How did you learn?

[rustylugnut]

I'm not sure if i'm experienced enough to be telling people how to gain experienced, hell, I don't even have the full game. Anyway, I got the demo in the beginning of April. I played for a few days, then just kinda forgot about it. About a week ago, I got re-interested in it. I think the demo tutorials were about the best thing i watched. I got to the mun for the first time just a few days ago. Long story short, The in-game tutorials were the best for me. Oh,ya, The wiki tutorials aren't bad, either

[3_bit]

I've been playing for about 7 months now and I am totally pro. no Dv calculators or MechJeb rendezvous landings here... I can land with pinpoint accuracy and dock at lightning speeds.

[The Ideal Gas Lawyer]

It took a long time to get from failing to get into orbit with this deathtrap:

To succeeding in reaching Jool and more with this:

I'm going to go out on a limb and say that repeated failure isn't that helpful, particularly with the core concepts. If it never occurs to you to you that you needs tons of horizontal speed to orbit and you keep pushing higher and higher yet still fail you'll get frustrated and quit. Watch some videos and do some reading to get set. Scott Manley's Munshot tutorial is fantastic and should get you where you need to be. Trial and error is much more useful for fine tuning your skills in situations where you can recognize what went wrong and fix it the next time around.

[3_bit]

Learning KSP is the gradual process of making rockets that are less and less catastrophically bad, and then you try bigger ones that fail in whole new ways. I've been playing the game for almost a year, and this is what my last 2 weeks have mostly looked like:

there is a difference between "art" and "rocket science".

[Noticeably FAT]

Lots of trial, more error. Watched a lot of youtube for hints, got a lot of help from the forums. But mostly I blew stuff up until it stopped blowing up.

[zekes]

Lots of Kerbs died.

[Jason Patterson]

The most important bit of orbital mechanics that you need to know is that to get into orbit you've got to go up and then turn right. You don't just burn upward, make it to space, then magically not fall back down onto the ground. Instead you've got to be whizzing along so fast sideways that you fall continuously and just keep missing the planet.

If you practice with the stock rockets you should be able to learn how to get into orbit. When you design your own, you'll screw up quite a bit, but you will wind up with something that works sooner or later.

[Gniuz]

lots of trail and error, also read the reports when it does all go t*ts up as this will give you an idea of where the problem started. Start small just launch and come back down in one piece, then maybe aim to hit a high altitude. Then when you feel like you have some of the basics under control go for orbit. Best of luck.

G.

[Themac]

Lol, learning the game is a chalange, I only have it for a week now (bought it end of april) and am playing my ass of at times. At my 1st succesfull mun landing i woke up my GF to show her that's how proud i was! (it was like 3AM ).

It seems that you have to do everything wrong at least 1 time, when trying to start a spacestation i noticed i had forgotten docking ports on the 1st part after trying to doc for half an hour I've yet to save my kerbal on the Mun who's out of fuel Spacedebris is becomming an actual issue with launches atm and so many kerbals have died valianly trying to go where no kerbal has gone before.

Basicly, The best advice i can give is "babysteps" try to get a clean launch 1st, then try a launch and an orbit, then try a launch and a perfect orbit (like 1k) Then try a polar orbit (to you learn how to switch orbits etc). Then try reaching Mun\Minmus and returning (no landing yet), then try to land on mun/minmus and return (thats what i'm still working on:P) And then you can muck around with docking, creating applolo style Munar landings (with command module and lander), spacestations, Planetary missions etc.

My main issue now is that i can land a 1 man lander on mun with no problem and return. but in order to save Bill who's stranded there i need a 3 man pod to reach it and get back...

Tbh, i've started to respect NASA a whole lot more for not losing a man in space still

[LeonG17]

3 words, Trial and Error. Mainly error in spectacular explosions.

[Noticeably FAT]

The most important bit of orbital mechanics that you need to know is that to get into orbit you've got to go up and then turn right. You don't just burn upward, make it to space, then magically not fall back down onto the ground. Instead you've got to be whizzing along so fast sideways that you fall continuously and just keep missing the planet.

If you practice with the stock rockets you should be able to learn how to get into orbit. When you design your own, you'll screw up quite a bit, but you will wind up with something that works sooner or later.

So you're saying the trick to flying a rocket is to throw it at Kerbin, and miss?

[rryy]

When I first started, I didn't even know how the navball worked, but after watching some videos of KSP, I just caught on. Of course, I still sucked and built my rockets way too big, and it wasn't until 0.17 came out that I began to get better at the game.

[LeonG17]

I still sucked and built my rockets way too big

Everyone done that when we started, it's like a murphy's law about rockets. "You will always build your rocket too big and complex at the start and they will explode spectacularly."

[Windchild]

Watching Scott Manley and HOCgaming...

Doing the Math to see if what I made should work...

Building a great abort system

I'm wondering, am I the only one who hasn't killed a Kerbal yet? (and haven't done a single probe based launch...)

Over 100 launches, no deaths (no quicksaves used except when Kerbin decided it didn't want to load...)

[Tokay Gris]

My first failures looked pretty much like this...

That's actually pretty close. Suprisingly close...

[Flixxbeatz]

Stacking pieces, few tutorials, and then stacking pieces.

Also, it's preferable to learn things by yourself, since some tutorials won't always go out like as intended.

[Nuke]

i learned everything from orbiter.

[capi3101]

I'm wondering, am I the only one who hasn't killed a Kerbal yet? (and haven't done a single probe based launch...)

Over 100 launches, no deaths (no quicksaves used except when Kerbin decided it didn't want to load...)

You really shouldn't try to jinx yourself like that...

show-off

[zarakon]

I started back when there were not nearly as many parts (no planes, no probes, not much structural) so it was much more simple to pick up. Also there was no Mun yet, so orbiting or escaping Kerbin were the only 2 things to really do. Getting to the Mun and other planets I figured out as they added them, so my pace has really just been dictated by the pace of updates to the game

These forums have been the best resource. Youtube taught me a few things. Trying out challenges in the Challenges forum has definitely improved my skills

[LeonG17]

Mechjeb can be good to learn how to create orbits and perform landings or any of its other possibility's by watching it and trying to replicate the results with it off.

[TriggerAu]

Played the tutorials, tried some launches with the example ships, then started building my own. This also got me interested in the way it works and better understanding from reading more and more and more...

Best lesson I have learned is that sometimes less is better, the number of times I've wasted launch after launch adding extra fuel/engines to a rocket to a bad design, only to discover that simplifying it has been an improvement is a little disconcerting. so "moar booosters" isn't always the answer...but is akways more fun

[sal_vager]

Trial and lots of error mostly, just seeing what worked and what didn't and trying to get higher each time, then trying to get a better orbit each time.

I'm a good pilot now even though I don't bother with the mathematics behind orbiting, practice enough and you just get a feel for it

[AddMeGamers]

Hi im new here and got Kerbal Space Program on steam. This might seem a silly stupid question to some but how did you learn and at what stages and how to remember what goes where?. I have watched many youtube video etc but still can not seem to get pass the 1st tutorial bit with out exploding my ship. I can do a basic ship that is it then I fail. Command Module, Parachute, Decoupler under the command module and add fule or just that rocket like in the tutorial. Other then that when I try and do anything else it don't seem to work. I no its me and not the programme so how did you all learn and never mind making bases and rovers. lol.

hey

, great tutorials for new ppl to ksp .

[Malaugrym]

Hi im new here and got Kerbal Space Program on steam. This might seem a silly stupid question to some but how did you learn and at what stages and how to remember what goes where?. I have watched many youtube video etc but still can not seem to get pass the 1st tutorial bit with out exploding my ship. I can do a basic ship that is it then I fail. Command Module, Parachute, Decoupler under the command module and add fule or just that rocket like in the tutorial. Other then that when I try and do anything else it don't seem to work. I no its me and not the programme so how did you all learn and never mind making bases and rovers. lol.

How did I learn? Same exact way you are. Found the game, built rockets, exploded constantly for a week or so, trolled youtube, found Scott Manley, watched every single KSP video he made, exploded some more, more youtube/KSP forums, more exploding. Eventually I'd get a bit higher than the last time before I ran into another mission ending error caused by my awful designs. After a while I'd run into most of the common things that ruin missions, accounted for them, and boarded the gravy train. After that it was "Ok, this worked, but why?." Now I'm on the math part but that isn't relevant.

[MDBenson]

A combination of trial and error, following the NASA model from the 50s (baby steps, one thing at a time) and some good mods (MechJeb 2.0 is a godsend, Crew Manifset, Sub-assembly Saver and KW rocketry particularely) and being a fairly heavily into space and rocketry stuff beforehand anyway. Still it's a gradual thing but if you approach it logically. Learn what went wrong, work around it and look at real rocket systems for ideas. I am still learning a lot, especially about launch systems, but I have the stuff to hand to relatively successfully launch manned orbital flights and also assemble a modest space station on orbit. I am finding it very interesting and fun and I've learned a hell of a lot more about a topic I already am very interested in so it's been a blast (sometimes literally).

Persevere is the important point. There's a reason the popular saying 'it ain't exactly rocket science' exists.