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I must be doing something stupid - can't complete first mission


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I'm a returning player,

  I'm on Steam on v1.8.1.2694 after the update. I've done a complete uninstall/reinstall at this point, no mods. Googling has failed me at this point and I see no pinned topics related.

  Doing the first career mission "Launch our first vessel". Build Mk1 command pod + RT5 (Flea) SRB + mk16 parachute- these are the only options, fix staging. After launch it ends up at 23Km and there's no way to deploy the chute without it burning up. If I deploy it close to ground I'm going way too fast, if I deploy it at the apo I'm going too fast by the time I hit atmosphere.

  I seem to remember the Flea only getting you to about 4Km not 23 - buy maybe remembering that wrong.

  Here's a video of the problem from a clean install https://youtu.be/z1QYPhlNH20 at the end (2.35) I also deploy near the apo.

  I must be doing something stupid or I've forgotten something or this has been answered a million times but Google isn't showing it - what's going on here?

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Simple answer: don't go straight up. Aim for a shallow trajectory over the ocean. If you just go straight up, gravity will pull you down as fast as possible with the least amount of atmosphere between you and Kerbin to slow you down.

You can also lower the thrust of the flea to 25 % or so to make the flight less violent and more controlable.

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3 hours ago, Harry Rhodan said:

Simple answer: don't go straight up. Aim for a shallow trajectory over the ocean. If you just go straight up, gravity will pull you down as fast as possible with the least amount of atmosphere between you and Kerbin to slow you down.

You can also lower the thrust of the flea to 25 % or so to make the flight less violent and more controlable.

Thanks for answering, I'll give it a go, though it's an SRB so can only add some fins and they most likely won't do much till it burns out,

  Seems a little rough on new players if they're supposed to find that out somehow. This is literally the first career mode mission.

  I guess I must be the first player to start career mode in some time.

Edited by Bystander
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Remove a bunch of solid fuel from the SRB so you only go up a couple kilometers.

 

After watching the video, the problem is that you're turning over when you get up to AP.  This makes the pointy end down, so it's not going to slow down much on descent.

Turn on SAS so it doesn't flip over.  Why are you waiting to pop the chute?  Stage your parachute as soon as the icon indicates it's safe.

 

Also, since this isn't an issue with the game itself, moving to Gameplay Questions.

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24 minutes ago, Geonovast said:

Turn on SAS so it doesn't flip over.  Why are you waiting to pop the chute?  Stage your parachute as soon as the icon indicates it's safe.

 

Also, since this isn't an issue with the game itself, moving to Gameplay Questions.

Thanks, though at the end of the video I pop on the way down when it says it's safe. I'm going too fast by the time I reach atmosphere for the chute in that version.

I'll try SAS - just seems odd to me that 100 new players aren't complaining about this - seems like an oddly obscure puzzle and no hints hence an unintended side effect of tuning somewhere as it never used to happen.

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Curiously the "Training->Basic Flight" mission using exactly the same ship works fine but the apo is a lot lower (about 14k).

Enabling SAS helps, coming down engine first works sometimes, other times it's too fast. Wrangling the descent onto its side generally seems to work but doesn't seem like a good FTUE.

Edited by Bystander
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That’s a weird one.... I can’t remember this ever happening to me and I’ve done that contract a dozen times through my many careers. Pretty sure I do the same trajectory as you and it has always worked. Puzzling!

(not helpful to your actual problem of this weirdness, but pretty sure it would work if you launched then immediately deployed the parachute 10m above the launch pad)

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Wow that's one powerful Flea, they must have accidentally or intentionally buffed it big time. I do not remember getting anywhere near that far up in it.

Anyway, you can solve this in the following ways:

(1) As others have suggested, don't go straight up, go in an arc -- pitch down a bit as soon as you're off the launch pad, and use SAS to descend tail first for more drag

(2) Set the parachute min pressure as low as it goes and deploy however high you want when you're going slowly enough

(3) Reduce the amount of fuel in the Flea

(4) Adjust the thrust limiter on the Flea

 

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KSP isn't like most games, you're not expected to get everything right on the first try. You're not supposed to get everything right on the 10th try. There is no enemy, there are no (explicit) puzzles. there is no (explicit) goal. The ONLY opponent in the game is your not knowing things, and the only way to defeat that enemy is to learn them.

If you were able to do everything correctly on the first try, the game would be really boring.

Don't lament these early failures, relish in them. Eventually you'll laugh at yourself for not knowing how to get over them, and later you'll wish you could bring back that feeling of accomplishment.

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Why does anyone start on career, with its added complications of strategies, contracts, reputation, costs, recruting, deaths, deadlines?  Start with sandbox and get to know how things work or, if you need a more directed 'game' start with science.

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As a newbie I found this first mission pretty frustrating,  especially since following it as outlined in the in-game tutorial is almost certain to end in Jeb becoming a new crater! I can only assume the Flea has been buffed somewhat over the years... Anyway in the VAB, right-click the Flea and set the two sliders (fuel and thrust limiter) to 50%. That'll ensure an AP of about 3.5km to 4 km and a nice gentle landing!

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1 hour ago, Paul Bambury said:

As a newbie I found this first mission pretty frustrating,  especially since following it as outlined in the in-game tutorial is almost certain to end in Jeb becoming a new crater! I can only assume the Flea has been buffed somewhat over the years... Anyway in the VAB, right-click the Flea and set the two sliders (fuel and thrust limiter) to 50%. That'll ensure an AP of about 3.5km to 4 km and a nice gentle landing!

Actually Flea has same thrust in career and in tutorial, what makes the difference is the thinner atmosphere in career.

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15 hours ago, Pecan said:

Why does anyone start on career, with its added complications of strategies, contracts, reputation, costs, recruting, deaths, deadlines?  Start with sandbox and get to know how things work or, if you need a more directed 'game' start with science.

Career literally is THE game mode to play as a beginner, because it does set fun and achievable goals to you and doesn't overwhelm you with things to place or do. (science mode is a close second, but lacking things and instructions to do. Strategies in stock KSP are worthless; only with mods like Strategia do they add to the complexity). The only advice regarding career for newbies is - don't play on "HARD" even if you change the rewards etc to easier settings afterwards, if you press on HARD first, all the building upgrades are much more expensive. All other difficulty modes will easily shower you in funds to keep you flying comfortably, but you occasionally need to take specific contracts to pay for an upgrade etc.

 

Regarding OP: You're doing great!

Try to angle your rocket a bit (press D, maybe to 70°, due east, the 90 on the nav ball one quarter of the way towards the horizon) right after takeoff while the SRB is still burning, don't fly straight up. The flatter trajectory usually means you cover more distance in thick air, meaning you get slowed down more.

If you right click on the SRB in the editor, you can limit its thrust down to maybe 30% to give you a smoother, longer burn (or limit the amount of fuel so you don't fly as crazy high before you get controllable rocket parts). You can also right-click the parachute and change its deploy min pressure to ~0.2 or something, from the deadly 0.01 it is at (which means it will deploy at the top of your trajectory if that is a "safe" time (usually is: slow, and there is air), and then burn up before it can slow the craft enough as it falls down. You can adjust parachutes in-flight, but not solid boosters.

I always wondered why the hell Squad didn't at LEAST set 0.1 or 0.2 as the default min pressure for parachutes.

Also, you can grab a little bit of science right on the ground without launching by putting thermometers etc. on the rocket, or taking a crew report. 

Edited by Thygrrr
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