🚀 The Kerbal Thread - Share Your Kerbal Creations
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Just FYI, all missions give an advance that I believe (in theory) is the minimal amount of money you can complete the mission with. But you can take 10 mission advances at a time. So if your bank is empty, you can just accept missions and cruise on their advances for awhile.
I've since discovered this. Also found career mode is fairly easy at first if you pay attention to the missions. It starts with stupid missions like "Deploy parachute while landed" and "Leave the ground" which actually give a decent amount of money.
I haven't tried science mode yet, for now economy mode seems to be a good way to learn the basics. Trying to complete some of the missions (test a certain rocket, but you have to be at 350 - 500 m/s and between 21k and 22k altitude...took me like two dozen tries) is tricky but I get to learn how different modules handle.
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Don't be an ass, landing on Mun is hard as fuck the first time.
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Don't be an ass, landing on Mun is hard as fuck the first time.
You mean don't be deliberately obtuse like you?
I was making an attempt at humor. Draxes like you obviously didn't get it.
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No, you were being a condescending asshole. Whether it was an attempt at humor or not, I can't say, since all I could see is "condescending asshole".
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Getting 4 (full) 14400s along with 16 LV-Ns and associated miscellany into Kerbal escape is... challenging.
I don't doubt that. I was testing some designs targeted for Jool orbit earlier and they involved something ridiculous like ~20 tanks to get a single tank to its destination.
I'm kind of jealous of you airplane guys, because goddamned planes are hard in Kerbal and I usually don't have the patience.
On the bright side, you don't have to worry as much about shifting center of mass vs. center of lift, angle of attack, air intakes vs. drag, adequate control surfaces, flameouts, stalling, unrecoverable spins, engine mass vs. weight and many other nuisances.
At no point was I taught how to land on the Mun. I kind of understand how thanks to Orbiter, but the Delta Glider had main thrusters and hover thrusters so it was probably simpler.
You can build craft with both horizontal and vertical thrusters, but most rockets are going to have a single engine or engine cluster all oriented in the same direction..
The method I use for landing on all non-atmospheric bodies is:
- Reduce periapsis to ~10km.
- Place a maneuver node at periapsis to retrograde burn and kill horizontal velocity.
- Warp to the node minus half the burn time.
- Using the node as a guide, burn retrograde to cancel horizontal velocity, and then keep the navball on top of the retrograde vector from now until landing.
- Keep an eye on radar altitude if you have a cockpit - once you're below 1000m, make sure you're no faster than ~50m/s, once you're below 500m, make sure you're no faster than ~25m/s.
- Ideal landing velocity is 5-10m/s, or less if you like.
Now it's getting to that part where there are fifty billion simultaneous missions with maneuver nodes all over the place. Kerbal Alarm Clock makes it a lot easier to track them.
OF COURSE EVERY TIME I HAVE MORE THAN ABOUT FOUR SIMULTANEOUS INTERPLANETARY MISSIONS, THIS INVARIABLY HAPPENS:
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I don't doubt that. I was testing some designs targeted for Jool orbit earlier and they involved something ridiculous like ~20 tanks to get a single tank to its destination.
Yeah.
I didn't try out the ship today, but it is in Kerbol orbit with a full tank for when I get back to Kerbal. Maybe tomorrow.
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So last night I reran my botched mun mission. Basically the same hardware. Landed, made out like a bandit on science, and ran for home. After leaving the moon, though, I was faced with a familiar problem.
Launching from the munar surface back to rendezvous, I'd apparently burnt WAY more fuel than I'd thought. Had ~360 m/s at the SOI change.
I'd fallen onto a reentry trajectory, so I got busy moving all the science I could to the lander, transferred all its remaining RCS, fuel and oxidizer, and undocked it. Whatever else happened, the mission would succeed. did an immediate burn with some of the remaining fuel on the command module to punt its periapsis up to 100km.
Landed the lander, parades were had, much science was recovered, the landing crew were immortalized in Kerbin history, etc.
MEANWHILE IN SPACE: Poor Bill Kerman, alone in his command module, makes one more nasty elliptical orbit. Around apopapsis, I come up with a plan. I burn to drop his periapsis to a high atmospheric aerobrake.
And I overshoot and end up with a deep aerobrake. In other words, a reentry and landing trajectory. I use the remaining whiffs of fuel and basically all the RCS to tweak the trajectory so it's going to land somewhere friendly ("Grasslands? Those sound flat!") and settle in. The stack is basically this: Docking clamp. RCS tank. Science Jr. 3-seat command module. Fuel tank. Poodle engine. The tanks are both empty, but this thing is still very fat to land without legs. It only has 3 radial parachutes, as well. Some experiments bolted to the outside of the fuel tank, and various solar panels, batteries and such.
Chutes deploy, and it looks like we might make it.
The poodle bell touches the ground. EXPLOSIONS. MAYHEM. The stack falls over and splits apart. MORE EXPLOSIONS
But in the end, every last bit of science survived, as did the command pod.
Individually recovering thermometers from the tracking center was annoying, though (we did an atmospheric temperature study of Kerbin during launch)
I've now completed the tech tree, though. 5m parts unlocked! Now we're in business!
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After 3 - 4 restarts of career mode so I can learn the early-game basics, I'm finally ready to attempt a launch to the Mun. Gonna be lots of trial-and-error to figure out my staging.
How do you guys recover the Science Jr. module? It always explodes when my command module/science lab touches down. I've lost lots of science to that, never transmitted because I didn't want the inefficiency. Or should I be going for water landings instead of wherever I end up?
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land landings are better. water is very unforgiving.
try designing lander so that it lands at <6m/s moar parachutes can help there.also adding landing gear (once you unlock them, they're along the bottom of the science tree) will help the survivability of your science immensely.
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yes you can!
i have a 90 ton lander (getting that sucker into orbit is.... fun. so many stages!) and it has about 80 parachutes, and even then needs a little fuel left in the main engine to cushion the fall at the last minute.
so yes. use moar parachutes. my early landers tend to have 3, one of the yellow one that unlocks first and two radial mount ones that unlock a level after that.
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moar
hmm... now that i think about it. how long until the OED pick up that spelling as a variant of
more? anyone want to make book on that?
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Yeah.
I didn't try out the ship today, but it is in Kerbol orbit with a full tank for when I get back to Kerbal. Maybe tomorrow.
You didn't ragequit. Some are disappointed.
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At least we have not started the "@blakeyrat rage quit" betting pool yet. We need to get on that. It is getting close.
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$5 bucks on sometime in December.... the 14th at 03.15.87 UTC
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I feel like you are being pessimistic. Or optimistic, depending upon your viewpoint.
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well we are playing by the price is right rules, right?
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Yeah, and I don't think @blakeyrat will make it to December. He is way overdue for another tantrum/ragequit.
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I honestly thought he had.
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I did also. A silent ragequit. It seems that @blakeyrat was just ignoring us last night.
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so you're saying i stand a chance of winning?
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Well, if no one else has entered and @blakeyrat quits by that time, you could win your own money...
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i'm a (potential) winner!
:-D
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I've now completed the tech tree, though. 5m parts unlocked! Now we're in business!
BTW I know I'm the one who started the whole "kerbadyne parts being 5m" thing, but according to the Wiki they're supposed to be 3 meters? I think that's a retcon... unless I'm extremely crazy, it used to be small = 0.5m, medium = 1.25m, large (rockomax) = 2.5m, extra-large (kerbadyne) = 5m.
But then I saw this page yesterday:
Not sure what's correct. But the Wiki probably is. Anyway!
Sounds like you had a successful mission in the Kerbal way.
How do you guys recover the Science Jr. module? It always explodes when my command module/science lab touches down.
Check out the return vehicle on the lander I've been using, like in this post: http://what.thedailywtf.com/t/the-kerbal-thread-abandon-all-hope-ye-who-enter-here/3966/56?u=blakeyrat (That's a Discourse link, hope it works)
- Make sure science pods don't touch the ground directly. Have some structural element touch the ground-- in my lander's case it's a medium-to-rockomax-slim-adapter, which also makes a good "heat shield" if you like to role-play it's a real spacecraft.
The alternative is to use your landing legs, which is practical if you bring a single-stage lander back. Landing legs absorb about 10m/s of shock. They also absorb shock in water. Warning: legs will bounce if you come down too fast, which can easily tip-over a landing capsule.
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Overkill on parachutes. That one has one small in-line chute (the whatever-16) and 6 radial chutes, about twice what I need for such a small lander-- but parachutes are additive in the game, even if the visual for them overlaps.
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Landing in water gives you more lee-way on speed. Although this can bring up a new hazard: if your spaceship doesn't float on its tail (and most don't), it might tilt after hitting the water, which can cause the capsule to slam-down with some force. I've had that tipping-over bust experiments before.
Then again, I've also had capsules hit the side of a mountain and roll down 1000m+, destroying everything exterior to the capsule but miraculously leaving my Kerbalnaut alive.
- If you do land a single-stage lander, and have fuel left, remember engines work fine on Kerbin. Just slow yourself with the engines and come down soft as you like. (Although let the parachutes do MOST of the work, or you won't have fuel. Just fire-off the engines when you hit 50m or so. Remember, Kerbin is the only body in the game where the altimeter at the top of the screen is always correct to ground-level.)
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He has not been seen around today. Do you think @blakeyrat would ruin his attendance badges over my badgering?
BTW, I only phrased it that way so you can post your site.
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Don't be an ass, landing on Mun is hard as fuck the first time.
That depends on your definition of landing...
If your definition is, "Crew survives", then it's actually not that hard. You just need to come in at the right angle with enough ablative material between the crew and the ground.
If your definition is, "Lander is still usable", well... that's a different story.
God I love this game. But I play pretty heavily modded, at least with visuals. The Renaissance Pack makes it look epic, I'm really looking forward to the 0.25 version. Also tend to use FAR, Deadly Re-entry, TAC life support, TAC fuel balancer, RemoteTech, ScanSAT, and a few other things for flavor (Modular Storage system, Kerbanite).
I'm not that good at the game, but I do love playing it.
Speaking of which, has anyone had luck with SSTOs and FAR? I can usually get to ~25km height, 1500 m/sec speed, but then suffer from 'Aerodynamic Disassembly' when I pitch up. While it looks epic, it's not a desired outcome. Maybe I should try NEAR instead?
No screenshots from me, yet. Haven't played in over a month. :(
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Yeah he has, he has made posts today...
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1) Make sure science pods don't touch the ground directly. Have some structural element touch the ground-- in my lander's case it's a medium-to-rockomax-slim-adapter, which also makes a good "heat shield" if you like to role-play it's a real spacecraft.
The alternative is to use your landing legs, which is practical if you bring a single-stage lander back. Landing legs absorb about 10m/s of shock. They also absorb shock in water. Warning: legs will bounce if you come down too fast, which can easily tip-over a landing capsule.
I don't think I have any of that stuff yet. I've done research like 3 times at most.
I'll have to try loading up on parachutes. Somehow it never occurred to me I could have multiple parachutes attached.
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don't go too overboard, or you'll slow down to .1m/s once you hit 500 meters and have to spend the next hour and 40 minutes watching your capsule drift to the ground.
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That's what it feels like anyway. I just run 2x time acceleration and cruise YouTube or something on my other monitor.
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Moho's a bitch.
Look at my fuel levels there. Ouch. That ship did not perform as I thought it would.
I managed to shove a gripper arm up my lander's ass to move it. The gripper doesn't seem to grip unless you've moving about 1 m/s which was actually pretty tough, seeing as my gripper-ship was so huge and the target so small. (I was going to detach the re-entry portion and bring only that back, but jeez, hitting that small a target would have been impossible.)
The funny thing is I used grippers on asteroids all the time, and they are pretty easy to grab. Probably because they're massive and round.
What happens when I fire up the engines?
Nothing; it's fine.
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Awww, you didn't leave us after all. <3
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So, uh. Time to make a rescue mission to rescue my rescue mission. ahem.
The observant will notice I added docking ports just in case of this eventuality.
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No, but there is smoke coming out of @blakeyrat's ears.
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So, uh. Time to make a rescue mission to rescue my rescue mission. ahem.
Yeah, this happens. A lot.
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For an intercept in Kerbol orbit, this one went real smooth. Not too many burns needed.
And here we are, all docked and ready to pump fuel around. Whee.
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Good bye, robot fuel tug. May you orbit peacefully in your Kerbol orbit until I notice you in the Space Center in 2 weeks and go, "why the fuck is that thing still around?" and delete you.
Detaching the splashdown stage from the conglomeration of shit that is Jebediah's "ship".
And a profitable, if extremely long and annoying, science output. Yay.
It would have been higher if I had thought of the grabber arm earlier and had Jeb spacewalk to recover the experiments on the mothership before crashing it into Moho, instead of using the antenna. But eh. Hindsight's 20/20.
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Got a rocket to orbit around the Mun, decided to EVA my Kerbalnaut for an EVA report, and now the game refuses to let him re-board the command module. I get him in place, it says "Press F To Grab", I do so, and then it turns off his RCS and propels him in a random direction.
Guess I gotta revert to a save and try again, but not EVA him.
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Well after like 10 extra tries the game finally let him board again. Not sure what that was about.
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Kerbals with jetpacks are like the hardest "spacecraft" to control in the game. If you're lucky, after hitting EVA, he'll have a secure hold on the ladder and won't drift away. Then you can get your EVA report without worrying about turning on his RCS at all.
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I find EVA kerbals to be easier than normal RCS operations.
Of course, the second you start trying to move around a moon fast by using EVA RCS, you're basically in some sort of near-escape-velocity kerbal demolition derby.
I'm installing RemoteTech. I need moar hard.
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remotetech + TAC life support will deliver
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Am looking at TAC life support, not sold quite yet. Of course, I'm about to enter a NASA-esque "Manned missions are for dreamers and little girls!" phase while I build out my communications network, by by the time Jeb climbs into the cockpit again I'll probably be using it.
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I find EVA kerbals to be easier than normal RCS operations.
Really? I have trouble because they're so light. A tiny tap on the RCS key and they're off at 11 m/s, it's crazy world.
Also the way they "automatically" reorient with the camera angle is kind of weird and annoying, since no other "spacecraft" does that. It's handy while walking though, I admit.
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don't go too overboard, or you'll slow down to .1m/s once you hit 500 meters and have to spend the next hour and 40 minutes watching your capsule drift to the ground.
That sounds like the voice of experience and a stopwatch.
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yes on one. maaaaaaaaybe on 2
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Well, I didn't literally mean that. It could've been a regular clock.
Since I don't play KSP, I don't know this: why do so many designs put the thrusters at the top, like in @blakeyrat's latest set of pics? Obviously in the real world that would tear itself to shreds; I assume there's an in-game reason people don't put them at the bottom.
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Pendulum fallacy.
