micha

The next release due Soon will have 64-bit support for Windows. Since it sounds like you're about to embark on an epic adventure it might be worthwhile for you to just have a play with all the bits for now and get used to everything and then get serious once .24 is out. Although you'll have to wait for all your mods to be updated if necessary. Btw, for ScanSat also get "ScanSat for all". Due to game engine limitations it can only scan if a ship has a ScanSat part and this additional mod tweaks every command pod to do so.

You might also want to double-check that MechJeb and KER don't duplicate each other. Haven't tried MechJeb myself, but based on what I've read it does what KER does + have the option to run as an autopilot. I use KER so far since I'm still happy to fly myself. As for more science, check out Kerbel Dust Experiment (KDEX), it's a standalone mod. Also have a look at ScanSAT, adds instruments to map planets/moons (for science as well as picking landing spots).

The NavyFish Docking Port Indicator add-on makes docking a doddle (IMHO). At least it worked well for my first-ever docking Enhanced NavBall makes flying a little easier. MechJeb (from what I've read) can be used as a complete autopilot. Active Texture Management can reduce your memory usage. I've only used it in the basic mode, which does all its magic when loading the game; it doesn't break anything and you can just uninstall it if you don't want it (it does reduce the quality of the textures..). There's a more aggressive mode but I think that requires more tweaking to other mods.

I'm fairly new, but have managed to get to Mun/Minmas without (much) trouble. Personally I've collected the following mods so far which, for the most part, I would consider essential: Kerbal Engineering Redux (KER) - really helps when building your rockets, and helps a fair bit when flying as well. I imagine MechJeb would do a similar job though. Kerbal Alarm Clock - very very useful to avoid time warping past events, especially when you have half-a-dozen probes going at the same time. Enhanced NavBall - useful Navyfish's Docking Port Alignment Indicator - made my first ever docking very easy. I will have to try again using just the stock controls. ScanSat - love the idea of sending mapping probes first. Kerbal Attachment System (KAS) - needed it to rescue some stranded Kerbonauts and really like the idea of EVA being more than "EVA report". Final Frontier - keeps track of each Kerbal's achievements. kOS - script your probes. I initially thought I could pre-program probes and they'd execute their manoeuvres when the conditions are met, but the ship still has to be active for this to happen. My idea was to use this for non-kerballed probes to add realism, and to be able to control multiple probes at once. But due to the restriction I haven't really used it yet. Might still be useful once I get ion engines. Active Texture Management - reduce memory usage to allow more mods! Only needed until I get more RAM for my machine. Ferrram Aerospace Research (FAR) - like you I can't seem to fly planes. Or at least, land them. So I installed this last night to see if I have any more success. Also I like the idea of being restricted to more sensible rockets.. although in retrospect that doesn't seem quite .. kerbal KW Rocktry - installed purely for the fairings to play with FAR as I haven't exhausted the possibilities of the stock parts yet. I toyed with the idea of installing procedural fairings instead, but I liked the idea of having to design within limits. Perhaps I watched too much of Scott Manley's YouTube series.. I also had Clouds and Cities installed, but it blew my RAM budget. Might try again now that I've switched from KDE to WindowMaker for playing KSP (that alone freed nearly a Gig!). Also there's quite a few more I like the look/idea of and might try once I get further into the game. Here's a few lists from other people as further inspiration: http://forum.kerbalspaceprogram.com/threads/73743-My-personal-must-have-mod-list http://www.reddit.com/r/KerbalSpaceProgram/comments/1upc6g/scott_manleys_interstellar_quest_modlist/ http://www.reddit.com/r/KerbalSpaceProgram/comments/255cjn/essential_and_nonessentialbutstillcool_mods/

IMHO only polite to say g'day. Chances of contacting anybody are probably slim, but if everybody hides then there's the answer to the Fermi Paradox. We already optimise most of our communications and avoid leaking unnecessary energy, so our unintentional "radio signature" is tiny in time (only a few decades). Not even a blip, cosmically speaking. As lots have said, any civilisation out there picking up our "hello" is either so far ahead of us (FTL, etc) that apart from scientific curiosity there is -nothing- we could offer them (resource-wise) so absolutely no point in mounting the typical sci-fi attack scenario, or, far more likely, will be limited to sending a "why, hello there" back. I mean, hypothetically speaking we pick up a passive SETI signal tomorrow, does anybody seriously suggest we would immediately plan and build an invasion force instead of trying to establish mutually beneficial contact? And humans are, by a long shot, the most aggressive species on planet Earth. There's a theory which postulates that the dominant species on any planet is necessarily also the most aggressive; after all, you first have to not only survive, but thrive, before you can build up a dominating infrastructure. But to reach that point also requires an incredible amount of collaboration which, hopefully, eventually breeds out the aggression. We're not there yet, but we're not exactly space-faring yet either, having only taken the first few baby-steps out of our gravity well.

First of all, that's a very nifty spaceplane/lander combo! But the "Fully Reusable" category does state "no staging" and I concur that the lander is a stage, even if you do redock it and land it back on Kerbin. Otherwise extending this concept you could leave various parts of your craft in various orbits, collecting them on the return journey for landing, and still be within the rules of this challenge. Eg, a heavy launcher, left in LKO, a cruise stage left in LMO, and the lander stage. Or in fact extend it to the concept of leaving a "cruise stage" in permanent Kerbin-Mun orbit which transfer craft dock to. The idea being you only need a small capsule to get to/from the cruise stage, and the cruise stage itself contains large living quarters and all other amenities. So instead of having to haul the cruise-stage in-and-out of gravity wells all the time, you leave it on a transfer orbit. This was a real design for an Earth-Mars transfer system. The problem being that you have to wait for an entire orbit for the return journey, or you need a whole chain of these cruise stages. Anyway, back on topic, I guess the challenge needs clarification - is it a "100% reusable" challenge, or a "SST Mun-and-back" challenge?

Being new here I don't have any deep-seated impressions yet, but I'd prefer these things to be kept out of the core game: 1) Weapons/war; this game is one of the few which is NOT about blowing stuff up (at least, not entirely on purpose..). Keep it this way! 2) Uber-realism. It's already got simplified physics, a fantasy environment, and cartoonish graphics. Great! That's what I like in my games. If I want reality, I either play a serious sim, or go and play in the real world. Having said that, adding slightly more realistic aerodynamics (nosecones!), re-entry, basic resources/funding (I know, some of these are coming) I'm all for it. But keep it (relatively) simple and abstract and above all FUN. Gameplay should always win out. 3) Multiplayer. Sorry, just not for me. So if it's a separate mode/module, fine, but please keep single-player intact! 4) Microtransactions. This had not even crossed my mind until reading this thread, so just adding a voice against this abomination. Paying for DLC which adds significantly to the game but is completely optional (eg, a second star system) is a different kettle of fish. 5) A scripted/on-the-rails mission structure. This would destroy replay value of career mode. As for people a page or two back that advocated a huge list of toggleable settings, yes, in an ideal world that would be great. But as a software developer, sorry, that's just not possible (or at least, not economically viable). You can't compare switching aerodynamics (for example) between simple/complex to settings such as Civilization's number of opponents or size of map. Changing the aerodynamics affects -everything- in the game, and hence you'd need to tweak -all- the parts, costs, settings, etc between the two modes and ensure each of the modes is balanced and works well. And that's just one setting! But hey, the great thing is that the developers have been clever enough to expose a plugin/mod system. This has allowed the community to build great mods, and for everybody to tweak their game to be just like they want.

Just use the 64-bit Linux version; works a treat and effectively no memory limits. Except you also need a CPU to cope, which mine unfortunately doesn't.

That's good to know; thanks. IMHOE, it'd be more interesting to start new saves at different dates/times.

Fairly new player here, and so far only had a single Kerbal on the Mun (and he had to be rescued due to insufficient fuel). I was more impressed that I managed to get my rescue lander within 2km of the original touchdown! Currently sending automated probe droids out; 3 on the Mun and 2 on Minmus so far. Meanwhile my kerballed space program is stuck in LKO where I just successfully practised a rendezvous and docking manoeuvre.

@technicalfool & SteveM: Thanks; I'll check it out! Sounds like just the ticket for un-kerballed probes.

FWIW, having only just started playing, I like the idea of being able to program very simple things into probes (eg, at this time, point to X, and perform burn at Y% for Z time). But apart from that having a complete autopilot like MechJeb does sound over the top to me - part of the fun (for me) is figuring out how and when to burn to reach a particular destination. I may change my mind once I spend more hours in the game. I guess everybody likes to play the game in their own way

Thanks for all the suggestions! Not really looking to make my life too hard just yet.. so while I love the idea of RemoteTech, Deadly Reentry, FAR, etc etc to make it more realistic (ScottM really does a fantastic job showcasing all of this!), I'm keen to get the more-or-less vanilla game down pat first. I'll definitely check out some of the less game-changing mods for now though! @Pecan, I've searched high and low (Google, forum search, Curse), and I can't find this "breadcrumbs" mod that you mentioned. Do you have a link perchance?

Already using KER - it's essential for building, and very useful in-flight. Thanks for the suggestions though; I'll check "breadcrumbs" out! Looking forward to a more balanced career mode. Doesn't seem to make so much sense to unlock probe tech so much later than manned (Kerballed?) flight. Especially with the reduced science when transmitting. Would make more sense (IMHO) to send probes first, transmitting what they find, then either a sample-return mission, and finally a Kerbal for eyeballs-on-ground. Anyway, I'm sure that's been discussed somewhere!!

Hullo, Just thought I'd introduce myself briefly; no idea how active I'll be in the forums yet, but it never hurts to say G'Day, does it? Bought the game spur-of-the-moment through Steam last Friday and been spending a bit of time playing. Have had a blast (pun not intended) so far! Before I read/watched any "getting started" things and after a few test-flights, I managed to successfully send a Kerbal into orbit (you -don't- want to see the rocket that did it! I hadn't yet realised what the struts were for and the sticky-taped together contraption was anything but stable; in fact, the orbit ended up being almost polar!) - but without enough fuel to deorbit. Luckily just enough to dip his trajectory into the very upper reaches of the atmosphere though! 20 odd orbits later he was safely home. Or at least, back on Kerbin. Home was half a planet away as he landed quite close to the north pole.. I then spent a bit of time watching Scott Manley's very excellent "Intro to Career Mode" videos (and am now thoroughly enjoying his "Interstellar Quest" series) and am better for it. Even to the point of getting pen-and-paper out to calculate required d-v, and engineering rockets, instead of just sticking enough fuel-tanks and solid-rocket boosters on until it makes it to something resembling orbit. Unfortunately that was too late for poor old Jebediah, who I had managed to get safely onto Mun in the meantime. Unfortunately again, without enough fuel left for the return journey. Needless to say, he needed a rescue ship, which I built and managed to get within a couple of km of his landing site. After a long munar trudge, he's safely back home. With all the samples to boot! What a trooper. Looking forward how the adventures progress! Cheers, - Micha. PS. Does anybody know of a mod to log all flights? I'd love a way to keep a history of every single launch with all the relevant statistics, similar to what is shown on the F3 screen.