Caelib

4GB of RAM is pretty weak in this day and age. I would upgrade to at least 8GB but most games now will run best with 12GB.

What's the heaviest thing you've launched?: Jebediah's ego.

Use asparagus staging to reach orbit, then use the most-efficient engine (nuclear). It's a tricky balance to find the right combination of fuel/thrust ... I put together a pic-heavy thread for a Mun landing and return mission if you want to take a look at it for some guidance: http://forum.kerbalspaceprogram.com/showthread.php/31569-Mun-Landing-Overview-Pic-Heavy%21

Sporting my new coffee cup on my sexy new black walnut countertops!

I got my Large Logo Mug/Coffee Cup today ... it's nice! Woohoo!

Wasn't able to determine this by reading your post, but have you landed on the Mun and returned? If not, I would start there. As far as Duna ... use parachutes for your landing (use the big drag chute PLUS the normal ones) -- the atmosphere is thin, but the chutes should work just fine for you. As far as a spaceplane ... that is going to be very hard because the atmosphere is so thin -- you'll have to use rockets for 99.9% of the trip.

My recommendation would be to master the core game before you install any mods.

Stay the course. Follow in the footsteps of Dean Hall with DayZ and build the game of your original vision and don't dumb it down to appease the loudest voices in the crowd.

Anyone who has played KSP for a prolonged period has too many choices ... but the most memorable one for me is the time I went to land on Eeloo and realized that my thrusters wouldn't work because I had neglected to open my solar panels before time warping.

Suicide burn!

Probe cores ... first page.

It's not stupid -- real rovers have a lot of batteries.

My best advice is to keep it simple. Building a sky crane is very challenging and difficult to operate correctly with a quicksave festival. Duna is a good first target for a rover because it has an atmosphere (albeit very thin) so you can use parachutes. I just did one today, here is the design I use that does not require a sky crane .. instead, I used a Jr. docking port (with struts) below the lander module: Next all you need to do is board the seat, then decouple the docking node!

I have put together a basic overview of the steps needed to land on the Mun and return. Hopefully this very basic guide will help anyone trying to get to the Mun -- I have tried many things and steps below are what I have found to the most successful. I will reference specific designs/methodologies, but I will not go into detail of how those work (look them up if you don't know what they are). Pre-Launch - this ship contains many stages; they are: orbiter/return ship (top), lander (middle), lifter (bottom - uses a "Skipper" engine with 4-stage-asparagus plus 8 solid boosters): Passing through 5,000 meters, the solid boosters have been decoupled, along with the first asparagus stage: Passing through 35,000 meters, the last asparagus stage has been nearly depleted: Circular orbit reached at 82,000 meters: Setup maneuver node to get a close encounter to the Mun (will adjust more when we reach the Mun's sphere of influence): Mun encounter - setup another maneuver node for low-Mun orbit: Upon reaching circular orbit, decouple orbiter from lander: Burn retrograde until decent is vertical and make minor adjustments until you touch down: Landed and EVA to plant the flag! Rendezvous with orbiter (no need to dock - just EVA and board): Returned to Kerbin and landed safely!

Yes, that is exactly what I did with mine! Sure, it adds more drag because it's more parts, but it gets the job done!

I ordered the "Large KSP Logo Mug" -- I would have ordered a T-Shirt too if they had one with just that design on it (like the mouse pad).

- Payload fairings - Robotic Arms and/or Hinges - Mining/Gathering Equipment - Nuclear Engine w/o need for oxidizer + Fuel Tanks with configuration fuel type (Liquid vs Liquid + Oxidizer) - FLAT clamp-o-tron/Jr. docking ports (like the new Sr. port) - Smaller Lights - More variety of Monopropellant tanks (capacity, size and shape) - Life support systems (oxygen/food/water) - More variety of "hitch-hiker" type modules - More science equipment: robotic arm/grabber, telescope, camera, oven, microscope, smaller parabolic dish, etc.

I was just going to ask the same thing! Pics!

Correct -- I can turn this thing with ASAS or RCS, use rockets to move it ... no wobble. A very similar design station I had would practically break in half if I tried to move it.

So, I built an entirely new space station (100% stock) using the new docking ports exclusively ... zero wobble (but I do use strategically-placed struts)! Here's a pic:

Did you orient them correctly/opposing each other? That was the first mistake I made! One side will have attachment-point/construction label and the other will look like an airlock -- make sure the airlocks are facing each other (if you haven't already tried this yourself) --- otherwise, I have no idea why it wouldn't be working.

I played for a few hours and I think it's a great update. I especially like the new jumbo docking port -- that really opens up many possibilities in my space station designs! The Knowledge Base info in-game is a fantastic addition to an already great game! I haven't had a chance to get a rover with a seat yet, but that will come in due time.

As a consumer of a great product, if I could pay more to expedite its development, I would.

I have done it that way once. This is the same way they are doing the Mars mission in 2018.

Nice work. Landing on Duna is not easy ... getting back is very challenging! I've done the same mission to the Mun and it took me about 3 days of practice and Delta-V doesn't even really factor into the problem much there!