Self imposed rules to play by

[jarmund]

I've heard of many rules that players come up with and follow.

Examples: Max one launch per week, not leaving debris in orbit, and similar things.

The ones i play by:

- No pancake lifters

- Extra room for long missions, as kerbals probably don't like being trapped in a single seat for interplanetary missions.

- No reverts or quickloads to dodge a screwup that was my fault. (Mostly to keep track of all the ones that sacrificed their lives for science). The exception to this is if it's a launch failure with something unmanned, as the failure is no loss to me seeing as I play science mode.

Do you have any that you play by? If so, please state if it's career, science or sandbox.

[Taki117]

This is for Science/Career.

My Rules to Live by:

All Kerbals get a turn, and no Kerbal will fly two consecutive missions.

No reverting flights (And I have edited the save game to prevent this).

Nuclear Devices are not to be fired in, or disposed of on Kerbin. (Meaning I can't crash a Nuclear Powered Rocket into the surface of Kerbin)

No Space Debris. If it goes up it must come down.

Must Unlock each tier before moving on to the Next Tier.

Must provide additional living space for at least an additional 1/2 crew capacity (Meaning if it's a long duration mission with 4 Kerbals I need at least space for 6)

No Kerbal Goes Alone. If it's a long duration mission there must be at least 2 Kerbals.

Long Duration missions are missions that extend beyond the length of a Minmus round trip. (About 4 days)

No Fuel is to be stored on any crewed station or base.

Adequate escape vehicles must be present on any manned station. (Adequate meaning that each crew member must have a means of escape)

All Tech Nodes of the current Tier must be unlocked before progressing to the next tier.

After any Failed Launch/Landing involving a Kerbal a minimum of 3 successful unmanned launches must be completed before the next Kerballed launch.

If a Kerbal Dies during a launch/landing due to failed equipment a minimum of 5 successful launches must be completed prior to the next Kerballed Launch.

[TonyC]

I always play Sandbox, and I have one rule :

-Don't start the game by setting up a base on Eeloo. Be progressive.

That's all.

[Brainlord Mesomorph]

Stock/Career

Your 3 plus:

pointy rockets and planes

antenna always (not just for science)

[Thomas988]

This goes for all my saves, regardless of game mode:

1. All crew must return home or have the ability to do so.

2. Time warp only when necessary. Waiting for launch windows for a specific time of day does not count.

3. Effort must be put into spacecraft. No throwing stuff together!

4. Try to keep rockets somewhat realistic.

Really, I'm not too big on the idea of putting on my own rules, but sometimes you just have to do it for the best gameplay possible.

[stupid_chris]

Nuclear Devices are not to be fired in, or disposed of on Kerbin. (Meaning I can't crash a Nuclear Powered Rocket into the surface of Kerbin)

You do know that the LV-N is a thermal nuclear rocket, meaning that the exhaust is not radioactive?

For myself there's only one rule I live by anymore:

- Don't forget to build the solution before launching the game.

[TeddyDD]

1. Semi realistic rockets. That's mean no asparagus and other strange things.

2. 3 times bigger crew capacity than required for long duration missions.

3. Revert and quickload only when game bug appears.

4. Not using NERVA engines for surface landing, no RTG for manned missions (usually)

5. One way trip is not an option (obvious)

[Streetwind]

1.) The reject contract button doesn't exist. If I don't want the contract, it must time out on its own.

(Reason: force-respawning certain contracts by rejection-spamming can be exploited for infinite money/rep/science without ever reaching orbit)

2.) Any trip longer than 48 hours requires more space for the crew than just a cramped seat.

(Reason: Believability)

3.) I may not delete any off-world debris except for those that intersect an atmosphere.

(Reason: Believability)

[KerBlammo]

1. No Kerbals left behind

2. Minimize space debris, where ever possible debris is lithobraked (see Rule 3 for exceptions), if it can't be de-orbited at least but it in a different orbit (sepatrons are good for this)

3. NERVA engines are never lithobraked, either soft landed seomewhere (except for Kerbin) or kept in orbit

[Sampa]

For me (especially after failing at getting a proper rescue plan for a munar mission that I SOMEHOW put into Kerbol orbit), ALWAYS find a way to get my Kerbals home and ALWAYS have a backup plan or rescue ship ready to launch at a moment's notice

[vixr]

I strive to do things manually... I learned to fly my designs, to dock with high precision, to not waste fuel, to land next to another lander or base within 10 meters. Never leave a Kerbal stranded...

[Musil]

I used to have that rule too, that kerbals need extra space. The result was I always overbuilt my rockets and never went anywhere, always getting bored first during the in orbit construction phase. Specially when I played with TAC!

Now I decided kerbals are subterranean reptiles. They go into hibernation in long trips and don't need much food or space.

Pankake-asparagus rockets I do hate. But with a Delta-IV design I always get more than what I need for my lifting stage, so I don't see the need anyways.

[AmpsterMan]

I have a few rules i go by from time to time:

- 4 to 1 length to width ratio

- One seat capsule has 1 kerb-day of resources, 2 seat has 14 kerb-days, 3 seat 21 kerb-days, crew module 360 kerb-days

- (sometimes) no more than 1 fuel tank stacked serially per stage.

- No asparagus fuel crossfeed.

[Mister Dilsby]

1. Leave no Kerbal behind.

2. All intakes must have unobstructed airflow

3. No external command seats to be used in-atmosphere (except while on the surface), or for more than six hours of spaceflight.

4. Ships that travel in atmosphere must be pointy at the front.

5. Try out ships in the 'simulator' as many times as it takes--but when it's go time, it's for real.

[AbacusWizard]

* Never put a kerbal in a potentially dangerous situation that I haven't already tested out with an uncrewed craft of similar capability.

* Always have a way to get kerbals back home (even if it's going to be a permanent base, I still want the ability to get them back home)

* Whenever using parts of two different radii, connect them smoothly (with structural components or the new conical fuel tanks)

* Include a pilot, a scientist, and an engineer on every crewed mission beyond Kerbin's SoI, even if their abilities aren't going to be needed

* After a major interplanetary ship is decomissioned, keep it in orbit as a "museum" (and rename it as such--"Phoenix II Orbital Museum" or suchlike) so the little kerbals of future generations can visit it on field trips

[regex]

* Never use MechJeb.

I think that's my only self-imposed rule.

[Orionkermin]

Ones I like to use often:

-two or more kerbals for crewed missions beyond LKO.

-when landing on bodies that are the size of Mun or bigger I need a seperate lander and CSM.

Basically my missions don't have to be apollo style, but will require some form of rendezvous.

[samstarman5]

I like a little extra space for my kerbals on those long journeys, myself. Even an extra structural item such as a Rockomax Brand Adapter can give a kerbal some room to stretch, as it would be silly to think those things are solid.

Lately, with my career I have been making it mandatory to include a probe core with every craft. That way, in case of emergencies, the probe AI can return the craft to the KSC with whatever science has been stored on it. And if the flight is crewed by only one kerbal, it gives them someone to play chess with and pass the time.

I do try to keep space litter down, and if I can't lose a stage in atmo, I will try to release it as low down as possible. That way after a few orbits, I can terminate it with the thought that gravity and eventual friction from any materials in planetary orbit would bring that stage down. Which also encourages me to put any satellites or orbital stations in higher orbits than 100k. The trade-off in dV is minimal, and the view is even better the higher up you are.

Anything that can get sent into solar orbit is just as good, as it won't be around to cause any sorts of concerns.

* Always have a way to get kerbals back home (even if it's going to be a permanent base, I still want the ability to get them back home)

I don't mind the thought of one-way missions with the plan to send a follow-up recovery mission, but it definitely requires some thought to habitation for the initial crew. Especially making sure there is more than one kerbin on such a flight. Don Cheadle's character's experience in Mission to Mars gives me the heeby jeebies.

* Include a pilot, a scientist, and an engineer on every crewed mission beyond Kerbin's SoI, even if their abilities aren't going to be needed

A PSE crew is always going to be necessary. Always go prepared. While a good probe core can fill in for a pilot, it can not fill in for scientist or engineer...not yet, anyway.

* After a major interplanetary ship is decomissioned, keep it in orbit as a "museum" (and rename it as such--"Phoenix II Orbital Museum" or suchlike) so the little kerbals of future generations can visit it on field trips

I like this one. But if I can't keep it in orbit, I can always commission building a replica to keep at the KSC, as NASA has done with their Saturn V rocket. Such achievements should always be remembered beyond a craft file.

Ones I like to use often:

-two or more kerbals for crewed missions beyond LKO.

-when landing on bodies that are the size of Mun or bigger I need a seperate lander and CSM.

Basically my missions don't have to be apollo style, but will require some form of rendezvous.

I find a separate lander is most handy with interplanetary missions. With the Mun and Minmus, it is practically child's play to land and return to Kerbin in one craft, but having a separate module to get the crew back from the likes of Duna is ideal. Especially since you wouldn't need to send the whole crew down to the surface. One wonders how difficult it was for the command module pilots to repress the thought that they might need to go back home to Earth alone....

Edited March 12, 2015 by samstarman5

[Slam_Jones]

My rules:

- Make it look at least somewhat realistic (no flying pancakes for serious missions)

- Extra leg room for long trips (each kerbal gets minimum 2 seats if the trip is beyond Kerbals SOI)

- Pack about 500 extra d/v per manuever (orbit, landing, rendezvous, etc)

- Docking without RCS earns double points (just like "Whose Line Is It Anyway?" the points mean nothing except for amusement's sake)

- Since I use TAC-LS, I try to keep at least double (if not more!) the amount of supplies needed (minimum 40 days worth... even for LKO)

- Interplanetary? Add some recyclers (TAC-LS) and a Hab Mod for leg room.

- Kerbals get bored far from home... always bring a rover!

Edited March 12, 2015 by Slam_Jones

[Sampa]

I like this one. But if I can't keep it in orbit, I can always commission building a replica to keep at the KSC, as NASA has done with their Saturn V rocket. Such achievements should always be remembered beyond a craft file.

That's no replica, sir. THAT'S the real McCoy!

[eddiew]

For my next career game as I've been debating in the mods section...

1) No probe landers. Landers must contain a crew.

2) No one-way crewed trips. Any 'bases' must have a return vehicle in local orbit ready to extract the crew on short notice.

3) Contract satellites cannot have engines; they must be placed in orbit by a crewed vessel, or a remote controlled deployment-vehicle which then moves on elsewhere.

Should make it interesting - Eve is now a boss monster as it should be

[42_aerobrake_passes]

- Unkerbaled probes must lead the way. Otherwise how do I know that Jeb's not going to just sink into the soft, delicious surface of Minmus, or that Pol is not actually made of antimatter? Same for orbiting anything but Kerbin itself; we need to make sure that big pink creatures from planet Dirt aren't going to try to shoot us down. This rule gets particularly interesting when playing with Remotetech.

- For kerbaled flights that are longer than a there-and-back to Minmus, multiple kerbals have to be sent, as solo kerbals tend to start going a little strange when they're alone too long. Two isn't enough, it has to be three; someone has to break up Bill and Bob when they start having slap fights over who gets to date Valentina when she joins the KSP. (I think they're both going to be rather disappointed...)

- More of a rule that a lot of people do but I don't follow: It's okay when using Remotetech to have insufficient batteries to be able to handle the full duration of passing through Kerbin's shadow, especially for the first constellation. The flight computer for those probes can do far more than Jeb can do before he leaves Kerbin's SOI; it should be able to switch to a low power mode for 95% of the time and just power up occasionally to see if it needs to do more. Someone can pay me if they want something to relay their TV signals, otherwise what I'm putting up is for KSP use only and doesn't need to be running full speed all the time!

[Sandworm]

1. No liquidfuel/oxidizer on missions lasting beyond a few hours in vacuum (stock fuels).

2. No manned missions out of comm range (remotetech).

3. No 8+g reentries (not using DR).

[quasarrgames]

1. a max of 3 intakes per jet engine (unless it is a designated futuristic airhogging craft)

2. extra room for kerbals on long voyages/bases, AND some rudimentary artificial gravity for them too (but only sometimes)

[Nansuchao]

Try to enjoy the game until the game breaks due to many mods installed.... One time per week...