New guy with a question saying hello...

[HolShot]

Hi, long time lurker, first time poster.

I finally purchased, and installed KSP V1 on my Lenovo ThinkPad R500 laptop (6 GB DDR3 RAM, Intel Core2 Duo P6800 2.4 GHz, Windows 7 Pro x64). I also use a Microsoft Sidewinder Precision 2 Joystick (USB). Sadly, the GPU on this laptop is "merely adequate," however KSP V1 runs fine once the graphics settings have been adjusted.

All in all, it's an amazing piece of software, and I've been pretty happy with it! However, I'm a bit frustrated at the seeming lack of good documentation for it. Apparently there is no "official" user manual, and while I've gone through the Wiki, I didn't find much of it to be all that helpful.

Perhaps I've overlooked something? If not, does Squad intend on publishing a comprehensive user manual any time soon? If not, then..?

TIA.

[Starhawk]

Welcome into the fold, lurker!

There are specific tutorials available both on the Wiki and here in the Tutorials section of the forums.

There are also a number of video tutorials available on the web. Some of these can be very helpful. If you have specific questions about gameplay, take a look around the Gameplay Questions section and see if your question has already been asked and answered. If not, start a thread asking what you would like to know.

In general we have a very friendly and helpful community around here.

Happy landings!

[Torih]

Some great tutorials on youtube, such as

[Vanamonde]

There's no manual because they are still working on the game. No point in printing something up if it's just going to need revision again and again.

[Superfluous J]

There's no manual because they are still working on the game. No point in printing something up if it's just going to need revision again and again.

Must... resist... must... resist... failing... to... resist.

This was a valid argument (that I myself made) before 1.0 hit, but now that it's out and the perception is that the game is complete, it should have a better manual. It should also actually be complete (or mostly) so that such a manual is possible. I don't think either of these things is true, but I'm not the one who thought 1.0 was a good idea.

That said, the joy of this game is in the dual-headed approach of figuring it out yourself and getting help from a vast network of extremely helpful people online.

[SpacedCowboy]

Must... resist... must... resist... failing... to... resist.

This was a valid argument (that I myself made) before 1.0 hit, but now that it's out and the perception is that the game is complete, it should have a better manual. It should also actually be complete (or mostly) so that such a manual is possible. I don't think either of these things is true, but I'm not the one who thought 1.0 was a good idea.

That said, the joy of this game is in the dual-headed approach of figuring it out yourself and getting help from a vast network of extremely helpful people online.

Well said 5th, But where's this "manual"? (being sarcastic)

[Triop]

The only manual for KSP I know is Scott Manualy.

[Superfluous J]

Well said 5th, But where's this "manual"? (being sarcastic)

Haha I know you're being sarcastic but I meant "better than the wiki and searching YouTube"

[Stormweaver]

Must... resist... must... resist... failing... to... resist.

This was a valid argument (that I myself made) before 1.0 hit, but now that it's out and the perception is that the game is complete, it should have a better manual. It should also actually be complete (or mostly) so that such a manual is possible. I don't think either of these things is true, but I'm not the one who thought 1.0 was a good idea.

Don't be silly, everyone knows that modern PC games don't need manuals anymore - why bother when your userbase can be forced to alt-tab constrantly to a wiki that may-or-may-not be up to date and accurate?

...I miss manuals.

[Geschosskopf]

Welcome aboard, HolShot!

As others have said, the game has built-in tutorials of semi-useful nature, there's a wiki that is currently out of date due to several updates having just come out, and otherwise there's a lot of YouTube stuff. Some is quite good for tutorial stuff, some is misguided, and a lot is just silliness for the sake of silliness.

[Zild]

For the most part I think it works well without a manual. Play around with designs - see what goes up, and what goes up in smoke. The point is to figure it out as you go along - exploration in the truest sense.

Of course I would not extend that to everything. Clear explanations of parts and of how to use facilities (most notably VAB and SPH) are handy. (I am not saying these do or do not exist; I haven't paid much attention to that since I first started playing. Although I plan to look for them soon as some of the new VAB / SPH functionality is still as clear as mud to me...)

[HolShot]

I guess I'm in the same boat with everyone else, so it's exploring I will go. I was kinda hoping for more detailed information on using the spacecraft/aircraft editors in the VAB/SPH, but I've been figuring it out along the way using the VAB/SPH command table from the Wiki. I'm currently at the point where I have built several aircraft that fly, and are stable for the most part... warts and all. I suppose elegance will eventually come with time, and experience.

One quick question, though... When using SAS as an autopilot, I notice what appears to be the affects of gyroscopic precession in the reactor wheels. So far I've been basically taking off and heading East (90°) with SAS turned on. I find that SAS will maintain the aircraft's attitude except for pitch, which will very slowly pitch up as the flight progresses. I've figured out that hitting the F key periodically (momentarily turning SAS off, then on) will correct it for the most part, but was wondering if there might be a better solution.

Thanks for all the quick replies, folks!

[Wallygator]

I guess I'm in the same boat with everyone else, so it's exploring I will go. I was kinda hoping for more detailed information on using the spacecraft/aircraft editors in the VAB/SPH, but I've been figuring it out along the way using the VAB/SPH command table from the Wiki. I'm currently at the point where I have built several aircraft that fly, and are stable for the most part... warts and all. I suppose elegance will eventually come with time, and experience.

One quick question, though... When using SAS as an autopilot, I notice what appears to be the affects of gyroscopic precession in the reactor wheels. So far I've been basically taking off and heading East (90°) with SAS turned on. I find that SAS will maintain the aircraft's attitude except for pitch, which will very slowly pitch up as the flight progresses. I've figured out that hitting the F key periodically (momentarily turning SAS off, then on) will correct it for the most part, but was wondering if there might be a better solution.

Thanks for all the quick replies, folks!

Welcome aboard!

My understanding is that SAS is not an autopilot, but merely a stability assist. It generally keeps your rocket pointing in the direction you point it to start with ---> but other forces can easily overpower SAS since it has a torque limit. In the situation you describe its likely to be a result of some aerodynamic force or a very slight offset to your thrust vector.

Others who are more switched on than me can probably contribute a more detailed assessment - however, posting a screen shot of your vessel would likely help quite a bit.

[selfish_meme]

The planet is round, SAS goes straight, result, drift upwards on navball

[HolShot]

The planet is round, SAS goes straight, result, drift upwards on navball

Couldn't have said it better myself! Thanks everyone.

[keeper]

,,,can be forced to alt-tab constrantly to a wiki that may-or-may-not be up to date and accurate?

...I miss manuals.

me too

[Cerbis]

There is indeed no singular Tome of Lego Spaceflight available with concise and complete information for KSP, at least not quite yet. Scott Manley's tutorial guide goes over a LOT of what you might be interested in, but does take quite a bit of time to sit through.

So! Here's a bunch of links that'll take less time to read!

Old and with some spottiness of outdated information, but mostly applicable for the current version still. Has a few handy hints about the VAB/SPH too!

https://www.reddit.com/r/KerbalSpaceProgram/comments/21dco6/things_you_may_not_have_known_about_playing_ksp/

To fill in a bit of my own knowledge about the VAB/SPH; Keys 1 through 4 will change the current tool you use. 1 is the regular part selector and placement tool, 2 is Offset, 3 is Rotate and 4 is changing root part. Enabling and disabling Angle Snap with the C key or the circle/hexagon button down to the left will also have an effect on the Offset and Rotate tools, making it so that changing offset and rotation happens in discrete steps rather than smoothly. Really helps for tweaking craft just the way you want them. Pressing the F key with the Offset and Rotate tools will change the reference orientation for the tools. These tools are very handy for pointing parts in the right direction, especially aircraft engines and wings!

Entropius of these very forums put together a beautiful, illustrated guide for getting to other objects in orbit. It's also applicable to getting to other planets; the principle is pretty much identical, with only the scale being different!

http://forum.kerbalspaceprogram.com/threads/92480-Illustrated-Tutorial-for-Orbital-Rendezvous

keptin, also of these forums, drew up a lengthy and rather comprehensive tutorial on the principles of aircraft design. This will really help with making things that fly straight!

http://forum.kerbalspaceprogram.com/threads/52080-Basic-Aircraft-Design-Explained-Simply-With-Pictures

There's also a number of mods that help with designing spacecraft, such as Kerbal Engineer Redux, but seeing as you've lurked around for a while I'm sure you're already familiar with it!

As for aircraft behaving strangely, there are to my knowledge still a few small details that make aircraft not perfectly symmetrical with respect to the air that can cause drift. Trim (Alt+WASDQE) will help with that, as noted in the Reddit link.

Edit: I just remembered another detail with the SPH in particular I haven't seen mentioned anywhere. Your placement of the craft inside the SPH will actually change where on the runway it appears. There is a center line in the SPH that will match the center line of the actual runway out in the world. This generally doesn't matter, as your aircraft will still point straight down the runway at default orientation, but it's there.

I hope this helps!

Edited June 25, 2015 by Cerbis

[Wallygator]

Couldn't have said it better myself! Thanks everyone.

This assumes the poster is orbit around a planet. in atmosphere... in space...

Need proper reference to deduce proper diagnosis.