Your Unusual Tricks of the Trade

[Cornholio]

I know this might make some people ball their fists in rage, but...

I really enjoy making aesthetically pleasing inline, interplanetary rockets that do not require assembly in orbit if possible.  To do so I use the heck out of cargo bays.  In order to cram as much stuff into bays as possible I use the gizmo/offset A LOT.

For example:  I play with TACLS.  I place large hex LS parts vertically inside of bays then move them down and laterally so that they clip inside fuel tanks.  I am sure to leave a small portion exposed so that I can still right click to transfer when necessary.

Similarly, I always flip/offset batteries inside of command modules/fuel tanks/everything because it looks better and I think it's ridiculous to see a rocket with a big AAAAAA battery hanging off of the side.

[Fearless Son]

When launching a ship with tall solid fuel boosters, always bolt some stabilizer fins near the bottom of them, even the cheap ones will suffice.  You want those fins to be symmetric around the craft, but asymmetric relative to a single booster.  Not only will this contribute to stabilization on ascent, but it also introduces some lateral force on the booster that is cancelled out by the booster on the opposite side.  Once the boosters detach, the aerodynamic forces will gently pull the boosters away from the body of the craft, reducing the risk that one of them clips one of your more critical stabilizers that remain on the craft body.  

Speaking of tall boosters, never use the "Kickback" without strutting it first.  The tallness, heavy mass, long burn time, and high thrust of this can lead it to introduce some harmonic forces while performing even a gentle lateral maneuver (it "wiggles" a little.)  This in turn can cause you to easily loose control of the rocket, particularly because there is no way to throttle down solid boosters once they are lit.  Struts will increase the air resistance of the craft, true, but a carefully placed strut or two should get rid of the worst of the harmonic forces without significantly impacting total delta-v for the ascent stage.  

[Clouds]

On Monday, June 13, 2016 at 9:13 AM, fourfa said:

Mk2 cockpit exploding from heat on launch or reentry?  Stick an antenna on the nose.  (The Communotron-16).  You'll have to stick it on at an odd angle and use the rotate/offset gizmo to put it precisely on the tip of the nose.  Presto chango, never worry about heat again.  This trick is so OP it will probably get nerfed at some point.

I didn't believe you, but I tried it anyway (with a Mk1 cockpit).  Wow: ~400 more m/s before exploding (angled prograde).

[magnemoe]

2 hours ago, Fearless Son said:

When launching a ship with tall solid fuel boosters, always bolt some stabilizer fins near the bottom of them, even the cheap ones will suffice.  You want those fins to be symmetric around the craft, but asymmetric relative to a single booster.  Not only will this contribute to stabilization on ascent, but it also introduces some lateral force on the booster that is cancelled out by the booster on the opposite side.  Once the boosters detach, the aerodynamic forces will gently pull the boosters away from the body of the craft, reducing the risk that one of them clips one of your more critical stabilizers that remain on the craft body.  

Speaking of tall boosters, never use the "Kickback" without strutting it first.  The tallness, heavy mass, long burn time, and high thrust of this can lead it to introduce some harmonic forces while performing even a gentle lateral maneuver (it "wiggles" a little.)  This in turn can cause you to easily loose control of the rocket, particularly because there is no way to throttle down solid boosters once they are lit.  Struts will increase the air resistance of the craft, true, but a carefully placed strut or two should get rid of the worst of the harmonic forces without significantly impacting total delta-v for the ascent stage.  

Kickback is mostly for 3.75 meter rockets, I use two angled seperatrons and the bottom stabilizer to seperate them, remember they are KSP answer to the shuttle and SLS SRB 
If you use four its often smart to offset them, have the second set have less than 100% trust. 
Added benefit of this is an longer booster who increases stability. you want an long rocket not an fat one, if your fairing is fat you want an even longer one. This confuses old player like me who was used to the <0.20 pyramids. 

[StrandedonEarth]

I haven't used sepratrons on Kickbacks for a long time. Place the decoupler high, using the gizmo to slide the SRB down so the nozzles are beside or below the main engines. Place the struts low. The decouplers will kick the top of the Kickback away, while the bottom will already be past the main engines

Edited June 21, 2016 by StrandedonEarth

[Blaarkies]

On 6/18/2016 at 6:01 PM, The Thyroid Man said:

When using LVNs, 

*ahem*

 

ALWAYS REMOVE THE OXIDIZER OR ELSE YOU SHIP'S DELTA-V WON'T GET ABOVE 3000!!!!

Good - This
Better - Use "Liquid Fuel" only tanks(the type for aircraft)

Delta-v is highly dependent on fuel vs tank mass. Having an orange tank(with Ox removed) will have 2x the tank mass per LF mass, compared to the aircraft tanks...but since stock doesn't have quite a selection of LF tanks yet, it gets tricky.

[magnemoe]

4 hours ago, Blaarkies said:

Good - This
Better - Use "Liquid Fuel" only tanks(the type for aircraft)

Delta-v is highly dependent on fuel vs tank mass. Having an orange tank(with Ox removed) will have 2x the tank mass per LF mass, compared to the aircraft tanks...but since stock doesn't have quite a selection of LF tanks yet, it gets tricky.

Only reason for using rocket fuel tanks with the LV-N is if you want to transfer rocket fuel to other ships, carrying extra fuel for landers is one, 

[Fearless Son]

14 hours ago, StrandedonEarth said:

I haven't used sepratrons on Kickbacks for a long time. Place the decoupler high, using the gizmo to slide the SRB down so the nozzles are beside or below the main engines. Place the struts low. The decouplers will kick the top of the Kickback away, while the bottom will already be past the main engines

Also, when making a choice of which decouplers to use, keep in mind their detach ejection force.  This is a tweakable, and some of them have much higher maximum force than others (the Hydraulic Detachment Manifold, for example.)  If you have a launch vehicle with heavy boosters that get dropped sooner rather than later, consider using more powerful decouplers instead of Seperatrons if you want them flying away from the body of the craft at higher velocity (as you might if you plan to detach them during a gravity turn and want a buffer to get some clearance so they do not clip stabilizers or the engine.)  

Lighter, weaker, ejection force decouplers have their place, but those are usually best on later stages where you want to be more conservative with your mass.

[mrclucks]

If you have a high twr for landers, you can add some extra tanks via decouplers that extend below your engine.  It's a good way to have makeshift landing legs and extra Dv, as long as you add fuel lines from the drop tanks to your main craft.  If your twr ratio isn't as high as you want you can still do this method and then add some smaller engines onto the drop ranks

[Grenartia]

On 6/18/2016 at 11:01 AM, The Thyroid Man said:

When using LVNs, 

*ahem*

 

ALWAYS REMOVE THE OXIDIZER OR ELSE YOU SHIP'S DELTA-V WON'T GET ABOVE 3000!!!!

Or just only use LF tanks.

 

 

 

 

[Znath]

I had a campaign mode that got corrupted and thus lost interest.  But one trick saved my program.

 

I had launched an overly complex mission to Jool where I brought like 4 miniprobes with and left them in orbit around the moons.  Then I also had probes on Duna's moon, both of Kerbin's moon, and Eve's moon.  So whenever a mission came up "collect data around X" I could. 

One was as simple as "collect data over blabla moon"  so I lifted the probe off the ground a little, collected the data.... space program saved.

[DunaRocketeer]

A lot of people use the wings of their spaceplanes to keep the vehicle high whilst they scrub off speed. If you're not that patient, then design your vehicle to have your COM only slightly forward of COL at the end of its mission (when you've burned most of your propellant) it will allow for a very high angle of attack whick makes your vehicle scrub off speed very quickly without having to deal with high heat levels. You might need to shift propellant to the forward tanks to maintain stability towards the end of re-entry.

I find this very useful when I don't have a lot of time to play the game.

[DaMachinator]

On 6/21/2016 at 1:02 AM, Blaarkies said:

Good - This
Better - Use "Liquid Fuel" only tanks(the type for aircraft)

Delta-v is highly dependent on fuel vs tank mass. Having an orange tank(with Ox removed) will have 2x the tank mass per LF mass, compared to the aircraft tanks...but since stock doesn't have quite a selection of LF tanks yet, it gets tricky.

Better still: Use Stock Fuel Switch (a mod). Switch any LFO tank to LF or Ox. No extra parts.

Edited June 22, 2016 by DaMachinator

[MaxwellsDemon]

I think mine tend to fall into the category of "personal preferences" rather than actual "tricks of the trade," but I do like to have a small service bay on top of my Mk1-2 command pod, with the docking port then on top of that.  Within the bay I have an OKTO2 (to provide SAS capabilities even with no skilled pilot) stacked with a couple of Z-200 batteries and the MechJeb unit on the side.  I sometimes squeeze in a couple of small monoprop tanks, but more usually add some of the science experiments like the thermometer that yield more science from returning it than from transmitting the data.

In the 1-2's "service module," the top unit is another service bay with either a SC-9001 materials bay serving as the 'center column' or a FL-T200 for an additional fuel supply, and a couple of monoprop tanks; the rest is space for various science experiments (concentrating on the ones that give better value for transmitted data-- though the SC-9001 will still need a spacewalk to grab the data for full effect).

When I started, I stuck my (radial) components all over the outside but that always bothered me; the service bays are much preferable!

I try to orient the command module(s) in the VAB so a standard 90-degree east gravity turn only takes "pulling back on the stick" (S).  Makes launches easier.

It took me a while to figure out how to do an Apollo-style LOR mission; till then, I did direct-ascent.  There's nothing wrong with that, but again, my personal preference is LOR (and then I typically leave the lunar module in a parking orbit for later re-use by another mission-- why pay to send the hardware up there twice if you don't have to?), though with a one-stage lunar module (Apollo-style two-stage stacks get too tall for my taste).

I send a Kerbal out in a special rover with a cockpit (for replenishing flags) and place flags at the east and west end of the KSC runway, place another lined-up flag a kilometer out from the west marker to be a "middle marker" and then go another 5 or so kilometers and place an "outer marker" flag.  In my last campaign I also had flags marking the centers and entry points of shuttle landing guidance cylinders about 7 more kilometers to the west but never actually used them (I still haven't quite mastered a good horizontal landing-- to-do for the future).

[Brownhair2]

On 6/13/2016 at 9:13 AM, fourfa said:

Mk2 cockpit exploding from heat on launch or reentry?  Stick an antenna on the nose.  (The Communotron-16).  You'll have to stick it on at an odd angle and use the rotate/offset gizmo to put it precisely on the tip of the nose.  Presto chango, never worry about heat again.  This trick is so OP it will probably get nerfed at some point.

Ok, I know that this is an fairly old post, but I would just like to say that OH MY GOD THIS IS BROKEN. Also it works for pretty much any pointy thing, including nose cones.

[Kerbinchaser]

If you have MechJeb, use offset to hide in inside your ship. Not as bulky, and you'll still be able to use it like normal.

[Blaarkies]

12 hours ago, Lo Var Lachland said:

If you have MechJeb, use offset to hide in inside your ship. Not as bulky, and you'll still be able to use it like normal.

There exist some Module Manager config scripts, that basically adds the MechJeb module into every probe core(not physical like clipping). So every probe core then has the MechJeb abilities(and mechjeb menus and whatever else).
A small change to the config files in your GameData folder can do this as well, but your idea is an excellent quick fix

Something like this

Edited June 23, 2016 by Blaarkies

[Kerbinchaser]

3 hours ago, Blaarkies said:

There exist some Module Manager config scripts, that basically adds the MechJeb module into every probe core(not physical like clipping). So every probe core then has the MechJeb abilities(and mechjeb menus and whatever else).
A small change to the config files in your GameData folder can do this as well, but your idea is an excellent quick fix

Something like this

I did not know that. Thanks for sharing. However, it looks like that mod is outdated. 

[fourfa]

http://mods.curse.com/ksp-mods/kerbal/221109-mechjeb-embedded-universal

Try this.  It only does MechJeb, it works.  KER has a 'partless' option in its own settings.

[Moesly_Armlis]

Here is another cubic octag function; boost up engines such as Mammoth and Twin Boar.

Connect cubic octag or similar and then connect engine to the node.  Translate gizmo part into place.

Two or more engines can stack; turn shroud off through part action menu.

Use the Brake Action Group to shut down Twin Boar and similar engines when in upper atmosphere.

 

Spoiler

Moar Thrusters

 

Edited June 24, 2016 by MoeslyArmlis

[Blaarkies]

4 hours ago, MoeslyArmlis said:

Here is another cubic octag function; boost up engines such as Mammoth and Twin Boar.

Connect cubic octag or similar and then connect engine to the node.  Translate gizmo part into place.

Two or more engines can stack; turn shroud off through part action menu.

Use the Brake Action Group to shut down Twin Boar and similar engines when in upper atmosphere.

 

  Reveal hidden contents

Moar Thrusters

 

Sounds like Twin-boar ssto lifter with a built in NERVA engine...if you can land that safely it is a free ticket to get modules in space 

[cantab]

Bit fiddly with the colliders, but yes that trick for extra engines is pretty neat. Also consider the BZ-1 attachment point which might be stronger. My updated version of my shuttle has Twin Boar+Skipper boosters.

[Gardevoir11]

On 14.6.2016 at 1:30 AM, cubinator said:

Speaking of which, on some flights I like to make a separate quicksave on the launchpad, so I can use it as a "Revert to Launch" if something goes wrong and I can no longer revert.

Thanks

On 15.6.2016 at 7:36 PM, SSgt Baloo said:

When I use the inflatable heat-shield, I like roof-mounting it with an inverted decoupler, That way I can jettison it after it's slowed me down enough to suit me, but before I deploy the main chutes. Mounting it beneath the pod can make for an unstable reentry machine that can sometimes start tumbling uncontrollably before you're ready to deploy the main chutes.

All of the heatshields can be set to decouple in staging or decoupling with right click

[SSgt Baloo]

6 hours ago, Gardevoir11 said:

Thanks

All of the heatshields can be set to decouple in staging or decoupling with right click

True, but unless you wait until your main chutes open to slow your capsule down enough, jettisoning the heat shield just means that now you aren't connected to it solidly and have to ride it down until your chutes deploy fully. Besides, if it begins to oscillate violently (not an infrequent occurrence), IRL. it would tangle your shroud lines and cause other types of damage. Even though the game doesn't actually let that happen, it still offends my sensibilities to do things so haphazardly.

Edited June 24, 2016 by SSgt Baloo

[ClamBoy]

Here's a new-to-me thing that I like. I used to hate messing around with inclination changes on the way to minimus. This career I've put up a little satellite ~100K above Kerbin matching Minimus inclination. I put my Minimus launch on the pad, set the satellite as target and set an alarm on KAC for when the ascending or descending node is intercepted. After launch, I can tweak path so that I have little or no inclination to correct for. Makes Minimus travel much more straightforward for me.

Not sure if this method will work with bodies that orbit around Kerbol. I'll be firing up a satellite to see if I can do the same for Duna.