Railsmith

Just found this mod, and blew a few hours in the release and pre-release. I love how it's almost an alternative to the BTSM mod, and a hell of a lot of fun. Can't wait to see what more you come up with, but for now I'm content playing with little rockets for hours on end. Cheers.

Yes. I noticed that having terrain details down made driving rovers anywhere rather treacherous--they would seem to "catch" on seams between polygons and hurl themselves into the air as if they hit a massive speed bump. This was generally pretty destructive--I'm glad I have a computer that can handle slightly better terrain now.

Strange. Very strange. Of course, we have to consider that the change in altitude as you descend into the hole would naturally increase the gravity (because you are at a lower altitude, and in KSP lower altitude always = higher gravity.) I'd reckon that this is a phantom physics force of some sort acting on your unlucky rover. Very strange! Between this and the "ghosts" on Moho, I know where my next interplanetary exploration mission will be going.

You know, if you had equally-powerful engines pointing in every direction on a spacecraft, and an insane amount of fuel, you could get it to handle like an aircraft by firing engines to simulate atmospheric effects. Of course, this would be incredibly inefficient, unnecessary, and the craft would end up looking more like a Rockomax 6-way Node with LV-909s on every face than an F-14, but it would work. And then it would get blown up from seventy kilometers away by a laser platform because the engineers could only fit a couple of shotguns in a gigantic cubical frame that consists of ninety percent fuel.

Did you resize your screen? I used to have this problem when I changed the size of the screen after the game started, I think. Once I either restarted the game or returned to original window size, the part stayed on top of the mouse. Also, I'd think that for some reason the wing piece you're using only provides lift when it is held one way and not upside down. Since KSP does not mirror-image parts so much as rotate them around (even when using horizontal symmetry in the SPH), the problem may be that the wing is placed with symmetry. I expect a plugin like FAR could also play merry hell with the aerodynamic properties of the wing. The issue may be only graphical, though: Be sure to give the wings a flight test to test the lift of either wing.

Alright, Climber, you need to notice that this is another thread that has been dead since September. There is no need to post in it, start a new one if you want to. Also, why is there a need for you to change your font?

In real life, running at a lower throttle often causes incomplete burning and lower efficiency. However, in KSP we're burning some sort of highly energetic hypergolic bipropellant that never over- or underexpands a nozzle, so we can essentially throw most of the real-life throttle restrictions away. When I'm flying a design for the first time, I start off with full throttle to ensure that I get off the pad. Then the throttle goes down so I get a TWR of just over 1. I'm sure a policy like this results in grossly underloaded rockets, but it's good to have a meganewton or three of thrust to spare in case of an emergency.

Bill does not approve of Jeb and Bob's shenanigans. XD On topic: Ejecting an empty RCS tank after a successful Mun landing. Those four Separatrons punched that payload to an apoapsis of 1,800,000 meters. I'll have to use that more often!

> Aw maaan... Will you ever release it? Like, say, many versions later once we've already figured more stuff out?

Jeb is just reckless in my opinion, and Bob, although an accomplished test pilot, doesn't really have the IQ to get into politics. Bill, being a duty-minded kerbonaut and the first to set foot on the Mun, is my choice. Bill 2012!

Yeah, I've ripped some chutes off on steep re-entries. I've worked around this by still opening the chutes in space, but opting for a very shallow return trajectory. Parachutes usually stay on, and it takes a little less delta-v, too.

Kick the lander up into a suborbital trajectory that intersects with an orbiting craft, and hope the impact doesn't destroy both craft.

Oh man, I had a ten-engined beast that could break 980 m/s in .15. Used it to launch unmanned rockets into orbit. Surprisingly maneuverable, too... I'll see if I can bring it back from the dead. Might fit well into the strike/interceptor category.

Consider me interested. Laythe is one of my first targets for interplanetary travel, but first I've got to do some certification runs to the Mun and back: Haven't quite got used to .17 yet. Might attempt to bring a spaceplane down onto Laythe, as well. Stay tuned!

Good lord, Person, even I don't need that much RCS. XD Do you empty out all of those tanks? Also, been fiddling about with a few rocket designs. Once I figure out the transfers, I'm shooting for Jool. Thank heavens the SRBs weren't nerfed, or I would have been out of luck.

I believe implementing a rudimentary electricity system would be a blast. Something like using RTGs and solar panels to provide power to things like external lights, rover motors (eventually), movable parts (also eventually), and anything else non-mission-critical. That way you'd be able to use them if you wanted, but by no means would power loss imply a complete mission failure. Also, stock crew tanks and water landing gear would be nice, along with some dummy "antenna" and "camera" parts, since I can only do so much using ladders as mock antennae.

I imagine things like this is what occupies 90% of Nova's time when not programming.

That might be the sun or another light source's light traveling through planets and reflecting off of the surface. I've seen similar things on Kerbin. Has anyone made it to the deep spot in Eve's ocean yet? I bet there's something there...

So I was reading the excellent Coyote series by Allen Steele earlier, and I had a bit of inspiration. In the first book, a group of space travelers crosses the starry void in a nuclear-powered starship to form a colony on a moon of a gas giant. I would like to post this little challenge, then, based on the URSS Alabama's exploits: 1. Build an interplanetary transfer craft using nuclear engines as propulsion. One engine preferred. 2. Leave the transfer stage in Laythe orbit, ostensibly as a relay satellite, then descend to the surface via spaceplane. 3. Land safely. No return necessary! But here's where things get tricky-the bonus challenges and achievements: WHU Spirit of Social Collectivism Carried to the Stars (20 pts): Launch a second craft long after the first that gets to Laythe at a very similar time. High-energy transfers will be required, and possibly FTL mods. Dana Monroe (10 pts): Your aircraft can return to Coyote Laythe orbit. Aerospikes and turbojets are welcomed here. Rebellion (15 pts): Retake control of your transfer stage after jet landing (probably thanks to Mechjeb) and bring it down from orbit onto a lander from the first achievement. Rigil Kent (20 pts): Use your lander, other landed equipment, or falling Kerbonauts to kill and destroy landers and crew from the first achievement (or any other landed mission), hopefully without loss of equipment or life on your behalf. Pro Pilot (15 pts): Do a VTOL landing with your jet. Ultra-Realist (40 pts): Hit solar escape velocity to simulate an interstellar mission before decelerating for Joolian injection. Carlos Montero (20 pts): Bring or jerry-rig a boat and go for a sailing trip. A True Kerbonaut (10 pts): Don't use Mechjeb. What Do You Mean, "Addon Forum?" (15 pts): Stock only. I've No Idea How I Did This (20 pts): Land a very large aircraft, using the 3-crew cockpit. Maverick (15 pts): Land in IVA. Colonist (20 pts): Land with a full crew capsule of some sort. As always, pictures, videos, and elapsed-time counts are greatly appreciated. Also, try to mention any achievements you think you've... well, achieved. Good luck, everyone! Finishers: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. Top Scorers: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5.

Which planet is that little henge on, again? Also, first person to land in/on Bop's north pole wins a gold star.

If there was a first-person EVA camera, I'd be just about the happiest person ever. Other than that, I'm happy with being pleasantly surprised once .18 rolls around. ...Oh yeah! Unmanned pods too, since I can tell there's no way I'll complete a planetary landing and return for a looong time.

Now that I look at it in .17, that's definitely a side-on shot of the Space Kraken. Good work, Nova!

I've had a few moments during the operation of my first Munbase that tugged at my heartstrings a bit. For one, I landed a crew building just on the outskirts of the base to hold Kerbonauts instead of their landers. Crewed by a single kerb after the only lander flew home with a full complement of crew, there were some lonely nights out there. But then I landed my first rover (and my first mod part, hooray) with Bill as the lone pilot. Seeing as this was one of Bill's first missions to the Mun after he was the first to set foot there, I found a drive to be rather fitting. After a dozen or so kilometers, Bill parked neatly next to the crew building and shook hands with its single occupant. But the real hullabaloo came when I attempted a minimalist mission, and stranded Kirford on the Mun with bare kilograms of fuel remaining. Some people might have scrapped the mission, but I try to never leave a kerb behind. I knew I could use the lander to get Kirford into orbit with the help of his pack RCS, but I also have never done an orbital rendezvous. And the only point on the Mun that I knew how to consistently get to was my Mun base, some forty kilometers away... After a ten-kilometer RCS pack flight that almost killed poor Kirford, I set to the task of walking him home. After almost nine hours real-time, Kirford slid gently down on his feet into the canyon that housed my Munbase. Just as he reached the top of the ladder, the sun rose. It was probably my toughest and most rewarding ordeal in KSP, especially considering the fact that I kept an eye on the computer the whole time (it was hilly terrain, and I was worrying about taking a fatal tumble.) Ahh, memories...

Feh, rotation. I'm going to launch a massive stack of fuel tanks with engines on each end. Light the engines at full throttle, scoot the lander into the exhaust, and away we go!

Not to mention all of the hullabaloo you have to go through to get an app workable and approved on the app store. Although it'd be very cool to see, even if it was only the VAB or something rudimentary. Long story short, it's not going to happen in the forseeable future.