Pontiac

At launch, head directly north or south. Once in orbit, adjust to the desired angle.

I've stopped leaving my computer at home, and lug this mammoth machine to work with me. I've stopped caring that Google Reader is going to be stopping services. I've stopped playing mind numbing games that don't offer anything other than action. However, all of my CPU cores are busy. 1 is playing KSP, the 1 is handling YouTube in Chrome, the other 6 are handling a Virtual Machine. I've filled my 12gig of memory with KSP and a new development virtual machine I've built for learning on how to make plugins and working with 3D models. KSP takes up one of my 4 monitors, 2 for the VM, the 4 used for general browsing, YouTube, and possibly a video while I'm trying to figure out why Debug.Log doesn't work and the rocket I just launched self destructed at 20km up.

So I decided tonight to find out which method is quickest in refining Kethane into the three primary materials, Liquid Fuel, Oxidizer and Mono Propellant. The goals were simple. Find out which method took the shortest time by either refining all three at once, or, refine one fuel type at a time. I started a brand new game as I was just learning about how this mod works since Scott Manleys video is a bit old, but I got the gist. I'm pondering on doing a tutorial on the process of getting this stuff done. (I have a decent screen capture setup that isn't FRAPs, and it encodes video very well and very compact, but I'm having issues finding a decent video editor that doesn't blow the video up to massive sizes. My wife has a copy of Adobe Premier from school that I've been using, but its output looks like crap and I've not figured out why it takes a 30gig input video and blows it up to 10x the size for lower video quality. If anyone can, to keep this thread on topic, can you fire me a PM with suggestions on a decent video editor and maybe a basic rundown on how it works?) I first built my scanning probe. Simple rocket, single large scanner, up she went and in orbit, and in 20 minutes at 50x speed, I had a pretty decent map of what laid around on the Mun. Next, I built my all-in-one refinery. Large refinery, quad drills, 16000L tank, quad engined beast in a wide Skycrane configuration but is a permanent fixture, with quad small RCS tanks, and the Lazor System and I think about 24 yellow lazors to transfer stuff efficiently, and a tonne of RTGs. I then CHEATED my way to the Mun with it as I couldn't be bothered to build the rocket underneath (I'll test that out later), and got it landed. Found out that this thing sucks back electricity like nobodies business, so redesigned the electrical system by adding I think 48 stock RTGs. STILL not enough, but it was close, and it gave me an opportunity to build another ship, which I'll explain later. In the third version of this rocket, I also threw on a small Kethane scanner so I could keep an eye on how much fuel is left at the site. Once the refinery landed, I built a fuel tank that would take the refined gases up to orbit. Its just a large orange tank, two large RCS tanks stapled and duct taped to the ends, quad motor setup again (I kind of like the Skycrane setup), NO Lazor system this time, but might be added later. Since I didn't have anything to dock to, I skipped on the docking ports. I'll work that out later as well. As I said, I just wanted to learn about how this all works. I landed the gas tank near the refinery, and got to work. Learned how the process works, found out about the inefficiency factor when refining the three fuels at once, etc. The first go, I found out about how this thing drinks Electricity, so back to the space center to build a "UPS" system. The UPS has 13 round batteries, 8 stock large solar panels, 4 oriented to point horizontally, 4 vertical, again with the skycrane setup, LAZOR system with a ring of yellow lazors around the neck of each fuel tank on the skycrane, no RTGs. Landed it, now the refinery has enough electricity while its day time to do this experiment. The UPS does start to deplete, but never hit zero during this process. I'm pondering on loading this thing up with RTGs instead of the solar panels so I can have a constant power source at any time. I'm on the fence. That was yesterday. TODAY, with my remembering the mention somewhere in this thread about how the inefficiencies of the refinery work, I decided to put a stopwatch against it. The results are rather interesting, and possibly might end up getting the refinery nerfed. heh So, the first go was refine all fuels individually. I filled up the 16000L tank with Kethane, and dumped all the other existing fuel. Pulled out my Android, loaded the stop watch, turned on each refining process one at a time. I found that the total time it took was about 12 minutes. Second go was to refine all fuels at the same time. So again, dumped the fuel to be refined to, filled the Kethane tank, made sure the electricity was flowing. Started all three processes at the same time, brought the efficiency down to about 43 or 47% or whatever. Time elapsed was about 8.5 minutes. So, ladies and gents, the lesson here is that even though the time it takes to refine individual fuels is much faster, and uses less electricity, if you need to fill up the three types of gas, its best time wise to overheat the refinery and fill the three main fuel types all at once. After I get my Pizza, I'm going to retry this test and see if it all lines up. It should, in theory, but who knows. :]

@Atanar Wouldn't that still depend on how you're docking and what you're docking with? If you're presumably lined up along the Z, with a momentum going towards the docking point, you've got left, right, up and down to play with still. If you have RCS in the center, just as a pair or quad, and if you're positioning of the RCS is off by a little bit, you could introduce rotation. If you put a quad at the ends of your vessel equi-distance from the COM, you'll be able to evenly move the 4 directions with less chance of rotation.

http://forum.kerbalspaceprogram.com/showthread.php/24882-Actions-on-the-Fly-Edit-your-action-groups-in-flight-mode?p=390403&viewfull=1#post390403

NOTE: This isn't a KSP PLUGIN. I had no choice but to select either Plugin or Part when creating this thread. Problem: - Converting from Decimal coordinate system to Long/Lat format was a chore. Some Mods use decimal, others use Long/Lat. I can't math good. - Landing all my landers on a flag pole site kind of creates a pile up situation. - Can't remember if and where something was already landed in a particular spot without actually zooming into the site, then figuring out coordinates based on that. Needed: - Something to keep tabs of where my stationary landers are, and visually tell me where an available parking spot is. Requirements: - Something that will allow me to take notes on what is in a particular location. - Ability to keep tabs on multiple sites. Answer: - A Spreadsheet! (Ok, I would have accepted Database as well, but, this was easier) This small spreadsheet is a one-pager that lays out a grid a coordinate system that allows you to enter notes about a particular landing point. Accuracy is shown in minutes and indicates N/S and E/W. There SHOULD be a password on the spreadsheet. I do this NOT to protect my work involved, but just to lessen the chance of someone accidentally changing something then screaming bloody murder something isn't working now because they changed it. The CASE SENSITIVE password is, without square brackets and spaces: [ KsP ] XLS Link: https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/1598459/Games/KSP/Landing%20Sites.xls The cruddy part -- The license: Please do not advertise modified versions of this file unless I specify so in this thread. Provide the link to THIS forum page for changes and updates. Modifying for personal and private use is acceptable. I'll keep a change log in this OP, but the download link should never change. FAQ: Q: I noted the extension. Why that proprietary product? A: Plain and simple answer is that product does formatting better. I tried with Google Docs and then wanted to punch a hole in my screen. And no.. I don't have anger management issues, which is why this is surprising. Q: Are macros enabled? A: ABSOLUTELY NOT. There are EXACTLY ZERO macros, triggers, and/or executable functions in this file. Q: What is this compatible with? A: I've specifically saved this file to be compatible with Excel 97 and higher. There isn't anything fancy going on in here that'd warrant anything more. It apparently is also capable of working under OpenOffice (Just downloaded and tested in 3.4.1). The looks are off, but it functions. Q: I don't have this proprietary product! A: I can't help you there, so download and install OpenOffice. Q: My antivirus is screaming about this! A: Either trust your instinct, or ignore it. A lot of AV software complains when you try to download something that isn't archived, or throw a warning at you and make it sound like Armageddon. I can provide an XML file (Plain text) that will import into some spreadsheet applications, but I can't assure you that it will work 100%.

I'm extremely impressed. VERY cool job! So I'm assuming MechJeb has to be on all ships involved?

I don't recall this ever being mentioned, but I did think they were going to filter out parts lists. If you remember the part name, type it in, and it'd just show those items. It isn't in the game yet, but I heard rumors that its supposed to be there soon.

By my own diagnosis, there is some kind of issue with with KSP in which how the assemblies are loaded. If the "root" part you're saving isn't a command module (CM) (Manned or unmanned) things like your asparagus setup will break. What you do is you put a new CM down, doesn't matter which one, attach that new CM to the existing payload if there is one, attach your subassembly you want to save to the new command module, then drag the new CM to the subassembly icon and save as normal. When you load up an old assembly, attach your assembly to the new payload as per normal, but if you want to get rid of that new CM, take the assembly off the new CM, remove the extra CM, then reattach the assembly. Few extra steps, but I ain't wiring up 30 fuel lines. I didn't come up with this method, and I'm not sure where that post is, but it does work as I have a very massive asparagus rocket that was misbehaving until I put a command module on. I've looked at the code myself and tried reorganizing how the mod saves the data before I knew about the CM fix, but it didn't help. I've specifically tried saving the fuel lines to the bottom of the assembly file, but it didn't work. I didn't try putting the pipes at the top of the file because that wouldn't make sense. The parts the fuel lines attach to possibly wouldn't exist yet, so, didn't drive down that line. Then I saw the suggestion with saving with a command module came along, it worked, so I stopped trying to fix it. Personally, I think its something to do with KSP handling either the load or the save, but I can't determine which is the problem. A diff between the two files (One without a command module, and one with) yields different physical positioning of each item, a new ID for each item, but the general order of each item matches. I attribute the change in physical positions because I'm not that good at moving objects to the exact same place on the screen. Its also unfortunate that there are several people with their fingers on this code trying to submit fixes. Everyone has their own version that they're using, and somewhere down the line, something broke. If you're interested in my version, you can grab it from one of my last posts in the "official" forum. I'm using it, because I deleted the code that deletes the assembly if you try to put a command module in the save that doesn't have an additional spot for an attachment.

My first flag down was "Bob was here" with the text "Jeb may not have made it here, but I sure as hell did." Jeb is manning the gas station. Figured it'd be safer with his finger on a few hundred thousand tonnes of fuel than running around in a pod on the mun.

Bob needs to go on a diet. ... .. it'll help your delta-v.

I'm quite impressed with the braking power and traction of this thing on the Mun. I turned off the front motors, so they don't contribute to slowing down, there by adding more stability to the front end by not allowing the back end to topple over itself. The other three pair are doing all the work.

Start moving on to a different planet, and start mining Kethane there. Keep working until you've got a network out to Eeloo. But by then, 0.21 might be out and you might lose all the work, but, hey... New parts in 0.21 hopefully. For me, as I said in another post, I've built a sturdy rover and have taken it to the Mun and dropping flags at all the anomalies. So far, probably spent literally 24 hours watching this thing go. I work nights, and on my off shifts, sit next to my computer and watch it drive while I watch KSP flix on Youtube. heh Although my current rover has proven itself on both the Mun and Kerbin, it won't do in really low gravity. So, I'm working on a very low profile, wide tracked, very light beast of a machine. Currently its in its teens in tonnes in weight, but I CANNOT flip it on Kerbin.

My objective right now is to DRIVE to all the anomalies on the Mun. I've got a pretty stable mobile base (Currently 6 Kerbals in it) and she's usually cruising at 20m/s at 1x speed. I'll lock her in at 10-15m/s at 2x speed. I haz me an iderz for a rover autopilot that'll drive me to a target I set, and STOP at the target. It'll adjust directions as we go as well. Just.. well... gotta learn C# and rip apart some other peoples code.

@Kardea I think you may have to redo your probe. You can put something inside the decoupler, and sometimes this causes the attachment system to break. What I would suggest is get a small capsule, or control pod, drop your probe on whichever way possible, remove the decoupler, and put it back on, and re-save the probe.

To the OP... Its your game... your computer... why would you care what others think? I certainly don't care anyone knows I use MechJeb on every flight, auto-land every time, auto-launch, auto-dock.... Its my game. Period. If anyone has a problem, they can go chew on their soother in the corner with their little doll.

For multiplayer, yeah, mod stuff sucks. However, for single player, it boils down to personal preference. Unless Squad encrypts the career persistence file, and only permits their own components in career mode (Which would, I'm sure, cause one hell of a ruckus) then it'd be just a matter of editing the save file, and that'd be on the players conscious.

What I've done is plopped a gas station at 750km above Kerbin for interplanetary travel. I don't know if its any better than keeping it at 100, 200, 250 or 300k, but I do know that above 750k, I can fast forward for those months long waits for a proper orbit to appear.

I should start. My full ship has multiple command modules. The primary points horizontal and rolled 45'. If I don't pick the probe on top of the ship, its absolute misery getting the ship above 1k. Back in 0.19.2, When I was prep'n to get my Mun Mobile Base, code-named Unity, up to the Mun, there we so many checks I had to do before, during, and after ascent, then there was prep'n for the landing. I did manage to get Unity down, but then 0.20 came out.. and well... back to the drawing board. :] (Plug in problems and I couldn't wait for the fixes) I wonder if a mod could be made to include a checklist on a per-ship basis? I can EASILY write a Pascal program to do this kind of thing, but, I think it'd be more cooler in-game.

What I'd like to have is the ability for the kerbals to pick up some items and re-attach parts that fall off. I realize things like beams and fuel tanks are out of the question because of the weight involved, but, things like wheels, or repairing a solar panel after picking up some parts, or, pulling a new one out of a "storage" container? That'd be nice.

The two mods I'm using come into play with my story, the Subassembly Loader and Actions On The Fly.... I built a rover to fire off to Mun to specifically drive around and have a Kerbal plant flags at each anomaly. Thank Jeb for quick save, for sure... I have Subassembly Loader setup with my rover I patch and tune, as well as a huge rocket I found somewhere that doesn't get touched since its so complex. 500+ part beast consisting of nothing but orange tanks and mainsail engines. LOVE that thing. However, something gets goofed with staging, apparently when using multiple ships with multiple staging. Good to know [now]!!! Lift off without a hitch. Get to orbit without a hitch and have PLENTY of fuel left that I could land the entire remaining ship on the Mun, take off, and re-land about 4 times, but, I was kind of anxious just to get this darned rover on the ground since I've spent literally 2 months building it (Started building it back in 19.0, and when 20.0 came out, scrubbed it and started over again with some refinements), and testing it for a long term stay at the Mun. I first noticed that during deceleration that my landing stage was firing and using fuel. If I would have stayed in map mode, I wouldn't have noticed, but, I switched to ship view and was like "Oh crap...".. So an emergency burn to get back into a stable orbit while I figured out WTF happened. So spent about 10 minutes minutes figuring out how to transfer fuel back up to the skycrane, getting AOTF setup to properly enable and disable the quad engines with two separate keys (One for off, one for on). Turned off the 4 engines, and started my decent again.. At this point I still have my trio of orange tanks with mainsails attached. KNOWING that my fuel is now imbalanced on one of the outer tanks because I didn't think to transfer out of the CENTER tank, I decided to not bother burning the mainsails for landing burn as I knew that the skycrane has enough power to lift the entire rover on Kerbin, but decided to keep them on to help keep the twisting of the ship as I adjust on the way down. So just as I was getting about about the.. ohhh 5k mark... I staged. .... and off went the skycrane to its own orbit (Small SRBs attached to the gas tanks), and leaving my three Kerbals with three large fuel tanks attached to their ass. So... after I picked my now bruised forehead off my desk.... I quickly glance to the keyboard to find that F9 key..... So what did I learn? Put a pillow on my desk, first off. Second, quadruple check the staging!

@OP: You must remember that this game is still in development, a work in progress, and is by no means anywhere near finished. But the bottom line is that at THIS point, there is no built-in "purpose" or "end-game" to any part of this game as of yet. If there ever is an "end-game" I think I'd be a bit upset. I thought about the OPs question back shortly after I started playing this game, and I seriously was about to shelve it. Then I started watching a TONNE of youtube videos, and seeing what others are doing. That changed my mind. So I came up with a personal project to build a mobile rover that can attach to other copies of itself and move around a planets surface, and then send Kerbils to investigate all the different secrets on the planets. I'm running ISA Mapsat to map out all the planets, which is one challenge. (I'm having a problem getting to the moons around Jool, and Moho? Pfft...). I've built a gas station in space so I can refuel my ships as they go interplanetary. Along the way, I've learned how to orbit, dock, and land. My next objective is to get another station above Mun, and learn how to use the Kethane pack. I've also started ripping into some of the mods in this game (The developer in me just can't freak'n help it!) and figure out how they tick. So the game is full of self challenges. You could land on the Mun with nothing but stock, or only a certain set of parts. Get to Eeloo and then Moho with a single stage. NO CHEATING.... That kinda stuff. There are several planned features, such as resources and a career mode in the works, but they're not there. MANY people are itching pretty badly for resources. I kinda am as well.

For an update on my yellow lazor issue, I've just been reloading from my save point. The behavior is odd. I can start a transfer, with all lazors pointing directly at my target, start the transfer, get a few units over, then all of a sudden, it slams to a stop, and no matter what I do, I just cannot get it to go without a reload. Once I reload, either via F9 or going back to the space center then going back to the mission, the system is fine until it thinks otherwise. However, I've run into two more consistent problems with the green lazors. Is it supposed to happen when a lazor detects something, it turns itself off and won't turn back on until a reload? Seems to be what is going on with my current setup. I put the metal pad in place there because I THOUGHT there might have been an issue with the Karmony node. I also copied, and rotated each of the 8 lazors on top (Ignore the most bottom left as I've yet to remove it) but when I turn on Horizon mode, they all shoot in one direction and scan about a 90', and doesn't seem to move. However, if I go into H90V90 mode, they do scan the full range. That is until it sees something.

It has been two weeks since the OP has been on, and longer since he's posted in here, so I've taken the liberty to correct the problem with 0.20.x which adds many "Enable" entries when you right-click on the command module. I've not been able to raise the author as of yet, however, the license he's included seems pretty liberal. Update: https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/1598459/Games/KSP/ActionsOnTheFly/ActionsOnTheFly1.1.1.zip Source code modification, new DLL, updated license (My just agreeing with him), and a Change Log. I've tested this on 0.20.2 on two different installs, on ships with multiple command modules with only the "root" module having the option to edit. @DasMike> Subassembly Loader works now.