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automcdonough

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Posts posted by automcdonough

    [idea, need help] Interplanetary Rallycross.

    in KSP1 Challenges & Mission ideas

    Posted

    That would be pretty cool. :)

    I agree video would be best. Also makes it easy to pull timing.

    I started a thread over in mod request section, hopefully we can get some low-poly checkpoints and signs made. Might also look into painting the course on the planet texture. This should keep things running smooth.. having 200 parts laying around would get kinda laggy for most people.

    cut the brakes

    in KSP1 Challenges & Mission ideas

    Posted

    Fair 'nuff. Looks like a good run.. but I still don't get your rules about the ion. are you using that for propulsion?

    And a lot of those slopes can vary results by a lot. I think specifying an exact start location and heading would be better for comparison.

    Post your Rover MEGATHREAD

    in KSP1 The Spacecraft Exchange

    Posted

    probly a result of the seemingly infinite traction in the lateral (drifting) direction that the new wheels seem to have, your wheels appear to have positive camber which causes force pushing them inwards and then that happens. Try adjusting the camber to 0 and see if that fixes it, I haven't had that issue.

    Gives me an idea though, I wonder if setting a little negative camber will let them drift or not.

    [idea, need help] Interplanetary Rallycross.

    in KSP1 Challenges & Mission ideas

    Posted · Edited by automcdonough

    Let me float an idea to you guys:

    This is not an official challenge yet as there would be a lot of prep involved and I need help to get things ready.

    Also I want to make sure the rules are 100% ironed out before the official start. There have been a lot of racing threads with half-baked rules and they aren't satisfying. I have real-life racing experience and let me tell you, if you don't pin it down 100% then someone will ride that loophole to the end. So let's get it right before we start.

    I've been considering starting a challenge thread for racing. The ones I've seen so far have mostly devolved into jets+massive downforce, or people letting mods with game-changer parts enter. They don't really promote good vehicle design, and I'm looking for a way to measure performance of various interplanetary rovers. Much in the same way that most race leagues don't let you race a car unless it's an actual production model.

    What I'm considering is this:

    Interplanetary rallycross.

    3 leagues: Kerbin, Mun, Minmus

    All stock parts are allowed, ONLY stock parts allowed, and in any configuration.

    That said, you will be downloading a save file which contains a course on all 3 planets. This will likely be in the form of flag checkpoint gates and/or dropped parts which look like arrows to keep you on course.

    The course will have good straightaways, a few twisties, and at least one hairpin which will be large enough to turn smoothly through but I intend most people to half to take it at 10mps or slower. Catching air is allowed and I will ensure that there at least a few bumps to put your handling capability through a test. But course design should eliminate using high-speed gliding and the airplane wheels which do not turn as a legitimate strategy. We may also need to add a rule that the rover must be in contact with the ground at all checkpoints, or perhaps even a >50% air = disqualification rule. Perhaps the checkpoints will be gated? I prefer not to artificially limit the height of your rover but perhaps we can agree on a reasonable height. opinions please.

    Low gravity worlds are tricky, which is why I am leaving the construction options open. I don't want to disqualify using rockets for downforce because they help and a lot of people do use rovers with an inverted engine for this purpose (myself included). I already know some people will be using them for steering and everything. The fairest way to deal with this is through design of the course, someone using that much fuel will have a difficult time carrying enough to get through the course without crashing.

    If you run off-course, you must turn around and re-enter at the same point you left at.

    Course layout I will attempt to make around 10mins total at 20mps pace, might take 3 laps or so. It should short enough to be fun and not tedious, yet long enough have fast sections and to make sure wheels are doing most of the work and not a buttload of fuel.

    Rover must be manned by at least 1 driver, and he has to survive. The vehicle can be in any condition at finish as long as the driver is in it and alive.

    If you enter a time for more than one planet, it has to be the same craft design. 1 race team, 1 car. Yes this means if you take jet turbines to Mun they are dead weight. Either deal with it, ditch them, or forfeit that planet's time. This rule is to encourage building a competent rover that is interplanetary and versatile.

    If you build a different rover and want to use it's faster time instead that is fine, just all 3 leaderboard times from same person must be the same rover.

    No refueling/pit stops. If you get a busted wheel then hop out and fix it but no going off-course on purpose.

    Scoring will simply be ranked times for each planet, we could also figure out some type point system for overall performance to promote having 3 good times. Maybe just multiplying all 3 ranks together, 1 is best. Suggest taking video for fun and profit, especially if you post a remarkable time.

    At this time there are no bonus points/etc. If you make it more difficult than it has to be by bringing a busload of kerbs or enough fuel to go back to Kerbin, that's on you. For enhanced fun and profit of course.

    Let me know what you think. Also let me know if you want to help lay out a course. or if you have a super cool mod that would make it easy because this will get tedious. and possibly laggy. I'll try to keep part count to a minimum and visibility to a maximum.

    If we have to make a mod for purposes of laying out a non-laggy and easy to navigate course, that may be ok. But I would REALLY prefer that everyone can participate in this with an out-of-box install.

    Opinions, please.

    Thanks for reading, here is a picture of my team landing for practice

    3bBt7wG.jpg

    cut the brakes

    in KSP1 Challenges & Mission ideas

    Posted

    I'm confused. why does bonus list mention ions if we aren't allowed to use propulsion? how are you supposed to measure distance from 'hitting top speed'? How are you measuring grade? mun is very hilly. Using higher than 5% grade and/or some form of propulsion is the only way to get any of the wheels going that quickly.

    Ion Hovercraft on Mun. Possible to achieve?

    in KSP1 Discussion

    Posted

    I've just been trying to produce an effective Really Long Range Ion Mapping Probe.

    So far, the results have been disappointing, either it runs at full power but I don't get more than 3000 dV, at which point I'm better off with liquid fuel to do what I set out to do, or it has 6000 paper dV but every attempt to make use of it wastes most of it on burns it can't actually complete.

    CqS8bct.png

    6D3zeqk.png

    I know it's not the most weight efficient but one big panel is pretty easy to run it continuously. 2 or 3 tanks and it's easy 6000+ d/v

    Plus I think they look simple and cool. :D

    Empty Seats Needed

    in KSP1 Gameplay Questions and Tutorials

    Posted

    As one more data point, only the first command module (the one you start with) has crew in it; any others will be empty. So if you attach a second module to your rocket (or start with something unmanned like the stayputnik) then you will have room for rescued Kerbals. You can also add the hitchhiker module which has room for 4.

    I think this changed. I have a craft that was started with probe body, if i slap a manned crew module on top then jeb is in it when i start!

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