DSN and antenna range options for new games

[Sarxis]

I'm wondering about what the difference is in these settings, mostly because while playing a science game, my level one antennas and relays don't seem to be able to communicate with each other within Kerbin SOI, though the DSN3 can receive comms all the way from Minmus without the need for the relays.  This makes creating a comms network within Kerbin SOI moot. 

Will increasing the antenna ranges to, say, five times normal make the first tier of relays able to pick up transmissions from minus?   Also - should I DECREASE the DSN range down to help make the comms side of the game more challenging?

Thanks for any advice!

[peewee69]

I think that DNS 1 should be enough to cover Kerbin's SOI. If you are using basic antenna's, you must have them deployed to work.

[Sarxis]

15 hours ago, peewee69 said:

I think that DNS 1 should be enough to cover Kerbin's SOI. If you are using basic antenna's, you must have them deployed to work.

I play in Science mode, so the DNS starts at level 3.  I'm trying to find a balanced DNS to antenna ratio for the early, mid, and late games while playing Science mode.  I 'think' lowering the DNS to .05 power and increasing antenna ranges to 5 times will rebalance everything ok.  I'm just concerned that the mid-range relays/antennae might be too powerful for the mid-game.  

[Streetwind]

@Sarxis There's really two schools of thought here. One that says "far away spacecraft link back to KSC via commsats in the space between", which is kind of the old RemoteTech system. But KSP went for the other model, which is "ground based stations are so much more powerful than satellite based ones, the best way to phone home is via a direct link". This, incidentally, is the way it works in real life. NASA's Deep Space Network frankly just overpowers everything else by orders of magnitude, and that kind of power is also the only thing that even makes it physically possible to talk across the vast distances between Earth and spacecraft in outer space. We only really have one single satellite-based spacecraft communication network in operation today (TDRS), and that only exists in order to bridge the gap in communications between ground stations for launch vehicles ascending through the atmosphere, which are unable to deploy sophisticated antennas themselves due to aerodynamic forces.

As a player, if you prefer the first model, you will need to apply tweaks. Perhaps also look at RemoteTech itself, the mod still lives today and is much more suited to satellite networks than the stock system is.

Edited March 26, 2017 by Streetwind

[Sarxis]

Thanks for the info Streetwind.  Yes, I'm kind of leaning towards the first model, if only because it makes for more interesting gameplay in trying to manage a comms network.

[Cunjo Carl]

@Sarxis You can also get an idea of what range you'll have using @Poodmund's antenna range calculator. 

It models the non-linearities in KSP's range calculations accurately as I understand, and I've heard the upcoming version won't have any notable differences for com range.

[Spricigo]

 

Another possibility, instead of changing the range on settings use modified antennas. (I suspect configs may do the trick)