Is Kerbal Safety a Top Priority For You?

[WillHop]

Considering I'm not playing a permadeath - i.e a save where no reverts or quicksaves are allowed - i don't really see the need to put anything on the rockets to make sure they are safe. If anything goes wrong on launch or on ascent, revert and modify. I quick save in orbit so if anything goes wrong after that, load the quick save. I would like to start playing a permadeath as then I would actually have reason to build escape systems and test things, but my current save is my best one yet and I don't want to lose all my progress

[Brapness]

I always include an abort system. Unfortunately they're not 100% effective, as Scott and Kurt found when their launch went wrong. They successfully aborted and the crew pod separated and opened its chutes. At this point the rocket they had just ejected from spun round and hit their pod.

[Tremzack]

I meticulously make sure they survive, and get rescued every time

[Tripzter]

My safety is autosaving. That said i've never lost a green guy.

[nettcod]

Yes! I go out of my way to ensure their safety and to rescue them when stranded.

Edited September 3, 2013 by nettcod

[Jefzor]

I just placed stickers in every ship reading "WARNING: Crashing can lead to serious injuries and even death" and I'm about to have crashing awareness day. I mean, what more could I possibly do?

[Dictatorshipper]

I use revert fairly liberally, but I also always try to make sure my Kerbals survive. I also sometimes do in-atmo abort and landing tests before launching a new interplanetary ship.

[Rainbow-Dashie]

I put a fair bit of effort into safety, But I don't use as advanced systems as everyone else, the limit of my "abort systems" are decouple the main capsule, and parachute. I make an effort to rescue stranded Kerbals though.

[StarVision]

I have two saves, one that is used for whatever and random mods. I just treat it like a 'simulation'. The other is for more serious gameplay, and real achievements, like landing on the mun/putting satellites in orbit. I always make sure they live and haven't killed one yet. I have a couple VIP kerbals: Jeb, Bill, Bob, and Kirk(no editing!).

Edit: I also forgot to mention that I have Permadeath enabled.

Edited September 3, 2013 by StarVision

[rpayne88]

My CPS (Common Pod System, real creative, I know) is loaded with safety features. Abort decouples the CM from the SM, triggers the RSDs on the LV and SM, separates the fairings blocking the CM, and activates the LET. "1" ditches the tower. "2" opens the chutes and ditches the heat shield (its extra mass means a more forceful impact.) "3" ditches the LET after it is no longer needed, when it is coasting to Apoapsis, "4" is contingency abort #1. It ditches the fairings and ejects the crew using the Vanguard Technologies pluggin. "5" explodes (not to be confused with self destruct) the TAC RSD's (2) on the SM. Should both the main abort and contingency abort fail for what ever reason, there is a parachute box on the pod so they can manually bail out. I then edit my persistence file to save the two crew members who disappeared due to being in the lower atmosphere. The LV has an extra 1000Dv to put it into orbit if something fails. It has the capability to be remote controlled with two RT dipole antennas should one fail. It has enough batteries for several weeks in orbit should it lose it's two solar panels. It also has double the O2 on board to keep the crew alive for a month. It also has lights, a drogue chute and a docking port. I also plan on adding airbags to it for a list ditch, s--t hit the fan attempt at a contingency abort for a contingency abort for a contingency abort. Structurally, it has twice the number of struts needed to hold it together upon main chute deployment. Obviously, I use several mods. I don't make my own LET's, I use the Novapunch LET's. This thing is so safe, I have never lost a Kerbal in it and Jeb refuses to fly it.

All this effort goes into keeping three Kerbals alive no matter what, so obviously, I do everything possible to keep my crew alive.

Edited September 4, 2013 by rpayne88

[josea74]

My space program has a no return policy in which each kerbal that is sent into interplanetary space and lands on another body cant come back

[Decoherent]

I don't *exactly* plan for their safety, but I've gone to ridiculous lengths in my "persistent" saves to bring every Kerbal home. For some reason when I started playing, I just used probe cores, and the game got boring after a week or so. Then, on a whim, I launched a mission with Jeb and accidentally stranded him, and spent days devising a rescue mission. It's amusing how attached to the little digital green guys it's possible to get.

[THE META]

kerbal safety? whats that concept? here at META CI, we use kerbals as our test dummies, in the rockets we think are going to explode!

[SaturnV]

Jeb, Bill and Bob are now in LKO station, safely. So other 'normal' kerbonaut are not so safe when they're in mission, especially when I'm short of delta V and trying to cut anything that is not 'necessary', such as parachute...

[YX33A]

I'm a firm believer in the theory that "Any landing you can walk away from was not a crash landing". So I'm willing to have ships all but destroyed as long as the crew survives. That being said, I firmly believe in sending unmanned missions as often as possible as to avoid "military training accidents", aka "stuff blew up people died oh god why it wasn't my fault".

I also make sure every ship I launch is safe and stable enough by testing it unmanned first(I always have drone control parts on my ships, good ol' trusty A.I.s).

I also don't skimp on safety precautions, so on manned missions I have a escape stage with ample dV to get to a safe location, or at least away from the explosions and death.

Also think it's a smart idea to not have more crew capacity on a space station there there are escape pods.

But other then not wanting my Kerbals to die, I play fast and loose with ships. Lot of explosions in my game, usually failed missions self destructing, but occasionally missile strikes.

[HeadHunter67]

I'm a firm believer in the theory that "Any landing you can walk away from was not a crash landing".

That's been my agency's motto from the start! (see sig)

[deepspacecreeper]

yes, especially if it is jeb/bill/bob. i add escape systems to any kerbal-manned rocket (not escape tower, just seperatron-armed pod) and sometimes use it to pull a command pod from a service module right before reentry. even for spaceplanes. but it doesn't really hurt for other kerbals, so i use the others to test my stuff. (i've killed 3 kerbals in my program's history only due to an early deployment of chutes)

Edited October 21, 2013 by deepspacecreeper

[Shisouka]

Who cares about Kerbals? Focus on getting those precious science containers back to Kerbin!

Ps. I do care for Jeb, Bill and Bob. I do not care for "Red-Shirts" ..

[Godot]

Putting rescue towers or similar functioning structures on top of my rockets (as long as tech level allows) is standard for my space program ... I assume that answers the question

[Aescwulf]

I take their safety seriously now with Career Mode. Currently I just managed to get on the moon, but Jeb is stranded, Jeb with the Kerbal that tested all my rockets and flown then, so I've been thinking of a rescue plan.

[7499275]

I try to save my Kerbals life but usually once something goes wrong there isn't any form to save them... Like a rocket screaming through the atmosphere at 2km a second with no fuel or parachute.

[SofusRud]

This poll needs some middle ground for those of us who don´t actively attempt to kill our kerbals but who accept that they did willingly sign up for the program of their own free will and at their own risk

[Rage097]

I have a few VIP Kerbals that I protect. Jeb, Bill, Bob, Macsy and Danbury. The others are expendable, but I try to keep them alive as well.

[frizzank]

I hope in the full game its not so easy to revert to the last save when a kerbal dies. It will make their deaths a lot more meaning full, and me a lot more reluctant to send them on a suicide mission.

[ZedNova]

We never leave a kerbal behind!