Getting back is less about big rockets, and more about efficient rockets.
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Kerbal Space Program |OT| 1.2 Loud and Clear - Comm Networks, New Fuel Flow and More
- Thread starter gutterboy44
- Start date
Getting back is less about big rockets, and more about efficient rockets.
CypherSignal
Member
I'd agree with this. For a long time, that rocket I had had an LV-T30 for the final stage on the CM, but swapping that out for an LV-909 changed everything in that flight plan for the better. I had fuel coming out my ears on the final re-entry, where earlier tests were barely scraping by; and the 2nd stage was able to comfortably do enough of a retrograde burn when approaching the Mun to get a stable orbit, whereas before it would have had a couple seconds worth of fuel to burn after leaving Kerbin's orbit.
Here's some XBOX One footage of Kerbal Space program from just a couple of days ago.
- Mouse cursor being controlled with the gamepad instead of native controls
- Performance is absolutely disgusting (see explosion and smoke effects towards the end)
- Yellow timer
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gQVGSTWCjg4
- Mouse cursor being controlled with the gamepad instead of native controls
- Performance is absolutely disgusting (see explosion and smoke effects towards the end)
- Yellow timer
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gQVGSTWCjg4
I've been getting back into KSP again running through career mode again. I wanted to try out a few mods, so I installed CKAN, Alarm Clock, Engineer Redux, and MechJeb 2. Alarm Clock and Engineer Redux work great, but I can't seem to get MechJeb to work at all.
I've tried using it in both career and sandbox, but I don't see any MechJeb UI. For career mode my tracking station is fully upgraded and I have the AR202 module installed on my rockets. Any idea why it doesn't appear? I can do most everything fine, I just want to get it working because I'm rendezvous/docking is so tedious.
I've tried using it in both career and sandbox, but I don't see any MechJeb UI. For career mode my tracking station is fully upgraded and I have the AR202 module installed on my rockets. Any idea why it doesn't appear? I can do most everything fine, I just want to get it working because I'm rendezvous/docking is so tedious.
Gtagentleman
Member
This port will be a massive flop on consoles.
ThreePiMatt
Member
Yeah, watching that video it just looks like the PC UI shoehorned onto a controller, looks clumsy at best, unusable at worst.
Then again, I said the same thing about Minecraft when it came to consoles, and that seems like its done OK.
runningjoke
Member
You need to put a mechjeb part on your ship
The performance on that x1 video is concerning, but i know my ps4 is far more capable than the trash fire of a laptop that I play on now that runs its adequately , so im gonna hold judgement since we all know that a stable version of a preview is probably from a months old build and optimization is last, and they probably have 3 to 6 months of development after this version we are seeing.
Lets not forget this is a OLD game that ran fine on average hardware 4(?) years ago, a rig is certainly not required here
Lets not forget this is a OLD game that ran fine on average hardware 4(?) years ago, a rig is certainly not required here
lol at yellow timer on a like 15parts spaceship launch.
Isn't that the AR202 module or am I missing something?
runningjoke
Member
Hmm read over that line. Yes the AR202 is the thing you need, as soon as it's on your ship a tab should appear on the right
Just wanted to verify I was doing everything correct, looks like there might be an issue with the latest version of MechJeb, I went and looked at my Kerbal Logs and it's crashing.
gutterboy44
Member
That XB1 footage is really bad, but I am not ready to give up hope on KSP console edition yet. Maybe Unity 5 will help. Who knows. It seems like Unity in general is in a bad place on consoles right now.
MadYarpen
Member
To be honest I cannot imagine playing this game with a dualshock/xbox controler. Just like playing an RTS game.
Can anyone tell me if it is possible to build a ship able to start from Kerbin, get to duna, land on duna and come back to Kerbin?
Or should I get it in separate stages to the orbit? I kinda like this idea, flying first transition stage kerbin/duna/kerbin and then lander and docking them together. Just thinking if it isn't over complicating it.
Can anyone tell me if it is possible to build a ship able to start from Kerbin, get to duna, land on duna and come back to Kerbin?
Or should I get it in separate stages to the orbit? I kinda like this idea, flying first transition stage kerbin/duna/kerbin and then lander and docking them together. Just thinking if it isn't over complicating it.
gutterboy44
Member
You can definitely do that with a single ship. Duna has an atmosphere so you get to save delta V with both aerobraking and parachutes during landing. The air is thinner so you need about 2.5x as many parachutes as on kerbin to slow you down the same or just use a little engine thrust to soften the landing. KSP wiki says it takes only 1,400 m/s delta v to get into low Duna orbit from the surface. That isn't that bad.
You can also EVA to repack those chutes for the return trip.
MadYarpen
Member
For this I need an engineer, right? That requires more space for the crew, because I think I'd want to have a pilot there too.
But I will definitely try, will have to look at the wiki and carefully design whole thing.
On the other hand, doing it with separate stages and docking souds like fun.
gutterboy44
Member
It always like going the docking and lander craft route. It is an added challenge and it just makes more sense to leave behind as much as you can whenever you can.
runningjoke
Member
If you already have an Apollo style Mun lander it's pretty easy to upgrade it for a Duna mission. The dV requirements are the same, you just need to land it on airbreaks/parachutes.
MadYarpen
Member
I did it, got to Duna and back. It was sooo on the edge though. Feels good.
Biggest mistake was going into "vertical" orbit (i hope you know what I mean) and landing on the north pole. first, there are mountains quite high above the "sea level" and aero braking was shortened. Secondly - I was in a similar orbit after taking off. And adjusting it for the shot to Kerbin took quite a lot of delta V.
I'm an idiot though, it all took me till 3 am.
Next time I want to do it with docking and all.
Biggest mistake was going into "vertical" orbit (i hope you know what I mean) and landing on the north pole. first, there are mountains quite high above the "sea level" and aero braking was shortened. Secondly - I was in a similar orbit after taking off. And adjusting it for the shot to Kerbin took quite a lot of delta V.
I'm an idiot though, it all took me till 3 am.
Next time I want to do it with docking and all.
gutterboy44
Member
That's awesome. You definitely gave yourself a bigger challenge with the polar orbit. When setting up your capture orbit Pe on planets, remember that the further away you are when adjusting, the less delta v you have to spend. Unfortunately, the futher away you are, the more sensitive the node controls are so you have to slowly use your wheel mouse to try to get the Pe as close to your ideal altitude as possible. I had the same issue of capturing Duna at a polar orbit a few times in a row. Right as enter Duna's sphere of influence, use radial in/out and normal/anti normal adjustments to move your Pe from a polar entry point to a more equatorial one. You will save a ton of delta v in the long run. Ideally you get your orbit plane how you want it even before you hit the sphere of influene, but I've found I normally have enough margin in my missions to do the adjustments right as I enter the sphere of influence. It also makes it much easier to see exactly where your orbit is at that point.
I need to get some more crew out to my orbiting Duna research station so I can send some crews up and down from the surface for some XP.
Edit: throw up a screenshot of your ship if you have one. I always like seeing other people's designs. More often than not, I learn something new for ship design.
ThreePiMatt
Member
Yeah, once you set yourself up on an intersection with Duna (or another planet) SOI you can then focus your view on that planet to make changes to path. Like, if you're 100 days out from Duna, you can adjust your approach to an equatorial aerobrake course with the tiniest squirts of RCS.
gutterboy44
Member
It is pretty wild when you are really far out how just rotating using torque, can change the Pe altitude estimates by hundreds of thousands of Km. Makes you appreciate how hard deep space missions like New Horizons and Rosetta must be in real life.
A few questions.
I played a fair bit in early access, but I find the game pretty overwhelming at this point.
I've also been watching Project BEAST, which has given me the urge to start playing again.
1) What mod are they using to automatically point to apoapsis/manoever nodes, etc... on Project BEAST? I dislike manual control as it's pretty finicky with a keyboard, so anything that can help me automate it for the time being would be nice.
2) Is there a way to completely remove the space plane portion of the game, or filter out space plane parts and missions? I want to focus on extra-terrestrial content only, at least for the time being.
3) Any advice or checklist of things to do for progressing in career mode? Any advice for things I should be unlocking? I'm struggling to even attain orbit at this point.
I did download an auto-science mod, which automates experiments for me. That's been a big help.
I guess I should probably watch a boat load of Scott Manley videos. -_-
I played a fair bit in early access, but I find the game pretty overwhelming at this point.
I've also been watching Project BEAST, which has given me the urge to start playing again.
1) What mod are they using to automatically point to apoapsis/manoever nodes, etc... on Project BEAST? I dislike manual control as it's pretty finicky with a keyboard, so anything that can help me automate it for the time being would be nice.
2) Is there a way to completely remove the space plane portion of the game, or filter out space plane parts and missions? I want to focus on extra-terrestrial content only, at least for the time being.
3) Any advice or checklist of things to do for progressing in career mode? Any advice for things I should be unlocking? I'm struggling to even attain orbit at this point.
I did download an auto-science mod, which automates experiments for me. That's been a big help.
I guess I should probably watch a boat load of Scott Manley videos. -_-
gutterboy44
Member
1) What mod are they using to automatically point to apoapsis/manoever nodes, etc... on Project BEAST? I dislike manual control as it's pretty finicky with a keyboard, so anything that can help me automate it for the time being would be nice.
That is now part of the game. In career mode you just level up your pilots and have them onboard to have every auto pilot feature. Level 1 is retro and prograde, 2 is normal anti-normal, and 3 is target, away from target and towards maneuver. You can also add all auto pilot features to a ship with the SAS avionics hub. In sandbox mode you don't have to worry about any of that as all auto pilot buttons are unlocked.
2) Is there a way to completely remove the space plane portion of the game, or filter out space plane parts and missions? I want to focus on extra-terrestrial content only, at least for the time being.
In career mode, with context aware contracts now, if you don't unlock any of the space plan nodes in the tech tree, you won't be given contracts that require space plane parts. One or two contracts early on may have you surveying places within kerbin atmosphere, but they are just as easy with a small rocket. Those contracts quickly stop showing up once you hit the Mun and higher reputation. In the vehicle assembly building, you can always filter out space plane parts or make your own custom filter groups. That would work for sandbox or in career if you do want to start to unlock some space plane parts.
3) Any advice or checklist of things to do for progressing in career mode? Any advice for things I should be unlocking? I'm struggling to even attain orbit at this point.
You will want to get to and land on the Mun and Minmus as early as possible. You really don't need much of the tech tree to do this. I highly recommend unlocking the Terrier engine as soon as possible. This will be a workhorse for the final stages on your rockets as well as landers. If you are having trouble obtaining orbit still, I would say this has more to do with your knowledge and experience than it does with tech tree parts. The game still lacks in the tutorial section and with a fairly steep learning curve, it is one of the biggest issues post 1.0 for new comers or return players. As you said, you can't go wrong with Scott Manley, but some of his videos may be outdated. You will want to watch launch videos from 1.0.5 as aerodynamics and heat have been tweaked so it can effect the way you efficiently launch. Old launch videos it was nothing more than going full throttle and turning at 15Km. Now there is more nuance and challenge to it, which I think is great.
gutterboy44
Member
I don't have one, but I would imagine, yeah totally worth it. Vinny seems to really enjoy using it. I've been tempted to buy one for KSP.
MadYarpen
Member
Here it is. Most important thing design - wise is using shorter tanks, I lock flow from all but the lowest and turn them on one by one as the lowest runs out of fuel. This way I can keep centre of mass at the front. Otherwise it is quite rough design. Did its job though
Whole thing:
Stage 1:
Stage 2:
Stage 3:
Lander/comeback ship
From the trip:
gutterboy44
Member
Very clean and apollo-esque. Looks like you did have some rough terrain up there at the pole.
gutterboy44
Member
I think it was close to flipping over
You might get a little more stability in atmosphere using the tail fins instead of the delta deluxe winglet. Only 20% of the control surface deflects with those, so you are getting .2 control surface area compared to the control surface area of 1.0 with the tail fins. They are slightly heavier though.
MadYarpen
Member
I meant after landing. I would be so "kerbal".
During the flight it was stable enough.
Seems like KSP is a bad fit for the consoles; the controls are workable imho, but the game seems CPU bound, and the consoles have really weak CPUs; the X1 actually has a slightly beefier CPU compared to the PS4, so on PS4 it may be even worse.
They will need to move a bunch of calculations to the GPU for it to run decently, but dunno how factible that will be.
They will need to move a bunch of calculations to the GPU for it to run decently, but dunno how factible that will be.
Auto-Reply
Member
Is their Project Beast stuff over? I was expecting a new episode on monday, nothing happened?
gutterboy44
Member
Vinny said at the start of the Scott Manley ep that there would be episodes of where the BEAST team tries the same rescue mission that Scott did. Not sure when that will be released. I expected to see it Monday as well. They were probably having too much fun playing American Truck Simulator
such a fun game.
MadYarpen
Member
That is one of my problems as well. Poor Jebediah.
ThreePiMatt
Member
Vinny said at the start of the Scott Manley ep that there would be episodes of where the BEAST team tries the same rescue mission that Scott did. Not sure when that will be released. I expected to see it Monday as well. They were probably having too much fun playing American Truck Simulator
There is not a chance in the world that they could rescue everyone in one trip.
But also, Vinny said they won't actually watch the full video until they're done with their mission, so Vinny won't even be able to replicate it if he wanted to. I'm sure people on Twitter and the comments section will probably spoil the fact that Scott did it in one mission, but I don't think Vinny will attempt it.
gutterboy44
Member
Oh for sure. The only way they would ever be able to do it on a single mission is if they first practiced each separate rescue and completed it successfully first, them reloaded and went for them all in one go, but I don't see them doing that. I think they will maybe get two at once in LKO and then go for the way out one last.
I actually replicated their monstrosity from episode 2 to see if I could fly the mission with it
Only change I made was to replace the LF-only tank they had in the lander stage with a proper LF+OX tank.
Managed to do it, but without much margin left. All that damn monopropellant weighs so much that I had to use mostly the RCS thrusters for my Mun escape
Only change I made was to replace the LF-only tank they had in the lander stage with a proper LF+OX tank.
Managed to do it, but without much margin left. All that damn monopropellant weighs so much that I had to use mostly the RCS thrusters for my Mun escape
CelticKnight
Member
Really enjoying this, been on it virtually daily since starting.
In my career mode, I've currently got a choice between 2 contracts - go to Duna for the first time or build a Mün outpost. Was thinking about sending a rover to Duna on a one way trip as the idea of trying (and failing) to built something that resembles a base/outpost quite frankly terrifies me...
In my career mode, I've currently got a choice between 2 contracts - go to Duna for the first time or build a Mün outpost. Was thinking about sending a rover to Duna on a one way trip as the idea of trying (and failing) to built something that resembles a base/outpost quite frankly terrifies me...
gutterboy44
Member
It is likely the Duna contract has no deadline, so might as well pick it up and get there sooner than later. Going to Duna is awesome. I mean, I completely romanticize Mars missions in real life, but I still vividly remember my first successful Duna missions in KSP a few years ago.
well i just dropped a probe neatly into duna orbit. But I have no idea how to gravity slingshot off Ike to get it into a polar orbit so I can do this mineral probe. Any tips?
/edit nevermind, got it. was fooled because the engines weren't displaying the proper projected time for some reason.
I gotta go get kerbal alarm clock and precision nodes...
/edit nevermind, got it. was fooled because the engines weren't displaying the proper projected time for some reason.
I gotta go get kerbal alarm clock and precision nodes...