Confuse the Newbs

[Lilleman]

Let the game decide of your staging. The default configuration is usually the better one, except if you poorly designed your ship (better start a new one in that case).

[dryer_lint]

Only use Kerbodyne parts - the larger the better.

The only thing(s) a good rocket needs are boosters, and if you want to be boring, parachutes and struts.

The "speed" indicator is actually an indicator for how good you're playing. Higher numbers are better.

[SkyRender]

Just slap a copy of your main stack directly to your rocket using symmetry. With all that extra fuel and engine power, of course you're gonna go further!

[xcorps]

You don't need solar panels. Your capsule has FIFTY electric. What the hell are you gonna do with all that?

You should put wings on every part. You are flying, right?

Coasting to the Mun is for whimps. You should have enough fuel to run your engines the whole trip.

[DerpenWolf]

- to get into orbit just keep going up, you'll get there eventually

- to get into the muns soi burn directly towards it, if you miss add more engines, not fuel, just engines.

- when aero-braking try to get your periaps as low as possible, especially for Jool and Eve.

- The lower the ISP, the higher the efficiency in atmosphere.

- use rover wheels for spaceplanes, that way taxiing is way easier

[Kerbayashi Maru]

Solar panels are for pansies, electricity is overrated.

[Victus]

Don't watch Scott Manley videos, he's dreadful at the game and couldn't teach you a thing.

[Rus-Evo]

The Nav ball isnt really that important. Just eye ball that sucker down!

[Lheim]

Collecting surface samples can actually poison your Kerbals. Never let one just sit in the capsule for a return trip.

[Kasuha]

When flying to a planet, mark it on the map, point your ship at it and burn like crazy.

To raise your periapsis, fly to the periapsis and then burn up.

[No one]

Struts are overrated. If you do feel you have to use them, make sure you give them their own decoupler or they'll stay attached after you decouple the stage.

Rovers are extremely useful for collecting science in the stock game.

When you're going back to Kerbin, aim for the water. It's much safer to land in water than on land.

Staging is overrated, SSTOs are much easier because you don't have to worry about staging or decouplers.

[Tortoise]

Use a powerful engine to dock fast.

[Hades514]

When Landing on a certain biome, Point strait up

[UmbralRaptor]

Make the rocket tall and thin to minimize drag. If you must have horizontal staging, add nosecones.

Avoid exposing any upper stage engines. Add panels if needed.

-If your rocket struggles to make orbit, adding more fuel is the most efficient way to fix the problem.

That's not actually bad advice. Lots of people have too much engine / too little fuel in their early rockets.

[cantab]

The Vehicle Assembly Building is for building vehicles, like cars and trucks. To make spaceships you want the Spaceplane Hangar.

[Tortoise]

Make the rocket tall and thin to minimize drag. If you must have horizontal staging, add nosecones.

Avoid exposing any upper stage engines. Add panels if needed.

That's not actually bad advice. Lots of people have too much engine / too little fuel in their early rockets.

I was actually gonna say the same thing.

There could be other problems too, but adding more fuel won't hurt. The worst thing that'd happen is a lower TWR, but more Dv.

[r4pt0r]

dont try to launch without adding a few of the stock lifesupport parts from the lifesupport tab. you know the one. its right there to the left. dont launch untill you find it.

[Jon Tash]

More boosters! Really? True Kerbals go to space with Ion Engines only!

[Yellowburn10]

ALWAYS have your first stage start with the nuke engines. They make will have no problem getting your rocket to space. They run on nuke power for crying out loud!

Don't try to dock using RCS until you're a master at regular docking.

Leave your solar panels open in an atmosphere. The pressure of the gasses will hold them together better.

Jet engines work anywhere!

And, of course, don't add more boosters! They're weak and too expensive.

[GoSlash27]

Rule#1: Always trust Jeb. He won't get in a rocket he doesn't trust.

Rule#2: If you can just get Kerbals on the surface, the rest will work itself out.

2a: Don't overthink it

2b: Don't worry about contingencies

Rule#3: You don't need math

Rule#4: If it's too heavy, add more engines. If it runs out of gas, add more fuel.

[RocketPilot573]

ALWAYS make the most aerodynamic planes you can, and remember to add flaps to help with landing/take-off. Do NOT make box shaped planes! Oh, you say Scott Manley make a working box plane? NEVER listen to ANY of his advise.

[cantab]

The most efficient launch is to pitchover to near-horizontal just after liftoff, so you start gaining orbital speed as quickly as possible. If your rocket glows red that means you're going fast enough.

Boosters cool down better the more airflow they have. So if they start overheating too much, you need to add more so they go faster and run cooler. If that still doesn't work, try adding air intakes to them, they bring in cooling air.

Planes are really inefficient since the wings are heavy. But if you really want to make one, ensure the centre of lift is just forward of the centre of mass, and tilt the wings so their tips are down a bit. That will make your plane agile, so it's easy to fly.

Edited June 30, 2014 by cantab

[GoSlash27]

That's not actually bad advice. Lots of people have too much engine / too little fuel in their early rockets.

I disagree. Lots of people have rockets that they haven't fully engineered early on and think that they can just use more fuel or more engines as a crutch. "More" can work sometimes, but usually it just winds up being a bloated mess. Better to design it properly from the outset IMO and if it doesn't work, more often than not the answer lies in "less" somewhere rather than "more" somewhere else.

Best,

-Slashy

[Whackjob]

Lots of people have rockets that they haven't fully engineered early on and think that they can just use more fuel or more engines as a crutch.

I've never heard my career so eloquently described.

[MartGonzo]

Having trouble getting into orbit?

You need 2 set of fuel tanks and engines, 1 vertical to get you into space and one horizontal to shoot you into orbit once you get there.