Add a Tier 1 Runway to future plans

[Alshain]

After seeing the Barn Raising thread I have to say I am incredibly disappointed at Squad's short sightedness in this matter. No runway or SPH because you can't use them yet? Perhaps you've forgotten Firespitter or KAX? Your locking these mods into using higher tier only? Firespitter is the perfect example of a plane that could be built earlier. Think about it, bi planes and dirt runways? Crop dusters have been around far longer than space travel and the fact it is a converted farm just accents this further! Farms have runways.

My suggestion is to add a dirt runway, or just a usable grass field runway, and some kind of plane hangar to the Tier 1 KSC that you recently showcased and stop putting limits like that on modders.

Edited November 10, 2014 by Alshain

[Laie]

Calm down.

Getting the first SPH and runway will possibly be very cheap. Even if not: they say that the new editor will let you switch symmetry modes, so you could conceivably build a plane in VAB, roll it down the launchpad and take off from the meadow.

[zekes]

After seeing the Barn Raising thread I have to say I am incredibly disappointed at Squad's short sightedness in this matter. No runway or SPH because you can't use them yet? Perhaps you've forgotten Firespitter or KAX? Your locking these mods into using higher tier only? Firespitter is the perfect example of a plane that could be built earlier. Think about it, bi planes and dirt runways? Crop dusters have been around far longer than space travel and the fact it is a converted farm just accents this further! Farms have runways.

My suggestion is to add a dirt runway, or just a usable grass field runway, and some kind of plane hangar to the Tier 1 KSC that you recently showcased and stop putting limits like that on modders.

I agree to this, i think there should be earlier spaceplane parts like propellors, engines, etc.

[Alshain]

Calm down.

Getting the first SPH and runway will possibly be very cheap. Even if not: they say that the new editor will let you switch symmetry modes, so you could conceivably build a plane in VAB, roll it down the launchpad and take off from the meadow.

So instead of raising my concerns with Squad while there is still time to do something about it I should accept a hokey and annoying potential work around of driving my planes off the launch pad hopefully not crashing them in the attempt?

[prophet_01]

First of all, we don't know that yet. Remember this is a wip and as far as I know there is nothing more specific onthis than pictures of the current state of development. But it seems like this might be true and therefore:

Agreed. A dirt runway is not a bad idea. We should have the option to give planes a role in early career. There are a lot of people (including me) that want to progress in a somewhat similar way to earth's space programs. That includes planes for high altitude flights and of course suborbital hops with spaceplanes.

It's fine to limit new players with the tech tree to avoid confusion and part clutter, but removing the runway in tier-1 is not a good idea I think.

It could require construction instead of being build from the start, but it should definetly be available.

[Alshain]

First of all, we don't know that yet. Remember this is a wip and as far as I know there is nothing more specific onthis than pictures of the current state of development. But it seems like this might be true and therefore:

Agreed. A dirt runway is not a bad idea. We should have the option to give planes a role in early career. There are a lot of people (including me) that want to progress in a somewhat similar way to earth's space programs. That includes planes for high altitude flights and of course suborbital hops with spaceplanes.

It's fine to limit new players with the tech tree to avoid confusion and part clutter, but removing the runway in tier-1 is not a good idea I think.

It could require construction instead of being build from the start, but it should definetly be available.

We do know more than that if you watched Squadcast. Maxmaps said there is no runway because you don't need it. I say, that's wrong, we do need it.

[BudgetHedgehog]

We do know more than that if you watched Squadcast.

Hooray, more official news that isn't posted anywhere apart from one place and one time...

I'm with you - I was hoping to do a save in 0.90.0 that is entirely from the runway/SPH The-Wrong-Brothers style.. this is a little annoying.

[Wanderfound]

Hooray, more official news that isn't posted anywhere apart from one place and one time...

...and in a format that is totally inaccessible on mobile devices unless you're in a timezone to see it live. Could we at least get a post-facto mirror on Youtube?

I'm with you - I was hoping to do a save in 0.90.0 that is entirely from the runway/SPH The-Wrong-Brothers style.. this is a little annoying.

Another vote here for a dirt airfield and stockified prop planes.

Some folks want to go direct to Apollo, some of us would rather start with the Wright Brothers and Bob Goddard. Why not let everyone play how they want to play? Where's the downside?

All it would take is a handful of low-tech plane parts (relatively easy to make, given the existing stock aircraft bits to modify and the plethora of mods that have been there before) and assigning a corner of the KSC paddock as a launch site.

[Laie]

So instead of raising my concerns with Squad while there is still time to do something about it I should accept a hokey and annoying potential work around of driving my planes off the launch pad hopefully not crashing them in the attempt?

Maybe you should request a launchpad that will be no obstacle course, because really, that's all you need. If the tier-0 pad was merely a patch of bare ground, it would fit in nicely with anything else I've seen.

[Alshain]

Maybe you should request a launchpad that will be no obstacle course, because really, that's all you need. If the tier-0 pad was merely a patch of bare ground, it would fit in nicely with anything else I've seen.

Or you know, they could do the crazy thing and have a runway. I'm sorry, I don't understand your line of thought here. Have them design a launchpad that planes can roll off of instead of just putting a runway?

[Laie]

That runway would benefit the users of certain mods. It would also be a pointless building to anyone else. Leaving it out of the initial space center is a perfectly valid newbie-proofing technique (more valid than 50% throttle in my opinion).

Those who know better can as well assemble a plane in VAB due to the new and improved editor. It's then only a question of having a launchpad that isn't too unsuitable as a starting point for planes. And as far as I can make out any details, the tier-1 (tier-0?) launchpad seems acceptable in that regard.

http://i.imgur.com/eDayqJE.jpg

[prophet_01]

Thx for sharing the info from squad cast. That's not good news... I don't think a dirt runway (similar to the one on the Island) is too much to ask for