Test RT-10 “Hammer” Solid Fuel Booster in flight over Kerbin challenge not working

[Kbradley]

Hey everyone,

New guy here. I’m trying to complete the Test RT-10 “Hammer” challenge, and I don’t know what’s wrong. I’ll try to make this quick. 

Contract:

Activate the part through the staging sequence when all test conditions are met:

-Kerbin

-Flying

-Alt: 34,000-41,000m

-Spd: 100-260 m/s

Meeting the conditions is easy enough. I’ve tried by activating the stage when all four have the green check mark, AND clicking “Run test” on the part options. I’ve even tried creating a new stage mid-flight and activating it after...I’m at a loss for ideas. I’m playing on a PS4 if that makes any difference.

What am I doing wrong??

[bewing]

Welcome to the forums.

Clicking the "Run Test" button in the part options should always work for an engine, if all the conditions in the contract have green check marks.

In general, the tricky thing about that particular contract is that the "speed" criteria is always measured in Surface mode, and your navball usually automatically changes to Orbital mode (with a different speed value) at that altitude.

However, watching the green checkmarks is exactly the right thing to do. They always tell you when you can complete the contract.

So, unfortunately, all I can tell you initially is that it sounds like you are doing everything right. Getting all the green checkmarks and then clicking "Run Test" should definitely complete the contract -- provided that your craft actually has a Hammer engine on it (and not some other engine).

Getting a picture of your screen is a PITA for consoles, I know perfectly well. But if you can manage it during your attempt at the test -- maybe we can spot something small that's going wrong.

[Ninja_Brado]

Hello,

I have the same problem with a similar contract concerning a test of rt-10 hammer solid fuel engine in flight over kerbin.

I have managed to bring my rocket at the correct altitude and speed (not orbit... surface speed) and all the requirements are checked, but when I try to stage or click on the run test button (or even on the start engine button) the test is not accepted. I play on ps4 v. 1.14 and the game has crashed several times when I was setting the correct thrust and fuel using the revert function. Maybe there is a kind of bug... And of course, I have the good engine, not a similar one.

I hope it helps, not just because I'm stuck at that contract, but also because I love this game.

Thank you 

 

[Guest]

No experience of playing on a console but if they are anything like on the PC then they  are the indeed temperamental at times. I'm assuming you don't have a ‘cheat menu’ like on PC where you can auto-complete it? I find myself having to use that if I've met the conditions but it refuses to accept it.

That sounds a buggy one anyway as activating an SRB through staging at that altitude seems bizarre. Also the ‘run test’ is used when you don't want it to be done through staging (when making a contract) so it's like it's been given both options but can't accept either.

[paul_c]

You can "activate" an engine by using the right-click menu, then "stage" it some time later while its been running, using the staging (space bar). 

When I did the NCD challenge I developed a handy little "ready reckoner" of speed vs altitude vs TWR. That combination of speed and altitude is best achieved by having the SRB burn from the launch (by right-clicking then "activate" engine), then it will cut off at xxxxx altitude but the rocket will continue to gain altitude, losing speed as it does so. Then once the speed and altitude requirements are met, press SPACE to activate it via staging.

In fact, without going through previous notes and looking closely, that combination of altitude and speed might be on the edge/not possible to achieve with an RT-10 alone - you may need to make a 2 stage rocket, with the RT10 as the second stage, to fulfil it. Don't forget that it only asks for altitude and speed, its not bothered if you do a gravity turn. So, for max performance (max altitude at such a low speed), go vertical all the way.

If you are doing it with a live Kerbal and a capsule, and want to recover the RT10 too, don't forget to put enough chutes on - I used 1x chute per 1.5tons. Or you could decouple the capsule once the contract is done.

ETA don't be too hasty on pulling the chutes either. Sometimes, if you 'miss' the criteria on the way up, you can sometimes do something funky with aero (like turning sideways to make it draggy) and 'hit' the criteria on the way down.

Edited March 21, 2021 by paul_c

[MZ_per_X1]

This contract is historically bugged. It never worked and most likely never will sadly. It was the only contact that I took and eventually expired. 

[steuben]

Odd question. Is the hammer burning before you try to run the test?

[rynther]

In the PC version, the "run test" does not work, you must stage the engine on at the right altitude and speed, so you'll want to use a flea with the throttle dialed back to lift it to the "test window" and fire up the rt-10 within the window. (If you're using a mk-1 capsule, use a decoupler, 2 droges (optional) and a mk-16 parachute, and you'll have a soft fluffy landing.)

[paul_c]

On 3/22/2021 at 5:07 PM, MZ_per_X1 said:

This contract is historically bugged. It never worked and most likely never will sadly. It was the only contact that I took and eventually expired. 

Is it? They've always worked fine for me

5 hours ago, rynther said:

In the PC version, the "run test" does not work, you must stage the engine on at the right altitude and speed, so you'll want to use a flea with the throttle dialed back to lift it to the "test window" and fire up the rt-10 within the window. (If you're using a mk-1 capsule, use a decoupler, 2 droges (optional) and a mk-16 parachute, and you'll have a soft fluffy landing.)

The contract literally says "activate the engine through the staging sequence", I don't know why you'd assume "run test" would work instead.

On 4/2/2019 at 6:20 AM, bewing said:

Clicking the "Run Test" button in the part options should always work for an engine, if all the conditions in the contract have green check marks.

I've always done it with activating through the staging sequence, to fulfil the test. I don't know why you think "run test" would work - it doesn't for me, and the contract even says to activate it through the staging sequence.

As per my previous answer above, you can activate the engine NOT using the staging sequence if you want to have it burn beforehand, then "activate through staging sequence" to fulfil the test/contract, sometimes this means you reach the altitude with the same part, sometimes its just too high and you'll need another stage too.

[rynther]

Hey Paul, I never suggested "run test" would work in the first place, I was POLITELY pointing out that it won't.

16 hours ago, paul_c said:

The contract literally says "activate the engine through the staging sequence", I don't know why you'd assume "run test" would work instead.