Bakkerbaard

This I have read somewhere before, but more specifically, what about one single spot? Like when I have a stationary base just drilling along?

So with the help of a bunch of those fancy mods I've been gushing about I am now finally dabbling in setting up a Mün base. I have this one rover set on eight wheels that is supposed to mine ore and make me material kits, but for some reason it refuses to go anywhere manually. I can get it to move using MechJeb's Rover Autopilot, but whatevers means of command, be it Speed Control, Waypoint or Just Do Something You Wanker, it'll first take a hard left to run my flag out of the ground and then finally swerve to flip on it's side. The wheelbase seems wide enough though. Anyway, I figured I'd dial it back a bit and just go stationary, but I was wondering if the hole I drill will at some point be depleted. If I've made sure I've landed in an ore-rich spot, can I just sit there and drain resources from the surface?

I just have to do this. I came home an hour and a half ago and I really wanted to play KSP. Instead, I spent up until now browsing through mods. I was actually just looking for a specific one about retractable engines and stuff because I love me some moving parts, but you run into a station part here and a radio-noise mod there and you fire up CKAN to grab all of them. I work with programmers a lot at my job and save one I'd love to push each one of them down the stairs, but gawddamn if what they're doing isn't just completely beyond my comprehension. And they get paid good money. Then there's "our" people, modding for fun, getting a donation at best. I would like to take a brief moment to give a shout out to the modders. <brief moment> There you go, you magnificent beasts.

Quick question: I'm looking at a mod that doesn't show up on my compatible list (because I've set the filter to show all). I'm running 1.4.2 and the mod is for 1.3.1. It's the Coyote Freighter mod. If CKAN doesn't say it's compatible, is it really incompatible, or is CKAN just comparing numbers?

I'm in a bit of a rush and I can't go through all the pages. so sorry if any of this has been mentioned before. 1. Just to check, I have a manned Workshop on the Mün, next to that is the DIY package and next to that a K&K part full of materialkits. All of these are within 300m of eachother, but no part is docked to another. The DIY pack will deploy, but then when I right-click it to see what's going on, it says: "Building: Nothing". This is considerable less activity than I expected. I suppose I need more materials than just MaterialKits? I'm sure I'm doing something wrong, I just can't figure out what. 2. The big Convert-o-tron clearly states that it can convert ore into materialkits. And select fuel containers also clearly state they can carry materialkits. However, the K&K Planetary Base shaped Convert-o-tron does not state it can convert ore into materialkits. Is this just an oversight at the current time in the development process, or do parts that do not mention materialkits actually not work with materialkits? Am I making any sense at all? 3. If I want to ship MaterialKits from Kerbin to the Mün to get an operation started, it seems I'm limited to the K&K shaped container, which isn't really great for rocket design. While I can work with it, it's just rocket science, after all, I'm just wondering if there'll be more (rocket shaped) parts that carry or work with materialkits. In short: I have no idea what I'm doing, basically. Edit: Oh! And I couldn't find this fancy mod on CKAN. I installed it by hand. Not that I mind, but on the front page you mentioned CKAN, so I figured you might wanna know.

Ooh, I love me some moving parts!

I am loving this mod, mate. I was getting kinda desperate trying to get all kinds of stuff that just wouldn't fly to the Mün. Now I can just stuff it in a box and ship it... Heh, I just pictured ET in a UPS hat. Looks stupid. Anyway, I'm happy it still leaves a bit of challenge, still having to figure out on my own how to get an operation started. Good stuff, is what I'm trying to say, good stuff.

In case anyone else runs into the problem: I went and checked. It was the touchpad causing the X, G and H problems. Playing with mouse works fine and I've spent the whole night unscrewing my communications array.

Yeah, laptop. Disappearing into the couch with my feet up on the coffee table, so I haven't really got a proper surface for my big boy mouse. I think this may be the cause of my problem then. Yeah, I've followed the User Guide to the letter and as suggested by ExlorerKlatt the problem is likely at my end.

That was plan C just now. But I'm having trouble working KIS. I posted a question on that in the KIS thread, but I'll summarise here. I've been going through the User Guide, so I know I need to use X or H to detach and G+drag&drop to put something in my pocket. Or, Dotty's pocket. But in an experiment I managed to unscrew a 1x6 solar panel exactly once and I can't replicate it again. Plus, as it was lying there on the ground I tried picking it up, but no dice. I can't figure out what I'm doing wrong. I'm certain it's something I'm screwing up, as I don't really see anyone else having that problem. There's room in Dotty's inventory, she's within reach of the panel, the part turns blue when I press X over it. All seems to work as intented apart from the last step.

Okay, the manual only goes so far, I'm giving up now. I may not sound like it sometimes, but I'm loving this mod. That said, it's driving me bonkers! I've managed, like a child learning to walk, to equip the electric screwdriver and I am now going around the Mün trying to unscrew things. The manual tells me to either use X or H to detach things. I've managed this once. I believe it was by pressing X, but whatever it was, I can't manage it again. I know I'm within reach, as I get a message when I'm out of reach. The part I'm trying to detach also turns blue, which I assume is good. The one time I did get the part off, it fell to the ground and I tried putting it in my inventory, which, if I read correctly, is done by holding G and dragging it into the inventory. The part was one of those little 1x6 solar panels, so it wasn't too big, the only thing I had on me was the screwdriver. so space also wasn't an issue. I'm running 1.4.2 and I installed all the mods through CKAN, as I found out the way I was doing it before was just giving me half functional stuff. Does it matter I'm using the touchpad on my laptop instead of a real mouse?

I should have been clearer, I suppose. I have KIS and KAS installed and I just nabbed IR Next (patch 7) - building a robot arm is proving... challenging. I also briefly had the clarity of mind to bring an electric screwdriver for Dotty who is in fact an engineer. I am trawling google to find out how to use an electric screwdriver right now, something I never thought I'd have to do. ;o) The control connection isn't a problem either, as there's a relay sat going round and when I activated MechJeb it actually did work. The problem is basically that I completely ignored ther concept of gravity and figured the RCS thrusters would work just as well on the Mün surface as they do in orbit.

Okay, so I got this going on. I figured I'd give the base building thing another go and I'd send up the whole thing in bits. My plan was to take the antenna bit on top of the lander and RCS it over to the Command Hub. I decoupled the mast from the docking port up and told MechJeb to fix it for me, but as it turns out, the eight RCS ports don't provide enough power to do anything but topple the mast and roll it around a bit. While amusing, I find communications and solar panels generally perform better when pointing up. So, plan B was to launch the lander again, detach the antenna in flight and get MechJeb to fix it for me, but for some reason I can't fire the engines anymore. I'm sure they're not broken, but even if I got that thing up again I doubt I'd be able to manage the decoupling, instructing MechJeb and safely landing the pod again in what I expect to be a small window. Anyone have a good idea? It's all sandbox, so basically I'm only limited by my own stupidity. Also, I'm thinking of maybe just building a crane and sending that over. I've got a couple of more flights to make anyway, but I can't seem to find the parts to construct a crane arm, which I thought were in KIS/KAS. I've yet to look into crane building manuals, but I'm here posting the question anyway, so I figured I'd squeeze in this question too. So would that even work? Grab antenna, drive it over and put it on the roof? One more thing: To a KSP veteran there's probably a lot wrong in that picture, but right now I'm just either doing things because I can or to see if I can. And esthetics. Esthetically I wanted a large metal rod on my Command Hub because it looks spacey. This isn't even the worst I've sent into oblivion.

So, obviously we're going with clamshell. Safety is in the savegame, not the fairing. ;o)

For the space station I asked about earlier, with the docking ports, I need a base on the Mün to refuel the tanks so ships can fill 'er up and grab a sandwich on the way to the great unknown. I will be back to ask lots of questions about rovers and drilling and whatnot, but first and foremost I would like to know: How the blody hell do I get a Planetary Base on a planet(oid)?! Putting a Central Control Hub on the Mün is pretty easy, but how do I stick parts to it then? I wanted to add a habitat, but I could at first even figure out how to get that airborne. By the time I had that going I had also figured it might be easier to stick them together in orbit, along with all the other expansions and then just land that in it's entirety. Docking the habitat proved to be it's own kettle of piranhas, as the damn thing went bananas and just slammed into the the hub. This is where you learn the importance of savegames. So, yeah. The K&K Planetary Base stuff confuses me a bit. How do I get it where I want it? I've screwed around a bit with the removable landing gears, but that puts the docking ports at different heights. RCS doesn't seem to be very helpfull either, if docking in orbit, but that might be my placement. I used the aerodynamically shielded fiveway port, with one in the middle of the roof on the front end and two on each side at the back end. I figured with five blowholes that would give MechJeb enough to work with. Also did the needed Control From Here things, as MechJeb won't do anything anyway, so I think I couldn't forget anything there.... Anyway, I'm rambling. If you see a question there somewhere, go ahead and answer it. ;o)

Indeed, the console has this isue. After fiddling with it for entirely too long I gave up and found out on the way that 4.09 is still four. Exactly the kind of specifics you want in rocket science. I've got nothing to add to what's been said, only to emphasise again: Be carefull not to blow off any parts from the stuff that's hidden behind the fairing. Happened to me once, with clamshell-deploy, no less.

Most of the time I land on the Plains Of Whoah-The-Altimeter-Still-Says-300ft! But if I want the debris from that to survive a roll down a mountain, I'll know where to look. :o)

Oddly, I seem to have replied to this before you posted it... Either way, we agree. I did not know. And I have a feeling I shouldn't screw with it either, but it's good to know it's there. I try to keep a balance between real and fun, but for me this is mostly about firing off rockets and figuring out what part of the plan didn't work. I will set up a rescue mission instead of going to a previous save. So, self-imposed challenges, yeah. Let me rephrase that then: Accidentally do something stupid. Turning left into the sun seemed like something stupid to do. ;o) @Gargamel @Lisias +1 for the Hitchhiker's references. Is that a mod yet?

I may have implied differently, but I wholeheartedly agree. If I send up something somewhere with a thought out plan and construction and I accidentally turn left into the sun, I have a little memorial for Jeb, explain to my girlfriend why I'm crying and then try again. That is the fun. It just gets a little tiresome to send a part up into space just to see how it works. Knowing that the job you're doing isn't gonna matter in the end makes it a little harder. Don't tell my boss. You're not my boss are you? Anyway, boss, would launchpad tests be a reasonable alternative? (Among the accepted answers may be: "Why don't you go and try, lazy git.") Which is exactly what my docking port experiment turned into. ;o)

Okay. I've dun did it. I'm playing Kerbal on PC now and MechJeb is my new favourite thing. That said, this isn't about MechJeb. I wanna see how far I can get with a spacestation. So far I'm screwing around in sandbox, so funds and stuff aren't an issue, but I'm getting a little tired of sending up craft for the sole purpose of finding out my idea was wrong. Even with MechJeb. So, how do I properly work a docking port? I figured I'd slap a docking port over a hatch and then later sending up another section with, say, a science bay and have my Kerbal buddy hamstercrawl from one pod to the next. But when I stick a port on a hatch the notifier in the bottom right says "hatch obstructed". I'm reluctant to send up the module because of that, so I'm wondering: Is that hatch really obstructed, or is it it obstructed in the same way a hatch is when you put fairings over it? Then my next question: Am I right in assuming I just slap a docking port on a fueltank and I can just stick any other docking ported ship on it to refuel? I think that's what I wanted to ask...

Is this rocket called "The Compensator", by any chance? ;o) Maybe I've been using the wrong term for it, but I thought that was what I was doing. Core body, decouplers around the sides of it, tank on decouplers, engines on the ass-end, light candles, run for cover. So, juiceboxes mounted around the side of the core is "radial", yes? Or did you mean just one big engine on the end of the core? Anyway, I'm building something right now, I'll slap some fins on it. If all else fails it'll at least look like I'm being attacked by metal sharks. Which, incidentally, is also the title of my lawyer-themed rock-opera. Tried that. But you might imagine the hilarity that ensued after having grown accustomed to click-click for decouple and fire next. It took me about a second and a half to send my rocket back to Kerbin in four seperate stages. Worst thing of it is that the plummet back down gives you so much time to wonder why you didn't stop pressing X.

I thoroughly enjoy disappearing into my couch with a smoke and a bag of M&Ms staring into the glowing abyss of a big screen TV making believe that I'm actually living the awesomeness I'm controlling, so a console is always the better choice for me, but I am thinking about also getting KSP for PC, to get the full experience. Sometime in the future maybe, considering the addictiveness of KSP and the amount of hours I am expected to put in at work. Yup. I saw the man's name pass by before and the seemingly godlike status he hold in these circles. Well deserved, I might add. Viewing his videos is already bearing fruits. I'm screwing around with the asparagus system. I'm discovering all these kinds of things that make me wonder why I didn't just think of that myself. One recurring problem I do encounter with radially mounted tanks or SRBs is that they have a tendency to hit the main body and explode me into a comical flurry. Even with the strut mounted decouplers. This problem seems to worsen when already in a gravity turn, but that bit seems logical. This is one of these things I only found out right after posting the question. Which usually happens. Make an ass of yourself and then find out how not make an ass of yourself. Lots of trial and error. More than I have ever tolerated in a videogame before. But there's something here that, upon burying a lander deep inside Minmus, doesn't make me say things that will be censored, but: "Well, at least we got there." Anyway, thanks for all the advice, people. It's mind blowing to find how many gamers are also astrophysicists. ;o)

That's kinda what I've been doing. But most of the time that leaves me with at least a minute and change orbital burn. Judging from the trainings I feel that should be less. It's a bit of a hassle to get a screenshot from the PS4 to the forum, but I wasn't talking about a specific rocket anyway. And I learned about asparagus staging yesterday, that helps a whole lot on alot of ends. Drag. Ofcourse. There's no shortage of wings on my rockets, some of these thing I try to send up look like shiruken. I always figured wings cut through the air, which is daft, I'm an archer, I should know this. Thanks. I don't know why I stopped doing that. Well, I do, I think. I probably kept sticking the wrong ones together and decoupling parts too early. I'm gonna try and start doing that right. Traditional and stuffy if you wanna get to Duna, absurd and maniacal if you wanna get on fire. You get absurd and stuffy because getting on fire is easy. ;o) Actually, I love knowledge. But indeed, sometimes I prefer the quick and dirty answers. The formulae of which I do try and apply, but it's not quite clicking yet, so usually it's an hour of fiddling and then: "Fork it, I'm lighting up a smoke and just seeing how far this bomb is going." That's actually one of the funniest things in build mode, the advisory thing. Looking at the monstrous volatile liquid packed contraption shaped like a velociraptor with bug eyes and going: "Nothing concerning about this craft. Nothing at all." Well, snot. I should have known that. I could have known that. Point is, I didn't. Thanks.

Hey, so. I'm wondering about a few things and I figured it best to just stick the questions in one topic. Keep the place tidy. Before I start wondering out loud, it might be handy to let you know I'm on PS4, so I don't have access to any of them fancy mod contrapshuns all you PC kids use these days. And I'm grossly noob here. Like, at the "don't name the dogs we send into space because they're not coming back anyway"-stage, so I'll need to be spoken to like a six year old. Possibly one that colors outside the lines. 1. I play in sandbox-mode, because I like to screw around and, honestly, career-mode would be commercial suicide. I do send probes equipped with an M700 ahead to scan oribital bodies I'd like to visit, but right now that's just because it seems like the spacey thing to do. I know how to work the scanner, with the polar oribit and everything and I get the fancy overlay, but do I get anything more usefull than a festive looking galaxy out of it, as a sandbox player? 2. Is there a catch-all set of rules-of-thumb to get any rocket into orbit? Something working around all the maths, like: Point rocket up, reach set altitude, point rocket east, pray to a Kerbal-deity. The trainings do a pretty good job of getting me up there, but are kinda light on how I got up there. Right now, I'm just burning op too much dV (why not fuel? DeltaV is fuel right?) getting into acceptable orbit, which leaves me with too little to get where I'm going. I seem to recall reading somewhere: Get Surface up to 100m/s, get altitude up to 1000m and tip easward at a 45 degree looking angle, have HDG read 90. Practical results indicate this is wrong. 3. At what altitude do I need to start looking at vac-thrust instead of atmo-thrust? 70,000? 4. As far I can grasp, most rockets have about three stages. I usually end up with nine. At least, nine points of action in the stack-list (on the right when building): 0 - Parachutes, 1 - Engines on upper stage, 2 - Decoupler, 3 - Engines on middle stage, 4 - Decoupler, 5 - Engines on lower stage, 6 - maybe decoupler for SRBs, 7 - maybe SRBs. To a space-noob this would seem like seven stages. 5. Here's my theory on building a rocket: Stuff up top that you wanna get somewhere and minimal fuel to do minor corrections / Fuel and engine to travel from Kerbin to where ever and establish orbit there / Fuel and engine to establish orbit around Kerbin / Fuel and big-ass engine to off the ground. Is that theory sound? 6. Why is my stand-up guy-rocket (really? Censor went from my word to "stand-up guy"? Well, my word wasn't better) flipping over? Going up it's okay, then when I ever so gently nudge it eastward to HDG 90 it's like an invisible space hand slaps the head of the rocket (you know, actual science!) and goes: "No! Thou shalt not go to space! Play GTA instead!" I've got wings slapped on the rocket, recently I've also started using wings with control surfaces, I try to keep my rockets as short as possible, most of the time to no avail. And whenever I do get one going, I can't figure out why that one worked. I take it and I enjoy it. 7. Where does the data of gravity and atmosphere of a planet or planetoid go and when does it come in play? So far I've only been able to succesfully scan Mün and Minmus, but those don't have an atmosphere, as far as I know. I suspect some of the others do and I would like to know about it before I tell Jeb to take off his helmet. Or, for the near future: Minmus. How's the gravity there? How do I find out? I'd like to land something there instead of burying it. So, yeah. I'm probably wondering about more things, but I can't think of them now. Thanks for your time!

Status update: Jeb and Bob are home safe. Relatively. Jeb found Münspiders, but I went through too much trouble to get him, so I'll handle that when the Kerbal: Alien Invasion FPS comes out. I thought about turning off the CommNet handicap, but it felt like cheating. I had the rescue lander in low orbit and I figured I could make it if I could just see what I was doing, so timewarp came in handy. Then when I got some light I tried again and I got it within the 1km zone. I've just been forgetting the advice I give my girlfriend all the time: "Damnit woman! Have some patience!" So, I'll be looking for Minmusspiders now, if you need me. ;o)