Hey folks. This thread randomly came up in my search results, so I decided to drop by. By no means am I a KSP expert, or even a luminary in their community. However, I bought the same a couple months ago and have been playing with it off and on ever since. Browsing through this thread, I thought I'd offer some tips (many of these I picked up watching
this guy's videos):
Rocket Building
- When building a rocket, less is sometimes more. You want excellent thrust/weight, so strapping on extra rockets (and their heavy fuel) sometimes isn't the best way to go. Consider this extremely efficient rocket that can make it to the Mun (moon) and back.
- Use the symmetry tool (upper left-hand corner). It is your friend. It may even be your mommy.
- When in doubt, add a round of solid rocket boosters. They have excellent thrust/weight.
- The vast majority of your energy is spent getting 10000-30000(ish) meters off Kerbin (Earth). Not only is gravity stronger on the ground, but you also have to cut through the atmosphere. To contrast, once you're in orbit you need only spend a relatively small amount of fuel doing everything else, so plan your stages accordingly. For most of the rockets I make, I usually only have this left by the time I'm in orbit, and it's more-than-sufficient for almost anything I'd want to do.
Launching
Controlling your rocket can be tricky, and has to do with how you built the rocket. Everyone has their favorite techniques. I use typically use an Adv SAS module with a combination of angled fins (instead of the swept ones) and vectoring engines (check the part descriptions). Other people add on one (or more) normal SAS modules. If your rocket shakes during launch, you probably have loose pieces wiggling. Use struts to tie together long stacks of side-by-side parts. Also remember that a bigger rocket means a slower turn-rate, and more torque as you turn. I frequently use SAS to "correct" for when I get too much torque going and overshoot my desired heading.
During a launch, go straight up. Around 10000 meters, tilt 45 degrees (to the thin white ring) along any heading (I prefer 90). Use your orbital map to watch your progress -- especially your apoapsis. The atmosphere ends at around 69.1 km, so your apoapsis needs to be higher than that if you want a self-sustaining orbit. 100 km is a nice, round number, but it really doesn't matter. Once you reach your desired altitude, cut your engines and coast. Before you reach the apoapsis, point your rocket to the green circle indicator (the one without the x). It will probably be along the ring where the blue and brown halves meet, along whatever heading you chose. *Just* before your apoapsis, fire up the engines and watch your orbital map. Your trajectory should puff out into a full orbit. Make sure the other side of your orbit it above 69.1 km, otherwise your orbit will slowly degrade.
Orbital operations
This is a huge topic I'm still figuring out. Here are the basics, you have the prograde and retrograde indicator on your artificial horizon. Prograde is the green circle, and it's the direction you're traveling in. Retrograde is the circle-with-x, and is opposite the direction you're traveling in. If you do a prograde burn, you increase the size of the orbit on the OPPOSITE side of whatever you're orbiting. Retrograde decreases it.
Therefore, if you're trying to land on a body, the most efficient place to do your deorbit burn is at the apoapsis, because it will effect the periapsis (which is closer to the body). Ditto (but backwards) for an escape orbit.
Lastly, if you like the demo, buy the game. Even though it's still an incomplete sandbox-style game, there are a number of excellent mods that will keep you entertained for hours. There's also a number of new features that make the game more fun (and a little easier) to play. It's well-worth the $18.