Gojira1000

If only because there are minor references to previous story events, 1-2-3-NV is probably the best bet. The games could be played in any order, however, without it being terribly confusing. As the protagonist in 4 starts off not having a clue what the world is like, you could start there just fine. As I think about it, only in 2 and NV does the protagonist know (in a general way) what the heck is going on.

http://forum.kerbalspaceprogram.com/threads/52080-Basic-Aircraft-Design-Explained-Simply-With-Pictures

"Settings" has a sig controls - upper right of your screen

If I recall correctly (I'm stuck at work) the shuttle was my basic "Bee"

Well that mostly worked. Lovely little stock scooter deserved a better pilot. A bit sluggish, really: http://images.akamai.steamusercontent.com/ugc/648876990480686045/B5E6B14299DD9D50323A8C811A0E44C661484B08/ Completely overdid the orbit: http://images.akamai.steamusercontent.com/ugc/648876990480689673/69DAB954090AF3D31BC228DCA8FAF74D57E1FC28/ Oh yeah. Too much: http://images.akamai.steamusercontent.com/ugc/648876990480687440/C5FFD34BBF8B7EA67B2787F7592FC007EA5471BB/ Valentina actually looks a bit embarrassed, as the KSP center is, um, another 60 kilometers from here. Gonna take some walking. http://images.akamai.steamusercontent.com/ugc/648876990480690326/7BE07E64D5A4CFA0594778ED5B86729AA3605507/ (I feel for her, she'd have had plenty of excess jet fuel if I hadn't spun the plane on takeoff because I forgot to action-group the toggle and tried to manually switch engine modes during the ascent - frisbee spins at 1400m/s are interesting) I guess a win is a win.

That really does sound like time acceleration is on. Especially with the "cannot click" issue

Ditch one or two of those materials bays, as a capsule, the lil SRB and a single mat bay will descend safely (just) on a single chute, even with a vertical launch. Probably lose the second set of fins as well, just use the ones on the SRB itself. You'll need a gentler angle of descent, especially once you have bigger boosters. Try pitching over a bit if it'll let you with no control surfaces. Oh derp that's a Hammer not a Flea, nevermind, one chute won't do the job.

1 - Build light 2- Build simple 3 - Be ready to break rules 1 and 2 when it's more fun 4 - Science is easy, don't bother with the mods that add more instrumentation or you'll max your tech tree too quickly 5 - Outer Planets is a lovely mod. So is KW Rocketry if you like lofting huge hunks of junk. 6 - A lotta hate for poor MechJeb in some comments. I played my first 100+ hours without MJ, and learned how to do everything, but I have to admit I love having the little plastic case welded to my ships. It doesn't do anything better than an actual player piloting (and you have to watch it like a hawk (or usually just not use it) during launches and landings and rendezvous) but it's perfectly handy for doing a lot of the repetitive grunt-work while you go make a cup of tea. Besides, its Delta-V display is incredibly useful. 7 - ALT > and ALT < are your friends. Usually.

I have yet to melt a NERVA system on burns of 10 minutes+ (I have managed some lovely glow, though) - I always pair 2 small or one medium radiator per engine (or a small + a gigantor).

I probably should have introduced myself here prior to posting a challenge, but as a long-time lurker I already felt at home. Anyway, brilliant game, great community. At 500+ hours in on KSP, I'm still discovering endless possibilities. 10/10 would blow up on launch again

It would be hard to score this. Mikki is leading in my mind with speed and the space shuttle, also the sexiest Vette with the proper number of headlights, but it'd be opinion rather than points, really. Anyone who can drive away is a winner in my book!

The shuttle launch made me grin - the badge is yours, Mikki. And I like the Kerbvette. That was textbook SuperHard Metal Mode. (And man, my car-building skills for lithobraking are puny compared to you guys (but I bet my Vette was a lot lighter ))

Oh dear. I think I need to go to Duna and do some off-roading. Edit: 32 tonnes. Perfect. Packed with RTGs. Solar power is for wimps. http://images.akamai.steamusercontent.com/ugc/648876353318150203/80415392F97197073BCE4D3EC0F2DD96C477DFD6/ OK, maybe that was a bit heavy. Bill just blew up the launchpad. http://images.akamai.steamusercontent.com/ugc/648876353318153721/A70A7F27CE28E270B274ABDE3BD7765F916113CE/ And off to Duna, where we handily make orbit. Wait a minute ... we're going the wrong way. HANDBRAKE TURN! http://images.akamai.steamusercontent.com/ugc/648876353318169267/85B90C128BA1A9BDBFA6EDB17A512D85FC293082/ http://images.akamai.steamusercontent.com/ugc/648876353318170406/C4C43395E075AA13514D85DDD593C7AA36B6C433/ http://images.akamai.steamusercontent.com/ugc/648876353318171407/643065F6A415FD2E4A92D820B8A2419734E8C987/ Thanks, Ike! This can only end well http://images.akamai.steamusercontent.com/ugc/648876353318172816/E64EB3FC716CCB5DA4135F1D115A75AADBB934F6/ Oh god it steers like a pig http://images.akamai.steamusercontent.com/ugc/648876353318176294/C3DE40589A06FABED86900C6701D30AFB1663B89/ After fixing the first full set of landing-induced flats, Bill "Mark Whatney" Kerbin raises a flag he'll be returning to - and turns his eyes north. (Actually I think he's looking southwest. He's an engineer, damn it, not a pilot. Give him a break.) http://images.akamai.steamusercontent.com/ugc/648876353318181565/2F006B72B891602941080B68BFEA647CA002B393/ Now the work begins. Log of Bill Kerbin, Day one: Made camp at an elevation of over 5000 meters in the most annoying mountains ever seen. The Agamemnon is rugged and reliable, but with a flat-terrain top safe speed of 15 m/s I'm afraid I may run out of snacks. I spent the first 50 kilometers burning off the left-over landing fuel by leaving one of the four engines running on its lowest setting. That got the rover's GVW to just under 20 tonnes. No noticeable performance improvement. Next time I'm making a dune buggy. I hope Jeb remembers to pick me up. Climbing into the mountains as night sets in: http://images.akamai.steamusercontent.com/ugc/648876353322057463/71C2FA9426E75B8EFE417302691F5DC70102692D/ Progress! http://images.akamai.steamusercontent.com/ugc/648876353322059048/F039D1197B57DC63B87BA14A5A7AC1CD1DB3B561/ Log of Bill Kerbin, Day 2: Well, that was exciting. I need to change my spacesuit after descending from the 7,100-meter Bill's Pass to the northern midlands six kilometers below. Note to self - brakes next time. Dawn is breaking, but I'm tired. Camped in the edge of some lovely crisp Co2 snow. I wonder if I can make a snow-Kerbal? How do you descend a 7000-meter mountain with no brakes? Ask an engineer! http://images.akamai.steamusercontent.com/ugc/648876514421114283/860FA924A6F1EC2A2130CCD551E33BFA49A56525/ Oh, dear. The Kraken visited so thoroughly it managed to blow up my Rover in a way that negated it from the save file. Relaunched a new rover and - same result. I may have to put his on hold until 1.05 (or probably just a reinstall) Poor Bill. Thankfully, he's alive in the alternate universe that arrived with a "start new sandbox" game. Sad, though, was 1/3 of the way around Duna.

Heh, it looks a bit more like a Jeep, but it drives

That's a combo hard/superhard - no space shuttle but the vehicle made it to 10 m/s - I say you get a badge I'm amazed you had that much vehicle left! - - - Updated - - - Ah my bad - it's on Kerbin, as it's meant to be a retread of the Heavy Metal intro.

And here's a lovely flaming skull badge for any survivors. Well, not "lovely" but well-meant.

Reposting as the original seems to be broken for some reason - I can't even delete the thing. Improper Re-entry: The Heavy Metal Challenge This is a relatively simple challenge (and probably not badge-worthy, though if someone manages the "SuperHard" mode version I'll craft a suitably metal award) Anyway, after dropping Bill onto the Mun in his new rover, I realized that it might just be possible to re-enact the intro section from the animated Heavy Metal movie. If that's not something you are familiar with, you can see it here: Limitations: The car (a Kerbvette, of course) can have no engines of any sort, no aerodynamics or control surfaces and must be made of stock parts. You can throw in a small reaction wheel (which will help you very little) if you like. You can mount one chute to the rear, but (as per the intro) cannot deploy it until AFTER you hit the ground. Because that's more metal. No massive tractor tires, just regular puffy pnuematic probe tires. No landing legs. Nothing you wouldn't normally see on a car, in fact. The Kerbvette starts on orbit at 90,000 to 120,000 meters. You'll have to use your delivery ship to apply re-entry burn before separation as the car can have no delta-V. The car does need to be crewed by just one Kerbal, in the driving seat. It does have to be a convertible - so no nice protective roof. Easy Mode: Land the Kerbvette in the desert and the pilot survives. Hard Mode: Launch the Kerbvette from a space shuttle in the appropriate manner, land in the desert, survive. SuperHard Metal Mode: As hard mode, but have the Vette be drivable at speed (10 m/s) after landing. Also have it look like vaguely like a Corvette for extra points and a badge with some sort of flaming skull. The following are me managing Easy mode (barely). I trust others will do better! Launch: http://images.akamai.steamusercontent.com/ugc/642120405097172087/DC11378294D4CDD0050A4C389FEE70903E11024F/ Orbit, Jeb takes the wheel: http://images.akamai.steamusercontent.com/ugc/642120405097174948/D432CA299C713D13A64B1B2D742CF6AFD98B5CEF/ Separation: http://images.akamai.steamusercontent.com/ugc/642120405097177354/EFFD5F5520B0A3BA55986EE4A69408233AD19647/ I'm sure your Kerbvette will look better: http://images.akamai.steamusercontent.com/ugc/642120405097178847/C350347F3042E44A09F6A96AAD569EFB1001B2CC/ Re-entry: http://images.akamai.steamusercontent.com/ugc/642120405097183005/BADAA8A9C8F95C421665F5E62A98D5378AF08C7A/ Issues: http://images.akamai.steamusercontent.com/ugc/642120405097186657/2AE4B5CBC522EC88F38C74C5F671CF3C4A240F25/ Final approach (attitude issues): http://images.akamai.steamusercontent.com/ugc/642120405097189324/AA4D6AD7945FD5C6D086D53FBD11A05A72D34E9B/ Landing: http://images.akamai.steamusercontent.com/ugc/642120405097192208/18FCDC562B51C7D9E1573947D534E4058FA3FBD7/ Checking the car: http://images.akamai.steamusercontent.com/ugc/642120405097195115/4CD365E8A15479CBD98CEF168199C063AC688B9B/ Sadly, I didn't get to pop the drag-chute as there weren't any controls left in the car after touchdown.