ArmchairGravy

Creepy Mortimer made me laugh. Can I sub him in?

Dres can be tricky. It's small, in an inclined orbit, and airless. Its smallness means maneuver nodes have to be just so in order to intercept, and you'll still have to do some adjustments when you get close to SOI to get the trajectory and periapsis you want. The inclined orbit will suck dv both ways on the trip. The lack of air means no aerobrake, so there goes more dv. The good news is the same craft you can get to and from Layethe should get you to Dres and back. So if you have already done a Layethe return, just use that craft. Conversely, if you haven't done a Layethe return, the Dres return craft will do that job, tho you may need to upgrade the lander for Layethe. Good luck!

Strategize! Which is not a voting option. New parts are all well and good, but I cannot wait to get my hands on all of the pro-science strategies. At least until tier 4 unlocks. Then it's money-making time!

On an equatorial orbit, you will see a landmass running N/S with a small lake in the middle and an island just off the east coast. If you put your trajectory on the island, you should end up by the lake.

*buys a ticket* Strategies for more science in the early game! I am looking forward to this aspect for sure! My least favorite part of the game is grinding that early science to unlock enough nodes to do useful stuff.

Any idea on exploration contract progression? Here's what I've had in order of appearance: Mun, Minmus, Duna, Ike, Eve, Gilly, Jool, Bop, Pol, Layethe, Tylo. I still haven't done the last 3. Is this a set progression or is it randomized? Seems odd that Bop and Pol came before Layethe and Tylo pops up before Dres or Moho. Also, are there asteroid recovery missions?

I agree that KSP is a good way to come at orbital mechanics from an intuitive approach, and it does a great job of introducing concepts in a useful order. First you start with getting something off the launch pad. Second, orbits and plane changes. Then you work on intercepts, rendezvous, landings, and dockings. A player practices these concepts and becomes more adept at utilizing the navball, maneuver nodes, and the other optional tools like KER. If a player wants to be hardcore, they can sit down and do all the maths associated with these concepts, but for those like me who don't math so well, KSP allows me to understand the concepts and apply them successfully so I can get a deeper appreciation for the achievements of real-life space programs. It's the feedback between real-life concepts and practices and in-game exerimentation that makes KSP such a wonderful game and learning experience.

If you want points, the gravity detector gives points for each biome at low and high, and asteroid surface samples will also work.

I use them on space planes if I need to shift my center of mass forward, otherwise I use a shielded port.

It really depends on what I'm lifting and where it's going. I use SRB's for high mass or dv missions. Otherwise I just use liquid.

I've unlocked the tree and have a million in Funds. I've gotten missions to Duna, Ike, Eve, Gilly, and Jool. I've not yet been asked to plant a flag on Minmus or capture an asteroid. Are there contracts for asteroid captures? Is Minmus a red-head stepchild? I like how planes and probes are useful!

At this point I'm thinking we have a .23.5 situation and am not looking for the update until Tuesday.

After reading this thread I'm more confused than before. Are we moving from sidereal days to solar days, or solar to sidereal?

After the insanity of the last challenge, I'd negotiate for something easier, like a grand tour using monoprop.

Aw, heck. It's YOU we're waiting for!

Yeah, I'm a big wussy about reverts and saves, so I'm planning on turning all that off and working without a net. It'll bring back the palm-sweat of the early days.

Yeah, it's TWR. The staging transition usually drops TWR. I know on my builds the end of stage one is around 2.5 TWR, and the beginning of stage 2 is around 1.8. The end TWR on stage 2 is higher, but that transition can slow me down 10-20m/s.

Maybe that's the issue this time. *dramatic music*

It reminds me of advertising for Mr. Lee's Greater Hong Kong.

Congrats, Crotchety Old Modders! Now go beat those Reddit folks like red-headed mules.

[ransom note] Release the update or we'll F5 the forum into oblivion. [/ransom note]

Do it visually is my recommendation. Navball only gives you info on 2 dimensions, and you need to use all 3. Also, putting the ports into North/South orientation (if you're in an equatorial orbit) will help.

I'm in no way a coder. Would it be possible to create a part like a recovery chute? If the part is attached to a booster it would record it as recovered after it leaves the 2.5 km window. Would this be at all possible?

Squad is in yer game breakin yer immerzion!

Xzibit Special