GehringGame

Great writing and cool premise! I'm definitely enjoying this

Prologue (Continued): "I Made Some Handy Charts" Editors note: I know that this is a bit of an exposition dump. I promise that actual gameplay is coming up in the next installment!

Since the problem seems to be with custom decals, I loaded all my custom decals into the Flags folder and then deleted the second FStextureSwitch2 module in the part config files (the one that deals with custom decals). This seems to have solved the problem as it will now save my flag selection upon loading into a game scene. This definitely is not an ideal solution but it's an ok workaround until it gets fixed.

Prologue: "Welcome, I'm KB-3"

Hello all, I am glad to be back after a long hiatus of busy schedules and broken games. I'm glad to see many familiar avatars still patrolling the boards after two years! My previous series, Interplanetary Welcoming Express, was cut short. Now, armed with shiny new mods and a 64-bit launcher, my Kerbals are once again ready to venture out into space. I hope you enjoy reading this half as much as I'll enjoy making it. Cheers. Welcome! This thread will chronicle the adventures of my Kerbals as they seek the answer to their greatest mystery - are they alone in the universe? I'm playing this as a modded career mode. Mods might come and go as I play, but I'll try to keep an updated list here for anyone interested. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Index: Prologue: "Welcome, I'm KB-3" Prologue (Continued): "I Made Some Handy Charts" --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Holy cow, that flagship looks incredible! Congrats on the Tellumo landing. Will be following this for sure.

What's the nature of the glitch? Crashing on loading or somesuch? Have you tried uninstalling the mod (just deleting its content) to see if you can get the game back up and running as it was before.

Oh no! Enjoying this story so far, I'd hate to see it terminated by a mod issue. Are you using CKAN for any of your mods or installing them all by hand?

My mind is still blown that stuff like this can exist in KSP without the physics engine ripping itself apart from the inside. This is awesome.

Beautiful! I love those retro-futuristic rocket designs.

Ok this feels like a n00b question, but what are the recommended texture sizes for the different decals? I'm making my own and I'm not sure how to lay them out. Sounds like 256x256 or 512x512 would be good sizes for the square decals, but what about the oblong ones? 128x512 for example for the 1x4 decal? P.S. I lOVE the mod!

By the Kraken, those are some of the most beautific screenshots I have ever seen! It's like we're playing different games. This is great!

I'm really enjoying this series, Starman. I've been out of the loop for a little while on KSP and the Gael system is new to me too. I think I will learn about it through your adventure as you explore it blind!

Welcome, @leroket! Very best of luck with that sun landing be sure to post some screenshots if you manage it!

Hey @Reusables, welcome! I take it from your name that you're in the business of stage recovery in KSP?

I think that looks pretty good, really. If you don't like the look of the engines hanging around after landing, you could mount them on a disposable frame that can detach and go crash somewhere after landing. Best of luck with the flight!

Without knowing what mods you have installed and where you are in the tech tree progression, it's hard to recommend a specific engine to use for landing. Maybe others can offer suggestions based on their experience. I would recommend a TWR of around 2.0 (relative to Mars gravity) in order to make a nice, controlled landing. Anything above 1.5 would be fine, but below that it get's tough.

I admire your ambition! So is the problem that your parachutes can't slow you down enough for a soft landing? Why not just bring more or larger rocket engines to enable a powered landing? Does that add too much to payload mass?

Great screenshot! Also, great work on the modeling. Seriously, I'm impressed by the skill on display here. Have you ever made figurines or sculptures like this in the real world? How many parts did that take?

Great mission! I love the attention to detail in recreating the Orion spacecraft with KSP parts. Even that little strut lattice down by the engine bell... don't think I didn't notice it

Doh! I've been there many times. We all have, I'm sure. I've taken shiny new probes all the way out to Duna only to discover they were missing antennae Oh well! Enjoy your time here.

Well this is just beautiful! People are doing lots of crazy stuff in KSP these days but I can honestly say this is one of the coolest crafts I've seen.

What the heck am I looking at and why the heck can't I look away?

Looks great! I always like small rockets. You've inspired me to try some smaller scales myself. And how cool is Rocket Lab, huh? I'll certainly be watching them with interest.

Mission Update: EveEx Fascination Sets Out! Bill’s experimental plane arrived back at the space center just as a Blue Dragon was being installed on the launch pad for the fifth and final EveEx construction launch. Buzzing the launch pad might usually have been an exciting prank, but Val, Eilla, and Neilberry were just ready to take a well-earned vacation. Natina set the plane down on the runway and the five kerbals took a moment to observe the EveEx crew as they boarded their rocket. “Glad it’s somebody else’s turn,†they thought. The DunEx There and Back Again was ancient news by now to the SEAK staff. They were entirely preoccupied with the construction and launch of their first properly impressive interplanetary vessel. Things seemed to be going well without exception. Kerbal media were following the construction with what seemed like genuine interest - although the internet media sources still panned the Fascination, comparing its design to childrens’ drawings that their parents keep even though everyone knows they are trash, and composing whitty headlines like “Cruise Ship? Try SNOOZE Ship.†Still, the PR Team counted this a victory over the reception the There and Back Again had received. The engineering staff was happy because so far everything was fitting together in orbit. The science staff was happy because the Fascination’s large payload size meant they could send new experiments to Eve and Gilly. The admins were happy because there was enough room in the crew quarters for them to include a fully-realized VIP club lounge, a zero-g decorative water feature (don’t ask how it works), and, surprisingly, an economy-sized cabaret theater. The crew and payload got to orbit, despite the payload pushing the Blue Dragon’s weight limit. The primary payload was accompanied by a redesigned Eve mapping satellite and a specially designed drop pod that Bill had drawn up for Jebediah. When the admins asked who had allowed it to replace the Gilly mapping satellite on the equipment manifest they were met with shifty gazes and unintelligible mumbling until they gave up in annoyance. Installation of the final components of the Fascination was trivial and quickly completed thanks to Jeb’s preference for speed over safety. (Editor’s note: By “trivial†I mean “infuriating.†Docking is hard and the Fascination is laggy). Docking the payload with the main ship happened so quickly* (Editor’s Note: *slowly) that Jeb’s drop pod had had time to drift over a kilometer away from the craft. Jeb figured this would be a great time to give it a test drive and went out to grab it. He flew it back rather more rapidly than anyone was comfortable with. With the drop pod parked in its holding bay, the crew found their way to their seats (the ship looked bigger than they had expected on the inside) and fascened their harnesses for the Kerbin escape burn. The EveEx Fascination was complete! All told it comprised the main ship, two surface probes, a SEAKmap Beta mapping satellite, Jeb’s drop pod, and the two sections of the undisclosed Eve payload. Once the burn was complete and the Fascination was on its course for the purple planet, the ship lit up in all its luxurious glory. Thanks to the winning pitch by the PR Team, the Fascination was designed to evoke the same sorts of feelings one might get when traveling on a cruise ship. This was clear for the crew, who were busy trying to turn off most of the mood lighting and spacey ambient muzak that had come on all over the ship. Back on the ground however, most of the SEAK staff was wondering the same thing: “Now that it’s finished… Does it look ugly? It kind of does, right? I feel like it wasn’t supposed to look like that.†After some head scratching they agreed to let it go and celebrate the launch with liberal quantities of candy and party beverages. Thanks for reading. I'm heading off on vacation, but I'll resume updates when I return!