Security_Tubbs

Kerbal Space Program

Recommended Posts

More to the point, what advice do people have for a new player without actually telling me how to do things, since I gather figuring that out is part of the fun?

 

I went through some videos that straight up told me what to do and how the controls worked and they were super helpful, as they gave me everything I needed to then start experimenting on my own.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

I would say just go and build something. Wait to look up anything until you can reliably get a rocket into space, orbit, and de-orbit safely (or you get really stuck.) You should be able to do that just by playing around with the staging of a pretty basic solid fuel rocket with a small liquid fuel final stage. After that, I'd start looking up help on how the orbital planning controls work and start learning some of the real physics behind how stuff works. That prepares you for doing a mun visit (or an orbital intercept, or a space station, or any number of cool tasks.)

 

Edit: I linked this on the last page, but when you're ready to do the complicated stuff I recommend this video series: http://forum.kerbalspaceprogram.com/threads/15652-Orbital-Mechanics-101-A-Kerbal-Space-Program-Tutorial

Some of the parts and such that he mentions have been changed or removed, but the general concepts are still great.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

I had a hilarious experience picking up this game. A friend and I agreed to a Space Race, first one to the moon and back, and the only rule was that you couldnt do any tutorials, watch any youtube videos or anything remotely helpful that isnt actually playing. It took 30 minutes to even figure out that Shift was the throttle. It took like a week to get to the moon over a series of back and forth discoveries (oh there are maneuver tools, oh the red girders hold your ship up, etc.). Really fun.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Oh, the one stumbling block that I kept forgetting, you should start to pitchover (turn in the direction of your orbit) at about 10k. I always forget and end up with a hugely elyptical orbit and wasting a lot of fuel.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Today my ARM project entered Phase 3: Recovery. May I present to you: ITSA-Bad Idea.

ellbzls.jpg

 

I eyeballed the size of the asteroid and built a scaffold to go around it. On the scaffold I included one Claw to keep the asteroid in place and I placed lots of parachutes on the scaffold arms. The idea was to have the contraption work as a sort of "cup" to bring the asteroid safely to the surface even if the Claw couldn't hold on to it during the rigors of re-entry.

 

I totally overdid the payload rocket and I left tons of unused fuel in oribt.

d7RdyIu.jpg

 

At least the contraption was wide enough, but clearly it's going to tip over the moment I let go of it in the atmosphere. And when that happens, it's up to the Claw to hold on to the asteroid.

A final shot before the last stage of the mission. Orrie Kerman, on board ITSA-Rendezvous 1, waves 55-WHYAREMO goodbye, not knowing if it's the last time he sees it. Bill Kerman, piloting ITSA-Bad Idea, starts to get nervous.

mF52HqB.jpg

 

Deorbit was plotted and executed. I tried keeping the Bad Idea in the intended position as long as possible.

6YH8JBM.jpg

 

Parachutes have opened and it looks like we're going to land very close to the KSC. Bill's craft is still under the asteroid and needs to get out quite soon.

OER4DLI.jpg

 

Firing the decoupler and with a short burn of the engine, Bill gets away from the heavy payload and opens his parachutes. This is the moment. When the Bad Idea's parachutes deploy, the claw is going to be under some heavy strain.

Bzc11iX.jpg

 

Dun DUN DUN!

8rOymzY.jpg

-

xHpLTgo.jpg

-

Nd72BF8.jpg

-

I also did a fly-by with my science plane.

yASbjGe.jpg

 

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Nice.

 

I was wondering if the asteroid was instantly coded destroy itself when it touched ground. I'm glad it worked out. Are you playing in the new career mode? Do you get any extra research for bringing the asteroid to earth?

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Nice.

 

I was wondering if the asteroid was instantly coded destroy itself when it touched ground. I'm glad it worked out. Are you playing in the new career mode? Do you get any extra research for bringing the asteroid to earth?

I am playing the career mode. Even though I had uninstalled KSP in the meanwhile, luckily my save was still automatically there after I reinstalled for the new version. Even the Kethane mod appears to be functional, which surprised me.

 

As for the research, unfortunately it didn't seem to give any extra. I had already depleted it by bringing back samples with the refuel ship. I just figured I'd have it as a trophy near the KSC and the thought of recovering it hadn't even crossed my mind. But I got no science when I tried it, which seems like a missed opportunity.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

I genuinely felt like applauding when I got to the last of Security_Tubbs' pictures. I really need to fire up this game and give it a go for myself!

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

More to the point, what advice do people have for a new player without actually telling me how to do things, since I gather figuring that out is part of the fun?

 

From the tutorial the most important thing you should learn is that if you want to change orbit then it's generally most efficient to burn prograde (in the direction of your velocity vector) or retrograde (reverse direction of your velocity). All space travel in KSP is based on this concept and it'll get you most of the way to anywhere. Also using the maneuver node system is really useful for planning things out.

 

Once your able to consistently get a ship into orbit then the next step is to send a mission to one of Kerbal's moons. The Mun is close and many people go there first but it has enough mass that it can be difficult to have enough fuel to return. Minmus is further away but its lower mass actually makes it easier to get there and back. With the base game trying to figure out how much fuel you need for your rockets is trial and error, but there are addons that can help.

 

A good set of step by step video tutorials for many things is

which is up-to-date as of the patch before this new asteroid one. If you don't want to spoil yourself it's still helpful to watch the videos on subjects you already know how to do since they may contain extra tips on the best way to do them.

 

Once you want to go further then the add-ons I mentioned do some helpful calculations for you and throw up more numbers. Kerbal Engineer or MechJeb have tools that help you figure out how much delta-v your spacecraft has, where delta-v is how much you can change your velocity given your mass and the efficiency of your engines. Protractor is an add-on that will help you figure out the best place to start trying to transfer your orbit to another body and how much delta-v it will take. Note that in campaign mode these have to be unlocked in the tech tree.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Today I learned that precise maneuvers with jet engines are pretty damn hard, if not impossible. I tried to build an airlift that uses the extremely efficient jet engines to move 55-WHYAREMO even closer to KSC. What makes them hard to use for this purpose is that their thrust force changes gradually. So if I increase the thrust control to 25%, the thrust force changes slowly over 20+ seconds before settling on a value. The plan of moving the asteroid was thus put on ice until a better solution can be developed.

 

The obvious alternative plan is to transport it by land, but the problem is I haven't yet researched any of the rover wheels (well, technically by now I have). Therefore, I set out on an interplanetary mission of science and conquest. I'll do another post tomorrow, but at this point I have a science vessel (including the mobile laboratory for test equipment resets) in orbit around Duna's moon Ike. I've also landed on and returned from the surface of Ike, leaving behind a flag and taking with me a surface sample and some mystery goo experiments.

 

On my way to Duna, still close to Kerbin, I noticed I was passing closely by (that is, under 50000 km) an asteroid. I made some course corrections to get close to it to pick up some samples. Doing a 2.1 km space walk (in one direction) in deep space with no planets in sight was quite terrifying. With the lack of the navigation tools while on an EVA my brain briefly lost (even the tenuous) grasp of the scale of things and I felt a brief sense of vertigo as I started heading for the asteroid. Anyways, it was a Class E asteroid, the biggest kind. And boy howdy, they do get quite big.

OAIAQob.jpg

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

I just finished my longest and most scientific mission ever. When we last left our brave crew, they were picking up some samples from a Class E asteroid. After that, they headed for the Duna system. Here's a shot of the ship near the asteroid.

EWRtfxV.jpg

 

Reached the Duna system, although it did take quite a while since I didn't plan the launch windows at all. Anyways, landed on Duna's moon Ike, got back in orbit and docked with the main ship no problems.

az4TLg3.jpg

 

Also a choice screenshot before docking with the ship.

re18Dnw.jpg

 

Landing on Duna...

Dm3xr8D.jpg

-

1jKqpPg.jpg

 

One final shot of the ship with the lander attached with Duna and Ike in the background.

NoXD1t5.jpg

 

I got just over 1000 science points recovering all the parts and experiments I brought back from Duna. But I'd estimate I got as much from transmitting data during the mission. Now I have unlocked additional equipment to get EVEN MORE science points. Huzzah. Maybe I'll go for the Jool system next. Lots of stuff to explore there, as well as a terrifying gas giant.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Not sure if anyone noticed, but this released last month. The career mode is much better balanced than the last time I played, and I've had a lot of fun so far. Just sent an unmanned probe across the Mun's bow. Now I just need to collect enough science to get some better boosters so I can actually make Mun orbit.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

*dances* I just finally managed my first orbital intercept and rescue! Man, the first time I did that a couple of years ago I was going crazy with excitement. It still has that effect on me today.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

I started playing this the other day and it is pretty great! Seeing some of the crazy stuff you guys have talked about doing in this thread though makes me realize just how terrible I am right now. I killed Jebediah Kerman so many times last night. Even when the center of mass/thrust seems perfect and my rocket is totally symmetrical, it still manages to veer sideways and start spinning around violently almost every time I launch. I still have so much to learn.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Aerodynamic surfaces help stability quite a bit, more than they probably should really. Also, having a Kerbal who is a pilot driving and using T to turn on SAS.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

I took last week off and had a few days with no wife and kids to really dig in to this game. I'm suddenly sitting at 84 hours played as of last night and this is now one of my favorite games of all time. No hyperbole here, this game just hits everything I want out of a video game so perfectly. Plus, it introduced me to Scott Manley, one of the most pleasant and intelligent YouTube personalities I have ever seen. His videos have been instrumental in figuring out a lot of the nuances of this game and are full of great insight.

 

So far I have orbitted, landed, and returned from Mun and Minmus multiple times and just sent a new outpost to Duna last night. I can't wait to get home tonight and bring that sucker out of orbit and down to the surface. This will be my first landing on another planet with an atmosphere so this will be an interesting one!

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

I've been meaning to start playing Kerbal again for ages, but with The Witcher 3, MGS5, Fallout 4 and bunch of other stuff I have felt that I can't give this game the time that it deserves. Then Giant Bomb started their Kerbal: Project B.E.A.S.T. Now I'm dedicated to finishing Fallout 4 fast, so that I can start sending those ridiculous little guys into space in their dumb rockets.

 

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

I think I need to restart in Science mode. Managing finances in the full career mode has really put me off.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

I think I need to restart in Science mode. Managing finances in the full career mode has really put me off.

 

Full career mode is terrible, everyone I've heard on it says stick to Science. Science mode will never have you run out of science dollars and be unable to launch a ship you want to launch, nor will it keep asking you to do the same flight to earn a bunch more science dollars.

 

Personally I'm a fan of sandbox, but I recognize that the sandbox learning curve is very steep and by restricting parts, Science starts to manage that.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Full career mode is terrible, everyone I've heard on it says stick to Science. Science mode will never have you run out of science dollars and be unable to launch a ship you want to launch, nor will it ever ask you to make a flight you've already made to earn a bunch more science dollars.

 

Personally I'm a fan of sandbox, but I recognize that the sandbox learning curve is very steep and by restricting parts, Science starts to manage that.

 

I haven't tried Science mode yet but I am having quite a bit of fun in standard career mode and have never had any issues with financing. Any time I've started to run a little low I would just grab a few contracts that I could knock out with a fairly simple rocket or do a round trip to an area of Mun or Minmus that I hadn't been and get a nice influx of cash. Also, visit the administration building and activate a strategy that sacrifices reputation for funds (I honestly still don't understand what reputation is even for but mine is green so whatever). I find working within these constraints interesting and I like these little mini diversionary goals you have to set to continue making progress towards whatever larger goal you might have in mind.

 

This was pretty much my mentality with Minecraft too. I played that for several hundred hours and never touched creative mode, sticking purely to adventure mode. I like having some level of reasonable rules and restrictions working against me because it makes the eventual successes so much more rewarding.

 

But then again... I haven't tried Science mode yet.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

I haven't tried Science mode yet but I am having quite a bit of fun in standard career mode and have never had any issues with financing. Any time I've started to run a little low I would just grab a few contracts that I could knock out with a fairly simple rocket or do a round trip to an area of Mun or Minmus that I hadn't been and get a nice influx of cash.

 

That was the part I hated. Rather than spend time grinding for cash so that I can do the cool launch I want to do, I could just play in Science mode and go straight to the cool launch I want to do.

 

 

I honestly still don't understand what reputation is even for but mine is green so whatever

 

Something about unlocking contracts, I'm very vague on the details.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

That was the part I hated. Rather than spend time grinding for cash so that I can do the cool launch I want to do, I could just play in Science mode and go straight to the cool launch I want to do.

 

Fair enough, I can understand that. From my perspective though, that cool launch that I really want to do is way cooler when I have to do a bunch of other stuff for 40 hours to even earn the right to launch whatever behemoth I am shooting for. Maybe I'm being a little sarcastic but there is sadly a lot of truth to that.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Most of my paying missions right now require me to take tourists to a spot on Kerbal and back and I'm just not capable of hitting a specific spot on the planet like that yet. I also hate restarting from before launch, but there's no way I could afford to keep the space program going with the number of ships I've blown up.

 

Edit: As for Sandbox, I like to have a feeling of progression in my games, even if it's fairly superficial, plus there would be all these modules that would be pretty much useless if you don't have to collect science or work your way up from itty-bitty rockets.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

The missions were annoyingly specific for me, the fun of Kerbal to me is building a crazy shit and into orbit or exploring planets. I don't want to fiddle with my orbit so its at a specific height, angle etc.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now