Kerbal Space Program

[Tyyr]

This is more or less the state of my space program at the end of 0.20. I'm working on rebuilding it in 0.21 but it was a lot of stuff.

[Griffin]

0.22 Features

I haven't looked at mods much, so it may be all this stuff is old hat, but damn the next update looks good!

R&D, science missions and vanilla Subassemblies. Colour me interested.

[Tyyr]

Yeah, they're really getting ready for the career/resources systems. That's got me excited. I kinda wish you could start off knowing very little about other planets and would have to send probes and missions to learn about them.

[Tyyr]

Kerbal turns 22 today! 0.22 is releasing today and for the first time Career Mode is going to get started with a research tree and everything.

[stitch626]

Awesome. Hopefully the mods won't stop working again for me...

[Tyyr]

I haven't played my sandbox save since the release so I can't say. It's not supposed to break anything since they add a few parts and put in the science system.

Not a fan of the science system right now, way, way, WAY too gamey.

[Coalition]

I haven't played my sandbox save since the release so I can't say. It's not supposed to break anything since they add a few parts and put in the science system.

Not a fan of the science system right now, way, way, WAY too gamey.

Just do like Master of Orion 2, and select "Creative". Whenever you research one thing at a tier in one subject, you get all the techs in that tier and that subject.

[Tyyr]

Creative was broken in MoO2. It would have been too cheap even at 12 points.

[LaughingCheese]

I haven't played my sandbox save since the release so I can't say. It's not supposed to break anything since they add a few parts and put in the science system.

Not a fan of the science system right now, way, way, WAY too gamey.

How should it be?


I mean, it is after all, a game.

[Tyyr]

It's a game that has tried hard to be as realistic as it can.

Right now you produce generic science points by doing generic science experiments. I unlocked hypersonic flight parts with gravity readings taken at Pol. That's non-sense. I'd much rather get new parts from doing science and making similar flights. For instance if I want better parts for airplanes I should have to fly in the atmosphere. Bigger crew capsules? Send manned flights into space. Bigger rocket parts, build bigger rockets and so on.

[LaughingCheese]

I see, good points.

Develop your first supersonic rocket (i.e. Bell X1) before actually leaving the atmosphere.

[Tyyr]

Personally I'd break science up into multiple parts.

Flight - For parts like wings, air breathing engines, fuel tanks, landing gear, etc. You gain flight science by spending time flying in an atmosphere. Keeping with how Kerbal does things you'd get your first flight parts (control fins) with mostly science gained while doing rocket launches however after those first fins and maybe basic plane capsule you need to build actual planes. Rocket planes at first obviously. You'd get huge science bonuses for managing flights at Eve, Duna, Jool, and Laythe.

Rocketry - Science gained from actual rocket launches. Nothing really radical here. Launch rockets, any kind of rocket.

Landing/Rovers - Recover those rockets or at least leave them stranded, intact, on other bodies. Get better parachutes, landing struts, ladders, wheels, etc.

Probes - Get better probes by launching unmanned rockets.

Crew - Get better bits for your crew by launching more kerbals into space. Keep them there (space stations, planetary bases) for big science bonuses and rapid unlocks.

Utility/Science - Want to do more science? Keep doing experiments to unlock more experiments and better utility devices like bigger batteries and solar panels.

So that trip to Pol would have given me lots of Rocketry, Probe, and Utility science points. TO buy more parts for that kind of mission.

[Tyyr]

I've chronicled some of my attempts to science it up in KSP.

Also, thanks to Scott Manley's aerodynamics tutorials after playing this game for more than 500 hours I finally managed to get a spaceplane into orbit.