Fake a Mun landing.

[Tw1]

Today is a glorious day! Despite being over budget, and far behind schedule, the Kerbal Space program has landed on the Mun, and beaten those filthy kommunists/kapitalist dogs!

Or did they?

Fellow kerbalists, your challenge today is to create a set of photos that will convince an uneducated public that you did indeed land on the Mun, without actually doing it. Photos must be able to stand up to at least the laziest of scrutiny. Try and make it look like you're on the Mun. Photos with obvious buildings, grass, or whatever, will not qualify.

Each unique, passable Mun scene you make (of a flag planing, rover trip, kerbal on a ladder etc,) will be worth 50 points.

Double that if you're using a mod that adds reflections to helmet visors.

If you include a nice little story with your Mun pictures, your score may double again.

Plus, I'll give an X-factor bonus of up to 25% for extra complex efforts, or excellent scenery..

Please also include an image or two that shows how you did it. I need to make sure you didn't cheat by actually going to the Mun. But hide these in spoiler tags, so they won't ruin the effect of your fake pictures. Also, try to take your fake mun pictures on Kerbin.

Do it in space if you must, but there will be a 40% penalty to plan around. No photoshopping allowed. Try not to directly  copy previous attempts, this may get a 10% penalty.

Use the remains of a demolished space center, use any cheat, mod, use asteroids, use anything, just don't land anywhere but kerbin!

Go "land on the Mun"! And good luck!

P.s. We all know the real Moon landing did happen. This thread is not intended to dispute that, and anyone who attempts to do so might find themselves fed to to the kracken.

Leaderboard:

jojofishfishing: 431 points

TJPrime: 326 points

SirJodelstein: 270 points

Rayheat: 250 points

CaptainApollo: 234 points

Mad Rocket Scientist: 200 points

Tw1: 200 points

UpsilonAerospace: 154 points

r_rolo1: 104 points

SemiaCloud: 50 points

Edited December 24, 2016 by Tw1

[LABHOUSE]

Are we alowed to go into space, just not land on the mun?

[MrWalrus123]

What if our computer can't handle helmet reflecting mods?

[Rocketfeline]

I might do this. Oh boy alot of fun.

[Tw1]

I've update the OP with two bits I forgot:

If you include a nice little story with your Mun pictures, your score may double again.

Please also include an image or two that shows how you did it. I need to make sure you didn't cheat by actually going to the Mun.

But hide these in spoiler tags, so they won't ruin the effect of your fake pictures.

Are we alowed to go into space, just not land on the mun?

Yep. Going into space is fine.

Note that some photos may not contribute directly to the score, as the aim of the challenge is to produce images that look as if you are actually on the Mun. But they may help earn the story bonus.

Getting too close to Mun would not really in the spirit of the challenge.

Note: Landing on a Mun-like body is also cheating. Setting up a set with asteroids is fine, but there will be a small penalty if the photography happens in space.

What if our computer can't handle helmet reflecting mods?

If you don't want to use it, you don't have to. It's a bonus, and not required for an entry.

Edited May 30, 2015 by Tw1

[Rocketfeline]

http://imgur.com/a/7GrBz#2 My totally legit mun landing, You can spot where I did it though.

[r_rolo1]

Well, the easiest way of doing this would be going to Ike, but I think that defeats the propose of the challenge ( "Oh, let's fake a landing in one of our moons by going to other planet moon" ).

That said, doing photos is probably easy mode compared with getting credible unedited live ( or close ) video. If someone throws a minimally credible video hoax, I'll be VERY impressed

P.S. @ OP

It is actually hard to fake Mun landings on Kerbin even on stills simply because, even in stock, Kerbin nights have far more light than Munar nights and the Munar ground has lower albedo than most ground types in Kerbin ( for a example, I knew from first look that your pics were from Kerbin just because of the average luminosity and the fact that the ground you chose is far more reflexive than the average Munar ground ... but again, that is me , that have extensive experience of driving around in both Mun and Kerbin nights ). That said, I think I can make a credible pic or two without going to make a in game studio scenario with modded parts.

Also, the original faker of Munar landings in KSP is SQUAD itself, since the "Mun or bust" menu can't be on the Mun

[spoiler= Not exactly spoiler stuff ]

Note that the area where this is from is in the northern part of the body the ship is ( look at the shadow and the iluminated area on Kerbin and also the low angle Kerbin does with the horizon ) and yet you can see Kerbin south Pole. You can't do that in the Mun and the ground appearance excludes Minmus as well ... . Oh and the lack of a visible curvature basically excludes any asteroid in game ( also this screen predates asteroids in-game )

Edited May 30, 2015 by r_rolo1

[Rfmeijboom]

http://imgur.com/a/7GrBz#2 My totally legit mun landing, You can spot where I did it though.

I see KSC reflected in the helmet on the third pic, where I also see some grass in the upper left of the image.

My guess is on the beach near KSC at night?

[Rocketfeline]

The runway near the SPH.

[Tw1]

http://imgur.com/a/7GrBz#2 My totally legit mun landing, You can spot where I did it though.

Our first entry! Awesome.

I'm rating this as three passable, unique scenes, (Ladder decent, a general EVA, and a flag pose), and two of those include reflection, giving a score of 250.

That said, doing photos is probably easy mode compared with getting credible unedited live ( or close ) video. If someone throws a minimally credible video hoax, I'll be VERY impressed

True. I don't think that level of fakery would be possible in KSP, as we lack the tools to set up a full studio.

It is actually hard to fake Mun landings on Kerbin even on stills simply because, even in stock, Kerbin nights have far more light than Munar nights and the Munar ground has lower albedo than most ground types in Kerbin ( for a example, I knew from first look that your pics were from Kerbin just because of the average luminosity and the fact that the ground you chose is far more reflexive than the average Munar ground ... but again, that is me , that have extensive experience of driving around in both Mun and Kerbin nights ).

Also true, they just don't have those harsh space shadows. But as you said, that's the opinion of someone who knows their stuff. For this challenge, I'm imagining a kerbal civilisation that has little idea of what space is really like yet. Otherwise, faking a Mun landing would be so hard.

[r_rolo1]

Just a quick and dirty one, more a proof of concept of how much can be done than a real submission:

The exploration of the Mun continues at a steady pace. In the latest image we received from the Munar Mobile Research Mission, we can see Jebediah Kerman and his 8-kerbal team in the ridge of a crater in the northern parts of the Mun at Munar dusk

For those more curious, here is a bird's eye of the same scene , taken by a drone:

And here are the "how to" pics:

[spoiler= For actual Spoilers!!! Who knew that was possible ... ]

Here is the second pic, with KER intel

And in case the above pic is not enough ...

[spoiler= Even more spoilery stuff !!!! ]

Yup, I've gone to the highest point on Kerbin at dusk. Being that high cuts most of the interfering light and the dusk is a excuse for the dim lighting ( I could also blame Kerbinshine ( light reflected from Kerbin ) if hard pressed ). Also , being there removes visible green terrain, trees and buildings

I agree that the second pic is only really possible because of EVE mod ( the "lowlands" of that pic are actually clouds in very dim light seen from above ), but I think the first pic alone is very convincing by itself

Now comparing with the real Mun at night , here is a REAL pic of a similar rover on the Munar night:

[spoiler= Do not adjust your set. There is nothing wrong with your screen ... ]

[TJPrime]

True. I don't think that level of fakery would be possible in KSP, as we lack the tools to set up a full studio.

.

Oh, but it is....

So this is what I came up with:

(Brace for story time!) "Ok, Engine Stop." Said Jebediah Kerman as he touched down on the surface of the mun. "Kowsten, the Kraken has landed." We, the proud kerbals of kerbonia, are proud to announce that we have landed on the Mun ahead of the krussians. Below you see the footage captured by the crew

I used a bit of hacking the gravity to simulate munar gravity, as well as slowing down the video. The music isn't from in-game; I edited it in to make it seem like it thought. The static effects are cuts where I was using the debug menu, ect.

Seems real enough to me. What do you guys think?

Edited May 30, 2015 by TJPrime

[r_rolo1]

Well, it is a nice job and would pass a preliminary sniff test ... except for the EVA science from Kerbin Mountains screen before the 2 min mark and also the green patch you can see from the lander window on take off. While less proeminent, you can also notice the diferent behavior of the kerbal between the parts where you have hack gravity from the ones you haven't and a careful observation shows that neither beats right with the Mun surface gravity ( hack gravity is far more like Minmus than with the Mun ).

But anyway, it is clearly a good job and, if you had taken out the science screen and the green patch this would actually be a high grade fake. Good job

Edited May 30, 2015 by r_rolo1

[Windspren]

And there's a seen where you can see the real Mun

[r_rolo1]

I assumed that part was the "Smile, you're on candid camera" sign

[basic.syntax]

Moon landing hoax joke, from the completely not space related & otherwise bloody violent, Wasteland 2:

Edit: converted to a link. I think it's a neat joke, but it does derail the thread.

Edited May 30, 2015 by basic.syntax

[Mad Rocket Scientist]

In a top secret operation, the underfunded and over schedule Kerbal Space Program decided to fake a mun landing for publicity reasons.

The first step would be to decide where to film the fake landing, and it was decided that, since Stephen Kerman's studios were to expensive to rent, the hoax should take place on the cheapest nearby mun like surface, which was the broken runway.

Here are some leaked production stills:

This image contains all the relevant information:

[Bev7787]

LOL. I'm making a movie for this challenge. Some fo the solutions are hilarious.

[Mad Rocket Scientist]

Now I have an entry, which uses a trick which is banned in the rules, so don't add this to the OP, but DO try to guess how I did it!

Good luck guessing, and rep for the first correct guess!

[Rolanvorxariat]

Now I have an entry, which uses a trick which is banned in the rules, so don't add this to the OP, but DO try to guess how I did it!

http://i.imgur.com/wZtvkbm.png

http://i.imgur.com/JD0AceJ.png

http://i.imgur.com/OsRSPxi.png

http://i.imgur.com/Cfxo334.png

http://i.imgur.com/sLQgSFN.png

http://i.imgur.com/kKFdGak.png

http://i.imgur.com/ASHfGzN.png

Good luck guessing, and rep for the first correct guess!

Umm... Ike?

[Mad Rocket Scientist]

Umm... Ike?

Nope, but you're on the right track!

[Rfmeijboom]

Now I have an entry, which uses a trick which is banned in the rules, so don't add this to the OP, but DO try to guess how I did it!

http://i.imgur.com/wZtvkbm.png

http://i.imgur.com/JD0AceJ.png

http://i.imgur.com/OsRSPxi.png

http://i.imgur.com/Cfxo334.png

http://i.imgur.com/sLQgSFN.png

http://i.imgur.com/kKFdGak.png

http://i.imgur.com/ASHfGzN.png

Good luck guessing, and rep for the first correct guess!

Dres?

[Mad Rocket Scientist]

Dres?

Ding! Nice work!

[TJPrime]

Dres?

Ding! Nice work!

Sorry to say it, but you might be disqualified...

use anything, just don't land anywhere but kerbin!

[Tw1]

Just a quick and dirty one, more a proof of concept of how much can be done than a real submission:

he exploration of the Mun continues at a steady pace. In the latest image we received from the Munar Mobile Research Mission, we can see Jebediah Kerman and his 8-kerbal team in the ridge of a crater in the northern parts of the Mun at Munar dusk

http://i.imgur.com/ns4rOgP.png

For those more curious, here is a bird's eye of the same scene , taken by a drone:

http://i.imgur.com/aebTWk6.png

Not bad, more of an expedition. Not entirely convinced by the second one, those mountains look very kerbinish, so I'm only giving that one 40, but I'm also giving a 15% story and x factor bonus, so: 104 points.

(Brace for story time!) "Ok, Engine Stop." Said Jebediah Kerman as he touched down on the surface of the mun. "Kowsten, the Kraken has landed." We, the proud kerbals of kerbonia, are proud to announce that we have landed on the Mun ahead of the krussians. Below you see the footage captured by the crew

A video! Quite impresive.

Im judging points, I'm going to attempt to break it down like I would a set of pictures, but give a 15% + 48% bonus for X factor and story.

I'm marking your scenes as the landing, Exit and flag planting, Eva, and launch, and giving it a score of 326 points.

Though, if we get more videos, a new, more suitable set of criteria may need to be added.

In a top secret operation, the underfunded and over schedule Kerbal Space Program decided to fake a mun landing for publicity reasons.

The first step would be to decide where to film the fake landing, and it was decided that, since Stephen Kerman's studios were to expensive to rent, the hoax should take place on the cheapest nearby mun like surface, which was the broken runway.

Here are some leaked production stills:

http://i.imgur.com/T0eaPbh.png?1

http://i.imgur.com/oZXIOUs.png

http://i.imgur.com/DQpP3rx.png

http://i.imgur.com/xp6ypTf.png

http://i.imgur.com/DJdmhV0.png

http://i.imgur.com/lkWWLD2.png

http://i.imgur.com/J6kxjMX.png

http://i.imgur.com/jtaeiTb.png

http://i.imgur.com/j5nQ9nJ.png

http://i.imgur.com/8EBKleu.png

This image contains all the relevant information:

http://i.imgur.com/78lar13.png

Very nice, and daytime shots too!

I'm grouping these into Overhead scenes, flag planing, ladder use scenes, and side on view of lander, and giving them 200 points.

The landscape is not entirely Munar, but close enough to pass.

These have been some pretty fine attempts so far, but if someone can pull of a convincing Munar landscape, that will probably score them some X factor points.

Edited May 31, 2015 by Tw1