FAQ

FAQ

Q: How often does Oh Scrap! "roll" for failures?
A: Any time the Start() or OnLaunch() events happen, or when your vessel gets above 1 m/s (if it doesn't stage, ie rovers). In practice this means:

• When you activate your first engine on the pad.
• When you switch to the vessel, or it moves into physics range.
• If you stage after switching back to the vessel (thats probably a KSP bug, because OnLaunch probably shouldn't fire then, but it does).

Q: Whats the MTBF (Mean Time Between Failures) of the parts?
A: Oh Scrap! doesn't have a concept of "MTBF" - a part is rated for it's entire flight, the failure rate will not get better or worse throughout the mission. Your parts are either going to fail or they aren't.

Q: So if that's the case, what can I do to prevent failures?
A: There's basically two ways if improving your reliability.

1. Test Flights: Take the vessel for a spin, test it, recover all the parts. Note that the vessel must launch for it to count. Otherwise ScrapYard won't recover the parts (this is a "don't exploit me" test). The second launch will be much more reliable. This is the most "bang for your buck" reliability-wise. All parts are at their most reliable on their second launch (eliminating manufacturing defects etc). After that they will slowly deteriorate, but if it's designed to be reusable (parachutes and launch engines for example) you'll usually get a few uses out of them.
2. Just Keep Building: Every time you build a "new" version of that part, it will be more reliable than the last time you built it. Eventually it will reach the point where those parts will (almost) never fail.