Efficiency - Mun Descent

[Vanamonde]

The 48-7S version of that craft would have 100 more delta-v, not less.

Eric S, you're right the 48-7S might be a better option, but that ship was made as a career-mode starter ship, and that engine is 2 steps farther up the tech tree, and thus not available yet.

[Eric S]

Eric S, you're right the 48-7S might be a better option, but that ship was made as a career-mode starter ship, and that engine is 2 steps farther up the tech tree, and thus not available yet.

A reasonable point I hadn't considered. I tend to go to Minmus before the Mun, so I've usually got the 48-7S unlocked by the time I go to the Mun, but that doesn't apply to everyone.

[LethalDose]

Huh? After it smashes into the surface and the dribble of remaining fuel explodes, the only "surplus" left is a small hardpoint or two. You're going to be ejecting stages along the way anyhow; what difference does it make if the last one hits the surface?

It matters in that, in the way it was presented, it sounded like the lander you posted was the entirety of what took you from orbit, to the surface, back to orbit, and back to kerbin.

The response you gave appeared to be #1, when it's really #2. If people tried it the way it appeared to be presented, they'd fail, and assume they did something wrong.

So, yeah, that's the difference.

Edited December 2, 2013 by LethalDose
screwed up options #1 & 3. Now corrected.

[Commander Zoom]

As an aside, can someone explain to me why the 48-7S is so OP? I don't mean how, that's plainly obvious from looking at its stats and performance; rather, I'm looking for an explanation (or even speculation) of how such a broken part wound up in the game.

Edited December 2, 2013 by Commander Zoom

[Nao]

As an aside, can someone explain to me why the 48-7S is so OP? I don't mean how, that's plainly obvious from looking at its stats and performance; rather, I'm looking for an explanation (or even speculation) of how such a broken part wound up in the game.

The game is under constant development, so i guess balance issues are low priority.

But one thing that I'm really curious about is why it was buffed from 20kN at release, already being one of the best engines (OP in my opinion), to 30kN a patch later.

I don't think we'll get an answer though .

[tavert]

I've been curious about the same thing. The initial stats sort of made sense since it was imported directly as-is from KSPX. In KSPX it was 10 kg heavier but 50 seconds better Isp than its existing radial version. When I saw in pre-release streams that it was on its way to stock I was hoping it would be corrected to have the same stats as the 24-77 for better balance, but that didn't happen.

We'll probably get a few balance passes, after or along with physics fixes, in future patches. Part costs are going to be an interesting balancing exercise too, once those start mattering.

[Lheim]

Yeah, the combination of the light weight of the thing with it's power means it's often better to cluster a few of the little 30kn engines than use a heavier larger one.

[celem]

Yeah i also love clusters of 7S. I use #2, rather than a prolooking 2-Stage like some shown here, i use little radial 100's and attach legs To those. Leave them on surface at ascent

[WafflesToo]

The game is under constant development, so i guess balance issues are low priority.

But one thing that I'm really curious about is why it was buffed from 20kN at release, already being one of the best engines (OP in my opinion), to 30kN a patch later.

I don't think we'll get an answer though .

It kind of smacks to me of being somebody's baby