SpaceGremlin

I think it looks more like a puma.

I don't use the mk3 stuff anymore (I used to with TT's mk3 expansion), but here's how to mount an engine on them using BZ-52's.

Mechjeb also has part count. Its just not in a default window, but you can add it with the window editor.

Have you tried using a magnetic retaining field to focus a narrow beam of gravitons that will, in turn, fold space-time consistent with Weyl tensor dynamics until the space-time curvature becomes infinitely large? Then, all you have to do is produce a singularity...

Try using the FAR roll and yaw levelers and manage pitch with the trim controls. Once the atmo thins enough turn the SAS back on (and alt + x to clear trim). SAS is not needed for flying at all in the lower atmo. It also seems that when I use procedural wings I get less SAS flapping. Not sure if its because it is inherently more stable of if I am just getting lucky with balancing the control authority.

Its called an analogy. I don't oppose Mechjeb (I use and love it), except in this one extremely narrow case. You seem to be missing that point. It boggles my mind that you think the words "recommend" and "dictate" are equivalent.

This thread is way off topic. Whether MJ should be stock or not is beyond the scope of this thread (and could easily fill a thread of its own). Can we get back to Mechjeb's potential as a teaching tool for new players? I think it is your assumption that is untenable. Being able to mentally perform basic math functions without a calculator is essential for being able to teach a student more advanced forms of math (as a former math tutor, I've seen the effects of overly relying on calculators, its not pretty). Is it such a stretch that learning KSP would share some similarities? Yet you seem adamant that it is wrong to advise a new player to learn some basics in the stock game before playing around with the most powerful tool available in KSP. I wish there was a double blind study into the effects of learning KSP both with Mechjeb at the start, and with trial and error. But there isn't one (I hope Teachergaming LLC is looking into this though). Until then, we can only offer opinions based on our own experiences and observations. Look at the Youtube "let's play" channels that showcase KSP. Most of them fire up the game for the first time live. Would you recommend that they immediately install Mechjeb to learn how to play? Isn't "failure is fun" one of the main attractions of learning KSP? Does Mechjeb massively cut down on the chance for failure? Now I know you'll accuse me of "dictating how people should play", so let me stop you right there. I'm not asking that a new players puts in 200 hours of stock KSP before "allowing" them to try mods or anything. I'm just saying I would recommend that they play stock for a short time before diving into mods. From what I have observed, most players fail spectacularly at first, start to figure things out, achieve some of the basic accomplishments, then start to run into a wall of "what next". That is when I would suggest mods like Mechjeb. Its a learning process that most players seem to go through. Given no other information than "new player", this is what I would recommend.

When I wanted to push 90 tons of equipment out to Jool early in my career I needed a monster drive section. Here's how I launched it: The final payload is a bundle of 7 Rocko 32's with a Skipper (130 tons). Has roughly 4600 dV in the first two stages so its not burning payload fuel. Its all Rocko 32's and skippers, so you should be able to adapt a smaller design for your purposes.

Very nice.

Currently running 22 mods (there's 28 folders in my gamedata, but some of those are bundled with larger mods like B9, so I discounted them). Always on the lookout for more too.

Here's the mission I sent out to Duna a few days ago. I think the only techs I had that you don't are Heavier Rocketry, Electronics, and Advanced Science (I rushed to the end of the science branch to maximize my interplanetary trips, but its optional). I assembled it in LKO with several launches (much easier), and the drive section is a KW SPS (similar to a Poodle engine, just a touch better). Its meant to clean the entire Duna system out of science in one go (high/low Duna/Ike orbits, Duna and Ike landings, etc). All the science is piled into the 3 man pod to be returned to Kerbin with the crew. As for getting the intercept, here's what I do: when my transfer window opens up I put my apoapsis out to Duna orbit and play with the node until I get an intercept with Duna's SOI. After performing that burn I trim the intercept down to low Duna orbit (I usually do this at the ascending/descending node). Simply adjust normal/antinormal to get the intercept to the desired inclination, and then its usually a slight prograde/retrograde or radial/antiradial adjustment to get the periapsis down below Ike's orbit. The further away you are, the less dV you'll need to adjust, but the less control you'll have. So don't be afraid to do this multiple times as you get closer. I usually set my final aerobrake altitude by burning radial/antiradial at the edge on Duna's SOI.

Here's how to get a fat payload up with a low tech rocket. The highest tech in it is Heavier Rocketry (tier 5, 160 science), which can be easily farmed up with a Mun landing or two. and without the fairing The massive fairing is for FAR, but it has enough dV to achieve orbit in stock. The payload is those 7 Rockomax 32s + a Skipper (130 tons). The bottom stage is 19 Skippers, the second stage is 7. You can see how I ran the struts in such a way that they relieve stress on the decouplers. Each ring of boosters is strutted together and to the inner ring. Yes, there are a few mod parts on it, but the basics of it are stock. Hope this helps.

Axis, not access.

Today in my career I needed to lift 130 tons to LKO with a low tech rocket. I only have up through Heavy Rocketry (Rockomax 32 and Skipper) to work with. Made it to orbit on the test run. Under the fairing is the upper stage and the payload (a drive section to push a mission out to Jool, my first interplanetary window). It has 4600 dV, but only needed ~3600 to make it because of FAR. I overdid it on dV because I needed to keep adding boosters to the bottom stage to increase TWR.

Remove the !MODULE[ModuleScienceExperiment] from the science.cfg in the WarpPlugin folder to retain the stock functionality of the accelerometer (and you will also have the impact experiment on the same part).

In the VAB/SPH you right click on a KAS box to open its inventory editor. To make a part available there it needs to have some attributes added to it with Module Manager I think. KAS 0.4.5 does this to a number of stock parts by default, and LLL has a number of KAS enabled parts as well.

Just prototyped a seismic monitoring station for my current career (for KSP Interstellar impact experiments). Its a KAS ground pylon, battery, OX-STAT, accelerometer, and a LLL microchip. Takes up 47 storage units in a KAS box. Now to deploy these all over the place... Edit: and I forgot to add, the battery won't charge unless you quicksave and reload.

This was my Duna lab from my last campaign. It has a lander for Duna and Ike, spare fuel supplies to support multiple sorties to collect science, the lab itself, and a return capsule for bringing the crew/science back.

The Saturn V was 2,800,000 kg, so SFJack's is quite close to the real thing.

Rovers are best built in the spaceplane hanger and saved as a subassembly (start with a junk part as your root, like a girder, then build the rover off of that since you can't include your root part in a subassembly). Then attach it to the side of your lander in the VAB. Add an equal amount of weight to the other side to keep it balanced (like spare fuel, or even another rover), or attach to the bottom if you use radial engines. The mobile science processing lab makes for an excellent core to a space station. It allows you to clean out goo containers and science juniors for reuse (requires two crew to function). Put the science lab in Mun or Minmus orbit with some extra fuel supplies and you can hit every biome on them with a single lander. Just remember to remove your science data from your experiments and store them in a safe place (like in the lab or a return capsule).

Don't get me wrong, I am all for however anyone chooses to play, and I am all for Mechjeb too (I use it a lot). But there is a loose progression of skills and accomplishments that most players will go through eventually. Mechjebbing straight through all of them from step one probably won't be very fulfilling for most players. I'm not trying to get anyone to use Mechjeb or to not use it, but to point them in a direction that I think will help them to decide whether MJ will be what they derive the most enjoyment from. New players will come to the forum looking for guidance. Hopefully we can greet them with a discussion on the merits of Mechjeb for new players rather than some strictly pro/anti MJ ideology. Once again my stance is: Mechjeb can be a great learning tool for new players, just not right from the absolute start (warning: opinion, in case you get confused again). Now excuse me while I go call out some noobs for ********bing and set them on the One True Way to play KSP. /sarcasm

Mechjeb doesn't kill discovery, it can greatly aid it by being an interactive tutorial. As long as a player has a good enough grasp of the basics to understand what MJ is doing they can attempt it themselves. The way MJ is introduced in career mode does a great job preventing early over reliance on it. Besides, most players eventually realize that they can fly better than Mechjeb and scale back their usage as they improve. Pretty much all I use it for these days is the dV calculator, orbital info, and for flying extremely long maneuver nodes. I'd caution newer players to wait until they've hit some of the early milestones (like Mun landing) before trying Mechjeb, then go crazy with it if they want to. MJ is like trying to teach someone math and handing them a TI-89. Too soon and it hinders their learning, but eventually it becomes a great tool for learning more advanced concepts.

Speed. You prevent the laser from focusing on one spot of your defenses for too long (assuming we're talking about a realistic laser and not some extremely high energy pulse like a Star Wars turbolaser).

I only use MJ for the dV calculator, the orbital info, and for long tedious burns while I watch TV. It also makes a handy radial probe core for deorbiting upper stages. Used responsibly MJ makes the game more fun. Sounds like you should uninstall it for now, but give it a try again in the future.

Started right after 0.18 came out. Still not sure how KSP flew under my radar for so long...