F5 Penguin

Thank you ALL so very much for the insight. I'm gonna load up on some of these recommendations, play around a bit, and report back in my blog and mission log with my findings. Time for some planned 'sploding.

By no means did I mean to incite a riot or anything! I hope you don't think I was trying to troll; I'm really just curious and trying to figure this all out. My intentions are pure, I promise!

Okay, so brand new here.. Just finding out what explodes and what strands Jeb out past the Mun (answers: too many rockets and hitting space bar too soon). I see a lot of notes talking about "well I accomplished this with this mod/plugin" and then I see "I was able to do this legit", etc. What I'm curious to know, from you, the wonderful Kerbal community, is what plugins should I be looking for to get the most out of my gameplay? I am reading a couple of Mission Logs and see things like SatMapping technology, which seems cool, and then something like MechJeb, which people seem to either love or hate. I'd like to play the game as it was intended to be played (albeit changing through the constant updates) while also getting the best value for someone who isn't the most scientifically-inclined. The Plugin Essentials Pack seems to be a strong selling point, but again, I don't want to make it so easy that I just click buttons, as I enjoy learning that not attaching fuel lines and silver tanks makes orange tanks go KABOOM. Any thoughts on all of this? I hope I made sense; I'm feeling a bit overwhelmed at the moment with the game and have been timid to dive right in without the proper tools. Although, I did my make my flag already http://sdrv.ms/1atXqre

If I could send my thanks in some physical way, I would. I have just gotten the game and have simply been attaching rockets and launching, playing around with what it takes to get into orbit. Your construction videos are an eye-opener and not something that a newbie can think of themselves. So, I very much appreciate you taking the time and effort to put these together. BIG help from here at the Kerbal Space Innovators Program in Tampa Bay.

(Just picked up the game and am exploring what to do, so let's make it official... and creative, which will keep me motivated to progress.) Penguin Enterprises is pleased to announce the purchase of the Kerbal Space Program (game on Steam). The former KSP has been renamed to Kerbal Science Innovators Program, or KerSIP for short. Our motto is "Not Never but NOW" and believe that there's a hole in the sky through which things can fly. Consider us your trusted friend in science. Upcoming missions and company orders will include, but are not limited to: the Aeronautical Propulsion Faith Initiative - an experiment to discover if the attributes of efficiency, leadership and orientation will be positively or negatively affected from being catapulted into space. the Cylindrical Launch Success Encouragement Directive - simply put, "If you make it fly, you won't die." and finally, the Extraplanetary Terrain Acquiring Commission - instead spending $70 million on them like some crazy guy from Black Aperture or whatever, we will travel to these destinations and gather the material ourselves. That is all for now. Please look forward to hearing more about the KerSIP as our plans become public.

Great thread! You are the reason I signed up to this forum after a couple days of meandering through posts, trying to figure out what in the world I'm trying to do in this game! While your missions are very detailed and scientific, I believe I will document my experiments as well, from one who has no idea what he is doing and is trying to learn the game. Thank you for the inspiration and thank you for a really great read.