Mjp1050

Same here. Rhymes with May (the month) and ends with the same soft th as "Theo." Vall is Val(entina), and Pol is Pol(and). Hmmmm...do accents have anything to do with this? I'm from central California. Where's everyone else from?

I've been misspelling Wernher's name the whole time? Oops... I'm glad you're enjoying it, though.

Hello all, I recently started a Mission Report about my entry into the Elcano Challenge, and I would appreciate some feedback on it. This is my first time writing any sort of fiction at all; I'm completely new to this, and I didn't really mean to begin a full-fledged story, it just sort of happened.

Heh. The morning bit, or the "Kerbin is underrated" bit? Thank you! And no, it wasn't serious; I had to make something up because I eventually did replace the ship with a faster version, but I forgot exactly why. Part 1: The Launch Wernher took the failure of the Santa Valentina quite badly. He spent most of the following day wandering around the KSC, muttering under his breath, with only the occasional (impolite) word decipherable. However, after he calmed down, he did get to work on designing the crucial ISRU unit. Finally, after four days of development, Wernher once again enthusiastically called an emergency meeting; thankfully in the afternoon. "Ladies and gentlekerbs," he began "I have called you here today to announce the emergence of a new technology. I have designed the world's first ISRU unit - a module that is capable of transforming mundane ore into the most precious of resources: fuel!" A collective gasp rose up from the audience, and all sorts of conversations broke out. "Fuel from nothing?" "How is that possible?" "What?" And so on.... Wernher tapped his foot, annoyed that his revolutionary speech had once again been interrupted. "If I could have your attention, please. Thank you. As I was saying, this is no mean feat of technology..." Mortimer, used to Wernher's speeches, whispered to Gene, "Do you think he managed to find the cost of this technology? We spent a quarter of a million finds on the Santa Valentina already..." Gene patted Mortimer's arm. "I'll have smelling salts ready, don't worry," he smiled, which did nothing whatsoever to reassure Mortimer. Mortimer thought for a few seconds, then shouted "Wernher!" " - comes in sixteen colors! Ah, Mort, did you say something?" Wernher asked. "Yes, I did. Wernher, did you happen to note the cost of the IRSU... err, ISUR... err... this technology when you were designing it?" "Yes. 5000 per unit was the estimate," Wernher replied. "Only 5000? That's not too bad..." Mortimer pondered. "But there were complications during the build phase, so it came up to 8000, not including the ore tanks or the drills or - " "WHAT?!" Mortimer leaped out of his chair. "You built a model already?" "Well, of course." Wernher took a step back. "How else were we supposed to have the second ship ready for launch?" The room exploded into a cacophony of shouts. "Wernher, are you insane?" "After the first launch failed?" "How on Kerbin did he even..." "Would someone find the smelling salts, please?" * * * * * The second ship, christened the San Elcano, departed from the SPH with considerably less formality than the Santa Valentina did, in no small part due to Valentina's speech. "Interns," she began, "when we were last aboard a ship that set sail from the space center, you heard a speech that should have motivated you to kingdom come and beyond." "However," she grinned," I'm not going to repeat myself, so get your butts to your stations; you know what to do!" Valentina allowed herself a small chuckle as the interns scrambled to their positions. "Navigator's position is on the left, Sonwin." "Oh - yes, you're right, Captain. I mean, you are on the right, but that's not what I meant, but - sorry, Captain." Sonwin assumed the correct seating, allowing Valentina to slide in the seat next to him. Calwise returned from below decks. "Captain," he began, "the engines are operational and just waiting for the command." "All science has been waterproofed, Captain," Staxy shouted from the hold. Valentina allowed a small pause before giving the order. She enjoyed these moments, the final seconds before the engines ignited and sent vibrations shuddering throughout the ship. The last few seconds of silence... She realized that everyone was looking at her expectantly. Reluctantly, she let the words escape her lips, "Sonwin, take her away." Sonwin again grinned like an idiot and pushed the throttle to the max. "Err... you may want to slow down, Sonwin." Staxy nervously said. "We seem to be going a bit fast..." "It's under control, Staxy." Sonwin smiled. "It's under control..." Valentina took a glance at the navball. 30 m/s? she thought. That's a smidgen on the speedy side. She tapped Sonwin's shoulder. "I think that slowing down might be the best option here, Navigator. We're not even off the runway yet." Sonwin didn't indicate that he had heard her in any way, but he did apply the brakes. Not that it did much good. "SonwaaaAAAUUUUGGGGHHHH!!!!!!!" Staxy yelled, clutching the headrest in front of her. "We went airborn! You made us go airborn!" Val struggled to keep from laughing, and out of the corner of her eye, she could see that Sonwin was trying to do the same. Staxy was hysterical but gradually calming down, and Calwise was either very good a keeping a straight face or genuinely didn't notice. It was hard to tell with him. "Sonwin," she interjected as Staxy ran out of breath, "I'm afraid I'm going to have to ask you to not do that again in the future. It wouldn't do to have the San Elcano damaged on her maiden voyage." "Understood, Captain." "Furthermore - Staxy, Calwise, listen up, this applies to you too - I don't know what we're going to face out there. Wernher was right; we just don't know enough about our own planet to make any assumptions. We could even come across the "clouds" that are sung about in the myths of old; we simply don't know. And that means that we have to keep our bearings with us at all times. No more reckless stunts, and no more screaming your head off. Got that?" "Yes, Captain." "Yessir." "Got it, Captain." "Good," Valentina responded. "Get us in the water, Sonwin. Gently, this time. Then set a course for the island airfield. We need to test this ISRU unit."

Hold on - where is this ocean? I've been looking for one.

I picked up Morrowind. Unrelated to the Steam sale, I noticed that EVE Online now has a free-to-play version, so I picked that up, too.

I started the Elcano Challenge a few months ago, because, y'know, why not. Only now did I realize that I never made a Mission Report for it. So I'm already a good portion of the way through the circumnavigation, but to avoid a large wall of text, I'm going post sections of the trip over a period of time. So, without further ado, I present to you: Elcano Revisited Part 0: The Drawing Board The day that dawned at the KSC was like every other in most respects. The sun rose in the east, the sea broke against the shore, and the R&D department thought up some harebrained scheme to obtain even more science. Today, though, promised to be entertaining; last night's brainstorming session had managed to make the normally composed Wernher von Kerman call an emergency meeting with barely concealed enthusiasm. He didn't even wait for the audience to be seated before launching into his speech. "Ladies and gentlekerbs, before we begin, I would like to ask a simple question. How many of you know what the most underexplored planet in the Kerbol system is?" He waited for an answer. Most of the audience, still groggy from being shaken out of bed at this hour, remained silent. "Dres?" a young intern piped up. "Ah-ha! That is what most of you would think, but no! It is not Dres! It is Kerbin!" von Kerman exclaimed. The apparent absurdity of that answer woke up the remainder of the audience, and surprised mutterings began to appear. "Kerbin?" "But how can that..." "What?" "Surely he's joking..." "No, I have not gone mad!" he proclaimed, forestalling the inevitable argument. "When was the last time anyone sent a ship to go research Kerbin? Why would we waste time and resources on a planet that surely, we already knew everything about before sending probes to other planets..." He let the implication of that sentence sink in before continuing, "Exactly. To fix that mistake, I have worked on a new ship design that will be able to explore the coastlines of Kerbin, and penetrate the inner wilds of the continents!" "As you can see, this revolutionary design, which I have decided to christen the Santa Valentina after our foremost astronaut, is able to carry enough fuel to circle one-third of the planet, and carries the most modern science instruments known to Kerbalkind. In addition..." He continued to talk at great lengths about the wheels and how the suspension was revolutionary ("It uses springs!"), but two members of his audience were no longer listening. "Does he have any idea how much this will cost the Program?" Mortimer whispered to Gene. "Probably," Gene muttered. "but I doubt it'll make much difference. You know Wernher - he doesn't get excited easily, but when he does, nothing can talk him out of it." Mortimer nodded his annoyed agreement. "He'll still need administrative approval before he can build anything, though." He raised his hand. "Excuse me, Wernher, but - " "Mortimer, my friend! I'm knew that you would agree with me!" "I - what?" "So I took the liberty of having the SPH crew build and launch the Santa Valentina last night. It's waiting in the harbor for a crew right now." "What?!" * * * * * "Interns, for the next several months, this ship will be your home. You will learn to live in it, you will learn to take care of it, and you will learn to love it." Valentina paused and examined the group of three interns that Gene insisted she take on the journey. Calwise was an engineer, Sonwin was the navigator in training, and Staxy was a scientist. "This voyage will take stamina and resolve, both of which you will obtain over the next few weeks. Your first test will be to sail this ship to the island airfield and back. Any questions?" She was met with silence. "Good. Then let's get this ship operational, interns. Move move MOVE!" The interns scrambled to their positions. Sonwin took the helm, and Calwise and disappeared below decks to inspect the engines. Staxy remained on deck to inspect the science instruments. Valentina was secretly impressed with the speed of the interns, but didn't let it show. "Captain," Sonwin shouted across the deck, "Everything is operational and ready to roll. All the instruments are in the green. All I need is your word..." Val walked to the bridge to take a better look at the ship. After a pause, she said "Everything looks good, Sonwin. Take her away," and smiled as she saw a great grin break out across Sonwin's face. Valentina noticed something a bit odd, though. "Sonwin, what's our current speed?" she asked. "20.1 meters per second. Why do you ask?" "No reason. No reason at all..." Calwise took this moment to reappear on the bridge. "Captain, I have a report from the engine room." "Go ahead, Calwise." "The engines are running at full capacity. 130 kN per engine, with all six engines fully operational." Val was surprised for the second time in as many minutes. "What are you saying, Calwise? That 20 meters per second is our maximum speed?" Calwise nodded. "It's not the engines. The engines are flawless. It's this bridge, captain; it's too draggy. We can't go on like this, or we won't even have enough fuel to cross this ocean, let alone the other three." Val sighed. "I see. Sonwin! Turn the ship around. We need to head back to the KSC to redress a design flaw." And convince Wernher to design an ISRU unit, she thought.

Would my entry be valid if I started the Elcano Challenge in 1.1, and am planning on finishing it in 1.2? I don't use mods. And by the way, @rkarmark, Elcano is spelled with a 'c', not a 'k.'

??

6/10 EXTERMINATE!

6/10 Looks suspiciously similar to Just Jim's avatar...

5 of 10 I've seen you mostly in the Lounge

3 of 10 I prefer tea.

It works on the same principle as the Omega 13.

Ok, ok...I am overreacting...sorry... I guess what I'm really miffed at is the fact that someone messed with my stuff without telling me.

The chest held stacks of granite, which weren't there after it got reorganized. And I consider drawing an X on the floor of my house vandalism. I don't like the fact that someone came to my house and messed with my stuff.

I just had someone place a torch and redstone in an x shape in my house, and loot one of my chests to make it spell "HEL." It was probably a prank, but I'm still really miffed that they basically robbed and vandalized my house. There's a line between pranks and griefing, but the problem is, that line is different for everyone. What might be funny for one person is griefing for another.

Whoops, I chose the hill because I thought it was out-of-the-way. I'll add gates so you can exit and enter more easily. Or you could use the tunnel; it seems to go directly underneath my castle. I'd also like to respectfully decline your offer. I'd like to keep the castle (Get it? Get it? Nevermind .) as it is for now, because I'm not done with it yet; I am planning on adding more than just walls.

10 of 10. I can't really argue with that...

1 of 10 I've seen you pop up once or twice, but that's about it.

Yay! My castle seems intact, although someone dug a tunnel beneath it.... @SparkyFox, @MK3424, is there a time set for when we can safely rejoin the server? I haven't yet checked to see if my inventory is intact.

@EvolutionLovesU what version did you last play? Re-entry heat was added in 1.0 along with a new, realistic aerodynamics model, so if you were playing before that, you'll have to adjust to the new aerodynamics. Some other things you should be aware of: parachutes and antennas now rip off if they are deployed at too high of a speed, the atmospheres are more realistic (meaning that they won't slow you down as much in the first 10,000 meters), water now works properly, probes require a direct connection to the KSC to function, you can mine for resources and convert it to fuel, female Kerbals were introduced, jet engines were overhauled, asteroids sometimes glow in the dark...the list goes on. Also, it's not necessary to completely rework the aerodynamics to stop your ships from exploding. Simply add heatshields and/or radiators to your ships; (and keep the heatshield pointing during re-entry) they'll keep heat away from the explosion-prone parts. Both are under the Thermal tab in the VAB/SPH. I've found that a periapsis of about 30,000 meters is effective enough to slow down my ships without overheating (again, these are ships with heatshields.) Hope this helps! P.S. I think you mean meters per second, not miles per hour...

First, how the heck did this issue get so polarized? The risk might be tiny, but then again, so is the solution. I vote to add a text warning, but have the option to disable it. Those without epilepsy will find it annoying, like the tutorials that you get when starting a new game.

Banned because your description implies that something went wrong...

6 of 10 Your profile picture used to be a medieval painting, didn't it?