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Super Wabbit · Posted: Wed Jul 10, 2013 11:05 am Post subject:

I must be pushing too hard. I was initially turned off from asparagus staging as there is a possibility that they will be updating their aero engine such that there will be added drag the wider I make my rocket. Also, I read somewhere that the aerodynamic nose cones only increase drag - partly related to the aero engine needing to be updated. With the nose cones, instead of reducing drag of the stack it simply adds it's drag to the already existing drag of the stack. Is this still the case?

I also like making rockets that look like real rockets - not many RL rockets use asparagus staging. But...if that is what needs to be done, so be it.

Dynamite Dan · Posted: Wed Jul 10, 2013 11:17 am Post subject:

No, only use nosecones if you want asthetics over efficiency, they do nothing to aid in drag loss. Aerodynamics are not in any way true to real life, you can have the most fragile looking lander screaming through the atmosphere glowing red hot from friction with no ill effects at all.
Also, you dont need to go out wide with Asparagus staging, just mount them as if your doing 4 x symetrical building and drop opsosite tanks in turn.

Dont get me wrong, Asparagus staging is not the only way, but it is the best way for maximising Delta V.

Super Wabbit · Posted: Thu Jul 11, 2013 3:04 am Post subject:

Just completed another milestone tonight by launching the first parts of a space station. She's currently in a low Kerbin orbit but has enough fuel and plenty of engine to raise herself up if needed. Next step is to build another section and attach it. But first, I need to learn how to rendezvous in orbit!

Screenshots:
http://steamcommunity.com/profiles/76561197962019193/screenshots/?appid=220200&sort=oldestfirst&browsefilter=myfiles&view=imagewall

Dynamite Dan · Posted: Thu Jul 11, 2013 5:02 am Post subject:

Thats some really good work there Wabbit.
I think your wobbling problem is coming from your rocket being very tall and slim, the gimble on the engines is very powerful and generaly tends to over-compensate, i suggest disabling the gimbling on all engines apart from the central one, this can be done by right clicking the engines while on the launch pad, or setting up a custom action group in the VAB. You can also set up an actiono group to deploy all your solar panels at the same time should you wish.

As for orbital rendevous, this is very hard to get right first time, you have to learn what the maneuver nodes do and what the icons mean. Its hard for me to put it in words on here, but if you search the youtube channels i mentioned earlier (Scott Manley, Kurtjmac) you will get some very helpfull lessons in how to rendevous in orbit.

Also, are you struggling with overheating at full power? There is a bug where the Mainsails overheat if connected directly to the orange tanks, to get around this, you need to place another tank inbetween the orange tank and the engines.

Have you tried building a plane yet? It is possible to get one into orbit and land again on a runway, but thats way beyond me at the moment.

Super Wabbit · Posted: Thu Jul 11, 2013 9:46 am Post subject:

Gimble - I wonder why you could lock it...

I haven't played with Action Groups yet, thanks for the tip.

I see the Mainsails are over heating but thought that was normal. I'll put a tank in-between next time.

I have tried building planes. Flying with the keyboard is very very difficult and unnatural. Have you, or anyone here, tried a joystick to see if it smooths out?

Also, I noticed from the tracking station that it tracks what type of objects you have flying about. I see that my station is currently called a ship but that there is an entry for Stations - how do I get my station to be recognized by the game as a Station?

Dynamite Dan · Posted: Thu Jul 11, 2013 10:06 am Post subject:

If you right click on the command module of the station, there is an option to rename it, during this you get to select what type of craft it is, (Base, debris, station, lander, rover etc etc)

I have tried using a joystick to fly planes but its still no flightsim type of accuracy, and as a result of that, i stay clear of planes.

a joysticks throttle control is good to use of rockets though, its analogue controll gives more accuracy when you dont need full power.

Super Wabbit · Posted: Thu Jul 11, 2013 10:11 am Post subject:

With the joystick, is it still full control surface deflection or is it analogue?

Dynamite Dan · Posted: Thu Jul 11, 2013 10:21 am Post subject:

analouge, but dont fall into the trap thinking that you will suddenly have perfect control, you wont.

The aerodynamic engine of KSP and the way it calculates lift is very flawed and shows its alpha development stage, you will still struggle.

Super Wabbit · Posted: Thu Jul 11, 2013 10:27 am Post subject:

I wonder if they could license X-Plane's aero engine for this sort of thing...

X-Plane is currently on version 10 - surely version 5 would be a huge leap forward for KSP and shouldn't cost much of anything for them to use.

Dynamite Dan · Posted: Thu Jul 11, 2013 10:39 am Post subject:

you mean Laminar Flow? i think thats was X-Plane uses?

The thing is, KSP is built using the Unity engine and aparently all of the physics calculations go through the CPU, and in KSP, on craft with 300+ parts, this puts a strain on even the fastest processors. Ive heard that KSP doesn't use hyperthreading so only uses on core on multi core CPUS, but im not sure if thats a fact.

The way i see it, they are trying too much. Id be happy with the rocket side alone, i think the plane part of the game / sim is an after thought.

how have you been going on with performance?

Super Wabbit · Posted: Thu Jul 11, 2013 10:41 am Post subject:

Performance has been fine for me, even with rockets over 300+ parts. I'm running an i7 3770K though.

Dynamite Dan · Posted: Thu Jul 11, 2013 10:47 am Post subject:

I think you should try and land on the Moon, the first time you do it sucsessfuly is an awesome feeling, i did it on my 3rd go. I managed to get back to Kerbin and land on my 7th though.

Aparently it requires less Delta V to get to Minmus and back due to its lower gravity. So, in theory its an easier mission than the Moon

JoeSwindell · Posted: Sun Jul 14, 2013 1:08 pm Post subject:

For those who haven't picked it up, on sale again for 13.79 steam summer sale!

Super Wabbit · Posted: Sun Jul 14, 2013 7:40 pm Post subject:

Super Wabbit · Posted: Thu Jul 18, 2013 12:22 pm Post subject:

I've been lazy in practicing orbital rendezvous so I'm stuck trying to get ever larger space stations into orbit in one launch.

http://steamcommunity.com/profiles/76561197962019193/screenshots/?appid=220200&sort=newestfirst&browsefilter=myfiles&view=imagewall

I'm trying to make sure to have enough docking ports so that they may be joined to other stations in orbit, if I ever get that figured out.

Dynamite Dan · Posted: Fri Jul 19, 2013 2:07 am Post subject:

Wow, you have done well to get something so big into orbit in one stage.

If you are struggling with rendevous and docking there is help. Look for a Mod called Mechjeb, think of it as an auto pilot. you tell it what you want to rendevous with and it will time the launch and get to the target for you (providing your craft is capable)

Even if you dont use the auto pilot function of it, it give good readouts of each stage's Delta V values.

It has made my game so much better, allowing me to concentrate on design, rather than flying.

PS. version 2.1 is inbound. Save games will not be transerable due to the improvements implemented, so get ready to re-set your space administration.

Super Wabbit · Posted: Fri Jul 19, 2013 10:22 am Post subject:

I was initially overwhelmed by mechjeb, but I guess I need to get over that.

On another note: the OMG SOLAR PANELS test bed made orbit recently. I'm still designing how I want my large-ass space station to look. Using large solar arrays reminds me of the ISS and go a long way to making your station look really big, and cool.

Super Wabbit · Posted: Sun Jul 21, 2013 7:38 pm Post subject:

I'm having a lot of issues with Mechjeb 1.9.8 and 2.0. The Rendezvous module doesn't work for me in v1.9.8. Their manual talks of features it's simply not showing me. After I align the orbits my only other option is to align the orbit. I get no options past the Align planes step (Mechjeb 1.9.8 Rendezvous). Not sure what I'm doing wrong or not doing.

After watching videos and seeing other options that my mechjeb doesn't have though I need to mechjeb2 to get it working. So I uninstalled Mechjeb1.9.8 and installed mechjeb2. Now the autopilot doesn't work. I can enable all the mechjeb features and click engage autopilot and it just throttle ups and sits there. the first stage is never engaged. If I manual engage the first stage to get the engines started and then release the docking clamps it appears to work. There are a few people on the forums having the same issue but no one has an answer other than open a trouble ticket on github...

Dynamite Dan · Posted: Mon Jul 22, 2013 9:41 am Post subject:

Yeah it can be a bit broken sometimes, I've had it totally flip a lander about 50ft from the ground on the moon for no reason. But i guess its hard to write a stable version when the base game keeps getting updated on a regular basis causing compatibility issues.
Hopefully they will release a stable version along with the 2.1 update which is due any time soon.

Super Wabbit · Posted: Mon Jul 22, 2013 12:56 pm Post subject:

Buggy I can handle, but my install seems broken. I tried a re-install of the plugins and have had no luck.

Dan, do you use the rendezvous autopiltot feature in mechjeb? If so, can you list your steps to a successful rendezvous(maybe I'm just not doing it right)? Also, which version of mechjeb are you running? Thanks!