Self-imposed KSP rules. Things we do that make things more difficult.

[Norpo]

I use no self-imposed rules; I play Sandbox, anything goes. However, I try to think of hard, and entertaining missions. I'm currently trying to link together two asteroids in orbit around Dres (or, rather, Dres-teroids), and so far I've sent a probe to latch onto the first one. (An E class, approximately 2000 tons.)

So no self-imposed rules, but loads of self-imposed challenges.

[HafCoJoe]

My most major rule:

Stock parts, aerodynamics, and stock part models ONLY. No exceptions to this rule.

[Tourist]

10 hours ago, Norpo said:

I use no self-imposed rules; I play Sandbox, anything goes. However, I try to think of hard, and entertaining missions. I'm currently trying to link together two asteroids in orbit around Dres (or, rather, Dres-teroids), and so far I've sent a probe to latch onto the first one. (An E class, approximately 2000 tons.)

So no self-imposed rules, but loads of self-imposed challenges.

Nice one. Challenge is the right word for what you have planned. Not just maneuvering the damn things to the point where they can dock, but to avoid doing so in such a way that leads to a probe sandwich. Good luck!  

[GDJ]

10 hours ago, Norpo said:

So no self-imposed rules, but loads of self-imposed challenges.

Same here. 

As for mods, it's up to the user. Since the game accommodates them, it's up to them to decide what to use and not use.

[Tourist]

16 minutes ago, GDJ said:

Same here. 

As for mods, it's up to the user. Since the game accommodates them, it's up to them to decide what to use and not use.

 

27 minutes ago, Avera9eJoe said:

My most major rule:

Stock parts, aerodynamics, and stock part models ONLY. No exceptions to this rule.

 

I play mostly stock, only using Kerbal Alarm Clock and Docking Alignment Indicator. I also used Hyper Edit when I was testing a Eve Ascent Vehicle, but once I had one that worked I performed the mission "properly." 

Next play-though though I'm adding base parts. The hitchhiker module just doesn't do it for me as a hab anymore. I'm thinking Roverdudes do the trick. 

Edited January 11, 2016 by Tourist

[i208khonsu]

Personally I abuse the system in every way I can because the system abuses me back.

However I can not tolerate Z-Bashing. I'll clip parts together until the cows come home, but the moment textures start flicking back and forth it's unacceptable.

[RA3236]

Two things for me (actually more than that)

Ibuild big rockets. No matter how big or small the payload is, the rocket needs to be big.

I simply do not crash. In the case I am flying a plane, this rule does not apply. If I have a lander and I don't think I can land, MechJeb takes over.

The Kerbal X is the primary flagship of the Kerbin fleet, bringing Kerbals to stations.

My first craft MUST be a mk1 pod with a flea booster and fins and goo experiments in 4x symmetry.

In accordance with rule 1, bring more fuel than you need. A lot more.

[Aladran]

All my crewed mission must bring back the crew.

If they end up stranded some where they can be assured that a rescue mission will come for them, where ever they are!

 

(No kerbal has ever walked on Eve since I'm playing this play style)

 

[Jimbodiah]

16 hours ago, Avera9eJoe said:

My most major rule:

Stock parts, aerodynamics, and stock part models ONLY. No exceptions to this rule.

Darn, that seems boring with the limited parts the game offers. But that is the beauty of KSP, you can play vanilla or mod it until it drops. I feel that mods need to be balanced though (no unlimited fuel type mods), other than that, anything I like and looks cool, goes. Mod 'til it drops.

I also use LS mods (USI or TAC), for some kind of realism, but also to give some extra missions to fly in order to resupply stations etc. What else am I going to do with the Contares ATV/HTV, right?

Delta IV Heavy with Orion (EFT-1 mission), made only with parts from SSTU.

[Matuchkin]

For some reason I either play with COMPLETE realism (RO, etc) or I do not play.

[cubinator]

I'm working on a hardmode Career game right now, it's pretty hard getting through the first stages when something goes horribly wrong and there's no "Revert to Vehicle Assembly" button. It's kind of interesting sometimes to watch the debris burn through the atmosphere and crash instead of just "Oops, something exploded. Better load that last quicksave!"

[Munarkore]

Aside from most of the common ones already listed:

Propulsive landings only except for spaceplanes. All kerbed flights must carry chutes which are only to be used for emergency situations. Without sufficient atmosphere, double redundant propulsion is required.

Any high occupancy vessel must have enough lifeboats for all crew -1. Captains must go down with the ship.

And may I suggest that we all try to use the female pronoun when referring to our ships. It's just polite. Thanks.

[SpaceplaneAddict]

In order to land on an atmospheric body, I only have two options.

 

Standard Pod, shield and chutes.

 

Or a spaceplane

[Stratzenblitz75]

Screw the rules, I have money sandbox!

...

...

...I'll see myself out.

[rodentgun]

I just started imposing a staging recovery rule on myself. I am on my first career on normal mode so I have used the Back to the Drawing board button A LOT of times as my rockets did wrong due to my inept design. However, Im getting better at it now. Just a mere 200 hours sunk into KSP  

So now, inspired by Space X, I have worked hard to recover my booster stages. I quickly gave up slapping chutes on boosters and other jetissoned stuff. Doesnt work it seems. So I allow myself some disposable Solids to increase thrust at launch if needed, but apart from that my launcher stages should carry themselves up and down. It isnt going as well as I planned. But the good thing is that when I screw up, and my stages crash instead of land for recovery, I don't "reload" as I do when Kerbs die. So gradually increasing the difficulty  Building up the experience of what works and what doesn't the kerbal way: Building and testing first, then calculating what the hell went wrong AFTER  

 

Last night I finally managed it: 22.000 kerbdollars recovered as my booster staged returned from orbit and landed. A Rhino engine with a large 2.5 m tank, four fins for stability, four legs for landing. 2 drogues in the engine end and 8 chutes in the top to lower speed enough and flip the rocket just before landing. I put a 2.5 m service bay on top with a 300/800 2.5 ablator for heat protection. Stuck an OKTO2 probe inside the service bay with a couple of batteries attached and a small stabilizer. Also a few voltaics. So I have to fly this thing down myself.

My ambition is that any launch from now on that isnt a space plane should have launch stage recovery as mandatory (with the exception of boosters)

[Temstar]

That rocket stage seems so tall compare to its landing legs that if it lands on even slightly uneven terrain it's in danger of toppling. You may want to make it shorter and wider, or design some super wide landing legs using structural elements.

Remember also there's lot more ocean than land, so you would want to test water landing. 

Edited January 12, 2016 by Temstar

[rodentgun]

Well, Temstar, the beauty of it is that it sort of tests it self as I launch more rockets That is my 3rd "test" after having seen the two first iterations break up on landing. Btw that was Uneven land btw. It didnt topple as I had a little bit of booster fuel left to lower impact velocity at a fraction of time before impact. I am also trying to keep down the mass of the launcher stage to as low as I can to leave room for payload. My hope is that I can use it to launch tanks of liquid fuel and oxidizer to my space station once it is constructed.

There is no reason to "test" for the purpose of seeing what works now I just modify as I go along. Some times it doesn't pan out, but this doesn't mean I have to say it is a complete failure, which it would be when I lost kerbals. Now I just tally up the recovered parts, and the more kerbdollars left over for me, the better, assess what could improve or if I just had bad luck.

I modify the design as I learn from my mistakes, the kerbal way!

Water landing has already been tested. IT topples and splashes sideways but did not break. Anyways, I think we are breaking away from the topic now!

Edited January 12, 2016 by pistolhamster

[Geher]

I have mostly the same rules as Tourist (the creator of this topic).

And I have to say before each launch if it's only a test or the real sh*t. When it's a test then I HAVE to revert it. If it's the real sh*t then I am NOT ALLOWED to revert it.

Quicksaves are done regularly, but Quickload is only allowed when a bug appears.

[Kuansenhama]

I'm fairly easy on myself compared to most people.

I don't revert to launch or quickload unless whatever went wrong was caused by a bug, not a design or pilot error.

I don't clear up space junk with the 'terminate' function. I like to leave it in orbit as a manner of pride. Also sometimes it gets captured by another body and goes on an interesting journey.

No hyperedit or mechjeb.

No SFEing.

[Starhawk]

On 2016-01-08 at 5:52 PM, Starhawk said:

I must accept every rescue mission I see.

Just rescued Kargee from Eeloo.

Thank goodness I haven't been to Moho yet in this save.

Happy landings!

Talk about irony!

I went into Mission Control and accepted a rescue contract even though I was pretty suspicious.

I'm really at a bit of a loss right now....

eta: Oh yeah.  I have to get him and his cupola module.

Edited January 15, 2016 by Starhawk

[r_rolo1]

Well, I guess you better pack some 30.000 m/s of dV and a good heatshield for the return

Edited January 15, 2016 by r_rolo1

[Vermil]

Lot's of masochists here I see. I'm not terribly much better myself, though perhaps not quite as severe as some. I play Science Sandbox. The thing is - the rush of completing a goal wouldn't be there, if I didn't adhere to some principles:

Stock game only. The reason for this is not some ethical hangup. I'm quite sure I'll start using mods some day. The reason is that I want a measured challenge. The stock parts represent the level of technology that is available to my engineers. This is what they can do. Period. Can we go to Tylo with that? No science fiction stuff on the market.

Tragedies ruin the satisfaction and undermines the triumph of successfully completing goals. So I try my very damnest to keep my Kerbals alive. And if someone would become stranded, rescue has absolute priority. Probes go first, to check out conditions. And I test and test and test and test... Every detail. Frankly, I don't know any other way to do it. It took me forever, many months, to get my Laythe expedition together. Despite all my preparations, I worried about my Kerbals during the Laythe expedition, and felt relief when they were safely back. This, again, is something that makes me enjoy the game more. And I take pride and satisfaction, from not having had any fatalities during my v1.0 game. Sofar.
(This is likely to continue, since I have this nagging suspicion that should any of my Kerbals die, I'd be able to convince myself the game is at fault, and I'm entitled to reload. - Happened in my pre-v1 game, hasn't happened in v1 -. But self-deception on this issue still works well for enjoyment of the game)

Comfort and wellbeing of Kerbals. I've always sent at least three, on longer missions than Minmus. And since the stock game does not provide explicit space dwelling modules, I improvise them with structural parts and passenger modules. Duna and Laythe rockets contain four floors beneath the command module. One containing three private sleeping compartments, one containing kitchen and eating space, one a living room and recreation, one hygiene and physical training facilities. Kerbals seem well adapted to live in small spaces, but they'll be gone for years after all.

 

Apart from these things, I feel free doing things. I shamelessly exploit 'revert' during unmanned testing for instance. Not to mention reloading, to train landings, over and over again, with unmanned ships. I don't ever use Hyperedit, though. Testing is mainly conducted in Kerbin space. And tests on goals have to go there the normal, long way. Everything is launched into space and has to travel by itself. 

Edited January 16, 2016 by Vermil

[monamipierrot]

There's only ONE RULE:

DO NOT REVERT.

I use career mode and I never revert. However reverting IS enabled cause sometimes there may be some crashes with corrupted savegame, so I need a backup just in case. This make this game like 1000% more thrilling.

Other than that:

• Stock parts (just for a matter of compatibility with future versions, and to maintain a reasonable number of base option to force me to find a new solution, rather than use a new part)
• Do not use MechJeb if not for reference purpose
• No part clipping. Don't care your plane will be less "natural". Find a solution, kid!
• No attaching in some unnatural way such tiny attach surface, attach 2 different sizes without adapter, ans so on
• No "open" designs in atmosphere. Always use fairings to cover it all, except for very little parts such as RCS thrusters.
• Do not abuse of reaction wheels (well, sometimes I do it!)
• Do not take advantage of any bug, and, on the other side, remember that...
• ...Kraken's attacks - exactly as excrements - happen. Live with it!
• Use evocative names for missions, designs, and single vessels
• Every now and then, go learning something about space, rocketry and so on in the Wikipedia
• Treat a Kerbal like you treat yourself. Got it: Mun or boost anyway!
• If there's an easy way, and a hard way, chose the 2nd one!!! (JFK docet)
• HAVE FUN!!!!!
• share your achievements and your disasters with friends, family, and KSP fans!
• Learn a lesson from every mission. For your life, I mean.
• And remember the 1st lesson: you have a (busy) real life.

[Tourist]

2 minutes ago, monamipierrot said:

There's only ONE RULE:

-snip-

• HAVE FUN!!!!!
• share your achievements and your disasters with friends, family, and KSP fans!
• Learn a lesson from every mission. For your life, I mean.
• And remember the 1st lesson: you have a (busy) real life.

I think you are onto something right here. The one (set of) rules to rule them all you may say.