Kerbal Space Program

Kerbal Space Program

This is an indie game that is under development in which you build, launch, orbit, and land your own rockets/lander's. It's a really fun game if you're a space nerd like me and you can try a bunch of different designs and methods.

You can try the demo which is an older version or you can pay $15 and get the latest builds as they are released up to and including the final version of the game. The newer versions have a lot more stuff, I bought it yesterday after spending a TON of time trying the demo. This past weekend I've been playing the crap out of this game because it's so addicting.

I urge you guys to give the demo a try and see if you like it. If you're having trouble getting started there are a bunch of tutorials on YouTube.

 

Thanks for the heads up on this! Downloading now, I have never heard of this game... I absolutely love space, flying, building etc so this sounds awesome.

Thanks for the tip.

 

It's a ton of fun and a real time burner (for me anyways). If you get the paid version you can use plugins, I recommend the MechJeb plugin. It automates a lot of the flight/orbit functions which can be useful to learn as well as save time.

But, you still have to design a rocket capable of achieving your goal. Building a crappy rocket and telling MechJeb to get it to the Mun is not enough!

This a low Kerbin orbit (LKO) rocket I built. It's somewhat modeled after SpaceX's Falcon Heavy. Two stages, three stacks with crossfeeding into the main tank leaving it full upon two outer stage seperation. Works really well for low Kerbin orbits, I might be able to get it to the Mun but it definitely won't make it back.

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I did get the paid version and have been addicted all week ha... that's a cool rocket, I haven't tinkerer with cross feeding yet... I currently slap as much fuel in as she'll lift in a few stages and then add on some solid boosters for good measure... sledgehammer approach!

Fantastic game/sim having a ball with it, thanks again for the link. I've got a lot to learn, and don't even get me started on space planes ha

 

Can you attach to a jumbo jet like a 747 and launch off that?

 

Well they recently added the ability to build airplanes/spaceplanes so technically you could build something that somewhat resembles a 747, attach it to a HUGE rocket, and launch it!

I have two satellites orbiting Kerbin now, a communications and TV broadcasting satellites. Now I'm just trying to figure out how to get them in geostationary orbits...

 

I like my spaceships gigantic with 17 Liquid rockets firing off all at once.

 

I like my rockets to look sleek and sexy!

 

My god is it difficult to control mid flight!

 

Make sure you add reaction control system (RCS) fuel tanks and a symmetrical array of RCS thrusters on the RCS fuel tanks.

Also add ASAS or SAS modules to improve rocket stability. ASAS modules use your RCS thrusters, vectoring engines, and winglets to keep your rocket stable automatically as best it can (not a cure all for crappy design!).

 

Now you guys have found something else to waste my time with, thanks a lot...

 

So I've (kinda) mastered LKO but now I want to get to the Mun, I attempted yesterday but let's just say it didn't exactly go as planned.

BTW, there's this add-on called MechJeb that adds a lot of really cool functionality like pop-up data displays, ascent, orbital, and landing autopilots.

 

Yeah, I unfortunately have three Kerbal's floating in an orbit about halfway to the Mun... ran out of fuel and got close but now they are stuck in an elliptical orbit for the past week! Poor guys!

 

Well they plan on adding docking functionality in the next version, so it's possible that you may be able to dock or capture them and bring them home...eventually!

 

Man that would be awesome ha!

Curious, where do I go to download the addons etc?

 

Right here

Kerbal Space Program Forum - Index

 

Thanks for the link! Bunch of stuff out there for this game, gotta figure out where to start. My last moon mission with a new space plane has sent my kerbals out into deep space with no fuel and into a nice tight orbit around the sun ha. Poor guys...

Any particular addons you've enjoyed? I see mechjeb mentioned a lot, suppose I should start there.

One thing I discovered was the benefit of a joystick! I couldn't hardly fly any of my space planes without it, but finally took a few minutes to set it up and now they control beautifully.

 

Thanks for this link, I've seen people play this on youtube videos however I never knew what it was called. Seems pretty neat.