KSP Weekly Challenge Suggestions

[Azimech]

Challenge suggestion: Place the groundstations!

Instead of having the communication groundstations already there, we can switch them off and place them ourselves at the right coordinates.
A groundstation would have a big dish, wheels, operate on its own power and fit inside a MK3 cargo bay.
The vehicle does not have to return to KSC.

No part mods allowed, no mods that change the physics (FAR).

A saved game could be provided with flags placed at the right positions.

Points would be given for

1. the amount placed, defines a multiplier.
2. the method of delivery.

Methods of delivery.

Rocket/parachute: 10 points
Jet powered VTOL: 20 points
STOL Airplane: 25 points
Ship/truck: 40 points
Stock helicopter: 60 points.

• One could choose a different delivery method for groundstations but mixing delivery methods is not allowed (for example, no rocket and truck).
• Ship/truck: Can be a truck all the way or using a ship as a ferry for the truck. After reaching the water, the ferry is not allowed to drive out of it.
• Ferries are allowed to deliver multiple trucks at different locations. No extra points would be given.
• Airplanes/helicopters are allowed to deliver multiple groundstations per flight. No extra points would be given.
• Trucks are allowed to be powered by jet engines.
• Stock helicopters are allowed to be hybrids: fly like an airplane but take off and land as a helicopter. This is the ultimate challenge because stock helicopters are the most difficult of them all, both to build and fly.

For example: 4 ground stations placed using three different methods:

Rocket/parachute: 10x4 =   40
STOL:                    25x4 = 100
Ship/Truck:             40x4 = 160
Stock Helicopter:    60x4 = 240
Total:                                  440 points

The number of points would determine the kind of badge: for example types of metal, or a colour.

What do you think @Badie? There's considerable difficulty involved depending on the delivery type but this way almost anyone can be challenged.
 

Edited June 2, 2017 by Azimech

[KerBlitz Kerman]

On 5/25/2017 at 2:18 PM, MiffedStarfish said:

Maybe an "alternate power methods" challenge, where you have to get as high as possible without using engine parts.

Watch. 

[MiffedStarfish]

Seen. 

[KerBlitz Kerman]

Good

That was quite funny

Meesa sad STS never was implemented... You reminded me of that tragedy.

Same with NERVA....

[MatthewTheFurry]

Quick weekly challenge idea:

Get a stock plane to Mach 5 (1715 m/s) in atmosphere and land the plane
only 2 stages are allowed

sounds easy?

Here's the twist:
No Heatshields
No Radiators
No Fairings
No Rockets
Only 2 Engines Allowed On Final Stage

I have done this twice

Edited June 29, 2017 by MatthewTheFurry

[kerbinorbiter]

this is based off the time that a pilot glided a commercial plane a long way

requires Kerbin side and a plane that doesn't glide very well

under fuel the plane so it lasts for 5 mins fly from area 51 (the one with 01010010) and use NO POWER from when you enter the continent of KSC 

yes this is hard put possable

(NO ROCKETS)

points will be awarded out of 1000

1000 points for landing on the runway

-100 points per 1km away

Edited June 30, 2017 by kerbinorbiter

[Guest]

On 6/29/2017 at 6:52 AM, MatthewTheFurry said:

Quick weekly challenge idea:

Get a stock plane to Mach 5 (1715 m/s) in atmosphere and land the plane
only 2 stages are allowed

sounds easy?

Here's the twist:
No Heatshields
No Radiators
No Fairings
No Rockets
Only 2 Engines Allowed On Final Stage

I have done this twice

That's easy! I've done it with one wipwalsh hovever you spell it, with out fairings ,radiators , or heatshields

[Partperpart]

Try to go to minmus only using srbs

Edited July 4, 2017 by Partperpart
Spelled minmus wrong

[MiffedStarfish]

Challenge: See The System On A Toaster

 The Kerbol System is a wonderful place, filled with exotic sights, such as the sand dunes of Laythe, the dust storms of Duna, and the tropical temperatures of Moho. However, some people can't see these incredible sights, due to playing the game on a computer with specs akin to a brick phone that's ran out of batteries. That's where you come in. You have to build vessel that can go as far as possible, with the lowest part-count possible. 

Scoring:

The lower the score, the better. Your score is equal to the part count of your vessel on the launch pad, minus points per body you land on.

Moho: 15 points

Eve: 25 points 

Duna: 10 points

Dres: 15 points

Laythe: 25 points 

Vall: 25 points

Tylo: 35 points

Bop: 20 points

Pol: 20 points

Eeloo: 35 points

Lowest score wins!

 

[Guest]

Build sputnik 1/2 replica.

[michal.don]

I'd like to suggest a challenge of landing a small asteroid back on Kerbin - I recently had a blast trying crazy and creative ways of landing a small space potato from LKO - often hilariously and horribly failing.

No wonder that did not work.

I think landing asteroids is a sizeable challenge for new players, while experienced ones could go crazy with their designs. I could provide my save file with a 5 ton asteroid in a 100x100 orbit.

After suggestions by @Mikki and @MiffedStarfish, the scoring could be something like:

10 points - land the asteroid on Kerbin

+5 land on the continent where KSC is

+10 land close enough to KSC to see the buildings

+20 land directly at KSC

+50 land on the top of VAB/another KSC building/the tower at the island airfield

 

additional bonus points

+10 the vehicle that lands the asteroid is crewed

+10 no chutes

 

Michal.don

Edited July 12, 2017 by michal.don

[Mikki]

35 minutes ago, michal.don said:

I'd like to suggest a challenge of landing a small asteroid back on Kerbin - I recently had a blast trying crazy and creative ways of landing a small space potato from LKO - often hilariously and horribly failing.

(Pic)
No wonder that did not work.

I think landing asteroids is a sizeable challenge for new players, while experienced ones could go crazy with their designs. I could provide my save file with a 5 ton asteroid in a 100x100 orbit.

Unfortunately, I have no idea of a scoring system. Maybe distance from KSC? Any ideas are much appreciated.

Michal.don

Excellent idea, providing a savefile (Sandbox?) would be the easiest way to go.

I am curious if one can make a precision landing on the VAB roof, but as i know the forummembers, chances are quite good...
Landing (not crashing) the rock on the admin buildings helipad would be a topgoal...
Put it into the hangars on the island?
Many funny ways around to score i think...
Between the RnD buildings, ...

Out of likes btw

Edited July 11, 2017 by Mikki

[MiffedStarfish]

2 hours ago, michal.don said:

I'd like to suggest a challenge of landing a small asteroid back on Kerbin - I recently had a blast trying crazy and creative ways of landing a small space potato from LKO - often hilariously and horribly failing.

No wonder that did not work.

I think landing asteroids is a sizeable challenge for new players, while experienced ones could go crazy with their designs. I could provide my save file with a 5 ton asteroid in a 100x100 orbit.

Unfortunately, I have no idea of a scoring system. Maybe distance from KSC? Any ideas are much appreciated.

Michal.don

That is a really good idea, you could maybe have a normal mode and a hard mode where parachutes are not allowed?

[michal.don]

(Edited my suggestion, included a scoring system idea. More suggestions still welcome, still seems a bit meh to me)

[CastleKSide]

The hard landing challenge. Choose an airless body. Land on that body as hard as possible without losing any parts by cutting the engine power at a certain height. The scoring would be the energy of impact, ie  mass * gravity * height + .5 mass * (velocity)^2 

Teach some basic physics and have fun crashing at the same time

[StrandedonEarth]

The Mun Arch Speed Challenge: How fast can you go through a Mun Arch?

What? You don't know where to find a Mun Arch? That's part of the challenge!

Four Categories: EVA kerbals, manned craft, unmanned craft, and asteroids

too bad the "Kerbin Cup" official mod doesn't appear to be a thing anymore

Edited July 22, 2017 by StrandedonEarth

[Human Person]

Land on the Mun without being on a stable orbit ever! (E.g. launching straight up until you have an impact with the Mun)

Edited July 22, 2017 by Physics Student

[Cpt Kerbalkrunch]

Been thinking about this one for awhile now, and was going to put it in as a regular community challenge, but I'm not too sure about the scoring system (not to mention the responsibility of maintaining and scoring a challenge); so I decided to suggest it for a weekly. The idea is this:

THE ATARI CHALLENGE:

How many asteroids can you grab with a single vessel, single launch from Kerbin?

I figure the score would go by mass. Take your total mass (with all asteroids in tow), then release all asteroids and take your mass again (your ship's mass). Now subtract your ship's mass from your total mass. This is your score. I think the scoring will work because it allows ISRU, but it'll lower your score. Not directly (there's no penalty), but it's going to lower the mass of your asteroids (and make your ship heavier with drills and converter) and therefore lower your score.

What has me stumped is bonuses and "cool-factor" scoring. Two Class E's may weigh more than ten Class A's (I don't know if that's true; just an example), but grabbing ten asteroids with one ship is pretty cool. Also, things like SSTO's or grabbing four asteroids without ISRU would be cool an need an "honorable mention" type thing.

RULES:

Stock parts and physics. Cannot dock with anything that wasn't part of the original launch except asteroids. No Alt/F12 or Hyperedit. I don't think anything else would give an unfair advantage.

For a badge I was thinking an artist's (@cratercracker maybe?) rendering of an Atari 2600 would be pretty cool.

Note: I realize this one would be time-consuming (designing the ship as well as the actual mission), so it would need a few weeks. It's why I originally thought a regular challenge might be the way to go. Maybe you guys or any Squad staff have any ideas? Or if someone wants to take it over and run a full challenge out of it, I'm fine with that too. Just thought it might be a good idea; and I was wondering about some of the crazy ships people will come up with.

[Darth Badie]

On 7/22/2017 at 2:28 PM, Cpt Kerbalkrunch said:

Been thinking about this one for awhile now, and was going to put it in as a regular community challenge, but I'm not too sure about the scoring system (not to mention the responsibility of maintaining and scoring a challenge); so I decided to suggest it for a weekly. The idea is this:

THE ATARI CHALLENGE:

How many asteroids can you grab with a single vessel, single launch from Kerbin?

I figure the score would go by mass. Take your total mass (with all asteroids in tow), then release all asteroids and take your mass again (your ship's mass). Now subtract your ship's mass from your total mass. This is your score. I think the scoring will work because it allows ISRU, but it'll lower your score. Not directly (there's no penalty), but it's going to lower the mass of your asteroids (and make your ship heavier with drills and converter) and therefore lower your score.

What has me stumped is bonuses and "cool-factor" scoring. Two Class E's may weigh more than ten Class A's (I don't know if that's true; just an example), but grabbing ten asteroids with one ship is pretty cool. Also, things like SSTO's or grabbing four asteroids without ISRU would be cool an need an "honorable mention" type thing.

RULES:

Stock parts and physics. Cannot dock with anything that wasn't part of the original launch except asteroids. No Alt/F12 or Hyperedit. I don't think anything else would give an unfair advantage.

For a badge I was thinking an artist's (@cratercracker maybe?) rendering of an Atari 2600 would be pretty cool.

Note: I realize this one would be time-consuming (designing the ship as well as the actual mission), so it would need a few weeks. It's why I originally thought a regular challenge might be the way to go. Maybe you guys or any Squad staff have any ideas? Or if someone wants to take it over and run a full challenge out of it, I'm fine with that too. Just thought it might be a good idea; and I was wondering about some of the crazy ships people will come up with.

Maybe we can work together on making this challenge possible @cratercracker   @Cpt Kerbalkrunch? 

[cratercracker]

9 minutes ago, Badie said:

Maybe we can work together on making this challenge possible @cratercracker   @Cpt Kerbalkrunch? 

Well.. I am good to go, since i just finished something i did in 13 hours....

 

[Cpt Kerbalkrunch]

1 hour ago, Badie said:

Maybe we can work together on making this challenge possible @cratercracker   @Cpt Kerbalkrunch? 

Absolutely. I think it'll be a lot of fun. Was thinking, maybe for a weekly, we change the parameter to "grab at least two asteroids with a single ship, single launch from Kerbin". This would be doable even for newer players, though it would still be challenging to tow the first rock to the second (we all know they can be a bit unwieldy to control ). For veterans, the scoring system would really come into play, as guys will surely try to grab more than two. Then the cool-factor stuff: SSTO's, lowest cost/lowest mass at launch; do you take your rocks to another SOI?; does some lunatic attempt to land more than one asteroid somewhere? I think creativity would be high in this one. The only drawback I see is the time it would take for a good mission, but I'm hoping the fun of it would override any tedium.

For rules, I'd stick with the "no Alt/F12 or Hyperedit" for sure (except testing, of course). Stock physics as well, but stock parts could be left up in the air. Something like "preferably with stock or stock-alike parts". That should leave the door open for a bit of interpretation (not to mention creativity: I imagine we'd see some pretty crazy designs).

I suggested @cratercracker for the badge because he's already made some good ones (including the one I'm proudly sporting in my signature right now). I was thinking a classic Atari with a control on either side painted on an asteroid would be cool. I'm no artist, though. Just a suggestion.

Anyway, hope we can get this done. And thanks for takin' a look at it. Much appreciated.

[cratercracker]

1 minute ago, Cpt Kerbalkrunch said:

Absolutely. I think it'll be a lot of fun. Was thinking, maybe for a weekly, we change the parameter to "grab at least two asteroids with a single ship, single launch from Kerbin". This would be doable even for newer players, though it would still be challenging to tow the first rock to the second (we all know they can be a bit unwieldy to control ). For veterans, the scoring system would really come into play, as guys will surely try to grab more than two. Then the cool-factor stuff: SSTO's, lowest cost/lowest mass at launch; do you take your rocks to another SOI?; does some lunatic attempt to land more than one asteroid somewhere? I think creativity would be high in this one. The only drawback I see is the time it would take for a good mission, but I'm hoping the fun of it would override any tedium.

For rules, I'd stick with the "no Alt/F12 or Hyperedit" for sure (except testing, of course). Stock physics as well, but stock parts could be left up in the air. Something like "preferably with stock or stock-alike parts". That should leave the door open for a bit of interpretation (not to mention creativity: I imagine we'd see some pretty crazy designs).

I suggested @cratercracker for the badge because he's already made some good ones (including the one I'm proudly sporting in my signature right now). I was thinking a classic Atari with a control on either side painted on an asteroid would be cool. I'm no artist, though. Just a suggestion.

Anyway, hope we can get this done. And thanks for takin' a look at it. Much appreciated.

Two words, thousand smiles:

PM me

Edited July 24, 2017 by cratercracker

[Darth Badie]

18 minutes ago, cratercracker said:

Two words, thousand smiles:

PM me

Yes, let me know on PM 

[Spaceman17]

well i had an idea:

the Kassini probe with Kuygens

i'll talk more about if you wan't to take this suggestion

[invision]

Batteries not included

build a science probe using the Dawn electric propulsion engine

 

there has has been a fuel shortage on Kerblin, you only have enough liquid fuel/oxidizer for the main stage. the deadline for your recent contract is near and you cannot disappoint them. they have ordered a scientific probe that will study the oddities of the other bodies in the solar system. they also insisted this probe to have landing and takeoff capabilities in space,as well as a parachute system.

Objective (stock parts only)

build a probe with any 3 pieces of science gear, also include an antenna to send data back to Kerblin

Dawn electric propulsion engines only

 

 Rules.

fly your probe from lower Kerblin orbit to any body in the game and land it on the surface. take science (optional) and then fly your probe back to Kerblin and land it.

you can launch your probe using any method you like, but you cannot fly past 125,000m into orbit and must decouple the probe.

fly probe from LKO to anywhere in the game

land back on Kerblin without blowing the probe up

easy peasy right?

 

some side notes

you may burn inclination with main stage as long as 125,000 is not passed

mechjeb, readouts, ect. all allowed as long as its not cheating

no  alt 12