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Kerbal Space Program

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The latest blog post gives a little update on the next version. Apparently resource gathering won't be included. Things that will be added are a number of performance increasing tweaks, an in-game information database, kerbal seats (to put on exploration vehicles solid rocket boosters) and some more parts.

 

The final thing on the post not yet mentioned here is flags. Both flags to be planted on planets, and flags on the spacecraft themselves. I think this is a good opportunity for a little community effort: create a design for an Idle Space Agency flag.

 

I suck at artistic creativity, but I'll try to come up with something myself.

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First try.  :tmeh:

thumb_space_program.png

Lots more work required..

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Slick first try Nappi!

My only crticisism is I think the colors are a bit too dark.

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Ladies and Gentlenauts, if you just need those photons to blow away your eyeballs, there's but one solution:
The orbital TELE-SCOOP!


JNoeTKm.png



Because when those photons are hot, the only way is to scoop 'em:


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(Seriously, though: All pictures taken from a 200km Kerban Orbit. Even after more than a year, I sometimes still can't comprehend just how fucking beautiful this game is. Sorry for the bad graphics though, my KSP's been crashing on me lately, lest I turn those textures down.)

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Is the space telescope a mod? Those shots are very cool.

I saw Nick crashed Kerbals into Mars today. Once I get my space station up and running I might have to try besting him. How does one maneuver in a solar orbit? Is it just a Hohmann transfer in a specific launch window?

Nappi, if you clean that up I'll buy a boiler suit and iron on that patch. I've already started taking flight notes, a uniform is the next logical step.

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I saw Nick crashed Kerbals into Mars today. Once I get my space station up and running I might have to try besting him. How does one maneuver in a solar orbit? Is it just a Hohmann transfer in a specific launch window?

That, I think, would indeed be the most optimal way to do it, but to pull it off you'd need to calculate the correct phase angle for the planets to be in. This is how I got to Duna the first time when the new planets were added, but before maneuver nodes. A friendly person had created a program to calculate the correct phase angle between the planets, your position around Kerbin when you needed to burn and the velocity you had to reach. I had to hold a protractor to my screen to measure the angles.

 

A less efficient, but easier method (which I use) is to first escape from Kerbin orbit into Solar orbit. Then you can easily use the maneuver nodes and Hohmann transfer orbit.

One thing to note is that you can take advantage of the delta-v you need to use to get out of Kerbin's orbit. If you're heading for planets in a lower Solar orbit (Eve or Moho), you need to do your escape burn in front of Kerbin (in relation to the direction it is moving in its orbit). This way your escape trajectory will point retrograde in solar orbit, which takes you into a lower orbit. If you're heading for any other planet, you need to burn behind Kerbin, so that the velocity gets added to your solar orbit and it takes you to a higher orbit.

 

Nappi, goddamn that logo looks nice. My Paint.net scribblings can hardly compete with that level of smoothness.

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I got into this because of the stream and I'm really enjoying it so far. Just got my first rocket into orbit around the Mün. No fuel to get back or land, so let's just call that an impromptu space station with no docking port.

 

Initially, I felt that this game was missing a more advanced map mode. It would be cool if you could plan out your ascent such that your periapsis would be at the right moment to burn for a trans-lunar injection. But part of the reason this game is so good is that you're meant to fail. Like QWOP, some of the fun comes from how you fail, whether it's because you staged your rocket incorrectly, burned too long and went to orbit around the sun, or you didn't put enough fuel to even get off the launch pad. Having everything planned for you takes that away.

 

I'd be really interested to know if the developers have had any of these thoughts and what is the appropriate level of tools to give the player such that failure is always an option.

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God, the number of times I've forgot to lock my gimbels. I think a lot of the space disasters stem from losing track of all the variables in play. Success or failure feels like your responsibility in the current design. More robust map tools may make piloting feel too automated. As it is their is enough randomness and uncertainty for small mistakes or oversights to accumulate and become amplified over time. A few degrees off 90° can mean the difference between making Moon history and condemning your crew to a fate worse than death. If you had fuel calculation tools you would have never sent your ill fated mission and not leaned a valuable lesson about foresight.

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This game sort of reminds me of those old school educational computer games on the old apple 2e or whatever that i used to play in school. There used to be ones where you'd design a rocket or a car and then run it through little tests to see how it would perform etc.

 

anyway i am totally obsessed with this game right now. There's something really fantastic about crafting a plan, building something to execute it, then actually doing it that is sooo satisfying. Even the failures are great in their own way. 

 

also space

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So I've heard of people locking gimbels, but I don't really know know what they're for, let alone ever used one.

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So I've heard of people locking gimbels, but I don't really know know what they're for, let alone ever used one.

Gimballing rocket engines are ones whose nozzle can turn up to a point. This way the engine thrust can be used to turn the rocket. Locking gimbal, as you might guess, stops the nozzles from turning. The reason to do this is to prevent the rocket from wobbling (from over-correction when using the ASAS). Most of the rear-mounted engines have a gimbal range of 1 degree, and it is enabled by default.

 

I've actually not used gimbal locking. Only after the Idle Thumbs discussions about gimbal locking did I find out it can be used to stop the wobbles that occasionally have torn my rocket apart. I've also never really been able to use the asparagus staging because of the wobbling, which always led to collisions with the decoupled parts. The more you know!

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I've also never really been able to use the asparagus staging because of the wobbling, which always led to collisions with the decoupled parts. 

 

Sepatrons (the tiny solid rocket motors) also work wonders for that problem. Just angle them away from your main rocket and put them on the appropriate stage. As an added bonus, they make stage separations look extra cool!

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Sepatrons (the tiny solid rocket motors) also work wonders for that problem. Just angle them away from your main rocket and put them on the appropriate stage. As an added bonus, they make stage separations look extra cool!

 

Ohhh, that's what those are for.

 

Also: I've avoided the wobbles with struts. They break away automatically as stages separate, so they're pretty effective at controlling wobble even in an asparagus staging setup. I put one between each of the outer tanks, top and bottom, and usually one angled brace from the top of the outer tanks to the next stage up.

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The Sepatrons are very cool. If I'm launching something ungainly like a probe or lander I'll usually put a detachable nose cone on with Sepatrons to blast it out of my path. They are especially good for avoiding damage to solar panels.

Gimbal locks seem essential for launching larger payloads into precise orbits. Used correctly they can save a lot of fuel which would otherwise have to be used for correction in orbit.

Struts are great but they can be hilariously dangerous. One ill fated rocket design saw the struts shearing off the canards and causing an uncontrollable spin.

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My seven section space station, Brussels (space stations are named after European cities I like). It was really an exercise in orbital construction. I'm considering turning it into a petrol station.

post-26511-0-51427400-1367972502_thumb.png

 

This is the lander stage of my Luna rover, Orpheus 2 (all unmanned vehicles are named after Nick Cave albums or songs, naturally.) A stepping stone to future Mars missions.

post-26511-0-18571700-1367972675_thumb.png

 

Textbook (if you have rubbish textbooks.)

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Successful rover deployment. 

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Unsuccessful rover driving.

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Edit:

Also Moon 2: Electric Moonaloo,

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and Mars.

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post-26511-0-10604900-1368035065_thumb.png

 

 

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This is the dorkiest thing ever, but rewatching Planetes tonight, I wished there was some way to fit space-garbageman gameplay into Kerbal Space Program. You know, flying a single-stage-to-orbit craft up, doing an EVA to de-orbit space junk, the works. I know someone will tell me that it's virtually impossible for debris to affect gameplay, not unless you run hundreds of missions on the same save, but I still think it's cool.

 

Then again, I'm much more impressed by a neat space station in Earth orbit than landing on far-flung rocks, so maybe I should just shoot for that.

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I had the exact same idea. The space junk is unlikely to collide with anything but it does make it tricky to pick out targets on the map. My idea was for a big box built in orbit which could be used to scoop up junk before crashing it into Kerbal.

My space station program was satisfying, I just wish there was more to do with it. Running crew transfers is fun but unless you shuttle up tons of fuel there seems to be little utility. I'm not sure what the campaign will be but I'd like to assign Kerbals to micro gravity research, assuming there will be a tech tree.

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Oh my stars, perfect timing. I just did my last exam before summer, now it's time for space exploration again.

 

I hope the new large docking ports are a bit more rigid than the medium and small ones. I don't think they will be, though...

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Ooh, this stuff caused me some major problems that ended up with me having to manually edit the saved ship file in notepad.

 

  • The Editor no longer requires you to start with a command pod when building a ship.
  • The Editor now allows deleting or replacing the first part of your ship.

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