Geonovast

I didn't take any screenshots, since it didn't seem relevant at the time. Some of you may know (but probably not) that I'm fine-tuning my third generation of space shuttle. For the most part, things are going well. I've finally got three separate versions of the shuttle designed and ready for testing, and I'm doing the first launch test now. The shuttle is about the size of the short-lived Gen 2 shuttle, so I'm using the same launcher, since that worked very well. (I could hit prograde at 100 m/s and the thing would nearly put itself into orbit with only needing a 30-40 m/s circularization, no control or computer input, with a 40 ton payload). But I could not get it to orbit. Not only could I not get it to orbit, but getting above 30km was a chore, and it would just start coming back down. Tried the prograde setting, empty cargo bay, nothing I did seemed to matter. Now, I had recently installed Throttle Controlled Avionics, because in orbit, the SSMEs didn't quite line up the CoT and CoM. I just wanted smoother burns in orbit. After playing with the mod a bit, I decided it wasn't for me, and I uninstalled it. Note: Uninstalling TCA does not remove its Thrust Limit settings on your stored craft. The launcher for this shuttle uses 10 vector engines. 4 on the main tank, 3 on each booster. Of those 10, only 4 were still set at 100%. 2 were set around 70%, two set around 25%, and the other two were at 9 PERCENT. The two 9s were on the main tank. A couple sliders later, and I'm in orbit waiting for my 56 m/s circularization burn...

1/10 I don't think that's you.

First poll option: I'm playing KSP 1.4.0 or earlier and don't own the Expansion

Don't forget GoG as an option too. Welcome!

...I think it finally clicked why the shuttle did a roll maneuver! I don't think anything has just clicked out of the blue like that since I finally understood subnet masking.

I'm not seeing that functionality. I downloaded a fresh copy, and fired it up in an otherwise stock game. No option. Thinking maybe it was an IFS issue, I went to that thread and made sure I got the newest version just in case there was an issue with the bundled one. Still not seeing it. Is there something I might be missing?

Would it be possible to get a completely empty Mk3 Service Bay in the interim? I don't need switchable anything, but I could really use an empty one for my shuttles. Wouldn't even need nodes inside. Thanks for all your work!

If you're more of a visual learner:

Yeeeeessss! Here's today's Paramore injection for your pleasure.

It's gonna be really fun to have 32 ships in physics range at the same time.

No non structural part clipping. Ever. I honestly have a hard time looking at other people's crafts that have clipped moving parts. I have aborted entire missions because of 1 or 2 pixels of accidental clipping.

Are you planning on building a chess board in-game, or physical pieces? This is really neat idea. I would probably use Mun landers as pawns.

I don't personally understand this, but it just shows how incredibly versatile the game is! I live for going to space. I have found recently that going to other planets just isn't as exciting as it was when I first got the game. I rarely leave the Kerbin system anymore, and almost always stay in LKO.

Cormorant, I believe. The drills look stock, but I couldn't tell if they were just placed inside a mod's service bay, or if it was all one tank/drill combo. Make whatever whirring and whooshing noises you believe are appropriate:

Played with this thing!

Here ya go: https://www.linuxmint.com/edition.php?id=248

Oh, I realize the challenge doesn't require it, that limitation is self-imposed! You should see me in a few days.

This shuttle is being developed specifically for your challenge, actually. I wanted it tested and refined before I entered, as I don't want to make any major changes to the design after I begin. And the changes I do have to make, I want to be a planned customizable option of the design. Unfortunately I didn't have time to do any flights last night.

Today I wrote a rudamentary chat system for the service management system I made for work. As usual I'm sure I did all things in all the wrong ways, but it works!

I think he means with the black heat tiles like in Cormorant.

What mod are those drills from?

Actually, no. Not only are there legal issues with redistributing Squad's and the mod's material, but you could never be certain the versions match the rest of your install, and that it hasn't been tampered with. Plus, for some, there could be bandwidth concerns. But don't fret! While installing mods is very easy, it's also not too difficult to mess it up. One option around that is to use CKAN, which is a mod manager. It runs as a separate program, and will install and delete mods and (I believe, anyway) their dependencies as needed. For most mods, the procedure is very simple. You download the mod's release, typically as a zip file. Put that where you wish, in your downloads, desktop, documents, doesn't matter. Next, unzip that downloaded file. Usually it defaults to the same location the zip file is in. Again, this doesn't matter at the moment. Now, I've seen a few trends when it comes to the unzipped files. You will likely end up with one of the three: A folder named "Gamedata": Directly inside this folder will be all the contents that you need to copy to your Gamedata folder, to put alongside the Squad folder. A folder with the name of the mod, or similar: Inside this folder will be another folder called Gamedata. Copy what's inside that Gamedata folder into your Gamedata folder, alongside the Squad folder. A folder with the name of the mod, or similar: Inside this folder is the contents that you need to copy to your Gamedata folder, alongside the Squad folder. A large majority of mods will require some kind of dependency, usually ModuleManager. If it does, they're frequently included, so you don't need to do anything extra. They're not always included, though, so make sure you read the mod's thread to see if there's anything else you need to download and install at the same time. Once everything's copied to your Gamedata folder, fire up the game. If you're still having issues, us know specifically which mod, and we'll get you exact directions for the mod. I think once you get one installed, you should be able to handle any other one, as the process is almost always the same. I can also get you screenshots of the procedure if you need. Oh, and welcome to the forums, @danielviana05!

I'm... attributing that to luck. I think I just happened to come in at the right time to basically get in the right spot. Doing this on purpose is going to take the practice. I used to use RCS for re-entry stuff, back when I first tried to build a shuttle (which was a bit of a tumbler, as I had no idea what CoL even was). So I'm a little gunshy of it being an Over-Reaction Control System. This ship is pretty well balanced, thanks to SmartParts' fuel dump valves, which let me re-enter in nearly the exact same condition every time. Oh, I know, but again don't want to count on it. I've finally gotten to a point in the game where RCS is for docking, and not much else! I have no shortage of reaction wheels! These can't run out on re-entry, as I have fuel cells and fuel canisters dedicated for re-entry. As always, you're very helpful! Thank you @bewing.

Sure do, but I don't want to rely on them, especially if I end up coming back with little to no MP left. I'm impressed. It held Radial Out with zero problem until I told it to go prograde, and she dipped down to prograde as if she were still in orbit. Re-entry was easily survived. I got a few temp bars, but nothing to be worried about. Not sure I can get to the KSC though. I did come in a bit steep, PE was roughly 40km when I hit atmo, and even though I hit the prograde button at an AP of around 100km, it was down to 35-40ish when the nose finally hit prograde. I got a little extra distance by pulling the nose up some more, but not a lot. The airbreathers may get me back to land, but I doubt I'll get back to the KSC. Looks like I have some practicing to do!