DeadJohn

An RA-100 is bigger than needed. The RA-2 can barely cover Eve, but I prefer the RA-15's extra margin. The spreadsheet linked above, the mod Antenna Helper, and Kerbal wiki can fill in more details but it's all optional reading https://wiki.kerbalspaceprogram.com/wiki/CommNet

Autostrutting to the root or heaviest part can cause problems when docking (or undocking). Let's say you have 2 ships, each with autostruts to their heaviest part. After docking what used to be the heaviest part of one ship is no longer the heaviest part of the new combined ship, any autostruts connected to the no-longer-heaviest part disconnect and reconnect to the new heaviest part, and can twist or explode the ship. Autostrutting to the grandparent part is less prone to twisting than using root or heaviest. Unfortunately, some parts are configured with automatic autostruts to the heaviest part and will not allow changes using the part window. Kerbal Joint Reinforcement Continued (KSP 1.7) fixed most wobbling for me and has greatly reduced my need for struts and autostruts.

T-15, so half your burn is before and half after. The post immediately above this one says the game can calculate exacly when to start. If you don't see that on your burn indicator, make sure the "Extended Burn Indicator" menu setting is enabled.

Mk IV Spaceplane is a fun mod. Other mods that appear to be used in that video are B9 procedural Wings and additional parts from other B9 mods. Other good spaceplane mods include OPT and OPT Legacy, Mk2 Expansion, Mk3 Expansion. I don't think those are used for the plane in the video, but much of my KSP fun comes from designing my own planes.

The requirements for a starter colony vary depending on my ambitions for a new playthrough, my mood, and what mods I'm using. "Colonies" include surface bases, orbital stations, and occasionally I'll build huge colony ships. Bases and stations serve several goals: Refueling of ships and surface craft when I'm playing a long-term game Gathering science (or money and rep via strategies) with a laboratory Fulfilling contracts "Fun". Sometimes I'll build a large colony just because I want to see how it looks, or for the challenge of launching it Eve is a good place for colonies. It's easy to get to but difficult to leave, so a colony can support exploration of Eve's surface. My typical Eve colonies have labs, refueling, and several support vehicles (usually high endurance planes) for moving around. Laythe is another spot for colonies. I've built floating marinas that serve zero purpose other than fund; it's nice to see space-seaplanes and high tech boats docked in the water. I play with a lot of mods but avoid life support mods. I do add greenhouses and similar structures to my bases but do not micromanage food or other consumables. I'm also okay with "cheating" to avoid micromanagement. Let's say I've built a good mining and refueling infrastructure. I've performed the mine/process/transport cycle several times. I'll then pretend the fuel transport is happening behind the scenes, and will use Hyperedit to refill the tanks in my fuel depots. (New missions are fun. The same mission done a dozen times gets boring.)

@inigma, every link in the top post is broken, probably due to forum redesigns since you started this. I realize threads age and it's work to keep updated. Are you interested in updating the original post? If yes, I'm willing to help track down the current showcase threads, I just want to be sure you're still around to actually make the update. If no, I think the thread should be unpinned so it doesn't show at the the top.

The easiest way IMO is to keep all your fuel near the middle (mass-wise) of your base, so that the center of mass does not shift as you burn fuel during landing. Here are some ways to do that: 1) Design your base starting with fuel tank and engine as the center core, then build 2 or more "wings" that extend sideways. All wings need to be similar masses. 2) Design your base without any fuel or engine. Then find the center of mass indicator, place a docking port or decoupler just above or below, and add fuel and engines to that port. This is similar to a "skycrane" concept. 3) Build your horizontal base in a straight line, more like a rocket and have the engine aimed lengthwise. Land vertically on the engine, then use reaction wheels or RCS to tip over.

Expanding surface bases with standard docking ports is challenging, as you've found out. The docking ports have to be perfectly positioned. Station Parts Expansion Redux has a few pieces that might help. Telescopic Clamp-O-Tron is compatible with the stock docking port, it's a bit more forgiving in terms of distance but still needs to be perfectly lined up to connect. The Extensible Crew Tube is an extending grabber that is much easier to connect (but make sure to quicksave before connecting, because it can sometimes fling parts as it extends). Kerbal Planetary Base Systems is my preferred way to build surface bases. It has retracting side wheel units to maneuver parts as you expand a base. This is of limited help for a base that's already started. Kerbal Inventory System / Kerbal Attachment System has tubes and hoses to attach parts without docking ports.

I'm not voting because I find both to be fun and practical, depending on what I'm trying to do. Rockets are easier to build and fly, so I use them for most missions. Spaceplanes are better if I need to return something fragile to Kerbin. Planes are my preferred way to ship bases built using the Kerbal Planetary Base Systems KPBS mod. I put KPBS wheels on the base, attach the base to a docking port inside a plane cargo bay, then roll the base out the cargo bay ramp after landing.

My earlier reply showed how I do it with fairings. The Tundra Technologies mod (a small companion to Tundra Exploration) has a probe core with built-in survey scanner. It's called "Paneer" and resembles the real New Horizons probe.

Does Sandbox mode have substantially better performance for late-game stuff? I'm asking because I usually start new playthroughs in Science or Contract mode, but late in the game after unlocking all/most science I play more like Sandbox mode. I stop doing contracts and focus on my own goals for exploration, station/base building, etc. KSP gets slower as a playthrough progresses. That's partly due to many craft in flight, but also because experiment-per-biome and contract history grows the size of savefiles. Ships remain responsive, there's no fps lag, but it takes too long when I switch ships or jump to the space center. Part 2: Any suggestions for converting an existing savefile? I want to keep vessels, roster, SCANsat progress, maybe more while getting rid of experiment and contract history. I found a thread but it's 4 years old:

Everyone who contributes to mods deserves a thank you. THANK YOU! IMO these additional names belong on the list @Galileo @JadeOfMaar

Not a shower thought, but a thought about showers: If you ever find yourself wondering "do I need a shower?" the answer is probably "yes".

I'm unfamiliar with the mod "Realistic Atmospheres". When you say "increase realism", do you mean the visual appearance of planets or the flight mechanics? More realistic flight mechanics can make the game much more difficult; it can be fun, but potentially frustrating when you are first learning. I recommend doing at least a Mun landing and return before trying mods. Kopernicus is one of the more technically complex mods. The change from KSP 1.7 to 1.8 made big changes to the underlying game engine, so Kopernicus might need an extended time to get updated. Mods are done by volunteers in their spare time. You didn't do anything wrong by asking, but these forums generally frown on pestering mod makers about new versions. It's a good policy or else the Kopernicus thread would be full of people asking when will it be done. It will be done when it's done. If you bought KSP through Steam you can download older versions of it. KSP 1.7.3 will work with Kopernicus. For mods that were already updated to 1.8, you might be able to find prior versions wherever those mods are hosted, or by using CKAN. CKAN is a separate program to help install mods; it's not required but I find it helpful playing a heavily modded game.

Here's a 3700 m/s plane for JNSQ. @JadeOfMaar, maybe I'm finding it easier than you did because of Cryogenic Engines' LH2 patch to the OPT engines. X-20 Hypercruise Cruising altitude: 38 km Top safe speed: 3700 m/s (can maintain for several minutes, but cockpit will continue to slowly heat) Recommended cruising speed: 3500 m/s Engine is only OPT part. "J-61 Starwaster" Cockpit from Mk2 Expansion, for increased heat resistance.

Look at the redlined temperature bars ... not exactly "comfortable" for Leawell sitting in the front seat

Here's the Javelin-class Modular Shuttle. Configurations available for cargo, science, and crew transfer, and combination (cargo+science, cargo+crew, science+crew) by swapping one or both center cargo modules for an OPT J Mobile Lab or Crew Tank. Built and tested with the JNSQ planet pack (2.7x scale), and Cryogenic Engines mod (which changes OPT engines to run on LH2, generally improving TWR and decreasing total DV) Performance Wet mass before cargo: 61 tons Maximum recommended payload: 36 tons (Jumbo-64 fuel tank) Maximum Kerbin circular orbit with payload: 600 km (Science and Crew configurations, without heavy cargo, will likely reach Mun and Minmus, but has yet to be tested) Handling Takeoff and landing are very forgiving. This is one of the few spaceplanes I've built that don't need canards. Takeoff is easy because LH2 fuel weighs so little. I land at around 60 m/s and haven't encountered a stall yet. Ascent profile with maximum load needs careful throttle management to balance electricity usage, intake air, and cockpit heating. Activate Warpjets, liftoff at 80 m/s, do a steep climb to 10 km, as warpjets spool up reduce climb to 15 degrees, reduce throttle to 2/3, climb to 20 km, further reduce climb rate and throttle. Warpjets will flame out at 38 km, continue using ARI-73 to reach orbit. With lighter loads, ascent is much easier, with nose overheating being the main concern. There's much less need to vary the climb rate, as compared to the 36 ton maximum payload. Descent is easy despite reentry speeds than can exceed over 4000 m/s (due to JNSQ's scale). SAS radial out, assisted by ample RCS to stay nose high, rapidly bleeds off speed. Engines: 2x OPT-E Warpjet "S.U.R.G.E.". 2x OPT-E S.C.O.O.P. Rocket ARI-73. Additional Commentary Mk2 Expansion Parts: Mk2 Hypersonic Nosecone: for heat resistance and built-in RCS thrusters on front of warpjets Mk2 Nosecap: on tail, for heat resistance and RCS NUK-3 Aerospace Fission Reactor: to power warpjets B9 Procedural Wings: used for cosmetic reasons, to fill in small gaps between the OPT J body and the Mk2 Hypersonic Nosecone I tested several different designs while adjusting to the way Cryogenic Engines changes the behavior of OPT engines. Early attempts with other engines required many more fuel tanks to hold all the LH2 needed. The large Warpjets helped to actually reduce craft size; the first 3000 m/s of acceleration consume no fuel.

[Question deleted. On a reread of the top post I see that permaprune can break saves if a part is in use.]

It went well. I showed short videos of acual missions, pointed out details in the flights (gravity turn to orbit, how staging improves performance, almost always launching eastwards, aerobraking, etc.), then used KSP to demonstrate the concepts. I didn't run a live KSP session. I did the work in advance and recorded it.

Tonight I used KSP to demonstrate concepts of rocket science, orbital mechanics, and space navigation to an astronomy club.

On further investigation prompted by what you wrote, it looks like Scatterer's sunflare is broken for me, with or without "JNSQNoGhosts". Unity sunflare mode seems to work okay. Deleting ModuleManage.ConfigCache did not make a noticeable difference. Note that when set to Scatterer mode, I sometimes see a fraction of a second of flare as a ship loads before it gets replaced by an unflared sun. I'm a Scatterer novice, but maybe Scatterer is starting and quickly stopping, or maybe Unity mode always loads (and shows its flare) just before Scatterer replaces it with a broken flare. It's just an observation that might help find what's happening. Other Scatterer features seem to be working okay. I'm getting the sunrise/sunset colors and good ocean waves. Using Unity flare is not a big issue for me. JNSQ looks very nice, but if other things are secretly not working on my install maybe it's supposed to look even better KSP.log: https://drive.google.com/open?id=1Q0ArIDx89VWstJdQTOGGm1EomeRANDgi output_log.txt: https://drive.google.com/open?id=11GmUiWGpRhR_SBX-aIsUL_een35e5XsS

Are they they same exact port? A few different ports are compatible with each other, but don't make the mistake I've made of sending a refueling ship with the wrong size port attached. Regular or shielded ports? The shielded ports can be more finicky about connecting.

I assume it's turning on the runway, not in flight, and you are using the common landing gear arrangement of 1 gear in front and 2 in back. For very small planes in early career, the fixed gear angles outward and can be finicky. The rest of what I'm writing is applicable to the 4 sizes of retractable gear. Only allow steering on front gear. Turn it off for rear gear. (only small and medium gear can be steered) Experiment with SAS on and off. Sometimes it can stabilize a wobbly design, other times it will overcompensate. Make sure the rear gear is perfectly vertical and aimed forwards. Attaching gear to a curved fuselage or wing can sometimes put it at an angle. Use the rotation tool ("3" in VAB/SPH) if needed. Don't place rear wheels too far out on the wings. The width between the rear pair should be less than their distance to the front gear. Are you using large enough gear for the plane's mass? Add up the total number of wheels (actual wheels, not gear), multiply by 10, and that should be close to the tonnage of your plane. There's a lot of leeway here, but you don't want 3 small gear on a 100 ton plane. The rear gear should be just a little bit behind the center of mass to facilitate nosing up slightly during takeoff. They carry most of the weight, letting you use the medium front gear (2 wheels) even on very large planes. Putting canards/elevons near the nose helps many craft liftoff sooner, before they can wobble to death on the runway.

Since you are using infinite fuel, have you tried emptying your tank before takeoff so your craft is lighter? You might have to leave a little fuel to get the engine to ignite. You said "modded"? Any mods like FAR that change the stock atmosphere's behavior, or mods like RSS that resize Kerbin? When you stall, what's your velocity, altitude, and pitch? What engine are you using? If it has poor vacuum performance you might be losing thrust at altitude. What's your TWR (thrust to weight ratio) when you stall? TWR increases as you burn fuel because your plane becomes lighter. With infinite fuel you'll have a lower TWR. Kerbal Engineer Redux can display current TWR; I think the stock staging display can do it, too, but I rarely look there. Are you taking off horizontally from the runway? A typical ascent profile is to climb to 20km (depending on engine and plane design), level off to a very slow climb, accelerate to 1300m/s, then nose up to 20 degrees. Higher TWR is easier to get to orbit; find a climb angle at takeoff that lets you continually accelerate yet avoid catastrophic overheating, and then you can just keep going without temporarily leveling off at 20km you can just keep climbing.

Is "JNSQNoGhosts" supposed to eliminate the pentagon-shaped reflections while keeping the diffraction spikes emanating radially from the sun? I tried adding the folder and got an ugly result; the sun was a small white ball with some darkened areas (sunspots, I assume), and a harsh contrast edge from sun to sky. The pentagon reflections were gone but the radial spikes and fading glow were also gone. There are 4 combinations of sunflare settings: 2 settings in the config file * 2 settings for the existence of the no ghosts folder. What's the practical difference between Scatterer and Unity mode? Does one run faster or use less RAM? They look similar from orbit.