paynterf

Total newbie here. I'm trying to control the attitude of my rocket in the simplest possible beginner configuration, but it seems the only way to control attitude is with the keyboard, which seems to be basically impossible to get right. Even full pitch up or down (or yaw left/right) during the ascent phase seems to stop at about 30 deg off vertical, and it seems to be impossible to control the craft in an engine-down attitude using the keyboard controls. Is there some magic here that I'm missing? TIA, Frank On a different, but related, topic. It is frustrating that I can only practice attitude control on the rocket for a few seconds after max altitude. Then I have to wait until the rocket lands, recover the rocket, launch the rocket, and wait for engine burnout before getting another few seconds of attitude control practice time. Any way to speed this up (I'm already using the warp controls, but this doesn't affect the long times required go through the recovery checklist, load the VAB scene, load the launch pad scene, and then the ascent time. Any help would be appreciated Frank

What does an unused adaptor have to do with the way KSP loads up?

Windows 10, non-Steam version. When I click Play, I get the 'Do you want to allow this app to make changes....?' dialog. I click OK, and then KSP seems to take forever to load everything up. If I come back the next day and want to play again, I have to go through the same procedure (and delay). Why is this? Frank

Can't help you much, as I am a rank beginner. All I can tell you is I accepted all the defaults during construction of the simplest possible configuration, made sure the staging was correct, and launched. After that, it didn't matter when I pressed the space bar to stage the parachute - it either never came out at all, or came out in drogue configuration and (either right away or eventually) ripped away. The only way I was able to solve the problem was to figure out how to reduce the initial fuel load so the capsule didn't go as high, thus didn't develop as high a velocity before reaching the min pressure for the parachute. It also didn't seem to matter what I set the min pressure too, either - just the initial fuel load (translating into max height after launch). I have no problem with the physics, or the idea of flattening the trajectory to lower the max alt. What I do have a problem with is a program that behaves badly right out of the box, with all default settings and the simplest possible configuration - that's just not right. Frank

How do I turn off the 'elevator music' in the VAB? It's driving me (more) nuts! TIA, Frank

Thanks for the quick response. I'm sure that modifying the ascent trajectory would work as well. However, from a newbie's perspective, it is very frustrating that all the tutorials show the basic configuration going straight up and straight down, with no trajectory modifications at all. I was following the tutorial to the letter, but still getting 100% parachute failures - go figure. The only clue that things might be different in the 'real' program is that the max altitude in the 'real' game is much higher than that shown in the tutorials, so I suspect Manley the other tutorial creators either modified the fuel loads and forgot to show that step, or were working with an earlier version with a smaller initial fuel load. I've taught engineering and other skills for over 50 years, and this is a constant problem - tutorials that have hidden assumptions, and tutorial creators that never actually use their own products. Hidden assumptions are very hard to uncover, because most experienced users no longer see them - they are just part of the background. New users with no filters get tripped up, and the experienced users can't understand why it happens. Frank

I'm a brand-new KSP player, and I have been beating my head against the problem of the MK16 parachute always getting 'destroyed by aerodynamic forces' on the way down, no matter what I did, just like many other newbies on this forum. I have been doing the simplest possible configuration in the 'Contract's track - a command module, a 'Flea' solid-rocket booster, and a MK16 parachute. However, I saw a post talking about 'monopropellant' on the command module, and reduced that to zero - that didn't help either, but it got me thinking, and I looked at the options for the 'Flea' solid booster. Turns out that although you can't throttle a 'Flea' booster, you CAN reduce the starting fuel amount and the thrust available. So, I reduced them both to about 1/2 scale, and now the rocket assembly tops out MUCH lower, and the parachute now works every time - YAY!! https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Cz6jzboQKj0MRzksfV7pvL5-smfzZ45J/view?usp=sharing I'm now experimenting with higher fuel loads to see if I can get the parachute to survive even with a full fuel load. Woo Hoo! Frank