Socraticat

So bummed. As much as I feel like I'm being massaged when we get "Feature Updates" instead of news on Bugs and Performance, I still enjoy the massage. I like to see the frilly stuff they try to distract with. A photo of someone taking a photo is neat, but it's not news. We know they've been working on thermals. My hope, or what some may see as naive optimism, is that the Devs are fully aware that the only thing that will fix the fiasco is delivering in a big way. Like, why come out and tell people again that the orbital decay bug from 0.1.0.0 is still a huge problem? The next update is going to be awesome... It has to be and they know it, which is why they settled for such an effortless metapost about thermals- because they don't want to come out with anything else until they have something to show that they can deliver what's been promised. The cynic in me feels differently. If they come out with Thermals before fixing orbital decay I'll be completely dissapointed. After having watched the launch since February I'm afraid they might use thermals as a distraction to a far bigger problem- Every bug that currently exists has the potential to take as long as orbital decay... and that's just part of the basic gameplay loop. They put out new parts and there's now new bugs on top of the previous ones... I can't keep track of them anymore and I feel like the same is true for the bug tracking on the forum.

That's definitely flying with style! If this was my build, this would be my next steps: I usually try to get my SSTOs to use airbreathing mode as long as possible- usually up to 20k. Whiplash engines are my preference, paired with enough air intake for high speed high altitude flight. Gotta scoop up the little bits of air like an atmospheric whale up to 1,000 m/s. I'd cruise to just before AP with the lauch vessel before letting the "SSTO" go (Although the decoupling seems like a second stage) and keep the ascent profile at 10-20*. The air above 20k is too thin, so oxidizer is necessary. If you choose this profile the "SSTO" Doesn't need Rapiers to switch modes, which may reduce how much Liquid Fuel you need to pack on the SSTO. I wouldn't light the NERV until your Ox is burned out. The higher you can go before lighting it, the more DV you'll have for extraplanetary moves. Landing with less than 1.0 TWR on the Mun is another story. You can land on the Mun with a NERV, but it's easier if you can get into a super low orbit first and zero out your lateral velocity. Unfortunately there's a bug that makes that... difficult. Disclaimer, I have yet to get an SSTO to the Mun on it's own. I'm close to a Flyby. I'm excited for thermals to be added to the game- The airbreathing portion of the SSTO profile can get quite hot; I'd like to see just how fast we can go in atmo before burning up. Good fun.

I have some 80+ published KSP2 videos. Many are shorts, some are longer. Some are interplanetary but none come from a long running save. The thousand cuts analogy is perfect for this game right now. I want to make more content- I'd like to do more cinematic stuff and some tutorials. But at this point there are a few things slowing me down... I have some 80+ vids already; It's safe to say I enjoy the game and have had a time with what's available. My latest plans have been bogged down with lagging performance with larger ships, and when you play to make content this reduces the amount of takes Speaking of takes... bugs lead to several more takes than I have time for lately. Especially with lagging performance. Some bugs have even ended a particular recording session, leading to a loss of that muse. I want to load the game up- I did yesterday... but the camera was bugged to be slow, like the capture commands were leaking, and I realized I was going to need yet another new save file to get some clean play. I'm ready to wait for that new campaign. For now I'm stepping back and waiting at least for the orbital decay bug to be fixed. I'd also like to be able to expect crafts I undock from to remain in the orbit I left them in, or for surface vessels to not be ejected once I'm 100m away. It's great that Mr. Lowne has summed it up for the larger audience- A simple Mun mission is fraught with struggles, even for experienced players. I particularly enjoyed that he stuck with it and finished the mission. The game is a hot mess, but I hope that one thing is cleared up: The game is playable. Not zen, not polished, not immersive, not fun for everyone- Just playable.

I enjoyed every moment in this thread. Superb!

After floating through deep space for some time now, I can say that some coordinates and adventures are more fraught with krakenous terror than others. As captain and leader of my Kerbal crew, I can't in good conscience send more Kerbals off for interplanetary missions while R&D is still unsure why rapid-unplanned-disassembly and navigation errors persist. HQ has limited the "OneOscar" program to local missions around Kerbin. The crowds stopped showing up for the airshows... the people want more than the Mun. They want it all... Since everyone is scheduled and waiting for clearance to travel to Jool, most of the Kerbals are on Holiday, spending time with their loved ones and fur babies (yeah, some are kapybaras), reading the constellations and enjoying the terrestrial joys of being miles away from large quantities of explosive substances. Meanwhile, Bob, proud of his resolve and dedication to the scientific process, is the only one on the launchpad today. He's on a mission to show that the "OneOscar" program, while laying low in anticipation of a great breakthrough in QA, is ready- on call and broadcasting support for all things kerbal. FLY SAFE

Well, it's a great game... It could be the right game... just posted in the wrong thread.

So there I am, testing out my MK3 VTHL when all of a sudden... I'll be back when this craft is done baking in R&D. As is, its payload capacity is N/A. Felt pretty good about the landing so I had to share. It was a big milestone in my development process.

Magrathea!

This thing is so cool! I'm having fun with spaceplane experiments today, but this looks like a fun alternative...

Ike and Gilly are both pretty cool. Ike because it's familiar, yet different than Mun or Minmus, and not too far away. Gilly for something new- it's like everything is in slow motion there. Also, jumping is a viable way to launch for orbit on Gilly, lol.

Quirky, sometimes frustrating. It's like mango-habanera wings- the first bite is amazing, but every bite after that requires enduring the neverending sting of self inflicted suffering. To some It's a challenge too sweet to ignore; Others just really like spicy stuff. They add it to everything. Some people even do spicy for their career... To others It's just not their flavor. KSP2 is spicy. I like it. ...but I also like teriyaki. I do get tired of habanera.

Are you looking for this video's part One?

Finally back at my desktop, enjoying a little flight practice. Here's a little something-something for the official "Airshow" thread: This should cover primary goal and Tim C. Level challenge. In my previous post I shared an Outside Immelman, Followed by an S-turn to double down on the Bridge. I don't know if all of that lingo checks out, but it'll have to do for now. Maybe there's a hammerhead stall here at the end, but it's weak. More of an intentional turn rather than a full stall- I suppose I could really assess the navball to find out back in the editor. I've done a barrel roll before, but I found it to be super challenging without a stick. In fact, it was so tough I dedicated a mission to mating the maneuver with a demonstration by BruceAir (a way cool channel I happened upon doing research for the maneuver). I won't do a barrel roll again without stick support. Since I don't intend to add to this weekly challenge unless by request, I'll go ahead and add my Ultimate Bridge Challenge submission- the only other published flight of mine under the garage bridges. I had considered attempting the Val Level goal; I captured a failed attempt where I stalled too hard before coming at the bridges from oceanside. I had already cleared the R&D Bridge loop- but was concerned with fuel consumption. I'm certain that there's enough DV left to add the Val Level challenge to the above posted submission. Range is the most difficult mission parameter for a "OneOscar" Biplane.

@TwoCalories Thanks for the appreciation! The "Rival" was the "OneOscar" Program's response to the "Fastest under the Bridge" Challenge- the resulting vessel was named "Thread" While the OneOscar was fast without the limiter on the Whittle engine, the program couldn't compete without expanding both fuel and thrust options. The program focused on high-speed milestones with "Thread", a "Rival" so-to-speak, of all of the other challengers in the F.U.tB. Challenge. "Thread" is a "OneOscar" prototype support vessel for the program. By itself, the vessel does not meet "OneOscar" criteria, but the lead scientists all assured us that the vessel would make a fine delivery vessel for the "OneOscar" Program's future. The delivery vessel was made, tested, and is awaiting HQs approval for public release. As far as Bill is concerned, he is fine. "OneOscar" Biplanes are known for their high rate of survival at sub 40 m/s collisions. It turns out Bob had simply toggled fine control when he meant to cut engines, resulting in an embarrassing tumble and a few bruises. If you post a submission of yourself in a "OneOscar", you too can be part of the Fan Club! If you flew it for Weekly #19 why not post some of your awesome acrobatics here:

Kraken of Unicorns...

I can help you build one very specific plane... the method scales for larger vessels.

I am so curious to see what kind of craft you like to make in Kerbal. There ya go. It might not have all the parts you want or look exactly how you want it, but it's absolutely possible. This is not an SSTO, but it's the widest I've made in game. It took off on first launch: Very few parts here. I think this was 0.1.0

It's not about which side, it's about which direction. If you go against the celestial's rotation it's more expensive to land and take off since you are also adding the celestial's rotational velocity at the surface to your maneuver cost. It is so much better to land, dock, or do anything else on the bright side of a planet though, so it's nice to keep both the celestial's rotation and bright side in mind when planning.

You tried and failed, and then you tweaked. You were able to do the thing, it's just not to your expectations. What do you consider to be large? Why do you need 80 ton wings? Are you willing to post your failure for criticism? How are we to believe it's game error and not user error? I help at least one person a week who admits they didn't know the game as well as they thought. I'm not saying this is you... but would you be willing to share your work? I'm curious how you "broke" the game. Of course large planes take longer, they should. Yeah, it should be faster to get to your final iteration in 1.0, but saying you can't "just build" an SSTO and have it work is a bit of a stretch. Every craft has it's own challenges. Add to that KSP2 will always feel different than KSP1. You can build a large SSTO and have it work. Especially if you know the parts and game well (that is to say you know it well enough in its current state). The bigger issue for me is large vessels and the part lag. At 400 parts, doesn't matter what parts they are for me, the game starts to lag seriously; every iteration from that point (for now in Early Access) is an effort in trying to make the best choices to reduce the number of iterations before launch. It just takes too long.

I can't disagree with you more. You absolutely can. Especially after the latest update. The craft I shared above was built before 0.1.2, and Rapiers were still bugged at the time (wouldn't reactivate after reaching vacuum).

I took a trip to laythe in a thing I called the "Pontoon". It carried another SSTO on it that is also Kerbin Capable. That cargo SSTO carried a "OneOscar" SG model.

If you have DV you should be able to set up a maneuver node. Set Mun as target Select maneuver node and adjust prograde until your projected trajectory meets the Mun's orbit. You can move the maneuver node around your current orbit to see where you'll get a Mun Intercept. You'll find that in the sweet spot in LKO looking prograde, when the Mun is in front of you [target marker near prograde], is the time to burn for Mun. The same is true for Minmus, for the most part, but there is also an inclination change to deal with.

That's a strange issue. I've never heard or had that problem before. I've also never heard of career mode in KSP2, so I think you meant to post in KSP1 help?

Why is this on my travel week... I'll submit something just for this challenge when I get back, but this is literally my Jam, so I'm putting these three vids here now. Inverted flying challenge, looping the R&D Bridge twice, once inverted: I managed to fly under the R&D bridge over 900m/s twice in one flight, then landed it: And my demonstration of a "Cobra Maneuver": The "OneOscar" Program built itself from the ground up with airshows... when I'm done, you'll need a challenge named after me... I'm coming for this challenge in 2 weeks. Mark my words...

Bill and Bob had discovered they had made a huge mistake. Minmus (which they had been calling Mini-mus) was not a small as the name they had been calling it would have implied. They had a great course plotted, but they decided to abandon the mission in favor of a more "OneOscar" appropriate target- Gilly. If Small Steps lead to Big Adventures, then the Small Steps on Gilly should equal Giant STEPS anywhere else! The scientists all agreed- Eve would be easy for Bob and Bill to navigate to. Also, Gilly was small enough that Bill was certain he could circumnavigate the celestial before the ran out of snacks on the rover (totally not what happened on Minmus). And thus the "OneOscar" Program said with resounding noise from very far away "We Can Make More Than Biplanes!" Bob and Bill had made wondrous headway in gaining followers for the Space Program- the demonstrations of arial prowess would continue to amaze while the wrinkly brained kerbals put in effort in the VAB to fulfill the next most highly criticized component of the space program- Return missions. Bob made a point to record Bill on both Minmus and Gilly, but failed to record the trip home. Come to think of it... I'm not sure how they got home either... anyway... Feeling bold about the trip to Gilly, I imagined many scenarios of Kerbals on celestials, claiming a space as their own and photosynthesizing snacks as necessary, but It was not the the wish of all of the Kerbals. While some wanted to stay, others wished to return home. So the practice began... With a need for more experienced pilots, I decided to train more Kerbals into the program, but since time is limited I graduated them all at once- by having them fly under the bridge tied together: The ceremony was so effective in enlisting pilots that I decided to write into the schedule more regular graduation ceremonies; There will be a graduating class for every update greater than a Hotfix. This should fill the ranks fast enough to populate the Kerbolar system with "OneOscar" Planes and "OneOscar" Pilot scouts, ready to lead their similarly intrepid brethren to colonize every celestial, even if it is just to set up an inconvenience shop that sells novelties and trinkets. As was promised by PR, a flight to the Mun provided the Program with all of the practice it required to write an adequate S.O.P. for return trips, should Kerbals Desire them. There was a little bit of an argument between the two friends, but once the flag was planted, Bill and Bob were completely reinvigorated and resolved to return to KSC and beat on their chests in a show of force for more snacks. They did get home, but they were laughed at for trying to pull some primitive scare tactics on the lunch lady. The trip also provided the footage necessary for another one of the "OneOscar" Program's new mottos: "Dude, chill out..." Not many people were impressed with the new Motto, although many did enjoy seeing Bob and Bill finally follow through with their return footage. The "OneOscar" Space Program is currently working on a mission to Jool. Data has indicated that Jool's five moons are highly sought after real estate. While the "OneOscar" program does not have the resources to buy entire celestial bodies, HQ has come up with the brilliant idea to set up a showroom on each of those 5 moons- legal is currently sorting out who stays, and who returns as the official Jool Ambassador. While HQ and Legal sort out the roster for the trip, engineering is hard at work developing the newest vessel in the "OneOscar" Fleet- "Jewelies" The vessel is still in development- there is debate about the final arrangement of the center segment meant to hold both a return vessel and extra-fuel (HQ needs to determine the number of Kerbals requesting return trips). Some say it's too uncomfortable to travel to other planets outside of a cabin in a grumble seat. Others respond with the flabberghasted retort, "DV doesn't go on treed, you know?!". Every candidate is currently on the schedule to be briefed about the mission and its... ethical considerations. In the meantime, while some Kerbals decide their fates, the rest are testing subassemblies for the trip and practicing maneuvers around Mun and Minimus. If you care to join in the practice, these tutorials were made just for you and your friends- From you friendly "OneOscar" Emcee, Me, Socraticat. Speaking of E=Emcee funk, if you're into that underground radio vibe, look no further than the Wizard's Broadcast- Be warned, the sights in that link may spoil your worldview that we are alone... it is... anomalous...