wossname

Real fairings use pyrotechnic charges to break open don't they? So yeah they are a bit like grenades.

I think whoever is responsible for the fairings in 1.0.2 is to be profoundly congratulated. This feature is really slick, and the GUI implementation is pure eye-candy. I've been sitting here just waving the mouse around in front of the fairings to reveal the contents. Back and forth back and forth over and over for probably 15 minutes, it's quite hypnotic and, in the true sense of the word, awesome. Beautifully done. And they make getting funny shaped stuff into orbit a heck of a whole bunch easier I can tell you.

Yes, and the victim rescuee seem to be still inside a wrecked command module - this allows new types of rescues - unmanned rescue craft with Klaws to drag the craft back to LKO and have the rescued kerbonaut attach his own parachutes (perhaps with KAS).

I only payed £22 for my copy, this is very cheap for such an excellent game (in my no doubt dubious opinion as a complete shill). You, however are complaining like someone who, either paid a lot more for it, or has no other difficulties in their life. It's just a game, lighten up, go play something else.

You know you play too much KSP when: you begin a new sentence with a SPACE.

Try a gradual gravity turn starting from a few seconds after launch. You may find that turning SAS off might help with controlling the craft (SAS tends to fight against the atmosphere and makes your job harder). By the time you hit 10,000m altitude, you should be just passing through 45 degrees of turn. The turn should be smooth as possible from start to finish. This is hard to do with a keyboard - I use a joystick to get nice smooth analog control and I find it much easier than keyboard alone. You can't just "take a right turn at the cloud" to get into orbit any more And do use the small fins, they will aid your stability without having the SAS turned on.

Are we to assume KSP version 1.0.2 for this?

KER is the only mod I cannot live without. I have not installed anything else since 1.0.2 came out. KER is a major aid to my being able to get anywhere in KSP. Long may it remain.

I have fought tooth and nail with KSP 1.0.2's new features. I persevered with what I felt initially to be a losing battle and now I think that the technological curve is finally leveling out and delivering HUGE science rewards. My first simple lander to the Mun and back (recovering as much science as possible) yielded more than 450 science from a single landing site! With these points I was able to buy the procedural fairings part. This is revolutionary! With a fairing it is hugely easier to get into orbit. Make it a priority if you are struggling!

I've just consulted the book of knowledge (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_circulating_currencies) and a few amusing "K" prefixed possibilities present themselves. Perhaps Squad have something in mind for future versions?

Is there a name for the currency used in KSP? It looks like "\F" in some of the screens and like a square root symbol in other places. What's it called?

I am trying very hard to ONLY play career mode in KSP 1.0.x. I'm finding it to be a grind. Not pleasantly so. Before 1.0.0 the career mode was way too easy. A skilled player could literally earn enough science points to buy the entire tech tree in two or three launches (Scott Manley did a good youtube series on this). However in KSP 1.0.x the difficulty pendulum has swung back in the other direction, and been nailed, glued and welded there. I don't really know what to think about this though, ambivalence is my main reaction to the current career mode. I like to have goals to reach for and I like to follow a story or at least a progressive path toward something worth working towards. I enjoy sandbox too but it somehow seems aimless and lonely and ultimately goal-less. But I do like making massive space stations and de-orbiting them for no reason. Sandbox is splendid for experimentation and making utterly insane things. Feels like the latest release of KSP has set the difficulty curve higher for career mode than many players (new or old) are likely to be interested in. I hope that in the long run this isn't the case, since the career mode is a very promising gameplay dynamic, but it *still* needs a lot of fine tuning.

Sorry I asked.

I've changed my strategy to the following... Do nothing but get all the local science data that can be had with the Flea engine and take the most direct route through the tech tree to get the "Aviation" category parts - this has wheels and wings! I reckon this is a better jumping off point for spamming science points since I can just taxi around the KSC and visit each building in turn. Hmm, wonder if the swimming pool is it's own biome... I managed to get 33 science points by using this rather odd looking contraption... Crank the thrust limit all the way down to the lowest setting (seems to be 5.5%) and tilt it up very steeply (but not quite vertical). This will then gently accelerate and you can steer easily and govern the speed by using the brakes. There is enough go juice to visit the astronaut complex, the R&D centre, the tracking station and the VAB in one trip. That was enough to go back and buy some of the earlier tech tree items I had done without in order to grab the Aviation parts. Bootstrapping FTW

I keep seeing this word "plaid" everywhere. What does it mean in the context of KSP?

Wow, lots of good advice here, thank you everyone. I also think the new aero system has thrown me off kilter, perhaps my vehicles are inefficient because I'm too accustomed to the old soup atmosphere. I'll get the slide rule out and try some different stuff. 1.0.2 is just out so I'll upgrade and start fresh and put some of your tips into practice!

.....Or perhaps they flew on the wings of love? I admit it's not a scientific hypothesis, but scientists should keep an open mind.

There is a phrase "easier said than done". I'd seriously appreciate a good description (or a tutorial) about how to accomplish that. Getting to Minmus seems to be an impossibility given the tech tree choices I've made so far. Painting oneself into a corner is definitely a thing in KSP 1.0.x.

At 600MB per time, hmm. I know it's the 1990's but it still hurts.

In answer to recent posts - yes I have built new planes with many science instruments and flown them far and wide and hath spammeth aplenty where applicable. The rewards are dwindling, alas. I understand the attraction of sandbox mode, but it's something that I have always felt to be a bit aimless. "Sure I can build this 8000 ton mega-frigate with homing missiles, but so what?". Might go back to 0.90.

Sounds like grinding. If it takes several (real-world) days to get up to a strong tech base then this is going to hurt a lot of players every time a new update comes out. I notice that 1.0.1 and 1.0.2 have been released in the last few hours. *sigh* The trials and tribulations we endure eh?

More moaning, because I feel sorry for myself for no reason... I was initially encouraged by being able to get about 120 science by doing the normal science spamming tactics - but that only gets you to the mediocre early rocketry parts and crap aircraft parts and maybe thermometers if you're lucky. Now I'm pretty much stuck on Kerbin with 400 tightwad hipster tourists and no decent biomes in range because my unmanned rockets will not fly in a straight line and a grand total of 3.6 science to spend. Trapped in purgatory and there is no science here. The other option is sandbox. But in sandbox, nothing matters. No fun. Bah

1.0 is kicking my butt. Didn't used to be like this. It's as if my ship design is a secret password - wrong password, NO SPACE FOR YOU! Why is there so little science reward for such hard early contracts? 1 science point for a mun flyby? Are you kidding me? I'm struggling to find enjoyment in the career mode any more. HEEEEEEEEEEELP!

Hmm, the LV-1R "Spider" engine category (check the spelling on the OP) just got me to the Insular Airstrip in less than 5 minutes without any real effort or any real wings. Perhaps this challenge should be restricted to a maximum of 2 or 3 spider engines. I will not submit my entry in this case since I dispute the rules

I'm stumped. Well, lets give it a few days. We have new features to explode explore, and we might find a new way to use ions in a green fashion.