Lheim

Hey folks! I'm relatively new; just been tooling around with the game for a month or so. Made it to Duna, Ike, and back so far . I'm starting to get into mods, but I'm not looking for anything too crazy different or overpowered and i'm not *yet* looking to automate those repetitive tasks. I'm just looking for mods that can improve the UI and give information and fix a few bugs or annoyances - to give an idea, I've currently got kerbal engineer, subassembly loader, and the alarm clock mod. I'll probably pick up rovemate and docking struts, too. I'm not necessarily looking for part packs, though I know there's a ton out there. What do folks recommend for UI and convenience tweaks, though?

I've used some of the debug menu commands while testing designs. If you think about it, any designs created in the real world are going to be thoroughly tested and they're going to KNOW if X system works properly before sending it off to Mars. So why oughtn't I hack gravity and test my rcs hoverpod on the launch pad, call it a 'simulation', end flight, and call it a day before sending it off? As for Mechjeb - I can totally see the appeal of it to automate repetitious tasks. The reason I'm not using it now is because I'd like the satisfaction of mastering an achievement in the game before turning it over to automation. I don't see the big controversy; hell, the developers have flat out said that with career mode you'll be able to turn over some tasks to AI control if your kerbals are rated for it. So.. in-game mechjeb is coming, just with an RPG minigame about the astronaut complex. Fine by me. Fine by me if you also have to 'train' your kerbals by accomplishing tasks yourself before you can turn it over to them.

Haven't seen it, can't believe somebody hasn't thought of it already:

Yep, a polar orbit oriented east-west would always be in sunlight.

Hey, pebblegarden's videos are no longer private. Cool enough

Very odd. I would swear it wasn't private up until a couple days ago.

What really helped me do my first docking was pebble garden's 'phoenix project' youtube series. The guy's a master at the procedure but presents it with good simple language. Watch that. And fool around with your own ships trying to imitate, and don't give up - the most important thing I think I can say is that you have to get to a point where the ideas 'click' and you understand on an intuitive level what's going on on the screen. You can get there. Docking is, I would say, still technically hard for me.. but far from the impossible hour long fumbling I had before aborting my first real attempt. Okay, as for interplanetary stuff.. hrg, that's tougher. You hafta burn so that you come out of Kerbin orbit either increasing the speed of your solar orbit and thus raising your apoapsis, or decreasing it and lowering your periapsis.. to go inward in the system, or outward. But there's the matter of timing: hitting the peri/apoapsis at just the right moment that the planet you're aiming for is entering the neighbourhood is far from intuitive. You can have to wait years of in-game time for the planets to line up right. Google for 'ksp interplanetary calculator' to see the recommended angles.