few questions from Mr Newbie

[xiombargdei]

Hello all, beginner here

I bought KSP last week, played around with it for a bit, and spent my whole sunday understanding how to succeed my first orbital rendezvous. I finaly made it at around 10pm after 10hrs of reading tutorials and watching videos

here are a few questions:

- What is "Goo" ?

- In career mode, what is the most efficient way to gather all the science from Kerbin ? I tried launching rockets and go for each biomes, but I either end up too short, or bankrupted.

- When you ask for a crew report, how do you know at which altitude you will get new science ? Is there a hidden increment of several thousands meter at which science "resets" ? Or a period of time after which it resets ?

- Same question with "goo containers". When are you suppoed to re-use them ?

- Finally, there are hundreds of mods out there. Can you recommend a good pack of mods for beginners to enhance the base game but not make it too "elite" ?

Thanks in advance

[[email protected]]

Adding more parts is always fun. KW Rocketry, Novapunch, procedural parts, procedural fairings and B9 are great for that.

If you want more realisitic aerodynamics then add FAR and deadly reentry.

If you are wanting to improve the look and feel of the game then go for environmental visual enhancements, better atmospheres, hot rockets, chatterer, distant object enhancement.

[Pecan]

1. Goo is an unknown substance it is your task to study under different conditions.

2. A 'plane with enough range to circumnavigate so it can land at any point and still return to KSC (the Space Centre).

3. Erm, don't know.

4. When you have the science lab you can 'clean' goo containers and re-use them, so you don't have to carry one or more for each biome you are visiting.

5. About from being hundreds (thousands?) of mods, there are a hundred different categories. Some just display important information, some change the universe, some make it look better, etc. etc. Personally I really like: SCANSat (orbital mapping instruments) because it adds a useful and interesting purpose to satellites. MechJeb (information about everything (and autopilot, if you choose to use it for that)) because there's a lot of numbers you need that the stock game doesn't give you. Kerbal Alarm Clock (an alarm clock! - can't find the thread at the moment) because once you've got several flights in progress it can be easy to miss something.

For unnecesary but making things a lot more immersive you can't beat Chatterer ("totally useless, totally fun" - adds random, meaningless, 'radio traffic'), RasterPropMonitor (IVA instruments - links with SCANSat and MechJeb amongst others) and Kerbquake.

[Alshain]

SPOILER ALERT

3. There are 2 atmospheric ranges Flying Low and Flying high. Watch the atmosphere slider below the altimeter, when it's about half way up toward the complete black you will be entering the "flying high" range.

More info on science in the specific "situations", biomes, and temperaments can be found in the table here (this is a bigger spoiler):

http://wiki.kerbalspaceprogram.com/wiki/Science

My essential mods:

Kerbal Engineer - Same info as mech jeb but no auto-pilot.

Kerbal Alarm Clock

RCS Build Aid - Helps you build RCS translation in the editor without induced rotation

Docking Port Alignment Indicator - Not "essential" but after you've proven you can dock normally, this cuts the time it takes by a lot. After a while it's just tedious to go without it.

Edited October 14, 2014 by Alshain

[Galileo Kerbonaut]

Some good mods I recommend:

Ambient Light Adjust - So you can make you screen brighter or darker on the fly.

Chaterrer - Just for a cosmetic reason, you can easily do without this one. But it does add to the immersion.

Contract Window - Not mandatory, but very useful.

Deadly reentry - Here is where it gets serious. This will have a huge influence on your game play.

Dmagic Orbital science - For fun, because Kerbals love science.

Final Frontier - I like to keep track of things. Final Frontier helps me do just that.

Fine Print - going to test this one tonight. Supposedly adds a lot of contract to the game. [EDIT] After some testing, this looks really promising!

KW rocketry - Awesome parts.

Mechjeb - Priceless information panels. You can also make your own panels.

SCANsat - Really cool mod for mapping the system.

TAC life support - Also a huge game changer.

RT - One of the coolest mods out there if you like setting up relay-systems.

Toolbar - Useful buttons all in one group.

Modulemanager - Mandatory dll, required for some mods.

Those are the mods I currently use.

Edited October 14, 2014 by Galileo Kerbonaut

[Aethon]

I'd avoid parts mods ( CPU intensive ) and mods in general until you are familiar with the stock parts and the stock game. Hang around the Forum, ask stock questions, and read threads that have questions you don't have answers for. You'll find out the most popular, stable and useful (fun) mods by osmosis.

In an update or so you might find you need mods like K(erbal) A(larm) C(lock), which will help you plan interplanetary departure times and pause time so you don't miss maneuver nodes, or K(erbal) E(ngineer) R(edux), which- well, does just about everything ( check it out on your own time ).

KAC: http://forum.kerbalspaceprogram.com/threads/24786-0-23-5-Kerbal-Alarm-Clock-v2-7-3-0-(April-9)

KER: http://forum.kerbalspaceprogram.com/threads/18230-0-25-0-Kerbal-Engineer-Redux-v0-6-2-11-and-v1-0-9-3?highlight=Kerbal+engineer+redux

Hope this helps.

[Cmdr. Arn1e]

I second Aethon's suggestions, really! and back up what the other's said about your questions...

If you really, really struggle to learn particular things about spaceflight, then MechJeb is a mod that can teach you - it is very easy to abuse, so not really recommended for beginners until they have made at least their first Mun-Landing on their own, but can be a really valuable tool to learn things like the finer points of docking and orbital rendezvous... once you have learnt what you want from it, you may find you don't need it again, until you get to the stage where you are docking parts of ships together in space, then it can become a really useful automation tool

(someone was going to mention it sooner or later, it is one of the more popular, but devisive, mods about!)

[FleetAdmiralJ]

Hello all, beginner here

Congratulations on joining the madness

I bought KSP last week, played around with it for a bit, and spent my whole sunday understanding how to succeed my first orbital rendezvous. I finaly made it at around 10pm after 10hrs of reading tutorials and watching videos

Nice. I'm not sure how long it look me to do a rendezvous. Probably not that quick.

here are a few questions:

- What is "Goo" ?

No one knows! It is highly speculated that it is what remains of, um, Kerbals who fell into unfortunate circumstances.

In career mode, what is the most efficient way to gather all the science from Kerbin ? I tried launching rockets and go for each biomes, but I either end up too short, or bankrupted.

Going for all the biomes at once probably isn't a good idea. The KSC has a "biome" at every building. Once you have batteries, feel free to attach to command pods end to end with a couple of batteries and just roll to each building to get biome science. Or if you're patient enough, just walk Kerbals there (be careful when time warping, though! They can go poof!). After that, your next best step would probably be to get into orbit and get orbital data. You can get EVA science over each biome from orbit. Once you get that science, you can try flying small rockets to the shores, grasslands, and highlands that are immediately to the west of the KSC (and don't forget the water!). You can also drop a pod from orbit onto the desert, which is a pretty large target as well. If you're up for it, you can do the same for either of the two polar regions as well. That will get you the bulk of the science from Kerbin. And if you can unlock things like goo and the science bay before you drop in on the different biomes, then even better.

When you ask for a crew report, how do you know at which altitude you will get new science ? Is there a hidden increment of several thousands meter at which science "resets" ? Or a period of time after which it resets ?

For crew reports (and for all other science as well), there is "surface," "flying," and "flying high" for Kerbin. For everything but the EVA, being in a craft landed in a biome will get you surface science. If you are above the ground to 18,000 meters, you will get flying, and above 18,000 meters to space will be flying high on Kerbin. You also have In space over Kerbin (in orbit) and in space high above Kerbin (over 250,000 meters above Kerbin)

Same question with "goo containers". When are you suppoed to re-use them ?

The same altitudes hold for all science readings - good, science bay, EVAs, everything. Edit: I forgot, unless you have a science lab, you can't really "reuse" Goo canisters or Science Jrs. So if you want to do 3 or 4 good readings, remember to bring 3 or 4 goo canisters!

Finally, there are hundreds of mods out there. Can you recommend a good pack of mods for beginners to enhance the base game but not make it too "elite" ?

Thanks in advance

For me, Kerbal Engineer and Kerbal Alarm Clock are musts as they keep you from warping past maneuver nodes (which you may not have dealt with yet but will soon). Engineer is just good for making sure you dont under or overbuild your craft. I also like Alternate Resource Panel just because it makes the resources look prettier. Other than that, I also like Crew Manifest because it allows you to create and name your own Kerbals. And if you want Kerbin to look all nice and spiffy, I would suggest Environmental Visual Enhancements. As for parts mods, I'll leave others to suggest those as I haven't really played with many parts or game-altering mods.

Edited October 14, 2014 by FleetAdmiralJ

[Commissioner Tadpole]

For mods, I would suggest for you not to go too overboard on it, as, if you're like me, you'll be slowly bloating your game to death with mods, and before you see, the time your game takes to start up has tripled and the FPS is down to one third of its' original glory.

Just do what Aethon said and only take Kerbal Alarm Clock and Kerbal Engineer Redux, then run away from the Add-On subforums and never look at it again. Unless you have a magical supercomputer that can play KSP with no framerate drops or lenghtened loading times.

- What is "Goo"?

No one knows! It is highly speculated that it is what remains of, um, Kerbals who fell into unfortunate circumstances.

He knows too much! Get those Kerbals in Black here already before the information spreads!

[mdkendall]

For Kerbin's biomes away from the KSC there is not a huge need to explicitly send a mission to them. You will likely land on most of them when you return from your early orbital and sub-orbital missions. So just ensure you have a thermometer on your re-entry capsule and you will pick up crew report, EVA report, surface sample and temperature reading from the biomes as you go. The only ones you won't get like that are the poles.

And note that when your kerbal exits the capsule and is still hanging off the ladder he can get a "flying low" EVA report, then when he lets go he can get another one from the surface.

[ArmchairGravy]

[Charlton Heston]

Goo is made of Kerbals!

[/Charlton Heston]

[Sirrobert]

All the questions have already been awnsered really, so I'll just go into mods:

Absolute must have for everyone:

Kerbal Alarm Clock, Select Root, Editor Extentions. Note that Module manager is in a way also must have, but it comes pre packaged with almost all good mods, so you don't have to worry about it. Toolbar is a must have if you have other mods, because it allows you to easely manage those mods

Really good to have, but some people don't like it:

Mechjeb or Kerbal Engineer. These mods (you only need 1 of them) give you a massive amount of information when building and flying your rocket. You will need this information if you want to reliably build rockets that can go where you want them (without the information, it's kinda guessing). Mechjeb also offers autopilot function, to fly basic tasks for you. In the past people would not want Mechjeb because this takes away to learning, but it's now intigrated in the Techtree, so you have to work for the luxury. By the time you get bored of launching the same rocket into orbit, you get the launch autopilot and let Mechjeb do it for you. Also, if don't know how to do some orbital mechanics, you can let Mechjeb do it for you, and learn from seeing (saves having to read).

That would be a good beginners kit I think. There is a ton of awesome mods, and I highly suggest you just open up the mod sites (http://kerbal.curseforge.com/projects and https://kerbalstuff.com/) and browse a little. Before you know it you'll run out of memory because you have to many mods

[xiombargdei]

Thank you all for your very great answers. I'll have a look to the mods you suggest after i'm a bit more at ease with the game.

The next contract i'll pick is "Explore Mun" that is orbit, land and return from it for the first time. But beforehand i'd like to have solar panels.

I guess a lot of science is awaiting me !

PS : this game is gold nugget !

[Sirrobert]

Thank you all for your very great answers. I'll have a look to the mods you suggest after i'm a bit more at ease with the game.

The next contract i'll pick is "Explore Mun" that is orbit, land and return from it for the first time. But beforehand i'd like to have solar panels.

I guess a lot of science is awaiting me !

PS : this game is gold nugget !

If you're going to aim for landers, I strongly suggest you get Mechjeb/Kerbal Engineer first. Without, you'll be guessing if you have enough fuel to make the trip. Offcourse, this is also fun, but it can get a little expencive

If you don't feel comfortable with a lander right away, you could start with a flyby, or just orbit, and return home. For lander, remember to make a wide base. Helps prevent tipping over.

Alternatively, you could start with Minmus. The lower gravity makes it easier to land there. Infact, because of the lower gravity, the total fuel costs to land and return is rhoughly the same for both moons

As for solar panels, you should actually have enough power without them to get to the Mun and back, because pods only use power when you are turning (unles you send a probe). But it's always safe to stick a few small panels on there

Note that if you do bring Mechjeb module: The module DOES drain energy, so remember to pack extra batterys if you have it (and go without panels)

[SRV Ron]

For now, build simple. Start out with simple sub orbital SRB rockets keeping in mind that you can right click on them in the VAB, tweak their output, and test fly to see what they will do. Build on the success of those early flights to expand your experience, science points and money if playing career. Learn what the stock stuff does for now. When you are ready to play with mods, create a separate copy of KSP and play with the mods there.

Some simple designs that will get you well started in career. (Note SRB tewaked to 45% thrust. It becomes the upper stage of the two stage design where the lower one is tweaked to 80% thrust. This will fly to 200,000+ meters without the Goo containers.)

This will go to 35,000 meters when properly tweaked.

Up to 200,000 meters;

Land both in the water if you wish to recover the SRB under the pod.

Here are two orbiter designs capable of a Mun flyby. I suggest that you build the one on the left in early career as it is the cheapest of the two designs.

The design on the right can be modified later in Career for manned Mun landing and return.

Edited October 15, 2014 by SRV Ron

[SRV Ron]

Thank you all for your very great answers. I'll have a look to the mods you suggest after i'm a bit more at ease with the game.

The next contract i'll pick is "Explore Mun" that is orbit, land and return from it for the first time. But beforehand i'd like to have solar panels.

I guess a lot of science is awaiting me !

PS : this game is gold nugget !

Ox Stat panels, Stayputnik, battery, and a Too Hot thermometer are a must for the Mun Minmus contract since transmitting science will fulfill the contract requirements. Learn how to fly that, land on Mun and Minmus, and place back into orbit for additional free money in future contracts. Then, build a manned lander and send Jeb for surface samples.

With careful flying, you can send Jeb to Mun and Minmus with Goo canisters for a flyby and return to get the science points needed to unlock the required parts. Doing testing contracts will give you more Science and money as well. The pod will give you plenty of power for that mission so long as you don't transmit anything.

Example career lander.

Edited October 15, 2014 by SRV Ron

[Gemberkoekje]

Contrary to most people here, the first mod I installed was "MechJeb"

Many people will hate MechJeb, because it allows you to use an autopilot to put a rocket into orbit automatically.

I'm not saying to use MechJeb the rest of your KSP life. However, when you're starting out, it's really challenging to wrap your head around orbits, prograde, retrograde and everything. I found it useful, as a beginner, to let MechJeb do those things for me, and keep a close eye on what he's actually doing. Once you've done a few orbits with MechJeb, you can throw it out of the window and try it yourself, first mimicing MechJeb, then starting a bit more free-form as to get, for example, a better fuel consumption rate, or to get from KSC to the mun in one burn, or any other fun challenges.

[xiombargdei]

My first landing ever went perfectly well !!!

[Engineer of Stuff]

A mod I recommend is Kerbin Side. It adds launchpads and buildings all over Kerbin. It adds a lot more life to the game.

[Pecan]

My first landing ever went perfectly well !!!

All in one piece is good :-)

It might be even better than you think ...

Using the control keys (WASDQE) and turning SAS on and off it is often possible to 'rock' a ship back upright. Retract and extend the landing-gear as required. Even if you can't get the thing to stand on the legs properly you should be able to get it pointing in the general direction of 'up' - hit Z to go to full throttle and keep turning to 'straight up' and you should be able to take off, then turn back flatter to get into orbit.

Yeah, safe! Pretend it didn't happen ^^.

[capi3101]

Here's a good tutorial on picking up science. It's a pretty good example of what you'll want to look for in a Mun/Minmus lander anyway - low and wide, so that the stupid thing doesn't tip over when you're finally reach the surface.

I use about a dozen mods all told. Crucial ones I would consider are Kerbal Alarm Clock, Docking Port Alignment Indicator (once you start thinking about docking anyways), and a navigational assistance mod. The undisputed kings of the nav assistance mods are Mechjeb and Kerbal Engineer Redux. Both provide flight information not typically available in the stock game. Mechjeb also includes autopilots, which is why it's the source of some controversy on these forums; there are folks who consider it a cheat - I'm not one of thems. Myself, I use KER.

Just got started using RCS Build Aid myself; that one's turned out to be helpful in, of all things, helping to design spaceplanes. It's good for rockets too. Whether or not it's crucial, I haven't used it enough yet to say one way or the other.

[Sirrobert]

My first landing ever went perfectly well !!!

http://i.imgur.com/PxfCNXZ.png?1

Better than my first landing. All the science is still intact. You can use a Kerbal to move it to the ship that leaves

If you send a resque ship, remember a wide base. That prevents tipping over.

This is also a good reason to start with Minmus. On Minmus, it's actually possible to wiggle the ship upright from such a position. On the Mun, that may prove impossible

[SRV Ron]

Some ways to make a wider ship.

This one uses radical decouplers.

This one has three side mounted fuel cans;

Some use radical mounted girders.

Whatever method used, keep in mind that Mun is far from level and that any sideway drift, unless in the direction of the slope, is likely to tip you over.