Kerbal Space Program

[Ki11aWi11]

YouTube Trailer

Kerbal Space Program is a cool little space game I recently discovered. There is no overall aim to the game yet (it's still in development) however you have some basic goals like getting into orbit, getting to the Mun, landing on the Mun, getting back to Kerbin, and if you buy the game: getting to Minimus. The Kerbin Universe currently only has 4 bodies, the Sun, Kerbin (Earth), Mun (Moon), and Minimus, a small little ice moon that is even further from Kerbin than the Mun.

The game-play is quite fun, and a little difficult. You are given a rocket creation system in the Vehicle Assembly Building. Inside this structure you design your rocket by adding rockets, modules, fuel tanks, landing legs and even parachutes (that's if you care about your astronauts), in a Spore Creature Creator style of editing.

Once you've finished designing your craft you take it to the launch pad and prepare to lift off. Flight controls are fairly simple and easy to use. At the bottom of your screen is a small gyroscope among other dials and indicators. By using WASD and few other buttons, such as space to activate the next stage of your rocket, you can easily control your rockets trajectory.

I've enjoyed this game and I've gone and donated $15 to get the Beta 0.15 Version. Currently 0.13 is the free demo, the only difference between the main version and the free version is a couple of extra features they've added such as Space Planes and Space craft persistence. However you can only play the coming versions if you donate $15. Sort of like when I played Minecraft back in Alpha.

I recommend you buy it, so far I've managed to get a space station in a circular orbit and get a module to the moon, my lander however seems to topple whenever I land it even though it has a velocity of <3m/s when I touch down, so my command module always falls of the top and my astronauts are stuck on the Munar surface with no way to go.

[Spacerr]

It looks fun. I just finished watching a youtuber named kurtmac play it.

[HaloWarLord711]

The way this game works:
You make a rocket you think will work
It doesn't
Solution: add more rockets!
Rockets blow up
Solution: add more rockets and struts!
Blows up again
Solution: moar rockets
Blows up again
scrap the rocket and start over

[HermanCain]

This game is really fun but I have yet to get into orbit.

[ChaosTLW]

Looks fun, the description kinda makes me remember Spore. Will play when I get home.

[MrMeow]

Requirements?

[Habsburger]

I play this game since .13 and still can't get to the bloody Mün xD. Anyway i think its beacause of my soviet engineering

[HaloWarLord711]

I play this game since .13 and still can't get to the bloody Mün xD. Anyway i think its beacause of my soviet engineering

solution
MOAR ROCKETS

[ChaosTLW]

Holy shite, controlling the rocket is a pain in the ass. And with pain in the ass, I mean eletric-shark bite pain in the ass.

[claypigeon]

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

1. 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.
2. Use the symmetry tool (upper left-hand corner). It is your friend. It may even be your mommy.
3. When in doubt, add a round of solid rocket boosters. They have excellent thrust/weight.
4. 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.

[Ki11aWi11]

That's actually a great guide, I'm fairly confident with the game. Last night I tried the new 0.16, as I came in to land on the moon I stuffed the landing. So I jumped out and did an EVA and landed with my RCS thrusters... The rocket hit the ground and fell apart. So my astronaut is stranded on the moon... Now to make a giant lander using the three person rocket, and return to save him, but things involved with that...

[ChaosTLW]

Yap

[Ki11aWi11]

Did a rendezvous! Managed to get to craft with in 400m and then did an EVA to swap the Kerbonauts! Now to Minmus!