Waxing_Kibbous

I've decided on the simple approach- use probe cores for satellites only as my own rule for playing (plus AntennaRange)- this is a sandbox game after all . One thing that makes it a lot nicer is that I found a command pod mod that holds 2 Kerbals, so a pilot + 1 is actually quite doable and adds the fun of picking a pilot for my science missions. http://kerbal.curseforge.com/projects/k2-command-pod

This has probably been brought up a bit before, but with the new water code in 1.05 I started to think about how cool it would be to give a bit of the physics treatment to other surfaces- sandy surfaces like Duna or Kerbin's deserts would cause landers to sink a bit when landing, making it difficult to stand them straight up/take a bit more dV for the initial launch portion- also Rovers would need a bit more power to move. The icy planes of Minmus would cause craft to slide around, you could have muddy/swampy flats that could absolutely strand a vessel, hard rocky surfaces that could be a bit more rough on gear, etc. Obviously planets could have safer zones (or not), but it could add some fun drama to the landing/exploration process. I have to think it wouldn't be much of a stretch to adapt the current water code to make this happen- I wonder if even mod-level code could do this

Yeah, I tried to reactivate it by overwriting a different contract but it didn't work, guess I need to be more careful next time, that poor Kerbal will never smell the sweet Kerbin air ever again.

I accepted a contract to rescue a Kerbal from Munar orbit, but when reviewing my contracts I accidentally hit the big red X (my confirmation popup pet peeve strikes again- when a scientist gathers data you get the are you sure? popup, when deleting an accepted contract you get nothing! gah! Popups in any software are rarely in the right places...). Anyhow, just wondering if the remnant of the contract is hanging around somewhere and if I can fudge it back in somehow. In my quicksave.sfs I have this chunk of code, which I think could be it- if so where can I put it to make it active? (I suppose I could write over one of the crappy contracts that exist in the list to choose from) : CONTRACT { guid = bce3a91b-9b3d-41e5-96c0-1687c4bf280f type = RecoverAsset prestige = 2 seed = 610366082 state = Offered agent = Rokea Inc deadlineType = Floating expiryType = Floating values = 49031.4776989796,69624698.332551,85700.1629892254,225160.692785572,87995.7008703231,0,13.1791,14,220628.070199842,0,0,0 targetBody = 2 kerbalName = Chaddan Kerman partName = landerCabinSmall partID = 0 recoveryLocation = 1 recoveryType = 1 gender = 1 PARAM { name = AcquireCrew state = Incomplete values = 17820,0,0,6,0 title = Save Chaddan Kerman winOn = 0 } PARAM { name = RecoverKerbal state = Incomplete values = 0,0,0,0,0 title = Recover Chaddan Kerman on Kerbin failOn = All winOn = All } }

Thanks for the update Claw, this is the first mod I looked for when 1.05 came out

I too love the more rocket-orientated aspects of the game, and will agree that when I get to another body, do a few science things, say, OK, time to back already? The question is, what can one do? The contract system could be more adaptable so that you can get some contract choices while on the surface, I think that could be a fun aspect, even if they are more on the simple side. I'm optimistic about the 1.1+ releases however because it will allow Squad more access to making a bigger game thanks to the Unity upgrade. The development of KSP is constant so one has to think in terms of a rolling release as opposed to versions, I have faith that the game will keep moving forward on an interesting path.

Noticed the same thing, it's impossible to land a capsule, parachute and heatshield on an early career suborbital trajectory, even with a decent arc. By the time you get to 260m/s you are about 1100m from the surface, and the chutes come out but there isn't a quick enough deployment. Again, in 1.04 where I started at least 8 careers this wasn't an issue.

Looking at the Mechjeb thread it appears that it isn't quite ready either. It seems one issue lies in the new decoupler code, KER got confused by them in 1.05 Whelp, looks like it's time to man up (kerbal up?) and just add 4-20 SRBs to every rocket "just to be safe"

Hi, I just want to add for the purpose of bug hunting that I am using the version from the ksp store, not steam.

I've had 2 crashes as well, Val and Jeb! Is the atmospere less dense now? Chutes are deploying later (a good thing) but my command pods aren't slowing down enough to deploy them.

I think this is a legit issue, my 1.04 is set at 1280x768 and it works mostly, there is a minor map issue there though with a flying AP arrow haha. Time to bust out the reading glasses I guess!

Actually, the issue persists at lower res settings at the same ratio, I have a 1680x1050 monitor, but man is the UI tiny at that size

OK, I'll try another resolution, this is just the default- yep that fixed it, no need to panic haha

A picture tells all- Linux 64 bit. Kerbin isn't attached it would seem, zooming has issues

This obviously only applies when using a scientist- when collecting goo or materials science, the scientist gets a button in the right-click menu to "collect data and restore." It's that simple and saves 2 clicks, one of which is away from the current activity area. It's such a little detail that would be a nice UI refinement.

I found the Scott Manley career mode walkthrough youtube vids helpful (I think the more recent ksp version starts at #3 in the series), as well as the Kerbal Space Command youtube channel for ideas on building space colonies. Scott's video series (there are good tips even in the earlier videos): Skip to the Duna mission: Kerbal Space Command

I don't think consistency would be an issue if other artists were brought on board, the process isn't that someone works on a piece in solitude and hands it in, there are multiple stages in the design process. I like the current graphics, and like any visual thing they can be taken to the next level- the question is how to balance aesthetics with performance. That's something Porkjet needs to consider that modders don't necessarily have to.

I've been thinking that the Big Four, Jeb, Val, Bill, and Bob could all get extra skills that other Kerbals don't. For instance, it makes sense that a pilot could repack a chute and change a tire, so those could be nice additions at high levels. Bill and Bob could have higher rates of their processing skills. A bit OT, but the idea of a kerbal improving rocket performance could work IMO if the requirements were to have a pilot, engineer, and scientist all at a certain level and included in the crew at the same time, their amazing skills pushing every bit of efficiency out of the gear.

I haven't been around KSP too long, but in some other projects it seems addons break constantly- sometimes it's due to upgrading the addon language version eg python, but I'm curious as to how much of the mod portion of code will be affected by the game engine upgrade. The save files seem like a very simple format that could translate well across stock versions, but again I'm not sure if the policy is to support old saves or to treat new versions as more standalone. I am actually not playing until 1.05 comes out because as a career mode player I'd like to start fresh with the new contract system. So they better release it tomorrow!

Check this guy out, he's awesome- whenever I watch his videos I think I need to be thinking more creatively and have more fun The key is a bit of planning and standardizing (aka engineering).

Thanks for the pointers Snark, I think I may try this as a preliminary trial, but instead of being heavier I may make them a bit lighter due to no reaction wheels/internal battery, and keep the electric charge usage the same. I understand that if my changes were to be made to stock KSP people would flock to Mexico City with their pitchforks and torches, but again IMO the probes are overpowered because of the simple reason that as soon as you unlock the most basic one you really don't need a pilot any more. This particular nerf will take a bit of thought, when I come up with a decent outline I'll head over to the modding forums. Thanks again!

Pilots are tricky, definitely a tough thing to both balance and make them appealing. The OP idea seems interesting, as does giving pilots better sas capabilities, so the ability to pilot unwieldy craft better. Here's an idea: probes have mass limits on what they can control, better ones can go bigger, but even the highest level one has a limit. (on a more extreme nerf level take out their reaction wheels and electric charge) Edit: is there a way to hack a file to implement mass limits and disable the above features on probe cores? I wouldn't mind trying it out. Think about it, not only is Jeb the coolest character in video games, he is also the least needed! Jeb and Val need to be included more just because they are hyper-manic

I will give those tips a shot Alshain- I've actually had your lifter pack zipped on my desktop for a wek now, maybe I should actually check them out

As I was trundling along at KSC gathering some cheap and easy science I ran into a bit of a wall- actually, an invisible trans-dimensional wormhole of a wall. It all started from the Astronaut Complex, where next I proceeded to gather science around the flag, then tried to cross the street to the admin building when I bumped into an invisible force in the middle of the street. Trying again I was met with the same outcome. I decided to eva Bob to plant a flag there, and when he stepped off the rover I vaporized Kerbin. Gone. I went back to the space center view only to be greeted with a lovely starry sky in all directions. Going back to the initial game screen there were 3 kerbals in front of- stars with the start menu. I killed Kerbin. Luckily shutting down and starting up KSP got me to my last quicksave point. I was tempted to try again but wasn't in the mood for the science grind.

I mean the 90 on the navball which ideally the prograde marker would move along like it was on rails. By middle rocket I mean the very center, "root" of the first stage, which is generally designed to get into orbit or pretty close, which will have fins as low as possible. Also, if not a pilot I use a probe core, and unless I forget I put a reaction wheel near the top quarter unless it's a really light rocket. I really think I'm underestimating the drag calculations... What I don't get is how people launch huge rockets that look like Christmas trees with all the stuff hanging off them if that’s the case.