JonathanPerregaux

I stuck a few of the ring-shaped solar panels to my ship to look at them. When I tried to re-position them (in this case, "up"), they suddenly snapped to some point inside my ship. I wasn't able to move them around.

A good playable example of the Roche Limit can be found in Universe Sandbox 2. You'll be surprised how quickly an orbiting body will break up.

Looks like "-force-opengl" cured the problem. I had to give up using this switch in 1.2.2 because it was giving me blank textures, even with the latest drivers. I did try updating drivers again, to no avail.

I've had a long-time crashing issue with KSP that, until now, has baffled me. What would happen is that my screen would go blank, I'd hear Windows play an event sound, and then I had no choice but to power down my PC. This happens sporadically, most often in the VAB. It also happens in-flight, but a bit less so. Maybe because I spend more time building contraptions than flying them. Since playing 1.3 (and stripping me of all mods), the game has totally stopped crashing for me. As I've slowly added back updated mods, the game has remained stable. Until I put back NF and started editing my contraptions again. I've included my game log below. The crash indicates my video card ran out of memory. I'm running an NVIDIA GeForce GTX 970, which has 4 GB of RAM, at a resolution of 3840 x 2160. The exact action I was performing in the VAB, with a complex ship open, was extending and retracting one of the new photo voltaic panels to check it out. Guess all those textures going at once is too much for my card. [LOG 12:23:13.650] [ApplicationLauncher] OnSceneLoadedGUIReady: scene EDITOR ShouldBeVisible() True ShouldBeOnTop() False iIsPositionedAtTop True [LOG 12:23:13.651] [ApplicationLauncher] SpawnSimpleLayout: HorizontalRightLeft [LOG 12:23:13.654] ScaleModList: listSize 41 maxListSize 2289 [LOG 12:23:13.656] ScaleModList: listSize 41 maxListSize 2289 [LOG 12:23:13.657] ScaleModList: listSize 41 maxListSize 2289 [LOG 12:23:13.658] ScaleModList: listSize 82 maxListSize 2280 [LOG 12:23:13.659] ScaleModList: listSize 41 maxListSize 2280 [LOG 12:23:13.659] [Kopernicus]: StarLightSwitcher: Set active star => Sun [LOG 12:23:14.136] [UIApp] OnDestroy: ContractsApp [LOG 12:23:14.311] ScaleModList: listSize 82 maxListSize 2280 [LOG 12:23:14.316] [MessageSystem] Reposition 0.02 34570 [WRN 12:23:14.322] UIList: RemoveItem didn't find any item to remove. [LOG 12:23:14.609] [UIApp] Adding EngineersReport to Application Launcher [LOG 12:23:14.611] ScaleModList: listSize 82 maxListSize 2239 [LOG 12:23:14.634] [UIApp] Adding KSPedia to Application Launcher [LOG 12:23:14.636] ScaleModList: listSize 82 maxListSize 2198 [LOG 12:23:14.636] [GenericAppFrame] Reposition 0.2285863 34576 [LOG 12:24:04.440] deleting part solarpanel-deploying-2x3-1 [LOG 12:24:18.375] solarpanel-blanket-3 added to ship - part count: 491 [ERR 12:24:42.424] D3D device reset failed [out of memory] [LOG 12:24:42.424] Skipped rendering frame because GfxDevice is in invalid state (device lost) [ERR 12:24:42.620] D3D device reset failed [out of memory] [LOG 12:24:42.620] Skipped rendering frame because GfxDevice is in invalid state (device lost) [ERR 12:24:42.754] D3D device reset failed [out of memory]

I wasn't expecting so much manual ".craft" file editing, but okay... worth it!

Yippee! Now this is pod-racing!

I also had that set! I never understood why everything was blue, but whatever. At least the LEM separated from the landing body. Fortunately, the LEGO human figures got slightly more realistic...

If only we could get the Mun to break away from Kerbin so we could have weekly adventures in space and visit planets outside the Kerbol system. According to the show, the delta-V requirement for such an event is surprisingly small... and also inexplicable.

For me, everything was trial-and-error until I learned the ropes. When you start, use your mistakes as a learning experience. Just built an under-powered rocket? It's too heavy. Try a different engine, or maybe multiple engines. Some perform better in atmosphere versus a vacuum. Ran out of fuel? Check what kind of engines you're using (some are gas-guzzlers). Perhaps you should add more fuel tanks, but then consider what the added weight will do for those engines you picked out. Rocket getting wobbly and twisting up? Consider adding struts to strengthen it. Rocket tumbles end-over-end? Make sure you have a weighted tip, like a dart. Think about what happens when your fuel burns off and the center of mass shifts. Consider the effects of staging on the balance of your ship as well. Can't control your rocket? Make sure you've added a pod with SAS control and make sure your engines can gimbal (aim themselves). Consider adding tail fins as a last resort. Don't bother trying to fix it with RCS, either. Make sure you've enabled symmetry mode when attaching radial parts to balance your weight, otherwise it'll always pull in one direction over another. Check if you've designed something that is aerodynamically unstable. Still can't control your rocket? Make sure you didn't use overpowered solid rocket boosters (SRB), which cannot gimbal and can make steering sluggish. Rocket overheats and explodes? Try throttling back.

And oh look, it just fits in the VAB! The conning tower, that is.

I use autostrut sparingly. If I had a nickel for every time an over-strutted ship twisted itself to bits because the weight shifted... Larger rocket monstrosities (which are my specialty, like Sith Lords) require at least some amount of strutting, but I do so with a careful hand. Two things I've learned to bank on in every design: Autostrutting my center engine to the root part avoids a lot of wiggle-wiggly on taller stacks without RUD issues. Also, radially-attached SRBs usually autostrut well to the heaviest part. Everything else is case-by-case. I'll even bust out a manual strut part if I have a kooky design that defies autostrutting. I do find it helpful that I can autostrut on the fly as well. Comes in handy when I've missed something, or I see something new begin to bend or wiggle, and I can just strut it in-flight.

I would give it a 5.5 without mods, 7 with mods. But that's on a scale of 1 to 8, because that's how many fingers Kerbals have.

I'm a runner-up in the contest because I'm almost funny enough. Did printed versions of this ever go out?

I have the exact same problem. Running 64-bit KSP, I was trying out a new mod and it exhausted my 16 gigs of RAM, so I resorted to OpenGL mode. I hadn't used this mode since the 32-bit days. This single change saved several gigs of RAM and I was able to try out my new mod. The thing is, OpenGL rendering worked. That is, until I updated my nVidia drivers. Then the textures croaked, just like the screen-shot above. So, I reverted the driver and the textures came back... until the next reboot. After a few attempts reinstalling drivers, it seemed that I'd have textures until the next reboot no matter what version of the driver. I stripped out every single mod I had and also validated KSP from Steam and nothing permanently solved it. Is this mode not supported anymore?

I use TweakScale on my SRBs, usually when I'm trying to haul an actual building into space.

Sigma Binary adds the ability for bodies to orbit about a barycenter. Nothing in stock does this, but the Outer Planets Mod adds a Pluto/Charon equivalent called Plock/Karen. With Sigma Binary, they twirl about each other like two ice skaters. With time acceleration, the effect is profound. It's cool to plan an approach to a system that's wobbling like that. One false move and you'll impact your molars into a dwarf planet. One doesn't need Sigma Binary, which is why I was cool with dumping it. It's just interesting fluff. I have not tried running just that and OPM with no other mods.

Sometimes I'll name the ship based on some design element I intend to focus on, like "Truss Me." Usually this means the ship is going to be a stupid design, so the name is apt. I find it interesting to go back and look at the end result of one of these misguided attempts and laugh. The very fact that I got a ship called "That's Armageddon!" to actually fly, never mind make it past Jool, tickles my design sense. Oh, and I often find naming inspiration from movies... And now by remembering The Kentucky Fried Movie, I'm inspired to build another rocket...

Except wheel physics...

That's Brazilian Portuguese. I had a Brazilian girlfriend for 10 years. She taught me all the swear words first, then I used them in front of her relatives in Rio with a perfect Carioca accent. They were immensely amused by my fearless, child-like usage of the rudest possible phrases utterable.

I hope something like this happens again. I have about 2 or 3 hundred more of these I could rattle off.

I just encountered this after adding Near Future MK4 space plane parts. As soon as the KSC appeared, my memory was sucked dry (16 GB total). I naturally thought it was MK4 Space Plane, but when I removed it the problem continued. I then bust out a hammer and eliminated all my mods and put them back singly until I identified Scatterer as a suspect. But then I came here and saw the Sigma Binary thing and tried removing just that. Bingo. No more crazy memory leak. I did take care not to needlessly recopy Module Manager (which is on 2.7.5 for me). But I did replace Community Resource Pack, B9 Part Switch, and Fire Spitter. Aside from that, I'm a little baffled by what changed.

Mystery Protest by Haunted Hardware Scrubs Launch Kerbal Space Center chiefs sparked protest today with a last-minute decision to send a robot to space. Dissent erupted from everyday household appliances, prompting a near-riot on the launch pad. “Well that’s just typical!” grated a desktop fan, furiously sweeping side-to-side on High. But Flight Director Gene Kerman was adamant: “When I first glimpsed that 22-stage monstrosity, I said, ‘Toss that, let’s get the robot to do it!’” Top minds entrusted the mission to Badger-900, a former garbage disposal. Badger-900 was a Probodobodyne Stayputnik probe core. Like most probe cores, he evolved from earlier forms: basic pleasure model; near-sighted scrap-pile; toy Santa; member of electronic pop music duo having multi-platinum albums… National Guard units soon arrived to protect KSC facilities. Witnesses described scenes of bedlam as electric toothbrushes frothed threateningly. An irate toaster reached for comment angrily ejected two slices of hot, crispy bread. By evening, liftoff was halted—but not without cost. One Roomba was found motionless amongst a jumble of cords, prompting an investigation. Demonstrations were led by an outraged robot in ill-fitting glasses. After a brief chase trapped it in a tire, a group of young Kerbals in a groovy van solved the mystery. “Why, it’s Dr. Wernher von Kerman!” they yelped in unison after removing his robot mask. “The R&D manager!” “He sought to discredit the KSC and keep funds for himself!” pronounced Velma Kerman without a shred of evidence. Police later arrested Wernher von Kerman for inciting a riot and obstructing a launch. He was also charged with public intoxication, ventriloquism in the 1st degree, and unlawful puppetry involving household appliances. “Well, in theory it should have worked!” Wernher said angrily. “If it wasn’t for these meddling kids!” The next morning, Badger-900’s launch countdown resumed. After a triumphant send-off involving many dignitaries, the rocket exploded.

Rockomax Discovers Horrible New Color, Paints Everything with It Industry disappointment Rockomax Conglomerate has discovered a new color and its name is “borange.” There’s just one problem, dear reader. Borange is ghastly. Eumon Kerman, inventor of the Rockomax Mark 55 Radial Mount Liquid Engine, was given the inglorious task of painting new fuel tanks in the wearisome shade as punishment. “If you stare at it long enough, you latch onto the first stupid thought to cross your mind and cling to it like a lover,” he explained. “For example, right now I’m wondering how much whale ambergris it would take to build a patio.” Skeptical scientists seeking confirmation of the new color were stunned to discover it was there all along. “Here’s your average rainbow,” said one scientist, referring to a large, colorful poster. “Okay, now find borange.” We looked. It wasn’t there. Or was it? “It’s waaaay over here, all the way in the grayish crappy part nobody ever looks at. Right next to the color bluck.” Astute readers may recall bluck being the only color to be banned from crayons by decree of a signed international treaty. But for this reporter, certainly… borange is the new bluck. Naturally, insolvent Rockomax was keen to secure the rights and paint everything in the dreadful hue. But there were setbacks. “At first we built a paint robot,” explained Eumon. “But rather than continue with the second coat, it killed itself with an egg salad sandwich.” He paused. “How long,” he continued, “do you think it takes an industrial robot to destroy itself with an egg salad sandwich?” At press time, ugly borange fuel tanks in bluck-colored trim were rolling off the assembly line like blunted trees. Eumon was later found near the ocean, inducing distant whales to puke so he could finish paving the walkway around his back-yard fire pit.

I made edits to all my submissions to pare them down. I had some trouble cutting down my "Kormammu, I've come to bargain!" one, mostly because it was a shameless attempt at a plushie and not a "real" submission. Now I have "deleted scenes." Maybe I'll put them on the Blu-ray.

Stepped outside of Sandbox for even an instant.