Kerbal Space Program

[rajpoot]

Interesting little game about building your own spacecraft and then flying it into space.
It's still in alpha stages but you can pre-order it and get each new version for free ala Minecraft.
It also has a growing mod community, so it's a win win.

There's a also a free demo which is an earlier version (but it has everything you need to get into orbit and land on the moon and stuff).

Been messing around with it for hours. After half a dozen failed attempts at moon landing, I made a three stage thruster system and inadvertently managed to launch myself into an orbit around the sun. Never made it to the moon though.

Website (http://kerbalspaceprogram.com/)

Website for mods (http://www.kerbalspaceprogram.net/kerbal-space-program-mods)

[Ibn-Khaldun]

Ha ha.. that looks like a fun game!

[Ibn-Khaldun]

Ok, I've played it for a while and it really is very fun game. So far I have only killed 6 kerbalnauts(?) out of 7 launches. The Moon still looks too far but not for long.

@rajpoot (https://forums.totalwar.org/vb/member.php?u=27094) - Any advice on how to build a good spaceship? ~:P

Edit: It seems the right term would be kerbonaut..

[Kekvit Irae]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p_0S1_Y4fTE

[Monk]

I remember playing with this way back when the version was .6 or something. It was utterly hilarious to build rockets and have them critically fail on the launch pad. The game strikes a really fun balance between legitimate rocket science (yeah, seriously) rocket design and simple silly fun.

It's amazing to see how far the game's come. The newest version in the video kekvit post actually has orbit paths and a moon. While you could always achieve orbit, it looks significantly "easier" to do so now.

If you've never had the fun of KSP then you really owe it to yourself to check it out.

The King

Check their forums and ask there. When i last visited there were tons of helpful people who could give you all kinds of advice, and the devs love throwing math and formulas around and showing off how deep the mechanics of their game are. I don't know if it's still there but in the old versions there were tons of mods available for more engines, rocket types and different stage separation devices. That's where the real fun came from imo.

[rajpoot]

@The King (https://forums.totalwar.org/vb/member.php?u=25845)

I'm pretty much a novice myself but a few things I've learned by hit and trial is that you need considerable amount of fuel to provide enough acceleration (say 6 cylinders) to merely make it out of the planet's gravity well.
The solid thruster seems useless. Also you need multi-staged thrust system. Like you use up the first stage to get into orbit, then drop that off. Then use second stage to get to Mun.

I haven't been able to control flight in space as yet, or even make it to any orbit on purpose. When I did make it to the orbit around sun it was accidental. I just made a 15 cylinder ship with three thrusters in the first stage and one in the second using the three way connector thing. Then I just put it on full throttle and let it fly. Made a few adjustments in order to achieve what I felt was an optimum path to Mun, when suddenly Mun flew by and zooming out I found that the trajectory plot now went around the sun in a full circle. :dizzy2:
If you're in orbit and you run out of fuel you're stuck see.

There's also a wiki. haven't had time to read it yet, but I'm sure you can find some advanced stuff there.

[Hooahguy]

This really is a cute, fun little game. Still have no idea how to get into orbit, I dont even make it out of the light blue area of the atmosphere classification at the top.

One of my doomed launches:
https://i199.photobucket.com/albums/aa73/hooahguy14/doomed-3.jpg

[Ibn-Khaldun]

I found that it's good to use SAS. Just put it on when you launch the ship and it goes straight up. Later you can just adjust your trajectory when you want. The furthest I have managed to get is about 220000 m(?).

[rajpoot]

I found that it's good to use SAS. Just put it on when you launch the ship and it goes straight up. Later you can just adjust your trajectory when you want. The furthest I have managed to get is about 220000 m(?).

Exactly. Add the Advanced SAS module to your ship right below the command module and enable it as soon as you launch. The bigger/longer the ship gets the more likely it is to get unbalanced during launch so SAS helps immensely.

Also add 4 RC thrusters with a RC fuel tank. That helps in making minor adjustments.

@Hooahguy (https://forums.totalwar.org/vb/member.php?25201-Hooahguy)

Use liquid fuel thrusters. Lot better.

[Ibn-Khaldun]

A little oops moment..

https://i259.photobucket.com/albums/hh311/ibnkhaldun/stuff/spaceoops2.png

Edit: How big is the planet anyway?

Edit2: Never mind.. found my answer.

[Hooahguy]

Well, some progress has been made....

https://i199.photobucket.com/albums/aa73/hooahguy14/screenshot1.png

EDIT: Finally got into orbit, though I had no fuel left. Oh well.

https://i199.photobucket.com/albums/aa73/hooahguy14/screenshot3.png

[Husar]

Heh, we've discussed and played this some months ago in the chat, might be worth checking how far it has come.

It's indeed a neat game that allows you to do spaceflight without too much button pushing.
That screen with the "orbit lines" looks interesting, don't remember that from the last version I played, need to check...

Woops, 15$ for the full version by now, will have to wait a bit. :sweatdrop:

[rajpoot]

Passed within a hair's breadth of Mun and got launched into another orbit around the sun. Somehow, no matter how much fuel I carry or how many stages I make, it all seems to get used up before I get near Mun, and then I watch as it passes by with no way to steer the ship towards it.

[Hooahguy]

Alright so I got into orbit, but how do I get to the moon? I just run out of fuel and then Im stuck.

[rajpoot]

You can either get into orbit around the planet (haven't managed it yet) then redirect yourself towards Mun, or you can just launch and try to set an approximate path towards it and keep going.
I always get out of atmosphere, and then run out of fuel and simply glide past Mun, with no way to redirect myself, eventually getting stuck in an orbit around the sun.

I think the trick is to try and plot a course such that the path in the space-map shows the ship going all the way around the planet and then veer off at the point when you're closest to Mun. Very hard to manage fuel though.

[Monk]

I think the trick is to try and plot a course such that the path in the space-map shows the ship going all the way around the planet and then veer off at the point when you're closest to Mun. Very hard to manage fuel though.

Welcome to rocket science :laugh4:

[Ibn-Khaldun]

I can manage to get into orbit around the planet. And I have managed to get very very close to Mun... and then my fuel ran out and I was stuck in this elliptical orbit around the planet. Those engines in the demo are not powerful enough I think. If I get more fuel with me then it very very slowly gets off from the planet(and about 75% of the case around 3000m the rocket makes a U-turn and head right back towards the land) and if there is less fuel I don't get too far from it. Very frustrating..

Need to check some mods now. :laugh4:

[Crazed Rabbit]

Sounds like what you guys need is some atomic rocket science: http://www.projectrho.com/rocket/mission.php

This game looks pretty neat.

CR

[Kekvit Irae]

Alright so I got into orbit, but how do I get to the moon? I just run out of fuel and then Im stuck.

https://www.youtube.com/user/trydyingtolive

There are quite a few good rocket plans in there, as well as in-depth guides on how to safely land on Mun.

Try: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a8SfnFGyDh8
or the original: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bGd_BFu9e10

[Ibn-Khaldun]

Update 0.22 came out and the game now actually have a "career" mode!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_6vZiH6Xt_A

[Ibn-Khaldun]

Saying "Hello!" from the North Pole (with Mun in the background)

https://i259.photobucket.com/albums/hh311/ibnkhaldun/stuff/ksp1v2.png (http://s259.photobucket.com/user/ibnkhaldun/media/stuff/ksp1v2.png.html)

[Sigurd]

OrgCraft server went down a few weeks before Christmas and I took interest in this game without knowing it had a thread here on org.
0.22 was my entry version and I have restarted the campaign with the release of 0.23

Searching the game folders, I only found this screenshot (most likely from the 0.22 version), which apparently was taken by a mistake (why not take the screen of the actual successful landing?).
https://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y230/asleka/screenshot0_zps19493ce4.png~original
I remember using too much fuel to land and get back into orbit which resulted in a Jeb lost in space scenario and in an non-circular Mun orbit to boot. Launching a rescue ship (with a towing cable) ended in frustration and two kerbals lost in space.
(Rendezvous in space is perhaps the most difficult part of this game - and mechJeb smart assistance for this is not available early in the game).

0.23 came as a savior. :sneaky:

I use these mods:
Kethane (only scanned the mun for the stuff, not utilized in a refuel mission yet)
KSP Interstellar (late tech tree stuff.. not there yet).
MechJeb2 (a must have SAS help)
chatterer (seriously cool)
Enhanced nav ball (just makes the nav ball more "transparent" as you can see the retro grade/prograde/target indicators through the ball).
KW Rocketry (Fairings and other extra "stuff" - spreads logically on the tech tree)
Flight Engineer (nice extra info)
KAS (winches, cables etc.. kerbalnauts can work in space - e.g. install hooks for towing on ships lost in space).
Joint Reinforcement (removes structural wobbliness)
Kerbal Alarmclock (if you have many missions running simultaneously - this is a must)
Nova Punch 2 (another extra rocketry stuff mod - which spreads on the tech tree)

[Hooahguy]

Just going to resurrect this thread...

Anyways KSP is now in beta and its miles ahead from where it used to be. Theres a career mode and loads of mods (though many arent updated to the new update yet it seems), so theres plenty to do even if you cant seem to do the really complicated stuff like landing on a moon. Or orbiting it for that matter. Ive managed to get into orbit without the help of an autopilot system. So far Ive built a reliable rocket delivery system which can get me to the Mun and probably beyond but I havent tried that yet.

Lift-off! The four boosters are enough to get me almost past the first stage of the atmosphere.

https://i.imgur.com/QSMjyIk.png


Second stage gets me well into orbit.

https://i.imgur.com/4XCnn8z.png

Third stage is the one that gets me to the Mun with usually about half that fuel left.

...and thats where I run into this problem:

https://i.imgur.com/7tRM2iY.png

Ive launched five rockets so far and I have yet to get into a stable orbit around the Mun no matter what I do. Four of them collided with the Mun and the fifth one I missed the mark and I decided to abort it. Kinda frustrating but I will keep at it.

In the meantime I launched six communication satellites into stable orbit and a space telescope I have dubbed the "Hobble Telescope."

https://i.imgur.com/ydMomtV.png


So far almost all my missions are unmanned, but once I get my probe into orbit around the Mun I will start planning a Mun landing.

[Hooahguy]

Here are some more pics:

The communications satellite I have 6 of in orbit:

https://i.imgur.com/JnCeTlX.png

A GPS mapping satellite I have 3 of in orbit:

https://i.imgur.com/7MiDyaw.png

The Hobble Telescope:

https://i.imgur.com/IT8brhd.png

And finally, the probe I sent out towards the sun with a suite of instruments that most of which dont do anything:

https://i.imgur.com/OHhwm1a.png

[Hooahguy]

Ok, some new telescopes! I got a mod which gave me real telescopes and not ones that didnt do anything.

So here is the Hobble Telescope v2:

https://i.imgur.com/COslCbN.png

And the Kerblar Deep Space Telescope:

https://i.imgur.com/F6flz64.png



On the downside, Im crashing way more than I used to...

[Sigurd]

Stopped playing since last summer trying to launch this thing:

https://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y230/asleka/screenshot1_zps5c2536bf.png~original

https://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y230/asleka/screenshot2_zps532b3151.png~original

It is the command module of a interstellar battle cruiser. You can see all the connection ports on its sides where other modules would be connected, assembling this monster in space...

Sadly even with the 64x version the game stutters and you'll probably spend hours watching this launch to space. The game occupies 3.6 GB ram, which should be ok considering 64x and 8 GB available.
Maybe I will download the Beta version... we'll see.

[Hooahguy]

Alright ladies and gents, prepare to here the sad, sad tale of the International Kerbal Space Station.

It was a lovely station. Many crew compartments, a science lab, and enough power to sustain itself for years.

https://i.imgur.com/tf5cfHZ.png

The initial crew was just three, but that wasnt enough to crew everything, so I had to add more Kerbals to the crew. Bring in the IKISS Shuttle. Its not really a shuttle, as its more of a rocket than anything, but it served its purpose. Anyways it took two tries to get it to dock with the IKSS but I managed to get it done. I had five crew transfer into the IKSS and everything was great.

https://i.imgur.com/ny3trEU.jpg

Then I got cocky and went to do another trip, bringing another six Kerbals to the station. But I miscalculated and slammed into the station, breaking it in half. So the station is ruined and I have to mount rescue missions, one of which will require my Kerbals to jetpack over to the rescue craft as it has no docking ports. So its going to be an eventful few missions! Assuming I dont crash every fifteen minutes.

[AntiDamascus]

For some reason I cannot get into the game. I'm not sure why. I'll have to play it again soon. Maybe now.

[Hooahguy]

If the math is putting you off, try the MechJeb mod. Its an autopilot which allows for the more complicated gameplay involving math to be done automatically but leaves the interesting parts for you to do.

[Hooahguy]

So the rescue missions were a complete failure. Between system failures and the fact that the collision sent the two pieces at a higher velocity than originally planned, catching up to them very hard, not to mention docking or getting close enough for a spacewalk rescue. In the end, the eight Kerbalnauts were lost to space, and the Austark Space Program was shut down, pending congressional review on how such a loss of life was possible.

Also I ended up scrapping it because I was crashing way too much and I needed to see which mods were causing it. Ah well, I will launch a new space station which will be much better and have better contingencies should I end up crashing into it again.

[Hooahguy]

After many hours of planning and constructing the new space station, a failed launch, a nail-biting ascent with the first part, and then sweating out the docking of the animal and plant science compartment to the normal science compartment.

So here it is, the new space station! Crewed by fourteen Kerbals (nine scientists, two engineers, and three pilots), they are pushing the boundaries of space by seeing how plants grow in zero gravity!

https://i.imgur.com/rZajmiL.png


Also a look at the new communications satellite I put up:

Edit: oops wrong picture. Oh well I'm out of town for the next few weeks. I'll update when I get back then. Pity.

[Ibn-Khaldun]

Hooahguy, have you tried the new carrier mode? I think it's quite good. And I like that we are able to customize the difficulty of it. When I play it then only in Career.

[Hooahguy]

I'm debating whether or not to, for now it's just sandbox mode. When I get better at it I think I'll try science mode, then career.

[Hooahguy]

KSP is 40% off on Steam until March 9th, for those who are interested.

[Hooahguy]

Well, KSP is finally out of beta! KSP v1.0 was released today and it includes a huge number of new features, fixes, and just awesomeness. Cant wait to blast some Kerbals into oblivion after work today.

[Veho Nex]

Well, KSP is finally out of beta! KSP v1.0 was released today and it includes a huge number of new features, fixes, and just awesomeness. Cant wait to blast some Kerbals into oblivion after work today.

Me too hooah, me too

[Hooahguy]

So I had a bit of time to try my hand at the 1.0 version, its a lot more difficult I think even to just get your rocket into orbit. In the past you didnt really need work that hard to get something into space. You could do a 45 degree gravity turn even within the atmosphere and not tumble out of control. But not anymore, I tried to launch a simple rocket last night and following the way I was used to, I pointed my rocket 45 degrees when I hit around 12,000km. The result was that I did a couple of flips and plunged back to the ground as by that time I had lost momentum and it was generally not a good time for the Kerbalnauts on board. Thankfully I managed to separate their capsule and get them to safety before the rocket exploded, but the lessons were learned. Apparently now you have to turn much more gradually than before, so that will take some getting used to.