Curveball Anders

I don't think that KSP has reached user saturation yet. There's a lot of potential buyers that never heard about pre-release games, and that doesn't know what steam is (other than the form of water coming from their kettle every morning). KSP is a true 6-99 game, possibly breaking that definition in both ends, Don't underestimate the 50-60+. We have more spare time (kids have moved out), more money (live with it youngins) and don't have to adapt to any group or community. How long do you think it will be before personal (game quality) computers and a decent downline is critical for any form care for the elderly?

100% agreed. I used many hours and many NSFW (nor children, clerics or child bearing women) words to begin to relearn. But 1.0 is a lot more satisfying to play. Harder? Yes! Annoying? Oh yes!. Frustrating? <censored> yes. Satisfying when you manage do figure something out? Have a guess.

I don't know how it's coded. But as I understand it heat transfer is a big part of the new heat system. Transfer by contact (or radiation) means that any part of a construction with higher levels of thermal energy will try to dissipate this excess to it's surroundings . So a hot engine will try to transfer it's excess energy (heat) to a cooler tank, and continue to do so until there's a balance of available energy. If we take a standard capsule returning from space one would assume that the heat shield is sizzling hot while the capsule and other attached paraphernalia is cooler. And while the heat shield can dump some (and most likely the majority) excess energy into the water, some energy will transfer to the capsule (and attached dodads). So the entire craft will cool down, while at the same time some part (the initially cooler ones) will actually heat up. It's not exactly rocket science, it's thermodynamics - - - Updated - - - The effects of heat transfer was shown in vivid detail by some glorious streamer during the launch weekend (I don't remember who, I blame myself for being drunk and watching streams for too many hours). A Mk.1 capsule, with a heat shield and a Mk16 parachute, hitting re-entry by the book. Heat shield doing it's job, glowing red and shedding mass to dissipate heat and suddenly boom goes the parachute. ...? Why did the gadget way out of the air stream and generated heat go boom? The answer is heat transfer and heat tolerance. The heat shield transferred a bit of it's excess heat to the capsule, and the capsule transferred a bit of that energy to the parachute. And while the parachute had to deal with a fraction of the total heat, it has a much lower tolerance to heat than the heat shield or the capsule. So boom goes the parachute, annoying, but actually quite realistic.

A qualified guess is that the staff is either dead asleep after an extended crunch and launch. Or they're dead asleep after a mother of all indulgence of adult beverages. I wish and hope of all my heart that it is the latter, it's more than well deserved.

Well yesterday, haven't been allowed to play yet today. Plodded through basic contracts and achievements. Managed to get into a stable orbit, and return in a safe(-ish) manner. And the last thing before hitting the sack was to have Val get her first pilot upgrade.

I'm actually still listening to the standard KSP soundtrack. But I have pondered finding some new (for a given value of 'new') laid back lounge jazz to provide variation but stay in KSP mood;)

Just checked my email archive. I bought KSP at 2014.04.04 08:50 UTC (which means that I just passed my first year without noticing). I paid 27 USD which probably ranks as the best investment in fun that I've ever made in my 50+ years of life.

I'm mainly playing career, but I sneak back to sandbox when I get frustrated and need to experiment.

It took a couple of hours, several attempts, crazy experiment, some serious screaming, NSFW (or children) language and banging my head at my desk but finally I managed to adjust. My current solution is "gentle does it", slamming a craft into the atmosphere (and that pesky sound barrier) and then flip it 45 dregrees simply doesn't work any more (which I can live with, since it never should have worked).

I've learned something today. Boosters have tweakable thrust and fuel. Which made life a lot easier

As an old fart with experience from most flight sims from that last 20 years I mainly use one test to judge the 'reality' of a flight model. And it's 'snap roll'. Take any aircraft close to it's stall, and step on the rudder. If it's a reasonably realistic model then the sudden yaw will yank the inward wing into a stall, and the aircraft will roll into the yaw. If the model is almost good (or you've miscalculated the stall), then the aircraft will sideslip and roll against the yaw. If the model is bad, the aircraft will just yaw. (If the model is really bad, the aircraft will yaw, even when parked.)

I'm in heaven (in both ways). It did take me 6-8h to figure out the new atmosphere and it's implications on launch parameters. But it was way worth the money I once paid, and the mess to update. Squad I salute you, for doing it your way, and sticking to your way.

While I share your pain and frustration, I'm calm, serene and collected. Learning by BOOM, is the Kerbal way of learning.

I love the 'Launch Video'. In typical Kerbal style it burns off in style, ramps up to heroics and ends in disaster. Followed by a jolly "It's never been easier!". It's so brilliant that it can't be viewed without shades.

Kingdom of Sweden

Impatiently, jumping up and down while updating the server page every 15m (got a timer set on my G510).

Or possibly in the brain

Or just fainted.

Kerbals have invented a super effective insulator so they can use the solar side of a solar panel to generate electricity and the shadow side to dissipate heat. Or something like that

Oh yes! As soon at I can get me clammy mitts on it. (But I'll keep my install as backup )

I did get a Lunar/Munar ecplipse when I needed one the least. Was wondering why my first Munar rover was out of electricity (yes I had fitted solar panels, this time) until I realized that I was in a currently dark area of the Mun. Well, fast forward and wait for some nice rays. Well, Doh! There's bleeping Kerbin blocking them! So I had to wait a bit longer.

4 monitors on 4 computers. KSP on main, EvE Online to the right, mail/facebook/twitter to the left and random stuff on the dedicated "TV" one (currently European Champs in swimming).

We're busy calculating the deltaV we would gain based on the stone's mass and velocity ...

I've got three monitors (on 3 boxens) so I can always find something to do while waiting, like reading the forums

Keeping with KSP's origin and the slight tendency of using the letter 'K' the official currency would of course be the Keso. (Even if it sounds a bit cheesy to some)