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

[Jacke]

7 hours ago, zanie420 said:

You can get a crew report and temp reading while flying over the various KSC mini biomes, including the 3 main buildings accessible at level 1. I perfected this by using a standard dual command pod roller, and assigning the science gear to the RCS key. By spin very fast and spamming R, I could eventually produce the unique 'flying over' situation.

Have you gotten science in KSP 1.6.x that says in the R&D archives "Flying Low over KSC...." ?  Or does it say "Flying Low over Kerbin's Shores" ?

I'm planning to flying a low altitude survey to do a final confirmation, but everything I've done so far, when my craft leaves the ground, just says "Flying Low over Kerbin's Shores".  There may have been something different in the past, but every tool I have is saying so far that in 1.6.x, all KSC science is Surface Landed.

[zanie420]

7 minutes ago, Jacke said:

Have you gotten science in KSP 1.6.x that says in the R&D archives "Flying Low over KSC...." ?  Or does it say "Flying Low over Kerbin's Shores" ?

You can get both. Flying over KSC can been done with the roller method I describe previously, in the middle area of the KSC that not assigned to a building

[Jacke]

10 hours ago, zanie420 said:

You can get both. Flying over KSC can been done with the roller method I describe previously, in the middle area of the KSC that not assigned to a building

I'd like to be able to check this out.  Do you have any screenshots for a guide?

[zanie420]

4 hours ago, Jacke said:

I'd like to be able to check this out.  Do you have any screenshots for a guide?

https://imgur.com/a/rvYJvjn

The craft is just 2 command pods connected at the top to form an hourglass shape when roller on it's side. I use action groups to assign the crew report and thermometer to the RCS key. If you spin at JUST the right speed, you are actually hovering, and I believe this is why you get this particular situation.

[MinimalMinmus]

I'd like to know: what's the exact policy for page 2 of the options? Some say it's the same as hard, but some others such as @zanie420 allow themselves to use action groups.

 

[Jacke]

4 minutes ago, zanie420 said:

https://imgur.com/a/rvYJvjn

The craft is just 2 command pods connected at the top to form an hourglass shape when roller on it's side. I use action groups to assign the crew report and thermometer to the RCS key. If you spin at JUST the right speed, you are actually hovering, and I believe this is why you get this particular situation.

Thanks!

With this, I think there would be Situation Flying Low for all the mini-biomes, because the micro-biomes require contact with the building which should force Situation Surface Landed.  That means there would be Flying Low for KSC, Administration, Astronaut Complex, Crawlerway, LaunchPad, Mission Control, R&D, Runway, SPH, Tracking Station, VAB, and the 3 (6 with Making History) remote locales.

I'm eventually going to get a helicopter flying to do a survey and I'll confirm all these then.

Now I wonder how high they go.  Couldn't possibly be Flying High....

The double-command-pod is carefully hidden behind the experiment dialog.   That beastie really only works because of KSP's overpowered reaction wheels.  They always leave me with a bad feeling.

[zanie420]

1 minute ago, Jacke said:

That beastie really only works because of KSP's overpowered reaction wheels.  They always leave me with a bad feeling.

This is KSP.... there is no such thing as overpowered sir! MOAR is always better

[zanie420]

7 minutes ago, MinimalMinmus said:

I'd like to know: what's the exact policy for page 2 of the options? Some say it's the same as hard, but some others such as @zanie420 allow themselves to use action groups.

 

OMFG! I didn't realize I left it marked! @The Dunatian never said anything either..... Does that invalidate a weeks+ worth of HARD work?!?!?

What I am doing is assigning things to the actions we aren't using,  like RCS, brakes, and lights. Are you NOT able to do that with Always Allow ActionGroups left unselected??? I don't even think you can customize group until you upgrade a building(VAB?). Damn @MinimalMinmus, you just completely wrecked my morning....

[MinimalMinmus]

3 minutes ago, zanie420 said:

OMFG! I didn't realize I left it marked! @The Dunatian never said anything either..... Does that invalidate a weeks+ worth of HARD work?!?!?

What I am doing is assigning things to the actions we aren't using,  like RCS, brakes, and lights. Are you NOT able to do that with Always Allow ActionGroups left unselected??? I don't even think you can customize group until you upgrade a building(VAB?). Damn @MinimalMinmus, you just completely wrecked my morning....

Don't worry, if the error is genuine, it is generally accepted.

And if it isn't, I suggest this as a redemption quest:

You must land a kerbal on Dres, and bring him back home.

Edited February 1, 2019 by MinimalMinmus

[zanie420]

1 hour ago, MinimalMinmus said:

Don't worry, if the error is genuine, it is generally accepted.

And if it isn't, I suggest this as a redemption quest:

You must land a kerbal on Dres, and bring him back home.

Crap.... now I HAVE to accept the challenge  It will most likely be my final destination.... gee, thanks.

Update: I found the green monolith on the Mun and got something worth the effort, Heavy Rocketry!
 

Spoiler

https://imgur.com/gallery/6EXM3DY

 

Edited February 1, 2019 by zanie420

[dvader]

@zanie420 That is what we call a task oriented landing

Is 13 days the full mission time or just for the lander? What was your strategy for finding it?

The only tricky thing when going to Dres is bringing enough disco lights. You can't go to Dres without them.

By the way, does anyone know if you can find the asteroids around Dres without upgrading the tracking station? Do they exist before you upgrade or are they created when "found"? Getting asteroid science in caveman would be a worlds first... just sayin'...

[Mr. Peabody]

2 hours ago, zanie420 said:

OMFG! I didn't realize I left it marked! @The Dunatian never said anything either..... Does that invalidate a weeks+ worth of HARD work?!?!?

What I am doing is assigning things to the actions we aren't using,  like RCS, brakes, and lights. Are you NOT able to do that with Always Allow ActionGroups left unselected??? I don't even think you can customize group until you upgrade a building(VAB?). Damn @MinimalMinmus, you just completely wrecked my morning....

Don't worry. I don't disqualify users attempting NCD for such trivial infractions. You're good. 

Just to clarify, page 2 of the difficulty settings should be the same as hard.

[zanie420]

23 minutes ago, dvader said:

Is 13 days the full mission time or just for the lander? What was your strategy for finding it?

13 days was total mission time, looking back on my screenshots. I did a LOT of research first, after reading your posts. The key, I think, is that the 6% chance you get is only for that Kerbin day, and resets when you change SOI. I got SUPER lucky with Minmus and spotted both monoliths on the first orbit. The Mun I had to employ the strategy of:

1) get in a high polar orbit and set the FOV to about 48 degrees, and refresh repeatedly at 50x warp
2) switching back to the space center, after not finding any anomalies where I know there should be
3) advancing until next morning with the button there
4) switching back to the probe in Munar orbit via tracking station and repeat

I found the south polar monolith first, and used it as a reference. A Kerbin week later, swtiching back and forth, I found an anomaly that was NOT on my map of known ones. With a ton of deltaV still left in an ant/oscarB stage, I just went for it, and you know the rest

[zanie420]

Hmmmmmm...... @MinimalMinmus, Dres has some VERY poor science multipliers for the effort of getting there.... and no atmosphere to exploit either. I was first thinking of Eve/Gilly, but then was HEAVILY considering Laythe as my interplanetary destination. I not sure I can get enough equipment to Dres, to get enough science, to complete tech tree honestly.

edit: Consequentially I have put off the decision to farm the Mun of science as much as I was able too, and really do NOW have to decide. Fortunately I just got the equivalent of 90 science, and only have ~490 left to acquire for the caveman. I need help with running the math I think. Can I even do it with one Dres mission, or MUST I get some Munar science first like @IncongruousGoat and @dvader before heading out?

Edited February 1, 2019 by zanie420

[IncongruousGoat]

47 minutes ago, zanie420 said:

Hmmmmmm...... @MinimalMinmus, Dres has some VERY poor science multipliers for the effort of getting there.... and no atmosphere to exploit either. I was first thinking of Eve/Gilly, but then was HEAVILY considering Laythe as my interplanetary destination. I not sure I can get enough equipment to Dres, to get enough science, to complete tech tree honestly.

edit: Consequentially I have put off the decision to farm the Mun of science as much as I was able too, and really do NOW have to decide. Fortunately I just got the equivalent of 90 science, and only have ~490 left to acquire for the caveman. I need help with running the math I think. Can I even do it with one Dres mission, or MUST I get some Munar science first like @IncongruousGoat and @dvader before heading out?

I just ran the numbers and it doesn't look too good. You'd need to bring Bob along on a ladder to aggressively reset and re-use science and to get EVA science, and even then you'd need to visit 6 biomes on Dres in order to get enough science. It's possible (as in, Dres has more than 6 biomes), but mission design would be a challenge.

[MinimalMinmus]

1 hour ago, zanie420 said:

Hmmmmmm...... @MinimalMinmus, Dres has some VERY poor science multipliers for the effort of getting there.... and no atmosphere to exploit either. I was first thinking of Eve/Gilly, but then was HEAVILY considering Laythe as my interplanetary destination. I not sure I can get enough equipment to Dres, to get enough science, to complete tech tree honestly.

To be honest, my suggestion was only semi-serious. What I was suggesting is doing it as a finisher once you're (almost) done.

[zanie420]

1 hour ago, IncongruousGoat said:

I just ran the numbers and it doesn't look too good. You'd need to bring Bob along on a ladder to aggressively reset and re-use science and to get EVA science, and even then you'd need to visit 6 biomes on Dres in order to get enough science. It's possible (as in, Dres has more than 6 biomes), but mission design would be a challenge.

meh......

 

5 minutes ago, MinimalMinmus said:

To be honest, my suggestion was only semi-serious. What I was suggesting is doing it as a finisher once you're (almost) done.

I wonder if I could pull off some ping pong in the Joolian system to get and encounter with Dres.... because Laythe is tempting. Especially after having so much fun there in @5thHorseman's Kerpollo challenge in my Joolpollo mission. Putting together album 5 right now which is basically collection of last dregs of science from Kerbin, then finding both the green monoliths.

[dvader]

54 minutes ago, zanie420 said:

meh......

Also, Dres is a lot harder to hit with a sphere of incluence of 0.05 degrees vs Jools 2.00 degrees. It was one of the deciding factors for me. I had spent a lot of time trying to hit Duna (0.13 degrees) in a previous Caveman run (without any math though, just visual orbit inspection). The abundance of science around Jool also helps. You may not even have to land if you visit all high/low spaces. But, this is not about the most logical choices. The real question is, what would be most fun? (Circumavigate Dres with a rover...)

 

[zanie420]

5th album is up
 

Spoiler

https://imgur.com/gallery/c1py5Aq

Summary: take aviation, then a science jet to Biakerbanur, Island airstrip, and get splashed down science in alll biomes. I send probes to Minmus and the Mun, successfully finding both green monoliths and unlocking command modules as well as heavy rocketry.

Edited February 1, 2019 by zanie420

[JAFO]

5 hours ago, zanie420 said:

Summary: take aviation, then a science jet to Biakerbanur, Island airstrip, and get splashed down science in alll biomes.

First pic of your science jet, for a moment I was wondering how on earth you'd gotten two Kerbals into a Mk-I cockpit.. then realised the tail of the plane was made from a second Mk-I cockpit!

Clever idea.. don't recall seeing anyone do that before.

Edited February 2, 2019 by JAFO

[dvader]

On 2/1/2019 at 9:20 PM, zanie420 said:

5th album is up

  Hide contents

https://imgur.com/gallery/c1py5Aq

 

Ohhh.... I finally get it! I was wondering how you could sqeeze out another 45 science from Kerbin when it was already sucked dry. I never thought about "Splashed down in grasslands/mountains/x".

It would be interesting with a "Kerbin Treasure Hunt" challenge. Start a new career game and extract as much science as possible without ever leaving the atmo (no science lab of course). I wonder if there are some tiny bits left somewhere that we might have missed?

 

[zanie420]

9 minutes ago, dvader said:

I wonder if there are some tiny bits left somewhere that we might have missed?

supposedly you can 'land' underwater too.... but you need to make a submarine

[dvader]

1 minute ago, zanie420 said:

supposedly you can 'land' underwater too.... but you need to make a submarine

Sea, that's the kind of new things I was looking for. I've built a sub but never used it for anything.

[zanie420]

Update: since I took aviation, I can make ground assembly robots... so I had been testing a design in sandbox. Planning a mission with Bob to land on the Mun....

 

[MinimalMinmus]

No better feeling than accidentally getting a terrier part test when you are struggling to get the cash to go to the Mun with reliants.

 

And you know what it means?

Yes, it's true. I AM trying to complete the challenge on NCD.