GoSlash27

This link should be included in the OP: https://nextrocket.space/ It has a much more comprehensive list of launches and links to Wiki articles, launch locations in Google maps, livestream links in Youtube, and countdown timers corrected to your system clock. Best, -Slashy

From a dinosaur's point of view, we're the horrifying mutants wandering around a post- apocalyptic hellscape

vger, Once the sun's mass is compressed inside a radius of 3km or so, it's immaterial whether the force stops or not; the effect is the same. It becomes impossible for any particle or photon to escape; every direction is inward. Best, -Slashy

Well... even at Neptune, the flux is still on the scale of a thermonuclear warhead at point blank range... detonating continuously for an hour. Nothing can survive anywhere the light touches. Exposed regolith would probably heat to incandescence and fuse, but would probably not vaporize. You *might* be able to survive for a time if you're far enough underground, but I don't know how you'd survive in the long term. Best, -Slashy

dvader, I don't see any problem with that sort of thing. The point of those rules was to avoid people using sandbox as a loophole in order to employ mods or cheat menu to gain an unfair advantage. Best, -Slashy

I like the concept If you're burning up billions of years of hydrogen in just an hour, then the radiation (light and others) would be billions of times higher. I'd compare the brightness to the interior of an h-bomb, except even an h-bomb isn't *that* bright. I think you'd have a difficult time describing the effects. As was pointed out by Scotius, the sun lacks the mass to collapse into a black hole under it's own weight. *However*, whatever is compressing it may be strong enough to pack it into it's own Schwarzschild radius. Good luck on the story!

Sorry, I meant F12, not F4. The cheat menu thingy -Slashy

Some some some I some I murder. Some, I some I let go... Surprise! "Paper Planes" was a sample of an old Clash tune!

Well, the objective is to not use a parallel career/ sandbox as an excuse to employ mods or cheat menu to gain an unfair advantage. You can't help knowing what you know, but the sandbox shouldn't be used to generate information intended for use in the caveman run. Specifically ship design and mission planning. I don't know how to write a simple direct rule that specifies what's legal in this large gray area, so I prefer to keep it simple. No mods, no cheat menu. I guess in cases where it's murky, the clan should decide collectively whether a run should be allowed. Best, -Slashy

#1 Forgot to deploy the solar panels. #2 Forgot to position the ship so that the solar panels actually generate electricity. #3 Forgot to adjust thrust limiters Best, -Slashy

IncongrousGoat, Dammit!! You are a KSP kung- fu master, your NCD run is an inspiration to others, and your use of the cheat menu in another session doesn't materially affect the difficulty of what you have accomplished. IMO it shouldn't matter. You are also a very honorable person for admitting this. Most of us (including me, probably) would've kept quiet about it, especially after all that work. The thing is... People are always looking for ways to cheat the game; bend the rules to accomplish what you have done without the difficulty you put up with, which cheapens your accomplishment. The rules must be strict in order to safeguard against that. If we let you slide, then others will just look to exploit it. So here's my recommendation (keeping in mind that I'm not driving this train these days): The rule about using F4 for testing purposes in another session *only* is overly-strict IMO. It should not be used for anything other than bypassing the tedium of launch from KSC to orbit, though. And then, not in the career itself. It is not to be used for testing landers, launch vehicles, or returns from other bodies. F4 should preferably not be used for any purpose whatsoever, just to eliminate all doubts of validity. I'd like to see IG's run stand, with the understanding that future runs will not use the cheat menu for any purpose other than this, and never used in the caveman career itself. Again, this isn't my call anymore. It's up to the clan. Best, -Slashy

Launch is delayed another day. No attempt Wednesday night.

Yep. That problem is on my end. 1 hr 15 min unless there's another delay.

30 minutes. Still on track. 20 minutes. Official livestream is up here: *Edit* and now the livestream itself says 80 minutes! >:(

45 minutes to the new window. Still on track...

cubinator, No worries, I just get paranoid that my system's confused because I have auto time update disabled (reasons). Just making sure I'm not crazy -Slashy

cubinator, The original launch time was definitely bumped when I made my post. I wasn't early, the launch was delayed. Best, -Slashy

inside 20 minutes. Still no livestream yet.. *dammit* nevermind. Delayed again, at least 2 hours...

Raykados, Best of luck. I was never as ambitious as you are when it comes to this challenge. Cavemanning is hard Best, -Slashy

All exhaust velocities are simply Isp x g0. Best, -Slashy

Agreed. Using KER in a separate career for design purposes is expressly forbidden in Caveman runs. In fact, the use of KER is forbidden in any role whatsoever in a caveman attempt, and is grounds for disqualification. Also, "cheat menu" is forbidden in caveman attempts, including for testing purposes even when done in another session. Best, -Slashy (the O.G. caveman)

When you throw out the phrase "potassium permanganate and hydrogen peroxide steam reactor, like they used on the old V-2s" and expect people to know what the hell you're talking about... Incidentally, does anybody know what happened to that test video from Copenhagen Suborbitals? I can't seem to find it anywhere...

SSTO spaceplanes are possible using very crude tech, but I don't consider them to be truly practical until you've unlocked the Panther. The tricks to it: -Don't rely on raw thrust, rely on clean aerodynamics. Don't take more engines than you actually need. Same goes for intakes. -Don't design your spaceplane to do any more than to deliver passengers and supplies to LKO. The high efficiency engines and additional fuel just reduce your payload fraction, and airplanes make lousy spaceships. Best, -Slashy

^ what Psychogre said. The 'reverse gravity turn' is a great method for pinpoint landings while keeping a low DV budget. It works because you're under positive guidance and control during most of the approach, rather than in unguided free- fall. It makes it easy to set your lander precisely where you want it, even in an unrehearsed landing on a body you've never approached before. I usually set 2x the landing DV when I plan on this method, but it usually turns out within 15% of the theoretical minimum. The additional reserve is necessary because you might want to alter the landing zone, which costs a lot of DV. Best, -Slashy

(Insert punchline here ) Best, -Slashy