Lazarus42 Posted June 2, 2018 Share Posted June 2, 2018 Hi, I've just got the latest 64bit Steam version & have gone through some of the training & have been hacking together a few spaceplanes. But I've been watching Scott Manley's YouTube channel for a couple of years or so so it's not all totally new to me. About 4 years ago Scott did a series on mods for the game, mods everyone should have, mods for the look and feel of the game, mods for more realistic physics ect. A good series but four years in gaming is like 40 years it'll. Is there anything more modern that's been written on the subject of mods? I'm running it stock at the moment but I know it could be better. If anyone has any thoughts on this it'd really help. Now, back to working out why my solid booster won't sep at burnout... Thanks for a great forum! Laz Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vanamonde Posted June 3, 2018 Share Posted June 3, 2018 Hello. I don't use mods and so have no advice, but welcome to the forum. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Geonovast Posted June 3, 2018 Share Posted June 3, 2018 18 hours ago, Lazarus42 said: A good series but four years in gaming is like 40 years it'll. Is there anything more modern that's been written on the subject of mods? I'm running it stock at the moment but I know it could be better. If anyone has any thoughts on this it'd really help. It'd hard to suggest mods without knowing what you're looking for. Some prefer more parts, but like to keep basic game looks and functionality. Some like features to the game, without changing how it looks or adding more parts. And there's still some who don't care about parts or performance, as long as it looks fantastic. Those are three extremes, and there are infinite spots between. 18 hours ago, Lazarus42 said: Now, back to working out why my solid booster won't sep at burnout... Chances are you're either not staging the decoupler, or you've accidentally attached the booster to the parent tank instead of the decoupler, which is common and easy to do. Hard to tell without some screenshots and/or craft file. Welcome aboard! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lazarus42 Posted June 3, 2018 Author Share Posted June 3, 2018 Geonovast, you're a genius! Booster hanging on at rear after firing the separator. So I think I must have attached it to the main body at the rear. (Tried everything else after firing the separator, flying upside down, negative G with the booster on the outside of the loop, cutting main engines to take the + G off of it so I must have attached it to main fuselage.) Thank you! Re: mods. I've been reading more and have come across CKAN. Currently reading through the wiki. You're right about the near infinite range of choices. Now I know a little more i see your point! Knowledge is power as they say! Thanks for the help... Laz Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Geonovast Posted June 3, 2018 Share Posted June 3, 2018 (edited) 17 hours ago, Lazarus42 said: So I think I must have attached it to the main body at the rear I might be reading too much into this, but just in case I'm not: The game has a tree-like structures to building ships. There's a root part, which is the "start". Everything branches off from there. Each piece has one parent, but can have any number of children. Therefore, it's impossible to connect a booster to a fuel tank at more than one point, such as trying to use two decouplers. You can put multiple decouplers in, but it will only attach to one. In this case, the big fuel tank in the center is the root. It's the "start" of the ship. It has 4 children, which are the 4 decouplers, circled in green and red. The fuel tank is the decouplers' parent. On the left, we see how to attach is correctly. The booster attaches to the decoupler. The decoupler is the booster's parent, the booster is the decoupler's child. In blue are structural struts. They all you to secure the booster to the decoupler to prevent it from flopping around. They will automatically break when you activate the decoupler. I'm not sure how the mechanics in the code work exactly, but in a sense they're not really real. They don't have a parent or children, they just strengthen the connections between the parts they're connected to. If I'm wrong on this, hopefully someone will correct me. But they're pretty vital for rockets using radially attached stuff. It's best to unlock them soon if you're playing career or science mode. On the right, is not how to attach a booster. This is pretty common among new players, myself included. I had several hours of frustration when I was new because attaching the booster like this did not work. Again, the decouplers are the fuel tank's children. The booster is the child of only one decoupler. Because the booster can only have one parent, it's only able to attach to one decoupler. Despite it looking like it's attached at three points, it's actually only attached in the middle, by the decoupler circled in green. The two in red are not actually connected. To view this, we launch the rocket: (hammers added for extra weigh to accentuate the lean) Look at the two decouplers in red. You'll see that the top of the booster has actually pulled away, because it's not attached. The bottom one is pressing into the booster, again because it's not attached. Here you get another small lesson: a ship cannot collide with itself. Parts that are still attached in the same tree will simply pass through each other. This effect is known as "clipping". This includes moving parts such as cargo bay doors, landing gear, wheels/suspension. Edited June 3, 2018 by Geonovast Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
klesh Posted June 7, 2018 Share Posted June 7, 2018 Welcome to the forums. Ask all the questions you have; we're all space nerds here and love to talk about the minutia of the game. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lazarus42 Posted June 23, 2018 Author Share Posted June 23, 2018 Geo, that was a splendid, helpful, detailed, spot-on post. Thank you! Apologies for the delay in answering, i've been ill and have not touched anything bigger than my 'phone re: computers. Just about to re-read your post. You've helped me avoid some classic beginner's problems. Much appreciated! ...and Klesh, thanks for the welcome. As a trembling pile of minutia is the only way to space i'm sure i'll have many questions. Hopefully i'll be in a place to be able to return the favours and help out as well soon. Right, off to break the surly bonds of... well, you know the rest! Lazarus42 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Flying Kerbal Posted June 28, 2018 Share Posted June 28, 2018 Welcome aboard the KSP Express Lazarus42 I was just about to suggest CKAN, but see you've already discovered this one, so that rather defeats the object of this post. One small tip maybe? I'm not saying I'm right as I'm still learning about this game, but I find that when attaching side boosters to a rocket, placing the radial decouplers so that they will be connecting very close to the top of the side boosters helps prevent them from smashing into the side of the rocket when jettisoned. The force of the decouplers throws the top of the spent boosters well away from the rocket, even producing a close likeness to a Korolev Cross if you happen to be dropping four at the same time. Anyway, enjoy the forums and have fun in space! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Klapaucius Posted June 30, 2018 Share Posted June 30, 2018 On 6/2/2018 at 8:27 PM, Lazarus42 said: Is there anything more modern that's been written on the subject of mods? I'm running it stock at the moment but I know it could be better. If anyone has any thoughts on this it'd really help. This series is really good. He looks at a different mod every episode. There are over 400 videos, but you can just scroll and see what you fancy. The latest is from last week: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scarecrow Posted August 15, 2018 Share Posted August 15, 2018 Hi @Lazarus42 Another Kerbonaut in Kent UK here too. Been playing a few years, and have now moved on to the RSS (Real Solar Sytem) version of KSP, which is a lot harder, but introduces more challenges. In either version of KSP, stock or heavily modded, there are a few key mods that most people will recommend as the core of what you should be looking at to add to your game. Among those will be things like Kerbal Engineer and Kerbal Alarm Clock, that add functionality and information that is missing from the unmodded game. There are obviously more, but I am sure you will tailor them to meet your own specific requirements. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mad Rocket Scientist Posted August 16, 2018 Share Posted August 16, 2018 Welcome aboard! This is my list of must have mods: https://github.com/jrbudda/KerbalEngineer/releases https://kerbalx.com/CraftManager http://www.kerbaltek.com/hyperedit For the look of the game, scatterer is amazing, along with a visual mod that adds clouds like SVE. There's also a post-processing mod, and a physically based rendering mod that, sadly, isn't support by very many mods yet. For parts, Bluedog Design Bureau (US parts) and Tantares (Soviet/non-US parts) are (IMO) of a higher and more consistent quality than stock, and look the most stock-alike. However, Nertea's mods, although generally more powerful than stock, are also very nice. For physics, Ferram Aerospace Research still exists, but is not as necessary as it once was. Principia implements full n-body simulation in KSP, which is amazing. The rest of the realism mods (Advanced Jet Engine, Engine Ignitor, etc.) are best experienced as part of the Realism Overhaul suite of mods. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vexillar Posted August 16, 2018 Share Posted August 16, 2018 Hi and welcome @Lazarus42! The booster problem was well answered above, so... Mods - each player will develop their own preferences and style of play. Many use the excellent MechJeb mod to help out with flying their craft, either because they are getting to grips with flying, or else know exactly what to do, but want to skip the hands-on flying bit and get on with other aspects of the game. Others (like me) still like to fly manually. There are also great aids to building your ships. Kerbal Alarm Clock is very useful when you have reached the stage of wanting to run multiple missions at the same time - perhaps in Career mode, clocking up the contracts. It really helps avoid sending your VIP tourists into the wrong orbit 'cos you were too busy tweaking the orbit for that satellite contract. There are loads of great part mods - fuel tanks, engines, command pods, plane parts, rover/vehicle parts, extra science experiments, and so on. Personally, I like to build surface bases and mining operations, but other player's Kerbonaughts rarely set boot on other planets or moons. Some parts mods are just whimsical... why not? If you have a reasonably fast machine, there are visual enhancements that add a little extra realism: clouds, city lights, reflected light from planets, and so on. Stock Kerbals don't need a lot of care and attention while on duty. If that seems a little too easy, then there are mods that make them a little needier - you then have to supply oxygen, food, water, space to move around in, entertainment, etc. Just don't let your little green tamagotchis die of neglect or boredom! The Kerbal Inventory System (KIS) and Kerbal Attachment System (KAS) mods allow your kerbals to move objects (i.e. parts) around and build things out of them. And loads more! Have a browse around CurseForge and SpaceDock to see what is popular (or just takes your fancy) and try them out - you might like to create a separate install to do that, so as not to disturb your saved games (especially if you're playing career). Once you find you're hooked on a mod or two, add it to your main install. Have fun! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts