Brand new computer...let's try Kerbal Space ProWAAAAAAAHHHHH!!!!

[NorthernDevo]

Hallo!

I just got a new computer! Now....PLEASE don't ask me what kind it is; I have no idea. As far as I'm concerned computers are squarish black boxes with magic pixies inside; I rely on people smarter than me to guide me through anything technological. Suffice it to say it's about 5 times larger than the little Acer Aspire I had; and the guy in the computer store - who is a competitive gamer - was seriously impressed. That was enough for me; I dropped enough cash to buy a cheap car on this thing; hauled it home (by taxi; since I bought it instead of a car) and plugged it in.

Everyone here knows the frustrations and tribulations of setting up a new computer; I won't detail the last 24 hours but a few hours ago I finally got Steam running and re-installed my KSP. Oh - and I found I'd been upgraded to 1.2 (or whatever) without my knowledge...nice. Well; it's still KSP...

Understand friends, that to this point I've played KSP about 4 years with the demo; only got the full version about 3 weeks ago and played on minimum settings; even then taking about 3 seconds to pass every game second with any ship larger than about a dozen parts.

Struts absolutely killed my frame rates.

Not that it mattered; KSP is terribly fun and I'd gotten as far as slamming a probe into Duna in what is euphemistically called a "Planned Uncontrolled Entry" (by the Kerbal Spin Department).

So there I wuz; firing up KSP and starting a new game (because I forgot to save my saves from my old machine). The usual: select the two contracts; a capsule with a Mk.16 above and a Flea below; two Goo canisters and drag the contraption out to the launch pad. Cool...let's see how this new PC works.

Press 'space'...

WAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!

HOLLLLLLEEEEEEEEE SNAAAAAAAAKESSSS!!!!!!

WAAAAHAGAAAAAAA MAAAAMAAAA!!!!!

Er....Ahem. (straightens up)

Incredible! I'd never seen KSP in its full glory until this moment - when all graphics and realism sliders are maxed out and I'm still getting well over 150fps - good Lord!

For the first time, I've finally seen KSP as it was meant; fast - ridiculously fast - easy to use (a peeve of mine was how hard it was to build in the VAB; complex rockets seriously slowed my system down) and absolutely, hauntingly beautiful.

OOOOOOOO I'm having so much fun - I launch Kerpollo Four after I finish this post: the first planned landing on Minmus; I've planned a slingshot around the Mun for the fuel savings and the sightseeing opportunities. (KSC Administration suggested taking golf clubs, considering the number of holes observed on the face of the Mun. It was voted down...barely.)

 

Basically, what it boils down to is that I've gotten a new computer; it's easily capable of handling KSP's needs at max graphics, and I've fallen hopelessly in love with KSP all over again  I LOVE THIS!!!

Cheers!

Edited October 16, 2016 by NorthernDevo

[tg626]

Aw come on!  You gotta tell us what it is! Is it a standard make/model or custom, at least the processor and memory on the windows about this system page.

[NorthernDevo]

20 minutes ago, tg626 said:

Aw come on!  You gotta tell us what it is! Is it a standard make/model or custom, at least the processor and memory on the windows about this system page.

I'll be honest - I'm not joking when I say I can't relate the specs of this new computer; I have mental issues and cannot easily describe such details. But where technical ability fails pattern recognition remains and I can easily find it on Best Buy's website; I simply have no idea what the specs listed mean. It's this one:

http://www.bestbuy.ca/en-ca/product/cyberpowerpc-cyberpowerpc-gamer-supreme-slc9840-pc-intel-i7-6800k-2tb-hdd-240gb-ssd-32gb-ram-win-10-english-slc9840/10481223.aspx?path=54f64918d09948b884f0138743229493en02

 

Edited October 16, 2016 by NorthernDevo
TMI

[tg626]

That's perfect, now I and others can see the specs and have your first hand knowledge that it runs KSP well!  As I'm sure you've noticed it's a topic of some debate and interest here on the forums.

Happy Kerbaling!

[Kerbal Kommander]

Well that's a little misleading... description says gtx 1080, details say gtx 1060. Which is it?  Either way, good card.  You now have an awesome system that probably surpasses what 95% of people on this forum have.  You can load up KSP with all sorts of graphical mods to make KSP even more glorious.  Welcome to the future!  Enjoy your new KSP experience.

[Snark]

Okay, so if you want to (potentially) have your socks blown off yet again... try installing Scatterer, and/or Stock Visual Enhancements.  Frickin *gorgeous*.

Alas, can't run 'em myself, because either one slows my machine to a crawl (and I'm not exactly playing on a potato, either).  But if you've got a seriously kick-butt machine, may be worth trying 'em out for a spin. 

[RX2000]

58 minutes ago, NorthernDevo said:

Incredible! I'd never seen KSP in its full glory until this moment - when all graphics and realism sliders are maxed out and I'm still getting well over 150fps - good Lord!

Just so you know, unless you got a really nice monitor too with a higher than 60 hz refresh rate, any FPS above 60 isnt gonna do you any good. I usually just lock my framerate at 60 fps so I dont needlessly tax my video card (even tho I have a pretty good one.)

[Alshain]

Stock Visual Enhancments
Stock Visual Terrain
Scatterer (yes, I'm actually recommending this one now, it took a while but it has gotten good)  Nevermind, this mod has gone back to making Kerbin look ugly from space again. I can't reccomend it.
Real Plume
Planetshine
Distant Object Enhancement
Engine Lighting
Cool Rockets
CollisionFX
Reentry Particle Effect
 

Socks will disintegrate before having time to be blown off.

(Not all of these are available for 1.2 yet.)

Edited October 18, 2016 by Alshain

[regex]

Get RO/RSS with RVE +Scatterer. Anything less is cheating yourself, Kerbin simply lacks the majesty of a full-size planet.

[eddiew]

6 hours ago, NorthernDevo said:

http://www.bestbuy.ca/en-ca/product/cyberpowerpc-cyberpowerpc-gamer-supreme-slc9840-pc-intel-i7-6800k-2tb-hdd-240gb-ssd-32gb-ram-win-10-english-slc9840/10481223.aspx?path=54f64918d09948b884f0138743229493en02

Ok, yeah, that is quite a good PC. Meaning I'd struggle to make anything meaningfully faster with any budget at this point in time   I strongly recommend fleshing out the visuals with SVT+SVE, plus others as @Alshain has suggested above. Stock graphics are... a bit dated, tbh, particularly the planets.

@tg626 - FYI, I run an older 2500k CPU, overclocked to 4.3GHz, paired with an nvidia 1060 graphics card, 32gb memory, running 1920x1200. With SVE+SVT making the game pretty, it's still coping admirably. The graphics card is recent and made a big performance increase, contrary to expectations that KSP is CPU-bound. What I do find is that other people say "aww man, 500+ parts lags me" and I simply wouldn't dream of going that high. Most of my builds are less than 150. I notice slowdown at around 250. Maybe that's the shiny mods, but personally I find this is good enough for everything except space stations, where I have to make sure to undock old ships before attaching new ones. Whether that's "running KSP well" is a matter for debate  
 

 

[katateochi]

7 hours ago, NorthernDevo said:

'll be honest - I'm not joking when I say I can't relate the specs of this new computer; I have mental issues and cannot easily describe such details. But where technical ability fails pattern recognition remains and I can easily find it on Best Buy's website; I simply have no idea what the specs listed mean. It's this one:

http://www.bestbuy.ca/en-ca/product/cyberpowerpc-cyberpowerpc-gamer-supreme-slc9840-pc-intel-i7-6800k-2tb-hdd-240gb-ssd-32gb-ram-win-10-english-slc9840/10481223.aspx?path=54f64918d09948b884f0138743229493en02

 

oh hey, so I just upgraded my rig and put the same processor into it. So if you're interested I could yammer on about the various nerd level details about it!  
The key thing about that CPU is it has 6 cores (vs the more standard 4) and with hyper-threading that means it can think about 12 different things at the same time.  

That's great you're able to play KSP properly now!

[Jovus]

6 hours ago, regex said:

Get RO/RSS with RVE +Scatterer. Anything less is cheating yourself, Kerbin simply lacks the majesty of a full-size planet.

No, really. You might just roll your eyes at this normally, going, "Oh, it's those RSS guys again; I don't have the chops for that."

But seriously. It's worth it. I've been playing with a full-sized Earth and RVE+Scatterer for a few weeks now, and every time I look at KSP my jaw drops.

I haven't stopped bothering my friends with inane messages like, "CLOUUUUUUDDDS!!!"

[ZentroCatson]

I myself also have quite a beast of a computer, its an Asus ROG G20, that my not be as powerful as the monstrum that the OP bought, but still it runs KSP without any problems at max graphic settings aswell as the SVE packs. I cant recall the stats of my computer, I'm new to Windows so I have no idea where to look 'em up  If someone could help me, I would be very glad!

Compared to the experience I had with my Mac potato Air, KSP looks amazing on my gaming computer! I had severe memory and FPS issues on my potato, those are completely gone on the ROG G20. It's a fact that Macs aren't good for gaming, they're only good for social networking rubbish 

[Just Jim]

Oh hey, that's an awesome machine! I looked at the same one when I was shopping for a new computer a couple months ago, but it was a little over my price range.

You are going to LOVE it!!!!!!  

[Shiva]

26 minutes ago, ZentroCatson said:

I myself also have quite a beast of a computer, its an Asus ROG G20, that my not be as powerful as the monstrum that the OP bought, but still it runs KSP without any problems at max graphic settings aswell as the SVE packs. I cant recall the stats of my computer, I'm new to Windows so I have no idea where to look 'em up  If someone could help me, I would be very glad!

Compared to the experience I had with my Mac potato Air, KSP looks amazing on my gaming computer! I had severe memory and FPS issues on my potato, those are completely gone on the ROG G20. It's a fact that Macs aren't good for gaming, they're only good for social networking rubbish 

I use this, free and quite good...

https://www.piriform.com/speccy/download

[StrandedonEarth]

Wow, nice! Have fun!

Now, can someone lend me $2199.99 with no real expectation of getting it back?

Then again, I need to replace my car more than I need to replace my PC...

[NorthernDevo]

Hi guys; thanks for the responses! I hadn't thought about adding graphics packs yet but I've seen pictures and they look wonderful. That's great - Ok then; let's talk specifics about the graphics.

First, Kerbin: I love the shots of Kerbin  as a fully fleshed planet with cloud layers, settlements et cetera. As I look up the list, can I confirm that is " RO/RSS with RVE +Scatterer"? Ok; that's what I'll look for first.

Second, the moon textures seem to be pretty good to me; Mun looks quite decent; if there are better textures I'd love to see them. And of course Minmus is quite fine in its Dr. Seuss glory.

Third - are there any mods that change the rather weak (IMO) re-entry effects? It looks good now but riding down in a Mk-1 inside a cone of fire would be thrillin'.

Smile - I'm going to start looking at mods...the moment I can figure out where they are

Thanks!

 

[ZentroCatson]

2 hours ago, Shiva said:

I use this, free and quite good...

https://www.piriform.com/speccy/download

Ah, thanks! Now, my specs are:

CPU: Intel core i7 6700 @3.40 GHz  Ram: 16 GB  Graphic Card: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 970 

That's all of the important stuff. It isn't much compared to the OP's PC, but it can run ships with up to 600 parts at "not too bad" FPS.

Regarding your question, @NorthernDevo, there is this mod that enables an unused particle effect already availabe in stock. I must say it looks awesome 

Edited October 16, 2016 by ZentroCatson

[LordFerret]

I hope you didn't pay that much for it. I'm seeing it online for $1652, with free shipping. :/

Anyway, a new machine is a fun machine. Hope you have lots of fun. Build something monstrously big and put that puppy to the test!

[Jovus]

5 hours ago, NorthernDevo said:

Hi guys; thanks for the responses! I hadn't thought about adding graphics packs yet but I've seen pictures and they look wonderful. That's great - Ok then; let's talk specifics about the graphics.

First, Kerbin: I love the shots of Kerbin  as a fully fleshed planet with cloud layers, settlements et cetera. As I look up the list, can I confirm that is " RO/RSS with RVE +Scatterer"? Ok; that's what I'll look for first.

No; RO/RSS is the suite of mods that turn Kerbin into Earth and the Kerbol system into the Solar system. It's like a completely different game.

If what you want is graphics enhancements for the Kerbol system, you'll want Stock Visual Enhancements and its recommended/required mods (like Planetshine and Distant Object Enhancement) instead. Leave out the RO/RSS stuff, and you don't need RVE.

[NorthernDevo]

Ok; understood - I'll pass on RSS for now; I want to play the Kerbal system for a bit until I'm well familiar with it, though I will certainly be putting it in in the future. I'll pick up SVE and its mods first and proceed from there. Thanks!

[nosirrbro]

Man I envy your build, its worth over 4 times mine. At least I can run KSP pretty well (at least graphically) with it.

[RX2000]

9 hours ago, ZentroCatson said:

Ah, thanks! Now, my specs are:

CPU: Intel core i7 6700 @3.40 GHz  Ram: 16 GB  Graphic Card: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 970 

That's all of the important stuff. It isn't much compared to the OP's PC, but it can run ships with up to 600 parts at "not too bad" FPS.

Regarding your question, @NorthernDevo, there is this mod that enables an unused particle effect already availabe in stock. I must say it looks awesome 

This is pretty much my exact setup also.

I just installed SVE. Wow.... Pretty.

[KerikBalm]

Scatterer+EVE is a must

RSS if you want.

[Tyko]

On 10/16/2016 at 5:17 AM, ZentroCatson said:

Compared to the experience I had with my Mac potato Air, KSP looks amazing on my gaming computer! I had severe memory and FPS issues on my potato, those are completely gone on the ROG G20. It's a fact that Macs aren't good for gaming, they're only good for social networking rubbish 

LOL. You're comparing a dedicated desktop gaming box to Apple's ultraportable laptop...hardly a fair comparison 

For reference, I'm playing KSP on a 2009 Mac Pro - that's 7 years old - with all graphics settings maxed out and SVE/scatterer/planetshine/distant object enhancement...etc. Silky smooth graphics, great frame rates.

Macs can be great for gaming, but you just have to buy the right machine. Just like you can't expect a Toshiba Protege laptop to run KSP well, you can't really expect a macbook Air to run it well.