How often do you use other people's craft files?

[Mars-Bound Hokie]

With all the craft-sharing sites out there (especially KerbalX, which tracks the number of times craft files are downloaded), do you ever wonder how often we use our fellow kerbalnauts' creations? If we do, then what for? Tourist runs? Relays? Confidence boosters?

 

I've used @Matt Lowne's Eeloo ring station once, but then terminated it since I started using my own station more (and the lag sucked when I was on the Eeloo ring). I also downloaded a few SSTOs to look inside them so I can get some inspiration for my own designs - and even tested their planes since I was bored (e.g. I flew @fulgur's K Prize entry to test its reliability as a docking-capable self-refueling plane - he and I were DMming about my own design issues at the time)

• Last night, I downloaded @Lt_Duckweed's Nuclear Grace and modified it to carry a two-man Gilly lander. 
  • Call me a dirty cheater/thief for tampering with someone else's creation, but at least I gave the original designer credit. Plus, I've been to Gilly for tourist landings/rescue missions a million times. To me, sending two people to that rock (with a higher return-on-investment, since the carrier's coming back) is nothing more than another chore for money.
    • Now, if I made my own carrier design (the lander is all my own), then that's something I can claim as mine.

 

 

Spoiler

• For those of you who don't know already, it's an unspoken rule to not pass off someone else's craft as your own (e.g. stealing @Matt Lowne's SSTO craft file and saying that it's actually yours)
  • There's actually a "Plagiarized Craft" button on KerbalX when you report a craft file. Luckily, our creations are so unique that the chances of matching someone else's design by pure chance are about a million to one.

 

What about you all? How often do you use other craft files? What for?

[Superfluous J]

Voted "Never Once" because that's closer to the spirit of the correct answer than any other ones.

I ran a YouTube series years ago where my viewers submitted craft for me to fly. So I downloaded those.

I have helped the occasional player here and there troubleshoot an issue with their craft. So I downloaded those.

That's it. Nothing other than that, ever.

Edited February 28, 2020 by 5thHorseman

[The Aziz]

There is no "once"

I downloaded a car, I think it was koenigseggegegegegeggegeegegegggg, to test it on salt flats the desert. Went fast, crashed, never opened it again.

[Lt_Duckweed]

If I didn't want people to use my craft I wouldn't have uploaded it  .

I've never personally downloaded any craft, but that's mostly because I get the most joy in the game out of building new crafts, so if I've got Kerbal open, I'm probably tinkering with a new design.

[steve_v]

I've looked at a couple of craft on KerbalX, but I've never actually loaded one in game.
I don't really see the point TBH, designing craft is at least as fun as flying them, so why would I skip that bit and use someone else's?

[Capt. Hunt]

I downloaded a couple off of the Steam Workshop, ended up having to completely rebuild them to actually get them functional.  Maybe some of the stuff on KerbalX would be more reliable.

[Kernel Kraken]

Never! I just prefer to look at other's crafts and take inspiration.

[Geonovast]

I would have picked 'Never once', but that's not completely true.  I've downloaded one to look and just try out because it was neat, but never seriously used it.  I've also downloaded 2 or 3 to test for people when they were having issues for them.

I muchly prefer to just build my own stuff.

[sturmhauke]

I've downloaded craft files to see how they were made, and then built my own version. And for something like BDArmory competitions, I've downloaded other craft to test mine against before submitting to the judge.

[XLjedi]

I would suspect most on this forum would vote:  "never" 

It's more the players who would never see this thread that would possibly download and use the craft.  So I expect a very skewed result (will check after I post this).

Most of the craft I download are purely to show the author's that I appreciate their work.  So, I kinda vote for the designs I admire by downloading them and giving a like or +1 or whatever.  Anything I can do to encourage them to continue sharing their work.  I also download holiday/decorative/seasonal stuff:  Angel tree-topper, a pumpkin, some sort of giant statue, etc...  Those are just fun and give me a chuckle.  I once hosted a challenge that actually required you to complete the challenge with at least 3 craft that you did NOT create.  That was interesting I thought; but not many completed it.

The one time I ever downloaded a craft for anything close to my own use was...  I needed to reverse engineer the combination of parts/equipment needed to perform ISRU ops, before I knew anything about it.  IMO, the craft aesthetics were terrible (LOL) but picking the half-dozen parts I needed out of the heap gave me the insight I needed to equip my craft.  Aside from the nearly identical mission parameters, you'd have no idea the craft had anything in common.

If I were going to attempt a mission to a specific place, I might look for a craft that fits the mission profile just to see what combination of fuel/weight/engines was needed.  Those can be very difficult to locate though.  Typically, the craft are not documented or arranged in any searchable way by mission criteria.

Bench-marking maybe on occasion too...  If I fly a craft and like how it handles, I do take a few extra minutes to decipher what exactly makes it fly the way it does. The designers seem to appreciate the feedback when I tell them specifically why I was impressed with their flight model.  Any criticisms, I try to qualify as very minor nits in an otherwise awesome design.  I would not have downloaded it had I not thought it was impressive.  They seem to like that feedback too.

I have a few designs on KerbalX that I currently don't actually like how they fly.  ...but I'm also pretty sure I already know why.  Someday, someone might give one a spin and suggest something to improve it that I hadn't actually considered.  If I get to update one of those craft, it makes me happy.

(Edit: yeah, results are pretty much inline with my expectations)

 

Edited February 28, 2020 by XLjedi

[Stamp20]

Used some of Matt Lowne's crafts to try to learn KSP, looking back I would've been better off building my own. Other than that, I don't use KerbalX because of the time it takes to add the craft, and I use a mod that replaces the stock craft browser so I don't see Steam Workshop craft that much. However, I've published several craft to the Workshop, and even got featured on the KSP twitter account twice.

[Cavscout74]

I used to use them more when I was newer, but mostly just use my own now.  I still download craft I find interesting, but often just for a quite hop to test them out and/or reverse engineer.

@XLjedi's Star Ranger was used for my very first trip to Jool, but it was modified, replacing the NERV with a tail docking port & RCS so it became the "bridge" of a much larger ship, then could undock to land.  The ship had a separate mining lander & fuel tanker as well, but the modified Star Ranger kept its ISRU setup for self-fueling.  It was also my first time blowing a tire on landing but not destroying the craft - on my first Laythe landing. That remains my biggest use of a downloaded design on a mission - which included stops at Minmus, Eve (orbit only, plus my first Gilly landing), Duna & Ike, Jool (with my first landings on Laythe, Vall, Bop & Pol).   A modded version of his Star Ranger B was also my primary spaceplane for a long time, in two variants - the "regular" version and a crew ferry version with an inline cockpit & shielded docking port in the nose.

Edited February 28, 2020 by Cavscout74

[sturmhauke]

I like Matt Lowne's videos, but personally I don't generally like building stuff with that much part clipping. (My BDA combat planes are an exception when it's allowed in a particular competion, but that's largely for metagame/tactical reasons.) Driving the part count up by 5 times or worse for a sleeker look isn't worth the performance and kraken hits to me.

[Death Engineering]

I used a Space Shuttle replica, I think from a challenge, that was an absolute joy to fly.  I don't recall which challenge it was, but the shuttle that was bundled with the challenge was amazing. It even had (a version with) an MMU!  I recall being deeply humbled by the ingenuity of some people to replicate real-life spacecraft with stock parts.

If anyone knows the challenge/shuttle I'm referring to...  

[sturmhauke]

1 minute ago, Death Engineering said:

I used a Space Shuttle replica, I think from a challenge, that was an absolute joy to fly.  I don't recall which challenge it was, but the shuttle that was bundled with the challenge was amazing. It even had (a version with) an MMU!  I recall being deeply humbled by the ingenuity of some people to replicate real-life spacecraft with stock parts.

If anyone knows the challenge/shuttle I'm referring to...  

I dunno about that, but can I interest you in some gently used shuttles from previous missions?

Spoiler

 

[Death Engineering]

50 minutes ago, sturmhauke said:

I dunno about that, but can I interest you in some gently used shuttles from previous missions?

  Reveal hidden contents

 

"Flight tested"

I don't go to close to shuttles. With one exception: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shuttle_(video_game)

..a button presser knob turner dream. Note - do NOT enable SRB-JET while they are burning.. eerily familiar RUD ensues.

[SlinkyMcman]

Other people's airplanes fly much better than my own. 

[OHara]

Lots of times.  Showing each other how we build things is a big part of KSP.  It is interesting and often surprising to see how other people do things.

KerbalX works great for that.

The Steam distribution service, also lets people post craft files, but only with others who bought KSP through Steam.

[Bej Kerman]

I created a self-contained Kraken drive by learning how they're made from another craft. It's about 4m tall and 2.5m wide, and can go to 80km/s before the wheel suspension decides to stop working.