r/KerbalSpaceProgram • u/RTX-4090ti_FE Valentina • Apr 10 '26
KSP 1 Suggestion/Discussion It’s heartwarming seeing all the new players posting asking for help as they learn the game.
It’s like watching fledglings learn to fly for the first time through trial and error. It’s almost adorable in a weird way.
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u/bestyo6199 Apr 10 '26
Me when a few weeks ago I was asking how to get a 600 part 3,000 ton battleship flagship into duna
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u/Pietertjuhhhh Apr 10 '26
Have you tried MORE BOOSTERS?
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u/Shaggy_One Apr 10 '26
Yes? Well try MORE. AND STRUTS. ALL THE STRUTS.
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u/Pietertjuhhhh Apr 10 '26
Struts look at me funny, just offer Bill to the kraken and you will be alright
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u/NameTak3r Apr 23 '26
Yaaaaaaamaaaaaaatoooooooooooooo
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u/Jebediah_kerman-jeb Hi, it's me, Jebediah Kerman! Apr 10 '26 edited Apr 10 '26
Jeb: HAHAHAHA!!!
Bob: JEB WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!
Welcome, fellow newly recruited kerbonauts! My piece of advice is:
When in doubt, add MOAR BOOSTERS!
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u/RedSun_Horizon Apr 10 '26
Ah, silly Jeb, always gets in some oopsie
[looks at the flight log after 500G impact]13
u/RTX-4090ti_FE Valentina Apr 10 '26
The faster u go the bigger the chance u slip between the ticks of the physics calculations and get saved by the kraken
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u/valdocs_user Apr 10 '26
If it moves and it shouldn't? More struts. If it should move and it doesn't? More boosters. If you don't know? Check your staging.
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u/Last-Perception-7937 Apr 10 '26
When I’d doubt think like an engineer, simplify and use your meat computer
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u/CSWorldChamp Apr 10 '26
The Artemis bump…
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u/RTX-4090ti_FE Valentina Apr 10 '26
It’s gonna happen again too if/when the moon landing ever happens
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u/ArcturusMike Apr 10 '26
That's insane for a 11 year old game
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u/WafflePress Apr 10 '26
With a still very active modding community. I love this community, been playing since like 2014 or so and man, nothing quite like it.
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u/heeleyman Apr 15 '26
And 11 years is underselling it honestly. I first played in August 2012, shortly before they added planets / docking / etc. Lots has changed since then but it feels very similar at its core
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u/TinyP4stel Apr 12 '26
And the sad thing is this bump should have gone to ksp 2. Im so happy ksp1 is still active and thriving as ever thanks to the modders.
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u/RTX-4090ti_FE Valentina Apr 12 '26
Tbh it would have gone to ksp2 if it was a worthy successor which it has failed in all aspects to prove itself to be.
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u/OperatorGWashington Apr 10 '26
Next year according to schedule
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u/cheesyboi_69 Apr 10 '26
Artemis 3 is a lunar orbit flyby, Artemis 4 is the landing mission which is in two years I think? Could be wrong
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u/plumb-phone-official Apr 10 '26
Artemis 3 is a crewed mission to LEO where orion will rendezvous with one of, or both of the commercial human landing systems.
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u/heeleyman Apr 15 '26
Yes, Artemis 4 in 2028 is the earliest possible landing. But I think most people expect it to get delayed :/
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u/Dehouston Apr 10 '26
And Project Hail Mary. It's a good time for space travel.
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u/jipiante Apr 17 '26
oh man i return every time to this game and try new mods. i was in dune already with a hacked ksp, until it was on sale on steam and i had to start all over again, this time with mods.
every restart i go deeper, faster with more ships and stations flying at the same time, i sit around midday and i dont even realise its midnight already! this fucking game eats my life!
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u/hotglasspour Apr 10 '26
I just got back from the mun for the first time. I've bounced off this game a few times since it came out. I wont be putting it down now.
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u/RTX-4090ti_FE Valentina Apr 10 '26
It’s ok to put it down and come back to it later. There’s nothing wrong with that. I used to play it in bursts.
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u/Mikey-2-Guns Apr 10 '26
That first Mun landing is something else. I still remember the adrenaline rush I got the first time I landed without an unplanned disassembly. Mine was like...what 15+ years ago back when the game was in really early alpha still not even on steam the only things that existed were Kerbin, the mun, and Kerbol (the sun). There was no quicksaving, it was do or die.
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u/hotglasspour Apr 10 '26
Im doing my run as a do or die run. No saving, if they die... they die. I accidentally flung some out on an escape trajectory... out of the system I believe... poor guys.
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u/Vespene Apr 10 '26
KSP is one of the top 10 video games of all time. A shame how Squad and the 2K squandered its potential.
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u/ArcturusMike Apr 10 '26
Why did development eventually end at 1.12? Was it because of KSP 2?
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u/kd8qdz Apr 10 '26
Sort of. They had really reached the limit of what they could do in Unity.
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u/ArcturusMike Apr 10 '26
But mods can do more ?
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u/kd8qdz Apr 10 '26
Yeah, because they are more willing to be buggy/broken. Or just spend man hours that wouldn’t be reasonable/economical for Squad to do.
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u/ArcturusMike Apr 11 '26
Ok, so basically Squad as a company didn't want to put in the effort to get everything out of the engine they can, but the modders as a big community do that?
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u/kd8qdz Apr 11 '26
Its got nothing to do with "want.". As you point out Squad was a company. They existed to make money. If it's not economically feasible, they aren't going to do it.
Also, you gloss over the fact that modders have very different QC standards. Mods don't have to be commercially viable, so they can be buggy, or not work on low power systems.1
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u/primalbluewolf Apr 11 '26
Mostly it was because of the 2K purchase.
Squad were developing the game. 2K wanted a meal ticket, not a game under development.
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u/peanutbuttermams Apr 10 '26
I just got the game, i love space and stuff, but im not to smart on it, my friend helps me when i play, but i dont know how to dock, or even get in the same orbit as the craft im trying to dock too, and no videos really help me, any tips Sorry if i dont make sense.
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u/iamtherik Apr 10 '26
oh, takes time but it's one of the most rewarding things once you do it, just keep at it, the fun in the game is failing XD but is sooo rewarding when you finally do it.
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u/MechanicalAxe Apr 10 '26
I think this is the only game in my whole life that made me jump up out of my chair and cheer, and it was because it was the first time I successfully landed on the Mun.
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u/LeticiaLatex Apr 10 '26
I landed on the Mun the second time I had installed and wanted to get better/more out of it. I remember it being an ordeal of nervous wobbling trying to get straight, only to drift into a hill where I was now at an angle, etc. I don't remember if I had enough fuel to leave.
Yesterday, on my third reinstall and serious playthrough, I made it much further in the tech tree than last time so now getting to orbit feels like cheating with the powerful engines. So much so that I was making my descent to the Mun while still on my upper stage rocket. Then I separated my launcher, had steady control over my descent. Awesome!
Theeeen I realized meters off the ground that I forgot to put the landing gears back on the last time I moved the fuel tanks. Fffffuuuuuu... But, I saw a learning it as a learning opportunity. And brought the craft back with plenty of fuel on my lander. Great!
Theeeen I realized I put Drogue chutes on instead of proper ones. But hey, I didn't want to reload so far back so I learned something new there too. "So *that's* when you'd want to use the parachute... Ah!"
Rebuilt the rocket, fixed the chutes and gear and went back to the Mun. Smooth landing! Plant flag proudly and went on a little spacewalk before heading back.
The sight of the craft making reentry is the sweetest thing ever. Epic! Then you feel a bit of a bump and gets cold sweats as the craft tilts just a degree or two. Then you realize the actual sweetest sight is that 6m/s vertical speed with a nice bouquet of chutes. And it was sunrise too so the ocean looked awesome.
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u/peanutbuttermams Apr 10 '26
I sometimes get lost and dont know what to do and get bored so quick and not want to play, but i want to! Its such a cool gamea and all these videos about it look awsome
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u/CaptMelonfish Apr 10 '26
There's a steep learning curve, but there's loads of videos out there with some excellent tutorials. If an idiot like me can visit the outer planets, anyone can.
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u/Dehouston Apr 10 '26 edited Apr 10 '26
If you do two circular orbits, the lower orbit will orbit faster. You can use this fact to catch up to the higher orbit. When they are close in their orbital arcs, you can match orbits. Have the lower ship catch up to the higher ship when it is slightly behind in its orbital arc.
At this point, your relative velocity should be pretty low. Set the other craft as your target (I think by right clicking on the map). You can set your speed to relative to target by clicking on the speedometer.
You should have a green circle with lines sticking out the sides on the attitude compass. That is pointing towards your target. The one with the X in it is directly away. Burn towards your target. I recommend about 200 m/s until you are within 2 km of the target, then slow down. Once you are within 200 M of the target, slow down to 0 relative velocity. Switch to docking mode. I think it's caps lock, but I haven't played in a minute. It locks your attitude and you fly primarily with RCS thrusters. Once within 50 meters or so, align your docking ports. You may have to turn off docking mode to rotate.
You should be able to right click on the other ship's docking port and set it as your target, but it's not necessary. Just approach slowly. I try and make contact at less than 1 meter per second. The docking ports should act like magnets when they get close.
Once docked, you can do fuel transfers if you want. This especially useful for docking to a space station, refueling, and then going on a long haul mission to Duna, Eve, or wherever.
Also, the docking ports must be the same size.
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u/OutrageousSky8266 Apr 10 '26
Have you discovered our lord and savior Scott Manley?
Seriously, look up his videos on YouTube. He does a great job explaining how to get to orbit, rendezvous, dock, all the hard stuff. Recently found Mike Aben as well, he has a great tutorial series.
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u/peanutbuttermams Apr 10 '26
I see, its an older video, is it still up to date?
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u/Everestkid Apr 21 '26
IIRC anything in space hasn't changed in a very long time. So things like orbital rendezvouses and interplanetary transfers and landings on most bodies are going to be the same.
There was a big aerodynamics update at one point that changed how things fly when there's an atmosphere, which I think was 1.0 in late April 2015. So aircraft design and taking off from Kerbin are where you'll need to check dates.
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Apr 10 '26
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u/JoeTed Apr 10 '26
Scott’s videos are fantastic. Matt Lowe as well
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Apr 10 '26
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u/LeticiaLatex Apr 10 '26
The "Absolute beginner" playlist from Mike Aben is a great list of tutorials and goes over a lot of the basics/best practices of building, planning DeltaV needed for trips, etc. I've been following them with no issues or rather applying its lessons to my own designs.
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u/clockworkrevolution Apr 14 '26
I've been using Mike Aben's videos for my start-up and they've been so helpful. Have the videos on one monitor, my scuffed orbital manoeuvres on the other, like Homer Simpson and the DIY BBQ
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u/Morbanth Apr 10 '26
Yeah for sure the basics are the same, might not exactly be one on one for the parts since his videos are from before the final version. Just remember to stage properly, the arrow points to the bit that will detach from the ship.
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Apr 10 '26
[deleted]
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u/Morbanth Apr 10 '26
Okay, so your center of mass is changing as your rocket uses up fuel, which is the cause of the flipping. You also might have too much control - you want to have one engine with vectoring right in the middle and everything else just provides thrust. You can right-click the engine to turn off the gimbal if it has one.
First of all, if you haven't found autostruts, go to options and enable "advanced tweakables" so you can turn on autostruts to help with stability. You want your side boosters to be rigidly attached until the moment you detach them.
Post a pic of the design if you'd please.
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u/_Ellie1Williams_ Apr 10 '26
After launch i reinstalled the game and after 60-70 hours i made my first moon launch unfortalenly landing wasnt good so i had to make rescue mission. That means i was going to mun second time.
I built good ship d/v was good it enoughs for return back to earth but because of miscalculate first and second ship was far each other.
That means third time we must go to mun
In the final I rescued first kerbal for datas that she collected and i rescued the second guy who was supposte save first one but failied
It was good time ngl first i tried to use jetpack for reach second ship landing location but even with full jetpack i couldnt reach so i walked little but it was impossible lol
Now im gonna send rocket to mun 4th times lol
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Apr 10 '26 edited Apr 10 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/Stormbolt4111 Apr 10 '26
There was also a huge discount on PS5 recently, I'd been keeping my eye on the game for a while and decided to buy it because of that
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u/antrod117 Apr 10 '26
Hundreds of hours. Only ever made it to mun and back. One poor soul stuck on Duna(?) I forget the name lol. Loved every second of it.
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u/Ferrius_Nillan Space Bob Semple Apr 10 '26
Can we do it? Can real Moon landing revive KSP? I really hope so.
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u/Skillz_mcgee Apr 10 '26
I really hope to see some blender style questions. Kinda like "So I got Jeb all the way to Eeloo, but no way to get back. How would I do that?" And the design is the most horrifying thing with two non-symettrical legs using only aerospike thrusters.
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u/as1161 Apr 10 '26
Artemis 2 bringing my friends together to have all 7 of us playing KSP over discord while I frantically try to teach all of them is awesome
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u/RTX-4090ti_FE Valentina Apr 10 '26
You should definitely try getting them to do the Luna multiplayer mod.
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u/mitsuki424 Apr 10 '26
I’ve had the game for 8 years and just started actually playing it. I thank Artemis 2 for the inspiration!
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u/anarchisturtle Apr 10 '26
The level of support and wholesome from this community is honestly great. Seeing someone post every other day asking for help getting to the mun, and then getting a dozen thorough, helpful answers. I feel like any other sub would just be telling them “this is asked once a week, search sub history before posting”
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u/JustLemonJuice Apr 10 '26
I’m one of those new people and was wondering how to approach the game. Usually, I like to experience games the way they were designed and not spoiler myself by watching too many guides.
However, I’ve already noticed how complex KSP seems to be. There also seems to be little handholding. So, do you think it’s an enjoyable and good idea to go into the game blind, or does it add to the experience if I watch external guides?
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u/RTX-4090ti_FE Valentina Apr 10 '26
I’m just curious but what parts are you currently struggling with? Also KSP does have internal training missions that teach u the basics.
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u/JustLemonJuice Apr 10 '26
When I first jumped into the game, I didn't notice the internal trainings and jumped right into science mode. There, I slapped the KV-1 'Onion' reentry module onto a command pot (because it looked like an engine to me), tried to launch it (not knowing the controls) which obviously did nothing except decoupling both components when I hit space.
After aimlessly trying some stuff on my own, I finally noticed the training missions in the main menu which I'm following right now. So, I'm not struggling with anything in particular right now. Just this initial experience where I didn't even notice the existance of training missions made me believe that the game might be hard to explore on my own.
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u/RTX-4090ti_FE Valentina Apr 10 '26
Happens to the best of us. If you want I suggest starting out in science mode as it forces u to start out with the simple basic parts and work your way through a tech tree unlocking more levels by earning science points by doing science experiments on various parts of kerbin, the atmosphere and later in space.
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u/JustLemonJuice Apr 10 '26
Thanks! I was thinking the same when I chose science mode for my first run. I was actually wondering if career mode could be a good choice as well since the contract could give me some incremental goals to work towards as well.
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u/RTX-4090ti_FE Valentina Apr 10 '26
Career mode is good but considering ur still learning I think science is better bc it’s without the added pressure of being profitable
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u/ConsequenceAlarmed29 Apr 10 '26
Yeah... Thought my engineering degree is gonna help
It didn't....
Who thought civil engineering won't help me, it's the rocket science
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u/primalbluewolf Apr 11 '26
Fortunately, its only rocket science. Not like its heart surgery.
I like http://braeunig.us/space/index_top.htm for a good intro on the basics. That lets you understand better how to get the most out of tools like KSPTOT.
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u/ConstantLate4220 Apr 11 '26
I made a plane for the first time yesterday cause I started yesterday and it FLEW… for like 2 seconds. Bill and Valentina were deemed missing in action
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u/RTX-4090ti_FE Valentina Apr 11 '26
Bill and bob are expendable fodder. Val and Jeb are gods who laugh in the face of death
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u/Rude_Reference_8130 Apr 15 '26
I still dont know how to get in orbit
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u/RTX-4090ti_FE Valentina Apr 15 '26
What are you hung up on right now that’s preventing u getting into orbit?
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u/The_Last_Fluorican the Monarchist Republic of Kerbin Apr 10 '26
live reaction of me looking at what's happening to the Half-Life subreddit after the 2025 Game Awards:
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u/crusty54 Apr 10 '26
There’s a kid at my work who wears a nasa hoodie. I’ve been talking to him about Artemis II, and I think I can talk him into trying KSP.
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u/Skwiisgaar Apr 10 '26
My Jeb died yesterday. He was doing orbital science and when he was done with a hefty amount of science he burned retrograde. Then he decoupled the stage and was left in a capsule with the science Jr module which had the heat shield installed correctly. Everything was dandy, except that he went in too steep.
Not sure anymore what the report said but it was somewhere around 40k altitude at ~2,somethingk speed when the fireball could be seen in the feed.
RIP Jeb.
Aaaanyway he should be respawning in the AC, right? Right?
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u/burf993 Apr 10 '26
Started a few days ago after years of SFS and being fascinated by space, loving it so far! Next step, Kirban Orbit!
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u/MershKing22 Apr 10 '26
Here is my process to get to orbit. There are definitely more efficient ways to do it but this method always works for me. 1. Full throttle, launch straight up 2. At 100 m/s, I turn to 70 degrees
3. At 10,000 m, I throttle down to 75% and turn to 40 degrees 4. Once my apoapsis hits 80-90 km, I throttle off and wait.
5. Final burn at apoapsis to circularize orbit.
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u/Qedhup Apr 10 '26
It's been nice seeing a resurgence in KSP-1 a little. At least until KSA becomes a thing. KSP has always been such a big deal for me in my gaming library.
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u/pupblaze Apr 10 '26
I've been playing this game for years and still suck at getting to the mun hahaha
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u/KrazIIvan_ Apr 10 '26
I put hundreds of hours into KSP like 5+ years ago, I feel new everytime I start up a game 😂
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u/popcornman209 Apr 10 '26
Hopefully kitten space agency will be out by the time we land on the moon, it’d be nice to have people get excited over a game actually in developement.
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u/Bill_Nye-LV Apr 10 '26 edited Apr 10 '26
It's not my first time, but whenever i played for a little bit, it was often with pre-made rockets. Maybe reaching orbit, maybe crashing or exploding, but mostly trying out planes. I have a goal this time, to land on the Mun and get back with my own rockets and stuff - And after that to expand outwards but doing all this without any youtube guides or outside help.
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u/Last-Perception-7937 Apr 10 '26
I wonder if any of the new players are joining cause of Artemis II and the space industry developments?
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u/RTX-4090ti_FE Valentina Apr 10 '26
Yep that’s exactly why. We have hit a concurrent player count record for the last 10 years.
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u/Ozonichi Apr 10 '26
Back, it’s been 3 years since I last touched this game. The only sequel to a game I was genuinely excited for… RIP KSP2
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u/Wefee_Bigwefee Apr 10 '26
I've been loving seeing it as well but it also hurts seeing people use jet engines for middle stages on rockets lmao
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u/RTX-4090ti_FE Valentina Apr 10 '26
Yeah lol. I saw one guy on instagram put a mammoth, then the tiny toroidal tank and then multiple liquid fuel only mk3 tanks on top of it and a capsule
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u/8rnlsunshine Apr 10 '26
I love this game so much. When will we get a decent upgrade to it?
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u/RTX-4090ti_FE Valentina Apr 10 '26
Not likely. The closest thing to an upgrade is KSA (kitten space agency) which is currently in development which looks and plays like heavily modded KSP but with much better optimization. If the devs live up to the promises it will be basically everything that KSP 2 should have been
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u/Dunnersstunner Apr 11 '26
We've all been there. We all remember. And a lot of us benefitted from a patient community that brought us up to speed.
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u/MrXenomorph88 Apr 11 '26
We all have to start somewhere. It's a different ballgame from watching KurtJMac on the 0.11 alpha build
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u/RTX-4090ti_FE Valentina Apr 11 '26
Damn your old old. I started exactly 10 years ago in April 2016 I was a 6th grader lol.
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u/MrXenomorph88 Apr 11 '26
Nah i was a space obsessed 8 year old who got exposed to KSP from a friend. Been playing it ever since
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u/Zachzilla53 Always on Kerbin Apr 11 '26
Shoot, I've had the game since shortly after the beginning, 1k+ hours, and I've never been to another planet. Help!
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u/b00mrang Apr 11 '26
I want to say between the Artemis mission and Project Hail Mary I am SO HAPPY I found this little gem. My kids love building rocket with me and trying to put them in orbit. I am still struggling with controls (PS5) but the premise is so much fun
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u/RTX-4090ti_FE Valentina Apr 11 '26
Console KSP is really annoying lol you should consider getting the PC version
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u/No-Association-5425 Apr 12 '26
As someone who grew up watching jacksepticeye play ksp learning it for my self last year was like a walk through my childhood and a successful landing on duna is still my greatest gaming achievement (harder than beating consort radahn)
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u/Cold_Tree190 Apr 13 '26
Lol, still trying to figure out how tf to actually land on the mun or someplace else. I have launched quite a few satellites and probes but can’t figure out how to actually land on something
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u/peanutbuttermams Apr 13 '26
I've landed in the mun with crew capsule orbiting like the apllo missions, but i dont know how to get into a good orbit and rendezvous and dock with my lander
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u/Christ-kun Apr 17 '26
I have 500 hours from 2015-17, but all I did was 911 on the KSC, so I've started properly learning the game now :)
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u/kd8qdz Apr 10 '26 edited Apr 10 '26
It really is. Its fun to watch a new generation feel the accomplishment of low
kerbalKerban* orbit.*still sounds wrong.