot but thats it.

The launchers Im testing atm are pretty part and fund heavy, which makes it harder to work with in VAB with staging atm should get easier once i get used to it.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

IMHO, the answer is "top-down design." Start with what mission the ship or station will have-- for a station, it might mean answering questions like, "is it for scientific research? For a refueling stopover? For a rendezvous point? For in-space construction? For tourist accommodations?" (Or perhaps some or all of those?) Perhaps you could build a "command core" and then add "wings" onto it, each dedicated to a particular mission or purpose...

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I feel ya. I had this with my Minmus refueling base. I sat down and wanted to make an awesome base, and it just wasn't in my head. I had to go on hiatus for a week until the muse struck me.

It's ok, but it does it's job and I finally got around to liking it:

0TSw3K6.png
Link to comment
Share on other sites

What MD said. I've never clicked the VAB (except when I click it by accident :D) and not had some sort of end-goal in mind. And I mean a specific one. "I want to make a cool station" isn't what I'm talking about. "I need a refueling station for LKO, now that I've got my Minmus operation all set up. It also needs a ferry/tug to bring fuel down from Minmus."

And I've never had brain farts in the VAB because of it. Mine come earlier, starting at the entire space center wondering what to do and where to go now, or how to get the science to unlock what I want to take me where I want to go.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Sure, it happens all the time. I usually see something on this forum which greatly inspires me to let my creativity loose. So I enter the VAB/SPH in a mood of unwarranted optimism and with an unhealthy confidence in my engineering skills, I begin. Then, one of two things happen:

1) My optimism decreases proportionally with the amount of seconds I spent in the VAB/SPH, and within minuets my creativity is completely gone and all of the ideas I had in my head are vaporized.

2) I actually assembles something which one could argue is indeed something of a rocket – only to discover that my creation is so intrinsically ugly and unappealing that launching it, would be an aesthetics disaster.

I am of course kidding a bit, but I do indeed know the feeling, OP is referring too.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Yeah, happens to me with some frequency. Usually I'll start building something, then realize "wait... this is very similar to this other thing I built" and get stuck trying to make it more unique.

Or sometimes I'll go into the VAB and totally forget what I was going to make. :blush:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I usually start by drawing out a simple sketch on my tablet of what my idea is. Then draw sub-components out to give me an idea of what it needs to function. Then in a fit of OCD, write up a mission plan for the rocket, station, base, ect that I'm going to build, to include IMC/FMC (initial mission capable/fully mission capable) missions. Then after all of that, I go into the VAB or SPH, and start putting together the sub-assemblies to create the monster I'm putting together. Any changes I make to my plans in-game, I note on my plans on my tablet, so I don't lose myself. I'm OCD about making sure everything fits within the fairings, parts fit together, and proper lighting (yes, lots of lights). Test everything in my sandbox, then move it to my career save for final assembly and use.

I spend around 3 hours a week in-game, and another 4 to 5 hours a week brain-storming on my tablet. I spend more time planning and building them really playing. Once idea is up and running, then off to next idea.

flintlockmusket, proper planning prevents broken computer (yes I've done that before, baseball bat like). Wife doesn't like broken toys.

Edited by flintlockmusket
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I have regular 'senior moments', but when I go into the SPH or VAB I have a very clear idea of what I'm trying to accomplish.

I know what parts are needed to accomplish the goal, the DV budget for the entire mission, and exactly how each stage needs to be constructed.

I never design for cool factor, just practicality and efficiency.

But because I'm old, I often forget what I'm supposed to be doing in the middle of doing it :(

Best,

-Slashy

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Happens to me all the time. On days I have time to play, my day usually goes as follows:

-Go to work

-Browse forums at lunch and/or poop time and get super inspired

-Go home, bright-eyed and bushy-tailed, and excited to get started on some amazing creation that I'll finally be proud to post on the forums later

-Fire up the computer and crack a beer

-Start KSP and spark a bowl while it loads (lots of mods)

-Enter the VAB/SPH around the same time the green hits me

-Place a command pod and proceed to stare at the screen for 45 minutes trying to remember what I was going to build...

Although, in my case, I think there's one obvious step that is at fault...

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I always think first: what do I want, why do I want it? Thus I attempt to understand the problem itself first, then I go and attempt to find a solution that only solves that problem. Usually this results in a probe or another sensor package to be sent to a spaceship, or in more long term games a ion powered starship.

I generally do not experienced "rocket scientists block" because I always have a goal, and with a goal a tentative plan which can be solved.

LOLZ, no no no, I'm talking about the design itself, the motivation and ideas simply vanish when you try building it... Like this one down here, I WANNA DO EET, but my brain refuses to let all the ideas take place in the VAB

http://i.imgur.com/9kL2p.jpg

I see that the kerbals get the extra cozy high flux isotope production area as their room.

Otherwise, nice.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I am a "build small" person.

I totally read this as 'I am a small-built person' :rolleyes: Might've been the avatar :sticktongue:

I have occasionally become overwhelmed by the complexity of my designs. This is usually a sign that my computer won't handle the part-count anyway, and my response to this situation is generally to click the 'new craft' button.

But I think maybe what you're really asking is, do people ever just draw a total blank. Generally I'd say no, except when I'm building towards a contract I haven't actually accepted yet, and I've forgotten the specifics, e.g. payload/dV/cabin space requirements.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I intentionally keep my mind empty. I build a thing, and then add on to the thing, and then keep going until reason itself makes strangled sounds.

Then I add boosters and then I hit spacebar. Sometimes nice things happen. Sometimes bad things happen. Sometimes explosive cascades happen.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I rarely experience this, usually I have a relatively clear vision of what the thing I'm gonna build needs to do, what things I want to integrate into the design etc. and some sort of vague vision what it should look like in the end. It's often the same process for me: build the rough shape of a vessel or plane first, including all critical elements that it may have. Tweak it, till it's tight and solid and then flush out all the details. So generally, when I do play, I know what I'm gonna do and don't get stuck.

However, for me the problem is to spark motivation in the first place. Sometimes I think that I have already build everything I would find interesting or that there isn't anything to do anymore in KSP. In these moments, I start KSP, instantly lose any interest in it and close it again.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I totally feel like this when playing KSP lately. To be honest it has been the basis of my long term hiatus from actually playing the game. Sometimes there are moments of inspiration, but most of my KSP time these days is starting game, getting to KSC screen, maybe VAB, exit because BLANK

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Not really, but whenever I complete a craft in the editor, I always spend quite a lot of time staring at it wondering "What have I forgotten? I've forgotten something...dV, power, science, crew, life support...what have I missed?"

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I actually have no problem in designing cool things, but then my efficiency mind kills the designing mind, because I'm realizing just how inefficient it is in delta-v, partcount, usability and such things. This get's me always to scratch the nice looking thing and build something plain and boring, but efficient. :-/

By the way, if you bring your stations in orbit and use lots of struts in doing so, I highly recommend the KIS Mod so you can disassemble all the strutpoints in orbit. This sometimes works wonders for the partcount!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Sometimes I force myself to break out of my standard rockets/modules mold and do things flipped around . Like putting the heatshield on top of the rockets , using ions/nukes when I really dont need to , or make insanely fast 5+TWR to 70,000 KM using SRBs and a lightweight final circularizing stage.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Yeah, I've had VAB block from time to time. What can help is to just start work on what I call a "sketch" - a rough design where I'm not worrying about the fine details, and just want an idea of how feasible my plans are, will everything fit, how much fuel will I need, and so on. Once I have such a sketch I can go forward with the more serious aspects of the design.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

This thread is quite old. Please consider starting a new thread rather than reviving this one.

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
×
  • Create New...