AngrybobH

I override the friction and spring/dampers. I set the steering to 0.4 (keeps stress low on steering gear, prevents veering) and the non-steering wheels to 2.5, spring is, of course, variable depending on weight but, dampers I always set to 1.9 (2.0 seems to make them explode). I set the rear brakes to 200%. And, always remember that S-turns slow you down (as stated above). The art of landing is not so much flying as it is staying just below the speed you need to fly but above the speed that you have control. Landing is the hardest airplane skill to master. Edit: If your center of lift is far outside the center of mass nose dives are the way you will land unless you go for the ground at flight speed. Which the early landing gear will not handle.

I wrote a MM script for this (and other) purpose. It gives all crewed parts the science container ability, which I feel they should all have, and saves a part or 2. With that I can just bring 1x goo and 1x mat bay. The only tricky thing is landing to let Bob out to reset them. My biggest problem with the 30 parts is getting to orbit but once I get the first VAB upgrade I never notice a part restriction. I'd love to see an entire revamp of career mode. It could be my favorite mode because restrictions inspire innovation and feelings of accomplishment.

That is impressive.

My first Mun landing ended in a similar fate but not because of design but because of windows "sticky keys" pop up minimized the game. There were many expletives uttered about the "helpfulness" of windows. While it sucks that this ship crashed, I agree that they did a real good job getting that far and hope they make another attempt.

I don't remember actually. But, I think it was airplanes plus. I had that and some other airplane mods installed when I built that. I change mods quite often based on mood.

That pic makes me feel like I'm playing KSP with an extreme graphics mod.

Yeah, firespitter doesn't do it right, which is disappointing. Even with stock moving parts (search KSP forum for stock propeller), autorotation doesn't work very well or at all and counter torque still does not work. I suppose it might be possible to do a mod like you want but I'm really not sure KSP is capable of doing it well and not summoning the Kraken.

Not sure if it is what you are after, but, I use the firespitter mod for helicopter and prop plane parts. here a pic of the electric helicopter main rotor in action. note: some of the physics aren't simulated, like counter torque. No gears or janky stock KSP moving parts.

My hopes for 1.8 are for making the landed state of a vessel actually stable(I mean really this time) and fixing the spring dampers to actually work like like spring dampers instead of the physics breaking things we have now. sure, dampers are better than they used to be but they still need work. I like the idea of adding more science and planet surface exploration. I really do want a reason to visit places other than for the f...fun of it. I'd also take better graphics because ,apparently, I'm weird in that I built a computer for KSP(well for the...uh..fun of it too).

What kind of contact? just a radio signal (or any other long range communication method) that will take decades or more to receive a response, or aliens in a ship? Just a radio signal makes almost any question ok but, "how did you find us?" seems like a good one. Maybe we can learn something about detecting other civs out there. Aliens on a ship makes a toss up between "how does your ship work?" (so some of us can leave one day) and "Why did you bother coming here instead of some other place?" (because humanity is...well...humanity)

I modded the game within an hour or two because I couldn't dock and I was becoming frustrated. Docking port alignment tool was the first and I have used it so much I forgot that it wasn't stock. But, that can be said for a lot of the mods I use. Mechjeb was the next one because of dV readout and the SmartA.S.S. UI reminded me of a real flight computer. Then I fell down the mod rabbit hole and installed so many mods that I built a computer to handle it all instead of dropping some of them. Strangely, with the vast library of games I own and have played, KSP and Rimworld are the only games I mod. And I mod them quite severely.

I think this wouldn't be too bad of a job considering most, if not all, adjustments can be made with a MM patch. MM patches are easily modified to suit the end users needs/wants. I would be interested in a community agreed (or roughly agreed) upon balance pass. As for batteries and their weight, I don't know how KSP batteries compare to real ones in actual electrical terms and real density. But, these are the specs of a real lithium ion battery in use on a nissan leaf 403V 24kWh 140Wh/kg 2.5kW/kg 192cells 294kg(648lbs) The newer leaf (2019) has a better battery(supposedly) but nissan hasn't even given the full specs to the EV specialists yet (me). Since KSP uses nerfed values for tanks and engines(RS-25D vs KSPs SSME), I don't know what would be appropriate for the game.

I fully agree with everything @Ozymandias_the_Goat wrote. And, to add emphasis, stock station parts redux and KIS/KAS are ALWAYS installed in any KSP game that I start. I'd also include in recommendations universal storage, spaceY, and MKS. Though, MKS changes the game quite a bit, it does have some interesting rover parts and station parts.

On motorcycles/bicycles they call it rake but, yeah, same thing.

Complex space stations are more a function of how much computer you have and mods to provide parts and hold it together. How to get it there and assemble it is a fun (for me) problem to tackle but also depends on the mods you have installed. The most complex station I have built started as a small mun orbit platform for the easy transfer of kerbals and science to and from the surface. It turned into something else because of contracts to expand it were the easiest money at the time annd I was trying to fund a manned(kerbaled?) mission to Jool. This thing is over 400 parts and brings my current computer down to about 10FPS. Still playable but a bit stuttery (is that a word?). This was built from more than 15 launches. It didn't start complex but I build stations to always have expandability in mind. So, my advice is to start small and then add modules until your computer melts or you are satisfied with it.

I did the bicycle wheel test in my high school physics class. While holding a typical 10 speed bicycle wheel by handles on the axle and a classmate giving it a spin there is a very noticeable resistance to changing the orientation of the axle, even when the wheel is turning very slowly. so,

I just recently came back to KSP and decided to check out the unofficial continuance of FAR. So, I'm just building airplanes in sandbox mode that have no real purpose. Here's my favorite so far.

I have noticed the exact same behavior with 1.6 stock and slightly modded(6 mods). I would like to note that I did not play 1.5 at all but, I had the same problems in 1.4 and to a lesser degree in 1.3. I have also noticed it is worse when near a runway (any of them) and will get significantly better at a certain altitude(changes but usually about 2000m). Intermittently, dropping below that altitude near a runway reintroduces the z fighting. The dessert runway seems to do this more often (nearly always). Reloading the scene seems to always fix the issue.

This is problem I find almost unacceptable in movies or tv shows mostly because I am a mechanic. That and the fact that modern vehicles, with all their computers, draw a considerable amount of amperage even when off. Most modern vehicles won't have enough power to start after sitting in as little a 4 days. 2 weeks and even '90s cars won't start. Except that there are molds, fungus, and bacteria that can live in diesel. These can easily overwhelm the filter system that filters to 3 microns. Anything above 3 microns that gets into the injectors can damage them permanently because of small parts and insanely high pressures (200MPa). Also diesel engines can run(starting is harder though) on transmission fluid, motor oil, used cooking oil, etc but you have to be careful to check the PH. Too far from neutral can also damage the injectors and HP pump. Depending on storage, you can get water into the fuel from thermal cycling cracking and/or overwhelming seals(gasoline expands and contracts quite a bit). Water accelerates the separation of gasoline and what stays behind is basically lacquer that WILL require new parts to fix and there is water in your fuel already(more than you might think). Think about the problem of cleaning an 8mm ID, non-straight, 2 meter long piece of plastic (or soft metal) that is completely filled with solid dried lacquer without overbending or puncturing the part. Also, a vehicle fuel tank is not a good long term storage solution. It is open to atmosphere with the only interference being the activated charcoal evaporative emission canister, so water vapor is getting in.

because of this (from wikipedia) Titan's internal magnetic field is negligible, and perhaps even nonexistent.[25] and the fact that melting all that ice would probably result is the emission of far too many VOCs, Titan looks more like a fuel storage container than something to live on. Plus lots of oxygen and heat with that high of percentage of HCs doesn't sound like a good time unless you like singed eyebrows.

My nearly doomed (but saved!) Dres manned pioneer mission finally made it there. Jeb, Bob, and Bill made some footprints, planted a flag, and collected some science. The lander was designed for Duna. I didn't feel like making a new lander for Dres so, I sent this 2 stage thing. It turns out the spare fuel and more efficient engine it has will save the crew from running out of fuel. Laziness sometimes pays off. I then (because I was forced to use vacation days or lose them) obsessed over making a ridiculous SSTO that's basically a flying station. It has 4.6km/s dV, space for 20 crew, 5 years of supplies for a crew of 3, a removable front section with 1.7km/s dV and landing legs, a cargo hold with a returnable science drone, a mass over 200t, and a 200+ part count. Did I mention it was ridiculous? Here it is launching away from the sunset. And the underside. I might call it the "Nurnie" because it's a bit greebly. It flies ok as long as you don't get rough with it (or breath too hard on the controls). Its first test flight went to a 84km orbit and back. Landing was more like falling out of the sky in a (somewhat) controlled manner. But, in the end, it touched down and stopped(the important part) on the runway with all of its' bits intacted.

My Mun colony mission has been cancelled after 2 full years of operation. The parts down there are old and out of date and I need crew for an expanded minmus mining mission. So, brought all 31 of the crew home for a quick break (9 days) before I fling them into space again. Here's the last of them docking with the X10-b because the X10 is serving out the rest of its' days as a coral reef east of KSC and the X10-a is being refitted with a left wing and upgraded brakes. The X10-b can land safely but needs a couple of days turn around to reload the barf bags and clean the passenger cabin as re-entry is 'exciting'.

I haven't used the stock landing legs since I found the MKS mod. The landing legs in there are awesome but more like using structural parts than landing legs but has an action group you can tie to the gear button. The best feature though is the ground tether(I think KIS needs to be installed for this to work). Toggling the ground tether on locks your vessel to its spot so even when you reload your ship it doesn't fly away. It even works on hills. I think this is the intended purpose of stock legs.

I have to quote this as it's probably the best way to sum it up. Think about humanity as a whole, what percent of the population would be even willing to chance a ride on a rocket? Then, what percentage of them are useful enough to send to space? Then, what percentage to them could qualify physically and mentally to get the job done? If you qualify to go to space enough that someone would be willing to put you in a rocket with a job to do and then you go, you're an astronaut.

That is where I would start, if I was going to this project and I didn't want to just build it from scratch. That might be even better than scratch because it comes with its own programmable software that you didn't have to write. You should still reverse engineer how the switches are actuated to avoid issues and/or letting the smoke out of the board. Now I wonder how many of those you could hook up and have unique inputs from all the different buttons? I imagine the computer would just keep assigning space on the bus until you drew too many amps out of the USB power source. And now I wonder, how many amps can you draw from a USB port? How rediculous kerbalized could you get with something like this? If you used the USB power to trigger a transistor to turn on an auxiliary 5 volt supply you could have as many amps as you wanted....how far can you go? where is the limit? ugh, I should probably stop thinking about this before I start building things.