How do you design your craft to look?

[Paul Kingtiger]

37 and I build based on real work rockets, sometimes American, sometime Soviet. I also try to build to a class, then imagine how that class might develop with more powerful upper stages or additional SRBs.

[FITorion]

Depends...

Usually it's just however it has to be to work. I don't pay attention to how it looks. I'm 30.

If I'm making something for looks then it's usually making something from a Scifi or something from history.

X-wing

Star Fury

I built a Hammerhead too but can't seem to find my pic of that. I need to build a Saratoga to carry them anyway before go any further with that project.

But I hardly ever do stuff like that... mostly it's what ever works... like...

That was a test flight... Here it is attached to my Mun base.

[SpaceSphereOfDeath]

I build soviet style, not based on actual craft, just with the stereotypical features, engine clusters, liquid boosters ect

[jduchock]

45 - I create rockets only (i suck at planes) and go for effectiveness depending on the mod and tree i am using. I keep all my lifters as asparagus peel sub-components:

- Light lifter = ±44 parts

- Medium lifter = ±85 parts

- Heavy lifter - ± 120 parts

- Super Heavy lifter = ± 200 parts

[celem]

Im 30. I build whatever will work. It's not unusual to see a 40 tonne 15m long rover just boot-strapped horizontally and strutted down onto the top of an ascent stage.

Everything is a heavy monstrosity designed to be pretty independant, I have an aversion to landing things that cant at least get back into orbit of whatever they are sitting on (including base sub-components). So my duna base breaks down into 5 parts all of which can reascend to LDO, though only 3 pieces are in situ to-date.

Part count on kerbin launchpad rarely dips below 400

[Sirrobert]

But I hardly ever do stuff like that... mostly it's what ever works... like...

Question: What the hell is that supposed to do?

[MockKnizzle]

22. I design my ships with verisimilitude in mind, so you'll see a decent amount of part clipping, structural fuselages and rover bodies to blend the shapes of everything together.

[rasheed]

13 and i build similar looking RL rockets.

[oggylt]

I am 22, and I prefer good looks over functionality so i usually end up launching more rockets than needed

[Torham234]

I am 33 yo. I play with Kerbal engineer redux, FAR and procedural wings.

I mostly design and fly planes. Most are pure atmospheric planes, but I do have a selection of functioning SSTOs.

I do sometimes build rockets and send rovers to other planets to take a break from the hum of the Turbo jet and the lack of music during atmospheric flights .

I like my desings to be realistically looking and efficient. I try very hard to test out and calculate the absolute MINIMUM amount of fuel I need to achieve any given task I set myslef. With FAR you can't go wild with your designs even if you try, so that sort of takes care if itself.

[Rainbow-Dashie]

16, My rockets tend to lean towards Soviet-Era Soyuz looking things.

My plane (only ever managed to get one working) is a WW-I looking Biplane.

[shoveycat]

I typically build all of my planes with aesthetics at least half in mind, however, my rockets usually are purely utilitarian, although i do occasionally enjoy building more artistically inclined ones

EDIT: 14 Y.o.

[Hodo]

For me I am 35, and am often inspired by something, be it the dropship from "Aliens" or the shuttles in "Elysium". All of my craft are useful in some way shape or form, I try not to have any useless things in my designs in Career mode. But the sandbox is different. Even then each one of my improvements on a SSTO is just that an improvement something is gained with each progressive design. It is to the point now that my basic SSTO space planes are so efficient that I can take off from Kerbin fly to altitude get to orbit, then go straight to the Mun and back with out stopping for fuel. My rockets on the other hand, I also design for form and function, they have to look good and still function, not only in KSP but with FAR and DRE, otherwise they are a waste of time for me.

It does not mean all my craft are "beautiful" fact is some of them are just down right ugly, but sometimes looks takes a backseat to utility. Not like anyone at Lockheed went and said, "Hey, lets make the C-130 Hercules look prettier", after all it is currently the oldest cargo plane in the US Airforce service and one of the most successful cargo planes world wide.

Like my DSR-1 (Deep Space Rescue-1) ugly as all sin, but had over 6000m/s d/V in space and a TWR of .54:1 in space with the capacity to hold 12 Kerbals and a crew of 2.

Or my SVO-3A pictured below. The first successful Kerbin to orbit SSTO VTOL planes.

Or my XF-141 Mach 6 in FAR craft for the machingbird challenge.

But sometimes I get great shots of some of my craft that make them look so much better like this one of one of my SVO line leaving Ike after it visited Duna and Ike and returned to Kerbin, this was just after .22 and before I started my career mode, and the last flight I did in sandbox.

Edited November 13, 2013 by Hodo

[Killerdude8]

17, Functionality over Aesthetics.

[Deadweasel]

Age 39

I like to build ships that are as flexible as possible, but still look good doing their job (aesthetic functionality).

Pack-MULE heavy orbital delivery hauler

Opossum exploration lander delivery

HSTAC "Silverhawk"

HSTAC "Banshee"

IPEV "Venture", DV-102A "Sherpa" mover/dropship and Kurb Burner mobile research platform (rover)

LRCV "Bruin" long range orbital delivery hauler

[Krakovka]

I'm 15 and I like futuristic looking aircraft, normally high speed with cool looking designa

[Aragosnat]

I try to build SSTO craft while failing miserably at it. Except for this one SSTO space plane. Mostly I try to minimise the number of stages needed to get into orbit. As in space even a brick can fly well there. The looks mostly I try Sci-Fi ish that could sort of work realistically. Somewhere between 30 and not dead.

[Mr. Entropy]

22 here. I want the smallest possible payload that will get the job done, whatever that job is.

[TheBadAstronomer]

BTW; very positivily surprised KSP is being played by 13 year olds

I'm 13, and the game is a blast (quite literally) for me. BTW,I like to plan my craft design before I build it. I also use subassemblies, which help a lot!

[Danish_Savage]

Functionality, Efficiency(Minimalism) and Aesthetics.

That coming in the written order.

Actually, I first plan what i want to do. Ex. taking three guys to Moho. Then I make a craft that I'm sure is capeable for the job(My calculator and I are good fellas). Then I trim it down as much as possible and then make it look neat. Then I summon a lifter whit the subassembly and press launch the first time

[Vanamonde]

My priority is to build ships that work, and work reliably. Even after I build something that does the job, I will continue to tinker with it until I smooth out any remaining flaws in its performance. What it looks like coming out of that process can be kind of a fun surprise to me.

Stations, on the other hand, since they can't really do much anyway, I build entirely for looks.

I am 50.

[Deadweasel]

Functionality, Efficiency(Minimalism) and Aesthetics.

Which spells FEMA, and so does not exactly instill confidence in efficiency!

[Hodo]

Which spells FEMA, and so does not exactly instill confidence in efficiency!

I honestly lost it on that one... +1 here. LOL.

[Odo]

I like making rockets in a stock game to look like real rockets. They dont have to always be a replica, but Ill be darned if my Duna missions rocket is a mangle of asparagus staging and struts. No. I like my rockets to atleast look worthy of space, I also dont like using asparagus staging. Pancake staging all the way Heres my current masterpiece, capable of 120 tons to LKO. Intended to be similar to both the Russian N1 and the American Saturn V, thus the name, N-5.

Also, Im 16 years old. (But only just, I turned 16 a week ago )

[FITorion]

Question: What the hell is that supposed to do?

be a power cable to connect to the power station landed on the next flight.

oh and it didn't work. The mun is just too... not flat... and the game loads everything as rigid first... which resulted in my base being thrown about when I connected the power station...

Edited November 13, 2013 by FITorion