Project Compass

[DrMarlboro]

Mission: Project Compass

This missions goal is to circumnavigate the globe on a polar path to find new locations for possible outposts. 

Your Current objective is to reach Outpost Plus Froid Que Sorcieres Mesange Blueue located at the noth pole.

We expect thorough logs this time guys.

 

Day 1:

Jorble, Eritis, Tanford, Tomney, Jobella, and myself (Billy-Bobzon) have been selected to crew a vessel destined to circumnavigate Kerbin. We are told it is going to be a custom built vehicle with ample seating, room for snacks, and have a built in hab module. I have yet to see the new vessel but we are all looking forward to whatever this fine craft might be. Mission will start a day late as we have been informed that our vehicle requires a bit more testing (surprisingly). We have been instructed to return to quarters until the morning.

 

Day 2: 

The mission is underway. All six of us were disappointed to learn that our "Custom Built Vehicle" is nothing more than a Kerman & Kotch Wagoneer with a lightbar, roof rack, hitch, and a large camper, but we have been assured that its probability to catch fire has been reduced to a low 76%. Reluctantly, we all climbed in and started plotting a course. 

After establishing our course, we planted a flag and then decided to wait til morning. None of us wanted to attempt navigating the mountains with only the headlights, we may be Kerbonauts, but we arent completely stupid.

As we crested the first hill we all said goodbye to KSC and settled into our new home for the next few months. travelling will be slow, and we will have to make frequent stops for snacks and rest.

As expected, Jobella couldn't keep her foot out of the throttle, and after 40km we vaulted onto a plateau where we took out a tail light on the trailer and popped a tire. Things could have went a lot worse and Jobela has been relieved of driving duty for the next few days. While Tomney was outside assessing the damage and replacing the wheel, he noticed that the Mountaineer hadn't been fitted with any kind of flotation device, or means of marine propulsion. When we contacted KSC, we were told that they had wasted all their testing budget on bombing old mountain trails to test the suspension, but to await further orders. 

 

Kerbal Marines - Armored Division

Bursen Kerman, Master Sergeant, Armored division. We have been instructed to aid the KSC in the recovery of six Kerbals and their vessel, and to assist them in completing their mission. I have been instructed to relinquish control of the vehicle upon arrival. So as not to alarm the taxpayers we have been instructed to wait until the next patrol leaves at dusk.

We begin our short drive from the crews starting point. we aim to reach the crew just after nightfall.

As night falls, we turn on the lights and reduce speed as we are approaching the mountains and don't wish to end up like the guys we are rescuing. We're making good time, managing near 1.5 km/min.

We have reached the stranded vessel that is apparently not stranded. Its crew wish to continue to the pole unassisted, and then to take control of the KAP 100 at that time. we have contacted Command and are waiting for instructions.

 

--END OF LOGS--

 

Hi guys, and thanks for reading this far! I have decided to take on the Elcano challenge and would like you all to join in on the fun. i will hopefully update this log daily until I have completed the challenge, or given up. As long as you guys think its good, i will continue this format where i post the actual mission and photos as logs, and then at the bottom talk about what's taken place. 

So far we've had a good start. i built the Mountaineer with only mountainous terrain in mind and completely neglected the fact i would have to cross water. Not realizing that until 40km out i was extremely disappointed and decided that i would need to at the very least recover the original crew with a new truck because i didn't want the first trip to mean entirely nothing. now im faced with what i should do with the Mountaineer. part of me really wants to take it up to my base at the north pole because im pretty proud of that vehicle, but at the same time that will almost double the time it will take me to complete the challenge, and over 600 parts in close proximity while driving is pretty hard even on my machine; should be fine as long as they are always 3km apart though. I'd like some input on what i should do, because personally I'm leaning towards taking it to the pole but cant decide. Let me know what you guys think.

Edited December 6, 2015 by DrMarlboro

[damerell]

Kerbin's bigger than one might think. If I were you, I wouldn't make a rod for your own back; if a vehicle won't make it around, don't drive it. I wasn't happy to give up on my Mk III rover only a few hours in, but a circumnavigation attempt is won or lost in the design stage...

[DrMarlboro]

Yeah, I decided to leave the Mountaneer where it is.. bury it where she lay, as it were. maybe someday it will get recovered and turned into a Rollercoaster for kids or something.

[Wallygator]

Driving... Almost as mind numbing as time warping to eeloo.  I give props to anyone giving it a go.  Until the game is enhanced to support land traverse in a more reliable way, I will continue to look at efforts like yours in awe.  Well done for the attempt!

[DrMarlboro]

Mission Log:

Day Three:

just after nightfall my crew was awoken to the sound of a large diesel engine and spotlights beaming into the Mountaineer. After chatting with the M. Sgt. (who is about as easy to deal with as a bad of snacks that just doesn't want to open) we contacted KSC to let them make the final call in what to do with the ol mountain-wagon. To be safe, (because apparently that's something we are doing now) Bursen had the marines launch a surveillance plane to plot our course out of the mountains and into the highlands.

Radio Chatter:

"KV-141 on the runway. preflight checks complete, all systems are GO."

"Yeah. KV-141 you are cleared for flight, get off the runway fast we have another aircraft ready to land and he doesnt seem to have any patience" 

"Roger .... engaging engines ....  runway cleared."

"Air control, can you check my pos. I have visual contact on a recreational vehicle and APC."

"IT'S NOT A RECREATIONAL VEHICLE! ITS A VERY FINE PIECE OF ENGINEERING DESIGNED SPECIFICALLY FO......... That's the target, begin plotting course"

"Roger - turning on the beams"

"KV-141 reporting. Due east from the targets current location appears to be the safest route down the mountain. At the bottom they can follow the valley over the mountain and down the other side; Craft is reaching point of no return, and is heading back to base"

"copy - what did you do with all the fuel? drink it?"

Resume Logs:

Well, we heard back from KSC, and the plan is to leave the Mountaineer where she is. Reluctantly we all boarded the APC and began to settle in. Bursen wasn't very impressed with our "orderly lines for ingress procedures" and said we "looked like a bunch of preschoolers trying to avoid going back to class." 

After some incredibly brief and awkward hello's with out new companions Tanxy, and Anile, we set out for the highlands. Bursen insisted we continue into the night and would stop and make camp for 2 days while we await new route information. Apparently he doesn't trust Tanfords ability to read a map, and would prefer a course plotted by plane.

After some time Riding in the back of that cramped steel cage we arrived at the highlands and broke for camp. as soon as we receive new directions we will resume out mission. Things haven't been going as planned and its only day 3, i can only imagine what the rest of the trip will be like.

Local radio chatter back at KSC:

"All military, and KSC personnel, Report"

"K2 in the air, and keeping a watchful eye"

"K.S. Dauntless - beginning return voyage from Island Patrol"

- Why in world do i need to report to an air boss when I'm on the ground!? I'M NOT EVEN IN THE MILITARY. And what does KSC have me testing a 15 ton truck for? What possible need to we have for one of these. i swear ever since those fools asked the marines for help its like they have taken over this place. -

"WHO EVER IS COMMANDING THAT TRUCK I NEED A SITREP NOW!"

"jeez have some patience. Test vehicle en route to rough terrain testing site"

- I can't wait for these guys to be gone -

- END OF LOGS - 

Not much progress today... getting off that plateau was alot harder than i thought it would be. It seems like the texture or something is messed up and kept pulling the truck backwards, and then as i would try to move off of it i would pop a tire and get sent into the air. It was incredibly frustrating and i swear i was there for at least an hour today reloading quick saves. i finally made it off but i think this vehicle may be lost. after finally getting off of the plateau it's like some joints shifted and the thing drives all sideways causing me to pop tires and jump into the air every time i get going over 10m/s. Needless to say, that made getting out of the mountains incredibly rough. I've already sent a copy of the vehicle on its way - but after some 4 hours of driving, and loading quick saves, (mostly loading quick saves) i stopped the new truck about 10km out.. getting there and getting the crew transfered will be a job for tomorrow.

In other news, to give myself breaks between driving and stuff, I've decided that this is going to be much more than just a challenge thread. I'm going to continue to play out this story and have every aspect of the space center either lending a hand, or causing trouble. I really think thats the only way i will get through this thing without losing my mind - not only am i completing a challenge, but im also going to be getting creative and telling a story. If it wasn't for building the ship, and recycling those old planes i think i would have been driven mad with all that quick save loading.

[DrMarlboro]

Mission Log:

Day Four:

After alot of arguing, we convinced Bursen to let us continue without the aid of aerial mapping and continued on our current heading of due north.

As we approached the top of the last hill, we could see the grass lands extending well out of view; It's smooth terrain ahead and six of us cant wait for a break from the constant jarring of bounding over the hills in this giant steel box. It's almost as if this thing was built without shock absorbers. 

As we came to the bottom of the hill Tanxy stepped up the throttle and got to a blistering 36m/s. I can't say I've ever really been worried about alittle speed, but something about the idea of this 20 ton mammoth rolling over and being trapped in an oven as it inevitably caught fire just didn't help things.

After making it an additional 60km we decided it was time to give the APC a break. as Eritis climbed out and planted a flag, we made a not so welcome discovery - you see, when we were transferring all our gear from the Mountaineer, we forgot to grab our supply of flags!

Needless to say, we couldn't continue without any flags, so we had to ask KSC to airmail us some more. As it turns out, they acquired a retired fighter and decided that this would be a good time to test its range.

We all got out and grabbed our new flags. Once again, Bursen found the need to tell us how poorly we performed our ingress and egress procedures and decided to stand atop his beloved armored death trap and instruct us on how to prepare for ingress the proper way. I insisted that this was nonsense and there was no need for us to go through that much trouble just to enter a metal box on wheels. In the end i huddled my guys and told them just to do what he is asking for now, and we'll talk KSC into putting him and his buddies on a plane out of here. I told Jobella to sit close to the command seat and do her best to learn this things 1960's controls.

KSC Ground Control:

"so, how are they doing today kep?"

"well, they just received the flags an hour ago. I haven't checked their progress since. should i take a look?"

"Go for it. I think they said they were staying the night there though"

"yep. looks like they haven't moved since the plane left sir"

"I didn't figure they were going too. from what i hear Billy is having some issues with that Bursen guy. Want's me to hitch him a ride out of there."

"You think the Marines will actually let you take their crew out of their truck? You've seen what they've done to this place since mission control asked for their help."

"It won't be easy. but my job is to make sure those 6 kerbonauts are safe and happy. I'll have to see what I can do."

KSC Air Control:

"Looks like we have an unscheduled touchdown out there. Anybody know who it is?"

"It looks like a Kerman & Kotch private jet. Someone must have called for some engineers."

"I didn't know we were bidding on any new mission craft... oh well. send 'em to a gate. any gate really."

"will do."

"Hows that payload for Duna looking?"

"It's down to just the descent stage. It's holding a stable orbit at 54km, and will pass over the base in just a few hours."

"Good. see if we can get an imaging sat lined up to get some photos of its deorbit. The media loves photos."

"we'll make it happen."

-- End of Logs --

Great progress today. I got the replacement truck there and transferred the crew over, and then made a solid 60km of progress. I really can't be happier for roughly an hour of driving. I thought I would never be tired of rolling over all the rough terrain but I'm glad i have some smooth ground ahead of me and the current plan is to keep it that way. the plan is to turn NE ounce i hit that first ridge line in about 30km and head for the coast, then run parallel to the the second mountain range there. even though it will increase overall distance traveled i think following the path of least resistance will speed things up and at the very least be less nerve wracking. 

On that note, one thing did go wrong today. The whole point of the trailer on the mountaineer is one, it looked hilarious and reminded me of National lampoons vacation, and two, it housed my command pod. not a fun thing to lose. fortunately, i already have aircraft that can reach just about anywhere on Kerbin, and fast, i might add, that it really shouldn't be much more than a 20 minute set back on the other side of the world when i run out of flags. and since The truck seats 10+1 that gives me room for 2 more kerbals. So i Might just plant flags alot more sparingly on the other side of the world. We'll see how it goes tomorrow. It's late, and even though Its winter so I don't have much work to do, it's time for some rest. 

 

 

Edited December 8, 2015 by DrMarlboro

[DrMarlboro]

Mission Logs:

Day Five:

I stayed awake most of the night waiting to hear back from KSC about our "personnel issue" but got no response. I managed to grab a few hours of sleep before Bursen woke us up to Hank Williams early this morning. I swear if i hear "Me gotta go po da pirogue down the bayo" I may ask for myself a flight out of here. Regardless, we started getting ready to begin today's leg of the trip.

 

We started rolling as soon as the sun came over the horizon. The grasslands really have been a blessing, for both mission time, and our backs. I think Tomney may have gotten at least an inch shorter since we left KSC.

It was easy going all the way up to the first ridge line. We made a solid 40km due north before having to turn NW to stay in the grasslands. 

We arrived just outside of the coast around noon, and were disheartened to find that it was no where near as flat as we were hoping and so instead of following the coast up we would have to run NNE to stay out of the rough terrain until we get to the next mountain range. 

After making 30km on our NNE heading, we found that our smooth terrain had come to an end, and decided to stop here for the night. We made great progress today, and I've been slowly throwing Bursens Hank Williams tapes out of the hatch when we stop to plant flags. He has two more left, but not for long. 

KSC Ground Control

"Alright Kep, whats the progress today?"

"Let me look"

"Looks like they made a full 170km today. That's good progress. Looks like they made up for all the lost time."

"That's what I want to hear! I guess I should go talk to someone about that Bursen guy... Has Billy said anything about it today?

"no, not really. the only transmission we got was to inform us of a terrain change, and that they need more flags... And something about burning any Hank Williams albums here."

"well, I guess that's not terrible news... well.. Looks like I finally gotta bite the bullet. wish me luck"

KSC - Mission Control

"Ok guys. we lost the Mountaineer, and our guys have been entrusted to the Military. Barring a war breaking out, I don't think we can screw up any more. What's on the table for today?"

"A few things actually. One, the North Pole base has finished testing our Moho probe. So we need to send a plane to grab it, and drop something else off for them to test. Next up, we also need to get a resupply ready for the Compass team, and figure out a way to get them flags when they are on the other side of kerbin."

" Alright, send one of our Katalina's to get the probe, and drop off a resupply for Compass while its there. Any ideas one the flag situation?"

"Well, we have the NM-1:

It's our fastest plane, and can reach the other side of Kerbin at a top speed of mach 3.9 at 19km high. the problem, it falls alittle short of returning. So, we wouldn't be able to land and still hope to return."

"Ok. Here's what i want done. build a drop tank and put a remote command module on it. we can put extra fuel and some flags in there. I want it done before they reach the pole."

"we'll see what we can do."

"Get it done."

KSC- Air Control:

"Katalina-1 has cleared the strip and is beginning course correction for the pole"

"copy that katalina-1. Be advised that a storm warning has been issued and landing on the cap has been determined a NO GO. Repeat. Landing on the cap is NO GO. Proceed to target and perform a water landing. a tug will offload cargo and refuel.

"Roger. Cap is NO GO. Water landing required. Katalina-1 out.

-- End of Logs--

Once again, great progress. Following the grasslands was definitely the better choice. made a solid 170km and i can't be happier with that progress. With that in mind, i guess i actually need to build the polar base. So i Recycled an old plane to find a good spot to nestle the base in as well as find a place to plant a dock. other than that nothing really happened. So until you hear back, assume i'm building a base!

Edited December 10, 2015 by DrMarlboro
Such terrible grammar...

[Stratzenblitz75]

I'm enjoying your adventure so far! Its really interesting to see all the crafts you've built and how they create this infrastructure to support your circumnavigation. Looking forward to seeing that polar base!

Also, through my adventure, I've also noticed that the coasts on Kerbin have very rough terrain. I can't say that this is true everywhere, but every coast I've come across has these huge, jagged hills. It doesn't seem to matter where the coasts are either; the terrain inland can be really flat, but the coasts nearby are still jagged. So, if you want to continue avoiding rough terrain, then I'd recommend to avoid all coasts entirely (Unless the Kerbals are aching to go to the beach. In that case, go right ahead!)

[DrMarlboro]

On 12/6/2015, 5:46:54, Wallygator said:

Driving... Almost as mind numbing as time warping to eeloo.  I give props to anyone giving it a go.  Until the game is enhanced to support land traverse in a more reliable way, I will continue to look at efforts like yours in awe.  Well done for the attempt!

Thanks man. It's definitely going to be a rough journey. They really need to fix how rover wheels hang on things. Seeing a wheel drag behind and then snap back is never an easy sight to deal with. Every time I tense up and scream BRACE FOR LAUNCH. luckily it seems to happen less since 1.0.5.

19 hours ago, Stratzenblitz75 said:

I'm enjoying your adventure so far! Its really interesting to see all the crafts you've built and how they create this infrastructure to support your circumnavigation. Looking forward to seeing that polar base!

Also, through my adventure, I've also noticed that the coasts on Kerbin have very rough terrain. I can't say that this is true everywhere, but every coast I've come across has these huge, jagged hills. It doesn't seem to matter where the coasts are either; the terrain inland can be really flat, but the coasts nearby are still jagged. So, if you want to continue avoiding rough terrain, then I'd recommend to avoid all coasts entirely (Unless the Kerbals are aching to go to the beach. In that case, go right ahead!)

Thanks, glad you're enjoying it! I tend to do things on far too large of a scale but this time it just feels like it needs to be done. It's really nice to find uses for these craft that I thought where going to waste away in the sph save file, so it's definitely good to see things working out like they are. 

I was incredibly disappointed with how rough the coast was. Thanks for the heads up - i will avoid coasts like the plague. 

Now unfortunately, I'm spending a few days away from home and there won't be any mission progress until I get back. However, since I do have my laptop (and since I found an excellent spot for both the base and dock/seaport) I'm continuing work on the base while I'm away. 

Ubiowelder has become a life saver for this project. If it wasn't for that this would probably blow up my laptop. I'm in need of another mod though. I need something that has crane parts like a cable winch and hooks or something that functions in that way. IR is great for robotic claws and even for the crane arm, but I need the lifting parts for it. If yall can point me in the right direction for a mod like that I would be forever greatful. Anyways, back to the sph!

[damerell]

KAS offers winches and grapples.