Gaarst

@seaces Yes and no. That would be best case scenario for good launch window, but bad orbit orientation (ie: wrong plane, radial correction needed): 950 + 2520 + 760 + 2410 = 5880 m/s Best case scenario would be: 950 + 760 + 2410 = 4120 m/s Worst case scenario would be launching at the opposite of the optimal launch window, then transfer delta-v can go up to several km/s

That's basically it, but less exagerated. 1.0.0 atmosphere had a more realistic behaviour than 0.90, and thermal effects were high, ie: easy to heat a craft with engines or reentry; and chutes were OP: you could open them at 2000 m/s, get >30g but be fine overall and fall slowly. 1.0.2 atmosphere has had a lot of drag added, thermal effects reduced (easier to enter atmosphere) and chutes were corrected.

I always though that the number above the delta-v requirements meant the delta-v required to align orbital planes Guess I learnt something today

Yes that's right but remember that atmospheric delta-v predictions are outdated on this map since 1.0 and that these delta-v are usually for optimal manoeuvres (especially for interplanetary trips), always have more delta-v than you actually need. EDIT: ninja'd

Solar panels are really bad radiating heat. Best thing to do is put the engines as close as possible to the tanks to absorb the heat; and to radiate it, wing parts are the best: best ratio radiating area to mass. Another thing you can do is anticipate your burn and just pause during it to let parts cool down for manoeuvres that do not require much time precision.

I have been running KSP with the same potato since 2012 (i3-2330M 2.2GHz, Radeon HD 6470M 512MB, 6GB RAM) and outside the usual lags I get (since way before 1.0) I have not experienced a single crash since 1.0 I had some crashes and severe bugs in 0.90, but in 1.0 nothing. Crashes ? Nope. Lags ? Still can't handle more than 150 parts but nope. Temp gauges memory leaks in 1.0.2 ? Nope. Val glitching ? Nope. Krakens of any kind ? Nope. And this is with an almost vanilla install (only KER), so no patches outside official ones, and most graphics set to minimum. So IMO Squad did their job: their game is running smoothly on a very basic config, at least for me. And there's no need for everyone to just argue against each other: some people have bugs, some don't. Squad cannot be expected to make sure the game runs flawlessly on every single config possible, so just give them the time to fix things and everything will be fine.

Now docking mode has several functions on same key, but you can still dock in staging mode. Default controls are (I think), with RCS on: H: forward N: backward J: left L: right I: up K: down (H/I and N/K may be inverted)

With enough thrust downwards, I'm sure you can

You can do very well without gravity assists in KSP but if they are well done they can spare up to 2000 m/s delta-v for interplanetary trips. Best and easiest ones are: - using Mun to exit / reenter Kerbin system; - using Eve to get to Moho; - using Ike to exit / enter Duna system (though Ike often interferes with you at the wrong time); - using Jool to dive towards Kerbol; - or for doing anything within Jool system, Laythe, Tylo and Vall will happily help you crash into / reach your destination.

I say this because I have seen other people having the same problem on the forums. And if your rocket is tall, CoM is higher so it is less stable on the ground. If it's wide, then the area on the launchpad (either main engine or radial parts) is greater so it's more stable, or there can be several points touching the launchpad. But really, you can forget about the above as soon as you get launch clamps.

SRB: [see my signature below]

Yeah, I know about KW rocketry but having sounds for stock rockets would be really great. Thanks for looking ! I saw that one, but latest version is for 0.23.5 unfortunately

I think Squad is taking its time to avoid similar 1.0.1 and 1.0.2 reactions: 1.0 -> people complaining -> rushed patch 1.0.1 -> more people complaining -> rushed patch 1.0.2 -> more more people complaining. I understand that Squad would like to wait for things to settle down a bit and for the heat following 1.0 release to dissipate. I personally have enjoyed every release for what they bring: more features, bug fixes; and because they show that Squad actually listens to its community and tries to please us.

Yes. (5char)

That's off topic but nuclear waste cannot be used for anything, reactors, engines or bombs, only thing we are able to do with it is store it underground and prey for it not to leak and to gently lose radioactivity over time.

Level two and above launch pad is known to be slightly tilted, this is normally negligible but not for high / thin rockets. Try adding radial parts touching the ground to provide additional support for your rocket. And also add fins or winglets to prevent your rocket from flipping. Remember to put them at the very bottom of your rocket to increase stability. And I don't know if you know it but ideal ascent profile has changed since 1.0. Tilt a 5° at 50 to 100 m/s depending on the rocket, then gradually follow prograde marker until ~25 km where aerodynamics don't matter anymore

Nuclear and ion engines vacuum Isp are very similar to those of real life (although nuclear engines were never actually put on a rocket), at least in theory. And nuclear is still the best for heavier interplanetary crafts in 1.0.2 (although they only use liquid fuel now) as long as you can manage the heat they generate. Ion engines' Isp was severely reduced in atmosphere but are still at 4200 in vacuum.

And who designed rocket engines capable of not-exploding when the average kerbal has the IQ of a rock ? Seriously, according to the game Kerbin is 5 times denser than lead and the Kerbol shouldn't even shine... KSP is KSP, there's no need for logic or thinking in this game, it's not like it's rocket science ! Oh, wait...

Okay, so first of all, THIS is what a rocket (or shuttle, or whatever) should sound like: (go at 1:45) This is badass, this is cool, this gives you the feeling that 2000 tons of metal are getting lifted from the ground by even more metal spitting blazing flames from hell at tremendous speeds ... Seriously now, I was wondering if there was an up to date mod for 1.0.2 that replaced the boring sounds of the original KSP by new, ground-shaking, more realistic sound for engines. I've done a little bit of research on the forums but the only few sound mods that I found for rocket engines are all out of date and their development abandoned. Does anyone know a good sound mod for 1.0.2 or is developing / planning one ?

I had a rendez-vous with Vall and met Laythe and Tylo on the way there. My latest interplanetary rocket, BlackDog IV, leaving the launchpad with Denne and Halfield Kerman on board: More than 3 years later and gravity assists from Tylo and Laythe (visible in the picture), Denne has landed on Vall, becoming the first woman walking on another body than Kerbin: BlackDog IV, ship and lander, orbiting Vall after docking: And 3 more years later, Kerbin reentry (with 2000 m/s left on the ship): Home Sweet Home: Result of the mission: 3619 science points collected and a flag forgotten in the ship...

AIRBRAKES. After blowing up quite a few MK2 sized shuttles in 1.0.2 with any periapsis for reentry, I found only two ways of reentring safely. 1. Semi-skip reentry: going down to ~35km and back up to lose speed until I am slow enough to dive safely 2. AIRBRAKES. I put two of those things on my shuttle and now I can reenter with almost any trajectory from flat descent to >45° dive. These things are OP.

What exactly is your descent profile ? For landing shuttles, I usually keep diving at ~15° until 1000 m high and gradually get to 5°. I lift the shuttle nose above the horizon only when really close to the ground to kill vertical velocity. This usually yields a landing speed of 50 to 60 m/s, enough for my shuttle to have sufficient lift. Try changing your descent profile and if it doesn't work, add more lift to your shuttle.

About gravity turn, it depends on your rocket; please post a screenshot so that we can actually see the problem. Causes can be numerous. And about TWR, 1.3 to 1.5 is the best ratio for KSP 1.0.x but be sure to account for the lack of thrust in low atmosphere.

Best braking with rover wheels in pre 1.0 was achieved by actually breaking and going backwards at the same time. Don't know if this still works since 1.0 though...

Ascent profile has changed with 1.0 aerodynamics. Turn 5° a few seconds after launch, and gradually follow prograde marker until ~45° at 10km and ~30° at 25-30km, aerodynamics do not matter anymore >25 km so do whatever you want from then. Also aim for a TWR of 1.3 to 1.5.