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Kerbal Space Program |OT| 1.2 Loud and Clear - Comm Networks, New Fuel Flow and More

"amazing new features to KSP such as an overhauled aerodynamics system, re-entry heat"

So what are the specifics on this, can I expect that I'll need to aim my craft in such a way as to make sure that the heat resistant sides of the craft are the ones taking the brunt of re-entry in order to survive? Will re-entries that are too steep kill me too?

Realistic re-entry has been one of my more requested additions to the game since back when I played the demo in '12, though I suppose if worst comes to worst there's always a mod that'll do what I want instead. :p

I have only re entered from low orbit with the first capsule and yes you need to aim your craft in the correct direction as exposed, less heat resistive parts will overheat and explode. There are also now heat shields to help with the new challenges. I haven't had a on of time to explore the new systems but even during your early career flights the changes add a new layer of design, planning and execution. Good fun all around.
 

Mengy

wishes it were bannable to say mean things about Marvel
"amazing new features to KSP such as an overhauled aerodynamics system, re-entry heat"

So what are the specifics on this, can I expect that I'll need to aim my craft in such a way as to make sure that the heat resistant sides of the craft are the ones taking the brunt of re-entry in order to survive? Will re-entries that are too steep kill me too?

Realistic re-entry has been one of my more requested additions to the game since back when I played the demo in '12, though I suppose if worst comes to worst there's always a mod that'll do what I want instead. :p

Yes, re-entry can be deadly now if you come in too fast or at the wrong orientation or without a heat shield. I exploded several crafts last night while experimenting. I love it, adds a new tension to re-entry that was sorely missing before.

The new aerodynamics model is fantastic too, very much improved from before, and the aero effects are very nice.

1.0 was worth the wait IMHO.
 

DrBo42

Member
Will have to reinstall and check out the new features. Has Squad said anything about multiplayer recently? Once that's functional and you can rendezvous with player stations to refuel etc it'll be pretty amazing. I know there have been mods for that but they've been super janky.
 

Woorloog

Banned
I don't know, I actually love the tech tree progression. I started a new career on normal skill last night and I've not had any issues yet. I mean sure some of my contracts are not possible to complete just now but I'm just saving them for later, no biggie. Maybe its not an issue on normal?

The parts progression is idiotic, and has always been, IMO. Ladders are high tech stuff. Long landing legs (the near-start micro-legs are kind of useless) are later stuff. Probes are too late (especially when playing higher difficulties so one cannot afford to lose kerbals so i need them ASAP)... and why don't i start with a decoupler (seriously, why do i have to land the goddamm solid booster with the capsule)?
And many other issues, like outlined in the analysis

I have not liked the tech tree since is introduction, indeed i've stuck with playing on sandbox mode, but less and less the game because i want a sense of progression in my space program.... But i will not use a progression system that is not fun (and consequently, i haven't played for a long time).
The game should get more challenging (or different) as you go on (in a right way, it is possible to do this wrong, see TESIV Oblivion and its level scaling...). As it is, everything you do makes things easier.

I can play with the tech tree. I can do a lot with how it works but i dislike having to build silly contraptions (like capsule hard-connected to a solid booster with the very first tech tier) or systems that violate common sense (same example applies here as well). Not fun.

Looks like i will have to wait for a mod or an official fix. Probably the former, because Squad hasn't really touched the tech tree since it was added.


I'd arrange the tech tree so that the starting tier gives you all the necessary basics (including one probe core as an alternative to manned capsules). A limited selection of parts, but enough you can try out various things.
The next tiers would start offering more parts and specialization. Like, rockets would get progressively bigger, and later on you'd get special stuff like the nuclear rocket (or perhaps that would be the "reward" for that branch as it is ideal rocket in space).

It is possible tech level or VAB/SPH level should limit separation stages, so that at first you can have only one separation stage. Advanced players could get around this with explosive decoupling, something beginners are not expected to know (as it is, you need to know that trick to make stages with first tier of tech).

EDIT Ah, the poster of the analysis has answered to some comments: http://forum.kerbalspaceprogram.com...ign-Analysis?p=1874070&viewfull=1#post1874070
Have to say i agree with every one.
 
Will have to reinstall and check out the new features. Has Squad said anything about multiplayer recently? Once that's functional and you can rendezvous with player stations to refuel etc it'll be pretty amazing. I know there have been mods for that but they've been super janky.

In fact they have! They have been surprisingly vocal about their ambition to add multiplayer to KSP. They have mentioned it in their recent Reddit AMA, on their FB page, and on twitter. It seems other than fixing bugs and balancing 1.0, it is their focus for what's on the horizon.
 

DrBo42

Member
In fact they have! They have been surprisingly vocal about their ambition to add multiplayer to KSP. They have mentioned it in their recent Reddit AMA, on their FB page, and on twitter. It seems other than fixing bugs and balancing 1.0, it is one of their focus for what's on the horizon.
Fantastic.

Edit: On another topic is there a way to gain science via probes now? I seem to vaguely remember being unable to get a vessel report or anything like that. Do the mystery goo canisters and science labs work in conjunction with an antennae on a probe?
 
Bought ages ago, but not played since the update where they added the first science career system. Some thoughts:

  • Lots of new stuff has been added since then - parts, destructible space centre, nice quality of life things like recover buttons to smooth game flow and UI improvements.
  • Apparently there's new aerodynamics, re-entry heat and resource systems in the game? I haven't found the first two too noticeable so far.
  • I don't actually like the career structure with the contracts and probably won't play it - even the more simplistic science career seems kind of "grindy" in how it locks away equipment and is somewhat un-intuitive in that the best first step is to roll your spaceship off the landing pad to make a science report.
  • Game still feels a bit lacking in polish - It doesn't run as well or load as fast as you'd expect given the fidelity, and I imagine time acceleration and aerodynamics still cause all sorts of weirdness.
  • The biggest disappointment is the lack of new planets, I was really hoping for a whole Solar System analogue rather than out to Jupiter and then suddenly Pluto. Given I've already landed on them all during Early Access, the lack of new challenges really sucks.

If you're wondering if it's worth buying, I'd say definately - there's no game out there with gameplay quite like this, or this sense of achievement. I've gotten over a hundred and forty hours with the game playing Vanilla and more just skimming the surface of the extensive modscene, all these gripes are just seeing the game take a different path from the ideal version I imagined when first playing it.

What I really want now is a Kerbal Space Program: Colonisation expansion - not just going to planets to plant flags and moonwalk, but use resources to build permanent colonies with shipyards and stuff.
 
No, the opposite. The game loads so much faster and my frame rate has been rock solid. I am using the exact same rig I have always played KSP on as well.

Hmm I wonder if there is some remnants of a mod causing havoc (pretty sure I removed all of them). Think I'll just reinstall the game completely instead and see if there's any difference.

The loading is definitely much faster but for me the frames are pretty bad, no idea why. It seems to be only when in Kerbin's atmosphere particularly with a space plane otherwise it's fine... nothing on my PC has changed though I have an i7 4770k and GTX 970
 

Woorloog

Banned
So what am I doing wrong? My ships explode while reaching a certain height :(

How fast are you going? What angle? It is possible you're overheating, or going to fast and the ship gets ripped apart.

(Do you have a clean install? Any old files etc. might be causing problems.)
 
So CAN you try your old ships you built before this update

Yes, if they were built with stock parts in .90. Results may vary based on what I observed during several twitch streams where people where trying out .90 ships in 1.0. Some .90 planes flew even better in 1.0, some were a complete disaster. Surprisingly it didn't seem to necessarily be a component of complexity. This one dudes shuttle flew like a dream where as a really simple jet fighter was wonky.
 

Branson

Member
Yes, if they were built with stock parts in .90. Results may vary based on what I observed during several twitch streams where people where trying out .90 ships in 1.0. Some .90 planes flew even better in 1.0, some were a complete disaster. Surprisingly it didn't seem to necessarily be a component of complexity. This one dudes shuttle flew like a dream where as a really simple jet fighter was wonky.

Hmm. I don't really remember what build I built them in.
 

Wreav

Banned
Best to just start fresh with 1.0

Booted it up in sandbox mode, and was really pleased to see all the new stock parts, including dynamic fairings. Got into orbit on my first try, smiled, and closed the game.

I'm glad we finally have a reason to make our ships aerodynamic. I always would put nose cones on my SRBs just for aesthetic reasons.
 

FlyinJ

Douchebag. Yes, me.
Now I can finally dig into the campaign.

How does science collection work in the early stages? I shot up one rocket with a goo pod on it, and it returned with 5 science. I upgraded to the bigger booster engines, and I just shot up a rocket with 6 goo pods on it and it made it almost into space. The vehicle landed on land, and everything exploded except for the fuel tanks and command capsule, so 5 of the goo pods survived at recovery. I got zero science from this? What?
 
Now I can finally dig into the campaign.

How does science collection work in the early stages? I shot up one rocket with a goo pod on it, and it returned with 5 science. I upgraded to the bigger booster engines, and I just shot up a rocket with 6 goo pods on it and it made it almost into space. The vehicle landed on land, and everything exploded except for the fuel tanks and command capsule, so 5 of the goo pods survived at recovery. I got zero science from this? What?

Kerbal EVA reports are the bread and butter of making early science. The goo pods quickly have diminishing returns. You really only need to use them once or twice at major mile stone locations to get new science. You can see how much remaining science you can milk out of each area/scenario/biome by clicking the science archives button in the top left when viewing the science tech tree. If the bar is full from a location with the goo canister, you won't ever get more science from that location. By taking your Kerbals around various places, you can EVA, take an EVA report, store it back in your capsule, and keep doing so to build up a lot of different EVA reports (which are worth science) and then bring them back home or transmit them. You either have to fully recover the vessel or science bays that are storing your research data or transmit it back.

Personally, I don't know the ins and outs of maximizing science as I have been putting off career mode until 1.0. I have picked up bits here and there, and EVAs are the easiest way to get lots of early science.
 
The only time I played this was the demo back when there was nothing to do but make the highest trajectory and hope to orbit Mun. I got bored because there was so little content (even in the full version) and zero tutorials. Could never achieve orbit even with a little YT assistance. They sure have added a lot of new features (yay to tutorials and career mode) and beaten my earlier preconception of being another early access game that never gets off the ground (pun not intended). Now I wish I had kept up on updates and bought the game earlier.
 

FlyinJ

Douchebag. Yes, me.
Kerbal EVA reports are the bread and butter of making early science. The goo pods quickly have diminishing returns. You really only need to use them once or twice at major mile stone locations to get new science. You can see how much remaining science you can milk out of each area/scenario/biome by clicking the science archives button in the top left when viewing the science tech tree. If the bar is full from a location with the goo canister, you won't ever get more science from that location. By taking your Kerbals around various places, you can EVA, take an EVA report, store it back in your capsule, and keep doing so to build up a lot of different EVA reports (which are worth science) and then bring them back home or transmit them. You either have to fully recover the vessel or science bays that are storing your research data or transmit it back.

Personally, I don't know the ins and outs of maximizing science as I have been putting off career mode until 1.0. I have picked up bits here and there, and EVAs are the easiest way to get lots of early science.

Ah, ok. Can I EVA when my rocket is not orbiting? Will my kerbal fall off it if it's in slight freefall? Do I need any more tech to get science from EVAs, or can I just do it at the very start?
 

Woorloog

Banned
Ah, ok. Can I EVA when my rocket is not orbiting? Will my kerbal fall off it if it's in slight freefall? Do I need any more tech to get science from EVAs, or can I just do it at the very start?

Exit the command pod on the launchpad. Walk around. The space center itself has quite many locations to study...
Or roll around the pod with a Goo canister and make experiments.
Pretty sure these worked at some point, dunno about now.


Science gathering is another thing i don't really care for in KSP. Reputation and funds are largely automatic things... yet science requires a lot of manual clicking. How odd, considering science is one of the strategic resources...
Grindy and boring, as it is.
I'd prefer a system where simply having instruments with a rocket gives it ability to gather science points, points you get when you transmit the results or recover the craft.

Oh, and transmitters. I still don't get how they're supposed to work, transmission efficiency and whatever. I've kept just recovering my crafts rather than even bother with transmissions.
 
Exit the command pod on the launchpad. Walk around. The space center itself has quite many locations to study...
Or roll around the pod with a Goo canister and make experiments.
Pretty sure these worked at some point, dunno about now.


Science gathering is another thing i don't really care for in KSP. Reputation and funds are largely automatic things... yet science requires a lot of manual clicking. How odd, considering science is one of the strategic resources...
Grindy and boring, as it is.
I'd prefer a system where simply having instruments with a rocket gives it ability to gather science points, points you get when you transmit the results or recover the craft.

Oh, and transmitters. I still don't get how they're supposed to work, transmission efficiency and whatever. I've kept just recovering my crafts rather than even bother with transmissions.

Maybe it'd be nice if you could just "program" the experiments to trigger on specific conditions. Like, run a goo experiment at certain altitude or something.
 
I know the science bays were overhauled in 1.0. They now will generate a steady stream of science, opposed to just super charging existing experiments. I haven't had the chance to try them yet. Would make Mun bases with them much more meaningful.
 

Woorloog

Banned
Maybe it'd be nice if you could just "program" the experiments to trigger on specific conditions. Like, run a goo experiment at certain altitude or something.
Yeah, something like that would be nice.
Like "Mystery Goo: run experiment when >5000m" or "Mystery Goo: run experiment when landed on biome never visited".

I know the science bays were overhauled in 1.0. They now will generate a steady stream of science, opposed to just super charging existing experiments. I haven't had the chance to try them yet. Would make Mun bases with them much more meaningful.

That does sound good... now i just need a new tech tree. And a bunch of issues fixed...
Every patch i'm just waiting for the next one. Would not be a problem if everyone didn't have major problems (as i define a major problem).
 
Any performance updates? This ran like shit on my laptop so i uninstalled it.

Yes, it performs better than beta, but not by a massive amount. In my limited experience, it's generally load times which are decreased.

The game is still really CPU intensive, so I imagine that's your limiting factor. Squad is bottlenecked by the fact that Unity only does physics calculations on a single thread, so to get the best performance you need one which has good single core performance, as the physics don't scale to multiple cores.

Post-release, they are going to look into moving to Unity 5, which uses PhysX 3.3, which has multi-threading support. I imagine it would be a while before that comes to pass, but that would be a pretty big performance win.
 
Doing it for the thrill

x7kG9at.png
 

Mengy

wishes it were bannable to say mean things about Marvel
Man, re-entry is really tricky now. If you come in too fast you can lose your heat shield and blow up, if your angle isn't right you can overheat and blow up. And if you have anything hanging off the side of the capsule like a ladder or an antennae they can blow up during re-entry. I thought for sure my Kerbal was dead when I heard the explosions but it was just the ladder exploding, LOL.


Got two ships into Mun orbit and back, so my rocket is tested and ready to go. Tomorrow night I'll build a lander and land on the Mun, hopefully!

 

ISee

Member
So I bought KSP yesterday and I am right now playing the career mode. I've reached space, did some scientific work, did some 'missions' and learned to recover my pilots afterwards after many, and I really mean many failed attempts.

And the game is fun and very challenging!

But there is one thing holding me back, besides my own stupidity, how do I increase the max hight of my rockets?
 

Chev

Member
Yes, re-entry can be deadly now if you come in too fast or at the wrong orientation or without a heat shield. I exploded several crafts last night while experimenting. I love it, adds a new tension to re-entry that was sorely missing before.
That is, until you realize you can just open your now seemingly indestructible parachutes before reentry and get to the ground without a scratch, alas.
 

Syroc

Tarsier Studios
But there is one thing holding me back, besides my own stupidity, how do I increase the max hight of my rockets?

You need to upgrade the launch pad. Right click on it from the Space Center overview and hit the upgrade button.
 

Almighty

Member
That is, until you realize you can just open your now seemingly indestructible parachutes before reentry and get to the ground without a scratch, alas.

I have been assuming that that is a bug which is why I have tried not to rely on it too much, but yeah it has made reentry much less deadly. Not that it matters too much as I am still trying to figure out how to get into orbit reliably.
 

Aureon

Please do not let me serve on a jury. I am actually a crazy person.
That is, until you realize you can just open your now seemingly indestructible parachutes before reentry and get to the ground without a scratch, alas.

Yeah, this needs a fix.
I'm eagerly waiting for parachute + heat shield CoM fixes.
 

ElFly

Member
Was playing career, and I did an orbit around Kerbin and ran out of fuel when my periapsis was 52km and the apoapsis was 400km.

Not wanting to lose the shiny new Valentine, I just opened my three parachutes, and the periapsis slowed me down enough for reentry in five orbits. The parachutes started overheating but were never in danger of burning, and the speed was drastically cut down around 20km. I eventually landed safely and Valentine returned home.

So yeah, maybe the parachutes are overpowered.

On the other hand, some of the contracts may be bugged? For starters, I didn't get the orbit one for this stunt (maybe the game wants me to orbit a little more correctly), but the second problem is that I didn't get the contract for the long booster rocket, even though I activated them at the correct height and correct speed; all the items appeared checked midflight, but after a while they became unchecked and I never got the contract int the end.

Anyone knows what's up?
 
I have been assuming that that is a bug which is why I have tried not to rely on it too much, but yeah it has made reentry much less deadly. Not that it matters too much as I am still trying to figure out how to get into orbit reliably.

Scott Manley to the rescue!

In short, tilt slightly almost immediately after takeoff, follow the prograde marker, aiming to be at ~45 degrees at 10 km up. Once you break 70km apoapsis, kill the engines and circularize as normal. Do not point your ship much outside of the prograde marker or it's easy to spin out of control. It's actually easier to get into space now than before since it's ~1000 less dV, you just have to unlearn some old habits.

Edit:

On the other hand, some of the contracts may be bugged? For starters, I didn't get the orbit one for this stunt (maybe the game wants me to orbit a little more correctly), but the second problem is that I didn't get the contract for the long booster rocket, even though I activated them at the correct height and correct speed; all the items appeared checked midflight, but after a while they became unchecked and I never got the contract int the end.

Anyone knows what's up?

The orbit one I'm pretty sure requires a stable orbit, so you need a periapsis above 70km.

For the booster one, did you activate it through staging? I don't think just right clicking on the engine and choosing "Activate" works, I think you need to hit spacebar to start them to get the contract.
 
They mentioned they are hard at work on the first hotfix, which I imagine is going to address the parachutes and heat shield CoM. After discovering the OP use of parachutes, I am trying to use them normally in anticipation of the fix.

For the orbit contracts, you definitely have to have your Pe @ 70Km or above.

I did a bunch of tourism contracts and some orbiting EVAs last night. It is fun doing a triple decker Mk1 module to bring three people along. Either a pilot and two tourists, or one tourist and two crew members to get them all to rank 1. I hope to have all of the 45 Science nodes unlocked tonight and then I will do some Mun missions. I am really enjoying going through the game more methodically. In previous releases when I did career mode, the early contracts and nodes flew by. I feel like I am able to appreciate some parts that I seldom use in later game crafts.

Oh, and "Terrier" engine ftw. Unlock that bad boy asap. Mmmmm orbiter/lander deltaV.

Scott Manley to the rescue!

In short, tilt slightly almost immediately after takeoff, follow the prograde marker, aiming to be at ~45 degrees at 10 km up. Once you break 70km apoapsis, kill the engines and circularize as normal. Do not point your ship much outside of the prograde marker or it's easy to spin out of control. It's actually easier to get into space now than before since it's ~1000 less dV, you just have to unlearn some old habits.
..

God damn, I need to completely change my launch profile in 1.0. Traditionally I was only starting to begin my gravity turn to 45 degrees at 10Km, not being at 45 already at 10Km! With the new aero I was delaying my turn even later, but it looks like I should be doing it way sooner. Thanks for the heads up. I have been wasting so much deltaV.

Edit: That Scott Manley orbit video is going in the OP. That is super helpful for beginners and even the most seasoned KSP players. I would argue it is almost even more important for long time players as you need to reform some old habits.
 

Mengy

wishes it were bannable to say mean things about Marvel
That is, until you realize you can just open your now seemingly indestructible parachutes before reentry and get to the ground without a scratch, alas.

I have been assuming that that is a bug which is why I have tried not to rely on it too much, but yeah it has made reentry much less deadly. Not that it matters too much as I am still trying to figure out how to get into orbit reliably.

Yeah, this needs a fix.
I'm eagerly waiting for parachute + heat shield CoM fixes.

They mentioned they are hard at work on the first hotfix, which I imagine is going to address the parachutes and heat shield CoM. After discovering the OP use of parachutes, I am trying to use them normally in anticipation of the fix..


So wow, I've not noticed any bugs with parachutes yet. I always open mine around 15K ft after re-entry, are they working too high up or something?


God damn, I need to completely change my launch profile in 1.0. Traditionally I was only starting to begin my gravity turn to 45 degrees at 10Km, not being at 45 already at 10Km! With the new aero I was delaying my turn even later, but it looks like I should be doing it way sooner. Thanks for the heads up. I have been wasting so much deltaV..

Yeah, I usually start slowly turning to 45 after 10K altitude too. I'll have watch Scott's video on my lunch break to see just what you are talking about.
 
So wow, I've not noticed any bugs with parachutes yet. I always open mine around 15K ft after re-entry, are they working too high up or something?

Yeah, you can pop them before re-entering, and they will deploy the second there is enough atmosphere, you will decelerate at +16 G's with no consequences and you won't even have used a single bit of your ablative heat shield at that point. Opening them at 15K is a smart habit to stick with because I imagine that will be more in line with the correct use post patch.
 
Via KSP Forums. Here is a quick fix you can do to fix the CoM issues with the heat shields. Really simple. Will make re-entries a little less dodgy until 1.0.1

Note: Flowerchild was the first to find this, so he gets the credit. I just decided to make a thread so everyone could find it easier.

Go to your KSP folder and follow this address: GameData/Squad/Parts/Aero/HeatShield

Here you will find HeatShield1.cfg, HeatShield2.cfg, and Heatshield3.cfg. (don't mess with the .mu files)

Open up each CFG using notepad or whatever you use, and hit ctrl+F to open the search function, and type "physics" and hit enter. It will take you to a line that reads "PhysicsSignificance = 1"

Change the 1 to a 0, for each heatshield cfg, and your heatshields will now add their mass to your craft the right way! Meaning that instead of just adding it's mass to the parent part, it will now add its mass right where it is, which means it will shift the CoM when you place it.

Which means a pod with a heatshield on it will now reenter without SAS or any fighting, it will naturally point retrograde now!


Here is another way of fixing it, using ModuleManager.
Quote Originally Posted by Ignath View Post
Anyone who's already using Module Manager can also make a heatshield_fix.cfg that contains this:

@PART[HeatShield*]
{
@PhysicsSignificance = 0
}

Again, thanks to Flowerchild for finding this, and ignath for letting me know about the module manager patch. Enjoy reentering!
 
Congrats! Solid looking lander you have there too. I see you decided to go against first Mun landing tradition and kept all of your legs intact and your lander upright.
 

Morat

Banned
Congrats! Solid looking lander you have there too. I see you decided to go against first Mun landing tradition and kept all of your legs intact and your lander upright.

Cheers. This one was lucky and landed on a flat bit. There were a series of previous probes which all managed to land upside down/in pieces
 

Mengy

wishes it were bannable to say mean things about Marvel
Finally landed on the Mun, for the glory of all NeoGaf

screenshot10veuay.png


Now to see if I have the DeltaV to get back....

Congrats! Excellent picture too, nice flag you have there!


I now have a rocket that can make it to Mun orbit and back again easily, and I started designing a lander last night, so hopefully tonight I'll land my first Kerbal on the Mun since version 0.25. Once I can do that I'll fly a bunch of missions collecting science from the Mun to unlock more tech.
 
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