The Grand 0.24 Discussion Thread

[Pecan]

IIRC in the recent poll on which was the best planet to visit I think Kerbin won, simply because there has always been so much, relatively easy and quick, fun to be had just with it and the two moons. Now, with so many contracts there is even more messing-about in the local system that makes it worthwhile, as well as the stretch to other places.

[Caroliano]

Those contracts are difficult. I got: "Test TT18-A Launch Stability Enchancer landed at the Mun."

Is I'm supposed to find a TT18-A Launch Stability Enchancer that is landed on the Mun, somehow attach to it, and then stage?

[Robotengineer]

I like the update, the contracts are a bit grindy, sort of like science in .22. The one thing I really don't like is the mod incompatibility notice. I play on a mac, and some of the mods work fine on 32-bit but it says that they don't. It's not a major inconvenience, just a nuisance.

[No one]

Why do you need the science lab for those missions? Transmitting data solely for the contract works just as well with reusable stuff like the thermometer/gravioli detector/accelerometer.

[Tw1]

I agree that this update has done far more for the experience of space science operations than the 'science' update did last time. Want some data from orbit? *whistles* Beam it down guys!

I also love what they've done with the in game fonts, just putting it out there.

[Renegrade]

Mobile processing lab not worth dragging into space?

Meh! The Mobile Lab was always worth putting in orbit of the Mun or Minmus.

1. Put Mobile Lab in Munar orbit with fuel and RCS reserves

2. Send up a lander to the Mobile Lab.

=3. Refuel, store any experiments in Mobile Lab (or whatever capsule is attached to it, if so equipped), transmit any 100% science.

=4. Land on Mun with Lander

=5. Science!â„¢

=6. Return to Mobile Lab

=7. If not enough Science!â„¢ yet, go back to step 3.

8. Transfer Science back to Lander, return lander to Kerbin, enjoy Science!â„¢

9. Go back to step 2 until Mun science exhausted.

(the equal signs are for indenting the repeatable part)

It's also relatively cheap to transfer the Mobile Lab to Minmus afterwards as the Mun and Minmus are both in what I think of as the "shallow end" of Kerbin's gravity swimming pool well.

[cpast]

I like the update, the contracts are a bit grindy, sort of like science in .22. The one thing I really don't like is the mod incompatibility notice. I play on a mac, and some of the mods work fine on 32-bit but it says that they don't. It's not a major inconvenience, just a nuisance.

Is that part of KSP? I think that's code in the mods themselves that pops that check.

[Xavven]

I agree with the OP. This has been the best update evah! It has really breathed new life into the game by encouraging varied, mission specific designs.

For example, instead of just landing a probe on Eve to grind science, I combined an Eve exploration contract with testing a mainsail in Kerbin orbit and an LV-N in Munar orbit. I ended up with an SSTO Mainsail with a probe driven by an LV-N as payload, and it stopped by the Mun on the way to Eve!

Love it!

[Robotengineer]

Is that part of KSP? I think that's code in the mods themselves that pops that check.

It doesn't do that in previous versions. I believe it is part of the new update, though I maybe wrong.

[brusura]

"Orientation of VAB scenery rotated so spacecraft orientation is consistent at launchpad."

Guess I am the only one that prefer the old way , no way to customize this right?

[Monger]

Couldn't agree more. In addition to what was already mentioned: including cost efficiency and recoverability into the equation suddenly puts the whole rocket design head over heels.

For example:

* Asparagus design. Transferring liquid fuel seemed to be the ultimate solution for efficiency. But if you include recovery costs, asparagus is surprisingly expensive. It suddenly becomes much more attractive to use SRBs instead for the first or second stage.

* Stages generally: Up to this point, for efficiency reasons it was always wise to loose as much weight with each stage as possible. But chances are that you can't recover any stage that has no own control, so the last stage tends to get as heavy, not as light, as it may be.

* Multi purpose: before 0.24 I usually had a few multi-purpose carriers. I just needed to add payload to each of them if I wanted to get here or there. Now, contracts are often either so specific that the carrier won't meet the necessary criteria(e.g. I need to be faster or slower at a specific height because the contract requests this), and they give less funds than my overpowered carrier is worth. Therefore, I need more specialised designs again.

0.24 makes me rethink what I thought to know after playing KSP for more than 3 years. I guess this makes this indeed an exceptional update.

[cpast]

It doesn't do that in previous versions. I believe it is part of the new update, though I maybe wrong.

Right, because the plugin component in question was released in January 2014 (missing the 0.22-0.23 shift), and the ARM release didn't change major or minor version number (the .5 is the revision number, and many plugins didn't check it, just checking major/minor instead). CompatibilityChecker is designed by modders, and implemented in some mods, but is not part of the stock game.

[Superfluous J]

"Orientation of VAB scenery rotated so spacecraft orientation is consistent at launchpad."

Guess I am the only one that prefer the old way , no way to customize this right?

Anybody who played the game for more than a week before 0.24 comes out prefers the old way. Give it a few days and see how it feels.

I made 2 ships in the VAB before I got used to it, myself.

[Mipe]

Add a subtitle: "Goodbye Asparagus".

[stargazer1235]

So I have been on a long hiatus from KSP. I basically got burnt out after the 0.20 update and haven't really been touching the game since, although I have been keep up on the news and the updates. It was the Contracts in the 0.24 update that brought me back and have hooked me again, I really enjoy the idea of having mini goals that give rewards (I am personally someone who doesn't like games where you have to set your own goals, why I don't like minecraft). I wonder what you guys think about it. Here is my personal list.

Pros:

*Contracts, give mini goals and good variety.

*Contracts now give science, means I don't have to go around science spamming the entire planet and mun.

*Funds now force you to consider parts more closely.

*Reworked tech tree makes more sense.

Cons:

*Variety, there could be more types of contracts, mine are mostly parts tests right now.

*Longer contracts, most right now are just going to one location and testing a part or taking science from a location

*More uses for reputation and funds then just Contracts and parts

*Make the duration for contracts shorter meaning that you have to make harder decisions.

[Zablonski]

This version should have been called Quantum Leap

• I now find myself much more playing mission control then in the past. Where, even for complex missions, the paradigm was basically "plan, build, fly" contracts have added a whole new dimension in planning. "Mmmmh perhaps this experiment can hitch along, and I can test that part as well... -- planning has become a whole new game
  
• In addition to planning mission control has matured immensely for me. Now I have to create real checklists for a mission. "Stage between 15000 and 18000m - keep velocity below 800m/s", making sure everything is done in the right order and no experiments and tests are forgotten...
  

Restarting a career in .24 definitely brings these two points home with the added constraint of now having a bank manager who doesn't offer any overdraft facility.

[brusura]

Anybody who played the game for more than a week before 0.24 comes out prefers the old way. Give it a few days and see how it feels.

I made 2 ships in the VAB before I got used to it, myself.

Yeah I know but I dont think will change with time ...to keep the correct orientation while building the rocket I have to watch a grey ugly industrial hangar instead of a relaxing blue and cloudy sky, I can always rotate the rocket while building and rotate again before launch but hey I prefer the old way

[Superfluous J]

I'm in the same boat, though 0.23 and 0.23.5 kept me entertained with the "Max out the tech tree" endgame goal, especially when I used a mod to severely cut the science I got for the experiments.

And now, I'm even happier.

(Regarding Minecraft, assuming you own the game you should try maps like Skyblock. They severely limit what you have available and give you specific goals to achieve along the way. That map and maps like it kept my interest in the game for over a year after Vanilla lost its charm for me.)

[Felsmak]

With all these part testing contracts, I often find my rockets looking something like this:

[RocketBlam]

Yep, I agree. It made a big difference in the game.

[kiwiak]

How much rep do i lose when i kill kerbal?

PLS respond

[Daishi]

PLS respond

I don't think its a big deal. I just crashed into a mountainside with all six of these guys in a tall stack of Mk1 pods, and still managed to get into the green after fulfilling the first four "launch", "5000m altitude record", "reach space", and "orbit" contracts. Didn't give me any kind of notification though, probably because i couldn't recover the craft.

Edited July 20, 2014 by Daishi

[Esme]

right click engine and hit Run Test.

Ithankyou, Sir! Thought it'd be something simple I'd missed (I seem to have been born with a degree in ability to mis the flippin' obvious/simple, at times!). However, it really ought to tell you somewhere that you have to right-click the parts to be tested.. Never mind, it's still the best beta in the world that puts many 'final release' games to shame!

Ach - nope, still doesn't work. There is no 'Run Test' option given. Will try another 'test part contract, see whether that works.

Have just tried the Sepatron 1 test, multiple times. Never any 'run test' option on a right-click.

relevant info: I'm running the latest version of Linux Mint, 32-bit version. Clean fresh install of KSP 0.24, then with the Kethane and MechJeb2 installed.

All appears to be working fine, except the test contracts. I was ensuring that parts were flown within the parameters given by the contract. With the Sepatron 1 contract, I tried initiation both by the normal next-thing-in-the-stack process, and also by manual intervention (clicking onto the part and setting the thing off). In neither case did I get a 'run test' option on a right-click. Will see if Alt or Alt+Win (which is what I have to do to transfer fuel) works.

UPDATE: No, there is NO 'right click' on part to 'run test'. Kenbob5588, that was an unhelpful comment, and sidetracked me from where teh real problem lay, unfortunately. The problems I had were caused by a couple of things:

1. Initially, It hadn't been clear to me that the conditions given for the contract had to be present before the part to be tested was started. I;d somehow gained the impression that so long as the part was operating whilst teh ship was flying within the stated regime that that was what mattered. In this I was incorrect.

2. In the Sepratron tests, I hadn't noticed that the Contract had not remained pinned open - and the LVT45 one was dropping down instead. I didn;t notice this at first due to the red text on slate grey background. I would regard this as a bug - if I click on a contract, I want the durned thing to stay open at THAT contract.

I have now managed to test the LVT45 and complete the contract, but getting to this point was quite an excercise in frustration...

I think tea is required. And possibly cake. :-)

Edited July 20, 2014 by Esme

[bsalis]

Yeah, the game style has certainly changed, for the better.

Something from Reddit...

... i'm suffering from a bit of VAB fatigue though.

[Superfluous J]

Yeah, the game style has certainly changed, for the better.

Something from Reddit...

http://i.imgur.com/dxNfzbj.png

... i'm suffering from a bit of VAB fatigue though.

The "Science" craft looks wrong, far too little asparagus staging on that.

The "Career" craft looks about right