[1.8.x] Impact! - impact science and contracts -v1.8.0

[tomf 431]

Crash for science, profit and fun - now in KSP 1.8!

 

 

Download

Github - https://github.com/tomforwood/kerbal-impact/releases

I no longer support curse

Also available with CKAN

 

Old version are still available at https://github.com/tomforwood/kerbal-impact/tags

Thanks to BenjiGH who created the models

We all know that crashing is fun, but did you know that it can also be useful? Our scientists have found two experiments that will return useful data from the resulting explosion.

This mod has two new science parts, the Bangometer (seismometer) and flashometer (spectrometer) as well as contracts for performing experiments with them.

Bangometer

The bangometer is available in the Space Exploration tech tree node

This experiment will analyse the seismic waves generated by an impact in order to get information about the interior of the body.

 

1. Land a vessel with a bangometer anywhere on the surface of an atmosphereless body.
2. Crash a second craft into the body as hard as you can. (You must be controlling this craft until impact.)
3. Switch back to the landed craft. There will now be an experiment registered in the bangometer.
4. Recover or transmit the result back to KSC.

 

A seismic study on the Mun

The amount of science resulting from an impact is proportional to the kinetic energy of the impact. Once you have acheived a high enough energy to get the maximum science no more impact will give any further data.

Flashometer

The flashometer is available in the advanced exploration node

This experiment analyses the spectrum of radiation emitted by the debris thrown up by an impact

 

1. Put a vessel with a Flashometer in low orbit around an atmosphereless body.
2. Crash a second craft into the body. (You must be controlling this craft until impact).
3. The craft with the Flashometer must be above the horizon in order that it can see the ejecta.
4. Switch back to the orbiting craft. There will now be an experiment registered in the flashometer.
5. Recover or transmit the result back to KSC.

 

The science from this experiment is not related to the impact speed (although there is a minimum energy in order to create the debris). The science is linked to the biome in which the impactor crashed and is repeatable for each biome.

Career mode

In career mode you will be given contracts to perform impacts on bodies you have previously visited. Both are completed by receiving the required data back at KSC. Bangometer contracts will specify a minimum kinetic energy required to complete the contract (KE=1/2mv²). Flashometer contracts specify a minimum latitude where the impact has to occur.

Asteroids

The Flashometer (spectrograph) can analyse impacts into asteroids if it is with 500km of the impact. As with the other experiments you should control the impactor until the moment of impact. Don't try to crash at to high a speed as it is quite easy to simply pass through the centre of an asteroid without triggering the KSP collision code.

ChangeLog

v 1.8.0 Support for KSP 1.8

v 1.6.4 Fix bug generating spectrometer contracts for outer bodies

v 1.6.3 Support KSP 1.4

v 1.6.1 Support nationalization and fix smaller impacts sometimes overwriting bigger ones

v 1.6.0 Support KSP 1.3

v 1.5.1 Fix the bug that prevented impacts near the instrument from registering

v 1.5.0 support KSP 1.2

v1.4.3 - minor fix to display asteroid orbing body in contracts.

v1.4.2 for KSP 1.1 is released - see download links below

         V 1.3.0

• Support for KSP 1.0.5

V 1.2.0

• Automatically reveal the name of asteroids subject to new contracts
• Track asteroids for accepted contracts to prevent despawning
• Add MiniAVC plugin to track versioning
•  

 

 

To celebrate Asteroid day Impact! now includes asteroid impacts.

All code is released under the apache license included. The models have all rights reserved by BenjiJH.

Edited January 16 by tomf
1.8

[Xaver 6]

Hilarious. I want to try it in combination with a asteroid.

[Yukon0009 2,787]

Interesting.

[biohazard15 436]

Looks like a nice science mod. Will try.

[tomf 431]

Crashing into an asteroid wont work, I'm thinking of how I could implement that. Crashing an asteroid into say the Mun should work (but I haven't actually tested that).

[Yukon0009 2,787]

Would you be able to make this work on other celestial bodies say Minmus?

[tomf 431]

It works on any body with no atmosphere e.g. Minmus, Moho, Pol etc.

[micha 601]

Hey tomf, great fun, thanks for making this mod!

Are you planning to get it added to CKAN at all?

[sreinmann 2]

I like it. I wonder, is it backward compatible? I haven't upgraded out of .25 yet with no plans to do so in the near future.

[tomf 431]

I haven't tested on .25 but I don't see any reason why it won't work.

I'll take a look at alternative distribution methods.

[micha 601]

Flashometer

The craft with the Flashometer must be above the horizon in order that it can see the ejecta.

Is this actually required? And if so, how lenient is it? I just completed a contract and at the time of impact (in a crater), the Flashometer probe was definitely not in line-of-sight. It was fairly close though..

[tomf 431]

It has to be above the virtual horizon. It assumes that you have crashed on a perfect sphere and works the angle on that basis.

I justify it by saying that debris will be thrown up high enough to be visible outside the crater you have landed in.

[micha 601]

Ok, that's cool and makes sense Was just wondering how pedantic I have to be to time the probe orbits/impacts. Having lots of fun with this!

[tomf 431]

I have created a challenge to see who can create the biggest impacts using the mod. If you feel like entering check out http://forum.kerbalspaceprogram.com/threads/114477-Bang-for-your-Buck%21-challenge .

[Climberfx 1,029]

LOL, this is hilarious!

Well done!

[kiwiak 76]

Cool, impactors without whole ksp interstellar stuff.

[tomf 431]

Version 1.0.1 is released. This includes more science descriptions including a complete set of spectrometer result, with thanks to ImAHungryMan.

[Feradose 50]

I put a lander with bangometer in all biomes in kerbin (except waters.. dangerous places) and when I crash to a biome, bangometer doesnt see anything or make any experiments?? Is kerbin excluded, or does lander legs and other parts block bangometer from getting data?

-edit:

put a probe, sitting directly on a bangometer, no experiment result still, and bangometer is so wobbly it crashes to kerbin while standing.

should I try it on an atmosphereless body? I tried subsonic, supersonic and reentry speeds and no science for me

Edited April 20, 2015 by Feradose

[tomf 431]

The experiments only work on Atmosphere less planets and moons. Where an atmosphere is present you can't get up a high enough impact velocity to overcome the noise caused by wind and waves (the code just checks hasAtmosphere=false).

Try it on the Mun or Minmus.

[Mischief 86]

Got this, been playing with it.

Especially in career mode gathering science is a big facet of what drives missions, contracts and such. However universally it's a pretty dull process; you just put some tiny things on your ship and click on them when you go to a new area. This adds a big dimension to that process and it's a very fun one. Setting up to collect data from an impactor; getting the sensor in place on the ground, making sure you've got orbital LoS and then of course the awesome part - intentionally crashing stuff into the ground at the highest velocity possible.

On my recent Duna mission I ejected the transit/deceleration segment of my ship a bit early and built it with a drone module and a battery on it. That way I could slam that bugger into the planet and collect data both from the guy in the lander and the orbital return module with the spectrometer.

Sure, I had a thermometer, seismic sensor and such on the lander but, well, so what? Getting science that way is less involved than opening/closing solar panels.

Awesome mod. All due props.

[tomf 431]

I can confirm that this works unchanged in 1.0, although I probably should look at the heat tolerances etc.

Edited May 18, 2015 by tomf

[orven 17]

Wow, I really love impact experiments in Interstellar mod but didn't want to install the whole mod with too many parts for my computer. Finally happy about finding such experiment as a standalone mod, definitely going to try it!

Would be really pleased to see more stockalike models though.

Edited May 22, 2015 by orven

[carmenara 2,078]

Omg, officially the most fun science mod ever

[DaveS 10]

Interesting and fun mod. Question though, i haven't in my latest 1.02 career game made it to orbit yet, and the mod has given me a crash a probe onto eeloo, which seems just a tad premature.

[tomf 431]

That is really weird. The game provides a list of the bodies it thinks you have visited and I just pick one of them. Do you have any other mods installed?

I'm away at the moment but I will take a look when I get back next week.