I am stuck in a rut.

[SpaceSphereOfDeath]

Break the sound barrer.

With a boat

[SkyRender]

I think it's time for the maximalist to become a minimalist. If you can build such amazing beasts of rockets, it should be amusing to see what you can do with as few parts as possible. I don't just mean tiny ships, I mean ships that barely have anything on them at all.

[The Jedi Master]

Sometimes I get KSP Burnout. Taking a break for a week or so usually fixes it.

[MalfunctionM1Ke]

I got no energy to build anything big.

I'm out of ideas. Giant transplanetary ships? Check. Giant stations? Done. Huge rover? Rrrrodger.

What left is there? I could theoretically build a giant SSTO rover-lander-transplanetary ship-kethane refueler, but so what?

Nothing grabs me anymore. I am officially out of ideas. I got nothin'. I got whack-block.

What happened to the Whacksphere?

Take it places and roll around with it

[Duke23]

I'm kind of having a burnout myself. Bad part is I've only been to two other planets and haven't even come back from them. I'm almost done with my interplanetary ship that should be capable of return (and rescue) but when I start up the game I feel like I'm stuck.

I think if I try a new and different design or unlock a new tech tree node I'll feel better. I'd really like to build an ssto or even a working plane that looks better than the ones I have. Other than that I've been alternating between KSP and Deus Ex: Human Revolution.

[Skyler4856]

Build a ring orange tanks that completely surround Kerbin

[Moar Boosters]

As another player who likes building ridiculous craft, maybe some of my builds might inspire you. In some ways we've got very similar playstyles in that we both play stock and have masses of patience for laggy spacecraft and slow launches, but most of the stuff we end up building looks very different.

Have you actually visited all the planets? Most of what I've seen you build mostly just ends up in LKO or on the Mun, but there's a lot of challenges to be made further out in the solar system, especially if you add extra restrictions. I've built a few random monsters that just get into orbit, but ultimately I like my spacecraft to offer a purpose to the kerbals, as if they had a real space-program.

This was the rocket I built for an Apollo style mission to Tylo. 2 man lander, no asparagus and no Nerva engines increased the challenge quite a bit. It was inspired by the "doing it apollo style" challenge..... but I figured the mun would be too easy, so I chose Tylo as a more difficult mun substitute.

Eve requires a hell of a spacecraft if you want to do it "properly" as well. Most people skip a lot of the challenge using multiple launches, external seats and landing on a mountain or using wheels to drive up one. Using a capsule and landing at sea-level is much harder, and took me quite a few fails before I managed to do it successfully. This was barely enough for a 1-man capsule. I can't imagine how big a rocket you'd need if you wanted to return the 3 man capsule from sea-level.

Build a big spaceplane? or long range SSTO? I've never seen you really do much in the SPH or using airbreathing engines. Both of them add quite a bit of challenge. This was inspired by the Ventura star. That was supposed to be a 1000 ton VTHL spaceplane powered by aerospikes. We know it's possible to build realistic weighing rockets, so I figured it might be possible to do the same with spaceplanes. Turns out it was.

This one was 2000 tons and was very efficient at killing 12 kerbals at a time. Theoretically it was landable, it was tested rolling along the runway at over 100m/s but I never got it into orbit.

My most recent build was this thing. I've built spaceplanes that get to Duna and back..... a VTOL was much harder. There have been various proposals in the past for a spacecraft roughly the shape of an artillery shell, such as the project orion craft, the Rotary rockets thing, and the Chrystler SERV. This was my attempt.

It doesn't look like much from the outside, but it's got 44 engines underneath and comes to nearly 800 parts. Stuff like this offers a different challenge to your usual builds as most of it's workings are hidden from sight. I don't use the cheat menu, but there's still a lot of part clipping inside this thing, to get all the ugly stuff hidden from view. That in itself offers a big challenge, learning which parts can clip together without causing problems.

I hope my builds offer you some inspiration. I'm sure there's loads of stuff you haven't tried and it would be a shame for the community to lose such a valuable contributor.

[Whackjob]

I suppose I could do an apollo style Whack sized rocket. I'd have to throw on engineer to make sure the TWR is as it should be per stage...

[Superfluous J]

I suppose I could do an apollo style Whack sized rocket. I'd have to throw on engineer to make sure the TWR is as it should be per stage...

Typollo. Do everything Apollo did but do it on a mission to Tylo.

[spudcosmic]

#EDIT: Apparently FAR makes rockets "four times easier to get into orbit". That's a big no-no for me.

Ha, anything you build will be 20 times harder to get into orbit with FAR. Far just makes streamline realistic rockets have about 1000 m/s less Dv to get to orbit, that's far from four times easier.

[Whackjob]

What's the record on number of stages done with Kerpollo style staging? Ten? Fifteen? Without cheesing on a tiny final payload?

[NovaSilisko]

Typollo. Do everything Apollo did but do it on a mission to Tylo.

Alternis Typollo.

[Captain Sierra]

Yes, Whack, try playing with Alternis. You think you have seen KSP and that completely throws you for a loop. Fair to note that Tylo in Alternis qualifies as a level of hell to land on.

The other suggestion I can give is to go grab some mindless shooter game, blow some noobs' freaking heads off for a while, and then come back where you can re-appreciate the skill and intelligence KSP demands.

[boxman]

Welcome to the club.. This is why I had looked so much forward to resources and career mode.

Even though I feel like I have done everything it would be fun then to do build for example bases and rovers that have a real purpose.

I have tried taking long breaks and have pretty much not played it at all in last versions and yet still feel burned out when it comes to KSP.

[boxman]

Same here FenrirWolf. I usually just stop playing until I get into that new ksp feel. Where I am just playing for hours and hours a day. BTW I am in that mood now. Wackjob I agree that taking a break and doing something else for a while fixes it. We all lose that interest at some point but KSP isn't going anywhere.

That worked for me back a few versions ago but these days it just does not help.. You can only visit a place so many times before it gets boring when the game is no longer a challenge. First it worked to build bigger and bigger stations/bases/ships but thanks to part limit/performance I have hit a wall there as well...

[Aragosnat]

Well you could always add "TAC Life Support" as that just adds parts to help take care of the new needs of Kerbals needing air to breath and water and food to eat as well as dealing with their wastes. Other then what has been mentioned. Taking a brake and coming back after they have a few updates might be a good idea. To bad there is not a mod that adds another solar system.

[Jr6150x]

I think you should try something new, something different, that you haven't done at all or much. Maybe a kerbin exploration thing to explore the anomilies.

[Captain Sierra]

Just thought of another idea, but for Whackjob, this may be asking too much.

Try building small. Build just what is required for a mission, nothing more. No overzealous giant builds and no lag.

The previous post said try something new. For you, this would be new. Suddenly you have to build within the restraints the rest of us mere mortals, not KSP gods, have to work with.

[Whackjob]

Looking at your quote haha. The ol' fireclaw. Horrid looking design, yet quite functional. I recall I fell far short of where I wanted to land... directly on top of the VAB.

[likke_A_boss]

You know, after all of your absurdly large ships, you should try building small. Not like normal person small, I mean like using only 1/2 meter probe parts (you'll need some part mods) only. That would be epic.

[KittyProgram]

Have kerbal do a EVA.

Heres the catch: EVA it to Minmus.

[AllenM3]

I too have felt this way. But after spending my free time watching youtube with people with huge long missions. I have gotten back into it with installing FAR, deadly re-entry, and remote tech. This alone make the game much more challenging and Makes the simplest thing like going to the moon and back require much more planning. I think eventually I will use interstellar mod.

[Duxwing]

I currently have one mod: Kethane. That's it. I refuse to add the mods that add bigger tanks and engines.

Not familiar with FAR and real solar system. I'll look into those maybe.

#EDIT: Apparently FAR makes rockets "four times easier to get into orbit". That's a big no-no for me.

FAR more impedes achieving orbit by requiring craft to withstand tremendous aerodynamic forces during their gravity turns and be so built as to minimize atmospheric drag than it eases achieving orbit by preventing drag from acting where it should not.

#EDIT2: Real solar system has a bug where "parts are wobbly" and the recommended fix is "get the joint reinforcement mod". Another big no-no for me.

If you want more realistically simulated joints, then use the Joint Reinforcement mod because it gives joints realistic strength.

@Whackjob

Your creative block may result from an unconscious conflict; e.g., too much ignored stress.

-Duxwing

Edited January 6, 2014 by Duxwing

[Mulbin]

I've taken a bit of time out from building replicas to play my own, challenging version of career mode.

Make a mod install of KSP and install these mods...

Mission Controller

Bootstraps mission pack

remotetech 2

TAC life support

KOS

Vet tech

... and you'll have a very challenging career mode / strategy campaign with both research and budget. You really have to design craft for efficiency... totally different game.

For added fun add these mods....

Atmospheric sound

Chatterer

Steam gauges (flying from the cockpit is another great challenge)

Romfarer Docking cam

Planet factory

[Jon Tash]

I've taken a bit of time out from building replicas to play my own, challenging version of career mode.

Make a mod install of KSP and install these mods...

Mission Controller

Bootstraps mission pack

remotetech 2

TAC life support

KOS

Vet tech

... and you'll have a very challenging career mode / strategy campaign with both research and budget. You really have to design craft for efficiency... totally different game.

For added fun add these mods....

Atmospheric sound

Chatterer

Steam gauges (flying from the cockpit is another great challenge)

Romfarer Docking cam

Planet factory

I did something like that in the previous update, it was really fun but was done in a week (I usually play 6hours a day, every day). Now i'm feeling the same way as Whackjob. I'm playing less and less.