KSP Players guide

[starwing]

Hi ppl, new here and new kerbonaut. only just played through the tutorials and started career mode.

As there is so much to remember when launching, orbiting and flying through space I was thinking of getting the Kerbal Players Guide book for reference.

Did anyone else get this book? And, if so, did you find it helpful or is it best to just keep practicing the tutorials until I have it cracked?

Sorry if this has been asked before.

Thanks in advance.

[Snark]

Hello, and welcome to the forums! 

Can't speak to that book (don't even know what you're referring to, or how up-to-date it is with the recent KSP versions, but I'm guessing it's some third-party thing).

My own recommendation would be, just play the game and have fun and learn as you go, and if you get stuck or need some help on something, just post a question in the Gameplay Questions forum.  It's friendly and free. 

But that's just me, perhaps someone else may have some feedback about the book.

[qzgy]

Never heard of the book.

I agree with @Snark - Just play the game (probably in sandbox) and learn for yourself, and ask questions if stuck.

[Kerbinchaser]

SCOTT MANLEY!!!!!!!

THE POWER IS ALL HIS!!!!

 

Hullo, it's Scott Manley here!

Edited July 12, 2017 by Lo Var Lachland

[Just Jim]

4 minutes ago, Lo Var Lachland said:

SCOTT MANLEY!!!!!!!

That's how I learned most of what I know.

[Ty Tan Tu]

I am not familiar with the book, but it gets a very positive review from Scott Manley which does go a long way with me. Teh authors are impressive. I myself am a intrigued.

Here is the authors' presentation.

 

 

Edited July 12, 2017 by Ty Tan Tu
Video did not enbed

[Ty Tan Tu]

The main author of the book is Paul Fenwick, author of CKAN

[Kerbinchaser]

19 minutes ago, Ty Tan Tu said:

I am not familiar with the book, but it gets a very positive review from Scott Manley which does go a long way with me. Teh authors are impressive. I myself am a intrigued.

Here is the authors' presentation.

 

 

Was that RoverDude presenting the mod? I skipped to there. 

[Superfluous J]

Watch out. I recall distinctly a book for sale a year or two ago that was a huge scam. Not much more than copy/paste of forum posts or something like that.

The book by Paul Fenwick is NOT what I'm talking about, and with any luck the other book isn't even available anymore. I'd just hate someone to buy that scam book thinking they were getting this one.

[regex]

Book looks legit, although the intro on O'Reilly is kind of funny for the "KSP is incredibly realistic" line (hint: it's not). Probably a good book to get started if you're not into watching Youtube for tutorials.

[Kerbinchaser]

1 hour ago, Ty Tan Tu said:

I am not familiar with the book, but it gets a very positive review from Scott Manley which does go a long way with me. Teh authors are impressive. I myself am a intrigued.

Here is the authors' presentation.

 

 

@Just Jim, you need to get in this video! 

[Just Jim]

9 hours ago, Lo Var Lachland said:

@Just Jim, you need to get in this video! 

Wow... It would have been fun, but this was before my time.
Amazingly enough, and a little off-topic, but this was held on July 20-24, 2015... and I joined this forum on the last day, July 24, 2015.

Edited July 12, 2017 by Just Jim

[NISSKEPCSIM]

38 minutes ago, Just Jim said:

Amazingly enough, and a little off-topic, but this was held on July 20-24, 2015... and I joined this forum on the last day, July 24, 2015.

*X-Files music*

[wumpus]

11 hours ago, regex said:

Book looks legit, although the intro on O'Reilly is kind of funny for the "KSP is incredibly realistic" line (hint: it's not). Probably a good book to get started if you're not into watching Youtube for tutorials.

If you sorted all "space computer games" by accuracy, you would find a tiny sliver of obscure games just above KSP, and KSP beating the combined sales/downloads of them all by several orders of magnitude.  The list should include:

Orbiter (KSP started out as "orbiter for dummies")
A Saturn V simulator (go through the full checklist every time or crash.  Don't expect to get anywhere without reading the manual for weeks)  I think this was 2000-2005ish
Some rather non-interactive games (no physics engine to cheat at) like Buzz Aldrin's space program.

Most of the games below it would have "Star Wars" aerodynamics in space.  I'm not sure if Elite: Dangerous has such, but it is certainly the same style game.

While Scott Manley does have a fair amount of science videos about "what KSP doesn't teach you about rocket science", so far they haven't exceeded "what KSP teaches you about rocket science" (mainly thanks to time limitations.  But eventually they would also get boring).  When I step back and look at the game, I'm impressed that things like the Oberth effect and slingshots work in the game (it should be obvious that even with the Newton/Kepler (pre-Lagrange) physics model these have to work, but it is still impressive).

When you are comparing KSP to some asymptotic "perfect realism", everything looks fake.  Is principia working nicely with RSS/RO yet (I really don't know, but when I get tired of KSP I don't plan on including principia into an RSS/RO stack unless it would cause more bugs to leave it out)?

Edited July 12, 2017 by wumpus
premature post (wrong return key combo)

[Tex_NL]

Legit books? Ilegit books? It doesn't really matter. Don't buy them, they are not worth it.

Books can only teach you the basics. And since the game is still under development even those basics are still in flux. Things or techniques that are common practice now may be obsolete and outdated after the next update. Only the forum (plus reddit and the (in)famous YouTubers) can keep up with all the updates and changes. Get your info straight from the source. Don't let yourself get bogged down by books that are most likely already outdated.

Edited July 12, 2017 by Tex_NL

[regex]

1 hour ago, wumpus said:

If you sorted all "space computer games" by accuracy, you would find a tiny sliver of obscure games just above KSP, and KSP beating the combined sales/downloads of them all by several orders of magnitude.  The list should include:

Your point is completely irrelevant to mine as I am not amused at a comparison of KSP to other "realistic" games.

1 hour ago, wumpus said:

When I step back and look at the game, I'm impressed that things like the Oberth effect and slingshots work in the game (it should be obvious that even with the Newton/Kepler (pre-Lagrange) physics model these have to work, but it is still impressive).

I am too, but that's not what amuses me about KSP being "incredibly realistic".

1 hour ago, wumpus said:

When you are comparing KSP to some asymptotic "perfect realism", everything looks fake.

I haven't compared it to some "perfect realism", I've noted that the construction "incredibly realistic" was amusing because KSP is not. Probably the most glaring example of how KSP is not "incredibly realistic" are the ridiculous SSTO spaceplanes that grace these forums and elsewhere. The ease with which these are made and flown to orbit encompass pretty much everything wrong with "KSP is incredibly realistic".

KSP is realistic enough for a silly, casual (in terms of spaceflight) game about spaceflight where players are encouraged to kill and/or main their astronauts in funny ways and that seems to be the way most players want it to be. They will even defend this point as unassailable; "this is a game" is a favorite rallying cry when someone asks for a more realistic representation of something in the game. So when I find "KSP is incredibly realistic" to be funny it is in contrast to all the players who want it to remain "a game". There's nothing inherently wrong with this and I enjoy the "game" part as well (hell, I have a whole gallery of pictures of a stock science mode game I played fairly recently) but the simple fact is that KSP cannot be held up as "incredibly realistic", it's "realistic enough for a game".

1 hour ago, wumpus said:

Is principia working nicely with RSS/RO yet?

Yes, although Procedural Parts needs to fix a transform for solid rocket motor nozzles when used with it. Once that's fixed I can return to my game. If you're cool not using procedural SRMs then it's working great.

[Pecan]

19 hours ago, starwing said:

Hi ppl, new here and new kerbonaut. only just played through the tutorials and started career mode.

That book has a bit of history but is legitimate.  (It was originally written in 2014 and had a publication-date a few months ahead - for 2 years.  Once they got O'Reilly as publisher it was updated and released properly).  I haven't read it - because all the time I was interested it was still 'coming soon' - but it should be ok, IF it covers the things you want to know.

I was amused though by one of the *5 star* reviews which, in its entirety reads "Just arrived - haven' t opened it yet. However, can't download computer game!!!".  So - someone who hasn't played KSP or read the book thinks it's the best thing ever!

My own advice would be to just try getting to orbit, landing on Minmus and building a space-station by docking components in orbit.  Check the forum tutorials and gameplay questions for things you don't get.  Plus, Scott Manley on YouTube.  Others, such as CupCake, can be awesome but a lot are either too advanced/unexplained or simply people screaming as they crash.

[starwing]

Thanks ppl, I am playing 1.3 so, as said, the book may be out of date for my version.

I will keep trying, will be more rewarding when I get it right!

[SpaceOdissey]

1 hour ago, starwing said:

Thanks ppl, I am playing 1.3 so, as said, the book may be out of date for my version.

I will keep trying, will be more rewarding when I get it right!

and I'm playing KSP 1.2.0! 

[MaxwellsDemon]

I was interested in it for a while, but it kept getting delayed, so I stopped tracking it.   Then I found it in a Half Price Books store and picked it up.

I think it's actually pretty good, and interesting.   The principal problem, of course, is that KSP was still (is still) in flux/development, both with the core game and particularly the mods, so that there's a significant risk guarantee of instant obsolescence.

[Tyko]

I actually own the Kerbal Player's Guide, I've read it, and it's really well-done. it's based on KSP 1.2.x which is really close to 1.3 in terms of play. I can't think of anything a newer player would try that's changed with 1.3.

The first half of the book teaches you how to play with useful tips and examples. further back in the book it touches on all kinds of detail like writing your own Module Manager config files and a lot more.

If you want a structured step by step guide, I'd recommend it.