mpk10

I think it would be fun to compete with other KSP players on our relative efficiency at completing contracts. I realize that the contracts are randomly generated, but assuming that the payouts in money, reputation and science are the same for a given task, would it be possible to give some sort of long 10 digit i.d. number associated with each one? That way, threads in the challenge forum could be created for specific contracts?

Rendezvous: There are many tips, but one of the first things to know is that when you launch, you should switch to map view and then time warp until your target is roughly overhead. I didn't even realize I could do this when I first started and it made rendezvous much harder.

Really curious if anyone has done the research to figure out what that distance is?? I imagine it would be different for each engine.

Why not use three small Jr docking ports instead of one big one?

Based on your question, I may be able to save you some trouble in constructing these going forward. You can send the whole thing up as a probe without any kerbals at all! The station only has to be habit"able" for 9 Kerbals, etc. Not "inhabited by".

Park a Probe/rover with batteries and solar panels near Kerbal Space Center, somewhere just off the runway or Launchpad. Two reasons: 1) You can use it to target landings/splashdowns when it's nighttime at KSC. 2) If you have Engineer installed, you can switch to it after putting an interplanetary craft into orbit and time warp faster to the correct phase angle for a transfer burn to the target planet with full use of all levels of timewarp, then switch back to your orbiting craft for the burn.

I also park a probe near KSC to find it in the dark. I realize that this wasn't asked here, but it's worth pointing out that another nice thing about a probe, (as opposed to a flag) is that if you have Engineer installed, you can use it to target certain phase angles for interplanetary missions. When you're waiting in orbit, you can't timewarp very fast, so I switch to my KSC probe (which can timewarp all the way to the max speed since it's on the surface) to target the planet and fine tune the phase angle for the transfer window before switching to my interplanetary craft to set up a burn.

I think the short answer to this question is that you don't get to keep any of your vertical dV. Ever. So why use a bunch that you don't get to keep just to go straight up.

As it stands now, you can always click on the small contract icon in the VAB or SPH, as well as many other screens. However, when I am building craft in the VAB or SPH, I would like that list of active contracts to somehow include the amount that was advanced, and the amount that will be awarded if completed. Perhaps by clicking on a "plus" sign the way certain other "Notes" to contracts currently work. It seems like it would be simple. I often forget how much certain contracts are worth and have to go back to the Mission Control building and then back to the VAB in order to economize my construction. I can't really see a downside. Am I the only one who forgets what contracts are worth in the VAB? Matt

I use what I consider to be a compromise method between the "just escape Kerbin and fiddle with Maneuver nodes" and "use a calculator and wait for appropriate transfer windows". 1. Regardless of where I am in any transfer window scenario, I do my first burn from low Kerbin orbit using the Oberth effect. (I'm sure you can read about it, but roughly speaking, from a standard prograde orbit, burn on the sunny side for the inner planets, on the dark side for the outer planets.) I put my Apoapsis roughly around the same distance (by eye) as the orbit of the planet Im headed for. 2. Once i get to an acending or decending node, i burn a second time to match inclinations and adjust my apoapsis to be right on the orbit line of my target. 3. JUST after i pass my "closest approach" indicator, i do a third burn (prograde, or retrograde) to push or pull the "target position" indicator to within an encounter. (Sometimes, if my "target position" is crazy far, like on the opposite side of Kerbol, i'll wait another year so i can make a smaller adjustment, which i realize defeats the purpose of avoiding the transfer window in the first place, but whatever, i'd rather avoid the calculators. ) I know it's not the most efficient, but i think it's a good balance between the fun inherent in the game and the fact that if we just wanted to do things perfectly, we'd put it all in the hands of computers. The last thing we need is a Skynet on Kerbin! i just can't see Jeb as a John Connor type Kerbal.

Amazing! Thanks everyone. This was my first experience reporting a bug and it went so much better than I had expected!

Thank you! Does this mean it is something I should download again? Or will it fix itself automatically?

I didn't create any maneuver nodes. My craft was pretty simple, just trying to get to space and then fall back down with some science. I just started my engines and was headed straight up dialing down my throttle as I rose to try to keep near 100% efficiency. Craft file: https://www.dropbox.com/s/tyjgdzfdkxjac9v/Untitled%20Space%20Craft.craft?dl=0

Not sure if this is any better. https://www.dropbox.com/s/kkcn4rqvlfe3943/Player.log?dl=0 I think the mac log is different from the Windows one, at least according to the thread you sent me to. Another thing that might help you diagnose the problem. I deleted Engineer, then reinstalled it. It worked for about 30 seconds, then it froze, showing 100.32 atmos efficiency no matter what happened with my speed or elevation (I was around 10,000m when it happened). The log that is linked to is the one where this happened.

Padishar. Here is a link to my log file in my dropbox. As i mentioned, Engineer is the only mod i am running. https://www.dropbox.com/s/n4r5fo286y7d4zx/KerbalEngineer.log?dl=0

Will do happily if you can point me at some instructions on how to do that. I'm good at KSP, but not that sort of stuff.

No. Engineer is the only mod I have.

I am having this problem too.

That is true, but pulling only works if your engines are sufficiently far from the asteroid. Or if they're tilted to aim around it. If the engine propellant washes right towards the asteroid you're pulling, it cancels out all the thrust you're trying to make.

Looks good. Yeah, that RCS on the opposite sides of the asteroid thing was such a time-saver once I figured it out. You can move E-Class Asteroids with that?

I'm Curious whether there are a lot of different methods that folks have used for capturing asteroids. Back in 0.24, I was trying to land them at KSC with a sky crane, but have had better luck now just loading them up with parachutes. Does anyone have any asteroid getter creations that work well for all sizes? Is there another thread that you know that has a lot of different types of Asteroid Getters? This is my best current working Asteroid Getter bringing back an Asteroid named Asimov. All my asteroids are named after science fiction authors It landed about 2km from KSC at about 9m/s. No mechjeb, just a few F9s.

Just Launched this Space Station with 12 Ion Explorers. I use it to complete lots of contracts without having to launch again from Kerbin. (I've removed the Engineer science parts from the version i've shared here to keep it stock.) It can house 8 Kerbals on the base and an additional 12 on the ion explorers' rover seats. It has Sr. Docking ports on either end. Each Explorer attaches via a Jr. Clamp and has a rover seat for planting flags and parachutes for returning to Kerbin as well as some science and an antenna. Obviously the Explorers can only land on fairly low gravity/no-atmosphere celestial bodies, but there are a lot of those to Explore! It is fairly expensive, but the lifter has parachutes so it can safely be returned to KSC. (depending on fuel, you should get about half a million back) You can also fulfill a lot of contracts with this thing floating around up there. You can probably make your money back with 6 or 7 big contracts. Here it is at the VAB: Now Beginning its Gravity Turn: Now About to Detach the Lifter: Now Without the Lifter: And Finally, Here's Bob taking one of the Ion Explorers out for a spin:

In the VAB, you can separate radial decouplers into pairs of two for easier construction of asparagus staging. That is, if you add 8 decouplers with 8x symmetry, you can click on them over in the staging on the right. They will expand from one icon that shows all 8, to 8 seperate icons. Click on each one to separate it from the rest, then you can drag them two at a time ( or however many) to a new stage. This allows you to put your engines and rockets on with 8 or 6 times symmetry, but separate their decoupling for asparagus staging. You'll have to add the fuel lines one at a time, i.e. with 1x symmetry, but this is way better than having to place your decouplers in pairs by eye. Matt

Thanks. I try to play without the mods, with the lone exception of Engineer Redux. Here's hoping the folks at squad decide to add it at some point!

Has Anyone come across a contract for a space/refuelling station yet? Do we know if such a contract exists? i.e. get such-and-such many kerbals in orbit with such and such amount of liquid fuel and a science lab and a bunch of docking ports and you get 500,000 and a 200,000 advance. Anything like that? I've been delaying taking the interplanetary exploration contracts in the hopes that at some point someone company or nationality on Kerbin might finance a space/refuelling station so that I can not waste too much of my funds.