Scared During Aerocapture

[Duxwing]

How can I cope with the deep, primal fear when I aerocapture? I start unwillingly imagining that some such horrible creature as Pennywise the Dancing Clown or Pyramid Head is right behind me, and I often remove my headphones and switch to map view lest the fear should become unbearable. The following factors worsen the fear:

-Directly descending to the surface from interplanetary transfer orbit

-Lacking crew, whose smiling faces comfort me

-The size of the body

-The density of the atmosphere

-Darkness

-Lacking control

-Duxwing

[Sophistry]

^ This is what a kerbonaut with low stupidity thinks during re-entry. I for one end up thinking "OOOOOOH, PRETTY LIGHTS!"

[Duxwing]

^ This is what a kerbonaut with low stupidity thinks during re-entry. I for one end up thinking "OOOOOOH, PRETTY LIGHTS!"

Awww, thanks.

-Duxwing

[luizopiloto]

You have to let it all go Duxwing... Fear... Doubt... And disbelief... Free your mind...

[zerotwo]

Dear Duxwing,

Press F5 on approach before you hit the atmosphere.

Press and hold F9 after you explode.

Long ago I did my first aerocapture into Jool's atmosphere probably 20-30-40 times to try and get it right.

Test! TEST! Have fun!

Regards,

Edited April 24, 2014 by zerotwo

[Sophistry]

Edits Duxwing's stats in the game files to badS = true

But more seriously, is it fear of your craft being destroyed that gets to you or ?

Also, it is a well-established fact that Kerbin, and running KSP on your computer, generates an energy field of frivolity and awesome that would cause pyramid head or pennywise to cease to exist on contact.

The mechanics are that the impact of Kerbal minds (technical and focussed on creating light-hearted awesome AT ALL COSTS) on the Noosphere blots out the psychic imprints needed to create 'evil'

[Liowen]

You have to let it all go Duxwing... Fear... Doubt... And disbelief... Free your mind...

Fear is the path of the dark side.

Fear leads to anger.....anger leads to hate....hate leads to suffering.......

Gotta love Yoda, who I believe is also a Kerbal.

[Sophistry]

Gotta love Yoda, who I believe is also a Kerbal.

I'm not convinced at all! Name one occasion Yoda strapped an unnecessary large number of rocket engines and/or SRBs to something?

I mean I'd have said that whoever designed the Death Star may have been a Kerbal (Huge, silly, impractical - yet a towering technical achievement.. Except the whole vent thing) BUT I think Danny's method of destroying a planet was far more Kerbal-esque.

[cantab]

I'm not convinced at all! Name one occasion Yoda strapped an unnecessary large number of rocket engines and/or SRBs to something?

Contrary to popular belief, not all Kerbals believe MOAR BOOSTERS is the solution to everything. Just the ones involved in the space program.

[Duxwing]

Edits Duxwing's stats in the game files to badS = true

But more seriously, is it fear of your craft being destroyed that gets to you or ?

When I play Career mode, I pretend the mission is 'real' and therefore let all my emotional and mental guards down. Barring some such bizarre error as venturing the wrong planet, each flight is 'for the history books' and therefore to be remembered. I pretend the Kerbals of Kerbin--especially the program heads, mass-hystericizers, and budget-cutters--watch. After my last multi-probe fiasco, wherein no interplanetary probe safely reached its target, I prepared and analyzed in Sandbox Mode for months! I have already lost three probes to poor planning, and a fourth loss will end my program's funding. I also get only one try per mission beyond Kerbin's SOI because I try not to look at what I have not explored lest the wonder of first seeing it in Career Mode should be lessened. The mission I just launched is my second to Eve, and I'm about to try again. I also play with permadeath and without quicksave to raise the stakes: just aerobraking from Mun is thrilling and required dozens of Sandbox tests. Hence some of my fear.

I also generally fear darkness and bumps therein and experience the greatest fear when playing Kerbal Space Program when I should be in REM sleep. Perhaps I have misunderstood the purpose of KSP. :/

--

Thanks for all the help: keep it coming!

-Duxwing

[Sophistry]

Contrary to popular belief, not all Kerbals believe MOAR BOOSTERS is the solution to everything. Just the ones involved in the space program.

And just how many Kerbals have we seen who were not involved in the space programme? If I recall from the part description of the large docking port, even the janitors think bigger is better! (so probably think MOAR BOOSTERS too!) That said I think even though individual Kerbals are kind of mad, I think their intelligence when they operate as a group is probably far higher than humans

And Duxwing: Per Ardua Ad Astra ! And if you fear darkness, I have bad news for you: space is dark, and KSP mostly operates in space (on a good day). The thing is, when the probes failed, did they fail in a memorable manner? If so the Kerbals won't care . And to be honest, I think you're putting too much pressure on yourself to succeed: KSP is in part a game about failing. The most fun to be had in KSP is when you aren't sure what you're doing and you're throwing things madly at the wall to see what sticks. On the other hand, lots of people do 'role play' almost, like you do, and that's fine! Play the game your way, but I suggest waiting until you feel your skills are "professional" enough that such role play is a fun self-imposed challenge, not a source of personal trauma xD.

I think you're wrong about Kerbal psychology too: I don't think they're "mass-hystericizers, and budget-cutters". I think Kerbals have the same attitude to their space programme we do. If it works, fantastic! If it fails, you chalk it up to experience, and chuckle if it was a fun memory: and most importantly, they're in it for the lulz!

Also playing instead of sleeping is the source of bizarre creations: sometimes wonderful, mostly useless, but always insane . KSP in a nutshell really!

Edited April 25, 2014 by Sophistry

[Duxwing]

And Duxwing: Per Ardua Ad Astra ! And to be honest, I think you're putting too much pressure on yourself to succeed: KSP is in part a game about failing. The most fun to be had in KSP is when you aren't sure what you're doing and you're throwing things madly at the wall to see what sticks. On the other hand, lots of people do 'role play' almost, like you do, and that's fine! Play the game your way, but I suggest waiting until you feel your skills are "professional" enough that such role play is a fun self-imposed challenge, not a source of personal trauma xD.

It's Per Aspera ad Astra, and thanks. It's a life lesson I should have learned when I was seven and frustrated that I could not simply play the piano and make the right sounds come out. I may have asked too much of myself by piling on those realism and role-play requirements, both counterfactual to Kerbal environment. I feel such sadness and frustration because I thus damaged many months of KSP play that I'm tearing up. Waaaah! :_( *hugs* I kinda miss sitting in orbit around Kerbin in the days before maneuver nodes, deep in a zen state of guessing where I should send my Mun-shot, I felt like a great star captain when using an unexpected Kerbolar slingshot to venture Laythe with my failed Eelooian probe, and that glimpse of Laythe's thick clouds and vast oceans motivated me to play KSP today. Perhaps I should consider not only performance on the pad but enjoyment in building and flight, and maybe I think so much that I habitually assume things will instantly effect my will like my thoughts do, and when the non-thought things don't, I feel deep frustration and want to regain my sense of omnipotence and therefore attempt Manley-esque feats to feel great like him again.

*gag* I have noticed that I do the above elsewhere. Frack me, I'm unhealthy.

And if you fear darkness, I have bad news for you: space is dark, and KSP mostly operates in space (on a good day).

Space is not dark: it has stars and Kerbol. The night-side of Eve is dark: I could barely see my descending probe! o_o

The thing is, when the probes failed, did they fail in a memorable manner? If so the Kerbals won't care .

The probes failed boringly. In no order:

• Sent to wrong planet.
  
• Not enough dV because dV chart was wrong.
  
• Not enough dV because transfer maneuver was reckless and negligent.
  
• Not enough dV because transfer maneuver was reckless and negligent.
  
• Not enough dV because transfer maneuver was reckless and negligent.
  
• Instantly vaporized by Space Kraken.
  
• Crashed because transfer stage was kept on by high Eveian drag.
  
• Scuttled in LKO because wrong set of solar panels deployed (the un-shielded ones cannot be retracted due to a mod).
  
• Crashed because all EC was recklessly used to transmit in-flight data.
  

I think you're wrong about Kerbal psychology too: I don't think they're "mass-hystericizers, and budget-cutters". I think Kerbals have the same attitude to their space programme we do. If it works, fantastic! If it fails, you chalk it up to experience, and chuckle if it was a fun memory: and most importantly, they're in it for the lulz!

I'm not saying that all Kerbals are mass-hystericizers and budget cutters, but that enough of them are to cause any failure, like in real life, to ruin careers and defund agencies. Wait, do we tolerate failure sometimes? *looks hopeful*

Also playing instead of sleeping is the source of bizarre creations: sometimes wonderful, mostly useless, but always insane . KSP in a nutshell really!

My sleepless creations are not bizarre: my piloting mistakes are.

-Duxwing

[Duxwing]

AAR: I landed a probe on Eve, finding it ESCAWWEEE! I could not watch the probe descend into the night side: hurtling into endless black deeply unsettles me. The probe's main batteries unforunately burned up, making it unable to open its panels. I further found that my previously-crashed probe already provided the data this one provided. What a fiasco! What should I do now?

-Duxwing