A Complete Idiot's Guide to the New (0.21) Attitude Control System?

[starkllr]

...can someone provide one?

I mean, really basic, using small words and lots of bullet points and kindergarten-level direction on which and how many reaction wheel/ACS/whatever parts I need on my rocket, and where, and what the heck I do (or don't do) with them.

Because right now, I can't reliably get a rocket above 5,000 meters on 0.21 no matter what I do...it's kind of maddening, and I've read many threads and am no wiser on how to understand, cope with, and take advantage of the new system.

Thanks!

[dlmarti]

http://forum.kerbalspaceprogram.com/showthread.php/42825-Long-wordy-explaination-observations-about-the-new-0-21-Attitude-Control-System

[starkllr]

Thanks - but I read it and even that didn't help.

I get that whatever command pod I use will have the Attitude Control System and some amount of reaction wheels. But what I don't get is, is there some ratio of amount of torque to weight of vehicle that's desirable? How (other than watching rocket after rocket spin out of control and crash) do I know if I need to add more reaction wheels, and, if I do, where to put them?

Etc.

[corvus2606]

simply put, the closer a reaction wheel is to your center of mass, the more affect it will have on the ship. i have had one ship with one reaction wheel right at the CoM and it couldn't fly straight. moving it forward or back meant that it took more effort from the wheel to change the direction of the ship.

i've not yet figured out any magic ratio myself yet, but it all comes down to a balance between patience and power generation. the more power you can generate, the less patient you have to be.

if you're spinning out in lower atmosphere, try adding some winglets and an ASAS to the design, it will improve the stability. make sure the winglets are below the center of mass though.

[DMagic]

Have you tried a clean install? If you can't get even the simplest of rockets to fly straight then you may have something else wrong. Deleting and reinstalling KSP is the simplest way to fix things.

Have you tried the Kerbal X rocket? It should work fine, if it doesn't then something else is wrong.