Thanks!

[masterquinn]

Hi,

Just wanted to say a few things... I've had this game since 0.17? The first release with space planes.. That was when i found this game and got interested, i spent a good long time getting this rocket to the damn Mun without any mods or anything else. I achieved orbit after some spectacular failures, and many sun orbits until i finally figured out what the hell i was doing wrong. So.. this is great! Now to make it to the Mun.. well since im not a rocket guy and maths are practically a foreign concept now-a-days (getting old and i drink too much, lol), let's just burn direct for the Mun and hope for the best.. that didnt work.. Lots of rockets leaving the solar system and not really making it anywhere near the Mun.. in fact im pretty sure i ran out of fuel a good dozen times and slammed face first into a crater..

FINALLY i made it to the Mun, but problem.. i could never land correctly, i land on a slope, a hill, or just end up coasting 5m above the Mun going 100m/s sideways.. fun times, fun times. So i put the game down and focused on other things...

I recently grabbed it again with the introduction of Career Mode.. FINALLY something to strive for! And i had to relearn everything all over again.. was able to orbit Kerbin, land on the Mun, then i got stuck couldn't figure out how to get back to Kerbin... read the forums, and found out how to do a (very large) orbit around 3/4 of the solar system to end back in the ocean on Kerbin.. well at least i made it.. that's something right? So i figured i'd spice things up a bit... found out about MechJeb.

Let me tell you... i learned more with MechJeb as to what im doing than i did without it. I use it currently, however i use it to find out when to burn for the Mun, how to adjust apoapsis and periapsis, asparagus staging (holy hell this helps so much) and what the hell Dv stood for. After reading alot of the forums it seems the majority of ppl are " learn the game before automating it ".. well i'm sorry, but i'm one of those people who suck at games like this. MechJeb is my helper - criticize as you see fit.

The game as a whole i'm quite proud of how its come along from the 4 building pad (space plane hangar, launchpad, rocket facility and tracking station) to what it is today. Thank you KSP developers, i am addicted again to this mind-numbing game. I'm stating to dream about rockets.. seriously.. and that's when i know that this game does it for me.

Thank you to everybody who is helping to keep this game going.. i am seriously looking forward to further development and trying out all the crazy mods ive seen. I do have a few quick questions though.. Are there stock parts to building an ISS so i can just launch to other planets from there? How do i refuel in space anyways? And how the hell do i ' collect ' science? Ive been walking around on the Mun and there isnt a whole lot there... maybe Minmus has some? Or do i need more mods?

Thank you for this awesome game and for the community that keeps it exploding on the pad............... thats it.. all i wanted to really say

-- Quinn

[Starwhip]

This should have gone in the "Welcome Aboard" section, really.

But holy Mos-Esley, is this a big post! Nice to see someone with a good history joining the forums.

And your Mun missions remind me of my own... I could never get enough fuel there to get home, never.

Welcome to the game and the Forum, masterquinn!

EDIT:

Whoah, just noticed your questions at the end. (Sorry, I didn't read it all the way through! )

Docking and refueling, check out the tutorial in my signature.

Science, you need to be in Career mode. There are something like 10 different experiments: Goo Canister, Materials Bay, Accelerometer, Gravioli Detector, Barometer, Thermometer, Sensor Array Computing Nose Cone, Crew Report, Surface Sample and EVA Report. Except for the last three (two?) you need parts, which would be in the "Science" tab. Look there.

The Crew Report/EVA Reports need Kerbals. Right-click on a capsule and then "Crew Report" to do one. Right-clicking a Kerbal gives you EVA reports, and if you are landed or splashed down, an option for "Surface Samples".

The other part's experiments are accessed via right-clicking as well.

Hope this helped!

Edited October 17, 2014 by Starwhip

[rkman]

Hi,

Are there stock parts to building an ISS so i can just launch to other planets from there?

There are no specific ISS parts but you can build a space station with docking ports and fuel tanks. (The real ISS is in fact not suitable for refueling for interplanetary missions).

[moogoob]

I like you learned much with mechjeb. Now, all I really need it for is rendezvous and planetary transfer. It's very useful for long burns - you can go make yourself a coffee or something while it's running.

As to space stations, I make my own with stock parts. You can use Hitchhiker storage things to keep Kerbals in, fuel tanks to keep fuel in and docking ports to allow docked ships to refuel. Maybe a lab, but those are mostly useful for science you don't plan on bringing home to Kerbin. You can launch that in one piece if you use enough boosters. Anything else is up to you.

Here's my Mun station (Sandbox mode) from 0.23.something:

Edited October 17, 2014 by moogoob
Adding picture

[xtoro]

There's already a "thanks thread" http://forum.kerbalspaceprogram.com/threads/7284-Thanks-KSP-team-%29

[Levelord]

Let me tell you... i learned more with MechJeb as to what im doing than i did without it. I use it currently, however i use it to find out when to burn for the Mun, how to adjust apoapsis and periapsis, asparagus staging (holy hell this helps so much) and what the hell Dv stood for. After reading alot of the forums it seems the majority of ppl are " learn the game before automating it ".. well i'm sorry, but i'm one of those people who suck at games like this. MechJeb is my helper - criticize as you see fit.

I agree. Space travel isn't as intuitive as people are lead to believe and trial and error, while fun, isn't an actual avenue to learn orbital mechanics. What is learnt from space travel is actually an accumulation of scientific knowledge over the centuries that we derive from.

Mechjeb is just another way of deriving knowledge and showing the basics to new players.