RealKerbal3x

There's definitely room for gimbal systems around the RVacs, but the problem is that the engine bells are tucked up right next to the skirt with no room to move. You could move the engines closer to the centre, but it sounds like a lot of work compared to just leaving the engine configuration as it is and benefiting from the extra thrust and control authority the sea-level engines provide.

Starlink deploy, extremely norminal mission today!

Liftoff! Max Q Stage sep Stage 1 has landed

About 3 mins to launch

The RVacs don't have gimbal, so removing the sea-level engines would make steering the vehicle difficult, especially during ascent from Earth. The sea-level engines are also useful for countering gravity losses during ascent, though they may be able to get by on RVacs alone (ignoring the complications of steering I mentioned above).

Static fire! Not sure how many engines, but they still don't seem to be detanking. Round 3?

Looked like a preburner test. No immediate detank, so static fire next?

Engine chill has started!

Alternatively, you could try this one (no commentary):

Pad is clear, looks like we're progressing into the countdown for a static fire.

In today's news surprising absolutely nobody:

Mr. Who officially admits defeat:

Jeff who?

wen flight hardware

No visual mods. Stock KSP can be beautiful at times.

I doubt it, it certainly feels like something that goes against Elon's 'delete the process, delete the part' engineering philosophy. Passive solutions are usually better than active solutions. Back when it was being considered, I remember hearing about clogged pores being a potential issue. The whole thing sounds immensely complex and high risk to me.

Given a bit of iteration - as is SpaceX's modus operandi - I think they'll be able to work out the kinks. The concept of a heat shield composed of thousands of individual tiles is already proven, and the implementation on Starship has a number of advantages over how it was done on the Shuttle. All they need to do is install them securely and minimise any gaps, which they already seem to be doing pretty well.

Definitely looking cleaner than 20 did at this stage of construction.

If by 'concepts' you mean Elon idly musing on Twitter, then sure. I doubt it's something that's been seriously considered, as it doesn't sound practical at all.

That's an interesting point, will Kerbal surnames change depending on colony location?

I feel like a part of some secret club now, because I saw it on reddit before it got taken down