Save Tim Kerman! - A challenge focusing on implementation

[localSol]

[...]I just had him hanging there and lunched into space. Then I found that he was drifting away while I was already in space so I thought, oh what an opportunity to get back in! So I got Bill out and let him fall to his death, and let Tim in to get back home! Maybe it's FAR, I heard that it makes kerbanauts more aerodynamic.

What a save.

I used FAR for my case too. Must have been the G forces.

[TelluriumCrystal]

Oh man, I have been trying this for the last 4 days straight. My first two non plane/rocket craft that took the first 3(.3333) days were fun but heroically 'sploded. Finally I decided to try a plane to recover the pod with a KAS electromagnet but when I got within 200 meters of it, it had some kind of bug that caused it to shoot kilometers in the air (and later impact). People say it's a stock KSP engine bug, I think. The same thing happened when I got to the timer vehicle, but at least I was practically there and got the timer MET on video. I had enough electricity to magnetize the command pod indefinitely but couldn't get to it because of the bug. At least Tim's back!

Never heard of that happening in this specific case, though it does happen sometimes when a craft has physics first applied to it after being rendered. Sometimes the game mistakingly decides the part in question is clipping through the ground and, well, gets annoyed. This might (and that's a big might) be due to not having the terrain detail on high.

Still, nice work! I'll add your score to the leaderboards now...

As far as those achievement suggestions go, I've been trying to stay away from having some for specific mods, but I guess I can only avoid that for so long... I'll also consider adding the "Board of Fail" for all those failed attempts, though that depends on how much free time I have today.

Well looks like I was overly ambitious. I had my design for doing all that in one go, but I couldn't land it like a plane it's too heavy so here is my plan B. After two days of trying I finally got a successful run!

*Removes Sunglasses*

Woah...

Nice work! You've certainly earned your spot at the top of the leader boards.

You have, however, misinterpreted the requirements for "Jebediah's Side Quest". It isn't to get the probe on a Kerbin escape trajectory, it's to get it on a Sun escape trajectory. I might have written that in a strange way; I'll go make the description clearer in the achievements page.

Further achievements you did not properly complete include:

100 - Side Quest – Deploy a satellite with a probe core and power generation capabilities into an orbit of 150km (when my Mun intercept probe circles back it will be in a high orbit via gravity assist)

Unfortunately there are two things wrong with this. Firstly, it must reach that point within the 3 hour time limit, which you did not demonstrate; and two, it must be in a circular orbit of exactly (or very close to) 150km.

200 - I'm on Fire! – Have Tim reenter the atmosphere fast enough to cause reentry effects to appear

At no point do you show Tim reentering the atmosphere. Note, this means that Tim himself must be in EVA with reentry effects appearing on him for it to count.

100 - Made it Back in One Piece – Do not loose a single part from your vehicle (or make sure all pieces make it back to the KSC undamaged) (I mean I have stages and probes, as well as the unfortunate kerbanaut who had to make room for Kim)

Not all achievements are achievable at once. By definition, completing the probe missions forfeits this one.

Regardless this was awesome! Thanks for putting so much effort into it!

Edited May 21, 2013 by Thrfoot

[SirJodelstein]

Well, that was a lot of fun. Here comes the story of the most absurd rescue vehicle i have ever built Full image album here

So, to save the hero Tim Kerman from dying in the desert, all engineering teams submitted proposals on how to do it. Instead of going with one solution, Mission Command decreed that all departments should be allowed to contribute to the rescue vessel. Unfortunately, they all did...

I present you: ROFLS Rescue Utility, the 200-ton Rolling Flying Swimming Kerbal-Pickup Thingie:

With a mission of such importance, it was obvious that Jebediah himself was assigned the pilot seat. The initial plan was to roll westwards to the other coast, deploy the boat and use the plane to return Tim home. Due to budget cuts, that plan was quickly thwarted by underpowered vehicle drives.

With the rocket launch platform in tow, the highest achievable landspeed was 8m/s. Thus, the rocket was launched as early as possible

I Got Wheels! - This Ain't no Seaplane! - The Behemoth - The Big One - Side Quest

Leaving the mobile rocket launch pad behind, landspeed improved to 25m/s, only limited by the fragile monster wheels. After an hour, Jeb was bored and decided to head to the shore to switch to the boat configuration.

Low Roller - I'M ON A BOAT

With a stable top speed of 30m/s, this was not much of an improvement. Jeb got bored again and boarded the plane.

Yo Dawg - Up There - Getting Higher

Landing and pickup of the nearly dehydrated Tim, then liftoff to return to KSC

Landing Like a Pro - Race Car (liftoff landspeed 110m/s)

Flying straight and slow is no fun, so Jeb decided to do some experiments

Supersonic - Hardcore Pilot

Secretly, Jeb had modified the Plane to have detachable wings. Poor Tim...

Scratched the Paint

Landing with parachutes and rolling home, with 30 minutes left on the clock.

(Not pictured here: Sidequest probe - Mun encounter and ended up just 300m/s short of a solar escape)

I AM The Wheel! - Take Me for a Ride! - Difficult Side Quest

Man, that was fun. Even Tim managed to regain his courage after such a wild ride

Final score might be about 2490 if all achievements mentioned apply. Not sure about "yo dawg" and "scratched the paint", and i am not sure wether i am eligible for some achievements like "Aircraft Carrier", and some space achievements, since only the probe went up. Anyway, thanks for this great challenge!

P.S.: I think the naval speed achievements are way too difficult. The fastest dedicated KSP speedboat known to me reaches about 240m/s, so 500m/s would be an epic improvement on this, and even 100m/s is really hard.

---------------

Edit: Obligatory VAB and Finish-with-timer screenshots

VAB http://i.imgur.com/K8aEDzR.jpg

Finish line with timer http://i.imgur.com/b7Izrvq.png

Edited May 27, 2013 by SirJodelstein
two more required screenshots

[Darren9]

I had another go as well, the more OP main engine you use the more you can get done it seems I found one that beats the 3600isp Sabre that's in first place. I'd planned refuelling and returning the rover to make an hour drive followed by a VTOL landing on the VAB roof but the KAS glitched and my fuel rover warped 5Km and exploded so I got low on fuel, I had a quicksave but it does the same every time I get 200m from it You won't believe the landings my space brick survived - ID Strong Struts!

I *think* I have:

500 - No Pod Left Behind

100 - Yo Dawg

1,000 - Jebediah's Side Quest

500 - Difficult Side Quest

500 - There and Back Again

200 - I'm on Fire!

100 - Side Quest

100 - Orbit Achieved

50 - Spaaaaace!

500 - The Dive (He's inside the cargo bay but free-falling detached from the ship)

100 - Landing Like a Pro

10 - Up There

20 - Getting Higher

50 - The Border

50 - Supersonic

100 - Hypersonic

100 - The Behemoth

10 - I Got Wheels!

The clock is 2:05 if you can't make it out. I had to reduce screen resolution to have half a chance of landing with the input lag recording gives me.

[TelluriumCrystal]

Well, that was a lot of fun. Here comes the story of the most absurd rescue vehicle i have ever built Full image album here

Final score might be about 2490 if all achievements mentioned apply. Not sure about "yo dawg" and "scratched the paint", and i am not sure wether i am eligible for some achievements like "Aircraft Carrier", and some space achievements, since only the probe went up. Anyway, thanks for this great challenge!

Nice, that's the most creative one I've seen so far. Unfortunately, I can't add it to the leaderboards until you provide the required screenshots.

P.S.: I think the naval speed achievements are way too difficult. The fastest dedicated KSP speedboat known to me reaches about 240m/s, so 500m/s would be an epic improvement on this, and even 100m/s is really hard.

Good point. I'll get rid of the 500m/s one.

I had another go as well, the more OP main engine you use the more you can get done it seems I found one that beats the 3600isp Sabre that's in first place. I'd planned refuelling and returning the rover to make an hour drive followed by a VTOL landing on the VAB roof but the KAS glitched and my fuel rover warped 5Km and exploded so I got low on fuel, I had a quicksave but it does the same every time I get 200m from it You won't believe the landings my space brick survived - ID Strong Struts!

Nice work, but unfortunately your engines have disqualified you. The rules clearly state that you may not use OP mods, which you have self-admittably done. Using a Sabre would be pushing it, but using warp nacelles just plain unfair to those who have used realistic engines. If you would like, I could add you under honorable mentions.

[Darren9]

~snip~

Nice work, but unfortunately your engines have disqualified you. The rules clearly state that you may not use OP mods, which you have self-admittably done. Using a Sabre would be pushing it, but using warp nacelles just plain unfair to those who have used realistic engines. If you would like, I could add you under honorable mentions.

Yeah, my first attempts used carefully balanced parts, I had to load on four reactors to power those props and it would still only move at 140m/s. This was really a reply to someone else using an OP main engine (more than three times the isp and also better thrust/weight ratio), how are we supposed to know what's too OP and what isn't?

[TelluriumCrystal]

Yeah, my first attempts used carefully balanced parts, I had to load on four reactors to power those props and it would still only move at 140m/s. This was really a reply to someone else using an OP main engine (more than three times the isp and also better thrust/weight ratio), how are we supposed to know what's too OP and what isn't?

Good point... I'll have to come up with a better way to judge what is OP and what isn't. Something based off of numbers... Something indisputable... Maximum isp maybe?

I'll figure it out sometime later today.

[1096bimu]

I had another go as well, the more OP main engine you use the more you can get done it seems I found one that beats the 3600isp Sabre that's in first place.

I'd say it's rather pointless to try and find a better engine than mine, because I made those engines I can make them as OP as i want, it's just a matter of how far you are able to bend those rules without breaking them. For my run I chose to use it as is, in fact it was nerfed compared to the one that was actively posed on the forum, so if you had downloaded that one it would have been even more OP.

I had engines that don't use any fuel, infinite strong utility chassis with infinite resource generation, mods that would have completed every single challenge, but those obviously won't qualify.

[Namesplosion]

Would it count as getting the "HOW!?!?" Achievement if I made Tim walk on a platform on a vehicle while I drive it to the KSC?

[SirJodelstein]

Nice, that's the most creative one I've seen so far. Unfortunately, I can't add it to the leaderboards until you provide the required screenshots.

Which screenshots do you need - have you checked the album? Vehicle in the VAB? (i think showing it leaving the runway is enough). The sidequest probe is shown in Kerbin orbit @146km (no map-view orbit picture, but it was almost circular) and near the mun.

[TelluriumCrystal]

Which screenshots do you need - have you checked the album? Vehicle in the VAB? (i think showing it leaving the runway is enough). The sidequest probe is shown in Kerbin orbit @146km (no map-view orbit picture, but it was almost circular) and near the mun.

Both in the VAB and a final picture from the timer's perspective (so I can see the MET of the timer).

[Darren9]

Good point... I'll have to come up with a better way to judge what is OP and what isn't. Something based off of numbers... Something indisputable... Maximum isp maybe?

I'll figure it out sometime later today.

That'll be tricky If you're allowing 3x the isp of stock parts (turbojet at 1200, Sabre at 3600) then NERVA is 800 so it'd be 2400 in space, the already banned nacelle is 3000 atmosphere and space. If it's altered to 3600 atmosphere and 2400 in space it'll fly the same mission on the same fuel load, it looses 600 isp in space and gains it back in the atmosphere. You'll need to cook up a rule that allows the 3x OP isp of the Sabre in atmosphere but prohibits 3x isp in space - why would you do that though? Or in other words disallow any other OP engine with isp above the Sabre specifically and make that the one that's used for the big scores.

Once you allow one 3x isp OP main engine how can you ban others? This challenge will just become "use the Sabre only - it's the only OP I'm allowing". Why would a challenge be tailored to one OP engine?

Edited May 27, 2013 by Darren9
your isn't you're

[1096bimu]

That'll be tricky If you're allowing 3x the isp of stock parts (turbojet at 1200, Sabre at 3600) then NERVA is 800 so it'd be 2400 in space, the already banned nacelle is 3000 atmosphere and space. If it's altered to 3600 atmosphere and 2400 in space it'll fly the same mission on the same fuel load, it looses 600 isp in space and gains it back in the atmosphere. You'll need to cook up a rule that allows the 3x OP isp of the Sabre in atmosphere but prohibits 3x isp in space - why would you do that though? Or in other words disallow any other OP engine with isp above the Sabre specifically and make that the one that's used for the big scores.

Once you allow one 3x isp OP main engine how can you ban others? This challenge will just become "use the Sabre only - it's the only OP I'm allowing". Why would a challenge be tailored to one OP engine?

If I were opening up this challenge I would Probably put a limit on the product of the highest ISP (atmospheric or vacuum) and maximal thrust.

[Darren9]

If I were opening up this challenge I would Probably put a limit on the product of the highest ISP (atmospheric or vacuum) and maximal thrust.

Does thrust really effect anything? To me above 2000 seems pointless (bordering on unusable) but is there a difference between a 4000 thrust at 50% throttle and a 2000 thrust at 100% in terms of fuel use if all else is equal? I don't really have a clue what maths is going on, doesn't higher thrust just burn through the fuel faster and not allow carrying less fuel for the same Delta-v?

[1096bimu]

You are right, but nobody would carry a mainsail and use it like a mini motor, because your're just carrying more dead weight. It is a good way to limit performance because having one without the other really doesn't have much of a impact. The stoock electric thrusters have more ISP than my SABRE but they don't have the thrust, while the mainsail has more thrust but not the ISP.

[SirJodelstein]

Both in the VAB and a final picture from the timer's perspective (so I can see the MET of the timer).

Links to the two missing screenshots added to my original post on page 6

[Darren9]

I did the same mission again with a single Sabre since the Star Trek engine was deemed unsuitable, also the refuelling worked and the strengthened rover bumped the part count over 300. Needed an extra 30 ton of fuel on the launcher compared to the last one.

500 - The Big One

500 - No Pod Left Behind

100 - Yo Dawg

100 - Fill 'er Up!

1,000 - Jebediah's Side Quest

500 - Difficult Side Quest

500 - There and Back Again

200 - I'm on Fire!

100 - Side Quest

100 - Orbit Achieved

50 - Spaaaaace!

500 - The Dive

100 - Landing Like a Pro

10 - Up There

20 - Getting Higher

50 - The Border

50 - Supersonic

100 - Hypersonic

100 - The Behemoth

100 - Low Roller

10 - I Got Wheels!

[Agent30632]

Just saying, I don't think the "HOW!?!?!" Achievement is even remotely possible without mods

[Cooly568]

Thats why its called HOW!?!?!