SkyRex94

I've finally finished my own Entry, sorry for it taking so long, i had some other things to do in the last time. But finally here it is: The Flight of the Stardust Game Version: 0.25 Mods: FAR, KER, Replaced Sun Texture, Fusebox, Procedural Fairings, Precise Nodes, EVE, Chatterer, TimeControl, NavBallDockingAligIndicator Jebs level: 5 Kerbals, 2 Sattelites, 1 A-Class Asteroid, 1 Power Plant Ship Mass in Orbit: ca. 1.669.000 kg Aprox Cost of all Launches: ca. 3 Million Funds 6 Ship Part Launches + 6 Fuel Launches = 12 Launches + Asteroid This was my biggest Ship (in Orbit) so far and also my longest Mission of all Time (Kerbin Time), Part Count of the Final Stardust was around 600 and i encountered that this seems to be the playable limit of my Notebook, since it starts to lag every time i wanted to move it. Mission Log: Flying to Eve. During a close flyby accelerate of ca. 3*Jools distance apoapsis. After some decade of flying, doing the Plane change out there for a cheap 550 m/s to get Polar. Also deploying the Asteroid Impactor and set it to an collision course. After another decade --> Asteroid Impact. Braking to final Orbit using several burns at Peri. Final Orbit Apo: 379.000.000 m Doing an EVA with the Crew. Assemble the PowerPlant and measure output at Apoapsis = 7158.51 Ch/s Deploying first SAT and accelerate it to a Period of 16h. Waiting for alignment and deploying Second SAT at the oposite place, also accelerating to 16h Period. Setting up the flyback Maneuver and accelerating. Again using several burns to raise Apo again and get an encounter with Kerbin from a Polar Orbit Reentry Speed at Kerbin ca. 10km/s. Lander tipped over on touchdown but nothing broke, All 5 Kerbals savely back home after a half a Century. Achieved Jebs Level, so all Levels are possible with the current rules. The Stardust even got a closer Apoapsis than needed. Pictures: So, finally the Kerbals of my Space program have properly researched the Sun Achieved Jeb's Level, and a Place in the OP.

It looks very good so far. And,although its a Preview, it looks better than all of my own attemps already. You got the Color-Sheme very right! It has exactly the overall color-feeling i imagined for it. And the wilderness of the clouds already looks fairly well too. I'm really excited to see how the final version turns out to be , Great so far ! P.S. Please remember not to delete the final Version as soon as you uploaded it, as i'm still interested in a texture file too. So when Kopernicus finally gets config-support I can make a Prototype of Syterion (and moons) InGame. When that happens i will share it here too.

Yes that was on purpose, and you don't need wheels for a plane. You need wings. that's basically it. A jet engine would be nice but also not required. I've seen people building planes on skis made out of strut-parts. You can lift of without aircraft wheels, and the Wright-Plane doesn't had wheels either. Although you might want parachutes for landing. I can understand your point, but making the aircraft gear in the Tier it is right now was intended for the above reasons.

Congratulations, you succesfully accomplished this Challenge. Points are calculated right as far as i can see. And you're actually on the top of the List for now. Very sleek and efficient Design, well done! Besides: Which Mod did you use to make the Sun White? I would like to do that, too, as it resembles more our own Sun.

Remember that you have to get 5 Kerbals back on Jebs Level. I only see space for 4. And besides, sorry that my Kick-Off-Entry is taking so long, studying at university needs a lot of my time at the moment, as a lot of things are going on. But my ship is nearly ready, just needs to get fueld up and then the Trip can start. And a question for everyone: Do you have any suggestions for last-minute rule changes ? especially the apoapsis height, as MarvinKitFox seems to think its too easy now? (Or did you just wanted to point out that its a big change in DeltaV?) For that Matter, here the intention i have with this challenge: Exploring the Sun, since it didn't got any big attention until now, so having a great View at the sun when you arrrive at your destination. going into a 'polar' Sun Orbit (85-95degrees) And since there is no need to design Landers as payloads, having specific payloads you have to bring with you to make it mainly an engineering challenge. Especially the Power-Plant can really lead to very interesting designs. What i don't wanted: A 'Build the biggest Rocket you can' Challenge and do stuff with it, since people with low spec should be able to participate, too (At least on Level 1-2). Although it is in any case obviously the most DeltaV consuming Target to get too in KSP. With the current Rules you'll need at least ca. 32-35 km/s for the mission. (Edit: okay maybe going to jool, landing/hovering on 0m, and return to Kerbin needs more) So everyone thinking about this challenge, where should the Apoapsis requirement of the destination be? A number between 150 000 000 and 700 000 000m, thats where the sun looks best. (Also meaning between ca. 75 km/s and 25 km/s Mission DeltaV)

The node which moved the most was the 'Field Science' to get the Wheels early. All others roughly stayed near the same Tier they are in in Stock. So except for maybe Field Science all mods are at most maybe one or two Tiers of their original place, if at all. So it should work senseful with most mods. If you stumble upon a mod where it really gets akward post it here. i for myslelf are more a Stock-Enhanced player, so many plugins but not really big Part mods. I'm using PFairings, and they are in the right order.

I'm at it, I'm at it. I've just Launched my Return-Vehicle with the two Satellites and docked an A-class Asteroid on it, it has nearly 30 km/s. Just to return to Kerbin. I'm now at designing the Power-Plant and the behemoth of a Transfer Stage, which probably also needs ca. 30km/s Delta V. You see, i'm going for Jeb's level, and if it works, that proofs all Levels possible. EDIT:Update: The First Part of the Transfer Stage together with the power-Plant are now in Orbit. Still empty, but when fueled up, capable of giving the Ship ca. 15 km/s. Already over 500 Parts... No, because i saw no reason prohibiting mod-lights, mod-capsules, mod-something that doesn't make the challenge easier. It should be the same difficulty for everyone, but apart from that i have no problem with mods. For example, I'm flying with FAR, so Fairings are kinda needed to Launch, but they don't make the challenge easier, since i have no gains from fairings in space. No, mechjeb is allowed. The difficulty here is designing the ship and setting up the nodes. And for Data readouts you can use it to. Though i think it should be mentioned if you used mechjeb for any flying, but its not prohibited. EDIT: I've done some more testing and research and revised the maximum altitude: Now it's set to 500 000 000m. Reason 1: I looked it up and the Corona is in the range form 1 to 3 Solar Radii, whereas in this case it would be ca. 1.8 Ksp Solar Radii, so it fits better in the proper region for the mission. Reason 2: The last couple of meters can easily double ore triple the delta v amount, since you can't really do any tricks as soon as you are closer than moho (Only Oberth Effect) and can make a difference between a 35km/s Mission budget or a 65km/s mission budget just to get a little closer. And since it is possible to do, you'll need a good PC for it (so many parts needed) and i would rather like to get more people with average PC's compete in the challenge than getting as close as it gets. Reason 3: I tested were KSP Sun 'looks' the best for this mission. And once you get closer than 150 000 000m it loses the glow around and is just a yellow ball. But further out than 600 000 000m and you can't see the Dark Spots anymore. So it looks best between that range. And 500 000 000m is still so close that you couldn't fit a second Sun between you and the sun.

As in Vote. No it's not in advanced, i thought it would be there , too. That's the reason i'm asking

Question in title.

The Solar Flare Challenge The Sun is the most well known object in the sky... but KSC Scientists recently stated, that they only really know where it is and that it's bright. Many missions were made to explore the other planets, but the most dominant object of the system remained untouched. Now the Scientists want to know more about this giant sphere of plasma that holds the system together. They said the most information will be gained really close to it, inside the Corona! And that, to fully understand the magnetic forces and the eruptions, a craft has to be in an orbit where it can cover the hole star. A polar orbit, they said! Polar! And on a side note they said it has to be manned, for Science... In the preperation meeting Jeb said "We've been to Jool before, so how hard can it be anyway?" Still embarassed that they forgot about the biggest body in the system for so long, the Scientists are also very optimistic. But the engineers are already scratching their heads, trying to figure out a way to accomplish the enourmous needs of this mission. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- THE RULES: Everybody finishing this challenge within the rules will be a winner, since it is not as easy as it might sound. - no cheating - no part clipping - no Kraken Drives - There is only funding and time for one Ship. You may do as many Launches as you want into Kerbins SOI, but every part and Kerbal used for the challenge has to leave Kerbins SOI together as one craft. - document all the Launches, no Hyperedit - at least One Kerbal has to go with the ship, reach the Destination, do an EVA and return safely to Kerbin - Destination: Polar Orbit inside the Corona (Apoapsis<500 000 000m , Inclination between 85 and 95 degrees) - Since you don't have to land, you have to bring something with you: An operational Probe with at least one Goo, Mat.Bay, Gravioli, Thermo. and an 88-88 Antenna has to be left at the Destination. You can bring more things if you want. - provide pictures of all imprtant things (DeltaV, Fuel, Docking, Orbits etc.) needed to fullfill the rules and enough to track down that your fuel was enough. Prohibited Mods: - All reconfigurations of Stock Parts - All Mod Engine/Propulsion Parts - All Mod Tanks, that aren't inline with the Mass-Ratios of the Stock Tanks - All Mod Air Intakes - All Mod Electricity-related-Parts (Solar, Batteries, Reactors etc.) - Refueling Mods (Kethane, Karbonite) - Infernal Robotics - Extraplanetary Launchpads - All Fuel-growing-Parts - Parts that manipulate other parts - stronger than stock stability parts(quantum struts) do you think here should be anything else...? Allowed Mods: -All that aren't prohibited -for example: FAR, DRE, KAC, KER, Procedural Fairings... -ask if unsure LEVELS OF WINNING: 1st Level: One Kerbal arrives, deploys probe, does EVA and safely returns home. 2nd Level: Three Kerbals deploy two Probes at destination, but in oposite position of each other so Kerbin can see at least one all the time, and return Kerbals safely 3rd Level: Three or more Kerbals on the mission, do everything from Level 2, and impact an Asteroid into the Sun, and return all Kerbals home safely. The Asteroid can be captured and parked in Kerbins orbit before the mission. I trust you that everyone attempting this mission is at least able to capture an asteroid:wink: From there it can be integrated into your ship during orbital construction. (An A-class is enough, but if you'd like to torture yourself you can use whichever size you prefer) Jebediah's Level: Some Scientist thinks the Mission would be a good test for a Dyson-Sphere-Test-Power-Plant-Demonstrator. So you need to do all the things from Level 3, but additionally you have to bring a Solar-power-plant with you. You'll need at least 5 Kerbals on the Mission to set it up. The goal is to achieve the most power output from your Plant, through Solar power. Measure the output at Apoapsis of your Power-plant-final-orbit (You can use Fusebox-Mod for this if the numbers are huge.) After that, so after doing the EVA, deploying the two probes at destination, use an asteroid as an impactor and set up the Power-Plant and optional doing some Science, all the Kerbals have to return to Kerbin safely, and all of this has to be done with one big ship leaving Kerbins SOI initially. please provide also this data: - Game Version - Mods used - Weight and aprox. cost of your complete Ship - anything you want to mention, what you're proud of or what was really difficult or required some reloading. Advice: You should know of the concept of Slingshots and Gravity Assists before attempting this Challenge. Otherwise it will easily require an ridicoulous amount of DeltaV, and I mean ENORMOUS! THE SOLAR FLARE CHALLENGE IS ACCOMPLISHED BY: 1ST LEVEL: 2ND LEVEL: gm537 - Apo 374000km (after Probes deployed 294000km), 4 Kerbals, 3 Probes, 2268t on Launch Pad, Single Launch, Report 3RD LEVEL: JEBEDIAH'S LEVEL: [TABLE=width: 500] [TR] [/TR] [TR] [/TR] [TR] [/TR] [/TABLE] SkyRex94 - The starting Entry, 5 Kerbals, 1669t Ship LKO, Apo 379000km, PowerPlant Output: 7158.51 , Mission Report

Hello, i have an idea for a challenge, but i'd need a way to measure the electric charge rate precisely while handling huge numbers of ec. The stock Display cuts off at a certain point ( the (-1234) number turns to (-2345... and cuts off ). Clicking on Solar panels directly reveals the output rate, but differently aligned and placed panels have different outputs and if you have 20+ panels making screenshots of all of them is not an option. Is there a way to measure this? Like some Gauge that tells you the current charge rate, maybe included in a mod (KER sadly doesn't display this) Or does anybody have another idea to get a good measurement of the current energy production of a craft?

It's right we do Science to learn about things, and new discoveries in knowledge of things lead to new technologies, so unlocking the parts with Science points is a good System i think. I agree that unlocking info about the planets doesn't really do anything especially if you know the planet before. I think, as i pointed out in Suggestions several times (but Squad never responded to any of them), that the problem is in making getting Science points fun and maybe do 'more' with Science beside unlocking parts. For example: unlocking abilities: like the ability to see and track asteroids after researching 'advanced telescopes' or the ability to make maneuvour nodes after unlocking 'path prediction' (very early in tree) or the ability to transmit data through a relay (if they ever add sth like atenna range) after researching 'network routing' And making Science Explorative: Have challenging Experiments, like a really big one when it deploys, or you have to assemble it first, so its preferable use is in orbit and its becoming a challenge to actually do this experiment. And add more interaction, especially when landed, like setting up an experiment in a certain way (KAS-style) or rovering around before getting the Science. etc. etc. And maybe a Database for the Science-report-texts, so you can read the funny messages again and see again what your research on that specific location has brought to you. But just adding more and more biomes won't make the Science system in itself more fun. I hope they revise the System too, when they make all the new biomes for 0.90. And i hope upgrading buildings will also need Science, because that would be a step into the direction of other things than parts to spend the science on, and the Science System would become more independent from the current 'need-only-for-parts' use.

Thanks, great to hear that. Since T7 seems to be the second most popular TechTree on Kerbalstuff, i would like to read some more opinions from people who tried it

I'm fine with the biomes on Kerbin. I was just speaking of the Biomes directly at the Kerbal Space Center aka all the different buildings.

I really don't like the current clickfest science system and made several suggestions to improve it and make it more explorationary. And I hope, since squad adds biomes to everywhere in (0.26) 0.90 they might improve and revise the Science system and the Tech Tree in the same run. But especially at KSC there are waay too many biomes right now. I stopped counting at 30. And even in hard mode with 60% Science you'll get probably around 1000 Science points from KSC alone. I mean really Squad: What exactly was the point of this? There is no scientific gain researching the RoundVABTank after researching the RoundSPHTank ?! Or researching a Flag Pole?! Anybody feel the same? I don't see any reason why they cluttered even more biomes at KSC. Over 30! 30!!!!

What happened to your designs? I'm awaiting more entries. And Highlad, you already reserved the spot, 'tonight' is a long time ago already

let's hope the mk3 cargo bays will be just big enough to fit a Science Lab. And maybe also a mk3 Landing Gear, which is two wheeled and bigger than the current one. Then we can build big useful planes. Fineprint sounds good. Biomes everywhere also, and Squad: If you'll revise the current ones, please reduce the number of biomes on minmus and the moon! They are already Science Mayhem Land and in terms of difference, there isn't so much scientific difference between 'These Flats' and 'These other Flats' , and you could use the chance to flesh out the Science System a bit, make it more explorationary and less clickfestish.

maybe it's.... KAS , or a stripped down simplified version of KAS. or only the abilities of KAS without the parts. or it could be EVE, but that is probably not on their scope-schedule. a kerbalised DRE maybe, but i highly doubt it.

i started my new career in hard mode too. And i don't go to Sandbox for testing, yes they simulate in real life, but they also do test flights, and doing those testflights of a new design can get pretty expensive in career now. I'm also using my own T-7-TechTree which requires a little bit more Science to unlock the nodes, so until now it feels good, i really have to watch for my money, also have to gain as much science as possible and don't crash too many new designs to run out of money. And with no reverts, Probes finally have a good use: Not risking life of Kerbals until i'm sure they can survive.

Also no to Tweakable everything. It's a change of the properties of the stock parts, thats not allowed in the rules and everybody should have the same engineering limitations and challenges as everybody else to make the challenge fair. Use a docking Port to eject your Cargo. You don't need two, you can just attach one on your craft and the payload directly onto it, the decoupling works nevertheless and has no big ejection force.

-NO for Tweakscale, because having the limited possibilities of e.g. the stock wheels is part of the engineering challenge and should be same for everyone -YES for MechJeb, if it works with FAR/NEAR, although you should mention it if you use it It's the Aerospike Rocket, because it's 390 ISP is better than the RAPIERs But only counting the decreased mass would not follow the formular for points, and to make it fair every entry has to be calculated in exactly the same way, that was not a penalty. And for the general points: For your example: I think a 20t for 200$/t craft is indeed better and should recieve more points than a 5t for 100 $/t craft. This is not a Challenge for the 'most efficient' Craft, but for the most practical and usefull, and this usefulness is calculated in through the maximum payload, because you simply can build bigger construction, bring bigger things at once into orbit and so on, indeed saving a lot of docking ports for orbital constructions compared to more and smaller pieces. And the formular is linear in both directions right now, so fair imo: example : 100kg / 50 $/t = 2p double mass = double points : 200/50 = 4 double efficiency = also double points : 100/25 = 4

Yes now everything required is there. But you forgot to subtract the 12 units LF from the cost, since you recovered them at the end: So 12*0.8 = 9.6 2nd flight cost = (21620-21143+9,6)/5.1025 = 95,365 $/t Points: 5102,5/95,365 = 53,5 Making (53.5+58.06)/2 = 55.78 your final points. But well done, very efficient design and craft.

Here's finally my own Entry for this Challenge: Craft: Skylon-X Aero:FAR Payload: 10.763 t , 8614 $ Craft with Payload: 40.676 t , 67166 $ Craft without Payload: 29.914 t , 58552 $ First flight Recovery: 57360 $ Second flight Recovery: 57134 $ 1st flight: (58552-57360)/10.763 = 110,749 $/t 2nd flight: (58552-57134)/10.763 = 131,748 $/t Points: ((10763/110,75)+(10763/131,75))/2 = 89,4377 Points It can lift quite some tons but isn't as efficient as i hoped. But it looks kinda like the real Skylon concept and i thought that was a good representative for this challenge. If someone wants to try it, i could share the craft file. But its not easy to fly, avoid stalling at any cost, because you wont be able to get it pointing in the right direction again. And it has Takeoff speed of Mach 0.5 when fully loaded.

Okay thanks for the quick respone. I'll try that. I need the quicker deployment because the touchdown speed of my current design is ca. 145m/s and i'd like to slow down faster than the brakes are able to

I've one question: How can i increase the deployment speed of elevons set to spoilers (aka airbrakes)? They seem to deploy waay to slow and i can't find a way to increase that speed.