espm400

Recently KSP is by-and-large my most played game. However I was quite surprised to find out that it's still a good 50 hours short of Fallout:New Vegas (232 and 290 respectively). Mind you, I've had FO:NV since its release and still play it every now and again. KSP on the other hand, I've only had for two-three months on Steam (had the demo since .16 and played .18 and .19 on a rig my buddy lent me while he was in Europe for a few months). Looking back though, I don't think it even comes close to some of my old favorites, such as SimCity 4 (and 3000) and Civ 4.

Despite say exactly the opposite earlier this week, I decided to build a quick base on the Mun with my new save before .21 comes out. Also got my first properly executed precision landing. Just for the record, the rover in the background landed first, followed by the power module (350m distance), followed most recently by the life support module (17.5m distance, damn near landed on the solar panel of the power module).

Naw, I prefer clusters. with the Lazor Docking Cam it's easy enough to dock all four ports at once, and on top of that the part you're adding to your station/ship always snaps to a 90* increment. I can get a straight dock most of the time with a single port, but using a quad-coupler eliminates any guess work as well as any minor errors increasing the more parts you dock. It just bugs me when one of the parts on my station isn't perfectly square with the rest. I guess it just comes down to preference.

Well, after continuing my program of replicating modern military aircraft (started a B1-B Lancer and an XB-70 Valkyrie seen earlier in the thread), I got bored and pulled my F-15 MTD/ACTIVE out of the hanger for some aerobatics (I looked at the clock after the most recent KSP crash, and I'd been at it for two hours...). EDIT: I really need some capture software...

It's here as well...

Giantbomb.com did a hilarious quick look of it ( http://www.giantbomb.com/videos/quick-look-kerbal-space-program/2300-6420/ ). Although, looking back and watching them play now that I know the ropes, there is a lot of head shaking going on...

And your problem with helping new players is? Just yesterday I was commenting in a different thread, saying that out of all the gaming forums I've signed up for, KSP has by far the most helpful and friendly community out there. Then I see the smart-asses in this thread and it's some of the first evidence to the contrary. Maybe some of you need to climb down off of that mile-high horse you're on and remember what it was like the first time you started the game.

Built myself one of my favorite jets; the XB-70 Valkyrie. It's quite WIP as it's incredibly unstable at trans-sonic speeds (as well as over Mach 4). I did use quantum struts so that the movable winglets can be locked in position, as they flopped around like a dying fish beforehand. So far my top speed with it is ~Mach 4.65 @25,000m.

Since the announcement of .21, I've bricked my space program and decided to work on some fun atmospheric stuff. In this case, some replica(-ish) versions of real life fighters and X-planes. Most of them are still very much WIP for various reasons, but here's what I have so far. Side note: I'm using FAR and DRE (among others) The F-15/ACTIVE is by far my favorite. It's the most maneuverable jet I've made and can pull off a variety of variations of Pugachev's Cobra maneuver (although with DRE I learned to remove the missiles before attempting as they don't take too well to the g-forces), as well as being able to take some pretty harsh landings in stride. EDIT: Two questions for you guys as well: I fly with a 360 controller, is there any way to map camera rotation to the right stick? Second, I saw a near perfect F-16 cockpit somewhere on the forums here a while back, anybody know where it's from? I thought it was SFR's but it ain't in any of his threads.

I've had MechJeb for the majority of the time I've owned KSP (had it on a buddy's borrowed computer w/o MechJeb for a few months prior), and I've used it precisely twice for anything other than information. I tried using it for docking, just to see what it was like, and though it did the whole process faster than I usually do, it used more than five times the Monoprop. The second was last night when I tried to use Smart A.S.S. to keep me pointed retrograde while I tried to get a Mun landing with the latest possible burn. Unfortunately I didn't turn it off quickly enough when I reached zero velocity, and it flipped me right above the ground. As for docking multiple ports at once, I prefer the quad-couplers from Nuke's 'Half-metre parts' to the stock tri-coupler for the ability to dock in 90* increments.

There is also Romfarer's 'Lazor System' mod, which allows you to up the draw distance to either 22.5km or 92.5km(?)

I design my orbital vehicles to leave as little as possible in orbit, although some is unavoidable. As for around the space centre, I have an F-15/ACTIVE replica I made armed with Romfarer's Lazor Guided Missiles that frankly, I need as little of an excuse as possible to bring out of the hanger (I love flying that thing).

That was the main reason I got 'Lazor Guided Weapons' by Romfarer. The first couple times I attempted it (before I got FAR) was with a jet that was far too wide. After a couple incidents of going off the side and one interesting one where my wing clipped the control tower, the runway was so littered with debris that landing anything there was out of the question. Now I stick to my smaller crafts when landing there. EDIT: Surprisingly, out of the first four crashes, not a single Kerbal died. This ended up in the design of a jet to get the eight guys stranded on the island back. A design that (after some minor changes) is now a twelve man crew transfer SSTO.

I'll third this motion. Since I build my rovers in the SPH, having some form of 'terrain' within a couple metres of where your craft spawns is very agreeable. Especially if you just want to do a quick strength test with a slow rover and don't want to drive it over to the launch pad. Personally, I'm also fine with it for landings. IRL you've got to hit a fairly small patch if you're landing a large plane anyways. Yes, it could stand to be scaled up a bit, but if you're having trouble landing your space planes there, I would suggest getting an Xbox 360 controller. They make space planes a damn-sight easier to fly. Also, if you thing the berm at KSP is bad, apparently you've not tried landing at the island runway...

Thanks. Also, I completely agree with KAS, Lazor Docking Cam (although the whole Lazor system is great) and Chatterer (my gamedata folder is a mess, glossed right over those). I saw that escape pod, maybe I'll have to give it a go.

Although I haven't done much interplanetary stuff in .20, I used to assemble everything in LKO and fire it off all at once (be it space or ground station). Now however, I have DRE, so I'm going to have to re-think my ground strategy. I'll probably still send everything at once, but disassemble in the target orbit and re-assemble on the ground.

Personally, I tend to use a lot of mods and which ones you should get are totally up to you. Just a few examples of some of the higher quality ones I use, and what they do: Realism: If you're not yet fully comfortable with the game, I would suggest laying off these for a while, but they're worth looking into nonetheless. Farram Aerospace Research (FAR): Adds a drag model and actual functional lift to aircraft. Allows for better spaceplane creation/flight, among other things. Deadly Re-entry (DRE): Does what it says. Adds re-entry heat (requires heat shields) and your ship and crew are much more susceptible to g-forces. IonCross Crew Support: Adds oxygen requirement and CO2 buildup in crew capsules. You'll need to add O2 tanks and CO2 scrubbers for your crew to survive any major duration. RemoteTech: Requires a communitcation network be established for your unmanned craft. Also incorporates a command delay based on the distance your coms have to travel (i.e. 0.5 sec delay from any command input to a craft orbiting Minmus). Part Packs: Addon parts to increase your ship building options (either aesthetically or functionally speaking) KW Rocketry: One of my 'must haves.' Greatly increases the number of options you have in fuel tanks and engines. Also gives you a lot of fairings and other aerodyamic parts. B9 Aerospace Pack (B9): If you get FAR, this one is also a must. Greatly increases the amount of wings and other aerodynamic parts. Great for building spaceplanes, among other things. Bobcat's American and/or Soviet Packs: Two separate mods; the Soviet pack concentrates on the Soyuz series of rockets, but also includes the Buran and Kliper orbital spacecraft. The American pack contains the more recently conceived ARES I & V launch vehicles as well as the Orion craft. Bobcat's H.O.M.E.: Pack to assist with the colonization of other worlds. Contains a variety of modules to help in this manner. KOSMOS Space Station Parts: A variety of Soviet space station parts (also some very awesome solar panels) FusTek Station Parts Expansion: Another good variety of station parts. Procedural Wings (pWings): Just a couple small but very useful parts. Think of a wing that you can adjust to pretty much any (flat) shape that you want. Very helpful when making replicas. ISA MapSat: A couple small parts and a plugin that allows you to map your planets and moons from orbit. Kethane: This is a pretty big one. Adds the resource 'Kethane' to all celestial bodies in your game. You must scan planets to find it, drill to extract it, and then convert it to whatever fuel you want. Really good once you start to get bored, as it add some decent goals and what-not. Plugin Addons: I would recommend waiting for a while before downloading these. Although some are completely harmless (Crew Manifest), if you start relying on certain ones (MechJeb) before you've got the game down, it can really hamper your experience. Crew Manifest: Plugin that allows you to empty/fill your crafts on the launchpad/runway. Also transfer crew between pods while on a mission. Protractor: Plugin that allows you to see the phase angles of the planets for ease of launching interplanetary missions. MechJeb: Sort of an all-encompassing mod. The reason I say wait a while before getting this is that this mod can takeoff, land, dock, setup maneuver nodes, etc. for you. Personally I use it for the multitude of information it provides (I used the auto-dock once. Found it was prohibitively heavy on the RCS). Mission Controller: If you're looking for a bit more structure in your gameplay (in lieu of a career mode), this mod gives you a bunch of missions to complete, adds a basic monetary system, and basically just focuses the sandbox a bit. Now, I'm obviously not saying you should get all of these, I'm just pointing out some of the good ones that I have either used in the past, or are currently using now. It's all down to taste. There are some good mods that are absent from this list, like Flight Engineer (or whatever it's called). I've omitted them only because I've never used it, therefore cannot comment.

The combination of your comment coupled with the one made in katateochi's Duna video has given me an idea though. Katateochi mentions editing the .cfg for the KAS winch from 100 - 200 metres. That, with the ability to up your draw distance with Lazor's pack makes me wonder, how long could you make that winch before the game breaks? I've got a few ideas for the next time I load up KSP... Hopefully I don't come up empty-handed, because this could be great... EDIT: Long story short; I am disappoint... I guess it defaults back to 50m if it doesn't like the number you put in. Oh well, it was worth a shot.

Now, I don't have any large space-faring ships on my current save, since I started fresh after getting DRE, FAR, IonCross Crew Support, and RemoteTech all at once (now that was a helluva big change). I did however, get bored about a week or so ago and decided to make some real life fighter/X-plane analogues. Some things still bug me about them, like the over-sized control surfaces as well as not being able to find a certain F-16 cockpit that I know for a fact I've seen in the forums here somewhere. That being said, they all fly very well, with the exception of the X-29, which flys great until it hits trans-sonic speeds, and then ... physics... From left to right: YF-23 Black Widow II - Still very much WIP F/A-18 Hornet - Very controllable but not as manuverable due to stock control surfaces for aesthetic reasons F-15 ACTIVE - My personal favorite. Can easily pull off a variety of Pugachev's Cobra maneuvers and take some very hard landings in stride (the two often coincide...) Predator-esque Drone - Not much use other than target practice. F-16 - Tends to pitch down, but otherwise, very maneuverable. Background: X-15 - Flys well, but having issues with drop craft X-29 - Very maneuverable at sub-sonic speeds, loses all control surfaces at mach 0.95 thanks to DRE I'm probably going to work on some European and Russian designs once I finish these. I'm just not investing much in space right now, seeing as .21 is coming soon. Here's a few more pics: Ill fated X-29. Notice the lack of engine and control surfaces 2x X-15 c/w dropship. Yes, I know they didn't drop upside-down... Standard pre-ACTIVE upgrade F-15 loaded for bear (also before I widened the gap between the tail planes.

I'm reminded of a quote from 'South Park:' "Remember class, there are no such thing as stupid questions, just stupid people." Seriously though, out of all the games I've played and eventually joined forum discussions on, KSP has, hands down, the friendliest and most helpful community I've experienced (sure beats DayZ, that's for sure). From what I've seen so far, you'd have to act like a real ass-hat to get shunned here.

I wonder if the guy that does the 'KerbX' mod wil eventually incorporate integral landing legs into his designs. I tried doing this with it and unfortunately the 2nd stage legs keep burning up on re-entry (using DRE). EDIT: Do they also plan on doing this for the booster stages on the Falcon 9 heavy?

'An army of Jebs?' Now that is one of the most terrifying things I've heard this week...

How do you figure? The only change that was mentioned that would make the game any more difficult, was the one about an atmosphere inside your pod, something that is already handled (to a certain extent) by IonCross Crew Support, which I use. Although I don't necessarily agree with all the points (I think docking is fine the way it is and an upgradeable spacecraft is a stupid idea, no offense), most of the items up there are already planned for implementation or are handled by one mod or another. Either way, most of them are good ideas that I wouldn't mind seeing in future versions of the game.

I know, eh? I spilled some science on my favorite shirt last week, and I don't have any idea how to get the stain out...

Okay, I'm not going to pick a fight, but as someone who's had gaming laptops for years, I feel I can rightly say that they have their place (why would they exist otherwise?). Personally, I travel a lot for work, so I want something that can play whatever I want, whenever I want, provided that there's a power outlet near me. True, gaming laptops a) are prohibitively expensive, can't be used without being plugged in, and c) will melt your jumblies if you use them on your lap, but they have their place. Currently I'm using a slightly dated ASUS G74SW, and to say it's kept up with todays gaming is an understatement. Sure, I could have spent the $1600 CDN on a rig that would be easily upgradable and last me for half a decade, but I can't take that with me when I go up north to work. A gaming laptop is not meant to be played on your lap on public transport, but more, a way to take your games with you if you're staying at a hotel (or equivalent) on a long-term basis. Think, portable gaming rig. So, Flowz0r, before you open your mouth (or in this case, type), know what you're talking about. Also, Scarecrow, if you're away from your main PC for long stretches of time, and are serious about a gaming laptop that will play more than just KSP, I would suggest the brand ASUS. However, if you're just looking to play KSP and nothing else, Flowz0r is right (at least on one point), a decent netbook will do ya. EDIT: Teach me to go for smokes in the middle of writing a post... Anyways @joppiesaus, yeah, actually they do. Unfortunately, the only two competitors when I was looking for mine (as I said, two years ago) were Alienware and ASUS, and when it comes to laptops, Alienware is the biggest rip off in consumerism that I've ever seen. Again, @Scarecrow, it all depends on what you want to spend. A decent portable gaming rig will end up costing you around $1500-2000, whereas if you just want to play KSP, see above.