What are your house rules?

[Curveball Anders]

On 2016-04-17 at 5:58 PM, Rainbowtrout said:

(I mostly play sandbox)

1. Progress realistically. No immediately jumping to Eeloo.

2. Don't kill kerbals on purpose.

3. Rockets must look real.

While I don't really bother about any of them except #2, they kind of echo my own rules.

As long as they are fun

#1 has often kept me doing 'basic' flights (and spending way too much time making them as good as possible) before I've gotten anywhere near my target for a given save.

Just checked my last 'completed' save (with a target of mimicking the current crafts on and around Mars/Duna).

And according to the time/date of my backup saves I spent 3/4 of the time fiddling with Kerbin, Mün and Minmus, before even sending the first probe for a Duna flyby ...

(Yes, I'm not only a Grumpy Ol' Git, I'm a sad one too)

Edited April 19, 2016 by Curveball Anders

[BoPET]

Here are some of the mine:

1. No One Left Behind - Kerbonauts will never leave one of their kind alone on an alien world or stranded in space - in an unlikely case that such thing will happen - search & rescue mission is a top prioriry. Also, i never send a manned mission in an obvious one-way suicide trip.

2. Called Probe For A Reason - i always send unmanned probes before I actually launch Kerbonauts there. Because you know, recon and stuff.

3. Per Aspera Ad Astram - follow a logical way of explortion starting from LKO to Mun, then Minmus, then some bases and stations, only then - closest planets. No "second day trip to Laythe".

4. Pretended realism: Life Support (+ never let the CO2 levels reach maximum), limit G forces as I can,

"Secondary" rules (followed less often)
5. One probe-one purpose. No "lets put ALL science on one tiny probe and send it to Dune to collect all science in one run".

6. Control from IVA if possible.

7.Since I unlock other spaceports & runways (KerbinSide FTW) I use them for low-risk low-cost operations such as placing satellites on LKO or space tourism to fulfill contracts while main KSP launch site is used to long-range interplanetary missions.

[Curveball Anders]

3 hours ago, BoPET said:

4. Pretended realism: Life Support (+ never let the CO2 levels reach maximum), limit G forces as I can,

They're Kerbals, they live on snacks.

And all kerbal carrying modules are stacked with lots of snacks.

[BoPET]

1 hour ago, Curveball Anders said:

They're Kerbals, they live on snacks.

And all kerbal carrying modules are stacked with lots of snacks.

Sometimes, snacks in Kerbal's capsules are just not enough.

So, in case of really long flights they need additional modules with, you know: solid snakes snacks to eat, liquid snacks and even gaseous snacks. Because it is terribly boring to spend days and weeks on their trip to Jool with only your ordinary Kerburger.

[RocketBlam]

I only have one rule, but it is important, and it's this: Always... No wait, it's Never...

[Curveball Anders]

13 hours ago, BoPET said:

Sometimes, snacks in Kerbal's capsules are just not enough.

So, in case of really long flights they need additional modules with, you know: solid snakes snacks to eat, liquid snacks and even gaseous snacks. Because it is terribly boring to spend days and weeks on their trip to Jool with only your ordinary Kerburger.

While I try to hide that side of my flawed personality I have to admit that I don't send any of fab-4 on those 'live on snacks for extended time' missions.

The fab-4 gets the important (and short) missions, while J.Random Kerman might have to spend some years on snacks ...

And for personal reasons I always keep Bill safe.

[WillThe84th]

I try to limit the amount of science I get on the ground, and I try to only revert or reload a quick save I'd there's a bug or I did something stupid, like forgetting a part. 

[Noobton]

On 4/16/2016 at 11:36 AM, KerikBalm said:

No "littering" (a few of my early missions broke this)

I tried to this but abandoned it early on, part of the fun these days is to sit on my station and see old engines zip "close" by, how do you manage? in my experience first stages were easy to drop before getting to orbit, but second stages sometimes get in a (ksp) stable orbit.

[CobaltWolf]

I probably have more but one in particular comes to mind. While I don't use Real Fuels, I try to avoid throttling engines, especially on my lifter stages, and try to do the launch in a single burn per stage.

[regex]

2 minutes ago, CobaltWolf said:

I probably have more but one in particular comes to mind. While I don't use Real Fuels, I try to avoid throttling engines, especially on my lifter stages, and try to do the launch in a single burn per stage.

Ahah, that's funny, after playing RO for so long it never occurs to me to throttle my lifters in stock/vanilla anymore.

[KerikBalm]

3 hours ago, Noobton said:

I tried to this but abandoned it early on, part of the fun these days is to sit on my station and see old engines zip "close" by, how do you manage? in my experience first stages were easy to drop before getting to orbit, but second stages sometimes get in a (ksp) stable orbit.

Early on, either its 3 stage, with the 2nd stage just barely not making orbit (lets say first stage was srbs or something)... or the stage that gets to orbit also gets to an impact trajectory with Mun.

Then once far enough along: SSTO almost everything (all the while feeling guilty and shame for how unrealistic it is. I tried RO once, but my computer couldn't handle it, and crashed a lot).

I think I have 1 piece of debris in kerbin orbit, and one piece of debris in Mun orbit.

The non-debris I have in kerbin orbit is much more of a threat than the debris stuff... but now that the Jool flotilla has left, LKO is a lot less crowded for the moment (that flotilla was sitting up there for months awaiting the transfer window and crew arrival)

[Randox]

These are my rules, coming from a combination of roleplay and hard learned lessons.

Rules for Space and other Places

1. All solar panels will be retracted prior to, and for the entire duration of, all EVA activities.
2. All manned landing craft operating in a vacuum must be equipped with RCS.
3. If the ship makes it to orbit, it's not hypothetical. If you forgot something, deal with it.
4. Crewed vessels are not permitted to land on Eve.
5. All unmanned craft are to be equipped with OX-STAT solar panels as backup.
6. All interplanetary missions (can comprise more than one ship) are to contain at least one veteran crew on the roster.
7. All interplanetary missions must additionally include at least one crew from each specialty.
8. All flight capable vessels are to be crewed by at least one pilot.
9. All craft must mount mission appropriate communication gear.
10. Rescue missions are top priority. If extraction is not possible, accommodations and supplies will be air dropped.

Edited April 20, 2016 by Randox

[Finox]

1. No nuclear or ion propulsion - Not that I haven't used these, actually ion probes were my way of learning interplanetary navigation, but its more of a challenge to use good old fashioned chemical propulsion as well as more historical and realistic to boot.

2. Regular crew swaps - This was a rule to force myself to master rendezvous and docking by regularly swapping out the crews of space stations and surface bases.   It worked!

3. Don't ever kill Jeb, Bill, Bob, or Val - I'm just sentimental about the regulars!

4. Always leave off air intakes for the first launch - This is a stupid superstition of mine, because almost everytime I've done it (usually by accident), the corrected airplane has worked!   It beats doing maths anyway!

[Curveball Anders]

12 hours ago, WillThe84th said:

I try to limit the amount of science I get on the ground, and I try to only revert or reload a quick save I'd there's a bug or I did something stupid, like forgetting a part. 

I have a science station in orbit that looks (and behaves) like a wet noodle because I forgot to add vital parts to it when I launched it.

So I had to do a rescue and add a module with the missing part.

Only to realise that I've missed yet another vital part so I had to do a rescue and add yet another module with yet another missing part ...

I could replace it with a new station including the missing parts, but my pride stops me and the wet noodle dangling in orbit works as a reminder to check that my next design includes all the needed parts ...

 

[Rath]

All craft must look decent and realistic.

No clipping fuel into other fuel tanks.

Same goes for engine bells.  they must not touch anything.

Clipping wings is ok if the plane has some stupid #lolfake KSP physics going on.  No control surfaces though.

Missions to a body must follow this: Probe flyby, Probe orbiter, Polor Probe orbiter, Probe imactor, manned flyby, probe lander, manned orbiter and return, manned landing, long-term stay, colony.

Sometimes there is a probe return in there.

Ships should cary as much science equipment and possible.

Manned launches must have an LES.

Manned launches need test flights and probe cores.

Saves must have sensible progression.

 

Always use designated parking orbits.  100km for regular missions and my 3000 part space station.  It keeps on zipping by and crashing my computer.  120km for construction.

200km for sats.

except the spy sats. (weather observation, my a**)

[WillThe84th]

9 hours ago, Curveball Anders said:

I have a science station in orbit that looks (and behaves) like a wet noodle because I forgot to add vital parts to it when I launched it.

So I had to do a rescue and add a module with the missing part.

Only to realise that I've missed yet another vital part so I had to do a rescue and add yet another module with yet another missing part ...

I could replace it with a new station including the missing parts, but my pride stops me and the wet noodle dangling in orbit works as a reminder to check that my next design includes all the needed parts ...

Usually I only restart if I forgot a part that would prevent me from taking off, like an antenna of I'm using remote tech, or select the feel type if I'm using real fuels. 

[KingPhantom]

no planes. just space contracts. all in one launch. use spacestations for grinding. efficient in start, handling and using. not reusable

 

i miss aerobreaking... that was a rule before the deadly reentry...

[Curveball Anders]

1 hour ago, WillThe84th said:

Usually I only restart if I forgot a part that would prevent me from taking off, like an antenna of I'm using remote tech, or select the feel type if I'm using real fuels. 

I launched a science station, without an antenna ...

That addition was the first part of the wet noodle (that still is alive, and wobbly, in 1.1).

[el_coyoto]

• Career mode
• No One Left Behind : no one way missions, no long trips in mk1 pods, no long trips alone. Basically taking care of my kerbonauts.
• Before each launch : decide if it's a simulation or a real mission. If it's a simulation, reverts a-gogo are allowed, otherwise no reverts.
• Mild/aesthetic part clipping only
• No cheats : it kinda ruins the fun for me ("If I allow myself to cheat in 5 science to unlock a node, why not cheating the whole science tree?")

Other than that, science hopping and contracts stacking are fine by me (although I tend to do it less and less as I feel that it breaks the fourth wall and reduces my fun...)

Edited April 21, 2016 by el_coyoto

[Kerbart]

The game allows (and for some of the examples I give, allowed) for certain things that you just know don't work in reality. Flying through the atmosphere at sea level doing 3000mph. Coming in straight from Minmus hitting the atmosphere at an 80° angle and slowing down from mach 20 or more to 0 in just a few miles without ill effects. Whacking your rocket into a 45° angle at 10,000m despite going twice the speed of sound at that poin. Using a lander can (“This capsule was designed for lightweight non-atmospheric landers”) for atmospheric re-entry. And so on.

I try to stay away from that, as a rule.

Especially during the 0.90 and 1.0 transitions there were a lot of complaints on how the upgrade "broke" a save as existing vehicles were now unable to launch or re-entry. Never had many issues with it.

[Jabbman]

On 20/04/2016 at 11:59 PM, Finox said:

1. No nuclear or ion propulsion - Not that I haven't used these, actually ion probes were my way of learning interplanetary navigation, but its more of a challenge to use good old fashioned chemical propulsion as well as more historical and realistic to boot.

[SNIP]

I'm with you on the nuclear propulsion, but you know ion thrusters are a thing, right?

I only read up on them a couple of years ago after seeing them in KSP, I had no idea!

[Finox]

4 hours ago, Jabbman said:

I'm with you on the nuclear propulsion, but you know ion thrusters are a thing, right?

I only read up on them a couple of years ago after seeing them in KSP, I had no idea!

Oh, I know they're real, but I like trying to re-enact actual space missions.   Since there haven't been many missions with ion engines (and none yet with nuclear) there aren't many historical missions for me to copy.  It's just my play style, you're talking to someone who would have loved to have lived through the early years or aviation, which is what KSP lets me do!

[V7 Aerospace]

I always listen to the theme song the whole way through on the menu screen.

I've never really thought about it, but the theme tune is so good!

[Pax Kerbana]

+1 to GoSlash27.

Pax's Rules:

0) If it doesn't look right, it isn't.

1) Kerbal life shall be respected... no risky missions (except for BA test pilots... and Jeb... and Val).

2) All craft shall have abundance of space for occupants and "snacks," based on mission type.

3a) Keep everything as small and light as possible for designated mission.

3b) Cost is always a concern, even in sandbox.

4) Launchers shall be functional AND elegant, "realistic" form.

5a) Fuel hoses shall be used sparingly, no asparagus staging.

5b) Large boosters may feed a core craft, a la the space shuttle.

6) Only "empty" parts may clip in "full" parts. A tank may clip into a structural adapter or nosecone, but a tank cannot clip into another tank or hab module.

7) Everything leaving Kerbin must have redundant com systems.

8) Probes before Kerbals.

9) Un-exploded Kerbals always come home.

10) Stock (because if I open the mod-can, I will have negative free time).

 

Edited May 2, 2016 by Pax Kerbana

[TheCardinal]

My house rules change often (whatever pleases me at the time) but no hanky panky with Hyperedit and Alt-F12.

I often modify parts but never to "improve" (cheat) on their performance. F.e. I prefer smaller RCS thrusters, so i reduce their size but i keep thrust, weight and consumption the same.

In many lists i've seen part clipping is a no-no. I have no real problems with part clipping as long as it isn't a way of cheating. F.e. adding a small RCS tank in a (large) fuel tank, a wing or such is allowable i.m.o. Putting extra fuel tanks in an other fuel tank is cheating.

Some players only allow personel transfers under certain conditions. I always allow transfers, no matter what. Contrary to public believe, i believe Kerbals have no skeletons. Essentially, they're no more than gas filled bags. Any creature having a skeleton would sustain a lot of injuries in the accidents Kerbals are able to survive.  Besides, nothing remains when a Kerbals goes off in a puff of dust. With no skeleton they can squeeze through any hole (like a squid).

I use whatever mod i like (usually about 20).

Edited May 3, 2016 by TheCardinal
typo