Oldtimer coming back, in need of some help from veterans

[I_Killed_Jeb]

Hey all, I'm coming back after a long hiatus, last played 1.0.5. Since then there have clearly been a lot of changes so was hoping to get some answers from people who've been around a bit. Any help is greatly appreciated!

 

1) Is nosecones behind RAPIER engines still a thing? Back in 1.0 I recall that open nodes even in the back for some reason caused much greater drag, so we used to inset small nosecones into them

2) It seems that locking suspensions is no longer a thing, which is sort of problematic for my bases (that rely on fixed height). What's a good way around this? I'm not sure how this spring/damper thing works in the editor

3) Did they nerf resource extraction? My formerly robust miners seem a bit anemic, but maybe I'm misremembering?

 

Any add'l tips and important changes you can think of would be great, thanks in advance

[Gargamel]

56 minutes ago, I_Killed_Jeb said:

2) It seems that locking suspensions is no longer a thing, which is sort of problematic for my bases (that rely on fixed height). What's a good way around this? I'm not sure how this spring/damper thing works in the editor

Make sure you have advanced tweakbles enabled.    I think that's how that is done. 

57 minutes ago, I_Killed_Jeb said:

3) Did they nerf resource extraction? My formerly robust miners seem a bit anemic, but maybe I'm misremembering?

As the usual, need to be on top of a plentiful source of ore, and Engineers help improve efficiency, increasing with their skill level. 

[bewing]

1) Yep, still a thing.

2) I prefer not to use landing legs at all for bases -- I use wing parts instead. Alternately, klaws aren't particular about docking heights.

If you don't like those solutions, or your base sections need to be mobile (with wheels) -- then the usual technique is to have some landing legs that are taller than your "normal"-height. When you want to get something docked to a port then you get everything lined up and extend the longer legs. During the extension process, your docking ports should align and acquire each other.

3) As said above, I think the engineer thing was added after 1.0.5. It makes a pretty big difference. Additionally, it used to be possible to run many "channels" of ore conversion at once. Right now, it's down to 2 on the big converter.

There was also a major revamp of all the biomes on all the CBs after 1.0.5. That will have an effect on your ore extraction too -- your mining rates will have changed everywhere if you did not move your bases, because the ore densities probably all got remapped during the upgrade process.

Some other differences:

Randoliths (with special powers), Glimmeroids, KerbNet (gives a CB biome/terrain map without cheating, radar altitudes and custom waypoints), CommNet (communication blackouts are modeled), Kerbal G-force blackouts, Personal airfoil parachutes, ultralight paragliders, mini-science containers, and ion-based drives are a little better.

Also, of course, there's a DLC available which gives you some new parts & engines, 3 new official launchsites on Kerbin, and the ability to create "missions" with a graphical programming language (which are basically forum challenges).

 

 

 

[swjr-swis]

1 hour ago, I_Killed_Jeb said:

1) Is nosecones behind RAPIER engines still a thing? Back in 1.0 I recall that open nodes even in the back for some reason caused much greater drag, so we used to inset small nosecones into them

Yes it still is a thing, for the exact same reason. However, now it's also significant to minimize the transition between attached parts. In other words: since RAPIERs are 1.25m, the small nosecones are not the best choice anymore, since that attaches a 0.625m to a 1.25m part. The Aerodynamic Nose Cone or Advanced Nose Cone do a better job on a 1.25m node.

Tip: call up the debug console (Alt-F12 on PC/Win), and under Physics/Aero, enable the two first options to get some insight on design vs aerodynamics. The KSP aero model can sometimes still be pretty counter-intuitive, so it helps to see 'live' how things play out.

 

1 hour ago, I_Killed_Jeb said:

2) It seems that locking suspensions is no longer a thing, which is sort of problematic for my bases (that rely on fixed height). What's a good way around this? I'm not sure how this spring/damper thing works in the editor

Very touchy subject. There's been a few upgrades to the game engine (Unity), which at one point completely borked the wheels/gear system. They were forced to change over to a new system, which has never quite got back to the level or stability the old wheels/gear had. One of a number of things lost in that transition was the option to lock suspensions - it no longer exists, and there doesn't seem to be any outlook on getting it back again.

In return, the system we have now sometimes decides to ignore friction, or creates phantom self-amplifying forces and bouncing, and generally likes to explode a whole lot more than it used to. Yay for progress.

 

1 hour ago, I_Killed_Jeb said:

3) Did they nerf resource extraction? My formerly robust miners seem a bit anemic, but maybe I'm misremembering?

In general, yes. Resource extraction has been made a bit more complicated and overall seems to result in less ore than in 1.0.5: you now need to keep in mind the optimal core temp of drills and converter, which requires radiators appropriate to the gear. Also, the small drill and converter have been nerfed so they basically never operate at optimum anymore - they overheat regardless of the amount of radiators you install.

[I_Killed_Jeb]

Thanks everyone for your time! A real shame re: landing legs, I see the KSP whack-a-mole w features/bugs continue as always haha

[bonyetty]

Air breaks are a common method of height adjustment when docking on land.