Norcalplanner

Yes, it would count. ART is specifically listed as an allowed mod for the Modded division. You'll still have to wrangle it into a proper orbit, but it will count towards the station mass. In a similar manner, a station could be launched with nearly empty tanks, then filled using your favorite ISRU fueling method to increase the station mass (and score).

I remember reading in another thread that the shielded docking port and claw both caused a big frame rate hit.

Ferram4, I just wanted to say thanks for this mod. When used in combination with NecroBones' Space Y mod, I'm able to create huge rock-solid rockets with no struts, low part counts, and high frame rates. You rock.

May I take this opportunity to strongly recommend the decouplers found in NecroBones' SpaceY pack - although heavy, they're incredibly strong and contain built-in sepratrons.

And by the way, the radial decouplers rock. I'm also running KJR, and can use the biggest radial decoupler as the only connection between a 500-ton asparagus stack and the central stack. No struts. Part count goes way down, rocket mass goes way up, and frame rate remains high. NecroBones, I salute you.

I vote for not including the crazy multi-engine splitter. The strength of your pack is increased part size and reduced part count, and this doesn't fit with that theme. Your pack has enabled me to make workable 5000T rockets with less than 100 parts. :-)

But is Jeremy Clarkson stoking the Hype Train?

And one more thing - certain parts increase lag significantly more than others. If you have any shielded docking ports or grabber claws, take them off first, since they're the worst offenders.

I second the KJR suggestion. And to paraphrase the movie Interstellar, part count is a resource that needs to be managed as carefully as fuel. Using fewer larger parts that may not be mass optimal can help you keep your sanity. I remember with some twisted fondness the 14-part landers that were attached to my first big munar space station.

Currently 77, but I'm running Interstellar in this save, and two thirds of that is the beamed power generation and relay system. Windows vista 64 bit Q9550 cpu 4 gigs ram radeon 5770 graphics card yes, I need to upgrade

Agreed. They both allow for better ship design, although MJ does have a few more tricks up its sleeve. As I said in the OP, one of the goals of this challenge is to accommodate a wide variety of play styles.

Obi_juan, thegab is partially correct. This challenge is all about space stations in orbit, not ground bases on the surface. Your ground bases, while laudable, generally won't count towards your point total. The only real exception to this would be if the ground base was part of the refueling infrastructure for the orbital station (such as what I think you have on Gilly), in which case you'd get a few thousand additional points for the refueling capability. Please attempt to come up with a score that only takes into account the orbital components of each of your stations. I think I also need to see a few more photos showing other parts of the mission, such as the transfers to Eve and Gilly, and a Gilly refueling run. I don't think that the Eve surface base is going to count for anything, since there's no way to bring any Kerbals or fuel back up from the surface. Thegab, mechjeb is the first mod listed as being specifically allowed in the stock(-ish) division. I have no problem with people using MJ, especially if they're doing a station assembly in orbit. If a player wants to note in their entry description that they didn't use KER or MJ, I'm happy to add that fact to the summary of each entry in the first post.

Saabstory88, I'm afraid I don't have a lot of experience with RSS and similar mods. However, everything else that makes the mission harder is treated as a points bonus before applying the multiplier. I'm thinking in the realm of +4000 or so for RSS or other similar mod. Sound reasonable?

Thegab, looks good so far. I look forward to seeing the rest. Captain buzz, I think this will go in the advanced technology division, and I'll add part welder to the list of overpowered mods. In the same way that interstellar lets a player loft very heavy loads with only a few lightweight parts, making it much easier to build large stations, it appears to me that part welder would offer a similar advantage in building large stations with low part counts. The only other way I can think of to handle this sort of entry is to disqualify it (which I'd rather not do) or create a freestyle/gatecrasher category. If anyone has a brilliant suggestion, please post it or PM me.

And no ending date is anticipated for the main challenge. In terms of voting for a favorite station, there will need to be some sort of timeframe; however, I think we'll hold off on that for a while until we have a few more entries.

I would say that any part clipping you can do in the VAB without use of the cheat menu is definitely OK, and minor to moderate part clipping primarily for aesthetics is likely also OK. Part clipping for primarily structural purposes should be avoided, but I'm hesitant to lay down a hard and fast rule for fear of disqualifying an otherwise awesome design. Regarding part welding, I'm inclined to put that mod in the Advanced Technology division, since it would potentially offer a significant advantage. If you want to post an example of what you're thinking about, I can give you a better answer.

Yep. Choosing screenshots, putting them into imgur in the right order, and coming up with witty descriptions took me about four hours for my Jool-5 Kethane challenge. Doing the challenge itself (which was longer, because there was lots of Kethane mining) took two long evenings and a full weekend worth of (fun) effort.

Agree 100%. I have my main career save, which is on hard made, uses mods like TAC-LS and KCT, and has many missions going simultaneously; then I also have my fast track easy mode career save with all the tech unlocked, and with TAC-LS and KCT disabled, that's used primarily for testing and for challenges.

Congratulations, ibeinsane! You have completed the Grand Orbital Space Station Challenge with a Stock(-ish) entry scoring 22,957 points! I added in the points for the Mk2 passenger cabins that are part of the escape pods - I didn't specify differently, and they went up with the original station launch. They're a part of the station as I'm concerned - I seem to recall reading some science fiction books where crew members went into escape pods every now and then for a little privacy. I like the tri-radial symmetry design - it gives it a nice future-y aesthetic. And props for being the first to include dedicated escape pods. Your crew is also the biggest to date! I admit that it got me thinking about huge station crews, and the justification for them. I came up with this crazy idea that having some sort of huge crew on a station around Dres or Eeloo might justified by calling it a penal colony. Of course, Kerbals who screw up badly enough to warrant going to a penal colony usually end up dying in a blaze of glory. Hmmm... may need to think about that one a bit more.

You're welcome! I'm glad you enjoyed it. Rep is always appreciated - just click the little sheriff's star icon on the lower left of the original blog post. If enough people do it, someday I'll be a "two green blob" forum member. Wait, that didn't come out right... ;-)

Thanks for sharing. That last one looks a bit like the classic "mushroom" Star Trek spacedock. And I hear you on the part count. The third station I used as an example in my original post had to be abandoned - the part count was so high (700, IIRC) that it lagged like crazy whenever a ship with more than 40 parts approached it.

Obi_juan, sounds promising. I look forward to seeing your entry!

Congratulations, Atlatl! You have completed the Grand Orbital Space Station Challenge with a Modded Division entry scoring 5,870 points! Nice use of OKS modules - having them rotating in opposite directions is a nice touch. It looks great with the two shuttles docked. I saw how there was a tiny bit of Karbonite refueling in the video with the second shuttle, so you get the full 2,000 points (not 1,000 as you tallied up) for the ability to refuel. I do have to wonder how long the life support on the shuttle will last while filling up the shuttle's tanks all the way with Karbonite-sourced fuel. Honestly, I have only limited experience with Karbonite - is it possible for those shuttles to harvest Karbonite and convert it to LFO while attached to the station? Regarding FAR and NEAR, I figure that what they giveth in reduced delta V requirements, they taketh away in flexibility of station configuration during launch, so it's a wash as far as I'm concerned. Congrats on having the first modded entry!

Congratulations, StormKat! You have completed the Grand Orbital Space Station Challenge with a Stock-(ish) Division entry scoring 22,467 points! I liked how you made good use of the newly stock spaceplane+ parts, particularly the cargo bays. Your radial design with multiple potential configurations speaks to a healthy level of flexibility in the configuration and use of the station. Congrats again on being the first scoring entry!

Thanks. I won't be able to update the leader board until this evening, so that will work fine.