Fixr

Thats... Kinda what a planet is.

Haha, I took geography, I should get my terms straight By super-volcano, I meant just a really, really big volcano. Sorry for any confusion. I would like ash clouds to be a problem in the immediate vicinity of the volcano, as well as wandering storms that block out the sun, and can shut down solar panels for days. For example, if a space plane was brought down to laythe, it would quickly bust the engines were it to fly into the ash plumes, or any storms. Perhaps in many places, but to tie in with point 3, why not rocky islands? Maybe these islands have large rocky sections where lava solidified? I agree completely. I feel that sandy islands could be hard to land in, but rockier planes near volcanic regions could have reasonably hard, solid and flat terrain, perfect for long term bases. I'm sure if the devs do add in volcanic regions with impressive cliffs, they will leave plenty of flat surfaces with a lovely view!

First and foremost: Ill leave this one up to the mods if this counts as "Better/More interesting planetary surfaces" I just thought I would throw my two cents in as to how they could be better, because I think Laythe in particular needs huge improvements, and I'm not trying troll the forums moaning about how things just need to be "better" Now, formalities aside, lets talk about how I think Laythe could be improved! 1: Coral reefs along the shorelines: Laythe is an ocean world, so lets use that to our advantage and include lovely coral reefs. who knows? you might find a curious fish among the colorful coral! The coral could be of various different types and colors, and perhaps be different types on different islands. Perhaps samples of rarer coral could yield a higher scientific value? (P.S, About the fish, I know "aliens" aren't happening in this game, but this ain't exactly E.T. we're talking about here) 2: cliffs and crags: I saw this trailer for a game called "space engine" I don't know if anyone here has heard of it, but at the 5 minute mark it showed a world surprisingly similar to Laythe. This shows exactly the problem with current terrain in ksp. its too smooth! I have not really seen any truly epic mountains or cliffs or ridges. I mean, current terrain gets the job done, but its not quite as pretty as this. Perhaps if Laythe happened to suffer a few eruptions, the lava could make a few interesting formations... 3: Good god, Laythe is dull. I hate to break it to you, but your moon looks dead. Even the oceans manage to be dead and grey, and this is a problem for such a pretty moon. why not brighten things up a bit? I don't know quite how to explain it, and it certainly doesn't need a completely different color scheme, but something is missing. it looks bare bones at the moment. Tying in with number 4, continents with volcanoes could be rocky and solid. A welcome retreat from the dull grey sand. The oceans need brightening up as well. Perhaps the addition of waves and tides could help with this a little? Should a storm come, coastal bases had better watch out! 4: Volcanoes and hot lava! Given the nature of this planet, and how it obviously has volcanic activity within it (or a result perhaps caused by tidal forces from Jool?), I think it could use a few volcanoes on its surface, to help heat up the moon so far from the sun. alongside a couple minor ones... somewhere on the surface, lies a continent dominated by an extremely powerful and gigantic volcano of epic proportions!!! Kerbals trying to land had best beware, as the huge clouds of smoke and ash can damage solar panels and scientific equipment, and the pit of lava in its center is extremely dangerous, and instantly fatal. Despite its dangerous nature, the volcano is quite a site to see from a safe distance, as its massive plumes of smoke can be seen for miles, and reach all the way up to the edge of the atmosphere! Perhaps when weather and clouds are added, huge storms could come from this plume and travel for miles? 5: Glowing green....er. Radiation! Many people have wondered about the implementation of radiation, given Laythes proximity to Jool. I don't know quite how this would work. Kerbals with cancer? no thanks. If anyone has any ideas for how our little moon could turn fallout-style, ill be sure to add them up here That's about it for now, I hope folks reading this like my ideas, and even have a few of their own. Laythe has a lot of potential for exploration and science, and I look forward to all the devs have planned for it.

First things first.. I think that we need oceans and water in general to be more than just a good (and incredibly noisy) spot to land. Imagine the potential probes and spacecraft would have exploring the depths of the ocean... Lots of room for science! Here is a brief concept I came up with. Ksp is home to few oceans, currently. I'm sure some planets like vall and eeloo may have subsurface oceans, but as awesome as it sounds, i'm not mad enough to assume the developers intend on adding drills, or other means to reach them. So lets focus on the clear oceans free of icy surfaces. Kerbin looks to have a good bit of ocean on it, and i'm sure folks who love exploring home would love to check out its oceans. Whats far more interesting to me though is Laythe. Laythe is a bit of an "endgame" spot in ksp currently. its by far the most appealing body in the Kerbol system, due to its (possibly) survivable atmosphere and oceans. Its also notoriously hard to reach. So, you've landed. Now what? The islands are dull and grey, the sand is dull and grey, even the oceans have a grey tint to them. what was so beautiful from the telescope back home is in fact, incredibly boring. (besides the beauty of Jool in the sky, which I wont lie, is awesome) I think it only makes sense to brighten up the oceans a bit, right? First and foremost, command modules! this would include manned and unmanned modules, unmanned modules resembling a AUV or "hydrobot" http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AUV With manned modules being more submarine-like, perhaps with one to three crew modules. Propulsion! As with most parts, they increase with size and power, but of course require more charge to power them. this is pretty straightforward, simple propellers would do the job, right? They could work like rocket engines, with varying levels of thrust. Anchors! When you want so settle down for a bit, or maybe even cobble together an underwater base, use an anchor to keep it all from floating away. Again, small, medium and large, with varying length from a break from coastal meandering, to hunkering down from heavy duty subsurface exploration. No pressure, but.. This wouldn't be fun if the whole thing didn't explode at the last minute. So, you need to be careful of pressure when you get too far down. I think only the huge clunky parts would be able to survive the deepest regions of the ocean. It could alert you when you are in danger of being crushed. If a Kerbal tried to EVA at the bottom of the ocean, then sorry pal, instant death. For Science! How does the goo behave under the sea? Can a Kerbal plant a flag underwater? What temperature is the ocean floor? is it just me, or does this rock sort of look like a fish? Who knows what the ocean holds?