MaverickSawyer

Well, I finally did it. I landed on Duna. Okay, "landing" is kinda inaccurate, more of a "splat". Aaaaand the ascent stage doesn't have enough torque to tip upright, it's too heavy for the Kerbals aboard to try and tip it up... Yaaaaaaay. Now I get to earn the rescue tab on my salad bar.

Quick test reveals that they kinda work on Eve. Very low thrust, so the TWR at sea level is abysmal, but it does technically work.

Is it possible to make it packable/deployable? I.E. you go on EVA and deploy it with an engineer?

How well would these work on, say, Eve? Has that been tested at all?

So I've run into a problem with my current save where it's behaving... strangely. I'll send a rocket to the pad from either the VAB or the KSC menus, and it'll spend nearly 15 seconds frozen, run for less than a second, then freeze for another 15ish seconds. It took me nearly 10 minutes to go through 30 seconds of game time, and it never once showed the yellow time clock for "sim speed". Always the "real time" green color. This issue has not happened on previous launches, and only triggers above a certain part count on a vessel that I'm still trying to nail down, but is probably around the 80 part area. I've tried multiple different rockets, but the only commonality seems to be that the vessel in question has inventory space on it that has cargo loaded. What files and/or info do you need from me to help figure this out? I'd really like to fix this issue so I can continue with the save...

My God. It lives again.

Me, too. Yeah, it's a little harder to get to, but it's so much easier to land there, and setting up bases on the flats is an absolute cakewalk. Not to mention the higher multipliers for science.

Some really old stuff, but useful payload nonetheless... Some vintage spaceplane shenanigans to deliver a solar-electric debris removal tug to orbit.

Docking ports can be used as a control point to make handling easier. Right click on the docking port in question on the active craft, and select "Control from here".

Had a busy day yesterday... Found the Green Monolith on Minmus... Made it to "In space Low above the Sun"... Made a screaming flyby past Moho... Launched a space telescope... And pondered the majesty of a comet from the night side of Minmus.

Talk about a precision landing.

Completed the transfer of a bunch of science from the surface of Minmus to Skylab. Skylab is now fully stocked with science data and is cranking out frankly ludicrous amounts of science. Following the transfer of the science samples to the station, the sample return probe was destructively deorbited.

Ooof. That is a hard one. That's why I tend to run a 10% margin over what I expect to need, minimum. Longer range missions, like to Duna or further, I will usually do 15-20% buffer. Better to have to launch more payload/fuel than to find out that... yeahhhhh, that wasn't enough.

I run mod heavy, so the rockets are reskinned Vectors by Restock, and I don't remember what the jets are. Yeah, I noticed the off-axis thrust issue as I left the atmosphere under rocket power. Not sure how I can fix that while keeping the aesthetic I wanted. Will look into it. Other quirks are that it's not very stable in yaw. Might change out the vertical stabs and shift them more upright.

Reviving this one with a recent addition... Decided to use the Delta parts from Bluedog Design Bureau to make a Delta III lower section to toss a crew capsule into orbit. Nothing tricky, done it plenty of times before. Everything went great until I hit the first set of boosters burning out. The SmartParts sequencing I use to trigger the next stage a bit early to avoid the thrust tailoff of the BDB boosters triggered correctly... and then the entire bottom of the rocket came apart. Cue LES triggering and dragging my crew to safety, followed by a revert to VAB. Double checked all of my parts for clipping, checked the timings, added a half second delay between the first and second trio of groundstart boosters, launched again. Same point, rocket came apart again. Right at groundstart booster burnout. Huh. Revert to VAB again. I start checking all the staging events in detail and find I had swapped one of the sets of radial decouplers to the wrong point. Instead of ejecting the spent boosters, it was ejecting the lit airstart boosters, which then promptly slammed into the core and caused everything to go kablooie.

Made a reusable suborbital spaceplane for use as a trainer. It's got some quirks to it, especially under rocket power, but it can, in theory, be an SSTO. Scenic moment at apogee Or, you can do two ballistic hops with a turn around after the first one to return home. Prepping for reentry and a maneuver to steer back to the KSC

Throwing together some extra MM patch files for BDB, HabTech2, and to expand on the SSPX patch. I've been eyeing 15 days of supplies for station modules unless otherwise specified, and certain crew capsules are getting tuned contents. Does anyone have any other suggestions for durations? Exceptions to the 15 day guideline: HABTECH -MPLMs are getting significantly more capacity to suit their role as logistics modules. The larger one gets twice the quantity of the smaller BDB: Saturn Venus Flyby Module is getting a significant cache of resources to accommodate the intended high-duration mission. AARDVs get 30 days for 4 (Block 1) or 6 (Block 2) crew. Apollo Mission Modules get 5 days (Block 3) or 6 days (Block 4) for the full crew complement. Classic Apollo gets 20 days of supplies to support Minmus missions. Might nerf that down to the default 3 days if I find it OP. LM Shelters and Shelter Labs are being fitted for the duration/crew loads quoted in their descriptions Agena/Belle Resupply container gets 30 crew-days of supplies.. Gemini/Leo Resupply capsule gets 60 crew-days. Skylab and Foreign Experiment Module get 30 days for full crew. Might drop the FEM down to default, as I am going to experiment with using it as a freeflying lab.

Ah,, okay. Ground pounder work is a different mindset, but once you start to understand it, it's a hoot. Anything with a HUD and CCIP symbology or a CCRP mode is a cakewalk for iron bombs or even rockets. Hell, even the A-4E mod does excellent CCRP work. Guided air to ground, though, is a whole different game and is something I tend to lean into the pre-planned strikes more than moving target engagements. One Pass, Haul Ass. As for moving to Steam from standalone... you don't.

Welcome to the club! FC3 is a good starting point to help you figure out what kind of stuff you want to do. Personally, I'm much more of a strike pilot, especially the "One Pass, Haul Ass" types of missions. So it's no surprise I use the Viggen a lot... That said, I'm a strong advocate for flying what you find fun. Whether you get your biggest high from playing limbo with power lines at Mach 0.75 with a load of high drag bombs, tangling with a Tomcat in a Mirage 2000, going toe to toe with an S-300 battery in a Wild Weasel F-16, hunting for vehicles in the Warthog, or just sling loading a crate of supplies to a FARP to let friendly aircraft rearm with a Huey, there's something for all stripes. Yeah, the bigger modules are much more expensive, but they're also vastly more capable. And sales roll around often enough to make it a little easier. If you're buying stuff from Steam, you can port them over to the Eagle Dynamics direct download version, but I'd hold off until you've bought your first module/map from them directly. you get 50% off your first purchase.

With the imminent arrival of KSP2, I think it's time to reflect on the fun, shenanigans, headaches, and adventures we've all had along the way... My first interaction with KSP was actually before it was even really public. I remember back in, oh, late 2010 or so when HarversteR came onto the Orbiter Forums and started sharing his new project: a funny little spaceflight game where you build your rocket from parts and then fly it. Needless to say, on a forum dedicated to a much more hardcore spaceflight sim, we all viewed it with some curiosity and encouraged him to press on. I looked at it, thought it was kinda eh, and went back to wrestling with my beloved Orbiter. For those who don't know of Orbiter, I can't say I blame you. It's a fairly niche product. Full n-body simulations, fully to scale solar system... and none of the flexibility in designing ships, planes, rockets, etc, that KSP has. It's the passion project of a single man in England, and only gets updated every couple years. (2010 to 2016 was the last update gap that I paid any attention to.) It's a proper simulator, like Microsoft Flight Simulator or Digital Combat Simulator, especially with projects like the aforementioned XR family or the G42-200. But, I finally dipped my toes into the KSP party in December 2011, with (I believe) V0.12 being my introduction. I downloaded it onto a flash drive and played it on the computers at college instead of doing homework. (And yes, it was small enough to do that kind of stuff back then.) Those early days where we had only the sandbox, Kerbin, the Mun, and the Three Brothers. No tutorials, no fancy plugins, not even multiple flights at once. Lessons learned from hard experience were shared in the forums, and were taken to heart. Some, like how to properly escape the soup of an atmosphere we had back then, have largely fallen to the wayside as irrelevant. Others, like the rule of thumb for flying to the Mun ("The Munway opens at Munrise"), still hold true to this day, and I occasionally lean on them, even in the days of MechJeb, maneuver nodes, etc. Something to be said for that kind of simple, seat of the pressure suit flying, ya know? And then 0.14 hit. And hoo boy, what a difference. Multiple flights at once, and all new Kerbals! Persistence! We could do rendezvous missions, but that was about it. No docking, no EVA. But hey, you could land on the Mun next to the ship you crashed. That's a rescue, right? Plugins became a thing. First iterations of autopilots like MechJeb cropped up, as well as ones long since forgotten. (Anyone remember Lazor Guidance? ) I definitely remember an early plugin for hunting monoliths and such... an AWACS rotodome with a two-color light to tell you if you were travelling towards and anomaly, or away. Simple, but effective. And the parts packs mods back then... I think the legacy of only a few live on. C7 plane parts started out as a mod before they rolled them into the stock game, iirc, and Firespitter still lives on in a much updated form, but beyond that... things like NovaPunch, one of the classic packs back then? Gone. I don't know if many of those early mods and plugins survive anywhere anymore, as we shared them on the forums directly back then. No SpaceDock or CurseForge or CKAN available. And after The Great Forum Derp of 2012... well, lots of that stuff got lost. After that, things seem to kinda blur together. EVAs, the rest of the Kerbol system, docking, tutorials, rovers, probes, electricity, communications, asteroids, ion engines, Science, career mode, banishment of the soup atmosphere... Everything came together to make the core of the game we came to know and love. And then, the much awaited V1.0 hit. Much celebration from the community. We got ISRU, reentry heating, all new Kerbals (again!), fairings, and a whole lot of fun. (Especially with ISRU. You didn't need to get a mod to refuel your Jool 5 mission anymore!) It was a glorious time. The community was going full tilt. Challenges, missions and exploits being shared, cooperative saves... All of that had been present before, but now it took on a whole new level of energy. Which was good, as the pace of updates slowed down moving on from 1.0. Less tinkering with core mechanics at a rapid pace, and more methodical, well tested updates. New parts, new capabilities, new functions, all introduced with great success and much appreciation from the community. Parachutes for Kerbals? I can't imagine KSP without those personal 'chutes anymore, tbh. literally game changing. EVA Construction? Definitely a case of the community inspiring the devs to make their own version. (KAS/KIS is a staple of mine ever since it got introduced, and it actually pairs quite well with the stock version.) Fireworks? Oh, man. Not gonna lie, I made a few attempts at Orion drives with them and holy cow was that fun while it lasted. Robotics? Another community inspiration, and I'd almost argue better than the mod that inspired it. I certainly have made good use of the robotics on many an occasion. Through all of this, though, the community has been the heart and soul of the game. Between the diversity of mods available, the challenges we pose to each other, the missions we share to inspire others, and the help we give to those who are staring at a learning curve that seems insurmountable... We're always there for each other. And I can't thank all of you enough for that. Now, as we prepare for the arrival of the successor to our beloved booster burning, Jeb launching, Kraken summoning game, I ask all of you... what are your favorite memories from the OG KSP?

Jesus, talk about a blast from the past. This is all old-hat stuff for me now.

The Normal/Antinormal orientation might be worth a try, see how well MJ handles it. Definitely would give me another data set to work off of. I've shut off all but one really throttled back reaction wheel, and it still seems to start the whipping action. I don't use RCS aside from the docking phase, and actually use KIS to remove any RCS thruster blocks after it's emplaced. The Torque PIDs is really what I was hoping to tinker with. Make it less... twitchy... in that particular situation. Failing that, I might just have to go for the kOS, which I've never really tinkered with.

Question for the more experienced users here... I'm building an ISS replica, and I've been trying to use MechJeb to maintain orientation. However, once it gets close to the target orientation (Usually prograde, 0* roll), it'll go into a feedback loop and start whipping the station up and down along the pitch axis, imparting increasingly large bending loads. It's gotten progressively worse as I've been adding modules, and after adding the Destiny module, it's getting bad enough I'm worried it'll snap connections, even with Autostrut to Grandparent enabled on everything. Adding to my confusion, using the stock SAS in prograde doesn't initiate this bending action. (It does initiate a roll oscillation, but that's a different problem. entirely ) Has anyone encountered this before? And if so, how did you combat it?

Okay. Just trying to run down a cause for the game crashing after leaving the build area. Wanted to rule out some of the more unlikely possibilities first.

Does this have any conflicts with Smokescreen and/or RealPlume?