The Elcano Challenge: Ground-Based Circumnavigation (Continued)

[Claw]

On 6/30/2016 at 5:45 AM, Thalamask said:

I have just completed the Elcano Challenge for Duna (linky in sig) with a stock craft. 

Another one complete, nice job.   I liked Duna as well...actually lives up to it's name with all those rolling dunes.

 

17 hours ago, HoloYolo said:

Here it is @Claw. It's over.

Awesome job HoloYolo! Congrats on your first completion. I put you into the Modded category, because you have a modded part (MJ box) on your craft.

[HoloYolo]

3 minutes ago, Claw said:

Another one complete, nice job.   I liked Duna as well...actually lives up to it's name with all those rolling dunes.

 

Awesome job HoloYolo! Congrats on your first completion. I put you into the Modded category, because you have a modded part (MJ box) on your craft.

Thank you Claw. I might do another one somewhere else eventually, but I'll have to consider.

[Claw]

@HoloYolo No big rush. Take your time and enjoy it when you're ready. It's certainly easy to burn out on Elcano missions. They can be a bit...demanding...

That badge looks good on ya.

You guys are making me nostalgic. I need to post up some of my recent travels. I've got a couple completions to add (this challenge had slowed down for a while). 

[HoloYolo]

3 minutes ago, Claw said:

@HoloYolo No big rush. Take your time and enjoy it when you're ready. It's certainly easy to burn out on Elcano missions. They can be a bit...demanding...

That badge looks good on ya.

You guys are making me nostalgic. I need to post up some of my recent travels. I've got a couple completions to add (this challenge had slowed down for a while). 

This challenge was a lot of fun. I might do it somewhere smaller, like Dres or Pol. It's fun to explore a planet all the way.

[Claw]

4 minutes ago, HoloYolo said:

like Dres or Pol

I ran into some difficulties on Dres (it kept blowing up my rover) but others look like they've had an easier time. Dres isn't too hard to drive and has some interesting landscape. Pol also has some pretty interesting landscape to explore, but comes with some of it's own driving challenges. 

[HoloYolo]

Just now, Claw said:

I ran into some difficulties on Dres (it kept blowing up my rover) but others look like they've had an easier time. Dres isn't too hard to drive and has some interesting landscape. Pol also has some pretty interesting landscape to explore, but comes with some of it's own driving challenges. 

Low gravity is fun to drive in. At least for me it is.

[ryan234abc]

2 minutes ago, HoloYolo said:

This challenge was a lot of fun. I might do it somewhere smaller, like Dres or Pol. It's fun to explore a planet all the way.

I've done Minmus and Gilly in the past, and low gravity can become annoying at times. If you haven't been to Minmus/Pol/Gilly, I'd say one of those for a change of pace. Then again, since you just did Eeloo, you may want to do something with a little bit more gravity than Pol, so Dres would be the best. Add into the mix the fact that Pol has a lot of invisible terrain which is tough to navigate, and that Dres has more interesting geology, and I know which one I'd choose. Either way, if you're looking for something new, go for Pol, but if you want something closer to Eeloo, but with a difference, I'd say Dres.

Hope that helps!

Ryan

[HoloYolo]

Just now, ryan234abc said:

I've done Minmus and Gilly in the past, and low gravity can become annoying at times. If you haven't been to Minmus/Pol/Gilly, I'd say one of those for a change of pace. Then again, since you just did Eeloo, you may want to do something with a little bit more gravity than Pol, so Dres would be the best. Add into the mix the fact that Pol has a lot of invisible terrain which is tough to navigate, and that Dres has more interesting geology, and I know which one I'd choose. Either way, if you're looking for something new, go for Pol, but if you want something closer to Eeloo, but with a difference, I'd say Dres.

Hope that helps!

Ryan

Thanks Ryan. I thought the mountains only applied to the landing part of Pol? Do they still exist when your on the ground?

[ryan234abc]

3 minutes ago, HoloYolo said:

Thanks Ryan. I thought the mountains only applied to the landing part of Pol? Do they still exist when your on the ground?

I've only ever been once, but if you're trying to get your rover to the surface, they can be annoying as hell, I know that much. I've never been far across Pol's surface, but I doubt there would be invis terrain on the ground. Problem there though, is that you'll often leave the ground on Pol (second smallest body) and, although unlikely, you may run into a bit of invis terrain at that point. To be honest though, all this talk of Pol makes me want to go back. If I can make a good enough build to get there, I'll be doing it next, for sure. And I guess if you're trying to get your name in every bit of the hall of fame, you'll have to go to both Dres and Pol, no matter what.

Edited July 2, 2016 by ryan234abc

[HoloYolo]

Just now, ryan234abc said:

I've only ever been once, but if you're trying to get your rover to the surface, they can be annoying as hell, I know that much. I've never been far across Pol's surface, but I doubt there would be invis terrain on the ground. Problem there though, is that you'll often leave the ground on Pol (second smallest body) and, although unlikely, you may run into a bit of invis terrain at that point. To be honest though, all this talk of Pol makes me want to go back. If I can make a good enough build to get there, I'll be doing it next, for sure.

I have always wanted to go back to Pol, that's why I suggested it.

[ryan234abc]

1 minute ago, HoloYolo said:

I have always wanted to go back to Pol, that's why I suggested it.

Go for it then! Word of advice though, check Kerbal maps before you design the rover (i'll leave you a link to it below), if you zoom in you'll see a lot of ridges and abrupt ends to the hills, not many smooth parts. From experience with low g moons, a heavy and slow rover, with a low model and VERY good suspension will be best for getting over those ridges. Just keep it slow and you won't leave the ground, that's what I'd say.

http://www.kerbalmaps.com/

[The Optimist]

Resupply plane NO.2 has arrived at the LandKreuser. Instead of simply transferring the fuel to the LK's tanks, it will become part of the ship for a while, functioning as a drop tank. When it runs out of fuel or when it arrives on land, it will be jettisoned.

A small proportion of the fuel in the plane was lost when the plane hit the water at 130 m/s. A MechJeb module has been attached, to provide... well, uh... Stuff!

Some fuel jimmying was required for a successful link

[Claw]

29 minutes ago, HoloYolo said:

Do they still exist when your on the ground?

I did not run into any invisi-terrain when driving, though it became apparent when I returned to my landing sight. I did run into some issues when landing, but none when driving. (Though obviously my experience doesn't mean that's how it would be for everyone.) I would say just use caution if you save with crew members off of the rover.

 

Edit: I should also mention, it wasn't the low gravity of Pol I was referring to, but that the terrain itself is a little more extreme. It's definitely a change compared to Eeloo.

[The Optimist]

You know what's really boring? A Kerbin equatorial circumnavigation

 

[Claw]

I actually enjoyed Kerbin, though maybe that's because I did it early on and I didn't just race around the planet. I did some shore hopping along the way (for refuel), and I've previously driven from KSC to the North Pole. There is some really nice scenery, and I saw a lot of stuff that I would never have seen if all I did was rockets and short range plane building (which is also it's own brand of fun ).

Tylo, that was the most boring for me...by far. It's as large as Kerbin without as much terrain variation. And the terrain itself has some difficulties which require constant attention to the rover to reduce (can't prevent) catastrophes, and put some limitations on phys-warp. That was a long...long drive.

[The Optimist]

3 minutes ago, Claw said:

I actually enjoyed Kerbin, though maybe that's because I did it early on and I didn't just race around the planet. I did some shore hopping along the way (for refuel), and I've previously driven from KSC to the North Pole. There is some really nice scenery, and I saw a lot of stuff that I would never have seen if all I did was rockets and short range plane building (which is also it's own brand of fun ).

Tylo, that was the most boring for me...by far. It's as large as Kerbin without as much terrain variation. And the terrain itself has some difficulties which require constant attention to the rover to reduce (can't prevent) catastrophes, and put some limitations on phys-warp. That was a long...long drive.

I know, but the first 1/3 of the trip is basically just water. I think I'll shoot an ICBM at the boat, for fun.

[Claw]

1 hour ago, ryan234abc said:

Finished my circumnavigation!

Whoops, I almost forgot to add you to the front page! Congrats again.

[HoloYolo]

@Claw Watch the forums. Within in a few hours I might've driven around Pol.

[Claw]

9 minutes ago, HoloYolo said:

Within in a few hours I might've driven around Pol.

Looking forward to it.

[HoloYolo]

@Claw Pol is postponed due to a vacation.

[Just Jim]

I finally finished my Chariot ride around the Mun:

 

 

I'll post more details tomorrow, and I have literally hundreds of screenshots to pick thru.  I'll find a few of the best and post them too.

Edited July 3, 2016 by Just Jim

[Just Jim]

Following up on my last post. I finished my Mun tour a few days ago.  I hit most of the biomes and every Easter egg but the saucer. (Long story...)

In a nutshell, I started at my colony base located approx. 60km east of East Crater. Headed west thru East Crater to a point just south of Northwest Crater.  Then north thru Northwest Crater and on thru the Northern Basin to the Polar Crater.  From there I attempted to reach the north pole, but could only make it to 82° 52' 44" before the terrain got the best of me.  I then headed south to Farside Canyon and Crater, thru the canyon into the crater, then headed west again to East Farside Canyon and Crater.  I drove west thru them into East Farside Crater, then headed south for the pole.  This time I made it to 85° 18' 3" before the terrain got too rough.  From there I circled the pole and headed north and home.

Spoiler

 

Total distance: 1914 kilometers.  Time 399 days.

The Chariot itself is a stock, self sustaining monster, and does amazing in the Mun's lighter gravity.  It can get to over 30m/s on flat terrain using the rear thrusters, and it's range is only limited by the fuel supply.  The more I drove with thrusters on, the more I have to stop and refuel.

Getting it to the Mun was straightforward enough using a huge skycrane setup.  These shots are of an earlier landing, but I've used this same set-up now for all my different Chariot designs, and have a variation with parachutes for places like Duna.  I can dig up the ones landing the actual Chariot I used to complete this if need be.... they're in this mess somewhere... lol...

And here are some of the screenshots.  I'm only posting a few of the really good ones so it doesn't make this too long. 

 

I have to admit, this got really personnel, and turned into a grudge match between me and the Mun... 

And I'm super proud to finally say, the Mun lost!  hehehe   

 

 

 

[Kerbinchaser]

I really want to do all of these. Like, a lot.

[Claw]

My Eeloo mission is up. Nothing too horribly exciting about this particular journey, which is also nice from time to time.

 

 

[Thalamask]

Congrats, Claw. Nice mission. I note you bring your Kerbals back too... nice touch!