Clipperride

@Halfdan Nice work. I've just accepted a contract to build a base on Ike. I've almost always played Science Mode and have only just learned to love the Career aide of things. But I'm enjoying building the things I want by looking for contracts to pay for it! Mk 1 vs Mk2 aircraft Having just unlocked the Panther Jet Engine, I built a small and simple Mk1 'plane with a single Panther and a stumpy little MkII 'plane with two Panthers. Although the MkII was slightly faster to 400m/s the single engined MkI beat it on top speed. Makes you realise how much extra drag you get from using the cool looking MkII parts!

@Halfdan I'm liking the look of your Ike Mining Operations! One question though. Are the rovers (Hedgehog and Badger) able to use their side docking ports to dock with the Lab section, or are the ports part of the deployment process? I noticed in the first screen shot, they are close to the bases docking ports, but not actually attached. I ask as I'm looking for inspiration for my own Duna/Ike mission.

Nice job!

Wow! I mean to say - wow. Totally insane but a thing of beauty none the less. Today, after "completing"* my Mun Rover Lab journey, I went back to my career game, which I started about a week ago. The money has been rolling in despite the atrocious level of service provided to passengers by Jeb (I'm the pilot, so all the snacks are MINE! If you're hungry you should have brought your own!?!"). Most facilities are now level 2 with the launch pad, mission control and astronaut complex at level 3. Today I rescued Elvis Kerbal - (so that's where he's been!) result! I built and tested a Mun lander and will pay for it by taking a couple of tourists down to the surface even though they only want to see the Mun from orbit. Science comes first guys and gals. * I've been enjoying spending half an hour or so after playing in career mode, driving the Mun Rover Lab in my Science Mode game. As the required ∆V is a fair bit higher for a landing so close to the South Pole, they have been directed to turn round and head back North. Having seen how well the rover performed in the final stages of the trip, they will be taking a far more direct route back. Heck, they might even make it back to their original lander

The Mun Rover Lab finally reached its destination this evening! It's been a long and sometimes tough drive, but they got there in the end. The start point was on a large flat area discovered by a previous science lander, at 13* 53'S 179* 50'W. The initial drive was due West to visit the Twin Craters and meet up with an automated lander on the rim of the crater. But, after the 130 km drive, it was decided to head South and a new return vessel was dispatched. Sadly, the return vessel touched down on quite a slope and promptly sunk into the landscape (after time I switched to it, it popped up like a cork out of a bottle and smashed itself to pieces before I could reach the probe core and switch it out of hibernation.) Despite this set back the team just kept on trucking - heading mainly South, but with many detours to avoid the most dangerous areas. Tonight they finally looked down from a mountain top at the smashed lander a couple of hundred metres below at 81* 25'S 111* 54'E. The distance covered was estimated at a little under 400 km in total (all done at normal game speed). The final approach to the lander wreckage was the greatest test yet, including a descent down the dark side of a crater at an angle of up to 40*. I'm pleased to report not a single wheel was damaged during the entire journey. Final Pictures 1. Each flag (apart from those around Twin Craters) are 40 km apart. 2.The final stretch looks a little daunting. Time to sing happy songs of home 3. Bob settles down for another days driving as the Lab just behind him churns out more science points 4. The Rover seems to handle steep slope very well indeed. Much better than the occupants had any right to expect. Oh how they laughed as the Rover bounced its way down. 5. Finally, on a slope overlooking the remains of the doomed lander, the long drive is over. Well nearly over. Just the small matter of driving about 30 clicks back North to the nearest suitable landing site for the replacement crew return vessel

RCS? Nope! Just the wheels and SAS of the Cupola I'm afraid. Just completed a terrifying descent down the dark side of a steep wall. I continue to be impressed with the wheels in 1.2.

@CatastrophicFailure Very nice achievement. Gotta love those "because it's there" missions Mun Rover Lab - I fear my own Munar Treck may be close to the end. The doomed return vessel is now less than 40km away, but there are some pretty big craters in the way. I'm going to end when i) the distance of the detour needed to advance is longer than the remaining distance to the lander and ii) There's still a decent landing spot for the replacement return vessel.

Very true! Especially if you are repeating similar contracts. Passengers don't like passing out on a high G flight, when they only wanted an orbital sight seeing tour

Perfect thanks.

@redshirt I always love an extra drop tank! There's something so satisfying as getting a vessel part way there, but still on "full" fuel Nice work! Mun Rover Lab continues towards the South Pole (how far do you have to drive on the Mun before you can call it epic?). With Kerbol so low in the sky, it's light is now skirting the horizon, meaning a solar powered rover has to start taking detours to keep the batteries charged. The lab has now been limited to processing science data when stationary or coasting down hill. That's few and far between now! Every onwards!

Another vote for Audacity. Easy to use and free. With a bit of experimentation, recording your own voices will alow you the most freedom when it comes to intonation etc, not to mention the satisfaction of knowing its all your own work. Hope it works out well and I look forward to seeing your results

Two questions about different scanners; 1) When you use KerbNet on some of the more advanced probe cores, they have the ability to detect anomalies. How do the mechanics of this work? Is there a one off chance of detecting an anomaly the first time you fly over or land in a new biome or does KerbNet recheck on each orbit/touch down? 2) I've been using a Surface Scanner to keep track of my position on my Mun Rover as it travels towards the South Pole. The display looks something like - Biome: Highlands, Lat 63.484 S [-1.108 N] Lon 140.008 E [2.444 E] . . . . . . What do the figures in the square brackets after the Lat and Lon mean?

After much swearing myself, I hit on a solution. Use the offset tool to tweak the connector between the off centre stage and the rest of launch vechile. Below is a balance test for my rover, which had as much mass as close to the wheels as possible. Have fun

Nice looking lander you have there. I'm looking for designs to steal for inspire my own upcoming Duna mission.

Still trucking ever onward across the Munar landscape. In the map below, the rover started out on the far right (the debris visible on that side of the picture is the lander section that delivered the rover, with the crew capsule "near" by) Apart from the cluster of flags around the Twin Crater, each one is placed 40km apart, which served as a measure of distance. The craft close to the South Pole is their (now doomed) return vessel. The aim is to get as close to that as the mountains allow. The crew pause for a much needed stretch of their legs, to celebrate crossing over into the Pole biome. And finally - Jeb got the totally the wrong end of the stick when he heard about the "Mun Rover"!!

Thanks for the tips @Jarin and @Orbin. I had been going about things the wrong way and was trying to build up the G-load on the way back down (with disastrous results for all involved) @bewing doh! Searching at ~2:30am may have un-zenned my searching! (Although, being sure that post was within the last month didn't help! Time flies with KSP) Thanks for link.

I know this has been asked recently, but after going through pages of search results, I just can't find the thread. So, sorry for asking again. I'm having problems completing an early career mode contract. It's the one where you have to get the tourists to pass out with high G loads on a sub-orbital flight (They seem to need over 5 G's for a few seconds). I have the first four tiers of the tech tree unlocked (ie the parts that cost 45 science points to unlock). Could someone give me some advice please?

An article on BBC News reporting on SpaceX plans to launch global broadband internet coverage via 4425 satellites in 83 different orbital planes. The level of investment required to set up a constellation of that size could, I think, be the stumbling block. It's going to take a long time to recoup the estimated $10 billion (US) it will take to build!

The actual system holds position (ie station keeping) to an accuracy of just 2 nanometers (which is about the same as the diameter of the helix of DNA, hence my comment about 1mm being huge in comparison). It's to be used in future satellites that will look for gravitational waves. The thrusters provide between 0.1 to 30 micronewtons of thrust. According to the article, 30 micronewtons is around the same force as a mosquito landing on you, whilst 0.1 micronewton is equivalent to the weight of a single mosquito antenna.

Yep! Mind blowing stuff! By comparison a millimetre is a huge distance to be out! It's "only" a technical demonstration, but it looks like they on the right track

I wasn't after craft files @Vanamonde, but screen shots of people's Duna Base. Any chance you can move it back as the replies have gone dead since the move. Cheers Clipper

I play stock (mostly science mode but just started career) bit haven't hit that wall in a year or so of KSP. There's always something I want to do "because it's there". Maybe it's because I usually have several projects on the go at once. When I grow tired of one, I leave it a while for something else (thank goodness for no life support in stock!)

I've never really got on that well with Career Mode. I played it a few versions ago, but always preferred Science Mode as it lets me do what I want, whilst still giving some progression. The beginning of career mode, farming cash and science has always bored me. As I'm stuck inside (recovering from having my gallbladder surgery) I've been watching a lot of YouTube KSP videos, looking for inspiration for my planned Duna mission and base. I happened to come across a great set of tutorials for career mode for 1.1 stock by Marcus House which gives some great tips for the early stages of the game. So, I now have three saves on the go! One, with my Mun Rover treck to the South Pole (see above), a second with the goal of going to Duna in year 1* (both science) and now a career save too. * I usually take things slow, going to each Mun and Minmus Biome with individual missions. By the time I am ready to go further, there are no upcoming launch windows. Being more economical this time round, I've been surprised how quickly you can unlock the science tree in Science Mode.

Continued my drive south in the imaginatively named Mun Rover Lab. Including the original drive from the landing spot to the Twin Craters, the crew has now covered over 300km, which is a personal best. The actual distance covered will be around 10% more, but I'm using the rough measuring technique of planting a flag every 40km and ignoring all the twists and turns. Despite being large, based on a Cupola attached to a Mobile Processing Lab, it handles remarkably well in 1.2. I've yet to break a wheel and I've only had to reload once - and to be fair to the rover, I had got up to finish making a cuppa tea when disaster struck! It's climbed up 30° slopes with ease, had several seconds of "air time" (or should that be "vacuum time"?) and still trundles on at between 10-20 mps whilst the scientists work in the back. The crew are now well into the highlands, approaching the Polar biome, so a little more route planning is needed. Sadly, the crew return vehicle, which is already close to the South Pole has sunk into the ground, so when I switch to it, it pops up. The probe core is set to hibernate and is hidden away. There's not enough time to click it back to life before the whole thing comes back down and smashes itself to pieces. As it's a science mode game, it will be much simpler to send a replacement when needed. Whilst driving, I also tested out various graphics settings. I used a stop watch (app on tablet, not the real thing) to time a minute and compare that to the game timer. I'll have to take some new screen shots to see the improvement, but here is an old one from the beginning of the treck. A real "because it's there" mission

The only way I can ever get tweakables to balance in that sort of situation is by a steady torrent of foul language until I get lucky. Sorry I can't be of more help, but I feel your pain!