Precision Booster Landing Challenge

[chargan]

Challenge: Launch a rocket and land the first stage as close to the launchpad as possible.

Rules:

1) Maximum of 2 stages. SSTOs allowed.

2) The first stage must escape the atmosphere before the landing attempt.

3) Must be able to deploy a Convert-O-Tron 250 (4.25 ton payload) into a stable Kerbin orbit.

4) No parachutes on the first stage

5) No wheeled landing gear or rover wheels on the first stage.

6) No parts destroyed on the landed stage.

7) No mods except KER and Trajectories.

Scoring: Once the first stage is landed, spawn a craft on the launch pad (just a command pod will do). The distance from the newly spawned craft to your landed first stage will be recorded as your score. Lowest score wins.

Additional Scoring Options:

1) If you're good enough to land on the launch pad, you may spawn a command pod on the launch pad ahead of time and launch from the runway.

2) You may claim the following deductions:

     a) No saving/loading: -10m (must be proven by having the ability to revert)

     b) No airbrakes: -10m

     c) No aerodynamic control surfaces: -10m

     d) No RCS: -10m

     e) No Reaction Wheels: -10m

     f) No Trajectories: -10m

     g) No KER HUD: -10m

Screenshots required:

Craft on launchpad

First stage above 70km

Payload deploy

Landed first stage

Close-up of distance marker to the newly spawned craft on the launchpad.

Edited May 23, 2019 by chargan
Suggestions from others

[vyznev]

...and what's the score if I land on the launch pad? It can't be harder than hitting a drone ship.

Edited May 21, 2019 by vyznev

[dnbattley]

Does landing in a single take (i.e. with no quickloading such that the "revert to assembly" option remains available) - as well as no Trajectories mod - offer any special score bonus?

[chargan]

On 5/22/2019 at 1:46 AM, vyznev said:

...and what's the score if I land on the launch pad? It can't be harder than hitting a drone ship.

Added additional scoring options so you get deductions for having less control features on your rocket.

On 5/22/2019 at 8:10 PM, dnbattley said:

Does landing in a single take (i.e. with no quickloading such that the "revert to assembly" option remains available) - as well as no Trajectories mod - offer any special score bonus?

Good suggestion. Added that as a deduction to the score.

 

Feel free to suggest if you think different deductions should have different weights.

[dnbattley]

19 hours ago, chargan said:

Feel free to suggest if you think different deductions should have different weights.

FWIW I'd make some of these weightings much higher than others, and in general much, much more generous, something like:

Single take: multiplies all reductions (below) by x2

Class 1 (Environment)

• No trajectories mod (-200m)
• No KER (-200m)
• No mods at all (Bonus -600m, which stacks with the above for a max -1000m from class 1)

Class 2 (Design)

• No airbrakes (-100m)
• No aerodynamic control surfaces (-100m)
• No RCS (-100m)
• No Reaction Wheels (-100m - question: do you envisage needing in-built pod reaction wheels to be switched off?)

Negative scores are allowed: maximum theoretical score is therefore -2800.

 

Also, I suggest that players can choose any building rooftop or launchpad target to take their distance measurement from. Landing on the helipad should not be discouraged

Edited May 24, 2019 by dnbattley