What did you do in KSP1 today?

[steedcrugeon]

after yesterday's debacle I finally managed to achieve a configuration, with my limited tech, that allowed the Intrepid to burn for Duna. I had to thrust limit the poodle's to 50% as anything more ended in RUD.

[eddiew]

7 hours ago, kraden said:

@eddiew I've seen a couple different warp drives, who's do you have? Also yeah, that docking porport misalignment would drive me crazy.

That would be RoverDude's Alcubierre Drive   It's basically a massive cheat machine, but I like the idea that it would be reachable after my program has landed Kerbals nearly everywhere. 10k science has already come and gone just from my labs' outputs, but 100k may be further off... maybe. I'm just one of those players who stalls when there's nothing left on the tech tree, so getting that drive would mean a few hours of touring the system, then start a new career. Maybe it'll depend on how fast 1.2 comes around and how long my favourite mods take to update 

Also, I solved some of the docking ports with save file edits - the large ones were easily identifiable. Can't work out which of the small ones is the one I need to address, but I can eject that when I get back to Kerbin and send up another adaptor kit  

And happy day! Starcrossed station has finished all the Jool data from a month ago (real time) and moved on to the Moho expedition.

Edited September 21, 2016 by eddiew

[Martian Emigrant]

Boy. Am I chuffed.

http://imgur.com/a/wQOj5

After some trials and tribulation (No not the show).

I managed to get one of my Small SSTO to the Mun surface.

Unfortunately there wasn't enough fuel for a return trip. They were recovered.

After a small redesign, involving fuel, Callock was back in the saddle. Doesn't he look smart in those new uniforms?

With some help from MechJeb...

With the fuel economy provided by MechJeb and the redesign they could come back "The normal way". Though there was a lot of upper atmosphere aero-braking.

That concluded the small part. Then I began using what I learned. Still more to learn here. And started the Medium SSTO research using a clean slate and the MK2.

I figured if there is enough for the Mun there is enough for Minmus...And Minmus is easier to land on.

So.

No MechJeb this time. I did Actual Jeb did the landing.

What Bill?

........! .........! .....!

Bill says he was there and helped a lot. Jeb Couldn’t have managed it alone.

... ........ ... . ... ..!

Bill says that he is wearing the green suit ant that he planted a flag.

Small...Very small damages on landing back at Kerbin. Loss of most engines. No Kerbals lost. Success.

What is that Bill?

.....! .......! ......! .....

Bill says that Jeb did that on is own. He wouldn't listen and wanted to do a roll on short final.

But Bill the pictures show you in the left seat!

...! ....! .....! .....! ....! .....................! .... ...... ......!

Bill says he wasn't getting flying lessons. Jeb was flying from the right seat. ON IS OWN.

Small redesign involving struts. To avoid the unsightly engine droops thing.

Jeb and Bill score again.

... ... .. . ....!

Yes, I know you are there, on the Mun, in the green suit.

Is that your flag?

... . .. .....!

Nice.

Flying-coasting away I see this:

I though it was at the pole....I'll be back.

Bill?

.... ..... .... ....!

Bill says it's old hands. Seen it so often. Been there so so much.

So conclude the Medium SSTO research.

On to the Medium-Large research.

It kinda looks like a church pipe organ...So far.

 

ME

Edited September 21, 2016 by Martian Emigrant

[capi3101]

Had a little extra time this morning before I had to trudge off to the salt mine, so I fired up KSP. Being dissatisfied with the array of contracts being offered, I decided to go ahead and get the Beep-Beep 7 probe in orbit of Mun in its target orbit. Had to ditch the transfer stage after the Munar encounter, as I had to make some significant corrections to the probe's trajectory once I got there and burned up almost all of the remaining available fuel in the process. Fortunately, I had designed the probe itself with an overabundance of fuel, so that wasn't a problem. Ultimately did get the probe in position and fulfilled the contract. Am debating as to whether or not I want to take the contract to move it now into an insane orbit of Kerbin or not...

Got a rescue contract after that; launched a Gurney 7 rescue ship on what turned out to be a routine and successful retrieval (just wish I'd retrieved a scientist instead of an engineer). Managed to land the pod within 15 klicks of KSC to boot.

New array of contracts has got me putting something like eight or nine tourists on the Munar surface over three different contracts. I have a contract to build a space station around Mun, so now the wheels within my brains are churning. The one thing I don't have that I might want: regular-sized docking ports...

Edited September 21, 2016 by capi3101

[JadeOfMaar]

The dumpster divers at Fort NOX recovered a sidelined Mk3 SSTO concept sponsored by N5 Aerodynamics and Space. They wanted to see if they could make a Mk3 lift without Oxidizer, and knowing their engines, they did it. Two test flights of this highly experimental, highly unstable design took place. With just two Mk3 full length LF tanks it can make a good high orbit and probably return. And it's holding 60 tons of Oxidizer, not a drop of which is meant to be consumed. It's discovered, though, that for some reason the craft is quite prone to suffer rogue Body Lift in all its hull sections and and lose its heading... This problem wasn't even a wild thought with the reference craft. Maybe the sheer reduction in wing span exposed a previously recessed vulnerability? The reference craft had 6 stock space shuttle wings + Big S wing segments. This has little more than a couple of fins for proper aero.

[problemecium]

Today I hit Escape at the absolute last possible instant:

[LordFerret]

Catastrophic failure at 30km, staging gone awry. Boom. Capsule survives, but main chute is lost, only drogue chutes. Still falling too fast, capsule will never survive ocean landing. What to do? What to do??

EVA at the very last second before impact, and survive the fall. That's what to do. Done! Go figure.

[kraden]

8 hours ago, eddiew said:

That would be RoverDude's Alcubierre Drive   

I suspected as much  we tend to have similar taste in mods. Although I haven't downloaded any FTL mods, RoverDude's Alcubierre would be my pick. I'm still debating getting it, but considering where I am on the tech tree, I have plenty of time to decide. I figure I'd get OPM or something with a second solar system to give me new places to explore with the new drive. 

[septemberWaves]

@eddiew Perhaps it may be a good idea to put together a test assembly of large orbital constructions in the VAB before you launch all the modules. That way you can check that all the docking ports line up, as well as checking the total delta-v if whatever you're building has propulsion. I've gotten into the habit of doing this, and it's saved me a huge amount of unnecessary effort putting together rescue missions for stranded motherships.

[Van Disaster]

Found my old 0.13 zip, so went to Mun:

No maneuver nodes, no idea if your predicted trajectory will cross SoI boundaries until you get there, tracking station whut?... on the other hand the mad old ASAS which keeps you pointed in one direction no matter what you do.

[JP76]

I launched my first Relay satellite in 1.2 pre today! Plus it also completed a contract for the R&D dept to launch a satellite! 

The RDD ComSat 1 onboard my Orca 341 variant rocket!  

 

   

[Justin_Kerbal]

4 hours ago, LordFerret said:

Catastrophic failure at 30km, staging gone awry. Boom. Capsule survives, but main chute is lost, only drogue chutes. Still falling too fast, capsule will never survive ocean landing. What to do? What to do??

EVA at the very last second before impact, and survive the fall. That's what to do. Done! Go figure.

That's kind of like jumping at the last second to survive an elevator free falling!

[eddiew]

6 hours ago, kraden said:

I suspected as much  we tend to have similar taste in mods. Although I haven't downloaded any FTL mods, RoverDude's Alcubierre would be my pick. I'm still debating getting it, but considering where I am on the tech tree, I have plenty of time to decide. I figure I'd get OPM or something with a second solar system to give me new places to explore with the new drive. 

I have OPM, Kerbol Plus Remade, and Rald in my system atm, and I'm keeping an eye on this one maybe for 1.2:

 

...depends on compatibility with other packs really ^^  My thoughts for FTL is that you want to get them so late in your career that you don't miss anything.

 

5 hours ago, eloquentJane said:

@eddiew Perhaps it may be a good idea to put together a test assembly of large orbital constructions in the VAB before you launch all the modules. That way you can check that all the docking ports line up, as well as checking the total delta-v if whatever you're building has propulsion. I've gotten into the habit of doing this, and it's saved me a huge amount of unnecessary effort putting together rescue missions for stranded motherships.

I'm not usually that bad, I just have no idea how the docking port on the back of the mothership got rotated... maybe the VAB editor was fighting me a bit and it slipped through. It works fine, but it causes 'force roll' with MJ to snap to weird angles that are nothing to do with the layout of the ship  

As for the fuel line issues I had with this ship... I can't even figure those out. I removed some and now it works better? O_o 

Edited September 21, 2016 by eddiew

[JadeOfMaar]

Do you use subassemblies that contain fuel lines? The endpoints are known to be confused and reassigned when you open a subassembly.

[Firemetal]

Yesterday I built a Buran style space shuttle. Today, I perfected it.

[Bomaye]

While waiting for 1.2

[RX2000]

Just started a new 1.2 career game a couple days ago. Last night I put 3 relay satellites into orbit around Kerbin (not really to help with the CommNet, more for the money from the contracts. ) Tonight I'm gonna try to send Jebidiah on a trip to orbit the Mun, then will probably see if I can send a probe to land on it. Might try to set up a relay sat in orbit around the Mun first also, just in case.

[eddiew]

Meanwhile... a probe finally arrives at Sarin! Somewhere out beyond Sarnus, this did indeed take a while to get to. It's cold, blue, and its moon is... lumpy. And yes, yes, this is basically a clone of Sarnusulose, with some improved engines for even more insane range. 8700m/s left after achieving Pottus orbit.

Mission control parks it in a polar orbit for a while, because closer to the sun, other things are afoot...

Indeed, after a surprisingly long time, someone finally thought to hire the KSC to check Duna for ore. Initial results are optimistic. Whether Duna is really a great location for a fuel station is another question, since Ike is undeniably easier to get off of... but at least we know now.

Over the next 120 days, with the Odyssey's lab and Starcrossed station both working flat out on their vast treasure hoards of data, a crackpot sum of 20,000 science points are sent back home. The question the research team are trying to answer is how best to employ it all... options tabled so far:

1. Keep it! We need all we can get for our high energy physics project! Results? How can we have results before we start? But trust us, it'll be awesome.
2. Allocate the lot to our nuclear engines (with KR&D). An additional 400 ISP would put even the distant outer planets within the grasp of medium sized vessels! Did I hear someone ask for a spaceplane to Laythe and back?
3. Our aerospikes are still just the basic starter model. Another 30% ISP might let us get serious about exploring Eve's shorelines.
4. Complete the Near Future branch of the tech tree, and possibly beef up the thrust of the super efficient engines therein. While having nervas at 1600 ISP is tempting, some of the advanced NF engines are beyond anything that they could ever reach.
5. Cut some of the weight off our aerodynamic parts. Everyone knows that the sexiest ships look like planes, so we could make it easier to make planes!

(Ed: I'm open to suggestions! Kind of flapping my arms and wondering about my next big thing. Maybe I should go get the very last anomaly on Vall?)

 

1 hour ago, JadeOfMaar said:

Do you use subassemblies that contain fuel lines? The endpoints are known to be confused and reassigned when you open a subassembly.

No, I've had too much pain with that already. For some reason, when the upper ring was connected to the lower ring in a circle, all the engines preferred to drain out of the lower ring. Even though some of them were 'closer' to the upper. I didn't get it at all, but I connected the port side engines to the upper and the starboard to the lower, and now the drain is balanced as long as I don't lose an engine...

Edited September 21, 2016 by eddiew

[HazelPine]

Today I worked on my entry for the Kerbal Charter challenge, and things are not going well. Still have no idea why my planes get stuck in attitude, and so random. I think FAR is bugging with the procedural wings, but then again, I can just remove FAR, since I want the wings... crashed way more than I'm used to with an airplane.

 

The ReefCraft Mk1 - Way to unstable, got attitude stuck whenever over 60 m/s

 

ReefCraft Mk2 - A bit better, but pull either up or down uncontrollably, WHEN it can even be bothered to get off the ground. At least no attitude lock!

I exited KSP at this point.

 

[kraden]

5 hours ago, eddiew said:

I have OPM, Kerbol Plus Remade, and Rald in my system atm, and I'm keeping an eye on this one maybe for 1.2:

 

...depends on compatibility with other packs really ^^  My thoughts for FTL is that you want to get them so late in your career that you don't miss anything.

I have my eye on that one as well.  @Galileo makes some pretty good looking stuff.  I've avoided any planet mods thus far to encourage myself to completely explore the stock system first, however I really like the idea of having a bigger system and some of those planets and moons look really sweet.

As far as FTL, I feel like it can easily be a cheat if acquired to early or if it is over powered.  I watched a video showing someone using the one you have and I like the principal of the thing.  High power requirements and as it moves space and not the ship, your velocity remains the same when you drop out of warp.  Seems pretty awesome to me.

[JadeOfMaar]

That moment when you really love your parts mods, but then that epic stock thing happens. Saw a thread asking for stock alien ships and I thought... I just made an alien thing with mods. Can I make without?

 

[Superfluous J]

I didn't play at all, but I did work on a little modding project...

 

[eddiew]

44 minutes ago, 5thHorseman said:

I didn't play at all, but I did work on a little modding project...

That's enough to stir the hearts of poets and warriors alike. And by hearts, I mean loins.

[DunaRocketeer]

I made a collection of pics showing Val and Neldon Kerman's trip to the surface of Laythe. A little rover deployed from the base of the lander let them see the sights and collect additional science. This was the highlight of the trip for the two intrepid kerbonauts. After years of hopping around airless moons, a couple of weeks on an ocean world was just the ticket.

The Jool Mothership is too valuable to discard, so I'm making a station for it and other vehicles to dock with. It will serve as a waystation for all interplanetary journeys. The core station is complete, save for extra life support and an escape pod. Now I just need to add a string of propellant tanks for all of those visiting vehicles...

[steedcrugeon]

I discovered Nuclear rockets (I have self imposed a Science mode on myself to introduce the aspects of KSP slow time. i use the sand box mode to build and test Planes, space-planes, boats and SSTO's at the minute).

 

Goodness me they are a game changer for missions to just about anywhere!