I'm not having much luck with 0.16 parts..

[SamByrne]

So since 0.16 came out I haven't played much but when I first got it I tried creating a ship that can carry 3 kerbals using the new large parts, and I used my design from before and it just had so many problems that I gave up, and i've just tried again and I can successfully get a 1 kerbal ship into orbit and back, but my 3 kerbal ship was sitting on the launch pad and it just destroyed it's self and blew up on the launch pad. I then tried a new design and when I got off the ground the ship was vibrating and all moving and swinging, so I aborted the mission (my command module had the asas on top and then the parachute) and when I deployed the parachute it ripped it's self off the ship and everyone died :|

So can someone give me some basic advice on how to use the new parts properly please :S

[Serratus]

The new parts set is not complete yet. You're not doing anything wrong - it's just that we don't yet have all the tools. As for big parachute falling off - I have it too (also because of ASAS), but there is a workaround. Just take 2 normal (small) parachutes and attach them on pods wall close to the tip (not on the ASAS; on the pod itself), and make sure they deploy BEFORE the big one.

If You want to use new parts, then use them in conjunction with Novas pack - they are compatible in size, because new parts are based of that pack.

[ATTACH=CONFIG]31569[/ATTACH] click it to enlarge

Edited August 20, 2012 by Serratus

[Endeavour]

For the new parts, try to find a balance between too big and too small. If your rocket is too big, it will probably wobble like crazy and destroy itself. If it is too small, it won't get you anywhere. If you have wobble problems, turn off the ASAS and try flying manually.

[djnekkid]

https://www.dropbox.com/s/ox5emk8uklgzzfp/Lun%20Lander%20XL-5.craft

my first 3man lunar lander.

[Seret]

Yep, multiple parachutes on the pod if you've got any gubbins on the nose. Either that or use another decoupler on the nose and blow the ASAS off when the chutes deploy.

As for ships being unstable, do you mean pre- or post-launch? Pre-launch you can use the gantry parts to hold it steady, put them in the same stage as your engines firing and you'll be off. If it's post-launch wobbles, try some struts between the wobblier bits. Struts are pretty expendable, so you can tie parts together that aren't even in the same stage. Bit chunky SRBs tend to need some tying down but will still jettison normally, for example.

[Xenotheos]

The larger parts aren't all that great. The engines are inefficient compared to the smaller ones and the decouplers are weak for their size. I can't take credit for this myself, I saw someone's designs and explanation for this on the forums, but a good approach is to use to the large fuel tanks and engine as the main body of your rocket while using the smaller fuel tanks and engines around the large tanks.

[John F. Kerman]

I find you can't go too far wrong if you take the balance of each stage (as well as the overall balance) and thrust-weight ratios into account. I use the small tanks and engines for the stages I want to put into orbit. Although the larger engines tanks are heavier they have a higher TWR, so I use these for the lifting stage.

This design handled fairly well once I'd slapped on a few struts to keep the top half steady. I know it's not a 3-man pod & those weigh a lot more but the principle's basically the same:

[Vanamonde]

The new parts do take some getting used to (check out my whiney thread http://kerbalspaceprogram.com/forum/showthread.php/16351-Wallows-like-a-drunken-cow for good advice from people better at rockets than me), but I think the only one that's actually not working right is large the decoupler, which has an oopsie in its code and is only a fraction of the strength it should have. You can reinforce it with struts, or use the small ones with struts.

[Xenotheos]

In reference to my earlier post (don't see an edit function, probably due to time since post) here is an example of what I mean. The only mod is Mechjeb, which is essentially required for launching this thing as it's a major slideshow until the separation of the outer engines/tanks. All the fuel lines feed in from the bottom tanks, and up on the main tank so upper stage engines can fire without exhausting their fuel supply. When in doubt I use struts, which I might overdue... This design is based off of Ziff (I believe) from these forums.

[Ziff]

I've posted several different designs with their associated .craft files if you would like to take a look. They're on this thread here -> http://kerbalspaceprogram.com/forum/showthread.php/16822-Rocketry-by-Ziff?p=234564#post234564

Yeah, I know, shameless plug but whatever. Oh, best advice, go edit the part.cfg file for the large decoupler and change its strength to 176 so that it doesn't fall apart anymore. Its a bug that will be fixed in .17 anyway.

[BillWiskins]

i like the larger parts. Now that we have the ability to stand next to our creations, they mean we can build some very impressive-looking machines, and pose for smug photos on the Mun with them.

There are issues, certainly, and the decoupler problem is an irritation - but it can be dealt with by managing acceleration. Keep that G-force meter down and they will hold. The only real annoyance is the way the crafts will sometimes mis-behave when being manoeuvred. Here's hoping that the Kraken fix will address that. They can also be slow to pitch, but I have found that they don't mind nearly as much when you ask them to roll - you can use this. If you need to pitch up or down to hit your velocity vector or whatever, give it a bit of roll side-to-side first. It looks daft, but it seems to make the vehicle much more willing to pitch.

Finally - here's what I have been using to take lumps of metal to the Mun:

[segaprophet]

The 0.16 stock parts work fine, they are just balanced differently than 0.15 parts and take some getting used to. If you believe getting anything big to the Mun or Minmus is difficult with stock parts, this big hab module is almost entirely stock (except for the Crew Tank part).

All my designs are available in my Spacecraft Exchange thread.