Yarrula

The only mod I use is Kerbal alarm clock. It let's me run multiple missions without having to worry about missing a maneuver node. Being able to coordinate launch and arrivals makes it feel more like a space program and less like one guy screwing around by himself. I used to use mechjeb and ker when I was learning the game (many hundreds of hours ago) but I don't need them any more. I have a pretty good feel for what the stock parts can do. My VAB guesses usually turn out pretty well.

I never use the super tiny lv-1 engines. The smallest one I'll use is the spark, it's simply too versitile for satallites and probes. If I need anything smaller, I'll go ion instead.

Thanks Squad. I know there's been a lot of talk, good and bad, surrounding the latest release. I just want to say I appreciate the hard work you (and the QA testers etc) have put into 1.0. It's a blast to play and I've been having nothing but fun. Keep up the good work!

Save the decoupler and just use an action group to cut the chute when the test is done. But I usually go the SRB+recover route myself for those contracts.

Since they're throttled back to 67-75% thrust using tweakables, overheating has never been an issue for me. Adding a couple more parts, control fins etc would also help with that, I think.

If the tutorials are contracts, a player should be able to decline them at any time with no penalty, even if they were previously accepted. You may not want to do those contracts every time you start a new save. Otherwise +1, I agree.

I built my SRB first stage once, then saved it as a sub assembly. It has 7 of the largest SRBs from the NASA pack. I tweak the thrust depending on what I'm launching. Since that covers about 90% of my missions, I'm ok with the occasional one-off bit of construction when required.

I never liked asparagus designs, as they just didn't feel "rocket-y" enough for me. I like 2-3 stages to LKO at most, each dumping as much as possible at once in a glorious display of explosions and sepatrons. At best, I was onion staging, dropping the outer ring of boosters all at once. I like the fact that the stock parts give me the choice whether to go complex and fuel efficient or overly large and simple. We CAN have both. It all depends on the size of your payload and patience in setting up stages of radial decouplers.

I agree with using a timestamp. yyyy/mm/dd/hh/mm/ss, with as many decimal point seconds as required to capture the frantic hammering of the screenshot key as someone is documenting their best explosion ever.

I kind of like this idea. Ask the player to send all the basic science reports you start with, to at least make them aware crew reports, eva reports, surface samples etc exist. Alternatively, if this is included in a comprehensive tutorial, I think that would be a better option. Science is a critical part to progressing in the career. Making the mechanics of gathering science points a mystery is not an ideal way to run a space program.

To the best of my knowledge, I can't resize the navball, without also blowing up the rest of the UI to nonsense levels. Give me a bigger navball. It's the most important part of the screen.

I too, want a sandbox with all they toys. Many others have suggested and asked for this as well. Best workaround I have seen is edit the files to give you enough science to unlock everything before your first launch, then run a science only game as a sandbox.

I would like them a lot more if the orbits had more variation to them. Inclinations of 0-45 degrees, AP and PE anywhere from LKO to beyond Minmus etc. As they are, I think they're solid, but not exceptional. I still accept everyone that's offered though. My space program always needs more recruits.

I have not seen any contracts for asteroid missions yet. Has anyone else? We have all these great ARM parts, and an entire update devoted to asteroids, but no contracts yet? For shame (Unless I just haven't received them yet?) I would like to see contracts that reward rendezvous and docking/grabbing asteroids. Capturing asteroids into stable orbits around Kerbin/Mun/Minmus could also be part of the fun. For me personally, by the time I'm ready to tackle such a mission, I'm already swimming in funds. I think these contracts should reward lots of science and rep, with little in the way of funds. Of course, that part is open to balancing and debate as required.

I second the mothership/lab combo in orbit. I've done this several times and it's always cheaper and more time efficient than launching new landers and science instruments from kerbin. My method is to transmit and recover one of each experiment from each biome. My lander's have two material labs, two goo, and one of everything that doesn't need a lab to reset. All science results are stored in the lander's capsule for recovery later. Everything that can be transmitted with no loss (eva reports, crew reports) is transmitted. I have to hit up 5 or so biomes around Mun or Minmus to make this the better option in the long term, rather than bringing multiple goo experiements, but once you leave Kerbin's SOI, the Lab really starts to shine. It'll get even better once other planets get their own biomes. I am mystified by the transmission boost part of the lab though. I never use it. If I go through all the trouble to haul the lab and some kerbals out there, I'll just recover enough samples to make up the difference between processing and not processing the experimental results. I want that transmission boost for things I don't plan to return, which means that I need to consign two kerbals to the empty black in perpetuity. I'm not that heartless, yet.