I had a quick play with Ferram Aerospace Research, Remote Tech and Deadly Re-entry this morning before bed (yay night shifts!). Hoping to get more time in this week with lots of screens.
I do wonder why the game isn't more popular on GAF though.
KSP Noob info!
I've made this post to try and help those that are new to the game with the shiny new Beta release. If there is anything I've missed let me know!
FAQ
Where should I start, Career, Science or Sandbox mode?
- Science mode will limit you to smaller parts until you've done some Science to unlock new parts. No worrying about money/reputation or building upgrades and lack of manoeuvre nodes! THE place to start.
- Career mode has you still collecting science but with the addition of finances, contracts and reputation as well as building upgrades. Also, at first you can't use manoeuvre nodes which can make getting anywhere very difficult.
- Sandbox will dump a lot of ship parts on you all at once. However, you don't have to worry about money, science, reputation or limits placed on making manoeuvre nodes, size of craft etc.
What is Science?
Science is what your missions can gather all the time to give you Science Points. Science Points when accumulated allow you to unlock new parts to use on your ships. Science can be gathered anywhere from the very launch pad you launch from to the Mun to all of the planets moons and even Kerbol (the sun). This can be from instruments (thermometer, barometer, etc), Crew reports, EVA Reports, Goo pods and Contracts.
Who can I watch on the YouTubes to help me?
See the Resources serction below. Scott Manley is the default answer, however.
I can't get into orbit!
Annoying isn't it! KSP can feel very daunting at first with people struggling to get into orbit. It's ok, we all started the same. Once you get it down it's easy! Orbit in KSP means getting to 70,000m altitude and a sufficient horizontal speed to maintain that orbit. Anything below that and you'll come back with a crash. Check out the videos in the Resources section for some useful tips on building a ship, getting into orbit and then getting home!
What next?
KSP is a fairly open game. You could follow a NASA like path and go from orbit to rendezvous & docking to free return trajectory mission to the mun to a landing on the Mun. Or, for a slightly easier path, start with a free return trajectory mission to the Mun. This involves getting into a LKO (Low Kerbal Orbit, say 75-100km), then setting a burn up to reach the Mun AHEAD of time. With the right burn you can then get slung back from the moon straight back to Kerbin. Then maybe try a landing! For reference, a mission to land on Minmus is far easier to execute than to the Mun despite being farther away. Gravity is lower so landing is easier and a less powerful ship is needed to land/return.
Rendezvous is really hard!
Again, yes it is! But once more, once you understand how to do it, it becomes second nature (The Docking Port Alignment Indicator also REALLY helps for the final step). One key principal to understand is that a faster speed = a higher orbit = longer orbit duration. So despite travelling faster, it still takes longer to complete an orbit because that orbit is so much longer. Lets assume you are in a 95km orbit and your target is in a 100km orbit. If your target is in FRONT of you, you ideally want to slow down a little in order to catch up faster, maybe drop to a 80km orbit. If it is BEHIND you then you want to speed up, to allow it to catch up, maybe climb to a 110km orbit. Learning rendezvous is best done in small agile ships, as a little RCS thrust can drastically alter your orbits. Watch the videos!
Mods
Do I need them?
Not at all. KSP is, in my opinion, best learned at first with no mods at all. However, the mod community is huge and has created some fantastic mods that many consider to be part of a standard install now.
Which are suggested?
One of my defaults is
Kerbal Engineer. This mod will help you see how much dV your ship has (change in velocity), so you can see from the VAB whether your ship even has a chance of reaching orbit, let alone the Mun. It's also packing a ton of other information that will be useful in your future missions.
Other popular ones are
Kerbal Alarm Clock (KAC) - Set yourself alarms to stop time warping past your manoeuvre node!
Ferram Aerospace Research (FAR) - More accurate aerodynamics
Docking Port Alignment Indicator (DPAI) - For a much easier time when trying to dock two craft
Deadly Re-Entry (DRE) - To kill and destroy your Kerbals and ships if you try to enter an atmosphere too fast
Remote Tech - To control any unmanned probes in space, you'll need to put relay satellites in place
TAC Life Support (TACLS) - Your Kerbals now need Oxygen, water and food! They can survive a while with no food, less with no water and even less with no Oxygen!
Real Solar System (RSS) - The entire Kerbol system is replaced with a replica of our own solar system. Your launch planet is MUCH larger as a result! You'll need bigger rockets to go anywhere.
How do I get them?
Some are hosted on GitHub, some on Curse, some on KerbalStuff. All will have links from the
KSP Forum.
The best way 99% of the time is to use the
CKAN app. It will connect to its repository and show you all mods officially compatible with your version of KSP and will install them all for you!
Resources
KSP Forum - The official forum
KSP Wiki - The official wiki
The Drawingboard - A forum thread with far too many useful links to share. Just look at it!
YouTube Playlists
Scott Manley -
KSP Career Mode Tutorial
Hot Jupiter -
KSP Basic Tutorials