Grr this game is frustrating the hell out of me

[Bigred2989]

Parts that are my fault will be obvious, but here goes:

I'm trying to get some parts up to my space station: a large orange fuel tank and a medium sized RCS fuel dump. I've been trying to use the Zenith launchers I've found on the Spacecraft Exchange, but they can be a pain I have found to work with. Some of them have the probe on the top node of the ASAS so anything that you put on top is balanced on the probe like it's the head of a pin, making securing the cargo a pain. I went through sever iterations and even after I fixed the wobble I ran into another problem: The ship won't pitch during the gravity turn. Because of some weird torque on the cargo it stays stuck facing directly up. I do a whole re-do of the design, I try to launch and the game crashes and I never saved so I have to start over .

Eventually I say **** it and use LAztec's Falcon 9 to try to launch it. I build the thing and discover to my horror that the launcher has an off center of lift, even without the cargo. It wasn't there before because I managed to get something else up without an issue so I can only think something happend to the craft file.

I've given up for the day, so in the end I got NOTHING done with my space station. ;_;. I'll admit I'm used to using a lot of designs I "borrow" from the forums, but I've never had this much trouble when I do even small redesigns.

[OtherDalfite]

The best advice I can offer you is to take a break. Find another game and play it for a bit, then when you are bored, come back to KSP. If you're getting crashes a lot, take a look at the Support section of the forum and see if you can get some help with your crashes.

[Bigred2989]

I think it's crashing because I keep going between the launchpad and the VAB every 2 minutes. I'm pushing the game to the limits of it's memory and I have plenty of RAM BTW.

[AustralianFries]

Like OtherDalfite said, take a break and chill out. When it all comes down to it, it's just a game. Why don't you make your own crafts for a change? If you can't get those to work, practice practice practice. You learn the game better as you learn to fix things in vessels you've created.

Edited June 17, 2013 by AustralianFries

[Bigred2989]

I'm all calmed down now. I was kinda laughing at all this. Otherwise I'd be this guy:

[Pontiac]

As I tell my youngest kid who plays this game, "This game is broken. Don't get upset about it.". Hell, he's given ME that same sage advice when the damned rockets won't fly the way I want them too. Gotta love being told what you told your 6 year old.

[little square dot]

I think that most people learn the mechanics of the game through trial and error with their own designs. There's nothing wrong with "borrowing" designs, however you should probably start experimenting with the different parts and layouts, using the borrowed designs as templates if need be.

Over-reliance on plug'n'play vessels enables you to avoid learning the basic mechanics of the game, which will inevitably lead to immense frustration.

By the way, I don't know these Zenith launchers, but rather than trying to balance your payload on the head of a pin, can't you simply remove the probe core and place it elsewhere?

[AustralianFries]

I think that most people learn the mechanics of the game through trial and error with their own designs. There's nothing wrong with "borrowing" designs, however you should probably start experimenting with the different parts and layouts, using the borrowed designs as templates if need be.

Over-reliance on plug'n'play vessels enables you to avoid learning the basic mechanics of the game, which will inevitably lead to immense frustration.

This... I could not agree more.

[FlamedSteak]

Not being judgemental, but I never understood people relying on other peoples craft or relying on mechjeb to perform maneuvers. 80% of the satisfaction is planning, building and running a successful mission in a craft designed and piloted by you. I just can't see how this game is fun without doing those things yourself.

[Motokid600]

Look into Subassembly loader OP. Its not updated for .20, but it can be hot patched. Then I would get into building your own lifters. If you build it then you can troubleshoot it. It takes a bit to work out the bugs and sort out the stages, but in the end its worth it. Once you perfect an ascent design clip it off your payload and drag it to the Subassembly icon and save it. Saves me hours upon hours.

... and it needs to be stock.

[The Destroyer]

Copy KSP to games folder, it should help the crashing.

Also, build your own rockets. If you get someone elses, it may be crap or awesome.

[zekes]

Yeah i used to over mod the heck out of the game, got bored, left for like a month (October) then came back stock... and haven't looked back. Although now i spend more time on the forums than in game (because of My aerospace company).

My advice: play stock, learn it, then you can blame the mods. Untill then you don't know if the mods or your own unfamiliarity are the cause of the problems.

[little square dot]

Yeah i used to over mod the heck out of the game, got bored, left for like a month (October) then came back stock... and haven't looked back. Although now i spend more time on the forums than in game (because of My aerospace company).

Same, although I've opted for two separate installations, just in case I have a hankerin' to boot around in the Altair or whatever.

Certain personality types can handle disciplined, minimal modding, but I have a tendency to go well overboard with such things.

I found that just like working at a cluttered desk, an over-modded, cluttered KSP impacted my productivity, thereby increasing time in the VAB (often fretting about aesthetics), while decreasing my time in space. Badness.

(I haven't actually gone completely stock... still use KAS, Chatterer, and Mapsat.[<-essentials!])

[little square dot]

I just can't see how this game is fun without doing those things yourself.

This is akin to saying, "I just can't see not being me". Of course you can't!