BagelRabbit

I'll put this up on the main screen after I write this, but just because your current attempt is considered DQ'ed, that doesn't mean that you can't post other attempts to eventually qualify ... and yes, I'm looking forwards to the entries that should be coming soon, as well. I'm going to try this out for myself in a bit.

As lovely as Mainsail drop tanks are, I would still say that they don't really fit within the rules, because dropping the tanks means losing parts... and losing parts means a DQ. Other than that and the bungled landing though, you did a very nice job. You expressed concern in the video about infinigliding and using parachutes. Both of these things are fine, because the rules don't prohibit them. As a matter of fact, I'm almost counting on the winning entry to use infinigliders, because they are capable of producing massive acceleration in the thick lower atmosphere. I'm going to put out a prediction that it can be done in less than three minutes, if someone's really good. I'm editing the rules a tiny little bit, so that the craft must carry a Kerbal, and specifying that the lowest in-game time wins, so that someone doesn't speed up to 4x warp and then get irritated that the challenge doesn't work that way. Hope you don't mind. ...oh, and Avera9eJoe, your little brother is really cute.

Hello everyone! Taking a page out of the old “HORSE†Challenge, I present to you: Kerbal Challenges Weekly! This is a bit different than the older challenge. Each challenge must have some way of counting points. Whoever gets the highest score after the week is up gets to post the next challenge. (This means that you can spend far more time on your entries, and make more difficult challenges.) Challenges must be posted on a Saturday, and completed by the next Saturday. Here are some general rules to abide by. Please read them before submitting a challenge: >As always, read the Challenge Rules and make sure that your challenge fits within the guidelines. >When you’re presenting your challenge, please give a catchy title and brief description of the challenge, along with all rules and all methods of gaining points. >Please keep the challenges 100% stock. If you can’t complete the challenge with a stock craft, then you may need to rethink it. This is just so that everyone can participate. >That being said, for a particularly difficult challenge, you may want to provide proof that you completed the challenge yourself. This attempt, however, will not be scored. >Please have a solid method of counting points. For example, you could do a thing in the lowest time, at the lowest/highest altitude, with the lowest part count, at the lowest/highest speed, etc. If you do this correctly, your challenge should have a single winner. >You can submit a craft for others to achieve a goal with, but please keep any submitted craft under 250 parts, for the sake of those with slow computers. >If you don’t follow the above rules, the second-place participant will make an alternate challenge. The challenge will still end on a Saturday, though, so if they don’t post anything, I’ll come up with an alternate challenge by Wednesday. Let me know if this requires any clarifications, and I’ll iron things out as soon as possible. The Current Challenge, Should You Choose to Accept It (submitted by Avera9eJoe): The Arkingthaad Ultra-Lite! Current Leaderboard for This Challenge:

I think that's me (although this thing still did have a load of Cubic Octagonal Struts on it, it didn't have any propulsion besides infinigliding.) Infinigliders are really fun. If you know what to do with them, you can do deeply unrealistic things. I don't think that this is related to your graphics card crashing, though. Generally, I only have problems if I accelerate infinigliders to ludicrous speeds, and even then, most of the strain comes from simulating the Mach effects and reentry effects.

Clever, clever. I still think that I'll go entirely stock for this THOMGORD, but maybe in the future I'll start using some of these mods. They certainly look like they would help. I'm currently in the brainstorming phase of the THROMGORD mk3. It'll be a little while before it comes out. I made the THROMGORD so that the craft VTOLs quite nicely with (a) all missiles on there or ( no missiles on there. If there's some missiles left but not all, the craft gets a little wonky, but it stabilizes out again as all of the missiles are fired. This was really the best I could do with such a light VTOL.

Thanks for the compliments. Coming from a Grand Builder of VTOLs like you, they mean a lot ... and don't worry, more THROMGORDs a-comin'! I would try out the Navhud, except: 1: I prefer playing without any mods, and 2: It probably wouldn't work for the THROMGORD. The decouplers' force on the missiles, combined with their light weight, means that the missiles go considerably higher than you would expect (hence the in-cockpit targeting.) They would end up so far north of the Navhud's blue icon that it would be difficult to determine exactly where they would hit. So, I think that the Navhud may be a good thing to use with future missile-carrying craft, but for the time being, it's not going to help much. Thanks for the suggestion though! Thanks! I love making fun-to-fly little craft, and I think that the THROMGORD (note spelling) fits the bill well. I'm glad you enjoyed the craft, and I'll be sure to check out your aircraft soon!

I may actually edit in quieter taps for the final version, though they don't sound too loud through my headphones. Also, isn't it blasphemy for a percussionist to want quieter percussion in a song? I didn't lower the pitch for the bass line, I actually used a synthesizer, though a more "realistic" one than the one used in DUNA. I think I can get away with it though. Aww, thanks guys. I think I'll be doing the Mun next. It'll have a bit of a different vibe to it. It'll probably have piano(!), with some clever use of the synths as well. I want to shift away from the violin a bit for the next couple of songs, just because while I can play it well, I don't like having all of the songs be too close to each other. Expect "MUN" to be out in about two weeks, give or take... and expect it to be really cool. (Also, Avera9eJoe, I'll probably need your help with this one. )

.craft file is out. Here it is. (I'm also going to link this on the OP.) This is not the last of the THROMGORDs... expect more soon. In the meantime, have fun playing with this one, and please leave a comment. (I'm getting a little lonely. )

I'm just going to leave this here... This is Thromgord, the Viking Warlord. He's invincible! He's terrifying! He loves mead! Oh, and I named a VTOL after him, which you can see here. It's really cool. Anyways. Joshwoo69? I don't know where your image is, now. I tried to check on the Dropbox file that you gave, and it had mysteriously disappeared. Is there any way to reupload the picture? In the meantime, I think that I'll work on Kookoo_gr's request. Laythe, here we come!

I've actually tried firing the missiles off in the upper atmosphere. They're not quite as happy at an altitude of 15km and a velocity of 800 m/s... they jitter about a bit as they get further away. It's very strange, but it doesn't obliterate any part of the plane. The mystery deepens. It's very true that a heavily loaded small plane can fly like a turtle if too much mass is added... but that's where VTOLs come in. As a matter of fact, the THROMGORD has about the gliding capability of a iPhone when fully loaded and fueled. It's just enough to not crash when in Turbojet-only mode. But factor in the VTOL engine, and magic happens. You can fly around as much as you want, without having to worry about wing loading. It's funny that you say that. Because the job of the THROMGORD is to hit relatively small craft like aircraft and rockets, I reduced the amount of fuel in the motors. This allows for lower-mass missiles, quick acceleration off of the THROMGORD, and less of an initial "drop" as the missiles come up to speed. Unfortunately, it also means that the range of the THROMGORD is limited to only about 500m. However, this is, perhaps, for the best, as aiming for small targets beyond 500 m or so is difficult on the best of days. .craft file coming later today. I just need to add a bona fide abort action group and a description. Other thoughts on the THROMGORD? [EDIT: You may be wondering what Thromgord the Viking Warlord looks like. Well... here he is.]

First of all, the video is out. I've linked it in the OP, and I'm linking it here. 11 of the twelve missiles hit their intended target in the single take that I did, which is pretty good. Also, you can get a good idea of how the THROMGORD flies. Nice fighter jets, although the size seems like overkill to me (though I may just be used to smaller craft.) I'm not sure why you wouldn't be able to fire stacked missiles on the move. It may just be a problem with the staging arrangement, which was a bit finicky on the THROMGORD. Also, I'm generally firing my missiles at low speeds (sub-30 m/s) so that may have something to do with it. I'm not sure. Other military-VTOL-craft builders (hi Cupcake!) often have a larger stack of decoupler missiles than this, but I had to limit myself so that the craft had proper control. I'm probably going to put out the .craft file tomorrow, sorry for the wait

Presenting the newest in Viking Technology... The THROMGORD Mk2! Thromgord, the Viking Warlord, was an invincible and terrifying figure. He also drank a lot of mead. To honor Thromgord's memory, I have created a series of VTOLs capable of attacking the Holy Roman Empire, or really anything that they want to attack. They're small, they're lethal, and they're really pretty cool. Here are some pictures of the THROMGORD Mk2: The craft VTOLs on a single Basic Jet Engine, which makes for nice slow takeoffs, as well as extended flight times. Here's a picture of some missiles that the THROMGORD is firing. It has a total of 12 missiles, in two sets of six. Vertical takeoffs, vertical landings. The THROMGORD has conquered and pillaged the Vehicle Assembly Building. In the video, I hit a bunch of targets, fly about, and land on the VAB. I do not, however, drink mead. Features! >It's very light and small - it's 'fun-sized!' With only 76 parts, it won't cause too much lag either. >Multiple takeoff options! It can VTOL. It can take off with its Turbojet Engine only. It can do a combination of the two. >12 missiles in two sets of six! The missiles actually account for more than half the parts on the THROMGORD, and they're very accurate. >Convenient targeting system! Just go into 'cockpit view' and point the VTOL at the target, then fire your missiles and watch them hit! (See video for this.) >Plenty of fuel! You can go around the world with fuel to spare. You don't have to worry about fuel in VTOL mode... the THROMGORD can stay up for hours. >Multiple landing options! You can glide in, land with a combination of the Turbojet and the VTOL engine, do a vertical landing, or even pop some parachutes! >Aesthetically pleasing! It's cute, but you can tell it means business. Also, I personally love the missiles on there. They look nice. .craft file is right here! (You know you want it.) Please let me know what you think of the THROMGORD! Have a nice day, and don't pillage too much.

Dres is out. Oh, and responding to RagnarDa, I play the violin, so those strings aren't synthesized. They're the real deal. Enjoy -

Again, best of luck and I hold you in my thoughts . Thanks. I did get a chance to take a look at these songs, and while I feel that they're a little too 'harsh' for the gameplay atmosphere I'm going for, they're still really great. I think that the second one is actually eerily similar to what I wanted to do with JOOL, though with fewer "pneumatic" noises towards the beginning . JOOL is going to feature pretty much every single instrument that I can find, and if I do it right (there's a chance of that happening, right?) it'll be epic. I'll keep these songs in mind when composing, and I'm going to be sure to give you some quality percussion. (DRES, however, would likely be better plain.) I would give you the unfinished version of Dres, but unfortunately, copying files from my Mac to my PC is always such a pain, I only want to do it once. Sorry. Sadly (see the above post), I'll start the final push for getting DRES done first thing tomorrow. Thanks for the kind wishes. (I might not have it done for another day or two after that, though, depending on my schedule.)

Hey everyone. So, as you might have noticed, no DRES today. The reason for this is a bit long, so I'll put it in a footnote*. I'll probably have it out within the next couple of days. Sorry to run on "SQUAD Time" and do this to you guys. DRES, for its part, is coming along well. I've got the main theme of the song, although there are still two or three questionable loops that need a bit of a fix. Also, it needs an ending better than the one it currently has. Based on the overwhelming support for DUNA, though, I think you'll like the final product. Anyways, it will be out Soon. Stay tuned. *My grandmother came to our state several weeks ago and was in hospice care. She's definitely on her last legs now, and my grandfather has come over to our house as she fades. I'll probably complete the song after she passes away, which will probably be in the next day or two. After this, my grandfather will leave and I'll have a small window of time with which to complete DRES. Depressingly enough, hearing the song soon will mean that she's passed away, which isn't exactly a good thing. Anyway, I'm pretty sure that no more problems of this magnitude will pop up during the creation of this plugin. If you want to send your best wishes, you're welcome to, but please don't turn this into a condolence thread. Thanks for understanding. It's all gonna be alright.

You've heard about the Mohole (singular), right? Yes, there was one in real life, though it was only about 600 feet deep, and thus never made it to the discontinuity. Mr. Dwight Eisenhower created NASA and attempted to fund scientific education. It's a fair bet that this is why there's a moon named after him in KSP, IMHO.

I'm going to post this here, because it's one of my best videos. If you don't watch until the end, you're missing out. No, seriously. The third way to abuse infinigliders is possibly one of the best things I've ever seen in KSP. You think that your infiniglider is extreme...

Post-traumatic stress disorder. For everyone. What would happen if the Moon was made of cheese?

10/10. I don't think I have to explain why.

Hello! A little earlier today, I stated that a passage in Kings strongly implied that pi is equal to three. I also said a lot of other things, but apparently having pi be equal to three was the bit that people seemed to latch on to. So, here's the reason why I chose that particular example. Recently and in multiple places, people have attempted to equate pi to some number other than 3.1415926536 (rounded off, of course). Even now, there are some solid Christians who think that our school system is corrupting our youth by making the value of pi a bit different than the Bible indicated. This has been spoofed, and indeed, it seems like an ideal point to poke fun at. Anyone with a circular object and a bit of string can see that this isn't quite correct. And yet, there are comments like the one at the bottom of this article, under the heading "The wisdom of Solomon: Not what it's cracked up to be." "You're a heathen... you should have checked with the ultimate reference." This person was, apparently, serious. It is sad. And yet, people are saying the exact same thing about evolution, which has more backing than almost any other scientific theory. (I would compare its irrefutability to pi's, but unfortunately, only mathematical concepts can be 100% proven.) It is sad that people are dubious of mathematical proofs that will never fail, simply because they take the words of a 2,000-year-old book at face value. Sure, the writers of the Bible may have rounded off their estimate for pi, but today's passionate Bible studiers don't see it that way. Every word in their precious book is the Truth, beyond any shadow of a doubt. This is what causes the problems. I know it's a little different with the people who doubt evolution's influence on every single life-form on Earth. But, sadly, it's really much the same. They dont let facts stand in the way of the Truth; they are staunch and unyielding in their interpretations; and in the end, they look like complete fools. *sigh*

Fun fact: the Bible (sorry) is deeply flawed. Why? Because it was written with "knowledge" that we know isn't correct anymore, after thousands of years. The Bible implies that the Sun goes around the earth, and is just another object in the "heavens." It states in Kings that the value of pi is three. It gives medical advice that is incredibly poor, though it does strongly advise you to not eat shellfish. In all realms of science and mathematics, the Bible is lacking compared to today's knowledge. Why? Because it was originally written by a populace who was unaware of much of the science that we know today. They were pretty smart and well-educated guys, but they lived two thousand years ago, and this is beginning to show. And yet, people stubbornly cling to biblical beliefs. Scientists have proven beyond a shadow of a doubt that evolution exists, based on hundreds of millions of years of fossil evidence. And yet, a small group of people who speak very loudly are trying to undermine science. The only problem? No matter how loudly they scream, no matter how hard they bang their fists on the table, they've already been proven wrong again and again. Here, take a look at this. This is the alternative to evolution, according to Creation.com. Look at how happy the humans are together with the dinosaurs! Look at how peacefully the pterodactyls live with the birds! This is the last stand of this aspect of creationism: acknowledging the presence of extinct species, but showing Homo Sapiens among them. Also on Creation.com is a deliciously illogical Journal of Creation, which attempts to blend science with religion, and, from what I can see, doesn't do a very good job of it. After all, aren't all of our hardships because Mrs. Eve ate that fruit from the tree of knowledge? Being smart is what caused all of humanity's problems in the first place, so let's throw our brains to the wind and embrace the concept of creationism. After all, what use is rational thinking, anyway? sorry, I got a little carried away.

Thank you. Discussing [REDACTED] always makes my blood pressure go up. I just wanted to state that really, no one who is currently building rockets is a "rocket scientist," nor do they need to be. As much as I would love to see things like gas-core fission engines in rocketry today, there aren't really any major efforts to test out such advanced technologies, on account of NASA's low budget and government operation. Call me a curmudgeon, but the lack of major advances in spacecraft technology (and especially propulsion) is making me grumpy. That being said, KSP isn't the best spacecraft simulator in existence, but it's certainly one of the most comprehensive, and it's pretty good considering it's designed for players who may not even know what an orbit is, let alone more advanced concepts such as specific impulse, TWR, etc. While it skimps in some ways (especially the construction of planes), they often weren't part of the original game design, and will eventually be improved upon. In short, KSP may not be a perfect spaceflight simulator, but it's fun and comprehensive, and realistic enough for beginning players to grasp concepts easily. I think it's pretty good.

"What's going on?!" Congratulations, you've discovered the potent effects of infinigliders. They are byproducts of a flawed aerodynamics system in KSP, in which control surfaces begin to "flap" and produce thrust. The propellers weren't speeding the thing up, it was the control surfaces flapping out of control. As the craft gets faster, it's buffeted more and more by the air around it, which in turn causes faster flapping. This positive feedback loop can be terrifying, game-breaking, and really awesome. Sorry for shamelessly promoting my videos all over the place, but here's some good things to do with infinigliders. The third Thing do Do with Infinigliders on the video... well, you thought your craft was doing crazy things. It's definitely worth experimenting with, as I think that you'll enjoy the results tremendously By the way, I enjoy your videos but they don't really belong in the "Fan Works" section. There's an entire subforum dedicated to video-makers called "Live from Mission Control" that would probably be a better place to put your stuff. In addition, for the sake of consistency, many YouTubers are condensing all of their videos into one thread which they update regularly; this might something to look into. Nice video as always Jatwaa, see you next time!

Noted, doing that now

You realize that it is impossible to do a true circumnavigation of Kerbin without boats. Every single inch of ground that Wooks could have used for land travel, he did. I understand where you're coming from, but this is as close to a land circumnavigation as you're going to get. Wooks made a lot of decisions that made the circumnavigation more difficult (Using exclusively rovers when he could have added ion engines, etc. and boosted speed tremendously. All stock, with no Mechjeb. Permadeath series. Etc, etc, etc.) so it's not as if he was trying to cheat the system and take a cheap shortcut.