The KSP Caveman Challenge 1.3.x - 1.10.x [re-booted]

[IncongruousGoat]

5 hours ago, The Dunatian said:

That said, I do not recommend that anyone new to the challenge try Nano-diamond difficulty level for their first entry. It is insanely hard. You will be overwhelmed and utterly frustrated. It would be much better for you to try an easier level for your first entry, such as Apatite or Vanadium level.

@zanie420

I'm going to second this. Nano-Diamond is relentlessly, brutally hard. It's been open for 3 years. In those three years, exactly two people have finished it. It took over 2 years for the first submission to show up, and the submissions themselves are literal months in the making. It's certainly possible (I can attest to this first-hand), but it isn't anything resembling easy. Try some of the lower difficulty tiers first. They're hard enough if you're going into the challenge cold.

[zanie420]

20 hours ago, The Dunatian said:

That said, I do not recommend that anyone new to the challenge try Nano-diamond difficulty level for their first entry. It is insanely hard. You will be overwhelmed and utterly frustrated. It would be much better for you to try an easier level for your first entry, such as Apatite or Vanadium level.

I may have never done an original caveman, but I have done Caveman Evolved. Plus,  there are so many of you to emulate that have completed it already. I think I should be fine.

[Mr. Peabody]

3 hours ago, zanie420 said:

I may have never done an original caveman, but I have done Caveman Evolved. Plus,  there are so many of you to emulate that have completed it already. I think I should be fine.

Good luck. 

[zanie420]

On 1/18/2019 at 4:32 PM, IncongruousGoat said:

Try some of the lower difficulty tiers first. They're hard enough if you're going into the challenge cold.

Thanks for the advice, but I feel like you, @dvader, and @MinimalMinmus have made a preliminary simpler attempt redundant. I, of course, am reading all of your logs avidly before I even try today. I hope any of you are not too insulted when I pretty much rip off one of  your designs or strategies! 

[Rakaydos]

I really should get back to that Caveman Tylo mission- the save file has been waiting since I failed my first kerbin departure attempt and life caught up.

[IncongruousGoat]

7 hours ago, zanie420 said:

I hope any of you are not too insulted when I pretty much rip off one of  your designs or strategies! 

Honored, not insulted. I made my log as detailed as it was in the hope that it would be of some use to someone.

[MinimalMinmus]

On 1/20/2019 at 2:27 PM, zanie420 said:

Thanks for the advice, but I feel like you, @dvader, and @MinimalMinmus have made a preliminary simpler attempt redundant. I, of course, am reading all of your logs avidly before I even try today. I hope any of you are not too insulted when I pretty much rip off one of  your designs or strategies! 

Well, you're warned, even Corundum can be taxing enough to cause a loss of hours of progress if you screw it up. Diamond is extremely hard, and you must almost certainly go interplanetary.

 

As of NCD?

 

Good luck.

 

You'll need it.

[dvader]

On 1/20/2019 at 2:27 PM, zanie420 said:

Thanks for the advice, but I feel like you, @dvader, and @MinimalMinmus have made a preliminary simpler attempt redundant. I, of course, am reading all of your logs avidly before I even try today. I hope any of you are not too insulted when I pretty much rip off one of  your designs or strategies! 

It's called inspiration, not rip off . I didn't even consider doing NCD until after @IncongruousGoat had finished. I thought the grinding would be inhuman and possibly not enough anyway. But knowing there was a way forward made a big difference.

I don't think you can complete the first part in too many different ways. You probably have to do contract mining for funds and  you must get science from almost everywhere before you can go to Minmus. I don't think Mun before Minmus is possible so any playthrough will be very much alike until after Minmus. Once you can assemble large ships in space, you have plenty of options but that is pretty late in the game.

Otherwise, I don't think I have much to add that hasn't been said already. I would recommend checking out the KSC mini biomes and micro biomes before starting. Something happened to them in1.4 (I think) and I believe they corrected that later but I haven't played for 6 months so don't know how it works now. You will do a lot of KSC roving and getting the most out of every run is preferable since it quickly gets repetitive and boring.

Good luck! You may have inspired me to pick up the game again :)

 

[zanie420]

@IncongruousGoat, how were you getting the EVA while flying when doing your Kerbin biome hopping and farming?? Were you launching with a kerbal outside first?!?! I cannot make that happen without tragedy in sandbox.... Trying to open advanced rocketry. Sadly I find myself with only the Tundra biome untouched and 29.4 science.

 

Wait are you just jumping and doing the EVA while in the air after you land?!?! (facepalm)

Edited January 23, 2019 by zanie420

[IncongruousGoat]

1 hour ago, zanie420 said:

Wait are you just jumping and doing the EVA while in the air after you land?!?! (facepalm)

Just jumping up and down, yes. The more interesting story is the temperature readings over the space center biomes, since science rollers will occasionally register as "Flying" when rolling fast enough.

[dvader]

@zanie420 Also note that for some mini biomes like Runway and Launchpad, you have to find the right spot for the "flying" condition. Sometimes you get "Flying over Shores" and not "Runway" despite the ground based report clearly says Runway. From what I remember, the center part of the runway worked better but not the starting point (in 1.3 so that may have changed). I think the launchpad was the opposite, the center often failed but moving to the sides worked.

[zanie420]

I was able to revisit biomes and grab the EVA while flying(s) that I missed, and also hit tundra. This got me to 37.4, so I have been practicing my ascent with Bob on a ladder. I have managed to get to orbit 3 times in a row without killing him. Not sure if the EVAs will be enough to get to 45, however, because I already got 2 biomes in a previous suborbital science grab   Wish me luck. I will be posting screenshots later today if I can get to a Mun orbit, as I foolishly accepted a contract to, before I unlocked terriers.

[dvader]

6 hours ago, zanie420 said:

I was able to revisit biomes and grab the EVA while flying(s) that I missed, and also hit tundra. This got me to 37.4, so I have been practicing my ascent with Bob on a ladder. I have managed to get to orbit 3 times in a row without killing him. Not sure if the EVAs will be enough to get to 45, however, because I already got 2 biomes in a previous suborbital science grab   Wish me luck. I will be posting screenshots later today if I can get to a Mun orbit, as I foolishly accepted a contract to, before I unlocked terriers.

My old spreadsheet says you get 0.8 points per biome so with 11 biomes thats 8.8 points. That's much more than you need! If you need more you could perhaps go for high space EVA using the jetpack. That's a whopping 1.2 science!

Mun orbit without the Terrier would be impressive. I've managed a flyby with just the Reliant but the margins were very thin so nothing close to orbit.

I'm looking forward to a first post!

 

[zanie420]

First album is up. Will most likely make a mission log too.

https://imgur.com/a/zFX6YET

 

made it to Mun and Minmus, unlocked advanced rocketry and basic science

Edited January 24, 2019 by zanie420

[Mr. Peabody]

1 hour ago, zanie420 said:

First album is up. Will most likely make a mission log too.

You do that. I'm sure there is many of us that will be interested in it. 

[zanie420]

I am currently testing a way to get Bob into high space with the materials bay....  are there EVAs for each biome above 250km too? 

Edited January 24, 2019 by zanie420

[IncongruousGoat]

Just now, zanie420 said:

I am currently testing a way to get Bob into high space with the materials bay....  are there EVAs for each biome 250km too? 

Nope. If you want a comprehensive table of what science is available where and in what quantities, the KSP Wiki page on science is a great resource:

https://wiki.kerbalspaceprogram.com/wiki/Science

[zanie420]

4 minutes ago, IncongruousGoat said:

Nope. If you want a comprehensive table of what science is available where and in what quantities, the KSP Wiki page on science is a great resource:

https://wiki.kerbalspaceprogram.com/wiki/Science

I am going for it anyways.... Bob wants that high space EVA as a personal challenge

[JAFO]

4 hours ago, zanie420 said:

I am currently testing a way to get Bob into high space with the materials bay....  are there EVAs for each biome above 250km too? 

4 hours ago, IncongruousGoat said:

Nope. If you want a comprehensive table of what science is available where and in what quantities, the KSP Wiki page on science is a great resource:

https://wiki.kerbalspaceprogram.com/wiki/Science

 

And if you want the Wiki data in a more practical format, check out my printable stock science checklists (see my sig for the link). They're still current for 1.5 - 1.6, to the best of my knowledge. You can see at a glance what science can and can't be done for any body and biome.

[zanie420]

Kinda stuck.... have only 84 science and I have farmed like EVERYTHING. All Kerbin biomes, KSC mini biomes, high/near space for both Mun and Minmus, and in orbit of the Sun. I even got the high space EVA. Not sure where to get the final 6 points for electrics.....

[IncongruousGoat]

28 minutes ago, zanie420 said:

Kinda stuck.... have only 84 science and I have farmed like EVERYTHING. All Kerbin biomes, KSC mini biomes, high/near space for both Mun and Minmus, and in orbit of the Sun. I even got the high space EVA. Not sure where to get the final 6 points for electrics.....

The surface of Minmus, of course. It's more than possible to get there in a single launch if you're willing to forgo bringing any Science Jr.'s, or if you feel comfortable with a razor-thin delta-V margin.

EDIT: Although it might make more sense to get Miniaturization instead of Electrics. Probe cores allow you to go everywhere in the Kerbin system, but docking ports allow you to go everywhere, period.

Edited January 25, 2019 by IncongruousGoat

[JAFO]

23 minutes ago, IncongruousGoat said:

The surface of Minmus, of course.

I was about to make the same suggestion.

[zanie420]

 

56 minutes ago, IncongruousGoat said:

EDIT: Although it might make more sense to get Miniaturization instead of Electrics. Probe cores allow you to go everywhere in the Kerbin system, but docking ports allow you to go everywhere, period.

I have just returned from a Minmus landing, but my goo canisters exploded while IN the cargo container LOL. Oh well, the remaining science was enough to put me over 100. I have a HUGE decision to make.... but in the morning. I will post the next album then as well. Time for bed.

[zanie420]

second album is up

https://imgur.com/a/9trWK8r

 

Squeezed every drop of material bay science I could from Kerbin and the KSC. Got Bob his high space EVA! Many trips to the Mun and Minmus, including a landing on the latter, culminating in 103.3 science points to spend. 

mission report:

Spoiler

 

 

Edited January 25, 2019 by zanie420

[JAFO]

23 hours ago, zanie420 said:

my goo canisters exploded while IN the cargo container

Odd.. They weren't mounted on the container walls, on the small sections between the pairs of doors, by any chance?

Ahhh.. nevermind.. I see they exploded on landing.. for some reason I got the impression it was re-entry heating.

 

Nice job so far, btw! Now the real fun begins!

Edited January 26, 2019 by JAFO