Just got the game, boy do I have questions ...

[Renaissance0321]

I'm completely addicted to this game. Messed around in the sandbox for a while now I'm trying career mode and I want to be as good and accident free as possible lol. With that said I have some questions...

1. Am I supposed to be worried about money? I see parts costs money but no way to see how much money I have ...

2. How am I supposed to know what experiments I can conduct and when to do them? Just by looking at the parts?

3. People mention "missions" in career mode. Where can I find these or do I get them or what?

4. Is there a way to see a list of launches I've done or failed?

5. Is this pretty much a trial and error type of game? I ask because I'm trying to prepare my ships the best I can but there are a lot of things I either don't know or am not sure I can really prepare for.

And lastly ...

6. Do I use dV to calculate how far I can get into space?

Edited October 22, 2013 by Renaissance0321

[Ninjadude501]

1. Am I supposed to be worried about money? I see parts costs money but no way to see how much money I have ...

Nope, money isn't implemented yet.

2. How am I supposed to know what experiments I can conduct and when to do them? Just by looking at the parts?

Just conduct them in different places, you'll get the hang of it. It's how I did it.

3. People mention "missions" in career mode. Where can I find these or do I get them or what?

Missions aren't implemented yet either. They'll be implemented about when money is, as they'll be the way you earn money from what I know.

4. Is there a way to see a list of launches I've done or failed?

Not that I know of, that would be a good suggestion though.

5. Is this pretty much a trial and error type of game? I ask because I'm trying to prepare my ships the best I can but there are a lot of things I either don't know or am not sure I can really prepare for.

It's trial and error. Know that little revert to launch/Vehicle Assembly Building/Space Plane Hangar button that pops up when you press esc? Use that and all the time used during the flight will be worth zilch, use it for when you crash, or maybe don't like how your rocket did in space and just want to scrap the whole mission.

6. Do I use dV to calculate how far I can get into space?

That one's situational. You can only use dV to calculate how far you can get into space if you know exactly how much dV you'll use to get to that point in space. And that's next-to impossible to do.

[Renaissance0321]

That one's situational. You can only use dV to calculate how far you can get into space if you know exactly how much dV you'll use to get to that point in space. And that's next-to impossible to do.

I guess what I'm asking is what does dV tell you? lol

[1D-1()T]

I guess what I'm asking is what does dV tell you? lol

Okay, on the navball (the blue ball on the bottom of the screen when your flying) it shows your speed in meters/second. So if I am going at 25 m/s I go 25 meters a second. You probably already know that, but just so I know you know.

Now, your dV shows what potential speed you have. So, if my rocket had 1000 dV it means I can accelerate to 1000 m/s. Gravity and atmosphere will slow you down, which lowers the speed you reach. That's basically it (I think).

Edit: Apparently you need roughly 4500 dV to get into orbit from kerbin, but while you are still getting the hang of it it will probably be a bit more.

When you get to more advanced stuff you might like to look up "dV map" here on the forum. They tell you how much dV you need to get to places, like the Mun, Minmus, even other planets!

But this is only one way of doing it, generally i just add

MOAR BOOSTERS!

Edited October 22, 2013 by 1D-1()T

[Bacterius]

I guess what I'm asking is what does dV tell you? lol

How far you can go. Basically if you don't have the dv to go from point A to point B with your spaceship, it's mathematically impossible for you to do so, no matter how clever you are. Of course the line between "can" and "can't" is rather fuzzy, since dv is hard to calculate exactly as Ninjadude mentioned, but it lets you make quick ballpark estimates such as "I can probably make it to such and such planet if I don't screw up" or "no, I definitely cannot go there" which is important, because you don't want to be 30 minutes into a mission just to realise you're not going to have enough fuel to finish your interplanetary burn and are shot into a wide solar orbit. Forever. With no snacks. And similarly you don't want to haul up more fuel than you need to for a given mission.

[Lheim]

dV - delta V; 'change in velocity', measured in meters per second.

How much dV your ship has isn't strictly a measure of how far it can get, but it's a pretty good eyeball measure. For instance, you need about 4500 m/s delta v to just get into kerbin orbit - the good news is that the rest of the solar system is almost easy to reach in comparison. Here's a delta-v map.

As for how much dV your ship has.. well, I'm sure there's formulas for calculating that on the wiki as well. I just find it handier to use a mod - like Kerbal Engineer or Mechjeb, that provides those figures.

[allmhuran]

Here's a slightly better (updated) delta-V map http://i.imgur.com/wZUXZxr.png

If you want another way of looking at it, delta-V is based on three things:

1) How much fuel you have

2) How efficient your rocket engine is (determined by its specific impulse, or "ISP", higher is better, it's a measure of the amount of delta-V gained per unit of fuel spent)

3) How heavy your payload is

Given the same payload weight (say, just a basic command pod) and the same engine, more fuel gets your more delta-V.

Given the same engine and the same amount of fuel, a smaller payload gets you more delta-V

Given the same amount of fuel and payload, a more efficient engine gives you more delta-V.

You might think that this seems to suggest you should just carry insanely large amounts of fuel and not worry about your payload size or rocket efficiency. But this isn't quite true, because remember that you can't "spend" all your fuel at once, you have to burn through it, and this takes time. Therefore at some point (right at the start of a launch) all of your fuel is also payload. If you want to carry more fuel, you also have to carry additional fuel on top of that so that you have the fuel required to push the extra fuel around! In other words, adding fuel has diminishing returns (it's logarithmic)

[Renaissance0321]

Boy I feel like my head is gonna explode. So I understand dV is kind of like your potential top speed based on a number of factors such as engine efficiency, drag etc. But how do I know how long I can maintain that speed? Or does it matter once you're in space? I'm assuming once you're in space you can maintain that speed until you run out of fuel? *head explodes*

[tobjv]

Boy I feel like my head is gonna explode. So I understand dV is kind of like your potential top speed based on a number of factors such as engine efficiency, drag etc. But how do I know how long I can maintain that speed? Or does it matter once you're in space? I'm assuming once you're in space you can maintain that speed until you run out of fuel? *head explodes*

Yeah the math for Delta-V will do that too ya... It's easier just to practice so you know that "This many engines and fuel tanks can get this thingy-ma-bob into orbit." Winging it is my preferred method

[Lheim]

Boy I feel like my head is gonna explode. So I understand dV is kind of like your potential top speed based on a number of factors such as engine efficiency, drag etc. But how do I know how long I can maintain that speed? Or does it matter once you're in space? I'm assuming once you're in space you can maintain that speed until you run out of fuel? *head explodes*

A spaceship doesn't run like a car. You don't have to keep the gas pedal down all the time.

It follows newton's laws of motion - that is, as long as it's going in a specific direction, it'll keep going that way unless acted upon by gravity or friction or whatever. Friction is the only reason your car slows down all by itself. Once your spaceship is beyond the atmosphere friction isn't a factor, and if it's moving fast enough sideways that when it falls it misses the planet.. well, that's orbit, and it'll stay there.

So.. point yourself in the right direction at the right time, add 600 m/s to your speed, stop the engines. A while later the moon's outside your window. Turn around, burn your engines again to slow down a bit, and voila - you're in moon orbit and you'll stay there until you burn to escape it.

You can coast forever. Imagine driving a car where you only press the gas pedal to speed up, to slow down, or to take turns, but other than that, not at all.

Edited October 22, 2013 by Lheim

[Renaissance0321]

A spaceship doesn't run like a car. You don't have to keep the gas pedal down all the time.

It follows newton's laws of motion - that is, as long as it's going in a specific direction, it'll keep going that way unless acted upon by gravity or friction or whatever. Friction is the only reason your car slows down all by itself.

So.. point yourself in the right direction at the right time, add 600 m/s to your speed, stop the engines. A while later the moon's outside your window. Turn around, burn your engines again to slow down a bit, and voila - you're in moon orbit and you'll stay there until you burn to escape it.

You can coast forever. Imagine driving a car where you only press the gas pedal to speed up, to slow down, or to take turns, but other than that, not at all.

Ok I understand that. So if my dV says in Engineer Redux that I can go 3970 m/s with my current set up ... and I'm assuming that's referring to a environment without any acting forces such as gravity and drag etc ... and I need 4500 m/s to get into orbit around Kern or whatever the planet is called then I need moar boosters or moar fuel or something like that correct?

[tobjv]

Yep, And Kerbin (Earth) Kerbol (Sun).

[Nibb31]

Boy I feel like my head is gonna explode. So I understand dV is kind of like your potential top speed based on a number of factors such as engine efficiency, drag etc. But how do I know how long I can maintain that speed? Or does it matter once you're in space? I'm assuming once you're in space you can maintain that speed until you run out of fuel? *head explodes*

Yes, dV is the potential speed difference:

- that a rocket stage can impart to your ship

- or that you need to reach a given destination

- or to complete a given manoeuver.

For example, if your current speed is 2300m/s and your orbit needs to reach 2900m/s to raise your orbit high enough for its Apogee to reach the Mun, then you need 600m/s of dV.

On your rocket, dV depends on the amount of propellant , the efficiency (Isp) of the engine, and the mass of your vehicle. The more propellant you are carrying, the more potential dV you can impart. The heavier the vehicle, the more energy (propellant) you need to push it. And yes, you can burn until you have no propellant left.

[Specialist290]

Boy I feel like my head is gonna explode.

I know that feeling. We've all been there once before

So I understand dV is kind of like your potential top speed based on a number of factors such as engine efficiency, drag etc. But how do I know how long I can maintain that speed? Or does it matter once you're in space? I'm assuming once you're in space you can maintain that speed until you run out of fuel? *head explodes*

I've put the correct answer in bold. Barring a few special cases (which we won't go into right now), there is no friction in space. Once your craft is on a given course or in a given orbit, it'll stay on that orbit unless it fires its engines, it hits something else (or vice-versa), or it comes under the gravitational influence of another body. (The obvious example of this last one is if it leaves Kerbin's Sphere of Influence -- i.e. the area around Kerbin where other objects are affected by its gravity -- and enters the sun's. KSP uses a simplified (though still quite accurate) model compared to the real world, but again I won't go into detail simply because I don't want to confuse you even more.)

I won't go into the math because it's complicated, but a rocket's orbit around another body (planet, moon, star, whatever) is effectively defined by its position and its velocity (i.e. the speed and direction of that speed measured as an angle) at that position. Again, that's going to stay constant at any given point unless something else acts to change its velocity, which is literally what "delta-v" means -- change in velocity.

To give a slightly better idea of what delta-v means: Imagine you have a rocket in an otherwise perfectly empty vacuum, standing completely still. With its fuel load, the rocket has 1000 m/s of delta-v. If you burn all of that fuel in one direction, your rocket will be traveling at 1000 meters per second (that's what the "m/s" bit stands for) in the direction your rocket is pointing. If you burn for 500 m/s delta-v (which is not exactly half of your fuel), you'll only be traveling at 500 m/s at the end of your burn. If you later turn around and burn the rest of your fuel, which is worth another 500 m/s delta-v, opposite your direction of travel, then you'll be at a standstill again.

As I always do when this topic comes up, I'm going to refer you to a couple different resources that I think are most helpful: MyKSPCareer.com will explain a lot of the basics from a KSP-specific perspective, and these four web pages over at Atomic Rockets are also aimed at explaining basic rocket science to your average Joe. Finally, I also maintain a list of other references in a thread called the Drawing Board, including links to a number of video tutorial series.

Hope this helps

EDIT: And I've been ninja'd, several times!

Ok I understand that. So if my dV says in Engineer Redux that I can go 3970 m/s with my current set up ... and I'm assuming that's referring to a environment without any acting forces such as gravity and drag etc ... and I need 4500 m/s to get into orbit around Kern or whatever the planet is called then I need moar boosters or moar fuel or something like that correct?

That's correct. You may actually end up needing slightly more, as most delta-v charts tend to assume ideal minimums and averages, which of course doesn't account for errors in steering. If you've already gotten your launching technique pretty well down, though, it shouldn't take much more than 4500 m/s.

Edited October 22, 2013 by Specialist290

[Renaissance0321]

I know that feeling. We've all been there once before

I've put the correct answer in bold. Barring a few special cases (which we won't go into right now), there is no friction in space. Once your craft is on a given course or in a given orbit, it'll stay on that orbit unless it fires its engines, it hits something else (or vice-versa), or it comes under the gravitational influence of another body. (The obvious example of this last one is if it leaves Kerbin's Sphere of Influence -- i.e. the area around Kerbin where other objects are affected by its gravity -- and enters the sun's. KSP uses a simplified (though still quite accurate) model compared to the real world, but again I won't go into detail simply because I don't want to confuse you even more.)

I won't go into the math because it's complicated, but a rocket's orbit around another body (planet, moon, star, whatever) is effectively defined by its position and its velocity (i.e. the speed and direction of that speed measured as an angle) at that position. Again, that's going to stay constant at any given point unless something else acts to change its velocity, which is literally what "delta-v" means -- change in velocity.

To give a slightly better idea of what delta-v means: Imagine you have a rocket in an otherwise perfectly empty vacuum, standing completely still. With its fuel load, the rocket has 1000 m/s of delta-v. If you burn all of that fuel in one direction, your rocket will be traveling at 1000 meters per second (that's what the "m/s" bit stands for) in the direction your rocket is pointing. If you burn for 500 m/s delta-v (which is not exactly half of your fuel), you'll only be traveling at 500 m/s at the end of your burn. If you later turn around and burn the rest of your fuel, which is worth another 500 m/s delta-v, opposite your direction of travel, then you'll be at a standstill again.

As I always do when this topic comes up, I'm going to refer you to a couple different resources that I think are most helpful: MyKSPCareer.com will explain a lot of the basics from a KSP-specific perspective, and these four web pages over at Atomic Rockets are also aimed at explaining basic rocket science to your average Joe. Finally, I also maintain a list of other references in a thread called the Drawing Board, including links to a number of video tutorial series.

Hope this helps

EDIT: And I've been ninja'd, several times!

That's correct. You may actually end up needing slightly more, as most delta-v charts tend to assume ideal minimums and averages, which of course doesn't account for errors in steering. If you've already gotten your launching technique pretty well down, though, it shouldn't take much more than 4500 m/s.

Thank you very much. Those webpages are great. I'm on my way to becoming a rocket scientist! This game is awesome.

[KerbMav]

Welcome to the family - and a bonus cookie for not dodging a fantastic game for it just being more brain-heavy than the usual lot!

[Godot]

Also be careful with those (needed) dV-Values ...

you should always assume those dV-Values as some kind of Minimum ...

usually you can assume that the needed dV can go upwards by a large margin if your trajectory isn´t optimal ...

for example the dV needed for orbiting can go upwards if you spend too much time in the lower atmosphere layers (thereby losing more dV due to friction than expected)

or the dV needed to reach another planet can be go upwards if you start while Kerbin and the other planet are aligned at an disadvantageous angle

[The_Rocketeer]

Should clear something up here - dV isn't a measure of speed as much as a measure of how much you can change your speed.

Your rocket has fuel. Your engine can turn fuel into thrust BUT at a cost.

Not all the fuel can be converted and some is wasted. High ISP engines are more efficient - they make more thrust per fuel.

Your rocket also has mass. A bigger mass needs more thrust to move it.

Acceleration (changing speed) is the effect of thrust trying to move mass. Big thrust and small mass = high acceleration; small thrust and big mass = low acceleration.

Your rocket's delta-V is the maximum change in speed you can make with all of your fuel. A manoeuvre's delta-V is the change in speed you need to make to alter your course as intended.

To put it simply, delta-V isn't a measure OF speed, but it is measured IN speed.

Edited October 22, 2013 by The_Rocketeer

[Oddible]

This page helps a LOT in determining your dV needs for trips:

http://wiki.kerbalspaceprogram.com/wiki/Cheat_Sheet

[Sirrobert]

Welcome to KSP

Most your questions have already been awnsered, and you already have some mods with deltaV and stuf, that's all great. I get the feeling you aren't sure what deltaV is though, except for some number that you need to reach. So a little explanation:

Delta means difference. V is the scientific figure for speed. So deltaV directly 'translates' to difference in speed.

Though it doesn't take into account drag and stuf, so that's why you won't be going 4500m/s after you burned 4500m/s deltaV getting off Kerbin

[vetrox]

I normally build my orbiter/lander (or whatever part is actually going to be flying through space) first and make sure its got the right amount of dv to get somewhere once it is actually in space.

For example, to get a probe to get to the mun (but not orbit it, just to fly past) normally costs me 850 m/s of delta v. So i get my engineer redux out. Build a probe with 1000m/s and then just add moar rockets and boosters to get the probe into space.

I personally use about 5500 - 6000 m/s to get to kerbin orbit because i'm bad at the game. But like i said. Build the payload first, then just keep adding boosters until you can get your payload into orbit.

I hope the OP knows how to use manuever nodes. They are usefull ( i didnt know about these for a long time)

[jduchock]

Nope, money isn't implemented yet.

Just conduct them in different places, you'll get the hang of it. It's how I did it.

Missions aren't implemented yet either. They'll be implemented about when money is, as they'll be the way you earn money from what I know.

Not that I know of, that would be a good suggestion though.

It's trial and error. Know that little revert to launch/Vehicle Assembly Building/Space Plane Hangar button that pops up when you press esc? Use that and all the time used during the flight will be worth zilch, use it for when you crash, or maybe don't like how your rocket did in space and just want to scrap the whole mission.

That one's situational. You can only use dV to calculate how far you can get into space if you know exactly how much dV you'll use to get to that point in space. And that's next-to impossible to do.

Ninjadude nailed most of your responses, but i can add:

4. Is there a way to see a list of launches I've done or failed?

If you open the "persistent" file located in your saved game, there is a breakdown of the missions you have accomplished, the science gained and the end result. It is written a bit "code'ish" but you can get the gist of it without much problem. For me, i copy/paste the info into a spreadsheet (along with initial delta-v and TWR stats) so i can keep up with what works well and what doesnt...

5. Is this pretty much a trial and error type of game? I ask because I'm trying to prepare my ships the best I can but there are a lot of things I either don't know or am not sure I can really prepare for.

Meh...a mod called MechJeb works in Career mode with a little modification to the persistent file mentioned above, however i reccomend not using it until you have done at least one mun landing so that you know how Hohmann orbit transfers work, how to dock, etc....then get MechJeb for when you want to auto-dock when you are in the shower or whatever (note: mechjeb autodock is NOT fuel nor electricity efficient)

[The_Rocketeer]

Welcome to KSP

Most your questions have already been awnsered, and you already have some mods with deltaV and stuf, that's all great. I get the feeling you aren't sure what deltaV is though, except for some number that you need to reach. So a little explanation:

Delta means difference. V is the scientific figure for speed. So deltaV directly 'translates' to difference in speed.

Though it doesn't take into account drag and stuf, so that's why you won't be going 4500m/s after you burned 4500m/s deltaV getting off Kerbin

No, V means velocity. Velocity is a combination of speed AND direction, so delta-V this way doesn't equal delta-V that way.

[JumpsterG]

5. Is this pretty much a trial and error type of game? I ask because I'm trying to prepare my ships the best I can but there are a lot of things I either don't know or am not sure I can really prepare for.

One of the great things about KSP is that you can play either way:

Trial-and-error: Was 3 boosters enough to get to orbit? No? Try 5!

Mission Planning: My spreadsheet tells me each booster adds [x] delta-V to the rocket, so accounting for diminishing returns, I'll need 4 to reach orbit.

While Mission-Planner-Guy above ends up with a more effecient design and the satisfaction of the One-Launch-Success, Trial-Error-Guy enjoyed watching Kerbals fireball themselves to orbit. Both succeed in reaching orbit, and both enjoyed it. Don't let anyone tell you what the "right" way to play is.

When I started out, I found the campaigns posted on the wiki were a great progression of simple tasks to complex ones, where you can research and learn new techniques and elements as you need them: http://wiki.kerbalspaceprogram.com/wiki/Campaigns.

[Sirrobert]

5. Is this pretty much a trial and error type of game? I ask because I'm trying to prepare my ships the best I can but there are a lot of things I either don't know or am not sure I can really prepare for.

Meh...a mod called MechJeb works in Career mode with a little modification to the persistent file mentioned above, however i reccomend not using it until you have done at least one mun landing so that you know how Hohmann orbit transfers work, how to dock, etc....then get MechJeb for when you want to auto-dock when you are in the shower or whatever (note: mechjeb autodock is NOT fuel nor electricity efficient)

Actually I would suggest the other way around.

I started with Mechjeb.

In the beginning, I couldn't dock if my life depended on it. So I let mechjeb do it. While it did it, I watched. And noticed that it was inefficient. So I turned it on to allign correctly, than turned it off to coast, than turned back on, ect. After a couple of docks, I figured I might aswel do it myself, with help of the autopilot for aligning correctly. Even later, I ditched the autopilot all tougether, and now I'm pritty decent at docking.

Same thing with landing. I learned how to land from 2 sources: Scott Manley, and watching Mechjeb do it.

Also the readouts Mechjeb gives you are invalluable to me personally.