Ultimate Challenge Contract - Questions + tips welcome

[Nookos]

Hi,

I just accepted the following contract:

I have a few questions. I have very little experience with this kind of contract. I only took the one with the whole joolian system. And when I took that one I had my scansat probe scanning the last moon of Jool so it was an instant completion. So am I correct to guess the order doesn t matter at all?

Then would it be a problem if I dock the vessel several times to different refueling stations around the system? Would it lose its status as a single vessel doing the challenge?

Can I modify the vessel in the middle of the challenge? For example, my first thought was to use xenon. Do the celestial bodies from moho to kerbin. Once around kerbin I would do some eva work on it to add more solar panels and maybe that radioisotope thingy. Would modifying the vessel mid course be a problem? Or as long as the probe core makes it to the end it doesn t matter if I modify the rest? If so it s not risky to dock that probe to another mission for any transfer?

Finally it doesnt display a deadline but it doesn t display the usual 'Never expires' message so should I worry about a deadline that doesn t display properly?

And finally any tips/ suggestion is more than welcome. If you did the challenge already I d like to see how you did it, your design, maybe a log of the total amount of DeltaV spent. Any help is welcome. Thanks.

Edited June 12, 2015 by Nookos

[heng]

O.O

wow! i mean... WOW!!!

didn't even believe that existed...

if you accept this mission, take pictures!!!

PS: there is/was a Grand Tour challenge, over at the challenge forum. there should be people able to give some advice.

PPS: watch

Edited June 5, 2015 by heng

[Nookos]

Thanks Heng,

I had a good look at the challenge thread. Makes that contract look more doable and found some info.

And that video is very impressive. Even though I didn t get any info out of it. I don t understand what is going on

And I decided to give it a try with a ship I won t modify to avoid any drama in the middle of the mission.

Edit: Just in case the probe I sent had about 18000 DeltaV it seems it'll be more than enough from what I gathered with your advice and other post I found. Especially if I m lucky to get this kind of encounter all the way.

Edited June 12, 2015 by Nookos

[Warzouz]

Don't forget the RTG !

[Ferdoni]

Just use a lot of gravity assists, and a lot of planning

Also, check out my Libra-2X2 craft, it has 22.000 deltaV. Enough to do the trip.

[Nookos]

Don't forget the RTG !

Too late :S I didn t put any RTG on it. But I ve already done all the moons of Jool with this probe without a problem. I have 3500 electric charge and 4 giant solar panels. That allows me to do pretty long burns. I think around 800-1000 m/s at least when so far from the sun. Now transfer to Eeloo is turning out to be very tricky I might not be able to do the burn all at once.

Just use a lot of gravity assists, and a lot of planning

Also, check out my Libra-2X2 craft, it has 22.000 deltaV. Enough to do the trip.

That is very interesting. I never even tried to get my electricity from fuel cell. I thought packing the fuel and fuel cell would add way more weight than solar panels.

[Warzouz]

RTG = 80kg

Gigantors are 300kg

On a small ship one RTG would have been enough (except if you use Ion power).

[Ferdoni]

RTG = 80kg

Gigantors are 300kg

On a small ship one RTG would have been enough (except if you use Ion power).

A craft with a RTG for ION power actually has less deltaV than one with Fuell Cell power. This is because the RTG remains heavy and de fuel cell is burning up his weight, wich adds to the deltaV. You need 10 RTGs to power a ION engine so that makes is 800 kg. While a fuell cell is 340kg + 6x 0,05 = 640kg and decreasing.

[heng]

[...]with your advice[...]

Err... thank you, i guess? my only advice was: other people might know, ask them :-)

you are way ahead of me on the learning curve!

You need 10 RTGs to power a ION engine so that makes is 800 kg. While a fuell cell is 340kg + 6x 0,05 = 640kg and decreasing.

Depending on expected life expectancy... the probably is a point in your journey, when all the fuel is used up, but the RTGs are still running strong. from then on, the RTG catches up again until a long time later the RTG wins the race. if that is still going then.

I have no idea what those numbers are and have never done a mission i would need to calculate that scenario, but Nookos is talking about a grand tour, so...? *shrug*

[Ferdoni]

Depending on expected life expectancy... the probably is a point in your journey, when all the fuel is used up, but the RTGs are still running strong. from then on, the RTG catches up again until a long time later the RTG wins the race. if that is still going then.

I have no idea what those numbers are and have never done a mission i would need to calculate that scenario, but Nookos is talking about a grand tour, so...? *shrug*

Of course you should abring a STRAT for electricity after the fuel has run dry (this is also in my design), but after your xenon gas is used up, the RTGs are still producting tons of electricity... for nothing.

And yeah, if you bring more xenon and burn longer you will eventually pass the point were RTGs are more efficient. But then you are talking about more than 30.000 deltaV and multiple hours of burning time. Wich isn't neccesary anymore in the present game.

[Laie]

I have a few questions. I have very little experience with this kind of contract.

What this contract really means is "have (at least) one command module experience the following situations: a) c) ...".

Any command module will do: probe core, lander capsule, cockpit... any. For each command module on a vessel, the game keeps track of which situations they've been in (orbit around this, splashed down there, and so on). This contract will be completed as soon as the list on one of your command modules covers all required situations.

That means you you don't have to do it with one specific unchanging vessel. You may dock and undock as much as you like, there is no risk that changing vessel designations will ruin this mission.

You also don't have to do it in one particular order.

[Crazy_Redd]

That's going to need an abnormal amount of planning! Damn! Nice challenge though. Maybe the thing to do is have a mining facility at each one of the planets and refuel everytime you arrive at a planet? Or is that too expensive?

Look at the reward you get! 0.0

[Perry Apsis]

What this contract really means is "have (at least) one command module experience the following situations: a) c) ...".

Any command module will do: probe core, lander capsule, cockpit... any. For each command module on a vessel, the game keeps track of which situations they've been in (orbit around this, splashed down there, and so on). This contract will be completed as soon as the list on one of your command modules covers all required situations.

That means you you don't have to do it with one specific unchanging vessel. You may dock and undock as much as you like, there is no risk that changing vessel designations will ruin this mission.

You also don't have to do it in one particular order.

So you could have a probe core with a docking port and move it from one ship to another to complete the challenge. Far cooler to do it all with a single vessel, but an interesting approach.

[Laie]

So you could have a probe core with a docking port and move it from one ship to another to complete the challenge. Far cooler to do it all with a single vessel, but an interesting approach.

I had no intention of suggesting any approach. But I think it's good to know the true winning condition of this contract.

[Nookos]

What this contract really means is "have (at least) one command module experience the following situations: a) c) ...".

Any command module will do: probe core, lander capsule, cockpit... any. For each command module on a vessel, the game keeps track of which situations they've been in (orbit around this, splashed down there, and so on). This contract will be completed as soon as the list on one of your command modules covers all required situations.

That means you you don't have to do it with one specific unchanging vessel. You may dock and undock as much as you like, there is no risk that changing vessel designations will ruin this mission.

You also don't have to do it in one particular order.

Thanks a lot. That s the information I was looking for.

But I got impatient and launched a vessel to do it without docking, refueling or eva work on it mid-course. I would have definitely done it with the spark engine instead of the dawn one if I knew. I really don t like to watch a burn for 10min.

And I'm done

For those interested. It took the probe 17+ years to tour the kerbolar system. It had 19716m/s on the launchpad and it finished in elliptical orbit around kerbin with 5412m/s. So 14304m/s spent. Good to point to the fact I m not good at those interplanetary transfer. I really messed up Jool-Eeloo transfer. So I m pretty sure it's doable in a much more efficient way.

Also I kept the vessel in orbit once done. And the game gave me the same mission right after I was done. So I basically just had to do a tiny burn to put my periapsis under 70k again and got rewarded a second time. Woop woop I m rich but disappointed to learn it s impossible to reach a reputation of 100% I thought that was the ultimate goal of the game.

Anyway thanks for the help and this is answered.

[Warzouz]

Bravo !

And thx for the feedback