Mister Dilsby

Yeah, I speak no Japanese myself other than a few words having to do with drawing swords, hitting and/or throwing people (fun fact: Kuzzter holds rank of shodan in both aikido and iaido ) I got that part of the graphic from the Japanese-language Wikipedia page for NCC-1701... hope I got the rest right also

Nope. Just me, the pilot, and a slider

Yeah, me too But given the amount of time I spent developing the sealaunch-to-orbit Skimmeroo (which is actually, you know, shaped like an aircraft) it probably would have taken me a month or more to do it legit. It flies exactly how you would expect if you took a hastily-built seagoing aircraft carrier model, which was only ever intended for a few B&W scenes, and bolted a couple of really heavy gratuitous pods to the rear flight deck. Turns out the nacelles are actually pretty useful for offsetting the unbalanced mass of the bridge! It flies reasonably straight, and I didn't even need a gravity hack to lift off. (though I may have turned it on a few times to get her down the runway and into the water in one piece) The only cheat active when Enterprise is flying is infinite fuel

Funny you should mention that. (See also: bilingual bonus) ...hey, if Admiral Riker can get an extra nacelle added to his flagship, surely a Kerbfleet admiral can get a couple added to hers

Some really first rate analysis here, also by @AkuAerospace, @Dman979, @KSK and others--so, do Kerbals have the capacity for violence? The canonical answer--maybe! I refer to the first page of the Zweischenspiel: What would have happened, I wonder, if Wernher's arrival, and the beginning of the Space Program, hadn't unified the Federation in a mission of peaceful exploration? What if O.M.B. did have an "accident" with their building separators,and some kerbs got hurt? And then StrutCo caused an "accident" of their own? It's not hard to imagine where that could have led...I suppose one way to look at it is that the decision has been put off until now, ten years later. And the related question: can the Kerbulans understand pacifism--that is, the decision not to do violence, even when violence might be the most practical, logical, and possibly even a plausibly moral solution? So far they haven't shown any such ability. Bob Kermulan has repeatedly said things like, "there's nothing else it could possibly be!" when mistaking Jooldiver probes for nuclear missiles. I guess we'll see, on both counts

Correct! 80% of that ship is the same as the CV-6 KSS Enterprise from the Zweischenspiel. (see OP for link). I haven't given you a full plan look at it yet because I didn't want you to see the new 20% quite yet Yes! Well, OK, not exactly...ALT-F12 may have been pressed at some point...files edited...laws of physics temporarily altered in a separate SAVE file...all for the sake of awesomeness... Umm...no. Those wheels would better be called "rolling down the runway into the water" gear

Really enjoying this discussion--you're asking all the right questions! So hey, let's not leave the Admiral hanging mid sentence any longer...

Agreed--I think it would be an interesting challenge to develop a stock reusable system that allows (theoretically) infinite trips from Eve surface to orbit. Example: an SSTO-capable craft that lands somewhere near the high point, is hauled to the top by an electrically-driven crawler, is refueled by mining assets on the surface, and re-launched. Essentially, one would have to build the equivalent of Kerbin's vehicle recovery and refueling infrastructure using ISRU, claws/surface docking, etc.

Well, it is an interesting debate isn't it? It's sort of why I'm writing this: what DOES happen when a cute and cuddly race of hapless explorers meets real conflict for the first time? One possibility: learn to fight, and to kill. The other: well, nothing comes easily to mind, does it? Hm, maybe I should just drop a big 'ol deus ex on the whole thing and send the Space Madness guys out on a grand tour or summat...

Technically, no. While this was indeed a deadly incident, it was no accident... Surely there aren't a lot of characters who would call Gene "dear"...or have a Command Lime speech balloon trimmed in gold... and surely at this point Kerbfleet will be bringing ALL the awesome, so yeah.

Thanks all! Good day today designing stuff; there's something...crazy I'm building for the next part...or I should say, re-building. I got it working finally; pages coming when they come!

Yeah... if getting a lot of readers is what you really want, then don't make them actually have to read everything. Also, posting the pics proves that you actually did what you said you did. Personally, I think people here (a forum for people who play KSP) are a lot more interested in stories that actually happened in-game. It relates to their own experiences and may even inspire their gameplay. I'd encourage you to check out some of the Elcano Challenge mission reports to see what I mean.

Hey, came here from that other thread, where we talk about Writing. This looks like it has a lot of potential--many players haven't gone to the poles, and certainly most of those haven't driven there cross kross country. Looking forward to an epic tale and many wheel blowouts Will you be doing it as text only, or taking advantage of the ability of epic screenshots to attract the easily amused?

Oh yeah, sure...Wernher's come a long way from wiping out the Allied command structure with a single, precision W-2 strike hasn't he? And we also know from the Zweischenspiel that he "has the potential" to do exactly the same thing, but with a nuclear warhead. But, would he? And, would Kerbfleet? That question, gentlekerbs, is pretty much the central premise of this story.

Hey Owl, I know how frustrating it is. We have ALL been there whether or not we're there right now. Part of a writer's growth is learning to abandon things that aren't working--whether it's a single line of dialogue or a whole story--and move on. What I will advise is to manage your expectations. It's easy in any new endeavor to look at the most successful people already doing it and think that you'll have the same kind of success they do as soon as you jump in. I was lucky: when I started Kerbfleet no one was doing anything like it. It was easier for me to build a reader base, and I've grown that base over a couple of years to where it is now. Work at your craft. Fail. Then tune your product--figure out what worked (if anything) and what didn't. You have to be able to step outside yourself and really be objective. That's how you get better.

Confidentiality would prevent you form citing specifics, I know, but--has any mod ever looked at a post that was Reported, and ended up Repping/Liking that post rather than moderating it? If not, I bet you wanted to a couple of times Hopefully someone can share a general anecdote that wouldn't improperly disclose a moderation action...

Very sorry to hear that @DarkOwl57. I encourage you not to give up--but instead maybe to find some different ways forward. We have a thread for writers to talk about writing which is a better place to discuss that kind of thing

Ah, you must be new here Links to imgur albums for all the chapters are in the OP. The chapter where Intrepid launches is called, strangely enough, "Intrepid Away!" As to images of all the ranks, I think you can see enough of them in that chapter, and in the rest of the comic. I'm afraid I don't have the time to go find an example of each one for you. Feel free to flip through the Imgur albums if you'd rather not look in the thread. Further information may or may not appear in the "canon" thread, the link to which appears in my sig. Anyone is welcome to help me out by posting links and writeups there--I will incorporate the good stuff in the OP. Otherwise, I don't really engage in research projects for the benefit of readers who could maybe go find the stuff themselves given the resources (like the canon page, and chapter links in the OP) which I've already provided

I use RAPIERS even on designs where I never light them in vacuum (e.g. RAPIER/LV-N no-oxidant SSTO). I can't quote performance specs like Slashy can, but my understanding is that I can get higher velocity at higher altitude in jet mode with RAPIER than I can with any other airbreathing engine. I've never managed to make a no-oxidant SSTO with anything but a RAPIER, but then again I haven't tried to since before the Panther came out...I'm sure someone else has a design somewhere. In any case, I'll agree that the RAPIER isn't the only possible SSTO engine, but it makes SSTO so much easier that it does tend to dominate the field

Lol--but no, surely that is NOT a regulation uniform. Perhaps it was something young Midshipkerb Shirley saw long, long ago when she briefly met the legendary Horatio Kerman, and it made such an impression that she resolved to wear one like it if she ever reached such a lofty rank herself. Presuming Val survives this and gets promoted at some point, I think she'd just wear a lime tunic with some extra braid. Maybe a shoulder board if I can ever figure out where those go in the texture map

The rank insignia are not central to the story, so it's not something I usually prioritize when I'm posing Kerbals for screenshots. When you really need to know someone's rank, I put it in the text...as you may have noticed from your recent survey it's really hard to have a reasonably-sized rank feature on the uniforms that actually shows up on screen, especially when the Kerbal is strapped in. The style on Gene, Jeb's, and Tedus's uniforms is unique to Air Service. You can also see Samantha's single gold 2LT bar and Tedus's double silver Kaptin pretty well in this shot: Sarge of course has sarjint's stripes on both sleeves. Everyone else has a Fleet rank which follows US naval tradition, and ST:TNG convention. I found this the easiest to render and see in-panel. --Enzins have a single pip on the right breast and no sleeve braid (look for Nimzo) --Junior Lootys and Lootys have a single sleeve braid, and two pips. The Jr Looty's second pip is dark. --Looty Comders and Comders have two rows of sleeve braid and three pips. The Lt Comder's third pip is dark. --a Captin has two rows of sleeve braid, extra braid on the tunic closure, and four pips. Here's a group shot where you can see them all at once, though it's a little small for good resolution. Again, it's usually not important to be able to tell an officer's rank visually in every panel--but when it is, like in the example above, I do try to pose everyone so it's easier to see. As for Admiral Shirley's very crowded uniform, I'll let her give you the same explanation she gave Mort: Clear?

Oh, I know THAT feeling well! And this is why you #DontPokeTheAuthor, or if you're the author you #DontRespondToPokes. Can't tell you how many times I've sat on an update for a few days because I knew I could do better. Have always been glad I did

Of course--he was in the service the year before year zero--and he had an orange suit on even then, you just couldn't tell because the comic was in black and white...and that's not a medal, it's his rank. Same shape as the one he wore when he was a Majer, different color.