Confessions of a KSP-aholic

[Ted]

I thought it would be fun if we had a thread where we all confess the shameful, secretive or crazy things we do in KSP.

I'll get us going:

Sometimes, if a rocket test is going well, I tend to keep going to see how far I can get.

I secretly love it when a rocket launch goes catastrophically wrong and everything explodes..

Your turn!

[dt890]

I leave kerbals to die in orbit around kearth instead of leaving them on the launchpad, to save other crew members stranded elsewhere.

[bsalis]

I have a strange relationship with Kerbonaut safety.

I don't willfully do any harm to them. If any are stranded in any way, I put a lot of effort in saving them.

However I routinely put them into rockets with highly questionable success of getting off the pad without exploding, and think nothing of it.

[SLAMS]

Same as Bsalis.

Also, I tend to make a working design for a mission in one or two shots. Then once it works I pile on more and more power until it is almost unflyable...

Why, because kerbals.

[TheDarkStar]

I sometimes strand Kerbals, so I send a rescue mission. However, I never remember to EVA someone at the start, and so I get to a high orbit, lower periapsis into the ground, and EVA one. Kind of defeats the purpose, though.

[Guest]

Sometimes i build ships just to carpet bomb the moons with debris.

[TheDarkStar]

I also sometimes make ships just to see how fast I can hit a Kerbal into Kerbin.

[Czman007]

I usually see how big an orbit a rocket can make without running out of fuel instead of doing a reentry burn.

[flaillomanz]

I feel bad for ending flights. If a kerbal survives a mislaunch, I let them live instead of reusing them. That isn't very eco-friendly, though... most people like to recycle their Kerbals instead of leaving them to pollute the environment.

I also have a habit of putting too many parachutes on test-flights, landers for example. My rationalization is that the poor sods testing my death tra-- Erm, brilliant rocketry experiments- well, they don't deserve death if I forget something important.

And I NEVER delete persistence files... just move them to a safe place.

KSP also seeps into real life occasionally. Strange dreams. Weird thoughts ("I should turn warp on - sure, it disables physics, but this bus is going slo-o-oooow").

It's also given me a strange appreciation for the world we live in. (Don't ask.)

[TheKerbinator]

I like to fire a rocket straight up, creating a very elliptical orbit. Then when the ship enters the atmosphere again at ludicrous speeds I love to see the G-meter spike the red like it's nobodies business when the ship plows into the lower atmosphere like a brick wall.

[UtterN]

Well, my relation to kerbal safety is very strange. Whenever a kerbal dies after having done something stunning such as landed on the mun (yes it's still a fantastic accomplishment for whenever I land successfully on the mun) I fell kind of sad that I could not save the kerbal. But when I'm testing new rocket designs I just go through kerbal life like if it was baking soda.

[Railsmith]

I secretly cross my fingers every time I land on the Mun in hopes of a non-fatal catastrophic accident so I can send a rescue mission... Or make the crew walk halfway across the Mun to a permanent research base to catch a flight there.

[Seanoog]

Sometimes i build ships just to carpet bomb the moons with debris.

Any pictures Kerbalnaut?

I like to fire a rocket straight up, creating a very elliptical orbit. Then when the ship enters the atmosphere again at ludicrous speeds I love to see the G-meter spike the red like it's nobodies business when the ship plows into the lower atmosphere like a brick wall.

I love doing the opposite, strapping massive amounts of boosters, in an attempt to find craft designs, that subject my kerbals too 10+ G Starts.

I launch 90% of my rockets, an get them into stable orbits, or land on Kerbin/Mun/Minimus, an then just leave the craft+Kerblas there.

Heck some times, I build entire colonies on planets just too see lots of craft/kerbals in one place, never with the intention of returning them to home...

In craft construction, A craft spends its entire life designationed PROTO-1/2/3, an litterally goes throught HUNDREDS of Design itterations, in the persuit of perfect craft designs, an only then does it get a Full ship name (Typically named after Star Trek, Ship classes "TRIDENT/CONSTITUTION")

I laught out loud all the time, when my poor Kerbals are subjected to horrable/firey deaths!

[kaijar]

When I successfully landed on the moon for the first time, I jumped up and down in my room and yelled several things that can't be repeated here. Ever since then, I keep a soda next to my computer as a celebratory reward for whenever I complete a particularly tricky mission.

I also usually design my munar landers to be a two stage rocket like the Eagle just for the heck of it. I like seeing the debris after of where I was able to land.

[ZootinZack]

I played so much that when I'm just idle at my laptop (watching a video or whanot) my left hand automatically goes in W-A-D configuration with my pinkie alternatively on the Shift or Ctrl key.

Also when I watch KSP videos, I get so into it that I try to rotate view or go to map mode, then realize I'm watching a video... then feel like a dumbass.

[katateochi]

KSP also seeps into real life occasionally. Strange dreams. Weird thoughts ("I should turn warp on - sure, it disables physics, but this bus is going slo-o-oooow").

It's also given me a strange appreciation for the world we live in. (Don't ask.)

I can so relate. I often have KSP inspired moments of madness when waking up; like feeling like I don't have enough fuel to overcome the gravitational pull of bed or that I need to rendezvous with the alarm clock! I'm getting used to it now, after all, madness is a way of life. The appreciation of world thing is harder to explain! Stupid little things; like the apoapsis and thrust needed to come off the roundabout at optimal speed.

Also when I watch KSP videos, I get so into it that I try to rotate view or go to map mode, then realize I'm watching a video... then feel like a dumbass.

Yes! I can't help myself from trying to rotate the view in vids. Everytime! Pavlov suggests I should learn, but noooo.

[FishyFishy13]

I will launch ship after ship that blow up in atmosphere to save one kerbal stuck on the Mun. I kill like 21 kerbals to save one.

[Guest]

Any pictures Kerbalnaut?

Like, bombing, so they crash into the terrain. Not staying in orbit.

[Naiba]

I find myself hitting > key during downloads or loading bars... ALL THE TIME.

[that1guy]

When I play KSP, I play by the mentality of, "huh, I wonder if that failure was my design or some fluke during launch" I then try the same flight over again.

Also, I only care about 4 kerbals Jeb, Bill, Bob, and Kyle J. (I renamed one), everyone else is a piece of rocket fodder with a weird first name

[segaprophet]

Being crazy enough to attempt landing trailer-sized (3 crewtank) hab modules on the Mun.

[Vanamonde]

I tell myself I built these things to make re-entry tests on heat shields and parachutes.

http://www./?9b8ybchreawapp7

http://www./?6wjxgxl6cz8hhz6

I did not build these things to test parachutes and heat shields.

(Start the engines (throttle 2 notches over 2/3rds for the second one) and wait for the decouplers to cook off. First one: "light fuse and get away." Second one: See how many times you can get the capsule to bounce in the exhaust flow without touching anything.)

Edited August 20, 2012 by Vanamonde

[samstarman5]

I will confess that I built a payload delivery system tonight that included three mounts for kerbals to ride along. After a few hilarious failures at getting the rocket into orbit, I finally achieved space. While still in suborbital trajectory, I noticed I was coming up on a perfect opportunity for an attempt at a TMI burn with the payload. So I sent two of the crew to board the payload, and after re-adjustment of the craft's attitude I launched the payload. Now this payload system used three large stock SRB's as the thrust, as I trusted they would make a decent difference in orbital velocity. (Inspired by Cap'n Skunky's recent comic at attempts of dealing with the Space Kraken.)

The PDS stayed on course for quite a fair amount of the burn, but then it started to spiral out of control. In the course of the spiralling, both kerbals lost their grip. One lost its life due to impact with the PDS itself, but the other was sent on a trajectory that I was quickly able to determine would pass under the Mun and into Kerbol orbit. Using the EVA pack, I managed to adjust the heading for a Munar SOI insertion. It wasn't enough to establish orbit, but at least that adventurous kerbal will get a nice view of the Mun before leaving the Kerbin neighborhood.

It was all an entirely fun adventure that I did out of spontaneity. The remaining kerbal that remained in the CM was visibly upset at being the only one left to return home. But I did make sure to get him home safely so he could be consoled by his friends and family.

I think it might be worth working on stabilizing the PDS in order to work a Free Return Trajectory, and give two or even three kerbals a trip for the record books.

Yes, I could use MechJeb for more control, but I like leaving it to the whims of fate.

I would like to thank Cap'n Skunky and Scott Manley(szyzyg) for the ideas and help in making the craft.

[Grand Lander]

I make many different models of crafts and leave them on the mun or minumus and dont interact with them after i land them =p no return missions yet. i got one craft going to return to kerbal in 4 days kerbal time.

[ScramUK]

I like to collide kerbals at high velocity...

The things I have done -they keep me up at night. On a VERY low orbit on Mun using the ship I simply called 'Orbiter V1'; The periapsis got as low as 3k, and happened to be directly over a ship I previously landed 'TAK v2'... Bringing a kerbal out of each ship, I tried to get them to high five one another on passing. It's kind of like trying to hit a pin with another pin took a few passes to accomplish it..

Upon collision the brave little Kerbinaut from TAK v1 was shot into the nearby ship at around 200 m/s, vaporised onto the ships hull with enough force to induce a spin on the craft.

Status of Orbiter v1 cew:

Bill & bob are freaking out...

Jeb remains in orbit.....somewhere in the northern hemisphere of Mun

Edited August 21, 2012 by ScramUK