The Saga of Emiko Station - Complete

[Choctofliatrio2.0]

6 minutes ago, Plecy75 said:

i7 cpus are really nice for ksp. 

Yeah, they are. I was just saying I haven't noticed many obvious benefits. And I was surprised, because the laptop I use for games and recording youtube videos is pretty awful.

[Just Jim]

I was gone most of the morning, but I just had a chance to play around for a bit, and I can already see my biggest issue is how fast everything moves.
It's almost like learning a new game all over again.  I may need a day or two to get used to playing like this.

[Kerbart]

50 minutes ago, Just Jim said:

I was gone most of the morning, but I just had a chance to play around for a bit, and I can already see my biggest issue is how fast everything moves.
It's almost like learning a new game all over again.  I may need a day or two to get used to playing like this.

Yeah, if you're used to getting that cup of coffee while your rocket is working its way off the launchpad... not any more, hahaha!

[Just Jim]

28 minutes ago, Kerbart said:

Yeah, if you're used to getting that cup of coffee while your rocket is working its way off the launchpad... not any more, hahaha!

Oh no kidding!  I just tried my first docking, and it's so weird!!!  It's so smooth, but so much faster than what I'm used to, I almost crashed into the station.

Plus I realized I was playing the x32 version... when I tried the x64 it got even faster.  
In x64 I'm getting green lights everywhere, and about 10 fps faster with big things like Duna Station.  

[Plecy75]

Seriously though, anyone want a new PC? They are custom built and guaranteed to work!

 

And yes, x64 really sped up my game too (when i used the community hack on 1.0.5). However, I build really large stations, and even with an i7-4790K and GTX 980, i was still getting only about 6 FPS in 1.0.5. i expect to see a really big jump once my mods get updated and i get the save transferred.

4 hours ago, Choctofliatrio2.0 said:

Yeah, they are. I was just saying I haven't noticed many obvious benefits. And I was surprised, because the laptop I use for games and recording youtube videos is pretty awful.

well, the benefits will really show now with 1.1's multi-threaded physics. all those extra threads will be put to good use!

Edited April 26, 2016 by Plecy75

[Ultimate Steve]

The first time I tried to land a spaceplane in 1.1 I nearly crashed it because the game was running 2x faster than it used to. Yay for better framerate, but it is a bit harder to land, arguably.

[Just Jim]

32 minutes ago, Ultimate Steve said:

The first time I tried to land a spaceplane in 1.1 I nearly crashed it because the game was running 2x faster than it used to. Yay for better framerate, but it is a bit harder to land, arguably.

Yeah, I just found this out.  Launching a diamondback was amazing to watch... landing it was not so great.  
Let's just say any landing you can walk away from... lol... 

I did get a lot done today for the next couple chapters.  Actually not sure how to proceed from here.  
I have a couple different directions I can choose, but I haven't decided which way I want to go with yet.

[Kerbart]

6 hours ago, Just Jim said:

I did get a lot done today for the next couple chapters.  Actually not sure how to proceed from here.  
I have a couple different directions I can choose, but I haven't decided which way I want to go with yet.

When in doubt about the direction the answer is easy: Dres!

[Just Jim]

12 hours ago, Kerbart said:

When in doubt about the direction the answer is easy: Dres!

hehe... no, not Dres until later down the road.

Actually, I'm running into some weirdness on the Mun this morning.  I think I have a way to make it work into the story, but I need to polish up a couple details first.   

[Just Jim]

OK, story update...

I got a lot done today, but ran into a couple more interesting problems.  Nothing game breaking, or story breaking, just odd.

But I think I've come up with an interesting way to write them into the story and make it work to my advantage.  
Just need to get a few more shots tomorrow, should have the next chapter posted this weekend.  

[SpaceplaneAddict]

Gotcha!

[Kiwa]

With the 4790 you should be able to launch ~80-ish part rockets at x2 physical time warp and still have green lights (except for a bit during max-Q). Congrats

[Just Jim]

15 hours ago, Just Jim said:

I got a lot done today, but ran into a couple more interesting problems.  Nothing game breaking, or story breaking, just odd.

But I think I've come up with an interesting way to write them into the story and make it work to my advantage.  
Just need to get a few more shots tomorrow, should have the next chapter posted this weekend.  

Oh go figure, after I posted this the DEV team releases 1.1.1 and it fixes one of the problems... more or less.  

I'm having an issue with the landing gear on... something...  But I already found a way to make it work into the story, even if 1.1.1 more or less fixed the problem, and I already got the screenshots I needed for that part, so I'm not going to go back and change stuff again now.  

My other issue is all my rocks have moved.  But I don't think it's from 1.1, I think it's from me installing the game onto a new computer.  And possible having the graphics set much higher when I did.  All the ground scatters have moved, so all my floating rocks are gone.  I did spot a couple new ones yesterday, so that particular bug hasn't been fixed (Thankfully!!!)  Just everything is re-arranged.

 

[Just Jim]

OK, good day!  Got pretty much everything done I need for the next chapter, and most everything for a couple after that.  
Here's a teaser screenshot until tomorrow...

[Crystal_Mace]

15 hours ago, Just Jim said:

OK, good day!  Got pretty much everything done I need for the next chapter, and most everything for a couple after that.  
Here's a teaser screenshot until tomorrow...

That may be the sharpest KSP shot I've ever seen!  Hanging on tight 'cause the pictures are going to be booting the story into overdrive...:D

[Just Jim]

43 minutes ago, Crystal_Mace said:

That may be the sharpest KSP shot I've ever seen!  Hanging on tight 'cause the pictures are going to be booting the story into overdrive...:D

Oh yeah!  I'm about to add another new twist.  But I'm running a bit behind schedule.  
I just spent the morning dealing with a highly technical computer problem called "where the heck did I put my Photoshop CD?"  

But, thankfully, I just found it and can get it installed on the new computer so I can touch up a couple shots.  Then it's the standard routine of sorting, renaming, and uploading them, and after that get this written up.  If I don't get everything done this evening then definitely tomorrow morning.  And after that things should go much faster.

Edited April 30, 2016 by Just Jim

[insert_name]

20 hours ago, Just Jim said:

OK, good day!  Got pretty much everything done I need for the next chapter, and most everything for a couple after that.  
Here's a teaser screenshot until tomorrow...

Was this taken using internal overlay?

[Just Jim]

Chapter 44
        Munquake!!!     

 

Note: In this chapter we revisit a challenge I started last year, but lost when version 1.0.5 was released.
I swore I would attempt it again someday. 

Only this time, it's part of the saga....

 

Several days after Harfield was exiled to Eve, Piper Kerman was preparing to land on the Mun and explorer the first of the monolith anomalies. And furious for not telling her until it was far too late, Piper was not talking to Gene. She knew he had done it in fear of her doing something rash, and he was probably right. But it didn't change the fact of the matter; she had not gotten to say goodbye to her friend Harfield, or be there for Jandolin, who she knew must be a wreck by now.

But for now she forced herself to focus on landing the Raptor at {coordinates classified} without crashing. 

But once she had gotten outside, Piper was disappointed to find nothing around her but rocks for as far as the eye could see. For over 2 hours she wandered around, but saw no monolith. At one point she even tried communing with a large rock, but got nothing.

Finally she found a spot where she lost contact with the Raptor, and was just getting ready to plant a flag there so she could find it again when several alarms from the Raptor began sounding in her helmet speakers.

Suddenly a violent tremor shook the ground beneath her feet, wrenching the flag out of the ground and hurling her back several meters into a heap.

As she lie there trying to gather her wits, Pipers speakers again rang out.

"Mission Control, this is Munbase Alpha. We have just experienced a severe seismic event. No casualties, but there is considerable damage to several of the support struts.  Repeat, we have just experienced a severe seismic event....."

Hearing this Piper gathered herself up and started to run back to the Raptor, which was thankfully still standing, and headed straight for the Munbase to assist.

But several minutes later, as she came in for a landing, Piper was stunned to find the entire landscape around the Munbase had changed! The Munquake had apparently shifted all the rocks around, and caused the dust to settle in a weird and distinct way, as if some sort of cosmic feather duster had removed most of it, and allowed her to see the surface clearly for the first time!

Once on the ground, Piper ran towards the base, and wasn't surprised at all to see the familiar figure of the Rocklady standing outside near her rock.

"I am so glad you are safe," Piper gasped, trying to catch her breath. "How bad was it here?"

"It was pretty bad, child. I was inside when it happened, and the rock secured our side. But the surveillance cameras from that Chariot over yonder show the other side of the base being lifted nearly three meters off the surface. If not for the rock holding us down, who can say how far we might have been tossed?"

At this point Dr. von Kerman came onto Piper's helmet radio, "Captain Piper, do you read me?"

"I'm here doctor, go ahead."

"Good. I'll be brief. We are trying to get some information as fast as we can as to what happened. But for now we know one thing... this was not, I repeat, not a so-called Munquake. The Mun is not geologically active, and a quake of this sort is simply impossible. And there's more. We may be wrong, but the Mun's surveyor satellite is indicating this event had three epicenters... each focused in the area of those arches you found a while back!"

"What???" both Piper and the Rocklady gasped.

Then Gene cut in, "Piper.... Piper, don't cut me off, please... this is too important. Are you there?"
"I'm listening," Piper replied coldly.

"Good... good. Look, I am actually really glad you're there, you are the best I have. Your mission has changed. I want you to take a Chariot and go investigate those arches, OK?  Don't take the Raptor, I don't want the ground going out from under you when you're trying to land... the Chariot is much more stable."

"Understood. But Gene," Piper said, looking over at the Rocklady, "I'm taking someone with me."

Gene was silent for a minute longer than the usual delay, "Agreed, on one condition. Piper, please, please forgive me! I am so sorry for not telling you about Harfield, and I realize what I did was wrong. And I really want to be your friend again, please?"

Piper sighed, "OK, fine... I forgive you. Besides, your right, I probably would have tried to blow up that ship and save him if I had a chance." 

Then Piper looked her friend and smiled, "How would you like to go on a road trip with me?"

The Rocklady beamed back, "Madam Captain Piper, I would be honored."

As they got ready to board, Gene chimed back in once again, "You should have an engineer, unless one of you knows how to fix a flat. Chief Steve is needed at the Munbase to repair the support struts, but he's training an assistant, Frannie, and he tells me she is quite capable. I want you to bring her along, just in case."

And with that Piper, Frannie and the Rocklady strapped themselves in and headed out away from the Munbase and towards their first target, Jandolin's arch, at {location classified}

But only minutes after they had started, Gene came back on the radio again and ordered them to stop.

"What... why?" Piper protested.

"Calm down, this will only take a minute. Our Worlds First representative is here with me and has a request. And for once it's quite simple. You will be the first to drive from our Munbase to Jandolin's arch, and the WFS would like you to plant a flag every 20 kilometers or so to mark the route. This could also help us immensely if we decide to establish tourist rover rides to and from the arch."

"Fine," Piper replied, somewhat exasperated, and climbed out quickly to plant a WFS flag.

But they had only gone about 10km further when Piper spotted a floating rock and brought the Chariot to a stop to investigate.

This one was quite large, and appeared to be balancing on a point just above the ground. It was the first Frannie had seen, and she was clearly fascinated by it.

Noting it's exact location for further investigation, the team continued on for next few hours without incident. In the back of the Chariot, Frannie and the Rocklady were quickly becoming friends, and up front, Piper was enjoying herself immensely! She had never driven a Chariot, and was quite surprised to find how much fun she was having.

For the next few hours the terrain was fairly level, and the kilometers sped by with ease, until they reached Jandolin's crater, as it was now called, and Piper spied the great arch off along one side.

Once stopped, Piper and the Rocklady clambered out to investigate the great arch, while Frannie began drilling for ore to convert to fuel for the next leg of their journey.  

But as they were looking around, Piper realized Jandolin's flag was missing, and frowned. Obviously the Munquake had shaken out from the ground, and it mostly likely was somewhere down at the bottom of the crater. So she planted a new one before moving on to look at the arch up close.

But similar to the monoliths, the science equipment showed nothing. All the were able to determine conclusively was the size, which was roughly a quarter kilometer from end to end.

They even tried communing with a rock near one end of the arch, but it was unresponsive.

After a few hours, unable to find anything more, Piper made the decision to proceed from here onto the monolith anomaly she had been investigating when the Munquake hit, only 100 or so more kilometers from where they were, and on roughly the same course. Frannie and the Rocklady agreed, and soon they were headed to {location classified}.  

But it was when they were leaving Jandolin's crater they made a startling discovery. There, along the lip of the crater, was a floating rock, clearly 10 or more meters above the ground! Never had one been reported so high, and carefully Piper maneuvered the Chariot in so they could get a closer look.

As she spied the great arch in the distance, Piper had the strangest impression the rock was somehow... watching it.

But unable to get close, the team eventually gave up and headed back out. The next several hours went by fast as they passed some amazing lunar landscapes, and Piper once again was having the time of her life. Emiko Station may be her home, but she now knew where she was coming for her next shore leave!

As Kerbol began to dip low in the sky, they finally reached the crater Piper had been investigating when the Munquake hit.

Carefully Piper let the chariot coast down one side, making sure to keep her foot on the brakes until they had reached level ground near the center, then she headed to the spot she had tried to plant a flag.

But as she grew close, Piper let out a gasp and turned the Chariot towards one of the smaller craters inside this large one. There, along the edge of the small crater, was not one, but two floating rocks, side by side! And only a couple kilometers from their destination. Clearly they would have to come back and investigate this before leaving!

And finally they reached the point Piper had landed. Looking at her instruments, Piper calculated they had now traveled some 330km, nearly a quarter of the way around the Mun!

The first thing Frannie did was to do a complete inspection of the rover, especially the wheels, for any sign of wear or damage.

While Frannie was busy with the Chariot, Piper and the Rocklady headed to find Piper's fallen flag.

Once they located it, they measured around it, and found it did, in fact, show the same zone of "nothing" as Gene had found near the space center monolith. But they could find nothing, only rocks and boulders for as far as the eye could see.

Near the fallen flag were a couple of large rocks, and not knowing what else to do for now, Piper looked at the Rocklady and said, "Why not ask them?"

So they walked to the larger of the boulders and tried communing with it.

As the sun began to dip beneath the western edge of the crater, Piper began to grow sleepy.... feeling like she was entering some soft dream.

Then, without really knowing why, Piper turned and said in a soft, almost hypnotic voice, "Of course, it's buried..."

And with a start her eyes snapped open, and she looked at the Rocklady in amazement.

"Yes, my dear... yes! Very good!  You heard it, didn't you?"

"Yes," Piper said quietly, "Yes, it....I saw the monolith... it's buried beneath us, isn't it?"

"I believe that was the message, yes, dear," the Rocklady smiled broadly.  

"You have made great progress, but it's getting dark. Perhaps we should head back to the Chariot and resume in the morning, yes?"

"Yes," Piper whispered in an almost reverent voice, "Yes..."

Back at the Chariot, Frannie was busy drilling ore and refueling the Chariot, and seeming to be in her element. Not wanting to interfere, Piper and the Rocklady stood and watched for several minutes when suddenly Gene's voice interrupted the silence.

"Piper, are you reading me?"

"Yes, Gene, I'm here. What can I do for you?"

"Piper, listen, I have a.... challenge... for you. Word has gotten out around the center about your trek across the Mun, and Walt Kerman in PR... well, you know how Walt is...."

Piper didn't like the sound of this, but asked anyway, "What did Walt scheme up now?"

"Now, Piper, I need you to understand, this could be of great value to us all, both in public relations as well as the scientific value..."

"What, Gene?"

"And you'll most likely become even more famous..."

"What, Gene?"

"And you're the most qualified to do this..."

"What, Gene?"

"Piper.... how would you like to be the first Kerban to drive completely around the Mun?"

For several seconds Piper just stood there in stunned silence, until the Rocklady next to her grinned and whispered, "Do it!"

Piper grinned back at her friend and now mentor. "Yes, Gene... yes.  I gladly accept this challenge of yours. But on one condition.  We also continue this mission; investigate the other arches, as well as the monolith anomalies and anything else we might encounter along the way."

Gene's response was instantaneous, "Done!"

After Gene signed off Piper looked back at the Rocklady. "I am so glad you came with me. This is going to be so fun!"

"So am I, child," the Rocklady smiled back at her, "So am I..."

 

 

The Saga of Emiko Station is far, far from over....

Go to Chapter 45
Return to Index

Edited December 7, 2019 by Just Jim
fixing a couple small goofs... lol...

[SpaceplaneAddict]

ROAD TRIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIP!!

And of course it's buried....
*Determination.

[Just Jim]

2 hours ago, insert_name said:

Was this taken using internal overlay?

Yes

 

13 minutes ago, SpaceplaneAddict said:

ROAD TRIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIP!!

And of course it's buried....
*Determination.

Funny thing is, there used to be a corner of this one sticking out of the ground.  I know I'm at the right spot, I've been here several times before this.  
But now this one appears to be completely beneath the surface.  I don't know if this is a result of 1.1.2 or the x64 version, or me reinstalling it onto a new computer.  But whatever the case, it's truly a 2001 monolith now!  

[RocketSquid]

Ah, the joys of rover driving. I would take a nice, solid ISRU equipped rover over a fancy rocket-powered biome-hopper any day.

[Angelo Kerman]

Good luck on your road trip!

[Just Jim]

About the road trip.  Last year, when we were still in 1.0.4, I started the Elcano challenge around the Mun in an earlier version of the chariot.  But 1.0.5 came out and I restarted my career game.  The same career game, in fact, which eventually turned into Emiko Station.  

But the fact I only got maybe 150km or so around the Mun the first time has been a pet peeve of mine, and I promised myself I would attempt it again.  I'm not terribly concerned whether I earn the badge or not. This is personal, and I want to see this thru, as well as work it into the story.

And now, with the new computer, I can drive a chariot in real time.  That 330km stretch I drove for this chapter took one afternoon, about 5 hours total, both in real and game time, which is amazing compared to my old computer. That one would have taken days to get the same distance.  If I'm doing the math right, it should only take me a total of between 24 and 30 hours for the road trip.  

And the new 1.1 wheels make driving one an absolute joy!  I'm having as much fun as Piper!!!  

So this is obviously a new sub-plot, and I'll be weaving it in with the others.  I'll also be getting more into the meaning of the rocks and monoliths and arches and such as the road trip progresses.

And, of course, how Thompberry plays into all this....  

Edited May 1, 2016 by Just Jim

[Crystal_Mace]

18 hours ago, Just Jim said:

Funny thing is, there used to be a corner of this one sticking out of the ground.  I know I'm at the right spot, I've been here several times before this.  
But now this one appears to be completely beneath the surface.  I don't know if this is a result of 1.1.2 or the x64 version, or me reinstalling it onto a new computer.  But whatever the case, it's truly a 2001 monolith now!  

Bahhhhhm, Bahhhhhm, Bahhhhhm, .......BA-DAHHHHMMMMM!........BOOM, boom, BOOM, boom, BOOM, boom, BOOM, boom, BOOM, boom, BOOM, boom,

Bahhhhhm, Bahhhhhm, Bahhhhhm, .......BA-DAHHHHMMMMM!........BOOM, boom, BOOM, boom, BOOM, boom, BOOM, boom, BOOM, boom, BOOM, boom,

Bahhhhhm, Bahhhhhm, Bahhhhhm, .......BAH BAAAAHHHMMMM!.........BAH BAH BAHHHHHMMMM.......... BAHHHHHMMMM...

BAHM, BAHM, BAHHHHMM! (Bahm, Bahm, Bahm,) BAHM, BAHM, BAHHHHMM!

BAAAHHMM.....BAAAHHMM.....BAAAAAAAHHHHHHHMMMMMMM!

(I don't think  I misspelled any of that....)

18 hours ago, RocketSquid said:

Ah, the joys of rover driving. I would take a nice, solid ISRU equipped rover over a fancy rocket-powered biome-hopper any day.

Does anyone besides me hear "o/~ I've driven every kind of rig that's ever been maaa-haaaaade...o/~" playing in the background?  Yikes..now I'm hearing Piper singing that in Kerblish.....:D

 

Jim, love how you worked the flag thing into the story, and so great to hear you're getting to circle the Mun at last!  Judging by the Steam forum you're the only one not having their game destroyed by the 1.1  wheels...lol.I shouldn't laugh...I've had software bugs noone else could identify before...and as we all know, the Kraken sleeps lightly....

 

This was a great chapter!  You can't keep Kerbals down when there's weird space stuff going on...:)

 

[RocketSquid]

2 hours ago, Crystal_Mace said:

Jim, love how you worked the flag thing into the story, and so great to hear you're getting to circle the Mun at last!  Judging by the Steam forum you're the only one not having their game destroyed by the 1.1  wheels...lol.I shouldn't laugh...I've had software bugs noone else could identify before...and as we all know, the Kraken sleeps lightly....

I, for one, prefer the 1.1 wheels (with the possible exception of the Ruggedized ones... they seem to be secretly made of tissue paper), as my rovers can typically recover from spinning out or popping a tire then they can from capsizing. In particular, the really big wheels finally became far more practical for me as they now have a far larger practicality range.