Newbie here. I would like to ask few questions..

[woodensen]

Hi, just bought this game 4 days ago (steam sale ftw) and already put 45 hours on it. im quite a gamer and i can safely say that there is no single game that i've played in my life that makes me attached as much as KSP. (i guess wrong time to get this game as i'm catching up with final exam soon).

So, my questions is:

1. Is it only me, or career mode in normal is very easy to unlock all the spaceship parts because of the abundance amount of science we can get through strategies? At first, i didnt bother with the new building in 0.25 (i knew from reading the patch notes). But i decided to try it and getting the "strategy" to get science alongside with funds. Suddenly, boom, one simple contracts can yield around 2k science.

2. Is there an input/output of docking port? i mean imagine two magnets, and you have to put the alignment on the magnet correctly in order to "snap" the two magnets. Is it the docking port got the same idea as magnet, i.e. you have to W A S D the docking port when assembling the vessel to align the docking port.

3. what is actually satellites do other than orbiting a planet and do all the science instruments?

4. what is the best mod that improve your experience without diminishing its difficulty?

thanks in advance

Edited December 2, 2014 by woodensen

[sal_vager]

Welcome to the KSP forums woodensen

1, It's not just you, the numbers we have in career for rewards and stuff are mostly placeholders to get it working, balancing is coming later.

2, Docking ports have a face and the faces have to come together, but other than that there's no restriction on angle.

3, Not a lot yet without modding the game, again, stuff is coming later.

4, Hoo boy, everyone has their preferences on this one, but the Chatterer addon really improves the experience.

Have fun and fly safe

[Oafman]

1. No it's not just you. The Tree can easily be completed without leaving the Kerbin system. Luckily we now have the ability to change settings and make it slightly harder to earn science.

2. Not sure what you mean. Can you rephrase that please?

3. Very little in stock. But there are a couple of fantastic mods that make satellites worthwhile, namely Remotetech2 and Scansat. The former makes you set up line-of-sight connections in order to control your unmanned ships, and the latter enables you to scan planets and moons, earning science and also making very useful maps.

4. A difficult question, as it's really a matter of opinion. Personally, I would say Mechjeb, because in the stock game, you have very little actual data on what your ship is doing (eg orbital characteristics, available deltav etc), and MJ gives you plenty of that, in many different ways. It is also known, sometimes negatively, for its autopilot features, and some people are critical of others who use them. But tbh, when you're faced with launching yet another fuel resupply, or yet another constellation satellite, it is nice to have the option of having your staff do it for you! Kerbal Engineer does the same, without the autopilot, though I've never used it.

Edited December 2, 2014 by Oafman

[woodensen]

Welcome to the KSP forums woodensen

1, It's not just you, the numbers we have in career for rewards and stuff are mostly placeholders to get it working, balancing is coming later.

2, Docking ports have a face and the faces have to come together, but other than that there's no restriction on angle.

3, Not a lot yet without modding the game, again, stuff is coming later.

4, Hoo boy, everyone has their preferences on this one, but the Chatterer addon really improves the experience.

Have fun and fly safe

Thanks, sir mod. I'm really overwhelmed with the thoughts of how awesome this game would become after its totally finished.

i would like to see they implement on how satellites can detect anomaly on the planet, or AI features that allows us to compete with other space programs

[SRV Ron]

1. Is it only me, or career mode in normal is very easy to unlock all the spaceship parts because of the abundance amount of science we can get through strategies? At first, i didnt bother with the new building in 0.25 (i knew from reading the patch notes). But i decided to try it and getting the "strategy" to get science alongside with funds. Suddenly, boom, one simple contracts can yield around 2k science.

Default Career is quite generous for beginners. If you are good, it doesn't take long to build up funds and Science Points.

Want a challenge? set up the hard mode where you have to purchase individual unlocked parts, the rewards are smaller, and the cost of failing is bigger.

2. Is there an input/output of docking port? i mean imagine two magnets, and you have to put the alignment on the magnet correctly in order to "snap" the two magnets. Is it the docking port got the same idea as magnet, i.e. you have to W A S D the docking port when assembling the vessel to align the docking port.

Yes, if you pair them for staging. Note that they are very wobbly if used in that capacity.

3. what is actually satellites do other than orbiting a planet and do all the science instruments?

For now, they are just used to initially get science and later to fulfill data return contracts.

4. what is the best mod that improve your experience without diminishing its difficulty?

That becomes an individual choice.

Mods are available to add many more parts, aids to flight and construction, more realism, or just plain whacky fun. Become familiar with the stock game before adding mods. And, do so on a separate copy of the stock game, easily copied from the default install to it's own location, in case there is a game crashing conflict with multiple mod installation.

[Streetwind]

If you're eager to scan for anomalies, I can recommend you SCANsat. It also just so happens to be a mod that falls into the "improve your experience without diminishing its difficulty" category, and it also gives your staellites something to do as they orbit the planet.

[capi3101]

3. what is actually satellites do other than orbiting a planet and do all the science instruments?

4. what is the best mod that improve your experience without diminishing its difficulty?

thanks in advance

3. There are a couple of mods that add functionality to satellites. ScanSat I believe is one of them, as is Kethane. FinePrint also often churns out satellite contracts; that one I'd actually recommend getting as it will become stock in the next update.

4. Aside from the aforementioned FinePrint, it depends on the experience you're looking for. Myself, I generally install mods that assist with piloting - like Kerbal Engineer Redux, Kerbal Alarm Clock, Precise Node, Docking Port Alignment Indicator and a few others. Kerbal Attachment System's also fun; it adds things like winches and pipes to the game. Someone will probably mention Mechjeb at some point; from what I understand it's like KER but with a huge array of autopilots, which makes it more than somewhat controversial.