Question: What sort of video tutorials would you like to see?

[NecroBones]

Question: What tutorials are needed, or haven't been done sufficiently well so far?

I have started to make some youtube tutorials, but there are of course TONS of them out there already, some of which are made by some very talented people. So before I just start duplicating the effort of many other people, what do you think is still needed? What hasn't been done, or hasn't been done well?

I was about to start some tutorials for absolute beginners, but I may not bother, considering there's a huge number of them on youtube already, and of course Scott Manley has a series of them.

I saw one idea in this forum section already-- asteroid rendezvous. What other ideas might you have?

[Pecan]

Very, very short ones with tightly-written, well-presented scripts so no bandwidth is wasted. Keep it under about 5 minutes and I might even watch one.

[KvickFlygarn87]

Math, math, and moar math. Teach us the ins and outs of N-body physics!

[NecroBones]

Math, math, and moar math. Teach us the ins and outs of N-body physics!

But KSP doesn't have N-body physics.

[Dispatcher]

Very, very short ones with tightly-written, well-presented scripts so no bandwidth is wasted. Keep it under about 5 minutes and I might even watch one.

I agree. A lot of videos out there (including tutorials) tend to be too long to suit me, and some of the creators seem more interested in gaining and entertaining a following rather than producing concise tutorials limited to 5 (or sometimes 10) minutes, depending on a topic's complexity. It is a challenge to produce short videos, and it requires more editing, which many "You Tubers" can't (or don't want to) do, usually due to time constraints.

There are some You Tubers that I used to watch, but I stopped due to the ever expanding bloat of 20 and 30 minute episodes out there. I think a good niche would be to target the 5 to 10 minute range tutorial (even if it means a short series sometimes), without pumping for likes or obtusely building a following. Those who are into that sort of thing will find no shortage of videos out there, and many are entertaining. Don't get me wrong; there's no reason why a short, well done tutorial can't be entertaining as well. Good luck!

[NecroBones]

Certainly some good points.

A counter-argument of course is that short videos often don't have the opportunity to go into detail, and instead may have to shotgun information at you at a pace that you can't really absorb. I think there's a niche for both, but you're right, there aren't many short/concise ones out there currently. It's something to consider.

[KvickFlygarn87]

But KSP doesn't have N-body physics.

"There are mods for it"

- Everyone about, well, basically everything

[NecroBones]

I thought I'd take a stab at being more brief, with one that I've already done. How's this for short?

And the original, longer version:

[Spartan-S63]

I really liked the nutshell tutorial. I haven't watched the full length one, but the format for the nutshell one was pretty awesome.

[Pecan]

I thought I'd take a stab at being more brief, with one that I've already done. How's this for short?

Excellent!

1) Even though I wasn't looking for a video on the subject I had no hesitation in watching it, because it was so short. You really did cut, tighten and edit it very well too - every word counted. Possibly - it depends on what you're comfortable with - speak more slowly (yes, it'll have to be longer) but personally I found your delivery 'snappy' and without fault. (Really, I thought it was perfect).

2) Whereas; there simply is no way I'm going to watch one that's more than quarter of an hour! Presumably I would if I wanted more after the previous. Amongst the many things I liked was the way you linked from one to the other.

Many congratulations.

[NecroBones]

Thanks!

Yeah, I accidentally sped up the talking over the course of the video. I have to really remind myself to slow down.

[NecroBones]

OK, I did a short version of my other tutorial, docking rendezvous on the daytime side of the planet. This one is a little longer, since there's more ground to cover, but it's still under 4 minutes (3:40), and I made more of an effort to keep the pace consistent.

Edited May 20, 2014 by NecroBones

[Valley]

A lot of videos deal with docking and space flight but I think a few more need to be done on ship design. For example, what is needed to go into orbit vs. going to the Mun and back. What are the best designs, for example, in lifting heavy loads. Or how to design a refueling rocket (the idea being that you are trying to get the fuel into orbit and not just burn it up to get there).

[NecroBones]

A lot of videos deal with docking and space flight but I think a few more need to be done on ship design. For example, what is needed to go into orbit vs. going to the Mun and back. What are the best designs, for example, in lifting heavy loads. Or how to design a refueling rocket (the idea being that you are trying to get the fuel into orbit and not just burn it up to get there).

I think that's a good idea, but at the same time, I can see why there's not a lot of it. A great deal of the fun of the game is experimenting with designs, and watching most of them explode before you get something that works. But also, without mods such as Engineer or MechJeb, it's hard to tell people how to get the right amount of TWR or dV (so maybe the tutorials need to use those). Plus, I think people tend not to watch videos that look like it's just showing off designs.

There's probably a good balance in there somewhere, in which a tutorial can talk about good design philosophies and the like. That may be tricky to do though.