Deep Space Methalox Engines...Are Terrible

[steveman0]

2 hours ago, Scarecrow71 said:

I spent 2800 science points to get them; they should give me some benefit that makes me want to use them other than "You may get some fuel efficiency out of them, even though they are heavier and have lower thrust".

But, you know, I'm playing the game wrong.  

I never said you're playing the game wrong, I said you are failing to optimize your mission. There is no wrong way to play the game. There is however several ways to optimize your mission. Principally, lowest mass / highest dV. You are making the claim that these engines are terrible yet are failing to recognize they are a more optimal engine choice in a number of scenarios. You are of course free to ignore the optimal strategy and build some other Kerbal solution, but it's incorrect to say that the engines don't have a purpose.

In several of your engine comparisons, the deep space engine will provide more dV for less ovall craft mass. Taken to the largest craft designs, the ISP advantage will result in higher dV, lower mass, and higher craft TWR in vacuum due to the efficiency advantage. This makes them absolutely worth the science spent on them when you build craft for these scenarios.

It's important to note that tier 4 is entering part scales for colonies and early interstellar. Analyzing all of these parts in only the context of simple interplanetary missions will give the wrong impression. You must remember the context for their use. The deep space engines as their name implies are optimized as a kind of methalox equivalent to a higher thrust version of the ion engines for carrying payload efficiently to deep space.

Edited March 16 by steveman0

[Darta01]

4 hours ago, Scarecrow71 said:

I love that the simple answer anyone ever gets is "You are playing the game wrong".  In a game that is all but explicitly defined as being able to play any way you want, making a comment about what someone perceives in the game is simply playing it wrong. 

You're not playing the entire game wrong in the sense that you can play whatever the way you want. However you are complaining about the characteristics of an object that, indeed, you're using wrong, and then you say this object is terrible.

To give an example in another game, it would be the same as using a shield in Skyrim to punch your ennemies with, and complaining it deals less damage than other weapons of similar value. Of course it is inefficient, because it is not meant for this purpose. In KSP as in real life, deep space engines are not meant to perform maneuvers requiring high TWR, that doesn't mean there are "terrible".

If you don't want to perform 10 minutes long burns (even if you can burn under time warp), that's you're choice, and low TWR engines are not meant for you