What did you do in KSP1 today?

[Just Jim]

9 minutes ago, Helmetman said:

Has anybody once build a stock jet rover that could do a cruise speed of 90 meter per second (325 kp/h or 200mph) using a autopilot (mechjeb) traversing 300 kilometers (action radius) without damaging itself when hitting hills as it goes? 

No... but close.

I recently built one that is definitely not stock, called the Platypus, and is an amphibious rover using huge fans for it's primary propulsion:

It can hit 86 m/s on the polar ice flats, but if the terrain gets too rough, it will rip itself apart at around 60 m/s or so. But I'm going to add a few more struts along the belly and see if it can handle hills any faster.

This is my fastest rover ever, and made mostly from @Angel-125's Heisenberg mod parts.

 

 

Edited September 30, 2017 by Just Jim

[Azimech]

11 minutes ago, Helmetman said:

Has anybody once build a stock jet rover that could do a cruise speed of 90 meter per second (325 kp/h or 200mph) using a autopilot (mechjeb) traversing 300 kilometers (action radius) without damaging itself when hitting hills as it goes? 
Basically I build a rover that could leave itself unattended as described and find itself one hour later 300km away from the KSC without damage at said speeds going over terrain.
I think this is quite a extraordinary feet. Not necessarily in terms of top speed, but in terms of survivability/durability at greater surface speeds.

I haven't seend such a design yet, not sure if it's that spectacular, I wanna know. It was quite the build getting the suspension right on the ruggedized wheels without it doing weird stuff on terrain bumps. I haven't seen such a vehicle as of yet so I'm wondering...

I made such a thing and I'll put it on KerbalX once it's fine tuned.in the next few days. 

Check mission timer...

It has run on full power reaching speeds of 85-95 m/s continuously. No damage whatsoever, and it didn't pop a tire after travelling 300 kilometers at said speed. It even beats moderate mountains without popping wheels. No not hills, I said mountains. 
It was a hell to finetune all the settings.
I wanted a newb proof terrestrial rover to quikly traverse great distances with a very good mileage over 200 miles. I know one could build a 20 m/s rover and use 4x timewarp. It's not about that though, more the design achievement at that. I hope everyone likes it.

Anyone interested in such a thing? Worth putting it on KerbalX?

Sure! Put it on KerbalX.

Here's mine, all stock. It's able to withstand quite some punishment. I can't remember how it deals with 90 m/s hitting the side of a hill but as a rally car it does perform quite well.

It's based on my '69 Dodge Charger.

Edited September 30, 2017 by Azimech

[dvp]

That's a bit much - 90m/s is 200+ mph. A rover SHOULD shake itself to pieces if it hits a bump at that speed.

[Helmetman]

@Just Jim Cool thing I mean, cool cabin, I ment great looking ship cabin. That said, what mod is the cabin from? That will look cool on one of my ships.

All I can say is that I beat 60+ m/s over terrain by absorbing front and rear loads. I did this by moving one pair of front wheels slightly back compared to the other pair of wheels to the front. Only by 1 or up to 3 pixels in the VAB/SPH. This causes one pair to absorb the hit against a slope first and then the 2nd pair. This prevents tires popping when facing slopes that look like walls.
The same on the rear when hitting your tail hard after coming down a slope. In that case by moving one pair of wheels a bit upwards so the terrain collision is better absorbed. Although I did use a pair of medium landing gear on the rear to help with that. Downforce also playes a keyrole here.

@Azimech That thing is eye candy, especially the rear lights, love it!

@dvp I'm still perfecting the thing. But as said, I'll put it on KerbalX. Be prepared to be surprised. It was quite a lot of fiddling with parts and other parameters. I can see why it may get any disbelief.
 

 

Edited September 30, 2017 by Helmetman

[Just Jim]

9 minutes ago, Helmetman said:

@Just Jim Cool thing I mean, cool cabin, I ment great looking ship cabin. That said, what mod is the cabin from? That will look cool on one of my ships.

Thanks! Mine was primarily built to be an amphibious rover, and can also hit about 25 m/s on the open water. Using the fans on land to go really fast was just icing on the cake:

The cabin is part of @Angel-125's Heisenberg mod. It's actually an airship gondola command cabin, but it also looks so much like a ship, I thought it would be perfect for an Amphibian.... and it turns out to be quite efficient in the water!

 

 

[harrisjosh2711]

Run the first test on the landing capabilities of my new BFR

I brought it in nose down just like the space X demonstration.

It doesn't work quite as designed, but flips over quite nicely into landing position.

 

Switch to the center engines and land

 

 

 

[Landwalker]

I restarted my career due to a gross misunderstanding of the USI Life Support mod on my part putting me in an unsustainable situation.  Just for kicks, I replaced USI-LS with TAC-LS, and started a new career.

After spending the whole day on the new career and getting back up to the "orbital probe" point of the career, I decided to remove a few more mods and add a couple more (one of which is actually @Angel-125's Pathfinder mod).

However, when I went into my new career, I couldn't find the new parts anywhere.  I concluded that I must need to restart my career for them to "take," so I reluctantly did so... and they still weren't showing up.

Then I realized I had downloaded the mods but had not installed them.  One actual installation later, and I'm finally back in operation... albeit, also back at Day 1.

Well, at least I'm getting efficient and getting through the first couple of tiers on the tech tree...

[PaperAviator]

[StupidAndy]

4 hours ago, Gameslinx said:

<SNIPADIPDIP>

you make really awesome planet stuff! do you have any tips on how to make planet stuff? I'm trying to make one

[Geonovast]

Took a break from giant Dres-trekking rockets to sandbox it up with some planes.  Started with the want to go check out one of the tracking stations, which turned into a plane/rover setup, which got... a little out of hand.

I haven't tried to land it yet.  I've gotten decent at landing spitfire-sized planes on bumpy grass, but this one scares me.

[scottadges]

Besides updating my Mission Report for my Elkano Minmus Challenge, what did I do today?

I installed a ton of mods on my main modded game. So many, in fact, that I'm running into this problem 

EDIT: Nevermind... I un-installed the last couple mods and it went away. I'll have to install more carefully!

Edited October 1, 2017 by scottadges

[Wrench Head]

I am working on a new set of Snap tite  models for MHG.

 

Edited October 1, 2017 by Wrench Head

[qzgy]

Umm. Not exactly sure. Its a bit of a blur.

Finally achieved orbit with this thing.

Then made this other stupid thing, abusing both stock props and planes!

Yeah. Sorta flew okay.

Spoiler

 

[Gameslinx]

4 hours ago, StupidAndy said:

you make really awesome planet stuff! do you have any tips on how to make planet stuff? I'm trying to make one

I don't know where to start with tips, but it's definitely good to use Photoshop or gimp. You'll need to be able to polar distort your heightmaps and correct any texture seams. The rest is all done in the config, and there are many ways to go about doing that!

[Azimech]

34 minutes ago, Gameslinx said:

I don't know where to start with tips, but it's definitely good to use Photoshop or gimp. You'll need to be able to polar distort your heightmaps and correct any texture seams. The rest is all done in the config, and there are many ways to go about doing that!

I don't know what this all means but I just want to express my hope that someone makes the Game of Thrones planet one day.

[Azimech]

All stock.

 

[Skylon]

Not much. 

[RoadRunnerAerospace]

@Azimech Does the aircraft encounter control reversal, and stuff?

[Azimech]

Just now, RoadRunnerAerospace said:

@Azimech Does the aircraft encounter control reversal, and stuff?

Haven't experienced it yet, the wings are pretty stiff.

[RoadRunnerAerospace]

Compressability?

[Azimech]

3 minutes ago, RoadRunnerAerospace said:

Compressability?

Yes, the controls stiffen up at higher speed. You can read more about it over here:

 

[LN400]

Cursing and swearing as the magnet on the robotic arm did not performm to expectations, leaving the retrieve mission around Mun to be a thriller. Add to that I botched up the burn to Mun leaving me with 19m/s dv as I left Mun again, AFTER successfully retrieving the cabin floating around there. All medals and honours to the engineer onboard who attached the docking port before the cabin drifted away. The low dv budget also meant I had to use RSC instead of the main a lot, just to shave off mass to raise the main's dv. Homebound now but another thriller is coming up as the 8 ton ship is set for a periapsis over Kerbin at 30km. This will be hot.

 

Also sent off the globe trotting science expedition to Kerbin's biomes. The final design has a lower top speed than originally wanted but with the ability to climb 40 degrees + slopes I can live with that.

Edited October 1, 2017 by LN400

[Zeiss Ikon]

Not today, but a few days ago (didn't have time to upload the photos and write up the mission) in my career game, Jeb orbited the Mun for the first time in history (and by the time he got back, there was a rescue contract for a Kerbal marooned in Munar orbit).

Explorer III-bis is a slight upgrade of the Explorer III Val flew for her historic Munar flyby.  The contract hardware deleted, fuel tankage was expanded and the Reliant engine replaced with a Terrier -- the combination to provide some reserve of delta-V for Munar orbit capture and trans-Kerbin insertion.

Just as with the original Explorer III, the boosters are in progressively throttled pairs; one pair at full thrust, one pair at 60%, and the last pair at 40%.  The core has a Swivel to provide control authority during boost, limited to 50% as with the original Explorer III.

Night launch.  Because that's when the vessel was ready (windows to the Mun are pretty much any time, if you don't mind a variable amount of time in parking orbit awaiting your insertion window).  The space program, at this stage, is just over five days old; when Kerbals decide to do something, they get it done.

And, of course, the Munar insertion burn was in the dark as well.  Take my word that launch and circularization were routine, though this Explorer still can't quite put the pod and transfer stage into orbit with full tanks.  Might be able to get the job done without the extra transfer fuel, but we may never know -- VAB is already hard at work on Explorer III Mod. 2, with liquid fuel boosters (including fuel transfer ducts) replacing the Thumpers; even the Taxicab series is changing over as the efficiencies of in-flight fuel transfer are realized.

A Terrier burn is a lot less spectacular than a Reliant, but you get almost 20% more impulse from your fuel.  Of course, it takes longer, and without an alternator, you can't charge your batteries.  The Explorer III vessels to date carry extra batteries anyway, so that's not such a big deal (right?).

And that's Jeb, bound for the Mun --  but to orbit, EVA, and take science in orbit, unlike Val who just flew by.

Jeb will never know the level of uncertainty that Val had on her historic flight.  Upgrades to Mission Control mean he's able to plan his transfer burns to the second, and see the results even past the next encounter.

Recent upgrades to the Kerbal Space Network allow maintenance of voice comm connection as far out as the Mun, but the connection gets scratchy and faint that far out.  Improved antennae, promised "real soon now"  by R&D, will probably help, but it's virtually certain further upgrades will be needed for future missions to and beyond Minmus.

Now into Munar SOI, altimeter reading from Mun instead of from Kerbin, counting down toward Munar orbit capture burn.

Almost there.  In just a few minutes, Jeb will be the first Kerbal ever to orbit the Mun.

Crew report, EVA and report, goo observations, thermometer and barometer readings locked in -- little burn and Jeb's on the way home.

What did you do, Jeb?  Forgot to turn off the SAS while you waited a day and a half to get back to Kerbin, didn't you?  Now you've got a dead battery, no way to point your vessel to make corrections, and you're stuck with the periapsis you set up from Munar orbit.  Fortunately, it's within atmosphere.  Well, let's see how you come out...

Okay, well, at least the command pod is aerodynamically stable with the heat shield forward, even with the service bay attached.  Down side is, with all the oscilation around the retrograde point, enough plasma washed up the side of the command pod to burn off  both thermometers and both barometers.  Well, good thing the goo canisters are inside the service bay, protected by the heat shield.  Oh, and by the way, because you couldn't correct your periapsis, you're a little high and you're going to have to go around one more time.  See you in an hour or so...

Wave all you want, Jeb.  No one on the ground can see anything but a fireball.

Okay, coming down for realz this time.  Forty km, and below orbital velocity.  Ablator still holding up just fine.

Down to 26 km and Mach 4.  Looking good.  Too bad about the barometers and thermometers, but at least you still have the goo canisters.

Good thing parachutes don't require an external battery to deploy.  Don't forget to dump the heat shield after your parachute is fully open; it makes a significant difference in descent rate.

Count the trees, you're almost down.

What's that?  There was an explosion on landing impact?  Did you forget to dump the heat shield?  They'll do that if they're still attached.

Oh, no heat shield.

What do you mean, there's goo spread all over the inside of the service bay?  Well, yes, the canister brackets do go through the bay's after bulkhead.  Dagnabbit.

Don't spill anything on your crew and EVA reports; they're the only science we have left to fulfill the "science from Munar orbit" contract...

 

Edited October 1, 2017 by Zeiss Ikon

[roboslacker]

Launched another mun probe. As luck has it, the probe came down really close to the Neil Armstrong memorial, visible in the screenshot as a white dot

[Vicomt]

I've been away from KSP for a good couple of years probably, dabbled a bit here and there, but as I was using my Bro's copy via steam sharing, it was a bit painful. So I finally went and spent the cash. For the time I've spent, and all the time in the future, it's just got to be done. So I figured I'll just leap in to the mid stages of a career, throw a few hundred bills at the complex, give meself a boost into the mid stages of the tech tree, and viola, bob's yer aunty, here goes a grand voyage.... I think.... maybe not the strict definition, but a voyage nonetheless

 

This is where I stand after two* launches, the lander and it's service module sit behind the hub, still with it's attached launch boosters. There's just too much fuel left in there to throw them away, so they'll probably end up being used as fuel storage until I've got the main drive module up and docked.

We'll see where this one goes

* well, more than two, but only two that counted