Madrias

Docking mode for rovers, but otherwise, it's a "three hands on keyboard" scenario. Right hand balances between camera and the Translation keys, the left stays managing RCS, SAS, throttle, and pitch/yaw/roll. It's just smoother. I can quickly move in any direction I need to go, line up on my docking ports, grab my shiny orange tank of LV-N fuel, and skip off without much hassle.

Personally, I'd like to see the tech tree introduce aircraft stuff a little earlier. I struggle big time with rockets, but once I've got wings, I tend to do well for throwing planes into orbit. The hardest part of career mode, for me at least, is getting my wings and then getting my fuel lines. Struts aren't super necessary, but they're useful. I guess some of it comes down to the old knowledge bin. I knew nothing of orbital mechanics when I first started playing. I barely knew much about rockets, but I've built remote controlled aircraft from nothing but electronics and foam. A rough working knowledge of aerodynamics got me into space in KSP, as once you've got a design that flies, all you need is to increase the amount of thrust behind it to increase speed. Go fast enough and you'll settle into an orbit. So as I've noticed, with the jets and wings buried several layers deep (to get the good parts, at least) in the tech tree, it cuts out the ability to really do spaceplanes early, making the aerodynamically-minded strain unless they're willing to learn to make pancake rockets. With delta wings, a good turbojet, and two LV-T45 engines, I can make my first cruise to the Mun or to Minmus. With three LV-T45's, 6 solid fuel boosters, and a few winglets for stability, I struggle to get to orbit. It's a matter of perspective. That, and it's bloody hard to make a VTOL without a jet, you know. Some of us like being goofy.

General purpose spaceplanes. You know, SSTO's, VTOL's, multistage runway craft, carriers, light duty to heavy duty lifters. In my .21 save, I had a not-quite-space-shuttle that could lug a full orange tank plus docking ports and probe core into Kerbin Orbit, circularized at 200km. Haven't needed it lately, but I've done it. I also like building planes that are flyable in IVA view. Yes, boring old atmospheric planes.

Rockets? How primitive. Granted, I'm guilty of making new spaceplane designs depending on what I'm dumping in space. Still got a couple of 'winged satellites' floating around Kerbin...

With mods to give an IVA view to the MK2 cockpit, as well as using the lovely stock MK1 cockpit, I have landed many a plane in IVA. Even gently touched down on the runway with my trainer and did a nice taxi-roll off the runway to park next to the Vehicle Assembly Building. Want a fun challenge? Take off, fly to the island runway, land, take off, fly back to KSC, and land on the runway all in IVA view. It's possible, I've done it, but it can suck if you're not used to the very limited IVA views. Also used mod cockpits to get other views. Firespitter helicopter cockpits are awesome IVA Practice cockpits.

The only time I deorbit old satellites or stations is when a collision sends the debris screaming into Kerbin or other planetary bodies.

Spaceplane + claw = flying catapult... Maybe an unmanned spaceplane with a claw to throw a manned spaceplane midflight?

I've designed ships for debris removal cause I leave the debris slider way up there.

About the most I know about it is that by extending landing legs through a structural panel, it generates phantom forces that creates a small amount of forward thrust in atmosphere. What I've heard, though not experienced other than by means of glitches, is that kraken drives are supposed to somewhat 'switch over' to a higher amount of force out of atmosphere. Someone more knowledgeable should be able to provide more on the subject, this is just what little I know based on rough experiments and youtube videos.

Not of that one. Loading the ship either results in the tremendous explosion or the whole thing falls apart into a pile of junk. Plus, when I rebuilt it to the same standards, I couldn't recreate either the tremendous boom or the falling apart, so I'm chalking it up to a construction anomaly. So in other words, I'm still trying desperately to get anywhere with the drives. As for the .craft file, it tends to crash the SPH most of the time. I've been reloading the flight to attempt anything with it, but I'm at the point of moving on and trying new drive strategies.

I've mucked around with command seats. They're amusing ways to make a mission a little harder. Rovers offer an interesting way to surface-sample/EVA report on the move, I've flown open cockpit stock jet planes around with them (building my own cockpit out of structural panels and I-Beams...), I've strapped Jeb to the side of a rocket and shot him into orbit, and I've used them as minimalistic station ejection pods. One seat, an octagonal strut, a decoupler, four radial parachutes and four sepratrons. Enough delta-V to send your butt screaming back to Kerbin while keeping parts count low.

I kinda invoked the Kraken with my attempted K-Drive. Shot out of Kerbin with insane velocity and slammed into Minmus at roughly 24000 m/s. The K-Drive exploded violently on activation. I'm doubting majorly that counts, given that I couldn't replicate it afterward.

That's a cool idea! Might be just what I needed to make rockets actually work. I struggle with Career mode because my rockets barely go up, yet my keen understanding of airplanes allows me to hit space dragging wings. I'll have to give this a try and start strapping spare engines to the ships...

I tend to try to create massive trails of reentry effects as I don't typically run with FAR or Deadly Reentry. If I see the flags at the four corners of my runway and I've got enough juice left in the plane to hit it, I try for it, but otherwise it's an intent to be as spectacular as I can with my returns.

Hmm. I'd have to say no. My fun and excitement comes from doing something ridiculous that should never fly and managing to throw it across Kerbin anyway. Sending an SSTM plane out *yes, that is Single Stage to Mun, but I've used some mod parts, so I won't share the craft files* and making a return. The occasional explosion when something I part-clipped together for a good grin manages to invoke the Kraken on the launch pad. And, of course, sharing what little knowledge I have with the forum.

I've recently begun experiments with turbojet boosters. Great for that little extra punch in the pea soup of the atmosphere, then you just junk 'em when they're not needed anymore. I'd recommend making sure you double-stage them (dump your air intakes first, then the engines) so you don't have either a loss of thrust or insane engines at full power.

I've been there before, that moment where you're wearing down on KSP and things are getting boring. I've solved it a few times now. The first time, I was getting tired of my rockets always exploding, then SQUAD released the spaceplane update and I started back up with renewed amounts of fun (an update helps). Later on, I was starting to burn out, roughly 0.20. I found the Spaceport and installed B9 Aerospace and Firespitter. Suddenly I had new parts and more fun. I'm starting to burn out a little, but I've shoved it off for now by setting a challenge for myself: Build a vehicle to make it around Kerbin... Without leaving the atmosphere... Or refueling.

1146 hours. It's officially surpassed my previous record holder, Skyrim, at 685 hours, and I still play that regularly, too.

I'm in that same boat, DisarmingBaton5. I can't seem to get them to produce near enough effective thrust to do much more than fart down the runway. When they work. Most of 'em I've made pulse once and jam, or push all my stacked material around rather than making thrust. Or of course, sending my ship flying across the map really fast... as a result of rapid unplanned disassembly.

As a spaceplane pilot myself, I've been in this crisis before. SSTO after SSTO does get a little old after a while. The way I solved it? I gave myself a simple sounding challenge: Build an SSTO that can be ground-refueled. First thing you'll need is a fuel truck. Then a common method to ensure proper docking heights so that you can hook your fuel truck to your plane. Fill it full of gas and take off. Fly your missions, bring it back home, land at the runway, and gas up again. Once you've mastered that, use an SSTO cargo plane to build a space station / refueling center in the orbit of every planet. I'm still working on that one myself.

Forgetting your transmission antenna in Career mode. Gets me every bloody time. Click the capsule, Crew Report, Transmit. "No comms devices on this vessel" Silently curse myself because I've lobbed a capsule into Jool Orbit without comms. Now I've got a mandatory comms check on the launchpad. Well, actually, runway. I rarely use the launchpad. Forgetting to account for changes in center of mass against your center of lift. A note to the wise: ensure that your spaceplane's atmospheric fuel is centered on the center of lift, and that if you use a split fuel arrangement for your rocket propellant, you expend all of it, or at least equalize it around the center of lift. Otherwise your landing will be very painful. Forgetting RTG's on a rover. Yeah, solar panels are 'great' until you land... And end up on the dark side of the planet or moon. With no power. A single RTG keeps your probe core alive so you can survive landing. Solar panels are also great... until you experience aggressive aerobraking on low battery power. Which leads, usually, to aggressive lithobraking. Another good one I've done before is to put enough solar cells on my light atmo glider to power the probe core and the 6 Ion engines. I had to readjust the wing, where the panels were located, then immediately launched. With all the panels upside down.

I, for one, would love to see an amphi-rover. Even if it's only used for water crossing, it'd be an interesting challenge. Driving, whether on land or sea, straight across in a reasonably un-squiggly line.

Fullscreen off. Custom resolution, either 1660x1000 for single screen, centered, or 5040x1000 for tri-screen, centered. Terrain scatter on, 20% density Quality options reduced to minimum except terrain quality.

Satellites are amusing. I have to keep remembering to chuck mine into oddball orbits so I don't end up on collision courses. I've splashed more spaceplanes with the satellite it launched half an hour ago than I can count because I left the bloody satellite in the plane's exit orbit zone.

My trials with the K-Drive have resulted in rather impressive debris fields, but not much else. Mostly my massive piles of reaction wheels (I use 'em as filler in my drive mechanisms) end up slung about at great rates of speed. My designs tend to not be very stable. I've got the idea down, but my concept lacks refinement, usually giving one pulse and breaking down. I've not managed to figure out how to build a K-Drive that fires in a continuous pulse. With luck, I'll figure it out somehow. EDIT: Seems I'm getting closer to a working prototype. Need to either get the power up or the weight down on my test craft to use it, though.