I never EVA because of my utterly fucking unholy terror of floating away into space, to the point where I can't even stomach it in a game.
I felt the same way until I did enough ship-to-ship docking to get a sizable space station in orbit. The station was big enough that it could be easily located if I got turned around, which was comforting.
I never EVA because of my utterly fucking unholy terror of floating away into space, to the point where I can't even stomach it in a game.
I was just thinking of this. Did you ever EVA to repair a ship in x3? Did it bother you? I never had a problem with x3 but I would get seriously nervous when I didn't have the power to complete a warp in EVE because I would be stranded in deep space, even if for just a second.
Do you know, I never even thought about it in X3. Perhaps because the X games don't really feel like space, or perhaps because the thing has infinite fuel so if it comes to it you can always point the suit at a gate. After playing Kerbal I don't know if I could go back to X, newtonian physics are so much more fun
+1
MetalbourneInside a cluster b personalityRegistered Userregular
Do you know, I never even thought about it in X3. Perhaps because the X games don't really feel like space, or perhaps because the thing has infinite fuel so if it comes to it you can always point the suit at a gate. After playing Kerbal I don't know if I could go back to X, newtonian physics are so much more fun
They are a blast. Once I figured out docking, building space stations became one of the most relaxing and enjoyable video game experiences.
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RankenphilePassersby were amazedby the unusually large amounts of blood.Registered User, ModeratorMod Emeritus
I am finally starting this thing.
Cannot figure out basic liquid fuel engines.
I do not have fuel lines unlocked yet, how do I get the engines to actually fire?
You should have access to basic fuel tanks too, put one directly above the liquid fuel engine and that will act as a basic connection, letting you make nice vertical rockets.
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RankenphilePassersby were amazedby the unusually large amounts of blood.Registered User, ModeratorMod Emeritus
I'm pretty sure I tried like thirty combinations of that, but I get out on the launch pad, hit space at to start it and it goes "fwoooof" and then just sits there.
L-shift and L-control are the default increase thrust and decrease thrust buttons, there's a small gauge at the bottom centre-left of your screen.
Also possible is that if you're making a super-ambitious rocket the engine you're using doesn't have enough power to lift it all, but that's not terrifically likely for someone just starting out (especially if you picked Career mode and only have limited options).
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MetalbourneInside a cluster b personalityRegistered Userregular
I'm pretty sure I tried like thirty combinations of that, but I get out on the launch pad, hit space at to start it and it goes "fwoooof" and then just sits there.
Hold shift to throttle up, Ctrl to throttle down?
Metalbourne on
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RankenphilePassersby were amazedby the unusually large amounts of blood.Registered User, ModeratorMod Emeritus
Also if you hit T it will engage a kind of attempted auto-steadying of the craft so it doesn't spin out of control so easily, I'm not sure what defines how well it works but it can certainly be useful.
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MetalbourneInside a cluster b personalityRegistered Userregular
I am now reasonably sure that I can only do things by accident.
I got a nice orbit going on, while trying to just get up high to come down and land for soil samples in other parts of my world. I also have no fuel left so that guy's just stuck up there in his command pod between 300,000 and 400,000m. He got some EVA data and stuff for if I ever manage to find a way to rescue him...but it seems unlikely.
Every time I was actually trying to achieve basically that I failed horribly.
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MrMonroepassed outon the floor nowRegistered Userregular
300km is way higher than you need to be for a Kerbin Orbit
I park my space stations at ~100km, there's no need to go above like 70 if all you're trying to do is orbit a few times.
Look I don't know what I'm doing, all I know is that guy is stuck.
I sent up a rescue craft to try and nudge him back towards the planet, but it missed.
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MrMonroepassed outon the floor nowRegistered Userregular
What you need is a ship that can get up there and back and has an extra seat in it. Just get them within a few hundred meters and have him spacewalk over to his return ride.
MrMonroepassed outon the floor nowRegistered Userregular
Also I'm scared by the idea of an attempt at "nudging" the ship but being unable to try again after "missing". How fast were you going to "nudge" it?
Incidentally, you can have your Kerbals EVA, turn on their jetpacks, and push the ship back towards Kerbin that way. You'll probably have to get back inside to refuel your RCS once or twice, but you'll get back down eventually that way.
I tried the jetpack pushing thing and it didn't seem to work at all, maybe I just didn't try enough though.
It was less a function of speed and more that the orbits were not lined up and I failed to get them corrected before that craft was running dangerously low on fuel also, so I abandoned the mission and brought him home before I ended up with two guys stuck up there.
I'll try a multiple cockpit design later and see if I can make any progress that way.
You'll be able to save him as soon as you unlock either a probe core or a larger capsule you can just take one of your kerbalnauts out on the launch pad and then rendezvous with your guy stuck in orbit.
As for EVAs, my biggest story about that is when I tried to do a challenge to get 3 Kerbals to the moon and back on a cheap a budget as possible. Naturally, on the way down two were riding on ladders. Except when I started to decelerate I did it a little too fast and one fell off their ladder. I managed to get the lander back into a (very wonky; it's hard to control a rocket with a off axis center of mass) orbit, but the guy was plummeting to the Munar surface at a pretty fast speed. I got out his EVA pack and started to try to slow down but I didn't have a lot of time left. He hit the ground at like 10m/s. It wasn't a pretty landing, but he survived and I was eventually able to get him back to Kerbin. Protip: Ladders aren't chairs.
Also, pics from the science mission to Duna&Ike:
Ike is still the least interesting rock in the solar system. Despite that, I got a couple hundred science even with the radio transmission penalty.
I think this is the quickest reentry I've even done. From hitting the atmosphere to reaching 5000m took about five seconds. All together, the science I transmitted on the way to Duna, the science I transmitted from the lander, and the science from this orbiter that made the trip back to Kerbin was over a thousand science. Not bad for one mission. I wonder how crazy science returns will get when I actually land on Duna. Still need a few more parts before I want to try that, though.
Gundi on
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MetalbourneInside a cluster b personalityRegistered Userregular
I tried the jetpack pushing thing and it didn't seem to work at all, maybe I just didn't try enough though.
It was less a function of speed and more that the orbits were not lined up and I failed to get them corrected before that craft was running dangerously low on fuel also, so I abandoned the mission and brought him home before I ended up with two guys stuck up there.
I'll try a multiple cockpit design later and see if I can make any progress that way.
Yeah you have to get out and push each time you're at apoapsis in order for it to work. Make sure you're pointed retrograde so that you can push the craft forward when you're at the right point.
I finally got a two cockpit rocket into orbit, the first few attempts did not work at all.
As you can see due to the scientific principle known as "oh god what am I doing what do these buttons do? oh shit shit shit" the orbits are a bit eccentric and I have no clue how to fix them! The blue line is the rescue craft, which has a bit less than half fuel remaining on it's final tank+engine (really basic small liquid fuel rocket), I plan to do a bit more burn when it comes around to Apoapsis as they're currently still close to 100km apart, but I'm not sure how much of a gap that will leave due to the differing orbital paths, I suspect it may be too much of a gap for the jetpacks to bridge...so I'll have to try and work out how to fix that without anything either exploding or getting stuck up there again.
To increase or decrease your orbital height, burn prograde or retrograde: the yellow ones, forward and backward. Do this at the apoapsis and periapsis of your orbits to make it as cheap as possible.
To change your inclination, ie: to correct the wobblyness between the orbits of your two craft, burn normal or antinormal: the purple ones, up and down. Do this at the ascending and descending nodes, ie: the points at which, if you are looking straight down towards Kerbin, the orbits intersect. It's cheaper to do this at the node that is higher in your orbit.
The blue indicators are used mostly for gravity turns and gravity brakes: pulling in towards a planetary body as you approach it to increase speed and pushing away from a planetary body as you approach it in order to decrease your speed for landing. They can also be used to make small corrections to eccentric orbits.
Learning how to efficiently launch a rocket design is half the challenge. Even being slightly more or less efficient can make huge differences in the amount of fuel you actually get into orbit.
well Dongs November-8 proved to be the first Dongs-Series design capable of landing on and escaping lunar orbit
unfortunately it ran out of fuel 6 seconds into its 12 second deorbit burn, trapping them a million kilometers from Kerbin anyway
and now for some reason I can't even get the same design to achieve a viable orbit
fucking space what's its deal
When are you starting your gravity turn? How much throttle are you using on the first stage of ascent? Mastering the initial stage is really key to having enough fuel to do long maneuvers in space.
Also, if you orbit isn't perfectly circular around Kerbin, make sure you are doing your burn towards the Mun from periapsis. Your craft is travelling the fastest at that point which helps to break away from Kerbin. If that doesn't get you an encounter, just do some orbits of Kerbin until it does.
Alternatively, strap another mainsail engine + large fuel can to it.
Posts
I felt the same way until I did enough ship-to-ship docking to get a sizable space station in orbit. The station was big enough that it could be easily located if I got turned around, which was comforting.
I hope you don't have any plans to watch the popular currently showing film 'Gravity', then...
I was just thinking of this. Did you ever EVA to repair a ship in x3? Did it bother you? I never had a problem with x3 but I would get seriously nervous when I didn't have the power to complete a warp in EVE because I would be stranded in deep space, even if for just a second.
They are a blast. Once I figured out docking, building space stations became one of the most relaxing and enjoyable video game experiences.
Cannot figure out basic liquid fuel engines.
I do not have fuel lines unlocked yet, how do I get the engines to actually fire?
L-shift and L-control are the default increase thrust and decrease thrust buttons, there's a small gauge at the bottom centre-left of your screen.
Also possible is that if you're making a super-ambitious rocket the engine you're using doesn't have enough power to lift it all, but that's not terrifically likely for someone just starting out (especially if you picked Career mode and only have limited options).
Hold shift to throttle up, Ctrl to throttle down?
Yeah that's probably it
Shit
You're going to have a lot more questions when it comes to controls, don't worry.
It should have some basic tutorials in the tutorial section
Good god I am sharp.
If you include both a parachute and an engine, you know in the hopes of getting your dude back?
Make sure they're not the same stage...
Hedehogs, such as Tube, should not watch this next video.
No seriously, don't click it. Just fucking don't. You won't like it very much.
I got a nice orbit going on, while trying to just get up high to come down and land for soil samples in other parts of my world. I also have no fuel left so that guy's just stuck up there in his command pod between 300,000 and 400,000m. He got some EVA data and stuff for if I ever manage to find a way to rescue him...but it seems unlikely.
Every time I was actually trying to achieve basically that I failed horribly.
I park my space stations at ~100km, there's no need to go above like 70 if all you're trying to do is orbit a few times.
I sent up a rescue craft to try and nudge him back towards the planet, but it missed.
Incidentally, you can have your Kerbals EVA, turn on their jetpacks, and push the ship back towards Kerbin that way. You'll probably have to get back inside to refuel your RCS once or twice, but you'll get back down eventually that way.
It was less a function of speed and more that the orbits were not lined up and I failed to get them corrected before that craft was running dangerously low on fuel also, so I abandoned the mission and brought him home before I ended up with two guys stuck up there.
I'll try a multiple cockpit design later and see if I can make any progress that way.
As for EVAs, my biggest story about that is when I tried to do a challenge to get 3 Kerbals to the moon and back on a cheap a budget as possible. Naturally, on the way down two were riding on ladders. Except when I started to decelerate I did it a little too fast and one fell off their ladder. I managed to get the lander back into a (very wonky; it's hard to control a rocket with a off axis center of mass) orbit, but the guy was plummeting to the Munar surface at a pretty fast speed. I got out his EVA pack and started to try to slow down but I didn't have a lot of time left. He hit the ground at like 10m/s. It wasn't a pretty landing, but he survived and I was eventually able to get him back to Kerbin. Protip: Ladders aren't chairs.
Also, pics from the science mission to Duna&Ike:
Ike is still the least interesting rock in the solar system. Despite that, I got a couple hundred science even with the radio transmission penalty.
I think this is the quickest reentry I've even done. From hitting the atmosphere to reaching 5000m took about five seconds. All together, the science I transmitted on the way to Duna, the science I transmitted from the lander, and the science from this orbiter that made the trip back to Kerbin was over a thousand science. Not bad for one mission. I wonder how crazy science returns will get when I actually land on Duna. Still need a few more parts before I want to try that, though.
Yeah you have to get out and push each time you're at apoapsis in order for it to work. Make sure you're pointed retrograde so that you can push the craft forward when you're at the right point.
I finally got a two cockpit rocket into orbit, the first few attempts did not work at all.
As you can see due to the scientific principle known as "oh god what am I doing what do these buttons do? oh shit shit shit" the orbits are a bit eccentric and I have no clue how to fix them! The blue line is the rescue craft, which has a bit less than half fuel remaining on it's final tank+engine (really basic small liquid fuel rocket), I plan to do a bit more burn when it comes around to Apoapsis as they're currently still close to 100km apart, but I'm not sure how much of a gap that will leave due to the differing orbital paths, I suspect it may be too much of a gap for the jetpacks to bridge...so I'll have to try and work out how to fix that without anything either exploding or getting stuck up there again.
3DS: 1289-8447-4695
I am blaming it on rampant incompetence.
To increase or decrease your orbital height, burn prograde or retrograde: the yellow ones, forward and backward. Do this at the apoapsis and periapsis of your orbits to make it as cheap as possible.
To change your inclination, ie: to correct the wobblyness between the orbits of your two craft, burn normal or antinormal: the purple ones, up and down. Do this at the ascending and descending nodes, ie: the points at which, if you are looking straight down towards Kerbin, the orbits intersect. It's cheaper to do this at the node that is higher in your orbit.
The blue indicators are used mostly for gravity turns and gravity brakes: pulling in towards a planetary body as you approach it to increase speed and pushing away from a planetary body as you approach it in order to decrease your speed for landing. They can also be used to make small corrections to eccentric orbits.
also
that's how you catch something in orbit
unfortunately it ran out of fuel 6 seconds into its 12 second deorbit burn, trapping them a million kilometers from Kerbin anyway
and now for some reason I can't even get the same design to achieve a viable orbit
fucking space what's its deal
When are you starting your gravity turn? How much throttle are you using on the first stage of ascent? Mastering the initial stage is really key to having enough fuel to do long maneuvers in space.
Also, if you orbit isn't perfectly circular around Kerbin, make sure you are doing your burn towards the Mun from periapsis. Your craft is travelling the fastest at that point which helps to break away from Kerbin. If that doesn't get you an encounter, just do some orbits of Kerbin until it does.
Alternatively, strap another mainsail engine + large fuel can to it.
Or 12.
Oh wow wasn't expecting that part of the video to be the preview image