Jump to content

ryan234abc

Recommended Posts

So about a year ago, maybe a bit less, I circumnavigated Gilly. Back then I was a relative amateur at KSP, and the entire thing was shoddy, but nevertheless successful. However, looking back, the reason I chose Gilly was because I was worried about doing damage to the wheels. Once I got there, I was more worried about making orbit by accident. While I don't trust myself to create a ship capable of reaching Pol, the 2nd smallest body in the game, I do feel confident to go to Minmus. I'll submit several 'Chapters' in the form of IMGUR albums to showcase this. So, without further ado, I present Chapter 1!

 

Apologies for no info on the album, I'm not sure how to add captions to each bit, any advice is kindly appreciated.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

THE ROVER

So I should probably explain the rovers similarities with the Crater Crawler. The first Machete was just an improved version of the CC that I used on my main save to transport fuel between Arch Base and Crater Base at decent speed. The second version was a lot different, as it was fitted to reach a very low orbit around the Mun on a full tank - it was basically to refuel ships in orbit without the fuel to land. The MK3 was the first version made for circumnavigating and I used it on the Mun, but I came to realise it had nowhere near the capabilities required for Mun circumnavigation. But I DID realise that if I 'pimped my ride', it'd be more than capable of Minmus circumnavigation. And that brings us up to the MkIV that we see today.

The MkIV retains very little of the original CC in its build. The largest and main thing it keeps hold of is the basic chassis, because it fits my needs very closely - sturdy but able to hit high speeds and maneuverabilities. Problem is, it's a little TOO sturdy for Minmus gravity, so I tinkered with suspension and damper strength to get it closer to my needs. The only reason I EVER used the CC to begin with is because it was quicker and easier to modify a prebuilt chassis that was perfect for the job than to build one from scratch. Basically, I don't trust my building skills ;).

I stripped off 50% of the RCS modules. I also removed the fuel tanks from the back of the CC, because I won't need that much fuel on Minmus. I DID move the RCS tanks forward rather than getting rid of them - they're on the front now, next to the crew cabin. I kept the docking port on the front because if something goes wrong and I haven't quicksaved, it'll be easy to just grab another rover, drop + dock, transfer fuel and crew, and continue as normal.

Anyway, as I said, the CC chassis was too sturdy for Minmus. To solve this, I've split it in two into a trailer and main body. The main body retains a lot of the CC parts, but the trailer is a new matter entirely. See, if you've ever read or seen the Martian (which I suggest you do, it's a great story), then you'll know that Watney used the remains to the 1st rover to create a trailer that hauled all the equipment he couldn't fit on the 2nd rover, which includes the majority of the power equipment. I took inspiration from this, and made the back half a power unit with all the power generation stored there. If I lose it, I'm toast, but the whole idea of having a trailer is so the build is less rigid, so it'll be more malleable than the CC.

I can give exact details if required, but ultimately, the Machete is more me than Squad built. As I said, the only reason I kept the CC body was because it was better made and I saw no need at the time to make a new one when there was a perfectly made chassis ready and waiting.

And that's the Machete!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I did it!

A pesky hill at the end nearly crippled me, but I made it successfully back to the start point where my descent and transfer stages lay. The whole thing is documented in this IMGUR album, Chapter 2. I'm really happy I finally got it done.

P.S. Claw, if this is a successful circumnavigation then let me know, you're the referee for this challenge! Thanks so much!

Ryan

Link to comment
Share on other sites

5 minutes ago, ryan234abc said:

P.S. Claw, if this is a successful circumnavigation then let me know, you're the referee for this challenge!

Welcome back to the Elcano challenge, and in only two hours! Haha

Nice job. I like the rover there with the crew cabin on it. That little thing comes in handy for this sort of mission. And a neat design with the batteries/charging trailer. Congrats!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 minute ago, Claw said:

Welcome back to the Elcano challenge, and in only two hours! Haha

Nice job. I like the rover there with the crew cabin on it. That little thing comes in handy for this sort of mission. And a neat design with the batteries/charging trailer. Congrats!

Thanks man!

I kept time warp on most of the time so things went about 3-4 times faster than normally, I love a good speedrun. Also, fun fact, the max speed or the Machete IV is about 60m/s, but soon after that the tires break up and I flip to my doom. I kept to the ground as much as possible but on hill descents like the one at the end, I had to use RCS to keep to the ground and soon enough I ran out. I think next time I'll use 1 RCS source only, not vernors as well. Thanks for reading though, I'll probably be taking on the Mun at some point. Anyway, I'll be sure to keep you posted!

All the best,

Ryan

Link to comment
Share on other sites

As well as RCS, I found it helpful on Minmus to bring a nose-mounted LFO engine. If you've just driven off something huge, there is plenty of time to orient it retrograde and slow down - and of course you get much more bang for your buck with LFO. I was in no risk at all of running out its fuel reserves.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

This thread is quite old. Please consider starting a new thread rather than reviving this one.

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
×
  • Create New...