GuzWaatensen

I would like for them to add some longterm goals to career mode. With every patch since career mode was first introduced my ritual was: 1.) Fly to Minmus 2.) Fly to Mun 3.) (optional) Fly to duna to max out tech tree 4.) Wait for mods to update and have fun with the game Funds haven't really changed anything, and strategies of course didn't either. If only there was something to do in career mode like build base or setup satellite network... You know the things we do with mods without an actual gameplay incentive...

As they have no females i'm pretty sure they do not have sexual reproduction...

Well i have KER, KAC, FAR, Deadly Reentry, Remotetech, ECLSS and Procedural Fairings. Because i want an extra challenge and the added realism. I do not like Mechjeb, as it would presumably make thing too easy. And i do not enjoy the other realism enhancing mods (besides the ones i've mentioned) because i still want this to feel like a game. And i do not like any part only mods, that kinda feels like cheating. The only problem right now with this setup is career mode, as there is no tech tree specific to this kind of mod setup and also i still lack a mod (if there is one) that makes probe only missions viable... For me these aren't pulling me to the dark side they are enhancing my experience with the game and quite clearly do not make it easier.

Most Extravagant Knights deeply desire juvenile erect ... Luckily the Kerbol system doesn't have a Pluto...

I make quite the impressive bonfires on the launchpad...

if you've already completed the first node then this probably comes to late, but you can avoid clipping the engine on terrain if you build a rover like this:

Ah that's probably because i forgot to state in the OP that you also need treeloader for the whole thing to work, I changed the OP accordingly...

Maybe I should explain the challenge in a little bit more in detail so people will know what to expect... At the start of the challenge you will have access to only very little parts but you can unlock more if you recover "Backups" (Science) stored in the 3 Backup stations, one on Kerbin in the mountains west of KSC, one on the Mun and one on Duna. every time you restore power to a station and transmit (or take the data out of the station and bring it back to KSC) you get enough science to unlock the next node in the tech tree "restoring a backup". With these parts you'll then be able to reach the next backup center. The first center has to be reached with just rover parts and a rocket that's already on the launchpad but can't reach... The second is on the Mun but the first backup does not contain any manned modules. The third is on Duna, although the second backup contains only low ISP Engines. Here's a picture of what the backup stations look like:

This is a scenario challenge that is both a (puzzle-) crafting and speed challenge. There will be leaderboards for fastest time and for earliest submission (with proof of completion). Requirements: You have to be able to fly interplanetary missions and have a basic grasp of remote tech to succeed in this challenge. You will need KAS and RemoteTech2 and treeloader installed for the Challenge to work properly. While it should not interfere with other installed mods, if you encounter problems temporarily disable them. How to install: If you haven't done so, download and intall KAS, RemoteTech2 and treeloader. Download THIS .zip file and unpack into your KSP directory (or place the save and gamedata folder in their respective directories manually) Start the Challenge from the "resume game" menu. The story: Big kerfuffle at the Kerbal Space Center, apparently someone ran a simulation of a Rocket with waaay to many SRBs attached and melted the servers in the process. Now the part database is completely gone and as the fine Kerbals at KSC couldn’t even build a lawn chair without a blueprint they are now stuck unable to build anything. Fortunately, Jeb was told by the IT Department to maintain Backups just in case, which he dutifully did. Unfortunately they also told him that backups are best kept in remote locations which he also took very seriously. Fortunately the closest datacenter is just a couple of kilometers west of KSC. Unfortunately they also explained to Jeb how RAID is essential to data integrity, but he got it wrong and so every datacenter only has a part of the required backup files. Fortunately all data centers are equipped with communication dishes. Unfortunately Jeb knew from his TV that putting things in standby is not really switching them off and so he unplugged all of them before he left. After Bill and Bob explained to him what kind of trouble that put all of them in (not to mention that he’s also a prime suspect for the server melting), he bravely decided to make it his responsibility to get the three backup fragments from the data centers back to KSC. After some frantic searching through old file cabinets and the trash, they dug up blueprints for a discontinued (for good reason) rover stuck to the bottom of a bin. But at least now they also had some schemes for parts Jeb could use in other designs… How to play/submit: When you installed everything correctly and start the Scenario you should find yourself at KSC. Your Job is to get to all three data centers and plug them back in or get the data (science) contained in them by other means. You can use all facilities of the KSC and are encouraged to use the Tracking center to switch to the various data centers and make yourself a picture of the situation before you start. Whenever you get the data from a datacenter and get it back to KSC (either in person or by transmission)you can use the research center to unlock new parts that will help you build a craft capable of reaching the next datacenter. To complete the challenge fly a lander of your choice containing one or more !visible! parts unlocked in the last backup to the first backup station. Then post a picture from the backup stations viewpoint showing the lander. This will prove that you a.) did not recover the first backup station b.) got all three backups c.) completed the challenge in the time displayed as the data centers mission time. RULES: No debug Menu! KAS and remote tech 2 have to be used! No parts from other mods my be used. The Backup Station on Kerbin cannot be recovered! Good Luck and a lot of fun participating in this challenge! A small hint, as reaching the first data center can prove a little grindy if you go about it wrong: Let me tell you that there IS a way to build a craft for the first part that can withstand 4x time warp and therefore make the journey less time consuming...

Rule 1: Launcher must be manned, and kerbal must survive ... Rule 4: I-Beam must never enter a stable orbit Not at all, the first rule only applies to the launcher part, the 4th rule only applies to the I Beam part. At no point is it suggested that the rule only applies once the two have been separated. Also i will now stop feeding the troll and apologize to the OP for needlessly diverting the thread...

Now you're just trolling, at no point is it specified that this rule only takes effect after the ibeam has been detached. Your Ibeam entered a stable orbit once your "catapult" left a suborbital trajectory, which it must NOT do. Even if you'd managed to reach escape velocity without ever raising the periapsis out of kerbins surface. You'd still be in violation of the rules as a kerbin escape trajectory equates a stable Sol orbit. (just because it's not immediately shown that way in the trajectory representation doesn't make it any less so). The only way to somewhat circumvent this rule is have a suborbital trajectory (i.e. straight up and straight down) intersect the mun before the periapsis raises out of kerbin. But you'd still need to make the iBeam survive the impact to make that entry count. And the OP could easily add the rule impact has to be on kerbin, to negate those shenanigans...

A while ago, when jool was added I was very excited and after a considerable number of tries I finally got there, only to realize that i used a SAS module instead of a decouple to connect my lander and interplanetary stage...

So, this was considerably harder than i though, basically you have to hit the mountaintop ballistic there's no way to do any parachute distance timing because you're coming in so steep... After countless tries finally got one where i was higher up than stargate.... I think whoever manages to land on the spike almost directly west of the launchpad will win this one, but i do not have the patience to try and get lucky with that shot...

Might as well make the first entry. Judging by the other thread, this is easily beaten i suppose: Time: 2:35

yeah, the kraken doesn't want this one to fly:

So, i had a couple of hours free time and (finally) made a submission to my own challenge. See the video below as proof, skip to 1:00 to see me going through the hole... While the game still began stuttering once i came close to the hole there were no weird physics glitches this time. I hope, now that you know it is indeed possible, some people will consider competing in this challenge...

I updated the first post accordingly... Actually i just read that you used cheats to place the pinhole, which of course is against the rules. But i'm not ready to disqualify my only participant because of a technicality, still future participants should try to avoid that, in my opinion placing the pinhole in a good spot is also part of the challenge....

that is still rather impressive. Feel free to give me the .craft file for your pinhole, i'll update the OP with an "Easy Mode" (that might be the only mode if I can't hit my Pinhole this weekend). Regarding sub orbital velocity i'm not ready to step down from that quite yet. If during my next attempt i manage to hit the hole at orbital velocity i will leave that as a requirement, if not i'll have the remodel the challenge a bit. Anyway, thanks a lot of partaking in the challenge and i hope you had some fun!

I did (you can find the video on the bottom of the first page), as I already mentioned there it might be impossible to do at the mun because the high speeds required, but might be doable on lower gravity bodies. i fully intend to try the challenge in it's original setup on another body with less gravity. But as I do not have much spare time during the week, this will have to wait to the next weekend. In the meantime i am fully ok with someone with the actual time to design a bigger pinhole to do so. This in no way invalidates any results someone (myself included) might have with the original setup. It's merely another difficulty level. @inigma: Personally i think, in hindsight, the mun arch might have been the wiser choice in terms of targets and i will try to improve my entry to your challenge accordingly. I'd however rather do so without hyper edit...

I'd gladly update the OP with a bigger pinhole if you would like to provide one. Honestly i do think hitting the smaller pinhole is possible. As you said you were going rather slow and the faster you go, the smaller the change in direction a given amount of thrust will generate is going to be. So aiming actually gets easier at higher velocities. Still making this Challenge the slightest bit easier is probably in any ones interest...

I think you could use something like this: Maybe call it the full thrill ride experience...

So what would you suggest? Should one go slower, so that the physics can stabilize. Or faster so that they never get evaluated in the first place?

Sooo... I've now tried to do the challenge myself and I think it might actually be impossible to do, at least on the mun. And not because the pinhole is impossible to hit, i think i would have been able to make the necessary corrections, but there were reasons I stopped trying after a certain point... Below is the footage I was filming for my entry (Spoiler: I didn't make it), the reason why though is not really obvious... Skip to 2:45 if you just want to see why my attempt failed. I don't know if it's sonicspaceboom or just the Kraken, but it seems high velocities and collision detection don't mix. I actually think that it's just because i'm going way to fast, so I will have another go at this on Bob or Pol where i can be considerably slower. Until then feel free to participate, but know that it might not be doable...

You are right, i'll add a paragraph to the rules to eliminate that... Basically i'm just going to out-rule landing. If you want to build a craft that can hover over the surface to the gate then that will probably reflect in your speed rating...

Yeah, "sounds easy enough", was supposed to be snarky... i haven't successfully completed the challenge myself (yet), but i think you can actually hit the pinhole - without seeing it - through reloading/practicing your approach, which is explicitly allowed... Also: Cool video, i wasn't aware someone had done something similar already. This also shows that rating isn't going to be easy... Finding a spot for the pinhole is remarkably easier on minmus that on other moons....