KeithStone

I've decided to keep a thread for my warmongering vessels. I love designing and building more than flying missions, but for this series I don't really feel like writing a story for them or doing much in the way of video editing due to time constraints. Tons of mods, but a focus on the Lackluster Labs parts for the time being. Comments welcome! “BadManta Mark IV†Bomber Class Vessel Weight: 20.401 t Vessel Width: 12.5 meters Vessel Length: 3 meters (4 if fully armed) Armament: 4 “Penetrator†medium-class Lazor Missiles 2 “Hulksplitter†capital ship torpedoes. DeltaV (Vacumn): 1049 DeltaV (Atmospheric): N/A Maximum Acceleration: 17.15 m/s^2 MonoProp (Maneuvering): 400 Maximum Crew: 2 Power Systems: 1 KR-XL Megalador Solar Array 2 ZAP-01 Radioisotope power cells Description: The “BadManta†was developed as a long range bomber, to be delivered outside of radar range of capital ships utilizing its twin aerospike engines to perform orbital maneuvers, and its RCS array for close range maneuvers. With a low profile and heat signature, the BadManta is able to deliver a significant payload to it's target, so long as it has an escort. It's penetrator missiles do well against other bombers or cruisers, and it's two hulksplitter torpedoes can tear battleships in half. “Hammerhead Mk III†Light Carrier Class Vessel Weight: 414.865 t Vessel Width: 18.5 Meters Vessel Length: 36 Meters Armament: Varies DeltaV (Vacumn): 9031 (7159 with 80 tons of payload) DeltaV (Atmospheric): N/A Maximul Acceleration: 4.266 m/s^2 MonoProp (Maneuvering): N/A Maximum Crew: 102 Power Systems: UNSFE-400 Nuclear Reactor Cargo: 4 Triple-length 4x2 Cargo Bays Description: The Hammerhead is a tactical carrier. What it lacks in modern power and thrust systems it makes up for in versatility. Its three nuclear drives, smaller size, and lighter weight than modern carriers gives it the advantage of speed an maneuverability that larger carriers cannot match. It lacks any defense systems of it's own, relying solely on it's fighters and bombers for defense. If left unescorted, the Hammerhead is an easy target for cruisers and frigates, but it's speed allows it to make haste against batteships, allowing the Hammerhead to scout out fleet locations or soft targets with relative safety. “Kakapo Mk II†Fighter Class Vessel Weight: 13.396 (Fully Loaded) Vessel Width: 4.2 Meters Vessel Length: 7 Meters Armament: 4 Tachyon Dispersement Rifles 4 “Hunter†IFF missiles DeltaV (Vacumn): 772 DeltaV (Atmospheric): N/A MonoProp (Maneuvering): 600 Maximum Crew: 1 Power Systems: 2 ZAP-01 Radioisotope generators Description: The Kakapo is one of the most unique of the first generation starfighters, and due to it's unmatched fighting style it still sees quite a bit of service today. It's relatively low deltaV margins are use primarily as an afterburner, as it is one of the few fighters that can rely on it's primary engine to engage in and remove itself from combat. More unique, however, are the four forward-facing solid rocket boosters on the front of the craft. Often used in pairs, these four rockets allow the Kakapo access to maneuvers that other fighters simply cannot perform. Those who have engaged them often return screaming about how they could never land a solid hit on one. Those that pilot them often return screaming about how insane one has to be to keep from getting hit.

Reminds me of the Orca from the original command & conqueror, which was one of my all time favorite vessels.

As a side note, i prefer the docking washers in many cases over the rotorons for general use rotors, mostly because they're slim. I'm not terribly keen on combining them with a docking port, but thats just my two cents

Project 4: Sacrifice The Kult members of Duna knew that their future was in constructing a great tribute on the mountain in the distance, but several members we getting cranky at the cramped conditions of the Krabcake. It was decided that first, they would expand upon their landing site by putting up a few homes. The first Krakenhome was designed by Freebart Kerman as a welcome and cozy place to relax while still keeping one's mind constantly focused on the Kraken. Coming in at just over seven tons, it would be the largest construction to be built using the mobile Krabcake's facilities. This meant it would be a perfect time to test the Seadragon's counterbalance weight system. Since he took charge of the operation, Freebart was the first Kerbal of the Kult to leave the safety of the Krabcake and finally set foot on Dunan soil. Upon inspecting the Seadragon, he noted that it had an access port for filling the counterweight with metal, but the Krabcake didnt have any sort of transfer system installed. Freebart called for a toolbox to be sent out to assist him, and decided to take a nap while they others gathered what he needed. The diatom automated rover toolbox was constructed, and several calls went out over the radio in an attempt to wake Freebart. Thinking he was just in a deep sleep, the Kult went ahead and righted the diatom on its wheels before attempting to wake Freebart more forcefully....by dropping the seadragon's electromagnet on his head. Failing to wake him still, it was decided that the Kult could have a little fun at his expense. Manufacturing a giant claw, Hufred Kerman exited the Krabcake to attach the “violent shaking device†to the seadragon. Several attempts were made to grab Freebart, but the claw passed right through him, as if he were already a ghost. The Kraken was showing itself in full force. Hufred planted a flag to mark the burial spot of Freebart, and chanted out in the Kraken's name. Freebart's body, suit and all, disappeared in a wisp of smoke. Hufred continued on Freebart's mission, using the parts from the diatom to fill the seadragon's counterweight. Once properly weighted, it was surprising how well the seadragon was able to lift and manuever the seven-ton home. It was set down gently, and it's solar cells and lights were remotely activated in Freebart's name. For his services, Hufred was offered the home of Freebart while more were constructed. He got inside, to watch the building of their colony from afar. The second Krakenhome was soon set down as gently as the first, and as the seadragon lifted it high the kult felt as if just for a moment, time moved more quickly. But as soon as it started, time screamed to a halt, and the second krakenhome was nothing but a massive cloud above the seadragon, which now swung wildly at the sudden loss of weight against straining servos. Rodbrett Kerman, the historian in the group, found a reference to the possibility of the number of space-faring parts having to do with the summoning of the Kraken's rage. Though surely they would try to summon the Kraken itself at some point, now was not the time. It was decided that to better the cause a sturdier launch pad would be built, since it was becoming apparent that seven tons was near the weight limit of the construction pad of the Krabcake. It was decided that their new launch facility would be build upon the sacred ground of Freebart's grave site, location of the first to be sacrificed to the Kraken. The flag was taken down, as the launchpad would serve as a much better tombstone. The Krabcake crawled back slowly as the new launchpad was deployed, the Kult began the work of disassembling much of the unneeded weight and bulk of the Krabcake, reducing it down and renaming it the SLUG, or “Significantly Lighter Utility Generatorâ€Â. Though the vehicle was much faster than it was with the added weight of its original form, the name stuck. Once the process was complete, it was as if the weight of the recycled Krabcake shell was lifted from the Kult's shoulders as well, as time seemed to move more quickly, and their steps landed much more precisely than ever before. Though the SLUG lacked the roominess of its former shell, the Kult still felt as if they now had the room they needed to build a worthy construction site, free from the Kraken's physics-warping tentacles, at least for now.

The newest build is pretty stable in 23.5, i havent had any issues other than the fact that robotics parts seem to count for about four times the number of regular parts when it comes to draining the physics engine, but that was almost always the case. I need to reduce the number of IR parts I have on a few of my ships....

I'm thinking that even during aerocapture, you can pack your vessels more tightly to reduce apoapsis differences between craft. Being able to pilot them all at once means you just need enough room to maneuver (and make sure you dont turn the jets on each other). There are however, as you say, plenty of concepts for use of that mod. I havent messed with it yet myself, but I plan to in the future

Thanks. I have an idea for something using your idea, but it wouldn't be a mod. We'll see how things go, the railway concept is good tho.

True, but now they can get bigger!

I'm starting to wonder that as well. I noticed that all of my craft "spawn" about a meter or so above ground before "dropping" in to place 9when i first focus my vessels, before construction), and that if the launchpad is below this point things explode on spawn. I'll be back with test results as soon as i can get a decent pad to the same spot as my current one with some hydraulics in place. Upon return, I think we have a winner. Putting the launchpad on a hydraulic hoist to bring it above the invisible "horizon" of where my ships are on first focus puts the construction pad just above the exploding line.

Weird for me still but possibly related to Josh's issue, is that the pad in question was raised about 10 meters in the air when construction was good. The new pad, the large "+" launchpad, cant seem to spawn anything without explosion of root part. Selectroot to change the part doesnt seem to help do anything but cause a different part to explode.

Within the first minute this had me laughing hysterically, making it a true HHGTTG fanwork. Great stuff!

+Rep for this! I've been wanting to terraform for so long, but havent spent the time building my terraforming tools because i never thought i would see green on duna.....but now....now things are different!

Just in case you havent seen it before, you might be interested in the development of this.

Yeah, almost all of my vehicles require infernal robotics. The propellers are mounted on firespitter parts (I think the "paddles" are for mounting the plane floats for landing on water), that are then mounted on folded hinges from IR. The quadropter design works well as long as you have mechjeb translatron or Smart A.S.S on. In my opinion, infernal robotics is just as vital a mod as kethane and KAS. If i could only have 3 mods, those would be it. Infernal isnt very difficult to use once you get the hang of it, but it can be a little dodgy at times if you arent used to it. I recommend using it on a new save/install until you're comfortable with the parts.

I had this issue as well, and only on occasion would certain parts explode or not load properly. I agree that it has to do with the root part, since that was my experience as well. HOWEVER, I may have a little more information regarding this. I accidentally quicksaved AFTER starting construction of a rover that had it's root part explode. After quite a few quickloads, I changed the orientation of the orbital construction pad I was using since I attached it to some of the robotics parts. If the orientation of the pad was the same direction as the root part of the craft created, there was no explosion and it worked perfectly. If the pad was at a 90 degree angle, explosion ensued. I'm thinking there might be something to the orientation of the craft spawned, but I'm not sure. All i know is it seems to work for me to change the direction of the pad itself.

I've got to say, you have some INCREDIBLE builds in this story. I love your stage setup and the little details like microphones for the conference announcement. My only question though, is in part 1, what is the mod (or construction methodology) on the rail transport system for kethane? I didnt recognize anything from your mod screenshots that looked like it might be that system.

Project 3: Flying Larva On Duna, the rolling hills of the Kult's chosen landing spot would be rather trecherous for the Krabkake to traverse. Though it could roll on its four massive tracks, these would mostly be for repositioning, especially due to the added weight of the ore, metal, and rocketparts that were currently being stored, rendering it tediously slow. Altimeter data was available for analysis, but due to the lower orbit used to gain data on ore and kethane desposits, the data was neither accurate nor comprehensive. A visual feed was deemed useful to help better understand their current location and surroundings. A probe was designed to scout the mountain in the distance and relay information about the Kult's surroundings. This probe, the Polyp, was a quadropter with a near unlimited distance due to it's fusion core. In the event of a core shutdown, the solar panels could charge it's batteries and allow it to get back home, where it could be serviced. The probe was built, and the seadragon helped right it to launch position. After deploying its rotors and thermal fins, the polyp was launched, and it's hovering capabilities tested. After the initial tests were complete, the Kult piloted the probe to a higher altitude and headed to the mountain. Nearing their destination, an attempt was made to kill the polyp's now rather high horizontal velocity. Not realizing that the mountain was in fact rather high, and the Kult's reliance on computers to do most of their flying meant they lacked any real piloting skills, the Kult was unable to reduce their velocity enough in the thin atmosphere to keep the probe from clipping the top of the mountain. Explosions ensued, and the probe was rendered useless 20 km away from their landing site after rolling some ways down the side of said mountain. Knowing that their deity was a master of destruction and chaos, they heralded this as a sign. Their first monument would have to be built there, where the first tremors of the Kraken's influence were witnessed.

I really wish I would have thought of this when I was playing career mode! An excellent little rover, and a fun story as well!

Spacetruck for the win!!!! Your escape pod is rather nice as well.

Project 2: Codename 046 With the Kult of the Kraken leaders now off world, life on Kerbin returned to its (relatively) normal state. High in orbit, in the Squidstructor space station, things were a little different. With access to a complete, top-notch research, development, and construction facility, the Kult leaders knew that it was only a matter of time before they would be unable to leach off of the vast resources of Kerbin. Their only choice was to slowly begin working on the undermining of the Kerbal leadership, slowly but surely bringing the entire race to their cause. The first order of business was to establish a more permanent base in the Kerin system. With few aerospace experts on board, the Kult leaders decided a mission to Duna to claim an outpost was in order, and they devised a monstrous machine capable of making the trip as well as roving over the landscape. It was fitted with drilling and mining equipment, kethane and ore scanners, mapping devices, and a small construction pod. Inflatable habitation space would allow some breathing room for the crew of 10. Fueled up with barely enough rocketfuel to make the trip, the “Konstructing Religious Artifacts Before Kerbal Ascention Kollection Event†or “KRABKAKE†was born. The Krabkake's construction went smoothly, and once completed at the construction pad, the vessel was remotely brought around to dock with the station, and ten brave souls were selected to embark to Duna. The trip was long, but uneventful, and as they arrived in Duna's SOI their orbital inclination was adjusted to provide an optimal scanning polar orbit. Much to their surprise, Duna was nearly void of kethane resources. Luckily, ore was incredibly abundant, and a landing site was found that contained both decent ore and kethane deposits. This would keep them from having to build kethane transporting infrastructure right away and allowed them to focus on their bigger plans. The first construction to breach the maw of the Krabkake was the Seadragon construction rover. What it lacked in the cool acronym name category it made up for in utility. Able to right itself from any position, the Seadragon was a heavy rover-crane. With the added metal storage bay “tail†the Seadragon would be able to counterbalance the heaviest crane loads, and with its four extendable pylons, the rover would be able to lock itself against the ground to aid in manuvering large loads. So far, the future looked bright for the Kult of the Kraken. Another day's worship for their invisible monster deity complete.

Wow, I'm honored! I've always loved some of your incredible planes! Thanks!

I finally got this in to orbit. Story thread here.

Looks pretty heavily ion powered to me. Though with that many ion engines and xenon tanks, I'm wondering what the transfer stage is for? Do the ions bring it all the way home?

Hello Everyone! I present to you my newest Kerbal-brained project. As I built and designed a couple of vessels in sandbox, a story started to brew. So here you go, the heavily modded story of.... The Kult of the Kraken Ever since the first rockets were launched from Kerbin, strange reports of awkward physics and mysterious events have been documented. The governments of Kerbin do their best to deny these claims, and entire reports have had vital details “accidentally highlighted in solid blackâ€Â. For years few took notice, or were quickly distracted by government issued “happy snacks†and “forgittabatit cupcakes†(with gel coated “sprinkles†for easy swallowing) followed by all-day broadcasts of trees dancing to repetitive music, occasionally flashing the words “EVERYTHING IS NORMAL†on the screen. There were, however, a few curious kerbals that dug deeper, trying to expose the truth. Talented hackers found references to a being known as “The Krakenâ€Â, that was thought to be the cause of so many issues. As the word spread, KSC made a horror movie about the beast dubbed “Kthulu the Fake and the Rubber Monster Fight†in an attempt to fictionalize the idea and label the conspiracy theorists as fanboys of the film. The plan backfired, and soon there were hundreds, then thousands, then millions that began to worship the idea, believing that the Kraken could save them from their boring lives. Leaders started to appear, recruiting members in to the “Kult of the Krakenâ€Â, a group guaranteeing salvation for all. The idea spread like wildfire, and Kerbin was on the cusp of a global disaster as whole cities took to the streets, abandoning their jobs and families “In the Kraken's nameâ€Â. In a last ditch effort, KSC agreed to send the core leaders of the group off-world to do as they desire, so long as the leaders agreed to help steer the minds of the weak to return to work and other more mundane activities that didn't question KSC's motives. The leaders agreed, and 80 members were selected to head to space. They demanded that a momentous space station be built worthy of housing such devoted worshipers. Supplies would have to be sent regularly to ensure the leaders continued cooperation in keeping order on Kerbin by broadcasting updates and messages of hope and peace. By request, the mods that I am using are below. Please note that I have made minor changes to a few parts (Using the smaller magnetometer as an ore scanner, for example) and removed parts that I dont use from each mod in a desperate attempt to keep my part count load, so hat's off to you if you install everything in the below and load the game without errors Parts Mods Extraplanetary Launchpads Baha EPL parts pack BobCat HOME 2 Bohan Quantum Struts Davon Supply Mod Deadly Reentry DMagic Orbital Science Firespitter Plane parts Goodspeed Aerospace parts Hooligan Labs Airships Hooligan Labs SQUID landing gear Kerbal Attachment System Procedural Fairings Procedural Wings Kethane Kotysoft's NRAP test weight KW Rocketry LackLusterLabs stock extension LackLusterLabs Standard Infernal Robotics Spherical/Toroidal fuel tanks Near Future Propulsion Pack 6S Compartment Tubes PorkWorks Habitation Pack R&S Capsuledyne Taurus HCV RBI Tracks reborn Rollkage MK2 ScanSAT TT Multiwheels AIES Aerospace Informational/Other plugins Toolbar Plugin Aggressive Texture Compression Editor Extensions Kerbal Engineer MechJeb Burn Together Modular Fuel Tanks NavyFish's Docking Port Alignment indicator Protractor SelectRoot Ship Manifest TAC Fuel Balancer Kerbal Alarm Clock Tweakable Everything Project 1 “Octopedes†The giant station was designed by the core leaders, much to the chagrin of the engineers at KSC. It was to be an orbital construction facility with the capacity to build enormous ships. Even completely empty of resources, the beast would weigh over five-hundred and fifty tons, more than double KSC's prior maximum payload launches. Hundreds of designs and simulations were tested, and all of them failed. The Kult of the Kraken joined in seance and the next day the first successful design was simulated. The Kult claimed it was due to their diligence, when in all reality it was found that the server was running on power saving mode due to the power cable being loose, causing many a destructive frame-skip. The final design was taped and glued together, then hastily sent to space. Eager to get the Kult leaders off-world, KSC enlisted the help of the Devon Supply Group to bring supplies to the massive vessel, and once satisfied the leaders hopped in to a shell made from 5 re-purposed aircraft coach cabins and docked with the station. Victorious, the leaders began their broadcasts to Kerbin, and peace was restored. But this was only the beginning for the Kult of the Kraken.....

As far as getting it to activate at a certain stage, can you make it appear as maybe an engine or some other part that has an "active" place on the stage order as a button that can be moved up and down stages? Just an idea.