thomasjkenney

Flip the decoupler 'upside-down' so it doesn't stay attached to the probe. Using a decoupler will block cross-feed, docking port won't. Also, when using decouplers for the probes, move them to a separate stage and put them at the very top of the staging. Manually (right-click) operate the decoupler when it's time to release.

The GPU is the integrated? (Not clear from your post, but the 'ddr3' is a clue.) I'm running on A10-5800K, and get decent performance. Most of the graphics options are cranked up, except the AA (anything more than 4x causes lag). Also, phys delta is at the default and I don't see much 'time dilation' unless I'm flying something with a stupid high part count (500+). I've also got 2GB frame buffer carved out.

I've used 4 LV-N's radially, in tug-style ships, but that's usually by launching the ship to Kerbin orbit first, then launching several fuel tanks to dock behind. The LV-N's are attached with short modular girder and radial attachment point, with some struts. Ship close-up: In the Jool system:

Heck no! I strap Jeb in with duct tape and a ball gag. He knows it's his duty to shut up and keep his hands away from the shiny buttons.

"So ... BEAUTIFUL! They should have sent a poet..."

How about a wood or 3d-printed replica of the ship that killed your comp?

Do they all have their own names? I'd be interested to see the crew roster!

OK, I'll post here, then. Thanks! Here's the Skipper design, which I used in Career with only about half the tech tree filled in: Not quite the same as the behemoth I did later, but I can't find the .craft file (got 2 machines running KSP, so stuff spread across drives). I use a similar design with my interplanetary tug craft: In the tug, I have a Rockmax #2 Adapter and a big reaction wheel, and 'inside' the reaction wheel I place 4 x large girders as the crossbeams. In this design, they do 'clip' through the reaction wheel and the topmost fuel tank, but it's exactly the right length for the job.

Yes, heavier (your design in OP is quite elegant, btw!), but it's flexible. The ship I used this design on was 7 x Rockomax tank stacks (1 center plus 6 surround), each with a Skipper engine. Then I radial'ed (as per my description) 12 more Skippers around the outside. I think I actually used the longer girder segment for the initial attachment. I'll post a screenshot later. Don't want to hijack this thread, though, as it's about bi-couplers and such. Maybe I'll start a Radially Attached Engines thread.

You can do radial engines without extra fuel tanks. Use a Modular Girder outward, then a Modular Girder Adapter downward, attach an upside-down Rockomax Adapter #2, then a Skipper or Mainsail. Run the fuel line from the central tank out to the Rockomax Adapter #2. I'm at work right now, so can't post a screenshot, but I'll do so when I get home.

Gilly: Manufacturing the galaxy's best dilithium crystals since 2314!

+1 on capi3101's recommend of PreciseNode (if you're willing to use any mods). It doesn't really add anything to the game, so not very mod'ish. It just gives you finer granular control that is an augmentation of the maneuver node widget. I'm playing 0.23 Career mode, and it's the only mod I will use until I max out my tech tree.

With apologies to Larry Niven... BYSTANDER I had just completed a successful orbit of Eve, perhaps a little too close to the atmosphere, but pulling it off nonetheless. In the afterglow of the successful encounter, before remembering the old mountaineers' credo that reaching the summit is only half the job, I felt content to relax and read a book and sip my coffee. Before long, things started to go quite badly. A micrometeorite punctured a fuel tank. I was quickly losing the precious fuel I would need for the return burn. I quickly began a panic burn to attempt a partial transfer back toward Kerbin. However, the tiny rock had also clipped a critical sensor, and my burn was sending me off in a random direction. Fear and anxiety pervaded. The cabin stank of sweat and vomit. I was on an accidental escape trajectory that would send me toward the Kalpha Keti system, most likely to my doom. Then a shocking thing happened. While I was staring longingly out the viewport at a receeding Eve, the face of a huge, pink-skinned Kerbinid appeared, blocking my view! I was dumbfounded. As the face receded, allowing a broader view, what I saw only heightened my fear. It was a giant space-bound Kerbinid, though whether an organism or a robot I could not tell. It seemed to be grinning at me. Not a benevolent grin ("Don't worry, Jeb...I'm here to help!") but an apathetic grin ("Lookit that little green bugger! Ain't he somethin'?"). The indifference was humbling. The giant then 'reached out' with a colossal arm as if to grab my ship. I cowered, wishing I had a closet in which I could lock myself. The hand extended a finger (GAWD! There were FIVE FINGERS!) and applied what, for such a large being, must have been an infinitesimal force. The effect on my tiny ship was as if I had ignited a Skipper engine attached at some random angle. I was sent hurtling, spinning, sickeningly, and further off course than before. Now I was sure to be marooned. Moments passed while the giant seemed to be caught up in some thought. It turned it's head to one side and transmitted a message to some unseen entity at an unknown distance, using some kind of laser that caused my ship to vibrate with the sound of the message: "DAMN YOU, CAT! GET THE HECK AWAY FROM MY KEYBOARD!!!" I had no idea what the message contained, but the tone sounded like a warning. It was frighteningly cryptic. I had hoped that, with such power at it's disposal, the giant might take pity on me and help me back to Kerbin, but the warning message left me so shaken I had forgotten all such hope. And it was probably for the best. The next message the giant indifferently transmitted left me feeling empty and small: "Oh, well. I guess I'll have to terminate that mission and start another. Jeb clone number 347, you're up next!"

Things I've learned after similar mishaps: 1) ALWAYS put RCS on a dockable command module. 2) ALWAYS check to make sure there is fuel in the lander tank (did exactly as you did, but had RCS so I managed to re-dock and transfer fuel...WHEW!) 3) Mount your lander right-side-up and put a decoupler between the lander's central (only?) engine and the docking port on the main craft. This will prevent fuel crossflow, since the lander is now a stage. To separate, 'undock' the docking port, then decouple the decoupler. Just remember that after you dock on the return, you're now facing backwards! My worst that-was-really-stupid-WTF-was-I-thinking moment was at the end of a fly-by to Dres. I spent lots of time assembling my craft in orbit, did the whole trip, got a bunch of science in orbit around Dres, got all the way back to Kerbin without running out of fuel. Did my landing burn, and just before the re-entry flames I noticed that I didn't have a decoupler between my command module and my 'tug' module (4 LVNs and a RockMax tank)!!! Tried to 'burn-assist' my descent, but the craft went berzerk. Deployed my chutes early to try to drag off some V, which helped a little. When the chutes finally opened...WHACK! The engines and fuel tank snapped off, and left my command module and Science Jr module perfectly intact. Jeb had reason to smile after that one!!!

Upgrades to existing parts. This could be "improvements in materials and construction techniques" to make fuel tanks lighter, improve performance of engines, etc. This wouldn't be a very big deal, so I'd still like to see some new stuff, too. Maybe slurp up that mod with the habitat modules? Or a full-blown O'Neill pack?

Looking forward to reading a mission report, if you care to post one. I'm currently preparing my first Duna lander mission, so I'm interested in anyone's Duna mission experiences.

Upon watching my 32-SRB monstrosity, Ludicrous Lucy, settle onto the launch pad: "Hmmm...Did my staging just get reshuffled? Oh, well. Light'er up and let's get outa here!" ...or... "Dang it! Stop doing the fish!!!" ...moments before joint failure and craft fold-up.

Not sure... My 6D space-time widget was struck by a falling donut, and I'm having a hard time finding spare parts.

(Honoring plaiddragon's wish to 'screw certain numbers') 903: Carousel. No Kerbal shall live to see his 18th birthday! (Age is scale-adjusted, just like everything else in game). 904: SPACE MADNESS!!!!!

Turn your design philosophy inside-out. If you usually build vertically and efficiently, try building a booster farm! Pick a ship (or three) from some SciFi and build that, like a Space 1999 Eagle, or a Pak ramscoop. Or start experimenting in an effort to find more exploitable anomalies like the Kraken Drive.

Contract #1314877 NESSUS: Jebediah Kerman, I presume? We have a contract in which you might be interested. JEB: Uh...OK. NESSUS: It concerns sensitive information. I'm afraid we must selectively edit your memories upon completion of the contract. JEB: What was that first part again? About 'sensitive' something? NESSUS: Never mind. Let us begin. We have located a stasis field deep within the atmosphere of Jool. We would like you to retrieve that stasis field...and open it! JEB: Goody! I like surprises. Will I get to keep what's inside? NESSUS: Uh...sure, provided you survive the opening of the field. JEB: 'Survive the opening' ... wait ... WHAT?!?!

While hyperspace travel causes a perception effect known as The Blind Spot, where any exposed window or active viewport will appear to close in on itself as if it didn't exist, krakenspace produces a qualitatively different kind of perception effect known as The Wonka Effect, wherein pilots and passengers believe they are traveling down a river of chocolate on a boat captained by Gene Wilder.

Has anyone tried this underwater yet? (I'm only half-joking...would be very cool to have a WORM-drive submarine!)

Looks like a good method for creating an abstract sculpture garden on the grounds of the KSC. "You knew the job was dangerous when you took it, Fred!"

CRIKEY!!! Think I just had a Grateful Dead flashback-kinda-thing for a moment. "Do what you love for a living...you'll never work a day in your life!" Cheers.