Builtfor Campaign - Hardcore Mode Mk II

[Crispynaut]

After my first failed attempt at a full Campaign, I have opted to throw myself back into the Kerbal Universe. Will have the same rules as before with some slight modifications:

Difficulty Settings

This will have to be enforced using the honor system, but my aim is to face as many design challenges as possible to make the game interesting, and consequences real. I want to play in hardcore mode so I and anyone else who is interested can experience the risk and the reward. The settings I will be using are:

I will try to follow a regular pattern for my mission logs so you can understand what I am trying to achieve, what the stakes are and some of the design challenges I faced (and how I overcame them). Please send through any questions or suggestions for improvement!

My Mod Policy

While my intention is to keep the game as stock as possible, I will be using a few usability mods to help cut down on the extraneous. I understand this is a slippery slope, I will advise any mods I am using to keep things honest and will explain why I think they are necessary.

My Mod List

1. Science [X] - Cuts down on tedious time warping and flicking backwards and forwards to find new biomes. I would argue that this does not break immersion as we would expect maps overlaid with biome to be available to Kerbonauts.
2. Kerbal Alarm Clock - Quality of life mod, helps manage timelines and better control time warps. Again, stops me from wasting time on more tedious tasks and allows the focus on piloting and design.
3. KRPC - I imagine this one will be quite controversial, but I enjoy the idea of KRPC as it adds another layer of design that you would expect in a real space program (software). My pledge is I will not use scripts created by other users, I will develop my own software as we go along similar to the early space programs (warts and all). While I am a competent Python programmer, I am not overly familiar with KRPC.
4. Kerbal Engineer Redux - Speeds up the design process and prevents me from having to flick backwards and forwards between an excel spreadsheet.

 

[Crispynaut]

Mission Set 1 - Ground School (Gulf Sierra)

Planning

To start the campaign off, I took some time to do a quick time appreciation and understand what we should be aiming for. I know from my past games that the biggest restrictions we have on our time are interplanetary transfer windows. We should aim to structure our development to hit those windows. With that in mind I took a look at Kerbal Alarm Clock and identify the upcoming transfer windows:

Looking at the available missions, we can quickly eliminate a mission to Moho. After a quick look at the star system delta v map (below) we can see that a mission to Jool while certainly possible, would probably be a one way trip. We could probably look to send probes to Jool, and a possible manned mission to Duna. This plan will develop as time goes on, but as a rough plan we know, we should aim to get mid tier technology (sufficient for a long range probe) within the next 180 days.

First Steps

To kick the game off, I collected as much science as possible from around the space station without even taking off. I did this by attaching sensors to the command module and launching from the Launchpad and Air Strip. I picked up a few contracts to Gather Scientific Data from the surface of Kerbin and Launch our first vessel.

While doing so I started to develop my first design checklists. This will include all the lessons learned as we proceed and eventually provide a fairly robust design document.

Edited August 16, 2019 by Crispynaut
changed heading to be more readable in thread and text color to match in game

[Speeding Mullet]

16 hours ago, Crispynaut said:

To start the campaign off, I took some time to do a quick time appreciation and understand what we should be aiming for.

I like your considered approach to this.  I am so guilty of just jumping into missions, guessing Delta-V requirements and approximating what looks roughly ok for missions.  On the upside it makes for some interesting missions particularly the endings, but on the downside I quickly get to the point where I've lost track of what's occurring and give up on career mode.

I'll keep reading, and possibly take a leaf out of your book if you go well 

Good luck!

SM

[Crispynaut]

[Year 1, Day 1, Hour 0, Minute 17]

With the absolute baby steps completed, I had enough research for some very basic rocket technology. I researched Engineering 101 and Basic Rocketry with the intention to start kicking into some very basic missions.

Reviewing the mission list, I know from previous play through that the best strategy is to seek the highest reward missions that your current technology level will support. Looking at the mission list:

The focused observational survey missions are probably best left for when I have better control surfaces on my rockets or I have aircraft. The parachute mission I can complete as part of any mission so will aim to do so on my next mission. I don't like doing hauling missions for solid rocket boosters because their speed cannot be controlled and it can be difficult to achieve the mission parameters. The last two missions are probably beyond my current technology level to achieve, therefore our next mission will seek to:

1. Haul MK16 Parachute into flight above Kerbin
2. Escape the atmosphere!

Edited August 16, 2019 by Crispynaut
changed text color to match mission text in game

[Geschosskopf]

6 minutes ago, Crispynaut said:

The focused observational survey missions are probably best left for when I have better control surfaces on my rockets or I have aircraft. The parachute mission I can complete as part of any mission so will aim to do so on my next mission. I don't like doing hauling missions for solid rocket boosters because their speed cannot be controlled and it can be difficult to achieve the mission parameters. The last two missions are probably beyond my current technology level to achieve, therefore our next mission will seek to:

1. Haul MK16 Parachute into flight above Kerbin
2. Escape the atmosphere!

You've certainly set yourself a real grind with such low rewards.  I don't have the patience to play that way  

I don't recommend using KAC to tell you when transfer windows happen.  I've found it to be totally unreliable that way, often off by months and also not taking inclination into account.  Thus, you'll likely spend WAY more dV going off KAC than using basically anything else.  What you need is something with a porkchop plot so you can pick the times with the least dV.  There's the famous AlexMoon site outside the game and various mods that show the same plots in-game.

I hope you read the fine print of that parachute test contract.  Often these things have inconvenient combinations of the speed and altitude required, like going really slow at high altitude, so frequently don't work well with regular launches.

[Crispynaut]

Mission 1-1 - Arch Angel

Design Objectives:

• Test a parachute
• Ascend to an altitude of at least 70km via a parabolic flight trajectory
• Land in water
• Safely parachute to ground.

Delta V Requirements:

It is important that this mission is conducted with a parabolic trajectory. Vertical re-entry causes heating issues and likely G overstress problems, therefore we will seek to vertically ascend to the desired apopapsis then horizontally accelerate out to round out the trajectory. I am not sure how to calculate the optimal delta V amount for a suborbital trajectory (if anyone can point me in the right direction it would be appreciated). Rule of thumb I have used in the past is about 2000 ms.

Science Instrumentation

The mission will be a good opportunity to collect science. We will collect science using triplicates of the available instruments attached to the command module for safe re-entry.

Safety

The safety measures implemented for this mission will be to detach from the spacecraft body, use the blunt end of the command module to de-accelerate as much as possible then pop parachute when safe to do so. A few risks include:

• Loss of power - resulting in pointy end down and insufficient de acceleration
• Re-entry - overheating or over stressing due to poor re-entry angle.

19 minutes ago, Geschosskopf said:

You've certainly set yourself a real grind with such low rewards.  I don't have the patience to play that way  

I don't recommend using KAC to tell you when transfer windows happen.  I've found it to be totally unreliable that way, often off by months and also not taking inclination into account.  Thus, you'll likely spend WAY more dV going off KAC than using basically anything else.  What you need is something with a porkchop plot so you can pick the times with the least dV.  There's the famous AlexMoon site outside the game and various mods that show the same plots in-game.

I hope you read the fine print of that parachute test contract.  Often these things have inconvenient combinations of the speed and altitude required, like going really slow at high altitude, so frequently don't work well with regular launches.

Agree with your point regarding the parachute mission. Literally the first mission off the ground so happy to accept a bit of grind but I take your point.

Thanks for the head up RE the accuracy KAC. Was tracking Alex Moons website, will give it a closer look when I get a bit closer to the windows.

[Crispynaut]

Notes / Feedback

Straightforward mission, good re-entry with no excessive heating. The mission was a success.

We finished the mission with:

• $110,000
• 45 Science
• 2 reputation

[Crispynaut]

So I have hit my first snag of this game mode. I think it is a consequence of missing one of the early missions, but essentially the Orbit Kerbin mission will require a vessel that is more than 18T. I will need to upgrade the launch pad which costs $100,000. This leaves me $9000 for my approx $15,000 mission, which I will have only one attempt to nail.

 

My best (admittedly first) attempt at a spacecraft with 4k(ish) delta v weighed in at 32T and cost 16k.

My options are:

1. Accept a bogus mission for the advance to get me across the line and attempt to complete the mission at a later date
2. Complete some of the easier missions for real cash

The only problem with number two is that they are mostly test part at altitude X at speed Y which can be difficult to complete with early tech. For this reason, I opted to do the scum move and accept a mission I intend on doing much later or not at all once I have some money.

Noticing the reputation damage of non-completion, I decided to pick a mission I could realistically honor. The one I picked will probably be useful in an interplanetary mission within the next year, probably Jool or Duna.

And this is it!

Cross your fingers for me

[Crispynaut]

SUCCESS!! Collecting science and returning to base.

Couple of issues on re-entry. First of all, we overshot the landing. As this campaign develops, I need to get better at making precision re-entry. My goal will be to re-enter and splashdown in the gulf to the east of KSC within 10 or so KM. I will work on this over time.

A more pressing issue is some heat problems on re-entry. We re-entered with an apoapsis at about 103km and periapsis at 30km. I felt this was pretty conservative. However we came extremly close to burning off our external scientific equipment.

W

With some careful rotation and a bit of luck, we managed to keep all the instruments in-tact, but future research should focus on heat viability. Will also need to develop re-entry protocols to ensure the re-entry attitude is safe.

[Crispynaut]

At this point I have bought myself a bit of flexibility with funds, but need significantly more science before I can progress. Planning out my next technological advance, I think given the issues we had on the last mission that upgrades to survivability will be important. The next few contracts should focus on scientific development as I believe at a minimum, our next major missions will require advanced rocketry, but I also think aviation will be useful for those survey missions if I get jammed up for cash.

 

Looking at the science I have collected already, and with the new instrument from the survivability upgrade, my next missions will seek to consolidate easily available science before pushing for a Mun fly by

As a short term financial goal, for reliable interplanetary missions I require upgrades to both the mission control and tracking center costing a total of $450,000. I will immediately purchase an upgrade to the mission control to open up the total number of missions and try and make more money on single missions. My main problem right now is science!!!

[Crispynaut]

To try and collect science from the immediate vicinity with low tech, I have modified GulfSierra 1-1 to include the latest instruments and also reduced the part count using larger fuel tanks. This changes the revision from V0 to V1 and conducted the mission sufficiently effectively to unlock another technology.

I opted for aviation to build a aircraft that could pickup a lot of the local survey missions but to also collect all of the KSC science.

[Crispynaut]

Mission 1-3 - Icarus

Design Objectives:

• Gain familiarity with stable aircraft construction
• Collect science from nearby
• Safely parachute to ground.

Delta V Requirements:

Not required, balance and stability more important

Science Instrumentation

Will attach as many scientific instruments to the vehicle as possible to collect multiple values on the single sortie.

Safety

Some of the threats I am concerned about:

• Insufficient lift
• Unstable flight
• Poor landing stability

The mitigations I will put in place are:

• Abort key attached to parachute and cockpit detaches
• Offset rear landing gear to create initial positive attitude
• Testing abort prior to take off.
• Empty auxiliary fuel tank until lift characteristics confirmed

[Crispynaut]

The contracts I decided to go for are surveys that are close to the KSC. They are below particular altitudes so should be quite simple to pick up.

My feat of engineering that I will achieve this uses the parts I have available:

[Crispynaut]

Suprisingly, it flew quite well.

Some problems:

1. I could not lift off, once I hit the end of the runway and fell off the end I gained control but I could not lift off. I suspect this is because of the relative position of landing gear and the center of lift. The lift could not generate a moment great enough to overcome the mass moment.
2. Quite Sluggish on the corners, probably because my tail fins are fixed.
3. Center of mass, I dont have structural body parts so I used a girder. Probably could have used an empty fuel tank (duh)
4. Not enough lift, required too much Angle of Attack to maintain low speed approach for landing resulting in a bit of aircraft shortening.

[Crispynaut]

After considering these issues, I made a few revisions for Gulf Sierra 1-3 V1:

• Angled the tail cone up to increase clearance while landing
• Replaced girder with empty fuel tank
• Moved rear wheels closer to the COG to try and enable pivoting for takeoff

I will use this vehicle to take on more missions and hopefully collect a bit more science. While not super profitable, this line of missions will help me better understand considerations when designing aircraft and complete 'low hanging fruit' missions.

Edited August 28, 2019 by Crispynaut
spelling

[Crispynaut]

I made a few more improvements as I did a few more missions and uprevised to V3.

Thankfully the ability to fly along with the improved scientific instruments means that I have been able to tech most of Tier 3:

I believe that once we finish tier 3, we should be able to safely work on a mission to encounter Mun.

 

[Crispynaut]

Mission 1-4 - Mechanoid

Design Objectives:

• Gain familiarity with remote piloting
• Achieve escape velocity out of Kerbin
• Complete scientific objectives

Delta V Requirements:

We are flying straight up to maintain LOS, so estimate a requirement for about 3600ms.

Science Instrumentation

Nil, this is purely a mission for familiarity and completing missions

Safety

Not required, its a drone!