Kerbal Space Program (Steam game)
 

I just picked up KSP on Steam the other day, and it is quite awesome. I figured with the nerd density of this forum, it would be appreciated here.

http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-585BiWBlB-...ace-launch.jpg

Its basically a simulator game in which you construct rockets in order to explore space, as in, launching satellites, probes, landing on planets/moons, building space stations in orbit, etc.


So far Ive killed quite a few kerbals, had several spectacular crashes, managed to get some satellites in orbit, and sent one lonely kerbal into orbit around the sun at low velocity with no food.

23 bucks. Uck.

I played this on a friends steam. It is pretty awesome. But typical me, i'll be waiting for it to go on sale 50% off or more. lol

I actually managed to land on the moon... Well, by land i mean hit the surface and destroy my pod. But the guy lived and was walking on the surface.

I played the free beta demo version a few years ago, was awesome then so can imagine its a lot better now.

Doubtful my PC will cope with it anymore tho :(

I'd love to play it but 23 bucks is a bit much imo.

*mun

This was about all I had the patience to accomplish on the trial version.

I managed to get a satellite to leave the solar system like Voyager. I know the mechanics of moving orbits and slingshotting, I just don't feel like doing the math.

Though I hear there is a flight computer mod, I haven't tried it yet.

Really really fun game though. I love trying to build monstrous rockets and having them fail to get off the pad.

lol thats how nasa must feel. ^

I got it on sale the other day, I cant remember how much I paid, maybe like $15.

Couple screenshots:

https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ine=1371851533

https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ine=1371851533

https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ine=1371851533

https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ine=1371851533

https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ine=1371851533

If anyone sees it on sale pls mention it here.

Put it on your wishlist on steam. You will get an email when it goes on sale.

That's usually what i do.

Oh gotcha, thanks.

So, this is Hedgehog Launch 2?

^LMAO thats fucking amazing

So the other day I landed on the mun. I didnt do it in the tutorial mode because Im stubborn and wanted to figure it out myself in sandbox mode, so in other words I did it very inefficiently.

https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ine=1372285027

https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ine=1372285027

https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ine=1372285027

https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ine=1372285027

Now I have the technique down and Ive made a few attempts at landing on other planets, but I keep running out of fuel. Gotta work on my rocket design.

Less engines is key. Obviously multiple engines only increases thrust, not efficiency.

*using multiple engines / fuel in multiple stages is also key i should add.

Your flag is backwards.

This bitch is on sale for the next 20 hrs. 40% off so $13.79.

Also could an admin move this thread to the gaming section where it belongs?

I went to the south pole

https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ine=1373935911

Awesome. Picked up copies for myself and both boys.

So i tried landing on the mun. Once in the training and the capsule wouldnt separate, 2nd time in my own ship and crashed into it since i couldnt decelerate fast enough :/

Any of you guys ever made a space station? How do u connect shit together?

I bought it last night. It will probably sit unplayed like the last three games I bought. Working full time and going to school is sucking WAY harder this summer than it ever has before.

I never did the gay training thing, I just landed on it with my own shit like a bauce.
Get yourself out there with enough fuel and you can slow to a near stop a few times on the way down to make sure you have plenty of time. Its not the most efficient way to do it, but its really hard to tell how far away you are from the surface.

I trried making a space station but for the life of me I cant get shit close toegther in orbit. I can get the orbits identical, but theyll be like on the opposite side of the planet.

Well i landed.
https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ine=1374011274


And even got Bill back to earth in one piece.
https://fbcdn-sphotos-d-a.akamaihd.n...21580209_o.jpg

And now launched the main part of my space station.

I'm curious is there a way to use whats in the half empty tank? I have a decoupler on it ready to blast but i'm hoping i can use the fuel in it first. Currently I have it in a near perfect orbit of 200km and in the same plane as the Mun.

https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ine=1374062410

https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ine=1374062410

I'm having a hard time getting things into a stable orbit, then reproducing that same orbit, so I can begin with making a station. I can get one piece up, then getting another piece up and matching orbit is impossible. I also can't figure out how to use RSC thrusters. I have fuel and the thrusters... the controls don't function.

Do the training. You have to arm the RSC thrusters by pressing 'R'.

I did. I see now though, there is a special RCS tank. I thought it could just use a normal small tank. That would explain why it didn't work.

This guy does a pretty good job of showing how to do space-stationy things using the MechJeb mod. Very useful, though apparently it can be overused to the point that it kinda kills the game.

Ive been resisting using mechjeb. I would like the ability to calculate delta-v of my stages automatically though.

Triple8,
If you dock stuff with it, you can transfer that fuel into the other craft. I think you have to alt + click and then click on the other tank or something.

Alright i'll take a look at it, I ended up lowering the orbit of my station down to 100km. 200 is nice but its too much fuel to get up there for no reason.

I used this guys instructions.
Megneous Gaming - YouTube

Fuck! This game. Design flaw on my part with the thrusters. Got my basic station structure up into orbit at about 110km, then got a secondary capsule up there and matched its orbit. Have them both in a stable orbit a few hundred meters from one another, and realize neither of them have proper thruster layout. I only put 4 around the diameter of the capsule, and not another set for moving directly side to side. All of my movements have to be forward/backwards, or spinning on an axis. I need lateral movement. Makes it impossible to dock. I tried for 30 minutes to dock, and couldn't get an angle on it where I didn't think I was going to crash them together. Tough game, but I love it. I've waited for a game like this forever.

Added another ship to my station.. long story short ENSURE you have a fuel tank for the RCS... I did not. Took about an hr or 2 to get it in position.

https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ine=1374119220

I just fucked myself again by not having enough RCS fuel. Was in place, but before I could get in place to dock, I ran out of fuel trying to maneuver closer. :vash: I now have 4 partial pieces in orbit. I guess at least they are there. Now I need to make a space tractor to dock and drag them into place.

Got tired of this shit. Been humping the docking hole all night and still no luck... Literally the large damn rings will not lock.

Alright got it together... Lesson to be learned... LEARN YOUR TRANSLATION RCS KEYS.

https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ine=1374177912

Finally docked my first two ships. I forgot to equip a hub on the end of one of them though, so I'll have to decouple and add it in later and re-dock.

Coming along. Big pieces will be laid next. I hate this game though. I've wasted so much time in the last 3 days playing this.

https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ine=1374185786

DAMN IT!!! Fuck. I docked my 4th section, and remembered I forgot to decouple the engine from it. No problem, I'll just undock, jettison the engine, and recouple. FUCK THAT! I didn't take into account the equal and opposite reaction from the explosive mechanism to separate the engine. It pushed my section back into the station which sent the station into a roll. The SAS system couldn't get it under control and everything started swaying violently until one of the sections ripped itself apart mid ship, which took out a solar panel. I decided fuck it, and just backed up and slammed into the station and ruined it. Start again, maybe.

The F5 and F9 keys are particularly useful for station building

Launching my Mun base.

https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ine=1374200719

^Thats fucking badass.
I cant make myself use those nosecones though. They need to fix the aerodynamic engine so that it makes sense.

I have started using this fairing mod though. I built this (quite terrible) moon lander to test it:
https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ine=1374212545

Wut dat?

Mun base gives me an idea. Fuck building it in space, just build my station fully on the ground and rig up a massive launch system. Fuck docking pieces together.

How do u build shit in space or do you mean building it in the barn and hauling it up there and putting it together via couplers?

That's what I meant. I have been carrying small pieces so I can use a very simple launch system. But that becomes tedious with all of the orbits and docking all of the pieces. Then one error like I had earlier and it's all wasted.

Yeah i rather attach few orange pieces and then get it together than 10 little pieces and have to dock them.

Its very simple to do with the 7 tanks method. You can see in the 1st pic bellow i'm using 2 sets of 7 tanks. Say the closest right tank is #1 the middle right is #2, the back right is 3 and so forth and the center one being #7. You run the fuel from tank 1 to tank 2, from tank 2 to tank 3, then tank 3 to tank 7. Then tank 4 to tank 5, then tank 5 to 6 and 6 to 7 again. Then set your decouplers to break off the tanks as they empty out. It will be pairs of 2. So you'll fire all 7 engines at start and then drop the tanks 1 and 4, then tanks 2 and 5, then tanks 3 and 6, and then at last 7 but by 7 you should be far in orbit before the tank starts emptying.

https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ine=1374218674

At last the Mun base i launched earlier today is now on the Mun near a nice lovely creater that has nice mountains so when i drive a dune buggy it doesnt get boring.

https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ine=1374218267

160+ meters/second at 1500 meters altitude?

I think you might be doing it wrong....

Throttle those engines down, see if keeping it around 100 m/s up to about 10k meters helps you out. Not accelerating, just maintaining speed on those liquid engines. Then hit the gas at about 10k meters.

And +1 on ditching the nosecones in .20

It burns more fuel going at 100m/s. Unless the station is really unstable there's no point of going that slow. 180-200m/s is what u want up to 10k, then you curve.

Thanks, I'll try that out.

How do solids do with that setup? I like to use solids a lot of time to break off the pad and get some momentum built. I try to not "put my foot in it" until I'm at least up to 10-15k so I can 45 and really start picking up speed. Then again, in a setup like that, it looks to have enough fuel to not have to worry. I just hate using up my main stage with all of the power in the atmosphere, and not getting to use it to easily build speed in the upper atmosphere.

Also isn't the one on the bottom (that reads 160m/s in your pic) the surface velocity? I thought vertical speed indicator was on top next to altitude.

Too many solids on a setup like that can be dangerous as they raise the heat, but you can counteract that by just throttling back your liquid engines. Since the solids can't throttle you have to take it easy with the liquids until the solids are gone.

No hybrid rockets yet I guess.

very excite.

I've never had much luck with solids. For big rockets like the ones i'm sending, they just burn up too fast. The weight in fuel is much better investment.

With the 7 rocket setup you wont be using the main stages at all. The 7 rocket setup will get you in orbit with fuel to spare. Of course you should have a separate nuclear engine for your main pusher in space.

Anyways, I completed my Moon Buggy. Runs on 6 nuclear electric generators that can power it indefinitely. If you look closely you will see i'm using the 200 I Beams as part of the suspension since they flex just enough to soften the suspension.

https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ine=1374255949

I'm saving my money for the Xida mod.

I actually built a rocket so powerful last night that I couldn't throttle it above 1/2 or it would cause too much compression on the pieces above it and it would come apart and the lower section would crash into it. It was 4 big engines outboard, with 1 in the center, and each of the 4 outboards had a solid mounted to it. The solids were a bit overkill I guess, but I wanted to use them for primary lift off the pad, then ditch them at about 5k and then throttle up the outboards until low orbit at 35-40k, then use the remaining center single to push it up to speed in 100k orbit, then ditch it and use the nuclear for orbital changes and the likes. Worked well so long as you didn't throttle more than 1/3 off the pad, and no more than 1/2 in flight.

New station. Slowly coming together. That is 4 separate launch sections together. Next pieces will be a long narrow runner from one of the remaining hub docks to a somewhat remote lab section. It even has an escape pod if shit goes wrong this time. Save the Kerbals. Undock and enter the atmosphere, deploy chute and glide to safety. I did a pretty good reentry a few days ago. I don't think it would have burned up completely vertical, but I had a really nice angle, similar to NASA reentry for capsules.

https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ine=1374295597

Progress. I had a bit of a rough docking with this last big piece. So much mass, when the "gravity" took over and sucked the docks together, it hit a bit hard and knocked my orbit periapsis 3km lower. So now my stable 127k +/- 1km orbit is now 128km-123km. Oh well, not a bit deal.

https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ine=1374306646

I now have enough fuel in orbit to power probably two full moon missions. Electricity is insane, I'd never be able to use even 10% of it, and I have enough RCS fuel to probably take the station to the moon.

Anyone have any low orbit moon stations? I'm wondering how low I can go. I'd guess pretty damn low. Might start making some trips further out, now that I've mastered home planet orbital.

Woops.

https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ine=1374311054

Sadly I encountered a bug in the game where as soon as i press the throttle the rover would spin out of direction so that screwed up my 1st lunar landing attempt. Long story short i remade it twice with no luck trying to figure out whats wrong. Then remade it again however in a vertical position and made the ship first... and it actually flys correctly now.

Jesse use the large docking rings for permanent compartments. They are more stable.

Alright folks, after waiting for the Mun to turn I've discovered it is Tidally locked to Kerbin. Therefore if you're planning on landing a base on the moon choose your locations wisely if you want to see the planet. This sucks very much so because the back of the Mun has some of the best craters.