Ship size and maneuver

[Spody]

I am fairly new to the game, currently playing on version 0.90. The 2 things that i don't understand are:

1. My rocket path displayed on the Map is always GRAY and i cannot place any maneuver nodes on it.

2. I've watched some videos and the players are building enormous rockets, while i am limited to 18t mass and 30 parts, i upgraded the launching pad to level 3 and yet that's the maximum.

Please help me and thanks in advance.

Edited December 19, 2014 by Spody

[workerbee]

With the new update, a lot of things are new and different in career mode. You have to unlock maneuver nodes. The limitations on mass and part count is designed to make career mode more of a grind, less easy, etc etc. The people building massive rockets are either in Sandbox or in a fully unlocked career game.

[diomedea]

With 0.90, career has seen some changes. Now KSC buildings must be upgraded to unlock specific abilities, in particular:

- to unlock maneuver nodes, need to upgrade Mission Control to tier 2;

- to increase part count beyond 30 (to 255), you need to upgrade VAB and/or SPH to tier 2.

The limit of 18 tons should be changed to 140 tons with the runway/pad at tier 2; to unlimited at tier 3. If not, that would be an issue worth a report in support.

[Kelderek]

You have to upgrade the other buildings too. I think for the maneuver nodes you need a combo of both the mission control and tracking station buildings to be upgraded. Upgrade the VAB to have more parts on your rockets.

[Pecan]

Learn the game in sandbox mode.

Career mode 'helps' by removing the potentially-confusing number of parts when you start.

It then completely ruins any attempt at being a way to learn the game or provide a logical progression by i) having an insane tech-tree, ii) starting with manned missions, iii) requiring you to understand contracts, iv) making financial-management important, v) restricting what you can build/launch, vi) removing half the tools for flight-management, vii) crippling ship-operations until you 'train' crew (well, send them on long journeys anyway).

All of that is intended to make for a more challenging and complete 'game' but it's no way at all to learn how to build or fly spacecraft.

[Taki117]

Learn the game in sandbox mode.

Career mode 'helps' by removing the potentially-confusing number of parts when you start.

It then completely ruins any attempt at being a way to learn the game or provide a logical progression by i) having an insane tech-tree, ii) starting with manned missions, iii) requiring you to understand contracts, iv) making financial-management important, v) restricting what you can build/launch, vi) removing half the tools for flight-management, vii) crippling ship-operations until you 'train' crew (well, send them on long journeys anyway).

All of that is intended to make for a more challenging and complete 'game' but it's no way at all to learn how to build or fly spacecraft.

A nice compromise is Science mode. Where you have the ease of not having lots of parts, without having to worry about money.

[Starman4308]

Career mode was reasonable for new players back in 0.25: while contracts could be a bit confusing, and the absence of any starting probe core was silly, at least new players had all the tools they needed to understand what they were doing.

With 0.90, Squad decided new players didn't need confusing numbers like "basic orbital information" or "sphere-of-influence transitions". If all this stuff had come as a hard mode, it'd be understandable, but they decided to take a baseball bat to career mode, and hardcode it so that it's impossible to mod.

[Spody]

Thanks for the information, but when i first started career at medium it said that all of my buildings are fully upgraded at level 3 and yet i had the 18t and 30 parts limitations.

[Melcom]

hmm?

Career means you start at zero and crawl up the ladder.

If you want to start full, try parts and features, just use Sandbox Mode.

[TriggerAu]

If you run the x64 version on windows there is a known issue where the building levels are "borked" (yes thats the technical term) but the limits still apply somewhat. If you are running Win x64 I highly recommend (cant say how highly TBH) that you dont. It takes some tweaking/handholding and some people still cant get it to work after 3 months (due to Unity/not the people)