Lessons learned the hard way...

[MaverickSawyer]

This thread is for those moments when you learn the hard way you shouldn/t have done something in KSP. I'll lead with this example:

I was bringing Jeb back down to a spalshdown, and decided to EVA jeb, expecting him to hold onto the ladder. Nope! He falls 208 meters and impacts into the ocean.

[Aescwulf]

I've learnt that I should lock stages because on my decent to Mun I accidently pressed space bar and ejected everything also learnt to stage things properly aswell ( radial tanks ejected, main engine ejected and capsule ejected )

[Ghery88]

EVA on Duna: Jeb dies from a few meter fall.

Improper staging: Landig stage ends up as debris en route to Mun. Sepratrons and decouplers fire in the wrong order -> BOOM!

Warping: left RCS and SAS on. RCS ran out before landing.

[draeath]

I've learnt that I should lock stages because on my decent to Mun I accidently pressed space bar and ejected everything also learnt to stage things properly aswell ( radial tanks ejected, main engine ejected and capsule ejected )

You can lock stages!? How?

[ManaaniWanderer]

I want to know how to lock stages as well.

As for lessons learned the hard way-make sure engines are shut off before jettisoning them.

[ddavis425]

Lock stages = Alt+L. Hope that saves you some trouble.

[Astronomer]

Forgetting that it's an orbital mission, not a land-return one (yet I landed and returned anyway [without any gears (with joy and tears)])...

[SirTipiET]

I tried to take off from water with radial thrusters...

don't even think about it.

(airplane)

[opticalshadow]

make sure your landign gear actually extends farther then your engine.

make sure your ladders actually get the kerbals back to the cockpit before you leave the planet.

dont let jeb attempt to fix anything, ever.

[Ted]

Make sure you look at which button your pressing. Clicking 'EVA' instead of 'IVA' during an interplanetary burn can lead to some stranded crewmembers..

[Tommyrocket]

Do not try to see if you can land a heavier spacecraft on top of another landed spacecraft on the Mun...

[Aescwulf]

Make sure you look at which button your pressing. Clicking 'EVA' instead of 'IVA' during an interplanetary burn can lead to some stranded crewmembers..

Lol I wish I could of seen that

[Moeceefus]

First hard lesson I learned was to always have a decoupler under your pod and parachute, rather than under that and your RCS tank, final stage rocket and landing gear. Stupid I know, but I was rushing to launch my first time around.

[opticalshadow]

First hard lesson I learned was to always have a decoupler under your pod and parachute, rather than under that and your RCS tank, final stage rocket and landing gear. Stupid I know, but I was rushing to launch my first time around.

to this day i still run into staging mistakes. its something i just dont really think about until im facepalming

[MaverickSawyer]

to this day i still run into staging mistakes. its something i just dont really think about until im facepalming

Life of a Kerbalnaut.

[zapy97]

when landing on eve parashutes can destroy the entire craft...

also never herp-derp and set seperatrons up so they fire inward instean of out ward, so your rocket implodes

[Pingonaut]

Make sure you look at which button your pressing. Clicking 'EVA' instead of 'IVA' during an interplanetary burn can lead to some stranded crewmembers..

Yeah, I did that. Poor Bill never saw it coming.

Mine is learning that you shouldn't burn retrograde immediately after staging. (I unintentionally docked violently into my debris and became even more debris)

[TheDarkStar]

I remember my first Eve landing. I forgot landing gear, and the small inner part with the engine was pushed upwards, tearing apart the craft.

I've learned that you only want the minimum of separating boosters, otherwise you get massive lag.

[zapy97]

I remember my first Eve landing. I forgot landing gear, and the small inner part with the engine was pushed upwards, tearing apart the craft.

I've learned that you only want the minimum of separating boosters, otherwise you get massive lag.

lol i bade a craft messing with its weight to size ratio and it became boyent bouncing up and down on near the ground

[0jam3290]

Ive learned to never trust a 400m/s to 50m/s Duna final landing aerobrake to parachutes alone. RIP Kuirosity 2,3,+4

[lucidLemon]

Bravely stepping foot on a new world...

No ladder back up.

[LaydeeDem]

Never use RCS to kill lateral velocity.

[nhnifong]

If you send an entire fleet of ships to the Joolian system in one night, you will be late to work the next day.

[Xeo]

Never use RCS to kill lateral velocity.

I do not get it. I do this almost every time and I have never got into any trouble. But I do remember my first Mun landings before landing legs, when I didn't know how to translate with rcs ... hardest thing I've ever done in KSP.

If you send an entire fleet of ships to the Joolian system in one night, you will be late to work the next day.

Totally agreed. I remember when 0.15 (if I remember well) was just released, I immediately sent some ships to explore Minmus ... Slept maybe two hours that night ^^

And my turn now : one of the first lessons I learnt when I launched my fist few orbiters is to never, absolutely never stage heading prograde during re-entry ... or you are going to have a bad time when you will deploy the chutes !

[mustwinfull]

I need to remember to throttle down before I try and jettison my engines and fuel tanks and also that I can't be trusted in EVA mode in deep space.