Testing Parts

[Kwentin Kerman]

So how do I do it? I usually play sandbox, but I decided to have a go at career. I’m getting lots of contracts to test parts. I’ve accepted two contracts and got into the speed/height criteria and then pressed ‘test part’ or whatever the button is called. So far it still hasn’t accepted one as completed.

I also had a contract to test an engine on the launchpad, so I went to the launchpad and pressed test, but is still didn’t work. How do I test the parts?

[Linkageless]

Frustrating I know.  It seems rather like there's some criteria that you're missing, or perhaps just missing by a fraction of a second.  I found it helpful to have the contract criteria display shown on the top right. You'll see the criteria get their little green ticks as they are satisfied.

For the part testing contracts, all those sub-criteria typically have to be ticked at the moment you hit the 'test' button in the part action menu.  If they aren't all green at that moment, you won't satisfy the contract.

[overkill13]

Most parts can be tested with the test button, but engines seem to require them to be staged rather than used with the test button.  You either need to plan to use the engine at the right time, or create a new stage in flight and move the engine back into it to stage when you have the right conditions.

To cover all the bases here are a few errors people make:

Do the conditions have a checkmark in the mission panel as you hit the test button?  Orbital speed is different than surface speed and altitude above sea level is different than ground level.

Are you using the correct part, be sure you aren't using a slightly different engine like an LV-30 vs LV-45 or the wrong decoupler/parachute.

[Kwentin Kerman]

6 minutes ago, overkill13 said:

Most parts can be tested with the test button, but engines seem to require them to be staged rather than used with the test button.  You either need to plan to use the engine at the right time, or create a new stage in flight and move the engine back into it to stage when you have the right conditions.

To cover all the bases here are a few errors people make:

Do the conditions have a checkmark in the mission panel as you hit the test button?  Orbital speed is different than surface speed and altitude above sea level is different than ground level.

Are you using the correct part, be sure you aren't using a slightly different engine like an LV-30 vs LV-45 or the wrong decoupler/parachute.

 

8 minutes ago, Linkageless said:

Frustrating I know.  It seems rather like there's some criteria that you're missing, or perhaps just missing by a fraction of a second.  I found it helpful to have the contract criteria display shown on the top right. You'll see the criteria get their little green ticks as they are satisfied.

For the part testing contracts, all those sub-criteria typically have to be ticked at the moment you hit the 'test' button in the part action menu.  If they aren't all green at that moment, you won't satisfy the contract.

I'll take a look back to see if the criteria were being met as the test began as I know it was close with one of them. It seems the criteria might have yo be met throughout the entire test, which could be quite tricky as I haven't unlocked launch clamps yet. Thanks both for the replies

[overkill13]

Tests are instantaneous.  If you meet the criteria when you stage the part or click the test button, you should complete the contract.

[Kwentin Kerman]

1 minute ago, overkill13 said:

Tests are instantaneous.  If you meet the criteria when you stage the part or click the test button, you should complete the contract.

Thanks for the info. I think I must have messed up the timing, because I can't see anything else wrong

[overkill13]

Well, the last thing may require a KSP reinstall.  Some people have reported borked installs that caused issues with the test contracts.  Last ditch effort to be sure, but might be your last recourse.

That launchpad contract should be an obvious one, just stage on the launchpad or runway and you should complete it.

[Kwentin Kerman]

2 minutes ago, overkill13 said:

Well, the last thing may require a KSP reinstall.  Some people have reported borked installs that caused issues with the test contracts.  Last ditch effort to be sure, but might be your last recourse.

That launchpad contract should be an obvious one, just stage on the launchpad or runway and you should complete it.

Hmm  I was doing that with the launch pad. I'll reload the savegame again and see if that helps

[Linkageless]

All said and done, if you just want to move on and are satisfied you've done the right thing, you can hit alt-F12 (shift-F12 for me as I'm on Linux) and complete the contract from the Contracts>Active section.

[Kwentin Kerman]

2 minutes ago, Linkageless said:

All said and done, if you just want to move on and are satisfied you've done the right thing, you can hit alt-F12 (shift-F12 for me as I'm on Linux) and complete the contract from the Contracts>Active section.

If reloading doesn't work I'll definitely do this. Kind of annoying but oh well. Thanks for the help

[Kwentin Kerman]

I just reloaded the game and save file and it worked! Thanks guys