Synapse

Explain "designed"? What is the statistical difference between the two?

Why use a large parachute when they have the same stats as the smaller ones?

Me and my friends are doing a Mun->Minmus->Kerbin challenge. I was wondering if the gravity on Minmus is light enough to shoot a Kerban off towards it on a ladder or something and land them safely using the jetpack? If not what is the minimum required to land on Minmus?

I left the solar system before I discovered atomic engines. Burning specifically to other planets requires more fuel though.

That's a great design Soranno, you'd be very well experienced for this challenge I think, if you moved it farther afield!

The Kerban Max-Security Prison Challenge Briefing: Space programs! A contract is available for the first Kerban Maximum Security Prison to be constructed off Kerbin. This prison will be designed to hold a variety of dangerous individuals who pose a threat to Kerbin in captivity as far away from the planet as possible. After a spate of escapes by notorious Kerbans it has been decided that the only safe place for these prisoners is in the depths of space; that’s where you come in. Your task is to draw up a working design for a sustainable functioning prison within the Kerbol system. You will need to construct a ship capable of ferrying prisoners to the prison facility, as well as a security ship, which can reach your prison facility from Kerbin in the quickest possible time. No weapons will be taken into consideration in the scoring. It is presumed that your Kerbal Security Forces just need to reach the prison to re-establish order. Rules: Location The prison facility must be located either in a stable orbit or on the surface of a planet or moon. If in orbit, the location will be measured by its minimum distance from Kerbin at any one time. Bonus points will be awarded if the environment is hostile or difficult to escape. Facilities Each cell must consist of a manned command pod with the hatch blocked so that Kerbans cannot exit the cell (it is presumed that they are all serving life sentences). Every Kerban prisoner must be provided for with a minimum: 1 Z-500 Rechargeable Battery Bank, 1 Illuminator Mk 1, 1 Circular Intake (which will serve the purpose of an air converter) and 1 Round-8 Toroidal Fuel Tank. More fuel or better air intake facilities will result in a more luxurious prison environment. Points will be awarded for guards being assigned to the prison. If guard facilities are constructed, guards must also be provided with these same basic amenities. Mods All accepted Scoring: The prison designs will be judged on the following factors: Escapability: The minimal distance from Kerbin, the escapability of the location (bonus points for high gravity, volcanic regions and so forth), plus the security of the complex and the guard-prisoner ratio (to a maximum of 1 guard per prisoner). Facilities: How many prisoners the complex can cater for, as well as how adequately they been provided for. Logistics: How many prisoners can be transported at a time to the prison, as well as how fast a security ship can arrive in the event of a breakout. Top 5 Prison Designs 1 – Escapability -/10, Facilities -/10, Logistics -/10 2 – Escapability -/10, Facilities -/10, Logistics -/10 3 – Escapability -/10, Facilities -/10, Logistics -/10 4 – Escapability -/10, Facilities -/10, Logistics -/10 5 – Escapability -/10, Facilities -/10, Logistics -/10

Did you reduce the visual distance as per youtube recommendations? made a heap of diference for me, particularly alter Kerbin-Ocean down to 3 instead of 6

Hey Crush, thanks for the help. Last night I managed to crash my probe into the surface of Eve after getting the hang of those descent/ascent nodes. Tonight I hope to place a probe on the surface of Duna to collect surface samples.

Woop - learned something.

Thanks Crush, that's very informative and I look forward to trying it out.

Guys...I still don’t get it. I’ve got a probe in orbit around Kerbol just outside of Kerbin’s orbit, with a full large tank and a nuclear engine. I’ve waited years and can’t encounter either Duna or Eve with manoeuvre nodes at either end of my orbit. Without using mods how is this possible?

Is there a (rough) visual guide for this somewhere? Also I find the time warp rather slow for some missions. I made a Voyager probe which was on a 36 year orbit of the Sun; even with time warp at maximum this took AGES.

Hey, first of all thanks for recommendations to use Mechjeb, but I prefer doing things manually. I’ve built a sturdy lander and craft capable of landing on Duna, however I am struggling to intersect it’s orbit. My orbits are not perfect around Kerbin, they vary by a number of degrees. I can set up a manoeuvre node and drag it out to the orbit, but I have tried every slider and cannot find a “Duna encounter†anywhere! Zooming in the view around Duna helps a little, but no matter where I go I cannot encounter Duna. What am I doing wrong?

Special thanks to Kinnison with your top-to-bottom advice, really helped.

Following my first Mun landing, I’ve designed a second, larger craft which carries 3. The problem I’m having is that I can’t seem to get enough fuel to get this larger beast to the moon. No matter how large and how many rockets I put on, I am running out of fuel after burning into Kerbin’s orbit, and having to use my lander engine to burn to the Mun! I tried adding another stage but that required more fuel and it seems to be a horrible cycle I’m in of adding more fuel and rockets. What am I doing wrong?

Thanks but I really think I want to play vanilla, I've seen Mechjeb and I'd rather do that job myself!

What are action groups? Also can anyone answer whether it is possible to make a folding spacecraft?

Hey thanks for your reply, I have a few more questions. 1. Are struts permanent? I saw in a tutorial somebody strut some stages together, when you disconnect the stage does it destroy the strut? 2. Are fuel lines permanent? Can you make one that you can retract and extend or is there a way to stop fuel going through them? 3. Can you attach things to landing legs? My idea being to make a folding spacecraft that unfolds once in orbit. 4. How do hitchhiker modules work? 5. Do solar panels break off if you perform a harsh burn in space (no atmosphere)?

Thanks for the reply. I play without a mouse for preference and + and – really work fine; it’s just a case of making those default controls rather than having to be mapped out! With regards to the RCS, what is it useful for? I take it it’s not good for massively changing your orbit and you need rocket engines for that? Are H and N thrust up and thrust down or do they use lateral movements like the EVA?

Hey I’ve just picked this game up and it’s really great, I’m a Unity developer myself and this is very very good, well done! I’ve got a question about RCS – I figured this was just for directional movement (turning etc) is there a way to use RCS to actually thrust? I tried shift with RCS enabled and nothing happens, but maybe I’ve misinterpreted but it sounds like people are able to use RCS as a thruster ie to move! Is it possible to do this? Also a suggestion – I’m playing on a laptop with no mouse and it took me 2 days of gameplay to work out that I need to map plus and minus to zoom. It might be worth making that the default for future updates (extending my solar panels while zoomed out wasn’t fun, and I didn’t even know you can zoom out to see the Mun properly! I also noticed that you don’t have any “crash pads†– I wanted to land on Duna with a harsh landing and lots of airbag type things like they used for some of the Mars missions, but you don’t seem to have those. Seems like something that should be added for us folks who don’t know how to land properly! Thanks