Yeah, sometimes. The game does a pretty good job of figuring out which order to place the stages into, but it pays to check the final sequence manually, especially in more creative decoupler setups. In the most recent update I've encountered some bugginess in placing side decouplers too... Hope they get that fixed soon.

Yeah, I've had to mess with the stages a few times, but when boosters in stage 3 are firing during stage 5 it's kind hard to fly the rocket properly, especially when the stage 3 boosters are blowing up the stage 5 rockets.

R.I.P.

Jebediah Kerman: A true Kerbal hero.

I built a rocket with I guess a few too many rockets. The first set failed immediately on launch, and the second set exploded sending the rocket into an out-of-control spin. Landed with the rocket plummeting into the ground. And you know what? Jebediah was smiling the entire time. I'll miss that test-tube shaped daredevil.

That could be quite problematic, yes.

I've had a few inexplicable explosions on the launch pad too, but it may just have been my over-ambitious sequencing. One time I did forget to add decouplers to my boosters though, so they were blasting right into the fuel tanks just below them.

Just finished my first attempt at launching a capsule into orbit.

Results:
Orbit: not achieved
Landing zone: Dark side of planet, ocean
Engagement of parachute: successful
Status of crew: died when capsule exploded upon contact with ocean. Parachute was engaged and capsule was traveling at acceptable landing speeds.

That's a known bug. I guess it's the game engine having trouble figuring out your correct altitude when on the "negative" side of the planet.

haha :laugh: i'm pretty sure that isn't the guy on the right hand side that seems to be constantly scared, i would be too if i knew the rocket i was in was controlled by me.

Is it just me or does the link now just bring you to a white page with the words "It works!" on it?

Their forums are also 404 and the direct download link is 403 (http://www.kerbalspaceprogram.com/download.php) so I dunno.

I saw this last night and bookmarked it hoping to download it today, but now this has happened

This has happened before. When they first released the alpha their server collapsed under the huge wave of downloads, but they very quickly put up some mirror links on mediafire. http://www.mediafire.com/?9dz3sdjwd288w23

Also, for those who want more parts to play with, someone hacked together an unofficial http://www.mediafire.com/?f36kytio353rfmo - I personally find the stock parts more fun and challenging to work with (not to mention more stable) but it's a fun bit of variety nonetheless.

Okay, I finally got to space using the http://i731.photobucket.com/albums/ww316/SimpsonFly/KSP2011-07-1512-26-13-77.jpg. There is enough reserve fuel in the final-stage tanks to be able to get me safely back home as well. Although it would take me longer then I'd like.

My best so far is 400000. I'm currently working on a way to get back again though without using a parachute.

Sadly the top part is making it unstable.

I was at 1000000, but then I got bored and turned around.

Well I got bored at 400,000 so I just relaunched. That model was consistly getting into space but I want more control over it. I have like 7 stages at the moment and I need atleast 9 for what i'm planning.

I only had one relatively small liquid rocket for the final stage, the rest was all boosters. The liquid one burns out at about 90,000m in ideal control conditions, but the momentum is sufficient to carry the command module onwards.

It was only a testing rocket, I'm surprised it was able to get as far into space as it did. I'm planning on building one that still has thrust power in space, perhaps even enough to achieve escape velocity and turn around for a return.


I've seen one guy in a stable orbit for six real time hours.


It is pretty awesome. I think I'm like you in this regard, I've always wanted a game where you could leave the planet and return in a spaceship, especially one like this, where the feeling of escaping gravity and seeing the edge of space appear is done so well, you feel like you're actually up there. I've been thinking about it all day, it's rare that any game can do that to me any more, especially an indie game that's still in alpha.



I wonder if it's possible to build a shuttle-like space plane, slow down for a winged landing. It seems unlikely, as most parts apart from the command module seem to explode automatically on the ground, regardless of how fast they're travelling.


Also, are there any cities on Kerbal? Or is the entire population engaged in the space program?

Well, I know have a rather successful rocket in the http://i731.photobucket.com/albums/ww316/SimpsonFly/KSP2011-07-1514-02-58-05.jpg. A little unstable, but it makes it to space. Now that I have a rocket that works, time for the overkill that is the http://i731.photobucket.com/albums/ww316/SimpsonFly/KSP2011-07-1514-00-50-30.jpg.

It seems like such an awesome concept, I'm surprised it hadn't been done before. I mean, there was Orbiter, the shuttle simulation, but that was really too complex - this is like the Theme Park of space travel. Can't wait for the final release, if this is the alpha...


I think they will add such features - after all they did call it the space program which to me implies development and new parts becoming available (the extra parts pack in particular bodes well for such additions.) I hope they throw in a moon as well, and go the whole nine yards for exploration objectives. But I sure hope they add time compression too, or it'll be a long wait...

There are already some aerodynamics in place (just put some wings on your rockets and see how it affects handling) so I don't see why they couldn't make a full-blown glider simulator for returning spacecraft.


It's possible they live underground, which is probably a smart move considering the, er... enthusiasm of their rocket development.

May I now present http://i731.photobucket.com/albums/ww316/SimpsonFly/KSP2011-07-1515-35-04-36.jpg. Highest speed: 2888.3 m/s. Height reached: 3000 kilometers before I ended the flight.

Now for more alterations!

Okay, using The Tower mk.II I have managed to get into an http://i731.photobucket.com/albums/ww316/SimpsonFly/KSP2011-07-1605-09-28-13.jpg.

And now, http://i731.photobucket.com/albums/ww316/SimpsonFly/KSP2011-07-1605-28-33-58.jpg. Now for my final burn so that I can start to de-orbit.

I think I'm not doing to well now...


After my initial successes, its getting hard to build a large rocket that won't fall over on the launch pad, or break into pieces in seconds of flying, or spin wildly out of control.

Even the ones that do get up don't get any further than the Excelsior did. Some of them just seem to get stuck on the ground and won't lift off.

OK, that was strange...


I made a new rocket, the http://i485.photobucket.com/albums/rr212/Qeros/freest.jpg, to test out the liquid engines. It has a single stage of three liquid engines with four fuel tanks each, and is very balanced and stable.

Despite taking a long time to leave the atmosphere, given the lack of soild fuel boosters, the fuel itself takes a long time to burn out, and eventually gravity becomes less of a problem. When the fuel ran out at 270000m, the rocket was doing nearly 3KM/s.

After jetissoning the rest of the rocket (which took half an hour to collide with the planet), the command module carried on for an hour, at a distance of 7000KM! It was still going when I ended it, though its speed had slowed to 1300KM/s.

It seems that building up speed over a long time is more important than repeated short boosts. I want to try adding a booster stage as well now, just to give it that extra push on takeoff.

Uhm.... my rockets aren't launching?

Probably too heavy. It's easiest to use a first stage of solid fuel rockets to get the ship off the ground, since they have more thrust than liquid fuel.

If it's still not getting off the ground, it needs MOAR rockets.

Don't forget to increase thrust with shift, for liquid rockets.

Although I find it helps to have a decoupler underneath the bottom stage, it seems to be better if the rockets aren't immediately on the ground.

Thanks for sharing this, my highes is 80,000 metres. Check out the forums for lots of good mods.

Just tried to make another attempt at orbiting with my new vospollo rocket. Unfortunately, I ended up some 8,000 kilometers away from the planet in the process. However, the rocket also has more fuel than my previous escape velocity capable craft, so it should be possible to decelerate this rocket for a return during future launches.

Yeah, I only just realized the importance of fuel saving when my own rocket made it about 1,000 kilometers with about a quarter tank of gas left.

I think next time I'll get just fast "enough" and then slow down the liquid fuel rockets to a slower speed, so that I'm not accelerating anymore but not decelerating either. That way I'll save fuel after about 1600m/s, cut it off after about 300,000m, and then attempt to enter geosynchronous orbit with Kearth,

That's the real goal right now. With no moon, we can only hope to achieve orbit.

When they add a moon, then it REALLY gets interesting. :hehe: