To RSS or not to RSS

[SkyRex94]

I want the challenge of big planets and I want to have awesome looking low orbits. But I also want to have nice looking ground. So I obvoiusly play with my own RSS config, a 1/7/4 Rescale.

You find it linked in the official RSS thread

[Pwnstarr]

RSS has opened my eyes to new problems I hadn't considered. For instance, how do I get my first Remote tech satellite to GEO from Cape Canaveral (or other starting inclined orbit), and positioned over the longitude I want? My poor brain... I haven't even left LEO yet.

[cantab]

I looked at 64k and I think Jumbo32, but I just didn't like the way the terrain got flattened. I like having steep slopes on the planets.

As for full RSS, I'd love to do that at some point but I'd rather have a better PC first, one that can handle higher part counts with less lag.

I use a custom KIDS preset, reducing the engines to 0.85x their usual Isp. This brings them into the range of real hypergolic engines, mostly offsets the reduction in delta-V to orbit in FAR, and makes space travel require a bit more fuel than usual. Of particular note is it puts a single-stage Tylo lander on the edge of what's possible.

Edited March 16, 2015 by cantab

[GusTurbo]

I don't use RSS, but I've always been curious. If I did, I wouldn't use stock parts at all, because the monstrosities you have to cobble together to launch things look silly and unattractive.

[regex]

As for full RSS, I'd love to do that at some point but I'd rather have a better PC first, one that can handle higher part counts with less lag.

Check out the Realism Overhaul thread. All of the required mods are plugins except for RSS itself; get the low-res textures for RSS. Then pick up the following mods from the Recommended list:

• Procedural Fairings
  
• Procedural Parts
  
• B9 Procedural Wings OR Procedural Wings (I highly recommend the B9 wings)
  
• RealChutes

Get one of Mechjeb or Engineer because I'll guarantee you you'll want delta-V calculations, then pick up the Stockalike Engine Configs for Real Fuels. If you want to get rid of all the extraneous stock wings and tanks (which you should anyway), Felger has a pruner that works really well.

Bam. Simple RSS/RO setup that has engines which are familiar and a minimum of added parts and textures. The best thing about using the procedural parts is that building big doesn't really mean you increase the craft part count, unlike stock KSP.

Edited March 16, 2015 by regex

[tater]

^^^that is entirely untrue for the small RSS cfgs. 3.2X with FAR is not that different from stock, and I'd expect 2X with FAR to likely equal stock stuff with the soup.

[Francois424]

I tried RSS 1/10th once.

Couldn't load all the nice textures in KSP(x32) because of memory limits.

So I put it out for the future where x64 will be stable enough to be used.

When that day comes, I am SO playing that !

[ThreeMartiniLaunch]

I prefer Hot Shots Golf to Tiger Woods PGA Tour.

[technicalfool]

Either/or. I have a 10x RSS DMP server that nobody bothers to play on down there in my signature. It can be kinda fun to pick a real-world spaceport, take off from there and try to land on a real-size, and really-inclined moon.

On the other hand, sometimes I just want to launch rockets. I certainly don't subscribe to the notion that you're some kind of silly billy for not wanting to go full-masochist.

That and the cloud glitches lower down in the atmosphere are annoying.

[RobotsAndSpaceships]

To fix the cloud glitches, press alt+n, find the layer that is too low, and raise it's altitude.

- - - Updated - - -

I disagree here, I have some problems with RSS and ATM (aggressive mode) well, not only RSS but RO+15 recommended mods for RO.

Cool, instead of complaining about those problems on the forums, you should report them to the RSS bugtracker so they can be fixed. It's probably something on your end though, I can run RSS/RO+ATM basic no problem.

Adds nothing of value for me. Just more generic empty space. Kerbal works great as cartoon word, sucks hard as not-realistic-enough real world. Immersion breaker.

Care to explain?

[forenci]

My biggest apprehension about using RSS has been time. Launches take a long time. Landings take a long time. I do like how you have to be more creative and intuitive about building space craft, but when you have a fairly limited amount of time to play as it is the additional time to do things can be quite a hindrance to getting anything done.

[tntristan12]

RSS has always been a mixed bag for me. On one hand, I love the extra challenge and realism it provides. On the other, I feel like it loses the sense of charm and intimacy that comes from stock KSP's smaller system. I've always felt that 6.4x was the best compromise between the two, although the lack of compatibility between RSS and mods that I like to use (EVE, for example) is a little but of a put-off.

[Wiseman]

I love the idea of playing in RSS, but the reality of 9-minute launches just to get to LEO makes my eyes glaze over. I find myself in a frustrating place where stock + FAR/DRE/KIDS still feels too easy, because no amount of tweaking ISP values really captures the feeling of getting into an orbit of a bigger world. But, my preferred config Jumbo32, doesn't mesh quite seamlessly into the other pile of mods I like to use, and there are challenges related to doing career mode with RSS configs - it's not impossible, but some parts are harder, contracts don't work quite right, that sort of thing.

[Nobody_1707]

Honestly, with Procedural Parts the part counts aren't that bad.

Anyway, to the main question, I found orbital launches to be too easy in stock KSP, even with FAR + DRE. However, rendering the larger planets is hard on my laptop's integrated graphics chip. Once I get a new computer, I plan on making a custom 10x scale config including the Outer Planets Mod.

Orbital launches are easier with FAR, even after you take DRE into account. Squad is probably going to have to change the default game scale to at least 6.4x sometime after they add stock aerodynamics, or getting into orbit will be brain dead simple. Either that or all the Kerbal rocket engines are going to need to be very underpowered in atmosphere.

[forenci]

Orbital launches are easier with FAR, even after you take DRE into account. Squad is probably going to have to change the default game scale to at least 6.4x sometime after they add stock aerodynamics, or getting into orbit will be brain dead simple. Either that or all the Kerbal rocket engines are going to need to be very underpowered in atmosphere.

It's easier to an extent, but it requires more planning and thought during launches. For example, sometimes pulling a gravity turn too early results in the rocket flipping. In addition, ensuring you have fairings and that your parts fit well within the fairings is crucial too. That and space planes are quite a challenge with FAR/DRE. I think the new re-entry mechanics will be a huge issue for a lot of new players. People are so use to just slamming their craft through the atmosphere. Now it will be necessary to bring more fuel to slow a descent through the atmosphere, as as some more creative solutions perhaps.

[Slam_Jones]

I've done 6.4x and RSS itself. It's fun at first, but I get annoyed when I all but have to use the largest rockets to even get a probe into space.

If I have it installed, it's usually uninstalled within the week. Not that the mods are bad, I'm just not patient enough for them

[tater]

I've done 6.4x and RSS itself. It's fun at first, but I get annoyed when I all but have to use the largest rockets to even get a probe into space.

If I have it installed, it's usually uninstalled within the week. Not that the mods are bad, I'm just not patient enough for them

If you end up back in stock, why not try the new 2X version of 6.4? Jumbo32 is another one I have played with, and I honestly think the terrain looks better than stock. Just extreme enough without being absurd, and it is not any more time consuming, really.

[Corw]

Care to explain?

When I land on Kerbin I'm used to landing in empty field. It has always been like that and when I land, I expect empty field.

When I land in Paris, I expect Eiffel tower to be there.

That would be summary of things why I dislike RSS. It is my personal view. RSS just doesn't feel right. On my first launch I switched to Baikonur, if I'm not mistaken. it looked like ..... It was total immersion breaker. If it wasn't Earth but some other Earth-sized plant, it could have worked, but as bad copy of what Earth is supposed to be, it irritated me to no end. I just couldn't do it.

[FlyingPete]

I like exploring a similar-but-different, slightly cartoonish star system. The proportions of the system work for me, especially when working with stock parts. Having to build rockets that dwarf the Big Orange Tank breaks the immersion for me. If I want our solar system I'll play Orbiter

[LABHOUSE]

I make sure all of my serious crafts in stock are capable of doing the same mission in rss, and I play some rss, just no TAC or the greenhouse mod anymore.

[White Owl]

I enjoy the longer launch times from 6.4x Kerbin, because that gives me more time to actually fly my rocket and make fine changes to the orbit. Stock Kerbin is so small, and even low powered rockets reach orbit so quickly, that my piloting errors cause problems before I can correct them.

Been a while since I actually played... but I have a custom pasted together RSS config with four different scales happily coexisting. Kerbin, Eve, and Laythe are all 6.4x bigger than stock. Kerbol and Jool are 10x, as well as all distances between bodies. The Mun and most other bodies are 3.2x, except for Minmus and other very small moons. I left the little guys at stock scale. The end result is it takes lots of delta-V and time to get places, but the terrain still has interesting hills and valleys.

[prophet_01]

I tried it and it's rly cool. But my regular mod package already includes enough troubkemakers, I neither have the time nor the will to deal with additional 10 mods. RSS is rather unbalanced without RO, so RSS-only it's not rly the experience I'm looking for. Since the mod makers are sadly unwilling or unable to merge the pack into one big mod, I have to decide between the mods I love and more realism

Would love to play it regulary, but atm it's a clear no

[RobotsAndSpaceships]

I tried it and it's rly cool. But my regular mod package already includes enough troubkemakers, I neither have the time nor the will to deal with additional 10 mods. RSS is rather unbalanced without RO, so RSS-only it's not rly the experience I'm looking for. Since the mod makers are sadly unwilling or unable to merge the pack into one big mod, I have to decide between the mods I love and more realism

Would love to play it regulary, but atm it's a clear no

How is ATM preventing you from playing? Also, realism overhaul won't cause any crashes, as it takes up something like 1mb of space. It's pretty easy to have more than ten mods at once, I have something like 100+ in my RSS/RO install.

[Pwnstarr]

Y'all need to use CKAN. Filter for "realism" and it installs realism overhaul dependencies (of which RSS is one), and offers all the other recommended mods and optional stuff too. Then it downloads and unpacks it to Gamedata, no hassle - start with a *clean* install though. And get the Kerbal joint reinforcement dev fix for docking ports after that.

Anyways I LOVE the overhaul. I also only get maybe 1 hour to play each day, so I can take a few days just to get a vehicle to work the way I want but when it works it's beautiful and the accomplishment of reaching orbit is that much more satisfying.

Edited March 18, 2015 by Pwnstarr

[QPDO]

It makes me feel little to be in the company of such great minds...

Instead of an argument about the pros and cons of RSS / RO it all padding the own back about being so rocket scientist.

Cons of RSS / RO (reading this thread)

- Choice and installation of the mod is tedious

- mod dependencies are high

- hardware requirements are high

- needs a lot of fine tuning with parts, contracts and isp balance wise

- mediocre mod compatibility (mostly balance)

- everything takes a lot more time

Pros of RSS / RO (reading this thread)

- steep learning curve

- high motivation on success

- allows to move the game focus more towards simulation/reality

- ?

Sorry but reading the posts doesn't really show more Pros. I'd say that RSS / RO would be used a lot more if it would blend in better/easier with other mods or even stock. Right now it's a niche mod that, compared to FAR/DRE/TAC, doesn't add much to the game. It does indeed add more realism. Yet it adds it to the game where it doesn't add much to the game experience or even learning experience. Please correct me, but the basic requirements in comparison to stock-like gameplay are: invest more time and fiddle together huge rockets out of small parts or mostly use scaled or procedural parts. Yet it also needs almost every mod that is used with RSS/RO to be rebalanced (fuel, life-support, aerodynamics, part sizes, contracts) to allow a satisfying real feeling. But why? I'd wager to say that players can learn and enjoy a lot more from playing gameplay-elements originating from stock or stock-mod gameplay (logistics (with TAC), rocket design, (space)plane design, orbital mechanics, aerodynamics (with FAR), reentry problems (with DRE) etc.) than they can from playing with RSS/RO which basically makes a simplified simulation a lot more tedious. It might let the player feel more hardcore, yet it's seems to me a bit like running your bike on flat tires. You put in a lot of effort and time to get to the same

effect (learning and having fun building and flying rockets) everybody else has.

In the end you are free to do it, as every KSP player has to choose which mods or any he or she uses. Yet it doesn't make you better... just different. That's why I will start a new game (again as on every major update) when the next update is released and choose scaled isp/fuels over a scaled geometry though, as it is easier to implement and compatible what mods I use.