Scarecrow71

Scarecrow71 · 2024-10-09T21:32:57Z

So, I’m going to try doing yet another Caveman challenge on HARD. I tried this recently, and the science bottomed out. Didn’t help that I took a contract for the Thud engine, which simply does not work the way you want it to. And because I could never complete that contract, I was stuck with only 1 contract slot. Which sucks. So, I’m starting over. Anyhow, the settings:

Tiers I & II

Spoiler

The first thing to do is farm science at the KSC. Goo, Crew, EVA, from the launchpad and the runway. I am also going to do this at the Island Airfield. Even though I am not allowing other launchsites, the game is letting me launch from the Island Airfield. Not sure why, but it is what it is. 17 Science, so we unlock Engineering 101 and Basic Rocketry:

Tier III

Spoiler

Now we go get the science with the 2Hot from all three areas. No new nodes, but now we get to launch our first vessel and, hopefully, get out of the atmosphere with it. I saw a video recently that gave me an idea on this. I built this thing, which is a bunch of Flea’s and some science gadgets:

I have a feeling it won’t get me into space on the first try, but I can at least hope. Here goes nothing!

I’ve got an Ap of ~190 km. Not bad for the first flight. Time to collect some science in space, land this thing, and unlock some nodes.

Tier IV

Spoiler

That’s the first 3 tiers all done with a bit of farming and 1 launch. Not bad. Survivability comes with the PresMat, so let’s farm a bit more science. Won’t get me anything, but we need all the science we can get.

The next thing we want to do is orbit Kerbin. However, before we do, let’s get some of the easy contracts out of the way. Test the Flea at the Launch Site, and Test the 0.625m Heat Shield at the Launch Site. Seems pointless, but it’s free funds and free science. Grinding is part of this challenge, and so we do that here.

But now we can get into orbit. I already collected most of the science from LKO…but not the barometric reading. I also know that I can get science from the upper atmosphere (which I have not done yet, AND that I’ll get a contract mid-flight to return from orbit. Ah, the joys having played this game so much. Anyhow, we build this thing, and launch:

I know it says ~3200 m/s dV at sea level here, but I’m hoping I get into orbit and have enough to get home. I also know that amount will go up the higher into the atmosphere I get. Worst case scenario I simply go up, collect science from the upper atmosphere, come home, and try again. So let’s go.

Success! With 131 m/s dV, so I can get home. Time to go to the space center and pick up that contract to return from orbit, and then get back on this rock.

And now, with all that science, I can unlock…one node. I’m at the point where everything is 45 science per shot. So I’ll take Basic Science, then do some farming with the Science Jr.. Once that is done, I’ll do 1 flight here to go east and drop into the water. Why? So I can run the Science Jr. in flight and in the water, which gives me enough science to unlock the next node. Advanced Rocketry.

All told, not bad for 1 hour in.

At this point I’m going to focus on burning through contracts, as well as getting the Science Jr. readings from the upper atmosphere and space. The contracts I went through include:

Test TD-12 landed at Kerbin
Test Mk2-R Radial Mount Parachute in flight over Kerbin

I’ve got a contract to do a fly-by of the Mun, and I’m going to give it a shot. With the following craft:

Going on the same concept as the first craft I flew, I’m using solid rocket engines for their high thrust, and I’m going to fly straight up towards the moon. At a minimum I should be able to get science data in HKO, which is needed. So I go to the launchpad, wait for the right moment, and then ignite.

Well, that only got me to HKO. Still, I gathered enough science to unlock Aviation, which now allows me to build planes and work on all of those focused observational contracts. No science, but they are taking up space (no pun intended).

So we are going to try doing a Mun fly-by with this:

Aha! Success! A fly-by of the Mun. Ah, let’s bask in the glory from getting enough science to unlock the remaining 2 nodes on Tier IV: General Construction and Flight Control.

Tier V

Spoiler

I think I might be able to pull off a Minmus fly-by with that craft…but I’m not sure I’d have enough dV to get back to the surface of Kerbin. As it was, I had ~470 after getting the encounter, but I had to burn almost 400 of that to get to a manageable Ap/Pe once back in Kerbin’s SOI. I guess there’s only one way to find out, right? But not yet!

I’m going to run a science roller out onto the runway and roll around the KSC to collect some science. Going to also hit the Shores, just to make sure I got all of those. And once that’s done, I have enough science to unlock Heavy Rocketry:

Why this? From what I’ve seen and heard, that Bobcat engine has more than enough oomph to get me where I need to go. And at this particular moment, I’ve got a contract to orbit the Mun. I’m going to try that with the same ship I used for the fly-by earlier and see what happens.

Of course, I check Mission Control to see if I have a contract to come back…and no, I don’t. Interestingly enough, I’ve got a contract to land and return, but not just return from orbit. I do have, though, a contract for science data from space around the Mun. Easy peasy. And now to come home.

Not enough science to unlock anything else, unfortunately. But I can get to orbit of the Mun. Anyhow, I am going to shoot for getting to Minmus at this point. Not sure if it’s totally do-able, but let’s give it a shot. Same ship I got to the Mun with, by the way.

And with that, I earned enough science to unlock Electrics.

Why Electrics? Well, for the solar panels. I know the Okto is heavier than the Stayputnik, but it’s also far easier to control in flight. And I have a contract to land on the Mun and send science back, so the weight will balance out in the end. I hope. Anyhow, only 8 nodes to go. Just need to get 720 more science. But before we go that route, I’ve got some contracts to pull off first:

Test AE-FF1.5 at the launch site
Test LY-10 splashed down at Kerbin
Test TS-06 splashed down at Kerbin
Test the Terrier at the launch site
Test TD-06 at the launch site

Now I’ve got one of those “Science data from space around Kerbin” contracts. This is a good thing! I’m going to put a satellite into LKO with a 2Hot attached to it. Then I’ll have that up there anytime I get one of those contracts. Like so:

That’s about as close to circularized as I care to get it. ~15km off isn’t bad. Could I get it closer? Yes. Do I care? Nope. You can see I put the decoupler for the nose cone on backwards. Oh well!

Got a couple more of the gimme contracts (test this at the launch site, test that splashed down, etc.), so I took those and did them. Didn’t generate much in the way of science, but I’ll take every last piece I can get at this point. And after that, I got contracts to:

Land on the Mun
Science data from the surface of the Mun

I have never attempted to land on the Mun during a Caveman run. Not even the Normal difficulty run I’ve completed. But I’m going to try doing that here. I mean, why not, not why. I know I can get a craft to the Mun, and I can certainly do a direct descent profile. The hard part will be slowing down enough so the probe doesn’t explode on contact. But let’s give this a shot, shall we?

Not the prettiest landing, but I’m on the surface. Now to collect that science and unlock Miniaturization. I want docking ports so I can try to do the whole “launchpad construction” thing. It didn’t work the best last time I tried, but I think I’ve got a few ideas that might pan out. Either way, I put a craft on the surface of the Mun. And based on the dV I have left, had I landed it on the engine bell, I could have probably gotten it back to Kerbin. But without any chutes, there was no point. So transmitting the data was the way to go.

In checking Mission Control, I have contracts for Science Data from Space Around Minmus, and Science Data from the Surface of Minmus. So I’m going to land on Minmus with the same craft I just landed on the Mun with. Like so:

Of course I had to land on the side of Minmus that is farthest away from Kerbin, so I had either full engine thrust or no engine thrust. I then got to wait until I was on the side closest so I could take science readings and send them back. Ah, got to love not having control! Anyhow, I’m still about 7 science points short of the next node, so I’m going to go through Mission Control and see what other stuff I can do.

Test Cheetah landed at Kerbin
Test Skiff landed at Kerbin
Test Heat Shield 2.5 splashed down at Kerbin
Test Kodiak splashed down at Kerbin
Test TT-38K at the launch site
Test TS-12 splashed down at Kerbin
Test Thumper at the launch site

Finally. I now have just enough science to unlock Fuel Systems.

This is another critical component to launchpad construction. With this I get access to Fuel Lines, which can be manipulated in EVA construction by an engineer. I think, with the addition of this, we are ready to build a craft capable of taking off from Kerbin, going to and landing on another celestial body, and then returning.

We need to build the entire rocket first, regardless of parts and such. Then, once we do that, we can send it out piece-meal. Here’s the full kit and kaboodle:

That’s well over 18 tons. And over 30 parts. So I’ll need to put the central stack out on the launchpad, then drive the side tanks over to it from the SPH.

I had to remove the solar panels and the radial drogue chutes to get down to 30 parts. But I have Bill available, so I’ll have to add those parts prior to jettisoning off into the wild black yonder. Anyhow, with that on the launchpad, we have to go into the SPH and take the sides and wheel them out here one by one. Like so:

Although the back wheel is up off the ground, I’m leaving the tail section and side wheels on for the time being. Why? Weight. If I take the tail piece off right now, I’m afraid the weight of this thing on this one side will be too much, causing the rocket to tip over. You can’t see it, but the engine on the side tank is actually off the ground. So I need to get the side tank on the far side as well before taking any of the wheels off. You know, balance the weight and all. Once I get the second tank on, I can consider removing the tail section and the side wheels. Like so:

As you can see, the docking ports aren’t entirely aligned. This is due to the side wheels on the right side pushing the craft forward, and making the docking port I need to connect to pushed downwards. So our crafty engineer gets to take a ride out to the launchpad and start adding parts, as well as removing some.

So, those modular girders are too heavy for 1 Kerbal. Looking at the weight and checking the wiki for rules on EVA construction, each Kerbal can manipulate 0.06t of weight, and the modular girder weighs 0.125t. This means I need 3 Kerbals out on the launch pad to remove each of the girders. Not a big deal; just need to get some out there.

With that said, this thing sits at just over 3500 dV on the launchpad. And it should – SHOULD – have ~3400 dV in the lander. So I’ll time warp until the morning – because I like to have light – and send 3 Kerbals out there to remove the girders. I could just leave them there, but that’s added drag and fuel consumption that I don’t need. I am also going to see about removing the extra 2 docking ports; I don’t need the extra tanks on the side before launching as I have plenty of dV and a TWR right now of 1.85 (which might increase slightly after removing parts). So let’s try to launch this thing, shall we?

You will notice in the above shot that I added fuel lines, struts, and solar panels. I had to really stretch to get those panels in place; they are as far up as Bill could get them. I will need to add 2 more solar panels, for a total of 6 of them, which should give the craft enough electricity for the journey.

And here we are with the finished craft, all pieces added and nothing remaining that shouldn’t be there. Let’s get to Minmus!

There and back again. That was a lot of work, but I proved that it does in fact work. I unfortunately only earned enough science to unlock 1 node, and I’m taking Space Exploration. Why? Ladders. I know – we can’t go EVA off Kerbin. But what if we start the launch with the Kerbal outside the command module? Assuming we can prevent him (or her) from frying in the atmosphere on launch, nothing stopping us from that, right? So let’s take Space Exploration and find out.

A secondary reason to take Space Exploration: cargo containers. Assuming my theory above works, I can launch with parts to land on Mun or Minmus and drive around on an EVA constructed rover. Again, this assumes the above theory works.

Now, though, it’s time to do some of those cheap contracts.

Test the Flea at the launch site
Test Hydraulic Detachment Manifold landed to Kerbin
Test Heat Shield 1.875 splashed down at Kerbin

These contracts don’t give much in the way of science or funds, but they are easy to complete. I’ve gotten and accepted a contract to return from the surface of the Mun, but I’m not ready to do that yet. I want to go hit a few biomes here on Kerbin and get some science. I’ll start by flying towards the north pole. Not sure how much fuel I need; I’m not good at building planes. But I’ll try with this thing:

Well, that didn’t work. Ran out of fuel on the way there, and ended up landing in the Highlands. Got some science…but not enough to unlock any nodes. Let’s see what we have in Mission Control…

…nothing. Place a few satellites, but none of them give me any science. So what I’m going to do here is to launch into HKO and collect whatever remaining science I can get. Due to weight restrictions, I’ll just use a probe core and see what I can see.

I was able to get some science. Enough to unlock Advanced Construction.

Going is very slow at this point. I’ve got 4 nodes to go (360 total science), and I’ve got 17.3 of that in the bank. With the aircraft failure, I am wondering if I should just build a rover and make my way overland? I’ll think on that for a bit.

While I’m thinking on that last thought, I realized that I should be able to launch a satellite into Kerbolar orbit. So I’m trying that with this:

With a bit of time warping, I think I may actually have a transfer window to Duna.

Not sure I have enough dV, but let’s give this a shot!

Well, I overshot Duna. Not being able to see the orbital lines outside your own SOI is bummer. But I have this set up for a possible Dres encounter. Let’s take some science in Kerbolar orbit and see what happens from here. Got temperature and pressure…and now let’s warp and see what happens on the backside of that Dres encounter. I won’t encounter Dres, but I’m hoping to get Duna.

Yeah, not getting that encounter. I am going to take the rest of the science here, and then send up another craft. This time I’ll have to make sure that I stop firing the engines as soon as I escape Kerbin’s SOI. Then I can do another burn in Kerbolar orbit to encounter Duna. I hope! Either way, I got maybe 30 science out of the Kerbolar orbit readings. This means I will absolutely need to do an encounter with another planetary body (or several) to get the remaining science I need. So let’s warp to another transfer window!

That’s actually pretty close to an Eve transfer window, if my eyeballs are correct. So let’s give that a shot. Maybe just a bit of warping to get that a bit better?

\

I achieved a Pe of 131km, which I didn’t think I’d get to with the fuel I had. Ended up having to do a pair of mid-course corrections, and eyeballing it really sucks. But I went interplanetary in Caveman! I didn’t even do that on my Normal run! Earned enough science to unlock Advanced Flight Control and Propulsion Systems. Leaves me with 2 nodes to go:

So let’s get a transfer window to Duna and get on our way!

Down to ~90 km! Unfortunately, I only earned enough science to unlock Landing. I’ve got 49.1 science remaining, so I’ll need to pick up another 40.9 science somehow to complete this. But that’s 2 interplanetary runs in Caveman. Too bad that craft is out of fuel.

Needing 40 more science, I gotta look at doing some of those “easy” contracts again.

Test LY-10 at the launch site.
Test Skiff landed at Kerbin.
Position satellite in specific orbit of Minmus.

Now that I know I can create a craft to go interplanetary, creating a satellite and getting it into a specific orbit around one of our own moons should be simple.

And time for more contracts!

Test the Spark landed at Kerbin
Test the Skipper at the launch site.
Science data from the surface of the Mun. Man am I glad I landed a satellite there!
Position satellite in polar orbit around Minmus.

So I got a few more of those “Science in location” contracts. One of them was to collect around Minmus. And I just sent a probe with a materials bay on it there. Got 13.1 science just for that! I’m now sitting at 85.2 science! Just 5 to go!

I launched a rocket into the water to collect more materials bay science thinking I might be able to get some. 1.3, which gets me close, but not enough. So I decided to put a plane out on the runway and roll around the KSC and see what leftovers I can get with all the gadgets. I collected 1.4 on the runway itself, and then another 1.4 at the SPH. Then I rolled down to Mission Control where I collected a whopping 1.4. And that put me over 90! I picked up Aerodynamics, and this completes the challenge!