Now This Is Pod Racing!

[Plur303]

This is a challenge to see who can build the coolest pod racer inspired by Star Wars Episode 1.

There are no real rules for this challenge. It is just for fun. Use whatever mods you want. I found Kerbal Attachment System (KAS), B9 Aerospace, and Quantrum Strut mods all very useful in my pod racer.

Since I'm catching flak for my lack of rules I will add some restrictions.

Rules:

1. Cockpits must attach to the engines with the Kerbal Attachement System and nothing else. No rigid connections.

2. Engines must only be connected to each other with Quantum Struts

Prize:

Completing a functional pod racer is its own reward. Maybe if I feel up to it I will create a course to race through by placing pylons and uploading a savegame everybody can load. Then we could race through the course and compare times.

Craft file for my pod racer:

http://kerbalspaceprogram.com/pod-racer/

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C0aTVEZRgW0]

Edited June 4, 2013 by Plur303

[SirJodelstein]

incredibly cool! But i think this should go into the Spacecraft exchange forum, unless you build a race track and make a real challenge out of it.

[Darren9]

I like it I'll submit my old one but expect another now I've got B9 and some other stuff.

[Reavermyst]

Maybe this should be moved to the Spacecraft exchange as this is by no means a challenge.

[Plur303]

Maybe this should be moved to the Spacecraft exchange as this is by no means a challenge.

Try and build one and you will see it is quite a challenge. You can't just slap one together like you can with a rocket.

Edited June 3, 2013 by Plur303

[Reavermyst]

You seem to misunderstand. I'm not saying this isn't challenging in terms of difficulty, what I mean by it not being a challenge is that there's no structure. There's no rules, scoring, nothing that would constitute this as a challenge. Now, if it was no mod, then it would be a challenge since there is a limitation in the design! It has been proven to work as Harv(HOCGaming on youtube, not to be mistaken as Harvester) has displayed on his test flight series a working pod racer made of only mod parts, so you wouldn't have to worry about people griping that it's impossible. So your challenge CAN work, but it needs to be structured like one in order for it to be considered a challenge in this sense.

As for difficulty, I'm a rocket guy so I would have a hard time with it. The no rules only make it easier, but I'd personally still struggle none the less.

[Plur303]

There is plenty of structure. Pod racers have a very specific layout and look. This is much more specific than a general rocket or spaceplane challenge.

I will add some restrictions if that will make you guys happy.

Edited June 5, 2013 by Aphox
Keep it clean.

[Lumaro]

I would really love to see a video of these things flying. The B9 aerospace pack makes them look exceptionally cool.

[Plur303]

I would really love to see a video of these things flying. The B9 aerospace pack makes them look exceptionally cool.

Here is the video

[Darren9]

Here is the video

You can tweak the .cfg of that engine to get faster/more thrust vectoring and also yaw control as well as pitch. I still don't have a successful design that doesn't need some lift parts though to be vaguely controllable.

MODULE

{

name = SmarterGimbal

gimbalTransformName = thrust_transform

pitchRange = 40

yawRange = 40

useGimbalResponseSpeed = true

gimbalResponseSpeed = 600

}

Cockpit attached by KAS only makes for pretty much an uncontrollable craft, with quantum strut also you can make something that can be controlled and landed.

Edited June 3, 2013 by Darren9

[Plur303]

I still don't have a successful design that doesn't need some lift parts though to be vaguely controllable.

Neither do I. I have small control surfaces clipped inside the engines so they are invisible. That's what makes them flyable. I just kept them invisible for aesthetics purposes.

[Mekan1k]

Plur303- Could you post some more pod-racer craft files? I particularly like the 8-engine one...

[WILL.I.AM K.]

For a racetrack you could set the course on the mun and have the finishline be a mun arch

[Enigma179]

There is plenty of structure. Pod racers have a very specific layout and look. This is much more specific than a general rocket or spaceplane challenge. And besides, you are a furry. Your opinion doesn't matter...

I will add some restrictions if that will make you guys happy.

It wasn't about structure or anything else. Look at the rest of the challenges; there's a specific goal, restrictions, typically a scoring system, some way to determine who wins and who loses. This is not a challenge. This is a place for people to demonstrate ships based off pod racers.

If you actually DID make a track for people to race around and post their fastest times, it would be a challenge. If it was "get the top speed in your pod racer" it would be a challenge. "Build a pod racer!" is not a challenge.

[Darren9]

It wasn't about structure or anything else. Look at the rest of the challenges; there's a specific goal, restrictions, typically a scoring system, some way to determine who wins and who loses. This is not a challenge. This is a place for people to demonstrate ships based off pod racers.

If you actually DID make a track for people to race around and post their fastest times, it would be a challenge. If it was "get the top speed in your pod racer" it would be a challenge. "Build a pod racer!" is not a challenge.

Have you built one that functions to say it's not challenging? If you look at all the challenges with fastest/heaviest/ect. they're all "won" by some weird contraption that exploits some specifically "Kerbal" physics properties and look they they shouldn't even exist in a sci-fi film, let alone in real life (the fastest car - 4 langing gears and 50 sepratrons - to me that's utterly pointless but not to others ), the challenge is specifically just about the construction stage not what you do with it after - it's still a challenge to construct something though. Edited June 4, 2013 by Darren9

[Tripod27]

It has been proven to work as Harv(HOCGaming on youtube, not to be mistaken as Harvester) has displayed on his test flight series a working pod racer made of only mod parts, so you wouldn't have to worry about people griping that it's impossible. So your challenge CAN work, but it needs to be structured like one in order for it to be considered a challenge in this sense.

Anyone here know if Harv has a forum profile? I have a Battlestar Galactica Viper he might like (after I saw his video of him making one).

[Plur303]

If you actually DID make a track for people to race around and post their fastest times, it would be a challenge.

I worked on that a little last night. I built a plane that can drop probe cores with parachutes as I fly a path. I can then go back and name each of those probes "pylon1", "pylon 2" etc. and map out a course. I'm just having a hard time finding an interesting course. I'm thinking of making one that goes out around the islands and the airstrip near KSC.

The only problem with flying to the islands is that it is a pretty long distance and very boring... I want some terrain in the course to make it interesting. Unfortunately everything within about 20 km of KSC is flat...

Edited June 4, 2013 by Plur303

[Darren9]

I made one that's stable but only with quantum struts to the cockpit, without those it goes where it wants to. With just KAS ropes a longer engine pod and smallest cockpit will get more stability, the most suited for a race course are probably going to be the worst looking.

[Plur303]

I made one that's stable but only with quantum struts to the cockpit, without those it goes where it wants to. With just KAS ropes a longer engine pod and smallest cockpit will get more stability, the most suited for a race course are probably going to be the worst looking.

That is an awesome pod racer. I think you should get rid of the quantum struts to the cockpit though. I think the floppy connection is what makes it so much of a challenge. If it is rigid it is essentially just another airplane. That's not what I wanted this challenge to be about. I want REAL POD RACERS!!!

I have found that a b9 airbrake placed on the cockpit creates a bunch of stability. The added drag creates tension on the cables and keeps the cockpit in line behind the engines.

I agree that the worst looking ones are going to be most suited to racing and that is why I'm hesitant to make this a challenge about time around a track. Somebody is going to make some butt ugly pod racer that "technically" follows the rules and win. Meanwhile the most beautiful and most faithful recreations of a star wars style pod racer will be handicapped because they carry a little extra weight in parts.

Things that I have found helpful with stability are:

1. The B9 F119 Turbofan Engines with smart thrust vectoring

2. Make sure the engines are placed behind the center of mass of the ship

3. Airbrakes on the cockpit

4. Have the mounting point of the cables to the engines behind the center of thrust

5. Hide small aerodynamic control surfaces inside the engines

[Darren9]

Thanks, I'll try and make a strut-less one. I have a tip that could be useful, I changed the F119 to surface attach, it doesn't work perfectly when your placing it but you can build off of it. It's a .cfg edit to this line:

attachRules = 1,1,1,1,0

Edit - I got one up and running with no struts, the air-brakes solved all of my issues.

Edited June 4, 2013 by Darren9

[Comrade Jenkens]

Use the lazor sytem tractor beam to make the podracers!!! It has a hover function and works really well

[pwnedbyscope]

really does the lazor system take aerodynamics into account?

[Kerbies_are_my_Minions]

I made one a while back.. Flies great. but I don't have any of the addons. might download the KAS and try it out though

[Plur303]

I made one a while back.. Flies great. but I don't have any of the addons. might download the KAS and try it out though/QUOTE]

I like the curves of yourstruts. That is a pretty good stock pod racer. But like I said before the flexible connections really change everything. I have made some rigid ones as well and they fly just like an airplane. Flying a flexible pod racer is a totally different experience and demands a very gentle and careful pilot.

[Kerbies_are_my_Minions]

I'll see about getting the addon parts.