KAS: the Kerbal Attachment Syndrome

[Starwhip]

I can't seem to send my Kerbals outside of Kerbin's SOI. It's not an engineering failure, I just get paranoid for some bizarre reason. Does anyone else have this problem? It's really limiting my science, because I don't want to transmit either. GAH!

[Linear]

Send unmanned probes first to check it's safe! :-)

[Starwhip]

I have, though. 2 rovers and a lander to Duna, a lander and a few probes, plus a rover to Eve, and 2 science probes to Jool.

I'm a freak. Don't look at me.

[vetrox]

And there I was thinking it was going to be a kerbal attachment system mod discussion .

I easily spend 95% of my time in kerbins SOI with 4% being on duna and the other 1% in various other soi. Spaceplanes and space stations quick and easy when u stay in Kerbin SOI. If i want to do something elsewhere I have to set aside a good 10 hours and plan a decent mission. All that time spent i nthe suns SOI and adjusting 10 crafts capture is very time consuming.

[Linear]

I have, though. 2 rovers and a lander to Duna, a lander and a few probes, plus a rover to Eve, and 2 science probes to Jool.

I'm a freak. Don't look at me.

Send a Kerbal that's annoyed you in testing =D

[zarakon]

1. You can get almost all of the science you need without leaving the Kerbin system by sciencing in the large number of biomes on/above the Mun and Minmus. Crew reports, EVA reports, and gravity scans from a polar orbit can net you thousands of points in one mission without even landing.

2. If you don't want to send Kerbals and you don't want to transmit data, you can still send probes out with experiments and bring them back

3. Kerbals are meant to be expendable! Send them out there!

[Starwhip]

1. You can get almost all of the science you need without leaving the Kerbin system by sciencing in the large number of biomes on/above the Mun and Minmus. Crew reports, EVA reports, and gravity scans from a polar orbit can net you thousands of points in one mission without even landing.

And another thing. I seem to be playing excessively realistically, each mission being for one purpose and one purpose only, like a Mun flyby or landing.

2. If you don't want to send Kerbals and you don't want to transmit data, you can still send probes out with experiments and bring them back

Yes, I know that. Perhaps that is what I will do. But I find that the most science comes from EVA, Crew Reports, and Surface Samples.

3. Kerbals are meant to be expendable! Send them out there!

But I don't want to!

[Kerbonautical]

Just send Jeb. Jeb always finds a way home

[TimePeriod]

Find a mod which turns kerbals or adds kerbal-robots.

[mellojoe]

I never send Kerbals somewhere where I can't get them home. Probes? sure. But if a Kerbal is going out, he must be able to come home again. If something breaks, rescue craft must be sent.

[Starwhip]

I think a whole bunch of the paranoia comes from one of my Kerbollo missions. I was doing a routine Mun landing/return (back when there was no science) and I came in a little too fast on the orbital rendezvous. The lander took out the main engine on the command module. I thought, "Ah, that's no big deal. I'll just dock the lander and use that engine!"

Guess what hit the main engine.

The docking port.

-snip-

So I had a lander with no docking ports, no parachutes, and room only for 2, and a CSM with no engine but room for three. I got everyone into the CSM, but never took the time to send a rescue craft. So they were stuck there, forever.

I know it's just a game, but still... I think there might be something wrong with me.

Edited April 14, 2014 by KasperVld

[SkyRender]

It's a lot harder and more time-consuming to do interplanetary missions, and of course there's far more potential for things to go horribly wrong too. And if things do go wrong, fixing them is that much harder. If you have a life support mod in use and/or RemoteTech, it becomes even more impractical still.

[Frank_G]

Send a kerbaled craft and fit it with lander probes that can return back to the main craft. So you get surface science and crew / EVA reports. If its safe several times, send a kerbaled lander to known LZ, so there will be no ugly surprises. You can even send the lander on a test mission with a probe core attached. You can also fly redundant missions with robotic spare landers in orbit, so you can bring your guys back up, when the lander is damaged.

I have done dozens of landings with kerbals on board on mun, minmus, duna and ike so far... till today i havent lost a single soul in my career game (i only sacrifice kerbals in sandbox simulation).

Just make sure as good as you can... and then go for it! Whats a space exploration game without explorers? Dont let your poor kerbals miss all the exciting stuff... and PLEASE dont care them to death! They deserve more.

[RW-1]

It kills me to say this but ...

Heck, we haven't even sent ourselves outside Earth's SOI (Yet?) darn it .... so ...... Want to keep them? No argument from me hehehe ....

But mine are going to go everywhere.

[NecroBones]

I never send Kerbals somewhere where I can't get them home. Probes? sure. But if a Kerbal is going out, he must be able to come home again. If something breaks, rescue craft must be sent.

This is how I do it. The rescue mission is sometimes more interesting than the original mission. Though lately, I've gotten better at planning, so I haven't needed rescues much.

My first trips to Moho and Eeloo ended up stranding my guys there, because I under-estimated the fuel needed. So the rescue ships came in, docked, transferred the Kerbals over, and took all the fuel they could from the original mission ship. The rescue ships were nearly identical to the mission ships, but without dragging a lander along, and getting a free refill on-site, they got home just fine (although the Moho rescue still managed to get home with an embarrassingly low, sweat-inducing fuel margin of only about 2% remaining).

The new claw device will make for some interesting rescue possibilities as well.

[Pecan]

If you're happy in Kerbin's SOI then just stay happy. No need for science.

[metl]

Just send Jeb. Jeb always finds a way home

Do you think he just lashes together a couple of space turtles using his back hair?

[katateochi]

I go for ages without leaving the confines of the Kerbin system. It's partly because as SkyRender says IP missions take much more time, but it also because there is quite a lot to keep me entertained without going IP. I even spent a couple weeks where I didn't actually didn't go more than a km from KSC! In the last few versions I've put much more focus on building planes which has kept be within the atmo a lot, but its not because its safer for Kerbals, kerbal planes are possibly more treacherous than rockets!

[astropapi1]

My only manned interplanetary mission was an Eve Fly-by reusing my Apollo replicas. Space is scary.

[Mr_Brain]

Start small. At first, send the kerbals on an escape trajectory out of Kerbin's SOI, but have them turn around and return before they leave, then maybe let them leave but immediately return, a next step might be to perform a small maneuver in interplanetary space etc.

[Kerbonautical]

Do you think he just lashes together a couple of space turtles using his back hair?

Either that or hitch a ride home on an asteroid. But in all seriousness I find it pretty hard to strand a Kerbal, as long as you make sure your not in a crash course orbit or being flung into deep space then you can always send a rescue ship out. Personally rescue missions are usually my favorites too since they add in a little more tension if your really doing you're best to save lives.

[problemecium]

Just do what I do - give them a big, cushy, grossly overdesigned ship with escape pods for every Kerbal capable of flying them all the way back to Kerbin if anything goes wrong.

[3_bit]

Find a mod which turns kerbals or adds kerbal-robots.

I built an interstellar radio array and heard this transmission the other day near Jool...

"We are the Korg. Lower your shields and surrender your ships. We will add your science and crew to our own. Your parts will adapt to service us. Resistance is (mostly) futile, provided you have less dV than us."

[Starwhip]

Well, that dual Eve-Duna transfer window opened up. (Eve window, then about a week later a Duna window)

I sent identical probes to each and got 400 science in total.

[desktop background, anyone?]

Another window won't be open for a while, so... time to hit the Mun again! (I still have some unfinished business there )

[StainX]

Here is my workaround for the syndrome:

Build a craft like you would normally and also put a probe body on it, remove the crew before hitting launch and: tadaaaa you have a "simulated rocket" in a simulation game

Also with realism mods like life support and stuff... check timinings and data of that flight like traveltime and reentry angle and all the other stuff that is important. Also make sure you never get to the limits in case of resources, some reserves are better than running out of stuff!

Annnnd for landing: make sure the craft doesn't tilt over so always aim for flat areas