SkunkTwerks Trebuchet - A Superior Siege Weapon

[SkunkTwerks]

After a long hiatus, the sounds of construction emanate from the Twerkshop once again...

I finally downloaded the Breaking Ground DLC and am absolutely geeking out over all the new parts, especially the robotics parts (hinges and servos and turboshafts, oh my!). To celebrate these shiny new hi-tech additions in a manner worthy of the SkunkTwerks brand, I invite you to say goodbye to the space age, and enjoy this literal "throw"-back to the glorious imperial age!

SkunkTwerks proudly presents the greatest and most superior siege weapon of all time: the almighty trebuchet! Truly, there is no better device for lobbing kerbals over ramparts, into castles, or across the entire science complex. Despite being called a siege engine, this contraption has no engine or motors of any kind. Instead, it runs on 100% clean gravitational potential energy.

 

To operate, YOU MUST HAVE THE BREAKING GROUND DLC AND ENABLE ADVANCED TWEAKABLES in your game’s main settings menu — it will not function otherwise. Don't forget to load a kerbal into the command seat before launch!

Now whip it, whip it good! Action group 1 unlocks all the hinges to set the trebuchet in motion, then staging decouples the kerbal from the sling. Time the release carefully, because the Trebuchet Reloading technology cost the Twerkshop too much wood and gold to research. Also take care to guard your fragile trebuchet with an appropriate meat shield of pikemen (sold separately), so as to ward off marauding knights.

Buckle up, buttercup!

What a way to commute! While admittedly not yet capable of launching kerbals into stable LKO, SkunkTwerks’ current record throw distance for the 268.75 kg "kerbal safety cage" is approximately 375 m, or a little over 7 center line stripes on the runway. Distance is from starting point to initial impact point, not including bouncing or rolling distance, measured using downrange readout from a stowed MechJeb unit in flight recorder mode.

Many, many hinges were irreparably harmed in the making of this siege engine. Check out that hinge displacement post-firing! Earlier versions of the trebuchet also had a nasty habit of destroying the runway until enough weights were added to the frame. To the great financial relief of the folks in the administration building, that issue seems to be fixed now.

Join the fun! Post your best throws, modifications and tips for optimization! My two main goals have been 1) No motors, engines, fuel, decoupler, or kraken forces allowed, and 2) use a realistic-ish design for some semblance of historical & visual accuracy. I decided that some part-clipping and extensive use of auto-strutting was acceptable, but if that's heresy in your kingdom I warmly invite you to make your own witchcraft-free version and post it here!

Here's the KerbalX Craft Download.

 

P.s. I found a cool mathematical dissertation exploring the mechanics of trebuchets, which became somewhat useful during the design process.

Edited September 9, 2019 by SkunkTwerks

[kennyc222]

Age of Empire IV Vibe! I want to make my own trebuchet in ksp style with AOE IV spirit