The Elcano Challenge: Ground-Based Circumnavigation (Continued)

[Claw]

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The Elcano Challenge

"Two roads diverged in a wood and I, I took the one less traveled by." - Robert Frost

 

Juan Sebastián Elcano (1476 – 4 August 1526) was a Spanish explorer of Basque origin who completed the first circumnavigation of the Earth. After Magellan's death in the Philippines, Elcano took command of the nau Victoria from the Moluccas to Sanlúcar de Barrameda in Spain.

This challenge is simple. So simple, it's easy. Well...it sounds easy. Those of us who have completed it would probably disagree.

The challenge to you is to become the next Elcano. To do what no one, or very few, have done. A challenge to circumnavigate an orbital body, be it moon or planet, solely by ground and/or water.

This challenge is a continuation of the original Elcano Challenge, posted and managed by Fengist. (Hopefully I can be as clever with my comments as he was. )

The rules are simple:

Basically, you are to circumnavigate, either equatorially or via a polar path. Your path should not diverge significantly from the intended direction. You may do as I did and mark your path via flags. Or you may provide ample proof via screen shots. Using ScanSat BTDT (Been there done that) scanners also works provided you don't have a bunch of different vessels with BTDT.

 

Plant a flag at your beginning spot and return to that flag... the long way around.

1. The main mission and support missions must be launched from the launchpad or runway and delivered to the destination body. Part of the journey is getting the crew/ship there. (i.e. No HyperEditing or save file editing the vehicle into position.)

   1. Any combination of launching, refueling, or docking is permitted.

2. The vehicle must be Kerballed during the circumnavigation.

   1. The ship does not have to be launched or delivered in one massive mission, but there needs to be at least one kerbal onboard the rover/boat during the circumnavigation (capsule, cockpit, seat, or loose).

3. Stay on the ground or on/below the surface of any water present. (BRIEF jumps over dunes and such permitted.)

4. The same vehicle that crosses the land must also cross water. No ferrying your vehicle on a boat.

5. You may send replacement vehicles. If you read Fengists' circumnavigation of Eve, you'll see why. Game mechanics are not kind to ground vehicles.

   1. Your crew must be transferred to any replacement vehicle and it must be very similar to the original. I understand this is a learning process...and will allow some design changes.

6. You may use aerial and orbital recon vehicles.

7. You may refuel if needed. Use of ISRU (or similar mods) is permitted.

8. Saving and reloading (F5/F9) is permitted.

   1. If your vehicle is complex, be aware that saving can slowly corrupt/damage the craft if it’s flexing due to movement or weight. (I suggest you read over Fengist’s journey to see what happened as a result.)

9. Only stock planets and moons are acceptable. Asteroids (stock or modded) or orbital bodies introduced to the Kerbol system via a plugin are not considered valid orbital bodies for this challenge

   1. Exception: Circumnavigations on RSS Earth are allowed, given the origin of this challenge.

10. Any rule I haven't thought of that breaks the spirit of this challenge. The point of the challenge is to build a rover/boat, deliver the vehicle, and circumnavigate the body.

 

• Proof: Document your journey via images, or as those of us who have manage to complete this feat, by words and pictures.

• Categories: Stock / Stock Craft / Modded - Mods are acceptable, those who complete this stock will have it noted. Support vehicles used (delivery, replacement, recon, and refueling) also factor into this category. The categories are broadly defined as follows:

  • Stock - Mods can be used before the mission begins (such as using KER for design, HyperEdit for testing, etc), but no mods of any kind used during the record flight. No mods that add or modify parts, information, visuals, physics or any other aspect of the game are permitted during the mission. “Stock” means stock. (If you normally use mods, consider having a separate install if you want to go for this category.)

  • Stock Craft - The craft and all support craft are made from all stock parts with their stock configuration. Installed mods may not modify physics or add/modify parts in use by the craft. Mods that add PartModules to stock parts, but do not alter the stock parameters, are also permitted. Examples of permitted mods are information displays (such as KER), transfer window planners, and visual enhancements (such as EVE). “Stock Craft” means the .craft or save file can be used on a stock install and it looks/works exactly the same way (your mission would remain effectively unchanged without the mods).

  • Modded - Use of add-ons that change physics or add/modify parts in use by the craft are permitted. An add-on’s technology level must be “near term” or of “next tier” type of capabilities as compared to stock. Mods that allow the user to skip elements of the challenge or violate the spirit of flying to and circumnavigating a body are not permitted. (i.e. Slightly better/larger/stronger engines, wheels, fuel tanks, etc. are permissible. Hyperdrives, antimatter engines, wormhole generators, hyper dense or exotic fuels, etc. are not allowed.)

This challenge is not for the feint of heart. It will take persistence and a great deal of patience. If you're the competitive type and think of this challenge as a race, it will get boring really quick. If you look at it as I, Fengist, and Wooks did (as an adventure) you'll find plenty to keep you entertained.

Since this is challenge is more about the journey than reaching the destination, feel free to create a thread in Mission Reports so that everyone can share in it. It doesn't matter whether it fails or not, everyone there loves to read the stories, even the sad ones.

Good luck and um... Godspeed....

And before you grumble about how long this will take... think back at how many hours you spent doing other things in KSP that ended up being less rewarding...

Advice to explorers

Be cautious when quicksaving. Some vessels in particular (especially with robotics and/or movable parts) are prone to errors with alignment after repeated quicksaves/quickloads.  Gravitational and motion stresses on ground-based vehicles are a LOT more than spacecraft. If you quicksave while a part is misaligned due to these stresses and then reload, you just doomed your vessel to a corrupt save. This theory was originally posted by Fengist in his Elcano thread, and seems to strike some vehicles harder than others.

 

 

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CIRCUMNAVIGATORS

 

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Grand Master Circumnavigators

Those who have circumnavigated all Planets & Moons

Claw - Stock - Completed all circumnavigations!

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Planetary Circumnavigators
Those who have circumnavigated both Kerbin & Eve

Claw - Stock - Completed both Kerbin and Eve circumnavigations!

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Master Mariner Circumnavigators
Those who have circumnavigated both Kerbin & Laythe via ocean.

Check here for details on this specific award. Spoiler To earn the Master Mariner badge, you must circumnavigate both Kerbin and Laythe by ocean. Since it's not entirely possible to circumnavigate Kerbin solely by water...I have annotated start/stop locations for water-only circumnavigation. Start your circumnavigation at any diamond and end the route at the other diamond of the same color, travelling the entire distance around Kerbin. (i.e. Pick either the green or red set of diamonds for your route.) Those who have completed a circumnavigation of Kerbin by water and by driving across that isthmus qualify. Circumnavigating Kerbin by water without crossing one of the isthmus will not qualify as a circumnavigator of Kerbin.

Claw - Stock - Completed both Kerbin and Laythe water circumnavigations!
nigelvn - Mods - Completed both Kerbin and Laythe water circumnavigations!
RexKramer - Stock - Completed both Kerbin and Laythe water circumnavigations!
Chemp - Stock Craft - Completed both Kerbin and Laythe water circumnavigations!

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• Wooks - Stock (I'm pretty sure) - I believe the first to circumnavigate Kerbin by ground, leaving some 70 Kerbals in his wake. Techinically, Wooks broke rule 3 by using boats. But, since he is the first I know of to prove it could be done, I'll allow him some room. Anyone else, no dice.
• Slam_Jones - Stock - A jet powered, single Kerbal, amphibious monofoil refueled by a VTOL, Slam's EOS Bike X completed a circumnavigation of Kerbin.
• Geschosskopf - Mods - For a man who's more at home flying on Duna, he makes an impressive Kerbin pontoon.
• Squiggsy - Mods - And how would you surmount a vertical ice shelf?
• Claw - Stock - The famous moderator takes a cockroach on a water based circumnavigation of Kerbin. Who knew cockroaches could swim that well?
• Hagen von Tronje - Mods - In an attempt to circumnavigate every orbital body in the Elcano, Hagen found the solution to one of the big problems, pontoons.
• Rex Kramer - Stock - Broken parts and flat tires. All part of what it takes to get a Mk3 rover around Kerbin.
• Bubbadevlin - Mods - How many intakes does it take to make a rover float?
• nigelvn - Mods - It's better to look good than to feel good and what better way to look good circumnavigating... than in a yacht.
• RexKramer - Stock - I'm still not sure what to call this thing... an airliner on a park bench? But it seems to circumnavigate well.
• Azimech - Mods - Ok, this one is definitely a Pontiac. Minus the fins.
• Van Disaster - Mods - A lengthy trek (six months in the making) and some backtracking, but quite amazing pics of Kerbin.
• castille7 - Stock - A pretty sweet ride, and an engineer that won't quit. castille7 manages to circumnavigate Kerbin.
• Chemp - Stock - A catamaran that looks a bit like a pod racer...proof that more thrust can be pretty darn cool.
• Stratzenblitz75 - Stock Craft - Kerbin succumbs to another navigator. Bill's journey will not be abated as he refuels, climbs the ice wall, and returns to the top of the VAB in style.
• Dfthu - Stock - A beast of a boat that manages to hold it's own even when out of the water.
• Chemp - Stock - Chemp finds another way to take Elcano to the next level (if that's even possible) and finishes a circumnavigation in a kerbal powered rover.
• Damerell - Mods - Damerell takes another Svetlana-designed vehicle on another trip, this time to conquer Kerbin...who knew tanks could float?
• Alchemist - Stock Craft - The Elcanoplan takes quite the detour around Kerbin, picking up some awesome sights along the way.
• timmers_uk - Stock Craft - A test run results in an unexpected circumnavigation, ending in a footrace to get up to the runway.
• gilflo - Mods - A 50 ton ARG makes short work of Kerbin, completing the full trip in just over four days.
• Martian Emigrant - Stock Craft - Our very own Emigrant from a nearby red planet managed migrating several local kerbals. Will he do it again?

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• RocketPilot573 - Stock - How do you make sure you don't pop balloon tires while circumnavigating the moon? Landing gear of course.
• Hotaru - Stock - One incredibly detailed excursion around the Mun.
• B-STRK - Mods - If you like Kerbal dialogue, you'll love this circumnavigation, including the flipping incident.
• damerell - Mods - Damerell took a lesson from Volvo in the 1980's: Big and boxy, but good.
• Claw - Stock - Flat tires, crashed rovers and dragons... all part of Claw's circumnavigation of the Mun.
• Warzouz - Stock Craft - A pair of side-saddle kerbals tackle the tempting Mun...and take a tour of it's secrets.
• IvanSanchez - Modded - A munar exploration contract takes IvanSanchez' robo-surveyor on a multi-day journey around the Mun.
• Just Jim - Stock Craft - In a knock-down, drag-out match, Jim rounds the Mun in a rather stout rover.

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• NoPanShabuShabu - Mods - A polar excursion of Eve, including a stop at it's very pointy north pole.
• Fengist - Mods - A very screwy circumnavigation that used 1 replacement vehicle in the process. I lost count of how many hours it took... yes, that many.
• Claw - Stock - At the end of a long journey, Claw finally completes his last world, and completes his Elcano collection.
• Thalamask - Stock Craft - In rapid succession, another victor conquers the expansive...lonely...purple planet. 

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• Brotoro - Stock - Tested out the 'new' rover parts back in 2013 by driving AROUND Duna. Though he did this un-Kerballed, I mention him here because he was apparently the first, to do any circumnavigation of any planet by land. His quote as to why he did it, sums up this challenge, "I made the trip for the same reason Roald Amundsen went to the South Pole, and .... Rutan and Jeana Yeagar flew non-stop around the world without refueling, and Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay climbed to the summit of Mount Everest... just because I could."
• Hagen von Tronje - Mods - Completing yet another circumnavigation, Hagen takes on the bloody eyeball, something no one has attempted in years!
• Claw - Stock - 2 Kerbals, a bashed up rover and flying rocks. Claw completes a polar circumnavigation of Duna.
• Commander Zoom - Mods - Better late than never, the mission of a hearty crew of five takes a long term trip around the red planet makes its way to the public record.
• Thalamask - Stock Craft - Basking in the warm night glow and finds some rather large, lofty unobtainium...another lofty wayfarer visits the red planet.

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• Juzeris - Mods - Expecting an easy yachting experience, Juzeris and his crew discovered that boating their way around Laythe wasn't as easy as expected.
• Claw - Stock - The moderator with the most barnacles, Claw becomes the first not only to circumnavigate 2 orbital bodies, he does both by water.
• nigelvn - Mods - nigelvn completed a circumnavigation of Laythe with one of the most amazing mods created by one of the most humble mod creators. Using Maritime Pack he cruised his yacht around Laythe to include a long distance fuel delivery. Loads of pics.
• smjjames - Mods - And another boat fanatic takes to the waves and circumnavigates Laythe... though you may have trouble finding the ship for all the engines.
• RexKramer - Stock - Well, it doesn't exactly look like a boat but hey, when you go stock, you can't be picky.
• Claw - Stock - In for a second round of Laythe, and on a polar route this time too boot.
• Chemp - Stock Craft - After a bit of a break, Chemp returns to make a splash on Laythe (and finds one of it's natural wonders).

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• Jean Deaux - Stock - Jean decided that instead of bringing spare parts, he'd just bring spare rovers. Landing 3 of his Ark III rovers on Minmus in one operation he drove one around the poles of Minmus.
• damerell - Mods - Using a Kerbal Foundries based rover, damerell found Minmus wasn't as easy to circumnavigate as expected.
• Spudman2 - Stock - Ok, so he spent a lot of time driving with a flat tire. Who knew Minmus had sharp rocks.
• Hagen von Tronje - Mods - Hagen is a masochist after my own heart. He's attempting to circumnavigate every orbital body and he's completed Minmus.
• Claw - Stock - Trading in his cockroach for a dune buggy, Claw completes his third circumnavigation. I think he's testing me to see what badge I come up with for circumnavigating all orbital bodies.
• xendelaar - Mods - While Gilly's terrain may lack color, Xendelaar lit it up like a Xmas tree.
• The Cardinal - Mods - A man after my own heart. A circumnavigation in a rover that's entirely too big. There's no such thing as excess in KSP.
• Azimech - Mods - Aside from all the extra wheels, it kinda looks like a 70's Mopar product. But hey, we can't all afford Cadillac's.
• Dfthu - Stock - Busted wheels, an explosion or two, Kraken in the terrain... all the usual things you'd find in a cirucmnavigation.
• Hotaru - Stock? - Some long term bases and a high speed rover, Hotaru makes quick work of Minmus.
• waterlubber - Mods - After a bit of a bouncy ride, Bob and Val finish visiting the sights on Minmus.
• KN_Namida - Stock - KN_Namida shares a full album of his two kerbals and their incredible four month journey around Minmus.
• Speeding Mullet - Stock Craft - Rocket powered rovers are never a bad idea. Speeding Mullet takes the plunge, and carries a nearly train sized rover to the minty green hills.
• suicidejunkie - Mods - An opportune chance turns into a Minmus curcumnavigation, complete with parts delivery and probe deployment.
• Thalamask - Stock Craft - The ion bike comes out for another spin, this time racing around the flats of Minmus.
• ryan234abc - Stock Craft - Another brave soul visits the minty green marble by retooling a stock vehicle to fuel his adventure.

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• Xannari Ferrows - Mods - While brave enough to attempt a circumnavigation of Moho with a rover based on a stock rover body and balloon tires, I have to wonder what the Dracula music in the background represents.
• Claw - Stock - Keeping the hot side hot, and the cold side cold, this little jeep rounds yet another planet...taking a polar trip around the terminator of Moho.

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• Solune - Mods - After losing numerous wheels and having to replace his rover at least once, Solune completed a circumnavigation of Vall, including a stop at at least one anomaly and a flag planting at the pole.
• Thalamask - Stock Craft - Val takes on Vall in a no holds barred challenge! And finds quite the floating rock to boot.
• Claw - Stock - Julella and Obemy circumnavigate yet another body, this time finding invisible brick walls and holes to the core of the moon.

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• Teilnehmer - Stock - Teilnehmer discovered that one of the biggest challenges to driving around Gilly was staying ON the ground.
• ryan234abc - Stock - Another brave explorer who has discovered the low gravity of Gilly presents it's own challenges.
• ghostbuzzer7 - Mods - Ghost found the easy way to cross Gilly, with a big sail... or was that a solar panel?
• Thalamask - Stock Craft - Gilly tries hard to buck Thalamask from it's lightweight surface, but persistence prevails.
• Claw - Stock - Like so many before him, Claw underestimates the minimal gravity and the patience needed to finish the job.

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• nigelvn - Stock - Not a lot of dialogue but gobs of pictures!
• Thalamask - Stock Craft - Thalamask rocks the icy planet with a venerable boxy rover, and rings it with flags.
• HoloYolo - Modded - Visiting the quiet little snowball apparently froze a rover and kerbal solid. Who said a bug would stop Elcano?
• Claw - Stock - A dirty snowball, and a big plan. Claw's crew makes yet another trip...this time to the outer reaches.

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• Claw - Stock - Claw discovers a Kraken portal while making yet another polar circumnavigation, this time... of Ike.
• Thalamask - Stock Craft - Another wide body dune buggy kicks up Ike dust, and Valentina finds a floating boulder. Do or do not, there is no try.

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• TheCardinal - Mods - Now this is my kinda rover. Big, boxy.... kinda like an old Volvo, except for the tracks.
• Thalamask - Stock Craft - Another big and boxy rover hits it's mark, complete with ion propulsion and an excited Valentina.
• Claw - Stock - After a quick jaunt around the tiny planet, Claw's ride looks like it's trying to leave without him.

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• Claw - Stock - The trip to Bop is short, but it provides some nice eye candy and the biggest floating rock to date.
• Thalamask - Stock Craft - A nifty little ion bike makes an appearance, lending it's gentle touch to Bop's low gravity.

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• Thalamask - Stock Craft - Thalamask takes on another world, and shows that "slow and steady" wins the Tylo race.
• Claw - Stock - Sweet unmerciful Tylo, how you taunt us. Julella and Obemy rejoice as they safely leave the bounds of of the kraken's grip.

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• Claw - Stock - Some rapid pedaling from Duna, Claw finds himself face to face with the minefield that is Dres.
• Thalamask - Stock Craft - With a huge smile on his face, Jeb makes a polar round trip around Dres. Apparently the mines have been cleared!

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Some inspiration for you: Wooks circumnavigating Kerbin

 

[cubinator]

First! Thanks for keeping this challenge up, @Claw!

[Dfthu]

Im doing this http://forum.kerbalspaceprogram.com/index.php?/topic/128315-kerbin-water-elcano-challenge/

[Claw]

Welcome home boys.

About 6 days ( and 6 months real time ), not bad going.

 

On 11/21/2015 at 0:31 PM, Hotaru said:

Mission complete (again).

 

On 11/15/2015 at 2:15 AM, castille7 said:

Circumnavigate Kerbin Elcano Challenge Completed

 

On 12/7/2015 at 8:55 AM, Thalamask said:

I have just completed the Elcano Challenge for Pol here.

 

On 12/17/2015 at 3:24 PM, waterlubber said:

Hey guys!
I did it! I circumnavigated Minmus!

 

On 12/25/2015 at 5:41 AM, Commander Zoom said:

I drove around Duna near the start of 2015.  Here's the album documenting the trip.

Here are the ones (I think) I logged. Please let me know if I missed some.

Cheers,
~Claw

[Thalamask]

1 hour ago, Claw said:

Here are the ones (I think) I logged. Please let me know if I missed some.

Cheers,
~Claw

Thanks Claw! Much appreciate you picking this one up!

 

I've got an Ike entry outstanding, here. Thanks again, and Happy Holidays to you!

[Chemp]

5 hours ago, Claw said:

 

Here are the ones (I think) I logged. Please let me know if I missed some

 

Thank you for keeping the challenge alive. It would have been a shame to loose it, although I totally understand Fengist getting frustrated.

I had also completed the challenge (here) and hope it qualifies. I had a blast doing it, those new jet engines really pack a punch! Let's see if I can get a modified version to Laythe.

 

[Claw]

19 hours ago, cubinator said:

First! Thanks for keeping this challenge up, @Claw!

No worries. Go easy on me.  

 

10 hours ago, Thalamask said:

I've got an Ike entry

Added

 

6 hours ago, Chemp said:

I had also completed the challenge (here) and hope it qualifies.

Added, and good luck with Laythe.  It's a bit more droning than Kerbin, but there are still some pretty amazing sights.

[Stratzenblitz75]

Indeed, thank you, Claw, for maintaining this challenge! In fact, let me make your rep +2000

In other news. I almost done with my Elcano attempt... Video submission coming soon^tm!

[SpaceplaneAddict]

This gives me new reason to attempt a new Elcano!

[Claw]

One thing I am considering is doing away with the "stock" and "mods" tags on the completion board. It's becoming increasingly difficult to really separate the two, since Fengist changed the "what mods are acceptable" for a "stock" entry. At one point, I had queried him about my own mods, which fix bugs with the stock code (so that things work properly). At that time, he convinced me that "stock is stock, if you add anything then it's no longer stock." But since then, the feeling within this challenge has changed.

Though I'd say that this challenge is more about completing the circumnavigation, and if entries that contain non-stock elements are going to be listed as stock, I see two potential changes that might be made. Given the history of this challenge, I'm open to suggestions on this front. Here are my two potential changes.

1. Completely remove "stock" and "mod" tags. If you complete it within the rules, it's complete. Though this opens up the possibility of completely OP mods, and I'm not really willing to babysit a list of "acceptable" add-ons for the challenge (similar to Jool5).
2. Adjust the rules, so that a "stock" entry is "No mods that add parts, change the functionality of stock parts, or change the physics"...and a "modded" entry is essentially the opposite "Contains mods that add parts, change functionality of stock parts, or modify the physics." Potentially here, there could be a new tag for "pure stock" entries. So then it would be "Pure Stock, Stock Craft, and Modded" entries.

I'm not really bent either way. Personally I still ascribe to the "if you add anything, it's not stock," but it's really not compelling for this challenge anyway. The challenge in this challenge is to accomplish something rather difficult. So if the "stock" vs "mod" tag is causing consternation without adding tangible benefit, then there's probably no real need for it.

Cheers
~Claw

[SpaceplaneAddict]

Here's my two boosters, if you don't mind

 

 

To me, stock is still stock so long as any mods installed do not provide: parts, different physics, or changing stock parts, exeption of any mod that only visually changes them. Any other mod used for info, or auto pilot functions, to me, are OK for still being called stock. No, Hyperedit is just plainly a mod, and is cheating

[Chemp]

1 hour ago, Claw said:

So then it would be "Pure Stock, Stock Craft, and Modded" entries.

That's a good idea. I agree with you that there are some really OP mods out there and I think that completely eliminating the tags would be a loss for the challenge.

Let's just hope that more categories won't add too much confusion

[Geschosskopf]

Glad to see this is still going.

[Bubbadevlin]

I kinda missed what happened, but i take that fengist no longer wants to do it?

 

Also i highly support your decision to change the "stock" and "modded" categories, as some mods really should be in the game, and don't effect anything

[Claw]

4 hours ago, SpaceplaneAddict said:

Any other mod used for info, or auto pilot

Well, that's part of it right? There's a difference between piloting a rover all the way around a planet by hand, and someone who installs a mod that drives their rover while they are asleep (which is the crux of the challenge.) Whereas  one of my mods fixes a stock bug with lift on fairings, technically changing physics, and is therefore not allowed. It's a fuzzy line. A mod that drives the rover for a person is "okay" while a mod that adds a science container is a "no-go."

3 hours ago, Chemp said:

Let's just hope that more categories won't add too much confusion

I agree. Which is why I'm slow about changing this. I'm not bent either way for the labels...but if the labels are going to stick around, I do think they should be a bit more descriptive of the actual achievement.

3 hours ago, Geschosskopf said:

Glad to see this is still going.

Indeed

1 hour ago, Bubbadevlin said:

i take that fengist no longer wants to do it?

Fengist has decided that he no longer wants to maintain his add-on and has taken a hiatus from the forum. I'm not sure if he'll return, so I will do my best to administer this challenge in his absence. It doesn't sound like he will be back any time soon.

1 hour ago, Bubbadevlin said:

some mods really should be in the game

Yeah, I agree to some extent. Though my aim isn't to cause any divide between "what's an acceptable stock mod and what isn't," so much as have the tags be meaningful at a quick glance. It's all about the journey.

[Hawks Of Hazard]

Im working on a completely stock craft, I have gotten about 1/6 of the way so far. Im also recording the whole thing, so later I will speed It up and post it as the episodes come out.

[Thalamask]

My two cents, if I may be permitted, is that minimising the work required to maintain the challenge comes first. Claw's already doing us a favour by taking over this mod challenge, and the least we can do is minimise the amount of time that it takes.

Personally, I would set out guidelines on what constitutes "modded" (e.g. added relevant, functional parts) and "stock" (e.g. info adds, non-relevant parts) and then run the Wheaton rule on submissions. If a dude's obviously lying (e.g. all screenies show a true-scale Batmobile or something), call him out; if not, take the submission as it stands.

For example, I submit all my entries as "stock", even though I clearly state that I have Mechjeb (for manoeuvre assistance), Engineer (for build assistance) and Hyperedit (for build testing) installed. I don't consider that any of those affect the actual challenge, as all my parts are pure-stock, and I haven't changed any of the physics or anything to make stuff easier.

Edited December 29, 2015 by Thalamask

[Claw]

56 minutes ago, Hawks Of Hazard said:

I have gotten about 1/6 of the way so far.

Good luck!

36 minutes ago, Thalamask said:

My two cents, if I may be permitted

You are permitted, since I opened it for discussion.

[Hawks Of Hazard]

23 minutes ago, Claw said:

Good luck!

You are permitted, since I opened it for discussion.

Episode 1 releases in under 20 minutes... hopefully.

                                   l l l l l l l

Day one is uploaded VVVVVV

Edited December 29, 2015 by Hawks Of Hazard

[Hawks Of Hazard]

 

 

[RexKramer]

On December 28, 2015 at 3:27 PM, Claw said:

One thing I am considering is doing away with the "stock" and "mods" tags on the completion board.

Cheers

~Claw

I'm in the camp that says 'stock is stock'.  While this challenge is more about the journey than the destination, there is definitely an additional challenge in completing a stock entry.  In particular, I found completing water legs in stock the hardest thing I've yet done in KSP- that was before buoyancy was tweaked of course.

Even just basic informational mods can be a big help.  I recall one screenshot which provided lat/lon coordinates on screen, and thought how much of a huge help that would have been.

My suggestion would be to leave it basically as is- Stock vs. Mods.  Perhaps maintain a very short list of Stock-Approved mods.  And I would absolutely include your stock bug fixes in that list if you go that route.  Otherwise, doing away with the stock/mods tags actually seems kinda appropriate for this challenge- again this one is more about the journey than the destination.

However, in the end I would vote for whichever method allows you to painlessly manage this challenge.  This is a truly unique and special challenge which adds a lot to the KSP experience.  Thanks for stepping up Claw.

[Claw]

21 hours ago, Hawks Of Hazard said:

Day one is uploaded

Excellent start! Keep up the good work.

1 hour ago, RexKramer said:

 I recall one screenshot which provided lat/lon coordinates on screen, and thought how much of a huge help that would have been.

So turns out you can get coordinates from the map mode, by pulling up the info icon (on the right) about your craft. I used that when calculating fuel for my Laythe boat, because I wasn't sure I had enough fuel to get across the big expanse. However, that still raises part of the sticking point with having a list of "stock approved mods." Because info such as lat/long is already there, so why not allow mods that show it in-flight? (I don't expect an answer, it's just an example.)

 

So really, what I'm more aiming to avoid, is getting hung up on someone's challenge debating over "what's a  mod and what's a stock entry?" Really, I just want people to be able to enjoy the game/challenge, without artificial concerns or barriers hampering enjoyment. Everyone has opinions about add-ons, and I'm all for people playing the game how they like. The obvious exception being that the challenge is about the journey. So you need to actually do the journey, rather than (for example) hyper edit your craft around. Just looking for an easy, clear solution that doesn't hang people up.

Thanks for the inputs!

 

[Thalamask]

Just completed my Vall circumnavigation. Linky in my sig!

[Claw]

33 minutes ago, Thalamask said:

Just completed my Vall circumnavigation.

Very nice! I'll have a look today.

You're reminding me that I need to get my stuff posted too. I've finished Bop, Vall, and Laythe for my JoolCano-5. And the mothership is on it's way to Tylo!

[Stratzenblitz75]

Its been one heck of a ride, but my journey has finally come to a close: over 4800 km driven, 2 replacement crafts, uncountable quick-loads, many refueling missions, and an emergency booster. I'll admit, it wasn't easy... General KSP bugginess left me frustrated on the verge of giving up many times... But, I persisted and now, I finally have something to show for it all:

I present, my Kerbin Circumnavigation Elcano Attempt!

I hope you all enjoy my journey.