high ISP rockets are unusable without acceleration warp.

[1096bimu]

I have this beautiful Laythe return mission, but this whole thing weighs 230 tones and has a max acceleration of only 1.5m/s. To intercept Jool, I need a 30 minute burn, and since the ship is so heavy and has 2 docking connections, I can't use 4x physics warp, even 2x is unreliable. But I'm not gonna sit around and watch this thing burn for 30 minutes through empty space. I rather just add 2000m/s to it with hyperedit, but I also want to test my engineering, to see if it really has the correct amount of delta-v.

There should really be an acceleration warp function, which would work at very high altitudes, such as orbiting the Sun. The way it works is you just enter the amount of deltaV you want to expend, and it instantly add in the correct amount of time and velocity while subtracting fuel.

[macegee]

The problem is that you have only one engine. Use multiple.

And I kinda find it amusing that you'd rather use hyperedit instead of MJ or EngineeringRedux for delta-v testing.

[Nullspace250]

I like to build a totally OP lifter and then use the lifter engines to get to other places

Im stayimg on kerbin because i visited averything, so i make random realistic spacecraft and send them to mun.

I might go to Bop tough...

[kahlzun]

You've way overbuilt that.. if you're having issues with docking wobble, quantum struts are probably your best bet.

[1096bimu]

The problem is that you have only one engine. Use multiple.

And I kinda find it amusing that you'd rather use hyperedit instead of MJ or EngineeringRedux for delta-v testing.

MJ doesn't give me the real delta V because of the complex staging merged from 3 separate vehicles and the jet engines being used at their launch. Also because the lander will come back with less weight, this cannot be accurately accounted for.

more engines=more weight=less delta V, I already have way too much weight. Plus it won't look as good, I want some design freedom for aesthetics.

I know quantum struts and I actually have them, but making it stable will only allow me to use 4x warp which means I still have to stare at it running through fuel for like 10 minutes, which is totally boring and unfun.

I think what I'm gonna do, is just go and quadrupole the thrust on all these high ISP stuff. It's not like I'm ever gonna use them in atmosphere anyway.

Edited June 1, 2013 by 1096bimu

[ComradeGoat]

Some options:

A) use MOAR nukes.

keep hold of your final orbital insertion stage, refuell it in LKO, use it as an initial departure stage (I did this a lot in 0.19)

C) put up with the half hour burn. Go make a cup of tea, have a sandwich, whatever.

ETA:

D) variant on B: bring up a departure stage consisting of high thrust rockets and fuel, attach it, use that to depart LKO, jettison it when it burns out and finish your burn on the NERVA

Edited June 1, 2013 by ComradeGoat

[The Destroyer]

I got a perfect soloution: Cheat Engine. It's free, your AV may detect its a virus- technically it is a virus to a program to hack it.

But anyway, it has a speed warp feature. It dosen't effect physics, so you can go 10X speed with no problems. Assign hotkeys for easy control.

Tada

[MBobrik]

My Laythe express used a ring of six nukes...

[CosmicX1]

I remember hearing about an Alarm clock mod that will pause your game after a given time. This would allow you to leave the burn going for 30 mins and then come back to find it done!

[Sephta]

I don't see the point... yes, high-ISP/low-thrust engines need some burn time. But that's how it is... it's called rocket-science In relation to the duration of the journey, the burn times are minimal! (30 minute burn for a journey lasting some months? should be Ok)

Also: going to orbit takes around 10 minutes for me - so anyone going to the rim planets should be able to wait half an hour for a burn. My tip: don't use ion-drives, burntimes there count for hours!

[Akalaël]

The fact is : you can't combine efficient ISP AND efficient thrust.

Unless you edit the .cfg file.

But try to make an engine with 1500 kN thrust, 5000 ISP, and you'll see, the game as no more interrest !

I agree with the proposals that were made : Alarm Clock can pause your game at a determinate time, and MechJeb can follow your vector better than you can.

Then it's Alarm Clock and MechJeb that are actually playing, not you, but it's an other debate...

[RoboRay]

Efficiency is not achieved merely by using a single high-Isp engine, but also by minimizing vessel mass.

The source of your "unusable without timewarp“ complaint is more about the sheer mass of your vehicle than about the engine itself.

In any case, a second engine is almost always worth adding, as it doubles your thrust. Beyond that, diminishing returns begin to kick in.

Edited June 1, 2013 by RoboRay

[SoldierHair]

I have the same problem.I over did the interplanetary stage.It has ~8500 Liquid Fuel and ~10 000 Oxidizer , 150 tons of pure delta/v.The only problem is that it has only 1 nuclear engine.A 1000m/s burn is around 20-25 minutes.

Right now i am waiting to get into a stabble orbit around Eve , 20 minutes to go.Yay....

[ForumHelper]

I have a ship with 4 nuclear engines and ~8000 liqud fuel and it still takes ages to move around. I have to start my burns about 15 minutes before the node.

[magnemoe]

The problem is that you have only one engine. Use multiple.

And I kinda find it amusing that you'd rather use hyperedit instead of MJ or EngineeringRedux for delta-v testing.

This ship I used on the grand tour, it uses 6 large moded nuclear engines.

TWR without the miner and lander is actually larger than one, follow put craft had 8 engines but lower twr as it carried more onboard fuel. The grand tour ship had less fuel capacity than the miner.

[AmpsterMan]

To OP: I realise that you want some freedom for aesthetic purposes, but the only solution you really have is to spend the thirty minutes or send up more boosters with fuel tanks.

[nyrath]

The fact is : you can't combine efficient ISP AND efficient thrust.

Not with stock parts, at any rate.

This holds true In Real Life as well, there seems to be an inverse relationship between Isp and Thrust.

There are a couple of theoretical propulsion systems that have both high Isp and high thrust, but they are kind of extreme and none of them have even come close to being prototyped. They include the Orion project nuclear bomb drive, beam-core antimatter, and Zubrin's infamous nuclear salt water rocket.

[leax256]

I like to build a totally OP lifter and then use the lifter engines to get to other places

Im stayimg on kerbin because i visited averything, so i make random realistic spacecraft and send them to mun...

I built a lifter that got 13.5K units of fuel into orbit around the mün. the payload was meant to only be 5k

[NeoMorph]

The problem is that you have only one engine. Use multiple.

And I kinda find it amusing that you'd rather use hyperedit instead of MJ or EngineeringRedux for delta-v testing.

According to the conspiracy theorists, Neil Armstrong used Hyperedit.

[John FX]

My Laythe express used a ring of six nukes...

I`ve used that combo. I like the way it has a nice 50s scifi charm to it.

[steveman0]

That kind of distance on 1 nuke engine? Wow, I use three just for my Mun transfer stage...

[ComradeGoat]

I'm building a Laythe station plus lander mission. Massive thing, loads of launches to build it. Am thinking of using _16_ nukes to move it (and jettisoning 12 of them part way through the burn).

[Vanamonde]

Mostly due to physics slowdown, my big interplanetary ship can take over an hour to make a Jool transit burn. I alt-tab and poke around the internet while it's running, checking back now and then to make sure it hasn't blown up or drifted off heading. It's just part of the game.

[8bitbeard]

I did a burn with a deep space probe to escape the Sun's orbit. The probe had a single ion engine. It took over an hour.

[Valanthe]

As has been said above, your only hope is to either redesign your ship, or use a combination MechJeb/Kerbal Alarm Clock. Other than that, I suppose you could always play in windowed mode and browse the internet while you wait, just don't forget to check in on your ship from time to time in case of spontaneous unplanned disassembly.