# Kerbal Space Program **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Created:** [August 23, 2011, 10:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kerbal-space-program/593824 "2011-08-23T22:07:59Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 14
**Author:** ![Grumman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/43a26b/32.png) [@Grumman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grumman)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2013, 9:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kerbal-space-program/593824/261 "2013-07-19T21:13:41Z")
While I’m waiting for 0.21, I’m experimenting with jet engines. I can build an exclusively jet-powered “rocket” that reaches an altitude of 100 kilometers, but I’m trying to find the smallest, lightest way to translate that into a Kerbal-carrying stable orbit. ---
**Author:** ![Knorf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/58956e/32.png) [@Knorf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Knorf)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2013, 12:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kerbal-space-program/593824/262 "2013-07-20T00:41:18Z")
> [@fanganga](#): > > I’ve been messing about in the demo - there’s a bit too much slowdown for me to consider moving to the paid version… Just fyi, the full version performs better. ---
**Author:** ![Mithras](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f04885/32.png) [@Mithras](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mithras)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2013, 1:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kerbal-space-program/593824/263 "2013-07-20T01:00:25Z")
> [@Grumman](#): > > While I’m waiting for 0.21, I’m experimenting with jet engines. I can build an exclusively jet-powered “rocket” that reaches an altitude of 100 kilometers, but I’m trying to find the smallest, lightest way to translate that into a Kerbal-carrying stable orbit. Is your trajectory the same as a typical rocket? Because that would be impressive as hell. I spent a bit of time working on jet-powered SSTOs, but they were planes and the idea was to build up orbital horizontal velocity using jet engines but needed rockets to get up to orbital height. ---
**Author:** ![Grumman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/43a26b/32.png) [@Grumman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grumman)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2013, 2:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kerbal-space-program/593824/264 "2013-07-20T02:13:19Z")
> [@Mithras](#): > > Is your trajectory the same as a typical rocket? It is. And I succeeded! My latest version, using an 11 ton jet stage and a 1.7 ton rocket stage (total 13.6 tons), put a Kerbal in orbit. ---
**Author:** ![Ferret\_Herder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e47774/32.png) [@Ferret\_Herder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ferret_Herder)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2013, 1:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kerbal-space-program/593824/265 "2013-07-20T13:11:47Z")
> [@Ferret\_Herder](#): > > In case there’s anyone else like me who’s been following this thread but uneasy about paying full price - there is about 5 hours left in the Steam Summer Sale’s discount on this game, down to $13.79, and then it’ll move to the “yesterday’s deals” section at the bottom of the page for another day, IIRC. Often, popular games go back up on sale near the end of the sale period (which ends on the 22nd), so if you miss this, check the sales again later and see if it doesn’t get a repeat offering. And it’s available as a Flash Sale at the same price for another nearly 4 hours as of this posting time. ---
**Author:** ![Grumman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/43a26b/32.png) [@Grumman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grumman)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2013, 2:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kerbal-space-program/593824/266 "2013-07-20T14:05:39Z")
[This](http://tinypic.com/view.php?pic=2ly206g&s=5) is my jet propelled “rocket”. I found it works better when launched at an angle like this, as it is rather unstable if you try to turn it while the seven turbojets are running. ---
**Author:** ![Ike\_Witt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ike_witt/32/283_2.png) [@Ike\_Witt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ike_Witt)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2013, 9:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kerbal-space-program/593824/267 "2013-07-20T21:42:09Z")
[Scott Manley takes 0.21 out for a test flight](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l9oH49oFlN8). ---
**Author:** ![Yeticus\_Rex](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/a698b9/32.png) [@Yeticus\_Rex](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yeticus_Rex)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2013, 7:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kerbal-space-program/593824/268 "2013-07-22T19:32:49Z")
> [@Ike\_Witt](#): > > [Scott Manley takes 0.21 out for a test flight](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l9oH49oFlN8). Although I don’t play this, I was gonna recommend Scott’s videos on this thread; he would make a great Doper, too. The best thirty seconds of that video is [here](http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=l9oH49oFlN8#t=440s). (Edit: I tried to put it at 7:20 mark of the video…somehow, it refuses to go there.) ---
**Author:** ![Ike\_Witt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ike_witt/32/283_2.png) [@Ike\_Witt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ike_Witt)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2013, 9:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kerbal-space-program/593824/269 "2013-07-22T21:48:35Z")
> [@Yeticus\_Rex](#): > > (Edit: I tried to put it at 7:20 mark of the video…somehow, it refuses to go there.) The random dis of Luke Skywalker was funny. ---
**Author:** ![straight\_man](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/straight_man/32/3027_2.png) [@straight\_man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/straight_man)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2013, 8:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kerbal-space-program/593824/270 "2013-07-24T20:06:04Z")
Woot! 0.21 is up, and it lets you convert your old save files! Happy day! In the meantime, I’ve successfully sent several probes to both Mun and Minmus. It’s really not very difficult, if you overbuild your probes for a low centre of gravity and overbuild your rocket so that you’re never low on fuel. I’ve also sent up a couple successful spaceplanes, but my design isn’t good enough to get farther than low-Kerbal orbit and back. Also, my design and skill cumulatively aren’t good enough to land on the runway — I made it to the runway one time before losing control and crashing in a giant fireball, and I’ve landed a couple of spaceplanes on normal land. It’s a good start, anyway. Also, sending probes to other planets is so very difficult! How have you guys managed to get enough precision to make it happen? ---
**Author:** ![Knorf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/58956e/32.png) [@Knorf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Knorf)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2013, 8:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kerbal-space-program/593824/271 "2013-07-24T20:27:49Z")
_Maneuver nodes are your friend._ Also, do check out the tutorials from Scott Manley on You Tube. 0.21! Hooray! ---
**Author:** ![Ike\_Witt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ike_witt/32/283_2.png) [@Ike\_Witt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ike_Witt)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2013, 8:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kerbal-space-program/593824/272 "2013-07-24T20:59:07Z")
I am currently stuck in the hospital. Hopefully I will be out of here tonight and play with the new version. Or it may have to wait ---
**Author:** ![PacifistPorcupine](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/7ea924/32.png) [@PacifistPorcupine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PacifistPorcupine)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2013, 10:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kerbal-space-program/593824/273 "2013-07-24T22:09:50Z")
So I decided to start over. I did deorbit my station first, which meant pointing the rocket part out and throttling up. Made a nice set of explosions when it came down. ---
**Author:** ![Knorf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/58956e/32.png) [@Knorf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Knorf)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2013, 10:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kerbal-space-program/593824/274 "2013-07-24T22:24:12Z")
[Here’s my first Mün landing](http://i.imgur.com/6ZUz3sB.png) in V. 0.21! Cheers for Bob, Corry, and Ferbart Kerman! Of course Bob messed up his flag, so we had to use Ferbart’s. What a tool. The new Münarscape is a bit harder to land on; there’s a lot less appropriately flat terrain for safe landing. You can see my lander is actually on quite a slope. The bottoms of craters are pretty flat for the most part, but there are _a lot_ more craters now, so the terrain is quite rugged. Incidentally, my save upgraded completely intact, as far as I can tell. Next up: Duna Rover! ---
**Author:** ![Grumman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/43a26b/32.png) [@Grumman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grumman)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2013, 10:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kerbal-space-program/593824/275 "2013-07-24T22:31:35Z")
I started over too, and am attempting a “recover everything” run. I’ve successfully deorbited everything that might become space junk, but some of them are still going splat upon landing. ---
**Author:** ![Ike\_Witt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ike_witt/32/283_2.png) [@Ike\_Witt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ike_Witt)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2013, 4:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kerbal-space-program/593824/276 "2013-07-25T04:21:44Z")
Mech Jeb does not seem to be compatible with the upgrade. ---
**Author:** ![fanganga](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/58f4c7/32.png) [@fanganga](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fanganga)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2013, 7:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kerbal-space-program/593824/277 "2013-07-25T07:27:11Z")
I ended up buying the full version in the Steam sale, and I’m still working towards my goal of making a Munar flyby with only demo components (except I’m using remote control units instead of the command module). Last night I built a 3 stage rocket with serial staging to establish a baseline before I tried asparagus staging - similar to my old designs, but with FLT-400 fed liquid engines in place of solid boosters. Stage one was 4 FLT-400 fed engines attached radially, stage 2 was the single FLT-400 fed core, and stage 3 was a single FLT-200 fed orbiter. To cut a long story short, I had it thrust upwards as far as I could, and it looks like I may have accidentally launched my first Eve flyby. ---
**Author:** ![LawMonkey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/d6d6ee/32.png) [@LawMonkey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LawMonkey)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2013, 2:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kerbal-space-program/593824/278 "2013-07-25T14:12:17Z")
So I’ve finally gotten around to noodling around with this, or at least the demo. As of yet, all I’ve managed to do is turn my very shallow parabola into a very TALL parabola, which looks sort of like a highly elliptical orbit, except that the “bottom” end of it is a few thousand meters underground. While it’s fun to send Kerbonauts plummeting to their doom, I’m thinking that this fun cannot justify buying the full version if that’s all I’ll ever achieve. I see many glowing reviews for this… Scott… Manley?'s tutorials. Do I actually have some hope of becoming a competent spaceman if I watch them, or am I simply meant to be a lowly [del]earth[/del]Kerbalman? ---
**Author:** ![MichaelEmouse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/michaelemouse/32/101_2.png) [@MichaelEmouse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MichaelEmouse)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2013, 2:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kerbal-space-program/593824/279 "2013-07-25T14:49:14Z")
Monkey, Watching Manley will help you. You can start a game in windowed mode and follow along, stopping and fast forwarding the video and the game. We all go through what you’re going through right now. It’s a game with a significant learning curve. Although, unlike a lot of other games, going through the learning curve is fun. Part of the fun with this game is understanding the principles at play, conceiving your ship and trying it out. Then you learn from that, better understand the principles, conceive a better ship and try something out again. If you go into it with the mindset that your first try must be successful at accomplishing something major, you will be disappointed. Enjoy your screw-ups and learn from them. ---
**Author:** ![Ike\_Witt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ike_witt/32/283_2.png) [@Ike\_Witt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ike_Witt)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2013, 2:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kerbal-space-program/593824/280 "2013-07-25T14:58:27Z")
> [@MichaelEmouse](#): > > If you go into it with the mindset that your first try must be successful at accomplishing something major, you will be disappointed. Enjoy your screw-ups and learn from them. I agree. The funnest time you will ever have failing is in this game. I am getting ready to start failing again. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kerbal-space-program/593824.md?page=13) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kerbal-space-program/593824.md?page=15)