The Stock Weapons Challenge

[panzerknoef]

6 hours ago, Krog34 said:

Beautiful bombers! This is exactly what I was hoping to see! Love your guided bomb!

Thanks, I appreciate it! 
I'm currently working on a further development of the bomb, or rather a missile... It is capable of being launched from ground and air. I've currently got it with a range of about 10kms, the accuracy is still an issue though, I can hit within about 5-10 meters of the craft and sometimes hit the craft as well, the aim target node seems to be most accurate when engaged right above the target. Sad part about this is that you have to keep controlling the missiles to put them on target when they reach the designated spot. So what I've basically built is a javelin missile

[Krog34]

17 minutes ago, panzerknoef said:

Thanks, I appreciate it! 
I'm currently working on a further development of the bomb, or rather a missile... It is capable of being launched from ground and air. I've currently got it with a range of about 10kms, the accuracy is still an issue though, I can hit within about 5-10 meters of the craft and sometimes hit the craft as well, the aim target node seems to be most accurate when engaged right above the target. Sad part about this is that you have to keep controlling the missiles to put them on target when they reach the designated spot. So what I've basically built is a javelin missile

In my experiences, assuming the maneuverability of your weapon is already good, stock "guided" weapons tend to work better air-to-air. 

 

I wish there was a SAS option that was *10 Degrees Above Target-Lock*, that would help a lot on the air to ground hits for sure!

[RA3236]

1 hour ago, Krog34 said:

In my experiences, assuming the maneuverability of your weapon is already good, stock "guided" weapons tend to work better air-to-air. 

 

I wish there was a SAS option that was *10 Degrees Above Target-Lock*, that would help a lot on the air to ground hits for sure!

Too bad that's part of an autopilot that I can't remember...

[panzerknoef]

1 hour ago, Krog34 said:

In my experiences, assuming the maneuverability of your weapon is already good, stock "guided" weapons tend to work better air-to-air. 

 

I wish there was a SAS option that was *10 Degrees Above Target-Lock*, that would help a lot on the air to ground hits for sure!

that's exactly why making one go ground to ground is a nice challenge...

 

This is the current iteration of my system. As you can see the accuracy isn't bad given the range but they don't actually manage to damage the target, even upon impact.

[Thor Wotansen]

6 hours ago, Krog34 said:

In my experiences, assuming the maneuverability of your weapon is already good, stock "guided" weapons tend to work better air-to-air. 

 

I wish there was a SAS option that was *10 Degrees Above Target-Lock*, that would help a lot on the air to ground hits for sure!

You could try putting an angled probe core on it to control from.

[Krog34]

1 hour ago, Thor Wotansen said:

You could try putting an angled probe core on it to control from.

...that...thats genius. I've actually exploited that before but never thought of it in a weapons system... IDEAS FLOODING IN! 

[Torquimedes]

12 hours ago, Krog34 said:

In my experiences, assuming the maneuverability of your weapon is already good, stock "guided" weapons tend to work better air-to-air. 

I wish there was a SAS option that was *10 Degrees Above Target-Lock*, that would help a lot on the air to ground hits for sure!

I had this problem with my torpedoes.  Stock weapons in SAS Target mode will lock onto the root part of the target craft.  In my early testing, that was the probe core on the masthead of my target ship, and I had torpedoes porpoising out of the water and sometimes skipping right over the deck.  When I switched the root part to the deck, the torpedo homed into the side of the hull instead of jumping out of the water.  

SAS Target mode will also aim the weapon straight at the target, instead of keeping their prograde vector on it and correcting for gravity/buoyancy/etc.  Against my target sub, the root part is in the center to ensure a hit from any attack angle, but the torpedo had to be maneuverable enough to lift the heavy ore tank against gravity pulling it off course in the second before impact.  Surface-to-surface missiles don't adjust their AoA to counter gravity, so a flat launching arc will result in a crash far short of the target.

One trick you might try is to add a tiny part to the target craft as the root part.  Offset it some height above the craft as an aiming point for tracking weapons, and see if you can trick the missile into crashing into the target while it tries to hit (and falls below) the root part.

 

 

[Servo]

2 hours ago, Torquimedes said:

I had this problem with my torpedoes.  Stock weapons in SAS Target mode will lock onto the root part of the target craft.  In my early testing, that was the probe core on the masthead of my target ship, and I had torpedoes porpoising out of the water and sometimes skipping right over the deck.  When I switched the root part to the deck, the torpedo homed into the side of the hull instead of jumping out of the water.  

SAS Target mode will also aim the weapon straight at the target, instead of keeping their prograde vector on it and correcting for gravity/buoyancy/etc.  Against my target sub, the root part is in the center to ensure a hit from any attack angle, but the torpedo had to be maneuverable enough to lift the heavy ore tank against gravity pulling it off course in the second before impact.  Surface-to-surface missiles don't adjust their AoA to counter gravity, so a flat launching arc will result in a crash far short of the target.

One trick you might try is to add a tiny part to the target craft as the root part.  Offset it some height above the craft as an aiming point for tracking weapons, and see if you can trick the missile into crashing into the target while it tries to hit (and falls below) the root part.

 

 

One problem with that is that there will be an effective range on the weapon. The optimal offset height will vary with range/launch angle. I think angled probe cores would be a much more effective method of correcting for gravity. I can do some math on this to find angles and whatnot, but trial and error will likely be just as effective. That, or just use short ranges and overpowered torpedoes.

[Torquimedes]

1 hour ago, Servo said:

One problem with that is that there will be an effective range on the weapon. The optimal offset height will vary with range/launch angle. I think angled probe cores would be a much more effective method of correcting for gravity. I can do some math on this to find angles and whatnot, but trial and error will likely be just as effective. That, or just use short ranges and overpowered torpedoes.

Correct, I was referring to trial-and-error to find the optimal height of the target part.  

If you angle a missile's probe core (per @Thor Wotansen) and can maintain roll stability in SAS-TargetMode, the result should be more consistent than the offset target example.

You could also try pitching the missile's fins to give them a positive AoA to counter gravity, again with roll stability.

[klond]

Early early version of auto-feeder for rapidfire cannon.  1/2 the shots blew inside the barrel - gonna need work.

Edited January 18, 2017 by klond

[fourfa]

So... I'm not entering at this time, and I didn't make the following videos.   But... are you guys aware of the destructive potential of Krakenleg cannon technology?

https://www.twitch.tv/dasvaldez/v/93748823

https://www.twitch.tv/dasvaldez/v/89365376

This is 100% vanilla stock.  I have seen the scaled-up orbital bombardment version of this cannon fire projectiles at many, many times the speed of light (can't find a good highlight vid though)

[Cunjo Carl]

There's a few nice techniques I've found for cluster weapons, and a neat mk1 bomb bay pioneered by @swjr-swis I'd like to show off. They don't do much destruction, but I've never had a problem destorying KSC, even just by accident!             Also, Godzilla Ball.

How to control clusters of flying missiles

Spoiler

Description... It explains how to use the glitch a bit earlier in the video. Here it is in text, though: To setup the Simon Says glitch, before you launch the missiles, turn on SAS and hold mod+Q,A,W to set the trim full (or near it), then separate and use Q, A or W to move in tandem with the probes. S, D and E can also be used, but will cause the movement to desync.

 

Mk1 Bomb Bays

Spoiler          Nice traditional rocket powerred bomb bays. The design was originated by @swjr-swis                Many sepratrons can be loaded onto basic fins in bomb bays and combustively released at takeoff.      Seperatrons scatter out for coral reef seeding. Sorry about those earlier bombs, atolls!                                                       Take THAT unsuspecting patch of thoroughfare.    I also developed an SSTO that has a swimming pool sized bomb bay with over 1000 released seperatrons. I found it was most fun used as a swimming pool than a weapon though! Turns out Kerbals float in seperatrons, though who'd have guessed?

 

Godzilla Ball

Spoiler

 

Oh, but if you are into Godzilla'ing around KSC, I've got a little gem. I designed a giant Kerbal hampster ball, and it turns out to explode everything it touches.

A 100 meter tall sphere can slowly roll around KSC at 25m/s using countless reationwheels inside

Even rolling at a gentle 6m/s causes wanton destruction in its wake.                                                              It's tough enough to survive explosions, so I took it on a walk.... Tap!

It looks very amusing to see this ball roll gently around while having things burst into flame around it. Anything beyond 6-ish m/s causes KSC structures to explode and the ball easily goes 25m/s, so it's actually difficult to roll off the runway without causing devestation. Very fun!

 

 

That's it! Hopefully it's been amusing. Let me know if you'd like the files!

Edited January 22, 2017 by Cunjo Carl

[swjr-swis]

1 hour ago, Cunjo Carl said:

How to control clusters of flying missiles

Missile clusters and solar glitch vehicles... two of my favourite things.

[RandomUser]

Spoiler

Welp, I would have included a video, really.  But I didn't record for the one time I actually managed to guide the missile into a tank a few km's away, immediately upon taking off.  Didn't think it would work so I didn't record.  Managed to take these screenshots of the tank and explosion, and one of the plane with it's missiles.  Overall I've been doing this for a good few hours, attempting to guide a missile into a plane, tank, etc.  I've only hit twice, and the other time it did nothing to the plane. 

Since that tank hit, I've been trying for about an hour to hit it again, to no avail.  It works, it does.  It is simply to difficult to guide something so fast into so small a target, so I'd say it is a partial success, barely.  Stock weapons do work, but wow, are they are hard to work with.  It was fun no less though, so I'm glad with these results, to see how this would work. 

 

Edited January 24, 2017 by RandomUser

[Jeb federation]

Here's my first successful bomber!

 

 

Btw Are battle tanks allowed on this topic?

[klond]

On 1/22/2017 at 3:23 PM, Cunjo Carl said:

That's it! Hopefully it's been amusing.

Yup!  Laughed out loud in public 

 

On 1/25/2017 at 2:54 AM, Jeb federation said:

 

 Those are some nice looking bombs.

[The Optimist]

Torpedoes!

[klond]

 Calling target - VAB from runway spawn point.  Muahahahaha

Shoulda reduced power - most shots went over.

If we can shrink it we could put it in a plane and use a jet to force-feed it (cannon for A-10?).

KerbalX

Edited February 2, 2017 by klond

[Cunjo Carl]

@klond  Wonderful engineering! I'm a particular fan of the decoupler 'chariot' wheels and the elevons for controlling hopper feed.

[klond]

13 hours ago, Cunjo Carl said:

I'm a particular fan of the decoupler 'chariot' wheels

 Chariot wheels!  That is the perfect description.  They kind of bounce and lumber along same-same.

[jevry]

i think i should do a challenge sometime.

a stock weapons challenge hey? shouldn't be too hard.

it has too be original though.

oh i know! throw a volvo from space onto the vab! nah too hard, atmospheric foroces and stuff.

how about dropping it from a plane? perfect!

now that is not very hard so might as well scale up to a lorry truck.

so my lorry will be filled up with the following things

 

command pod for easy acces for bradburry kerman. the volunteer to be thrown at the vab.

ladder to climb to the chair

some ore snuck under the floor so my lorry will hit the vab with the front and not the back.

some small rockets to help the lorry get out of the plane

and last but not least

HELIUM! (not xenon it's totally helium deal with it)

you might ask why? helium is non-reactive. it won't blow up. well  because any survivors of the lorry bomb will sound really funny ofcourse!

i will drop it onto the vab with my latest plane design

back wheel is a bit far back so taking off is slightly bothersome but it flies perfectly once off ground.

bradburry taking position

you can really see the bravery in his face.

plane now on bombing course for the ksc

olmost there.

look at that perfect shot i mean err.. drop

if you are missing some seperators, they blew up.

 

used the slick aerodynamic body of my lorry to align myself to directly hit the vab

aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaand

BOOOM!!!

now just have to return my super stable plane that totally did not flip out of control

see i told you it did not flip out of control!

missed the runway by a few inches but that's okay

wait a minute............ what's this?

well the lorry was designed by volvo............

at least i can happily confirm... bradfurry did indeed have a very high pitched voice after landing i mean errr... detonation.

 

i should also note that this is no waste of money or the lorry. the truck's engine was broken anyways

see? we're recycling!

 

Edited February 5, 2017 by jevry

[Torquimedes]

@jevry Awesome, and hilarious.  How many attempts did that take?

[Servo]

5 hours ago, jevry said:

i think i should do a challenge sometime.

a stock weapons challenge hey? shouldn't be too hard.

it has too be original though.

oh i know! throw a volvo from space onto the vab! nah too hard, atmospheric foroces and stuff.

how about dropping it from a plane? perfect!

now that is not very hard so might as well scale up to a lorry truck.

i should also note that this is no waste of money or the lorry. the truck's engine was broken anyways

see? we're recycling!

 

That's a meaning of "truck bomb" that I did not expect... great job man!

 

On 1/31/2017 at 9:57 PM, klond said:

Shoulda reduced power - most shots went over.

If we can shrink it we could put it in a plane and use a jet to force-feed it (cannon for A-10?).

 

As I mentioned before, feel free to mess around with my A-10. I'd really like to get a better working cannon than the one that's on there right now.

https://kerbalx.com/servo/A-10-Thunderbolt-II-working-GAU-8

 

*Edit* I built this: 18-shot GAU-8

Pretty rudimentary. Structural plates feed ammo into the barrel, where it is then shot out by the panther. In testing, 80%+ of the shots made it out of the barrel and in the right direction. Some still get stuck/come out at funny angles, but I think it's pretty good for a first draft. With afterburners firing, it can hit the VAB from the spawn point. No damage, though. Max range is over 3km (well past the tracking station). I will have to test out how it works in midair, though I don't expect many problems (besides fitting it into the plane.

Edited February 6, 2017 by Servo

[jevry]

14 hours ago, Torquimedes said:

@jevry Awesome, and hilarious.  How many attempts did that take?

well aside from modifying to make the thing work only about 2/3 tries to actually hit the vab. first succefull drop was short. second nearly went over but as i said i tilted the truck so the aerodynamic forces would throw me on top of the vab. did have a rotation wheel on it.

further about 2 fails getting the plane off the ground. one fail because the lorry dropped backwards. added weight to the front and retried. still wobled so added 3 more. and 2 attempts fixing the truck's engine but failed (turns out clipping suspension breaks wheels but to unclip it i had to rebuild the whole truck)

 

14 hours ago, Servo said:

That's a meaning of "truck bomb" that I did not expect... great job man!

i was thinking more of a "clustertruck" word joke but truck bomb works too.

 

now the real challenge to this build for me was that i build the plane first and the build the truck in the bomb bay.

Edited February 6, 2017 by jevry

[Tyr Anasazi]

A few versions ago I built an armoured vehicle with a multiple rocket launcher on it. It was fun and pretty accurate. I made a video: