Better than rovers

[catloaf]

This is a fun challenge to develop a more of land transport that is superior to rovers, it will be scored in 3 categorys:

Speed:

-10 points under 20 m/s

0 points 20-30 m/s

10 points  30-40 m/s

20 points 40-50 m/s

30 points >50 m/s

70+ points > 120 m/s

 

Reliability:

> 1 quicksave per 10 minutes -10 pts

No quicksaves: 50 pts.

Explodes more than 1 time per 10 uses (starting and stopping movement) -20 pts

Can be left unattended: 150 pts

 

Creativity: I judge How many points you get

How unique is it?

How funny is it?

Can it so something special e.g. Go on water.

 

Points deducted for limitatios:

Must stop to refuel: -10 pts

Conditional ec (solar panels) -10 pts

Uses jet of turboshaft engines - 20 pts

 

Other rules:

Short flying hops are allowed but No Planes.

It must be able to provide its own fuel e.g. If it uses liquid fuel it has to have isru.

No mods that alter gameplay.

Dlcs are allowed.

If it was unclear, the goal is to build an alternative to rovers. A craft that is better, funnier or more Kerbal than rivers while still doing their job.

Leaderboard:

@Klapaucius 150 pts

@Flying dutchman 230 pts

Edited August 6, 2020 by catloaf
Sorry if the scoreboard updates a little slowly. If you think I've missed you you can pm me.

[ralanboyle]

So, you explained the scoring but you never said what the goal is. What is the challenge? 

[Klapaucius]

Right, I think I can deliver on the silly aspect:

 

KerbalX link:  https://kerbalx.com/Klapaucius/Kant-Unreasonable-Rover (not sure if it will work well in the new build--they changed the power consumption in the 1.7.3 update and I have not tested it since then).

 

 

[Pds314]

Is wheel friction set to minimum / 0.01 or whatever and no wheel propulsion a rover? It's intending to be a hovercraft-like vehicle.

It's all electric and can go on rugged terrain. I wouldn't leave it unattended over 70 m/s though. As small jumps can cause a crash. Also in highly rugged terrain, it needs either very low speed or constant control to land the inevitable jumps.

Edited July 14, 2020 by Pds314

[Mars-Bound Hokie]

On 7/3/2020 at 2:40 PM, ralanboyle said:

What is the challenge? 

Yeah. What exactly is the goal of this game here?

• Travel 100 km from the KSC as fast as you can?
• Go as long as possible on one full charge - on the Mun?
• Carry at least five people to the mountains west of the KSC quickly.
• What?

 

As for my entry, they don't call it the Speed Demon for nothing - and look who volunteered to drive it.

• As you can see, it has an unreasonably high top speed thanks to this rocket booster.
  • It was originally installed to get up the steeper hills on the Mun.
• Has solar panels and a TCS unit, but I don't use them during the Kerbin rocket tests since they tend to fly off quite easily.
  • Also, my rocket comes with an alternator.

 

Here's the craft file for the speed demon AND the rocket that takes it to the Mun - https://kerbalx.com/Mars-Bound_Hokie/Speed-Demon-NO-MODS

[dnbattley]

A slightly silly entry: with a top speed of only 4 m/s or so, it will take some time to reach any given destination, but the main attraction is an infinite range due to the lack of any actual fuel requirement: a somewhat unnecessarily complicated gearing system enables independent 4 wheel drive, powered by surface scanners, and an aileron enables steering.

 

 

[LittleBitMore]

While this is a fun and interesting challenge I think the OP is a bit hard to understand. I believe the point of the challenge is to make a special roving vehicle that isn't actually a traditional rover with motorized wheels, but i don't know for sure as the original post is unclear.

Edited July 17, 2020 by LittleBitMore
autocorrect thought vehicle was chicken

[vyznev]

On 7/16/2020 at 3:31 PM, dnbattley said:

A slightly silly entry: with a top speed of only 4 m/s or so, it will take some time to reach any given destination, but the main attraction is an infinite range due to the lack of any actual fuel requirement: a somewhat unnecessarily complicated gearing system enables independent 4 wheel drive, powered by surface scanners, and an aileron enables steering.

So how does that work, anyway?  Is it just a weird electric rover using reaction wheels, or is it actually powered by some kind of kraken tech?

[dnbattley]

4 hours ago, vyznev said:

Is it just a weird electric rover using reaction wheels, or is it actually powered by some kind of kraken tech?

Neither, really: the surface scanners rotate with a relatively high torque but no electricity usage, so I've contained them within two plates with self interaction and then use gears to step up the rotation speed, which directly powers a "wheel" of friction plates. It's conventional physics, so not what I'd call Kraken tech.

[catloaf]

On 7/3/2020 at 11:10 AM, catloaf said:

If it was unclear, the goal is to build an alternative to rovers. A craft that is better, funnier or more Kerbal than rivers while still doing their job.

 

[Flying dutchman]

10 hours ago, catloaf said:

 

i'm submitting this because this is more a train than an actual rover since it can not steer.

 

this puppy is capable of traversing over the poles of kerbin at just under 1000 m/s and it's all stock wheel powered.

 

 

 

 

 

[catloaf]

2 hours ago, Flying dutchman said:

i'm submitting this because this is more a train than an actual rover since it can not steer.

 

this puppy is capable of traversing over the poles of kerbin at just under 1000 m/s and it's all stock wheel powered.

 

 

 

 

 

Although by the rules it's quite a low score (the rules have low speed bonuses because it's meant to be practical.) I'll give it a score of 230 pts for coolness and because it could be useful.

[Walter Farmer]

ok This is a very hard challenge. 

[kerbiloid]

A carriage driven by a pair BreakingGround / InfernalRobotics mechanical draft horses.

Edited August 3, 2020 by kerbiloid

[s_gamer101]

I'm working on a monorail system, but I wouldn't actually call it superior to rovers since it needs rails and well, if I would actually start assembling a rail system on a planet the part count would get incredibly high very soon and the lag would probably even make it unplayable before I would manage to build a kilometer of track. Here's a picture of a prototype (This isn't my actual submission to this challenge yet since it is an unfinished project):

Maybe I'll try to build some kind of a mechanical kangoroo that hops over the terrain tomorrow.

[s_gamer101]

Okay the kangoroo can already jump, but it‘s very very slow (not much faster than a Kerbal). I‘ll try to improve that by adding pistons to its legs (as far as I know, real kangoroos don‘t have pistons, do they?)

Edited August 31, 2020 by s_gamer101
Spelling

[s_gamer101]

Introducing: The Kangoroover

More pictures: https://imgur.com/a/1rmnvsE

Unfortunately I couldn't fix the speed issue. Maybe big metal kangoroos aren't the best alternative for rovers, but hey, I built a working big metal kangoroo in KSP.

[Bej Kerman]

On 8/30/2020 at 9:09 PM, s_gamer101 said:

I'm working on a monorail system, but I wouldn't actually call it superior to rovers since it needs rails and well, if I would actually start assembling a rail system on a planet the part count would get incredibly high very soon and the lag would probably even make it unplayable before I would manage to build a kilometer of track. Here's a picture of a prototype (This isn't my actual submission to this challenge yet since it is an unfinished project):

Maybe I'll try to build some kind of a mechanical kangoroo that hops over the terrain tomorrow.

What KSP 2 needs is a way to connect new vessels to infrastructure seamlessly. Maybe a portable construction vehicle which creates an editor space that encapsulates the nearest parts. I can't imagine making a rail that doesn't have a gap every 500m to fit a couple docking ports or claws.

[s_gamer101]

10 hours ago, Bej Kerman said:

What KSP 2 needs is a way to connect new vessels to infrastructure seamlessly. Maybe a portable construction vehicle which creates an editor space that encapsulates the nearest parts. I can't imagine making a rail that doesn't have a gap every 500m to fit a couple docking ports or claws.

Maybe there will be some kind of 3D-Printing for base building in KSP 2.

This is only speculation, I do NOT have ANY information that supports this idea.

Edited September 2, 2020 by s_gamer101

[king of nowhere]

if by "alternative to rover" you mean something moving without wheels, then i have no submissions.

but maybe a big fuel tank on wheels with rockets on robotic parts that can be pointed downwards to reach other planets, or backwards to go faster - ur just up steep slopes - is enough to count as "better than a rover".

and pehaps having landing struts strapped on the top and sides to survive crashing around at high speed makes it more kerbal. and having a cupola module as driving place to use it in first person perspective can make it more funny.

if those traits are enough to qualify, I submit my dancing porcupine rover. i've certainly never seen another rover that can accomplish successfully so many different tasks

[vyznev]

It might help if you were a little more specific about what counts as (not) a rover. For example, is this motorcycle a rover?

It has wheels, but only two of them. And technically neither of them include any "wheel" parts, just grip pads attached to rotors.

Anyway, if it qualifies, it scores 0 points on speed (max speed on flat ground < 30 m/s) but fairly highly on reliability (quite stable especially with SAS on, although terrain obviously matters). And it's technically disqualified due to running on fuel cells and having no ISRU gear, but that could be easily fixed by sticking an RTG or two in there.

Edited September 3, 2020 by vyznev

[Nazalassa]

On 7/3/2020 at 8:10 PM, catloaf said:

No mods that alter gameplay.

Can I use mods like Feline Utility Rovers?

On 8/30/2020 at 10:09 PM, s_gamer101 said:

I'm working on a monorail system, but I wouldn't actually call it superior to rovers since it needs rails and well, if I would actually start assembling a rail system on a planet the part count would get incredibly high very soon and the lag would probably even make it unplayable before I would manage to build a kilometer of track. Here's a picture of a prototype (This isn't my actual submission to this challenge yet since it is an unfinished project):

Maybe I'll try to build some kind of a mechanical kangoroo that hops over the terrain tomorrow.

I'm working on a minmus monorail, using ground anchors and tweakscale and long, skinny parts, to reduce part count. Already I found a 5.9m-long part, the long modular girder with tweakscalme, but I'm searching.

So (addendum to my previous post), can we use tweakscale and the like? I can send my gamedata folder if you want.

Edited January 5, 2022 by Nazalassa

[Nazalassa]

@catloaf, is kOS allowed?

I'd like to use PhoenixIndustries:

https://spacedock.info/mod/2425/Phoenix Industries

Is it allowed, too?

EDIT: Yes, I may have a very big GameData folder. These two mods are the only ones I'll need for my project — In fact, I'll need kOS more. And yes, I may ask for a bit too many mods

Edited January 16, 2022 by Nazalassa