Edminster is super lazy so I had to make him this KSP thread

Moderator: Lethal Interjection

User avatar
Liriodendron_fagotti
(Eastern Bassoon Poplar)
Posts: 1227
Joined: Mon Apr 22, 2013 2:34 pm
Location: :noitacoL

Re: Edminster is super lazy so I had to make him this KSP th

Post by Liriodendron_fagotti »

Edminster wrote:
Liriodendron_fagotti wrote:WOOO! That's awesome. Can he get back?
Carefully examine the final two pictures in the seriesImage
Ooooooh!

Those are a lot of fuel tanks.

e: fixing
Continual disappointment is the spice of life.

User avatar
Kaharz
This Intentionally Left Blank
Posts: 1571
Joined: Fri Feb 25, 2011 12:17 pm

Re: Edminster is super lazy so I had to make him this KSP th

Post by Kaharz »

So I finally started actually playing tonight and it seemed career mode was the way to go to get a handle on things from what little I had read. If I'm mistaken, please let me know. The only science I've managed is to get back safely and sub-orbital flight. So the parts I have access to are still very limited. I'm aiming for orbital flight flight now, that seems the next logical step. I can't guess what else to do. I did manage to completely escape and hoped I'd hit something, but after a year and half in my own little orbit solar orbit, I gave up.

I think I have a decent idea of how to get into a stable orbit now as far as the actual flying goes, but I'm having a problem that I'm not sure I know the solution to.

When I escaped, it was the first time with that design. It was a pretty straight forward design. I just slapped more fuel and boosters on to the first stage of what I used for suborbital, which was just a two-engine, two stage rocket.

So after reverting, I tried again, and half of my tanks and boosters in the first stage exploded just after liftoff. I tried a few more times and the same thing happened. So I went back to design and just moved the ship around a bit, didn't change anything. No more exploding, but then it started wobbling on the platform prior to launch and it was hard to start off straight. I did the same thing again, and it was a bit better, but still wobbled too much to get enough elevation out of the first stage. Is there some random 'screw you' seed that is calculated when you hit the launch button after design? I went and tried some more designs because I was bored of repeatedly screwing around with a design that I knew should work. All those sucked.
Kaharz wrote:I don't need a title. I have no avatar or tagline either. I am unique in my lack of personal identifiers.

User avatar
Edminster
Tested positive for Space-AIDS
Posts: 8832
Joined: Fri Sep 09, 2005 9:53 pm
Location: Internet
Contact:

Re: Edminster is super lazy so I had to make him this KSP th

Post by Edminster »

Could you post screenshots? They can be supremely helpful when doing diagnostics. The default key is F1, and it goes in your steamapps/common/ksp/screenshots folder if you're on steam.

It could be something as simple as not turning ASAS on when launching, but it also sounds like you are having trouble with The Lurch, which is when physics kicks in after loading the rocket on the pad. It's an annoying thing but can be ameliorated by building launch clamps to spread the weight of the rocket before liftoff. I can go into more detail on that if it turns out to be needed, so please post screenshots!
ol qwerty bastard wrote:bitcoin is backed by math, and math is intrinsically perfect and logically consistent always

gödel stop spreading fud

User avatar
Kaharz
This Intentionally Left Blank
Posts: 1571
Joined: Fri Feb 25, 2011 12:17 pm

Re: Edminster is super lazy so I had to make him this KSP th

Post by Kaharz »

Sounds like it is definitely the lurch. I was just wondering why the initial launch conditions seemed exactly the same if I reverted back to launch, but were different if I reverted back to construction and then went to launch. I guess the lurch conditions are set and saved when you click 'launch' from the construction area and do not regenerate when you revert back to launch.

I didn't realize the Command Pod Mk1, the only one I have so far, has SAS. I'll try turning it on, it will definitely help with some of my more powerful designs that tended to rotate out of control and fly apart from the centripetal forces. I don't have access to stability clamps yet. I just have the Start and Basic Rocketry nodes which are:

Command Pod Mk1, LV-T30 Liquid Fuel Engine, RT-10 Solid Fuel Booster, FL-T1000, FL-T2000, and FL-T4000 Fuel Tanks, Modular Girder Segment, Communotron 16, Mk16 Parchute, Mystery Goo and TR-18A Stack Decoupler.

I'll mess around with it more and and post screens if I'm still stumped. I still have A LOT to learn. I just found out I have to actually observe the mystery goo manually or with an action group and have to deploy my antennae if I want to use them for something. So I don't even know how to use the few basic parts I have. I have no idea how to use action groups yet, saw the menu though, so I'll have to tinker with that.
Kaharz wrote:I don't need a title. I have no avatar or tagline either. I am unique in my lack of personal identifiers.

User avatar
Edminster
Tested positive for Space-AIDS
Posts: 8832
Joined: Fri Sep 09, 2005 9:53 pm
Location: Internet
Contact:

Re: Edminster is super lazy so I had to make him this KSP th

Post by Edminster »

Be mindful of the fact that when placing a part, you can press WASDQE to change the rotation of it. Holding Shift while doing so allows fine rotation. This allows you to build incredibly ghetto launch clamps like so:

Image

They're not that great, but they're better than nothing! One of your other stability troubles is probably because you're using the T-30 instead of the T-45, as the 45 has thrust vectoring which goes a long way towards stability. Also! Don't forget to take crew reports by clicking on the capsule, and when you've landed remember to get your kerbal on EVA to take a surface sample and EVA report! It doesn't matter if you're on the Mun or in the ocean, you'll still be able to get at least some Science!

And as a final bit of advice, the numbers you assign action groups to are the ones at the top of the keyboard, not the ones on the numpad. I learned that one the hard way!
ol qwerty bastard wrote:bitcoin is backed by math, and math is intrinsically perfect and logically consistent always

gödel stop spreading fud

User avatar
Kaharz
This Intentionally Left Blank
Posts: 1571
Joined: Fri Feb 25, 2011 12:17 pm

Re: Edminster is super lazy so I had to make him this KSP th

Post by Kaharz »

Thanks for the tips. I had no idea about the rotating thing, that will make things way easier. I also have the T45 now.

Turning SAS on fixed my issues with the lurch and after a few goes at it I was able to get an orbit, more or less. I didn't actually make a full orbit, but the game counted it as one, so good enough for me. I had made a full orbit on the attempt before, but my chute failed that time. Bastards.

Now I just need to go back and do all the crew reports and EVAs that I didn't know I could do and see if that will get me enough science to get enough tech to make it to the mun. Then I have to figure out how to get to the mun. I like trying to figure this stuff out for myself, but I think I might have to read a primer on doing this. We'll see how many tries on my own it takes to completely frustrate me.
Kaharz wrote:I don't need a title. I have no avatar or tagline either. I am unique in my lack of personal identifiers.

User avatar
Liriodendron_fagotti
(Eastern Bassoon Poplar)
Posts: 1227
Joined: Mon Apr 22, 2013 2:34 pm
Location: :noitacoL

Re: Edminster is super lazy so I had to make him this KSP th

Post by Liriodendron_fagotti »

I made it to the Mun twice, but by the time I got there I didn't have enough fuel to slow down enough and made a slightly-less-than-gentle touchdown.
Continual disappointment is the spice of life.

User avatar
Edminster
Tested positive for Space-AIDS
Posts: 8832
Joined: Fri Sep 09, 2005 9:53 pm
Location: Internet
Contact:

Re: Edminster is super lazy so I had to make him this KSP th

Post by Edminster »

This is the sort of thing where you discover the critical flaw with KSP: It doesn't do a good job of telling you what your ship is capable of. and it can be supremely frustrating to waste an hour of time because it turns out it didn't have enough fuel to do whatever. It would be super-great if you could assemble your rocket and press like an 'analyze' button to have a scientist Kerbal tell you things like "Piloted efficiently, this craft could return a sample from Minmus!" or "An excellent Mun lander! Shame it will never return..." and so on.

There is a mod for this, called Kerbal Engineer Redux which will show you the craft's dV when you add the part to it (and a hell of a lot more information when in-flight) but by default shows way more information than you actually need for 90% of your flights.

I've been playing around with the concept of jet engines as initial booster stages. Early on they're surprisingly good lifters, with the circular air intakes providing enough air to get you to about 10km when used at a 2:1 ratio of intakes to engines. Right now I'm using the high-end air intakes which finally die from lack of air at about 15km, which is plenty high to get through the thickest part of the atmosphere.

Image

That rocket can theoretically take the payload all the way out to Jool. I say theoretically because the payload is a scanning satellite for the Kethane mod and so I've been using all of that fuel for plane changes to polar orbits, and I really don't have the patience to do planetary intercepts that far away besides.
ol qwerty bastard wrote:bitcoin is backed by math, and math is intrinsically perfect and logically consistent always

gödel stop spreading fud

User avatar
Edminster
Tested positive for Space-AIDS
Posts: 8832
Joined: Fri Sep 09, 2005 9:53 pm
Location: Internet
Contact:

Re: Edminster is super lazy so I had to make him this KSP th

Post by Edminster »

Image

Jebediah Kerman

Center of Mass


2014
assorted debris, sackcloth
$450 o.b.o.
ol qwerty bastard wrote:bitcoin is backed by math, and math is intrinsically perfect and logically consistent always

gödel stop spreading fud

User avatar
Edminster
Tested positive for Space-AIDS
Posts: 8832
Joined: Fri Sep 09, 2005 9:53 pm
Location: Internet
Contact:

Re: Edminster is super lazy so I had to make him this KSP th

Post by Edminster »

I've been playing around with the Kethane mod, so I could have something to do besides Science, and also the Kerbal Attachment System so I could build a mining base. And here it is!

Image

From left to right is Kethane Drill, Fuel Refinery, trukk, and Fuel Tug. The Tug only has ~880 m/s of dV when fully loaded, but that's plenty to get to orbit and rendezvous with the as-yet-unbuilt orbital fuel depot. It was also able to rendezvous with a craft in Kerbin orbit but I had to cut into the payload to guarantee it was able to land back at the mining station on Minmus.

Image

This little trukk carries extra building supplies like ground pylons and pipe connection points. It's solar powered, but has a couple batteries slapped on the underside so it can crawl around at night if it needs to. There are no headlights though, so if I want to do anything at night I have to rely on the Kerbal's suit light to see anything.
ol qwerty bastard wrote:bitcoin is backed by math, and math is intrinsically perfect and logically consistent always

gödel stop spreading fud

User avatar
Edminster
Tested positive for Space-AIDS
Posts: 8832
Joined: Fri Sep 09, 2005 9:53 pm
Location: Internet
Contact:

Re: Edminster is super lazy so I had to make him this KSP th

Post by Edminster »

Image

I built a lamp post! Kerbal Attachment System is a really neat mod that allows small-scale construction like this. I've also brought enough material to make a little rover, but that'll wait until tomorrow I think.
ol qwerty bastard wrote:bitcoin is backed by math, and math is intrinsically perfect and logically consistent always

gödel stop spreading fud

User avatar
Kimra
He-Man in a Miniskirt
Posts: 6850
Joined: Tue Jun 02, 2009 10:18 am
Location: meanwhile elsewhere

Re: Edminster is super lazy so I had to make him this KSP th

Post by Kimra »

Look at you, making your own Narnia.
King Prawn

User avatar
Liriodendron_fagotti
(Eastern Bassoon Poplar)
Posts: 1227
Joined: Mon Apr 22, 2013 2:34 pm
Location: :noitacoL

Re: Edminster is super lazy so I had to make him this KSP th

Post by Liriodendron_fagotti »

Narnia in Space would be a cool spinoff.
Continual disappointment is the spice of life.

User avatar
Kaharz
This Intentionally Left Blank
Posts: 1571
Joined: Fri Feb 25, 2011 12:17 pm

Re: Edminster is super lazy so I had to make him this KSP th

Post by Kaharz »

Is there some secret to targeting the crew hatch to open it? I have a hell of a time. I keeps flashing up very quickly. So I just have to keep clicking until I get it by chance.
Kaharz wrote:I don't need a title. I have no avatar or tagline either. I am unique in my lack of personal identifiers.

User avatar
Liriodendron_fagotti
(Eastern Bassoon Poplar)
Posts: 1227
Joined: Mon Apr 22, 2013 2:34 pm
Location: :noitacoL

Re: Edminster is super lazy so I had to make him this KSP th

Post by Liriodendron_fagotti »

Kaharz wrote:Is there some secret to targeting the crew hatch to open it? I have a hell of a time. I keeps flashing up very quickly. So I just have to keep clicking until I get it by chance.
Not sure. I have the same issue with landing struts.
Continual disappointment is the spice of life.

Post Reply