Your first hours in KSP

[Geschosskopf]

I bought the game in 0.20 the evening after watching a friend play the demo and fail miserably and hilariously.  I had played Orbiter for decades so was rather familiar with the concepts involved, but was immediately appalled at KSP's complete absence of in-game instrumentation, especially for important things dV and TWR when building rockets.  That's just setting folks up for failure and frustration.  So after slapping some parts together with no idea if they'd work (and they didn't).  I said "enough of this nonsense" and googled up this forum and also tutorials.  That led me to Scott Manley who, in those ancient days, played a lot of KSP and made many great tutorial videos.   So, I joined this forum and read some tips, watched a few tutorials, got the idea of what the parts then available could do, and went to Minmus and back with the 2nd rocket I ever built.  Then I got a bunch of mods, starting with KE (I don't think it was KER back then) and went on to conquer the universe.  I really didn't have a painful introduction to the game.

[pandaman]

Downloaded the v0.18 3 demo and spent the first few hours just building rockets and 'stuff', and firing them at the island airfield. In order to get to grips with building things and learn the flying controls.

First orbit took 'quite a while', but with guidance from Scott Manley, i got the hang of it eventually.  

[Jeb2]

Found ksp because of a old Scott Manley video about some star wars ships, got the game and had a blast slamming kerbals into the ocean.

[FahmiRBLX]

Got KSP during 1.1 (Then went straight for 1.5.1) after went very eager to build a lot of designs I used to draw before having the game. What did I do during my first hours ingame? Building planes since I was an aviation enthusiast (And yes, aviation got me here thanks to Firespitter, B9 and KAX reviews and builds). My smaller, early planes did fly seamlessly whilst my biggest early jetliner (That intended to go supersonic) snap its wings even during a slightly hard pitch input.

Now that I'm in 1.5.1 (Stuck because of mods), I'm pretty busy doing space missions and ridiculous whackjobs and soon will be getting 1.7.1 and trying out those interesting robotics (Since I gave up on stock hinges that no longer seem to work for me).

EDIT : I finally got to 1.7.1. Though, mod compatibility issues start popping here and there.

Edited July 1, 2019 by FahmiRBLXian

[Guest]

I was pretty bad but I remember what a big achievement my first orbital docking was!

 

wow, my builds were a bit crazy too back then. I remember I launched that tanker station in one piece even though it looks modular lol

(funnily enough I don’t remember what I first did... probably building for hours)

Edited June 10, 2019 by Guest

[Ryan.Bayguzin]

On 10/23/2018 at 11:36 AM, The_Cat_In_Space said:

When you first started playing Kerbal Space Program, what was it like? Was it easy to get into orbit? Did most of your missions end in violent explosions? Did you just resort to Alt+F12'ing and fooling around? 

Here's my story: So I bought KSP on the day that it reached 1.0, because I wanted the released version of the game. I fooled around in Sandbox, building huge space stations and mostly failing to get them to orbit. For my first career save, I actually did pretty well. Then I found mods, and since then my KSP now takes like 10 minutes to load. I've also discovered the addiction of Alt+F12, and once I used it for the first time I basically can't stop. I still play this game, being a passionate supporter of SQUAD's creation, and I also play the Enhanced Edition, which I bought because I was sick of my computer's framerate. 

I got into an orbit which was very easy using the Ferris wheel craft.

[JERONIMO]

ah... i still can smell the ash from my body when i tried to understand why my rocket got burned up when i putted 2 boosters, i remember my first docking and my first SSTO. and how anoyying the menu was for me :)))

[Ryan.Bayguzin]

15 hours ago, Jeb2 said:

Found ksp because of a old Scott Manley video about some star wars ships, got the game and had a blast slamming kerbals into the ocean.

I saw the same video too!

[GRS]

First, i strapped a Stayputnik above an SRB and Launch it, it crashed The VAB, it was .23

2 Years later I've got one myself (First time was on my Friend's Laptop), was also .23, took long to get orbit...and i realized...i forgot to Enable SAS, later went to Orbit and Mun at the same Launch, but crashed Mun's darker side...

Later got 1.0.4, where i solved Mun for real and Minmus as well, despite lacking Knowledge of Hohmann Transfers...

After 1.0.5, Finished All bods, Eve took 3 Months of Hyperedit testing...good thing The 1.0.5 came with a Hyperedit, also got KER after Tylo, to avoid Over-Engineering...Learnt a lot from Many YouTube Videos.

Now, mostly play in 1.5, finished All Bods with pretty much the same Rockets as i made them in 1.0.5, also Finished Jool-5 3 times, Gone quite experienced with Large Ships, Learnt of Docking quite Recently and knows some Different Techniques (Matt Style Lazy Docking, Marcus House Style Efficient Rendezvous, and some of My Techniques).

Edited June 28, 2019 by GRS

[DStaal]

I started right around 1.0 IIRC.  Loaded up, started a new sandbox game, had no idea what anything was, backed out and started a new science save.  Built a few rockets that went straight up to varying heights until I got a couple into space (including one that left Kerbin SOI...), then decided to look into how to actually get into orbit.  Also I wanted some mods for more colonization and system building, so I shut down and got some mods. 

Came back, tried to get into orbit a few times with MechJeb, realized that MechJeb was really lousy at launching rockets but at least it gave me some ideas on how to do it, and finally got into orbit - and promptly lithobraked my first reentry at extreme speed.  Tweaked a bit learn how to enter the atmosphere, and have been playing since.

(I do also remember that my first Mun lander was a Karibou rover, which I hand-landed despite not even thinking about thrust balance until much later, though I ran out of fuel a few hundred meters up...)

[bootsam]

Ive just bought it for my mac. Its fun, if a tad steep in learning curve. I killed numerous poor Kerbals on the launch pad. But Ive successfuly launched my first liquid fuelled rocket and recoved it. I think Im going to love this game as Im a geek, an engineer and love the real learning aspect of this game. So, Im a complete noob and will undoubtedly ask loads of stupid questions. (Throttle Up, took me some time to figure out for instance).

[purpleivan]

57 minutes ago, bootsam said:

Ive just bought it for my mac. Its fun, if a tad steep in learning curve. I killed numerous poor Kerbals on the launch pad. But Ive successfuly launched my first liquid fuelled rocket and recoved it. I think Im going to love this game as Im a geek, an engineer and love the real learning aspect of this game. So, Im a complete noob and will undoubtedly ask loads of stupid questions. (Throttle Up, took me some time to figure out for instance).

The tangy odour of barbecued kerbal flesh is all part of the learning experience.

 

[bootsam]

No Kerbals died last night. Ok, maybe one did. I dont know why. Actually, I do. I forgot the heat shield. I managed to build a rocket with boosters, several stages to get approx 200k, do some science and recover safely. This became repeatable until a program on geology came on bbc and I watched that instead. Tonight, it is orbit. I need to dust off my old Uni stuff on mechanics or probably wing it. The latter is likely until I face reality and reach for my books. Ive forgotten the equations, but not how to use them. Probably. Its a risky business and fortunately I personally am not doing them. Sorry Valentina.

[bootsam]

Restarted my game as only just discovered revert game. Which means i can experiment without kerbals running around on fire. Plus i’d run outta money. Almost sussed nav ball and map. Did some missions and research. Or more stuff i didnt know about. Now back to where i was and figured orbit out. So, im on track for orbit later.  . Just need another small fuel tank this time. 

I really should use tutorials or read a manual. But ive always learnt more from mistakes. I think ive got the gist of it now. 

Edited July 7, 2019 by bootsam

[RocketSimplicity]

I had fun playing KSP on my cousin's PC back in 1.0. My first rocket was a mk3 cockpit on the old largest fuel tank with the Mammoth engine. Everybody died.

I got KSP about 9 months later in 1.1 and built stupid rockets and then attempted a Career save without knowing what to do. I died (financially)

I switched to sandbox, built stupid massive rockets and then tried to use the tutorials to get into orbit. I died.

Somehow, I used the GDLV3 to launch satellites into stupid eccentric orbits. They re-entered the atmosphere and obviously, died.

Somehow, I realised stuff in my head and taught myself how to get into circular orbits the usual way, using a stupidly overpowered rocket (obviously). I didn't know sepratrons existed so survival was 50/50. More people died.

I got to the moon by playing with manoeuver modes. The lander was OP but we ran out of electricity so everyone died.

I watched lots of YouTube, redid the tutorials and played a lot more, and so nowadays, nobody dies. 

Edited July 7, 2019 by RocketSimplicity

[bootsam]

Ive done several orbits. Done lots of research. Been to Mun. More science stuff. Returned. Recovered. I might just be getting the hang of this. 

 

(Famous last words)

[bootsam]

i upgraded the tracking station and now have no idea how to use it. :) i also upgraded vas and launchpad. I now appear to be able to orbit at will. I visited the mun and returned with shedloads of research but missed a tiny bit. No kerbals have perished for a while and jebs getting cocky. 

[Space Nerd]

Just brought the game, my first hour is trying to reach orbit and have fuel left.(It's hard to not use up the last 100m/s)

[VITAS]

I spend my first hour getting the game to work and my second testing every way i could get my staging wrong.

Now days I tend to forget how hard building a working rocket in ksp is for someone who never played it.

Today its mostly a tool to get my stuff into space. SO i slab a quick jelly-eggplant together and wobbel my way into orbit.

[KerbolExplorer]

I tried making a space shuttle

 

 

Hey one got to space   And after a few edits the kerbal could survive

Edited July 8, 2019 by KerbolExplorer

[Jexpler]

I had zero idea what I was doing. I could do the self explanatory stuff like decouplers and parachutes, but I did stupid stuff like put heat shields on TOP of my capsule instead of underneath. I never would of progressed without Scott Manley. 

[bootsam]

Took two tourists to mun. Built a great rocket. Prob too much fuel on munar stage. Orbital stage was spot on. Landing was perfect but legs burnt off. Lots of aircraft missions to do, so i guess thats next.  

[bootsam]

Bouyed by my success getting to Mun, I built a plane. Which was too heavy to do anything. Wouldnt even taxi. So I lightened it. It moved, skewed right and blew up. So I built another. It moved, skewed left, rolled over and blew up. Undeterred I built another. It Flew! Spun, crashed, blew up and sunk into the sea. It was at this point I checked on here for a tutorial.

My issue now is the tail fin rudder. When I place it, it rotates the AoL, from the centreline a few 10s of degrees to the right for some reason. Despite being mounted centrally on the tail piece. It flew, but thankfully I provided chutes. It burst into flames on touchdown.

I then went and watched BBC2's dramatisation of the moon landing instead.

[Frank_G]

On 7. Juli 2019 at 10:00 AM, bootsam said:

Restarted my game as only just discovered revert game. Which means i can experiment without kerbals running around on fire. Plus i’d run outta money. Almost sussed nav ball and map. Did some missions and research. Or more stuff i didnt know about. Now back to where i was and figured orbit out. So, im on track for orbit later.  . Just need another small fuel tank this time. 

I really should use tutorials or read a manual. But ive always learnt more from mistakes. I think ive got the gist of it now. 

There are no mistakes, only more data .