EtherDragon

Episode 4! In this mission, I take a couple contracts which are bound for the Mun! Thanks for watching! P.S. Here's the Let's Build:

Episode three! In this episode I try (and have a small issue with) completing a couple simple contracts for just a bit more Science!

Episode 2 is ready for your viewing pleasure! Time to make a survey of Kerbin, home planet of the Kerbals.

No, no there isn't the Revert Button - he disabled it, and is playing Hard-core mode. Revert to Launch/VAB isn't even presented as an option. Just BOOM ... recover, and hope for the best. One of my hard-core launches went badly due to a stating problem.

Hiya! Now that 0.24 is out and Career Mode is updated with Contracts and Funds, it's time for another play through! I'm setting my game to "hard-core" which is, no pilot respawns, no revert to launch/hangar. From now on, I'll post the most current episode here, for easy viewing! This time we set our sights on Duna and Ike! And here is the Let's Build Thanks for watching! Check out the very first video in the series: Here is the first episode - an extended play tutorial, of sorts of the first two missions! As always, thanks for watching!

The efficiency of Asparagus vs the Low Cost of SRBs is really the trade-off. It may well be that a well designed Asparagus rocket is actually cheaper to run than one with lots of SRBs due to the more efficient design.

I don't feel pigeon holed into contracts all the time - but I do have to look out for lucrative contracts, from time to time, to fill up my coffers before my next big scientific (only) mission. The main goal of the game still seems to be to unlock the whole science tree - but doing so doesn't come free any more, so now we have to take on contracts fairly often to build up funds.

When in doubt, I always go for the node with new Science! instruments.

To be specific, you need to be within 2km, I think, to take over the stranded Kerbal. But any self-respecting pilot should have no problem getting to station keeping within 500m. Good luck!

Oh wow, he really does...

IRL flight testing of untested air-craft used to be the single most dangerous job. I'm starting my Hardcore Let's Play Carreer Mode today (as soon as I'm caught up with messages) for my YouTube channel.

One way (this is what I use, as I go 100% stock) is to: 1. Use the hack menu (ALT+F12) and activate unlimited fuel and hack gravity. 2. Fly your ship to the Mun. 3. Turn off hack gravity 4. Establish the rest of your test condition (in orbit, or landed, or whatever). 5. Turn off unlimited fuel 6. Quick Save 7. Conduct your test.

I agree with Alexin, It seems the entry cost is a yet unused feature. I kinda hope that the entry cost is added to career mode in the future - but it needs to be super user-friendly or people will get confused. "Wait, I unlocked the node... where are my parts?"

In short, yes! I have made some flights just for the heck of it... I had a new ship to test, and wasn't sure of it's capabilities after unlocking some parts. I had about 500k-Funds, so I put together a mun-shot to see how close to landing / recovery I could get. I brought the full package just in case (science stuff and a crew member). I set up strict go / no go conditions for each phase based on vessel performance. Turns out - it was more than capable of landing on the Mun. I got a ton of science, all on my dime, and unlocked some more parts to stream-line the design some more. Then, I immediately grabbed the next Mun contract, and promptly brought in about 100k-Funds profit on the next launch. Now that I have so much funds (more than 600k) I'm doing missions just for the science.

This is one area of the UI that I wish had more info handy. For now, you'll have to keep track by writing it down somewhere.

Basically escape trajectory is any hyperbolic trajectory.

Hi Shiv, Simply: Ascending and Descending nodes are the two points where two orbital planes cross each-other. Whenever you compare two orbits around the same body (say Mun and Minmus around Kerbin) you can think of each orbit as a flat disk. However, no two orbits are exactly the same - one of them is "tilted" with respect to the other. So the two "disks" cross through one another - where the orbits cross is at the Ascending / Descending Nodes.

Did you notice that many of those activate while landed missions only give you like 200 Funds when finished?

All-righty! It's time to reflect on my experiences after my first couple of rounds with the new and improved (oops, spoiler!) career mode. First - the GREAT: Vastly improved depth! The simple addition of adding costs and income makes this game so much deeper. Now, it's not longer sufficient for me to try different configurations to reach a new science goal. Now I have to be aware of how expensive a mission is going to be. I spend no small amount of time making sure that the craft I build is able to complete the contract(s) it is designed for without costing more than the contract will yield! Since recovery is a bigger deal, reusable craft like space-planes are extremely profitable once you get enough science and figure out how to make a reliable one. Flexible play styles! This game oozes flexible play styles. I could be a contract monkey - grinding at the grind-stone and still achieve science and riches along the way. I can spend some hard-earned money on purely scientific missions, with no contract attached, but doing so will drain the coffers over time. Wide range of challenge levels! Contracts come in a great variety of challenge levels. Some of them seem deceptively simple, but prove to be quite difficult, but not in a frustrating way. I am clearly motivated to look at the contract a couple times and go, "What do I need to build to accomplish that?!" Things such as deploy a parachute between 12km and 14km at a speed of at least 400m/s can be really tough, but fun to try to achieve. Also, I can really see the value of a reusable space-plane now as a test platform for many of these in-atmosphere tests. The GOOD: Contract Interface (Mission Control): Great job putting this interface together so we can peruse and accept new contracts. The other parts of the contract interface could use just a bit of help, though. In various screens, the contract info is located in different places. Additional UI iterations should focus on normalizing where all the information is found. For instance, contract stuff is in the lower right in the VAB, but in the upper right in Launch Pad and in flight. Currency interface: Gives me a very quick heads up on how I'm doing over-all. But this interface also wanders around the screen. That said, the icons and information is consistent, so I can glance around and find what I need quickly. Can be IMPROVED (but isn't BAD): Mission Summaries! When I complete a mission and receive a bunch of Science, I would like to be informed of all science received over the flight. This includes science transmitted and earned through contracts. Funds Summaries! Again, when I complete a mission and receive a bunch of Funds, I would like to be informed, line by line, how much Funds I received from all sources - including contracts, in addition to vehicle recovery. Also, I want to be informed of the launch cost of the vehicle, if available. The BAD: ... I can't really think of anything, can you? This really is the update worth waiting for. I have way more reasons and options on how and why to launch a particular mission with all new problems to solve. Excellent stuff Squad, I give this update 4.5/5 stars - it would have earned 5, if the new UI pieces had gone through another iteration or two for over-all location for ease of use, and if summaries gave me a bit more information. Even so, I fully expect to put in a couple hundred more hours into playing this update alone, and will enjoy every last minute of it. (Now to plan the return of Let's Play KSP - Career Mode! on my YT Channel)

As a KSP and other games YouTuber I can give you this advice. If you are having fun making videos, then keep working through the issues, your personality and enjoyment of the game will come across - and it makes all the difference to most people.

Bummer... returning to my seat. I guess I'll see you guys again tomorrow... Info from the Steam DB:

Nah, don't post the PM details - at least not without his express permission.

Send them a glass-breaking tool with a note: "In case of 0.24 deployment, break glass." =p

If I had known that all it took was a successful pizza delivery, I would have started that noise on Monday! =p At any rate, no matter when KSP 0.24 drops - those guys definitely deserve some fan-sent pizza!

I voted Career (of course...) because I've already done Sandbox and Science modes. I will be doing the occasional Sandbox PoC (with cheats) to experimentally work out the details of a mission stage.