CosmicScientist

Well, Harvester mentioned that there'd be a penalty for failing and a reward for succeeding which, to me at least, implies some sort of economic system since that's the only way I can see that they could do it.They didn't appear to confirm anything with implementing a budget just yet. All I listened to with the interview was that contracts set up like quests will be available. The Tuesday devnotes from here http://forum.kerbalspaceprogram.com/threads/68489-Devnote-Tuesdays-The-0-24-Update-Goals-Edition only state how these contracts will be implemented hopefully in 0.24 and onwards, nothing on budget inside the game. Edit, might as well include the specific bit in a quote:

Ever since the early implementation of Career mode, I hadn't picked up that side of the game because it just appeared to be in a stage of limited sandbox eventually turning into full sandbox for a reward from visiting different places. Now however I'm looking forward to playing it after hearing the plans for contracts and how they'll fit with your current progress in Career mode. Thank you Squad for working on this, I'm very happy to know there will be more reason to head off to each celestial body and do specific things rather than to just pop by in the (hopefully!) next update.

No, wrong, baaaaaad. They have already stated that it'll all be available as and when the update comes to sandbox mode, campaign will be the only mode you'll have to research properly in. Also did parachutes come from rocket science? No, I think it came from airplanes and the need to bail out due to war and it would be stupid to give you rockets but not parachutes "Here, kill your Kerbals or do powered landings until we've researched this". Also this can't break saves alone, even if it was "You have to research X before you can use Y in constructions", it'll just be locked in the VAB/SPH, there's no reason why having a decoupler in your save now and then after the update you're told you need to research it doesn't mean it'll go poof from your craft nor mean your save will be buggered. Even if it was, do you think you couldn't go into the config or otherwise and set the corresponding tech value to 'Researched'.

Thank you, I'll try out both of your suggestions when I get the chance.

Something I've found slightly restricting when making interplanetary probes that don't require refueling/docking is when in staging if you set up one atomic rocket as the central piece, when it shoots off its covering, that can smash into other parts of the rocket and mess things up such as destroy other atomic rockets placed radially. I do sometimes try to get around this with just have atomic rockets placed radially but it puzzles me why I seem to only find this problem with the atomic rocket and I don't understand why the coverings need to be shot off so fast as to put a dent I can't buff in my crafts.

I have no clue what lasers have to do with this but with enough docking ports, you can build a ship from 'salvaged' pieces in orbit.

Wow, that's fantastic, seriously beautiful design.

When launching a space station, somewhat small-mediumish in size in one go with a lifter, I sent it up and was in the map view to make sure my apoapsis was in the region of 70-80km, oddly everything went silent so I tabbed back into rocket view and several fuel tanks and all the active rockets were gone, as if something deleted them mid-flight, no explosions. I think the Kraken took pity on me to leave my space station in tact... until it re-entered atmos and crashed back down to Kerbin due to all useful rocketry being destroyed.

This is why Minmus is there, it should not be gotten rid of and it reminds us that the game isn't entirely in favour of duplicating our solar system and having a second moon on the starting planet gives more to do closer to home for those who aren't quite interplanetary adept. Also I don't understand why the system needs to be changed, it seems fine as it is, I'm looking forward to the asteroid belt and other gas giants they're looking to include. If anything if the system was rerolled, I'd be sad to find what I've built and sent elsewhere... not on what they were before or perhaps wind up with a save broken and unusable.

This is how it is, I've play a fair bit of KSP and I've wound up doing almost every if not every bug Danny has found and then some, before or after seeing him do it on YouTube. I still can't for the life of my Kerbals figure out how to make them survive landing on their heads but it's not like I ever need to know... I'll just keep waiting a day and crossing my fingers for them to come back.

Oh, good point, silly me, Swift's right.

I'd rather not, my first time in space with Jeb in the demo was brilliant, my first satellite that had enough to get to and orbit the Mün when it was meant for LKO, my first Münar landing, my subsequent ones, all the Kerbal fun that came with all of them, my rovers on Duna and the Mün that flip over and crash, visiting Minmus, going to see my first landed probe with Jeb, running out of jetpack fuel to not be able to make a return trip, rescuing them, learning more about space faring. All of these are great memories and I'd likely have similar experience if I started anew with no recollection. But I'd have several problems, I'd likely have seen YouTube videos of KSP now highlighting oddities and achievements I've already performed and earned, I might not do as well as before, it took me a while to learn what an essential struts were, I don't want to do that again, I'd have seats to play around with Kerbals instead of learning to make probe buggies where the Kerbals hang off of the smallest ladder pieces, I made quite a few good looking ones, regardless of their usability, I always had fun testing them and then accidentally in a Kerbal way, mess up the mission when using them, I wouldn't experience rovers tipping over because of the lacking of probe SAS so I wouldn't have had the fun of trying to design around something that just makes rovers too easy to bother with on the small scale for me now. I love KSP and the memories it's given me, I love what I've done and achieved, I don't see why I'd want to reroll it.

That is really nice but for future use, please remember the Spacecraft Exchange forum section is where you post your spacestations/ships/rovers/buggies/crafts: http://forum.kerbalspaceprogram.com/forumdisplay.php/20-The-Spacecraft-Exchange to share your lovely screenies here http://forum.kerbalspaceprogram.com/showthread.php/24533-Show-off-your-awesome-KSP-pictures%21

That's quite a nice build, ever tried using it on Laythe? Also this is where you post pictures of your crafts for future reference: http://forum.kerbalspaceprogram.com/forumdisplay.php/20-The-Spacecraft-Exchange

This thread might help you, a little way down will have a screenie of a possible landing spot: http://forum.kerbalspaceprogram.com/showthread.php/44795-Landing-spaceplane-on-Laythe?highlight=laythe+equator I personally don't know what you need on Laythe, I haven't gotten there yet with any Kerbals so I don't know what strength jet number you need compared to on Kerbin, just try it out, if you don't want to risk it, you might as well cut down only when you're comfortable with design. And yes I'd recommend a drogue on Laythe, I don't recall its atmospheric thickness but you might as well take a weak parachute for precautionary measures.