Ten Commandments for KSP beginners

[Sirine]

Learn to read the Nav-Ball.

It tells more than what you think it has.

[michaelhester07]

1. Engineers love triangles. Triangular shaped strut patterns are far more stable than square shaped ones.

2. Don't forget to extend the solar panels upon reaching orbit.

3. Don't forget to start up the nuclear reactor upon reaching orbit.

4. If you think you'll forget 2 and 3... put some of those small single-panel solar panels on. If your ship is going out to Eeloo use the RTGs instead.

5. When adding launch clamps make sure they're in the same stage as your primary lift thrusters. All of them. I've fired 6 kerbal engineers already because they put them in the wrong stage and the whole ship crashed onto the launchpad.

6. Know what deltaV is and get a mod that shows you it (kerbal engineer, Mechjeb, etc), even if you get no other mod or hate mods.

7. DeltaV is DeltaV, doesn't matter how heavy your ship is. Your maneuvers will always cost the same amount of DeltaV. This is why interplanetary stages use the Atomic motors. If your ship is light enough you can get away without Atomic motors.

8. Add more boosters, but only to your initial lift stage.

9. Strut from lift motor to payload when possible, and never from payload to lift motor. This saves you part count when you cut loose the lift motor.

10. Throttle to full before liftoff.

[OgreMagi]

ladders DONT FORGET THE LADDERS....... kerbals can jump off rockets but they need ladders to get back in on high gravity planets..... ( tylo, eve, kerbin)

[MerlinsMaster]

My first manned return mission to Duna, which used a rocket that I designed through trial and error, had 700+ parts, weighed roughly 1.5 kilotons and needed to be refuelled twice. I used the TRE and managed to do it with a 210t rocket with 89 parts and I didn't need to refuel it at all. What's everyone's problem with Tsiolkovsky?

Any chance you could post those? I'm trying to build a large interplanetary ship and it would be really educational to see what you did to get that improvement.

[GoSlash27]

I won't repeat what everyone else here has already said, but I'll share how I do it.

1) Plan before you design.

Figure out what it is you're trying to do and how you plan to accomplish it. Sort out your phases and DV budget.

2) Design before you build.

Work out the math to make sure you've got a good design before you hit the VAB. You'll save a lot of frustration and expensive fireworks.

3) Check before you launch.

Pretty much everybody has mentioned this already. Checking your staging, solar panels, etc. Come up with a checklist to keep from forgetting things.

4) Test before you put Jeb in the seat.

Take a dry run or 2 to sort out the gremlins to avoid frustrating tragedies. It's more fun to explore without worrying whether you can trust the system.

5) ...and this is most important...

Learn something, have fun, and share what you learn.

KSP gives you the chance to learn new concepts and explore aerospace engineering. When you're learning, even failure can be fun! The key is in identifying the gaps in your understanding and filling them rather than getting frustrated. When you take that new understanding and succeed with it, it's very rewarding! It's also rewarding to pass on your knowledge to newcomers and help them along.

Best,

-Slashy

Edited July 27, 2014 by GoSlash27

[Ruthgar]

Only have one that I haven't seen mentioned yet.

When just testing something out, go ahead and try something new, but when you're doing a real mission, STICK WITH WHAT YOU KNOW YOU CAN MAKE WORK.

[Zwer.ch]

I've played more than 300 hours of KSP, and I still forget ...

...to pack my parachutes on a rescue vessel

Finally as I got the stranded Kerbal aboard I saw the need to launch another rescue vessel, this time with chutes

[Rusty6899]

Any chance you could post those? I'm trying to build a large interplanetary ship and it would be really educational to see what you did to get that improvement.

Any chance you could take me through posting a craft file? I'm on a Mac if that makes any difference. Also, the crafts are from back in 0.23, so before the largest engines came in. I have a much more efficient design now.

[Oafman]

Thou shalt not take enough fuel to return from thine first interplanetary mission.

Thou shalt not use alt+F12 (false witness).

Place not thine docking ports backwards.

Love thy struts.

Thou shalt not adjust thy plane at periapsis.

Honour thy modders.

Thou shalt not take the Kraken's name in vain.

Speculate not on release dates.

Thou shalt not fit fuel lines backwards.

Ignore not the CoM/CoL buttons.

Edited July 29, 2014 by Oafman

[Jebadiah Kerban]

LOL crazzzzzyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy

[Red Iron Crown]

Anything can be rescued later, if it has a docking port (and is still in space).

Doesn't even need a docking port now that we have the universal docking mechanism claw.

[Russoft]

Embrace disaster. You're going to hate the game when things go catastrophically wrong (even if it's not your fault, like when the Kraken strikes) if you can't just laugh as your Kerbals go down in flames.

[MarvinKitFox]

Probes need electricity. Thus batteries & solar panels. *extended* solar panels. myself, i just use the small flatpanel solars, no need to extend.

Kerbals dont need electricity to run their rocket. A kerbal-piloted rocket with gimbal on engine can even turn and steer with zero power on board.

Kerbals don't need air

Kerbals dont eat

Kerbals dont get bored, all alone out in space.

Kerbals are *tough*. you need an impact, and one of up to 100m/s, to kill one.

Moral of the story: A Piloted ship is LOTS easier to design and operate than an automated robotic probe. As long as you don't mind filling Kerbal graveyards, that is.

A few other tips:

remember to engage SAS.

Symmetry is good. in many ways.

engines are not made to be landed on, but will do in a pinch.

docking is *hard* to do at first.

don't weld something over your capsule hatch!

fins at BACK of rocket.

and most important.

have fun! KSP is FUN, not work.

[Laie]

Probes need electricity. Thus batteries & solar panels. *extended* solar panels. myself, i just use the small flatpanel solars, no need to extend.

I've heard so many scary stories about forgotten panels that I do the same. However, I've recently developed a faible for these nuclear thingies. You may occasionally need a lot of electricity in a short time, but on average, your demands are near zero. A large battery plus one or two nuclear power sources fit that bill nicely; few parts, can't be forgotten, works even in the shade.

Not advisable for lightweight probes, though. But for anything above 10-20 tons, I go nuclear. There may be additional panels on particularly power-hungry vessels, but the nuke makes sure that there's always enough power to deploy them panels.

[bdito]

Rule #1, watch Scott Manley's beginner videos.

Rule #2, decline low paying missions since they're a waste of time.

[Thorbard]

Some great tips here. I've been playing for a while but there are still bits to learn!

[SpacedCowboy]

My personal VAB/pre-launch checklist:

1. Control on every module I want to control

2. Sufficient batteries and power generation

2a. Don't forget, Solar panels don't work all the time!

3. Do I need RCS? If yes, make sure it's balanced!

4. Docking Port - do I actually need one?

4a. If I want to push/pull something, make sure it's balanced!

5. check the staging, and check it again after every modification of the rocket!

6. Check action groups!

7. Which crew do I actually want to launch? (beware, Kerbals sneak back into rockets once you modify them)

8. SAS on

9. RCS off

10. Throttle up before(!) launch

Some other important tips:

- Be always aware of orbital mechanics! If you do, you will learn to do awesome maneuvers. If you don't, they will come and slap you in the face.

- Remember, you use most of your fuel to lift your fuel. So if you can make it work with less upper-stage fuel, you will need much less lower-stage fuel.

- Be aware of the effects mods have on gameplay. Using FAR, KJR and DR, entirely different designs work opposed to e.g. a pure stock game.

Also, if your running around on the forums, remember:

- This is a singleplayer game. Everyones style of gameplay is valid. Every combination of mods is valid.

- This is a singleplayer sandbox game. Achievments, and their conditions, are yours to define. (Of course, this doesn't apply to forum challenges and the like)

This should be on the home page! This encompasses all Kerbal! Garek, Well Said.

[Pds314]

I. Thou shalt not forget thine stack separators.

II. Thou shalt add a power source to thine spacecraft.

III. Thou shalt place thine fuel lines.

IV. Thine fuel lines shalt not be placed backwards.

V. Thou shalt give thine rockets a TWR over 1.

VI. Thou shalt do a gravity turn appropriate to thine aerodynamic model.

VII. Thou shalt not enter the lower atmosphere of Jool.

IIX. Thou shalt not forget the mountains east of KSC.

IX. Thou shalt not deorbit straight down.

X. Thou shalt not point at the target for orbital rendezvous.

[Pds314]

XI. Thou shalt not tease the magic boulder.