Not very good at KSP!

[SRV Ron]

With practice, this simple little two stage, built with NovaPunch mods will go into Minmus orbit.

This flew in the demo to Mun orbit and returned;

Start with simple designs. Build a suborbital. Learn how to fly suborbital. Go for orbit. Bring Jeb safely back. Then add more and attempt to go to Mun and back. Next, go to Minmus and land there. Then, try landing on Mun and return. Take it one step at a time.

[Kerbol Prime]

I was pretty horrible in the beginning...but don't give up!

YouTube was my friend. First I watched KurtJMacs KSP series (I probably spent way too much time on it. 60 episodes!)

Then I was introduced to Scott Manley, where his great tutorials helped me more.

Later on I also began watching HocGaming.

It was a long process, but watching others play the game was the way I learned.

[Dispatcher]

All good advice above. I've done lots of planes and some rockets, but only recently decided to start moving out away from Kerbin. Its a challenge to do things, sure, but once you accomplish a task, its easier to keep on going to the next one. Here is one of my birds in orbit. For some it would be easy; for me it was a challenge. Just keep at it.

[Nuka]

If it helps, one thing to remember is that you should always have about ten times more fuel mass than the mass of the rest of your ship.

What do you know, and don't you know, that you're struggling with?

Thanks for all the replies guys! 3 pages worth!

Well, i've never gotten to much of an orbit without Mechjeb+infinite fuel on, maybe it's something to do with not being that great at the whole science of ship building.

[KSK]

Thanks for all the replies guys! 3 pages worth!

Well, i've never gotten to much of an orbit without Mechjeb+infinite fuel on, maybe it's something to do with not being that great at the whole science of ship building.

If in doubt start small, especially if you're not launching a very big payload. With a monster rocket, that last set of boosters strapped to the side might not be doing much more than lifting their own weight.

[Sovek]

probably the best piece of advice given so far. I can't begin to describe how many KSP designs I've seen that are complete failures because people started trying to over-engineer their rockets. I remember giving a guy some advice along very similar lines because he couldn't get to minmus with the rocket he had. So I took it and tweaked it, scaled it down and it made it to minmus with fuel to spare. You'd be surprised at just how far you can get with a couple of fuel tanks and a stayputnik.

[Tidus Klein]

Let's lock him in a box and make him watch Scott Manley videos for a week.

I started the KSP demo and by my 6th flight I was in mun orbit ( my first ever flight in ksp tilted and ripped of the entire forward side on the launch tower not a good first Day for jeb) and by my 10th I was waddling across the mun no Scott Manley videos needed:D.

But yes Ksp does have a little bit of a learning curve and the only reason I got as far as I did so fast was that I dabble in science channel and general knowledge in other words I learn fast.

Edited October 6, 2013 by Tidus Klein