I'm new to KSP

[Rbenard108]

Hello guys, So as of right now I have 8 hours on KSP and those 8 hours have mostly me just being afk while watching KSP videos. I have tried to get into orbit countless times but I never can seem to get it. Im very new to KSP just started "playing" in 1.0 and I was wondering if any of you guys have any tips for me on how to become a good/better KSP player videos dont seem to help me that much. (currently I have 0 mods idk if I should get some if I should please reply what mods are very helpful for new players.) Thanks

[jiminator]

You don't really need mods to start with. if you are watching videos then you should watch the scott manley videos for beginners. he covers all the concepts pretty well. He also shows how to unlock the tech tree to make space flight easy.

edit: if you might want to do mods, download and run ckan - https://github.com/KSP-CKAN/CKAN/wiki

it has most available and automates download, install and removal

Edited September 8, 2015 by jiminator

[NFUN]

Hello guys, So as of right now I have 8 hours on KSP and those 8 hours have mostly me just being afk while watching KSP videos. I have tried to get into orbit countless times but I never can seem to get it. Im very new to KSP just started "playing" in 1.0 and I was wondering if any of you guys have any tips for me on how to become a good/better KSP player videos dont seem to help me that much. (currently I have 0 mods idk if I should get some if I should please reply what mods are very helpful for new players.) Thanks

Watching interactive Twitch streams where you can ask questions might help you more than videos (such as DasValdez), and maybe even guides will help. A good mod to get is Kerbal Engineer, which can tell you various attributes about your craft (though you might need something to teach you what these numbers mean). And, of course, practice a lot. Eventually on your own you'll make it to space and then orbit, but even with help it takes time. Just remember, to orbit, you need to go sideways

[Superfluous J]

Without knowing where you're getting tripped up, it's hard to help you, but in general you want the explodey part at the back, the pointy part at the front, and don't let your rocket get back-heavy in the lower atmosphere (say, under 30km).

If your rocket flips, it's likely getting back-heavy as fuel drains. There are many ways to mitigate this but the easiest is probably to split your launch into 2 stages, so you keep a lot of fuel higher up on the rocket.

And if you can post a pic of your rocket in the VAB or on the pad, along with a description of what it's doing (or not doing) and we'll probably be able to give you more specific pointers.

[Highguard]

Getting to orbit is not easy when you're starting. Most of the video or written tutorials available are out of date and give the wrong advice and most of the people streaming spend more time exploding than showing anything useful or interesting. Make sure anything you are watching or reading is for version 1.x of KSP or later as the atmosphere changed completely in that version.

For practice, launch a small, simple design that you know works. Then do it again and again and again.

Simple rocket: Mk1 command pod with Mk16 parachute on top and TR-18 decoupler underneath. Two FL-T800 fuel tanks beneath the decoupler and a T-45 engine.

Make sure the engine is in stage 2 (lowest) in the VAB, decoupler in stage 1 (middle) and parachute in stage 0 (highest).

Launch:

i) Engage SAS (T), throttle to full (Z), stage to ignite engine (space). Ascend vertically until speed (on the navball) is over 100m/s.

ii) Disengage SAS (T), yaw right (D) 5-10 degrees or so until the yellow prograde marker on the navball catches up with this heading.

iii) Re-engage SAS (T), select the 'prograde' setting for it next to the navball. Prograde should keep slowly moving towards the horizon and SAS will keep rotating the vehicle to match - this is the crucial "gravity turn" that gets you the horizontal speed you need for orbit. Vertical speed isn't nearly as important most of the time.

iv) Switch to map mode (M) and when you apoapsis (Ap) reaches 75km or so, cut engine (X). Cruise into space at 70km, then create a manoeuvre node at Ap to "circularise" your orbit - push prograde so the periapsis (Pe) is also out of the atmosphere and ideally about the same as Ap.

v) Look at how long KSP thinks the burn will take and the time until you reach the node. Full-throttle again (Z) when the time-to-node is half the burn-time (so if the burn's meant to be 20 seconds, start 10s before you get to the node) and burn until your Pe is more or less where it should be, then cut throttle for the last time (X) and wonder what all the fuss was about (as if!).

If you don't "gravity turn" enough, you'll still go to space but will probably run out of fuel trying to circularise.

If you gravity turn too sharply at any point drag on the rocket will probably make it flip over.

If you get the turn right but drift to the North or South you'll end up with an inclined orbit, which is not necessarily a bad thing.

If you mis-time the circularisation burn you'll either run out of fuel, get an Ap that's much, much higher than Pe (also not necessarily a bad thing) or both.

Once you can fly this design to orbit you're ready to try your own.

And they will each need several-to-many test flights before you're comfortable with them.

Once you are comfortable flying some of your own designs to orbit you can really start experimenting.

Once you start really experimenting, there's no escape from KSP.

[Quit now while you have a chance!]

[Randazzo]

Run away before it consumes you!

Just kidding. I heartily endorse the KSP way of life.

After only eight hours, you shouldn't be too worried about much of anything yet. I spent at least a couple of days firing rockets pretty much straight up. That is, of course, when I managed to actually get them off the pad.

When you're ready to advance, have a look at a couple of tutorials about making orbit.

Edited September 8, 2015 by Randazzo

[Kyrt Malthorn]

I was in your shoes not but a couple months ago. I imagine my prior self would be ogling at the things the current me is sending into orbit and babbling questions along the lines of "How did you manage THAT!?" It really is an exponential learning curve; the more you know, the further and further you can take that knowledge. So my advice is: don't give up! There's a lot out there to see and do!

If you aren't intimidated at the thought of trying to wrap your head around some "relatively simple rocket science" concepts and how they affect spaceflight, I do highly recommend grabbing Kerbal Engineer and learning the stats it shows you in the Vehicle Assembly Building. I'm a geek, I dug into that stuff and what makes spaceflight tick.

But as an object lesson, though, my brother started KSP shortly after me and soared ahead of me in progression with a philosophy that looked a lot like throwing stuff at the sky to see what stuck. I happen to think his boxes of boosters were incredibly ugly and resource-wasteful, but they worked, and since he was learning on the fly he got very good very quickly.

[DalisClock]

There's nothing wrong with you and I'm pretty sure I speak for everyone when I say that pretty much everyone started where you are and had to learn the game on the backs of many shattered and burning rockets(And frankly, I still blow up rockets on a regular basis, usually because of a stupid design error). I still learn something new every time try something new.

Luckily, KSP actually has some stock rockets that are capable of reaching orbit(the Kerbal X, I believe is the name for it) and I'd recommend trying with that or using one of the recommended designs if you don't want to stress about design at the moment.

Even if you don't want to mod, I'd recommend 2 just for the sake of sanity. MechJeb and Kerbal Engineer Redux(KER). MechJeb is basically a flight computer that you can use to help you do things or do things for you....and while some people consider it cheating, remember that real space agencies don't actually fly their rockets by joystick, they have the on-board computer do most of the work(including manned craft). If nothing else, tell Mechjeb to do something and watch it do it so you can see what you're doing wrong(and right). Most of the time it's pretty good. You don't have to use it if you don't want it(even if you put the controller on your spacecraft, you never have to activate it), but it's nice to have the option.

KER is useful because it tells you a lot of useful things about your rocket, your orbit and really gives you all the numbers you need for space travel. Most important, it tells you if your rocket actually has enough fuel to do what you want it to do(and the best pilot on earth or the fastest computer won't reach orbit if you don't have enough fuel). The alternative is to do a lot of math(though if you like doing math, knock yourself out).

In particular, Delta-V or dV something you really need to know for rocket building and it's basically your total energy allowance for your spacecraft. As long as you have more dV then required, your ship should be capable of going there(stability notwithstanding). The following link shows you exactly how much dV you need to go anywhere. Just follow the line from Kerbin to your destination.

http://wiki.kerbalspaceprogram.com/images/thumb/7/73/KerbinDeltaVMap.png/600px-KerbinDeltaVMap.png

KER shows you, based on mass, fuel load and engine type what your dV is, and it'll change in real time depending on design and staging, giving you a pretty good idea how to make your rocket better.

But most importantly, have fun and don't be afraid to try something different and see how it works. Just remember, NASA had to deal with all this same stuff 60 years ago and learned some painful lessons.

Unlike them, you don't have to answer to congress when a couple million in taxpayer funds turns into a really expensive fireworks show.

Edited September 9, 2015 by DalisClock

[Vanamonde]

Make a little rocket that goes up. Add a stage to it to make it go higher. Try adding more fuel and see if that makes it fly better or worse. Try adding more engines and see if that makes it fly better or worse. Etc. Most of it's going to fail. But the thing is, most of the stuff experienced players try fails, too. It's just part of the game. I like to say that learning KSP is the process of crashing closer and closer to your intended destination.

In short, go forth and crash, my son (or daughter).

[Sirine]

Go ksp wiki to check on key map.

Then launch something.

[T-Bouw]

I can only agree with most of the folks here.

Start small and keep tinkering.

You'll be amazed at how high those little rockets can go!

And if you manage to make one that reaches well beyond 70.000 meters, try gradually flying that one more and more horizontal.

A good "guide" is to be turned around 45 degrees at around 10.000 meters.

[Dafni]

KER is useful because it tells you a lot of useful things about your rocket, your orbit and really gives you all the numbers you need for space travel. Most important, it tells you if your rocket actually has enough fuel to do what you want it to do(and the best pilot on earth or the fastest computer won't reach orbit if you don't have enough fuel). The alternative is to do a lot of math(though if you like doing math, knock yourself out).

Do you really need KER for that when you already have MechJeb?? Doesn't MechJeb give you the same numbers too??

[mrclucks]

Only mod I recommend for beginners is Kerbal Engineer Redux. It'll give you twr and dv as well as a bunch of other useful info. I recommend watching Scott Manley's beginner series as he breaks it down very well

[mikegarrison]

Do you really need KER for that when you already have MechJeb?? Doesn't MechJeb give you the same numbers too??

Mostly. KER gives you a little info MechJeb doesn't give you, but MechJeb gives you a little info KER doesn't give you.

Anyway, I use MechJeb and don't bother with KER. MechJeb by itself can fill up even a big monitor with lots of data screens. Adding KER on top of that is really a mess.

[Ten Key]

This, really, is the only mod you absolutely need.

Chatterer

[DuoDex]

I can recommend a whole pile of mods, but if you are a beginner there is no better way to learn (IMO) than MechJeb. Let it do the maneuvering, but be sure to watch.

[DalisClock]

Do you really need KER for that when you already have MechJeb?? Doesn't MechJeb give you the same numbers too??

Maybe it does. I'll admit I've gotten so used to looking at the KER windows that I might have glossed over the fact that MechJeb does the same thing.

If so, then you really only need Mechjeb.

And I appreciate the correction.

[Dafni]

Maybe it does. I'll admit I've gotten so used to looking at the KER windows that I might have glossed over the fact that MechJeb does the same thing.

If so, then you really only need Mechjeb.

And I appreciate the correction.

Was more a question than a correction, as I never used KER myself. I was just curious. I myself use MechJeb just to give me the numbers, so KER might be a more efficient solution.

[Starhawk]

Was more a question than a correction, as I never used KER myself. I was just curious. I myself use MechJeb just to give me the numbers, so KER might be a more efficient solution.

If all you want is the numbers, then KER is the way to go. Mechjeb is for the autopilot capabilities.

Happy landings!