Rookie seeking answers to a few general-ish questions :)

[CreeperShift]

Hey there! I'm about to update to 0.2 and thought it's time for a real playthrough after much testing and failing trying to figure this game out all by myself. I have a couple of questions that I haven't been able to figure out, I hope you guys don't mind me asking

1. Let's talk struts. Do they like, break off when I connect something that will be decoupled? Can they mess up anything? Or should I just use as many as possible to improve stability? (I've noticed my bigger rockets are far more stable that way, no accidents as of yet) Can they possibly break something while decoupling?

2. Those adapter thingies, which go from small-ish to large in one piece, do they improve stability? Should I always be using those to connect smaller pieces to larger pieces? Like a larger-ish fuel tank to an atomic engine, or is that not needed?

3. Docking: I've only tried it a few times and managed to finally assemble my so-far 2 part space station (don't judge me , it took forever), and I noticed that when I have like a small rocket with a decoupler and the "space-station part" with a docking port, and I connect it, I can't figure out how to decouple the rocket from the part while it's docked to the space station :/. Is there a way to do this or do I need to decouple before docking?

4. Is an interplanetary spaceplane possible/viable? I was so happy when I saw you can also construct planes but most of what I tried didn't even lift off, especially the heavier ones :/ I've wanted to make a plane like that ever since I started with this game but not sure it's even possible?

Thanks! I probably have 1-2 more specific questions but I think I already forgot them while I was typing :/

[Ben Kerman]

First off, it's 0.20 and not 0.2. 0.2 was way before the first public release (which was 0.7 or something like that)

As to your questions:

1. When you decouple, struts connecting the remaining and decoupled parts of the vessel will disappear (apart from the end/beginning markers).
   €: Using many struts is always a good idea, but don't over-use, otherwise your rockets will just look ugly.
   
2. As far as I know, no they don't have any impact on stability, they're just for the looks.
   
3. Right click on the decoupler. Generally you can say: If you don't know how a part works, just right click, that makes most things work.
   
4. It is possible, but SSTOs (Single Stage To Orbit, in case you didn't know) are considered the hardest thing to do by many players, especially when they have to go beyond LKO. Doesn't mean it's impossible, though.
   €²: As for the not lifting off thing, have you matched your Center of Mass and Center of Lift? And do you have enough engine power and lift for take-off?
   Also, the aerodynamics of KSP are crap, though that will get fixed in the nearish future.
   

Edited May 25, 2013 by Ben Kerman

[tempes156]

My first off would be if you have successfully managed docking and have a smallish spacestation...you are no longer a 'Rookie'. Henceforth you are dubbed 'Kerbalnaut'.

1. Struts are good; just remember...they add weight. They degrade fps the more you have. Look-up quantum struts, he updated to .20 compatible.

2. I love aesthetics...some of my ships have to be ugly going up, but most I try to go sleek, even if it adds parts and weight. Adapters to me would also include stage decouplers and such and they smooth out your visual of your ship by adding in the fake/visual structural 'tube'.

3. Answered above.

4. SSTOs are tough little buggers, especially for me. There was a nifty old mod the Xcalibur (not the new one) that would go from launch pad to Jool easy, but it was way OP.

Good luck Kerbalnaut!

[CreeperShift]

My first off would be if you have successfully managed docking and have a smallish spacestation...you are no longer a 'Rookie'. Henceforth you are dubbed 'Kerbalnaut'.

1. Struts are good; just remember...they add weight. They degrade fps the more you have. Look-up quantum struts, he updated to .20 compatible.

2. I love aesthetics...some of my ships have to be ugly going up, but most I try to go sleek, even if it adds parts and weight. Adapters to me would also include stage decouplers and such and they smooth out your visual of your ship by adding in the fake/visual structural 'tube'.

3. Answered above.

4. SSTOs are tough little buggers, especially for me. There was a nifty old mod the Xcalibur (not the new one) that would go from launch pad to Jool easy, but it was way OP.

Good luck Kerbalnaut!

Yay! I feel honored . It took me at least a hundred tries to get damn tiny spacestation up there and dock the small part .

I'll be checking out quantum struts, thanks!

To 2. so they don't actually do anything besides looking good? Dang I thought the small parts connecting to larger parts had some kind of connection, that my wobble problems would sometimes come from that. Dang

First off, it's 0.20 and not 0.2. 0.2 was way before the first public release (which was 0.7 or something like that)

As to your questions:

1. When you decouple, struts connecting the remaining and decoupled parts of the vessel will disappear (apart from the end/beginning markers).
   €: Using many struts is always a good idea, but don't over-use, otherwise your rockets will just look ugly.
   
2. As far as I know, no they don't have any impact on stability, they're just for the looks.
   
3. Right click on the decoupler. Generally you can say: If you don't know how a part works, just right click, that makes most things work.
   
4. It is possible, but SSTOs (Single Stage To Orbit, in case you didn't know) are considered the hardest thing to do by many players, especially when they have to go beyond LKO. Doesn't mean it's impossible, though.
   €²: As for the not lifting off thing, have you matched your Center of Mass and Center of Lift? And do you have enough engine power and lift for take-off?
   Also, the aerodynamics of KSP are crap, though that will get fixed in the nearish future.
   

Ups, didn't realize there it's 0.20 Thanks for pointing that out.

1. Alright, awesome! I'll continue to strut up everything I can then ))

2. Dang that's a bummer

3. Aw stupid me, didn't try that out. Gonna do that the next time I dock something! Dunno why I didn't think of that Thanks!

4. Ah so I'll probably save that up for later when I have loads of time, seems like something I'll need more experience for. Thanks for telling me it's not impossible tho! I'll get it done someday, hopefully.

I'll have to go through some of the awesome tutorials especially on CoM and CoL etc, I guess my problem was mainly the CoM being really bad . And yeah, I noticed that aerodynamics are a bit wonky, even simple airplanes seem to behave weird sometimes . Good thing it's not JUST my inexperience!

Thanks for the help guys, really appreciate it!

[Specialist290]

I would like to point out that "Single Stage to Orbit" and "spaceplane" are not exactly the same. You can have an SSTO design that's all VTVL rocket, and you can have spaceplanes that are launched from the top of multi-stage rockets.

But yes, both spaceplanes and practical SSTO craft are quite difficult to design and fly effectively.

[georgTF]

1. Yes, decouplers, separatrons and docks will remove connections between struts once the craft is split. In .19 the strut pieces are still visible but have no mass or whatever. Exit to KSC then select the craft from the tracking center and fly it again, the struts will be fully removed. Going nuts with struts isn't all that important. A few well placed struts will improve rigidity a lot.

2. They look nice but you don't have to use them at all. In fact, try to use as few pieces as possible. Adapters are usually lightweight and sturdy though, so you can't lose either way.

3. Noone is judging. Learning is all about finding a better way to do things and that naturally demotes previous attempts into inferiority, but there's no shame in that. To separate stuff or split parts off use either a decoupler or a separatron. The difference is that a decoupler will remain attached while the separatron does not. It explodes both ways. You can also build 2 connected docking ports in the VAB, use struts to secure rigidity, then undock once you're in space.

4. Rockets can be made powerfull enough to have loads of fuel remaining after ascent. Spaceplanes rely on air as "free" fuel but run out of this luxury around 20km altitude. From there they must have enough rocket fuel and thrust to complete orbital injection. As you can imagine, this works best is the craft is lightweight so usually spaceplanes will have just enough fuel to achieve orbit but nothing else.

Interplanetrary travel is not as demanding as ascending through Kerbin's athmosphere so once refueled, spaceplanes can indeed go places. The only requirement is refuelling them. If they lack delta-V to get somewhere on their own, may need to use a tug and tow one. A fair warning that spaceplane design is by far the most frustrating aspect of KSP. Fun yes, but frustrating.

[Ruedii]

Since everyone has given rather complete answers to question 1-3, I'll just cover 4: interplanetary space planes.

From what I've heard, the secret to interplanetary space planes is two fold:

1: Use multiple engines. A nuclear rocket can be very good for interplanetary travel, but it won't have enough thrust in the atmosphere. I recommend Aerospikes for in-atmosphere maneuvers. You can use jet engines, but you need to kill their throttle before they shutdown from lack of intake air. Try using an action group for that. (The blue icon with the gears brings up a menu can tie actions to the number keys.)

2: Dock and refuel at a space station.

Still I recommend getting a lot of practice before trying it. You can send some nice probes out. 0.20 has some new larger probe cores that are really nice, and let you make better probe lander. This is great for practicing entry and landing on various planets.

As of other things that you can experiment relating to space planes:

1. There is nothing preventing your space plane from taking off vertically.

2. You should learn how parachutes change the behavior of your planes when attached to different points. This can make it much easier to land on planets with thin atmospheres, if you learn to do it right. (It also can let you splash-down a plane safely if you can't get to a runway.)

3. You should practice reentry a LOT. It is the most difficult part. You can also practice trying to recover from various flat spins. If you don't like killing your poor pilots you can put in ejector systems or use probe cores to control your vehicle.

4. If you want more realistic drag and lift models you should try the FAR community plugin. As was said by others they will eventually be implementing better drag and lift, but this plug-in can help until then. It also lets you adjust several things like the sensitivity of control surfaces.