sledgeweb

Hmm, I'll have to recheck it. I thought when I looked at KER with just the upper stage, and 70KM setting - it had enough DV to get back from Minmus on it's own. This thing is supposed to just sit on Minmus as a station, but I figured I'd provide an escape vehicle for one person to come home. Lol. Plus it fulfills the contract requirement of having enough space for 5 Kerbals. Still, at this point, I was just monkeying around trying to figure out how KER works and not really building for feasibility.

Okay. Makes sense. So, I hadn't set up the asparagus staging yet at this point. If I did that, does KER take into account how the fuel lines are set up for asparagus staging? So, I would shed two outer tanks, then two more, etc. leaving the large central tank and mainsail full to the end but burning the whole time? That should help my DV? I'll test this when I get home.

Okay, I downloaded KER and am trying to use it, but having trouble understanding a few things. Here's one problem I'm encountering: http://imgur.com/a/6m0aT In these two images you can see that in the first I have DV 3,173 in Stage 7. Now, in the next image, all I did was drag the large central engine from Stage 7 to Stage Stage 6. This results in 3,943 DV in Stage 5 (why stage 5?) and 1,669 DV in Stage 7. So, Stage 5 and 7 have more DV in this configuration? Also, Stages 0 and 3 DV increase because of this change? Also, all the DV readouts have ###/### format. What is the number before the "/"? And the number after? And, the readout at the bottom, seems to say the vessels total DV is the same as Stage 0? Thanks for the help, everyone!

Hello, So, my normal gameplay of KSP involves settling on a mission (getting to Mun, Duna, Eve, etc) and building a rocket based on previous experience that LOOKS like it might get me there (or there and back if it is manned). I sort of like playing this way, because it seems authentic to the Kerbal way of life. I end up with Kerbonauts stranded on moons or deep orbits and then having to rescue them. That's all good fun. That, and I do a lot of "Reset to Assembly" clicking when my design fails. Lately, I've been wanting to waste less time on trial and error methods, and move into better planning my vessels for their intended journey and destination. So, how do I go about doing this? I know I need to somehow figure out the Delta-V needed, and somehow calculate that - but I'm not sure how to do so. And, I'm not sure which resources are most applicable to 1.0. Any tips or pointers in the right direction? I'm using stock KSP only right now. Thanks! I'm looking for a way to get a rough estimate of what I have, and what is needed without it being too overly technical or complicated. Similarly, there are various methods to calculate orbit transfers - but I generally go with the ones that show you how to align the planets and where to burn.

This is early on in career mode. So, since the update, I have an odd experience where my rocket flies up to about 15k feet, then I separate. The upper stage immediately swings upside down and just sort of swings back and forth like a pendulum on a grandfather clock. The upper stage consist (from bottom up) of an LV-909, an FL-200 tank, the storage bay with a couple goo canisters inside, a small reaction wheel, and then the sputnik ball unmanned control pod. Something like this would fly correctly in previous versions of the game. I guess maybe it's balancing issues, and I understand there are new aerodynamics to take into account  but it just doesn't look right at all the way it behaves in mid-flight. Is this the way the mechanics are supposed to work now? It seems to me, in reality, if something like that was going in a certain direction - even if it's heavier at the top, the momentum is going to keep it going that way. There is nothing changing much aerodynamically when the first stage separates. It doesn't matter if I fire the 909 or just leave it off - as soon as I separate, the rocket immediately starts swinging upside down like a pendulum. It really takes me out of the game. I don't understand why they seemed to have the physics right on that before, and now it just seems silly. Is this just me?

Quick question... do I need to download from the site to update, or can I just launch KSP and let it update on it's own as it always has?

I think the problem with career mode right now is that it adds all these elements together but they still seem independent. I'd like to see the contracts serve as some sort of mission progression. The contracts feel like a separate thing that randomly tie into the game. I get contracts for parts I haven't unlocked yet or 10 contracts to test the same parachute. It would be great if the contracts aligned to a mission progression. Put wheels first. Make a rover. Then a glider. Then a plane. Then a rocket. Then satellite. Then orbit. Then mun. Space station. Etc. The contracts should be supporting this progression. And I think these should be tied together in a progression. Ksp doesn't make sense in a lot of ways. Why wheels so late? Why satellites long after orbiting kerbonauts? If they could tie this all together, career mode would be great. Right now, it seems like a sandbox game with restrictions placed on it, illogical part unlocking order, lack of progression objectives, and random contracts. I think it would also be great if kerbal knowledge of the world started out small. Use "fog" to hide unexplored parts of world. Then as you explore, your map of the planet expands. You unlock technology to discover moons, planets, etc.

Here is the version with transparency.

Thanks! And yes I can make a transparent version. It might be Monday but I'll try for tomorrow.

Eh, maybe 45 minutes. Type was easy, took maybe 30 minutes drawing the slug.

Alternate version for SlugCo:

An alternate version...

My career mode story thus far, for those interested: <iframe class="imgur-album" width="100%" height="550" frameborder="0" src="http://imgur.com/a/lw9eG/embed"></iframe> <iframe class="imgur-album" width="100%" height="550" frameborder="0" src="http://imgur.com/a/4XbRd/embed"></iframe> <iframe class="imgur-album" width="100%" height="550" frameborder="0" src="http://imgur.com/a/Fy7Ys/embed"></iframe>

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