What's so bad about Dres?

[Geschosskopf]

You don't get contracts for Dres unles you go there. If you do go there, you will get contracts for it.

Which is wrong IMHO. With most places, you get contracts before you go there, so you know before leaving that the contract will pay for the rocket required. Thus, most people expand into space as the contracts lead them, and the contracts don't lead to Dres. Thus, anybody contemplating a trip to Dres knows he has to pay for it out of his own pocket. And everybody knows Dres is a boring, drab, useless place so they don't really want to go there unless they're getting paid to.

This is the single biggest change Squad could do to make Dres more mainstream---have some Dres-related contracts (explore, flag, station, etc.) come along in the normal course of business without having to go there first.

[John FX]

I started a career with the aim of going to every planet I got a mission for and I have yet to get a contract for Dres. Not sure it will happen either.

Lonely potato...

[mellojoe]

Maybe put some mysterious bright spots on it?

Seriously, though, now I have a strong desire to park some asteroids in orbit around Dres to give it some moons. Poor Dres.

[Cydonian Monk]

Folks don't like Dres because it's where the kerbals chose to build their insane asylum. (Though some question whether the patients interred there were crazy before they arrived....)

That, and it's kinda dark and grey and miserable. A bit like landing on the Mün's north pole all day every day.

[Yukon0009]

Maybe put some mysterious bright spots on it?

Seriously, though, now I have a strong desire to park some asteroids in orbit around Dres to give it some moons. Poor Dres.

Asteroids actually spawn in dres orbit now.

[mellojoe]

Wait ... what? ASTEROIDS AT DRES?!?!?

When did that happen? Where was I? What YEAR IS IT?

maybe ... just maybe ... I'll take a trip to Dres.

[problemecium]

Yes, Dres has an asteroid belt... now. Only recently.

Prior to that it really had nothing the other places didn't. Canyons? Duna, Kerbin, and the Mun all have those. So back then it really was boring.

[mikegarrison]

Wait ... what? ASTEROIDS AT DRES?!?!?

When did that happen? Where was I? What YEAR IS IT?

maybe ... just maybe ... I'll take a trip to Dres.

They won't start spawning until you actually visit. But once you do, just check the tracking station and start tracking them, like the near-Kerbin asteroids. They will all be in a nearly equatorial, nearly circular orbit that is about 20,000 km from Dres.

[Spartwo]

and diddly squat for Ore

Hmm...

[viktor19]

That one time my IPV 3.0 visited Dres with the Original Three, I found it interesting: not because of the canyon, or ore(.90), or Dresteroids (.90, again). Simply, it was interesting in it's lack of features. Everyone who plays KSP and takes part in this discussion should go and see for itself.

It's not a planet, but a planetoid with no striking features, just that canyon (like that white things on Ceres). Don't ignore it, and give it some love. Don't make it the Pluto of Kerbol system.

[Caelib]

Dres suffers from "middle child syndrome" if there were such a thing for planets. Jool is pretty much the same difficulty to reach (if not easier) but A LOT more interesting. And Duna is much more interesting as well and a lot easier than either of it's elder siblings.

Dres has a 5.5 degree inclination so it is kind of a pain to reach for a lot of people.

Lets face it, Dres is an anticlimactic end to an awful lot of work and a long journey.

[PB666]

Dres is pretty useless, I think once I decide my program needs jump drive tech I might put a base there that can go dresteroid hunting or something.

Dresteroids in highly predicatable orbits. They respawn indefinitely, I think these may be the source of universal dark matter :^).

[mellojoe]

Dres suffers from "middle child syndrome"

as a middle child, I am now more determined than ever to visit Dres and take part in this wonderful new dresteroid belt.

[Aragosnat]

This is the single biggest change Squad could do to make Dres more mainstream---have some Dres-related contracts (explore, flag, station, etc.) come along in the normal course of business without having to go there first.

Actually there is an Explore contract. Sadly it is after you do the other explore contracts that lead up to it. Mun to Get Duna and Ike explore Which allows you Eva. Duna and Ike Get you Gilly contract which then opens up Jool. Yup Jool as Dres was skipped for some reason. Then After Jool and its moons you get the Dres Contract followed my Eeloo contract.

But, Yeah the incline and small SOI to try and get an intrecpt makes it more of a pain then it is worth. Unless you plan for the incline well before Leaving Kerbin's SOI. Think it can be done. Just a lot more effort and waiting.

[Edax]

Dres could be made really cool if it had an interior ocean that you could get to resembling the underwater lake of Moria from the LotRs movies. Balrog not included.

[Hannu]

But, Yeah the incline and small SOI to try and get an intrecpt makes it more of a pain then it is worth. Unless you plan for the incline well before Leaving Kerbin's SOI. Think it can be done. Just a lot more effort and waiting.

The most efficient way to make TDI burn is to use an inclined parking orbit. Porkchop plot program gives inclination angle and angle to prograde which helps to achieve correct LAN. Burn is prograde and you can calculate dv by using standard trigonometry.

The largest inclination of the parking orbit I have seen was 24 degrees. In such cases it would be more economic to use a transfer with plane change. However, such a maneuver is relatively difficult to plan with the KSP's inaccurate maneuver system so that errors do not take an advantage over simpler ballistic transfer.

[Sharpy]

I really wish for Dres to have an extensive cavern system. At least two, better three biomes: Caverns - a claustrophobic network of narrow corridors best negotiated in a rover mode, Deep Caverns - big, sprawling spaces where you can fly or build large base, and the Planet Core, a shiny sphere in the middle of an enormous open space, with minimal gravity.

Imagine building crafts meant to navigate the cavern system and arrive at the core. And get lost in the maze on the return trip.

[Joonatan1998]

It is basically just a rock.

It isn't a easy to get to rock like Mun or Ike, or hard one like Eeloo and Moho.

No atmosphere, medium gravity, no moons, far from everything else.

Some kind of asteroid belt with similar orbit could help, but would maybe use too much RAM.

[More Boosters]

I really wish for Dres to have an extensive cavern system. At least two, better three biomes: Caverns - a claustrophobic network of narrow corridors best negotiated in a rover mode, Deep Caverns - big, sprawling spaces where you can fly or build large base, and the Planet Core, a shiny sphere in the middle of an enormous open space, with minimal gravity.

Imagine building crafts meant to navigate the cavern system and arrive at the core. And get lost in the maze on the return trip.

Love it. (You must spread some reputation around before giving it to Sharpy again)

[DMSP]

Honestly, I'm making a small Armada of Probes map the thing.

I feel so sorry for it that I just want it to have some friends.

So One or Two Asteroid Landers, Three Surface landers, Three Orbiters and a Fly-By will be enough.

[Death Engineering]

Dres is one of my fave planets to visit! There's some challenge in vessel design, a little harder to hit than other planets and all-propulsive braking when you get there. Landing on the bottom of the 'scar' valley is also interesting and highlights lander versatility (and side-bottom lighting ).

[Hannu]

I really wish for Dres to have an extensive cavern system.

That would be a great idea. Caves, tunnels and other underground structures would give much more interest to relatively simple celestial bodies. However, as far as I know, it would need large modifications to program code. Current body modeling can not handle such geometries. But in any case planets need a large overhaul. Maybe it would not be too hard to use better models with inside cavities.

[The_Rocketeer]

Dres was the very first world I visited outside Kerbin's SOI back in 0.18, in fact even before I visited Minmus. I was shooting for Duna and then realised I had waaaay more dV than I needed, so I pushed out to the next planet. So, Dres has a special place in my Kerbal-relationship. Of course, back then I had no idea what any of the planets looked like, how big they were, whether they had atmospheres or moons.

I have to admit though, having got there and landed, there was really nothing to do but plant a flag and go home.

[Woksaus]

That would be a great idea. Caves, tunnels and other underground structures would give much more interest to relatively simple celestial bodies. However, as far as I know, it would need large modifications to program code. Current body modeling can not handle such geometries. But in any case planets need a large overhaul. Maybe it would not be too hard to use better models with inside cavities.

I would much rather have interesting surface activities such (cryo)volcanoes, geysers, lava lakes and (dense) frigid atmospheres than underground structures to be honest.

I think Dres would benefit a lot from having an exclusive type of asteroid. For example: while you would encounter class A, B and C frequently around Kerbin, type D and E would be exclusive to Dres. Or, if mining for Xenon would be a future option, having Dres and/or Dresteroids be the only source for mineable Xenon.

[Edax]

I would much rather have interesting surface activities such (cryo)volcanoes, geysers, lava lakes and (dense) frigid atmospheres than underground structures to be honest.

I think Dres would benefit a lot from having an exclusive type of asteroid. For example: while you would encounter class A, B and C frequently around Kerbin, type D and E would be exclusive to Dres. Or, if mining for Xenon would be a future option, having Dres and/or Dresteroids be the only source for mineable Xenon.

Who WOULDN'T want a volcano planet/moon? But then again, is Squad even capable of creating such a thing? Dynamic lava and smoke?

I do like the idea of a Xenon mine, but gas mining a rock sounds dubious. Building a gas mine on Jool sounds more interesting and challenging, but that leaves Dres without any uniqueness, so...