My "OMG This Game Is Amazing" Moment!

[ProStasisX]

Hey KSP Community

So, I finally picked up KSP when it was on sale during the whole black friday ordeal - figured, hey, why not - I like sim games, I'm sure I'll get a couple hours of fun out of it.

Oh My God - I was wrong.. I can't put the game down. In high school, Physics/Math were my favorite subjects (why I never went on to do something in those fields, I'll never know), and this game plays on everything I loved so much about both. I loved all of it, force, momentum, acceleration, figuring out crazy formulas for with friction and yadda yadda yadda...

So, with that said - here's my crazy story - and I've read through some of the forums, and I'm sure this won't amount to what you all have been up to - but this story just hit me in the face today about how AMAZING this game is.

So, I've been playing on career mode - normal. Haven't done any sandbox or anything (just so you all know where I'm at with the game).

I've unlocked quite a few trees so far (mainly by doing the mission where you have to test that really huge rocket in orbit - that seemed a little too easy, and netted me like 1200 science points) anyhow. So I'm mostly on the 300 science point tier, with a few 600 done (I think).

So - my first "self made" mission from this past weekend - I wanted to start building a mini space station around Mun - so I could refuel, put a science lab there, just for fun. Well, I managed that - it had solar panels, all that great stuff - then I realized - i forgot docking ports... ahhh... So... Bob Kerman has been floating around the moon twiddling his thumbs, oh well, he can stay there and watch the action from a far.

Today, I got home from work - fired up the game, and decided to finally land on the actual moon. This time, i built a REALLY awesome commander/lunar lander combination. The intent to undock the lander, drop it onto the moon, fire it back up to the commander pod, redock, refuel, send the science back to kerman, rinse and repeat. Right? Sounds amazing. Well I managed to do it! I got the whole thing into orbit, put 5 docks on to it, so I could build off of it in the future. So I get the lander on to the mun, the commander module is orbiting the Mun without anyone in it. My little kerbal dude is jumping around the moon, having a blast. collecting some rocks, EVA reports, all that jazz. Plant the flag, we're good to go. Get back into the lander, and take off. Only to realize, I only had enough fuel to BARELY get into a stable orbit around the mun. So now, I have a lander in orbit (with no fuel) and a commander module in orbit (no pilot)... oh crap... looks like we have another kerbal stuck around the mun...

But wait... I still have Bob, floating around Mun all happy in his science lab! So I take control of Bob the Scientist - drive the science module towards the Commander Module - Send Bob on a spacewalk to the commander module - he gets in. He turns everything on, heats up the Commander module (it's been drifiting idle for awhile now) - and fires it on an intercept course for the hopeless lander. I get within 500m of the lander, only to realize... I don't have any RCS on this!! oops... so I target the lander, drop the speed difference down to .1 m/s line it up, switch to the lunar module, spin it around to face the commander. and tell my poor Kerbals to hold on!

A little bump.. annnd... we're DOCKED! I make sure the fuel transfer is shut down, so I dont' dump all fo the fuel into the lander - and make a return course for the science lab. Since the science lab doesn't have any docking ports on it, I figured it's time to return it to Kerban. So I space walk the Kerbal that walked on the Mun, leaving Bob back in orbit around the moon (Meh, he's used to it by now, I figured he wouldn't mind staying awhile longer, maybe he'll catch the next trip home). I grab the science from the pod, and take it with me to the science module. Fire that back up, and I'm now currently on a return trajectory to Kerben.

Most of that wasn't any type of required mission (except for the science gather and flag plant)... I'll get a decent amount of science out of it - recovered all the kerbals - have the first piece of a Mun Space Station in orbit, complete with 4 open docking ports.

I mean... amazing... AMAZING... I love this game... And to think, I have all of those other planets out there to explore... I'm having an absolute blast with this game... I have 42 hours logged according to Steam so far... I can't put this game down... I just can't

It has a pretty high learning curve, but man, once you get it down, it's just an absolute blast! The more you learn, the more there is to do - I can't wait to try slingshotting around planets to save on fuel to other planets. I'm excited!

I'd LOVE to hear your "OMG THIS GAME IS AMAZING" moments too !

[arkie87]

http://steamcommunity.com/profiles/76561198073801743/recommended/220200/

[ProStasisX]

Oh I should totally write a review on Steam for that too - yeah - that's awesome! 10/10 for sure right? Thanks for that! Loved it

[Pecan]

Congratulations; that's pretty impressive progress for how recently you bought KSP.

My computer (and its typist) are old, so I got the demo to see if it would even work. It did and the tutorials were ... nice, might get the game. OMG came as soon as I built and flew my own ship to orbit (thanks to tutorials here on the forums!) then watched it through re-entry and splashdown.

[KerrMü]

Congrats for

a) buying this game

that impressive Münlanding-story

c) getting addicted

Fell in love with the game by playing the demo. "Wait, I can design a spaceship and then fly it... and how I design it has an actual influence on how it flies? Shut up and take my money!!!" That was manymanymanymany hours ago.

[arkie87]

Oh I should totally write a review on Steam for that too - yeah - that's awesome! 10/10 for sure right? Thanks for that! Loved it

Glad i could help!

I posted that review because i feel it exemplifies what is so awesome/fun about KSP

[metl]

Welcome to KSP anonymous.Your life will never be the same again.

[MartGonzo]

I'm really impressed with that story, you seem to be a natural with orbital mechanics, it took me months to reach the level of competence you achieved in just a few days!

Understanding how to orbit, transfer and rendezvous is no small feat in such a short time and then docking without RCS!

wow! I would probably revert the flight even after a year of playing this game rather than attempt to dock without RCS

I think the moment I fell in love with KSP was when I got my first orbit after many failed attempts and "back to the drawing board" moments

[Bill Phil]

I picked it up, played it, and....

I was terrible.

A year later...

I pick it up again, and I actually put something into ORBIT! (Thanks, Orbiter)

And then, a little while later, I set up Trailblazer 1,2, and 3. Landing on Mun, Minmus, and Duna. They all worked first try........

And I never put down the game again.

[Voidryder]

Nice missions. Welcome and your life is never going to be the same. I promise you. Feel free to ask questions. This is one friendly community. See ya in The Black.

[Xacktar]

I just love how pumped you can get when playing this game. I remember my first Mun landing had me jumping out of my chair and laughing with joy and it is great to see others having the same amount of fun.

[ProStasisX]

I'm really impressed with that story, you seem to be a natural with orbital mechanics, it took me months to reach the level of competence you achieved in just a few days!

Understanding how to orbit, transfer and rendezvous is no small feat in such a short time and then docking without RCS!

wow! I would probably revert the flight even after a year of playing this game rather than attempt to dock without RCS

I think the moment I fell in love with KSP was when I got my first orbit after many failed attempts and "back to the drawing board" moments

oh yeah for sure - I mean I've read a few things here and there after finishing the tutorial and launching a few rockets into orbit - I mean like I said, I have just over 40 hours recorded on steam, plus whatever I've played since I got home, lol. I have no idea how I managed that dock - other than I set each ship as the target of the other, and then just switched back and forth pointing them at the target on the nav ball, got down to .1 m/s and then BUMP/Locked - it was sweet, haha.

I LOVE the back to the drawing board - I can't wait to explore this game in normal, and then try again in hard mode

[arkie87]

wow! I would probably revert the flight even after a year of playing this game rather than attempt to dock without RCS

Docking without RCS isnt too bad if you are controlling a small ship (command pod, fuel tank, lv-909) that can spin around with reaction wheels on a dime... ive done it many-a-time when i was too lazy (read: forgot) to put RCS on the ship. I think most of my docks have been without RCS, and i actually learned to dock without RCS.

That said, i dont usually assemble large ships in orbit...so maybe that's why im confused

But still, learning to do all that so fast is impressive! Have fun with your green monsters!

Edited December 9, 2014 by arkie87

[Lachned]

Has been a while, but I fondly remember my first (and so far only) manned duna mission. All went well, but I used more fuel than expected during landing (due to the inefficency of the parachutes). I barely made it into orbit and my return vessel had to go into a much lower orbit to pick up the crew. I barely had any fuel left when I got back into Kerbin SOI and only got Pe into Atmosphere so closely. Took a few (long) orbits to finally land.

(To be fair, I gave no .... about transfer windows, so I could have made it much more safe)

[MartGonzo]

Docking without RCS isnt too bad if you are controlling a small ship (command pod, fuel tank, lv-909) that can spin around with reaction wheels on a dime... ive done it many-a-time when i was too lazy (read: forgot) to put RCS on the ship. I think most of my docks have been without RCS, and i actually learned to dock without RCS.

That said, i dont usually assemble large ships in orbit...so maybe that's why im confused

But still, learning to do all that so fast is impressive! Have fun with your green monsters!

I have tried... it didn't go well

[Stewcumber]

I'd played the game a while, maybe ~8h, and has just about got a few rockets into oribit in Sandbox. After a revamp of my rocket, on my next orbit I found I had loads of fuel left so I thought... Why not try getting to the Mun? This was before the nodes (or maybe before I knew how to use them) so one YouTube video saying "when you see the moon, floor it" later I was on course to reach the mun. So What I didn't have Lander legs, lights, batteries, solar panels!

I've never been as excited as I have in a game seeing the Mun get gradually closer until one small area of surface fills my screen, and I've never been as tense in a game trying to land a Lander at less than 3 m/s due to no Lander legs. That was my Eureka moment.

[Tw1]

Hey KSP Community

So, I finally picked up KSP when it was on sale during the whole black friday ordeal - figured, hey, why not - I like sim games, I'm sure I'll get a couple hours of fun out of it.

Oh My God - I was wrong.. I can't put the game down.

-snip-

Most of that wasn't any type of required mission (except for the science gather and flag plant)... I'll get a decent amount of science out of it - recovered all the kerbals - have the first piece of a Mun Space Station in orbit, complete with 4 open docking ports.

..

Welcome aboard!

This game can be dangerously awesome. Remember to eat, sleep, talk to people, and stay on top of life in general. Kerbal responsibly.

I find missions you do your self often end up more complex, and more enjoyable than what you do if you're just following the 'science' thing, or contracts.

Back in 0.18, when I started, we had neither of these, just rocket parts, planets and the desire to (Quoting the guy from Extrasolar:) "Dream to worlds beyond."

My moments would have to be:

Opening the game for the first time.

Hitting the Mun with the capsule, deciding to buy the full version.

Successfully landing on the Mun! And then on Minmus! And then even returning!

Getting to Duna, and stepping out onto another world. Roving over the Mun, Minmus, Dres, Moho, and Duna.

First non-struggle docking - my recovery mission to Duna

Getting all my Kerbs home.

Seeing Jool's moons revolve as my probe slowly approached. The touch down if my long-worked on Eve rover..

And the list goes on....

[SkyRender]

It is amazing what sort of crazy antics you end up coming up with when a mission starts to go horribly wrong. A lot of us old-timers forget what that's like after a while, but I find I can re-live the tension of the old days just by trying to fly intentionally-less-than-perfect spaceplanes with an improved aerodynamics mod called Ferram Aerospace Research installed. I recommend you not do that until you've gotten very comfortable with the stock game, however...

[rodion]

in a past game my abortive mun base construction phase ran into problems when i broke my cardinal rule and flew with what i thought was a minor design revision that i didn't explicitly test beforehand (NEVER do this), as such my skycrane 24-77s didn't have enough exhaust clearance from the payload (mostly just a hitchhiker carrying 2 kerbals) and generated zero net thrust. i didn't learn this until i was on final descent and staging over the mun at about +5,000m. i had KAS installed and hope is never damped by the trivialities of reality, so whilst in freefall i had some brave soul whose name i sadly forget get out and VERY quickly KAS the boosters to the sides of the container with seconds to spare. of course, my only fuel tanks were split on the craft by a decoupler so i didn't get fuel flow and everyone died regardless, but what other game can even put you into situations as ridiculous as that in the first place?

[ProStasisX]

It is amazing what sort of crazy antics you end up coming up with when a mission starts to go horribly wrong. A lot of us old-timers forget what that's like after a while, but I find I can re-live the tension of the old days just by trying to fly intentionally-less-than-perfect spaceplanes with an improved aerodynamics mod called Ferram Aerospace Research installed. I recommend you not do that until you've gotten very comfortable with the stock game, however...

The one thing I wish we could do (and maybe we can, I just haven't figured it out yet) is to add parts to a shuttle AFTER it's launched. IRL, we can do repairs on shuttles now - so, for example, when I realized I forgot RCS - I could have built another small ship with thrusters in the "inventory" that a little kerbal can take with him on a space walk, and then when he's close enough to a spot, you get the option to place it on the shuttle, just like in build mode. That would be pretty neat!

[troyfawkes]

I had just started Hard mode with no reverts or quick saves. Bill was coming back from a pretty intense jaunt on the Mun, and I had separated the drive section from the return vehicle in preparation for reentry into Kerbin.

I realized at about 100 km alt that I had forgotten parachutes, with a periapse around 35km.

Oh god. Makes it worse that I was streaming and the folks watching thought I had it out for the Kerbal.

So Bill hops out and pushes the pod to about 45km periapse before turning into a fireball. Oh well, maybe he saved the science?

The capsule and all of its data made the hop out of the atmosphere but would probably be back in shortly. I was using mission control, so luckily I had prebuilt a rescue craft and launched it into a very aggressive rendezvous.

Grab the science, reenter fairly close to the fireball that was my Mun mission, and take a moment of silence for Bill.

Definitely made me respect the game

[Norpo]

Welcome to Kerbal Space Program! (docking and landing on the Mun are two impressive feats, especially for someone new to the game!)

The game certainly gets more interesting the more you learn about it and do in it. Eventually, landing on the mun may seem routine, but landing on one of the harder planets to get to, like Eeloo (pluto) or Moho (mercury) certainly wont.

It's replayability (if that's a word) is certainly high, since you can do multiple missions to the Mun, or to Duna, or anywhere else really. Self-imposed limits can also make the game more interesting. (For example, not being able to use a certain engine, or docking ports), but it's generally best to stay away from those until you've really mastered the game. The game without limitations is hard enough for a new player anyways (Speaking from experience of having to send 10 ships to the Mun, many of which ended up in solar orbit, never to return)

It's worth noting that the career mode isn't fully balanced yet (The next update will give new missions/contracts, which will really change things up), but it's certainly a good place to start.

My moment would probably be when I finally got to Duna, that red dot growing bigger and bigger as I timewarped to it, aerobraking, and then going too shallow and having to quicksave back.

(It's probably worthwhile to tell you, a thing to look into after you get fairly deep into the game is mods, since they can give new parts to play with, or just tell you the scientific stats of your rocket)

[Frank_G]

Hm... Every time i open the game with a fresh idea of yet to be constructed mayhem....

[temporalExile]

The one thing I wish we could do (and maybe we can, I just haven't figured it out yet) is to add parts to a shuttle AFTER it's launched. IRL, we can do repairs on shuttles now - so, for example, when I realized I forgot RCS - I could have built another small ship with thrusters in the "inventory" that a little kerbal can take with him on a space walk, and then when he's close enough to a spot, you get the option to place it on the shuttle, just like in build mode. That would be pretty neat!

http://www.curse.com/ksp-mods/kerbal/223900-kerbal-attachment-system-kas

[ProStasisX]

So Bill hops out and pushes the pod to about 45km periapse before turning into a fireball. Oh well, maybe he saved the science?

Whoah whoah whoah - wait... what? he pushed it? how? did you just run him into it with the EVA suit jets? Oh my god, please tell me you did that - because that is AMAZING