FlyingPete

I did notice that the interceptor ship took off from runway 27 instead of 09- dunno if that's relevant. I wonder what will happen if whoever's piloting the interceptor figures out that the missing/target Kermulan is no longer aboard the wreck...

I might attempt to colonise the roof of mission control, just to confuse the mission controllers Or alternatively build a colony at KSC2, install extraplanetary launchpads and run a rival space program

I've built a few spaceplanes (not all SSTO) and can see the usefulness of them in terms of 100% recovery less fuel. For practical purposes, they're not much good to me other than as a crew bus as the payload fraction is always so low. It was always fun on the old aero to go suborbital while still in the atmosphere, needing only a small rocket engine or RCS to make orbit. I daresay it was possible to orbit a pure-jet aircraft by the 'get out and push' method. Whenever I've used them, they never go further than a station in LKO- some orbital craft can take things from there.

For a polar orbit, by far the most efficient way is to wait until KSC is under the target orbit. Then you launch north/south (depending on the direction of the orbit) with a slight westward component to cancel out the rotation of Kerbin. Other highly-inclined orbits can be reached by a similar method. For a retrograde equatorial orbit, simply turn west rather than east, and make sure you've got some extra dV to account for Kerbin's rotation.

I definitely think we need different-coloured spacesuits (or at least helmets) for the three types of Kerbonaut- blue for scientists, yellow for engineers and red for pilots. The last two could be reversed if you prefer Jim Kerman to Jean-Luc Kerman

This is the layout I use with a PS3-type controller: Left stick- pitch, yaw Right stick- translate forward/aft, roll D-pad- translate up/down, translate left/right. Also assigned to rover wheel forward/back and steering. L2/R2- reduce/increase thrust L1/R1- cut/full thrust (L1 also assigned to brakes) Square button- SAS Circle button- RCS X button- staging Triangle button- Map view Start- lights Select- landing gear L3- precision controls Having pitch/yaw on one stick makes the most sense for rockets, and works well enough for aircraft. Plus, you can fly the ship one-handed for a moment (to activate action groups etc on the keyboard or to use the mouse) without a significant loss of control. For translation, on/off control of up/down/left/right is less of an issue, and you still have control over the roll axis on the right stick for situations where this matters. I used the D-pad for rover controls as well, as you can just switch off RCS to prevent interference.

You can use docking ports to make the connections. In the VAB, they won't be connected, but as soon as it's loaded on the launchpad, the adjacent ports will connect. You can use this method to double-dock spacecraft sections to each other. I'd launch the torus in sections and assemble it in orbit, using docking ports to join the quarters together.

I think this is the way to go- set up something permanent wherever you go. At each launch window, send out a new crew along with any replacement/updated equipment. The old crew can be returned with science data at the relevant launch window home, which will also allow them to level up. At least, leave the equipment there for future use when you decide to bring the crew home. Mining bases mean's there's no need to send out fuel supplies to support the base, or even fuel for the return trip as it can be manufactured on site. If you're going somewhere, it's worth doing it properly

Things came over all "2001" when I experienced a Kerbolar eclipse while investigating a Mun arch. Kerson Kerman reported that the arch was 'full of stars' whatever that means

I sent a probe on its way to Moho in my career game. It turns out that with only a 100m/s course correction after the flyby, it will encounter Eve on the next orbit. Should have brought more science along. Trying to see if I can use Eve's gravity to help send it out somewhere else as well.

Sent a 3-kerbal mission (Pilot, scientist, tourist) to the Mun and back, netting some useful science points. A surface base is on its way to Minmus for a contract- hopefully the research lab will come in useful once I've figured out how it works. I also have Jeb, Bill and Bob (not intentional, they just happened to be available) heading on a brief excursion out of Kerbin's SOI. Bill is really only along for the ride on that mission to gain experience. Still getting accustomed to multi-kerbal crews in career mode, and that a scientist is actually very useful when there's science to do!

I find a gamepad to be better for this sort of thing than a joystick. I use a PS3-type controller with two analogue sticks, a D-pad and four shoulder buttons. My control layout is thus: Left stick- pitch, yaw Right stick- translate forward/aft, roll D-pad- translate up/down, translate left/right. Also assigned to rover wheel forward/back and steering. L2/R2- reduce/increase thrust L1/R1- cut/full thrust (L1 also assigned to brakes) Square button- SAS Circle button- RCS X button- staging Triangle button- Map view Start- lights Select- landing gear Having pitch/yaw on one stick makes the most sense for rockets, and works well enough for aircraft. Plus, you can fly the ship one-handed (to activate action groups etc on the keyboard or to use the mouse) without a significant loss of control. For translation, on/off control of up/down/left/right is less of an issue, and you still have control over the roll axis on the right stick for situations where this matters. I used the D-pad for rover controls as well, as you can just switch off RCS to prevent interference.

I'd like a 'nose cargo bay' sort of thing so I can do this for rescue contracts "Enemy Kerman is in orbit around Kerbin and we need to intercept him. We want to bring him to KSC for interrogation. As you've probably figured out at this point, this is where you come in."

It's definitely frustrating when old finely-tuned designs suddenly don't work anymore! What I'd probably do is keep this as a historic save and work on it in 0.90 under that version's physics model, and start afresh with 1.0 for future adventures

One method that can work is to have a reusable lander that docks to the top of the base and acts as a sky crane. Put the base on the ground, undock the lander and return it to orbit. On Minmus, the same lander can be used as the tug to bring them from LKO to Minmus orbit.

There are some specific names which are in the list along with the random ones. I quite like German Kerman (possibly a friend of Wernher Von Kerman) Enemy Kerman (seems trustworthy...) and Danger Kerman (make sure to look him in the eye.) At one point it was possible to get Kerman Kerman, Kerbal Kerman, and of course who could forget Dildo Kerman

I do like the general layout and aesthetics of the system. I would make Moho tidally-locked to Kerbol though, with intense heating on the day side. You'd be able to operate without heat issues on the night side, but then of course solar panels are useless and you'd need another source of power. I think Eve would benefit from reinstating the high-altitude plateau that was in previous versions. Gives you a cause to design large rovers and get pinpoint landings right. If you want the convenience of landing anywhere without having to drive to your destination, you have to pay for it with a large ascent vehicle. More star systems would be nice. I'm not sure if the game engine allows it, but the best way IMO would be to have the stars fixed relative to each other. You'd go straight from Kerbol's SOI to that of the destination star.

I remember trying something like this. You can generate lift by placing wings radially and spinning the entire craft. However, control is virtually impossible. I built a semi-functional bearing using landing gear wheels and structural fuselage as the shaft, but it's not elegant. I orientated it horizontally to see if it could produce forward thrust rather than trying to lift the whole contraption.

You're "landing" way too fast. At 60m/s, that means you're slamming into the ground at over 200km/h- a.k.a crashing. Consider 10m/s an absolute maximum, ideally under 5.

I always set the EVA controls to the same keys as the RCS controls, and control the Kerbal as if he were a ship.

It would be good to see more- maybe the Laythe crew can get that resource harvesting equipment they were promised all that time ago I suspect some of the equipment might mysteriously have become useless now though, what with the new aero making jet-to-suborbit virtually impossible.

It's all part of a scientific study to see how alien planetary conditions alter the effects of 'Hydrazine' on a Kerbal.

I like career mode as more of a strategic gameplay- maximising profit through finding well-paying contracts and organising missions that can fulfill several objectives (e.g building a spacecraft with a spare seat so you can cart a tourist along on a Mun survey.) You have the training of crews to consider too- again, this makes it worthwhile to have spare seats on Mun/Minmus flights so your rookies can gain experience. Sandbox is good for when you want the challenge to be actually building and flying the spacecraft, without having to worry about funds. Most of the grand adventures get carried out in sandbox.

Check how much delta-V is needed to get to the backup ascent vehicle. It may be possible to have a brave Kerbal abandon ship and jetpack to it. Have the ascent vehicle/lifeboat rendezvous with the stricken spacecraft and transfer the rest of the crew. You could always 'abort to surface' with that ship and have them stake out a homestead until a rescue mission can be sent

Unless you're in KSP- then they changed after 0.90