HeadHunter67

I can attest to this. Been playing about 6 weeks now, and at first I had to rely on autopilot to do my docking and rendezvous for me. Then Blizzy did his wonderful in-game Docking Tutorial mission and it really clicked for me. Rendezvous was still hard - I was baffled by his video and Manley's too - but Pebblegarden's Phoenix Project video made it crystal-clear. After watching that series, I did an unassisted launch-to-rendezvous on my second try (first one only failed because stage lock was still on from launching the target vehicle!). And now Blizzy also has an in-game rendezvous tutorial mission also. If I can get the hang of this stuff a month after starting KSP, it can't be that hard. I won't lie - there was a lot of frustration involved when I first set my mind on doing it myself - but I made it through. Now I'm assembling space stations in orbit without mechanical assistance and I love the feeling I get knowing I can do it.

Then what's all that chirping I hear when I'm in the KSC scene?

You didn't install it correctly after all. That part of the mod doesn't go in the Plugins folder, it goes in the PluginData folder.

Indeed - a polar orbit takes a lot more fuel - and if you're not good at rendezvous, you're going to use a lot more fuel trying for an intercept. I'd recommend an equatorial orbit of about 100km - it allows for room to establish a parking orbit above or below for intercepts, and leaves you with more fuel. Blizzy78 did an in-game rendezvous tutorial you might want to try.

Keep in mind that the Squad folder in GameData takes up over 700MB. So a 350MB mod means you're almost 3/4 of the way to 1.6GB of file space. I found the easiest thing to do was to delete the IVAs that I never intend to use in the Squad folder - saved me over 200MB. But yes, basically the only major mods I have in my build are this and KOSMOS and I'm scraping the limit.

A Shenzhou would be cool, but for now, people could use BobCat's Soyuz as it is very close. I also used the KOSMOS pack to make this replica of Tiangong-1: I may just have to launch it on the proper rocket!

So, you're suggesting that all modders who make Soviet vehicles "must" be dependent on BobCat's pack? Why would that be, bman? Before you make that kind of statement, do your own research. The obvious answer is that the launcher is meant to lift BobCat's Soyuz and LK... but that doesn't have to be the case. One could as easily use something else on top... or (gasp) might reasonably believe that the modder developed their own craft! :eek:

STILL missing the point - Your "skill" is meaningless to anyone but you, not to mention absolutely relative. The last 12 pages have shown us that - is someone who can go to Duna but can't rendezvous or dock in orbit truly more "skilled"? That "skill" and 75 cents will get you a cup of lousy coffee in any machine that accepts quarters.

Oh, "only" trig? I didn't pay much attention in algebra (was busy gaming), so I kind of made it through geometry (but confused), and so barely passed Trig - not by my average, but by Divine Intervention on my final. So, "only" trig is waaaay beyond me. Especially since I haven't needed it in nearly 30 years.

I noticed that the "speed limit" on the docking autopilot sets itself to 0 every time for me, not sure if this has an impact on anything or not.

I'm wondering if it would be possible to enable functionality of this in all command pods, similar to MechJeb or Engineer. That way there's no need for a separate part. The added benefit of that is, future updates won't break saves.

I discovered, to my dismay, that the Soyuz LES may be too powerful. When I go to jettison it after successfully reaching orbit, it rips my docking port off (even though "decouple node" is in the same action group as activating the LES). Had to redo a launch after I found myself without the means of docking with Mir. Perhaps it could be given a "jettison" menu action that separates it and then fires its engine?

You are mistaken. I use it in 0.21.1 every day.

Okay, things are moving along well. I launched the Kvant module (with solars already attached) and also the third-party Mir Docking Module (looks big, but I'm worried that rescaling would mess up the docking port ends). I know the docking module didn't historically go up until after Kristall, but Kvant was the only flight that had the available payload space (I'm not launching a flight just to attach a 3-ton module). I can relocate it later. However, I did have a weird thing happen while doing the rendezvous. I switched over to the station and it was spinning wildly, and threw off an ASAS module. I don't know if it was related to the old Mir ASAS or not (though I have updated the .cfg as others advised) but reverting to a previous save and then going to Space Center before switching to the station seemed to remedy it. Sounds like a glitch in the game's physics when switching from one nearby vessel to another. Also, I'm not sure how to get the launch probe out of the way when docking Kvant-2, Priroda or Spektr, as it's on top of the docking port and as soon as I decouple it (so that I can use the port), the craft is uncontrolled. I hope it doesn't mean I have to bring the station to it! [EDIT: At some point in the process... it does. So I got as close as possible, jettisoned the probe and switched to the core to complete the process.] I don't mind leaving the plugin, just wondering if I have need for all the other Romfarer stuff - as I don't intend to use the camera for docking at all.

I agree. I got a nastygram from the friend of someone with whom I had disagreed, telling me that their friend was " a person of far greater value and skill than you", which made me laugh. As if one's value is determined by one's "skill" at KSP. Ironically, all because I'd been so bold as to dare to claim that people should just have fun in the game and not worry what others think about how they play. I think one's own accomplishments are something to be proud of, indeed - and I enjoy seeing people share their deeds and milestones, as long as it's kept in perspective. As Al Stewart once said, "it's just a game that you play."

Thanks for the advice. For some reason, icons for crew in the launch probe aren't shown - so if you don't catch them and kick them out in the VAB (or Crew Manifest) they can stow away unseen. I did fix the capacity for future launches, and eventually just terminated the current flight and let Bill, Bob and Jeb "regenerate". I was able to EVA out of the station (the door looks too small for an entry but I know where it is now) and was able to move them from the launch probe into the station with Crew Manifest. Hopefully upcoming versions of KSP will let us move personnel through docking ports - and hopefully the next release of the Soviet Pack will have updated craft files with the Mir top panel aligned properly and the Kvant panels in place, a means of unmanned launch and assembly, and fix the little things that make building MIR a PITA. Also, do I need the Romfarer stuff to use the Buran arm, or is it really only needed for the camera for the arm and docking? I'd like to take that stuff out if it isn't necessary.

I believe there is a "perfect rocket" for each mission, based on the parameters of that mission. However, this hypothetical rocket will be different than the perfect rocket for any other mission - so the answer is "no rocket is perfect for everything, and any rocket perfect for this mission will be less perfect for others".

He's the Kerbal that crash landed on that planet with the Drac, right?

I'll be honest, that video was confusing to me. But then I watched Pebblegarden's Phoenix Project videos and she made the whole process crystal-clear. Once you learn to nudge the yellow orbital vector markers into synch with the pink (or purple if you wish) target vector markers, you're set. It's honestly not as complicated as it sounds there. Blizzy78's in-game tutorial missions for docking and rendezvous make it simple enough for anyone to grasp.

Argh. So I got the MIR core into orbit yesterday, and when I unfurled the solar panels today I realized the top panel is on incorrectly. Instead of extending to zenith, it extends to the fore. Would EVA fix it? Well, amusingly, the launch probe has a passenger capacity of 3 (why?) so unknowingly, Bill, Bob, and Jeb had stowed away for the launch. After an EVA attempt, I discovered the panel could not be relocated. Maybe it's because I don't have KAS installed. Anyhow, I need to edit the config for the launch probe - there's no reason that it should have a crew capacity at all, since the idea is for it to allow unmanned launches. [EDIT: Hmmm, I don't see a way to control the crew capacity at all, aside from the minimum). And if I can't fix the panel with EVA, I'll have to find a way to rescue those idiots (probably with a remotely controlled Soyuz) before I terminate this and try again.

I didn't have quite enough fuel left in my tank to make it back to Kerbin atmo. But I didn't send a rescue mission - nobody tells stories of that time when someone else had to come save your bacon. No, here at KRASH, you try to save your own bacon first! Samhat Kerman did what any brave Kerbal should do to remedy the solution - he got out and pushed. After several EVAs, he managed to lower the Periapsis of his craft to enter Kerbin's atmosphere (though aerobraking was long and at a terrifyingly low altitude due to the orbit). I was still glowing hot at 14km, well below when most re-entry has cooled off. But I made it back safely!

Sorry to inform you that "denser" never means "lighter". (By the way, I'm honored that you found Samhat's line quote-worthy! )

I can imagine Kerbal TV commercials. I'm sure they get astronauts as spokesmen: [ironically, at this moment I'm reading Mary Roach's hilarious Packing For Mars, and I'm on the chapter that goes into the... digestive... aspects of the human space program.]

That would be great - armed with the advice and experience of others, I'll try than and launch a Saturn-V'ish rocket again. It'll be nice if it doesn't do that hula, that might have been what was exacerbating the payload gyrations.

Just comes with practice and experience - but you'll gain that quickly. KSP seems to teach us more from our mistakes than our successes - but failure is generally fun too.