Sequoia

When I first started using KSP two years ago I gave up after three days. I came to a point in the training scenarios where I could not duplicate what was being demonstrated. After a long period away from KSP I am trying again. The second training scenario called "Basic Flight" should be relabeled "Basic Crashing". I have followed the instructions of your Gene Kernan and got the simple solid rocket to take off. In the instructions Kernan explains that one should not stage the parachutes when the background of the icon is red. And no more. But when EXACTLY must I stage the chute? There is a vague reference to the six different icons and all their colors but no clear and distinct explanation WHEN. At what altitude? After crashing a couple dozen times. I asked a question on Reddit. One response explained about "aerodynamics" and how the ship must enter the atmosphere tail first. This was NOT MENTIONED in "Basic Flight". Aerodynamics was NOT MENTIONED in "Basic Flight". Keyboard activation of yaw, roll and pitch was mentioned but nothing was said about coming down tail first. Nothing was mentioned about utilizing SAS to position the ship correctly. SAS comes in the FOURTH training scenario. One suggestion sent to me was : "Get lighter. If you still have your engines and fuel tanks on the way down, add a decoupler to get rid of them." A decoupler is first mentioned in the THIRD training scenario. How is a beginner supposed to know about the decoupler when he is only on the SECOND training scenario? And another : "Don't go straight up. Try to go more sideways." Where in the second scenario is THIS MENTIONED. Answer : nowhere. How is a beginner expected to know this? From the information you give a beginner the rocket will ALWAYS crash in the second training scenario. What is a beginner supposed to glean from this? And then I tried to follow the third lesson and your Wernher Von Kerman in "Intermediate Construction" halfway through wants me to fetch the LV-T45 from the Engines tab. And there are NO ENGINES at the tab. I cannot finish the scenario. How am I supposed to continue with the training when this happens? I have a screenshot but cannot insert it here because it is not in a URL. It is on my PC. Why is this designed to be as difficult as possible to use? Is this somebody's idea of a joyful pasttime? Who wrote these training scenarios?

I reduced the amount of fuel. Now it lands.

I raised the number to 5000, staged at 14000 m going up and it crashed. I kept the number at 5000 and reduced the other from 0.2 to the minimum value (about 0.05) at 22000 m coming down I staged and the chute came out--and was destroyed by heat and aero-forces. And I crashed again. I put the chute values back to 1000 and 0.2 and guided it over the ocean. The chute came out when I staged at 10000 m and was destroyed by heat and aero-forces. And I crashed into the drink. Is this supposed to be the way Kerbal Space Program operates?

It's nearly impossible to read the speed. The altitude is in large easy-to-read numbers but the speed is a very small circular indicator less than a cm in diameter. On top of that, how fast is too fast? The instructor in the tutorial said it would deploy 'at the right time.' I'll try that over the water bit and also the 5000 adjustment. But the instructor in the tutorial never said anything about modifying direction of flight...

VoidSquid : The chute does not deploy at all ever. The chute part does not change but the staging sound always takes place. The chute part is never open.

Thanks for the attention. When the craft is rising and reaches 18000 ft, the chute symbol is white on a gray background and since the trainer staged the chute at 14000 ft I stage it here at 18000 ft. I stage at this point, it makes the staging noise and after staging the chute it turns pale blue on a gray background. At this point the box with 0.2 and 1000 in it, says "safe to deploy". And then it crashes. Again. The chute is on the nose of the craft, there is no cargo bay or fairing.

I've done the basic Flea module and capsule configuration a dozen times and am approaching mass-murderer level success rate. I put the 0.2 and 1000 numbers into the parachute module, I press the staging key at 22000 feet, at 14000 feet going up at 16000 feet going down at 20000 feet going down and wipe out always. The symbol for the chute is snow white and when I press the space key and the sound of a cold beer opening comes. But I crash every single time. During Training it always comes out but when I do it without the trainers it always fails. I look at the the mission statement at the end and the fact that I pressed the staging key is never mentioned. Something says "no target" on the screen. Am I in Reversed Gus Grissom mode or what?