mcdjfp

I still have a preference for 1.0 over 1.02, but I have discovered that most of the soupy feeling I was getting from 1.01 and 1.02 actually came from sound barrier problems (which I have no complaint with). I ran across a Mach number display in a mod (looking for a power generation number) and turned it on. I discovered that most of my insane drag/no acceleration problems were hitting around the speed of sound. Once past that my space plane started accelerating almost too quickly. My rocket flipping problem also turned out to be happening at a Mach number of 0.98-1.02. It would be fine at 0.95, but then at 0.98 it would start to tip and once past 10 degrees or so it would flip backwards. I am disappointed in the number of explosions on reentry in 1.02, and this is my main current reason for preferring 1.0

1. Please don't do this. The discussion is about how the atmosphere interacts with our craft. It does not matter at all if the change is to how the craft appears to the atmosphere (dragcube) or if the change is to how strong the drag effect is (which is what I assume dragMultiplier is). Nitpicking definitions is only going to lead to anger. 2. I have never used FAR, though I have considered it. I was amazed with 1.0, disappointed with the later physics config changes. Loved the bug fixes other than that. It seems to me Kerbin is so different from Earth that I can't see any way to directly transfer performance characteristics. I have been testing things. I am glad to here that other people are having good luck with fairings, gives me hope when I get to larger craft where a extra .1t won't matter so much. On the other had, heat shields were valuable in 1.0, but in 1.01 even craft which are heavy for their size slow dramatically in the upper atmosphere in my experience. It really does not matter to me how much the slowing is exactly. It is the fact that much like nose cones were wasted tonnage before, now heat shields seem to be in the same category that bothers me. I do wonder if the drag from radially attached parts slows the craft quickly enough to save them from temperature problems. I am going to give things a week and see how they develop.

I feel that it is an issue for two reasons. One, even with a fairly steep reentry and a heavy capsule, exposed parts such as batteries are not at risk (in fact now that I think about it their drag is probably contributing to the slowing of the craft so they never experience heating). As for heat shields, I find it almost impossible (without being careless or deliberately reckless) to cause any damage at all to them. Two, I am not at all convinced that nose cones and fairings are useful? Sometimes the extra weight seems to outweigh the drag savings over a simple flat top.

I have two things to add. First, I am extremely happy with 1.0 and most of what is in the 1.01 and 1.02 patches. On the other hand there is something "wrong" with the atmospheric changes in the 1.01 patch. I wish I had the exact numbers to pin it down, but while 1.0 felt semi-realistic (there were problems), 1.01 just feels off. Soupier seems to be close to the right description. 1.0 I immediately tested several of the stock craft as I normally do when a new patch comes out. In this case I tried the launch tutorial and then tried to land the craft. I was quite pleased with the results of the flight as vulnerable components of the craft (exposed batteries for instance) burned off until about peak heating where the unprotected, and fairly full, fuel tank exploded. The capsule and parachute were survived until a reasonable altitude for the parachute to be deployed. The Learstar surprisingly launched (instead of tumbling out of control) and on reentry with the nose well up slowed enough (almost too much as there were no reentry effects at all) in the upper atmosphere. I then threw the Ion probe up on a booster which I then deorbited (the booster). It almost exploded, but as it was just an engine, fins, and empty tanks (light for its size) it survived to crash into the ground. So long as I left exploits and other game engine abusing behavior alone, it felt like a great starting point. 1.01 Too much too soon. These changes never should have happened in this patch even if they are the right ones in the end. According to the patch notes there were many other fixes and adjustments. The effects of those changes should have been given some time first before other changes were made. Making the changes all at once makes it hard to know exactly how much of a change was needed. I have had troubles with space planes. Not only have I experienced the full power dive deceleration, but I have leveled out of a climb, and found no speed increase. Yes, there is terminal velocity, but when I level out, the trust that was fighting gravity pushing up is now pushing the plane forward and should result in a noticeable speed increase. Heavy craft now decelerate so quickly that exposed hardware (the tiny surface mounted solar panels, RCS tanks, batteries) easily survive even fairly steep reentries. Heat shields serve little purpose (at least before interplanetary stupid fast aerobraking), and I only wish I could see the new heat overlays that were added without having to try so hard. 1.0 needed some work, but 1.01 feels worse, maybe the sweet spot is in the middle, or maybe the numbers were right and the model needs a few tweaks, but until then, go back to a mostly 1.0 physics config