What are your house rules?

[NovaSilisko]

Long duration flight with crew requires larger habitat modules. No ten year flights crammed inside a Mk1 pod. Generally, two crew per Hitchhiker module is the absolute max.

[Frank_G]

All games i play, are by all means played, not won, beaten, hacked or cheated through meta-gaming.

I want fun, a good story, action, challenging game play, something that is different from allday stuff. I dont care about score and achievements and i dont rush through games. And that is fact for all games i play, not only KSP.

In KSP, i play without part mods (almost... ScanSat and RasterPropMonitors add a few parts, but thats it). When it comes to gameplay, my three rules are good craft efficiency, craft aesthetics and doing stuff with purpose. 

[purpleivan]

Er... I like to play while I sit. Yep chairs are comfortable.

Seriously, I only play sandbox now (completed career when it first came out and didn't bother with it after that), no cheating like F12 unless it's to grab something for a cinematic video.

Oh, and bring 'em back alive. No stranding kerbals on some distant moon and forgetting about them.

[Streetwind]

I dislike cycling contracts (declining them over and over to spawn new ones). It feels unrealistic and cheap. Therefore I have decided for myself that I must never decline an offered contract; I must either do them or let them expire naturally.

This may seem like a huge limitation on earning money, but it actually isn't. For starters, I almost always play with Kerbal Cosntruction Time installed - and the time it takes to construct a single rocket usually serves to refresh almost the entire contract list naturally. Additionally, I tweak the game to show me a larger number of contracts at once. While that is primarily for the lategame, where I may have ten or more concurrent missions running and so many accepted contracts that I won't see any new ones for months on end unless I increase this number, it does also help with finding good contracts early-on.

 

In a similar vein, also because I think it's super dumb and absolutely not required for progress, I refuse to collect science from KSC biomes. In fact, my next playthrough is planned to have Kerbin's entire surface set to a 0x science multiplier.

[n.b.z.]

I play sandbox exclusively. My rules:

• No "simulations" (Hyperedit) on bodies that have not been "researched" by at least one probe that was landed on the surface for real. Without a probe, I don't have "the data required to run a simulation". (The actual reason is to avoid spoiling the experience before going for the real mission)
• Crewed vehicles: all "testing" is without any crew. Any flight with a crew is a "mission".
• No clipping of functional parts, fuel volumes, engines. Liberal clipping of structural parts, such as putting a tank inside a structural conical adapter. Aero surfaces should actually be exposed to the air, but some partial clipping is acceptable for the looks. One or two small surfaces may be completely hidden, if all other ways of getting the CoL/CoM, handling, and trim right would make the craft ugly.
• The frame of reference for what constitutes "realistic physics" is the KSP universe. This means that reaction wheels with the torque of earthmoving machinery totally exist, ion engines are absolutely capable of powering landers, and there is nothing wrong with using the capabilities of such parts. Oh, and nobody needs any food, ever.
• It is stupid to design spacecraft whilst having no idea of their delta-V. Since I have not ever installed an engineering mod, or made any delta-V calculations otherwise, I am, therefore, stupid.

 

[SelectHalfling0]

Never Leave a Kerbal Behind (always give them the ability to return to Kerbin at some point).

Obviously I do leave kerbals at bases for long term assignments, but they aren't stranded there.

[Starhawk]

The most important one is:

I must accept every rescue mission I see.

That led to this:

shameless plug/

Happy landings!

[Just Jim]

I've got a couple.  Because of my Emiko Station story, I sometimes have to use alt-F12 and hyperedit.  But I will never, ever use either of them to cheat and advance my career.  I am very strict on myself about this.  Only if I need them to set up a screenshot for the story.

I absolutely refuse to let one of my Kerbals die, and use unmanned landers and rovers whenever possible before sending a manned mission anywhere.

I like my ships pretty whenever possible.  I will part clip, but only for cosmetic purposes, and never too much.  Only to tweak things into fitting better, if they need them.

No mods that calculate things like dV and ToW in the VAB or SPH.  I honestly don't like knowing, and prefer it the "Kerbal" way... just keep building it bigger until it works, or explodes...  

[Jetski]

Leave no Kerbal behind.

[CaelumEtAstra]

In my main sandbox save, though I don't really have any set rules--I just shoot for realism whenever I can. There are a few I try to follow, though:

• When building a spacecraft, be sure to follow Akin's Laws.
• Small, efficient spacecraft and rockets can do a just as good if not better than an oversized capital ship.
• Keep debris to a minimum. 
  • All upper stages must have the capability to deorbit after the payload is on orbit.
  • If deorbit is not possible, it must be on the surface of an object, on a trajectory that impacts an object (like Mun or Minmus), in a graveyard orbit, or placed into a heliocentric orbit.
• All space stations must have at least one spacecraft docked to act as a lifeboat in the event of an emergency.
• Quicksaves are allowed, but quickloads are only for simulations, bugs, kraken attacks, or overshooting a maneuver node. (NASA never does that, so why should I punish myself for my own stupidity?)
• F12 and HyperEdit are for simulations ONLY. (I have, however, used the ignore max temp to prevent a heating bug during missions that would be impossible IRL. I sometimes make exceptions for the sake of realism.)

Edited April 15, 2016 by Mrsupersonic8
Added more, rephrased some things

[gtmattz]

The only hard and fast rule I play by is... If Jeb dies, I have to start a new game.

[eddiew]

1- If a crash or manoeuvre failure doesn't kill the crew, it must be lived with and a rescue mission sent. I don't have the heart to let kerbals die though, if I screw up with lethal results, it's time for F9  

2- No more than 3 of the same experiment from the same body, regardless of whether transmitting or landing. This makes me very keen to return from everything!

3- Bots before boots. No kerbals on bodies without having landed a probe to check the conditions first. How do we know the Mun is not made of sticky cream cheese?

4- No probe landers on vacuum bodies other than Mun or Minmus. Terrestrial space agencies can't do this either because it's hard.

Edited April 15, 2016 by eddiew

[Andem]

Oh man, but I have so many!

1. No quickloading, even in the event of a kraken attack or a game crash.
2. Kerbals die permanently. Missing crews never respawn.
3. USILS has all difficulty options set to kill.
4. 120% Reentry heating. 
5. Kerbals must restore connection with the KSC before any rescue mission starts
6. No biome-hopping in landers, only rovers and planes.
7. Only mods allowed are mods that make it harder or add parts.
8. Stock tech tree progression.
9. No starting science.
10. Kerbal death is to be avoided if possible.
11. Part clipping is 1000% banned.
12. Simulations (KRASH) must be carried out before any manned flight.

Just a few... I'll edit this when I remember any more...

[Korvath85]

1. Unless it's something completely stupid that I did, I don't revert.  Stupid things include:  staging failures I missed, forgot mission-critical parts, missed a fuel line or a strut, etc.  This does not include a staging problem such as I jettison an SRB and it knocks into the main engine.  This is a failure and need to abort and try to survive appropriately
2. Someone dies, someone dies.  Leave no Kerbal behind!  I'll attempt a rescue/recovery mission, and plop a flag where I lost them.
   1. Lost in space:  Get a flag outside the Astro building.  Simulate the 'cyanide pill' by turning off life support.  Don't want to make them suffer.
3. Remote Tech
4. Stranded Kerbal causes a stop to all other missions, and a rescue is attempted.
5. 3-day delay between launches (except rule 2 or 3).
6. Orange suits are test pilots only.
7. Life Support
8. Make vessels livable - Except for short-term sub orbital hops, provide space for the number of Kerbals on mission * 1.5 (i.e. 1 kerbal needs space for 2, 3 kerbals need space for 5).
9. No part clipping.

I have several that I make up on the fly, too.  

[Streetwind]

4 hours ago, Starhawk said:

The most important one is:

I must accept every rescue mission I see.

Oh dear. 1.1 is going to be hard work for you, what with the game generating more contracts of the types you always accept...

[Noobton]

1- I reserve the right to declare a contract completed, I won't do a mission twice, even if it means using cmd-f12

2- Every mission should be carried out as cheaply as possibly can

3- No automatic or magic ship destruction, anything that goes up stays up unless it has fuel or any other means to deorbit

4- No Kerbal left behind, a rescue mission will be carried out even if is at a loss for the Space Agency

5- Probes first, biome identification second (Scansat's), before any other exploration of a body, Kerbin is excempt of this rule (I have to start somewhere)

6- No KSC science.

7- When possible, a pilot and engineer must man the flight - I guess this one is rather lose but what I do is no automatic SAS if is a manned flight, and no KER "chip", this creates some trouble sometimes like having to add a hitchhiker can or other crew space for tourists.

 

 

[Gojira1000]

Have fun, don't kill or abandon kerbals, don't f12 on career, if the tech doesn't exist in a usable way in RL, avoid using it in career, always try out new mods. Mostly the first two words.

 

[Guest]

No burns to break Kerbin orbit in a school zone... if anyone is looking.

[Promii]

- Kerbal comfort and psychological well being must be taken into account:  Missions to the Mun or Minmus must include at least 2 crew.  Interplanetary missions must include at least 6 and have 2 seats worth of living space for each.

- All bodies must be visited by probe before a crewed mission is sent.

- Minimum 7-day wait between mission launches unless planned beforehand as a multi-launch mission.

- Development of near-Kerbin space must continue while interplanetary missions are on-route.  The space program doesn’t grind to a halt for years while a probe travels to Jool.

- When using the stage recovery mod, verify that the spent boosters actually do survive.  If not, then deduct the funds refunded by stage recovery from the save file.

 

Trying to follow these rules for my Commonwealth series, although we haven't gone beyond Minmus yet.

[Vermil]

1. No Mods.  It's a temporary rule. I will use mods eventually. But it would feel cheap now, before I've solved my main projects within fixed limitations.

2. Take good care of my astronauts. Minimize risks. Take no chances. All equipment should be as thoroughly tested as possible under improvised conditions (no Hyperedit!). Spacious quarters on long range missions. No solo missions except for very short range, like Mun, Minmus.

3. Try use F9 very sparingly, ideally not at all.  This rule manages itself, since I lose satisfaction if I do use F9. Nevertheless, I do employ F9 whenever I think the game cheats on me, like bugs and things. Consequently, I do have to confess I have some talent in persuading myself that I have the right to use F9. I also use F9 without restraint when 'training' something or testing. That's unmanned though.

4. No SAS, no Navigation Nodes,.. Just kidding,   No Mechjeb, no KER. I enjoy the adventure of the uncertainty of space voyages, and trying to be clever with navigation. The day I do not, I'm going to use aids.

 

[msasterisk]

No reverting or quickloading unless a bug occurs or one of the orange suits dies. Only hyperedit for simulations, and simulations only happen once I use a scanner on the planet. If I plan on landing, a surface scanning probe has to land at the landing site. I must always have some sort of system in place to rotate the crew of a base or station.

"Have fun" trumps all of these.

[RocketSquid]

1. Reverting is allowed for failures during launch and reentry ONLY. If it fails in orbit, it stays in orbit until I fix it.
2. Quicksaving and quickloading are allowed to fix a self-induced catastrophic failure, or any game induced failure.
3. 1-kerbal pods excluding the cupola may not be used for any flights longer than basic orbital flights without vessel modifications, and even then only in emergencies.
4. Any vessel intended to reach the Mun must have a capacity of at least 2. Any vessel intending to reach minmus must have a capacity of at least 3 if it has an expanded service module, and 4 if it does not. All interplanetary vessels must have a capacity of at least 5, and at least 3 seats must be in crew cabins rather than pods.
5. The only cheat allowed when the game is functioning normally is "Infinite Electricity" for situations where I am limited by parts. In the event of krakens, glitches, etc. all cheats are allowed.
6. Kerbals can respawn, however in career games I must pay an additional fee of 2,500 funds per respawn per kerbal.
7. Lander cans and hitchikers are not for use as reentry capsules. No exceptions.
8. Hitchhikers are not to be used on atmospheric worlds.
9. Rules 1, 2, and 5 do not apply in sandbox. Rule 7 does not apply in sandbox except for purposes of deliberate stupidity.
10. Any rule except for rule number 7 may be ignored for the purpose of fun.

[cantab]

In my current "main" sandbox save, no quickloads. Reverts only during un-Kerballed launches, to save time waiting for the debris to hit the ground. What happens happens. If it's really a game bug I can go back to my last hourly automatic backup.

[Nathair]

• No clipping.
• No killing or abandoning kerbals.
• In the event of failure of previous rule, no respawn.
• Life support, electricity and radio contact strictly required.
• No MechJeb or HyperEdit.

[r4pt0r]

-Anything manned leaving the local Kerbin system requires 1 hitchhiker per 2 kerbals.
-No clipping
-No mods except for graphical improvements or audio things like chatterer.

Edited April 16, 2016 by r4pt0r