jarmonik

Kerbal Foothold at Tylo Gene Kerman came up with an idea of creating a foothold for Kerbalkind in Tylo. We already have a permanent Kerbal presence at Tylo but we should be able to pring our guys back too. Not just sending them down there. So, Gene Kerman proposes to establish an Orbital Station around Tylo and a Surface Base with a rocket refueling ability on a surface. In that case a reusable lander could travel between the Orbital Station and the Surface Base. Bill Kerman is scratching his head for a while and accepts the challenge. The first invention is standing-by for liftoff on a launchpad. And a disaster strikes... Brrrroooooommmmrrrrr.. Pssshhhhhhh.....Whhhiiiiiuuuu... KRAIB (Kerbal Rocket Accident Investigation Board) soon discovered that unconstrained gimball range of "Vector" main engines caused a sudden movement that slammed a booster into a main fuel tank resulting a massive fuel leakage and utter destruction of the launch vehicle. After fixing the gimball issue, Tylo Orbital is finally on it's way to LKO (Low Kerbin Orbit) Bill Kerman is preparing the Surface Base payload for the next launch and check that the center of mass is right in a middle where it should be. Bill's payload is on a top of a rocked ready to be launched. Valentina and Graner Kermans have launched with a Tylo-Rover and they are on a final approach to dock with Tylo-Orbital Bill and Bob Kerman's second invention a "Tylo-Crane" has successfully cleard the towers and it's heading to LKO. Bill and Bob made a calculation that "Tylo-Crane" "should" be able to land 27 tonnes "safely" on a surface of Tylo. Tylo-Creane is powered by 4 Mastedon engines which can provide about 5 geess of decel (average) when braking and landing on Tylo. When landing on Tylo you need to be able to slowdown from an Orbital velocity very quickly. So, lack of decel is potentially fatal. Due to a lack of man power in HQ Gene Kerman sends a request to any able Kermans to return to HQ in first opportunity. Where in a heck is Bill, Has anyone seen him ? Valentina and Graner Kermans are have initiated a TJI (Trans Jool Insertion) burn and they will soon reach the MECO point. After the days pass... Jebediah Kerman with his crew are finally making a re-entry to Kerbin. Seeing a towering mountains passing by a commands pods windows makes Jeb really really worried. The most fatalities related to a reentry is due to slamming into a slope and starting to roll down a hill. Not the most pleasant way to go. But luckily everybody walks away unharmed. Right after returning to Kerbin Jebediah Kerman is launching with KRV (Kerbin Return Vehicle) into LKO. Since there's been no sight of Bill Kerman for over a year now. Bob Kerman has designed a Tylo Lander. The Lander gets it's power from four "Kodiak" engines which are rarely used in anywhere. Even though the engines vacuum efficiency is pretty poor (ISP 300) due to it's lower weight and high thrust it actually performs better that heavier higher ISP engines. It's time to launch the KRV and the Lander to Jool and eventually to Tylo. - It's also time to tune radios to a frequency used by Tylo Base and remotely to guide it Trans Jool Trajectory. Then suddenly Bill Kerman makes an emergency call to HQ. "Bill, what the heck are you doing up there that launch was supposed to be unmanned.", -- Static --, "You didn't read the big sign about the change in launch schedule... ?? !!". It happens to be so that your next stop is Tylo, Have a nice voyage... break.. Behind the scenes: Tylo-Crane is also launch towards to trans Jool trajectory, Refueling Rover and a second Tylo-Crane is also sent to Jool/Tylo. Valentive and Graner Kermas are making a Tylo Orbit Capture burn to al elliptical orbit. In the Apoapis, Communication and surface scanning probes are released and navigated to a proper orbits around Tylo. Valentina is making a final Orbit Insertion burn to a circular LTO (Low Tylo Orbit) Total dV being about 1050 m/s for Jool/Tylo arrival. So total dV from LKO to LTO being about 3050 m/s - Graner Kerman has made an Orbital analysis of Tylo's surface and the Crissom Crater is showing some promise. Valentina and Graner are undocking the Tylo-Rover Final approach and wandering on a surface. The darker flatter area might be suitable base location. This looks great. We could justify a deployment of the Surface Base right here. Jebediah Kerman with his crew are making an Orbit Insertion and Docking with the Tylo Orbital station. - Stranded Bill Kerman is also making an Orbit Insertion and this is a good opportunity to take an EVA and find his way to Orbital Station to meet a fellow Kerbals. - Tylo Crane has reached a Low Orbit and the final approach to a payload is on the way. We have a successful payload capture and we can start a payload delivery to a surface. Tylo-Crane is qualified to 27 tonnes and the current payload is 21 tonnes. Somethings wrong. The engines are wobbling around like being half loose. Bill Kerman wasn't there to place "struts" so no-one did that. By using only a half thrust the payload seems to remain reasonably well under control. Chrashdown. The final landing/descent was not under control due to critically low fuel supply. It was hot, too hot in fact. After seeing Tylo-Crane's actual performance Bob Kerman can re-charaterize the maximum "safe" payload delivery of Tylo-Crane to be 17 tonnes. Valentina and Graner Kermans are inspecting damage and destruction. Valentina is heading inside to check if anything is working. It looks like despite of a large amount of debris the Surface Base itself is mostly intact. Only one radiator is beyond repair. So, Valentina considers this as an successful failure and the mission is still go. - While Valentina is cleaning up the debris, Graner is going to have a closer look into a curious looking rock formation she saw earlier. Crismin Kerman is taking a group of Kerbal down on a surface and the Landing was hot due to low fuel. It looks like it not just the Tylo-Crane but the Tylo it self being under estimated. 124 m/s of fuel remaining is too close for comfort, this lander is definitely not "safe". Rosdas Kerman is heading inside the base in Lab to make some research, there is plenty of data requiring to be analyzed. A contract is accepted to expand Tylo-Orbital. A group of Space Tourists are launched to a space along with a Tylo-Orbital Expansion. Stelbald kerman has launched a new modified Tylo-Lander into a LKO and she's making an exterior checks before docking with Orbital Expansion. Orbital Expansion has launched towards Tylo and MECO has just been reached. The second Tylo-Crane with Fuel-Rover as a payload is being remotely piloted by Jebediah from the Orbital Station and Jeb is testing Crane's a decel capabilities. The mass of the payload is well below 17 tonnes. Still looking good, going nice and smooth. Payload detached and Crane flies away. Fuel-Rover's been parked into a surface base and the tanks are filled up to a full capacity. Fuel delivery in progress. It's time for Crismin Kerman to launch and dock with the Orbital station. Once again the fuel is critically low. After docking the Lander is remotely deorbited. So, it's going to make one last trip down on the surface unmanned. Orbital Expansion is making Tylo Orbit Capture. Orbital Expansion has been attached to the station and looks like someone forgot to deploy the com-sats but luckily they got enough fuel to reach the destination even from this location. A group of Space Tourists are being de-orbited and Jebediah makes a nice smooth landing on s surface. It's time for Valentina to re-fuel Jeb's new toy so that the tourist can be brought back to station. Jebediah is really happy with the performance of the new Tylo-lander. Also powered by "Kodiak" engines with a slightly higher fuel capacity and lower center of mass. Jeb need to be careful with the throttles, a poor space tourist might become incapacitated due to high geees's. After that it's time to undock the KRV and head back home. Mission accomplished. - The Second Wave Due to poor financial state of the space agency Gene Kerman has signed a contract to expand Tylo-Base on Tylo. Before the launch the expansion module is being beta tested on Kerbin. Usually such a test are skipped. Expansion module is on it's way to space... New en-changed version of the Tylo-Crane is on a launch pad. It's been upgraded handle 25 tonnes of payload. The base expansion module is about 23 tonnes. Urbo Kerman has completed a Laythe-Orbital station assembly and it's being launched to Jool transfer trajectory. A group of space tourist are being launch to Jool transfer trajectory in a routine launch.... when... A disaster strikes. A failed booster separation has knocked out the main engines and the vehicle is without power and there is no launch escape system in place. Looks like we are going to have some fatalities. Milrigh Kerman summons all his skills as a pilot like his life depends on it and tried to keep the upper stage climbing but Kerbin doesn't let it go. Eventually Milrigh's efforts pays off and the upper stage is being able to reach a low orbit and everybody is finally able to exhale. After docking with orbital fuel depot the mission can continue to it's intended destination. Right after dealing with one emergency an other one is right in a front for a Gene Kerman. Tylo-Crane has reached it's mid-course plane-change location when it's suddenly not responding to commands. Telemetry shows that electrical systems are working so it's likely a communication issue. We need a Kerbal hands on site. So, Urbo Kerman the commander of Laythe-Orbital will receive an urgent communications and instructions from mission command to plot an intercept trajectory with Tylo-Crane. Urbo Kerman has been able to intercept the target and she is preparing for an EVA. Looks like all long range communication arrays are not deployed. So, Urbo must deploy them manually. After the coms has been restored. Mission command is able to initiate the mid-course plane-change. The second wave is approaching the Jool system. Missions targeted to Tylo are making a direct orbital insertion to low Tylo Orbit. The Laythe-Orbital is routed to Laythe via Tylo sling-shot, this will reduce the speed approximately by 500m/s. Base Expansion has reach a Tylo Orbit Capture. Dofry Kerman is docking his rescue craft with the Orbital Station on Tylo. Now he needs to be returned to Kerbin to finish that part of the mission. Laythe-Orbital is making a Tylo sling-shot and continue it's voyage forward. Tylo-Crane has reach the Tylo and it's approaching the payload for capture. Descent is on it's way to surface and everything looks good and payload is stable. Oh No. How did this happen ? This one is not Jeb's fault. Hitting a payload release button shouldn't disable and shutdown the engines. The Crane just died right after payload release and slammed to ground. But anyways the payload survived unharmed. Jeb remotely landed the payload 4km off-target but since the fuel quantity was slightly an unknown factor, Bob and Bill have made bad calculations before, Jeb didn't want to risk it. The wheels on a bottom can easily carry the module. Docking in the progress... - Mission accomplished.

Valentina's Fan Club at Moho Valentina has decided to take a group of fans to an expedition to Moho. Bill Kerman has designed some hardware for the expedition. A Moho Orbital station with a booster rocket is standing on a Launchpad. Rocket like this has a tendency of easily spinning out of control during ascent, therefore, the launch is unmanned for safety reason. In fact the first launch attempt failed. We have a successful booster separation. Core stage separation and middle stage ignition. Should be noted that upper stage fuel tanks are empty to reduce weight and will be filled in orbit. Valentina is launching to orbit with a rover designed to land on Moho. If something goes wrong, Valentina must escape the rocket with her own personal parachute. Launch was successful and a docking with the booster rocket is underway. It's time for the Fan Club members to launch. This is much safer launch due to a launch abort system. Only a little more and we are on Orbit. Kathtop's piloting skills are a bit rusty and there is a minor miss-alignment during docking but it's within acceptable limits. A Fuel Tug is docking with the rocket/vessel to fill the upper stage tanks and top the booster tanks to a full capacity. By setting up a "dummy" escape trajectory plan, Bob Kerman has estimated the time needed to get to a proper launch window which is in 24 days in the ascending node (AN). And he reminded that always intercept the Moho in its perihelion. After waiting 24 days in Orbit, It's time to setup a transfer trajectory to Moho, The burn also includes a plane change component, so the final orbit will be well aligned with orbit of Moho. There is no need to worry about a transfer angle in this case. Valentina is manually maintaining a prograde and plane change attitude in order to save some fuel. It will be a long 6 minute burn. The maneuver vector is slowly drifting towards the attitude Valentina is already trying to maintaining. During the final minutes Valentina will give the control to SAS-Autopilot. We have a MECO little sooner than indicated since the desired transfer orbit was reached. The next step for Valentina is to setup a deep space maneuver (DSM) to intercept the Moho. The dV magnitude of the DSM will be reduced from the upcoming Moho Orbit Insertion (MOI) almost completely. Total transfer angle around the Kerbol to intercept the Moho is about 540 degrees in this particular case. The DSM in underway and the booster stage has been separated. Moho Orbit Insertion has been set. Engines are at a full throttle. Moho Orbit Insertion is completed and a communication/scanning probes have been separated in the apoapis so that a proper polar orbit alignment can be reached. The Moho Orbital Station is coming to a final orbit insertion. Communication probes are aligned, Of course, two probes are not much but better than zero. Valentina's Fan Club has now officially reached the Moho. Next task for Valentina is to reposition the Kerbin Return Vehicle (KRV) so that the Rover can be undocked. Valentina and Jenfurt Kermans are taking the Rover down to the surface. Deorbit is in progress and Jenfurt is feeling a bit uneasy. Touchdown and it's a time for Jenfurt Kerman to take a giant leap for a Kerbalkind. After rovering hours and hours on the surface Valentina is spotting an anomaly in the horizon. After setting up some scientific equipment and taking some readings. Jenfurt concludes that the Kerbal appears to be petrified somehow. Likely been hit by a magma bolt. Jenfurt is scratching her head while wondering about how long it has been here, since the suit looks ancient. (note: No petrified Kerbals on Moho in unmodded game) There's nothing Valentina and Jenfurt can do for her so it's time to head back to the station. Jenfurt Kerman is worried about the fuel quantity, it doesn't look good. After seeing the station from a window, Jenfurt is finally able to exhale a bit and she takes a Bill Kermans engineering check list and checks the box "Fuel quantity sufficient" as "Yes". It's time to undock the KRV for a return journey back to Kerbin. There is a reasonably good transfer window once in a year while the Moho is close to its perihelion and the Moho is roughly about 80 degrees’ behind the Kerbin. We have a main engine ignition. ..and MECO. The engine is shut down a bit early to avoid over burning. It's better to apply move velocity later on rather than start reducing it after an over burn. It's time for one final course correction to intercept the Kerbin. While approaching the reentry interface at 5000m/s it's time for Valentina to take a check list and perform the checks that parachutes and heatshields are installed to a vessel along with other vital items. Valentina spots an empty checkbox labelled as "Move scientific data from Rover to KRV before departure !" where the "BEFORE" is extensively highlighted with Bob's hand writing. From this point forward the usually noisy cockpit is completely silent.

I am not sure how many are interested but I thought it might be good idea to share (atleast) one of my expeditions in KSP. If measured in time spend by playing the game then the KSP qualifies as the most successful game ever built in my books. Since it has almost twice as many hours in a record than the second most successful XCOM. Kerbals breaking ground on Laythe. First Expedition Valentina Kerman is in a command of bringing a Laythe-Orbital station and LX-5 lander on it's "backpack" to low orbit of Laythe during the first expedition. A group of scientist, engineers and pilots are also on approach trajectory to Laythe with a Kerbin return vehicle (KRV) and a Laythe Science Laboratory Mk3 (LSL-3). It wasn't practical due to stability reasons to pack all 3 vehicles with the station into a one big stack. Valentina was in a controls of LX-5 during the descent to the surface and Haysted Kerman is in a lead of a science team to setup a group of science equipment on the ground. Right now she's checking the ground and it appears to be pretty solid. After taking some atmospheric readings, Haysted can't resist temptation to remove his helmet and surprisingly she's still alive. Daphtop and Jeb Kermans has landed a Laythe Science Laboratory Mk3 near the crater bay at Laythe. Scientific readins are being taken from a grey pink boulder. It's the crater bay, isn't it beautiful. While enjoying the view, Daphtop and Jeb are arguing about taking the LSL-3 to the Crater Island. It could hold real treasures for the science team and goals, So, it's worth the risks. Jeb and Dap will be allright but it's one way trip for the LSL due to limited range. Jeb hits the throttles to lift the LSL-3 up in the air. Daphtop is a bit startled due sudden shaking but Jeb got it under control, there's nothing to worry about and Jeb gives a nice grin back. The Crater Island was a bust, nothing there. Jeb had to call an LX-5 from the Orbital station to pick them up from the Crater Island and they have safely returned back to the Statiom. Daphtop is beating her head to an airlock in a dissapointment but Jeb is having a party with a fellow Kerbals since the expedition was a success after-all and it's time to rotate back home for a change. Second Expedition A contract was signed with the Kerbal Space Program to build a surface base on Laythe. The base is pretty big but it's not that heavy. Weights only 24 tonnes. The monoprop tanks are empty and can be filled after arrival. Full tanks would add 7 additional tonnes more weight. The contreact contained a 1500 units of monoprop and 5000 units of ore and plenty of living space for Kerbals. Bill Kerman suggested to assemple the station on Laythe rather then sending it as a whole due to stability reasons. Valentina and Jebediah Kermans are taking off with a space plane specially designed to deliver cargo to Laythe. Base frame is sent to Laythe along with a KRV and a new Laythe Science Laboratory. So, total of four vessels are in transit to Laythe. Years goes by... And the base frame has finally arrived at Laythe. Enton Kerman has pulled the framework to it's intented deployment position next to the science camp that was set during the first expedition. Mac Kerman is at the science camp operating the equipment. It's time for Leny Kerman to attach the ore containers in place. Jebediah is on a final approach to the base camp... Touchdown, and it's time to Leny to unload Jeb's cargo and attach the Resource converter to the base so that the filling process may start to complete the contract goals. Jebediah is heading inside to have a glass of Kokakola, Jeb's fafourite drink. Maybe saying greetings for Valentina wouldn't be bad idea either. Misey Kerman has undocked her brand new LSL-4 from the KRV and is heading towards the base camp. There is still plenty of science to be done. The LSL comes with a "panic" parachute but the LSL's hover thrust can stop the free fall with ease. Kerbals have gathered outside waiting for a pickup and return to the Laythe-Orbital Lizgar is on a pilots seat of an LX-5 at final approach to the base camp. Anticipation in tense on board since everybody want's to see the white shores and fresh waters of Laythe. Can't wait the get down there. Fortunately, nobody has told them about the air and the slight issue waiting for them. Mac Kerman is one of the lucky ones to get a ride back home after spending 10 years on a surface operating the instruments, Mac came with the first expedition. Others will stay behind to do the science during the coming years. While the LX-5 is still at the base camp it's time to re-assemple the orbital station to handle more traffic. Laythe is a popular destination for space tourists and it works as a central hub for every mission in Jool system. Zelbree Kerman is overseeing the final preparations of the station and enjoying a breath taking sunrise, no better place for that than an EVA. It's time for the expedition members to rotate back to Kerbin. Mission was success and all goals completed as planned. Third Expedition A contract is accepted to expand the base camp at Laythe. Veteran kerbals Jebediah, Dephtop and Bobory are on a special mission to land on a polar ice cap on Laythe. They are taking a brand new LX-5 to Low Kerbin Orbit (LKO) where they will dock with a booster rocket that will give them the boos they need to get them to Laythe. Leny and Maggan are taking off with a space plane carying the expansion modules required by the contract. A booster rocket is also waiting for them too in LKO. Years goes by... Jebediah Kerman is the first one to arrive to Laythe with his team and has established a polar orbit. It's time to make a deorbit burn and start an approach to the polar cap. Jeb is making a tight left curve to lose some speed while eyeballing a suitable landing location. It looks smooth and flat, so, no problems expected with the landing. If Jeb messes this up, help is three years away from here. So, no quick rescue near by. Landing was nice and smooth. Daphtop has deployed a set of science instruments and seems to be happy and excited. Jeb on the other hand looks like a frankenstein, totally zombified. Mayby the years spend in space watching the glowing ball in the instrument panels has taken it's toll on Jeb. He'll be happy when getting back to the cockpit. The sun barely shines here... There is no way of reaching the Orbital Station from this location. There's not enough fuel for 45 degree plane change in LX-5. So, the only option for Jeb is to make a sub-orbital flight to the base camp and refuel there. Valentina is maneuvering the fuel-hose to give Jeb the juice he needs... this is also a good opportunity for Valentina to get a ride to orbital station. Oh crap, The fuel-hose doesn't fit, it's too thick. We ain't gonna fail a mission becuse of a quater of an inch. All hands on deck, this is an emergency. Little Kerbalishm saved the day and the fuel is flowing now. This certainly didn't go as planned. Obvious design flaw was found and it's time for Bill Kerman to get back to sketching board for LX-6 design. Maybe this should have been beta tested on Kerbin. It's time to takeoff and dock with the Laythe-Orbital, Jeb is pushing the ramjets to their limits... Leny and Maggan have reach the Jool system and are making a Tylo sling-shot. Only a few kerbals have ever been on Orbit of Tylo. Even fewer has set their fool on it. But everybody has flown by it and seen it. It's a standard method to reach almost any destination in Jool system. 400 - 500m/s boost isn't much but it's still something. It's time to decouple the booster and execute a deorbit burn. The booster is remotely maneuvered and docked with Laythe-Orbital to deliver the remaining fuel for the station before it gets de-orbited. Leny and Maggan have landed and the unloading and base assemply is in progress. Leny and Maggan have completed their part of the expedition succesfully just in time before the sunset and the contract is completed. It's time to rotate back home and arrive with style.

Here's a list of problems I have recently encountered: Uncommanded movement of several robotic parts. In the screen shot the "Current angle" is increasing about 1 deg/sec upto 90deg and starts to degreasing. If the "Rate" slider is moved/touched the "Current angle" will immediately bounch to zero (i.e. Target Angle) Here are two screen shots showing slipping/drifting on a launchpad. The wheel brakes were toggled off-and-on after using the "Claw". The timer in top-left corner shows the time cap. Here are more screen shots about the slipping. Note the location of the new "Surface deployable science instruments" and the results coming from slipping... Here are some screen shots from a base assemply. Assempling a base is pretty difficult due to constant slipping of everything. Also the robotic parts are very weak, the payload is yoyo-ing all-around. It's almost like everything is build from a rubber. Hydraulic cylinders act more like pneumatic ones (i.e. bumping up'n'down). I would say that the yoyo-ing should be reduced to a half (atleast) to make the game more playable. I mean increse damping. Hinges doesn't even have a damping parameter. The force that hinges and cylinders can deliver appear to be good enough. The same force should be used for damping. Maybe it's the combination of robotic parts and kerbal joints causing the problem. Should the joints related to robotic parts be rigid ? EDIT: It's kinda ridiculous to put struts and struts and struts everywhere. EDIT: Also the kerbal joints become permanently displaced even if not under a pressure/force.

I have tried terrain details of "Default" and "High". Other graphics settings are set to "high" too. Terrain scatters at 50%. I found the green sandstone using the cheat mode. Like the screen shots form above shows, it's close to invisible. If you are hovering over the stone at 100 meters it may go easily unnoticed unless ground shadows give it a way. Also I didn't spend that much of time to search the "empty" space of the flats, I looked into the areas where the terrain scatters were. (i.e. the edge area of the flats, not the center of it). I never really looked anything that small. Also, the density of the stone is way too small to be found by accident. I found 5-6 blueberries from Duna, even if it's small, it's not too difficult to find, density appears to be pretty high. Biomes used for searching sands stone: Flats, Great Flats, Greater Flats, Lesser Flats. Time spend searching the sandstone about 5h.

There is no Green Sandstone on Minmus. I found Olivine Formation but no sandstone. It's pretty fustrating to try to find something that isn't there. Altough, I had luck with Mun Stone.

"Explore Kerbin" contract doesn't work in a new campaign. Can't complete rendezvous two vessels in Orbit, Can't decline the contract either. Although, World's First Milestones for rendezvous was completed.

I always go interplanetary a.s.a.p. My career procedure is pretty much this: 1) Science experiments from a launch pad and atmosphere to get a tech to go orbit. 2) Science experiments from low and high orbit to get a tech to do a mun and minmus fly-by. 3) Science experiment near and far from mun/minmus to get a tech for landing missions. 4) Surface samples and experiments from minmus to get a tech to go Ike and Duna. 5) Go Interplanetary. I don't recall completing contracts on Kerbin other than what happens on a Launchpad or right above it. ..And of course a tourist contracts. Easy money in early game.

I have also noticed problems with mouse clicks. Most of the time switching between map and staging view do not work. Have to press 'M' form a keyboard for that. The same applies to RCS button 'R'. From time to time there are problems getting the time acceleration controls visible from upper left corner of the screen, delay of 1-3 seconds is common. (Running with Windows 7 x64 16GB) EDIT: I don't recall having this problem in 1.1 or 1.1.1

Yes, you are right. I wasn't aware of Kerbals ability to collect the data from science instruments to a command pod via EVA. That simplifies a things a lot. Such a surprises after all this time Thanks for the info, really appreciated.

The mass of MPL is 3.5t where as Mk2 Lander-can is 2.66t, so I wouldn't call it heavy. If you look at the screen shot I posted a few post ago. The science payload requires a powered insertion to Kerbin orbit. Until it's safely on a surface of Kerbin, it does cost money and fuel and there's a lot of additional fuss with it. So, just not needing to bring back the science instruments for 100% benefits would be fine with me. Also, there could be experiments those can be performed only on site with MPL, possibly unlocking special techs. There are plenty of ways to improve it.

No, it gives about 1000% to 2500% science rewards which is 10x to 25x more than returning the science to Kerbin. So, the MPL provides an easy way to unlock the tech tree. Having on option to choose how the MPL operates would make it useful for more players and play-styles.

How exactly it can be configured ? Where are the configuration options ? No, the MPL actually comes in early game, although, if you decide to use it to unlock the tech tree then I guess it qualifies as late-game. Why not just have a button in game options to unlock the tech tree. Here is my science solution, bring back the science to Kerbin. Being able to do the science on site with MPL with 75%-100% science rewards would be the solution I prefer. So, in other words it would improve the science rewards compared to mere transmission which is (25%-100%) with a cost of science processing time and a need of scientists. (Can't this forum create thumbnails for images ?! )

Why can't the Squad put an option in game options to choose how the MPL operates ? Shouldn't be that hard. Right now it's pretty much a game breaker and that's why I don't use it but then what are the scientist for then ? Without MPL there are no use for scientists. If you bring back the science instruments to Kerbin you get 100% If you transmit the science then you get 25-100% depending the case. If you process the science in MPL you get 75%-100% (NOT 10000%) Simple, Logical.

Are 1.0.5 saves compatible with 1.1 or is a career restart require ? Is there anything done for the mobile processing lab and science income ? Do I actually need to earn the science or does it come for free like in 1.0.5 ?

My personal goal is to unlock the whole tech tree with-out using Research Lab (Mobile Processing Lab) module. Has anyone done that before ?

As far as I can tell, there's nothing worth going on a surface of Tylo. Light weight vessel can easily travel between surface colony and orbital station but landing some heavier payloads on Tylo would be problematic. Non-reusable 2 stage lander would be required. Laythe has gravity, water, oxygen, suitable atmospheric pressure to protect from vacuum. Landing heavy equipment is cheap and a re-usable light weight lander can easily travel between surface colony and orbital station. Orbital station can be reached with minimal fuel costs via Tylo slingshot and aerobraking. Electricity is a slight problem. Solar power works poorly but it works. How about wind power plant ? Unfortunately stock KSP doesn't have one.

Yeah, Ladders need some fixing. I am a bit annoyed that Kerbals usually tend to fall and die when going EVA. Because they fail to grasp the ladder. That behavior is totally random. Remember to save before EVA. "Hard Mode" no saving arggh..

Creating such a display is problematic because the delta-v depends on how do you operate the rocket. There is at-least Kerbal Engineer mod that will show the delta-v, but last time I checked the values were incorrect when I planned to jettison a used (empty) fuel tanks two by two instead of the whole engine stage at once. Also, an ability to transfer fuel makes it difficult for a software to read your mind. Equation to compute a raw delta-v capacity of a rocket is pretty simple: dV = ISP * 9.81 * ln (Vessel_Mass_With_Full_Tanks / Vessel_Mass_With_Empty_Tanks) You can create a Excel spreadsheet to compute the delta-v with above equation for every stage separately and then sum the results. ln() is the natural logarithm. ln(2) = 0.693...

Hi, I replayed the game where the problem with contracts occurred but I had no success to reproduce the issue. It would be a good idea to take a backup copy of the log when exiting the game if there are some vital information printed in it. If there is a problem then user will usually restart the game in a hope that restart would fix the problem and the logged information is lost. I have never had more than just two add-ons installed: I managed to reproduce some other issues and there are some errors shown in the logs. Sometimes when switching from vessel to an other, graphics get bugged like in a screen shot and frame rate is very low. A quick press of "Alt+F4" will save your day but exiting to Space Center (which does not appear properly) will cause one vessel to disappear from persistent scenario or any other saved scenario. Logs: http://users.kymp.net/p501474a/output_log.zip Screen Shot: The package also contains a log where a space station exploded when time acceleration was enabled. I was trying to maneuver a station docked to an asteroid to a lower orbit of Dres. I got the station to an orbit I wanted but when I hit time acceleration the station exploded. I reloaded a quick save, undocked the station from the asteroid and it exploded again. Exiting to a desktop and restarting the game fixed the problem. There are also some problems with "BZ-52 Radial Attachment Point" if it's used as a root object or a sub-assembly is decoupled from it, then it can cause problems like vessels exploding when undocking. After explosion or destruction from an other reason some parts still behave like they are still attached to the main assembly/vessel. The "Mobile Processing Lab MPL-LG-2" requires some fixing. I don't know how it's designed to work, a mobile lab is a very good idea, but it just doesn't work that way. When I start the game it takes a lot of efforts to get enough science to unlock the techs those will enable a possibility to run a new type of a missions. When I get the "Mobile Processing Lab" and I sent my 1st Duna expedition (1 vessel to Duna and an other to Ike) both vessels having the Lab. I'll just need to make one landing mission on a surface, get data to the Labs and wait a launch window back to Kerbin. When I am back on Kerbin the whole tech-tree is unlocked with a science the labs produced. It might be good idea to implement some kind of "Happiness" factor for Kerbals. Gym and some other kind of recreational module to keep the Kerbals in a good shape and spirit. Sad Kerbals would make less science and slower. Also seeing new moons and planets would increase happiness. A kerbal alone would lose happines faster. It's kinda crazy that kerbal spending 3 years alone in a one man pod is still smiling.

Thanks a lot, that was a well hidden feature.

Hello, KSP community and greetings from the Orbiter Forums. At first I want the say thank you for creating this excellent, I have had a lot of fun with it. I have mostly completed the game in a Career mode, until I encountered a game killer bug. All of my contacts disappeared from a mission control likely due to upgrade of mission control. My latest working save game is so far back that I am not going to replay the lost time. There are also a lot of problems with object/focus selection when multiple objects are in a group or picking a target vessel when two vessels are close to each-other. Here's a screen shot from picking a maneuver node which also activates peri/apoapis data. It's a shame that otherwise a great game has so many Monday problems with relatively simple things. Bugs: - The game is not saved when pressing enter in a save game dialog. Enter is equal to "Cancel" not to "Save". - Target/Anti-target "Auto-pilot" is usually not available in SAS if the relative velocity is close to zero. This behavior is understandable with Pro/Retro-grade modes but not with Target/Anti-Target. - Unable to add maneuvers in some situations. I had three vessels launched to Eve at the same time near equal trajectories, only one of them was able to set a maneuver-node for a final approach correction about 30-40 days before entry to Eve's SOI. - Line of nodes isn't displayed if vessel's orbit is hyperbolic. - Clicking time-warp control also clicks/selects objects behind the GUI element. - SAS will often stop working when running out of electricity, even if the power comes back on-line the SAS is jammed in Stability Assist mode, (Pro-grade, etc..) modes are not working. Game restart is required to regain SAS functionality. - SAS will often over-shoot the target direction by 90 degrees and the initial direction is not anywhere near correct. - A Lab-Module can get about 1k-2k points of science from one surface sample. (1:1 ratio between data and science might be better) - Time acceleration limitations are insane on Gilly and Bop. Do allow higher accelerations on lower altitudes. - Time acceleration isn't automatically reduced properly. For an example when returning to Kerbin from the Mun and the periapis is inside the atmosphere. The vessel just explodes if the time acceleration is too high and it's not manually reduced. - Vessels landed on Pol are bugged, often appear floating when entering visual range and then just explode. Sometimes vessels in flight explode like hitting a surface even if the visual surface is still far below. - Space tourists who want to land on Eve are severally under paying. - In XP scores: Plant flag on Eve = 13, Plant flag on Gilly = 15, Plant flag on Laythe = 20, Eve is way too low valued. - There seems to be quite lot a trajectory instabilities for an example if a vessel is orbiting the Sun and it's making a fly-by of the Jool and the periapis is located somewhere near the Tylo. Then, I decide to change the periapis closer to the Jool, so, I'll add a maneuver and start increasing a dV, I'll watch the periapis to move closer and then -Zap-, the trajectory disappears and it indicates that the trajectory doesn't go anywhere near the Jool anymore. - Radiators appears to be totally useless. Haven't found any use for them. Only thing that seems to be heating is the vessel during re-entry and aero-braking. Feature Requests: - Ability to transfer kerbals by clicking the portrait in a lower-right corner. Also, it could highlight the module where the kerbal is located when hovering mouse over the portrait. - Add an arrows to ADI ball to point in Pro-grade and Target directions like the Maneuver direction has. - Might be good idea to handle a data as a resource like a fuel so that it could be transferred between Lab-Modules. Allowing to have a multiple lab modules in a vessel and transfer the data from a vessel to an other. - Ability to display the line of nodes for a local equator. Could be displayed by default when no-target is selected. - Ability to select Target in addition to Focus in Tracking Station and display relative inclination and line of nodes. - Ability to rename and change object class in tracking station.