Evanitis

I feel that this is the specific solution I was looking for. I have to use the verb 'feel', for it would be an overstatement to say that I fully understand every terminus technicus you use. Long ago, I was exposed to math and English too in school, but never at the same time. Anyways, I think I got the basics of the concept, and I trust the eyeballing proficiency that playing KSP gave me. I'm fairly certain that the gear's crash tolerance will cover my margin of error. In a few tries. Backwards landing, here I come!

...by 'classic' I mean one that wasn't designed for that task. I imagine that RCS in every direction or landing legs around the engines makes it easy. But is there a (relatively) easy way to land on (for example) Minmus with only regular gears and retrograde facing thrusters? During my MJ abusing days, I managed to land on the Mun with a vertical approach and tipping the plane to horizontal on the very last seconds. But it took me many quickloads, even with MJ. So... any tricks I'm missing, or am I just need (a lot) more practice?

No contract compares in cheapness with the 'send scientific data from X where you already have a craft' type. And yes, of course I bloody take them. They contact me for they want fast results. Hell, I even have a Kerbal stationed on Mun and Minmus, so he can plant a flag when a space agency feels the need to setup another billboard for a colony in the distant future.

That doesn't sounds too 'arrpee' to me. Accepting the loss of life and mourning the fallen is more immersive than reverting or loading a save when something goes wrong. That mentality can also set you the most interesting rescue missions too. I'd also consider playing only from EVA. Or at least doing much of it. The important stuff is done on the map-screen anyways.

When something fails, I'm sure the mission is lost, but I figure out a solution.

Thanks! Dang that was too easy. I should print a KSP keyboard layout. Or read the manual at least.

Hope I used the correct terminus technicus in the title. Anyways... Symmetry mode in SPH is usually the more logical 'planar' way - so if I try to attach a wing to the upper part of a palne, the 'mirrored' wing goes to the upper part on the other side. But sometimes it snaps the parts by axial symmetry, like it happens in the VAB - so in the above example, one of the wings will be placed higher. Do you know what causes the switch? Is there a way to control this mechanic?

Hehehehe, lovely. Got a Dunar orbit rescue the other day. I took it, since I had a mission on the way there with an extra seat. The target escaped the planet's SoI by the time I got there. Wee, solar orbit! I don't even start calculating the dV requirements to save the guy, as my Duna mission has 3 freshly rescued Kerbals from LKO who never touched Kerbin, and will arrive home just in time to cash in the rewards. But I'm convinced that this is no bug, but a feature.

While I do agree that the contract system needs more work to make the missions more... sane in average, I kinda' like it's random nature. I love the fact that not reading the fine-print carefully can get me to accept very hard tasks. When it happens, it's fun when I have to face a choice of designing a mission that takes more time and resources than I expected, or just accept the loss of cash and reputation.

While not completely related to the original question, I'd like to call your attention on gravity assists too. I was aware of the existence of the technique for long, but I always undervalued it's efficiency in conserving dV while thinking that it's a complicated, 'really pro-thing' to do. Once I read into it, I found that it's easy to preform, and saves much fuel - especially these days since 1.0.4 made the atmospheres hit like a hammer, thus making aerobraking- and capturing harder. So that wiki page is worth a read - with a bit of practice this trick can get your carft to Duna for the dV cost of a Mun flyby. And it can achieve much more later.

Moons and planets are pretty predictable. Other than that, the know-how is well documented.

1.0.4 got me to learn gravity-assisting. I was kinda' always aware of this technique, but I never knew it's so effective and easy. That and careful, slow aerobraking lets me to expect more spare dV than I ever had in previous versions. I'm having great fun: SSTOs orbit easier, going interpalnetary needs a different kind of approach, but I wouldn't say it's harder.

Newcommer too, so there will be better stuff in the thread. My current high-priority mission: a Jool craft I thrown together from pieces I left around in Kerbin SoI, only like 20% of it was designed for the task it does. Very unstable, adequately inefficient. It incorporates many mementos of the skyrocketing achievements of the space exploration of the past years, like the first nerve engines we ever produced, and such. Interplanetary transfer burn was hell. 1/3 thrusting, 2/3 waititng for the wobble to stop. It's on intercept course now though. But I'm sure it's not coming back in it's present form.

Modernized my sleek, luxury rescue SSTO. More comfort and dV than ever, orbits instantly. And it looks like a shady burglar. 'They'll never know what saved 'em..'

I'm sending this wobblemonster krakenbait to Jool. The fun thing in it that it's an ad-hoc craft I assembled from various modules remaining from other missions, only like 20% of it was designed for this specific trip. Bloody inefficient I must say, but dV is enough. I has 6 engineers and 4 scientists and two tourists I completely forgot about like a year ago. Kinda' the useful half of my space-program is on it, so I took a hard-copy of the save, just in case. It starts to wobble hard after like a minute of burning, but I'm taking my chances. If I fail badly, I can always rearrange it into two ships. But if it makes it one piece, and if one of those parts manages to do a powered landing on Laythe, I'll might even consider a Jool challenge entry. Guess it's more fun doing it on a whim than actually palnning it. 180 days 'till launch. I should make a big mental note about the tourists, all they wanted is an LKO trip - they already got more than they payed for.

Strange... The stories above all involve Duna. Maybe there's the nest of a certain creature somewhere there...

If I didn't see you making it, I'd be sure it's an alien craft. So cool.

The Kraken brought my mining-mission home from Duna transfer in my current career. Tried to switch to it for some science, got black screen, freezing. After restarting the game, I found it's crew down in KSC and I'd swear my credit balance was suspiciously high, like if I recovered it. Everything I did since it's launch was untouched, so it wasn't an unintentional loading on my part. Since the ship was a bit mis-designed, I'm glad for that Kraken. Or was it a wormhole? Bill even considered sacrificing a pilot or tourist to show his gratitude for the instant rescue, but the suggestion was dismissed by the KSC administration.

Between? I do those thing you listed during missions. More fun than time-accelerating until an interplanetary expedition arrives, and make me feel really efficient.

I found those really useful in 1.0.2's souposphere. Though I must agree, with the current reduced drag + reduced mass... 50% chance indeed. Must experiment...

The game ends when your creativity ends. Has a colony of a million kerbals on each moon? Figure something noone else ever did, and build it! Than launch it to Kerbol for the show. Some random ideas: - Build a duck on the Mun. - Make an orbital Orient-express that can drop each vagons on different continents. - Build a set of huge bowling pins on Minmus, and try to hit them with an asteroid using only one burn from LKO. - Plant a flag on Jool. - Destroy the KSC with one launch. To quote a wise man:

Or even a mod.. I was somehow convinced it's something that was made long ago - to my surprize I found nothing like that. Well RSS has axial tilts, but I don't think I can play that on my potatoe. I wonder if that's just a variable I can easily find if I read around were to look...

Sure I have: 1 - Remind yourself that the best thing in KSP is to build carfts and make them work. 2 - Be glad that your previous crafts doesn't work anymore, so you can start the best part all over. 3 - If you find designing to be harder than before, remember the scientific fact that overcoming obstacles is a source of joy. 4 - ??? 5 - PROFIT!

Dunno how to get exact coordinates, but MJ's 'pick target on map' function is pretty accurate. To improve accuracy, focus on the planet and set the camera so the target in in the middle of the screen. If it feels off, you can correct it by clicking a few pixels apart. Even if it was multiple targets close to each other, MJ took me close enough to all of them to do each with a quick eva.

Whoa... That picture makes me kinda' glad that it's standardized in KSP. It would be maddening to manually land on a body with some of those inclinations... Though it could be a fun challenge too.