What's the funniest thing you've seen/heard a new player do in KSP?

[physicsnerd]

Nothing mean, please! Just something funny you've seem them do, that we can all relate to.

Example:

My friend started off placing the the engine, nozzle down, on TOP of the fuel tank. He then placed the capsule on top of that. He wondered why it fell over.

[Thomas988]

Omg. This thread was meant to be.

Anyways, whenever I show KSP to a non-KSP'er they always cannot get a grip on how to build things. I mean, really, is it that hard to click and move the mouse over a connection node?

[SkyRender]

I saw a stream of someone's first attempt at KSP as guided by a more veteran player. They were informed that their otherwise-pretty-solid rocket was going to have a bad time shortly. Mainly because he forgot to check the staging. First thing his ship did was decouple the side-boosters, which caused a chain reaction of the whole thing blowing up on the launchpad. Good times.

[Lunaran]

What I'm always confused by is people who, while they can figure out how to play a game about rocket science, don't realize that if they just post "C:/Program Files/Games/KSP_Win/Screenshots/Whatever0001.png" into an images thread, we can't see into their hard drive.

Maybe there's just more little kids playing this game than I realize.

[Duke23]

I always love the look of bewilderment when that first rocket (or 3 or 5) either crashes and burns, or barely goes anywhere.

I remember when I first got the game and my short one or two stage rockets weren't going anywhere so I thought "I've got this", and built the tallest most unstable and underpowered thing I've ever seen. It's got a ton of fuel and more stages so it HAS to work... It almost fell over on the launchpad then slowly but surely slithered and wobbled it's way up to the top of the atmosphere, and still didn't make stable orbit. "ok maybe I should try some radial attachment now".

[Whackjob]

What I'm always confused by is people who, while they can figure out how to play a game about rocket science, don't realize that if they just post "C:/Program Files/Games/KSP_Win/Screenshots/Whatever0001.png" into an images thread, we can't see into their hard drive.

Maybe there's just more little kids playing this game than I realize.

But windows is supposed to let you see inta things!

[mythbusters844]

The first time I showed my older brother KSP he immediately refused any help and wanted to learn on his own. He already knew a bit from watching me play on my own computer, so he made a small rocket on his own. Trouble is, he forgot a parachute and watched with horror as his capsule was approaching the ground fast, and exploded . I then taught him a bit more and he starting getting into orbit with the Kerbal X, but he doesn't really play it.

[Lhathron the Elf]

I tried getting my brother into the game once... I built a simply little rocket for him to launch, told him what to do, and he ended up launching with WAY too little throttle and landing in the ocean. Then he got frustrated and never played again.

Oh well.

[cantab]

Youtube videos abound of craft with masses of girderwork and no struts. The results are predictable to anyone familiar with the game.

[Othuyeg]

I must have been the funniest thing to watch when I started with Kerbal. I did not know what that navball was etc. I would look at where the rocket was pointing and go by that. Oh well... I learned about navball only after my first munlandings...

[SelectHalfling0]

I once had my friend try the game. He couldn't figure out symmetry and the craft went into a hilarious death spiral.

[musicpenguin]

For a day I didn't realize why my SRB with LF holders wasn't giving it more fuel.

[StrandedonEarth]

Well, my noob method of getting to the Mun was to crank an orbit out to munar orbit and wait for an encounter. This was before I figured out maneuver nodes. Not that funny, I know...

[NFUN]

I used to try to build small, efficient craft in the old noob days. What a poor, misguided fool I was...

[SkyHook]

No decouplers is pretty hilarious..I mean after a while the rocket just runs out of gas and they can't figure out why..lol.

[Mitchz95]

Well, my noob method of getting to the Mun was to crank an orbit out to munar orbit and wait for an encounter. This was before I figured out maneuver nodes. Not that funny, I know...

I did the same thing! Usually I didn't even bother with making Munar orbit once I got an encounter; I just waited until my path intersected the surface and prepared for landing. I actually got my first Mun landing using that method, so I guess it's not all bad ...

[Guest]

Using parachutes to land on the Mun.

'nuff said

[GarageBay9]

Using parachutes to land on the Mun.

'nuff said

I tried to use parachutes to land on Jool.

Yeah.

[TimberWolffe]

It was me.

I launched a basic rocket to interstellar speeds

goodbye jeb

[Arran]

I did the same thing! Usually I didn't even bother with making Munar orbit once I got an encounter; I just waited until my path intersected the surface and prepared for landing. I actually got my first Mun landing using that method, so I guess it's not all bad ...

Actually, its how i made my first landing, and at times i still do, launch when the mun is at the appropiate position, then not even bother in orbitting Kerbin, but go straight to the mun on an interception course and land, fast, crazy and fun

[Mad Mike]

My sister's first time playing KSP went something like this:

"I just need a really big rocket to get into orbit."

*stacks ALL THE ROCKETS onto each other*

*burns directly upward, no gravity turn*

*reaches escape velocity while still in the atmosphere of Kerbin*

[physicsnerd]

Heh, some of this seems to be "I didn't know how navigation worked, so I messed around". Another friend did this. Burned around trying to get to the moon (by pointing straight at it) and eventually got an encounter, but couldn't make orbit. He had no idea what a maneuver node was or what the navball was. I told them to go through the tutorials.

[KevinW42]

The first time I tried to rendezvous I wasn't paying attention to my Periapsis and accidentally de-orbited myself.

[Mitchz95]

My sister's first time playing KSP went something like this:

"I just need a really big rocket to get into orbit."

*stacks ALL THE ROCKETS onto each other*

*burns directly upward, no gravity turn*

*reaches escape velocity while still in the atmosphere of Kerbin*

http://i0.kym-cdn.com/photos/images/newsfeed/000/609/038/b78.gif

Jebediah would be proud.

[KevinW42]

My sister's first time playing KSP went something like this:

"I just need a really big rocket to get into orbit."

*stacks ALL THE ROCKETS onto each other*

*burns directly upward, no gravity turn*

*reaches escape velocity while still in the atmosphere of Kerbin*

http://i0.kym-cdn.com/photos/images/newsfeed/000/609/038/b78.gif

On my first Mun rocket, instead of throttling down to terminal velocity, my solution for low altitude drag was to just power through it with moar boosters. I was getting reentry effects during vertical ascent.