Hi there.

[Buckley]

Downloaded KSP last Saturday.  Knew little to nothing about it.  First played for about 5 minutes last Saturday morning but was so lost I had to put it down.  Picked it back up in the afternoon and the addiction started slowly building as I became more and more aware of what this game is.

I am now hooked like few - if any - other game has ever hooked me... and I've been a gamer for a long long time (20+ years.)  This thing is a piece of art already, and it's further potential blows my mind.

I was thinking about what it is that makes the game so appealing... and in part I realized that if it was just a dry space/ physics sim without the little goofy green dudes it would likely not have nearly the charm.  I think there's a very subtle - but powerful - thing going on with Jeb and Co. that make the failures that come with engineering interstellar travel endearing.  Like, because of the humorous quality of the Kerbals I find myself laughing at myself continuously even after what may be my 3rd or 4th failed design attempt.  If the Kerbs weren't in the background and weren't as goofy as they are I think the game would be too darn dry and serious and would likely loose it's appeal relatively quickly.

But I digress.  Amazing game.  Been too busy learning it to sign up on the forums until now.  I've so far managed to fly by Mun and return safely with a bundle of !SCIENCE! on multiple occasions.  Will prolly be attempting my first Mun landing later today.  I've been taking it slow - and have already jumped into mods.  Like, last night I just did about 3-4 orbit missions to keep learning some of the nuances of the node system, various orbital maneuvers,  etc.. 

 

Anywho... glad to be on board!  

Edited April 3, 2016 by Buckley

[Tex]

Welcome aboard! Trust me, the first Munar landing is going to be exciting and will only further your interest in the game. Big, big milestone!

 

[Starhawk]

Hello Buckley and welcome to the forum!

What a great introductory post.  You describe an experience very much like mine.  I am utterly absorbed in KSP like no other game has ever captivated me in some forty years of gaming.

I believe that you hit the nail on the head when you suggest that the humour in the game, especially in the Kerbals themselves, makes the explosion-laden learning process much easier to take.

Very glad to hear how much you are enjoying it.  Glad to have you aboard.

Happy landings!

[Buckley]

Thanks mates.

Yes yes.  Absorbed is a good word for it.  Unbelievable. 

I'm loving the brain-busters, the learning, the sandbox, the huge amount of possibilities....

 

I have an executive team meeting in about 8 hours - and I need to prep at least an hour for it plus drive there which is an hour.  So I'll be getting about 4 hours of sleep tonight.  Thanks Jebediah.

 

In other news... decided to set up my ComSat network around Kerbin before doing more work at Mun.  Using RemoteTech 2 and ScanSAT and absolutely love the details.  I decided to just run 'em up into orbit using Kerbal'd missions.  Maybe not the most cost effective or efficient solution, but I've had fun designing my "Truck" ... something I endearingly titled the KDI (KerboDyne Industries) 'Ox.'  I'm on my 3rd revision of the design now so it's actually the KDI 'Ox' Mk.3.

I think I've settled on a name for my Mun program.  I'm going to call 'em the "Viking" missions.  Perhaps not terribly original but my first rocket I designed for the first fly-by I called the KDI 'Longship.'  Since Vikings were the original explorers I think it kinda fits.  I'll have to mull over what I wanna theme my Minmus program.... but hey, seems like I've probably got a week or two for that.  Plenty to do at Mun. 

It's probably over-kill now looking back on it, but I really enjoyed designing the 'Longship.'  It was my first big-ish design... everything up to that point was low orbit, sub-orbit.  Had a rather sleek 3 booster design with a good long main-sail up the middle.  The 'Ox' is just a brute... but I can definitely see my efficiency in design improving.  I just completed my 3rd ComSat launch and I'm to a point where after the 2nd stage (3 stage design - SRBs for immediate thrust, then a RockoMax LFE to get into orbit, last a Terrier LFE for placing the ComSat with the ComSat itself sitting on the top in a nice egg-shaped fairing.) I've got virtually no fuel left and am just entering a parking orbit of about 100k.  Starting to get familiar with dV values at various stages as well as the effect TWR has on my velocity at a given altitute - really helping my design efficiency.

Added 2 new pilots to the mix... Doodyer (as soon as I saw a pilot named 'Dood' I immediately hired him with no interview required :P) and some other dude.  Using texture replacer and I gotta say the differentiation in hair style adds sooo much to the Kerbal thing.  Ima relegate both of them to maintenance missions while Jeb takes care of the more high profile stuff.  That is, assuming I don't esplode one of them gloriously ... which is bound to happen at any moment.  (Already lost & resurrected Jeb once.  He bailed out of his pod after landing on the side of a mountain.  At the time I thought it was my only option vs. exploding in the pod as it rolled 5k down the side of a mountain.  Funny thing is, Jeb bailed and disintegrated and the pod pretty much stopped just after I bailed.)

 

Tired.  Rambling.    This is amazing.

 

o7 B

 

 

 

Edited April 4, 2016 by Buckley

[Starwhip]

7 hours ago, Buckley said:

Already lost & resurrected Jeb once.  He bailed out of his pod after landing on the side of a mountain.  At the time I thought it was my only option vs. exploding in the pod as it rolled 5k down the side of a mountain.  Funny thing is, Jeb bailed and disintegrated and the pod pretty much stopped just after I bailed.

Oh god, this. You're in for a lot of this. XD
"Quick, jump out! It's gonna crash!" *eva, kerbal pops* *everything explodes except the capsule, which bounces and then stops*
 

[max_creative]

That's one reason why it's called mount whoopstooshort. Although it should be called mount omgjebnodontdoitdontskidowntha-[boom]reallyjeb?really?

[Buckley]

8 hours ago, max_creative said:

That's one reason why it's called mount whoopstooshort. Although it should be called mount omgjebnodontdoitdontskidowntha-[boom]reallyjeb?really?

HA!

 

Ya, there was a period over the weekend where it seemed like where ever I aimed at landing meant I could reliably count on finding mountains.  It's the little things we learn...