JoeSchmuckatelli

I remember really enjoying Caprica. I'll check out the reboot; don't remember seeing any of that

Not a build question: What are the dangers of 'sandboxing'? I went looking at a very popular mod for a different game I'm playing, and discovered the mod maker's page included some kind of sandboxing 'feature' that was likely borrowing processes for cryptomining (pure guesswork on my part; why else do others need to use your system resources???) So - is there a danger (mind you, not of downloading malware) of merely visiting a modder's site when they include browser sandboxing as a way to 'support' their work?

Nope.

This is a cool 'round up' of the New Horizons mission Most of the stuff on Pluto may be a review - but there are images of Akaroth that may be new to some

Having read @jorattoand @Snark's comments, and with what I know about the Kerbol system... I think they could do both. Although - I worry about changing the Kerbol system too much b/c of 'cannon'. The thing is... KSP did not force me to do anything 'in order'. I did not have to go to Duna before sending a probe to Jool. While I can see joratto's point, given that early missions /science requires me to be able to establish a Polar Orbit - and what is so different from that to changing inclination to match a planetary inclination? - it is, perhaps a step too far. Because when I have gotten to Minmus and gone for a Polar Orbit... I often run out of fuel. And if I have other things I wanted to do with the craft... Now I can't and have to run a different mission to 'rescue' it. Part of the fun - but Minmus is doable. If I had to capture at Jool, normalize the orbit to the inclination and then try to visit the moons - certainly it would be more realistic - but Gawd that sounds difficult for my skill level.

GRIN! I've already lost my son to FPS games - but I hope to capture my 12 yo daughter into the orbit of KSP2... While many people have 'oohed and aaahed' over the graphics and thingys shown thus far - comments like this are what I'm looking forward to the most in KSP2! Three cheers for the tutorials and writing team!

poop ... For a sat this small, would it have a pre-programmed entry/circularization burn for the satellite (presumes it remains functional & the problem is merely comms) -- or would it have to be initiated from Earth? (Guess what I'm asking - is this thing going to get flung off by the moon in a 'random' direction?)

One of the coolest KSP vids I've seen. Thanks! Can only hope KSP2 is similar!

LHC at CERN summoned the PentaQuark: Scientists at CERN observe three "exotic" particles for first time | Reuters Also - while the number of screens that one guy is using is impressive... please note the additional 'display' that proves why working in Europe is better than working in the US!

Why would those seams not have tiles?

Question for the pedantics: when describing the amount of starlight received at any given point on an exoplanet, will we need a different word than insolation? (Pluto)

Pedantically, there will be zero Solar systems.

I only started watching the Expanse this year - and really enjoyed it. Having finished the 6.5 seasons... I'm inclined to watch more good sci-fi. Unfortunately, I don't know what to look for. There is SOOOO much chaff out there. Tried "Dark Matter" and found it 'meh.' (Got through 2, maybe 3 episodes - does it get better???) Any other good 'space' themed Sci-fi? ... Or - any good scifi shows for that matter: I did really like 'Dark' a German sci-fi series. (Although "Dark" while fantastic - is not 'space') HIGHLY recommend watching this in the original German (w/subtitles where necessary). This was an unexpectedly compelling show and I really enjoyed it. (Do yourself a favor and DON'T read up on this; let yourself discover it along the way!) Really, at this point I'll take any recommendations for good, compelling stories.

Google magnetar, solar magnetism and Earth's magnetic fields... You will find a lot of information

That is one of the (ahem) drivers for autonomous vehicles. There exists a job that industry cannot get people to do cheaply. Yes, one solution is to pay people more to do the work and another is to develop a way to automate it. https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.nytimes.com/2022/06/04/business/truck-driver-shortage-support.amp.html Note: I'm not advocating for this (I have family who drive), but it does appear that the change could be inevitable, and the effects broadly felt and transformative

@joratto Snark is absolutely correct. These forums are the playground of the experienced - especially these latter days - chock full of players who have SSTO toured every body and found every Easter Egg and proudly display stickers showcasing their accomplishments. But There are players like me who have only ever made it as far as Minmus (regularly) and who might have only thrown a probe at 1-2 other planets. Lots and lots and LOTS of people who flew and blew up rockets and maybe built a few planes and then couldn't figure out how to get to the Mun. (my kids, for example - and lots more people I've crossed paths with on various forums) The game is HARD, man! The players who 'get it' just get it, and many of the best intentioned players who try to help folks like me cannot grasp why I can't figure out how to do what they say I should do. Take a player who has a solid maths and physics background: they probably don't remember when they learned what they currently know - and then take a player who struggled with and stopped learning math with Algebra 2. The two players likely speak different 'languages' when talking about how to play the game (in English). The 'maths' player understands TWR and Isp and other stuff. The non-maths guy (me) has had that explained time and again by well intentioned maths guys - and I still don't get it. Instead, I simply Neanderthal it by defaulting to a build where each stage has a TWR above 1.1 (the higher the better). TWR for me is intuitive. Isp is something that other people get and I have to trust them that it matters - but it STILL makes no sense to me. Something, something, efficiency, something - probably about fuel, ah screw it, slap on a bigger tank and engine and see if it can get to orbit and maybe dock it and fuel transfer and maybe it will get there. Truth: my default lander engine is and remains the Thud. A pair of Thuds just works. Probably because of vectoring. I think every Kerbin to anywhere engine is a Poodle. My 1st stage is something so overbuilt that it can launch a science filled lander with a pair of Thuds and a orbit transfer craft with a Poodle and enough fuel to orbit, land and return to Kerbin all in one go. I literally cannot tell you how many players have given up trying to help me because I cannot 'understand the words coming out of their mouth'. I'm not being intentionally stupid... Its just that they might as well be speaking Martian. Something, something, Isp, Twitch, Spark, efficiency, something - screw it, Thud works. The challenge I hope the KSP2 crew ( and folks like @Just Jim_) succeed in accomplishing is helping the Neanderthal Enthusiasts like me to be able to understand some of the more advanced concepts and to be able to get to the other planets and systems. And I can tell you from experience... That won't be easy.

Compare modern warship maneuvers vs super tankers for example. Certainly, one has advantages over the other. The point above about thrust / felt-forces in line with the main engines should not be glossed over. You're not going to do much with bow thrusters to turn a ship - you're gonna flip the main engines around and burn There is a few scenes in the last two seasons of the Expanse that show this

Couple of thoughts by the resident Neanderthal: 1. The ship you are chasing / hoping to dock with is in orbit - meaning it's following a curved trajectory around the planet / moon / sun. Military pilots flying combat aircraft know that if you cut inside the target craft's turn you are shortening your path and thus closing. Pretty sure that most pilots reduce throttle when they want a tighter turn - so the 'slow down to speed up' thing isn't that great of a leap. Given that the first space pilots came from the military - that 'resident knowledge' should not be ignored. 2. Most of the real world space maneuvers involve strictly limited amounts of fuel to perform any action... So techniques that can accomplish the goal with the least fuel expense are preferable. If you can do a short burn, drop into a tighter orbit and use gravity to help you close and another couple of short burns to match your target... All the better. 3. If you are positing a completely sci-fi ship with effectively infinite power - your constraints will be different. Thus the solutions are not restricted by the real world. Example: Belter Ice Mining Tug is diving on a hard burn trajectory (burn, flip, burn) for Mars Station to cash in on the current market prices - your Pirate captain isn't going to finesse it. She's going to cut inside the curve because of geometry - but may burn harder to get an intercept, disable the Tug, grapple it, and then burn extra hard to turn both crafts away from the waiting Martian Coasties. Both pilots have to play the geometry game because the Belt and Mars are in ballistic, gravity controlled (and thus curved) orbits - but once she has control of her Prize, with infinite thrust she no longer has to conform to what we are currently used to.

My point is that the sites that report about games don't have anything accurate / anticipatory about the release window. I don't disagree with you about the quality of IGN (and would add 'not a console game and other pejoratives) I'd just think that a studio with a marketing department and a definitive window (1Q 2023? 1H 2024?) would have let game news sites have that info and be sure it was getting out to fans. (Don't forget - we, here, are a voluntary captive audience... But there are far more people with wallets out there that might want to buy the game then there are those of us who camp these forums... And they are the target of game news sites)

KSP 2 doesn't even make it on IGN's "TBA" Upcoming PC Titles Video Game Release Dates: Biggest Games of 2022 and Beyond - IGN Sure, if you search IGN for KSP2, you get a page that shows TBA 2022... Kerbal Space Program 2 - IGN but... well... Edit: In other places, IGN writes: The problem is that they're not even bothering to update their own page with KSP2 info they have...

The opportunity to go largely faded and they're still enforcing some unnecessary covid restrictions (no bus tours) that made it less than a draw. If I'm ever stopping in the area in the future I'll check it out... Just not happening this time (mix of 'shrug' and 'sadface')

Mods - I'm okay with merging this with my 'Lounge' post and letting them both stagnate. Thanks for the indulgence!

US Government Lab TOTALLY DENIES having created portal to other dimensions. https://www.pcgamer.com/lab-denies-opening-portals-into-parallel-universes-despite-everyone-thinking-so/ Government shill "researcher" makes a video to explain away Stranger Things. Or something

So it turns out that the tour bus is canceled because of Covid (or rather, remains canceled). The bus ride around Kennedy was a highlight of the trip... There are museums open. The museum at Kennedy was cool and I can hope that the museum at Marshall would be, too. But it's not enough of a draw to get the kids and She Who Must be Indulged to make a significant detour. Kinda disappointing. Thanks folks.