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NathanKell edited this page Jan 23, 2015 · 11 revisions

Welcome to the RealismOverhaul wiki!

Soyuz Launch

Realism Overhaul is a mod that makes Kerbal Space Program behave like real life. If you're interested in seeing what it's like to fly real (or could-be-real) rockets in the real world, this is the mod for you! Realism Overhaul does this by modifying other mods and stock parts to perform as their real-life equivalents. You can expect things to be a little harder, and rockets to be a bit bigger, but the scenes far more epic, and the accomplishment that much greater. If you're coming to Realism Overhaul from some time playing KSP, however, there's a lot you will need to unlearn.

Overview of the changes you can expect to see (check out the Guides for more in-depth coverage):

  • You launch from Earth, out into the real solar system (via RSS). Nearly 10km/sec later you are in low Earth orbit, a 100nm parking orbit (185km).
  • Engines use real propellants and real performance values.
  • Pods are as large as their real counterparts and mass what they should.
  • Propellant tanks have correct dry mass ratios, and you have to worry about ullage.
  • Modified ElectricCharge system - 1EC/s = 1kW, 1EC = 1kJ.
  • Solar Panels don't produce magical amounts of electricity, but they are much lighter.
  • RTGs don't produce magical amounts of electricity, but many systems don't need as much electricity.
  • Reaction wheels aren't magically powerful anymore, just like real life. (They still don't require momentum dumping).
  • We support rockets from 30cm / 1 foot in diameter and less than a tonne in mass all the way up to 100,000 tonne monstrosities.

Realism Overhaul currently supports installation via CKAN, and we highly recommend you try it out, it makes the installation process so much smoother!