TheAlmightyOS

Ok, so after crashing into Mun for the 3000th time and mucking up my 241st attempt at orbital docking, I realized I just do not have the chops to be a kerbalnaut. HOWEVER, the game is still fun to mess around in. I have a SPACE SANDBOX! So I started building outrageous ships (alt-f12) and exploring the solar system. First one was almost, but not quite, entirely unlike an X-Wing. Letting MechJeb handle the finer points I flew everywhere, checking out all the planets (and crashing into the sun). Now I am to the point of editing the in game parts to make my own creations. Most have just been to change the thrust and create an auto-refueler. But I want to try something a little more extreme. I want to create a warp / FTL drive. Obviously it would use up a S-Ton of energy to use and the thrust would be off the scale. But if the shear energy of the jump doesn't rip the ship to shreds, I have two problems with this little project of mine: 1.) This would not just be a part or collection of parts. I would have to create some sort of "nav computer" in which one would have to carefully plot a course taking into account gravity wells, distance and planetary bodies (aka, don't smack into Mun on your way to Eeloo). No idea where to begin on something like that. 2.) STOPPING. After engaging the FTL and getting where you want to go, how to STOP? I have been trying to figure out a way to make the craft go to zero-V but can't figure it out. Yes, I know this is, technically, cheating. But come on! I could not resist! If anyone care's to offer any suggestions I would appreciate it!

Good Info! Thanks It looks like I need to widen the gap between the Rockomax 64 tanks. I am using TT-70 Radial Decouplers but they are not giving me the space I need. I have never attached anything but tanks to Decouplers before. Any suggestions on what I can use to widen the gap? Need at least a meter.

Hello All! I am at work. They don't let me play KSP on my downtime BUT I found a way to get my fix! I put the rocket designs I have in my head down on (digital) paper using qCad. This way, when I come home I can start building right away knowing my parts wont clip into each other. The radius of all rocket parts are easy enough, they are listed right in the wiki. However, the fuselage parts don't have a radius. I know they are roughly comparable to their rocket counterparts, however it is hard to guess. Does anyone know what the approximate radius of the Mk3 and Mk2 fuselages? And yeah, I do know they are not exactly round. I can fudge that and still be accurate enough for what I need. Thanks!

That's hilarious.

That sound you heard was my brain exploding.

I went to LANFest at the South-By-SouthWest (SXSW) Gaming Convention here in Austin over the weekend. One of the Tournaments that was held consisted of "Get as many kerbals on another planet as possible with no prep". Never heard of KSB before then so I locked my pc and went looking at others that were playing. I saw very detailed rockets built from scratch reach into the heavens. Then I saw my first catastrophic launch failure. I just had to get my hands on it to try it out! The guys running LANFest were nice enough to flung me the tourny copy (a locked down version of the game) the dev's gave them specifically for LANFest so I could mess around in it myself. An hour later I added KSP to my STEAM wishlist. Next paycheck I am going to pick it up officially.

WOW. Yes. Almost exactly (add one more rocket booster per outward facing liquid fuel tank). I guess my design wasn't as insane as I thought it was lol

I thought I was using enough struts but I guess not. Going to use the suggestions here and to go crazy with the struts when I get a chance to mess with my rocket again. Also, I never thought of using decouplers as I didn't intend to separate any of the tanks in flight. But it sounds like a good idea. Maybe I can experiment with this asparagus staging I have been hearing about. Xacktar, I hope one day I too can make such a spectacular launch explosion as seen in your sig. That is pure awesome sauce.

I launched (read: blew up) what can only be described as a cluster of giant liquid fuel tanks strapped to overly powerful rocket engines. But I am new and just messing around. It will take a while to get to you guy's level

Hail fellow Kerbals! I got hooked on this game at the SXSW LANFest. Since then I have been messing around with it, mostly coming up with absurd and ridiculous rocket designs in sandbox mode just to learn the ins and outs of the editor. Most of my creations ether blow up on the pad or cartwheel out of control after launch which I really don't mind too much. I have never played a game before where failure is so spectacular that it is sometimes more fun than success . I figure once I am confident I can successfully build a rocket to preform like I envision in my head I will start looking into design more seriously. But untill then...CRAZY ROCKETS! My current design challenge that I have set for myself is to build what I have appropriately called The BMFR (Big Mother-#$%ing Rocket). This rocket consists of Rockomax Jumbo-64 Fuel Tank surrounded by 6 more Rockomax Jumbo-64 Fuel Tanks. The 6 outer fuel tanks have two Rockomax BACC Solid Fuel Boosters each on their outward facing sides. Each Fuel Tank has a Rockomax "Mainsail" Liquid Engine under it. On top of the center fuel tank I will be building the rest of the spacecraft, but it is not there yet. When I go to launch it, the BMFR falls apart under it's own weight. I am trying to figure out a way to increase the structural integrity of my flying explosion waiting to happen. Any Hints?