What causes launch pad damage and how to avoid it?

[Sobriquet]

When I launch a massive rocket sometimes, and yes it seems to be arbitrary, the launch pad explodes and burns. (Most gloriously i might add.)

I've tried to connect it to TWR, part count, mass , etc but I'm not able to make a connection.

[guitarxe]

Heavy mass hitting the pad. What constitutes as "hitting", though, can be tricky and can sometimes not make sense.

[Sobriquet]

Heavy mass hitting the pad. What constitutes as "hitting", though, can be tricky and can sometimes not make sense.

Do you mean thrust? To clarify, I'm not talking about a part hitting the pad, just the exhaust at takeoff.

[Columbia]

Well, yes, thrust pretty much behaves as fast-moving mass

(Which is the backbone behind rocket engines - The mass is thrown back and the rocket is propelled forth via Newton's third law which states that "For every reaction, there is an equal and opposite reaction. Now this mass being left behind and thrown causes the "opposite" reaction that propels rockets upward - sort of like shooting a gun and it jerking backward.")

and that mass pretty much knocks the launchpad, tearing it ridiculously apart. Sometimes, not even this is the case -- Some rockets are so heavy that they cause the pad to blow up.

While it is irritating and causes mass destruction sometimes, at least it makes good-looking effects!

[Xannari Ferrows]

The launch pad can take some weight.

The game doesn't apply mass to objects immediately, but instead loading graphical models before colliders and all that. This means that the launchpad absorbs all of the force of your ship as soon as the physics loads, which can be avoided with the OP-ness of the launch clamps.

[Sobriquet]

Well, yes, thrust pretty much behaves as fast-moving mass

While it is irritating and causes mass destruction sometimes, at least it makes good-looking effects!

(Which is the backbone behind rocket engines - The mass is thrown back and the rocket is propelled forth via Newton's third law which states that "For every reaction, there is an equal and opposite reaction. Now this mass being left behind and thrown causes the "opposite" reaction that propels rockets upward - sort of like shooting a gun and it jerking backward.")

and that mass pretty much knocks the launchpad, tearing it ridiculously apart. Sometimes, not even this is the case -- Some rockets are so heavy that they cause the pad to blow up.

This is true. The explosions, and the smoke, and the are fire just awesome!

Is there any rhyme of reason to how and why the mass of a rocket blows up the pad? It seems pretty random. Sometimes KA-BLOOEY!!, sometimes not. All conditions are identical, except for the blammo part anyways.

- - - Updated - - -

The launch pad can take some weight.

The game doesn't apply mass to objects immediately, but instead loading graphical models before colliders and all that. This means that the launchpad absorbs all of the force of your ship as soon as the physics loads, which can be avoided with the OP-ness of the launch clamps.

Lots of clamps will mitigate the KA-BLOOEY!!?

[Snark]

I'm curious about what might cause this, though. I've played KSP a lot, and have never had this problem, even with Eve return landers massing several hundred tons. I wonder what it is that I'm not doing?

[Sobriquet]

I think my save might be borked. Because now I'm getting an uneven fuel flow issue. Despite re-building my craft several times, whenever I attach the second pair of KS-24x4's one of the lower engines will pull fuel at a rate uneven with the matching engine.

I've tried every conceivable thing to try and fix the issue, to no avail. Restart game, restart comp, rebuild craft, mirror symmetry, radial symmetry, single placement, nothing seems to work.

If I have just two, no problem. When I add the second pair, bork!

How can I post a craft file so you experts can critique it for me. I'm convinced I'm doing something wrong, something so simple I can't figure it out.

[Xannari Ferrows]

Steam → steamapps → common → Kerbal Space Program → saves → [client name here] → Ships → VAB/SPH → [name of craft].craft.

Then upload it to any file sharing site, like Mediafire.

[Nansuchao]

The destruction of the Launchpad often happens due to the physics loading the ship in a single moment. You can easily avoid this issue with Kerbal Joint Reinforcement