Some ideas

[Hanno]

Here are some ideas I had:

Not so important:

- a 2 man capsule like the gemini capsules

- a large 4-6 man capsule like the MPCV or Orion capsules

- an escape tower for the 1 man geministyle capsule

- escape towers have fairings for the whole capsule and also cover the docking port (something like the protective cover: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f0/Launch_escape_system_diagram.jpg)

More important:

- hiding special parts in the VAB and SPH, so I can hide parts in the VAB that I only use in the SPH or that I don't use at all

- 2 tabs in the VAB and SPH for the mission flag AND an emblem (mission flag is the flag that you plant on your moons and that you have on your kerbals suit, emblem is the flag that you have on your rocket)

Edited April 27, 2014 by Hanno

[Baythan]

That escape tower diagram you linked is almost exactly what the in-game escape tower looks like. The aft protective cover/fairing would only be necessary if the drag model gets updated. What the in-game LES needs is a built-in decoupler so it can be jettisoned once the rocket is near space in an almost circular orbit. I also find it kinda sad that the LES is not available in career mode until Tier 6, when it should have been available in tier 2 or 3 (so, an LES for the mk 1 module), when players are still probably making rockets that fail.

The only 2-man capsule currently in the game is the Mk2 Lander-can, and the regular capsules go from 1 to 3 crew. I'd like a 2-man capsule earlier in the Tech tree along with docking ports so that we can do Apollo-like landers early (ie- first. Though I'd like to be sending probes before a Kerbal ever hits orbit).

4-6 man capsules can be done already by adding Hitchhiker Storage Containers to a regular capsule, but it is a rather large behemoth at that point. The Mk1-2 capsule looks like the orion capsule to me, except with the limit of 3 crew. Also, do we really need more conical command modules? I think I'd rather have a 4-man version of the lander can for space stations and base building.

And I do like the idea for being able to limit the part counts or some better ways of sorting the parts in the SPH and VAB, even without mods it gets annoying to be constantly tabbing all over the place to build a simple rocket (HINT: put fuel lines and space-tape as the first item in their sections. I could do a whole paragraph on re-sorting the VAB).

And mission emblems would be cool, and I bet people would also love a flag editor/emblem maker too... but that might be too much. Maybe we need an external mission-patch maker on the KSP website or something? Stock it with images of each planetary body, a star field, orbital stripe... well now I'm just listing all the things I had to go make for my own flag editing...

[BLUESTREAK]

The lack of a 2 man capsule is most glaring; every time I launch something in the early game I feel like I'm jumping a logical step from Mercury to Apollo. A Mk1 scale escape tower would be extremely useful, and could be backed up with a SRB to fill the gap between the sepratron and the dustbin of explosives you get at the start - far too overpowered for that stage of the game, in my opinion. It would also fill a gap in the >0.5m SRB range.

[Hanno]

@Baythan

I know that I could use the 2 man lander for a gemini capsule and the hitchhiker for a MPCV capsule but since they are made for non atmospheric areas there should be real 2 and 4 man capsules. Also, I think that the Mk1-2 capsule is more the kerbal counterpart for the Apollo CM and the MCPV capsule has a diameter of ~ 5 m while the Apollo CM is more like ~ 4m.

And to the LES cover: I only want is so it covers the docking ports between the LES and the capsule because I don't like the gap between them and I agree with you that there should be a built-in decoupler in the LES.

[KerbMav]

Question is, is a 1,5m part big enough to fit two Kerbals?

[Hanno]

I think that the gemini capsule would be a size between the 1 man and the 3 man pod with an adaptor on it.

[KerbMav]

So launched on a 2,5m rocket?

Hm ... rescalesize for the pod to something bigger, copy a 2-1m adapter and make it a decoupler ... no KSP till sunday for me, so you will have to do this now!

Edited April 25, 2014 by KerbMav

[Hanno]

So launched on a 2,5m rocket?

Hm ... rescalesize for the pod to something bigger, copy a 2-1m adapter and make it a decoupler ... no KSP till sunday for me, so you will have to do this now!

are you talking about the gemini or the MPCV capsule?

[KerbMav]

Just rambling about resizing the 1man stock pod a bit into something fitting 2 kerbonauts and editing an adapter to serve as a decoupler for it to be launched on 2m rockets - as an alternative to creating two completely new parts/models (which would look so much better, granted ).

[Hanno]

I think the gemini capsule looks a bit like a bigger 1man pod http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Gemini_6_7.jpg