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[Kerbal Space Program] Shiny new thread! Desperately seeking pictures of rockets
VedicIntent
Registered User regular
Registered User regular
Do you like outer space? Do you like rockets? How about fire? Exploring other planets? Explosions? The answers to those questions are "YES OF COURSE," and Kerbal Space Program is the game that brings all of them to you (often at the same time!).
The Game
KSP is a rocketry/orbital physics and space exploration simulator built on the Unity game engine, and is developed by Squad. The game is essentially Lego spaceships wrapped in a model train set, and you, the aspiring space explorer, are let loose to reach for the stars as you see fit. The game is currently in development, and buying now will gain you free access to future updates and expansions.
Your astronauts are Kerbals, from the planet Kerbin. Your trusty dream team is made up of the boys at the op of the page, Jebediah Kerman, Bill Kerman, and Bob Kerman (no relation), along with a willing mass of Kerbal cadets. Starting with a pile of parts, the Kerbal Space Center, and a whole crapload of flags, it's your job to get the Kerbal Space Program off the ground! With your help, they can conquer the stars.
Build!
Launch into the great unknown!
Plan your maneuvers using prograde/retrograde/radial/anti-normal maneuvers and other fancypants jargon! Chicks love a guy who can quote the Tsiolkovsky rocket equation!
Travel to strange, new worlds!
Land on those worlds, and maybe even survive the landing to plant your flag! It could happen.
Explore an entire solar system of 8 planets and 9 moons! As of version 0.22, there's a Campaign Mode where you can launch rockets, conduct experiments, and climb to the stars with SCIENCE! As you unlock newer and better parts with SCIENCE(!), you and your Kerbals will build, fly, and slam into planets with wondrous, advanced technology.
I've heard this game is hard as hell...
Okay, yeah, there's a bit of a learning curve. It's recommended you play through some of the tutorials, since having specific goals is a big help. People here in the thread are super smart, good-looking, and helpful, so ask questions and don't be afraid of looking stupid - I can't stress that enough. Everyone builds a pointy bomb/lawn dart instead of an actual rocket on their first launch, so it's not just you. Real orbital mechanics and physics (mostly) apply in KSP, so expect to learn frequently via Rapid Unplanned Disassembly(tm) of your Kerbal spacecraft.
Is the game moddable?
Holy crap, is it moddable. There's a huge community of people making customized parts, textures, and ships, not to mention entire gameplay mechanics like information displays, resource collection, topographic mapping systems, you name it. The modders for KSP are pretty unbelievable, and you can check out a lot of it on the official forums or the (http://kerbalspaceport.com/) Kerbal SpacePort.
Some examples of what modders have created:
Where do I get it?
Try the demo! Direct from KSP, or get it from Steam. You can go as far as the Mun (one of the moons around Kerbin), and it gives a great feel for the game.
KSP can be purchased through Steam, and is fully integrated with automatic updates, community stuff, and all the Steam crap/goodness that entails.
You can also buy the game directly from the developers, which has its own standalone launcher/patcher. There's zero difference between the two, except that the Steam Version has, well, Steam. The "KSP Store" version can be converted to Steam, but the process only works one way (The Newell does not allow takesies-backsies on his devoured souls).
Show me videos that make me want to play this!
Okay!
They come out with some pretty great intro movies for each big version release:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yXud6tjWSc0
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hUjGW2htpR4The Jeb/Bill/Bob series were made with some extensive mods, and a heaping helping of movie magic, but they were all shot in game. When your wife/girlfriend/mother/boss asks what the hell you're doing with your free time, show them these:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J1Mtv_HN184
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rhpy9zBpLMw
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fs_DrVoNEhY(thanks to @randombattle for starting the first OP!)
VedicIntent on
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http://www.polygon.com/2014/5/5/5685304/joystick-used-to-land-apollo-15-on-moon-for-sale
Steam: Elvenshae // PSN: Elvenshae // WotC: Elvenshae
Wilds of Aladrion: [https://forums.penny-arcade.com/discussion/comment/43159014/#Comment_43159014]Ellandryn[/url]
Shogun Streams Vidya
When I saw this I was surprised the joystick even existed, since both parts of the Falcon were left behind. I wouldn't have thought they'd have removed controls first when they needed to get cameras and film canisters and samples back.
edit: ooh, but Infernal Robotics works again! Worth it!
The kethane scanner is just above the cockpit, so scanning a planet gives you a great view. The ship's belly is facing the camera.
I'm thinking I'll add a middle section with landers on the sides. Yes, that's a supergiant engine and six LV-30s. This spacetrain has no brakes.
The reason I don't want to just fire up Sandbox Mode is that I'd still like to have a sense of progression through the tech tree, but I'm still not a big fan of the way Science collection works in its current state. I'd like to sort of roleplay my advancement through the tech tree on my own as I perform different missions of my own design.
Shogun Streams Vidya
This is obviously further proof it was all staged.
:rotate:
Are there any mods that make use of asteroids? I know you get some science off them, but I wish there were something to do with the rock after I capture it in orbit...
Send up a lot of ships with docking nodes and now your asteroid serves as an anchor for a base.
There are a lot of videos of people landing asteroids in various ways, but this is infinitely more awesome than peppering it with hundreds of parachutes and then deorbiting it.
It handles like a fighter jet, is perfectly stable up to a max speed over 1,550 m/s, and appears to have enough fuel to go to minmus and back.
I'm not entirely sure if it can survive a re-entry of that size but this plane is fun.
Edit: OH shit this thing comes in at high speed
B9 Aerospace, plz be updated soon.
Fucker still can't keep up with science transmissions.
Edit: Not sure why that screenshot was full of white space, here's a non fail one.
Shogun Streams Vidya
Here it is on my station:
I'm actually launching and adding another solar truss segment at the moment:
And because I'm such a huge nerd I've started loading Kerbals via a Bus and into the launch tower elevator... I may be taking realism too far. :P
Here's my refueling station with three different SSTO models I created (Stock, no Sabers).
I've seen people get to like, 50km by carefully managing throttle, though that height takes a while and I'm not sure I'd enjoy flying something that takes 20 minutes to get to orbit.
Thanks for the more detailed explanation! But then, why can I still have a positive number, sometimes 7, and still fame out when at other times I can be at 0 and be ok? Actually one of my models can handle going up to 30,000 if I use both engines at the same time - The added speed helps accumulate enough air - But the AirIntake shows 0.00
I dunno, I do think there are some bugs or quirks in it for sure.
So I wiped everything, re-downloaded all the mods, and now I have to start over. Really makes me want to build an integrated system within the game to download and install mods.
When you get to your flameout altitude, right-click on your engines (ALT+right-click on the second engine to open up another info window without closing the first one) and check each of their IntakeAir levels. The read-out in the upper right corner is an "overall" value, but each engine will have an independent level that's going to differ a bit based on their angle to the wind.
Once an engine gets below 0.1 IntakeAir, it flames out. When you're right against the bleeding edge at 25-30km, even tiny amounts of yaw is enough to tip one of them over the edge while the other stays alive; commence spinning like a mofo. Reducing throttle gives you a buffer, like Infamy said.
If you're flaming out with high IntakeAir values, it sounds like a possible resource flow bug or something. Are you using the FAR mod?
Ah! Now THAT explains it. Thanks and no I do not use the FAR mod, but I'm going to look into it.
I forgot to mention - toss on an extra intake or two if you have trouble getting to speed at 30km, and squeeze a bit more air into the system. I usually do a pair per engine at least. You can spam those things to get ridiculous altitude, if you're okay with your plane looking really, really silly.
Started out vanilla, added MechJeb around the time I was heading to Moho and Dres. I think this time, I'm going to use MechJeb, FAR, and Deadly Reentry. Those mods are all compatible, right?
I'm also going to run an addon to pretty the game up a bit. Any recommendations?
Texture Replacer - everything else.
Two words: Asteroid. Bowling.
Edit, well crap you can't inline conversational tweets anymore?
Steam ID: Obos Vent: Obos
I got it
...only because I was reading about the ISS during my "I work night audit but I have tonight off so what the fuck am I going to do" Wikipedia trawls.
I tried to launch a probe to Moho with the magnetoplasmadynamic thruster, and I figured that since it was my first such electric probe, I'd just use solar panels, batteries, and capacitors to power it rather than launch a whole nuclear reactor.
This turned out to be a mistake. Even at 40% thrust, that engine sucks down 10000 electric charge units in seconds. This thing was infuriating to control. And the worst part is, I screwed up my maneuvers and ran out of propellant before I could rendezvous with Moho.
Still, the engine looks cool and has awesome sound effects, so the mission isn't a total loss, right?
Steam: Elvenshae // PSN: Elvenshae // WotC: Elvenshae
Wilds of Aladrion: [https://forums.penny-arcade.com/discussion/comment/43159014/#Comment_43159014]Ellandryn[/url]