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Nuclear Engines


Dr. Kerbal

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Nuclear engines are extremely efficient in ksp. But there too slow. In KSP2 there should be a level 1 nuclear engine to level 5. As you get closer to level 5 the engines become more efficient and make more thrust. The level one engine are efficient but have low thrust. Like the original nuclear engine from KSP. I think this would be good. Nuclear engines I have always liked but they’ve been too slow to use. By giving them better counter parts this may increase the use and missions my be lead to a higher success rate,

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50 minutes ago, Dr. Kerbal said:

Nuclear engines are extremely efficient in ksp. But there too slow.

That was the point, and the state of reality so far. There's a trade-off in the real world and as a game mechanic. Isp vs Thrust vs mass. With engines that are better in all 3 of them why bother making the engines that no one will use?

1 hour ago, Dr. Kerbal said:

In KSP2 there should be a level 1 nuclear engine to level 5. As you get closer to level 5 the engines become more efficient and make more thrust. The level one engine are efficient but have low thrust. Like the original nuclear engine from KSP. I think this would be good. Nuclear engines I have always liked but they’ve been too slow to use. By giving them better counter parts this may increase the use and missions my be lead to a higher success rate,

Have you played KSP interstellar extended or been to projectrho by chance?

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40 minutes ago, Dr. Kerbal said:

I can’t. I play on PS4. Like what my ranking says:KSP Enhanced Console Player.

Well you should at least visit projectrho. You'll see that simply categorizing nuclear rockets as lvl 1 through 5 is a bit too simple. A good example of a possible rocket with high thrust and high Isp  is a nuclear salt water rocket.

If you wanna see some examples of rockets like these already put into KSP look up some lets-plays with KSP interstellar extended or check out this tutorial to see the engines.

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How about this.

Nuclear Engines Levels:

Level 1: Basic Nervy Atomic Rocket Motor.

Level 2: Faster and a little more efficient nuclear engine

Level 3: Basic Nuclear Explosion Engine

Level 4: Nuclear Explosion Engine

Level 5: Advanced Nuclear Explosion Engine

Level 1: slowest

Level 5: fastest

 

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Nuclear engine with high ISP and high TWR feels OP in KSP 1. The technology progression you've suggested so far feel like they're simply out of spite of having to wait to cross huge distances in space and not because it's realistic or reasonable.

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On 10/8/2020 at 8:23 PM, Bej Kerman said:

Nuclear engine with high ISP and high TWR feels OP in KSP 1. The technology progression you've suggested so far feel like they're simply out of spite of having to wait to cross huge distances in space and not because it's realistic or reasonable.

However in KSP 2 you are traveling to other stars, using an ship like this and you could go to Eeloo in months, main issue is that starship drives tend to be very heavy and have very high ISP but low TWR
You have nuclear pulse nuclear who is more suited for interplanetary missions with +1 g for days. 

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On 10/8/2020 at 8:03 PM, Dr. Kerbal said:

How about this.

Nuclear Engines Levels:

Level 1: Basic Nervy Atomic Rocket Motor.

Level 2: Faster and a little more efficient nuclear engine

Level 3: Basic Nuclear Explosion Engine

Level 4: Nuclear Explosion Engine

Level 5: Advanced Nuclear Explosion Engine

Level 1: slowest

Level 5: fastest

 

No, you obviously didn't go to the website that was suggested.

If I may suggest tiers:

* Nuclear thermal rocket:

1) Solid core, NTR (2) Pebble bed solid core (3) Liquid core (4a) gas core, closed cycle (4b) gas core, open cycle

* Orion drive

1a) thermonuclear bomb, ablative pushed plate (1b) thermonuclear bomb, radiatively cooled pushed plate (2) thermonuclear bomb, magnetic sail (3) antimatter-activated thermonuclear bomb, magnetic sail

* Nuclear salt water rocket: I dunno, requires the 3rd level NTR and 1st leve orion drive techs?

* Nuclear Fusion,

1a) thermal rocket. An NTR that doesn't use fission, minimum engine size is huge. (2) direct drive fusion, interstellar type drive

* for both nuclear fission and fusion, a nuclear-electric drive, but this would probably be implemented as a seperate engine using electricity (and xenon, hydrogen, whatevs) and a reactor (or solar panels, or RTGs, whatevs)

 

 

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