moogoob

I also have to taxi my planes in front of the hangar after landing, if they survive. The purpose? Glamour shots.

Jool is cool, fool. Kick up a stool and you'll drool enough for a pool. /Jool

My brother frequents that site that we probably shouldn't talk about; when he heard me talking about "Sending a probe to Pol" he thought it was the funniest thing ever and suggested a heat shield for the inevitable flame wars. That said, half the time I pronounce it like "pawl", and half like "pole". On topic, I pronounce it "drayce", though "drayz" or "drays" would also be close. I like the long E sound.

I see no reason not to, but I also don't use copious quantities of them. Good luck controlling a probe's attitude without RCS otherwise, especially since the Apollo-sized nozzle quads are huge (and overpowered) compared to the smaller probes.

[alanis] You live, you learn. [/alanis] In atmospheres, solar panels have been nerfed anyways - they generate considerably less power than in a vacuum. I tend to use RTGs or fuel cells if I can get away with it, or have to run a rover or somesuch. Otherwise you need way more OX-STATS than is practical to do anything.

http://vgmusic.com/ This site is still around!!!! It's been around since 1996 and was among the very first websites I visited more than once (probably around then, too as I didn't get access to the net until 96-97 through school). It's an archive of video game music in MIDI format. I remember putting midi files on a floppy to take home from school A FLOPPY.

Super Mario Bros. The original. At a sit-down arcade cabinet in a tiny independent burger place that shut down 25 years ago.

I try to not use deployable panels in atmospheres- even when stationary. Had too many break to pieces by what I assume was a mild breeze.

I for one look forward to all the new antennae. Not for building relay networks (I'll have that set to "easy", I'm sure) but because they all look incredible, and I love making probes.

I pronounce it "drays", or perhaps "drayz" is closer.

I pronounce it like the machine you turn two-by-twos into table legs on. EDIT: like many others, it seems.

I've put wing gear on planes before... like my really bad idea one where the jet engines were way out on the tips of the wings. Turns out that makes roll maneuvers super slow. The wheels help if you come in anything other than super level so you don't lose an engine nacelle or something and get REALLY off-balance (and un-flyable) as a result. However! If the wing wheels touch during takeoff, they can and will cause your plane to swerve. Not enough to foul up a landing, but enough to send you off the side of the runway on takeoff, depending on design. Something to look out for.

[lebowski]That's like, your opinion, man.[/lebowski] Or it means we need more and varied options for things like drogue chutes - maybe some even Duna specific (made for low pressure+high speed). Or you need to make your re-entry craft draggier. Or, indeed, include *gasp* engines on your landers... EDIT: What about using a ring of Separatrons or a Flea to decelerate for Duna landing? Just fire to slow down, then drop it and pop chutes. Have you tried airbrakes? Wings?

You need to use Docking Autopilot. Rendezvous autopilot is for when you're in a different orbit.

If you sit on Duna and time-warp, Ike will just sway back and forth in the sky, never setting. (It's called libration and many things in the sky display it)

The only situation I can think of is simplicity - only using a single propellant. I haven't found an opportunity, however, which maybe proves your point.

I did not know this. Have some rep!

I second the green light beside the staging icon idea. Having them red when flying at dangerous speeds in atmo would be useful too.

Mine are simple, but functional. This one was built as a Minmus refueling station primarily. Cupola, solar panels, crew compartment, Lab and docking ports were all one launch. Fuel tank was a second launch. (the Nastybird shuttle was a third, bringing crew.) Now it gets all its fuel from the surface of Minmus through ore mining. Keeping the part count relatively low keeps your frame rates up which can be a real problem as stations can get really, really complex. I should know - my very first one back in 0.23 got seriously carried away.

I use Mechjeb, and don't care if you don't. I like having an autopilot to automate things. Often, I pilot probes EXCLUSIVELY through Mechjeb as they're supposed to be automated. If MJ can't do it, neither can the probe. But it's not all about autopilot. I also like Delta-V readouts. Landing estimates. Suicide burn countdowns. "Current Biome" readouts. Porkchop plots for interplanetary transfer. SmartASS attitude control. Mechjeb is a Swiss Army Knife of a mod and if you don't want a Swiss Army Knife, by all means don't use it but please don't lambast us fans for doing being fans of this amazing and useful tool.

Landing a probe on Tylo with less than a kilo of fuel remaining in the tanks. It was SO CLOSE. Second would be my manned Duna mission back in 0.9.0

I only ever use "Abort" to eject fairings, never for its stated purpose of aborting a launch.

I have the exact same issue. Grounded my Nastybird fleet.

A first-person in-helmet view whilst on EVA would be pretty sweet. Especially if it has Chatterer integration for breathing sounds.

I have a mildly-modded game (no parts other than MJ & asteroid day, only visual mods & chatterer otherwise) and my Nastybird's Mk2 probe core keeps exploding under time warp around 69KM up or so. This splits my ship in twain, so to speak, which isn't conducive to, you know, landing in any useful shape.