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

Mindlog

Member
Need a section in the OP for all of the Game of the Year awards :]
It won the Mindlog Game of the Year, but still working on the badge.
 

RP912

Banned
Can't wait for my game to update :D. I enjoyed the game for what it is despite the fact that I suck hard at this game lol. I think I launch successfully one time and ended up crashing after a while. Hopefully the new tutorial would explain the mechanics to me like a 3rd grader because the wiki for the game made my head hurt.
 

TheSeks

Blinded by the luminous glory that is David Bowie's physical manifestation.
Can't wait for my game to update :D. I enjoyed the game for what it is despite the fact that I suck hard at this game lol. I think I launch successfully one time and ended up crashing after a while. Hopefully the new tutorial would explain the mechanics to me like a 3rd grader because the wiki for the game made my head hurt.

I didn't have a problem with the tutorial last time, the problem for me was once I was on my own I was trying to figure out how to put "fuel" in the rockets and set stages and completely fumbling with the entire thing.

Hopefully the tutorial actually walks you through that process instead of pre-building rockets and only have a quickie "attach parts" tutorial.
 
I didn't have a problem with the tutorial last time, the problem for me was once I was on my own I was trying to figure out how to put "fuel" in the rockets and set stages and completely fumbling with the entire thing.

Hopefully the tutorial actually walks you through that process instead of pre-building rockets and only have a quickie "attach parts" tutorial.

I definitely hope the game helps out newcomers more than it did previously, but be sure to ask questions in this thread or on the KSP forums if you are having difficulties. Like other challenging/rewarding games out there, once you get your feet under you with a little help, it will all of a sudden click for you and you'll be good.
 
holy shit at the new air and heat modelling.

I was flying at something like 700 MPH and raised my plane nose too much and snapped my vehicle in half from wind resistance lol.
 

ElFly

Member
I didn't have a problem with the tutorial last time, the problem for me was once I was on my own I was trying to figure out how to put "fuel" in the rockets and set stages and completely fumbling with the entire thing.

Hopefully the tutorial actually walks you through that process instead of pre-building rockets and only have a quickie "attach parts" tutorial.

Git to the mun, n00b.

I think that on top of tutorials, we should look at which of the stock rockets make it easier to land on the mun.

Will check it out maybe tomorrow.
 
Of course this would drop on the day I have a meeting all evening...

Looking forward to playing, though. I always resisted using much in the way if mods because waiting for mods to update before you can try the new stuff sucks, so this will be my first experience with more realistic aerodynamics and reentry heat. I foresee some fantastic explosions in my future.
 
All I've managed to do in the 2 years I've owned it, is land on the Mun and return to Kerbal, but I love it.

The feeling of accomplishment when you finally touchdown on the Muns surface and do an EVA is quite something.
 

GodofWine

Member
All I've managed to do in the 2 years I've owned it, is land on the Mun and return to Kerbal, but I love it.

The feeling of accomplishment when you finally touchdown on the Muns surface and do an EVA is quite something.

Pretty much the same here, I had a small mun colony (basically a collection of various ships that were to damaged to fly home or rescue ships where I put the landing g struts on the wrong end )

Ended up with about 20 kerbals up there...they seemed happy, time to wipe them away and start anew.
 

0wing

Member
All I've managed to do in the 2 years I've owned it, is land on the Mun and return to Kerbal, but I love it.

The feeling of accomplishment when you finally touchdown on the Muns surface and do an EVA is quite something.

Although Minmus is a bit farther away, the lower gravity (less than a third of the Mun's) makes it much easier to land on and explore IMO.
 
For anyone who wants to rep a little Ryan Davis and GB while playing KSP. This is the flag I used since flags were implemented in game.
PtUgiUR.png
 

Mengy

wishes it were bannable to say mean things about Marvel
Although Minmus is a bit farther away, the lower gravity (less than a third of the Mun's) makes it much easier to land on and explore IMO.

Yep. It took me many many hours and over a dozen flights to be able to fly to the Mun, land on it and explore, take off, fly back to Kerbin and land safely all in one mission. Many Kerbals died to accomplish that. Comparatively, it only took me two missions to do the same on Minmus and zero deaths, it was a much easier flight.

With this new career I'm starting tonight, I plan on planting a flag on every planetary body in the Kerbal system. The time is now Jebediah!
 
LETS DO THIS!

It's ridiculous how much this game has pulled me back in over the years. Even after dumping entire weeks of my life into it, I still understand so little about the game, it's mechanics and the physics system. Originally I was way too gung ho and over time I have honed my patience to master level. The satisfaction when you put a vessel up into orbit around a celestial body, or land on one... Nothing quite like KSP. I am hyped!
 

RP912

Banned
I didn't have a problem with the tutorial last time, the problem for me was once I was on my own I was trying to figure out how to put "fuel" in the rockets and set stages and completely fumbling with the entire thing.

Hopefully the tutorial actually walks you through that process instead of pre-building rockets and only have a quickie "attach parts" tutorial.

I can build a basic ship but I end up failing to understand the mechanics. Either I overshot the thrusts or overturn the ship. Whenever I get some time, I'll check out the new tutorials because I really want to be experienced in this game....but it's more fun to fail than it is to try to get better lol.
 

Woorloog

Banned
The fuck, is it impossible to exit a tutorial? I just wanted to check how they're now, but i realized the music's too loud so i need to get to options... but i cannot. Fuck!
 

Almighty

Member
Mechjeb has made me soft and weak. I have forgotten how to get into a nice orbit and on top of that the new aerodynamics are taking some getting used to. The heat on reentry has already cost me a few spacecraft.
 

jotun?

Member
Although Minmus is a bit farther away, the lower gravity (less than a third of the Mun's) makes it much easier to land on and explore IMO.

In addition to just being farther out, getting to Minmus also requires an inclination change, and it's a smaller sphere of influence to aim for. Both of those make it good practice for getting to Duna though.
 

Woorloog

Banned
Holy... My test capsule flew a bit too high, was scared re-entry heat would kill it... but no, seems like Jeb's going to survive.
 
Fucking hell can you accelerate much faster in lower atmosphere. The drag is really cool too. You just can wildly pitch your rocket 45 degrees when at 10KM. You have to maneuver more careful or drag will pull your nose down if you aren't in thin enough air.

Air braking is better too. Gravity accelerates you much longer before the atmosphere slows you down. Much bigger sling shot potential as a result. I have a feeling I will be skipping off the atmosphere and getting Kerbals stranded in no time.

Loving 1.0 so far. First orbit done in career, time to aim for the Mun.
 

Mengy

wishes it were bannable to say mean things about Marvel
Yeah, it sure is a different beast. I blew up two capsules during re-entries, lol. Also got my first orbit and managed to land safely. Re-entry sure is a lot more tense now that you can actually destroy your ship doing so.

I'm now just launching and landing around different biomes on Kerbin doing science!



Once I get enough of the tech tree unlocked then I'm off for the Mun. Tomorrow night though, I have to work in the morning so it's time for bed, lol.
 

Morzak

Member
Fucking hell can you accelerate much faster in lower atmosphere. The drag is really cool too. You just can wildly pitch your rocket 45 degrees when at 10KM. You have to maneuver more careful or drag will pull your nose down if you aren't in thin enough air.

Air braking is better too. Gravity accelerates you much longer before the atmosphere slows you down. Much bigger sling shot potential as a result. I have a feeling I will be skipping off the atmosphere and getting Kerbals stranded in no time.

Loving 1.0 so far. First orbit done in career, time to aim for the Mun.

Yeah the changes done to the aerodynamic model are the ones that pop out the most for me it really changes how you launch rockets at least for a bit. and holy hell you get so much height with just a standard solid fuel booster now.

Will probably do my first real career, now waited for 1.0 to start a serious one. Don't know which difficulty I will select, yet.
 
Ohhh nice! I remember playing this waaay back in the early days, can't even remember which version it was. Pretty bare bones and there was only the Mun to travel to IIRC. And I never managed to get there haha..

Must try the new demo. Loved the idea of this one, played a heap even though I never really got anywhere and never really came to grips with the mechanics, but it still really intrigues me.
 
Had a lot of fun doing some of the early contracts tonight. Even did some of the tourist ones by just stacking a capsule upside down on top of the main capsule. To hell with unlocking the three person capsule!

I definitely need to focus on gaining science tomorrow. The early contracts aren't yielding nearly enough and I need a few more nodes on the tech tree to get to the Mun. I am glad I messed around with a bunch of the early test parts as it gave me a lot of seat time in the lower to middle atmosphere where so much has changed. I completely forgot to add nose cones, it has been so long in KSP without proper drag so they were nothing other than aesthetic dead weight. Pretty cool that they actually make a difference now. I also forgot how much I miss fuel lines until I didn't have them. I need my asparagus staging damn it!

tPvMgZnl.jpg
 

lacinius

Member
Have been looking at this for at least a year and got around to trying it... but with v1.0 I'm in!!! Song of the moment... Queen, "Don't Stop Me Now" :)
 

TheSeks

Blinded by the luminous glory that is David Bowie's physical manifestation.
I can build a basic ship but I end up failing to understand the mechanics. Either I overshot the thrusts or overturn the ship. Whenever I get some time, I'll check out the new tutorials because I really want to be experienced in this game....but it's more fun to fail than it is to try to get better lol.

You want to use a lot of thrust at the start to shoot off, then start to lower to mid way when about 30k up? to save fuel. Once you're in the outer orbit/starting to see space turn thrust to 10% and ride it out to orbit.

If you're getting overturns, use the stability systems to keep you upright/pointing up.
 

DBT85

Member
Ahh at last!

Not played in a few months since I've been so damned busy but I'll be sinking muuuuch time in to this! Woo!
 

Oreoleo

Member
Great accomplishment for the devs :) Bought this way back in summer of 2013 (I think). $13 well spent!

Really excited to sink my teeth into this all over again. Didn't touch .90 at all so I'm pumped to see all the changes. Maybe I'll finally make it beyond the Mun
 

Aurumaethera

Neo Member
Doing hugely well on Steam at the moment, fantastic to see new people coming into the fold. Just reviewed this for work, and to be honest I cannot speak highly enough of KSP. Aspirational, deeply enjoyable, and creative in a way no other game I've played has ever been.
 

Woorloog

Banned
Going through KSP forums, it seems there are some issues in the game, some more subjective, some arguably objective:
-There are some kind of problems with (turbo?) jet engines in atmospheres, them being either underpowered or too powerful? Can't find the thread about it now. EDIT Apparently it is implied things work as intended. So not a real problem, just people not getting used to the changes?
-Airbrakes are apparently overpowered, with two being able to slow down crafts without any other things to (relatively) safe landing.
-Career mode is something of a grind, if better than it was?
-Heat shields mess up center of mass for capsules, which should be automatically pointing bottom toward ground but with a heat shield, the capsule will flip over. This is apparently a confirmed bug. Temporary solution is to remove the PhysicsSignificance from parts in their config files.
-Ore is more efficient "fuel" than actual fuel (with the converter part)... and you can fill ore-tanks in assembly buildings.
-Fairings are kind of massless... the base has mass, but the shed fairings do not affect the craft, so there's no reason to eject them until you need to detach the payload, unlike IRL where fairings are removed once they're no longer needed to conserve delta-v.
-Landing gear no longer works as bearings, so no stock-helicopters or giant wheels... i never knew of this but gotta say it sucks this is no longer possible.
EDIT -Apparently, parachutes are not tuned for the new aerodynamics model. Might have problems?

Personally, i am annoyed at still no stock clouds, just something visible from space would be OK. No idea if they every promised clouds but still.
 

Mengy

wishes it were bannable to say mean things about Marvel
I definitely need to focus on gaining science tomorrow. The early contracts aren't yielding nearly enough and I need a few more nodes on the tech tree to get to the Mun. I am glad I messed around with a bunch of the early test parts as it gave me a lot of seat time in the lower to middle atmosphere where so much has changed. I completely forgot to add nose cones, it has been so long in KSP without proper drag so they were nothing other than aesthetic dead weight. Pretty cool that they actually make a difference now. I also forgot how much I miss fuel lines until I didn't have them. I need my asparagus staging damn it!

Oh shit, I've just been putting the nose parachute on the top of my capsule, but yeah with the new aero dynamics I suppose those aero parts would have a use now wouldn't they? I should probably put the nose cones over my boosters too I guess.

I haven't even looked at the tutorials one bit but I need to keep in mind that a lot is different now. I need to rethink all 80 hours of my KSP experience. I love the re-entry stuff now. My first capsule to survive re-entry did not come home unscathed, I lost both a goo canister and a barometric gauge during freefall in a fiery explosive manner, I thought for sure my Kerbal was going to die but he survived! Now I put that stuff in the cargo pod and it works much better.

Tonight I'm going to explore Kerbin until I unlock fuel lines and then I'm bound for the Mun.
 
Going through KSP forums, it seems there are some issues in the game, some more subjective, some arguably objective:
-There are some kind of problems with (turbo?) jet engines in atmospheres, them being either underpowered or too powerful? Can't find the thread about it now. EDIT Apparently it is implied things work as intended. So not a real problem, just people not getting used to the changes?
-Airbrakes are apparently overpowered, with two being able to slow down crafts without any other things to (relatively) safe landing.
-Career mode is something of a grind, if better than it was?
-Heat shields mess up center of mass for capsules, which should be automatically pointing bottom toward ground but with a heat shield, the capsule will flip over. This is apparently a confirmed bug. Temporary solution is to remove the PhysicsSignificance from parts in their config files.
-Ore is more efficient "fuel" than actual fuel (with the converter part)... and you can fill ore-tanks in assembly buildings.
-Fairings are kind of massless... the base has mass, but the shed fairings do not affect the craft, so there's no reason to eject them until you need to detach the payload, unlike IRL where fairings are removed once they're no longer needed to conserve delta-v.
-Landing gear no longer works as bearings, so no stock-helicopters or giant wheels... i never knew of this but gotta say it sucks this is no longer possible.
EDIT -Apparently, parachutes are not tuned for the new aerodynamics model. Might have problems?

Personally, i am annoyed at still no stock clouds, just something visible from space would be OK. No idea if they every promised clouds but still.

I had a feeling there were going to be a handful of bugs and balance issues off the bat. They changed far too much and released it pretty quick. Not really concerned as Squad has been really fast to fix them after any release and none of the bugs are far from game breaking for most players, especially the average player.

I imagine it has to be a difficult thing to release a "new" game that a large community has mastered over the last four years. I know that every single release there are people who can unlock the entire tech tree in one or two flights. That is crazy! I am sure they want to make it a challenge for everyone but balancing the game against the ability to do that while not making brutal for the rest of us must be hard. You can always just change the difficulty or customize the settings.

Edit: No stock clouds or tweaks to the lighting is a bit of a bummer. I definitely look forward to the KSP Environmental mod getting re-patched.
Edit2: All of the above said, I have admittedly hit a few difficulty spikes with the combination of the new tech tree and contracts offered early on and I consider myself an experienced KSP player. I feel like some key basic parts are tucked too deep into the tech tree with how slow the trickle of science is in early game. They also need to tweak what contracts are offered to players in early game. It has to be frustrating for new players.


Oh shit, I've just been putting the nose parachute on the top of my capsule, but yeah with the new aero dynamics I suppose those aero parts would have a use now wouldn't they? I should probably put the nose cones over my boosters too I guess.

I haven't even looked at the tutorials one bit but I need to keep in mind that a lot is different now. I need to rethink all 80 hours of my KSP experience. I love the re-entry stuff now. My first capsule to survive re-entry did not come home unscathed, I lost both a goo canister and a barometric gauge during freefall in a fiery explosive manner, I thought for sure my Kerbal was going to die but he survived! Now I put that stuff in the cargo pod and it works much better.

Tonight I'm going to explore Kerbin until I unlock fuel lines and then I'm bound for the Mun.

I think the MK16 parachute on top of the one man capsule maintains a good aero shape. I am mostly talking about on top of boosters and outboard fuel tanks that I've always left as blunt flat surfaces. Putting the nose cones on them seem to help.
 
This may be of interest for anyone doing mining:
http://forum.kerbalspaceprogram.com...nd-Questions?p=1873698&viewfull=1#post1873698
RoverDude, who designed Karbonite mod, and also the resource system in stock Kerbal, writes about the system a bit.

The resource mining sounds like it strikes a good balance. I look forward to unlocking those parts.

A very good post about what's wrong with the tech tree:
http://forum.kerbalspaceprogram.com/threads/117160-Career-Mode-Progression-and-Game-Design-Analysis

Very much agree, i have disliked the tech trees since their introduction. Unfortunately, there's no way to play the game without tech tree but with everything else (ignoring the fact lack of tech tree essentially breaks everything else, like science)..


I just read that post too. It is dead on about the "Terrier." It was such a waste having to use the "Swivel" or "Reliant." One or two tweaks on the tech tree could really help dictate a nice progress and difficulty curve. They also need to make sure the contracts available are matching that. I don't have probe systems or large rocket parts, why give me contracts for kerbin escape? I don't want to send a Kerbal off to die in deep space.
 
Hahaha, completely forgot about the Administration Building. I could have been getting some extra science out of my funds and rep gains. Oops, better late than never.
 
I just read that post too. It is dead on about the "Terrier." It was such a waste having to use the "Swivel" or "Reliant." One or two tweaks on the tech tree could really help dictate a nice progress and difficulty curve.

Agreed. Not having the Terrier is making me want to restart my (admittedly very early) career game rather than try to force it to work.

I also really like the idea of station upgrades increasing the range you can use maneuver nodes but giving you the ability to use them around Kerbin and its moons at base. They are absolutely necessary for anyone who doesn't want to learn college level orbital mechanics just to play a game (I like that aspect, but I'm a nerd), but his idea keeps a layer of progression in place.
 

Kazdane

Member
space ship launching catapults have been built in KSP

I need to see this!

At some point I'll have to check the game again, last time I did I failed miserably (yet again) at coming back to the planet from the Mun. I always end up way too low on fuel.
 
I will be very curious to see what the impressions of 1.0 are for first time players of KSP. It is very easy for us long time players to jump right in a consume and compare our experience to previous KSP releases. For someone playing for the very first time, I wonder if there is the same sense of balance issues or tech tree sorting.

I definitely find myself trying some new designs when I play career mode opposed to resorting to my tried and true builds I've developed over the years.

I need to see this!

At some point I'll have to check the game again, last time I did I failed miserably (yet again) at coming back to the planet from the Mun. I always end up way too low on fuel.

The biggest fuel saver for Mun return trips is getting the hang of the landings. The amount of fuel you can save when landing efficiently without any drama is substantial. It also helps to know how to obtain obit around the Mun launching from the Mun as efficiently as possible and then to just do the one return burn. I'll be curious to see how fast you can come in with the new reentry heat and aero. My guess is you might have to de orbit a bit more gracefully.
 

Mengy

wishes it were bannable to say mean things about Marvel
A very good post about what's wrong with the tech tree:
http://forum.kerbalspaceprogram.com/threads/117160-Career-Mode-Progression-and-Game-Design-Analysis

Very much agree, i have disliked the tech trees since their introduction. Unfortunately, there's no way to play the game without tech tree but with everything else (ignoring the fact lack of tech tree essentially breaks everything else, like science)..

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?
 

Kazdane

Member
The biggest fuel saver for Mun return trips is getting the hang of the landings. The amount of fuel you can save when landing efficiently without any drama is substantial. It also helps to know how to obtain obit around the Mun launching from the Mun as efficiently as possible and then to just do the one return burn. I'll be curious to see how fast you can come in with the new reentry heat and aero. My guess is you might have to de orbit a bit more gracefully.

Hah, that reminds me of one of my attempts sometime ago (2 years maybe?) I had failed (yet again) in having enough fuel to make it back to a stable low-orbit around the planet, and my objective was to actually land both the orbiter and the lunar module.

So I decided to go for the crazy approach: I had enough fuel to actually get the ship to the planet, but only the parachutes for the landing, which obviously weren't enough to slow down everything. My solution? Simple, I got rid of the module that didn't have parachutes and I moved good old Jebediah to the other module... in EVA (there was no room inside). I tried to land 50 times with just one module, and managed to do it a few times, but the poor fella was always flying away at some point during reentry.

You'll be remembered, Jeb!
 
"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
 
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