Boonta Eve Classic - A Star Wars Podracer Challenge

[Soda Popinski]

Can you build and more importantly, fly a Star Wars style Podracer?

Leaderboard

1. Soda Popinski with B.O.S.S. N.A.S.S. mk IX at 5:23 (30 sec bonus for open air cockpit)
   
2. bobarf with "Wasp" at 6:40 (30 sec bonus for open air cockpit)
   

In this challenge, I challenge you to the challenge of building a Podracer with these characteristics (build rules):

• 1 cockpit pod pulled by at least 2 engine nacelles
  
• Hold at least 1 kerbal
  
• connection must be flexible (Kerbal Attachment System or something else creative)
  
• Use Kerbal Foundries Antigravity Motors (aka repulsorlifts)
  
• Stock jets / rockets only
  
• No procedural fairings
  
• No F12 Menu for build / F12 Parts Clipping
  

Mods required

• KerbinSide (download Air-Race)
  
• Kerbal Foundries
  

Mods suggested (FAR if you want)

• Kerbal Attachment System
  
• Quantum Struts
  
• ShadowPlay fix to record video with NVidia's ShadowPlay
  

Race Rules

• Race the KerbalSide Air-Race course (see video)
  
• Rolling start under 50 m/s
  
• Screenshot or video of your Podracer (give it a name too)
  
• Determine race time based on crossing start and finish line (suggest F3) - take screenshots or video
  
• Pilot must survive until the end of the race
  
• Don't fly - you can catch air, but these are essentially suped up land speeders not airplanes, no more than 10 seconds of air-time until you're back on repulsors
  
• No F12 Cheats / Hack Gravity during the race, but you can use it prior to the race to launch
  
• No Jedi
  

Bonuses

• 30 seconds for an open air cockpit (lawn chair)
  
• Internet cookie for video
  

Some may say this is a total rip off of LitoAlto's Kerbal Foundries vs. KerbinSide -Air-Race challenge. They'd be right. I went ahead and did this challenge, because Podracers are difficult to build, and even more difficult (at least for me) to fly. My entry was in a whole class by itself (a much slower class). I want to see what Podracers are capable of in the hands of other builders / pilots.

Relevant videos

My example (doesn't qualify, as too fast on my start, but you get the idea)

My build / crash video to give you an idea what you're getting into

M1 Dynamics Podracer for inspiration

Clip from Star Wars: Episode I

Edited August 24, 2015 by Soda Popinski

[Soda Popinski]

For anyone who wants to try it, I'm posting the Podracer craft file so you can try the race yourself. I'm curious to see how other pilots do with the thing, so please post your times / videos. I may put them in a separate leader board.

Link to Jar-Jar mk V Craft File

Here's a video on how to launch it.

Edit: I'm adding M1 Dynamic's video on building a Podracer.

Edited July 24, 2015 by Soda Popinski

[Evanitis]

It's sad to see no replies here. I believe many of us clicked here and said - 'whoa, that's totally awesome!'... and went on with our lives. With the potato-comp of mine it would require a separate KSP install for the mods (that would be the third), and I probably still couldn't record what I do. Yet, I made a 'KSP-podracing' entry in the 'games and mods to play.txt' on my desktop. There's much RL stuff to do before, and even the KSP part of that txt is big enough.

But the least I can do is a free bump and telling 'whoa, that's totally awesome!'

[randomness5555]

Hello there! Nobody entering you say? Hmm...

Here you go! Well... sort of. There's two problems with my entry though. I couldn't figure out how to get flexible connectors, so it has solid pipes instead and I also couldn't finish the race. I just can't get my racer to finish that last ramp onto the water (annoying as once on the water I'm sure it could go flat out >:| ) but i'm entering anyway.

[Soda Popinski]

Hello there! Nobody entering you say? Hmm...

Here you go! Well... sort of. There's two problems with my entry though. I couldn't figure out how to get flexible connectors, so it has solid pipes instead and I also couldn't finish the race. I just can't get my racer to finish that last ramp onto the water (annoying as once on the water I'm sure it could go flat out >:| ) but i'm entering anyway.

Awesome! Thanks for giving it a try. I'd suggest checking out entries from the original Kerbal Foundries vs. Kerbin Side challenge. That should show you the best ways to get into the water without bottoming out. I'd suggest taking the far right side, at an angle, and slow down some. You'll get it.

[steve_v]

I'm sure going to try building me one of those.

As for racing... let's see how exploding goes first.

[borbalf]

Hey all!

I just built a pod racer for this challenge - the "DoublePod MK IX"!

Javascript is disabled. View full album

As you can see in the album i'm still testing it, but i have a problem... my repulsors don't work in water they just ignore it, keeping me floating over the sand but still underwater... what can i do? not being able to float is a little big problem for this challenge!

[Soda Popinski]

I ran into the same thing over water. Use the other repulsors (not surface mount). They seem to work better. Also check the tweaks in the VAB/hangar. Play with strength and damping.

Edit: it could also be an old version of Kerbal Foundries. An earlier version doesn't work on water.

Edited July 28, 2015 by Soda Popinski

[borbalf]

It looked like the stock bug fixes mod was the problem... now i just have to make my pod a lot more manouvrable, it goes where he pleases, not where i'm trying to go

[Evanitis]

Made my separate install for pod-racing - as the above example shows it was not in vain. Had some figuring out to do, as I never touched any of the required or suggested mods before. Using 'em all, as I aim for the full experience.

Now I got the basics, has a very simple, bare-bones vehicle in the garage that is capable of killing a kerbal in fracture seconds. Now I can start the tweaking... less speed, more control until perfect balance is achieved. Or sufficient balance at least. It looks like great fun, though I foresee a long process.

And I thought SSTOs were hard.

[borbalf]

I already had a separate install just for this challenge, but i forgot the old unused mods i had in my normal install!

Here you are my new pod racer, the "Wasp MK VII" (some photos are from MK VI, then i added the cockpit and 4 new generators).

It's much more manouvrable then my old "DoublePod" while maintaining the same top speed (MK VI reached 311,6 m/s, while sadly MK VII only 272,0 m/s because of the cockpit and the generators), and it can jump (that's kind of useless for this challenge, but quite fun).

Now, the album:

Javascript is disabled. View full album

tomorrow i'll try to do the real challenge and i'll post a video (i already finished the track but without timestamps or recording)

Edited July 30, 2015 by borbalf

[borbalf]

Here's my entry!

http://youtu.be/qPL0Kpsx4IU

starting line: 1:39 - end line 8:49 - net time 7 mins 10 secs

from tomorrow to august 9th i won't be able to check the forums i think, but when i'll come back i'd like some new challengers (and maybe someone who'll go faster than me:P)

good luck to all the pod-racers!

[Soda Popinski]

Here's my entry!

http://youtu.be/qPL0Kpsx4IU

starting line: 1:39 - end line 8:49 - net time 7 mins 10 secs

from tomorrow to august 9th i won't be able to check the forums i think, but when i'll come back i'd like some new challengers (and maybe someone who'll go faster than me:P)

good luck to all the pod-racers!

Awesome! I'm back in town and will continue working on my own new Podracer build. I'm sure we'll see more entrants during the weekend.

[JAFO]

I couldn't figure out how to get flexible connectors, so it has solid pipes instead

If you check out Soda Popinski's "How to launch the Jar-Jar mk V Podracer" video, you'll see that he uses RW-50 winches on the pod, and CC-R2 Ports on the engine nacelles.

I've almost finished building my own podracer for this challenge.. just got a few teething troubles to iron out.

Edited August 7, 2015 by JAFO

[JAFO]

And I thought SSTOs were hard.

You're not kidding.. just getting the steps in my launch sequence properly sorted out took the best part of a day. As for getting around the track without wiping out.. well, it hasn't happened yet.

Here's a shot of the (so far) unnamed 2-Kerbal podracer out on the open water doing a speed/endurance test-run. It maxed out at a little over 200 m/s, and 8 minutes of fuel at full throttle. Think I might swap out the Turbo Ramjets for R.A.P.I.E.R.s, and try the bigger repulsors instead of the surface-mount ones, as I'd like to see if I can get a bit more ground clearance.

No video, unfortunately. My laptop struggles with KSP as it is, let alone trying to record video as well.

Edited August 7, 2015 by JAFO

[JAFO]

Warning! The latest update to Kerbal Foundries (Beta 1.9a) will completely reset any settings you've applied to your repulsors. Worse still, they no longer work on water. Even with height, strength and damping set to maximum, and a dead-slow, gentle approach to the water, your podracer will end up in the water. Hopefully, this will be fixed soon.

EDIT: It turns out that from v1.9a onwards, the smaller surface-mount repulsors (which is what I'd been using) will no longer work on water. This means you must use the big units.

Edited August 8, 2015 by JAFO

[TDOB]

Wow, I severely underestimated just how difficult this was going to be. Just getting the engines to float nicely above the ground has been a challenge, let alone trying to suspend a pod between them. But I'm definitely not giving up; it's a lot of fun, and I have some unique ideas to try and bring to the table. And while all the pods posted so far have a lot of variety, I'm hoping mine will turn a head or two once I get its darn engines running. It's all in the aesthetic.

Speaking of engines, has anyone got tips on how to make them get along? Borbalf's video clearly shows him controlling the engines from the pod, while I can't even get the engines to go the same direction. I'm gonna bet it's something to do with the quantum struts since it's the only mod I didn't manage to get to work.

Either way, back to mucking around with these rocket chimeras.

Edited August 8, 2015 by TDOB

[JAFO]

Speaking of engines, has anyone got tips on how to make them get along? Borbalf's video clearly shows him controlling the engines from the pod, while I can't even get the engines to go the same direction. I'm gonna bet it's something to do with the quantum struts since it's the only mod I didn't manage to get to work.

Yes, you're right.. it does have to do with the quantum struts.. it took me a while to figure out what's going on there, too.

Ok.. you're using some kind of throw-away framework to hold everything in place until you're ready to go.. what happens is, when you jettison the framework, the quantum struts see that as an "undocking" event, and stop working. So you must jettison the framework before you connect the winches to the engine nacelles. When you connect the winches to the CC-R2 ports, you need to attach them using the "dock" option. That way, as soon as you have both/all engines connected, the quantum struts will re-engage, and you'll have control over the engines.

That should be enough to get you going. Best of luck!

- - - Updated - - -

Wow, I severely underestimated just how difficult this was going to be.

If you think that's bad.. wait until you actually try flying the thing!

Another tip: I actually have a checklist written out, to make sure I perform all the steps in my launch sequence in the correct order.. (there's like, 20 steps! )

Edited August 8, 2015 by JAFO

[TDOB]

If you think that's bad.. wait until you actually try flying the thing!

Another tip: I actually have a checklist written out, to make sure I perform all the steps in my launch sequence in the correct order.. (there's like, 20 steps! )

When I ran it with a rigid "training" frame, the thing flew totally fine, though it didn't like hitting hills too much. That'll probably be even worse once I get it off its trusses and let the pod bounce behind it. I can't get it off that frame though; I always get the pod snagged in it, and it takes a particularly long time to set this thing up. I'll take it to a friend (who's much better with KSP construction than me) and try to find a better alternative.

But for everything else, my design is doing exactly what I planned for it to do. It's a bit slow in the corners, but this thing is going to have more control and power than I'll ever need. I swear, if and when I get Big Dog on his leash, I'm gonna put one heckuva time on that scoreboard.

EDIT: I messed around with another pod, and actually got a really easy and efficient setup. I'm gonna adapt it for Big Dog tomorrow if I get the chance.

Edited August 9, 2015 by TDOB

[Fengist]

I won't be entering the challenge but here's an old and somewhat boring video from a previous podracer challenge. Perhaps it'll provide some inspiration to someone.

[borbalf]

Here's my checklist and my pod racer, i put it online so anyone can try it, modify it and beat my time

download: https://drive.google.com/open?id=0BwGbL1Yu8fUCaWxHMFJJeWRIYVk

1) EVA our brave (and stupid ) pilot

2) switch back to the pod racer

3) stage (jettison capsule)

4) switch to pilot

5) link both nacelles with winches

6) board the pod

7) throttle to zero (X) and stage twice (jettison central frame, quantum struts will power off)

8) right-click on a winch, open GUI

9) switch both winches to docked mode (quantum struts should auto-activate) and set lenght to 6

10) stage (release clamps)

11) right-click on a probe core on a nacelle and control from there (it helps when engaging SAS while airborne)

12) set desidered height right-clicking on any repulsor

13) drive!

a few tips while flying:

1) while it flies well with SAS on, i prefer turning it off while on the ground, and activate it only while airborne

2) this pod racer will take off every small hill, so be ready to pull up before landing

3) use roll to keep the pod stable, it won't affect nacelles while on the ground, but it will while airborne

[JAFO]

Here's my checklist and my pod racer, i put it online so anyone can try it, modify it and beat my time

download: https://drive.google.com/open?id=0BwGbL1Yu8fUCaWxHMFJJeWRIYVk

It says I need you to approve me before downloading. Request sent.

[borbalf]

My bad, I didn't set it public... I changed it, now it should work!

[JAFO]

Yep.. got it.. thanks!

[JAFO]

Well, the last couple of days have been round after round of testing, re-designing, re-building and tweaking a new 2-man podracer and general-purpose Mobile Launch Gantry.

Presenting, the Quadrinator.

Just getting the kinks worked out of the launch sequence has been a challenge, work presently continues on tweaking the handling. Frankly, at full power the damn thing is a beast, and if you're not gentle on the controls, you'll be in all kinds of strife.

The Mobile Gantry:

The Quadrinator:

Mobile Gantry disappearing into the distance. Powered by 4 giant sepratrons, it generally travels anywhere from 2-4 km.

Liftoff! Right about now is when I should have powered off and hit the airbrakes.. ah well, live and learn...

About to wipe out.. going too fast to get onto the water.

I forgot to get any action shots whilst undergoing its first round of trials, but here it is on the water, just before throttling up.

It can be downloaded from https://app.box.com/s/wtggg30hyq2ji11ki776g0ff3qdaaah9

The zip includes the launch sequence and action groups list, as well as a separate .craft file for the Mobile Gantry. If you use the gantry the boring way, and drive it out and clear of the runway, rather than jettisoning it, it has more than enough battery power to drive it all the way back to the SPH.

Quadrinator Launch Sequence:

1. Toggle lights to shut off Quantum Struts. See step 7 for the reason for doing things this way.

2. Stage once, to release engine nacelles and drop mobile gantry to ground. Ignore explosions caused by stack separators hitting the ground.

3. EVA crewman. Walk along hull to nose, jump onto gantry platform. If crewman falls off, there are ladders on the gantry, just in front of the rear gantry wheels, to climb back up to the platform.

4. Attach all four winch cables. Furthest points on gantry platforms are aligned to each cable connector port.

5. Jump crewman back onto pod, walk along hull to hatchway and board. If they fall off, action group 1 will toggle a ladder hidden under the starboard airbrake. You may need to hit the brakes to move the airbrake out the way so they can board the pod. A ladder is attached to the platform located under the pod so they can reach the pod's ladder.

6. Using the winch control GUI, set all cables to 8.00 m length.

7. Toggle Quantum Struts back on. (Turning them off, then on once all the cables are adjusted to take the tension off the engine nacelles, ensures the struts align with one another properly. Not important for play, but visually more pleasing.)

8. Sort staging out. All Launch clamps go into their own group, should be in position 1, with engines in group 0 and mobile gantry in group 2.

9. Turn SAS and RCS on. RCS is just for the Verner flight controls, doesn't require any monopropellent. SAS ensures the probe attached to the mobile gantry will keep it moving straight ahead when jettisoned.

10. Set control to the Probe module located just behind the battery on the upper starboard engine nacelle.

11. Stage once to release Pod and jettison mobile gantry. Gantry can be jettisoned using inbuilt sepratrons (spectacular and exciting), or manually driven clear of launch clamps and then steered off the side of the runway (more practical but boring, lacks the requisite crashes and explosions). Any explosions immediately on jettisoning are the wheels hitting un-detonated stack separators, and can be ignored.

12. Stage once to release launch clamps.

13. Toggle engines on using action group 2.

14. Tap action group 8 four times, to raise pod to full height. (Pod can't be set to full height from the start, otherwise the rear wheels of the Mobile Gantry are held off the ground by the pod!)

15. Hit Z to bring engines to full power. When surface speed reaches 18-20 m/s (timing this right is important!), hit X to shut engines off, and immediately engage airbrakes. Do not touch any flight controls until over the water. You will coast down the runway end-slope and beach, and onto the water without incident. As you reach the water's edge, release airbrakes. Speed on reaching the water should be about 32-35 m/s. If you are doing 40+ m/s you messed up your engine-off timing, and will probably hit the water.

Now you can power up slightly and proceed to the starting line.

Note that the engines ride slightly higher at the front. This helps when crossing shoreline boundaries and sudden up-slopes. The nose height can be adjusted with action groups 9/10.

List of Action Groups:

Abort: Disconnects all cables from engines.

Lights: Toggles Quantum Struts on/off.

Brakes: Toggles airbrakes (and mobile gantry wheel brakes if connected).

Group 1: Toggles Pod ladder.

Group 2: Toggles engines.

Group 7: Lowers Pod height by 5% each press.

Group 8: Raises Pod height by 5% each press.

Group 9: Lowers engine nacelle noses by 5% each press.

Group 10: Raises engine nacelle noses by 5% each press.

Edited August 11, 2015 by JAFO
Added pic of Mobile Gantry